Mark and Lori Berry |
JUNTOS "Together" |
Update June 26, 2006 Mark and Lori Berry in Lima, Peru |
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"Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain." --Psalm 127:1 Dear Praying Friends, Thank you once again for lending your prayer support to the building of our ministry here in Lima. Daily we cry out to the Lord Psalm 127:1 above, asking that he give us his wisdom, strength, vision and love to accomplish the task for which he has sent us to Peru: to see churches planted and revitalized, leaders raised up and trained and mercy ministered to the poor. Please continue to plead with the Lord for us and the work here, that he would be building HIS house through all we do, however weak and halting and laced with sin it may be as a result of the jars of clay he's appointed for the task. Thank you. It has been a whirlwind since we last wrote you. We would like to bring you up to date on some things you have been praying for. The Dayspring Presbyterian (Forsyth, GA) team we had a couple of weeks back was a blessing. They did a VBS in Santa Anita which the Lord greatly blessed. It was a good opportunity for us to make a lot of new contacts in the community and serve and love a large group of children, telling them about the love of the Savior. We had close to 80 kids and parents the last day. The team worked very hard and also was able to make significant progress on finishing the benches, tables and chairs which will be used in the Amauta church plant. Give thanks to the Lord for his hand upon this team and the ministry that took place during that week. Mark started teaching EE at Santa Anita on June 10 and this past Saturday was class #2 with the first home visit. For those of you not familiar with Evangelism Explosion, you have a class on some aspect of sharing the gospel for an hour and then you spend an hour going to call on someone who you've made an appointment with to present the gospel to them. This is done in teams of 3, two students and a trainer in each. Teams return to share their experiences and then you end with a time of corporate prayer. In this training class at Santa Anita we have 10 students and 5 trainers, thus 5 teams. On Saturday 4 of the 5 people visited prayed to receive Christ and 2 were in attendance at worship the next day! Praise God with us for these new believers and pray for the Spirit to protect and solidify their faith in the days ahead as we seek to follow up and disciple them. Please also be in prayer for that training time each Saturday from 4-7pm through September 9, for me, the trainers, the students and those with whom we will share the good news of the gospel. This particular training group is unique in that the majority are full time workers in the ministry: Robinson (just started full time with Amauta church plant), Mauro and his wife Haydeé (Santa Anita church plant), Guillermo (Huaycán, kids project helper and pastoral intern), as well as our two year missionaries Laura Hoyt and Becca Bennett. The other 3 are Adrián's two teenage boys, Josué and Caleb, as well as his daughter Judith, all of who are members in Santa Anita. Lori is taking the course as well for the first time so that is especially exciting for me. What is really neat is that Martha Matamoros, who Lori, with Julie Murphy, was used to lead to the Lord in 2004, is Lori's trainer! Martha with her husband Enrique took the course the year we were on home assignment and this is her first time training others, so you can pray for her also. My prayer is that the Santa Anita church plant, as well as the Amauta church plant and Huaycán church would be significantly strengthened in their health through this training, as these key leaders learn to more effectively engage in the work of evangelism and multiply others in their churches to do the work of the ministry along with them. Please continue to pray for the Salamanca church planting opportunity, that the Lord will direct our steps as a mission and me personally as a team leader to know what resources and when we need to commit to this effort. Please continue to pray for our Spanish. I've recently sensed I'm at a plateau and need to be improving and growing in a number of areas of my vocabulary and grammar. It is a constant task we face, so please pray for Lori and me that the Lord would help us grow and learn to use the Spanish language with more fluidity and skill. Please pray for upcoming work teams we'll be hosting: Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian (Atlanta, GA) July 5-16 VBS, two places to be determined The Church at West Cobb (Marietta, GA) July 16-23 VBS and evangelism in Salamanca (Lord willing) Christ Community Church (Franklin, TN) July 29-Aug 5 Art Camp in Huaycán Please pray for Mark as he works with a consultant to improve our ministry's administrative structure. It has been pretty informal and Mark has been burdened to provide the men we are working with greater clarity on roles, payment of salaries, insurance, etc. This is a big job and we are praying for someone else, either missionary or Peruvian national, who can take on this responsibility of team administrator so that Mark can concentrate on teaching, preaching and mentoring, which is what God has gifted him to do primarily. But in the mean time, he's working on what needs to be done in this area, and would appreciate greatly your prayers that God would help us build a solid administrative system for the ministry that honors the Lord in the details of how we conduct our ministry. The Surco Presbyterian Church here in Lima is going through a difficult season and Mark has been asked along with fellow missionary Charlie Davidson to advise and counsel their session on the best way forward. Please be in prayer for this situation, for much dependence upon Christ and its corresponding wisdom to be produced in each heart by the Spirit of God. As always, please pray John 7:37ff, for the outpouring of the Spirit as we believe on Christ and abide in Him, and that the water of the Spirit would water our lives, marriage, family and ministry, filling us with all the fruit of the Spirit that brings such joy to the heart of our blessed Father and Lord, and confidence and peace and joy to our own hearts as well as we confirm ourselves to be walking in the truth and the blessed possessors of the gift of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And we pray also for you, that in your lives, families, marriages and ministries that the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would be strengthening you by his Spirit in the knowledge of the height, depth, and depth of the love of Christ for you and in you and equipping you for every good work in Him, to the praise of his glory. Be encouraged that as you pray for us, we are praying for you, and our Father smiles upon us, separated by many miles, but one in his precious and glorious family, forever!! Much, much love in Christ, Mark and Lori
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