April 30, 2006

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."  2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NIV.

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 a 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.

     April in Peru usually signals the beginning of the changes to winter time.  The rains usually slow down and travel becomes a little easier.  This year the rains continued to be strong until the last part of the month. The additional rains are a blessing as they generally increase the crop production, but they also make transportation a nightmare causing great difficulty in getting the harvests to market, due to bad roads, land slides and collapsed bridges.  April is generally when we start trying to return to our works in the jungle regions, and although with greater difficulty, we were able to do so this year.

   We were able to visit Shiringamazu to begin preparation for a medical mission that will be coming from Mayo United Methodist Church in June.  We also visited the two new churches that we planted last year in Palcazu and Pelmaz.  These are churches that were planted working with Pastor Pablo Paredes who lives in Puerto Bermudez and a medical team from Morehead United Methodist Church.  We also visited some young churches planted by our good friend and co worker, Manuel Villar, around Aguaytia and Tingo Maria, and the churches in the Canta Valley, especially Huamantanga in order to prepare for a medical mission there this year.

Local missionary Don Ho in the church in Huamantanga. 

    In early April Sue Kolljestki with the Global Resource Group of the Mission Society came to visit and to see the ministry, especially as it relates to children.  Sue works with children at risk.  She was able to travel with us to visit a number of the ministries and to learn about the situation of children in different areas of Peru. She confirmed what we already believed to be true that the large majority of children in Peru are at risk.  The risk is caused by many things:  the political situation, poverty, broken homes, alcohol, drugs, lack of education, and poor healthcare to name a few.  A common statistic in Peru is that 75% of all women have been abused in one form or another.  The statistic on abuse of boys and young men is on the increase, also.  There are almost daily reports of rape and sexual molestation against young women and adolescent girls.  In Huancayo alone, the children abandoned and living on the streets is thought to be around 3000.

     In the last two months, we have formed a team to investigate the spiritual condition of Huancayo, both historically and currently.  The team is made up of six people;er Ricardo, Alberto, Miguel, and Arthur are those doing the investigation, and Juan and Severa are heading up the prayer cover for the investigation team.  The purpose of this investigation is to help us pray with more precision to tear down the demonic strongholds over the Huancayo area.  We need much prayer, and although what I am about to share may be difficult for some to accept, I would like to ask you to please receive it as a urgent prayer request. 

     Our investigation has shown that the early inhabitants of Huancayo, called Huancas, practiced among other things human sacrifice.  These sacrifices were generally children.  The Huanca nation generally performed their sacrifices in four places, three of which are in or close to Huancayo: a glacier covered mountain called Huatapayana near Huancayo, a hill called San Cristobal just south of Huancayo, and at the central park of Huancayo called Huamanmarca.  It was believed that these sacrifices would prolong mortal life and life after death.  It was also believed that a substitute sacrifice of a lower class person for a higher class person was appropriate.  We know that this thought is a distortion of the Gospel, in that the only sacrifice that can give life is Jesus Christ, and that the only substitutive sacrifice that is acceptable to God is of the most high class, His Son, Jesus Christ.  In more recent history, in a place near Huancayo, it was discovered that aborted fetuses had been used as sacrifices, also. Current information has indicated that not only are there large numbers of abandoned children in the streets and violence against young women, but that there are a large number unwanted teen and youth pregnancies, accompanied by a significant abortion rate.  Huancayo has one of the highest per capita abortion rates in Peru.  There is also a reported increase in unwanted teen pregnancies after times of festivals.  We do not know, although there are rumors, whether or not sacrifice of children continues today (This would be against Peruvian law).  We do believe that it is practiced through the acts of abortion, promoted by other spiritual problems.  Our prayer warriors here, including our Friday night prayer team, have entered into this spiritual battle and are seeking God fervently to demolish these spiritual strongholds in Huancayo.  Please join us in this prayer. 

Drawing on public display in the library of Huancayo.

     The last Friday of every month we go out into the streets to pray. The last prayer outing several interesting things happened.  One of our prayer groups was kneeling on the side walk praying, when a man that appeared very drunk walked by.  Five steps or so after he passed the prayer team, he turned around and with the drunken stupor gone from his face he said to the prayer team, "You are the reason", and gave them 20 centimos.  The next day a young person approached another one of our prayer team members and surprised her by saying, "You were praying for us the other night, weren't you?  Please don't stop. It is making a difference."

     We are currently in a period of political change in Peru.  A new president and new government leaders are being elected.  After the first round of voting, two candidates for president remain in the running, Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala.  Alan Garacia is described as a social democrat.  In his previous presidency he brought Peru to its knees economically and ushered in 15 years of terrorist civil war.  No one is sure if he will do better this time. Ollanta Humala is an extreme socialist who is in alliance with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Fidel Castro of Cuba.  He has their political and economic backing.  Humala has been accused of Human Rights abuses as a military leader during the civil war and led a revolt against the government of Peru as a military leader during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori.  Please be in prayer for the nation of Peru, and that God would put in place the government that He wants.     

     Please continue to be in prayer for the continued growth in the ministries here in Peru, especially in the Canta Valley, Huancayo, Palcazu, Pelmaz, Bermudez, Shiringamazu,  Sambillo Alto, Rio Azul Ugarteche, San Augustine, KM 40 and Tinahuani.  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 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

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The Mission Society                                                      P.O. Box 922637                                                        Norcross, Georgia 30010-2637