September 5, 2009

Two Anniversaries and Many Blessings

Hang on tight! This will be a whirlwind newsletter. So much has happened in the past two months, so much to share and praise the Lord about! We will have to make it two pages just to get it all in.

On July 11, there was a motocross event in our area. We were able to hand out many tracts on Saturday to the attendees and riders. This day was for the 4-10 yr old kids to race. They were amazing to watch on their tiny motorcycles as they kicked up dirt, jumped and flew through the air.

That same evening we had been given permission to show the Jesus video on the Plaza de Armas (city square) in our small town. They let us shut down the street and park in front of the city hall steps! There were between 150-200 people who attended. We passed out church tracts and John/Romans. I presented the Gospel after the movie and we had at least 15 pray to accept Christ as their Savior!

July 15, Carla and I celebrated 6 yrs in Peru! We decided to drive the Mobile Ministry Unit to Lima to update Carla’s carnet (green card) photo, which needed to be done at that time. That way, we could do some ministry while there. It was a last minute decision and Satan tried to stop it but God blessed. As we began the trip, a wheel on the new trailer almost came off because of loose lug nuts placed by the fabricator. I noticed the wheel wobbling as we were climbing one of the first mountains out of the valley where we live.

When we arrived in Lima we found that there was going to be a transportation strike, which in this country means roads blocked with rocks, angry protesters throwing rocks and burning tires in the road, and other fun stuff. This meant we had to stay two extra days but all went well.

While in Lima we had two video showings, one in Pachacutec (a shack village near the ocean) where we had 3 raise their hands for salvation, and one in Cieneguilla where we began our missionary journey 6 yrs ago. We praise the Lord for one saved that night.

As we returned home to Cajamarca I watched in the mirror as the left wheel and part of the axle of our trailer carrying the generator came off. We were in a remote part of the Andes Mountains at over 12000 ft. It started to sleet at that exact moment. We prayed. The sleet stopped. We had to leave the trailer for about half an hour because a road crew was going to blast some rocks nearby. A truck had to stop right behind us for the same reason. Coincidence! It had no cargo! The truck driver agreed to carry the trailer to a location where we could store it for the night. The road crew offered to help us load the heavy trailer into the truck. Our 14 hour trip turned into an interesting total of 23 hours. The trailer and equipment were not damaged and no one was hurt. God took care of it all in the remote mountains of Perú!

July 25, the day after returning from our trip to Lima, we took the youth, ages 13-16, on an outing and out to eat. They all had a great time. We are proud of the youth of our church and how they are growing in the Lord.

We baptized four (2 couples) in the month of August, Mariela & Misael and Pepito & Mariana. We also had a 2 day mini-VBS in August which had good attendance.

On Aug. 14-16 we celebrated our 4th year anniversary of our first work! We had a three day celebration including one night where we presented a video on the Rapture. Saturday night we had a service with 117 attending and Pastor José preached. We had a visiting choir from Iglesia Bautista Ancla, Missionary Shane Rice’s church. Sunday morning was our final service. We were excited to have it in the shell of our new building with 104 in attendance and plenty of room left over! I had the privilege of preaching this service. God blessed the day and we were able to see 7 saved! There were six adults and one young man who gave their heart to the Lord. One of those saved was a Mormon lady and another was one of our neighbors whom we had been inviting for several years. We also had Christian music played on native Peruvian instruments, lunch for everyone, and people were excited as I gave tours of the building.

Just last night, Friday, September 4, I began a men’s Bible study. It is a study created to help build strong marriages. I was thrilled to look around the room and see a former drunk whose life and marriage has been turned around by the Word of God, an individual who in the past has beaten his wife several times, one who flagrantly cheated on his wife but whose marriage was saved after they were both saved and joined our church, a young man planning to be married, and others. Please pray for this seven week class that God would bless each of these families.

Building Program Update – God continues to provide and always in good timing. We received some gifts just in time to purchase the re-bar, nails, and wire for the 2nd floor roof. The prices were going up the next week and it would have cost much more. Others have written and said they are sending gifts for the building fund and people we don’t even know are sending gifts! God is good! We are praying to start the second floor roof within the month, Lord willing.

Please check out the new pictures on our web site of all the happenings here in our ministry.  http://www.rich2peru.com

Serving Him for You in Peru,

                                  Don & Carla Rich