January – February 2018

Apr 2, 2018 | Prayer Letters

Dear Friends and Family,

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Romans 1:13

It has been a joy as we visit both new and supporting churches.  As Paul states above, he had a great desire to visit the church at Rome so that he could share in their ministry and have fruit among them.  That is how we feel; we wish to be with you all and share with you and have fruit among you as well.

Ministry News

Stateside furlough:

We have had wonderful meetings and fellowship with our supporters and new friends. A passion for missions is alive and well in many places in America. We are thankful to see this.

If we were not able to schedule you this year, feel free to contact me if you would still like to connect with us.  If it is possible, we will try to make a meeting happen.  My number is (813) 406-2838 and my e-mail address is jkotvas@efata.org.  If nothing else, I would love to talk with you.  We love and thank God for each of you.

Field-side news:

Please pray for Peru.  They are going through a political crisis.  The president has resigned, and the country is still reeling from the construction bribery scandal that has plagued it. Pray the new president’s transition will go smoothly and the country can move forward.

In May I will be returning to Peru for the church’s anniversary and for a “La Espada” conference.  We are really looking forward to these two wonderful events and meetings to encourage and train our people in the Lord’s work.  Lord willing, we will also be ordaining Frank Chavez, the Deaf young man who recently graduated from our Bible college and married Margot, a precious young lady who grew up in Efata.  He is doing a great job and we are looking forward to this momentous occasion in his life.  I will keep you posted.

We are advancing with the new mission work in Chancay, two hours north of us.  We are excited about this work. One of our national pastors is now living there and visiting and working with the residents who live in the area.    Please pray as we establish this new church and ministry.

Deaf camp in January was wonderful. Bro. Alan Snare, Deaf evangelist, preached, and many lives were touched.  Two were saved, and many deaf gave testimony to how God worked in their lives. Two weeks later was hearing camp.  They had approximately 150 participating and many decisions were made for the Lord.  Only in eternity will you see all the fruit that came as a result.  Thank you, Pastor Ronald Tubillas for coming to preach this year!

School has started and is going well.  We have several new students; the teachers are very busy!  Please pray for our students as God works in hearts and opens their minds to know HIM and grow in grace and knowledge. He has blessed us with a wonderful staff. Pray as we start an adult tutoring class for those who are illiterate.

Family News

Please pray for Joseph.  He is doing a great job at Efata as we are away.  However, he desperately needs to raise his support, but cannot until we return. As you know, he only raised a small amount on deputation before coming to Peru, then married, and has two beautiful babies, born C-section. This has left them hurting financially.  He is working on all the visa paperwork for His wife Zulema to come to the States and the process is expensive and slow.  If any of our dear friends and supporters could help him with a love offering, it would be a great blessing.  Just send it to Macedonia with a note “Joseph Visa”. He would like to be able to come to his brother James’ wedding in May and stay for a month or so to reach out and raise more support.  but he simply does not have the funds.  Joseph is a hard-working missionary with his own new mission work in El Agustino, teaching in the Deaf School, and pastoring the Deaf at Efata.  He is an incredible young missionary, has a heart for the Lord, and is making a difference. Please, consider this great need.

James is doing great and preparing for marriage and the mission field.  He was accepted by Macedonia as a missionary to Peru.  We will keep you up to date as things draw near.

Please pray for Bro. Bob Miller, he is the former pastor of the church where I served before going to the mission field and is my daughter Julianne’s father-in-law.  He is struggling with bone cancer and a damaged spine from two car crashes where his car was rear-ended. Please, pray for God to intervene and help him get relief.

Judson will be moving to Camp Lejeune in April.  We are looking forward to getting him connected with a good ministry nearby.  Jared is doing well in the Air Force in Panama City.

The five children still at home are enjoying traveling and experiencing life on the road in the States on furlough.  God has been SO good to them and us.

Joe & Lisa Kotvas
Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer

November – December 2017

Jan 18, 2018 | Prayer Letters

Dear Friends and Family,

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now, ye rejoice in your boastings; all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  James 4:15-17

We rejoice to know that God’s desire and goal is to guide our days. God is wanting us each day to say, “God, what would you have me to do? Lead and guide my steps, I want YOUR will today, not mine.” If we make our own decisions and we won’t do the good that God would lead us to do, it is sin.

