Copy
November 2, 2015
View this email in your browser
Preparing to serve Christ in Peru
by serving Christ in the USA
Psalm 9:1-2 (NASB)
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
"So Kelly, what do you think about moving to Peru?" This is a question that Kelly often gets asked, and maybe you are wondering the same thing. Click on the image below to hear her answer.

Where does God want us to be?

   Have you ever asked a question like that? You think you know where God is directing and then things change. You didn't see it coming and now you're not sure what to do. Our preference would be to have a travel itinerary planned out months in advance. Nevertheless as time marched into August, we didn't have specific travel plans scheduled for the end of September and beginning of October. For months we had planned out several itineraries to revisit churches that we need to get to know better, but in each case God clearly closed the door. We were wondering, "Are we missing something? Are we doing something wrong?"

   We asked you to pray that our faith would continue to grow and be firmly fixed in the One who knows the beginning and end of all things. We asked you to pray that we would faithfully serve Him whenever, wherever, and in whatever He wants. As time went along, God began to answer your prayers but not in the way we had originally expected. We spent a week with Community Baptist Church in South Riding, VA at the beginning of September. The second Sunday we were there was their "Whole World Wide Sunday." I gave a brief overview of the Peru ministry in the morning service. After the service we were at our display table talking to people. A man came up and said that he has some missionary friends that are with IBM Global, our mission board, and that he likes what he has seen from IBM Global. That was encouraging to hear.
Since I had not met him before I assumed he was a member of Community Baptist. As we talked some more I realized that he is the pastor's son-in-law who was visiting with his family and that he himself is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Bellefonte, PA. He gave me his contact information and asked if we would be up in Pennsylvania at any point. We had a great conversation and had much in common, so I began looking for a time to visit that church in the near future.

   After our visit to Community Baptist, since we had the flexibility, we headed down to Culpeper, VA to visit our good friends Dave and Miranda Peets. They recently moved to that area to help with the English and Spanish ministries of City Light Baptist Church. Esther had chicken pox, so in order to spare the children of the church from chicken pox, Kelly and the girls did not attend the church services. God provided a full recovery for Kelly's shingles and Esther's chicken pox. They had a relatively mild case.

   During that visit God gave me great opportunities to connect with the pastor. It was encouraging to talk about similar ministry goals since he is directly involved with Nicaragua Baptist Missions. God filled our September schedule with two more weekends serving with that church. During that time, God opened up several gospel-sharing opportunities. One of which was when Dave and I presented the gospel in Spanish with some Hispanic day laborers. Pray that in their difficult circumstances of life these men will give attention to God and His word. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use His word to bring these men to repentant faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that God will utilize the witness of the Christians of City Light Baptist Church as they live out and proclaim the gospel in their community of Culpeper, VA.

   Around that time we confirmed a weekend to visit First Baptist Church in Bellefonte, PA. We spent a very enjoyable weekend with that church at the beginning of October. God had a specific plan for keeping that gap in our schedule for September and October. He was sovereignly superintending all things for our good and His glory. He was saving that time to be able to visit those two churches. We look forward to what He might do through these connections.

   God has provided six partnering churches and several individuals and families to bring us up to about 45% of our projected budget needs. First Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA and Community Baptist Church in South Riding, VA are our newest partnering churches. They have been a tremendous encouragement to us.

 God Provides Housing

   As we were preparing for our time in Greenville, SC we were looking to confirm housing. He used the persistent searching of a friend to find a house for us just a couple days before we arrived in South Carolina last week. He knows just the right way to provide for our needs and stretch our faith in Him.

Prayer Request - Spanish Language Proficiency

   Spanish is the primary vehicle we will need for clearly communicating biblical truth in Peru. With that in mind, we want our Spanish to sound as close as possible to that of a native Spanish speaker, so our way of communicating does not present a roadblock to a person's understanding of biblical truth. God's grace has been evident over the years as He has given us many opportunities to learn and practice Spanish in various settings. There is so much more to learn. We want to be wise stewards of our time and resources now, so when we get to Peru we can more effectively communicate the clear truths of Scripture.

   Pray that God will give us many opportunities to progress in our Spanish comprehension and communication in the coming months. Pray specifically that God will give us consistent conversation time with educated, native Spanish speakers that can help us root out any grammatical and pronunciation errors that have crept in over the years and give us insight to the nuances of the language. Pray that God will give us humility to admit when we make mistakes, the ability to laugh at our mistakes, and a commitment to press on for God's glory.

"You will be my witnesses . . ."

Acts 20:21
"testifying to both Jews and Greeks about
repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus."

   The other week, on a Wednesday night, we hopped in our van to head to Harvest Bible Church, one of our partnering churches. We had enough time to get there about five minutes early, then we noticed that we needed to put gas in the van. No problem - we don't have any specific responsibilities at church, it'll be quick; and we should still get there on time. As we pull into Citgo, we notice that all the pumps are full and a vehicle is waiting in line. I look over at the Sunoco and all the pumps are open. No problem, we drive over there. I hop out, unscrew the gas cap, and notice a sign saying the card reader is broken; so I'll have to pay inside. To this point all these things seem like unfortunate delays . . . until I get inside. I recognize the young man behind the counter. I met him several months back and was able to share a brief gospel overview as I told him how God is directing us to Peru.

   As we talk, I realize that he remembers me and a little bit about Peru. He thinks, however, that we are going there to do humanitarian aid. Our work, though, is much more than than that. It is to be ambassadors for Christ pleading with people on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20). We chatted for a couple minutes and then I asked him about his religious background. He has grown up in the Hindu religion and now he teaches  classes to youth at the Hindu gatherings. He describes some of Hinduism to me. It claims to present paths to God, but it does not offer a solution for the problem of sin and the consequences that sin brings. For the next fifteen minutes God gave me opportunities to answer this man's questions and objections with clear biblical truth. No other customers came in until our conversation was about done.

  
Now I can see that all those "unfortunate delays" were God's providential way of getting more gospel truth to a young man. It's amazing and humbling to realize that God earnestly searches for sinners like a shepherd would search for a lost sheep (Luke 15). Pray that this young man will repent of his sins and believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Thank You for Praying!

Other Prayer Requests

 

That God would provide:

1) For us to be moved to Peru by February 2016 (God seems to be pushing this back a little. We will keep you updated as He gives us more direction.)

2) Direction for where we should travel to in the spring  of 2016

3) Strong, long-term partnerships with 10-15 like-minded churches.

4) Long-term ministry partnerships with individuals and families.

5) Spiritual faithfulness, safety, and financial provision as we travel.

Future Travels

 
Early November

Cleveland Park Bible Church in Spartanburg, SC

Iglesia Bautista de la Gracia in Hendersonville, NC


Mid to late November
Revisiting churches in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Early December
Grace Baptist Church in
Wilmingon, NC

 





 

Sending Church

Calvary Baptist Church
631 S. Dillard St.
Winter Garden, FL 34787
www.cbwg.org

Mission Board

IBM Global
PO Box 607
Nashua, NH 03061

ibmglobal.org

To learn more about what God is directing us to in Peru, visit our website www.cross2peru.com
Copyright © 2015 Jay & Kelly Cross, All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp