Newsletters
Enlarging the Coast!
Enlarging the Coast!
Another couple of busy months have passed with no signs of slowing down. We are glad to be able to share with you how God is moving here in Peru.
In March, we had a men’s dinner in our home to encourage the men of our church. We had a great group of nineteen come to hear the Word preached and share a meal. Carla’s spaghetti and garlic bread were a big hit. They ate it up and all of them wanted more bread. It is still talked about two months later! What can I say? I married a great cook!
We have now visited at least five cities or areas as we are praying for God’s direction to start our next church. Each area has different needs. Please pray that God will lead us to His perfect will as we continue to pray and search.
Our bus route into a small pueblo near us called Puylucana has been very productive. We normally pick up around twelve to twenty youth and kids whom climb aboard to come to our church each Sunday morning. We also have a kids’ club in that pueblo each Saturday morning.
We recently had the privilege of delivering a van load of items to a small mountain city named Chugur. A Peruvian who served God as a pastor in the US for many years, gave us funds to help out the city. He was born and grew as a child there and has always had a love for his home town. We were able to purchase everything from wheel barrows and work clothes for city workers, a stove and office supplies and chairs for the police department, a computer and printer for the local school, many medical supplies for their local clinic, and other items too numerous to list here. We also placed a Bible in each governmental department office. While there, we had the opportunity to share the Gospel with a group of city workers, including the mayor. They all stated they had made decisions for Christ in this meeting! Only God knows the impact that was made because of someone’s love for their homeland.
Last Sunday, we had another baptism, baptizing a teen girl in our church whose family joined a few months ago. We praise the Lord that we continue to see souls saved and watch them be obedient to Christ’s command!
When we arrived back in Peru in January, after our short furlough, I notified many pastors and missionaries that there were still some cases of tracts available. The orders came in quickly. On March 24, we shipped out the last few cases of the 9 million 250 thousand gospel tracts that were sent to us by Fellowship Tract League! These last boxes went to the coast and into the jungle of Peru. What a blessing it has been to be a part of getting these Gospel tracts into the hands of pastors and missionaries in three countries. We are praying for a great soul harvest from this work.
Once again, God is enlarging our coast. As you know, our ministry has already received and distributed around fifty thousand Bibles to pastors and missionaries in seven countries. Victory Baptist Press (VBP) is still in a campaign to raise funds to send us a third container. We will use these to get Bibles into all nine Spanish-speaking countries in South America and we would appreciate your support as they work toward that goal. The Lord has now led VBP to start a new arm of their ministry, called “Bibles For South America”. Instead of having future campaigns, they are raising “monthly” support for this ministry. This will allow them to send us Bibles each year, as the funds are available. If you’d like to be a monthly partner, please send your support to Bibles For South America, or just BFSA and mail to PO Box 766, Milton, FL 32572. If you’d like to know more, visit their website at victorybaptistpress.com/bfsaletter/.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support to the ministry that God has entrusted us with.
* Don’t forget to take a look at the photos on our website! www.rich2peru.com
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
Back Home in Peru!
March 5, 2016
It’s hard to believe that we have been back from our short furlough for almost two months. We returned to find the church doing well. On the Wednesday after our arrival, a large group in the church took us out for “pollo a la brasa” (Peruvian style rotisserie chicken) after the service. On our first Sunday back, a 25-year-old man received Christ in the morning service! We have seen several more saved and two more families have joined our church recently!
We have been very busy since returning. The last weekend in January we enjoyed a Men’s Bible Study Breakfast in our national pastor’s home. We also had a women’s’ meeting and a youth group gathering where Carla and I cooked and served burgers to a hungry group. We had a church picnic with volleyball, tug of war, and relay games on the Monday of Carnival (Mardi Gras), when all power is shut off in the valley for the annual parade. I (Don) spoke at a couple’s banquet at our church on Valentine’s Day. As I write this letter, we are enjoying a visit from a dear friend, Bro. Ken Benge from N. Carolina.
