Nov. 21, 2007

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Greetings from Iquitos! Happy Thanksgiving, too! We have so much for which to thank our Heavenly Father. The sacrifice of our thanksgiving brings pleasure to Him.

Thank Him for His wonderful provision of salvation and for those here in Peru who have trusted Him. During my time in Chiclayo, I had the privilege of helping two young people receive Christ as their Savior, Lourdes (hearing) and Dennis (deaf). Many others had input into their lives and rejoice as well. Pray for their spiritual growth.

Thank the Lord for a good group from Chiclayo who are interested in the January 2008 mission trip to the deaf along the Amazon River. Pray for the Lord to provide for the funds they need to travel to Iquitos. Pray especially for Lee Johnson, Nancy Burns, Juan Villamonte, and Miguel Neyra as they prepare to teach and/or lead. Pray I will know best how to contact the towns where there are deaf to whom we can minister.

Thank God for the Bible institute students who have studied hard and are coming to the end of the school year. Pray that the Lord will provide for some who still owe on their school bill and that He will help them with their final projects and exams.

Thank Him for Doris Soria who will be graduating Dec. 2. Pray that she will be able to discern what the will of God is for her future, as she is committed to serving Him. Pray for the Lord’s blessing on her ministry of VBS in several river towns during the vacation months.

Thank the Lord for the deaf who have been faithful in studying their Source of Light Bible lessons. Pray for those who still need to trust Christ as Savior. Last Monday Paola finally admitted that she has not yet received Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue working her heart and life. Many of the deaf do not feel welcome at the deaf church and have stopped attending the Primavera Baptist Church because of a lack of good interpreters. My heart cries for them because they are as sheep without a shepherd. Pray that the Lord will give me wisdom to know how to best help them. Right now I am continually encouraging them to attend one or the other of the churches.

Thank God for the first graduating class of Efata school for the deaf, Sosimo and Lorena. This is their primary school graduation. Pray for the Lord’s guidance in getting further education.

Thank the Lord for Sosimo and his vision to reach out with the Gospel to others. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been targeting the deaf children, and I began praying to the Lord for someone to counteract their influence and bring them the truth of God’s Word. Soon after that Sosimo shared that he and a couple of the deaf men studying Source of Light had followed a poor deaf boy to his home. They were shocked at the poverty and wanted to do something to help. From that experience the Lord laid a burden on Sosimo’s heart to take the Gospel to young deaf boys. He has tried to enlist the help of others but is determined to continue, even if he has to do it alone. Last Monday he showed me a paper he has written up with his plan of ministry and some of the needs he is deputizing for. He has even designed a folding table he can take along with him on his visits. I gave him an offering for coloring pencils and copies and encouraged him to be transparent in financial matters and to share his vision with Efata Baptist Church, where he is a faithful member, to receive their recognition and blessing. If any of you would like to have a part in Sosimo’s ministry, send the offering my account at ABWE with the explanation that it is for Sosimo, and I will see that he gets it. Pray for his ministry to bear fruit for God’s glory.

Thank the Lord, too, for a new ministry for me, teaching the children’s Sunday school class in a town 32 kilometers from Iquitos. The pastor, Enrique Fachin, said Sunday that it has been an encouragement to them. They are struggling but always smiling and praising the Lord. The Lord has encouraged me through their testimony.

We are so blessed, but even if all our material things were taken away, we would still have the greatest Treasure, which is the salvation of our souls, the presence of the Lord Jesus in our lives now and all the spiritual blessings we find through the promises of His Word. Those things can never be taken from us. Thank God for that!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Your thankful sister in Christ in Peru, Lynn Porter