November 30, 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.

 

     November signaled the end of the teams and projects for 2002 and the beginning of the planning time for the 2003.  Our last team of the year was from Wesleyan Fellowship.  They returned to Ahuac to help with some of the final tasks on the building project there.  They performed the trim carpentry to finish the eaves on the church building, placed the ridge cap on the roof, and extended the back roof edge to better protect the back wall from the weather.  In addition to this hard work they conducted a vacation Bible School for the children in Ahuac.  The most important part of their work, however, was the time they took to minister to us and our children.  We are grateful for their presence with us.  We are also grateful to Joe and Kay Lindner and the folks of Four Peaks Community Church  in Fountain Hills, Arizona for their contribution to this project.  Thanks to them the church building now has a floor and the classroom building will soon have a floor in it, also. 

 

 

Team from Wesleyan Fellowship with the Peruvian helpers in Ahuac.

 

     Arthur traveled to Lima to meet the Thompsons, a new missionary family coming to serve in Peru.  They traveled from Lima down the coast to Ica where the Thompsons will be serving.  The purpose for traveling to Ica was to locate a home for the Thompsons and to help them begin to establish relationships with the church in Ica.  The Thompsons will be helping to develop our program of Lay Leader and Pastoral Training (Probitem).  At this time we have training in four locations, Huancayo, Cerro de Pasco, Satipo and Ica. 

 

 

David and Jennifer Thompson in front of their new home with Leonor and Ruth, leaders in the church in Ica.

 

     After returning from Ica, Arthur picked up Bill Lester of Medics International in Lima, and they traveled back to Huancayo to setup the Mobile Medical Clinic and give training to the Peruvian persons that will be putting it to use.  The concept is so new and the idea so big that there is much fear among the leadership of the church here.  Please pray that the enemy will not be able to use this to cause delays and obstacles to this ministry.  This wonderful blessing has also placed additional responsibility on us to raise funds for operation and find sources of medicines.  Please pray that the Lord will bless this ministry.

 

 

Dick Gabriel of Wesleyan Fellowship spending a little time with the children of Ahuac.

 

     The reality of poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance became more real than ever to us this month.  The man, Socimo, who helped us maintain our yard passed away this month.  Socimo died of pneumonia.  He died without ever receiving any medical attention.  His wife, Maria, is 30 years old and cannot  read or write.  They have seven children and live in a small hut with a dirt floor and no furniture on the outer edge of Huancayo.  Maria's mother, who also cannot read or write, lives with them.  The oldest child is a beautiful young lady who has lived with a dislocated knee for over a year.  We are trying to get medical help for her presently, but fear, superstition and a poor medical system have not made it easy.  The whole family is very open to the Gospel and we are working on a method to help them with their spiritual growth since neither Maria nor her mother can read or write.  Please pray for this family especially, and the many others who are in a similar situation.     

 

 

 

     We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very wonderful Christmas.  We hope that your time with friends and family is a very joyful and fulfilling time.  We pray most of all that this Christmas the presence and power of the Lord Jesus Christ would be especially strong in your lives and that you would be filled with His Holy Spirit.     

  

     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