Glory to God for His Unspeakable Gift!

Luke 2:11 says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Thank the Lord for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ! The most amazing thing about His birth was that He was born to die. Glory to God for this unspeakable gift given to us on that first Christmas! Because of this, others can be born into the family of God. What an wonderful message to share with others, not only at Christmas, but all year round.

CHURCH UPDATE

It’s hard to believe that another year has passed and we’re about to celebrate our second Christmas here in Peru. We’ve now been working in the Omega Baptist Church for nearly 6 months. God continues to bless with new people added to the church. I’ve had the opportunity to preach several times. We’ve seen three precious souls saved in the past few weeks! Glory to God!

Please pray as we prepare to start English classes in the church on January 12. This has been a tremendous outreach in the past through which many have trusted Christ as Savior. Please also pray as we prepare to begin a Sunday School program in the church. I will be working with Hermano Walter to teach the adult class. Sara will be working with the preschoolers.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for the Lord’s leading in the lives of the 12 students who graduated from the Macedonia Baptist College on December 4th.

• Pray for our trip to Ilo, December 18-20, to preach for Pastor Samuel Huaman at the Peniel Baptist Church. Please pray for safe travel and that God would work in the hear ts of the people there. I will have the opportunity to preach and teach 5 times while we are there.

• Pastor’s Retreat, December 28-30 in Ilo

• Please continue to pray for the annual Ladies Conference, January 12-15. Pray for many ladies to be able to attend and for the Lord to work in their hearts during this time.

We appreciate the special cards and Christmas gifts that we’ve received. Josiah especially likes looking through the colorful cards.

Thank you for remembering our family during this Christmas season. May the Lord richly bless you and your family!

Anticipating great things for this coming year,
Robert, Sara, Josiah & Caleb Stover

What are you willing to die for?
What a privilege it is to serve the God of Heaven! I recently heard a message out of Acts 7 where Stephen preached his last sermon. This sermon was so important to Steven that he was willing to die for it. What are we willing to die for? We want to preach the gospel at all costs, just as Steven did.

OMEGA UPDATE

We have great news! After nearly 4 months of meeting at Macedonia Baptist College, God has provided a building for us to meet in. We were excited to hold our first service there on Thursday, October 22 with 75 people in attendance. The church is in Umacollo a part of Arequipa that does not have a gospel-preaching church, but is the location of the second-largest university in Arequipa. Our building is actually right across the street from a new entrance to the university. We believe this will be a wonderful opportunity to reach college students with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray that the Lord would continue to supply the needed funds for set-up. God provided in a miraculous way the money needed to begin renting. Now we need to purchase seats, sound equipment, church literature…well, everything! We appreciate those of you who have already given to help meet this need.

Opportunities:

• We are looking at the opportunity to begin English Classes at Omega. There are many people interested in learning English, and we are excited about using this tool to reach more people.

• December 18-20, we look forward to traveling to Ilo, a city about 6 hours from here, to hold a Christmas Conference at the Peniel Baptist Church.

• Sara is busy helping prepare for the annual ladies’ conference in January. The theme will be “Living with Excellence.” She’ll have the opportunity to teach several classes during that week. Please pray for many ladies to be able to attend.

Family:

Caleb is almost 8 months old now, has 2 teeth, has started the “da-da-da” babble, and loves peaches. He and Josiah are getting along very well. Sara wonders what kind of trouble they’ll be getting into here soon! Josiah is all boy and loves dogs, cars, and sneaking cookies with Daddy. Those 2 really keep Sara hopping!

Thank you so much for your part in the ministry here in Perú!

In Christ,
Robert, Sara, Josiah & Caleb Stover

Greetings to each of you in the name of our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ! Recently, I have been thinking about the verse I Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it.” More than ever, I am not only thankful that we have a faithful God, but that we also have a doing God. What a blessing to be in His service.

Great News!

