Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Update from Liesa...Tuesday, March 31...


The above photo is from the Tambo River area in January 2009.

Liesa just called from a satellite phone and reports all is well in Anapate, Peru. Anapate is the second village that the group has been working in. Liesa, Courtney Duncan and Lindsey Powers are leading a women's bible study in the mornings and a children's bible study in the afternoons. They will begin the journey home on Thursday and will arrive in Lima on Friday evening, April 3.

The good news is that Anapate has a shower that they can use instead of the river so Liesa says that is a great thing. The toilet situation in Anapate is much cleaner as well. Everyone is healthy although it is very hot and humid.

Thank you for praying. Please keep it up!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Liesa's Update from the Jungle... March 29, 2009

We are able to communicate with Liesa by way of a satellite phone while she is in the jungle. Her report today...
  • Thank you for praying. She is doing great although it is VERY hot and humid. She and others have been able to do some great work with the kids in the village.
  • Bathing in the river is not so bad. Not so good, either.
  • Liesa was able to help lead worship for the village with her flute today.
  • She has seen the slaughter of a chicken and just missed the slaughter of a cow.
  • Monday morning they pack up camp and head up the river to another village.

Please continue to pray for Liesa and the team from Roebuck, South Carolina.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Update from the Jungle...March 28, 2009

Liesa has spent the day working in the village of Shevojah on the Tambo River. She reports all is well and "if I can do this then anybody can do this." She says it is very hot and humid and she enjoyed her bath in the river.

Liesa has been able to lead a bible study with the kids about the Creation Story. She also has shared her testimony and the plan of salvation with several children and hopes to talk more with them about their relationship with Jesus.

Please continue to pray for her and the work that the team from Roebuck, South Carolina is doing out there in the jungle this week.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Where's Liesa?

Liesa called this morning from Masamari, Peru letting us know that after being delayed by a landslide that blocked the road the team is getting ready to end the paved roads and now have a few hours of muddy roads to reach the Tambo River. On Friday afternoon they will board a boat and head down the river to the the village of Anapate and then on Saturday they will arrive in Shevojah. She says everyone is doing well and are ready to get to work.

Please continue to pray for their safety and that they will be effective in the work they are doing. Liesa is working with children and women and the men are leading a conference for church leaders to help them learn worship leadership skills. They're even teaching guitar lessons.

If you have Google Earth or have a GPS program her coordinates are S10 58.313 W73 45.991.

Here's a satellite view of the area...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Prayer Requests for Sunday, March 22, 2009...

Hey to all of our wonderful prayer partners out there. Thank you for your support!

We've had an eventful week. First, Liesa had her purse taken while at a restaurant. She lost a little cash, cell phone, and several credit cards but all is well. We'll have to buy a new cell phone and replace the credit cards. We are thankful it was just stuff and not Liesa that was taken.

Jeff spent most of the week with a church vision team from Tennessee. We traveled to the Montaro Valley to research a segment of the Wanka Quechua people. We are praying that this church is the one God has chosen to adopt this people group.

Haylee and Jackson are getting adjusted to school. We are thankful for your prayers in this area. They have caught up in their studies and are doing great. We ask that you continue to pray for them.

Liesa heads out to the jungle this Thursday with a church group from Roebuck, SC. She will be heading out to a couple of villages on the Tambo River where they will be training church leaders in worship leadership. The church from SC will be teaching guitar lessons and other skills to help these churches with their worship. Liesa will head out on March 26 and return on April 3.

Here's some things you can pray for...
  • Haylee and Jackson and their adjustment to school. Pray for their continued learning of Spanish and their adjustment to the culture here.
  • Pray for Liesa as she travels this week with a team from South Carolina. Pray for safe travel as they travel one day by truck and one day by boat to reach the villages on the Tambo River.
  • Pray for Jeff as he is here in Lima handling logistics and planning for upcoming vision teams and a busy summer coming up.
  • Pray for the hundreds of unreached people groups in Peru who have little or no access to the gospel. Pray for the pastors of Peru who need encouragement and training. Pray for more churches to adopt people groups here in Peru.
  • Pray for Jeff's brother Pete and his wife Carrie and the arrival of their baby this week.

