July/August 2009 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,

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