15 Years of Ministry!
15 Years of Ministry!
July 2, 2018
Well, the time has come to say goodbye to friends and family once again. It is something that is repeated many times for missionaries. The process starts many months before we land in the USA for a furlough. We make hundreds (literally) of phone calls and send many emails, set up meetings which take us from one state to many others to visit our supporting churches, mark our calendar, set up someone to watch after our dogs and take care of the house and autos while we are gone, purchase our plane tickets, set up a rental vehicle, pack and weigh our bags, etc, etc. Then, after five (this time) rapidly passing months, we find ourselves trying to pack everything back into four suitcases and two carry-ons for the flight back to Peru. In this short time, we have driven across fifteen states, adding up over 18,000 miles, from northeast Virginia to New Mexico, from Florida to Missouri. We have enjoyed the blessings of being with family and friends. But it all comes to an end as we prepare to return to Peru this Friday, July 6.
On July 15th, Carla and I will be celebrating FIFTEEN YEARS on the mission field! Where did the time go?! We left the US, not knowing the blessings and trials that would be in our future, but God has been faithful through it all and opened many doors for ministry. As we continue, we thank you for standing with us in prayer and support. It can’t be said enough… “It wouldn’t be possible without all of you”.
Looking forward… We will be celebrating the 13th anniversary of our Cajamarca church on August 14. We also have a church group coming in August and an individual visiting us later in the same month. We will be busy making ministry plans for the next year as God opens doors. There is always plenty to do on the mission field.
Carla and I would like to thank those who have been praying for her. Many have asked about her, written, or called, and we know that many others were praying that we didn’t hear from personally. After scheduling and re-sheduling, she was finally able to have the surgical procedure on Friday, June 29. All went well, and she is doing fine. Now we wait on the diagnostic results, which could take a week or so. Your continued prayers are appreciated.
When the family hurts, we all hurt. Manuel, a music teacher and member of our Guadalupe church, has suffered for a while with bad headaches. The doctors recently diagnosed him with a brain tumor. Unfortunately, it was too late to do anything. He quickly got worse. I just received word while typing this that he is now in the presence of the Lord. Please pray for his young wife, Juliana, his family, and our church family during this time. We praise the Lord that we have the promise of seeing this dear brother again one day.
Pastor José of our Cajamarca church recently reported that they saw another soul saved and baptized two. Pastor Juan Carlos of our Guadalupe church also told us of two saved last week during visitation.
Our 2018 Furlough Presentation can now be viewed by clicking on a tab at the top of our website, rich2peru.com. If you were unable to see it while we were in the US, please take a moment and see how God is moving in Peru. There are a couple of updates to the video: We have now completed all ten of the Awajún doctrinal training books and they have been delivered to many pastors in the jungles of Peru. Also, as many of you already know, our pastor, Bro. Snyder Turner retired from the pastorate in April of this year.
Please continue to pray with us that God would send us a like-minded family or couple to work with in Peru. Could it be you?!
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support,
Don & Carla Rich
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