Posts Tagged ‘arequipa’

A couple of weeks ago we went to find out about our baby. We wanted to know whether the baby was going to be a boy or a girl. Well we went into the office all excited but noticed that the doctor didn’t look like she normally does. We know the doctor so were waiting to hear something a little troubling. Well after a few minutes the doctor told us that the baby had a cleft lip and that it might turn into a cleft palette. Here in Peru it isn’t a normal condition so the expertise isn’t that of the doctors in the states.

We discussed the situation with 5 doctors in Peru and with 3 in the states every single one of them said that beyond a shadow of a doubt we needed to return to the states. Depending on the gravity of the situation the baby might need to be operated on as early as 30 minutes after being born especially if the palette has problems. Everyone agrees that this must be taken care of in the states.

We thank God for all that he has done and how he has guided our lives through this whole situation. We had already programmed to be in the states for a few weeks for a missions conference with Pastor Brent Armstrong in Tucson, Arizona. We plan on staying in the states for at least 6 months if it is only a lip problem. This way we can get him operated on and then return to Peru.

If you know anything about me you know that I have no desire to be in the states, I am already trying to program a couple of trips at least while I am back in the states. Pray that God will lead guide and direct us in all that is done for his honor and glory. We are fine and know that God has a plan whatever the outcome may be.

During these 6 months in the states, we are going to try and get in some new churches to raise support and we are also going to try and visit some of our supporters. Pray that we will have a full calendar. If there is anything we can do to help or if you would like to have us in your church please let us know.

Chris

Well I thank God for the privilege of being a part of the ordination service of Renzo. He is preparing to head to North Africa where he will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I thank God for the privilege of working with men that have a heart for reaching the world with the Gospel.

I had the privilege of preaching one of the messages that evening and being a part of the presbytery. If you like photos, sign up on Facebook to be a friend of mine and you can get photos of just about everything going on here in Peru. We are excited to see what God is going to do. We are thankful that we had the privilege of teaching him in Bible College and are excited to see what God is going to do in your life.

Chris

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We had a great time this is my first service where I was able to be back and preaching at Omega. We had amazing services. We had 82 in the morning and 77 at night. We are excited about all that God is doing.

The Waye family has arrived here on the field and are trying to catch up on sleep after not sleeping for 24 hours. Keep us and them in your prayers that God would use their time in Peru in amazing ways.

This morning I preached out of I John 3 and then in the evening we preached about the Holy Spirit and the need for his power and guidance in our lives, in our churches and in our pulpits. We had a great time and I am already looking forward to Thursday. Tuesday I have tons of meetings starting at 8 am and so far I have meetings through 8 pm. Hopefully Wednesday will be a little slower. Keep us in your prayers that God would use us here in Peru for his honor and glory.

Chris

Well we are looking forward to having Chris Waye and family arrive in Peru tomorrow. They will be here for 6 months on an internship program with us. Pray that God will use their lives in amazing ways and that they will be able to do well in their language learning and in the time that they will be interning here in the country. I am praying that God will allow us to see them grow in amazing ways and maybe God will give them direction in the exact field where he wants them to go.

I want to thank Pastor Derik Lawrence and Victory Baptist Church for allowing us to have them here with us. They come from this amazing church and I count it a privilege to work with them.

We are so thankful for how God is using the ministry here and allowing us the privilege of training others to be a part in reaching the world with the gospel.

Well, this has to be one of the saddest blogs I have had to write. I just got a call from Wilber, he told me that his 6 month old daughter has stopped responding to the treatments that the doctors have been giving her. Suhjey almost died due to pneumonia while pregnant and God worked a miracle. At the hospital they called her Lazarus because there was no hope for her and she made it.

I would like to ask you to pray for Wilber and Suhjey that God would give them peace that passes all understanding. I cannot even understand what the family must be going through. I would like to ask you to pray about helping out with the expenses of the funeral. I honestly have no way to help them and I know that all of their money is gone now because of trying to fight off pneumonia for Suhjey as well as for Pamela. The funeral will cost somewhere around $1500. Please pray that the Lord would provide that for this dear pastor and his wife. I have attached some pictures so that you can see Pamela.

Wilber called me and thru tears explained to me how he knew that God gives and God takes away. He is an amazing man of God and has stood through very hard times. Please keep them in your prayers. Here are some pictures.

Chris

Well today one of the guys that are here in language school was riding up to the Bible College to go to classes and a car decided to pull out in front of him. He had to lay the scooter down and he and his wife got scraped up pretty bad. Please keep Rodney and Faye Holmes in your prayers.

They are missionaries to Venezuela and are doing a great job learning the language (when they make it to the classes) They went to the hospital and got the scrapes looked at and they are fine. There is one change though. Faye said today that after having two wrecks that she is done on the motorcycle.