We are excited about the way God is moving here in Perú. In July, God opened the doors for us to be a part of a new church plant here in Arequipa. The name of the church is Omega Baptist Church, and the Lord has been blessing right from the start. We have a great group of people that have joined together to help see the work of God go forward. We have seen an average of 45-50 people on Sundays. Our pastor and veteran missionary, Chris Gardner, has started out preaching through the book of Acts. More than anything else, we desire like the first century church, to see great glory brought to the name of Christ. As is emphasized in the first chapters of Acts, we desire a church that would be united in the effort to reach the world with the Gospel. I am excited about the several opportunities I have had to preach in the church as well. Each time I feel more fluid in the language and am so thrilled to be able to be preaching in Spanish!

We have begun holding services at the Macedonia Baptist College while looking for a building. Praise the Lord that He always provides the best to those who wait on Him! Just recently, we found a very spacious building that is located right in front of one of the largest universities in Arequipa. We are excited about the many opportunities that there will be to minister to students there. In the next week or so, we should be signing the rental contract, and we hope to be meeting there by the middle of September. Please pray that the Lord will work out all the details so that we can be in the building as soon as possible.

Along with the excitement in starting a new church also come added expenses. We will need to do some remodeling, as well as buy microphones, sound equipment, seats, and things for the nursery. We also will have to pay several months of rent up front. If you would like to be a part of helping with these needs, you can send your gift to Macedonia World Baptist Missions, P.O. Box 519, Braselton, GA 30517, designated for Omega Baptist Church. Please also pray that the Lord would bless this new work in a mighty way.

Classes:

Macedonia Baptist College recently started their 2nd semester of classes for this year. I have the opportunity to teach a class on the Christian Family. It has been a blessing to study more on the Biblical guidelines God gives us in His Word for marriage and family life. Also, I am teaching a class on Spanish phonetics in the language school.

Family:

God is blessing our family in a mighty way. Josiah and Caleb are getting big way too fast! September 6th, Josiah will turn 2. He’s excited about having a “wow-wow” (dog) party, as dogs are his favorite thing. The Lord has truly blessed us with 2 precious boys!
Thank you so much for your part in the ministry here in Perú!

In Christ,
Robert, Sara, Josiah & Caleb Stover

Greetings from the “Ciudad Blanca,” Arequipa, Perú! We are thrilled about all that God is doing here in the ministry He has allowed us to be a part of. In Psalm 91:2, the Bible says, “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” Praise the Lord for the refuge that we have in Him! No matter what may come into our lives, this refuge is always there for our protection. May we always place our trust in Him.

Opportunities:

On May 15-18, we were able to take a trip to the town of Chivay, which is about 3 hours outside of Arequipa. During our time there, we helped conduct rallies for children and teenagers. By the grace of God, 12 young people made professions of faith in Christ. I had the opportunity to lead 5 young men to the Lord during the invitation of the Sunday morning service. These are the first ones that the Lord has allowed me to lead to Christ in Spanish. What a blessing!  Please pray for the Hope Baptist Church in Chivay, that they would find a pastor. There is a faithful seminary student who goes there to fill-in every weekend, but they really need someone full-time. Please pray!

The medical clinic in June that was planned to be in Ilo, was moved to Lima instead. It was held in a very poor area of town where people would not normally have access to good medicine or doctors. A group of 21 people came from the US, bringing lots of medicine and supplies, but more importantly, hearts willing to serve in whatever way possible. In 4 days, they were able to attend to about 1700 people. I was able to help in translation. The Gospel was preached to everyone who came through the clinic, and 250 people made professions of faith in Christ as Savior. We thank the Lord for good physicians and medicine, but we praise His Holy Name for the Great Physician who provides “medicine” to heal the souls of men.

Events:

We had the graduation for our English class on Sunday, June 21st. 22 students graduated and received a certificate signifying their completion of the class. We are thankful that they were able to hear God’s Word preached and pray it will continue to work in their hearts.

