Arthur & Mary Alice Ivey 

 

April 31, 2002

 

"Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

   John 4:10 NIV

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

     Greetings to you all 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.

 

     April has been a busy and encouraging month for us.  We had two teams from Georgia work with us this month, one from Wesleyan Fellowship and one from Alpharetta First United Methodist Church .  The team from Wesleyan Fellowship was a team of youth that helped us with evangelism in various locations around the District.  They participated in each Kid's Club and what was most exciting, was working with them to start the new Kid's Club in El Tambo.  We had well over two hundred children and adults attend the first session.  The team did an excellent job of presenting the Gospel message through mime and song and their love for the children was very obvious to us and the children.  They were also a great encouragement to our youth who help us on a regular basis.  We have been having a regular attendance of around 100 or more each Saturday morning in this new work.  The El Tambo Church had been through a split and many of the young people were discouraged.  This time with the team from Wesleyan Fellowship helped to encourage them and bless them in the midst of their struggle.

 

 

First Kid's Club in El Tambo 

 

     The team also held Bible Schools in several churches, performed in open air presentations in the town parks, and presented the Jesus Film each night.  They worked in Huancayo, El Tambo, Concepcion, Cerro de Pasco (elevation 15,400 feet MSL), Tarma, and Satipo.  These places range from the high Andes into the Amazon Jungle. They even performed in the Colegio Andio a school in Huancayo that our children attend and were televised on two channels in Cerro de Pasco.  After the presentations many children prayed to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.  There were many professions of faith in each location, but in addition to the harvest time, much work was done to prepare and plant for future harvest, also.  We praise the Lord Jesus for this time of blessing and abundant richness in our lives and ministry here in Peru.

 

Open Air Presentation in Central Park in Cerro de Pasco

 

     Arthur spent the next two weeks making the final preparations to construct a water purification facility in San Ramon.  A team from Alpharetta First United Methodist Church arrived the last week in April to construct the facility.  The group completed the construction and installed and connected the sewer system to the city main so that the entire site now has clean drinking water and a functional sewer system.  In addition to the construction work they conducted a Vacation Bible School for the children each day.  They also participated in an open air presentation in the town park and a presentation of the Jesus Film on Thursday night, which had a crowd that overflowed into the street.

 

Team from Alpharetta First United Methodist Church installing sewer line at San Ramon

 

     The San Ramon Church had also suffered from a recent split and the loss of their pastor.  A pastor from an independent church in La Merced was helping to conduct services two days a week while a search for another pastor is underway.  These conditions made the mission experience a little more difficult and unpredictable for the team, but their ministry time in San Ramon was invaluable in encouraging the church to continue with the work of expanding the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

 

Alpharetta team installing water purification system 

 

     The Kid's Club in San Carlos has continued to  grow.  The number of adults attending has been steadily increasing.  The attendance at Ahuc has declined significantly since school started back.  We are not sure why at this point, but are continuing in our efforts there and trying to determine the cause and a solution. Please pray specifically for this work in Ahuac.  The group at Conception is still doing well, as is the new group in El Tambo.  The youth in our youth discipleship group that meets each Thursday night are growing spiritually .  We have heard reports that their parents are pleased with the changes they have seen in their youth and some have reported that their children are sharing with their families and friends what they are learning. 

 

     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 Figeroa.  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

 

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