January Report

Hello Brothers and Sisters

Since the last report many things happened, I had two friends coming to visit and helping with the ministry which are Jonathan and Celia, and also I had a team from Cedar Lake Camp who did a 3 days bible school/games with the kids. It was epic to have them and to have a lot of the unnusual constantly fellowship with other believers and also seeing them to love and reach the people in pueblo viejo. 

The kids had a blast, such blast that after 2 weeks they still asking me when are we doing this again, meanwhile I have decided to play movies at the church spontaneously for the kids with permission of their parents since they are now on summer vacations. I am also trying to begin some english classes with the teenagers and adults and also re-start the bible studies on saturdays.

This past sunday evenign we had a meeting with some (the majority) of the people who has been  baptized and involved in the church somehow and we talked about the future of the church/programs and more. It was a very good meeting and a very fruitful one, they are committing to begin to discipline themselves in the involvement of the church and also to pray for more men to come to the church and for a person to lead the church, so thats great. 

Pray Requests:

1. Character: Keep praying for me to grow in humility, love, wisdom and faithfulness to the Lord, also im starting to disciplines myself to pray for others so I dont become self-focus in prayer with my needs. 

2. Church in Pueblo Viejo: Pray that God enables them to do what they are committing to do as to pray for more people to come, espeially men, and themselves to be more disciplined with their assitance. 

3. Family: My mom, brother and sister Nicole are beginning again to go to church, pray that they be consistent with it and also pray for the salvation of my dad, his partner Elizabeth, my step brother Ricardo and my other sister Kyara.

4. Pray for other missionaries: Walter Isse, Bud and Laura Lenz, Buddy and Loren Fitzgerald, Dan and Ruthie Nagao, Daniel and Becky Nunez, Scott and Tracy Blackburn, Caleb and Anna Lenz, Jay and Kelly Cross.

5. Pastor for Pueblo Viejo: pray that God raises someone to take the leadership of the church in Pueblo Viejo, the peruvian baptist convention is meeting soon also to decided if they are going to send someone.

6. Canadian Visa: There is an opportunity to serve at a camp on Canada that works with kids from the reservoirs in Canada, so im praying that the Lord open the door begining by rhe visa process if this is His will. it only would for July and August if this door is openned.

7. Finances: The Lord ha provided for me so far for my expenses here in Puerto Maldonado, just pray that I always can be a good administrator for what I have.

Thank you again for praying for me but also I want to know how can I pray for you? so i can put you on my prayer list. 

If you have any question please feel free to Message me, Text me, Skype me or even Facetime.

Blessings

Edher

But they are people, the worth of a soul.

But they are people, the worth of a soul.

For the Christmas celebration I went back to lima to see my family and to see some friends, I went there just for a week. While I was there I got to go to my church there where I saw many of my brothers and sisters in Christ. While I was talking with one of them, He asked me how was the mission work going and how I was doing. At some point the question of what's my responsibility in the mission field is, came and I answered that I was working as a temporary Pastor, and he seemed to be really excited. Right away I said yes but there is only around 10 people, right after he emphatically said: But they are people.

I was ashamed of the numbers I had at my church in the jungle and I was underestimating the mission work just because there wasn't many people. But my friend gave me a good reminder of what's the main reason of why I do missions, and why I'm there ministering to an small amount of people at the church I'm pastoring. My mindset at the moment was: yes I am a pastor in the jungle but it's not a big deal there is just few people there and I don't have a lot of people for you to be amazed of my ministry. But my friend said But they are people, there was something powerful when He said that which kept me thinking about it. So to explain it clearly I want to split what the Lord was showing me at that moment in 3 parts:

1. Anything done for God is a High Calling: so while my response gave evidence of my desire for a better reputation by increasing the number of my members, my friend reminded me  of the High calling I have in Christ. Not all have the opportunity and the privilege to minister to God's people and the fact the I can stand and preach to just few persons is a task that even angels desire. So if angels who are perfect beings, demonstrate the high view of just sharing the word of God, who I am as to look down on it just because I don't have more people. God was the one who called me, if the work I am doing is for Him, why does it matter if I'm known or my church is known by just having more people? Isn't God Worthy enough and Sufficient as to be content and satisfied by just working for Him? We need to be reminded that ministry is a always serious thing but more than that we need to be reminded that is a beautiful thing because is God who call us to preach and share HIS WORD for HIS GLORY.

2. Souls are important: while I was undermining the work, I also was undermining the value of the souls I'm shepherding. See, we tell people that God loves them but we don't unless there are a bunch of them, that's heartless. If we think that God's creation is amazing because He created the heavens and earth out of nothing, how much more we should be amazed on how He recreates a being out of a corrupt mass. The manifestation of power in salvation exceeds the one demonstrated through creation by the mere fact that a God hater will become His son through adoption because the one whom he hated changed his stony heart into a fleshy one. So even that one person is God's creation and if this person is a Christian, the Bible says that God cares of them and He knows everything about them because He is their Father. So if you happen to be a minister is because God is trusting you with His children and you have no right to look down on them because of how much of them there are.

3. You may become that which you hate: for those who know me, whether you've talked to me or read my posts on social media, you know that I despise the mindset of numbers in ministry. The numbers mindset that treats groups of people as a king size bag of M&M's and also makes evangelism more like a marketing strategy rather than the faithful preaching of the Word of God. So at the end of the day when I went back home, I did repented of my sin of underestimating my call and the people who have been entrusted to me.  But I also realized that I've have become that which I hated. Probably a hypocrite is a sincere way to put it, but as a child of God I understood that I must keep guard of myself for I'm also a sinner and if I don't keep my eyes on what God says about things and how He defines it, I can do this as many times and not even realize it. So I became what I hated but God in His grace and Mercy made come to the realization of it so I came before Him to see my weakness.

In conclusion, there is a high calling for every children of God because we are about soul business and the mere fact of just dealing with one soul, must be a reason for contentment and awe for the privilege God gives us through His son. Even tho there is just 1 person in your ministry, that one person is God's child and even if you have to prepare and study for a sermon to that one person is because God is worthy of our service.

I hope this has edifying you and keep praying for me and for those in ministry, feel free to ask any question.