Dear Praying Friends,

Warm greetings to each of you in our Lord Jesus Christ!

We hope this quick note finds you and your families well in the Lord.

Our family is doing well and our ministry continues to experience the grace of the Lord Jesus growing and strengthening it. We wanted to share with you some highlights so that you could praise Him with us for his faithfulness as well as ask you to be interceding for several things. Thank you in advance for taking time to pray.

Praise

1. Lori is due any day now. She went to the doctor on Tuesday and the doctor told us that she thinks the baby will come this weekend, since he/she has dropped into position in the birth canal. If Lori doesn't go into labor on her own, the doctor will induce her on Wednesday July 30. Our children, with Mom and Dad, are very excited. Thanks for your prayers for Lori and the baby in the days ahead.
2. For the two work teams we had in June that did great work in San Clemente (2 hrs south of Lima) in our disaster relief project, as well as in Salamanca (Lima) with our church plant. In San Clemente, an area badly damaged in last year's earthquake, they did a sports camp for kids, taught soccer and gave testimonies in the local school, visited people in their homes to encourage and listen to them, painted the local police station and did VBS for children. The Lord is opening doors as well for us to show the love of Christ to this community in practical ways, which is one of our main objectives in our project there. Some examples:
   1. Most of the kids at the school where the team worked were not able to buy the required uniforms and the school asked if we could help with this need. We've had the uniforms made (60 I think) and they will be distributed next week to the kids at the school.
   2. This school also has no electricity, and they asked if we could help. We've just finalized the budget for this project and the electricity should be going in next week!
   3. One local church has requested help rebuilding their church building, and we've agreed to provide all the materials and labor necessary to put in the floor for their building.
   4. In this same church Robinson is to begin this week a leadership training using the book "How Good Do I Have to Be?" by Richard Ramsey, which is a wonderful resource to teach people the doctrines of grace in a very winsome way.
   5. We built a wood structure in Nazario Palomino, a neighborhood with no evangelical church, where Lupe and Robin are leading a cell group of new believers that we hope to form into a church. We've also bought benches and basic supplies to facilitate the group's ability to meet together regularly.
   6. We're having soccer goals made for the adjoining dirt lot used by the kids to play soccer, as a gift to the community from the mission.
3. For two single men joining our church this Sunday, one through baptism, the other through transfer. We've been praying for the Lord to raise up in our church men who are full of the Spirit, and these two men are an answer to that prayer. Another young man will finish the membership class in the next two weeks and will also join at that time through baptism. The Lord is good!!
4. For our mission receiving official legal status from the Ministry of Justice of Peru and the ability that gives us to obtain visas for our missionaries, many of whom had been waiting months and months, had had to leave the country and return, and a many other problems it caused us in our work here.
5. Tito Castro came through is sinus surgery well and is recovering. They removed a large, benign tumor from his sinuses. Please continue to pray for his complete healing.
6. The youth in Salamanca, seeing the example of American kids coming down on work teams to work in San Clemente, have asked me if we can organize teams from our church to go and serve there. I told them I'd think about itJ! Just kidding. We just praise God for the work of his Spirit in their hearts!!

1. For Lori and the baby
2. For our children: Emmett 10, Anna 9, Taylor 7, Abigail 6 in the adjustment. Especially pray for Abigail in her transition from the baby of the family to the next to youngest. We've seen some signs lately that she's working through this in her heart some, and would appreciate your prayers for her.
3. For Lori as she transitions into being a mother of 5 with a newborn and continues do develop women's ministry in the church and with our missionary team
4. For Mark's preaching and teaching and training of members and leaders, for his leadership in the church plant and responsibilities as with our team and mission, and of course our family. Pray that he will daily walk with Jesus in humble dependence upon the Spirit in everything and that the Spirit would provide ongoing grace, power, wisdom, joy and love in all he does.
5. For Lori not to have any post-partum depression after the baby comes. She's dealt with this in the past and we'd ask you to intercede for her for protection from this.
6. For our marriage: constant protection and growth through the love of Christ
7. For Robin, Lupe and Wilber, our team in San Clemente. For their work in the community overseeing the projects mentioned above and initiating new projects, teaching and discipling and forming a church in the Nazario Palomino. Pray especially that God would give us a healthy church as fruit of our work in this community.
8. For men, full of the Spirit and capable of serving as leaders, deacons and elders in our Salamanca church plant
9. For Grace Presbyterian Church from Washington, DC, sending a team to work in Salamanca Aug. 16-23
10. For Rick and Sandy Stiffler who will be doing leadership training in San Clemente the last two weeks in August

Thank you dear friends for your faithfulness in prayer and support for our ministry! We are deeply grateful to each one of you. May the Lord bless you richly!

In Christ,

Mark for all

MAILING ADDRESS IN PERU!
Mark and Lori Berry
Apartado Postal 3-5012
SerPost de Salamanca
Lima 03 PERU

Support information:
Mission to the World
P.O. Box 116284
Atlanta, GA 30368
Support Acct #10541

- July 25, 2008