Wes and Jami Baker

Pollada

2011-09-06T11:07:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday, Cristo Rey celebrated it's first annual pollada. We had a good turn out, good food and good games. We had a volleyball and soccer tournament between our cell groups. I think everyone had a fun time!

Conversion

2011-08-13T22:28:00.002-05:00

Tim Keller has been writing a series of blog posts on preaching which is largely a review of Martin Lloyd-Jones' book Preaching and Preachers. As always, Keller has had many good things to say. One thing caught my attention, however, that I thought I would comment on. Keller highlights a passage where Lloyd-Jones says that preachers should not "assume that all…who are members of the church, are…Christians. This, to me, is the most fatal blunder of all" (quoted from Lloyd Jones, p. 146). Keller goes on to link this to the Old Side-New Side and Old Light-New Light controversies from the 18th Century and the Nevin-Hodge debates in the 19th Century over (among other things) whether one should ever assume a church member to be unconverted. Lloyd-Jones and Keller both affirm that we should expect to find that many church members are in fact unconverted and thus expect them to be converted under Biblical preaching.

This is the brief response that I left:

Thanks, Pastor Keller. Of course, a third option is to ask whether we should think of conversion as a one-off event, that once done is never to be repeated. If conversion is just faith and repentance then maybe we should should constantly call for conversion (as L-J would suggest) but without thinking that a new, more profound experience of God's grace necessarily implies that all previous experiences were spurious. In that sense, the Nevin-Hodge debate is beside the point. The real question is not: When did I first experience God's grace? Rather it would be: Am I believing the Gospel and repenting of my sins today? Assurance rightly belongs only to those who are believing and repenting now, regardless of what their previous experience(s) may or may not have been.

Sunday at the Baker's

2011-07-17T20:21:00.003-05:00

Today we worshiped at Cristo Rey with a short-term team from Hernando, Mississippi. After church we had lunch and a time of singing and prayer at our house. It was a big crowd, but the singing was awesome! We are looking forward to a busy week with them. They will be doing construction in one of the churches on the outskirts of Trujillo.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T10:57:00.005-05:00

Yesterday after church we celebrated The 4th of July with our American friends living here in Peru. We had a great time of fellowship and had some awesome food! Later that night several of our husbands left to travel to Cajamarca to assist with a team of doctors and dentists from Jackson, Mississippi. They will have a very busy week. Please pray for safety traveling and for the many lives that will be touched by these dear friends.

Friends from North Carolina and Louisiana

2011-07-03T17:26:00.006-05:00

This week we had a wonderful group of friends from Matthews OPC in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with friends from Rayville, Louisiana. They all worked in one of our newest church plants called Cristo Redentor. Many patients were seen by the medical team, and a lot of digging was completed by the construction team. They all worked very hard! Thank you so much!!

Happy Birthday Millie!

2011-07-03T17:08:00.005-05:00

On June 30th we celebrated Millie's birthday. I can't believe our baby is now 8 years old! Where has all that time gone? Before we know it she will be driving!!!!!

A Night Out

2011-06-16T21:10:00.008-05:00

Last week Wes and I, along with Whitney Ueltchey, attended a social event here in Trujillo. Our friend Edith Cordova had a very nice open house for her new hair salon and spa. It was complete with champagne, tasty finger foods served by men in white coats with black bow ties, lights, and music. Edith is very well known here and has won many awards in Lima for her work. We met her through classes she took in SALI, our language institute. We are so thankful for the friends the Lord has put in our lives!

Girls.. Girls..Girls..

2011-06-15T13:07:00.007-05:00

Wanted to share a few of the pictures Abby has recently taken of her sisters. We have just discovered a natural talent. She really does a great job! She has started taking pictures of everything and is now our official family photographer.

2011-06-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

I went with Wes last week out to the Wichanzao clinic. It has been a while since my last visit, and there have been a lot of changes. The second floor is now complete and houses the dental office, exam room, lab, and the new ultrasound room. The clinic has recently purchased a brand new state-of-the-art ultrasound machine, thanks to the generous gifts of many friends! We have two Peruvian doctors who have been trained to perform this task.

Dental Team

2011-06-09T12:59:00.008-05:00

This week is the beginning of our busiest time of the year. Our short term mission teams will fill up the next few months. Our first team was a group of dentist and dental students from UMC in Jackson, Mississippi. They saw many patients in the outlying parts of the city. These dentists not only pulled and cleaned teeth, but also demonstrated the love of Christ! Thank you all for giving up your time to help with the work here in Trujillo!

A New School Year!

2011-06-02T19:50:00.003-05:00

Our youngest angel Millie at her school program! All the kids have been back in school for 6 weeks now. We are getting into the groove of things. This is our second year in Peruvian schools and I think we are finally figuring out the system. All of the kids are doing well and have many friends!

recent sermon

2009-04-05T16:59:00.002-05:00

Here is a recent sermon preached at Christ Presbyterian Church in New Braunfels, Texas.

Medical Equipment to the Wichanzao Clinic

2009-04-05T16:47:00.005-05:00

Here is a great summary by Dale Ellison of our struggle with Peruvian Customs and the Peruvian ministry of health to finally take possession of donated medical equipment. Praise the Lord with us that the saga is over. We look forward to getting the equipment installed and in use at the Wichanzao clinic. Special thanks to all who have prayed for this!

Online Sermons

2009-03-19T21:32:00.003-05:00

Here are three sermons from Advent and Christmas:

"Announcing the Long Expected Birth" Luke 1.26-38 [there are problems with the first half of this recording. I hope to have it fixed soon].

"A Cause to Celebrate" Luke 2.1-20

"Presenting the Infant King" Luke 2.21-40

Covenant OPC Construction Team

2008-12-05T17:17:00.004-05:00

The saints from Covenant OPC in Orland Park, IL sent a construction team down last month to begin building the new manse for the Wichanzao parish. Pastor Juan Marquina and his wife Mirian have been living for the past year and a half in one of the classrooms in our education building. As you can imagine, they are eager to see their home finished and to move in. We've run out of money for now, but thanks to the generosity of Covenant Presbyterian, we were able to lay the foundation, the floor, the first floor walls, and finish the first floor roof. We still have a long way to go before it is finished, but we are half-way there! Please join us in thanking God for the generosity of Covenant Presbyterian Church!

Peru Mission Thanksgiving e-Bulletin

2008-12-01T16:31:00.002-05:00

Click on the image to see the Bulletin in a readable form

Travels

2008-10-12T17:58:00.003-05:00

I recently visited Grace Presbyterian Church in Lexington, VA where Dr. Paul Carter is pastor. It had been about 15 years since I last drove through the Shenandoah Valley. I forgot how beautiful it is! The only thing that matched the Valley, was the wonderful hospitality of Pastor Carter and all the saints at Grace. I also enjoyed Sunday lunch with the John Pearson family. John is RUF Area Coordinator. Grace PCA and the RUF from Washington and Lee University sent a construction team to Peru this past spring for the second year in a row. I spoke to a Saturday evening gathering, telling about the work in Peru, and then preached at their two services on Sunday morning. You can listen to the sermon here.

Medical Ministry Update

2008-10-03T14:26:00.008-05:00

This is from a recent eBulletin that we sent out updating everyone on our medical ministry.

* * *

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for me" Matthew 25:40

We have been blessed to have many medical professionals come and give of themselves, their time, and their resources to help serve the hurting people of Peru. In an effort to keep you updated on the spread of the Gospel through our medical ministry we will send periodic updates on current happenings so that you may labor with us through your prayers and through your financial support.

We have attended 3,000 patients since we opened the Wichanzao Clinic in 2002 and currently see up to 20 patients a day. Our aim is to serve with a level of compassion that is not seen in most Peruvian clinics. Not only are we able to offer medical services in one of the poorest and least served parts of Trujillo, we are also able to extend a higher quality of care through visiting American professionals, donated supplies, and medications from the US.

We currently occupy the first floor of our two-story facility. Having only one exam room and one dental room we are eager to finish the second floor which will add two additional exam rooms, and a room for sonogram and EKG, a laboratory, an additional waiting room, and office space. Stage two for the Wichanzao Clinic is to expand into the vacant building next door, which will increase our pharmacy area, provide more exam rooms, and give patients a larger waiting area. Each of these steps, however, requires help from our friends who have a heart for this ministry.

Because we seek to serve a very needy community by offering medical services at an extremely low cost, covering our operational expenses is very difficult. Including our doctors' salaries, and a full staff, it costs us $75/day to run the clinic ($1500/month) . We need $4,000 to complete construction of our second floor, and approximately $15,000 for renovation and expansion next door. Once we complete these expansions we will be able to serve many more patients in need and provide even more services in our clinic.

Jesus always preached the gospel in the context of acts of compassion and we consider this to be one of our chief responsibilities. The Lord has greatly blessed this ministry, but we very much depend on the prayers and support of many friends. Please consider a regular contribution toward our operating expenses, as well as a specific gift enabling us to complete construction of the Wichanzao facility.

•Please pray the Lord gives us wisdom as we seek to run this clinic efficiently and effectively.
•Please pray that the Lord would use these acts of compassion to open hard hearts.
•Please pray that the Lord would bring true healing to those we seek to serve.

Joshua and the Great Comission

2008-08-20T09:53:00.004-05:00

I spent this past Lord's Day at Bryce Avenue Presbyterian Church in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Pastor Henry Fernandez was ministering in another church in the presbytery, so I didn't get the privilege of fellowship with him and his family, but I did enjoy a wonderful time with Dr. and Mrs. Charles Bell (in whose home I stayed). I gave a presentation of our work during the Sunday School hour and then preached in the morning service. The sermon, "Joshua and the Great Commission," can be heard from the BAPC website by clicking here. After the service the church invited everyone to stay for lunch in the fellowship hall. There I enjoyed conversations with many folks. One of the highlights for me was meeting Dr. David Kuiper. Dr. Kuiper is a researcher at the national laboratory in Los Alamos, but most interesting of all, I learned that he is the great-grandson of Herman Hoeksema, the famous theologian from the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. I have frequently used Hoeksema's Systematic Theology over the years, as well as consulting from time to time his Commentary on Revelation. He also has a three volume commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism that I don't own, but I've heard tell that it is an important work that I should acquire.

Thanks to all the saints at Bryce Avenue PCA for a wonderful weekend, especially to Dr. and Mrs. Bell for their warm hospitality.

Hamas Leader's Son Converts

2008-08-05T13:26:00.003-05:00

I've been convicted of late about the importance of praying more consistently for the conversion of leaders of both Islam and atheism. I never new about Yousef Masaf, and so I have not prayed for him by name, but the Lord seems to be answering somebody's prayers because, according to the Israeli Daily Newpaper Haaretz, this son of a top Hamas leader has recently converted. It is a fascinating story that you can read here.

A King, a Banquet, a Mission

2008-08-04T22:42:00.004-05:00

We had a great time in Austin on Sunday visiting the saints at Redeemer PCA. They sent a construction and VBS team to Trujillo in June and we got to have lunch with the group. I also preached in the two morning services. Here is a link to the MP3 from the Redeemer website.

Pickens's Plan

2008-07-09T09:01:00.008-05:00

Boone Pickens's new plan is by no means the most interesting thing happening in energy development, renewables, etc., nor do I think it will accomplish the stated goal of replacing gas burning power plants (these plants are too new to simply shut down and too expensive to convert into coal burners), but I applaud Pickens's vision nevertheless.

The Christian faith requires us to be good stewards of the environment and the resources God has given us. It also requires us to think about the wider effects of how/where we spend our money. Supporting Hugo Chavez or the Middle East should not be an easy option for us. I think it is urgent that we develop nuclear power, as well as wind, solar, and in places like Peru, hydro and geothermal energy. I also applaud the major automakers for their work with plug-in hybrids, electric, and hydrogen fuel cell cars (we should pray that GM survives long enough to bring the Volt to production). Our long-term vision should be for a supremely efficient world run on all renewable energy. Pickens's plan probably will not accomplish his stated, short-term goals. It will be a noble step forward, however, towards our long-term goals, and hopefully it will get a lot of attention. The US has been dreadfully irresponsible in its energy policy for at least the last 40 years. Maybe an oilman can help us better appreciate the urgency of the situation.

******
I've added this addendum because, for some strange reason Blogger is not allowing me to respond to the comments that people leave. This is a specific response to Gumbofilé.

Part of what I hate about the current state of US politics in general, and discussions of energy policy/environmentalism in particular is that all sides have become too cynical of each other and are too quick to assume the worst about the other side's motives and intentions. Such cynicism does nothing to promote dialogue. It tends to shut down the discussion and leaves each side talking only to itself.

Even if one is convinced of the sinister motives or intentions of an opponent, it is seldom good debating strategy to tell the opponent of our suspicions. Also, St. Paul's advice to Christians was that they should "bear all things, endure all things, hope all things, believe all things" which may be applied in our context as "put the best construction on other people's words and actions"--good counsel for Christians and non-Christians alike, methinks!

Now to the specifics of your comment. Let's just grant (for argument's sake) that Pickens is only being self-serving. How does that imply that the plan itself is a bad plan? His motives really have nothing to do with the relative merits of his proposal. I have certain misgivings about the specifics of his plan, but applaud his initiative to move forward with renewables. The end result, I think, will be good in spite of some questionable details and no matter what may be his basic motivations for doing it.

However, having said all that, let me present a case for believing that Pickens may not be so sinisterly motivated as you suggest:

Pickens is eighty-something years old. He has made his billions. His entire estate is being left to charity. Just in the past couple or three years he has given away over $700,000 to charity. It seems much more likely that he wishes to do something noble in his old age. He believes that the US has gotten herself into a difficult situation and nobody else is taking a serious stab at solving the problem. He thinks he has an idea that will work (or at least help) and so he is willing to take a personal gamble and begin dealing with the problem.

Wes Baker

University Ministry and Leadership Development

2008-07-08T10:29:00.004-05:00

University ministry is one of the key ingredients in our vision for renewing Peru through the power of the Gospel. We began working with students in Trujillo in October of 2002. The ministry limped along without a full-time campus minister until mid-2003. In January 2005 Gerardo Castro began leading the effort, joined in July 2006 by John Ferguson. During this time the ministry has developed, matured, and become a vibrant part of the life of our churches in Trujillo. We minister to students on four out of twelve Trujillo universities and recently graduated a strong slate of young men and women who are now members of our churches. In some ways this is a rebuilding year, but our weekly meetings still average between 25-40 students with eight to ten small groups meeting for bible study and discipleship throughout the week.

Doors continue to open as Pastor Gerardo has recently begun teaching classes at the Cesar Vallejo University. Also, Drs. David Doughty (Physics) and Gary Whiting (Ecology) from Christopher Newport University in Virginia were visiting lecturers on two of the campuses in early June. Both spoke on their current research topics, as well as the relationship between science and the Christian faith. These lectures were well received by students, faculty, and administration, and are giving our ministry a much more visible presence on the campuses than we have previously enjoyed.

Vision for the Future

In addition to evangelizing and discipling university students, the ministry also plays a strategic role in our long-term vision for renewing Peru through the power of the Gospel. Trujillo is foundational for future work in other major cities. The pattern of church life, university work, mercy ministry, and economic development will be easier to repeat once our labors in Trujillo are more firmly established. In addition, the university ministry is where the Lord is currently raising up bright young men and women. In order to have gifted pastors available within the next 4-6 years, we need to focus now on developing and training our most likely candidates.

Our strategy for developing these leaders and equipping them for ministry is two-fold: first, this will require continued development in our seminary. We need a greater commitment of prayer partners. We also need administrative help, a larger library, and funds for scholarships. Our second great need however, is for a better way of discipling and testing the gifts of new candidates, helping them to be more intentional and focused as they consider training for the ministry.

Internship Program

To do this we are beginning an internship program that we hope will provide a bridge from university to seminary. For Peruvian undergarduates, showing strong potential for future leadership, and who are within two years of graduation, we will offer a competitive, one-year internship (renewable for a second year). This will provide each intern with a stipend of $75/month toward his or her educational expenses. The intern will be under the oversight of the campus minister and will be responsible for leading a small-group Bible study, participating in the ministry's student leadership group, and completing a basic reading and study program.

The second stage of this program is a postgraduate internship. These will be competitive, full-time, one year positions (also renewable for a second year). The stipend will be $225/month, with the intern working as an assistant to the campus minister, leading small group bible studies, helping with organization and coordination of the ministry, and completing an intensive study program. Our hope is to see a growing flow of students from the university, through the internship program, and into the seminary for formal preparation. Even for those not called to the ministry, this program should help make them faithful servants and leaders in their local churches.

We hope to begin this fall with three undergraduate internships and three postgraduate internships. Please join us in praying for college ministry and leadership development in Peru and please consider sponsoring one or more of these positions. If you can help, please email rebekahjohnson@perumission.org or call (865) 684-4580.

What Is This Wet Stuff?

2008-07-05T21:00:00.003-05:00

Today, in New Braunfels, we are enjoying something we don't get to see very often in Trujillo. RAIN!!! We just love it! The rain started today around lunchtime and has been coming down off and on for the entire afternoon. I'm sure we look a bit strange to our neighbors ( yes we have neighbors) as we run out on our porch yelling and looking overly excited about a little rain! Not only are my kids happy for the showers today but so is my yard!!

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-05T20:36:00.003-05:00

Happy 4th of July! We had a great day yesterday. For the first time in many years we celebrated with our families. We had some burgers from the grill, brownies and banana pudding, and finished the day with some hometown fireworks. It was a full day and we were all tired by the time we crawled into bed!

Happy Birthday Millie!

2008-07-01T08:21:00.004-05:00

I can't believe my baby is 5 years old! Yesterday we celebrated Millie's birthday. We did some birthday shopping, had pizza for lunch, and had a great birthday cake. After cake we went to the movies. It was a fun day!
Millie has been missing her dress-up clothes, so she was pretty excited to get some new ones!

Summer in Texas

2008-06-29T22:33:00.002-05:00

We had a great time of food and fellowship this afternoon. One of our Sunday school classes had a cook-out. The kids had a blast swimming, tubing and eating!

Drivers Ed.

2008-06-29T22:11:00.004-05:00

Lauren, our oldest, has come back to the States in time to learn to drive. She has completed her written test and just needs time practicing before taking the driving part of the test. We have discovered that this is a task for dad. Mom is a little too nervous and yells "slow down" too much to be of much help. Up until now Lauren has been doing well driving the 15 passenger van. That is quite a feat for anyone! But now she has her own little blue car to jet around in. I think she will be ready to get a full-fledged license soon.

Church Plant Grows Out of Medical Campaign

2008-06-26T22:43:00.004-05:00

This is an article by Allen Bradford from the Peru Mission website. Praise the Lord with us for the ways His Gospel is advancing.

* * * *

We rejoice to share with you one way God is continuing to use the service of a short-term team in Peru. We have been blessed to witness God working through the inter-relating of several of Peru Mission’s ministries to bring new life to a community that is impoverished both physically and spiritually. Initial friendships with the community were made through the medical campaign by a short-term team, and then the community was adopted by our Wichanzao congregation, who assigned a seminary intern to lead pastoral and discipleship efforts there there, so that now a church plant is growing in the desert.