Blessings to you all. Come and see us...

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A quick update...

Thank you to all who are so faithful in praying for us. Our gratitude simply cannot be contained in words. We learn every day new lessons about prayer. Thank you.

This has been a good week. Liesa has been here in Lima doing a lot of the 'business' stuff that goes along with coordinating the work of about 40 churches who have adopted people groups here in Peru. Jeff has been in the Mantaro Valley with a church from East Tennessee who are here investigating the Wanka Quechua people group. They are praying about adopting this people group. Haylee and Jackson are doing great adjusting to their new school.

Please join us in praying for...

  • Haylee and Jackson as they continue to grow up each day.
  • Liesa and Jeff as they coordinate the work of REAP North Peru.
  • The millions of lost indigenous people in Northern Peru.
  • The REAP North Peru team.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Prayer Requests...


We have had a great and busy week here. We have a group of college students from South Carolina here this week ministering through medical work and we also have a group from Virginia as well. On Friday, March 13 we have 3 groups arriving to work in different areas. So, things are busy but The Gospel is being proclaimed so all is very, very good.

Jeff is leaving at 5 a.m. today (Sunday, March 8) for a research trip in Northern Peru. This is in advance of First Baptist Oxford coming in April. The Lamista Quechua live in the area around Tarapoto on the eastern slope of the Andes in the high jungle area of northern Peru.

Haylee and Jackson are adjusting to a demanding new school. Their new school here in Lima is more advanced than what we were used to in Costa Rica so we've been playing 'catch up' on some areas. But, all is good and they are excited about being back in school. On Fridays their school has an AWANA program so that is something they are very excited about.

We are sad that our team mates, Diago and Dana Reyes are leaving us this week to return to the U.S. for medical reasons. Please pray for them and their two sons as they return to the States.

We are also saying 'See You Later' to Jack and Beth Sheridan. They are heading to Texas after serving with REAP North Peru for over two years. Jack and Beth are some of the hardest working missionaries you will ever meet. Their passion for their work is simply amazing. We will miss them but know they are excited to get home to the grandkids and the farm. We hope to see them again in the future here in Peru!

Thank you all so much for your investment in the work here in Peru! Please pray for...
  • Haylee and Jackson as they continue to adjust to their new school. Pray especially for Jackson as he has a lot of catching up to do in math.
  • Pray for Liesa as she is at home in Lima this week while Jeff is traveling.
  • Pray for safe travel for Jeff and Boots as they travel the roads of Peru doing research.
  • Pray for Diago and Dana Reyes and their two boys returning to the U.S.
  • Pray for Jack and Beth Sheridan as they return to the U.S. after serving faithfully in Peru.
  • We need more student summer missionaries this summer!
  • Pray for our mission teams working with us here this week and those arriving next week.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Prayer requests for this week...


Thank you to all of you who pray for us. We are so grateful for your investment in our lives and God's work here in Peru. Please join us in praying for these requests...
  • Haylee and Jackson's first day of school here in Peru is Monday, March 2. Please pray for their transition to a new school...their third since October 2007.
  • Things are beginning to get busy with the REAP North Peru team. Please pray for Liesa and Jeff as we manage the dozen of church groups arriving in the next few weeks.
  • Pray for the financial resources to be supplied by Southern Baptist Churches so that the work of our missionaries can continue.
  • Pray for the needs of hundreds of volunteers who will work with us this year here in Peru... Opportunities to share the gospel, safety and health.
  • Pray for our team of missionaries who work so hard to bring light to the dark places of Northern Peru... Jeremy and Crystal Nelson working in Iquitos (and baby Karis in mom's tummy), Diago and Dana Reyes, Broderick and Ethan, Burney and June Tate, Jack and Beth Sheridan (who are leaving us this week!), Larry and Nancy Jackson (who are moving to Bolivia soon.), Tommy Smith, John Wilson and Mindy McCord. Pray also for Jessica Dooley, Jacinda Melson, Katie Stewart and Christine Jackson who work in a lot of different areas. Pray for the Olson's, Henderson's and the Glovers who are on their way to Peru in the next year. And, our team leaders, Boots and Katie Holder who keep us out of the ditches.