Dear Friends and Family,
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
We praise God for HE gives the victory in our lives, our ministry, and our hope is in HIM. We apologize that this letter has been late to get to you. We were delaying it a bit in hopes of having good news about the container that we have been waiting for almost seven months. More about that below.
Ministry News
The 21-23rd of May we celebrated our church Anniversary. My son, James, and a group from Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI came down during that time and provided special music for the conference among many other things.
Pastor Joel Marsh, a great preacher and dear friend came down for the Anniversary conference and brought two men with him. God led him and used him greatly and we just thank God for the blessings during our anniversary week. We saw several saved, a baptism, and 10 joined the church.
Our deaf school’s anniversary was held last week, and it was a special time for all our students. By surprise, a group came by to visit on Tuesday, brought by a missionary friend, and God used them as a channel to give many goodies to the school children. God’s timing is perfect. Efata Christian School was established 46 years ago by founding missionary Vernon Miller. He and his wife Velma were deaf missionaries who allowed God to use their lives. We pray that God will continue to send forth laborers into His harvest, from the USA, from Peru, and all over the World. The deaf need to see the Gospel preached to them!
Last week, (June 9-12), I had the privilege of preaching a couple hours north of our home, at the Living Fountain Bible Baptist Church for their 20th anniversary. The church was full. Praise God for the opportunity to be used to encourage this church and their Pastor. James and Judson sang “the Love of God, How Marvelous, and Strong”; It is a joy to see our children praising our great God! All of our kids sang together Saturday evening.
On June 14th to the 18th, we had the joy of having Pastor Austin Gardner from Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Ga with us to preach our Mission Conference. What a great blessing he was. Please pray as God uses this conference to touch the hearts of our church to be used as He chooses in missions. We know that God sent HIS Son because He loves us. We pray that we will see people through His eyes.
Please continue to pray for the release of the container. There were a few more delays in the paperwork, and the man who was to sign the resolution passed away last week. A new president was also voted in last week. We are being assured by them that it should be signed and sent to us by the end of this next week. We pray that it is, but we also know that God’s timing is perfect. Thank you for your prayers.
Family News
The first part of May, Lisa and I were in the States for James’, our second son’s, graduation from Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI. It was a great blessing. He then came down to Peru with a group of 12 from the college. We loved having Bro. Zempel and his wife Elizabeth, as well as the young people who came down with them They taught intensive classes in Violin, clarinet, and Piano, taught the children’s choir, held a staff retreat, and helped in many, many other ways. They were a great influence on our children and all of our church; what a tremendous blessing for our family, staff, and our children.
Please pray for Julianne, our oldest daughter and her husband, as they deliver their second baby the first week of July. Lisa will be going up to help for a month.
Please pray that God will continue to provide for the needs of Efata, the church, school, Bible Institute, Bible College, and home as well as the pregnancy crisis center. Pray He will use each one for His honor and Glory
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Bro. Joe & Lisa
Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer