JUNTOS

Mission to the World - "Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many" - 2 Corinthians 1:11b

Team Ministry

Welcome to the first edition of our prayer letter! The title of our letter, "Juntos", is the Spanish word for "together". It reflects our commitment to doing ministry "together" with you, our support team. In the field, we will be on a team of Peruvians and Americans, working "together" day by day. But you are our sending and supporting team, and when you pray for us, you are "together" with us in Peru, helping us advance God's Kingdom. This letter will be a crucial, quarterly link for us as a team, to enable us to work "together" on behalf of the gospel in Peru. "Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many" - 2 Corinthians 1:11b. Thank you for helping us by your prayers (2 Cor. 1:11a)!

Breaking Out

In high school when I was growing up in Massachusetts, I drove a 1973 Carolina blue Ford F-150 pickup truck. It was my first vehicle, and it expressed all I wanted to be: tough, self-reliant, able to tackle anything that came my way. One cold winter morning, while I was in class, there came a huge snowstorm, and school had to be called at lunchtime. When I jumped in my truck to head home, guess what? Even with sandbags in the bed, there wasn't enough weight in the bed to let the rear wheels get any traction, so I was stuck. Stuck in the snow with no way home. In the crunch, my truck had failed me. I had to wait all day for a neighbor to come get me in his four-wheel drive.

Do you ever have the feeling that you're stuck? I talked to a friend the other day who told me she was stuck, stuck in the blues, self-focused, self-absorbed, unable to get out of it to love those close to her. When we get stuck like this, our lives really become a mess, because we don't care about others at all, just ourselves. All kinds of sins come out of this that only build on the mess. Do you know the feeling?

Think about a whole nation of people being stuck like this. That's what was happening in Israel in the book of Micah. Rich people were cheating and oppressing the poor people. Judges were ruling unjustly, taking bribes. Prophets were changing their message to fit what those who were paying them wanted to hear. Priests were ministering with greed as their primary motive. Israel was stuck in sin, had made a royal mess of their lives and nation, and didn't even care if they got out of the mess.

So Micah prophesies to them, and he tells them God will judge them for rejecting his grace and living as they please. But he also declares to them that even though they are intent on making their lives messes, God is more intent on gathering a people to himself that will depend on him as sheep depend on a shepherd. In the midst of the mess they have made, in the midst of a group of people in which no one seems to get it, God promises to call many, many people to himself who will live under his lordship, follow him in dependence and do his will on the earth.

"I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head." Micah 2:12-13

I think a lot of times we get stuck because we have put our confidence in something that can't deliver, like my truck in the snow storm. Israel had put their confidence in other gods, other nations, strong personalitiesóeverything but God. It was a terrible thing that they had done in turning away from God, and the greed, oppression and radical lack of love for neighbor was the predictable result.

How does God deal with sinners like this? How does God deal with us, his people who similarly turn away to put our trust in many things besides Him? How do we get un-stuck from the messes we get ourselves into due to our sin? Really, the question is, "Who is the one who can get break us out when we're stuck and in a mess?

Jesus is committed to breaking street children in Lima, Peru out of their brokenness and oppression so they might know his love and be part of his Kingdom.

Only God can do it! And the good news of the gospel is that he is committed to breaking his people out of whatever mess they have gotten themselves into. He's the one who provides us with "one who breaks open the way", who goes up before us to "break through the gate" and let us "go out." Who is this One? Our King, the Lord Jesus himself. Jesus is the one who alone can break us out when we're stuck. And he wants us to ask him to do just that, believing the promise of his grace. He alone is the one who can lead us powerfully out of our funk and into the purposes he as our king has for us in his kingdom. I want to encourage you to believe his promise today and call on him as your King for this grace that he has promised to sinners. He will break you out if you call on him.

In Peru, as in the States, so many need to hear this message of a good King who has come to break them out of the sin, and the mess of sin, that hems them in. In the neighborhood of Manuel Correa in Lima, gang fighting and prostitution, in the midst of grinding poverty, are the conditions of bondage that our team is trusting Jesus to break people out of. In the nearby neighborhood of Perales, many children and families live without running water or electricity, and disease from the lack of sanitation takes its toll on people's lives daily. Does Jesus in his love want to break people out of this kind of oppression? Definitely! How do we know? God's promise: "One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head." That's why our team is working with the Peruvian church right now ministering to families and children, treating medical needs, helping mobilize resources to provide better sanitation and facilitate economic development. All the while, we are telling them of the King who has sent us with his powerful love. We tell them he is the one who is intent on breaking them out and giving them a privileged place in his kingdom.

Thanks for partnering with us through your prayers and giving as we serve King Jesus and seek, by his grace, to make his love known in Peru!

