CT News August 2022

August 2022

Dear praying family!

PLEASE see our gallery of pictures with lots more info and summary video clips, including an update from Abi, HERE: (https://photos.app.goo.gl/3kef4smAcsKmkU62A)

First: Thank you for praying for our colaborers Jared and Claudia. Their baby was born on September 3rd. We have a picture for you in our gallery. Please go and see it. Keep praying for mommy and baby. So far they are both doing very well.

What a ride August has been! With all that it brought into our lives it made us feel invigorated and humbled to have the privilege of serving the Lord here in Peru in this short life. We honestly don’t know where to begin. There is just so much we want to share, and that is not only because we saw gold and dandy outcomes in ministry: like the recent adoption of two of the children from Hogar de Esperanza (our 12th and 13th adoption since 2019 to 4 different nations in the world. The 14th adoption is coming sometime in September 😊), the coming to faith of a new believer, the new believer’s baptism in the mountains, the celebration of our 22nd wedding anniversary (and we are eager for 22 more, can you believe it?), etc. But we have also seen and are still seeing events in ministry that drive us to our knees and leave us at the feet of Jesus, as He is the One and Only recourse that can bring sense to what seems senseless and reckless.

A dear young man that has repeatedly accompanied us on our missions’ trips to the interior in the past, has decided to live together with his girlfriend who is not a believer in the Lord Jesus. This was hard for us to process as we have instructed, invested, and loved this brother from the time he invited the Lord Jesus into his heart. The leadership in the assembly put him under discipline and has gently been asking him to make things right before the Lord. He admitted he is in sin but wants to remain in it. Recently he testified to us that this is not the way a believer ought to walk and confessed to his girlfriend that this is not the way to carry on a relationship, but he is not willing to change course. At the time in our family devotions, we were reading 1 Cor 5 and our teens asked us how to deal with this brother, whom they love, in the light of the apostle’s words in this passage. We are still navigating through this with so much pain. Please pray for this sad event!

By God’s grace, there are other couples in the assembly pursuing more healthy relationships that we are keeping two eyes on. Since returning to Peru, we decided to keep in our house the brother that looked after it while we were gone. Our children have learned to see him as a big brother and are excited that he can stay and save money from renting to get married sometime this year. Like him there are 4 other couples in their 30’s actively praying for the big day sometime soon. There are some having difficulties with approval of unbelieving parents. We are also meeting up weekly with another couple in common law that have come to know the Lord recently and now are pursuing baptism and want to do their wedding ceremony. Please pray for wisdom and sound counsel for this surge of recent couple related ministries He has brought to our plate.

There is more to share, like our amazing trip to serve with the saints in the mountains, our family integrating with others in the assembly to serve weekly at Hogar de Esperanza, fresh news from our Abigail going to college in the US and much more. All of these you can see and read in our picture gallery here. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/3kef4smAcsKmkU62A)

Coming up

Sept 11, speaking at Centro Biblico Trujillo on Luke 13:10-21.

Sept 16-18, inaugurating a new church facility in the jungle in the village of Puerto Arturo. We started this project during the pandemic over a year ago. We have finally completed it, PTL.

Sept 18, our Selah Joy will be turning 13.

Sept 19-26, starting a new building project along with 7 others from the assembly in Trujillo. After Puerto Arturo, we’ll travel upstream on the Huallaga River to the village of Solterito. We have two doctors coming along. This should expand our scope of meeting needs in the village. We are gathering all we can as we prepare to leave-clothing, bibles, hymn books, medicine, and gospel centered messages besides our stamina to keep up with long ministry-work days.

Sept 30 – Celebration of Day of the Bible at Centro Biblico.

Thank you for your loving prayers and support in Jesus’ name!

Pablo & Sarah CT