In February, a medical team from Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN, labored with us in tents in a little homesteading, shanty town called "Clementina" at the base of the mountain that overlooks the northern side of Trujillo. Clementina is a squatter’s community in the desert. Folks move out here, set their stakes and put up straw mats for walls. After 2 years, they will be legal owners of the land and the government will begin installing electricity, water and sewage. Living is very hard, however, while they wait.

From day one, when we first made contact with the people there, we were impressed by the friendliness and proactivity of their local neighborhood council. That impression was confirmed the day of the medical campaign, which showed us a community eager for help and open to our involvement. We had a good day setting up camp there and attending to those desperately needy people.

After the medical campaign, one of our seminary students, Percy Padilla, followed up with a number of visits to the area in the months of March and April. This resulted in the community, through the neighborhood council, donating a little plot of land to our Wichanzao Church for us to set up a chapel. Then, the Wichanzao Church petitioned Peru Mission to approve and help fund another seminary student, Jose Barriga, to take charge of this area and work toward planting a Church.

Jose began his labors in May. He visits Clementina 4 days a week—Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the mornings and Saturdays in the afternoons. During the mornings his work has primarily been with children and a few adults, and on Saturdays he has been teaching a group of youth with a few adults as well. Also, during this month, the Wichanzao Church raised funds to build a little chapel out of thatched mats. All this labor culminated on Sunday the 25th of May with an inauguration service for the new Clementina Chapel. Brethren from the Wichanzao church, mission interns, and missionaries made the trek up to Clementina after the morning worship service at Wichanzao, with some 25 people from the Clementina neighborhood. It was a heartwarming, Christ-honoring event. We were all greatly encouraged.

On Sunday, the 8th of June, we held the first regular Sunday worship service at 4 p.m. Jose led worship and preached, connecting well with the people. From his text in Luke 12.22-31, he encouraged the people to trust God for their needs, reminding them that he is gracious and compassionate and ready to respond to their prayers. Also, a brother from the Wichanzao Church, Abel, who is a first-year medical student, played the guitar.

In attendance were about 15 women, a number of children and two men, though some other men at different times hovered around the door. As electricity is extended through the neighborhood, we will begin to meet at a later, more convenient, hour.

Also in attendance was a group of 12 brethren from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX. We used this worship service to help kick off a four day VBS which this team led—Monday and Tuesday in the afternoons and Wednesday and Thursday in the mornings. By splitting the schedule this way, we were able to minister to all the children, since some have school in the mornings and others in the afternoons.

Please pray for the dear people in Clementina, as well as for the weekly ministry of Jose Barriga from SBR Seminary, the health personnel from Wichanzao Presbyterian Clinic and the brethren from Wichanzao Presbyterian Church that regularly visit.

Sermon: "How to Hear the Word of God"

2008-06-24T23:06:00.001-05:00

Here is an online sermon Wes recently preached at Christ Presbyterian, New Braunfels, TX.

Special thanks to Christ Presbyterian Church!

2008-06-23T08:44:00.003-05:00

Our home church is Christ Presbyterian in New Braunfels, Texas. These dear saints have been very kind to us over the years, and indeed have supported us from the beginning of our work in Peru. They have demonstrated their generosity once again, by providing us a home while we are on HMA. The church's campus includes about 12 acres (if I recall correctly), with a comfortable, quaint, farmhouse that they now use as a mission house. It is in the middle of a rapidly growing part of town, but it is situated in such a way that it still has the feel of an old farm. Notice in these pictures the pre-civil war stone building that apparently served as storage and root cellar. The windmill is also situated over an old hand-dug well that must date to about the same time.

New Braunfels is one of my favorite places in Texas. Located on the Comal and Guadlupe rivers, it was settled by German immigrants in 1845. Wikipedia has a brief article on the city.

Home Missionary Assignment

2008-06-23T08:15:00.004-05:00

The Bakers are back in the US for about a year on HMA. We're sad to leave Peru but very glad to see family and friends, and very much looking forward to visiting churches and telling what the Lord is doing in Northern Peru through your prayers and support.

One of the reasons we are sad to be gone for a year is simply because we will miss our Peruvian and North American brethren who are working so fathfully there (and having too much fun without us :-), but also because this is a key time in the life of Peru Mission. After many years of slow advance, and many years of foundation laying, we are beginning to see significant growth and development in almost all areas. We have many new faces around the mission (~10 families and 12-14 interns, if I count correctly) and a growing group of Peruvian leaders. Our hopes are that the next four years will see the Trujillo foundations sufficiently established that we can begin work with full force (committing substantial human and financial resources) in Chiclayo, Piura, and elsewhere in the north of Peru. We hope to be anouncing a major capital funds campaign soon, with the idea of completing our major financial obligations in Trujillo. Please pray for all of the administrative details that need to be wrapped up for that to take place.

And finally, please pray for us to have a good and succesful time in the US. Pray for our family's stamina (spiritually, emotionally, and physically) throughout this year. I enjoy traveling, but it takes a great toll on the family.

Thank you all for your faithful partnership with us in the Gospel! May our Lord richly bless you all.

Stockdale Watermelon Jubilee Rodeo

2008-06-21T21:30:00.003-05:00

Last night Wes and I went back to our old stomping grounds. We went to the Watermelon Jubilee in Stockdale, TX. The rodeo was alright, but my favorite part was the "mutton busting". Mutton busting is an event for kids about 5 to 6 years old.. They suit up in a bull riding vest and helmet and are placed on the back of a sheep. The shute opens and they hang onto the back of the sheep for dear life as the sheep runs out across the arena. The kid who rides the farthest is the winner. As you can imagine there were lots of laughs! We also got to catch up with some old friends from school, Michael and Michelle Hartman. It was a fun night!

Back on Line!

2008-06-18T08:37:00.002-05:00

After a very long time without my own computer and without a digital camera, I am back! I got a new computer a couple of weeks ago and also a camera, so please stay tuned for news and updates from the Bakers!

Things Happening In Arevalo

2007-02-14T11:54:00.000-05:00

The ladies in Arevalo have been meeting every Friday afternoon for Bible study and fellowship. This past Friday we were taught how to make greeting cards. They are always excited to learn new hand crafts and are eager to learn more about the word of God. They are an encouraging group of women!

It's summertime here in Trujillo and the kids are looking for things to do. The church in the Arevalo neighborhood has been helping out with this. They have started a turtoring program with about 120 kids attending. This Saturday they plan to take a break from the books and take a trip out to the beach to enjoy some fun in the sun!

