Dear Friends and Family,
This has been an especially busy few months. God continues to be faithful to us and this ministry. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 100:4,
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
We are so thankful for all He has done and is doing.
Ministry News
In September we hosted a Pastors’ School sponsored by International Baptist Church here at Efata. The week was extremely busy, and many good decisions were made. Over six hundred were in attendance every night with dozens of pastors from all over Peru. It was a blessing to be a help to International Baptist by providing our infrastructure for this conference.
In October, Efata hosted our Ladies’ Retreat which also was a great blessing. The men of the church did all the cooking for three days for the Ladies.
In November we had our Bible Conference for the Deaf and the hearing. Deaf Pastors Bruce Kelly and Todd Reynolds preached for the Deaf, and Pastor Dario Balcazar preached for the hearing. What a tremendous week that was! Several people were saved, and the messages were exactly what the church needed.
We also celebrated Thanksgiving with a nice Turkey and all the trimmings for all who live here at Efata. It was a wonderful time of giving thanks to the Lord for all he has done for us.
I was able to fly to Piura, a city in northern Peru, to coordinate the evangelism explosion that we are planning for next year in that city and in Arequipa. Piura and Arequipa are the second and third most populous cities in Peru. We plan to do evangelism and Bible distribution with one container of Bibles for each city.
We are working very hard with several events and outreach activities for the Christmas season. I will send an end-of-year report out in January for these events.
Family News
In October, our family celebrated 25 years as missionaries to the Deaf and beyond. Wow, how time flies! I can remember when Lisa and I and the five children we had at the time stepped out by faith to serve the Lord as missionaries.
I resigned from the sheriff’s department and from my position as assistant pastor at LaBelle Baptist Temple to go on full-time deputation in November of 1998, and on December third of 1999 we moved to Peru.
None of this would have been possible if it were not for the faithful prayer and support partners and churches that have sustained us throughout these many years. We have done this together. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of this great missionary endeavor. Many of you have been with us from the beginning, and we rejoice with all who have joined us along the way.
Blessings,
Joe & Lisa
Joel, Jessica & Jennifer