The new year is upon us. We look forward to what 2024 will bring. In spite of the political challenges that the entire world is facing, the wars, the persecutions and the lawlessness of the day, our hope is in the Lord. The Psalmist encourages us to this hope in Psalm 42:5.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
We ended 2023 with some amazing events. First, we had a wonderful Christmas meal for those who live at Efata who wished to participate and for those of the church who did not have a family to celebrate with. We were able to give gifts to all the children that were present and had a wonderful time. We also had several events for children and their families at Efata and at some of our mission works. Many trusted Christ.
In addition, we were able to help a few families in need through the generous donations of you, our supporters.
One dear elderly member was given a new wheelchair which she desperately needed, and she is so excited coming to church in it. Another young girl was given a nice keyboard so she could learn to play the piano, which was one of her dreams.
We baptized six people in the last two weeks of 2023. Lord willing we have three baptisms this first week of January as well.
We know it is the Lord who gives the increase as our church is going and telling. We praise Him for the increase of souls saved and baptisms. Many souls have come to know Christ throughout 2023.
Family News
In March of this year our family will be coming to the States for a short three-month furlough. Though it will not be long enough to visit everyone, we have too much going on to be gone longer.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Pastor, if you would like to have us come and give an update, PLEASE contact me so I can see if we can come to you. I am prioritizing churches we have not been to for a long time and ones in the areas we will be in.
Here is our contact information:
Phone: 813-675-4879 – Voice Only (use Mobile after March)
Mobile: 813-406-2838 – Voice, WhatsApp, Text
Email: jkotvas@efata.org, jfkotvas@gmail.com
In March our daughter Julianne is expecting her seventh child. In April, Valeria, Judson’s wife, is expecting their first child, and in May, Joy will be graduating from Bible College. We have coordinated our visit around these events.
We will probably do a longer, more robust furlough of reporting in 2026 or 2027, the Lord willing, as Joseph, our son who works with us, is planning his furlough for 2025.
En septiembre hospedamos a una Escuela de Pastores patrocinada por la Iglesia Bautista Internacional aquí en Efata. La semana fue muy llena, y se tomaron muchas buenas decisiones. Más de seiscientos asistían cada noche, con docenas de pastores de todo el Perú. Fue una bendición ser de ayuda para IBI al proporcionar nuestra infraestructura para esta conferencia.
En octubre, Efata organizó nuestro Retiro de Damas, que también fue una gran bendición. Los hombres de la iglesia cocinaron durante tres días para las damas.
En noviembre tuvimos nuestra Conferencia Bíblica para Sordos y la Audición. Los pastores sordos Bruce Kelly y Todd Reynolds predicaron para los sordos, y el pastor Darío Balcázar predicó para la audiencia. ¡Qué semana tan tremenda fue esa! Varias personas fueron salvas, y los mensajes eran exactamente lo que la iglesia necesitaba.
También celebramos el Día de Acción de Gracias con un buen pavo y todos los adornos para todos los que viven aquí en Efata. Fue un tiempo maravilloso para dar gracias al Señor por todo lo que ha hecho por nosotros.
Pude volar a Piura, una ciudad en el norte del Perú, para coordinar la explosión de evangelismo que estamos planeando para el próximo año en esa ciudad y en Arequipa. Piura y Arequipa son la segunda y tercera ciudades más pobladas del Perú. Planeamos hacer evangelismo y distribución de Biblias con un contenedor de Biblias para cada ciudad.
Nos estamos esforzando mucho para la temporada navideña con varios eventos y actividades. Enviaré un informe de fin de año en enero para estos eventos.
1999 Cuando llegamos al Perú2013 A media jornada en Perú2023 en Peru
Noticias de la familia
En octubre, nuestra familia celebró 25 años como misioneros para sordos y más allá. ¡Cómo pasa el tiempo! Recuerdo cuando Lisa, yo y los cinco hijos que teníamos en ese momento salimos por fe para servir al Señor como misioneros.
Renuncié al departamento del alguacil y a mi puesto como pastor asistente en LaBelle Baptist Temple para entrar en diputación a tiempo completo en noviembre de 1998, y el 3 de diciembre de 1999 nos mudamos a Perú.
Nada de esto hubiera sido posible si no fuera por los fieles compañeros de oración y apoyo y las iglesias que nos han sostenido a lo largo de todos estos años. Lo hicimos juntos. Gracias a todos los que han sido parte de este gran esfuerzo misionero. Muchos de ustedes han estado con nosotros desde el principio, y nos regocijamos con todos los que se han unido a nosotros por el camino.
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.
2023 in Peru
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.
Perdón que esta carta llegue un poco más tarde de lo habitual. He estado viajando y han sucedido muchas cosas. Recuerdo a Jesús en Mateo 9:35 yendo por todas las ciudades y aldeas enseñando y predicando. Qué bendición estar “ocupados en los negocios del Padre”.
Noticias del ministerio
En junio, el Colegio Cristiano para Sordos Efata celebró su 53º aniversario. ¡Qué tiempo tan bendito tuvimos! Acudieron sordos de todo el Perú y algunos de otros países para celebrar esta monumental ocasión. Debido al COVID, no pudimos celebrar el 50º aniversario, así que esta fue la celebración conmemorativa. Fue muy bueno ver a tantos exalumnos antiguos y ponernos al día con ellos.
Pudimos reabrir el colegio después de los cierres de COVID de manera limitada. Es el comienzo de un nuevo futuro para nosotros mientras trabajamos para reconstruir después de tanto tiempo.
Varios pastores amigos de este ministerio vinieron y participaron de los eventos. Estábamos especialmente felices de recibir al evangelista Jim Sloan, al pastor Reggie Rempel y al misionero Steve Houghton, todos amigos desde hace mucho tiempo tanto para mí como para Vernon Miller, el fundador de Efata. Estuvieron presentes varios de nuestros misioneros enviados desde Efata y algunos de los antiguos maestros y trabajadores. Tuvimos la bendición de que los sordos fueran salvos y bautizados, y de que otros reconciliaran sus vidas con Cristo.
Dos semanas después, tuvimos nuestra conferencia misionera. Fue bueno ver a nuestra gente volver a comprometerse con las misiones y nuestra responsabilidad de apoyar a nuestros propios misioneros. Además, desde finales de julio hasta las primeras dos semanas de agosto, tuvimos el privilegio de llevar a un grupo de 30 miembros de nuestra iglesia a un viaje misionero a Ecuador para visitar, animar y apoyar a nuestros tres misioneros allí. Este fue un momento maravilloso. Fue una gran bendición ver a nuestros misioneros y sus familias trabajando y sirviendo. Varios se salvaron durante el viaje.
En julio tuvimos nuestra primera reunión de seguimiento con varias de las iglesias de Lima que participaron en nuestro evento masivo de evangelización en mayo. Estamos trabajando y planeando para duplicar nuestro esfuerzo el próximo año en otras dos ciudades clave del Perú. Es maravilloso ver a las iglesias locales unirse para asumir el costo de imprimir los tratados y comunicarse con los pastores locales en las dos ciudades que tenemos como objetivo para el primer trimestre de 2024. Estamos agradecidos con la Iglesia Bautista Faith en Tacoma, Washington, quienes al momento están preparando tres contenedores de Biblias para nosotros para este esfuerzo. Qué alegría trabajar con el pastor Smith y su equipo y las iglesias que apoyan sus esfuerzos para enviarnos Biblias y materiales.
Durante el viaje misionero, viajé a los Estados Unidos para una cita médica, y pude reportar a un par de iglesias en Florida. Mientras estuve allí, tuve el placer de interpretar para personas sordas en una conferencia en Orlando con mi mentor y amigo Steve Houghton. Después de esto, visité a varias iglesias de habla inglesa e iglesias hispanas en Washington y Oregon para presentar nuestro ministerio, y asistí a una maravillosa conferencia de la familia en español en la Iglesia Bautista Riverview en Pasco, WA. Fue grandioso ver buenas iglesias bautistas españolas fundamentales que creen sólidamente en la Biblia creciendo y preparando a los jóvenes para la obra del Señor.
Lisa y yo acabamos de regresar a Chiclayo donde prediqué para uno de nuestros misioneros para sordos y oyentes para otra conferencia de la familia. Qué alegría para los dos. Era un buen momento. Muchos tomaron decisiones por sus familias.
