Caretaker House in Progress

One of our biggest priorities at this time is to finish the caretaker house. Here is a picture report on the progress.

This is what it looked like a few weeks ago.

Then the walls went up.

Here the men are putting up the A-frames for the roof.

It is a lot of hard work. John Hagey has been a big help. He is not in the pictures because he is our picture taker.
This is what it looks like now. It lacks all the finish work on the inside such as: plumbing, electrical, ceiling, floor, doors, and windows, etc.

Once it is finished, Jorge and his family will move in. This will give us better security. Recently we have had two theft attempts at night. As far as we can tell, nothing was stolen. We thank the Lord for His protection and for a good guard dog who alerted us in time. But it is important that we beef-up our security for the radio ministry.

A Word about Ruth

Ruth takes Spanish classes three times a week. Each class goes for two hours. This has really helped her comprehension, speaking and reading.

Ruth has also gone back to physical therapy since her right shoulder kept bothering her. Besides the dull pain, she did not have strength in her arm. The therapy immediately helped.

This is one of her exercises.

Each exercise she is designed to work particular muscles that need strengthening. The exercises vary each week. For the most part, they are not difficult, but the most important part is being faithful at it. Some have to be done every two hours.

She makes friends wherever she goes. When I preached at a conference, Ruth made friends with the pastor’s daughter.

This is Ruth with her happy husband. She fills his heart with joy! I am very happy to have Ruth serving by my side and I thank the Lord for all she does in the ministry.

A New Believer in Christ

Do you remember us telling you about Mario and Hilda? Mario heard our broadcast over the radio and contacted us. I visited them in their home and shared the gospel with them. On the night after my fifth visit, Hilda made her decision to accept Christ as her Savior. The transformation in her life has been amazing. She cannot get enough of the Word and wants to do all she can to serve the Lord and help others find Christ! Mario was already a believer and is on fire for the Lord.

As you can see, Hilda’s face radiates with joy. What a change! Jesus makes all the difference.

Construction of Caretaker House

Since the arrival of John Hagey, things have really stepped up on the construction of our caretaker house at the radio plant.

Jorge is our all-around maintenance man and he has worked on the house for a long time without any help.

Recently we hired Heber, a neighbor, to speed things along. This is Heber (on the left) cutting drywall with Jorge. He is a very good worker and a great help. We are witnessing to him and developing a friendship. His two children came one time to our Kid's Club. Sometimes his little boy comes over to the site to play and watch his Daddy work.

This is what the front and side of the house looks like from a higher view. In the background, you can see the tabernacle (church) we built. That structure is now finished and we have services inside.

With three, the job goes a lot faster and easier. These men work long, hard hours.

They are now putting up the roof. We praise the Lord for the progress and want to thank John Hagey for coming to Peru to help us. Pray for Heber and his family to be saved.

Arrival of John Hagey

John Hagey is a young man from our sending church that has come down to Peru to use his summer helping at the radio plant.

He arrived on Tuesday night April 26. With the help of Les Crist, an engineer from our church, John brought down some very valuable radio equipment for us.

During his first week he has helped drain off water from the pumps while the crew was digging the new well. But most of the time he has been helping our caretaker, Jorge. They are building the caretaker house at the radio plant.

Digging a Well at the Radio Plant

We are digging a well by hand at the radio plant for our water supply. The radio station is out in the country and city water does not reach here. A crew of four have been working for about two weeks.
About ten feet down, they struck two rich water veins. Since then, it has been extremely difficult to go much deeper. With three large pumps running non-stop, the level stays high. As fast as they can pump the water out, the well fills again. The water level inside the well has to be very low so the man at the bottom can dig.
The goal is to sink your well deep so you will never lack. In times of drought, the water table can drop and your well could go dry. But it looks like our well is in a spot where two fresh streams run close to each other. It has been hard going, but once the crew is finished, we should have one of the finest wells in the area.

Prayer Requests and Projects You Can Consider

A frequently asked question we receive is: “What are your present needs?” Many want to know how to pray more specifically for us and possibly help our ministry. Here are some needs and projects for the goals we are working toward.

Raise the power of our radio station to reach the other half of the city.
The basic need here is prayer for the upgrades on the tower and funds for a new transmitter. The improvements on the tower take time, patience and wisdom for our engineers.

Start a new church in Lima.
We are considering buying property, renting, or using a loaned facility. Pray for the Lord to provide an excellent location for this new church plant. Location is very important. The long-term need is for finances to purchase a property.

Pray for the Bible study group we have in Miraflores of Lima; that they will remain faithful. Pray for wisdom and direction in finding a place (temporary or permanent) to begin this new work.

Start a new church at the radio plant in Lurín.
This is 25 miles south of Lima. A simple building is up for holding services.

The physical or material needs are:
1. Benches – buying lumber and making steel legs to make benches for seating.
2. Lights – run electrical wiring, installing switches and florescent lights.
3. Front entrance – opening up the front wall, putting up cement columns and installing a front gate (door) to give direct access to the church.
4. Sign – putting up a sign out front to identify our church and its location.
5. Flooring – After the above things are in place, we would work on a floor.
6. Song sheets – tying up and printing off hymns for us to sing. The cost is minimal. It just takes time and careful editing.

The spiritual needs are:
1. Conversions – for people to respond to the gospel message and accept Christ.
2. Contacts to bring more people in to hear God’s Word. As we make contacts, pray for these people to respond positively toward the Lord’s working in their life.
3. Growth in the lives of those who know the Savior. Pray for the core group of believers who need to grow in their love for the Savior, learn sound doctrine and develop a loyalty to worshipping and serving in a local church.

Hold More Bible Conferences.
We want to have more Bible conferences. Radio listeners are invited to come to the conference, but we specifically target pastors. We contact pastors who are of like faith and practice, invite them and offer a discount or cover all the expenses in some cases. We want to increase interest in the Word and provide more materials for leadership and their churches by connecting them to good sources of reliable, quality literature with sound doctrine for their church needs.

The need here is for literature. You might want to consider giving toward the purchase or printing of materials for pastors and their Sunday School teachers. We have a chorus book and some material I have written that is ready to print. Another great help would be more flannelgraph lessons and figures. The Betty Luken’s set is superb and we could use several of these. We can find people who will help in transporting materials to Peru if you are interested in helping on this project.