Ladies Bible Study

2007-02-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Every Tuesday we wives get together with our girl interns and study God's Word. We have just started a new study by Beth Moore. Todays topic was entitled New Starts and Barren Hearts. We talked about the manna and all that it represented in Exodus 16. The point that struck me most was that it was training for daily dependence on God! I am already looking forward to next weeks lesson!

Alive and Kicking

2007-01-29T22:32:00.000-05:00

I know many of you are shocked to find new information on the Baker Family Blog Spot! I am so sorry I have not kept up lately. Life has been incredibly busy with seven kids, husband, dog, and hamster! The kids are doing great. Of course we are staying busy with the usual: school (now 6 out of 7 homeschool), violin, tennis, biking, running around in the park with all your friends, and swimming! We also like to try and go out and help with the short term teams while they are here.

This is our latest picture of all the kids. I know you can tell they have all grown a lot in this past year. Lauren is busy working full-time at SALI and taking all her classes. She is so smart and works very hard. Cullen has finally past Wes in height and beat him at arm wrestling the other night! He is becoming a young man. Noah is almost as tall as I am. He is a big strapping boy! He just had a birthday and got a new bike. So he has been spending all his free time out riding with his buddies. Abby and Katheryn are enjoying having so many friends to play with everyday. They are really tired at the end of the day! Olivia and Millie are becoming better friends each day. They like to play with their dollhouse and practice being mommy! Olivia is also happy she is learning to read. Wes is busy with teaching and short term teams. Right now we are enjoying the team from All Saints in Austin, Texas.

The kids enjoyed a ride with Mr. Sonny House not too long ago. It was a real treat to go down the streets of New Braunfels in this really old car. The kids worried about us getting in trouble because Millie wasn't in a car seat. I told them I couldn't imagine us getting a ticket because we looked so cute! It was a blast!! Thanks Mr. House!!!

Arevalo Fellowship Hall

2006-06-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm ashamed that I overlooked Dr. Sam Suttle's (Louisville, MS) comment on the previous post for so long. He inquired about the work on the fellowship hall in Arevalo. Below, one can see quite a few pictures of how far we have advanced (above is what it is supposed to look like when we finish). At long last we have the roof over the auditorium, first floor bathrooms, front portico, second floor, and doors and windows finished (though we still lack glass in the windows). These pictures do not show the roof very clearly. I had a number of good pictures of this on my computer which was recently stolen. I'll try to get more soon and post them. The building is actually closer to being finished than it looks. We haven't done the "tarajeo" (kind of like stucco) on the outside of the building yet and around the edges of the windows, because that has to wait until the third floor is finished. We've been raising money for the clinic lately, so finishing the fellowship hall is on hold for the moment. Once the first floor of the clinic is operational, then we will get back to finishing the fellowship hall.

Here are the photos:

Lenin Celiz and Peru Mission Doors

2006-05-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

Lenin Celiz left Peru for Jackson, Mississippi yesterday, arriving today. As the mission's architect and supervisor of construction projects, we were loath to part with him, but it's only for two months, and it is for a very good cause! Lenin is one of our most faithful and gifted parishoners in Trujillo. He is a man with a quick, playful smile; contageous optimism; an ardent faith in the Lord Jesus; and a zeal to make Him known.

In addition to being an architect, Lenin is also a carpenter from the city of Moyobamba in the upper jungle of Peru. Lenin grew up working with mahogany, cedar, and other tropical hardwoods in his father's mill until leaving for Trujillo to study architecture. He will spend two months studying English at Jackson State University in the mornings and working with millwright Mike Boyett in the afternoons. Our plan is for Lenin to get experience with the kinds of hardwood doors that are currently being made in the US, so that he can return to Peru and set up a shop to build those doors here for export to North American markets.

This project has been in the works for several years, but now at long last it seems that the Lord is bringing it to fruition. Exports of raw mahogany and cedar have dimished to a trickle from places like Brazil and Peru, as these countries have begun to crack down on the black market trade and put severe restrictions on the legal trade. Developing countries are now more interested in selling value-added products than simply raw lumber. Our hope is to set up a shop that will make the finest quality mahogany and cedar doors and furniture for sale in Peru and the US. In addition to providing jobs for people in our churches, we are hopeful that this will generate a profit that can be used to build new church buildings.

Photos: top, Lenin with some architectural students working on church plans. Middle, Lenin with a mahogany seedling in Moyobamba. Bottom, a load of Moyobamba cedar going to Trujillo for doors and windows in one of our churches.

Katheryn

2006-05-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken by Adam Mikeal back in March during the University of Texas/Texas A&M spring break missions trip. The mischievous look is a priceless glimpse at Katheryn's personality.

New Missionaries

2006-04-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

April 19th marked a new occasion for rejoicing among the Peru Mission team. Allen and Sandi Smith, have officialy begun their ministry with us in Trujillo. They arrived in Peru from the States with their daughters Abigail and Adeline, back in the third week in January, but spent February 1 through April 15 in langauge school in Cusco. On April 19 they made their way up to Trujillo after a few days of paperwork in Lima. We now have them officially moved into their new home. They will continue langage studies as Allen eases into responsibiities around the mission. We want his transition to be as smooth as possible and will not load him down with much to do just yet, other than studying Spanish, doing visits with our pastors, and helping out with church music. Please pray for Allen and Sandi as they continue to adjust to a new city and a new home, and as they continue learning Spanish. You can read their blog updates here.

In addition to the Smith Family, we have also welcomed to the team Mr. Caleb Sutton from Valparaiso, Florida. Caleb is actually an old hand around here. He first visited Cajamarca and Trujillo back in the year 2000 on a short term trip with his church. Since then, in addition to other short term trips, he has done two internships with us. One for about nine months in 2003 and then again in 2005 as a summer intern. Now, however, he is back for a much longer tour of duty. He finished a bachelor's degree in English at the University of West Florida this spring and graduated about 10 days ago. We are delighted to have Caleb back for at least two years. He will be teaching English in SALI, as well as helping with the university ministry and church music. Please be praying for Caleb and his ministry with Peru Mission.

New Sport

2006-04-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

We have begun a new sport here at the Baker house, swimming. So far we are loving it. Abby, Katheryn, Olivia, and Noah are all taking classes 3 days a week for an hour a day. Katheryn has been working on getting a breath between strokes without raising her head out of the water. Olivia has been working on getting her entire head under water and not just the tip of her nose. Abby has been amazing me at how fast she is on her back. She has a"bad" backstroke. She beats all the other kids to the other side of the pool almost everytime. And Noah is our frog. He doesn't really like to swim on top of the water, but boy can he go when they practice swimming under water. They are having a lot of fun, and I'm just a little proud of them!