La primera semana de setiembre, tenemos la bendición de brindar instalaciones y apoyo para la Escuela de Pastores nuevamente este año, organizada por la Iglesia Bautista Internacional aquí en Lima. Esta conferencia es siempre de mucha ayuda, y de mucho ánimo y desafío.
Noticias de la familia
Lisa está muy ocupada preparándose para una conferencia de mujeres en octubre. Ella está ayudando a enseñar a nuestros nietos y continúa enseñando a las niñas sordas en nuestra clase de economía doméstica del Instituto Bíblico para Sordos.
Los niños están bien. Jessica y Jennifer continúan con sus estudios y están completamente involucradas en el ministerio y aprendiendo a tocar instrumentos. Joel realmente está mejorando mucho en sus habilidades lingüísticas y le encanta ayudar a mamá en la cocina.
Una vez más, gracias por todo su cuidado y apoyo, tanto en oración como en finanzas, por este bendito ministerio para las personas sordas y oyentes del Perú y más allá.
Sorry for this letter being a bit later than usual. I have been traveling and there has been a great deal going on. I am reminded of Jesus in Matthew 9:35 going about all the cities and villages teaching and preaching. What a blessing to be “busy about the Father’s business.”
Ministry News
In June, Efata Christian School for the Deaf celebrated its 53rd anniversary. What a blessed time we had. Deaf came from all over Peru and some from other countries to celebrate this monumental occasion. Due to COVID, we were not able to celebrate the 50th anniversary, so this was the memorial celebration. It was so good to see so many former students and to catch up with them.
We were able to reopen the school after the COVID shutdowns in a limited fashion, but it is a start to a new future for us as we work to rebuild after such a long time.
Various pastor friends of this ministry came and participated in the events. We were especially happy to have Evangelist Jim Sloan, Pastor Reggie Rempel and Missionary Steve Houghton, all longtime friends both to me and to Vernon Miller, the founder of Efata. Several of our missionaries sent out of Efata and some of the former teachers and workers were present. We were blessed to have Deaf saved and baptized, and others reconciling their lives to Christ.
Two weeks later, we had our missions conference. It was good to see our people recommit to missions and our responsibility to support our own missionaries. In addition, at the end of July through the first two weeks of August, we were privileged to take a group of 30 members of our church on a mission trip to Ecuador to visit, encourage and support our three missionaries there. This was a wonderful time. It was such a blessing to see our missionaries and their families working and serving. Several were saved during the trip.
In July we had our first follow-up meeting with several of the churches in Lima who participated in our massive evangelism event back in May. We are working and planning to duplicate our effort next year in two other key cities in Peru. It is wonderful to see local churches band together to bear the cost of printing the tracts and reach out to the local pastors in the two cities we are targeting for the first quarter of 2024. We are grateful to Faith Baptist Church in Tacoma, Washington, who as of now have three containers of Bibles in the process of being prepared for us for this endeavor. What a joy to work with Pastor Smith and his team and the churches that support their efforts to send Bibles and materials to us.
During the mission trip, I flew to the States for a VA medical appointment and was able to report to a couple of churches in Florida. While there, I had the joy of interpreting for the Deaf for a conference in Orlando with my mentor and friend Steve Houghton. After this I visited several English and Spanish churches in Washington and Oregon to present our ministry and attended a wonderful Spanish family conference in Riverview Baptist Church in Pasco, WA. It was great to see good solid Bible believing fundamental Baptist Spanish churches growing and preparing young people for the Lord’s work.
Lisa and I just returned for Chiclayo where I preached for one of our missionaries to the Deaf and hearing for another family conference. What a joy for both of us. It was a great time. Many made decisions for their families.
The first week of September, we have the blessing of providing facilities and assistance for Pastor’s School again this year, hosted by International Baptist Church here in Lima. This conference is always a great help, encouragement, and challenge.
Family News
Lisa is very busy preparing for a ladies conference in October. She is helping teach our grandchildren and continues to teach the Deaf girls in our Deaf Bible Institute Home economics class.
The kids are doing well. Jessica and Jennifer continue with their schooling and are fully involved in the ministry and learning their instruments. Joel is really doing much better in his language abilities and loves to help Mom in the kitchen.
Once again, thank you for all of your care and support – both in prayer and finances – for this blessed ministry to the Deaf and hearing of Peru and beyond.
