Peru update, May-June 2009

Dear Friends and Family,
We want to thank every church and individual that supports the ministry here in Peru.

We consider it a privilege to have you on our team. Philippians 4:17 says, “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.” When we share our praise and prayer report, we want you to know that the fruit God brings here is spiritual fruit that abounds to your account in glory.

May was another month filled with many opportunities to get out the gospel. The Lord continues to bless the Abundant Life Baptist Church. The first Saturday of the month is our Kids’ Bible Club. In May we had a great number of kids come and as always the gospel was taught. Our whole family is involved in this ministry as well as many people from the church, especially the teens.

Like last year, the Mother’s Day banquet was a huge success. There were over 40 moms that came for the banquet, and several from right around the church. The single girls served the meal and participated in the program. The church ladies were in charge of the program, the decorations, invitations and food. This year our special speaker was our co-worker Melanie W., and we were all challenged by her devotional on Lois and Eunice. This is usually the second-biggest event of the year; our anniversary celebration service being the biggest.

The youth continue to grow and they are reaching out to more areas. Zack, along with the other co-leaders, is doing a great job. Currently they are involved in a mission project, gathering clothes for the people living high in the mountains who are freezing this winter. The weather has been very cold this winter, and many children have died already from pneumonia and exposure. It has gotten down below freezing many nights and of course no one here has heaters or a furnace. There was a swine flu scare here, but the cold and pneumonia has claimed a lot more lives than the swine flu.

The 17th of the May we had a special Sanctity of Life Sunday and laid out a plan for the church people to be involved with a new ministry. Some Arequipa Christians, along with ABWE missionaries, are planning to open a crises pregnancy center in the city of Arequipa. It will be the first one in this whole area. We are so excited that God has raised up a godly Peruvian man to head up this ministry. It is amazing how God has already opened doors to provide a location for the center, as well as many supplies and volunteers. There was a great response from the church people who want to support this ministry with their time and resources. There are 7-10 churches that we are praying will participate in this all important ministry.

The big news – The Vida Abundante Baptist Church formed a committee to help select a co-pastor. This has been an exciting time in the life of the church and a new step of faith and obedience as they call a Peruvian co-pastor. This man will help in all the ministries as well as be in charge of the work while we are on furlough next year. The committee interviewed two men for this position. Both men have been leaders in our church work for the past 5 years and both seemed quite qualified for the ministry. After much prayer, fasting, and the interviews the committee decided to present one of the men for the co-pastor position. On May 24, the church voted in favor of calling Abraham Gonzales, our song leader, to be named co-pastor. This is great news! The church actually called a man out of the church where he has served and been a member for the last 6 years. Last Sunday we had a special ordination service and presented him to the church as the co-pastor. What a great way to see the Lord lead and work.

Debbie has had many opportunities to speak to the ladies in a couple of churches this month. It is great to see the Lord open many doors for her to serve in this way.

Teaching in the seminary this semester has been exciting for Aaron. He has been teaching a class on false religions. They have compared the beliefs of many different religions to the Bible. He has pushed his students to really know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to prove it Biblically. The end of July, Aaron will be teaching a module course on Evangelism/Discipleship methods. It will be 3 hours a night for 8 nights.

Zack will be graduating from high school in December this year. He took his SAT on June 2nd and is seeking God’s will for his life as well as where he should study. Please pray for him and with him in these areas. He has been such a big help in the ministry here in Arequipa and will be missed greatly by the whole church. We know the Lord has big plans for him.

Caleb is also very involved in the ministry and is a big help especially with the young kids. Both he and Zack watch the kids Sunday afternoon during our discipleship classes. Caleb finished his karate classes and was awarded his black belt. He is now beginning tennis classes with Zack. Caleb, Lord willing will be attending Grace Christian School in Huntington, WV while we are on home ministry.

Our furlough, or home ministry, begins in only 10 months. We plan on being back in West Virginia the beginning of April. We would ask you to pray as we want to finish well in the ministries we have here before we head to the U.S. We will need to start booking meetings with our supporting churches to give an update on our ministry, as well as book new churches to present our work. If your church would like to have us visit during our home ministry, you can contact us either through email (akarr@abwe.cc) or by phone (304-521-4330 – local West Virginia number that rings in Peru). While in the U.S., we will need a place to live and a car to drive. If anyone can help with these needs, we would also love to hear from you.

As we close this letter, we thank you again for your prayer and financial support. We know we could not do the ministry without all of you holding the rope.

In His Service,
The Karrs

Prayer requests:
Health for our family
Our furlough needs house car etc.
Zack for the decisions he needs to make about college and his future
Our Co-Pastor and his family Abraham and Viviana and their children
The crisis pregnancy center
Groups that will be arriving in June and July