Ministry News

The first week of November, some of my leadership team and I were able to go to Falls Baptist Church in Wisconsin for a Sunday School small-group training workshop.  What a blessing that was and a challenge as we work on implementing what we have learned.  In addition, God blessed us with a wonderful Bible conference with Missionary Evangelist Doug Whiteside. Both Deaf and hearing were blessed by God. The messages were impacting each night.  We were especially thankful for the private training time with our pastoral staff and Bro. Whiteside; his many years of experience and service in ministry were a blessing and challenge to all.  Each day was well attended.

The last week of November we had two dear ladies enter the gates of heaven.  A pastor’s wife (They loan us the building our son Joseph uses for the deaf in El Agustino.) and the following day, the mother of one of our precious deaf members. I preached at the evening viewing  and shared the gospel with many lost family members. That same week we also received a newborn to take care of for a few days. Remembering the verses above, we could see how God has a plan – a way for us to minister, a way to serve, and it may not be in our plans, or designs, but God will lead and guide as we allow Him. We were packing, and preparing to leave the next week… plans change, God opens doors.  Packing was a blur.

That same Sunday we were blessed to baptize four soldiers who had been saved through the preaching on their base where I had been preaching on Wednesday mornings. That evening we had the first commencement service of our Bible College.  Two young men, one Deaf and one hearing, graduated, and we are so proud of them.  This was also the last official service of Bro. Cory Ricker as he and his wife Melissa and their three daughters are moving on to start a new work with the Deaf in Cuzco.  They have worked with us for eight years and we will greatly miss them.  However, we wish them God’s blessings as they go forward for the Lord.  The next day we left Peru with our five children to report to our churches in the States and raise necessary support.

Please pray for us as we schedule meetings to update our wonderful supporters and partners and gain much-needed new support.  We praise God we were able to buy a 2006 Chevy Express van that is in very good condition to take us across the country. Also pray for opportunities to share His precious Word as we go and that our children will not only cope but also thrive as they make this journey with us, doing their homeschool studies “on the go.” Pray for God’s continued provision and protection.

Pray especially that we will be sensitive to God’s leading as he guides us to the sources of His provision for us and that those sources will be responsive to Him. The financial situation in Peru is volatile with government instability and corruption at the highest levels and the final bank that was not charging ATM fees just began doing so which means it is going to be more expensive just to get our support in Peru. Pray for our son Joseph, his wife Zulema, and their new baby Esther and two-year-old son, JJ. and our Pastoral team and staff as they serve the Lord in our absence.  Joseph celebrated Christmas in the annex ministry that he started with the Deaf in El Augustino. Pray for the children who are in the home and the staff that cares for them.

Please note: As we are in the states on furlough, we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.   If you would like to have us for your mission’s conference or to come and give a report, please let me know via e-mail or call me so we can coordinate this.  If you have not heard from me, please contact me. I may have not been able to reach you due to old or lost contact information or answering machines!  (813) 406-2838; jkotvas@efata.org.  We will be in the States until November.

Family News

Laura Elisabeth Miller

We praise the Lord for the birth of Laura Elizabeth Miller born to our daughter Julianne and Frank Miller. She is beautiful and healthy.  We love our five grandbabies.  We rejoice that we had the joy of spending time over Christmas with nine of our children.  God is so good to us.  All five of our children who have grown and are out of the house are serving the Lord and their Country.

James, our second son, would appreciate your prayers as he completes his Master’s program at Baptist College of Ministry, graduates the 13^th of May and gets married the 15^th of May, just two days later.  He and Ann Smith, his fiancé, (daughter of Randall and Joann Smith, missionaries in Japan) will begin deputation shortly thereafter.  We praise God for their engagement and ask for your prayers for them.

Thank you all once again for your care for us and the ministry of God in which we are privileged to serve. We hope to hear from you soon and look forward to visiting with you as the Lord allows. May the Lord bless you all.

