100,000 !!!
November 1, 2019
This letter finds Carla and I stateside for a couple of months. Back in 1987, while working as a deputy sheriff in Georgia, my knee was shattered while apprehending an armed robbery suspect. It was repaired with screws and bone grafts, but I was told that I would eventually need a replacement knee. It appears that time has come and since it was covered under workers’ comp it will have to be done in the US. We are enjoying family, getting a little hunting in, taking care of dental and doctor appointments and preparing for the surgery which is scheduled for Dec. 2 in Atlanta. We would appreciate all of your prayers that all goes well. Our plans are to be back in Peru by February after completing physical therapy. We have a busy year coming up in our ministry.
Our church plant in Guadalupe recently celebrated its third anniversary. We had an overflow crowd of over 90 in that small space. We were privileged to baptize two during the celebration. National Pastor Juan Carlos and his wife are doing a great job in this church. Immediately after the service, Carla and I traveled another two hours to our friends’ church in Trujillo where I performed the baby dedication service for their son who also turned one on that day.
Just before our trip to the US, the ladies in our Cajamarca church had a ladies’ meeting and special dinner. They all love Carla’s cooking (who doesn’t?). Since she enjoys cooking and hosting, she prepared ribs, sweet potato soufflé, and salad for the group. Needless to say, there was none left.
As we mentioned in our last letter, in the first part of September I traveled with two friends of our ministry, Ken and Worth, who have helped raise quite a bit of funds for the Bible ministry. We drove to the river port city of Yurimaguas and dropped off 151 cases containing 2114 Bibles. From the port, they were shipped up-river to Iquitos, the jungle capital of Peru. From there, these Bibles will be dispersed to many works back in the deep jungle where many have never had a Bible. After placing them on a barge, we flew to Iquitos where we were able to meet with several pastors who were very glad to meet those who were providing the Bibles for their ministries. We were careful that God received the praise. We are just His footmen.
While we were walking in town next to the Amazon River, a young man approached me and said “Hola pastor” (hello pastor). He told me how as a street kid he remembered me stopping to talk with him and some other kids about Jesus. That was 15 years ago! He is now married with children of his own and they love the Lord! Only God! It seems that some doors may be opening in that part of Peru to return and teach some of the pastors. We will be looking into that when we return next year.
On the drive back to Cajamarca, I had received an invitation to teach a group of 25 pastors who gathered to meet us in the coastal city of Sullana. I spoke to them for about two and a half hours on the purity of God’s Word. Many of them have received Bibles from our ministry. I have since been able to teach the same class to six other pastors in our home. It is great to see them open to the truth about the different Bible versions, where they come from, and how to choose the purest Bible available for their ministries.
Once we arrived back in Cajamarca, we were very busy filling many requests for Bibles. On October 19th we completed the distribution of this shipment of 25,000 Bibles. Not only did we get them all distributed in just two and a half months, but this also marked a milestone in the Bible ministry. As of now God has blessed us to be able to distribute 100,000 Bibles throughout all nine Spanish speaking countries in South America! And the requests continue to come in! God gets the glory!
And that’s not all! Since our last letter, we have seen at least 8 more souls saved in our churches! Ain’t God good?!
* We have placed seven new photo albums on our website (rich2peru.com). Take a look and enjoy God’s handiwork!
Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us,
Don & Carla Rich
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