Arthur & Mary Alice Ivey 

San Jose 454

Urb. San Carlos

Huancayo

Peru

011-51-64-23-76-69

 

 

"But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ..."  Romans 5:20 NIV

 

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, especially during difficult times. We hope and pray that He has been blessing you wonderfully during this new year and that your life has been filled with His grace and mercy.  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.

 

     The passage above is a testimony to the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We live in a world that is very pagan.  It is difficult to understand and appreciate the grace we live under in the United States until we live in a place that is under the curse of sin.  Sin abounds here in Peru, as much inside the church as outside.  Corruption is rampant in the ranks of government and even within the ranks of the church.  We have experienced more resistance to our work from the church itself than from the government.  Suicides have radically increased here in recent months due to the spiritual desperation and deep spiritual hunger. Within the midst of all of the sin, corruption, attacks, and desperation we have seen the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ abound.  We have seen the sick healed.  We have seen those with great spiritual hunger find satisfaction in a new relationship with Jesus Christ.  We have seen tears of joy flow down the cheeks of hardened faces as the Lord Jesus gives peace beyond understanding to the hearts of his lost children.  We have seen children laughing with joy as they learn more each week about the abundant life in Christ Jesus. 

 

 

     The Lord Jesus is continuing to answer your prayers for the children here in Peru. Last year we had an average of 735 children and 40 adults meeting each weekend for the Kid's Clubs.  We had Kid's Clubs meeting in Chilca, Huancayo, El Tambo, San Jeronimo and Ahuac which are all within 30 miles of our home.  We also had a Kid's Clubs meeting in  San Martin de Pango in the low jungle area.  The Kid's Club in Concepcion which had a weekly attendance of around 120 was closed again by the District Superintendent and the Huancayo Church.  During the last two months we have trained workers and opened two other Kid's Clubs in Tres Esquinas and Pilcomayo, both which are in the Huancayo area.  We also trained two persons from the Yanesha community in the area called Shringamazu in the low jungle so that they could begin a ministry with the children of their tribal community.  Mary Alice has also been preparing to teach children's workers in Ayacucho (8 hours south of Huancayo) the techniques and methods used in the Kid's Clubs so that they can begin a similar ministry there.  Our work with the Shoeshine Boys in Parque Constitution is continuing to grow.   We are also working with the District Youth Organization (AJUMEC) to promote and start a new Kid's Club in the high jungle area of San Ramon and La Merced.

 

           

 

     Arthur has made several trips to Lima and has had several meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Health, Customs, and even with a Congressman about the importation of medicines by the Medical Mission teams that will come this year.  Each year the government has placed more and more obstacles in the path of this ministry and each year the Lord has provided the grace needed to overcome them.  This is not without cost.  We have been reminded in a very real way how Jesus continues to offer us the gift of Life and we continue to put obstacles in His way.  His gift to us was not free to Him.  It cost Him dearly.  As we seek to share the love of Jesus with others we, too, must count the cost and ask ourselves are we willing to pay in order to have the privilege of helping others in need.  It appears that we have a solution to this problem once again, but much work remains to be done both by us and the teams that will come.  Please be in prayer for this special ministry and those churches that will be participating this year.

 

    Arthur, Mary Alice, and Genaro (one of our youth) traveled to Lima and then on to Trujillo, a city on the north coast, to help a new missionary family get settled into their new home.  The new missionaries are Martin and Tracy Reeves and their five (six counting the one that is on the way) children.  They will work in pastoral training and church planting in the North Coast area from Chimbote to Tumbus.  Jesus was again gracious as we were not stopped once during the 10 hour trip by the police even though we were carrying so much luggage.  It is very normal here to be stopped by the police and be asked for money.

 

 

     Arthur and Mary Alice have also formed a new discipleship group to train young leaders that started on January 9, and recruited four more persons for the existing group.  These youth are growing rapidly in their spiritual lives and are excited about the new things the Lord Jesus is revealing to them.  New persons, both believers and non-believers, continue to come to the open cell groups that meet each Thursday in our house, also.  

 

     Please be in prayer with us for the continued advancement of the Kid's Club ministry and our efforts to find and train additional workers for this ministry.  Pray also for the discipleship and leadership training and the youth cell ministry, and that God would continue to impart His vision in these young people.  Please ask God to expand our time and provide additional financial resources for the ministries.  Please continue to pray for our new relationship with Mision-AMEN and our relationship with the Methodist Church.  Most importantly we would like to ask you to covenant with us and the youth leadership team to be in regular prayer and fasting for the ministry to the lost and dying youth of Huancayo.  Pray that we would be protected from attacks and that the enemy's power over these young people would be broken.  Pray, also, for the preparations for the medical mission teams that will be coming this year.

 

    Again we want to thank you for all your support and prayers.  Please continue to pray for the churches here in Peru.  Please pray for the tension in the churches, and for the church leaders. Please pray for the leaders in the Methodist Church:  Bishop Marco Ochoa, and District Superintendents Jose Bustamante and David Figueroa.  Also be in prayer for Obed 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