August 23, 2003

“It’s On The Boat!!!”

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,

     Where do we begin?  Oh yes, Praise the Lord, WE’RE HERE!!!  We arrived on schedule on July 15^th.  We praise the Lord for the “buddy passes” to use for our air flight to Peru.  I said WE arrived on schedule.  We are sorry that it has taken so long to get this letter out, but we have JUST received our container with all of our belongings.  We have been living in our house with nothing but the beds we purchased here, one towel and one washcloth each that we brought with us, and our kitchen appliances which we purchased here.  Our pots, pans, extra clothes, tools, etc., etc., etc., were in the container.  The most often heard phrase has been “It’s on the boat”.  Every time we needed something of ours, the reply was “It’s on the boat”.  It has been an adventure.  The reason for the delay is that the container was lost in Panama for several days before it was realized that it had been off-loaded by accident and not put back on the boat.  It had to sit in Panama and wait for another boat headed for Peru.  Get this… the next boat was coming from China! 

     We praise the Lord for the missionaries we are working with, Mike & Chelene Kennedy.  They have been wonderful, taking us where we need to go when we first arrived, helping us learn the culture, interpreting for us, loaning us a pot and a few dishes, etc.  It would have been near impossible without them.  They have also kept us busy, which has kept our minds occupied much of the time instead of sitting and wondering about when our container would get here.  When we arrived, Bro. Mike had two groups totaling about 40 people visiting from the states.  About 2 weeks after they left, another group arrived.  It has been a lot of fun helping with these groups and meeting these individuals who are visiting Peru, many for the first time.  It was my first time in June of 2000 that the Lord used to draw us to Peru as missionaries.  Who knows who may be called out of these groups!

     We have seen many souls saved, passed out many tracts, seen many new sights, and learned a few words of Spanish.  We begin our language training this Monday.   It will be four hours a day, four days a week.  We can’t wait to learn the language so we can reach these people for Christ.  Just being able to order chicken and get the order correct would be nice now (That’s a story in itself. No time to type it here).

     Christa has started school.  It has been a challenge.  Her Spanish class is taught in all Spanish.  The teacher does not speak English.  Her graduating class next July will be a total of three, two guys and Christa.  Please pray for her in her new surroundings.

     Now the task begins to find a vehicle.  They are more expensive than we had thought, even for a decent used vehicle.  Please pray that we will find one soon at an affordable price.  Taxis can get expensive and many are not safe.

     There is just too much to write about in one letter.  I will try to go into more detail next month, including information on the children’s home that is under construction as we speak and two souls saved that were visiting in our house.  God is blessing!  Thank you for your prayers and support.  May God bless you.

Your missionaries to Peru,

                                                                                           Don Rich & family