Tweets about what God is doing in Peru...

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Humble, TX: ..hours in the dark..debris infested river..hit logs and sand bars..in spite of bad decision, God protected us. URARINA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Humble, TX: Mary Luz shared she had a dream a month b4 we arrived...said angels told her that missionaries would be coming. URARINA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC, Humble, TX: Rick met w/the pastor in San Juan and other leaders 2 form partnership 4 reaching the Urarina. URARINA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Morningside BC, Columbus, GA: 1 church was planted in the village of La Esperanza. YAGUA PEOPLE GROUP.

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Bryan Assoc., OK: 3 of the people from Mashanah traveled w/the October team and helped do ministry in the Iquito villages. IQUITO PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Ole Miss BSU: Richard and Enrique shared @ need 4 a church. A place of worship & teaching...the people plan on building. ASHANINCA PERENE PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Ole Miss BSU: Nazaria, known as the “prostitute”, meaning she has a different father 4 almost every child, came 2 salvation! ASHANINCA PERENE PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Ole Miss BSU: As Enrique and Rosa shared…they said…”this village is desperate for Hope and to believe in God!” ASHANINCA PERENE PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Ole Miss BSU: Simply living life w/them every day proved God’s love & understanding of the body of Christ among these people. ASHANINCA PERENE PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Calhoun Assoc., MS: Our partnership is working; the Peruvians are catching on 2 the idea of evangelism/church planting/missions. CHACHAPOYAS QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Crossroads Fellowship, Cadiz, KY: Since 2008 ten new churches have been planted in Pachitea. PACHITEA QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Crossroads Fellowship, Cadiz, KY: Pachiitea School of Missiology. Trained 35 leaders concept of Chronological Bible Storying. PACHITEA QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: College Street BC, Walhalla, SC: More than sixty attended the leadership conference. AMBO PASCO QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Universal City, TX: The Message we call the Gospel rings out loud & clear in the mountains surrounding the Huaylas Valley. HUAYLAS QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Universal, TX: We hit a home run..went where no one will go..where others will not stay..could say what nobody else can say. HUAYLAS QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Louisville, MS: 'Never be4 hve we had such gr8, personal relationships...Harvest is ready...area is poised 4 a gr8 revival!' HUAYLAS QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Ingleside BC, Macon, GA reports: '2011 Pastor's Training Conference had 8 people groups represented.' HUAYLAS QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP, ASHANINCA PEOPLE GROUP, SHIPIBO PEOPLE GROUP, JUNGLE QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP, SOUTHERN CONCHUCOS QUECHUA, NORTHERN CONCHUCOS QUECHUA, CHIQUIAN QUECHUA.

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Red Lane BC, Powhatan, VA: 'Youth Camp led by USA youth 4 youth of Apaycanchilla. 19 Peruvian youth professed Jesus Christ.' NORTH JUNIN QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Grace Baptist Church, Somerset, KY reports: 'A Bible study has been started in Pacaraos, Vichaycocha, and Banos.' CERRO DE PASCO QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Oxford, MS. Planned hermeneutics training for 20 pastors/church leaders. Over 80 showed up. JUNGLE QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Grace BC Somerset, KY reports: '18 people gathered 4 a B. study in Viscas, a town we had little influence in until this trip.' CERRO DE PASCO QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Pickens, SC reports, 'The S-T4T program used a lot in east Asia (story telling for trainers) worked really well.' NORTH LIMA QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: FBC Quitman GA reports, 'We have met with the Bapt Chrch in Hauncayo and have partnered w/them to work in the of Chupaca.' SOUTHERN HUANCAYO QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

PeruRebel Jeff Holeman

REAP NORTH: Immanuel Community Chch reports, "We have around 30 professed believers in Los Angeles now, with a core group of 10 families..." SOUTHERN HUANCAYO QUECHUA PEOPLE GROUP

18 April 2011 Update!

Hey all,

Just a quick list of prayer requests:

• Please pray for Liesa this week as she is with a team from Virginia working in Lachaqui, Peru with the North Lima Quechua people group. Pray for many opportunities for ministry.
• Please pray for us over the next few weeks as we prepare to head to the USA for 6 months of stateside assignment. Lots of things to do before June 24!
• Please continue to pray for Haylee and Jackson as they finish up the school year and prepare for a return to the USA. They'll once again face adjusting to a new culture and new way of life.

Thanks so much! You all are a blessing.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

15 April 2011 Update!

Prepared for Promises Kept.

Our family devotions this week have been in the book of Joshua. This morning we read through Joshua 23 as Joshua is preparing the people of Israel for the end of his life. His passionate words for his people are powerful. He reminded them that God had kept EVERY single promise He made to His people. Joshua forcefully made the case that God was GOING TO KEEP EVERY single promise in the future. And Joshua presented the people of Israel with a way to prepare for 'promises kept': OBEY.

Do exactly what God had asked them to do.

Simple instructions. Cling tightly to God. Be very careful to love your Heavenly Father.

