Challenging thought...

Neil Cole (Church Multiplication Associates) is credited with this quote...

Ultimately each church will be evaluated by only one thing. Its disciples.

Your church is only as good as its disciples. It does not matter how good your praise, preaching, programs or property are: If your disciples are passive, needy, consumerist, and not moving in the direction of radical obedience, your church is not good.

23 February 2011 Update!

Hello out there in computer land!

We're doing well down here in Lima, Peru. Things here are getting back to normal as Haylee and Jackson started school today. Finally, maybe we'll have some normal schedules around here.

Thank You to all who are praying. Please join us in praying for the following churches/groups coming to work in Peru during the next few weeks:

• Feb 24 -- Woodland Hills Baptist Church, North Carolina.
• Feb 28 -- Jog Road Baptist, Florida
• Mar 5 -- Riverland Hills Baptist, South Carolina
• March 6 -- Roebuck Baptist, South Carolina
• March 9 -- Bryan Baptist Association, Oklahoma
• March 10 -- North Oxford Baptist, Mississippi
• March 11 -- Humble First Baptist, Texas
• March 12 -- Bethany Baptist Church, Texas
• March 13 -- Wedgewood Baptist, Texas
• March 14 -- Lincolnton/Southfork Association, North Carolina
• March 16 -- Grace Community Baptist, Virginia
• March 17 -- New Bethel Baptist, Tennessee
• March 18 -- Grant Avenue Baptist, Oregon
• March 19 -- George/Greene Association, Mississippi
• March 19 -- First Baptist Callahan, Florida
• March 31 -- Southside Baptist, Arkansas

These churches are committed to working with People Groups that they have adopted as their own. They are the REAL, LIVE MISSIONARIES to their communities. Please pray for the Gospel to be clearly communicated and for the safety of these mission teams. Please pray for the REAP NORTH Peru team of missionaries as we are involved in different ways with each of these mission teams.

Thank You for praying...

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

Here's a little video of some fun we had last week..

15 February 2011 Update!

Hello to all of our faithful prayer partners out there.

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for us over the past couple of weeks. We are so grateful for your love and concern for us expressed through your commitment to pray.

We have had a busy couple of weeks..

• On Feb 2 Jeff was blessed with the opportunity to help train a group of semester missionaries (called 'Hands On') here in Lima. It is always a great honor and a lot of fun to work with students. Rick and Cindy Jenkins do a great job getting students ready for their assignments and we are blessed to have some new friends.
• On Feb 3 were were able to gather most of our REAP NORTH Peru team for our first team meeting of the year. We are facing a busy Spring with our schedules really getting busy in early March. We are blessed to work with a dynamic, servant-hearted group of teammates who work hard to make sure all of our work gets done.
• On Feb 7 to 11, Liesa and Jeff were a part of a group of missionaries participating in training for transition to new roles in our America's Affinity. Our Company has been going through a period of reorganization for the past few years and this continues to affect us and our team. It was a good week of meeting new folks, hearing from leadership, and working together to try to figure out where God is leading His work among the peoples of the Americas.

These past few days have been fun as we've been getting ready for school next week, catching a movie, checking out the new Lima Metro bus, cruising through a market called Polvo Azules, and getting some work done for teams coming to Peru in a few weeks.

Here are few prayer requests that you can help with:

1. TRANSITION. As we face the changes within our company please pray that we will have wisdom to know God's Plan for our family. We finish our term in June 2011 and are seeking God's Plan for us for the future.
2. HAYLEE AND JACKSON. A new school semester begins next week. Pray for a good adjustment back to the 'REAL' world.
3. THE PEOPLE OF PERU. Many people in Peru have heard about Jesus. But, they have not been able to grasp the thought of a personal relationship with Him. Pray that the Gospel will be able to break through the barriers of 'religion' to reach the wonderful people of Peru.
4. REAP NORTH TEAM. The work of our team reaches to Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Please pray for the following folks serving with us...Larry, Nancy, Christy, Patti, Fletcher, Ruby, Jake, Dodie, Abigail, Hannah, Jeremy, Crystal, Karis, Adalyn, David, Cameron, Pete, Tommy, Jim, Brian, Felicia, Sydney, Skylar, Katie, Boots, Mindy, and Amber.

It was good to see Mark from Argentina while he was in Lima.

1 February 2011 Update!

Greetings from warm and sometimes sunny Lima Peru!

Thank you for all who pray for us. We are constantly aware of your prayers in practical ways. Driving in this crazy place, communicating in a language that three years ago was so to us, seeing Haylee and Jackson grow up into amazing disciples of Jesus, patience in the midst of some frustrating days. All of those things are areas where we sense the prayers of all of you out there. Thank you!

We have settled back in to our jobs here in Lima after a few weeks in the USA. We are gearing up for some busy weeks ahead as March until September are going to be busy here in Peru. We are blessed with incredible teammates who are such a blessing to serve with. I'm glad that many of you who read this blog have met many of them.

Last week was a busy week of catching up on emails and phone calls. It is amazing to receive emails from pastor friends out in the jungle, talk with a fellow missionary in Spain on Skype, chat online with a missionary friend in Mexico and do all those things on the same day. And, the blessing of having an ice cream break at a local mall with a fellow national missionary from North Peru who was in town with his family. We are blessed to serve in a wonderful place like Peru.

Today we had the blessing of hanging out via video call with Rob, Fish, Shawn, and Liz. They were in Oxford and we were in Peru but it felt like we were all in the same room 'cutting up' like we usually do. 'Stopemfromfloppin'. Now, that's funny. Inside joke, sorry.

Tomorrow, Jeff is excited about working with the 'Hands On' student missionaries who are headed to Brazil next week to work in Sao Paulo. Jeff and the youth group at FBC Oxford, MS worked in Sao Paulo at several universities several years ago with IMB missionary friends and it is exciting to see today what is going on there in Sao Paulo with those students. These 'Hands On' missionaries will be working in Sao Paulo, Brazil for this semester. It is a privilege to be a part of their training.

Haylee and Jackson are enjoying the lazy days of summer. How many hours a day can you play Wii? How many days in a row can you not get out of pajamas? Jackson is trying to find out. Haylee is enjoying sleeping, reading, watching t.v., and girl stuff. Both have had time to spend with friends and we even snuck away to the beach earlier this week. So, all is good with the kids.

Haylee had a great report from her doctor today. Things are looking good with her rheumatoid arthritis and the doctor is beginning to decrease her drugs. We'll see how she responds but things have been going really well over the past couple of weeks. The cold weather of Mississippi caused her some pain but the warm weather of Lima has been a blessing.

We begin a week of meetings next week to begin to unravel the mystery of what the future holds for our ministry assignment. This is a long story, but in short, from our perspective, the International Mission Board is shifting priority to other parts of the world which means the work of missionaries in South America is changing...dramatically for some. And, the work that is being done in Central and South America is changing focus to those labeled as 'unreached.' 'Unreached' means a population where less than 2% of the population is Christian. This all sounds good and we are very supportive of those making these decisions as long as they will answer questions about the changes and display wisdom in the way they use resources entrusted to them by Southern Baptist Churches. So far, so good.

Thank you to all who are praying and supporting the work of Southern Baptist missionaries around the world through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson Holeman