Apr 5, 2012 | Prayer Letters
Ministry News
This has been a very busy time for us, both at Efata and now as we are in the States until July, reporting in many of our supporting churches and presenting the work in Peru to several new churches.
In January we had our Fires of Evangelism conference. This year, the focus was on the family – and what a conference it was! Many good decisions were made and several received Christ as Savior. In February we had several meetings with the Ministry of Education to help collaborate on Deaf education here in Peru. These meetings were positive but we still need much prayer for this country in this area. We have 5 new students in the school which started again in March. Pray for them and their families!
On Feb. 18th, we arrived back in the States and hit the ground running. We truly enjoyed spending a few days with our Pastor and home church. We love our church and are so thankful for our pastor and his tremendous help as we prepared to come to the States for this furlough.
We are currently visiting many of our supporting churches and enjoying the blessing of visiting new churches and meeting some very wonderful people who have helped us along the way. While visiting one new church, I had the privilege to lead a Spanish couple to the Lord. What a blessing. The seed had been sown by the wonderful people of that church and I was blessed to add a little water and God gave the increase.
Family News
In May Joseph will be graduating from Bible College. We are so proud of him and excited about what the Lord is going to do in his life. He will be graduating with a degree in Secondary Ed., with a focus in Music, English, and Special Education. He is praying about getting his Master’s Degree and we are excited for this possibility. After that, Lord willing, he plans to come home to Peru and work with us as a missionary.
This year we had the privilege of going to Falls Baptist Church in Menominee Falls, WI to attend their Holiness Conference. What a tremendous blessing. James, our second son has decided to attend their college, Baptist College of Ministry, in the fall. We are so thrilled about this. While there, our oldest daughter Julianne also decided that she would like to go to college there. That was not an easy decision for us but we believe it is God’s will. What a thrill! It is going to make things interesting around the house with our three oldest gone, but, it will be a challenge and opportunity for the other children to step up and take the lead.
Thank you to those who have been sacrificially supporting us and the work we are doing in Peru and beyond. God is blessing and we are seeing fruit that abounds to your account.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Peru! A Philadelphia church with a God-opened door!
- Continue to pray for Efata as we are planning a major open-air campaign for Easter. Also, I will be going down in May for the 35th anniversary of our church. Pray for all the activities and opportunities to reach people for the Lord.
- Pray for the construction of the new church building in our mission in Pucallpa. Praise the
Lord for a five thousand dollar donation for this project!
- Pray for our missionary pastor Henry Vasquez and especially his wife Miriam who is going through some very serious health issues and will probably need surgery.
- Pray that God will help us to raise much needed new support for our ministry and for the Deaf children in our home and school.
- Pray for James and Julianne as they both start these new and exciting preparatory steps in their lives of service for the Lord and pray for Mom and Dad as we adjust to not having them around.
- Pray for continued safety on the road for our family.
- Pray for Missionaries Corey and Melissa Ricker and our entire staff at Efata and for new missionaries Matt and Sarah McKendree as they come down in April to begin serving with us in Peru.
God bless you all,
Bro. Joe & Lisa
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson
Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, & Jennifer
Dec 30, 2011 | Prayer Letters
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. – Isaiah 26:3
Greetings from Peru! We pray that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year season with your families, friends and churches.
Ministry News
This has been a wonderful year. The church has grown. We have sent out missionaries, we have experienced growth and maturity of our members, and we have had more people saved and baptized than any other year previously. Our Bible institute had our first graduation with one deaf and one hearing man graduating.
Our school year has come to a close here in Peru and many of our deaf students who live in the provinces are on their way home to be with their families for the first time since school began. It is a blessing to have a part in their lives. Many of these children have trusted Christ as Savior. We rejoice in this and ask that you pray for them as many go back to families who do not know the Lord. We are the home for 11 deaf children who have no place to go. What a blessing we can be here for them.
Please pray for our school. The government has changed many laws related to the education of deaf children. This has greatly affected us and we are diligently working to resolve several issues that have the potential of shutting us down for at least a year. This would be devastating to the children that we serve and their families. If we cannot come to an understanding with the Ministry of Education, this will set back years of work. Efata Christian School has been serving the Peruvian Deaf for over 40 years. We were doing it when no one else cared about the Deaf or their education, let alone their spiritual well-being. We have seen more parents saved this year and actively involved with their children and many coming to church.