2006-03-06T12:28:00.000-05:00

Milestones at the Baker House

Millie is such a big girl now. She has successfully completed her time of "potty training." We are so proud of her! We have also come to a huge milestone at the Baker house. For the first time in 16 years we don't have anyone in diapers. Can you believe it? WOW!! The kids are all growing up so fast. There have been many days in the heat of the battle that I felt like we were just marking time, but in reality they have grown so fast! As Wes said last night, our next milestone will be to get rid of the sippy cups!

1,2,3,4,5,6,..... Oh no, one is missing! Yes Cullen is gone. He went to church camp in Moyobamba with several other young people from the three Trujillo churches. He called us on the phone the other night and said he was having a great time. This is Cullens second trip to the jungle. He said he would like to just move there. Moyobamba is a city of about 25,000 located in the upper jungle of Peru. It takes about 19 hours by bus to arrive. That's a long bus ride! Needless to say the girls and I have not made that trip yet. Abby and Katheryn are just dying to go!

2006-03-02T21:54:00.000-05:00

Here we are in the middle of a very hot summer. The girls have been spending a lot of time in their bathing suits. We have had a lot of good days to spend at the pool. We have been busy as usual with school, violin lessons, riding bikes,and just stuff like that. One of Millie's favorite pastimes these days is coloring. Lauren just celebrated her 16th birthday, wow! She is becoming such a lady. She is busy as ever with school. She hopes to work up at Casa San Agustin as their secretary in the afternoons. She is pretty excited about that. I am excited about that, maybe I won't hear "Mom can I have some money?" Cullen is also working in the afternoons with the carpenters who are making the doors, window frames, and roof trusses for the churches.

We had a great time last week with Dr. Pete Forney, Dr. Luis Ramos, Dr. Tim Owens, and Dr. Chris Felitta. All the doctors attended patients in the Winchanzao Church. Dr. Tim Owens and Dr. Chris Felitta also attended in the Arevelo and Larco Churches. Dr. Pete Forney and Dr. Luis Ramos performed several surgical procedures. All the doctors were very busy, but were a blessing to the people here.

Baker Family/Peru Mission Update

2006-01-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ! I hope you all enjoyed a blessed Christmas and are looking forward in faith to this new year!

All of us with Peru Mission are well. We enjoyed a quiet Christmas, but are gearing up for a very busy beginning of 2006. First, a quick update on the past month and then a few things upcoming for us in January:

Trip to Moyobamba

In mid-December Bill Bradford and I took his son, William, and my two sons, Cullen and Noah, to the Upper Amazon Jungle in the district of San Martin. All of us had a great time, combining a certain amount of ministry business with a few days fun in the jungle.

We enjoyed getting to worship on Sunday with the First Presbyterian Church of Moyobamba. The Rev. David McPherson (Free Church of Scotland Missionary) is Senior Minister in this congregation of nearly 1000 communicants. As you might have guessed, this is the largest presbyterian church in Peru. It was established in the 1930s by Free Church missionaries and continues to be a thriving, evangelistic, and mission-oriented fellowship.

Bill addressed the young people's group on Saturday evening on the doctrine of adoption. I had the priviledge of preaching on Sunday morning on the subject of prayer as empowering us for evangelism. Though I had been there three years earlier to teach in their Bible Institute, it was a joy to renew acquaintances and friendships with many dear brothers in Christ. This is a congregation with a vibrant faith, an evident love for Christ, and a zeal to make Him known.

On Monday we took a boat trip on the Rio Mayo down to the Tingana Ecological Reserve (an 8,700 acre national park). We had a great time and a close up look at the heart of the Amazon. The thrill for the boys was seeing hundreds of wild monkeys in the trees as we passed by in the dugout canoe.

On Tuesday we visited a few of the church's extension works and countryside churches, also the Annie Soper Christian School. This school is owned by the church and has been greatly used by God to advance His Gospel in Moyobamba. I'm sure that we will have much to learn from the brethren at the Annie Soper Christian School as we encounter challenges in developing our own parish schools. By the way, Annie Soper was a Scottish midwife sent out by the Free Church in the 1930s, who, along with another midwife whose name I have forgotten, travelled across the Andes by mule and donkey up to Cajamarca and then over to Moyobamba. The Lord used them, and another famous Scottish midwife in Cajamarca named Sarah McDuggal, to win much favor from the Roman Catholic authories, and thus to open many doors to the Gospel (to this day there is a street in Cajamarca named after Sarah McDuggal, a statue in her honor, and a museum dedicated to her work in the Belen [Roman Catholic] Church in Cajamarca).

Rev. McPherson also took us to see a tract of land that they have recently purchased, where they hope to open a university sometime in the next few years. It was encourageing to see the vision of Rev. McPherson and the Moyobamba Church. It seems that Thomas Chalmers's view of church, mission, and Kingdom are alive and well in the Upper Amazon.

Two other reasons for our visit to Moyobamba were:

(1) to check on the progress of our carpenters. Carpenters in the Moyobamba church made all of the doors, windows, roof trusses, and tongue-and-grove ceiling panels for our Arevalo and Larco building projects. Spanish Cedar and Mahogany is much cheaper in Moyobamba than it is in Trujillo on the coast, so we had Lenin Celiz (a trained carpenter from Moyobamba who is finishing up his degree in architecture at one of the universities in Trujillo) design and oversee the production of these things in Moyobamaba, having them shipped down to us on the coast for installation. We probably saved about one third of the cost and helped out a faithful Christian family in Moyobamaba at the same time.

(2) We also went to check on a small plot of about 50 Mahogany trees we have recently planted there. The Peruvian government is offering thousands of hectares of land in the jungle for reforestation projects. We have planted these 50 trees, and hope to buy a couple of hectares for planting more, as something of a test case. Mahogany is now listed in the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) appendix III as an endangered species, which means that it's value is currently skyrocketing on the world market. It takes a long time to mature (30+ years) but since the land would be free and it is relatively inexpensive to plant, we have thought that it might be a good investment for the support of church planting and missions in the future. We'll soon find out how easy it is to grow mahogany and whether it may be worthwhile to request larger tracts of land for bigger projects. As you can see in the picture, so far the little trees are alive and appear to be taking root well. Their first couple of years will be most crucial.

