It is hard to believe that it has been two months since I’ve given an update. I have felt moderately guilty not to connect with all of you, but in truth, I have felt that most of my moments have been filled with other necessary things. I will give a quick summary of the main happenings over the past two months.
People Coming and Going
We returned to Peru the beginning of January. We were and are glad to be home. It was a long time to be gone. We had a generally positive reception in the States. We were welcomed at all the churches we visited and well cared for in our visit there. Many people expressed interest in the work here; numerous asked how they could be more involved. We have prayed that those seeds would take root, and we have tried not to worry about how long the germination process may be.
A young lady, Joanna Schrock, came to help for about two months. She was heavily involved with the store, but she also made time to help Steph around the house. She was incredibly helpful, efficient, serving. She dove into the work, and we kept her swimming steadily until she left.
We were thankful to have Joanna here, especially through February, because the last week of January, Keith Crider died. Keith was hugely influential in my life; I considered him like a father. Steph and I decided to go to be with the family, and I’m glad we did though it made things quite difficult in some ways. The time kind of dragged on longer than any anticipated, and we stayed away two weeks.
The day after we left for Guatemala (where Keith’s accident happened), three of my former students arrived. They had been planning for months to visit us. I was quite disappointed to miss their visit, but I’m glad they could spend several days with Caleb’s. The two men helped Caleb on a couple of projects, which blessed me to hear.
After we returned, Anita Armoa from Paraguay arrived. She is taking Joanna’s place, helping with the store and with the moms. She is a very quiet young lady, but quite eager to serve. We’ve been blessed with the last several maidens who have been through here, ladies who knew the joy of service. Steph has compared them to being like “Sheila” who was an angel we met eight years ago; Steph compares all ladies (even herself, she admits) to “on a scale from 1 to Sheila….”
Caleb’s took Joanna to the jungle as a farewell and a thank you for her time here. I’m glad that could work out for them. They all needed a break after all their extra work the past couple of months. Joanna returned to Missouri last week. We hope she is enjoying being with family again and being able to breathe a little easier. We miss her, but we are thankful for her willingness to be where she could be used so effectively to meet our needs.
José and Rosita went back to Puno this past week. They were here almost exactly a year, which was the orginal plan. They were a blessing in the work here overall though they also became part of the work, with many studies and talks and prayers and other discipling along the way. I think their year here will have ripple effects for some time to come. I know I have learned a good bit from our interaction, and I think many others did, too. I will miss José. It was so good to have another brother here, especially a Peruvian.
The next people to go are Caleb and Belinda. They are leaving in a few weeks for two months in the States. I try not to think what it will be like to be the only fellow again for a couple months. Not looking forward to that, but I know God will be faithful as He always has been. They will be back in June.
We are waiting for a young man to come. Tanner is a cousin of mine who has committed to come and serve as maintenance guy and general fill-in-the-gaps person. We were hoping that he could be here this month already, but his boss is finding it difficult to replace him, so we are trying to exercise patience. And I remind myself that my needs are (probably) not greater than the needs of his boss. Tanner will arrive when he arrives, and it will be the right time when he does.
We had prayed for a schoolteacher, and the one God gave us was… me! We could imagine that it would be more nearly ideal to have someone else filling this role, but that wasn’t provided. And I feel like I did what I could to try to find someone, so it’s not from lack of trying. We started school two Fridays ago. I am very much enjoying teaching again—when I do not think of what all else I could be doing. In some ways, I think it is a really good thing for my five children in school: they get Daddy’s undivided attention for seven hours every day, something they haven’t had for a few years.
Church and Other Work
We are hoping to have three days of Bible school for the whole church the last week of this month. We would have enjoyed having José’s with us over this time, but the timing didn’t work out. We have invited the church in Puno to join us, but I’m not sure if they will come, so it will likely be only our little group and anyone we can invite from here.
The store has been in a bit of slump the past three months. We had some rather successful months before that. We are missing the ice cream sales, which we aren’t having during school vacation; they should start up again this month, which is the beginning of the school year. I had mentioned that we hoped to begin selling coffee the end of last year, but the coffee machine is still not up and going; we do sell some drip coffee though. Caleb has been trying different things, like selling in Cusco on Saturdays, to sell more baked goods. He recently found a client who says he wants orders delivered regularly, but we need to figure out how to do that and cover the cost of time and delivery. Esmeralda and Alicia are still working in the store.
One good thing about my teaching this year is that we will not need to pay a teacher. That is a great relief, honestly. The English teacher (Sarina) last year was a volunteer worker through GCM, so I paid only the Spanish teach last year. I’m glad to be the volunteer teacher because it will be like getting paid to not pay another teacher.
Steph is busy making cheese and cakes and taking care of babies and all the things that come up in family life and church work. A few people have wondered why she can’t homeschool and free me up. There are a lot of details that make up the why, but it just works better the way that we’re doing it.
Sadly, I have yet to have a regular Bible study with Piero. I have tried numerous times, but it just never works. We have recently planned to have a study an hour before church services on Sunday morning, but he has not come the past two Sundays. Being at school, I have not had a chance to visit him, and he doesn’t answer my calls. I think the problem is mostly related to Rafael and Elizabeth who are in a bad place spiritually.
They have not come for any Bible study since we’re back from furlough, and there is evidence of greater involvement in drinking and partying like there has been in years past. We are saddened by seeing this, but it is their choice. However, this affects Piero who works with them. They require him to work on Sunday, besides the rest of the week. I’ve been praying that God will make a way for me to study with Piero.
Current Needs
What do we need? We used to think we needed more workers. They have come and gone, and the work ebbs and flows with them. I am coming to realize there is a distinction between needs and wants that I cannot always discern. We need the Lord Jesus; we need His church to grow. And we want those who are likeminded to help us reach that goal. Maybe that’s a better way to put things.
Many of you know that our family feels led to bring our time in Peru to a close. We are looking at 2026 as a possibility. Thus, we are praying for a replacement family for us, a replacement pastor for me. Some who know of these plans have said that two years is a long time to plan to leave; we find it the opposite.
I want the replacement to be here already! There is a lot of training that I would give to the next pastor, and a year hardly seems long enough. We are already one-fourth through this year. If a family chooses today to come, how long would it take them to make the move. Could they be here this year yet? That leaves only next year for the transition. But God knows about this need, and nothing is impossible for Him.
Please pray for the GCM board as they diligently search for the workers we feel need of here. And thank you for your prayers for us as we do what we can with the time and resources we have. May the Lord be glorified; may His name go forth with power!
- Pray for…
- A family to replace us
- Two (or five) other long-term families
- Two single ladies to volunteer in the store and domestic needs
- Two single fellows to help with work projects and discipling needs
Juan David 