April 29, 2006

Dear Friends,

Today, the 29th of April, marks exactly twenty-three years since Anita and I, with our two small children, Leah and Josh, stepped off the plane in Iquitos, Peru to begin our new lives as Baptist missionaries. Sometimes we stand amazed at what the Lord has done here. Over the years, Satan has tried to ruin us, wreck us, discourage us, side-track us, and even kill us; but God has always protected and encouraged us. Much of HIS protection and encouragement has been provided by you, our faithful supporters, by your ceaseless prayers and generous support. We praise the Lord for each and everyone of you! We have seen thousands come to know Christ as their Savior and helped many New Testament Baptist Churches get started. Anita and I feel sure that God is not through with us yet, and we hope to have many more years of fruitful service here in this part of HIS vineyard. Your continued support is still very much needed by these two grateful servants of the Lord.

Last month I reported on the heavy rains we had been having for a few months. The rains have finally let up here in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Our town, Huanuco, is six thousand, three hundred feet above sea level, and we usually enjoy nice springtime weather most of the year. The weather seems to be getting back to normal at this time. Huanuco is right in the center of Peru and the region around the city is mainly dedicated to agriculture; potato farming in particular. Because of Huanuco's strategic location, Anita and I chose to live here so the Bible Institute would be accessible to all of our pastor brethren from around the country. The Lord has blessed us with excellent facilities for Seminars, retreats, and Bible classes. Anita has a flourishing ministry with the Christian ladies from our churches here in the area. She still dedicates time to the preparation of Sunday School material for all of our churches to use. The Lord has given her a keen mind and a gift for writing. Besides preparing sermons and lessons for Bible classes, I travel often to visit many of the mission works.

Huariaca is one of our mission works higher up in the mountains (10,000 feet above sea level). I traveled up there this month to help the Pastor, Jonel Quijano, in a meeting. My goal was to encourage Jonel and all the saints there to be faithful and not be discouraged. Based upon their reaction to the messages each night, I do believe the Lord blessed the efforts; I had not seen Jonel smile so much in a long time.

I also traveled up to the church in Pillao one week end to be with them in their first Anniversary. I helped organize this work last year and also ordain its pastor, Blas Robles. It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that we had been there, but there they were celebrating their first anniversary. People say that time goes faster the older you get, but the truth is we just get slower! While in Pillao we had a good meeting and had several wayward church members repent and get back into fellowship with the church. Blas is one of the most sincere and humble men I know. Please remember him and the church in your prayers. Thanks.

Now that our Risograph printer has been repaired, I was able to finish printing the book for my next Institute class: An Introduction to the New Testament. When the printer broke down the class was postponed until June. Though we still have two months to get ready, there is always so much preparation before hand: printing, Powerpoint presentations, food planning, etc. Anita and I are expecting a good turnout of Pastors for the class in June. We very much appreciate your prayers for this endeavor. A preacher once said, "your ministry is measured by what you leave behind." Training God's servants to work in this part of our small world is certainly a worthwhile ministry. We hope to leave behind one day a nation filled with Biblically sound men of God on fire to reach their country and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! May God continue to bless each of you as you continue to help us fulfill the ministry God has called us to do. Until next month.

Serving Jesus in Peru, South America,

Sheridan and Anita Stanton