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
February 29, 2008
“ It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he
appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists,
others to be pastors and teachers. He
did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in
order to build up the body of Christ.
Under His control all the different parts of the body fit together, and
the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it
should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.” Ephesians 4:11,12, & 16
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.
In February, we had
the privilege of hosting a medical team from Dalton First
United Methodist
Church lead by Jim
Davis. They helped us with a medical
campaign at the Casa de Oración Church in Chilca. This was a significant mission for us,
because it was the first time we were able to work through our discipleship
groups. Appointments were made through
our cell group members all over the Huancayo area with an attempt to invite
those that were in great need and those that were unsaved. The team gave
medical, dental, or eye care attention to 1170 people in four days, and 272 people
accepted Christ, while 56 people rededicated their life to Christ. We praise
God that 617 people were already Christians, and for everything that He did
during these four days. Those that
prayed to receive Christ, will now receive follow up visits by those that
invited them to the medical campaign, with an invitation to begin to meet in
with a small discipleship group.
Please pray that the follow up on the new believers will go well and
integrate them into the ministry.
Patients waiting n
the triage area.
In a medical
campaign, there are many different jobs to be done, but it is amazing to see
how God uses each person to touch people for Jesus whatever they are doing.
Here are a few examples of what takes place: The doctors and nurses prescribe
the treatment and medicine; the pharmacists and their helpers fill the
prescriptions; the people in the spiritual area share the gospel and pray with
many people; the children’s workers take care of and play with the children to
help the mothers; the cooks prepare all the meals for the teams, and the guides
show the people which area they should go to next. Each one of these people has
a very important job, and each job is just as important as the others. Always remember that each one of you is a
special part of the body of Christ, and the body of Christ is not complete
without you and your talents and gifts. Let God’s love shine through you as you
follow Him!
Sharing the Gospel
message with patients.
Just as God uses
individuals to work together as a body of Christ, He also wants the churches to
work together in unity as one body in Christ, so that all people will come to
know Him. In this particular medical campaign, the workers represented
different denominations and cultures, but they all worked together as one body
in Christ, so that more people could come to know Jesus. Unfortunately, in Peru,
many of the leaders of the churches are more concerned about their own
particular church and traditions than Christ, and they are jealous of other churches
that do well. The Bible says in Ephesians 4: 3-6, “Do your best to preserve the
unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you
together. There is one body and one
Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, there is one God and Father of all people, who is
Lord of all, works through all, and is in all.” Please pray for the churches in
Peru and churches all over the world to work as one body in Christ, because
there are millions of people that need to know Jesus, and there is no time for
the people in different churches to work against each other; neither is there
time for the Christians in one church to be divided against each other. We have only one Lord and one Savior, and we
should follow Him and only Him.
Pastor Pedro Duran
from a Pentecostal church helping in the spiritual area of the medical Campaign
February was also
a significant month for us because Benjamin returned to the states to study.
God really blessed him by giving him a job as a translator for Dr. John Church
in Dalton, Georgia until school starts.
Hopefully, he will be attending Georgia Tech in the fall, and he has an
interest in majoring in Chemical Engineering. We will miss Benjamin as a family
and also because he was a major part of the ministry, especially in the Praise
Band. Please pray for him as he adjusts
to living back in the states as a third culture kid. Third culture kids are a
mixture of two or more cultures, but are not really completely part of one or
the other. In other words, Benjamin is partly American and partly Peruvian, and
he doesn’t exactly fit in either culture. Fortunately Benjamin is fully part of
the culture and a citizen of the Kingdom
of Jesus Christ. This is one of the
consequences of being a missionary kid, but we are confident that God will
continue to provide every need that Benjamin has, like He does for each one of
us. Also, please pray that God can continue to use Benjamin in the US to
bring others to know Jesus.
Arthur traveled
with Benjamin and will be in the states for three weeks. He and Benjamin shared
about what God is doing in Peru
at a Global Impact Celebration at Asbury
United Methodist
Church in Madison, Alabama,
and will be sharing at the President’s Gathering of The Mission Society in
March. In between, they will be trying
to get Benjamin settled. Please pray
that the Holy Spirit will fill them as they speak and that more people will
become involved in God’s ministry in Peru and the world.
Mary Beth will be
attending a new school this year, Jesús El Maestro High School. The school day is from 8:15 a.m. until 5:35
p.m. Please pray for her as she adjusts
to the new school and the longer schedule.
The intern that
works with us, Lisa Socher, will be teaching English in Jesús El Maestro High
School this year to the students in Kindergarten, first, and second grades.
Please pray for God to give her wisdom as she prepares to teach English, and
that God can use her to bring these precious children to know Him as their
Savior and Lord.
We especially
need prayer for the Kid’s Club in Pichcus.
We are having a hard time finding teachers that can come each Saturday.
Many Peruvians work on Saturday and cannot be a part of this ministry. Please pray that God will raise up teachers
that have a passion for Him and a heart to teach children about Him.
Thank you so much
for being partners with us in God’s ministry in Peru. We appreciate everything that
you are doing to support us and the ministry in Peru. We couldn’t do it without
you.
Please be in prayer for each one of
our workers and for each one of the ministries and projects. 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 here in Peru, especially in the Canta
Valley, Palcazu, Pelmaz, Bermudez, Shiringamazu, Villa
America, Huánuco, Sambillo Alto, Rio Azul Ugarteche, San Augustine, KM 40
and Tinahuani. Also, pray for the
ministries in Huancayo, especially the Colegio El Camino. 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
(Mision-AMEN), as well as their other leaders and
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
******
The Mission
Society
P.O. Box
922637
Norcross, Georgia 30010-2637