For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? – Esther 4:14
These weeks have been unique for all of us around the world – a once in a lifetime event. The blessing is that God truly is in control and I believe He has a plan for all of us during this time as he did for Esther in her time.
I want to say that you and I are here for “such a time as this.” We are the ones that God has chosen to have the privilege of serving Him in these unique days. It is not Paul’s time. It is not Peter’s time, It is not Roger Williams’ time. It is not Whitefield’s time. It is not Spurgeon’s time. It is not Bob Jones’ time. It is not Lester Roloff’s time. It is not Lee Roberson’s time. It not Richard Riley’s time. IT IS OUR TIME. It is for us to serve our God and do his will TODAY. For tomorrow belongs to the Lord and our children.
We as God’s servants need to look forward to the opportunities that God is presenting us in our unique time, not looking back in nostalgia but looking forward in expectation as to how God will use us today.
What exciting times to be a Christian and see God work!!!
Ministry News
As you know, like many other missionaries around the world, we are in a state of emergency quarantine. For us here in Peru, it is akin to martial law. Our movement are very restricted under penalty of arrest and massive fines. Only one person in a family can go out during certain hours of the day to go to the store to buy food. As an example, my son and missionary Joseph went to the store to buy food and a pair of shoes for his son JJ’s as his shoes were torn and worn. They would not let him buy the shoes.
They have extended the quarantine to at least May 10th and they will probably extend it further. There are some days were no one can go out at all.
There are some special permissions for those who are involved in providing food supplies for the elderly or others. We have two of our pastors who have this special permission and thus they are allowed to go out in our vehicles to the food bank program and get donations which we then add to what we purchase for our church people and others who are needy and once or twice a week we are able to provide food for over 75 families on a weekly basis. When we hear of a special case, we put together care bags of food and take it to families in need. We are thankful for the sacrifices of some in the States who, in the midst of their own needs, like the Philippians, have abounded to ours by providing funds for us to purchase needed food for others.
Our school is shut down and we are doing virtual teaching to those who we can reach. We are preaching online which is posted to our church’s Facebook page (Iglesia Bautista Efata). We are also hosting weeklong virtual Bible Conferences for both the Deaf and hearing in the month of May. We went virtual for our Bible College and also our Bible Institute, as well as a children’s program.
We have had as of now seven Deaf people saved through the virtual out reaches and some hearing. One hearing lady was saved at our front door when Lisa was distributing food.
Several of the families of our deaf children have been greatly affected with family members struck with the virus. One deaf young man, Eddie, lost his mother last year and recently lost his father to a medical condition. Because of the lockdown, he is all alone. One of our Deaf pastors, Frank while talking with him via WhatsApp, was able to comfort him and inquire about his salvation as he was a student contemporary with Frank when they were younger here at Efata. Eddie said he was not sure, and Pastor Frank was able to guide him to the Lord in Salvation. We rejoice that not only are we able to meet his physical needs by way of food, but we are able to meet his spiritual and emotional needs through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Family News
Our family is safe and doing well. We are thankful to the Lord for the safe birth of our eighth grandchild, James Raymond Kotvas who was born to James and Ann after a difficult pregnancy. They are doing well. Please pray for our Daughter-in-law, Joseph’s wife Zulema. She is having an exceedingly difficult time with her pregnancy health wise. This will be their third child. Julianne is also expecting number five, so please continue to pray for her also. When these two are born, that will make 10 grandkids – What a blessed heritage!
At Efata, we have added a donkey and two goats to the Efata family here from a petting zoo that was closed due to the virus. They add some spice to the complex. John is enjoying his new “charges”. It is a great addition to all the birds, rabbits, dogs, ducks, chickens and fish that add some beauty and life to our complex. The Deaf and staff children who live here LOVE to feed and watch them. How many kids in America living in a big city can say they have all those animals to enjoy and learn about? We are blessed.
Our Thanks
Thank you once again for everything you do for us in your prayers and support. We do not take for granted that many of you are making sacrifices during these days to be able to maintain your support for the work of the Lord here in Peru. We also are assured that those who have not been able, due to the financial hardships, are still lifting us up in prayer. We love all of you!
Greetings from Lima, Peru, South America. I’m Joe Kotvas. My wife Lisa and I are your missionaries here in Lima, Peru, South America.
