Jun 18, 2017 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and Family,
Mark 7:37 states, “he hath done all things well….” God does all things well! We are so thankful that He has saved us, and chosen to use us in His ministry.
These past couple of months have been some of the busiest in both the family realm as well as the ministry overall. We are grateful that God is omnipotent, and yet still intimately aware of who we are and all that we do.
Ministry News
The week of May 17th through the 21st, Efata Baptist Church celebrated our 40th anniversary. What a great event that was. Evangelist Jim Sloan, Missionary John Olson and Pastor Joe Davis came and were such a blessing to us. Several of our missionaries attended, as well as many deaf and hearing folks who have been or are connected to our ministry. People came from our mission works in Callao and Tablada as well. On Sunday, we had over 540 people in attendance. It was a wonderful time of remembrance and vision casting for the future. On a bittersweet note, the founder’s wife Velma Miller went home to be with the Lord the Sunday prior, which was Mother’s Day. She was 91 years old and went home in peace in her sleep just as she prayed she would.
Please pray for Washington and Ana, an elderly couple Lisa and I have been working with. Washington is a new Christian, and we led his wife to Christ. Pray that she would come and be baptized and attend church with her husband. They come from a strong Catholic tradition. We are planning a Bible study in their home. Pray that they respond.
Lisa and I were recently in the States to attended our son Judson’s graduation from Marine Corps. Boot Camp (More about that below). While there we had the privilege to report to several of our supporting churches along the way. It was so good to see them and reacquaint with them. Thank you for your hospitality and care.
PLEASE NOTE: We are planning our first extended furlough for 2018. We have not been on furlough in six years and have not been on furlough longer than five months for almost 12 years. We recently changed our Peruvian immigration status to allow us to be out of the country for a full year without consequence. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. I will begin calling soon. If you would like to have us for your mission conference or for a Sunday, please email me or call me to coordinate. If you do not hear from me in the next few months, please contact me. I may have not been able to get a hold of you due to old or lost contact information.
Family News:
As I mentioned above, Judson just graduated Marine Corps Boot Camp on Paris Island, NC. We are so proud of him. He just finished infantry training (Every Marine is a Rifleman first!). He is now stationed at 29 Palms, California, preparing for technical school.
Jared also just joined the military, and he completed Air Force Basic Training on June 2. I was with him in San Antonio, TX for the graduation ceremony. Jared will be going to Biloxi, MS for technical training at Keesler AFB.
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. When Judson was in boot camp, he loved going to chapel half an hour early and staying half an hour late so he could play the piano. He said it was a great stress relief.
James has completed the first year of his master’s program at Baptist College of Ministry and is serving and training as a volunteer EMT. He works at the church in maintenance and security and serves as an instructor at a summer mission camp in MO. He has one more year of school, after which he plans to go on deputation.
Joseph and his wife Zulema and Julianne and her husband Frank are both expecting another baby (October and December respectively). When born, that will make five wonderful grandchildren for us! I am praying for some granddaughters to spoil!
Our five children at home, Joy (16), John (13), Joel (11), Jessica (9) & Jennifer (6) are all doing well, growing, helping, singing in choir, etc. We are so blessed. It’s like having a second generation of children to raise. We pray God gives us much wisdom.
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
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 40th 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 28th. Lisa and I will be going to the graduation. Jared will be going into the Air Force on April 11th. 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
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. 6th. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Oct 3, 2016 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and Family,
“ The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Proverbs 21:1
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Ministry News
It’s here! The container has finally been released and arrived at Efata at about 12:30am on Friday Sept. 23rd, ending a 10-month long process that would take pages to explain. We are so thankful to the Lord for His blessings. I must say that I have learned a new level of patience throughout this process.One of the many blessings of this event was that the container storage company, Fargoline, who some say does not give many discounts, granted us a 90% discount on the storage fees for the container. So what would have been over $16,000 with storage and other service fees, was reduced to a little over $4000.00. Glory to God! We are grateful to them and thankful to the Lord for working in hearts. As the verse above states, God turns the heart of authorities (kings).We are extremely grateful to those who gave to make this possible. There were churches and individuals who gave sacrificially for the items that were in the container, the cost to ship the container and all the expenses related to the paperwork processes, storage and movement here in Peru. This was a very daunting and frustrating process but we have learned a great deal.