Prospects for the New Year

Things are well in Trujillo. We are hard at work preaching, catechizing, making pastoral visits, and planning out our church calendars for the next year. We have a break from seminary classes until March. The churches are gearing up to host our General Assembly in Trujillo this month. Dr. Mike Ross, Senior Minister at Trinity Presbyterian in Jackson, Mississippi and the Rev. David McPherson from Moyobamba, Peru will be our main speakers at the pre-assembly missions conference this year. We will also have the following notables with us in January: Rev. Roland Barnes, the CMS Executive Director, along with his wife Peaches. Dr. Dan Doolittle will be here for two weeks attending patients in the Wichazao Clinic. His wife Pamela and a cousin will join him for the first of those two weeks. Dale Ellison, who is currently raising support to join us in Peru will come with Mike Ross for a brief visit. Allen and Sandy Smith will also make their long awaited arrival to Peru. They will be in Trujillo for the General Assembly, and then head down to Cusco for three months of language study. Also, David and Corrine Bradford, parents of our very own Bill Bradford, will be with us for most of the month.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. There is much more to report, but that will have to wait for the next update. The following are some motives for thanksgiving and items for continued prayer:

1. Please join us in praising God for a recent gift of $15,000 from some dear friends in Texas, designated for our Larco Construction Fund! This will get us over a very big hump, and will put us very, very close to finishing the sanctuary and fellowship hall there.

2. Please pray for support for the Arevalo Construction Fund. We have made huge strides with the fellowship hall (where the church currently meets), thanks to some very generous gifts this past year, from friends in Mississippi and Louisiana. We expect to begin the first floor of the clinic in March, and with the Lord's help, hope to have it operational before the end of 2006.

3. Please be praying that all goes well with the General Assembly the last week of this month.

4. Pray for the Smith family as they make their adjustment to life in Peru.

5. Please pray for the other two families still raising support: Dale and Susan Ellison (they are at approximately 45% of their needed support), and John and Heather Ferguson (approximately 10%).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Yours in Christ,

Wes and Jami Baker and family
Peru Mission

Baker Family/Peru Mission Update

2005-11-30T11:25:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

Warmest Christian greetings. I pray that this note finds you all well and rejoicing in the Lord's mercy and grace.

Things in Trujillo, Peru are very fast paced these days. We are busy preaching, leading discipleship groups, teaching seminary classes, overseeing construction projects, and many other such things. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support of this ministry.

Families

The Baker family is well. Jami stays busy homeschooling five of our seven children. She also teaches English at our English Language Institute. Our kids are busy with such things as school, violin lessons, tennis lessons, and church youth group. I am teaching Logic and Intro to Philosophy this semester in our seminary; handling a lot of the accounting and administration; preaching regularly in our three churches; helping with the RUF groups; overseeing (with Bill Bradford) two construction projects; and hosting short-term teams.

( Millie Baker, first picture; Katheryn and Olivia Baker and Hannah Bradford, second picture)

The Bradford family routine looks very similar to the Bakers, except that their children are a bit younger. Bill is teaching Greek I and Rhetoric; leading a couple of discipleship groups; helping with RUF, and preaching regularly.

Allen and Sandy Smith are raising their support and hope to be here in January. We desperately need the help, so they won't arrive a moment too soon.

* Please pray for stamina, spiritual focus, and the speedy arrival of the Smith family.

Short-term Teams

We just hosted a team from Providence PCA in St. Louis, MO this past month. We had a great time with them. They were mostly helping with construction, but Pastor Chris Smith did give three lectures to our seminary students. Construction was done in our Larco Parish. We have a new facade on the building and the team helped with a sidewalk across the front and the entrance to the building.

* Please give thanks with us for the great advances in construction in Larco and the help of this team.

(the team from Providence PCA, St. Louis, MO)

Arevalo Church Plant

Eduardo Quiroz continues to do a great job in the new Arevalo church. This is the place where the city gave us 4,300 square meters surrounded by even more land designated for a park. Our building there is still very much under construction, but Eduardo has been holding worship, preaching, teaching, and catechising there for well over a year (with regular help and support, of course, from the missionaries). We have about 50-60 in worship on a Sunday. October 30 was our first Lord's day to worship in the building with a roof on it. We have made great strides in the past few weeks on construction here. We are very excited about the new building and the new people that the Lord is bringing us to fill it. We also just received a grant from the Peruvian government of 150,000 soles (about $45,000) for sidewalks around our property and development of the large park. This will not only help with our overall project, it will also provide work for many of our people. We hope to begin work on the parish medical clinic sometime in spring 2006. Please pray for us as we raise funds for this.

* Please give thanks with us for the new people coming and pray for their growth in grace. Pray for Eduardo Quiroz's ministry here. Pray for the Lord to raise up new elders and deacons. Give thanks with us for the advances in constuction.

(Eduardo Quiroz, left, with some of the seminary students)

Wichanzao Church

Pastor Guillermo Diaz continues to labor faithfully in this parish with very encouraging results. Attendance and new membership has gone up in the last six months, with very little input from the missionaries. We have been so consumed with the new church plant in Arevalo, the growth in the number of college students in the Larco church, and our work in the seminary, that we have been able to spend much less time in Wichanzao than we normally would have. The Lord has been faithful, however. We have a depth of faith and commitment there that we haven't seen before. It seems that this work has matured substantially just in the last several months. Our medical clinic there has been handed over to the church to run and is no longer controlled directly by the mission. It is now a fully operational medical and dental clinic and is actually beginning to be self-supporting for the first time ever. It has been very gratifying to see Peruvian Christians take responsibility for this and do a good job, with very little input from the mission. It continues to be a much needed and appreciated ministry in a very poor neighborhood, as well as providing numerous avenues for fruitful pastoral interaction with patients.

* Please pray for Pastor Guillermo Diaz and his family. Pray for Mrs. Rocio Pajares who runs the medical clinic. Pray for continued growth on the session and for the Lord to raise up deacons in this church.

(Wichanzao Church, both pictures)

Larco Church

Larco has been encouraging as well. Pastor Ricardo Hernandez is a very faithful pastor. We have had strong attendance over the past 8-10 months, particularly noting an increase in interest from college students, professionals, and middle class folks. This is largely the fruit of RUF and our English Language Institute. But whatever the source, it has kept us hopping with discipleship groups, pastoral visits, and counseling sessions. This growth has also made construction in Larco an urgent matter. In addition to being out of space, we have been trying to improve the aesthetics of the building. In the past Larco has been our ugliest, most dilapidated facility. With short term teams this summer and fall, however, we are doubling the size of the sanctuary, will soon have a spacious fellowship hall, and are putting on a new roof, and a new facade and entrance. At long last it looks like Larco will become a very attractive place! This has been urgent because Larco is our only church in a middle class neighborhhod. The other two are too far away for most of the professionals and middle class folks to attend there. Thus, we need to get Larco in order so that we will have a good place to invite the new people we are coming in contact with.