The blessing about being a Christian is that we do not fight these battles alone. We have a Heavenly Father who is intimately involved in our lives and cares and as the verse above states: He will keep us in perfect peace. He is in control. We will work hard to obtain a solution while we rest in the LORD to provide wisdom to us as He works on the “king’s heart”!
Family News
On the family front; we will be coming to the States on Feb. 18th until July 11th. We have a very full schedule with very limited openings left. We will not be able to visit all of our wonderful supporters. We have been able to schedule with all who asked for us to come by and visit. If you would like for us to visit and we are going to be in your area; we will do all we can to make it happen. Just contact me.
Thank you for your steady and faithful support for us and this work. This economic situation in America has affected all of us. Not only has our support dropped, but In Peru, the exchange rate has dropped as well and with inflation taking its toll, we have a whole lot less “bang for the buck”. What is wonderful about this situation, is watching how God miraculously provides for our needs. He gives us wisdom daily to meet our daily needs and He gives us handfuls of purpose just when we need it most!
We are honored to be your missionaries working in Peru and beyond. We look forward to seeing many of you soon. We look forward to 2012 if for no other reason but to watch how God, our Heavenly father is going to mold and provide for us as we serve Him.
God Bless,
Bro. Joe & Lisa
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
Sep 30, 2011 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and family,
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Romans 1:9-12
IMPORTANT News! Lord willing, our family will be coming home for a short furlough from March to July of 2012. We plan to be in the States for just four months and then return to Peru. Our oldest son Joseph graduates from college in May, so we will be able to be with him for this special time, and, as Paul expressed a deep desire to have a prosperous journey to be with the saints at Rome and to be comforted in the mutual faith with them; we as well desire to be with you all. Pastor, if you would like to have our family in to visit, to get to know the additions and report on the work here in Peru, please contact me so I can begin scheduling our meetings. We will attempt to visit as many of you as is logistically possible. If you have a mission conference that you will be hosting during these months and would like for us to participate, please let me know.
Ministry News
We continue to stay very busy and are grateful for the coming of spring- Sept. 23! Each week we have had fruit on visitation; church families have brought their friends and neighbors to Christ, more than ten parents have been saved through our Christian deaf school just in the last three months. It is a joy to see families coming and hearing their testimonies of God changing them and giving them peace in their homes. Many more seek answers. Please pray for this ministry.
On September 4th we had our open air preaching meeting in front of the City Hall of Villa El Salvador! We were so excited because over 80 members of the church came out to participate and we had over 20 salvation decisions. Our next meeting Open Air meeting is to be on November12th. Please pray as we preach the Gospel to our city.
We just hosted our very first teen conference September 21-24 here at Efata. Pastor Luis Ramos from San Luis Potosi, Mexico and Evangelist Carlos Chacon with Chispas de Evangelismo (Sparks of Evangelism, a ministry of Fires of Evangelism) preached for us. It was a tremendous blessing. Many decisions were made for Christ. Our young people have a desire to be used of God, and we thank God for the work He is doing in their hearts and lives.
The deaf children’s home ministry is doing well also. We are receiving a new one-and-a-half year-old deaf baby boy. Please pray for our financial needs as we care for little Danny. If you would like to share in the great blessing of sponsoring him, or another deaf child, please contact us.
Family News
We thank the Lord that we are all doing great. Joseph is a senior this year in college. We enjoyed him spending his summer with us. Julianne is starting college on-line and doing a great deal to help here. All of the children are growing and serving the Lord. I have attached a new picture of the family on this letter. If you would like me to e-mail you one just let me know.
Thank you once again to all of you for your care, love and support for us during these 12 years of service as your missionaries in Peru and beyond.
God Bless,
Bro. Joe & Lisa,
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
Our Family
Jun 30, 2011 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and Family,
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
– Nehemiah 8:10
Truly the Joy of the Lord is the strength of God’s people. When the Word of God is proclaimed as it was in the day of Nehemiah; the same joy can be experienced as we bring the Word of God to a lost and dying world. The ministry with all of its difficulties brings incredible joy as we see God work in and through us!
