{"id":4155,"date":"2021-05-25T08:59:41","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T13:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/?p=4155"},"modified":"2021-05-25T08:59:41","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T13:59:41","slug":"west-newsletter-may-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/west-newsletter-may-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"West Newsletter: May 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t

Dear Friends and Family,<\/span><\/h2>\n

Winter is approaching south of the equator. The summer sun has succumbed to waves of chilly fog and clouds blowing in off the Pacific Ocean here in Lima, Peru. No matter the climate in your area (physical or spiritual), we pray that you are trusting in Christ for all things (Ps. 138), relying on His promise to not only be with us till \u201cthe end of the age\u201d (Matt. 28:20), but that we would walk as \u201cheirs of God\u201d (Rom 8:17) and \u201cmore than conquerors through Him who loved us\u201d! (Rom 8:37)<\/p>\n

The Pallets of Pig Park<\/span><\/h2>\n

Back in March, we had a wonderful visit from three siblings who normally serve with us in China. Just like in China, I chose a completely new area for us to target. Earlier in the year, I noticed from the window of my plane a couple of \u201chidden valleys\u201d right in the middle of Lima\u2019s sprawling metropolitan area (10 million+). These communities (\u201cPig Park\u201d in English) were only accessible via one road, which you would never find unless you were looking for it. So using Google Earth, I made plans for us to visit as many homes in these areas as possible. The results were some exciting few days of ministry, as well as a fascinating (and sobering) discovery\u2026<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

As we began to traverse the sandy roads and lanes carved out of the desert mountains, giving tracts and copies of John\u2019s Gospel to everyone we could find, the substance of almost every shack, shed, and wall became hard to ignore. It seemed as if everything in sight was put together with old rejected wooden shipping pallets. And they were!<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take me long to figure out what had happened. You see, just outside the entrance to Pig Park Valley is Peru\u2019s largest port and container storage area. Untold millions of crates have been unloaded there over the years. Impoverished locals, who \u201cinvaded\u201d the empty desert mountains over a period of decades, used any materials they could find to begin building their makeshift homes. The result is an entire valley of shanties \u201cconstructed\u201d almost entirely of discarded wooden pallets. And, besides these less than ideal physical conditions, \u201cPig Park'' turned out to be spiritually vacuous as well. Nary a church could be found, although we stumbled upon one home prayer meeting.<\/p>\n

Pray that God would raise up long-term local laborers to plant a church in Pig Park, and that the people would value God\u2019s Word above all things and build their spiritual houses not out of flimsy wood and sand, but out of \u201cgold, silver, precious stones\u201d, and grounded on the Rock, the \u201cfoundation..that is Jesus Christ.\u201d (1 Cor. 3)<\/em><\/p>\n

Three Vertical Miles<\/span><\/h2>\n

I have always been fascinated by the highland region of Puno, situated along Peru\u2019s border with Bolivia (south) and the Amazon Rainforest (east). In mid-April, I flew down to Puno to visit a friend's house church and then boarded an overnight \u201csleeper bus\u201d down into the jungle.<\/p>\n

\"Eavesdropping<\/a>

Eavesdropping on the Bible Study<\/p><\/div>\n

After dozing for a few hours, I noticed that I wasn\u2019t breathing \u201cnormally.\u201d I checked my phone and was surprised to see that we were just shy of 16,000 ft above sea level...on the highway! But then we began going down. And down. And down some more. In just three-four hours, we had dropped to under 2,000 ft at the edge of the sprawling Amazon Rainforest. Breathing was no longer an issue, but the humidity was! The A\/C was never turned on, and only a couple of tiny vents let in \u201cfresh air.\u201d So I was sweaty, stuffy, and miserable, with my body and things all crammed into a space designed for a population much shorter and skinnier than I.<\/p>\n

I was only able to spend two days in the jungle, but the \"three vertical mile\" journey was worth it. Pastor Pacaya and his wife (who were still cleaning up after their home was flooded back in February) were wonderful hosts. We held evangelistic services on his porch both evenings, and at least one couple gave their hearts to the Lord...<\/p>\n

Pray for Abraham and his wife, and their son, Isaac, whose health (he was nearly killed in an accident) humbled them and brought them back to church. He is now recovering. Pray that their faith would be proved genuine and that they would grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!<\/em><\/p>\n

Two Types of Hunger<\/span><\/h2>\n

Food and Bible distribution have continued off and on throughout the winter (summer, here in South America). Literally TONS of food has gone out to feed hundreds of needy families both in Peru and Venezuela (and a third nation we can\u2019t even mention). There have also been many wonderful opportunities to give away Bibles (and preach) during these times of distribution!<\/p>\n

\"Bible<\/a><\/p>\n

Pray that God would continue to provide both physically and spiritually for all those who are still suffering due to the harsh lockdowns and incompetent leadership!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.\u201d (2 Cor. 13:14)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To Stay in Touch:<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2022 Email<\/strong> <\/span>- china.myadventures@gmail.com<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blog<\/strong> <\/span>- https:\/\/china.myadventures.org<\/p>\n

