August 4, 2007

Dear Friends,

Anita and I send greetings to everyone in the name of Jesus. We hope that July was a prosperous month for each of you and that you will be aware of God’s blessings in your lives each and every day during the month of August. I just returned from Oxapampa last night, where Brother Carlos Gonzales is the missionary of the new Faith Baptist Mission Church there. It was a blessing to see the good attendance of this new work. The house was packed every evening for the preaching services. One young man came for baptism; several rededicating their lives to serve the Lord, and one young man, Dante, manifested his calling to the Gospel Ministry. We praise the Lord for touching so many lives through the power of His Word!

I drove my car (an eight year old Nissan sedan) to Oxapampa and after the eight hour trip I decided to take the bus next time! Sections of the road were very bad and my poor car took a beating! Parts of the protective panels from the undercarriage are now missing. I never even heard or felt them come loose. But aside from that, it was a great trip. I plan to make more trips to Oxapampa from time to time so I hope to be able to sell my car and purchase a used four-wheel drive next time. Something else to pray about!

While in Oxapampa I also got to spend some time with Carlos’ wife, Maria, who is in the last stage of stomach cancer. She was hardly recognizable; she had lost so much weight. She cannot get out of bed and her sight is now gone. Many of their family members arrived to be with Carlos and the kids during these last days. Please remember Carlos and his family during this emotional time in their lives. Maria has served the Lord as a faithful wife and mother for many years.

During my trip to Oxapampa I took some pictures of a several pieces of property for sale that could be used for building a permanent meeting house for this work. The saints there are currently renting the front room of a house for a meeting place. I am convinced this mission church will continue to flourish. It has already grown a lot and shows surprising maturity since its inception last year. The Lord has used Carlos and his family in a great way. The price of the properties I saw range from nine to twelve thousand dollars. If any church would like to take this on as a project be sure to designate your checks for “Stanton – Oxapampa property fund.”

The Literacy training is finally a reality here in Huánuco. Twelve people from our Baptist Churches here in the region (including Anita and myself) received special training from an International Christian organization called ALFALIT; dedicated to teaching illiterate adults worldwide how to read and write. Anita already has five women students and the other teachers have several of their own. We believe this ministry will really grow as the word spreads. Please keep Anita and the other teachers in your prayers as they dedicate their time to helping others in this much needed ministry.

The Mission Church up higher in the mountains at the town of Huariaca is doing very well. Pastor Jonel has led the saints there to begin the final stage of their meeting house. The Baptist Faith Mission Adventures Team, lead by Dr. Randy Jones, helped with the second phase of this project a few years ago. Now the work is trying to finish up on its own. This shows growth and maturity on their part. Praise the Lord! The other works around Peru have reported good attendance during the past few months. Our gracious God continues to bless His Word, His works, and his servants here in this beautiful country of South America.

Anita and I are both in our mid fifties now but the Lord continues to give us the strength to keep up our regular pace. I continue to teach two Bible classes on Monday nights, preach to the university students on Saturday nights, and help out the Calvary mission church here in Huánuco. by preaching on Sunday nights. A lot of time is spent preparing courses and materials for the Institute of Biblical Studies that I direct. Besides my regular schedule here in Huánuco, I usually travel at least once a month to another one of our mission works somewhere here in Peru in order to teach and encourage them.

My beautiful bride of thirty-four years, Anita, stays busy writing Sunday School material for all of our Peruvian missions and churches. She has already produced about eight different books of lessons for several age groups. Every Tuesday afternoon she teaches the women of our Baptist churches in the Huánuco. Region a Bible lesson and now has taken on the literacy ministry as well. She does all of this while still being a wonderful wife, homemaker and the best cook in the world!

This letter is getting too long (when BFM agreed to help us twenty-four years ago we were asked to follow the guidelines as to the length of our monthly mission report). So I will finish by saying how much we love all of you and how much we appreciate your faithful prayers and monthly financial support. Until next month.

Serving Jesus in Peru,

Sheridan and Anita Stanton