Dear Friends and Family,
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is God.
Luke 18:19
What a busy time this has been for all of us, especially my family. “God is Good, all the Time! All the Time, God is good!” This is a catchy saying that I love telling to the church because it is a truth from the Word of God as stated in Luke.
Ministry News
We are seeing steady growth and blessing in the church these past few months. Several people have been saved and we have had several baptized. One of the men who was saved has been in our prayers for quite some time. He has a brain tumor, and God brought him successfully through hours of surgery. This caused some paralysis, and he is no longer able to speak, but thanks God for his life as well as the salvation of his soul. His little girl is in our Christian School. We praise God for his salvation. We have also passed through some very trying difficulties as a ministry. These difficulties have come from within and without. Through prayer and fasting, we have seen God give the victory in many things. We have felt His presence through these difficulties, and we know that our God is great. We do covet your continued prayers.
We are preparing for our annual Bible conference October 21st – 26th. Missionary Bill Patterson is our special speaker this year. He is a wonderful man of God and has worked for many years in Bible translation in various languages. Please pray that God will use him in a mighty way to strengthen the hearts of our people in their love for the Bible and obedience to His Word.
Family News
Things are marching forward for Joseph’s wedding on January 3, 2015. Please continue to pray for him and his fiancé, Zulema. Joseph is on deputation raising support at this time but will be returning to Peru in December to prepare for his wedding. He will stay in Peru working here at Efata with us in ministry and then after a year, they will return to the States to complete deputation.
With Jared in North Dakota
I had the privilege of bringing Jared back to the States in late August and September so he could start college. He is attending Master’s Baptist College in Fargo, ND. He is loving it, and has his first job at Culver’s. He has a great work environment. Pray for him as he embarks on this new stage in his life. We are all very proud of him.
While in the States, I had the privilege of visiting four of our supporting churches, two new churches and other churches we are friends with and have not seen for over eight years. It was so good to see the pastors and friends and to report to them what the Lord is doing in the ministry He has allowed us the privilege of having here in Peru. What a blessing to see old friends and meet new ones. Joseph was able to travel with me to these churches and present his work as well.
James is doing well at Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI. He enjoyed a great summer of hard work, and attended a missionary training camp where he learned a great deal. He was also able to work enough to pay his school bill through this semester. What a blessing!
I was able to see my daughter Julianne and her husband Frank while in the States. They are doing great and serving in their local church in Labelle, FL, Labelle Baptist Temple.
The rest of the children are doing fine. They survived Dad! As I was coming back to Peru, Lisa left to go to her mother’s to help her move to her new home. She was gone for two weeks, and I was able to hold the fort through three sick kids, a new puppy and a virus that is going around Efata right now. Joy did a great job helping me cook, and Judson was a big help with the little ones and cleaning up as well.
Thank you all once again for all you do for us. Please pray for our Big Box project that we have been telling you about. It is being prepared to ship. Please pray all goes well. They are shipping over 95 boxes, plus furniture! We thank the Lord for this blessing.
God Bless,
Bro. Joe & Lisa,
James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer