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July 5, 2008
Home Again!
Dear Pastors, Praying Friends, and Family,
The past ten and a half months have come and gone and so has our first furlough. If my calculations are correct, during this time we traveled over 31,000 miles on the ground, around 10,000 miles by plane and paid almost $5700 for gas and oil. We were privileged to be in 115 meetings across 10 states and the country of Mexico. We were blessed to see at least nine saved through our furlough ministry, visit several new churches, and meet many old and new friends.
The time came and it was sad to say goodbye to family and friends. Our flight to Lima on Tuesday night (June 24) was calm and uneventful with no problems with customs, etc. When we arrived, we found that the airline that we would normally fly to our home city had gone out of business. This backed up the flights and caused us to have to stay in Lima for two extra days. We were finally able to leave Lima on Saturday morning.
When we arrived at the airport in Cajamarca we were met by around 30 members of our church and our missionary friends, the Rice family. All were carrying balloons imprinted with our names and a welcome message. They had flowers for Carla and hugs and cheek kisses (Peruvian greeting) for us both. It was a very touching time. That night they had planned a special dinner for us at a restaurant run by one of our members’ mother. It was good to see all of them again. We were home!
The next day was Sunday and what a day it was! In the AM services there were 78 attending and we had one saved! There were 47 in the evening service. It couldn’t have been a better day. God is so good!
The next week was spent unpacking, ironing, visiting and getting settled back into our home. It has been said that “home is where the heart is”. Although our love for family and our home church has never dwindled, our heart is in Peru.
Yesterday, on the 4th of July, we celebrated Carla’s ??th birthday. We grilled out with the Rice family whose five kids have adopted us as their “Aunt Carla” and “Uncle Don”. We enjoyed our fellowship with them and praise the Lord for the help they provided in keeping an eye on our work while we were in the states.
We are now in the process of planning our 3rd church anniversary. We are thrilled to know that our pastor, Rev. Snyder Turner and his wife Marsha will be here with us for this event. We can’t wait to share our ministry with them and let them see first-hand what God is doing.
We are also setting things in motion to start up the building program. We were so blessed by some wonderful churches and our own Sunday School class. Through them, God has provided us with a good amount to start construction. There is much more to go but we know that God is able and it is His vision that was placed in our hearts.
We will be keeping you updated as we get busy once again reaching lost souls and training new Christians to serve our Savior. May God bless each one of you and your heart for missions.
As anyone who has ever traveled will tell you, “it is so good to be back home!”
Serving Him for You in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
Archived newsletters:
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Sending Church
Calvary Baptist Church 3988 Powder Springs Rd Powder Springs, GA 30127 Website |
Support Address
Central Missionary Clearinghouse P.O. Box 219228 Houston, Texas 77218 Website |
Field Address
Casilla Postal #90 Cajamarca Peru South America (Address mail to DONALD RICH, instead of DON) |
Stateside Address 3625 Lindley Cir. Powder Springs, GA 30127-2703 |
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