July 31, 2006
Dear Friends,
Instead of giving an account of what Anita and I did personally this past month here in Huánuco, I thought you might be interested to see other ways that God has provided for us to help further the mission work here in Peru. Below is a listing of eleven Peruvian missionaries and pastors that my wife, Anita, and I support on a monthly basis. Some of them receive one hundred dollars per month and others a little less. For most of them this is the only support they receive. Besides this personal monthly help for these men of God there are always properties to buy and buildings to build. It is an honor for Anita and me to be able to help support each of these men and their families each month. They all faithfully attend our Bible Institute classes when we have them. I try to travel and visit each of their works at least once a year. My visits are usually programmed around anniversary services or revival meetings. Every one of these men are solid in the Word and all of their works are with authority from a sound Baptist church. I require that they each provide a financial report every other month. A good friend of mine recommended to me recently that I should make this list known so that others might be encouraged to help some of these Peruvian brethren. Whether you feel led to help any of them financially or not, please remember to pray for each of them and their families. They are fellow servants of the Lord and worthy of our prayers and support. Your support for Anita and me each month helps us to support them. The work in Peru is going and growing! (The list is in alphabetical order by first name).
Alberto Ramirez – and wife, Ada (in their mid-twenties), with one baby boy. Their home is in the Pacific coast town of Huaral, one hour north of Lima. They are laboring in a new mission work in an area called Union Obrezo. He actively evangelizes and disciples. The work is small but growing.
Bias Robles - and wife (in their early forties), with three daughters. They live and work in a town called Villa Tranca Pillao; a town about two hours from Huánuco, higher up in the Central Andes Mountains. His work is an organized church, but still small. He is a simple, humble man with a big heart for seeing souls saved. Bias has two other preaching points in villages within a one hour walk from Pillao. He visits and preaches in these villages each week besides preaching and pastoring in his own church.
Cesar Apolinario - and wife, Susanna (in their late thirties), with two boys and one girl. They presently live here in Huánuco and are the national workers for the mission work in Acomayo. This is the town where Anita and I travel every Sunday morning to help in this new mission. Cesar has been a lay preacher for many years but has recently surrendered to the call of Mission Pastor in Acomayo. Pray for him and his family as they make the necessary adjustments in their lives to fulfill the job God has called them to do.
David Olortegui - and wife, Deisy (in their mid-twenties), with one baby girl. David and Deisy live and work in the Central Jungle town of Pucallpa. He is pastoring the Hebron Baptist Mission in Pucallpa and has also started two other mission points on the Ucayali River. David is a very intelligent and energetic young preacher with a passion for the Lord's work. David could use a motorcycle to help in his work ($800.00).
Eli Poma - and wife, Nina (thirties), with one baby girl and another on the way! Eli was my co-pastor here at the Central Baptist Church in Huánuco until I resigned and he is now the church's full-time pastor. He is the 'big city pastor' now and doing a very good job. The church runs between 150-200 and pays him a full-time salary. Anita and I give them a little "extra" each month to help out. Eli certainly has a pastor's heart and his attitude would be best described as a "peacemaker".
Hugo Cotrina - and wife, Kelly (mid-twenties), with one baby girl. Hugo is a missionary with several works going in the mountains several hours out of Huánuco. He is a devoted, faithful young man with wisdom beyond his years. He walks for hours each week to get to the missions. I've been praying about getting him a motorcycle also ($800.00). He truly manifests a servant's heart.
Jonel Quijano - and wife, Yudy (mid-twenties), with one baby girl. Jonel is the mission pastor at the work in Huariaca, a town on the Central Highway, up in the Andes Mountains (9600 feet above sea level). Huariaca is about one hour from Huánuco. He has been a faithful man for the past four years in Huariaca. Though Jonel is faithful, the work has not grown much and he gets discouraged. Jonel needs your prayers. He does have a daily radio program in the town, which has proved to be a blessing.
Miguel Gargate - and wife, Edina (in their early thirties), with one young son and a baby girl. Miguel is pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church in HuaynaCapac, a small village about two hours out of Jingo Maria, further into the jungle. Besides pastoring the church, Miguel has three other mission works started even further into the jungle, several hours from HuaynaCapac. He is a very personable young man with an ever present smile and he loves the Lord.
Moises Ore - and wife, Lelis, (in their early forties), with one son. They live in the Northern Andean Mountain town of Celendin, a few hours from Cajamarca. Moises has a great vision for reaching the province around Celendin. There are hundreds of towns and villages without any Baptist work. This past year he encouraged his small church to form evangelistic teams and off they headed, one week at a time into the different towns. They reached thousands of people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and were able to see two new mission works started with numerous preaching points. The man of God and his small church could really use some extra help in their evangelistic efforts. He sat and cried in my office while telling me of the towns that still needed to be reached. I had never seen him show such emotion before.
Roosevelt Hermitano - and wife, Julia (in their forties), with a son and daughter. Roosevelt is probably the best example of a national missionary. He and his wife live in the jungle town of Tingo Maria and his mission works are within two hours of Tingo. He was saved under the ministry of Missionary Homer Crane years ago. He is a dedicated and systematic worker with a great burden to see his fellow Peruvians come to know Christ. We organized one of his mission works last year and he is working hard in two other works at this time. Most of the other men model their monthly reports and letters after his style. He is a great encourager to the other brethren.
Rusell Juica - and wife, Susanna (in their late twenties), with one baby girl. Rusell is pastor of the Grace Baptist Church here in Huánuco. He is a very polished and fine young preacher. The church is small and he is not full time yet, so Anita and I help them out some. We are also making monthly payments of $500.00 on the church's property. It should be paid off in three more months.