February 1, 2006

Dear Friends,

Anita and I hope this letter finds all of you walking with the Lord and aware of His blessings in your lives. Our Lord continues to bless here in Peru in many ways.

So many of the young couples in our churches here in Huanuco have given birth to their first child in the past two months. This includes Pastor Russell Juica and his wife, Susanna, of the Iglesia Bautista de Gracia. All of the babies have been girls so far! So many of these couples I have married over the past several years and now it brings us great joy to see them grow into young families dedicated to serving the Lord.

We are in the midst of putting a tile floor in our large institute room where we teach Bible classes to the pastors and preachers from around Peru. The tile looks great but it seems to be taking an eternity getting it done. I hope to have it ready by the time of our next class in March.

A house has been located in the town of Acomayo, where we can help get a new work started. It is a dangerous area at this time due to the rise of terrorism, but we have several families in the area and the possibility of a young preacher and his wife to work there. I would be able to go in during the days but not after dark. We are still waiting on the Lord to "bring it all together" for this new work. Your prayers, please.

The middle of the month found Anita and I in Lima to help a young missionary couple get settled in. Jayson and Andrea Minix arrived in Peru to begin their language studies. They are also out of the Jordan Baptist Church of Sanford, Florida, where my dear friend, George Sledd, is pastor. Jayson is Pastor Sledd's son-in-law. Anita and I have worked under the authority of Jordan Baptist for twenty-three years as missionaries and five years before that as the church's pastor. We located a nice apartment for the Minixs, just a few blocks away from their language school. We stayed a week with them to help them learn their way around and to get them started on the resident cards. They appear to have adjusted very well and are deeply engulfed in the study of the Spanish language.

We would really appreciate your prayers for Anita's hands. She has suffered from severe pain in both of her wrists and forearms since November of last year. It has gotten progressively worse and has begun to interfere with her everyday life and work. Some days she cannot even turn the key to get in the front door. The doctor here says it is tendonitis and has put her on anti-inflammatories and therapy treatments. So far we have not seen much improvement. Please put Anita on your prayer list. It is not a major illness or life threatening, but for a woman that is used to writing and preparing Sunday School materials for all of the works here in Peru, this is a difficult adjustment. Thanks for your prayers.

Anita and I also ask you to remember our son, Lieutenant Joshua Stanton, U.S. Air Force, in your prayers. Josh was recently sent to Columbia on his latest tour of duty. Pray not only for him and his safety, but also for his wife, Cheri, and our granddaughter, Caroline. Cheri and Caroline had to stay in Tucson, Arizona. There are so many soldiers separated from their families at this time. We should all be praying for their safety and for special grace for their families.

Until next month.

Serving Jesus in Peru,

Sheridan and Anita Stanton