We are thrilled to finally have the tracts and Bibles that we can now distribute throughout our ministries here in Peru. We are thanking the Lord for church pews, and chairs, used clothing, new clothing, school uniforms, shoes, 28 tables, special needs equipment for a very handicapped little boy, silverware griddles, crockpots towels, sheets, computers for school, huge boxes of toys, plus little bikes, ride on toys, school supplies as well as teachers resources, library books changing table for the nursery, a Ping-Pong table, a Foosball table, and many sports supplies, picture frames and more.
In November we will be having two Bible Conferences, one for the hearing and one for the Deaf. We are so excited about these conferences for our church people.
Please pray for me as I am making contacts with officials in the National Police for open doors into their schools and institutions to teach Biblical ethics and morals. A great need here in Peru. I will let you know more about this as it progresses.
Family News
We are grandparents times 3 now! Julianne delivered a beautiful baby boy – Andrew. Sunday night the 25th of September. Lisa and I were returning from a preaching engagement that I had two hours away and when we arrived home at 1:30am we were greeted by a surprise visit from Frank and Julianne and their two boys David and Andrew. What a blessing to hold my new grandson for the first time.
Judson is almost done with his high school. I will be bringing him back to the States to complete his enlistment process for the Marine Corps. Please pray for God’s guidance in this process for him.
James, will be coming down for the Bible conference for the hearing to help with the interpreting. We are so looking forward to seeing him again as well. He just started his Master’s program at Baptist College of Ministry.
Jared continues to work in Fargo, ND and attend Fargo Baptist Church. He is active in the church and is preparing to go into the military.
John, Joel, Jessica and Jennifer are doing well. The kids are growing up and once Judson leaves, we will only have five children at home. Lisa is currently taking care of a newborn baby that the government brought by who was abandoned. Other than getting less sleep, it is nice having a baby in the house for a while.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. |
Bro. Joe & Lisa
Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
Jun 25, 2016 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and Family,
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
We praise God for HE gives the victory in our lives, our ministry, and our hope is in HIM. We apologize that this letter has been late to get to you. We were delaying it a bit in hopes of having good news about the container that we have been waiting for almost seven months. More about that below.
Ministry News
The 21-23rd of May we celebrated our church Anniversary. My son, James, and a group from Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI came down during that time and provided special music for the conference among many other things.
Pastor Joel Marsh, a great preacher and dear friend came down for the Anniversary conference and brought two men with him. God led him and used him greatly and we just thank God for the blessings during our anniversary week. We saw several saved, a baptism, and 10 joined the church.
Our deaf school’s anniversary was held last week, and it was a special time for all our students. By surprise, a group came by to visit on Tuesday, brought by a missionary friend, and God used them as a channel to give many goodies to the school children. God’s timing is perfect. Efata Christian School was established 46 years ago by founding missionary Vernon Miller. He and his wife Velma were deaf missionaries who allowed God to use their lives. We pray that God will continue to send forth laborers into His harvest, from the USA, from Peru, and all over the World. The deaf need to see the Gospel preached to them!
Last week, (June 9-12), I had the privilege of preaching a couple hours north of our home, at the Living Fountain Bible Baptist Church for their 20th anniversary. The church was full. Praise God for the opportunity to be used to encourage this church and their Pastor. James and Judson sang “the Love of God, How Marvelous, and Strong”; It is a joy to see our children praising our great God! All of our kids sang together Saturday evening.
On June 14th to the 18th, we had the joy of having Pastor Austin Gardner from Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Ga with us to preach our Mission Conference. What a great blessing he was. Please pray as God uses this conference to touch the hearts of our church to be used as He chooses in missions. We know that God sent HIS Son because He loves us. We pray that we will see people through His eyes.
Please continue to pray for the release of the container. There were a few more delays in the paperwork, and the man who was to sign the resolution passed away last week. A new president was also voted in last week. We are being assured by them that it should be signed and sent to us by the end of this next week. We pray that it is, but we also know that God’s timing is perfect. Thank you for your prayers.