Joe & Lisa Kotvas
Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer

July – September 2017

Oct 21, 2017 | Prayer Letters

Dear friends and family,

”If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”  James 1:5

It has been a wonderful few months with a great deal of activity and blessings.  We have had many decisions to make and are grateful to God for each blessing and response to our prayers.  As the verse above states, God desires to give us his wisdom for the tasks he has set before us.  All we need do is ask.

Ministry News

These past months have gone by quickly.  I had the privilege to preach an anniversary conference for a church in Trujillo which was a great blessing.  I always enjoy when I can go to another city in Peru and preach and teach the precious Word of God.

We also had two groups from churches in the States that were a great blessing to us in helping with infrastructure construction repair and ministry.  it is always an honor to host mission trips from the States.

One of the greatest blessings for me has been an open door to preach to the military here in Lima.  Every week I go to one of the bases here and preach to a company of soldiers, teaching them principles and ethics from the Bible.  What a joy.  Several of these soldiers have been saved and some have been able to come to church on Wednesday nights here at Efata.  We are praying that God will give us more open doors in this area.  We have been seeking the opportunity to teach in the police academy for a long time also.  Please pray for this.  I will be tackling this with renewed effort when we return from our furlough.

Our church is thriving and excited about reaching people for Christ.  Many are inviting their loved ones and friends, and we constantly have deaf and hearing visitors.  We have seen souls saved, and baptized. We are looking forward to sharing with you soon.  Speaking of furlough, we love you all and greatly wish to see you and report on what the Lord is doing here at Efata through our ministry.  I have been unsuccessful in reaching many by phone. If you can, please call me back or e-mail me if you prefer at jkotvas@efata.org.

We are still working on securing our land for the new ministry that we are planning to start in Chancay, about two hours north of us.  We are planning a church, camp, pro-life center and other ministries for this new area. Several people in the community are thankful that we will be coming in and have expressed interest in the new church plant.  Because of the wonderful price of the land there, many of our church members are purchasing their own land there as well, and some of them plan on moving there and helping plant the new church. Please pray that all issues will be cleared with this new land.

Family News:

We have a new granddaughter! Esther Catherine Emerald Kotvas was born on Monday, Oct. 16^th.  I cannot tell you how thrilled I am.  This will be our fourth grandchild and first granddaughter.  Julianne will be giving birth, Lord willing in December, to our fifth grandchild and second granddaughter.  We are grateful to the Lord for these gifts.

Judson is in Wisconsin working as a recruiter’s assistant for a month then will continue in 29 Palms, California in technical training with the Marine Corps, and Jared is serving at his first permanent duty station in Panama City, FL.  We are very proud of them both.  It looks like they both will be able to come to South Florida for Christmas this year.  Joseph and Zulema will be the only ones not able to come this year. James will be able to come down from Bible Seminary as well.  We will miss Joseph, Zulema and the babies.

Thank you all once again for your care for us and the ministry of God in which we are privileged to serve. We hope to hear from you soon and look forward to scheduling visits with you as the Lord allows.

Blessings to all,

Joe & Lisa Kotvas
Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer

January – March 2017

Mar 16, 2017 | Prayer Letters

Dear friends and family,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. – Ephesians 5:16-17

As we serve together here in Peru as your faithful partners in the Lord, we endeavor to stay busy about the Master’s business because as the verse above states the days are evil. This summer has been no exception with many opportunities and needs.

Ministry News

Camps and Conferences:  This summer has been filled with activities and excitement.  In January, I had the opportunity to preach at family camp in Trujillo.  That was a blessing as campers responded to the preaching and teaching and many decisions were made.  In addition, the last week of January and the first week of February we held our own camps (first in almost 17 years), one for the deaf and one for the hearing. What a great blessing as we saw deaf and hearing people saved and lives changed during these camps.   Folks who came from other churches said it was the best camp they have attended and are looking forward with anticipation to next year’s camps.

Last week we also held our Fires of Evangelism conference.  This year it was held at the Baptist Bible College here in the north of Lima about two hours from Efata.  What a great blessing that was, as over 40 pastors came to the workshops and over 400 people attended each night.  During the final evening invitation, over 40 young people and adults came forward and publicly dedicated their lives to the Lord.

