Celebrating our 18th Year!
Celebrating our 18th Year!
July 1, 2021
It is hard to believe that as of the 15th of this month Carla and I will be celebrating 18 years on the mission field! Time seems to go so quickly (kinda like my hair). We began our deputation in 2001 and just 21 months later God had us on the field. We have seen several missionaries come and go and have made some lifelong friends along the way. We have seen God bless our ministry over and over in ways we would have never imagined. We are looking forward to seeing how God will continue to work in the strange times that we are living in.
As I write this, we are about two-thirds of the way through our short furlough. We have been in 18 churches so far. We have a full calendar with 10 more meetings scheduled. Our plan is to be back in Peru on August 5. We have been enjoying seeing our friends in our supporting churches, visiting with friends and family, spoiling the grand kids, and getting in some fishing time. Carla’s birthday is on the 4th of July, so we will be enjoying family time as we celebrate her “nunya” birthday (nunya business how old she is ?).
There was not enough space in the May prayer letter so let me say here… PTL and thank you for the prayers. We were able to begin shipping the Romans booklets once again at the end of March. We still had many cases left when we came in on our furlough and look forward to getting those sent out upon our return.
We are also looking forward to receiving more Bibles and materials when we return from our furlough. After a few setbacks Victory Baptist Press is in the process of completing Spanish Bibles and John/Romans booklets that will be shipped to us in the coming months. I continue to receive requests for Bibles and materials weekly.
UPDATES: Your prayers for Peru are welcomed and appreciated.
* The third wave of Covid has begun in Peru. The India strain has entered and has shut down the 2nd largest city in the country. Restrictions are still in place for the entire country with masks still being mandatory along with other strict measures. At least most are able to get back to work for the time being.
* The presidential election continues to be in limbo with a difference of only one quarter of one percent difference between the two. There are many claims of fraud which are being investigated. No one is sure when the outcome will be announced or how the country will respond. At least 75% of the country do not believe the election was clean and a lot of people are upset. One candidate has requested international intervention. Two of the members of the organization that handles the elections have resigned because they said they didn’t want to be a part of the corruption. We’ve heard rumors that some of the remnants of the Shining Path terrorist group have been stealing dynamite from the gold mines. This has happened before, and it is unsure if it is has to do with the election results.
But there is good news! Praise the Lord, we have had at least three more saved in our churches! God continues to work even though church attendance is down, as we have seen in many churches also here in the states.
Let us close by saying that we are still praying for God to send a couple or family to work with us. We do have one intern who is now on deputation to come to Peru. We are praying for the Lord to quickly provide his support and also a wife to work alongside of him. But there is still room for more workers. Could God be calling you?
May God continue to bless each of you who faithfully pray for and support the ministry that God has called us to.
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.