Family News
The first part of May, Lisa and I were in the States for James’, our second son’s, graduation from Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI. It was a great blessing. He then came down to Peru with a group of 12 from the college. We loved having Bro. Zempel and his wife Elizabeth, as well as the young people who came down with them They taught intensive classes in Violin, clarinet, and Piano, taught the children’s choir, held a staff retreat, and helped in many, many other ways. They were a great influence on our children and all of our church; what a tremendous blessing for our family, staff, and our children.
Please pray for Julianne, our oldest daughter and her husband, as they deliver their second baby the first week of July. Lisa will be going up to help for a month.
Please pray that God will continue to provide for the needs of Efata, the church, school, Bible Institute, Bible College, and home as well as the pregnancy crisis center. Pray He will use each one for His honor and Glory
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Bro. Joe & Lisa
Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
Mar 21, 2016 | Prayer Letters
Dear Friends and Family,
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
What a busy summer it has been for us here at Efata. It has been full of new opportunities and various frustrations. However, as the verse above teaches, God is in control! We plan and devise but the Lord implements and guides
Ministry News
Summer is over and we are beginning the school year for the Deaf School, the Bible college, and Bible Institute. Children from the provinces are returning and we have many NEW students!
Because we had extra dorm space while school was out for our summer, we have been able to provide a short-term home to four babies, and quite a few children and teenagers. Sometimes their parents were hospitalized, others taken in to jail, and sometimes the children had been abused or found abandoned. We have been blessed to have the opportunity to provide shelter, food, clothing, and love, and to share the gospel of our Savior with these hearing children until the government finds them a more permanent home. We have been able to lead many of them to Christ. Please pray that He will continue to work in their lives. Many of them face terrible situations.
During this time, we have also kept busy with repairs and maintenance. We were able to build two new much needed bathrooms. We thank God for His special provision for this!
For several weeks I have been helping another church here in Lima that is trying to start a mission church. We have seen people saved through this ministry. Pray for wisdom as we continue to help. The members of this group have decided to attend Efata on Sundays as they have no appropriate location to meet and their mother church is two hours away.
We just finished our Fires of Evangelism Conference. This was by far one of the best conferences that we have hosted. Five people were saved and 37 surrendered to serve the Lord. Two teenage girls were baptized the next Sunday. Pastor Luis Ramos from San Luis, Potosi, Mexico and missionary Byron Willis and his wife from Panama were our special speakers. God spoke to our hearts! Almost 50 pastors came from across Peru and one missionary pastor from Colombia. We thank God for the 500 in attendance. We look forward with great anticipation to next year’s conference. I am grateful to God for the privilege of working with such a wonderful staff.
We also had a youth retreat two weeks before the conference. Several young people shared how the Lord has been working in their lives.
We are still struggling with the container of donations. We knew it would be difficult, but the half has not been told! Please keep praying for this. We need a miracle! Because this has gone on since November, storage costs are going be outrageous. We are praying that Fargo Line, the company storing the container, will write it off as a donation. We look forward to seeing God work and cause them to release the container in a miraculous way! It will be such a blessing to our school and church. We don’t understand the delay but we know that He does, and we are learning to trust Him. We covet your prayers.
Family News
Joseph and Zulema are a blessing to work with here, and we are enjoying baby JJ, their son. We enjoyed a visit from Frank and Julianne and our grandson David, in January. They are expecting their second child in July! James is in his final semester at Bible college and is praying about getting his Master’s degree. Pray that God gives him and us wisdom. Jared continues to serve in his local church in Fargo as he prepares for college. He is still planning to become a pilot. He has several options and we are praying with him for the Lord’s leading.
The kids at home are enjoying the last of their summer break. School will start soon for them as well. Pray for Judson as he has a year of school left. Please pray that God will help him to be motivated as he does his school work. He sure would rather be working in the construction needs here than doing homework, but he does need to finish these so he can move on to the next stages in his life.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Bro. Joe & Lisa
James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, Jessica, Jennifer
