01/01/2025

As we close out 2024, once more we want to thank you for your love for our Lord and his church world wide. We are especially thankful for your concern and involvement in our ministries. This past year has been exciting and blessed as we have seen so much happen and the growth of our Lord’s church.
Beginning the year I made a trip with my brother Jim to Peru to visit with the church leaders. We also were able to have concrete supports put under the parsonage in Pucallpa. While there, we went up river to visit a couple of Indian (Shipibo) villages and take sporting equipment for Teco and his sporting activities outreach. As a side note, one of the teams he works with won the national championship for their division, the only purely Shipibo team to ever get that far in competition... While there, we met with the leadership of the church in Victoria Gracia (Shipibo congregation) and made plans for a VBS in the summer and listened to their plans for and dreams of building a worship center. As of this writing, the building isn’t entirely finished, but they had their first meeting in the new facility this past week. What an accomplishment!!!
Then later in the Spring I was in Spain with Erick, Sira and family. It is always so great to see the way our Lord is using their family to minister and reach Spain for Christ. Erick, Sira and daughter Ericka were also able to be with us in the US for the Missionary Conference last Fall in Lexington KY.
Also in late Spring Bette and I met up with Tony Liston and one of his leaders (Mark) on the tri-border area in South America to do some leadership teaching and encourage Victor and Hilda in Argentina, Daniel and Renata from Paraguay and Ademir and Nilva in Brazil. Also, Bruno (missionary in Brazil) came down from Recife Brazil to visit the work there and meet Tony and Mark as his ministry and ours merge and he begins overseeing the work in that area. You will hear more on Bruno and his wife Lucy this year as they become more involved with and get to know our supporting churches and ministries.
During the summer we were able to put a really interesting mission team together from Markle and Auburn Indiana along with a couple of guys from the Michiana area and travel to Peru. Erick and Sira’s two older daughter’s and Bruno also met us there to help build on the church construction in Pucallpa, and hold two VBS’s at the church in Pucallpa and the Victoria Gracia church (Shipibo congregation). Ericka and Sirita were amazing and a great help with translating, and Bruno was able to get to know the leaders in Peru and preach at both congregations.
2025 should be an interesting year as we plan for VBS’s, new ministries and encourage the congregations to continue ministering to their people and reaching the lost. It has been amazing to see all the baptisms in Argentina, Brazil and Peru this year. It has been inspiring to see the willingness on the part of the Shipibo congregation to sacrifice to build their church building and hopefully this year finish it. The church building in Pucallpa is really looking great. Samuel and his people also worked hard and long finishing up the parsonage, and classroom downstairs. Erick and the congregation labored long hours getting their building ready for the dedication. Teco and the leaders of the church in Victoria Gracia were amazing at raising funds and volunteering to work on their building and Bruno and Lucy are doing a great job at raising funds, both here in the States as well as from the congregation there in Recife to get their building up and useful. Lots do to still on 2025 while we wait on our Lord’s return…
All of us from Latin American Ministries wish you God’s blessings in this new year!!
