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Dear Praying Friends,
Greetings from Puerto Maldonado, Peru!
Thank you for your continued prayers for us. We are glad to be part of the group of Jesus Christ's ambassadors here in the Amazon Basin. We thank God for the disciple-making doors that he is opening around us.
DISCIPLE MAKING 2018 - YOUTH CLUBS: With the World Cup in full swing, soccer is even more the focus than usual here in Peru. Unfortunately, Peru did not advance to the next round of the tournament, but they played well and laid a good foundation for future trips to the World Cup. We are glad to continue to use soccer as a bridge to sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Club de Fútbol Vida Nueva (New Life Soccer Club) meets three times a week. We generally have a group of about eighteen boys between five and thirteen years old.
Before we begin training, I always share a gospel message. I have been teaching from the beginning of Genesis and select passages from the Gospels. The soccer club has given us the opportunity to get to know several of the parents decently well. Please pray with us that God would open up more disciple-making doors through this outreach. We are always looking for opportunities to teach more people about God.
With a long-term perspective of God's work, we pray that these boys will come to know Jesus as their Savior and serve him faithfully all their days. Maybe some of them will be future leaders in churches here in Peru and around the world. Pray for the salvation of Aarón, Rodrigo, Fernando, Alexis, Árnol, Jefferson, Salomón, Leo, Yael, Neymar, Yefri, Levis, Diego, Sergio, Manuel, Dariel, Dersi, Nilo, Dayron, Paolo, Luis, Jorge, and Émerson.
It was great to have the help and encouragement of a fellow IBM Global missionary, JR Dudeck (pictured above), for the past three months. He recently traveled back to the USA to finish up pre-field ministry (deputation), and he is praying that God will provide for him to move to Peru in the coming months. He was a great help with various ministries of the church. We look forward to having him back soon. To learn more about how God directed him to Peru and his future plans to serve here in Peru, visit his website http://www.jrdudeckmissions.com.
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We're glad for the opportunities that God gives us to teach eleven to sixteen year olds on Saturdays. Many of the youth that participate in our church activities come from broken homes and have no Christian influence at home. I have recently been teaching them about the theme of God's Kingdom. God is king over all and we must live in humble submission to him. The gospel message is always present in this teaching. We praise God that a few from the group profess to be believers. Pray that the Spirit of God would produce his fruit in their lives. In addition to regular Bible instruction, we enjoy a variety of fun activities that give us opportunities to get to know the youth better.
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DISCIPLE MAKING 2018 - ONLINE BIBLE RESOURCES: In our last update I mentioned that several of the youth and adults from the church were going to be taking an online Bible course through a seminary in Lima. The course was rigorous for some, but everyone seemed to benefit from the class.
As Pastor Daniel and I have talked and prayed about the ministry he has given us "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12 ESV) he has brought several ideas to mind. One of the opportunities that God has given this generation is to make good use of technology. Many Christians are doing a very good job of that. We have plans to start making short videos as a means of equipping the saints and proclaiming the gospel. The videos will be made available through the church's website which is currently being designed.
The church we are working with at this point is small in numbers, but the needs are great. We pray that this project will be a help in equipping current disciples to obey everything that Jesus commanded, so that they in turn would make other disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).
This should be a good avenue of directing Christians and unbelievers to God's truth. We thank God for providing good cameras and audio recording equipment. Please pray that God would be glorified through this project.
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ANSWERED PRAYERS: Thank you for praying with us for our friends Daniel and Beki Nuñez. I wrote in our last update that Beki had been put on complete bed rest due to complications with her pregnancy. In God's providence, their daughter Flavia Grace Nuñez was born three months early. She weighed about 2.5 pounds and was 14 inches long when she was born. It was neat to see God provide for each of the needs that came up. He provided adequate medical care for Beki and Flavia through our relatively small hospital here in Puerto Maldonado. Flavia was in the hospital for a month and dealt with several difficulties including Sepsis. We praise God for his care!
God provided for each of their financial needs through the kindness of his children. He provided disciple-making opportunities as the Nuñez family was able to live out their faith in Jesus Christ in the midst of a difficult trial of faith. I'm sure they would appreciate your continued prayers for them as they adjust to life with Alejandro who is two and Flavia who is now three months old.
Thank you also for praying for Kelly as she has been leading the weekly ladies' Bible study for the past few months. It has been a stretching experience for her, but by God's grace she has prepared and taught well. She is glad for the opportunity to serve. The ladies have been reviewing the material that was studied in the online Bible class.
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DISCIPLE MAKING 2018 - AT HOME: Thank you for praying for us as we strive to bring our girls "up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4). We enjoy teaching our girls about God each day. We are always looking for ways to point them to the Savior. Between the six of us there are plenty of reminders that we are all sinners in need of God's grace and mercy.:)
We emphasize the need to turn from sin and believe in Jesus as Savior. A few weeks back, I had been sharing the gospel with the girls one evening. The next morning Kelly and Alexia, who is six, were talking. Alexia somewhat shyly said, "Mommy you know those things that daddy was talking about last night about Jesus? I believe." She has said similar things on a couple other occasions. While we are not sure whether she is truly a Christian, we praise God for the work that he is doing in our girls. We pray that our girls would believe in Jesus as their Savior and that the Spirit of God would produce his fruit in their lives.
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FURLOUGH 2019: At this point, we are planning to make a short trip back to the USA to reconnect with partnering churches and visit family in the Spring of 2019. Would you please pray that God would direct our steps as we make plans? There are several factors that affect the timing and length of the trip. We look forward to seeing you and personally telling you about what God has been doing in, through, and around us here in Peru.
Thank you again for your prayers and financial gifts. We regularly pray for the churches and individuals that are partnering with us. Please feel free to write and let us know how we can be praying for you.
Jay
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Jay & Kelly Cross
Alexia, Isabel, Esther, & Lilian
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