Ministry News
What a busy few months it has been. We have had some very wonderful days here at Efata. On May 22nd we had our church’s 34th anniversary. My pastor, Matt Booher of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Florida, was our special speaker. What a joy it was to finally have him come and be a part of our ministry. It was a wonderful day with several saved.
Last week we had our annual Mission Conference. Missionary to the Deaf, Jim Sloan came in and was our special speaker. Jim has been a friend of this ministry and of mine personally for many years. He was very influential in my confirmation to the call to missions here in Peru. We had three people saved during the conference, and on Monday, a hearing son of one of our deaf leaders was saved after hearing a very clear presentation of the Gospel on Sunday.
Our church met our faith promise goal for last year and so far the commitments for this coming mission year exceeded last year by 20%. We as a church are thrilled at what the Lord is doing here at Efata. The church also pledged over $3300.00 for the continued work on the construction of the new church in the jungle town of Pucallpa of which over half has already come in. What a blessing to see our national people sacrificially giving to the Lord’s work. This month the school also celebrated its 41st year here in Peru.
Last week I had the opportunity to preach a Mission Conference for Missionary Markos Lindsey in Huancayo. That was a tremendous blessing. During that time I was able to visit the deaf work that we started two years ago and preach for them. It was a blessing to see Pastor Jorge, a Deaf missionary sent out of our church doing a wonderful work in that mountain city.
Next week I will be going to Mexico to participate in a Mission Conference with Pastor Luis Ramos in San Luis Potosi. While there I will have the privilege of visiting another dear pastor friend, Antonio Gomez in Torreon, Mexico. Both men are part of the preaching team of Fires of Evangelism which is based out of Northwest Bible Baptist Church in Elgin, IL. Fires of Evangelism has conferences all over Latin America to encourage preachers and laymen regarding soul winning, leadership training and family issues. Pastor Elmer Fernandez heads up this very vital ministry which is a tremendous blessing to us every year when we host the Fires Conference here in Lima.
When I return from Mexico, I will be going to the coastal town of Chiclayo to preach in a conference with Gil Torres, Spanish Pastor from Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, CA. I am thrilled for these opportunities to preach and encourage people about missions and ministry (especially with the Deaf). Please pray for God’s provision and safety as I travel and preach His Word.
Family News
It is so exciting having our oldest son Joseph home for the summer from college. It is always a thrill to have the whole family home. I know as the kids get older and God leads them in their future lives, these times will become fewer and farther between. Lisa and I are grateful to God for the family He has given us and what a thrill it is to see our children serving the Lord.
During the Mission Conference I was blessed to have all of my older children helping and serving, James led the choir and helped with the interpreting, Julianne played the violin and interpreted, Joseph helped with interpreting and special music, Jared and Judson sang in the choir, Joy and John sang a special in their Patch group and quoted scripture. What a joy!
What a privilege to serve the Lord together as a family and to be your partners in Peru and beyond.
Thank you for your continued prayers and commitments to us. We, like many missionaries have lost a great deal of support during these difficult times. However, we marvel at how God continually provides for our needs in miraculous ways. He continues to do so by using you, our supporters as channels of blessing through your prayers and sacrificial giving. Thank you for being an instrument in God’s hand on our behalf.
Joe & Lisa,
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
Mar 30, 2011 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and Family,
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
– John 9:4
These past three months have flown by. It is hard to keep track of the time. There is much work to do and we can see the night is coming fast upon us!
Ministry News
In January we had another wonderful conference with Fires of Evangelism. Many people were saved during the week, and several made decisions. It was a great blessing. We had more local pastors this year than before, even though the crowd was smaller. Elmer Fernandez, Kevin Wynne and Antonio Gomez were our special speakers this year. We look forward to next year’s conference, where we will be focusing on the family.
Henry Vasquez & Family
Pastor Henry, our assistant pastor for the hearing has resigned to become a missionary in the jungle city of Pucallpa. We had the privilege of commissioning him and his family to go and start a ministry to the hearing as they begin the watch-care of the deaf work that is already there. We are looking forward to what the Lord is going to do through him and his wonderful family. We will miss them greatly here at Efata. The hearing ministry has grown tremendously under his leadership and labors.
