Arthur & Mary Alice Ivey 

Jr. San Jose 454

Urb. San Carlos

Huancayo, Perú

011-51-64-21-21-52

E-mail:  acivey@mindspring.com

Website:  www.iveymission.org

April 30, 2008

“The whole world stands in awe of the great things that you have done.  Your deeds bring shouts of joy from one end of the world to the other. “

                                               Psalms 65: 8

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  We praise the Lord God for all He is doing in our lives and in the ministry here in Peru, for filling us with His Holy Spirit to guide and direct each of our steps, and for pouring out His grace upon us through His precious Son, Jesus Christ. We hope and pray that He has been blessing you wonderfully during this past month and that your life has been filled with His glorious riches and mercy.  We want to give you special thanks for your continued prayers for us and support of the ministry in Peru.  We definitely see the results of your prayers for us and for the ministry here.  You are special people called by our Lord Jesus Christ to minister to His children.  Thank you for your faithfulness to His calling.  Thank you for your love for Him, for us, and for His children.

     For several months, we have been a little discouraged with some of the people that we have been working with, because they seem to have a tremendous lack of joy.  Especially in our Friday night worship services, many of these people seem to come out of obligation, and instead of a joyous celebration to the Lord, many times it seems more like a funeral.  Of course, many people that walk by on the streets don’t want to enter, because they see the sad faces of the people.  One Friday night in April, a drunk man came in and taught us a lesson about joy.  He was really dancing to the music and seemed to be really enjoying himself. He danced pretty well, except it was a little strange when he laid down on his back on the floor.  We thought that this is how Christians should be filled with the joy of the Lord. We shouldn’t be afraid to let our joy show by dancing, singing, or doing whatever the Holy Spirit leads us to do.  Non-believers will be attracted to us as Christians so much more if we have joy and show our joy by our actions.  How could we not have joy?  We have been saved and set free by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He gives us everything we need to live a joyful life now and when we die. We should be overflowing with joy.

     Paul and Silas were great examples of Christians filled with joy.  Even while they were in prison in Philippi, they prayed and sang hymns to God.  Paul was even happy to give his life for the Lord Jesus Christ.  In Philippians 2:17-18, Paul says,” Perhaps my life’s blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God.  If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all. In the same way, you too must be glad and share your joy with me.”  In fact, Paul was decapitated for his faith in Jesus Christ, and he always wrote of his great desire to be with Christ in heaven.  We pray that God will fill your life with His joy, and please pray for us as we encourage the people that work with us to have that same joy that only comes from Jesus.

     Speaking of joy, two people that really brought us a lot of joy this month were Denny Brown and Johnny Winkle.  They are in charge of Advancement in the Mission Society, and visited us to see some of the work in Peru. They visited the Kid’s Club in Chilca, the Friday night service, a gathering of three Discipleship groups in Pachachupan and in Canta, and the future site of the Mission Center in Yangas.  We praise God for people like Denny and Johnny that spread the joy of Jesus wherever they go. When Joshua and Arthur returned from taking them to Lima, Arthur drove the back roads, because there was a strike by the miners in Casapalca blocking the main highway. Unfortunately, while in Canta on the way back, the back wheel of the  truck fell in a huge hole, but amazingly, God provided a telephone pole that was close to this hole, so Arthur hooked us his winch from his truck to the pole and pulled the truck out. God always has miraculous ways to take care of us. 

Arthur, Edith, Katy, Johnny, Jorge, Jose and Joshua sharing at dinner in Canta.

     Also, this month a team of three people from Roswell Methodist Church, John Pearson and Carol and Ron Kerr, taught a very successful seminar on how to start and manage a business.  During the first two days, they taught general information on business principles to approximately 40 people.  Then, eleven people were selected to work with on an individual and small group basis for the last three days. These people had to write an entire business plan, and the team was very excited about the results, because these eleven people did a really great job.  Please pray that these people will be able to form their own business and will follow godly principles in managing it.  Also, please pray that they will teach others to manage their businesses by using godly principles. Unfortunately, dishonesty here is a really big problem in all aspects of life.

Micro Enterprise Class taught by John Pearson and Ron and Carol Kerr

     We want to thank you for your prayers for our son, Benjamin, who is now living in the states.  He is doing well, and he says that God is helping him to adjust to living in the U.S. culture by the story of Daniel in Babylon. Daniel chose to eat vegetables and to drink water instead of defiling God by eating meat that was sacrificed to idols and drinking wine, like the people in the King’s Court did.  Benjamin is choosing to follow God in a culture that is not godly, like Daniel did in Babylon. Also, he has now officially been accepted to Georgia Tech. Praise the Lord!

     Pastor Alberto has begun a small prayer group ministry with eight of our workers. They pray specifically for the ministry, for any problems that we have in it, and for any other specific prayer needs that people have. We really need and appreciate the prayers that they lift up to the Lord and the prayers that you all lift up for us daily. We have seen tremendous results from the prayers that you all have lifted up to the Lord for us and the people of Peru.

     Karen, Pastor Alberto’s wife, had to have emergency surgery this month because she had a benign tumor about the size of a tangerine in one of her ovaries that was growing rapidly .We are all very thankful because she is recovering so quickly. The doctors in Peru normally cannot be trusted, but Pastor Alberto’s cousin who is a doctor, performed the surgery very well. Please continue to pray for this couple, because they are a significant part of the ministry here in Peru.    

Alberto, Karen, Denny, Johnny, and Arthur

     Please be in prayer for each one of our workers and for each one of the ministries and projects, the discipleship ministry, the evangelism and church planting ministry, the prayer ministry, and the work to self sustain these ministries.  Please continue to pray for financial support for the ministries both from Peruvian sources and U.S. sources.  Please continue to be in prayer for the continued growth in the ministries in the Canta Valley, Palcazu, Pelmaz,

Bermudez, Shiringamazu, Villa América, Iscosazin, Huánuco, Panao, Molinos, Ambo, Acamayo, Tinahuani, Puno, San Martín de Pango, San Ramón, and Puente Paucartambo.  Also, pray for the ministries in Huancayo, especially the Friday night Prayer and evangelism ministry, the Colegio El Camino and the Jesus Es El Maestro High School.  Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to awaken and change hearts among the young adults of Huancayo.  Please give praise to the Lord for bringing us additional persons called to be part of the missionary team in Peru.  Covenant with us to continue in prayer for the young adult leadership team and their continued ministry to the spiritually lost and dying youth of Huancayo.  Please pray for the leaders of the churches in Peru, and for their spiritual protection and growth in the Lord Jesus.  Also be in prayer for Obed and Cynthia Alvarez, the head of NEWMA, as well as their other leaders and national missionaries.  Please pray for our safety as we travel, and that we will boldly speak God's Word wherever we go.

    We pray that God is drawing you closer and closer to Him every day. God bless you.  We love you.

  Yours in Christ,

  Arthur, Mary Alice, Benjamin, Joshua, and Mary Beth Ivey

  The Mission Society Missionaries to Peru

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