It is all about God and his Word
It is all about God and his Word
Blessings to each of you who take the time to read our letters. We pray that they are a blessing and an encouragement. What you read about here would not be possible without your prayers and support.
In our last letter we shared that our latest shipment of Bibles and tracts had arrived at the port in Lima and that we were waiting for them to be released from customs. Praise the Lord, they arrived in Cajamarca on March 17. We quickly notified pastors and missionaries of the availability. In just 3 weeks all of the Bibles and most of the tracts had been promised to pastors for distribution in five different countries!
Just a week later, missionary Darren Townsend, brother Worth Johnson and I began a 13-day, 3000-mile trip. We traveled to the city of Tacna on the southern border with Chile. There we delivered 120 cases of Bibles to missionary James Pittman. He took them back into Chile to distribute to pastors and missionaries who need them there and in Argentina. I preached at a church in Tacna on Sunday, then on Monday, Darren and I taught a small group of pastors. From there we drove to the eastern border of Peru with Bolivia. This trip took us over the Andes Mountains to altitudes over 15,000 feet. At this location we delivered 80 cases of Bibles to around 45 pastors. There was a group of around 90 in attendance as we taught for around three and a half hours on the purity of God’s Word and the importance of having a pure translation.
God truly blessed. On our journey, we were able to drive by the ancient and mysterious Nazca Lines in the desert. We saw many alpacas, llamas, and vicuñas (cousin to the llama) in the mountains. For our first time ever, we saw Andean flamingos in a high mountain lake. We even enjoyed a meal of fried alpaca, dried black potatoes, and a white soup made of another type of potato. We went from the heat of the desert to, at one point, driving through snow in the Andes. We also experienced Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. On our way back to Cajamarca we could see the “El Misti” volcano in the distance. God even blessed when many truckers staged a strike on the Pan-American highway, blocking traffic in either direction. We were able to find a desert road around the area and get back on our journey quickly.
On the Monday after Easter, it took around four hours for us to load, transport, and unload 8512 Bibles (608 cases) at the trucking company that we use. They delivered them to the Bolivian border for us. Two different groups of pastors will be picking them up. They will be busy distributing them to many pastors and missionaries in Bolivia. One group is on the west side of the country, the other on the east. We want to cover the country with the pure Word of God. His Word continues to go out!
Victory Baptist Press has already received another 43,624 lbs of paper and started printing our next load of Bibles just before the last load arrived in Peru. Those will be shipped to us later this year. Please pray for their ministry of printing God’s Word in many different languages. They constantly endure material shortages, price hikes, and delays.
We have received invitations and are making plans to visit Ecuador, Bolivia, and Iquitos (jungle capital of Peru) to teach national pastors and deliver Bibles in the coming months.
As the title to this letter states, “It is all about God and his Word.” Without it, all our efforts would be in vain. But He is faithful, and his Word is true and powerful. As we preach and teach, we continue to see God work in our churches. On March 9, I baptized Chelsie who recently received Christ in our Calvario church. On March 16, I was privileged to lead twelve-year-old Moisés Orrillo to the Lord. His parents joined our church the following Sunday. His fourteen-year-old sister Bereishit also asked to be baptized. We are planning their baptisms for June when their family and friends can be present. I preached at our Ancla (Anchor Baptist) church the Wednesday after Easter. At the invitation, fifty-year-old Fernando Dominguez received Christ as his Savior. God is blessing.
Please take a look at the NEW PHOTO ALBUMS on our WEBSITE!!!
May God bless each of you for your heart for missions,
Don & Carla Rich
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