Believe It or Not!
Believe It or Not! Peruvian Elections and more!
November 1, 2022
I apologize in advance for starting our letter with politics, but with all that is going on in the US politically I thought you might enjoy a laugh while reading about how it is elsewhere.
Regional and local elections in Peru took place on October 2. In one city a 20-year-old was elected mayor. In the US he wouldn’t be old enough to do many things but here he is old enough to run a city. Then there is the man who lost the mayoral election in his town, and he was the only one on the ballot! All Peruvians must vote or pay a fine. There were so many who voted blank ballots that there were more of them than the candidate received. In still another election, two men received the same number of votes. They will now gather the national election authorities and toss a coin to see who becomes mayor. You can’t make this stuff up! Speaking of politics, our Peruvian President Pedro Castillo is being accused of running a corruption ring and paying for votes. This is the third attempt in sixteen months that they have tried to impeach him. If you will remember I wrote in 2020 that Peru had three presidents in five days! The excitement never ends! Welcome to Peru!
Covid restrictions are lessening finally. The government recently announced that masks are only required in public buses and in medical facilities. It is great to see people’s faces again. There is still a three-vaccination mandate for living in the country.
Please be in prayer as Carla and I have applied for “permanent resident/migrant” status. It is a process that takes a couple of months to complete, and we’ve heard it is hard to get approved. We only know of one missionary who has received it. If approved, it would be a blessing both financially and timewise. We have always had to renew our residency every year, paying fees, filing papers, etc. The new status would allow us to just get a new ID card every four years. It would also be less restrictive, allowing more time while on furloughs and for out-of-country trips for distributing Bibles, etc.
Back in September we had a visit from missionary Darren Townsend, his girlfriend Rachel, and her parents Van and April Coker. While here Darren proposed to Rachel! They are now engaged with a wedding date set for mid-January. What this means for us is that help is on the way! Darren and Rachel are praying to finish deputation so they can arrive in Peru next Spring. They will be working with us while they pray as to where God would have them work permanently. Our prayer is that they will be staying in our area. Would your church like to support a new missionary? Please consider this great couple who love the Lord and would be a great asset here in Peru!
On October 16th we celebrated the 6th Anniversary of our Guadalupe church with an attendance of around 20. It was also the last service in the church building as we enter a period of transition. As we mentioned before, this work has suffered in the past couple of years with an average attendance of about six to eight. After much prayer we have moved to “house-church” services. We are praying that this will promote more involvement of the members and allow for more growth.
Printing of the next shipment of Bibles from Victory Baptist Press has been delayed because of difficulty in getting employees in the print shop. They now hope to begin printing sometime this week. Please be in prayer for them as they continue to provide the Word of God for many all over the world, including us in S. America.
Ministry opportunity – We plan to distribute Christmas gifts to poor neighborhoods again this year. If you would like to help with this, please send the support to Central Missionary Clearinghouse with a note that it is for “Kids’ Gifts”.
Carla and I want to praise the Lord for six more souls saved in our ministry since our last letter! Six more who won’t have to face God’s wrath but will live in his love for eternity.
There are three more photo albums on our website, www.richperu.com. Take a look!
May God richly bless you all as we head into the holiday season, celebrating our great God and his blessings.
Don & Carla Rich
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