\u2022 Facebook<\/strong> <\/span>- www.facebook.com\/china.myadventures<\/p>\n

In Christ,<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nThe West Family<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends and Family, Winter is approaching south of the equator. The summer sun has succumbed to waves of chilly fog and clouds blowing in off the Pacific Ocean here…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":4157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,1,4],"tags":[407,165,300,31,121],"class_list":{"0":"post-4155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-missionary-newsletters","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"category-world-missions","10":"tag-407","11":"tag-ben-deysi-west","12":"tag-may","13":"tag-missionary-newsletter","14":"tag-west","15":"entry"},"title_es":"Bolet\u00edn Oeste: abril de 2020","content_es":"\u00a1Saludos en el precioso nombre de Jes\u00fas!<\/strong> Es un placer estar con socios y amigos para agradecerles personalmente por sus continuas oraciones y su apoyo incondicional. Hemos estado viajando en los Estados Unidos desde el 6 de diciembre de 2018, desde California hasta Carolina del Sur y del Norte. \u00a1Dios es bueno! \u00c9l siempre nos proporciona un lugar para quedarse y un autom\u00f3vil para usar para desplazarnos. Agradecemos a las siguientes iglesias que hemos visitado por su amabilidad, calidez, hospitalidad y generosidad: la Comunidad Internacional de Cristo, los Ministerios Cristianos de Berea, Jes\u00fas es el Se\u00f1or, la Iglesia de la Ciudad Cristiana, la Cruz a la Vida, la Palabra de Vida, la Iglesia Cristiana Filipina, Springfield PH Church, Laurinburg PH Church, Woodville PH Church, Abundant Life Church, Goose Creek PH Church y Brock's Chapel. Nos sentimos honrados y encantados de testificar de la bondad y la fidelidad de Dios. \u00c9l continuamente prospera y bendice el ministerio en Tailandia y los pa\u00edses vecinos (Laos, Vietnam y Myanmar). El 23 de diciembre, 24 budistas recibieron al Se\u00f1or Jes\u00fas durante la celebraci\u00f3n de la Navidad en nuestra iglesia en Don Muang, Bangkok. El 24 y 26 de enero, el pastor Steve Willis y Jim Cox de Valley Harvest Ministries en Virginia llevaron a cabo un seminario de liderazgo en el Centro de Capacitaci\u00f3n de Misiones Indo-China (Mekong Bible Training Center) en Mae Sai con la ayuda del Pastor Chi Chang, el Pastor Big Laddawan, y los misioneros, Doug y Jill Nelson. Fue un gran seminario al que asistieron 40 l\u00edderes provenientes de Tailandia, Laos, Camboya y Myanmar. El tema de la conferencia fue \"S\u00e9 fiel\". La construcci\u00f3n de la tercera fase del dormitorio en el Centro de Capacitaci\u00f3n B\u00edblica Mekong y la cafeter\u00eda en el Seminario Teol\u00f3gico de Tailandia est\u00e1n avanzando. Ambos proyectos deben completarse para obtener mejores instalaciones y programas de discipulado efectivos para nuestros estudiantes. Si desea ser parte de este esfuerzo, env\u00ede su contribuci\u00f3n a IPHC WMM, Oklahoma City con el n\u00famero de cuenta del proyecto designado: 74015 para MBTC y 74520 para TTS. Gracias a IPHC WMM, a la subvenci\u00f3n del Proyecto Antioch, a Valley Harvest Ministries en Virginia, a Bible Temple Church en Toledo, Ohio, y al Equipo de Construcci\u00f3n de Cornerstone por apoyar el proyecto MBTC. Agradecemos a nuestro director nacional, el Dr. Wallapa Wisawasukmongchol, por asistir a la sexta Asamblea Mundial en Chile, del 20 al 22 de febrero, para representar a Tailandia. Ella fue animada y tuvo un tiempo maravilloso con hermanos de diferentes partes del mundo. Damos gracias a Dios por su liderazgo. Tuvimos la suerte de participar en los eventos de comidas de la Gran Comisi\u00f3n de Carolina del Norte, dirigidos por Doug Bartlett, que comenzaron el 14 de febrero y se extendieron hasta el 7 de marzo (totalizando 12 reuniones). \u00a1Estas comidas estuvieron llenas de grandes personas, excelentes informes de misioneros, excelente comida, excelente compa\u00f1erismo y una gran oportunidad para que las iglesias se asocien con misioneros! Gracias a los representantes de IPHC WMM, el Dr. Terry Tramel y el Reverendo Brian Nix, por animar a las iglesias a ganar almas para Jes\u00fas en todo el mundo al apoyar a los misioneros y diferentes proyectos. Sus oraciones y amables invitaciones para que vayamos a su iglesia son muy apreciadas. Puede contactarnos al (916)841-7412 o jiepalbert@hotmail.com. Por favor, oren para que podamos cumplir con nuestro presupuesto y regresar al campo en o antes de mediados de junio por otro per\u00edodo de tres a\u00f1os. Que se haga su voluntad. Gracias y que Dios los bendiga a todos.<\/strong> Sus<\/strong><\/em> colaboradores<\/strong><\/em> en Cristo, el<\/strong><\/em> hermano Albert y la hermana Jiep<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0<\/em> Gonzales<\/em><\/strong>\r\n

<\/div>\r\n

<\/h2>","author_name":"Ben, Deysi, Gabriel, Ariel & Abriana West","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/82241692_10156455450106082_1183636396288507904_n.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Ar-151","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}