Evangelism Journal

December 1, 2003

Hi All:

We are doing fine and continue to have excellent meetings. Jackie isn’t feeling well today, but already they are planning for more than 100 baptisms in the Central Church where she is preaching. One day she was visiting a female physician who had been studying the Bible. Jackie called for her decision, and the lady began to make excuses. The doctor had stated that she would give herself to God if He would heal her daughter, and her daughter had recovered. “See,” Jackie said to her, “God has answered your prayer, and it’s time for you to make your decision. This weekend we are having our first baptism.” Then the doctor said, “I think I want to be baptized.” The lady who had been studying with her for several months hugged her, and they both cried tears of joy. What a blessing to see the convicting power of God in action.

I had some wonderful visits yesterday (Wednesday, November 12). A young man, Remeirio Crusado, and his live-in partner, Vilma Delgado, had been studying for several months with Jeanette, a 21-year-old layworker and radiant Christian. This couple had come forward the night before in an invitation to surrender to the Lord Jesus. As we visited with them, they both stated they wanted to be baptized and get married. A mass wedding is being planned for several couples three days before the final weekend baptism.

In another house, I met Miguel, who had grown up in a Christian home, but because of work had never become a church member. A strong conviction came to him one day that he needed to surrender all, so he told his boss that he was resigning from his job because he didn’t want to continue to break the Lord’s Sabbath. Though currently out of work, Miguel’s faith is strong, and he looks forward to being a part of our first baptism this coming weekend. Miguel believes that by honoring God in his commitment, God will honor him by finding him a job that will allow him to keep the Sabbath.

We also visited a family who had not been in the church for many years and encouraged them to come back. This family of six has three who no longer are church members. The non-members have been coming to my meetings and one has been helping with the sound system. They longed to reconnect with God. I told them that tonight I would be making a call inviting people forward and would be praying that they, too, would come forward to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Another 40-plus people came forward in an invitation to follow the Lord Jesus and experience victory in their lives. I have been averaging close to 600 people in attendance each night. Jackie has been averaging about 300 people. Many new people continue to come to our meetings, so it won’t be until several months later that the final total of our baptisms will be known.

The warmth and hugs of these people are truly contagious. They aren’t in a hurry to go home at night. Most nights we don’t get home until 10:30 p.m. Many people don’t arrive at the meeting until 8:00 p.m. because of their work schedule.

My translator, Amalia Marin, has been tremendous. She and her husband head up the flying work in Pucalpa with The Quiet Hour’s plane that we donated and dedicated in Albuquerque in 1999.

The days are long, beginning with breakfast at 7 a.m. The mobile clinic is open between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. We visit people in the mornings and afternoons. We eat our other meal at 2 p.m. So it becomes a long day with us getting home at 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. We are ready to “crash” and get much-needed sleep. We continue to have cool days (it is late spring, south of the equator) and are truly thankful for that. Continue to keep us in your prayers. We miss you all.

Love and Prayers to All,

Bill and Jackie

Dear Staff and Loved Ones:

We are safe and well. God brought us through the airport customs in Peru without having to pay too much in overweight. The city of Chiclayo is very clean and the people are really friendly. The place doesn’t seem ever to quiet down at night. Our accommodations are better than most places we’ve been.

Our meetings have gone well with packed audiences. Jackie is doing great and already has had over twenty people come forward in a call for decision. She is speaking at the largest church in the city and has about 350 people coming. She’s doing a great job for her first time. I’m speaking in the Municipal Auditorium and we’ve been averaging about 400 people. The meetings haven’t been without several challenges. We had a lawyers’ convention going on that lasted two hours later than it was supposed to, so we didn’t even begin our meeting until 9:00 p.m. The people were patient and did not go home. We finished the opening night at 10:15 p.m. Other meetings started at 8:00 p.m. Transportation on time has been a challenge. The biggest challenge, though, has been a power cord that was left in the warehouse at The Quiet Hour that was supposed to have gone with the voltage stabilizer/transformer. We have not been able to use some of our equipment.

The climate couldn’t be more perfect with 70 degree weather during the day and 60s at night. A jacket feels good, and the air is dry and not humid, as you would think. We are eating all our meals at the hotel and also having our workers’ meetings here, too. There must be 40 of us here working in nine teams. The mobile health clinic team of health professionals has already seen several hundred people, doing teeth extractions, diagnostic testing, and giving of new eye glasses, dispensing of a variety of medicines, and doing other basic testing with blood pressures, health history, and referrals for further medical treatment. The minister of health for the city is a newly-baptized Adventist and has given valuable assistance and help already.

The biggest “high” that we both have experienced was in witnessing orphaned street children being cared for by the members of the SDA church where Jackie is preaching nightly. There were about 75 children ranging in age from infants to 15. Some of the children actually came with their moms but are from very poor homes. The other children were dirty and unkempt. Some of them had crude shoeshine kits, and others were selling newspapers. They ate the food like they were starved, and they were very eager to receive the bouncy balls that we were handing out. One girl, about 10 years old, sat alone in the corner. I tried to approach her and she was very withdrawn. I was able to hug her and give her a kiss on the cheek but she appeared to have been mistreated in some way. These precious children are receiving love from these simple gestures of the church. Next Sunday we are going to an actual orphanage with the women’s ministry group. They do this monthly. These people know how to practice their Christianity.

The Dorcas ladies are planning a special Christmas party for the orphans that they feed each week. They hope to give each child a small gift. I have already told them that they can count on me to help.

On Friday afternoon I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the Central Church, it said, “Feliz Sabado” (Happy Sabbath). Those flowers really gave me a lift. The people have so little but they give so much. The pastor and his wife live in a fourth floor flat and have no car!

We had a press conference on Friday morning. Several journalists were here from the city. There is a local Adventist radio station that transmitted the conference and they are hoping to play some of the meetings on the radio. There were some tough questions directed toward our North American team. The Lord gave words to those who answered.

We hope that everyone is well there at home. We are looking forward to receiving some messages back. There are Internet cafes close by but it is hard to find time to go there. We have been very busy since we arrived. Having 40 plus people requires a lot more management and coordination than just the four of us!

We all wish for the gift of tongues. We have a few translators but they are not enough. It is so frustrating when we want to talk to people and we can’t communicate. We are learning a little more Spanish and the local people are learning a bit more English. I think I will take a crash course in Spanish when I get home.

Here are a few pictures that we have taken so far. These include our teams, the children we helped, and where we are holding meetings. You can also go to the local Adventist Radio station website and see current pictures of us. Bill had an interview Monday at the station. I will try to get their website so you can see many more pictures of the various teams and activities taking place.

Our love and prayers for everyone,

Bill & Jackie