* Please pray for Pastor Ricardo Hernandez and his family. Pray for the university and professional ministry based out of this church. Pray for continued growth on the session and for the Lord to raise up more leaders.

(unfinished Larco facade)

English Language Institute

Alex Sherling, from Yazoo City, MS is running the instutute for us for at least the next six months. He has been with us now for almost a year, and we are praying that he will agree to stay indefinitely. This has gone very well, both in terms of growth in the number of students, income generated, contacts made, and new folks coming to church. We presently have a sufficient supply of teachers, but very soon (i.e., after the first of the year) will need several more interns (college age North Americans) to help teach. We hope to expand this significantly, possibly being able to connect it with a study abroad program. The more teachers we have, the more classes we can offer, and the more contacts and relationships we have for the Gospel. Also, the institute has been generating about $1200/month over the past several months, which has covered the salaries of the two Peruvian campus ministers.

*Please pray for new mature, committed, faithful, interns. Pray for the Lord's blessing upon contacts and relationships that we are already building. Pray for Alex Sherling as he directs this work and gets it better organized.

RUF

You may have already heard our good news about campus ministry here. John Ferguson, campus minister with RUM at Texas A&M has joined our team and is presently raising his support to move down with his family. Along with this, the General Assembly committee for Campus Ministry just this past month approved an affiliation agreement with our mission making Trujillo only the second official RUF International work. As you can imagine, we are very encouraged and excited about this.

Also, Juan Marquina and Gerardo Castro continue to do well leading RUF on four college campuses here in Trujillo (Universidad Nacional; UPAO; Universidad Cesar Vallejo; and Universidad del Norte). This seems to be mushrooming. Trujillo is the major educational center in the north of Peru. We desperately need more campus ministers, and John Ferguson in particular, to coordinate this work.

*Please pray for John Ferguson and family as they raise support and finish up at A&M. Pray for the work of Juan Marquina and Gerardo Castro on these four campuses and future work in three other schools.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Time would fail me to tell you of all the exciting things the Lord is doing among us. Come down for a visit some time (maybe a summer team?) and we'll show you around. May the Lord richly bless you!

Yours ever in Christ,
Wes Baker

Olivia's Birthday

2005-08-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

Olivia turned four years old on August 3rd. Here are some pictures from her birthday party. Her friends Caroline, Laurel, and Elise Kuyrkendall, and Mollie, William, Hannah, and Andrew Bradford came over to celebrate and help eat the cake.

Missions and Archeology?

2005-08-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

When Lehigh Valley PCA was with us they spent a considerable part of their time laying a new sewer line for the Larco church. While they were digging, unbeknownst to the diggers, they uncovered a small piece of preIncan pottery called a "huaco" (the "hu" makes a "w" sound). This pottery was a small jug used normally as a container for a native corn wiskey called "chicha."

In the early 1980s when an apartment complex was being built next door to our church (only a few meters from our wall), the construction crew discovered an ancient preMoche (the Moches supposedly date from AD 1-800) religious site. Archeologists from the National University of Trujillo did a quick and hasty dig and found a lot of pottery, along with some gold and silver. Like much of Peru's archeological sites, however, a lack of funding kept it from ever being thoroughly investigated, and soon the apartments went up.

Well, to get back to our story, after the Lehigh Valley team left, a team from Statesboro, GA was covering the ditch and discovered the piece of pottery that had recently been dug up. It is perfectly preserved, but it lacks any of the usual paint and markings usually associated with pottery from the Moche civilization. This would seem to confirm our hunch that it was part of the same preMoche site that had been hastily excavated five meters from our wall, in the 1980s.

All such pottery, I'm told, belong to the Peruvian state, but I currently have it sitting on my desk. I don't expect that they will come to claim it any time soon, but to be sure, you shouldn't delay your visit to Trujillo. Come see us and we'll gladly show it off. :-)

Lehigh Valley PCA

2005-07-17T21:14:00.000-05:00

What a great time we had with this team! They were a marvelous group. They worked hard with English classes, visits in the neighborhood, and breaking a lot of rocks and old concrete foundations to dig a new sewage line.

We knew that it would be hard enough just digging the ditch. We didn't anticipate all of the old concrete foundations that would criss-cross our path. The work went well though, and the construction in our Larco church continues at a good pace. See all of the team's pictures at www.perumission.org. Follow the links through the photos page.

Lehigh Valley PA

2005-06-28T08:04:00.000-05:00

We have a team of 16 from Lehigh Valley, PA coming this Friday. They will be teaching English, doing evangelistic visits in the neighborhood, and a lot of construction at the Larco church. We hope to finish the facade (the "stucco" that is used in Peru to cover the brick walls is called "tarajeo") of our building, and a new sidewalk and entrance, among other things. Watch for photos of the advance on our website at perumission.org.

Greetings

2005-06-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

Hello to all of our dear friends and supporters!

This is our very first attempt at something that we hope will be a much more effective way of keeping you posted with the goings on in our family and ministry in Trujillo. You may have noticed (or been frustrated by) all the slow changes on our website (perumission.org). We have a very long way to go with that, but we do feel like we are starting to round the corner. We hope that the website will be a regular source of news and information for Peru Mission, and the hub of our communication with supporters. We'll be regularly updating the site with news articles, photos, and prayer needs. In addition, each missionary family will have its own weblog for family news and prayer needs, linked from the website. Please check in regularly on both of these.

We plan to continue publishing the Peru Mission Bulletin as we have in the past. Our goal is to get that up to four times per year. We also plan to send out our Peru Mission eBulletin from the website. With the Lord's help, this will eventually be published every two weeks.

Thanks for your faithful prayers and support.

Blessings,

Wes

P.S. We just had a short-term team from Greenville, South Carolina and Colleyville, Texas with us. They were a lot of fun and worked very hard. They worked construction in our Larco Parish, taught English in a local public school, and made evangelistic/pastoral visits in the neighborhood. These generous saints gave $5400 to expand the sanctuary in Larco. Very soon, we hope to have a building with double its current capacity. Please pray for this.