I want to give you an update on what’s going on with the coronavirus situation and how it is impacting our ministry. As you know we have a large ministry to the Deaf and the hearing here in Lima Peru and beyond. This country is in a shutdown, like many other countries. The shutdown here has been pretty abrupt and pretty strong. It’s been a martial law type of shutdown. There have been at the time of this recording 480 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with 9 fatalities, and the president is looking at extending the martial law, this quarantine, until possibly the 12th of April; he will make that decision later on this afternoon.
The fact of the matter is, during this time nobody can go out and we cannot have church services; obviously we cannot go out on visitation or visit anybody. Only one person in the family can go out during the day to the stores or to the bank. If anyone goes beyond that they will be arrested. and thousands of people have been arrested. After 8 o’clock at night it’s a full curfew and you can’t go out. Nobody can go out. There is no public transportation and private vehicle are prohibited from being on the roadways during the entire time. Only select taxis can drive, and that’s going to a market and back or to a hospital and back.
We are obeying the laws and obeying what the mandates of the president are. And what we’re doing in response to that is, I’m not much of a social media person, but we’ve learned how to put our media live streaming on Facebook, so on Sunday morning we have a service for the Deaf and a service for the hearing and then on Wednesday for the Deaf and the hearing as well. The Deaf service is in Peruvian Sign Language, and of course the hearing service is in Spanish.
So, nobody in Efata Ministries has been affected directly with the coronavirus. We’re doing our best, even on the complex where multiple families live, maintaining social distancing and being careful so that nobody can contract the virus here in our complex.
Pray for us, and pray for this ministry and all the ministries of our Macedonia missionaries all around the world and other missionaries who are serving God and preaching the Gospel. There are many others who are in situations very similar to ours and some are even in more critical situations because they can’t even get to the bank to get their support out so that they can buy the needed supplies that they need.
We’re just asking churches, my supporting churches especially and the churches that support our missionaries: Please be faithful as best you can to continue supporting your missionaries. Though we cannot go out and knock on doors, we still have to live and we still have to provide novel means of getting the Gospel out. Not only are we doing that in a spiritual context of Facebooking and social media contacts, but we are also doing the social aspect of the ministry by providing much-needed food supplies to the Venezuelan refugees and others in our church who have no jobs or no way to generate any income to go out and buy those products. We’re providing flour, sugar, vegetables, rice, and various other things that we can to try to help our people in our churches and those who are without in this time of crisis.
We pray that you will continue partnering with us; we thank you for all that you have done. We’re thankful for our mission board, Macedonia, and I’m very thankful for our home church, Emmanuel Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Florida, for all the support and prayers that you’ve been sending our way, and for the financial support that you guys continue to send so that we can continue to be busy about the Master’s business. He’s in control. He’s got it all in hand. All we need to do is rest in him and fret not. So take Psalm 37 to heart, and know that God is in control as we move forward and serve him.
A Song of degrees. 1I will
lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2My
help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. — Psalm 121:1-2
It has been an unbelievably busy summer
for us here at Efata. We have had several camps and conferences as well as a
great deal of work to get ready for the new school year. As the verse above
teaches us, our help comes from God and we greatly depend on His guidance and
care to keep moving forward in His ministry.
During my annual visit to the VA doctor,
I was able to visit a few of my supporting churches and give a report on the
ministry. In addition, I was able to meet in person my new Pastor—Pastor Bob
Ossewaarde—of my home church—Emmanuel Baptist Church in Fort Myers, FL. It was
such a blessing to get to know him.
In February we had camps for the hearing
and the Deaf. Both camps were outstanding with many saved and rededicated to
the Lord. We are still seeing fruit from these camps.
Fires of Evangelism
We also hosted a Fires of Evangelism conference and a
Youth Conference at the same time here at Efata. What a blessing that was. Over
150 people made professions out on visitation and in the conferences itself. At
least 19 adults and 59 young people surrendered for full time Christian
service. The youth conference was administered by the missionaries of Team Peru
from First Baptist Church of Hammond. It is so nice to have a strong friendship
and ministry environment with other missionaries of like faith. We averaged 600
people in the evening services with the largest service being 636 people. There
were over 300 during the daytime sessions and at least 45 pastors came to the
conference.
The day after the conferences I went to
preach a Professional Christian Men’s retreat at camp for two days. It was a
blessing to help these business and career minded servants with the Word of God
and Biblical principles for their professional and career lives.
Regarding the tax situation with the
municipality, we were able to finally get a meeting with the Asst. Mayor and
the Fiscal staff regarding our tax situation. They seem to want to help us but
there is an interdepartmental problem that is hindering a solution. We continue
to work on this and will keep you informed. Thus, please continue to pray for
this situation.