Please pray as we are planning for the 40^th anniversary for Efata, May 17-21, that it will be a great encouragement to our church and that we’ll see many saved.

Salvations & Baptisms: Many people have been saved during these past months. This past Sunday we baptized several people from Efata and our mission church in Tablada.  One was the older brother of two of our pastors on our staff.  He was the last of his siblings to be saved and baptized.  They were so excited and it was wonderful to see all the brothers and sisters come to attend the baptism. It was great to see this group of new converts and other Christians respond to the Lord’s command for baptism.

Home Ministry: We continue to receive a steady stream of babies and children who pass through Efata on their way to their orphanages. We have helped as a transitory home for these children who are abandoned or taken from abusive situations.  Most are babies or young children but we occasionally get a child who is older, of whom many have been saved through this ministry. One such child was an eleven-year-old girl who recently came and stayed with us for just one night. We may never see her again on this side of Heaven but we will see her there!

Infrastructure: Recently the city paved our streets and put in sidewalks.  We have been waiting years for this.  The neighborhood looks a great deal better now. We are praying for funds to repair and restore our complex security wall and doors.  If you or your church can help us with that project it would be a blessing and good testimony to our area.

Future church plant: We have purchased a plot of land for a future church plant two hours north of us in a new urbanization area where there are no Baptist churches.  It is in an area that is slated for much growth because of a new super port for shipping that is going to be built.  The plot for the church cost about $8900 (about $2 a square meter).  The value of this land has already gone up.  Would you please pray about helping with this cost?  We are planning to raise additional funds to prepare the land and build a simple structure where we can hold services once we begin the evangelization process in the area.

Please continue to pray for us and our ministry to the Deaf and hearing.  God is using Efata in a great way here in Peru and beyond.

Police Work: Please continue to pray for this area of ministry that we are trying to develop. Every time I believe we are making advances, it seems things grind to a snail’s pace.  I had a meeting with a key Colonel who currently oversees the Department of Wellbeing for the national police which oversees the Chaplaincy.  He really liked my proposals for a volunteer chaplaincy corps to augment the official Catholic chaplains.  He is working on getting another meeting for me with the Director of the National Police.  I will keep you advised.

Family News

Judson is in boot camp at Parris Island for the Marines.  Please pray for him as it is tough going but he is determined to become a Marine.  He will graduate April 28^th.  Lisa and I will be going to the graduation.  Jared will be going into the Air Force on April 11^th.  Both had very high ASVAB scores and were able to get great jobs in the service.  Pray for them as they embark on this new chapter of their lives and that God will use them in His service as well.

Our five youngest children are doing well and are back into the school routine. Joy and John both went forward in the conference to dedicate their lives to the Lord.  What a blessing that was.

Congratulations to my wife Lisa, who turned 50 this month! I thank God for her and for her love. I wouldn’t be here today without her.

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support.  God is doing wonderful things through our partnership.

Blessings,

Bro. Joe & Lisa
Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer

October – December 2016

Dec 19, 2016 | Prayer Letters

Dear Friends and Family,

And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.   -1 Kings 20:28

Ministry News

We have just completed some of the most amazing months here at Efata.  Like the verse above declares, God is God over everything.  He is in control.  He is always on time and always “in the loop”!

This year we have seen God move in wonderful ways.  As most of you know, we struggled for almost a year to have a container of donations released.  When that finally happened, the cost of storage was way beyond our ability to pay.  However, God moved the heart of the responsible party and we received a 90% discount, and to top that off, God moved in the hearts of churches and individuals to help with the costs that were left.

On another front, I have been working very hard to gain access to the National Police of Peru to begin working with them to teach Biblical morals and ethics in their schools.  God opened a door of opportunity to meet with the Director of the National Police to allow me to do that.  In addition, I have met with the Director of Education for the police regarding teaching sign language and will be meeting again with him to implement the morals and ethics course next year.

In November, we had two of the greatest Bible conferences ever.  Pastor Wayne Van Gelderen and his son, Pastor Daniel, came and preached and taught for the hearing conference, and then two weeks later, Missionaries Ray Bradley from Ecuador and Lee Johnson from here in Peru did a fabulous job in our Deaf Conference.  Many decisions were made in both conferences with salvations, life-changing decisions and baptisms.