When we were wrestling with the decision to obey God and leave the USA to serve as cross-cultural missionaries we searched for many ways to get out of this responsibility. But, the 'promises kept' always were staring us in the face.

Us: "God, how will we live?" His response; "I've always taken care of that."

"God, how will our families react?" "I've always taken care of that."

"God, how will our children be affected?" "I've always taken care of that."

'Promises kept' is the character of God. He cannot do anything else but keep promises. We know that tomorrow God will keep all of His promises. The rest of our tomorrows will be the same.

Will we be prepared? We will NOT be prepared if we do not obey. Joshua reminded the people of Israel that if they were disobedient they would not be able to enjoy the 'promises kept.' Oh, the 'promises kept' will continue to come. But, the BIG consequence of disobedience is an inability to enjoy the kept promises. Disobedience causes broken fellowship with the Father. Broken fellowship with the Father brings long days to the life of a follower of Christ. A Christian without the ability to enjoy 'promises kept' is no longer a devoted follower but a deceived fugitive longing to return home.

We want to always be prepared for God to keep His promise. He's promised to bring people from 'every nation and tribe, people and language' before His throne one day. He's promised to bring light to the darkness and set the captives free.

Jesus is the ultimate 'promise kept.' The wages of sin are paid. He lived and died and rose so that we can enjoy the promises of God.

The Holy Spirit gives us the power to obey. We can't do it on our own. Joshua reminded his people of that very fact. Because of the Holy Spirit, we can live in hope and confidence. We CAN obey. We CAN be prepared for the 'promises kept' that are coming.

Please pray that we will be obedient, 'not turning to the right or left,' so that we will be prepared to show others the Promised One.

10 April 2011 Update!

(Jackson and his buddies. No idea what they're doing.)

Greetings to all out there wherever you are!

Thank you for praying for us over the last few weeks. Here are some answered prayers to celebrate:

1. Haylee continues to do very well with her Rheumatoid Arthritis. Her doctor continues to reduce her medication. Your prayers are so appreciated.
2. Jackson is doing well. Growing up fast and doing great in school.
3. Liesa and Jeff are doing well. We have seen God do some amazing things over the past few weeks. New believers. New churches. Your prayers are so important to the work here.

Here are some important things to be praying about:

The spread of the Gospel and the planting of churches in Peru is going extremely well. We have seen hundreds of people open to the possibility of becoming followers of Jesus. We have seen villages meeting to make decisions about starting churches. We are very blessed to work for the Southern Baptist Churches who support the International Mission Board. For a variety of reasons, mostly economic, we will soon begin losing key members of our team in addition to the personnel we lost in 2010.

We say 'see you later' to Amber Smith next week. She is the one who handles all of the camping equipment, cooking equipment, buys supplies for teams, arranges printing of Bibles and tracts. She rents trucks and arranges transportation for teams. She also accompanies jungle teams to areas in the Amazon Basin. Basically, she is a KEY component of our team.

In a few weeks our National Partner Trainers will head back to the USA. Brian and Felicia Henderson are responsible for teaching English three days a week so that our teams will have translators. They disciple over 100 translator/students each week. They also teach missiological principles to our Peruvian partners so that they are ready to take the lead as missionaries in Peru. They lead the work among a segment of the North Lima Quechua.

In a few weeks, Liesa and Jeff will begin a six month stateside assignment in Mississippi and possibly a new assignment with the IMB. Although we are a small part of the REAP NORTH team, we know our departure will cause our teammates added stress. We are very, very concerned about this.

In a few months we will lose Jim Gilstrap as a funded position on the REAP NORTH team. Jim's assignment on our team is a HUGE one. Jim is responsible for leading the work of several of our new SC church partners among two key people groups (One a key UPG in Peru). Jim is also responsible for supporting all of our National Pastor/Leader Training Events among all Quechua people groups and the Tambo River Ashaninca area. Jim leads two Bible studies in his home each week for Peruvians.

These personnel losses are in addition to key losses among our teammates in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Obviously, the loss of these key positions on the REAP NORTH Peru team means our Strategy Coordinator partners will need to carry even more of the load of their work without direct missionary involvement. It is likely that our Strategy Coordinator Partners will need to send people a couple of days early in advance of their teams to help coordinate equipment needs, food purchases, translator needs, rent trucks, etc. Many of our Strategy Coordinator Partners who are used to having a 'real, live, Southern Baptist missionary' serve along-side them will have to adjust to working without IMB personnel (this is not necessarily a bad thing.). But, when our unaccompanied Strategy Coordinator Partners make missiological mistakes, will those in the missionary world display grace toward mission volunteers and the missionaries who work with them?

We share these things with those of you who pray for us. The challenges of your life probably make our concerns seem very small. We do ask that you would pray with us for these concerns. Pray especially for Amber, Brian, Felicia, Skylar, Sydney, and Jim.

Psalm 32 teaches us an important principle:

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.
⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

Our God has a plan. We must trust Him. He is watching over us. Do not be a mule.

Thank you to all who pray and hold the rope.

The Holemans in Peru.

First Baptist Oxford.