Two weeks ago, the national jungle pastor with whom I am working to translate some doctrinal books from Spanish to the Awajun dialect, came to visit for a week. I invited him down to go over the translated material that we have so far. While here, the pastor told me that his “typewriter” is not working well anymore. The ribbon is out of ink and he can’t find any. Also, some of the keys are rusting because of the jungle humidity. He had told me before that he had what he needed to do the translation. I never knew he was talking about a typewriter! Through a gift from my son-in-law Stephen, we were able to provide him with a computer for use in the translation. I had our youth pastor teach him the basics (he knew how to email). He is now working on two of the files so that we can get them to the printer soon.
While in the US, a dear supporting pastor heard how we had helped a few jungle churches replace their thatch roofs with tin. He told me that his church wanted to help one of the jungle churches also. I contacted a Peruvian missionary that I know and found that a jungle church was recently demolished by wind. They will rebuild the wood structure but can’t afford the tin roof. We were able to match them up with the US pastor to get the roof for them. God is always on time and in the right place.
We were amazed this year as we started our VBS. The very first day, we had 211 kids, 55 adults, and 19 teachers! By Friday, we had 322 kids! Two hundred and forty-two of them received school notebooks for being there at least 4 of the 5 days. There were around 450 total in attendance on Friday. We had a bus route which had to run 3 trips each way by Thursday. I have been informed that there were around 100 decisions made, including several adults. When so many adults came and stuck around, we started a pastor’s class for them.
I was contacted by a Peruvian missionary I know in the jungle asking about the price of a wheel chair for a young lady whose legs and spine didn’t develop correctly. I spoke with a lady in our church who is the mother of a child with Spina bifida. I asked about purchasing her daughter’s old chair. She gladly donated it. It is great to see God meet needs through our church members.
The Lord has laid it on our hearts to start a new church. We are now visiting several locations to find God’s will for the new church plant. Please be in prayer as we pray for wisdom and move forward in this decision.
For those supporting churches and individuals that we did not have time to visit on our short furlough, we have placed our presentation update video on our website… www.rich2peru.com. Under the “Intro” tab, click “Presentation Video”. You may have to wait a minute for the video to load. We hope you will enjoy seeing what God is doing here in Peru.
We have so much more to share but so little space to write. It will have to wait until the next letter. God bless.
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
We’re Next!!!
WE’RE NEXT!!!
January 5, 2016
We are sending this letter with mixed emotions as we prepare to return to Peru on January 15, less than two weeks away. We have enjoyed our short furlough, giving updates to many of our supporting churches, spending time with family and dear friends, sharing the holidays with those we love, and I even got in some hunting with my brother, son, and buddy. I have had the privilege to preach in over forty churches while in the states. We have seen many at the altars making decisions for change in their spiritual lives and at least one who gave his life to Christ.
Until we leave, we will be busy filling suitcases, returning our rental van, preaching at a couple more churches, and trying to spend as much time with family and friends as we can. We would ask for your prayers as we return with a busy schedule in this new year.
On our next furlough, we will be contacting those supporting churches whom we did not have time to visit on this furlough. We would have loved to have visited all of you but, with the restrictions we now have in Peru, we have to split up our furloughs into shorter periods. Thank you for your understanding.
As we have shared with many of you as we visited churches and also posted in our last prayer letter, God has blessed us once again to help get the Word of God into thousands of hands and hearts in South America. We are so excited to know that we will be receiving ANOTHER 25,000 whole Bibles to our ministry in Peru!!!
And now we have another WOW to share with you!… Isn’t it great to be next in line? The only thing better is to be FIRST in line! Victory Baptist Press has been working on raising the funds for a container of Bibles to go to Puerto Rico and Mexico. This campaign had to be completed before they could start on ours. They recently contacted me to inform us that they have all the funds for that project. WE’RE NEXT!… And YOU can have a part in it! I truly believe that we are living in the “last days” and that God is spreading His Word through campaigns like this one. I have a long list of pastors and missionaries who continue to ask when we will have more Bibles for their ministries.
If you, your SS class, or church would like to help us in getting the Word out, please send all Bible printing support to:
Victory Baptist Press
P.O. Box 766
Milton, FL 32572
PLEASE make sure that all support for this project is sent with a NOTE that it is for BIBLES FOR PERU. Their website is victorybaptistpress.com. Giving can be done online there also.
Our national pastor in Peru contacted me recently to share that there were 3 more baptized on the Sunday before Christmas, and another person came forward asking to be baptized soon! They also sent us pictures of their special services for Christmas. Looks like they are doing a great job in our absence, which is a missionary’s dream! PTL!
Our next prayer letter will be from Peru. Stay tuned to hear more of how God is working in our area! Until then, may God bless each of you. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry.
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
God’s Blessings and GREAT NEWS!
God’s Blessings and GREAT NEWS!
November 1, 2015
Our God is good and never ceases to amaze us with His blessings, provision, and protection. We have now been in the US for two months, almost half way into our short furlough. We are staying very busy and enjoying visiting the best churches in the world, those who have partnered with us in reaching South America for Christ and His glory.
We are in contact with our national pastor, youth pastor, and others in our church in Peru. The church continues to grow while we are away. They have seen at least two more saved and have baptized five. They also have held a youth banquet and other activities at the church with good attendance.
We have been advised that the country of Peru is expecting rougher weather than usual in the next few months because of the “El Niño” affect. Our rainy season starts soon and all school children have been instructed they will be going to classes six days a week. This is so that they can finish early before the heavy rains arrive. Please keep Peru in your prayers during the coming months.
You may have noticed the new updated letterhead that we are using this time. Recently, we were told about a printing ministry that works with missionaries in designing, printing, and mailing out their prayer letters. We contacted them and were amazed to find out just how much money we could save by using their services. They are able to mail with bulk rates so it is very economical. This will be such a blessing to our ministry as we strive to be the best stewards possible of what God provides. Please let us know if you encounter any problems in receiving our mailed prayer letter with this new system. Also, remember that you can receive it by email if you would like. Just let us know and we will make the change. Our email is don@rich2peru.com.
Now for the BIG NEWS!!! Carla and I were recently in Florida for the Victory Baptist Press workers’ banquet. I was honored to speak to this great group of volunteers and staff. During the meeting, Bro. Jim Fellure, General Director of the printing ministry, announced that they are starting a campaign to raise the funds to send ANOTHER 25,000 whole Bibles to our ministry in Peru!!!
As you know, over the past couple of years, we have distributed around 48,000 Bibles to seven different countries in South America. God is not done yet! I continue to receive emails asking for Bibles for ministries in need all over the continent. Carla and I want to thank everyone again who has helped make this possible in the past and pray that you and many more would once again join us in “getting the Word out” in S. America.
Our Savior did not sit down until His job was done. We can’t sit down now when there is so much more to do! If you will help with this project, please send all Bible printing support to:
Victory Baptist Press
P.O. Box 766
Milton, FL 32572
PLEASE make sure that all support for this project is sent with a NOTE that it is for BIBLES FOR PERU. Their website is victorybaptistpress.com. Giving can be done online there also. The last campaign only took ten months to raise the funds needed. Let’s see how quickly God will work to do it again!
As we come into the holiday season, Carla and I would like to give thanks for each of you who stand behind us in prayer and financial support. May God richly bless you, your families, and your ministries as you continue to work until He comes. We pray that you all have a great Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
CELEBRATE!
Sept 1, 2015
As we send out this letter, we are heading to the US for a 4 ½ month furlough. Our calendar is full and we are looking forward to family time and reporting to many of our supporting churches. As we wrote before, because of the new Peruvian laws passed in the last couple of years, we can no longer come in for a furlough long enough to see all of our supporting churches at one time. Those that we can’t see this time, we will contact first on our next short furlough.
On July 15, Carla and I celebrated being on the field here in Peru for 12 years! We never would have imagined what God had in store for us when we began this journey. There have been so many blessings that have out-weighed any trials that we have faced. We have seen many souls saved and lives changed because of Christ’s love. We have been a part of getting the Word of God out to many countries in South America, helping national pastors and missionaries fulfill the Great Commission in their ministries. We are now involved in training national pastors in the jungles of Peru, many who have little or no training in God’s Word. The great part is that we know that God is not finished yet! There is so much more to do before He comes and we need help doing it. Could God be calling you?
On August 14-16, our church celebrated its TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY! We had a great time with over 160 in the services. We had two pastors visiting from Bolivia and a pastor from Lima, Peru was our main guest speaker. I (Don) also preached. Two souls were saved at the invitation on Sunday! Other decisions were also made during the course of the weekend. We also baptized one new sister-in-Christ after our Sunday morning services.
Praise the Lord, we have seen at least TEN more saved recently! God continues to add to His church! It has been great to see the growth in our church just in the past year. It is also great to know that the majority of the families whom we won to the Lord and with whom we started our church ten years ago are still faithful. God has truly blessed our ministry in ways we never thought possible.
The two pastors who came to our anniversary services from Bolivia traveled for 5 days in buses to visit and pick up over 400 Bibles and 50,000 tracts to take back to their country. They are in need of many more and are praying for God’s provision.
Speaking of the Bible and Tract Ministry – All of the Bibles have been completely distributed in just 4 ½ months! A very small portion of the over nine million tracts remain and will all be gone soon as we continue to receive requests from pastors and missionaries. We have received many emails from pastors, telling us of those who have been saved after receiving tracts. Others tell us of how the people love their new Bibles. The pastors are so thankful for the gift of the Word provided for the people of their churches.
I was recently asked to provide Bibles for a Day of Thanks in the capital city of Lima. Around two hundred Bibles were distributed to the country’s political leaders, including the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala.
In addition to being delivered to churches in seven countries in S. America, the Bibles have also been used in home Bible studies, taken into drug and alcohol rehab facilities, prisons, and Christian schools.
We are praying that the container where the Bibles were once housed will not remain empty for long. We continue to receive requests for the Bibles because of the great need for God’s printed Word. There is even a possibility of a Bolivian distribution point in the future. I will share more about that as it develops.
Carla and I would like to say a special thanks to all of you who have helped us in our ministry. Our church would not be celebrating ten years without the prayers and support that you have provided. You are all a blessing and encouragement to us as missionaries.
* Don’t forget to take a look at the new photos on our website!
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
His Word is Going Out!
His Word is Going Out!
July 6, 2015
Is it really time to send out another prayer letter? Wow, time is cruising by! In just nine more days, Carla and I will celebrate being on the field here in Peru for twelve years! Then, in August, our church will celebrate its tenth anniversary! God has been more than good to us and continues to bless. We want to share some of those recent blessings and happenings in our ministry in these next few paragraphs.
In May, Carla did a great job organizing a women’s conference. It was a lot of work, but there was a great attendance and all of the ladies went away blessed and encouraged.
In June, we were able to have another men’s Bible study breakfast in our home. It is great to have this time when the busy men of our church can meet together for fellowship and the Word of God.