-- Mark

Children's Update

Emmett turned 3 on 8/12. We can't believe what a little boy he has become. Call some time, and he'll likely answer the phone and talk to you for a while. He loves cranes, backhoes, bulldozers & dump trucks.

Anna is all girl. She's now 17 months old. She likes dresses and shoes, and carries a purse with her like Mommy. She loves babies and animals. Her favorite word is "M-m-mommy", which means "Mommy" as well as every other noun in her world.

#3 is moving a lot inside Lori. We can't wait to meet him or her (we're going to be surprised again!). Lori is due 10/10/00.

Support Update

*If you are planning to join our team, through either prayer or financial support, please let us know. You can send pledges to:
      Mission to the World
      P.O. Box 29765 Atlanta, GA 30359.
      Make checks payable to: Mission to the World, Memo: Mark and Lori Berry, #10541.

Prayer Requests

1.    For good health and strength for both Lori and the baby. Lori is due October 10, 2000.
2.    For God to teach us to love mercy (Micah 6:8) in our relationship with our children.
3.    Pray for the children as they need the Lord to help them learn to trust him as they are left with different people, sleep in different places, etc. as we travel.
4.    Praise the Lord for a great time at Mark's ordination service at Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. Elders and friends and family from Nashville, St. Louis and Peru were on hand to worship the Lord and lay hands on Mark for the ministry in Peru. Santos Buendia came from Lima to preach the service. It was a special time. Thanks to all of you who have prayed us through the ordination process.
5.    Pray for God to make us effective as we minister to churches in the US and seek to give them a vision for what God is doing in Peru. Pray also that God would raise up a faithful support team around us to enable us to be sent to Peru.
6.    Pray for team leaders Santos Buendia and Brian Riedel in Lima now. Santos asked for prayer that he would be enabled by the Spirit to see Christ and the gospel in the Old Testament, which he is preaching from a lot right now. Pray for Brian as he recovers from a broken leg, suffered last month.
7.    Pray for the Peruvian Pastors' Conference being organized by Santos Sept. 22-Oct. 1. We are praying for 100 pastors and elders from the Presbyterian Church of Peru to attend. Pray that God would teach grace deeply to these men as Pastors Barry Henning and Bill Yarbrough from New City Fellowship in St. Louis teach Sonship, Team Ministry and Kingdom principles from the Scriptures.
8.    Most of the pastors who will attend the conference don't have any Bible or theological resources to help them in their preaching and teaching. Please pray that God would provide sponsors to enable us to give each of the attending pastors and elders their own Bible dictionary. If you would like to help, see "Practical Ministry Opportunities" below for details.
9.    Pray for former street boy Tony, that the Spirit would work in his heart and enable him to understand that Jesus Christ died for all his sins. He has come out of a very heavy involvement in prostitution, and he is struggling greatly with believing God's forgiveness.

Kid's Corner (to help your children pray too!)

Our 17-month old girl, Anna, loves doors. She likes to open and close them over and over again. There's only one problem with this. When she closes a door all the way, to where it "clicks", she is not big enough or strong enough to open it again. If she wants to play with the door to her room, Mommy or Daddy has to stand there and let her out each time she closes the door-"click".

Have you ever gotten locked in a room and couldn't get out? How did you feel? Who helped you get out? In the neighborhood of Perales in Lima, Peru, there are a lot of little children who are locked in poverty who can't get out without someone coming to help them, to open the door for them. Many of them are also locked out of a relationship with God, because no one has ever opened the door and told them about the love of Jesus for them. The Bible says we're all locked in our sin and can't get out, and we need Jesus Christ to make a way and break us out so we can be a part of his family and Kingdom.

The neat thing about being a Christian is that Jesus lets you work with him as he opens the doors for other people, like the children in Perales, and breaks them out of the sin and oppression that has them locked in. One important way we work with Jesus to help others is by praying. Would you pray that the Lord would teach our team and the church in Peru how to reach out and love the children in Perales, and that he would bring many of them out of poverty and into a relationship with him? One verse you can memorize to help you pray for us is Micah 2:13: "One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head." Remember, Jesus is our King, the only One who breaks us out when we're stuck. He can do it for the children in Peru, and he can do it for you too, whenever you need him. Call on him, and he'll be there for you. And thanks for praying for us!

Upcoming Schedule

Practical Ministry Opportunity

To provide a Peruvian pastor with a Spanish Bible dictionary, please send a check for $35.50 made payable to New City Fellowship of St. Louis 6032 Etzel Ave. St. Louis, MO 63112, Memo: Spanish Bible Dictionary. Please include a short note of encouragement to the pastor with your check. Questions? Call Dana Emborsky at 314-423-3022.

Book Recommendation

Bring Forth Justice by Waldron Scott. I got it on Amazon.com for $9.99. It's helped me understand better God's heart for justice for his world and the role he has for his church in this.