Dear friends:

      We have a very specific prayer request for the coming days. I (Jeanette) am traveling on Monday to Guatemala and El Salvador (August 20-26), where I will be doing a series of workshops and media events sponsored by Tyndale House Publishers at the ExpoCristiana and Central American International Book Fair as well as judging a writers contest. It is a wonderful opportunity to promote within the secular Latin American market Christian fiction as a means to impact culture as well as the specific timely message of Zona de Despeje (The DMZ), which Tyndale will be featuring there. The prayer request: for our American Airline flight on Monday. The first event is Monday evening in Guatemala City; with airline delays at record highs and a hurricane blowing in, please pray for smooth and on-time flight connections.

      In other news, if you have been following the earthquake in Peru, a number of our missionaries there were in the earthquake zone, which caused some concern as we waited to hear from them. Below is their news-PTL! Carlos and Marion Odicio are the BCM Peru directors; Jonatan is their son and also a BCM missionary. Ica, the town mentioned, was flattened by the earthquake hours after they left. Please pray for BCM Peru and other Christians as they play a vital role in reaching out to earthquake victims.

 

BCM PERU:

Hi everyone!

                    I am pleasantly surprised to see that our internet is up and working again so soon after the tremendous quake we had last night.It hit about 4 hours after Jonatan and I (Marion) returned from Teacher Training in Ica at the Baptist seminary and churches there. We had 6 great sessions and a blessed time with the folks there, and it is really hard to believe that 60 % of the town is now in ruins…..

                   As we left Ica, Joan Irrazabal and her husband Daniel as well as Zarela Funegra (Neyra) [also BCM missionaries] arrived there to continue the teacher training. They are unharmed. Phone lines are slowly being restored so we trust to have more news from them soon. We want to hear about the brethren and their families, their houses and churches… For now, our 3 missionaries are still trapped in Ica because the earthquake damaged the Panamerican highway leaving huge gaps across it. We heard that Joan, who is five months pregnant, lost her balance during the quake and fell but she is OK…

                 Here at the IBYM [BCM Peru Bible Institute and camp] everyone is ok and there has not been any damaged. When it hit, everyone was together in the dining room so it was easy to evacuate and have everyone out in the open immediately. Praise God for that. Strangely enough, the only damage that was done was in our own house, as some picture frames, lamps and other decorations fell off walls and shelves.(J) There were several after shocks last night and today but everyone is ok.

                 In the bus, returning from Ica, I felt I needed to share with you all and with our students about a very wonderful encounter I had in Ica. Some 8 years ago, another disaster hit Ica. A landslide passed through and destroyed almost all of the city. We organized a group of karatekas to come from the USA right after that and they performed and shared the Gospel in the streets of Ica. In one of their performances, one man “finally came to understand” (as he puts it). He trusted the Lord for his eternal salvation and his wife followed soon after that. They had been attending the Acomayo church in Ica for a month. In the landslide, they lost all they had. A Christian family in the US contacted us at that time to say they wanted to help 2 families to rebuild their future. This young man, Wilfredo and his wife Raquel, was one of the two. They not only seen their eternal destiny and their marital relationship changed by Christ, not only were they impacted by brotherly love to help them get back on their feet by starting a little business and have surgery for their infant son: Wilfredo is now the pastor of the Acomayo church, and lives with his family in the Baptist Seminary there in Ica!! You bet I cried when I realized the magnitude of the story! (by the way, the other family, is walking ith the Lord and are faithful members of another church in Ica).

         Since last night, God gave us another opportunity to make a difference for Him in Ica. Please pray with us that the Lord would show us just HOW we may be used by Him to restore lives in Jesus´Name.

         Gratefully in His service,

        Marion (for Carlos and the BCM Peru team).