August 31, 2002

 

 

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.

 

     The first week in August we had the pleasure of receiving a medical mission team from Dalton United Methodist Church in Dalton, Georgia.  This team of 27 persons, lead by Becky Kenny and Jim Davis, was scheduled to provide medical and dental services in the low jungle town of Tarapoto.  Due to protests and violence that occurred in Tarapoto shortly before the team arrived, the site for the medical clinic was changed to Ahuac.  The riots were started by the rice farmers, because the bottom had dropped out of the rice market and the government was purchasing rice from China instead of from the Peruvian farmers. 

 

     The Lord Jesus used this problem to answer the prayers of the people in Ahuac.  The church in Ahuac had been praying for months to receive medical assistance, and the team from Dalton was used to answer these prayers.  For the people of Ahuac, a miracle had occurred.  The Dalton team took the challenge of the last minute change head on and treated over 2000 persons.  A little less than 500 persons prayed to receive Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  The relationship between the church and the local government, school and health care officials  was tremendously improved which will open doors for the work of the church well into the future.

 

 

 

Dr. Paynter from the Dalton team, the local Medical Post doctor, and Arthur repairing a hernia.

 

     During the latter part of the month, we were blessed with a ministry and construction team from Sugar Hill United Methodist Church in Sugar Hill, Georgia.  This team, lead by Pastor John Page, worked to install the electrical system in the church building and the classroom building in Ahuac.  The team ministered to the children through a Vacation Bible School.  The week started with an attendance of approximately 75 and grew to close to 150 by the end of the week.  The team also ministered in the church services through preaching and sharing of testimonies.  As they prayed for the members of the congregation individually, several of the church members experienced a move of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  One of the members, Marcial, received a word from the Lord, which he shared with the congregation .       

 

 

Scott and Rob, members of the Sugar Hill team installing the electrical system in Ahuac.

 

     The Kid's Clubs are still doing well.  Our teaching team is continuing to grow spiritually.  The youth are participating more and more in the planning of the programs with Mary Alice.  They have been teaching the children how to share their faith and the message of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Some of them have begun to share in the writing of the lessons.  We are continuing to see increases in attendance, especially at the adolescent ages, and the teaching team has been trying especially to increase the interest of adolescents and youth in the programs.  Between our four sites where we hold Kid's Clubs each weekend we have an average attendance of over 400 children.

 

 

Iban Cruz leading his group in El Tambo through a practice presentation of the Gospel.

 

   Our Thursday night discipleship group is continuing to grow in number and spiritually.  We have been studying the book of Romans and the young people are not just interested in superficial study.  Most of the youth were unchurched when we started and have a real hunger to know deeply the Word of God and how to apply it to their lives.  The group has grown to over 20 now. 

 

   We also have a group that we are training to be cell leaders.  We want to divide the Thursday night group, but do not have leaders ready for the division yet.  This group is growing rapidly, but we still have  more work before they are ready to take responsibility.  We have been working on spiritual strong holds in our lives, how to be free from them, and how to help others to be free. Here in Peru where they still practice pagan rituals, witchcraft, and have so many broken homes, this is a real need.  There is even a church of Satan in Huancayo, whose express purpose is to destroy the evangelical church here.  Please pray for the rapid development of leaders for our Thursday night cell group and their protection and provision as they boldly storm the gates of hell for Jesus Christ.            

   

     Again we want to thank you for all your support and prayers.  Please continue to pray for the church here in Peru, 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 to 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