Last week we had an organization called Deaf N.O.W. come and do a medical and Dental campaign where they attended our entire school and staff, as well as many in our community.  They were a great blessing, and we are looking forward to partnering with them in the future for help in social areas in both the Deaf and Hearing communities, thus providing us more avenues for outreach.

We continue to act as a short-term foster facility for children in transit from the government.  We have seen several children saved through this ministry and we have taken care of dozens of babies and children this year.  We are grateful for this unique ministry we have.  We continue to practice the “pure religion” of James 1:27.

Our mission works in Callao, El Augustino and Tablada are doing great.  God is blessing those ministries with salvations, baptisms and spiritual growth (Both Deaf and Hearing).  Our missionary that we sent out this year to Cajamarca is also seeing steady growth.

Family News

Judson is on his way to joining the U.S. Marine Corps.  He has taken his Delayed Entry oath and awaits his ship-out date on Feb. 6^th.  He is living in the States now with family friends from our home church and working part-time with his brother-in-law as he gets physically in shape for boot camp.  We really miss him around here.  Thankfully, we found him a ticket to come and visit us for his birthday and Christmas before he “ships”.

Jared is planning to go into the Air Force, and will be coming down as well for a visit.  It will be great to have him here after more than two years.  Unfortunately, James will not be able to come this year.  He was just here in November with Pastor Van Gelderen to help with interpreting.  We enjoyed a SURPRISE visit from Julianne and her family in October.

Now all our children who are home–Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, and Jennifer–were born here in Peru, making them dual citizens.  When we came to Peru seventeen years ago, we had five children.  We are back down to five children again.  I must say, it is interesting.  The morning breakfast table is not as full as it used to be.

One great blessing that Lisa and I have received this month is we finally have been able to change our immigration status from Religious Non-Catholic to Immigrant.  This means that the travel restrictions that have prevented us from having a full furlough over the past several years no longer apply.  We have not seen a full year furlough since 2004.  Due to our full schedule, next year, we will not be able to schedule a furlough until at least August so please be patient with us; we look forward to seeing you all, God willing, the next time we are in country in the latter part of 2017 and into 2018.

We would like to humbly thank all our supporters for your faithfulness to us.  This month we completed 17 years here in Peru and over 18 years as missionaries.  I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by.

We have some very special prayer requests as we head into 2017.

1. Due to modernization and fiscal accountability in the local municipality, we saw a jump in our property taxes on this year’s tax bill from basically $3.00 to $8,000 a year. Our support has steadily declined over the years, and we are truly hurting financially. Please pray with us about our financial obligations for this ministry that God will provide more funding for the daily operations of Efata Ministries.  We are fighting for exoneration of some of these taxes.  We still must pay for last year’s; pray for special provision for that.  Daily living cost have gone up as well, so our operating budget is a purely miraculous endeavor every month.
2. Please continue to pray for the work we are doing with the National Police. God is opening doors, and we are excited about these opportunities. I have put forward a proposal for a national chaplaincy plan.  Under current law, only Catholics priest can be chaplains.  I am working to change this.
3. We have a great need of single missionary teachers (women or men) to help us in our school for our English-speaking students as well as in our Deaf classes. Please pray about this need. If you know of a young lady or man who would like to help on the mission field as a teacher for a year or more, please put them in contact with us.  A permanent teaching couple would be wonderful as well.
4. Rafael Ramirez, a missionary we trained who we currently support in Venezuela, is planting churches and Deaf ministries all over that country. He is currently developing two deaf ministries simultaneously while pastoring a growing and thriving church and planting multiple missions, as well as teaching and preaching to police and military elements in Venezuela.  However, the economic crisis there is overwhelming, and he cannot get out to try to raise much-needed monthly support.  Please pray for him, and if any of you are looking for a first-class national missionary who is getting the job done under the most difficult of circumstances, it is Rafael and his family.  You can support him through our ministry.  Please pray about this.

God’s richest blessings on you as we continue to partner together for Him.

Bro. Joe & Lisa
Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer