Update for this week...

Jeff's mom loving on a Quechua baby.

Hey you all. Thank you so much for your prayers for us. You are a vital part of the work here.

We've had a good, busy week with all of our REAP North Team members busy doing their work. God has been good to protect us as we've traveled and worked in so many different places.

On Monday, Jeff, his mom, and Courtney Hunter traveled to the Huaylas Valley to check on two teams of college student missionaries working there. It was good to be able to be with them for a couple of days and to see and hear about the great things they are a part of in Recuay and Aija.

Liesa has been busy coordinating the work of our volunteer teams from the office here in Lima. She has to schedule transportation, hotels and handle other logistical needs for our Strategy Coordinator churches. She has to deal with flight cancellations, road blocks by striking Peruvian groups and a host of other distractions.

Haylee and Jackson are busy finishing up their school year. Their 'winter' break begins on July 2 and they'll be out of school for about six weeks. They are looking forward to the break. Haylee will be traveling with Jeff on a trip to the Mantaro Valley...this will be her first translating assignment. Jackson will be enjoying a little time on the couch with the Wii and Playstation. We all head to the jungle to a village on the Tambo River during the last two weeks of July where we'll be working with a church from South Carolina.

We have more college students arriving this week to work on various projects. We're excited that Ole Miss is sending us Scott Thomas and that USM is sending us Danielle and Whitney and Mississippi State is sending us Eric English...they're Mississippi folks so we're especially proud of that. They are among the almost 200 students that will work with us on different projects this summer.

Please continue to pray for the safety of our volunteer teams and our REAP North Team members. Pray for health as well. Most of all, pray that the gospel will be communicated clearly and that the process of discipleship would continue in the lives of the indigenous people here in Peru.

Please pray specifically for...

• Haylee and Jackson as they wind down their school year.


• Courtney Hunter as she travels back to the States Sunday night.


• My mom as she travels back to the States on Tuesday night.


• Our new team member Christy Holcomb as she arrives this week.


• Our new team members David and Cameron Olson who arrive this week.


• Leadership to develop for church starts in Aija and Recuay.

Thank you so much. We'd love to hear what is going on with your family! Email us at lholeman@samregion.com .

REAP North Peru Info-mercial...

Click HERE!

We win 1 to nothin...

Your Prayers are answered every day here in Peru...

READ about what your partnership with us through prayer is doing here in Peru. Here are some stories from individuals about their work here in Peru during May 2009...

• I had a group of college students down in the area where I work and I think we had about 9 people come to faith from all of the places that we worked at. Six of these new believers got saved in a little place called Orcotuna and these people are ready to be apart of the church that is there and to start growing. Most of the students from the US taught in schools about how to be a person of valor. They taught about respecting others, respecting themselves and loving God. It was neat because I think from all of the places we taught nearly 1,000 kids in the Monterro Valley about Jesus that week. It was overwhelming, rewarding and something I will never forget!
  
  
• There were two events that happened while we were in the Huancayo area: One was the amount of community interest that was created by seeing Americans being willing to get dirty scraping, cleaning and painting the community building. The second was when we went (God says go) to meet with the group in Sappallanca the second night and only the pastor and one other person showed up. We were supposed to be sharing how to witness, but we instead spent and hour with the pastor talking about a vision for the community and what was needed in al the churches to help them be better organized and learning how to go and witness.

• The Citadel (Charleston) BCM team that I helped with a few weeks ago were amazing gospel sowers!! They were able to share their testimonies and speak words about christianity in the schools they entered on a "ESL only" invitation. In most of the schools we were told we shouldn't speak about Christianity, only about English,and in every one of them they ended up sharing more about Christ than English! In one of the schools, after two shared their testimonies and one shared a Bible story, a girl came up to our translator and asked what she had to do to be saved. The translator was able to speak with her and pray for her right then and the girl accepted Christ! This same translator shared her testimony during another session at one of the schools and it was her first time to share it in English in Peru.
  
  
• Liesa, Haylee, Jackson and I were able to travel to Recuay to work alongside the Ole Miss team in a sports camp for kids/teenagers. We were able to play with kids and spend time getting to know them. The pastor of the Baptist church in Huaraz came and led in a time of commitment where about 10 students responded to an invitation to begin a relationship with Jesus. I was able to do some counseling with 4 young boys…about 10 years old…about their decision. They claimed to understand the presentation of the gospel and wanted to begin a study of God’s Word. The Ole Miss team planned a bible study for the kids who had made decisions and they returned later in the week for two bible studies.

• The Ole Miss team has had the opportunity to share the gospel in Recuay and has seen at least two new believers who they have also been able to begin discipling.
  