Of course having a wreck down here is more than just going to the hospital, he had to go get blood drawn to make sure he wasn’t drunk etc. No one had any doubts but that is protocol here. It is always fun being on the mission field and your day changes courses way too easily. My brother David is interested in buying the scooter from Rodney so we may end up visiting David now you never know.

One of the great things I get to enjoy every year for the graduation at the Bible College is having my good friend John Pearson come and be a part of it. Can I just say as a side note that you ought to visit your missionaries? I love showing what God is doing here in Peru to the people that come and visit. This way you can check up and see what God is doing here and how your money is being used. This is vital when you support a missionary. OK back on subject, we had a great time with John and Sandy this year.

The good thing for me was that I had Rudy Johnson here with me, he was pushing me to do more than I have ever done before, after he was gone John took up the slack. I am excited about what God is going to do here in Peru over the next few years. We have had some issues (haven’t we all?) things haven’t gone exactly as I had planned them (do they ever?) but God is going to do a great work here. I am thankful for those friends that push you out of your comfort zone and encourage you to do what has never been done before.

I am so thankful for new friends like Rudy Johnson as well as for old friends like John Pearson. This has definitely been a time of iron sharpening iron.

God has been so good to us. Graduation was on the 4th of December this year. We are so thankful for the privilege God has given us to train up young people. We had 12 young people graduate and we are excited to see what God is going to do with their lives. If you are a regular supporter of the Bible College can I tell you that you are investing in probably one of the best ministries I know of when it comes to the fruit that comes from that ministry.

Out of the graduates, we have Braulio Zavaleta. He has taken over a dying church during his senior year and has done great things there in Chivay. Chivay is a small city up next to the deepest Canyon in the country of Peru. It has a lot of tourists go through there and about 5,000 people live there. He is out of Faith Baptist Church and God is using him in great ways. We also had a young man named Dennis Melgar graduate. He is going to Ecuador and is planning on working with Bro. Raymond Bradley and will be starting a church in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Alex Gutierrez is going to work in his church for one more year then go to the north part of Peru to start a church. He is currently praying about Trujillo. Pray for the graduates that God would use their lives in an amazing way. We are so thankful for being able to work with them.

We had the privilege of having Rudy Johnson come preach for us from Pisaq, Peru. He has been used of God in amazing ways here in Peru. He is 78 years old and has the attitude of a 30 year old. He is still dreaming and doing great things for God. He has been in Peru right at 50 years and has had the privilege of growing the two largest churches in the country. Both churches ran over 1500 people while he was working in them and they are still very strong churches to this day. He has trained up many men and women to serve God. It was a great privilege to sit around and hear war stories from a man that has been used of God through the years.

God bless.

I would like to ask you to pray for Wilber and Sujei Hallasi. They are working in Moquegua, Peru starting a church. They are supported by Operation Nehemiah, this is a group of churches and individuals in Peru that have decided to give to see their country reached with the gospel.

They are packed out in their current building, they are seeing souls saved and lives changed. One of the pastors just went to preach a revival for him and wrote me to tell me that they had right at 60 people for their first anniversary.

This week I received an email that his 18 month old son has pneumonia. Please be in prayer for him that the Lord will provide for the financial needs for him to be treated. If you would be interested in helping me with this need, please feel free to write me and let me know at gardner@uttermost.net. May God continue to bless you in all you do.

Chris Gardner

Last week we had an interesting time in Lima. I had a 13 hour layover in the city of Lima. Lima is a huge city so I figures I would go out and pretend to be a tourist. No doubt that going around like a tourist is much better than sitting in the airport. So I went out and spent some time looking at the ocean from a mall in Lima and things of that sort.

On my way back to the airport, I had my laptop backpack. I had left everything else in the airport storage area. On the way back to the airport we were on the main road and the traffic had everything at a standstill. Then I looked up and right in front of us about 6 cars in front of us I saw 4 guys with spark plugs in their hands. We were in two lanes of traffic they had two guys working on each lane. They were walking by and busting the windows of the vehicles out and taking their bags out. As they approached my vehicle the driver rolled the windows down so that they didn’t bust them. I watched as they started to take my laptop out of the car and in a moment where all sanity left me I decided to get out and try to keep my laptop. I got out and fought, (this isn’t recomended by the way) after fighting for a bit my laptop fell from about 5 feet in the air. When I heard the thud it made my heart sink. Well after it fell to the ground the guy pulled a knife and explained to me the fact that he would leave the backpack but that he wasn’t walking away empty handed. I decided very quickly to give him the 100 bucks I had in my pocket because you could tell that this wasn’t the first time he had used a knife.

I thank the Lord that nothing worse happened and that I got to keep my laptop even though it is definitely scarred now. I got on the plane thinking thank God that I am headed out of Lima and to the safer regions of Peru. A few days after arriving in Arequipa I was told something that made me start doubting the safety of Arequipa as well.

Be in prayer for your missionaries. They go through some crazy stuff on the field.

Chris