“Rich” Blessings
“Rich” Blessings
January 1, 2024
Hello from the “Rich” missionaries!
Many churches introduce us as the “Rich” missionaries when we report on furloughs. And we are truly rich in God’s blessings. Our heavenly Father owns the cattle upon a thousand hills, and the hills under their hooves. Everything belongs to Him, and we are only stewards of his ‘richness’.
Carla and I pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you will all have a blessed 2024. Time is passing quickly. Christ’s return is closer than ever and there is plenty of work to do before that glorious day.
One of the rich blessings that we are so undeserving of is how our faithful supporters responded to the Christmas Kids program this year. Because of your generosity we were able to bless around 1200 children, divided between two local schools and our churches. Each of our churches did a great job of planning and executing a program at the school near them with music, drama teams, tracts, snacks, gifts, and the Gospel preached. What a blessing it was to see them successfully handle such a big project. We were like proud parents as we received updates and photos of their work. It broke our hearts that we could not be there. But God blessed us with some faithful hardworking pastors and members in each of our churches who stepped up to the challenge. Calvario has already had six visitors to the church since visiting the school. Our other church, Ancla, has had three families visit after the program. The rewards of their labors are a great testament to their faithfulness.
In reading this you may be wondering why we weren’t there with them, so let us bring you up to speed. At the end of October, Carla and I had routine physicals done while we were in the US briefly for two conferences in TX. I (Don) mentioned to my doctor that I had been feeling fatigued and light-headed for several months. He sent me to get a CT heart scan. We had the scan done, then returned to Peru. A week and a half later the results came in and my doctor called and wanted me to return to the US to “run more tests”. So, we had a meeting with our Peruvian pastors and gave them instructions as to how we wanted them to handle the Christmas programs. The next morning we left and, as we said above, they did a great job. Since returning to the US, I have had six more medical tests, including a stress test and a heart catheterization. They have also changed my BP meds at least five times. So far, no significant problem has been found but the symptoms continue. We are still awaiting the results of one test. We’ve had to change our return tickets once already. Our plans now are to return to Peru on January 17, barring no further testing. We are still praying for answers and your prayers are appreciated.
In between doctor visits and the battery of medical tests, we have been enjoying time with family and our home church. Our SS teacher came down with Covid, so I’ve had the privilege of teaching the class for a few weeks in his absence. I also preached one Sunday night recently.
Calvario (our first church) had a youth outreach dinner in November with a great attendance. They had nine young people make professions of faith that day! Three other individuals have also been saved recently, bringing the total to twelve since our last letter. And, just last week four adults were baptized in our church!
Our newest church, Ancla, has continued to see new visitors and good services. For Christmas the building was full, with around 30 in attendance!
We have placed more photo albums on our website, rich2peru.com. Take a look at how God is blessing!
Carla and I would like to thank you for your faithful prayers and support of what God is doing in Peru. May God “richly” bless you all!
Serving Him for you in Peru,
Don & Carla Rich
This entry was posted in Newsletters.