  
• Lifepoint team- primarily worked in school in Tapacocha doing a very basic English classes. Also showed film in the Catholic church. Presented Bibles to religion teacher and class. Testimonies were given by the team after the film.

• Liberty Team-Showed film in Chavin on colegio soccer field and in also in Quercos. Also Bible storying in the several villages.

• This month was awesome, one of the highlights of my journeyman term to date. For the first time I got to see beyond "planting the seeds". We spent one whole day in a village called Orcotuna near Huancayo. We held five different sessions over values in the schools. We talked to kindergardeners through jovens altogether around 600 heard the Gospel presentation. Then two nights later we held an event at the Alianza chruch. At first we were disappointed that it was mostly young kids, but we soon realized there were parents and teens outside the church listening in. Before the night was over we saw six young ladies step forward to receive Christ. Later that night one of them pull me aside. She was crying and told me how she was scared. Her family was "Catholic" but her dad didn't believe in all this stuff. She wasn't sure how she was going to live out her faith with her friends and family. I could go on about everything we talked about, but I'll stop there. There was also another girl who pulled me aside later to discuss her new faith. I was fighting back the tears of joy to know that God allowed me to be a vessel for Him!

• There was a day in our trip to the small village of Topacocha when some of the team and I were overlooking a vast array of mountain peaks. The leader of our group spoke out in our silence and said, “I wonder if the rocks are cyring out?” Then we came up with the idea toyell Jesus as loud as our pathetic lungs could hold. After screaming Jesus from where we stood we stopped to hear the brief echo of our voices shoot across the valleys and peaks. Our leader said, “Well, at least for a few moments the rocks didn’t have to cry out.” This is one moment that put the rest of the trip into perspective.

• Wanted to thank you for having our Charleston team come to Huancayo and serve. It may have been the best and most productive mission trip I've been on. All the Journeyman/girls did an amazing job. John Wilson did a great job setting up ministry. Jim (masters) and I hung out all week and he was a hoot. The interpreters (Gladys, Clara, and Martin) did a great job as well. I hope and pray the Kingdom work we did will benefit the ministry of John and the local pastors/Christians there. We saw at least 11 people come to know the Lord and probably over 1000 people heard the gospel. I've been several places around the world and Peru is by far my favorite-it's a wonderful country/people. Thanks so much for working our team in this summer as you are busy with ministry and summer missionaries/teams.

We have 15 more teams that we are serving with over the next two weeks with more than 220 volunteers from our Strategy Coordinator churches, International World Changers and college student teams. WE NEED YOU TO PRAY!

Some memories...

First Baptist Oxford changing the world...

First Baptist Oxford is here...

Update for this week...

Hey all of you out there wherever you are!

Thank you for investing in the work of our team here in Peru through your praying and giving...and those of you coming to work with us!

We have some busy, busy times coming up so we need to redouble our prayer efforts. Please join us in praying for...

• Haylee and Jackson as they finish up their school year. They have done extremely well in school and continue to adjust to life here. They do miss their friends in the US and in Costa Rica. Please pray that they would continue to build friendships here in Peru.


• Pray for Jeff and Liesa as these are busy days. Pray for healthy bodies and a great memory to remember everything that has to be done.


• Please pray for our friends and team mates Jeremy, Crystal, and Karis Nelson. They just moved from Lima to their post out in the jungle in Iquitos. Setting up a house, getting supplies, taking care of a newborn, traveling with mission teams...lots of things to do. Please pray for them as they adjust to jungle life.


• Pray for International World Changers. The first wave of students arrive Thursday morning, June 18.


• Pray for the unreached people of Peru who think because they have a catholic tradition that they have a relationship with Christ. Pray for those in jungle communities who worship trees, the mountains..they worship created things but not the CREATOR.


• Pray for the International Mission Board. Southern Baptists decided not to give as much this year so we must trim already thin budgets. We will be unable to have new missionaries to work with us and some of the short term missionaries we now have will not be able to stay as long as they had planned. This seems alarming but God is never caught off-guard and will work through all of this.

God's blessings to all of you!

New REAP North Peru Newsletter...

is located at the bottom of this page. Scroll down and take a look!

Prayer Requests...

Thank you to all of you who are praying! We are so grateful for your help here.

These next few weeks are busy weeks as we anticipate the arrival of over 40 mission teams during June and July. Please pray that things would go smoothly.

Jeff's mom arrives Tuesday Evening, June 2 and will be with us for four weeks. She'll be on the road several times going to International World Changers and to other ministry sites around Peru. Pray for her health as she is here.

We'll post more later!