January 31, 2003

 

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

     Greetings in the name of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We praise the Lord Jesus for having so wonderfully blessed us and for having sent his Holy Spirit to guide and teach us. We hope and pray that He has been blessing you wonderfully and that your life has been filled with His grace.  Thank you for your continued prayers for us and support of the ministry here in Peru.  We definitely see the results of you praying for us.  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.

 

     January was a month of preparation.  During this month the church finalizes the few plans they make for the following year and approves their budgets.  The budget discussion centered around where they would get money to assign pastors to the many churches that do not currently have pastors.  This was a very depressing discussion, but the bright side for us was the youth program for the year.  The church would only approve a fraction of the funding for the youth program, but the budget for the entire year was only $1300.00, and the program is very full and has a wonderful vision.

 

    Mary Alice was very busy working with the teachers to prepare all of the Kid's Clubs for the month of February.  Because we would be traveling this month, the youth had to make all of the plans and preparations and do everything for themselves in our absence.  Five of the youth volunteered to write the lessons, puppet plays, and skits, and Mary Alice reviewed them and helped to refine them. We prepared a budget for the month and funded it and prayerfully chose Genaro, one of our youth, as the leader and responsible person to direct the Kid's Club program for us. We left the teaching team to pray about the possibility of starting a new Kid's Club in Sapallanga and improving the Kid's Club in Conception when we return.  They knew this meant that they would have to start working in some of the places without our presence.  We felt a real excitement and desire in them to work harder and begin to extend the Kingdom of Jesus Christ to more places.

 

One of the Children's Cell Groups in the El Tambo Kid's Club 

 

     Arthur taught classes with two other church leaders in the first district wide youth workshop for this year.  The themes were on evangelism and discipleship. Thirty three youth from around the district attended.  The feedback from church leaders about the excitement and attitudes of their youth after they returned home was very positive. They indicated that their youth were on fire and ready to work to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Arthur sharing with youth in workshop.   

 

     The youth pastor Alberto Fernandez, agreed to be responsible for our youth leadership training and Thursday night cell groups.  In the Thursday night cell groups we now have an average attendance of over 20 that are divided into three groups.  Three of the young men from the leadership training group are leading the cells and are doing a wonderful job.  We seldom have a Thursday meeting now without someone new showing up.       

 

     The Mobile medical unit went to Sapallanga this month to pave the way for a new work there.  Cesar Arroyo, who is working with the Kid's Club in Concepcion and is participating in our Thursday night cell group, used his influence to setup the opportunity in Sapallanga.  He had connections with the mayor and was able to arrange the outing for the clinic.  The mayor is now talking about the possibility of donating land for a new church in this area.  Luis Goytizolo, a leader in the Huancayo church, as taken the responsibility for directing the Mobile Medical Clinic Program and is making a difference in this ministry.  He has worked closely with Ivar Quindsland during the month to learn and begin to organize this ministry. The Quindslands finished their one year term in Peru at the end of January and have done a remarkable job,  however we are in great need of someone to take up where they left off and continue to help the church here to develop this resource into a functional ministry.  Please pray for the Lord to call the person or persons He wants to bless with this powerful ministry.

 

     The church building and classroom building in Ahuac were finished this month.  The exteriors and interiors are finished and painted, and the buildings have concrete floors.  We were even able to build a podium and communion table from the left over lumber. The dedication of the buildings will be in February.  We are grateful to all of those who participated in this project.  The following churches provided teams and financial support for this ministry:  Wesleyan Fellowship, Lewis Memorial United Methodist, Sugar Hill United Methodist, and Four Peaks Community Church. 

 

Church building in Ahuac

 

     We were able to almost complete the kitchen of the pastors house in Satipo, also.  We only lack the carpentry for the cabinets and painting to finish this project.  The Christian brother and friend, Antonio Garcia, who was overseeing this project for us, lost his wife to a blood clot in her leg that eventually caused a stroke.  Marina was 40 years old and a mother of two children, Brian and Lizet, who participated in our Kid's Club.  They have planned to return to the work in Satipo as a family during February.  Please pray for them as they learn to live without their wife and mother.

 

    Arthur traveled to Lima to meet two new missionaries with the Mission Society, Diane and Kevin Griffin.  The Griffins will be living in Huancayo and will be teaching in the pastoral training program here.  This is a much needed ministry as the church here lacks trained pastors.  Please pray for them as they transition to their new home and ministry.

  

     Again we want to thank you for all your support and prayers.  Please continue to pray for the church here in Peru. Please pray for our discipleship groups and the attacks against them.  Please pray for the children and young people that are part of the ministries here, for the tension in the churches, and for the church leaders.  Pray for the Lord to enable us to train more church leaders, cell pastors, and church pastors. Please pray for the leaders of the church here:  Bishop Marco Ochoa, and District Superintendents Jose Bustamante and David Figueroa.  Please pray for our safety as we travel, our continued adjustment and ability to understand the Peruvian culture, 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

        & nbsp;    Missionaries to Peru