September - November 2002 Prayer letter
Dear Friends,
This has been a very busy couple of months for us and we rejoice in what the Lord is doing in our lives and in the lives and ministries of our friends as well. We are still rejoicing over the blessings from our First annual Bible Conference here at Efata. There were many decisions made for Christ. Eleven deaf were saved during the conference. There are photos and more details on the website.
After the conference I had the opportunity to preach a leadership conference in Maranatha Baptist Church in San Juan de Miraflores here in Lima. It was a blessing and honor for me to participate in this conference in this growing church.
Next, I went to Arequipa, Peru to participate in Pastor's School hosted by Missionary Austin Gardner and the wonderful team of Peruvian pastors and American missionaries of Macedonia World Baptist Missions. I was able to teach a class on Deaf ministry and was encouraged by the response and interest shown by many of the students of the Macedonia Baptist College and the various pastors that were present. There were over 1200 in attendance every night for the conference and over 47 national pastors and missionaries there. I was encouraged by the team effort to reach the world and I am burdened with this vision.
After Arequipa, my family and I went to Guyaquil, Ecuador. There we had the blessed opportunity to visit with Ray and Anita Bradley and see the work they are doing there among the deaf and hearing as I preached their mission’s conference and Lisa & I taught in their Christian school. They have a miracle of a church. Every night the altar was filled with folks, making decisions for Christ and missions. The church, Maranatha Baptist Church for the Deaf, averages over 120 deaf and hearing every Sunday and they support nine missionaries to four different countries. This last year their faith promise goal was $7600.00. They made this goal and this year they made a faith promise commitment of $10,000. Ray is deaf and his wife Anita is hearing and they are doing a wonderful job. God is blessing their labor of love with the deaf. Working with them is deaf missionary Mary Shepherd. She is an integral part of their team. Ray also is working hard at training nationals. Together they have developed quite a team that all work together in the Christian school and church for the deaf there in Ecuador.
In the backdrop of all of this, we have been very busy on the home front of Peru. Efata is growing and we are seeing blessings day by day of God working in individual lives. Discipleship and growth is occurring, however there is much more work to be done.
We continue to work on the land issue of Efata and ask that you continue to pray for this. The paperwork is in the process. We do not know how much we will have to pay for the land and we are working to keep that cost down. Please pray God will provide for this need when the time comes.
We thank you for all that you have done, are doing and will continue to do for my family and our ministry here in Peru. The work continues and we are blessed to be a part of it and are thankful that you are a part of it as well.
John 9:4I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
In Christ's Service - In Peru
Bro. Joe