Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It is always a joy to write to you and tell you what God allows me to do in His work. This month, in addition to my normal ministry activities as professor and Director of Public Relations at the Baptist Seminary of Peru, God has given me the privilege to serve Him in Pacaipampa and Sullana, in the northern province of Piura.
From September 2-6 I had the privilege to go to Pacaipampa (my first visit there) to teach and preach God’s Word. Normally, because I have school-aged children, I travel alone on my preaching trips. This time, however, I went with my wife. To have my wife with me on this ministry trip was a great blessing. Her presence and company were encouraging.
I was asked to teach the teens during the day. I spoke with them about how to establish a home on the principles of God’s Word. Teaching on this theme is key in this area of the country because the majority of the people begin their adult life by running away from home. There are many unmarried couples in the region.
Even more, the girls begin life as “mother” and “wife” while they are still young. Of course, this is the responsibility of the men, who do not give their young girls the necessary years to develop. During my class I tried to inform both the teenage girls and teenage boys of the need to begin one’s sexual life after marriage.
In the evenings I preached the gospel and there were 5 professions of faith. Also, there were various believers who reconciled with God during the preaching services.
My wife, along with another pastor’s wife, taught the ladies. They had a large number of ladies in their classes.
Pastor Enoc Principe and several other pastors and believers from Piura, Sullana and Paita traveled with us to Pacaipampa. Pastor Enoc taught the pastors, church leaders, and men who came to the conference.
I do not know how many people came to the conference. I do know that there were many people who attended. Perhaps there were more than 600 people in attendance. They tell me that there were more than 24 Baptist churches represented at the conference. There were so many believers that we had to have the evening service outside each night! Also, it took us 3 hours to serve and eat the meals together. I give glory to God for the work He is doing in this part of Peru! More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33023607@N03/albums/72157658396170532
From September 21-27 I was at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Sullana. I went there with Denis, a believer who works with the finances at the Seminary in Trujillo.
Our trip was made possible by the invitation of Pastor David Córdoba, who asked that we would come to his church to represent the Seminary and to teach God’s Word.
In the mornings during the week we visited the believers at home to encourage them and to pray with them. In the afternoons we evangelized door-to-door. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings we preached the gospel in two public areas near the church. From Thursday to Sunday we had preaching services in the church. Our preaching ministry in the church services was focused on the teens, the married couples, and the congregation in general.
During this week I was privileged to witness 3 professions of faith. The first was from a lady who is more than 50 years old; she came from Tumbes to Sullana to visit family and returned to her home with the gospel of Christ. The second was from a teen girl who is 16 years old; I explained the gospel to her and she decided to repent of her sins. These two professions of faith happened when we were evangelizing house-to-house. The third was from a man who is more than 60 years old and visited the church during the evenings; he heard the gospel as it is applied to the married life and believed in Jesus. I give glory to God for these professions of faith! More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33023607@N03/albums/72157657311223893
To finish my September note, I ask you to pray for the Baptist Seminary of Peru and the activities that we have in October. This is our anniversary month and we have many visitors coming. As well, I must preach about missions in Lima and I need your labor with me through prayer. Thank you, brothers and sisters, for reading and praying for the work of God in Peru!