27 March 2011 Update!

We've had a great week here in Peru.

The best...

• Haylee had another GREAT report from her rheumatologist. Her numbers continue to show progress as she continues to fight Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Her doctor has again decreased her medication. Thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for healing.
• March has been such a busy month but God has been working. We saw the start of a new church and there are several more Bible study groups meeting who are almost ready to start their own churches. Please continue to pray for opportunities to make disciples here in Peru.
• Fish Robinson and the crew from North Oxford Baptist Church returned to Peru! I wish all student teams were this easy to work with. Although they did not need our help, Liesa and Jeff tagged along with this team. It was so encouraging to be with them and see how a properly prepared and trained team can be so effective in cross-cultural ministry. Great Job Fish!
• JAY COOK was here. Jay was here from Argentina for some meetings and we were able to have him with us here at our house for a couple of days and then spend a lot of time with him during the week. Jay is one of those guys who is walking with Jesus and you just want to always be around him. Thanks for hanging with us, Jay.
• Liesa was able to attend meetings this week to get great information for use in Community Transformation Training. Basically, she learned some new ways to use Health Strategies to open the doors for church planting.
• Our Stateside Assignment is scheduled for June 25, 2011 to January 5, 2012. We'll be living in Brandon, MS in the missionary home of Crossgates Baptist Church. Liesa and Jeff will also be serving at Mississippi College as 'Missionaries in Residence'. We are excited about the opportunity to serve and disciple students while on stateside.
• We've had great news about future workers who will come to Peru to fill in the gaps left by personnel who are finishing up their terms. Please pray for them as they prepare to arrive in Peru in August.
• Jackson had serious thoughts about working on his research paper. Hey, it's a big deal for us! Now, if we could just follow-through. :-)

Prayer Requests...

• Pray for the future. Big decisions must be made soon about where God will have us working. We are trusting God to show us His Plan and we're trusting YOU to be praying.
• Continue to pray for Haylee and Jackson. They are doing great because of the prayers of so many!
• Pray for our teammate Amber Smith who will be finishing up her journeygirl term on April 20. Pray for her as she seeks God's Will about the future.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support of the work of missionaries around the world through your giving to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson.

The Most Important Missionary Weapon.

We meet each morning as a family and study God's Word. For the past few weeks we have been in the Old Testament and a while back we began reading through the book of Joshua. We've been learning the past few days about Israel's attempt to capture the city of Ai.

You may recall that God's people were forbidden from taking any of the valuables from Jericho when they captured the city. However, Achan took a robe and some silver and gold. He hid the items in the ground, but he could not hide his heart from God. With this sin, Achan caused Israel to lose their most powerful weapon: pure hearts.

His sin affected his whole nation. They were whipped like the Ole Miss football team playing Alabama during their first attempt to conquer Ai. Then, Achan's sin was exposed, dealt with (harshly), and the people of God were able to take the city of Ai. And, God gave them the possessions of Ai just to mess with our minds.

There are lessons here for a missionary. God has empowered us with all we need to carry the light of the gospel to the nations. God has given us His Word as the best tool for battle. He has empowered us with the Holy Spirit to guide us, reveal to us words to speak, and fill us with strength for the battle. But if we focus only on the external assignment before us we ignore the internal work that must be done...in our own hearts. It's always much more enjoyable to determine the strategy to reach the lost than it is to determine the deficiencies in our own spiritual condition.

We are mistaken if we think the missionary task is to only make disciples of the nations. The first task of a missionary is to 'discipline' his or her own heart; to remain 'discipled' as we disciple others. Do you think the Enemy convinces me that I am responsible for the lostness of the whole world so that I will ignore the 'deficiencies' I have buried in my own tent? I wonder if the Deceiver uses the responsibility of managing a team of missionaries to cause me to put aside managing my own spiritual condition? I must remember that God must always be conquering "I" before I can be used to conquer Ai. A pure heart is the most important missionary weapon.

North Oxford Baptist Church.

Our newest investments...

6 March 2011 Update!

We've had a couple of weeks of 'office work' to keep us busy since the last update. There's this tool we use called the 'CPPI' to keep track of all the work that is going on with the people groups that our Strategic Partners are working with here in Peru. So, for the past few days Jeff has been entering data from reports from all of our teams in 2010. It is tedious work but it must be done.

Liesa has been busy working on logistical support for teams coming to Peru over the next few weeks. Buying bus tickets, arranging transportation, making hotel reservations, reserving equipment, and the other things that have to done to make the REAP North Peru machine run smoothly.

Haylee and Jackson are doing well. They are counting down the days until they get BRACES on their teeth. That big event will happen on Wednesday, March 9. Pray for them as they deal with BRACE FACE issues. They both are glad school has started. On Tuesdays and Thursdays this month they have swimming classes after school so they've been worn out from all of that hard work.

We are excited about some Oxford folks coming in on Thursday. Liesa and I will be working with this team in the Central Jungle. We're praying that the Christians in the community where we have been working are ready to form a church. Hopefully, that will happen this week.

Thank you all for praying!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson