First Service in New Location

Omega Baptist Church had its first service in its new location on Thursday night, October 22nd. There were 78 people in attendance. There were several visitors. As I sat in the service, I could feel the excitement of the Peruvians. The santuary is on the second floor, and it has a wall of windows down one side and behind the pulpit area. Through the windows, there is a beautiful view of the mountains in Arequipa. At the foot of the mountains you can see thousands of homes. As the service progressed, I couldn't help but think I am so blessed to be here. Thank you Lord for allowing me to serve You.

God's Timing is Perfect

God certainly knows what he is doing. When He called us to the mission field, we thought we would sell everything, go to Bible college, and then go to the field. We thought maybe 3 1/2 half years would be all it would take. How wrong we were! He called us in the year 2000. It took us 9 years to make it to the field. Many times we have asked ourselves why it took so long. Now on the field, we can see why He wanted us here at this time and not sooner.

While in language school, we have the opportunity to be part of a new church plant here in Peru. That in itself is an amazing opportunity for us to learn how a church is started on the mission field. But...we feel the Lord has called us to the city of Merida in Venezuela. Merida is a college/university city withat least four major universities. The church plant here in Peru is in the area of Umacolla. Guess what is in Umacolla...La Catolica, the second largest university in Peru. God brought us to Peru at just the right time to teach us not only how to plant a new church in South America but how to plant one in a university city.

God has us here "for such a time as this." I urge you to think about why God might have you where you are. His timing is always perfect.

Pastors School XI

Here is a picture of Austin Gardner preaching at Pastors School XI. There were over 10 churches in represented with over 500 people in attendance each night. There was a choir and orchestra of over 80 people from the different churches. It was an amazing meeting.

Rodney's Moto

Rodney purchased a motor scooter for he and I to ride back and forth to language school. He also rides it when only one or two of us have the need to go into town. This is a picture of Rodney & Josie on the way into town to exchange money. The girls fight over whose turn it is to ride.

El Senor de Los Milagros

These are pictures of a Latin American Catholic celebration of "El Senor de Los Milagros" or "The Lord of Miracles". This celebration goes on throughout the whole month of October. This parade came through our subdivision one night. The people in our subdivision decorated their front doors and garages with balloons, streamers, candles, statues, etc. While parading through our subdivision, the people were chanting some kind of prayer. Even Katie & Josie could feel an eerie presence during the parade. It is so sad to see so many blinded by the traditions of the Catholic church.

Josie's Puppy...Maxie

After patiently waiting for a puppy, Josie finally got to bring Maxie home. Maxie is a precious 7 week old cocker spaniel. She is tiny, but she has a big bark. She likes to bite and bark at Katie's puppy, Roxy, who is about 3 times her size. It is a pretty funny sight.

 

 

Mini Delivery Trucks

 

Happy 13th Birthday Katie

Katie is finally a teenager. She hit the big "13" on Thursday, October 15th. We celebrated with some of our friends down here in Peru. We went to a local restaurant, "Cappricios", for dinner and dessert. Katie had chocolate fondue with apples, strawberries, bananas, and pound cake. She loves chocolate. Here are a couple pictures of the celebration.

First Week of Language School

We completed our first week of language school on Saturday, October 3rd. This week we learned to say the books of the Old Testament (Libros Del Antiguo Testamento) in Spanish, and we can now quote Romans 3:10, 3:23, 5:8, and 6:23 in Spanish. In addition to memorization skills, we learned basic greetings and responses to basic questions such as: What is your name? How are you? Where do you live? Where is the...? We had our first test on Saturday, and Rodney & I both made 100!

Next week, we will not be in language classes because the Seminary is hosting Pastor's and Leader's school. There will be missionary pastors, national pastors, and many national church leaders in attendance. They will be in class Tuesday through Friday 9 AM - 1 PM. Rodney will attend these classes too. Each evening, there will be a service at 7:00 for everyone. Brother Austin Gardner will be preaching these services.

We also have required reading for language school. We are on the first book. Once we finish each book, we must write a report about how we can apply what we learned to our ministry. (These books are in English.) Since there are no language classes this week, I am going to try to finish my first book and report. I also would like to get a head start on learning the books of the New Testament and our next required Bible verses.

Afternoon Service in the Local Park

After the morning service last Sunday, we had lunch, games, and a sermon in the local park. We played soccer & blanket volleyball with water balloons. When I say we, I mean we. In one of the pictures you can see Rodney playing goalie for one of the soccer games, and in some of the other pictures you can see me playing goalie. Katie & Josie were amazed that I would even get out on the court. They made sure someone took lots of pictures. It was all for fun. I've had to learn to laugh at myself. That is a good lesson for everyone to learn. Don't take yourself too seriously!

Katie & Josie played water balloon toss against two boys and won! We had hamburgers, chicken burgers, and all kinds of desserts. After lunch and games, Brother David Gardner preached a message.

It was a good day!