Our mission church in Tablada just
celebrated its seventh anniversary. The place was full. I enjoyed preaching for
them. Pray as they continue to look for a new larger place to meet. They are at
full capacity.
The Tablada Mission Church
Work on the Roof
We have so much coming up in the next few
months, with Efata Baptist Church’s anniversary, the school’s 50th anniversary,
and much more.
We have a great deal of work and
infrastructure repairs to do. Please pray for God’s continued provision. One
major project we were able to see done was the installation of a roof over our
soccer court which you can see in the picture. This has been a desire and goal
of mine for over 10 years. It will now allow us to continue to have conferences
and eventually build a larger auditorium for services as the Lord provides. We
fill up our current auditorium every Sunday which can hold about 300.
Our Bible institute and Bible College is
scheduled to start up again at the end of March. We will have a few more
students in the college and about the same in the hearing institute. We hope to
have our Deaf Bible Institute going on as well.
As of Sunday night, Peru was declared to be in a state of emergency with curfew and quarantine. We are only allowed to leave the house to visit the grocery store, bank, pharmacy or hospital. Almost everything else is shut down. The borders are closed, as well as all airports and bus terminals. People have been ordered to stay inside for 15 days. Please pray for our deaf and hearing families as they seek to cope physically, emotionally and spiritually. Currently, 145 people have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, with no deaths. They are trying to reduce the spread of infection. All church services and all classes have been suspended.
Family News
While in the States I was able to visit
James and Ann in Wisconsin. Ann was in the hospital for several weeks due to early
labor at 25 weeks. Thank the Lord she and the baby are doing fine. Now at 34
weeks, the doctors attending her have all but said that it was a miracle that
she has not prematurely delivered yet. They look forward to continuing
deputation after the baby is born. As he focuses on his primary ministry, his
family, he is helping as he can at his home church and preaching in meetings
close by. Please continue to pray for them for health and provision.
All three of our married children are
expecting, Joseph and Zulema (#3), Julianne and Frank (#5), and James and Ann
(#2).
Jared and Judson are serving their
country in their respective services. They are faithful to the Lord. Joy will
be graduating soon and preparing for college. John, Joel, Jessica and Jennifer
are getting back into their school routine. (As is Lisa!)
We are thankful for your faithful
support. We covet your prayers for our family and ministry. We are praying for
you as well.
Oh that men would
praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men!– Psalms 107:21
As the year comes to
a close, we have so much to be thankful for and rejoice in. It has been an exceptional year in
ministry. I am often amazed at God’s
working in lives and His wonderful care for us as His children. I am so glad that He is in control.
In October, we had a
group from Liberty Baptist Church in Holly Ridge, NC come down on a missions
trip, and they were such a great blessing.
There were some professional electricians in the group who were able to
do some very important electrical work throughout the complex that we have
wanted to do for several years. They
also helped with a new parking area and were just a tremendous encouragement to
us all.
In November, we had
our annual Bible conference. Jon Barr, President of Silent Word Ministries, and
Allen Snare, one of the missionaries with Silent Word, were our guest speakers.
The conference was a blessing especially to our deaf and interpreters through
the preaching and workshops. Several Deaf
and hearing were saved, and our people were greatly encouraged.
A week later, we
celebrated thanksgiving with our ministry family here at Efata. This is not a Peruvian holiday, but it is an
Efata holiday that is one of the most important times of the year; a time where
we can give thanks to God for his manifold blessings on us and this ministry.
The very same night
after our thanksgiving dinner, our pastoral staff and primary leaders traveled
to the city of Arequipa where we were able to get away for a few days of
planning and rest. I was able to preach
in two churches and in a family seminar as well. Several of our other pastors were used in
other churches in Arequipa.
Almost every Sunday
these past months we have had people saved and baptized. We have had several funerals for Deaf and
hearing family and friends of our church members. We celebrated several weddings
as well. This week we were able to lead to the Lord the husband of a new
Christian lady in our church, and then on Christmas Eve a lady accepted Christ.
Her family’s home was destroyed, and we have had the opportunity to minister to
their physical needs as well as spiritually.
Through your generosity we were able to be a channel of blessing to
them. She came and said to Lisa, “I really want to give my life to God now will
you help me. I am ready now.” This was a
great answer to prayer. Please pray for the rest of Jimena’s family to come to
Christ.
We are getting ready
for our summer here, and we had two graduate our special high school program
and six graduate from the elementary school. We need more teachers next year.
Please pray for this need and for God to send us the students He would have us
to reach.
