Conferences, Souls, Baptisms, and the Search is Over
November 1, 2024
Time is flying! It is a joy to once again to share what God is doing in Peru. Carla and I believe you will see that we have been very busy.
In the first week of September, our newest work, Iglesia Bautista Ancla (Anchor Baptist), celebrated its 1st Anniversary! We had a special speaker and dinner on the grounds as we enjoyed some great fellowship around the Word of God. Since our last letter, there have been six souls saved in that work!
In mid-September we hosted a five-day International Bible Conference with seven countries represented: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, USA, Mexico, Chile, and Bolivia. There were around 40 pastors and missionaries in attendance. It was also the 20-year celebration of the Reina Valera Gómez Bible revision that we use and distribute in our ministry. God truly blessed the meetings with great teaching each morning and preaching in the evenings. We made a total of 15 trips to the airport to pick up and drop off those who arrived by airline, and we had others who came by bus. Two attendees missed their flight from Lima but were able to lead a soul to the Lord while waiting for their next flight. Three souls accepted Christ during the conference, including one while playing soccer during a break. A moto-taxi driver received Christ as his Savior after transporting some of our guests. And two more souls were saved as two of our guests visited a local village. A total of seven souls were saved as a result of the conference! God is at work. I’d like to also write that we are so proud of our church here who came together and helped this large undertaking run seamlessly. The setup, decorations, food prep, cooking and cleaning were all accomplished by Carla, our church members, and two of our guests (Kathy & Christina) who worked tirelessly to make this conference a success.
In a past prayer letter, I shared that I preached at a memorial service for one of our members. While there I was able to answer several questions for his grandson about salvation. The young man lives 14 hours away and I hadn’t heard from him since that service. Update: After three months I received a text from him stating that he had accepted Christ as his Savior!
In October we had a group from Harvest International Missions (H.I.M.) visit us for two weeks. Director Steve Harper brought his wife and two ladies from Panama and Venezuela. The first week, the ladies did a three-day children’s teachers training conference. The second weekend they did a one-day multi-church ladies meeting. During their stay we were also busy with other ministry activities. Bro. Steve preached a good message one Sunday with me translating.
We are getting good use of our baptistry. In the past two months we have baptized four more and we should be baptizing again soon. God is certainly moving in the hearts of souls.
ASSISTANT PASTOR SEARCH: After both of our candidates came and preached and answered questions, we took a few weeks to pray about each of them. I answered questions and listened intently to the opinions of our church members to see how the Lord was leading. Then, on Oct. 6th the church voted to call Fredy Nuñez as the assistant pastor. I called him and his wife Merry that afternoon. They were pleased to hear the news. We are now in the process of helping them plan their move from Arequipa, in southern Peru, to Cajamarca. Lord willing, they will be moving here the first week of January. Your prayers are appreciated during this transition.
BIBLE SHIPMENT UPDATE: We were hoping to have received a container of Bibles by this time. We were told that the order for the paper was misplaced and had to be re-submitted. This pushed the schedule back. We know that this was no surprise to our omniscient God. It will arrive in His timing. We are now expecting the container to be shipped in mid-December. We hope to have it here in January.
While the missions group was with us, we took a trip back into the mountains to visit a small village where I visited a few years ago and won some souls to Christ. I spoke with the school directors and discussed the possibility of delivering Christmas gifts to the school kids (300+/-) and presenting a program to teach about Christ this year. They were excited to hear that we would be willing to come. You, our supporters have been so generous in the past years’ Christmas programs. If you would like to help with the program this year, please send the support to our support agency, Central Missionary Clearinghouse.
* Please take a look at several NEW PHOTO ALBUMS on our WEBSITE, www.rich2peru.com.
Thank you for your prayers and support,
Don & Carla Rich
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