Since our last letter, Carla and I have made another trip back into the jungle. We were told the roads were great now to reach an area where we’ve never been able to drive before because of ruts, deep mud holes, washed out dirt roads, etc. Well, they were partially correct. They have improved the roads greatly. But, as you can tell from our website photos, it was a good thing we had the four-wheel drive for this trip. We were able to drive until the road ended at the Marañon River. Along the way, we distributed over 2500 Bibles and over 20,000 tracts to jungle pastors and missionaries. These will reach deep into the jungle where many have never had a whole Bible, including pastors. At the farthest point on our trip to the deep jungle, we ran into a young man (Juan Carlos) whom I led to the Lord and baptized when he was twelve years old and living in our area. He is now twenty-two years old and is in the Peruvian military, serving on the Peru-Ecuador border. What a small world! While on this trip, we were treated to fresh coconut milk and a delicious salad made of a palm type plant. There is always something interesting to try. Carla was so pleased that we weren’t offered “suri”, the large grub worm. At one place, I was served venison! What a blessing to meet these humble people who are so appreciative of the opportunity to have their own copy of the Word of God!
One day in June, we shipped 169 cases of Bibles and tracts by bus to many locations in Peru. That was the most we had ever shipped in one week. But, that record was broken the very next week when we sent out another 238 cases (almost 3000 Bibles and 25,000 tracts) in one day! We have very few cases of Bibles left and less than one-third of the tracts left to distribute. We will be surprised if all of the Bibles are not gone by the time we come in for our furlough in September. Of the over seventeen hundred cases that we received, only around three hundred remain, with orders coming in weekly. Please pray for a new opportunity. We are working out the details to get Bibles into Bolivia to pastors who are asking for them.
Praise the Lord, we have seen at least one more saved recently and baptized four, including one young man who says he wants to be a preacher when he grows up! We’ve also seen several new visitors in our services.
Our furlough calendar is now full, except for one Sunday morning. We would like to thank those pastors who called or returned our phone calls and asked for meetings. We will try to reach our other supporters on our next short furlough in a couple of years. We appreciate you all so much for standing with us as your missionaries in Peru.
Carla and I will be busy the next couple of weeks preparing for the celebration of our church’s tenth anniversary and for our upcoming furlough trip. We are looking forward to both but there is much work ahead. Please pray for us during this busy time.
* Don’t forget to take a look at the photos on our website! www.rich2peru.com
Thanks for your faithful prayers and support,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
Mudslides, Spiders, Snakes, Bats, Iguanas… Ministry?
Mudslides, Spiders, Snakes, Bats, Iguanas… Ministry?
May 12, 2015
What does all this have to do with ministry? I’m glad you asked! Keep reading to find out! Before we get to that though, let us share some milder happenings on the mission field.
I am so blessed to have my wife Carla working alongside of me. She stays busy teaching English classes, Children’s church, cooking classes, helps direct the women’s ministries in our church, and now is planning a Women’s Conference for the end of this month. Please pray that this will be a great success in ministering to the ladies.
Recently, I was surprised when we were contacted by fellow missionary Stacy Dassow, who has successfully started a Christian school in Lima. God placed it on his heart to come and help us look into the pre-requisites of starting the school that we have been praying about. He, along with his school director, spent the week with us talking to private schools in our area and visiting government offices. We found that there are several hurdles that must be faced before we can start the school. Please pray for wisdom in this process as we seek God’s will in this endeavor.
Bible and Tract Ministry – We continue to send out many boxes weekly of both tracts and Bibles. In a short time, we have shipped or personally delivered 4,830,000 tracts (over half) and over 6500 Bibles. Through saving for several years and some special gifts, we were able to purchase a 4-wheel drive truck for our ministry. This allows us to get to those more remote areas in the jungle and mountains around us. It has also been a great blessing for hauling the Bibles and tracts for delivery. We have received many emails of thanks from pastors and missionaries all over South America, explaining how this valuable material is helping them reach and train more souls for Christ.
I hear from many pastors through the Bible ministry. My heart breaks each time to hear of the many souls who have never had their own Bible to study. There are churches whose members only have a New Testament, if anything at all. For this reason, so much false doctrine enters in. It is like a darkness of necessity for the lack of the Word of God. But, my heart shouts to think that we are now a part of the solution, providing the light that is available through God’s Word to many whom before, could only trust in what someone was telling them.