We thank
those of you who sent gifts for Christmas to make it special for our deaf
children and our family. One of the most incredible activities that we hosted
this Christmas was a meal for the displaced Venezuelan families who live in our
area. We had over 300 show up and gave
nice gifts to all the children who came.
We preached the Gospel to them and many prayed to trust Christ as Saviour. Please pray for the follow-up.
Relating to our issues
with the municipality regarding the tax situation, we have enlisted the service
of a good Christian lawyer and he is helping us with this issue. Pray for God’s provision to pay the lawyer
and God’s intervention in this matter.
We are seeing some hints of light at the end of that very dark tunnel.
Family News
Wethank
the Lord for His protection and care for Joseph and James and their families as
they travel to raise their mission support. Please continue to pray safety,
strength, and provision for them, and for James’ wife Ann’s health in her
pregnancy. She is due in April. Jared
and Judson are doing well in their respective branches of the military. Joy is
working hard to finish school and preparing to go on to college. The younger four are all well.
Joseph, Julianne, James and their families, along with Jared and Judson,
were able to spend Thanksgiving with Lisa’s mom in Jacksonville. Joseph’s family, Jared, and Judson were able
to spend Christmas with Julianne and Frank in South Florida. All were able to visit with my father in
Tampa during these days as well. We were
able to “Glide”, “Duo” and “Facetime”. J The video
communication helps to mitigate the absence of the kids and grandkids here at
home in Peru.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
2 Timothy 4:5
This has been an
incredible time here at Efata with much happening. The Lord has been working and doing wonderful
things amongst us and we rejoice every day to serve Him as we endeavor to “make
full proof” of the ministry that God has given us on the mission field of
Peru.
Ministry News
In July and August
over 260,000 Gospel tracts were distributed here in Lima as the city hosted the
Pan-American Games. Soul-winners from
four different churches, including Fargo Baptist in ND, Victory Baptist in
Wichita Falls, TX, Lehigh Valley Baptist Church in Emmaus, PA and Metropolitan
Baptist Church in Bloomington, MN—26 people in all—came down and along with
members of Efata Baptist Church distributed these tracts. What a great
blessing.
We had the privilege
of supporting International Baptist Church with their Pastor’s school this year
here in Chorrillos in Lima. For three
nights, we hosted about 70 pastors who came in from all over Peru here at
Efata. The conference was a great
inspiration and help to these pastors.
Our choir sang one of the days and we interpreted the services for our
Deaf and Deaf pastors.
Also in September, a group from Lighthouse Baptist
Church in Dawsonville, GA came down and were a great blessing. Pastor Blackstock preached and taught a
married couple’s mini retreat and preached in two of our churches as well as
preaching the first night of our youth conference. This was an extremely impacting and
insightful time for the couples and the youth.
The group was a great encouragement and blessing to us all. We had several young people rededicate their
lives, and several people were saved while they were here.
Right after the
wonderful visit and ministry of Lighthouse Baptist, we hosted a Spiritual
Warfare Conference with Pastor Marvin Smith from Harvest Baptist Church in Fort
Dodge, IA. What an incredible conference
that was. In addition to the preaching
each night, Bro. Smith took half a day to speak to our leadership team and
encourage, challenge and assist them in understanding and identifying spiritual
warfare principles and issues.
We can see God
working in all these back to back ministry efforts as we have had several Deaf
and hearing saved and baptized during these weeks.
We also had a special service on Sunday the 29th in the afternoon to honor the Deaf, as it was the designated “week of the Deaf” here in Peru. It was great, and I was able to preach a special message to them of how God loves and cares for them and they are not a mistake. There were over 100 Deaf in attendance.
Relating to our issues
with the municipality regarding the tax situation, things have gotten a bit
worse. The city here has frozen the
school’s local bank account. However,
this was an illegal move as we still have an appeal in process and there was
not notification beforehand. In
addition, we have been responding to their previous communication within the
legal timelines, but they have not responded back to our letters within that
same legal requirement. We now have a
lawyer helping us who is an expert in this area, and he says we have several
good options as the city has abused its authority and is not operating in good
faith. Please continue to pray as we work on this and investigate every avenue
we have to solve this issue.
Our mission works in
Tablada, Pucallpa, Callao, San Juan de Lurigancho and Chancay are doing well. Each has its unique needs and are at
different stages in their development. As you pray, please lift these works up
to the Lord.
Family News
Joy, our oldest at
home, just turned 19. She is such a
sweet young lady who is very involved in the ministry here with music and interpreting.