We are thankful that we were recently able to build a new home on the property for the missionary and his family. We have about $3500.00 available to begin the construction of the new church building as well, because the old one is about to fall apart because of jungle rains and termites. Please pray for this, as we need about $4000.00 more to be able to complete that project. Thank you so much to those who have given to this need.
The new school year is upon us, and we have several new deaf children in the school. We are so excited to be able to start from the beginning with these children. We have had much greater success in reaching the parents of these new deaf children. Several have accepted Christ as Saviour. Just this afternoon, Pastor Victor was able to lead the parents of a new deaf child in our school to the Lord. We are thrilled about these blessings.
Family News
Jennifer is growing fast. All the kids are doing well. I traveled to Ft. Myers for my doctor’s appointment at the VA clinic, and the doctor advised that I was doing well and would not need to come back for a year. I was thrilled with that news. The blood pressure is a bit high, but we are working on that. While there, I had reward points and was able to book a free flight to Pastor’s School in Hammond, IN. What a blessing and time of spiritual refreshing about the Cross. I was also able to meet and coordinate with the mission team they are sending to Peru next year to begin a work here. We are excited about this new mission effort to reach the Spanish-speaking world from Peru!
I was able to see Joseph while I was home as well. It was good to see him and to know that he is doing well. We look forward to having him home for the summer. He will be graduating, Lord willing, in May of 2012. We are planning to coordinate a short furlough to coincide with his graduation.
Please continue to pray for us as we serve here in Peru. We are blessed to have a wonderful team of Americans and Nationals working together to do our part to evangelize the Deaf and hearing world.
Thank you for partnering with us!
Joe & Lisa,
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
Jan 30, 2011 | Prayer Letters
Dear friends and family,
What an incredible year 2010 was. So much happened and we rejoice in the Lord for His manifold blessings. As with all years, 2010 was filled with its share of difficulties and challenges. What thrills me is to see how the Lord used these times to mold and mature us as a family, as a church, and as individuals. I still wonder at how people who do not have a solid relationship with the Lord cope with everything that this sinful world throws at them.
We would like to thank all of our supporting churches and friends for all they did for us last year. Many of you gave special offerings for projects during the year as well as special Christmas offerings for our family and the children here at Efata. Thank you to all of you who were able to have a part.
We have lost a considerable amount of support during 2010. Many of our partnering friends and churches have had to reevaluate their mission budgets and as one pastor said, “You are one of the casualties”. Many individuals are no longer able to continue their support for the child they were sponsoring. These are our friends and I know each one who had to stop or reduce their support did not make those decisions lightly. We love them and pray God will abundantly bless their efforts to continue effectively in New Testament World-wide Missions.
What God has done is proved that He is still in control. He has not left us one day when we could not provide food on the table for the many who depend on us here at Efata. Soul- winning efforts continue, the support of national missionaries continues, the care for the deaf children goes on, the bills get paid and the overall plan of God continues. Many of our churches and friends are suffering in these economic times, but that has not hindered God from providing in miraculous ways.
This year we have seen our missionary friends around the world struggle with serious issues of health, safety and financial needs. We have read their prayer requests and have prayed with them. We know that God never forgets about any of us, no matter where we serve, whether stateside or abroad, God intimately cares about each and every one of us.
We have rejoiced with many new births, including our little Jennifer and we have been comforted in our losses which include our dear sister in Christ, Mrs. Joyce Riley, my former pastor’s wife.
Overall, we had a tremendously blessed 2010 and we look forward with expectation to 2011. There are no limits to what God can and will do. “ For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…” 1 Chronicles 16:9.
From January 25th – 27th we will be hosting our annual “Fires of Evangelism” Conference. In my last prayer letter I mentioned that we need to try to raise $2000.00 to help some of the national pastors be able to come and benefit from this very impacting conference. We try to pay for half their bus fare. Without these funds many will not be able to come. This conference has changed many lives and ministries over the years. Please pray with us that God will provide these funds for this year.
We thank you for all that you do in prayer and financial support for our family and Efata Ministries. God bless and grant all of you a productive and impacting 2011 for the Lord.
Bro. Joe & Lisa,
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, & Jennifer