July 1-15, there will be another medical clinic here in Arequipa at the Perú Bible College. Please pray that this clinic would be a tremendous blessing to many people as well.

Blessings:

While in Lima, we were able to begin the process of getting Josiah’s residence visa. We should be returning to Lima at the end of July to complete that process. Also, we applied for Caleb’s US passport and paperwork. Since he was born here, he is a dual-citizen and already has his Perúvian passport.

Another blessing that has come out the English class is that Sara has had the opportunity to tutor one of the more advanced students in our home. Please pray for Pilar. She has expressed a desire to know more about the things of the Lord, and Sara has had the opportunity to share the Gospel with her. Please pray for Pilar to be saved.

On June 23rd, we will complete 3 wonderful years of marriage. I praise the Lord for the wonderful wife He has given me and look forward to many more years together.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. They are both needed and appreciated. God bless you for your sacrificial giving; we could not have a ministry here in Perú without you.

Your Servants for the Savior,
Robert, Sara, Josiah & Caleb Stover

God has been so good to us and continues to bless in the ministry here in Peru. Psalm 90:12 states, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”  We must number our days because the time is short and there is still much to do for the cause of Christ!  We must realize the value of just one day.

Progress:

My Missions & Islam class at the Bible college is going well. We have just started covering some of the basic concepts of Islam. What a great need there is to reach these people with the Gospel! Just being able to teach in Spanish for an hour, 3 days a week is helping my language skills tremendously.

We have been averaging about 35 people in the English classes in the church. We are excited to see some of these people visiting the church for regular services also. In class we are working on learning several English Bible verses (The Romans Road). Please pray that many would come to know Christ by way of this ministry.

The discipleship class I was teaching at the church has come to an end. I am excited to see several students “graduating” and moving up to the next class. Please pray these young Christians would continue to grow in the Lord and be faithful to His house.

New Arrival!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Caleb Mark. He was born on March 6th at 4:44 pm. He weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 inches long. Everything went well and, thankfully, very quickly for Sara. We arrived at the hospital just a few minutes after 4, so we definitely were not waiting long! He is doing fine and getting chubby already. Thank you for your prayers for his safe arrival.

Blessings:

We were thankful to be able to have Sara’s mom visiting for a few weeks to help with the new baby–and of course to see Josiah! We are thankful for the wonderful family God has given us and look forward to having more of them visit in the future. If you would be interested in making a trip here as well, we would be thrilled to show you the ministry that the Lord has allowed us to be a part of. Thank you to all those who have called or sent notes of encouragement to us. It is always a pleasure to hear from you.

The Lord gave us great services at the Faith Baptist Church the week of Easter, with 29 people saved and Christians encouraged in the faith. There is a definite need for the church to purchase its own facility, as our current building is full. We know that this will be expensive because of the area in which we are located, but we also know that the Lord has everything in control. Please pray with us for this need.

Upcoming Events:

We are looking forward to having 2 medical clinics this summer. The clinic in June will be in Ilo, a city about 6 hours from here. I am looking forward to taking my missions class on a “missions trip” there during that time.  Please pray for our trip. The clinic in July will be here in Arequipa. The Lord has worked in a mighty way through clinics held in the past. Please pray that people would be helped not only physically, but spiritually as well.

Thank you so much for your prayers and sacrificial giving. May the Lord bless you!

Your Servants for Him,
Robert, Sara, and Josiah Stover

It is a blessing to be able to write to you again. We pray that all is well and that God is blessing in a mighty way.  Thank you so much for your “Christmas kindness” to our family. It was our first Christmas away from family and friends in the US, but we were so glad to be able to spend it with friends here in Perъ. It is such a comfort to me to read Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”. We truly believe that the goodness and mercy of God have followed us here. It is wonderful to know that we have brothers and sisters in Christ who are praying to that end as well. Thank you so much!

Praises:

Language school is now complete for the both of us! We are continuing to develop Spanish every day through reading, conversation, and interaction with the people. I had the opportunity to go to a youth camp in January, a week of nothing but Spanish. During that time, I was able to teach several lessons and have good fellowship with other pastors and with the teenagers as well. Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to preach my first sermon in the church and to lead in the vow-renewal ceremony. The Lord truly helped me, and I am excited about more opportunities to preach in the future.

We are praising the Lord that Sara and I were able to get our residence visas. Also, we were able to get JosiahТs tourist visa extended for another six months, so that Lord-willing, we will be able to get his residence visa in that time.

Progress:

I have begun teaching a discipleship class at the Faith Baptist Church where we are working. It is the first part of a 4-part discipleship program. The class covers such things as church membership, baptism, spiritual gifts, and what a new Christian needs to equip him to not only grow spiritually, but also to be more integrally involved in the ministries of the local church.

On February 17th, we began English classes at the church. We started with 44 people in attendance, most of which have never been to the church before. Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom as we go forward with the classes and most importantly that we would have opportunities to share the gospel with our students and see them accept Christ.

Please continue to pray for me as I prepare to teach my class on missions in the Bible college starting March 17th. I am excited about this wonderful opportunity.

Sara has also had the opportunity to teach in several ladies meetings and in the ladies conference in January. She is singing in the church choir and has had the opportunity to play the piano several times.

Family:

Josiah is saying all kinds of new words and his stumbling steps have turned into running all over the place. He says, УHola!Ф to everyone he meets and doesn’t know a stranger. We’ve had a lot of smiles and laughs as a result of our friendly little blond gringo. Sara is doing well with our new baby boy on the way, due March 13th. Her mom has come to visit us for several weeks to be here for the birth of the baby. We will definitely be posting updates about that on our blog: www.stovers2peru.blogspot.com.

Thank you for your sacrificial giving to the work of God here in Perъ.

In the Service of the King,
Robert, Sara, and Josiah Stover

What a joy to be able to write to you at this wonderful time of year! We thank our precious heavenly Father for sending His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. Luke 2:11 says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Peruvians love to celebrate Christmas. They talk about “Papa Noel” (Santa Claus) bringing gifts and love to get together with their families, not unlike in the States. The problem is that many of them have no idea why Jesus came. Our job is to share with them the precious news of what Christmas is all about—salvation and new life in Christ, which is truly the greatest gift ever.

Language School:

I am so glad to report that after four months of work and study I have finished my language school. Now, the true work begins with more reading, studying, and practicing to continue learning the finer points of the language.  Please pray for me as I prepare to teach an introduction to missions class in the Bible College when the new semester starts in March. Sara has done an outstanding job as well and will be finished with her classes shortly after Christmas. She does a great job communicating with the people and being an encouragement to the ladies here.

Church News:

On October 26th, after our church service, a part of the church roof fell in. Praise the Lord no one was hurt.  With the roof being unstable, we were unable to continue meeting in the building. We found a temporary meeting place in the district’s municipal building. We did not have to pay rent and were able to meet both Sundays and Wednesdays. What a blessing! During this time, the Lord continued to bless with wonderful attendance.  Several times we had over 450 people. The church was able to put on a new roof and make other renovations to the building. We made it back just in time for our 6th Anniversary Service on December 7th. It was a blessed day with over 500 people in attendance and decisions made for the cause of Christ. In order to accommodate more people, we are now having 3 Sunday morning services. Please be praying that the Lord would supply the needed funds to get our own land and building soon. Land is quite expensive in the area where we are, but we know that God is able to supply each and every need.

