May 14, 2011

Friday the 13th, What a Great Day!

I have never been superstitious and actually quite the opposite. There is a long, funny but interesting story behind the number thirteen in our family and ministry. I will not go into that in this letter but I would like to share some great news that happened just yesterday, Friday the 13th.

We have been praying for some bibles for our upcoming conference in August. We found that to ship us the 500 we hoped to have for the conference Victory Baptist Press (VBP) would have to pay around $3000. That just didn't seem like good stewardship so we kept praying and looking for other options. We had no one coming down who could bring them so a plan was devised to go get them ourselves. With the help of a great brother-in-Christ we were able to get "buddy passes" which cost much less than a regular ticket. The only problem was that if the flight we needed was full we could be stranded on either end waiting for days at airports. God worked it all out and we had no problem getting on either flight. We drove two days through the mountains and desert to the airport in Lima, flew to the USA on Monday, returned on Wednesday, and drove two more days back to arrive yesterday with 502 Bibles in hand! And... it saved VBP almost $1000 in shipping costs!

The entire trip went by with no problems. VBP missionary Bill Richburg delivered the bibles to Carla's father's house. We were able to briefly visit our parents while there. My sister surprised us by flying our daughter Christa to GA from Texas. Christa is almost 23 weeks into her pregnancy. We thought we would not get to see her until just before she gives birth in September. Carla screamed and my jaw dropped as Christa stepped out of a closet to surprise us. What a blessing! By the way, they announced in April that our first grandchild will be a boy!

In March we had a group visit from one of our supporting churches in N.C. We had a great time with Bro. Ken, his wife Mary and Bro. Worth as they took part in our ministry for a week. They called me afterwards and said they had arrived home with a burden for our ministry and to see our building completed and in use for God's glory. What great hearts they have for God's work!

In April, I took our national pastor to a leaders' conference in Lima for a time of encouragement and refreshing. I was also asked to speak at the conference on the topic of "A Healthy Church". I encouraged them with the thought that "a healthy church must see Jesus". It was a great conference presented by Missionary Mike Kennedy.

Upon returning, our church hosted a one day leaders' meeting presented by Msnry Shane Rice. I was asked to speak on one of my favorite subjects... soul winning. We plan to have training sessions four times a year to help equip our churches' leaders.

During Easter weekend I preached in a coastal city named Viru and projected three videos in open-air meetings. We saw at least 18 decisions for Christ! Our church has also seen four more saved in the past two months!

We have been praying for some time that God would provide another Peruvian whom I could train and use in our ministry. We believe that God is providing the answer in a young man and his wife from Huaraz, Peru. We visited them and the church he is coming from to know more of his background. While there I was able to try Alpaca steak and a mountain dish I would not recommend called Tocush/Matzamorra de Papa. This is potatoes placed in a sack under a water stream for 30 days to rot before a dessert is made of it. Need I say more? It tasted worse than it sounds.

Please pray with us as we plan the Peru 2011 International Bible Conference, scheduled Aug. 3-7 in our church here in Cajamarca. This is a big undertaking which will take much planning and God's provision.

Building Program Update- The exterior doors, handrails and security bars for windows should be installed this week. We also have a contract for all exterior glass which should be installed this month. We continue with the finishing projects as the Lord provides. Please continue to pray that we will be in the new building soon.

Serving Him for You in Peru,

                                  Don & Carla Rich