She also works directly with our teen and young adult girls in the ministry
here, all while doing a heavier than usual course load in order to finish up
high school.
Greetings from Joy,
John, Joel, Jessica and Jennifer. We had
the blessing of having a visit from Julianne and Frank and our four Miller
grandchildren for a week. They came from
Florida for a visit, and what a wonderful week it was! Please remember Joseph
and Zulema and their little ones and James and Ann and their little one in your
prayers as they continue on deputation.
Thank you for your prayers, support and care for us as we plant churches, train Deaf and hearing, care for orphans and widows and see people saved and baptized here in Peru and beyond through our ministry’s influences.
These have been an
eventful two months here at Efata and in Peru.
We are thankful that we serve the One True God! As the verse above states, “There is no
other!”
Ministry News
We had a wonderful
Mission Conference in June. James (our
second son) came down to preach the conference for us, and he did a great
job. We had three churches participate
in our round-robin conference, and it was such a blessing to our people and to
the other churches. We had several of
our missionaries here who gave updates, and we enjoyed spending time with them.
The week after the
conference, we had a wonderful visit from one of our supporting churches–Berean
Baptist Church from Raleigh, NC. What a
blessing they were! Their youth group led
by their Youth Pastor Philip Rabon came down and did a work project installing
hashtag-shaped pavers (#) to add parking next to the street that grass can grow
through and help to beautify the area.
Our neighbors really like it as well.
Three preacher boys who came with the group were able to preach here at
Efata and at some of our satellite churches around Lima. Their team also joined our young people to help
at another church with a small work project and go soul winning. Several people
were saved. We are very thankful for
the blessing they were.
We have had the joy
of both deaf and hearing following the Lord in baptism recently in our
services. Please pray for them to grow
and for more fruit.
As I write, Lima is hosting
the Pan-American Games. We are thrilled
to be hosting a large group of soul-winners, who have come down from four
different churches. Fargo Baptist in ND,
Victory Baptist in Wichita Falls, TX, Lehigh Valley Baptist Church in Emmaus,
PA and Metropolitan Baptist Church in Bloomington, MN–26 people in all. They, along with members of Efata Baptist Church,
have already distributed about 250,000 gospel tracts of the 300,000 we have,
and they still have several days left. What a great blessing. We have already received
phone calls and inquiries from the tract distribution.
If you are following
our issues with the municipality regarding the tax issues, it is still no closer
to a resolution. We are still waiting
for our appeal before we can further address this with the city. Please pray as
we work on this and investigate every available avenue to solve this issue.
The mission plant in
Chancay now has a permanent missionary! Our missionary Henry Vasquez has taken up
the mantle and has moved to Chancay to minister full time at that location.
Please pray for him and his wife Mirian, especially for her health as she has
some chronic heart issues. If any of you
who have been faithful supporters and friends would like to help them
financially for this church plant, I know it would be a real blessing. They do not have a great deal of support, and
now on top of their regular needs, they have extra ministry expenses and living
costs of rent, utilities, etc. that they are facing. If you would like to help
them on a monthly basis for any amount, just designate that to Henry Vasquez
when you send in your support and every dollar that you designate to them and
the Chancay project will go directly to them.
Family News
All is well on the
family home front. The kids enjoyed
celebrating their Peruvian Independence Day on the 28th of
July. Both Jessica and Jennifer wore
beautiful red and white dresses, the colors of the Peruvian flag. My youngest is getting older! We celebrated Jennifer’s 9th
birthday on the 22nd. Thank you to those who send notes and cards on our
special days. It is an encouragement.
Jared and Judson are
well, serving in their respective Services and churches. Judson’s Pastor, a dear friend of mine whom I
mentioned in my last prayer letter, Ray Warren, went home to be with the Lord.
Please pray for his family and his church, Liberty Baptist Church in Holly
Springs, NC. I will greatly miss this choice servant of God, but I look forward
to seeing him again in Glory! He loved Peru and ministered here on many
occasions.
Please keep Joseph, Zulema
and their two little ones, J.J. and Esther, in your prayers while they are on
furlough, asking that God would continue
to supply their needs and give them just the meetings that He would have for
them to be able to raise the needed support. Pray that God would use them as
they travel.
Also please pray for
James and Ann and little Elsie that God would supply their every need and
encourage them as they are also on deputation.
Pray that God will use them as well and lead them as they go. We’re missing the grandkids!
Once again, thank you
for your prayers, support and care for us as we plant churches, train deaf and
hearing, care for orphans and widows and see people saved and baptized here in
Peru and beyond.