Other Updates:

Josiah started walking about two weeks ago and is a master at climbing furniture. He is getting so big! Sara continues to do well carrying our second baby boy. She is due in the middle of March. The Lord is blessing in the Bible study here in our home. We usually have 6 people who come together to fellowship and study God’s Word. Please pray for Bruno, a man who visited several weeks back. He is a professor at a university here in Arequipa and needs to be saved. We love and appreciate each and every one who prays and gives to make it possible to reach more souls with the Gospel here in Peru. May the Lord give each of you a very Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Rejoicing in the Christ of Christmas,
Robert, Sara, and Josiah Stover

Greetings from beautiful Arequipa, Perъ, South America! It is hard to believe that we have been here now for more than 3 months. The time just seems to fly as we continue to get adjusted to cultural changes, language changes, and changes of just living outside the United States. Thank you to each of you who have personally prayed for us. We canТt tell you what a blessing that is. Thank you also for your sacrificial giving in the midst of tough economic times. Your giving allows us to stay and continue the work that the Lord has called us to do. Thank you for being our УlifelineФ so that we can continue to share the Уnew lifeФ of the gospel here in Perъ.

Language Progress:

We thank the Lord for the help He has given us with the language. We have language classes  5 days a week for 4 hours a day. Both my wife and I hope to be finished with the 5 language school books by the beginning of the year, Lord willing. Probably the most important part of language learning, however, is simply talking with the people. We have both gotten to the point where we can carry on a pretty good conversation. Most importantly, I want to be able to preach the Word of God. Acts 22:2 says, УAnd when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silenceЕФ When a person hears the Word of God preached in his own language, it is a very powerful tool! Please pray that the Lord would help me to learn Spanish well so that I can effectively teach the truths of GodТs Word.

Family:

The Lord continues to keep us healthy and strong. Josiah is getting bigger every day and is continually exploring everything. His recent adventures have included eating dirt from the flower pot, shutting his fingers in various drawers, and learning to rock hard enough to scoot his crib across the room. (So far he has had near collisions with both the rocking chair and the changing table.) His favorite words are УnoФ and УMmmm!Ф We also would like to announce that our family will be adding another memberЧanother boyЧ in March. We are so thankful to the Lord for this blessing. Please pray for Sara and the baby.

Bible Study:

On Friday evenings we have a Bible study group in our home. I have the privilege to teach a short lesson and lead in a question and answer time. Most of the people who come are members of the Faith Baptist Church (where we attend), but our goal is to also get people who are not saved to come. Please pray that the Lord would bless these meetings and use us in a mighty way.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. You can stay up to date with all that is going on here in Perъ through our blog: www.stovers2peru.blogspot.com. We appreciate each one of you!

Serving the King of Kings in Peru,

Robert, Sara, and Josiah Stover

We are here! I am so thankful to report that the trip down here went very smoothly. None of our thirteen bags were lost, and we passed through customs with no problem. Maybe they felt sorry for us as we juggled everything. Probably the main challenge of the trip was keeping Josiah entertained. When he slept on the plane, he just stretched out over both our laps. (I think he slept better than either of us did.) The day after we arrived, he learned how to crawl but he can only go backwards, so most of the time he just scoots on his bottom. He is into everything! It is a good thing that all this moving around wears him out, so at night we can have a chance to catch our breath.

What a blessing it is to be here beginning the work that God has called us to do. The first days were almost unreal. In addition to being very tired from traveling, we could hardly believe that we were actually here. Our Spanish has been put to the test right away (Thank the Lord for language school!). We began our Spanish classes on Tuesday, July 22. Please pray for us as we continue this important step in the training process. Please pray for our teachers as well.

We are so grateful for the kindness and hospitality of the missionary families here in Peru. One young couple, Micah and Katie Smith, graciously allowed us to stay in their home and helped us while we were looking for our own house. Julio and Joy Soncco, missionaries here in Arequipa, have helped us much in finding a home and getting settled. During this time of year (winter), there are usually not many houses here available for rent. Thank the Lord that He knows all about the situation and had everything worked out. After less than a week’s time, we were able to view a house that was exactly what we were looking for, in a good area, and available to move into immediately! What a blessing! Also, the rent was a good deal cheaper than we had been expecting. Thank you for praying, and thank the Lord for answered prayer.