I have just returned from two trips. The first trip was up the coast of Peru and into the country of Ecuador. Worth Johnson, a brother from a supporting church came from the US to travel with me. He and I delivered Bibles and tracts to at least four ministries in Peru and six others in Ecuador. A week after returning from this trip, Carla and I headed to the jungle. We placed around 1000 Bibles and 130,000 tracts on a barge to be taken up river to the jungle capital of Iquitos. Rodrigo, the barge captain is a former alcoholic who loves sharing his testimony of how God saved him in the 90’s. He took great care of the Bibles, placing them in one of the sleeper cabins on the barge to keep any moisture from reaching them. On the way back from this trip, we met with three national pastors in the jungle to discuss training for many untrained or poorly trained pastors.
This trip was not without its challenges. There were mud slides in the mountains that caused us to be delayed more than one full day, while at least one lane of the road was cleared, allowing traffic to pass. We saw parts of the road that had collapsed, leaving only a large hole where the road used to exist. We encountered goats, donkeys, an iguana, a snake (now deceased), and a tarantula, among other animals crossing the mountain road. The road was sometimes covered with clouds, making it hard to see more than a few yards ahead. While visiting with the three jungle pastors, we entered one room where at least eight bats were flying all around us as we visited. Life is anything but boring on the mission field! (see our website for pics… www.rich2peru.com)
Praise the Lord, we have seen at least five more saved recently! A baptism is planned for next Sunday.
We want to remind you of our next Furlough, beginning this September. Most of our meeting dates are now filled with very few openings left. If you would like to have us come by while we are in, please contact us by email (don@rich2peru.com) or call us at 678-921-5116.
Thanks for your faithful prayers and support,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!!
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!!
March 6, 2015
As this year is already nearing the end of its first quarter, what a blessing it is to make some great announcements and share good news!
First, Carla and I are excited to announce that we are now grandparents to our third grandchild. Our daughter Christa gave birth to our first granddaughter, Wyndee Kate Sapp on Feb. 4th. We were able to be there for the birth and spend a few days with family. We also were privileged to be a part of our son-in-law Stephen’s ordination into the Gospel ministry. It was a short but sweet time with those we love.
As I type this letter, we have just completed unloading the container of Bibles that were sent to us by Victory Baptist Press. What a blessing to see them arrive here in Cajamarca! I also had the opportunity to witness to the truck driver and his crew! Thanks again to all of you who had a part in getting them printed and delivered for distribution in South America. Your generous hearts have not gone unnoticed. Now the work begins on our end. We are already planning trips to personally deliver quite a few and have many requests that we will be delivering by buses and other means. The container originally started with 25,000 Bibles. We were blessed to be able to have some sent on ahead to Mexico and Columbia to help ministries in those countries. That left us with 23,660 Bibles to distribute from our ministry here. I believe that we will be busy for a while.
We also would like to announce our next Furlough. The laws have changed in Peru so that we can’t be out of the country for more than 180 days in any 12 month period. For that reason, we have had to modify our furlough method. We will now be returning for short furloughs approximately every 2 ½ years. Our first such furlough will start this September. Meeting dates will be available from Sunday, Sept 13 thru Sunday, Jan 10, 2016. We will be calling each of our supporting pastors. If you would like to have us come by while we are in, please contact us by email (don@rich2peru.com) or call us at 678-921-5116. We will see as many as we can in this short time and try to see the others on our next furlough.
Our Tract Ministry is a blessing to be a part of. I’d like to share an email recently received from a pastor to whom we sent tracts for his ministry. (translated) “The tracts that we received continue to be a blessing. Up until this time, we have distributed more than 18,000 tracts. Various people have called to make an appointment with us. Three have been saved. Two others are interested in knowing more about the Gospel. We even received a text message from someone who said they had received Christ through a tract.” This is just one of many emails that we have received, thanking us for sharing God’s blessings with them.
Recently we showed the video “The Grace Card” in our church. There was a great attendance and not a dry eye. This video is a good lesson in forgiveness and grace.
Our church did a great job with VBS last week. The first afternoon started with over one hundred children. The numbers grew each day to around 150 kids in total! This is the most successful VBS we have ever had! There were at least fourteen professions of faith in Christ during the week! Don’t forget to check out our website with new photos! www.rich2peru.com
We’ve also seen three adults saved and two baptized since our last prayer letter! God is still at work here in Peru!
As missionaries, Carla and I know that stateside ministries have a harder time raising support. With that in mind, we would like to recommend two wonderful ministries that have a world-wide impact for Christ and have helped us tremendously in our own ministry. These are Victory Baptist Press in Milton, FL and Fellowship Tract League in Morrow, Ohio. Each has provided us with the material we need to reach millions for Christ.
Thank you and may God bless you all for your faithfulness in prayers and support.
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
What a Busy Way to End the Year!
What a Busy Way to End the Year!
January 3, 2015
Carla and I wish each of you a happy, prosperous, and blessed New Year! The last two months of 2014 were packed with ministry activities and blessings. We will try to share as much as possible in this letter.
At the end of November, we had a men’s prayer breakfast in our home. We had a great time and they left wanting more of this type of fellowship. One guest had just been saved the night before in the house of one of our church families.
We also had a Kids’ Day Out at a nearby park with 31 attending. We had a devotional, plenty of competitive games, a playground to enjoy, then ice cream at a local store! Some of these kids are from farms outside of town and don’t know how to get on or off of an escalator. It was a funny site just watching them.
We had a youth music service in mid-November, using our talented young people, developing them for God’s service.
In December, we showed the God is Not Dead video in our church with 50 in attendance. Many hearts were touched and souls challenged with this presentation.
Christmas time was busy. First, a ladies’ Christmas party where they wrapped gifts for SS kids, along with enjoying games, food and fellowship. Carla worked hard for several weeks to prepare for this night. The turnout made it well worth it. Then, we enjoyed Navidad al Calvario (Christmas at Calvary). It was a wonderful day at our church with singing and preaching. We had seven youth and adults saved plus several decisions made by young children. Gifts were given to all of the kids. Our chocolatada (party w/hot chocolate and fruit cake) was attended with around 180 kids and adults. What a great time!
Carla and I were invited to the Christmas party of a home for abandoned girls here in Cajamarca. I played guitar and led the Christmas music. Carla helped serve the meal to the many girls who live there. We watched their eyes light up as our friends Sean and Crissy handed out gifts to each one. It was a great evening.
Tract Ministry update: We continue to send tracts from one end of Peru, at the Ecuador border, to the other end, near Chile. We have already distributed over one-third of all of the tracts we received in the container, with orders coming in almost daily. Please continue to pray for each person who will receive these tracts, that many souls may be saved.
Bible project complete! In just TEN months, God used His people to supply ALL of the funds for this great need! As always, He has done “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”. The printing is complete and the binding and boxing has already begun. Delivery should be the end of February or first of March! What an awesome God!
Since the funds were sent directly to Victory Baptist Press, Carla and I will never know everyone who gave to this project. We would sincerely like to thank each of you who gave sacrificially so that God’s Word could be placed in the hands of thousands who, without you, would still be without hope.
Jungle ministry update: In our last letter, I shared the needs that we saw in the Peruvian jungle. After returning from the trip, I showed a PowerPoint presentation to our church here in Cajamarca and explained the needs, encouraging our church to get involved in missions. It was great to see how hearts were touched. That Wednesday night, a church member approached me and gave me the money to purchase the property for the church building! For two weeks, we took up a special offering to help cover the other needs. We added that to some special gifts that have been sent in by some of our supporters. We have now purchased the property and the tin for the roofs of the three churches! I am planning on returning to the jungle to see the work after it has been completed, and to encourage the pastors. I am also working with one Peruvian pastor who oversees others in his area. He has translated doctrinal teaching into the Awajun dialect but has no funds to print it. I am going to work with him on formatting and getting them printed. Then, we will plan conferences to share this teaching and material with the mostly untrained national pastors. Check out our updated website with new photos of this and other activities!
