HUNGRY AND NEEDING GUIDANCE
After wandering around all day, trying to keep up with the others — where do you hope your shepherd will lead you? What kind of grass are you hungry for? Brown, sparse, thorny weeds, or lush green grass?
Here’s a flock of sheep being led next to the highway in Trujillo. Not much green grass, here.
Racquell and I have the privilege to serve Jesus as full-time missionaries here in the dust bowl of Trujillo, Peru. As we’ve shared Jesus with people here (whether local Peruvians, or Latinos from other parts of South America), we’ve found something very common.
Many people are hungry, and need guidance. Like sheep. For some, it’s physically. But for most, it’s a spiritual hunger and confusion they suffer from. “What is the point of my life?” “Who is Jesus?” “What is the word of God?” “What should the church of God be like on the earth?” “Where am I going when I die?” “Don’t I have to “do good enough” for God to accept me?”
These questions, if answered, have been poorly answered for most Latin Americans thanks to their watered-down catholic backgrounds and lies that they’ve inherited in this corner of the world.
Most people who I ask, “Do you know where you’re going if you die today?” respond with uncertainty. Some say, “purgatory,” others say, “Hell, I think,” few say, “Heaven, because I’ve done this and that,” and very few have said, “Heaven, because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.”
An outreach our church did near a dump. We pray these kids say “yes!” to Jesus.
It’s the uncertain answers, the self-confidence, or the lack of faith in God and true knowledge of JESUS, that really breaks our hearts. But that also stirs us up and reminds us why we are here.
Paul said, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2). It’s not our tactics, wisdom, or persuasive speech — it’s the power of the gospel that has changed us and changes others. We pray many in South America get the opportunity to hear the TRUE gospel of Jesus, respond in faith, and follow Jesus confidently in this life and into eternity.
Men in a rehab center. Some hungry for the Bible, others trapped in snares of the enemy.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit a few drug/alcohol rehab centers with some visitors from Washington. We got to share Bible messages and personal testimonies, and meet and talk with the men there. Spiritually they were all over the board - some following hard after Jesus, others wanting to get out and get back into drugs, others interested in the things of God, but unsure if God can really heal and help them in their addictions and habits.
In a market picking snacks to share with the rehab guys.
We also got to visit with Pastor Bruce and his wife Janet from Calvary Chapel Lihue recently! Pastor Bruce taught a class through 2 Corinthians here at Calvary Bible Institute Peru. We had a great time reconnecting with our ohana from Kauai and are so thankful for the leaders and examples we have in them.
Mario showing the Baumgartners the property that God provided for the church and Bible school. It’s just dirt right now. Pray for the work ahead!
We had a lot of help this year in putting on the South America Missions Conference. Teams from Philadelphia and New Jersey were here for a week, doing outreach, and helping on our church/school campus as we prepared to host and feed about 500 people for a three-day conference. The teachings were very special, and most were bilingual. You can find them on Calvary Trujillo’s YouTube page.
The heart of the conference is to bless and stir up other South American churches for the great commission. We pray many people come to know Jesus, in many places all over the continent.
Conferences are neat in how they reconnect people. Here’s some family and friends from different cities in Argentina. Some are currently studying here at CBI Peru, and some live in Argentina.
Thank you for keeping us in prayer, after the conference Racquell and I got to lead a team to Moyobamba, Peru. This was our fourth visit to Moyo, and even though the 20-hour bus ride is still the same — we felt like this trip was our favorite one we’ve led.
The team was humble, flexible, and teachable. Visiting with Andrew, who’s pastoring there, was like seeing a brother who lives far away. In spite of the rain, we had a big turnout to a family event we put on at the church.
The church was planted 2 years ago, and have already gone through a handful of OT and NT Books of the Bible on Sundays and Wednesdays. And there are some hungry sheep who keep coming back for more. What a blessing!
Amalia and I in a moto taxi with Eduardo from Brazil and Julieta from Argentina
We invited the church to stay for lunch after service on Sunday, and almost all of Calvary Moyobamba stayed! We had to buy more chicken and drinks!
Brown, dry, thorny grass — or healthy green grass.
Our prayer is that the people of South America, especially right here in Trujillo, would have access to churches that feed them the good grass. The pure, unadulterated, powerful Word of God.
It is God’s church. We’re God’s children, and sheep of Jesus’s sheepfold. May He continue His mighty work through the church on the earth, till He comes!
Please join us in praying for:
The students here at CBI Peru. That God would use these semesters in formative ways in their lives
For the people of South America - that they’d find GOOD GRASS to eat, in listening to the Word of God
Laborers for the harvest
FAMILY THINGS:
Shepherding our daughters with great grace and good discipline
Provision (we had some inordinate costs recently, buying a dryer for our apartment, big maintenance on our car, and travel to the US Embassy for baby Petra’s documents)
Monthly financial partners
Discernment with discipling students and friends from church (Sebastian, Ethan, Garrison, Deborah, Lolo, are some names to pray for)
Humility
We love you all and thank you for partnering with us. Through your prayers and generous financial support, you’ve made this ministry possible for us. This is the fruit of your labor as well. If Jesus leads you to partner with us financially, or increase your already generous support, you can do so by clicking on the “Give” button or mailing your support check to:
*Note “Stratton” in memo*
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