We are starting out working in “La Iglesia Bautista Fe” (Faith Baptist Church). It is so encouraging to see the Word of God going forth in power and touching the hearts of people. Just hearing the Spanish preached makes me want to do it myself. Please pray that I will be able to effectively teach and preach in Spanish very soon. Please also be in prayer as the annual Youth Congress is held August 5-8 at the Bible College. We are anticipating the Lord working in a mighty way as hundreds of pastors and young people come out for this week of preaching and training. Sara is doing well getting to know the ladies of the church. Josiah, well he doesn’t know Spanish just yet, but everyone we know loves him and his blond hair blue eyes.

The Lord gave us 3 more supporting churches just before we left. We are now at 95% of our need support. God has marvelously taken care of each need. Thank you for allowing yourselves to be the vessels by which the Lord conveys His blessing.

We see that the job here is great, and we are thankful for I Thessalonians 5:24 which states, “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” I am so thankful that God has called us into His service, and I am even more thankful that He is the One Who leads us each step of the way.
May the Lord bless you!

Hasta el proximo (Until next time),
Robert, Sara, and Josiah Stover

Greetings to you in the name of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Praise God for the blood that washes sinners white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). I am thankful that I had that blood applied to my account on March 17, 1984; it was truly the greatest day of my life. We are looking forward to seeing many Peru vians have the “greatest day of their lives” as they put their faith and trust in the One who can truly cleanse them from their sin and give them an eternal home in Heaven.

Leaving for Peru!
Well, we have great news. On April 21, we bought our plane tickets to Perъ! We will leave on July 1st and arrive in Arequipa, Lord willing, on the morning of July 2nd. The Lord allowed us to get both of our tickets to Lima, Perъ  for a total of less than $800. After we buy tickets from Lima to Arequipa, the total price will be around $1,000. This is considerably less than what we had originally thought. What a blessing! Thank you for your prayers and sacrificial giving on our behalf.

The last few weeks leading up to our departure will of course be very busy ones. We plan to visit more churches, say last goodbyes to family, and pack and prepare for the big day. On May 20th, we had our departure interview at Macedonia. It is so exciting to see how God has worked and provided so that we are now almost ready to leave. On June 15, we will be having our Commissioning Service at our sending church, Bergholz Baptist Church, in Bergholz, OH. We ask that you would not only pray for us, but also for our families as they prepare for the difficult time of saying goodbye for several years.

Blessings:
God also blessed us with 5 new churches partnering with us in April for the work in Perъ . The Lord has supplied 10 new supporting churches in the last 3 months, and we are thanking Him for that. We started out in February praying for 20 new churches, and we know that God is able to supply the 10 more supporting churches that we believe would bring us to 100%.

We were traveling to a meeting in Urbana, Ohio, when our car began to malfunction. We were able to get to the church safely, but the car would not start after that. Thank the Lord a deacon at Grace Baptist Church, who happened to be a car mechanic, looked at the car and spotted the problemsЧa bad battery and alternator. He was able to repair those things and get us back running by the end of the service. What an incredible blessing!

Thank you
This will be our last prayer letter, Lord willing, written from the United States. We are so excited and definitely ready to begin learning Spanish and doing the work God has called us to do. We would be remiss if we did not personally thank each and every one of you that has made all this possible. Thank you for sacrificially giving and praying that the Gospel might get to the people of Perъ  and to the entire world. What we are planning to do would be impossible without you as churches and individuals who have partnered together to help us. Our true desire could be summed up in the words of the Apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God in Philippians 4:17, УЕbut I desire fruit that may abound to your account.Ф

To help keep folks better updated on all that is going on in our family and ministry, we have started a blog. You can visit it at www.stovers2Peru.blogspot.com. There is a link there where you can subscribe to receive our updates by e-mail. This wonТt  be taking the place of the normal prayer letter, just giving more frequent updates. As always, we appreciate your faithful
prayers and support.

Your Laborers for Christ,
Robert, Sara, and Josiah Stover