May God bless you all for your faithfulness in prayers and support of God’s ministry in a foreign land.
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
Ministry Opportunities Abound! Help Still Wanted!
Ministry Opportunities Abound! Help still wanted!
November 4, 2014
On October 5th, our morning church services were cancelled, along with all other public gatherings, because of a voting law. When it was over, we found out that the regional president (kind-of-like a governor) was re-elected. Some interesting facts: He is the same person who caused all of the protests over the gold mine… caused us to be locked in our home for two weeks, then flee the city at the first opportunity because of the rioting…it has been rumored that he paid millions to have out-of-towners come in to help protest, block roads, burn tires, etc. But, the kicker/most interesting fact about him is that he has been in jail since June for misuse of government funds and theft of millions of dollars that he was in charge of. These funds were to be used to build several hospitals in the poorest areas of the country. He is also in jail, awaiting trial, for his part in kidnapping and torturing. It is still undecided as to how it will be handled since he has not been convicted yet. Please pray for God’s hand in this situation.
Our Tract Ministry is keeping us very busy. We have already sent out many boxes, filled with hundreds of thousands of Gospel tracts. We receive more requests almost daily. The boxes have been sent from one end of the country to the other and many places in-between. I recently called one pastor to ask if he needed any tracts. He said that the night before, he and his church were praying about their need for tracts! God had us in the right place at the right time, with the right phone call! They were thrilled! Please pray for each person who will receive these tracts, that God will be glorified.
Our own church had a tract stamping night to stamp our church name on those we will personally use. Around 16,000 tracts were stamped in just one hour after church. Thirty-nine of our church people helped get the job done and enjoyed cake and hot chocolate afterwards.
We were very proud of our church as they overflowed a box we called the “Caja del Amor” (box of love) with personal hygiene and other items for a home for crippled/disabled children in our little town. This year we are stressing “ministry beyond the church walls” and the church is responding. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the home, but I can tell you that their faces lit up when the residents and workers at the home saw the blessing they had received.
I recently had the privilege of preaching for a family banquet at a church in a nearby city, and then preach for the married couples’ dinner at our own church here in Los Baños del Inca. We had 14 couples present and had a great time.
On Oct. 18, I took our Peruvian pastor with me on a trip to the jungle. We were able to deliver 30,000 tracts for distribution to six jungle pastors. We surveyed three jungle churches with thatch roofs that only last a short time. We will be helping them get tin for their roofs. We will also be purchasing a parcel of jungle property where a new church has started, so they can build their church building. The land will cost around $70 for 1/10 acre. We are also praying as to how we can help a partially burnt village where around 30-40 families lost their shack homes and the market goods they sold from their homes. While in this village, I presented the Gospel to a small group and one man made a decision for Christ. Our Peruvian pastor and I were treated to some good jungle meals which included boiled yucca, boiled banana rolled into a ball, sardine sized fish,… oh, and grub worms (Suri). It is an insult to turn down what they offer so, yes we ate it. It tasted like a grilled meat. I was also given a live duck as appreciation for visiting one village. Missionary life is full of surprises! * Take a look at the photos on our website of this and other recent events. www.rich2peru.com
As always, there is more to tell and no space to tell it. Briefly: Youth sleep-over: one saved! Missions night at church with PowerPoint of the jungle trip and preaching on missions. Tracts passed out at two cemeteries during “Day of the Dead” celebration. Since our last prayer letter, we have seen at least eleven souls won to the Lord through our ministry!
Bible project update! After only 10 months, there is only $2,261 needed to finish this project and ship it to Peru! It is all but done! Would you like to help put it over the top? Help us “get the Word out”!
May God bless you all for your faithfulness in prayers and support of this ministry.
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.
- ← Previous
- 1
- …
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next →