Summer 2010 Mission Trip Updates

June 15

Greetings and thank you for your prayers and support!

It was a great trip for Marsha and me, and for the rest of team.   Saturday evening Martha ministered at Jose and Raquel Vicente’s youth meeting while the rest of us spent the evening with our friends, Bernabe and Susana Ardilles.  They have a beautiful home and they always offer it as a place to relax and wind down before heading back to the US.

Sunday morning we were with Pastor Julio and Soledad Romero at their church, Comudidad de Fe.  I shared from Luke 5, about partying with the bridegroom, new patch and new wine.  The basis of the message was that we are set free from the bondage of the past, not because we are patched, but because we are made new (2 Cor 5:17).   At the altar call several came forward for salvation or rededication or to be set free from their past failures.

Sunday evening we were at the Evangelical Church of Christ in San Martin.  It was ten years ago that I first preached there, and a 19-year old translated as I brought a message on water baptism, “Burying Elmer.”  For that young lady, Maria Momojara, it was an excruciating experience…she did not know she was going to be translating, had never translated before, and had a shallow vocabulary.  You probably recognize her name; she is not only an outstanding translator now, but she is also an adopted daughter.  I reprised “Burying Elmer” and response for salvation and for water baptism was strong, as was her translation!  

In the days ahead I will be summarizing the trip.  But in this final report segment I want to share with you how significant the relationships we have developed are to us—none of them more so than our relationship with Pastor Julio and Soledad Romero.  It was Pastor Julio that convinced us to travel to Peru the first time, which we did reluctantly.  Since that first trip he and Soledad have proven themselves invaluable to us, and never more so that this trip.  We had set some preaching dates for itinerary on our own, expecting the Evangelical Church of Christ to fill up the rest of our schedule with churches in that denomination.  However, for whatever reason, that didn’t happen.  It was Pastor Julio to the rescue!  He managed to get a Marketplace Evangelism Workshop onto our itinerary and scheduled other ministry events for us as well.  Additionally the Romeros served as chauffeurs and tour guides, setting time aside from their own busy schedules to accommodate our needs.  All that being said, the most important thing about our relationship with the Romeros are two is just that—the relationship.  We consider them as some of our dearest friends, and Pastor Julio and Soledad are two of the reasons we keep going back to Peru.  I cannot say enough about how much they mean to Marsha and me. 

There are many others I could (and probably should) mention.  Jose and Raquel Vicente, our first Peruvian kids put together a Women’s Conference on short notice, and did an incredible job giving Marsha, Sandy and Martha a forum to share their hearts.  Jose and Marlene Navarro hosted a women’s group for the girls to share with, and opened the door for Martha to minister to street kids in one of the poorest areas of Lima.  Pastor Juan de Dios Human, President of the Evangelical Churches of Christ of Peru, made the arrangements for our transportation to and from the airport and the convention, as well as providing ministry opportunities besides the convention.  And our daughter, Maria Momojara, who not only translates for us, but serves us in every possible way she can, clearing her schedule as much as possible to be with us during our stays in Peru. 

There are so many others that are there for us.  We love them and are grateful for God giving them to us.  We’re grateful to you, also, for being there for us though your prayers and support.  You are important to us!

We are looking at October for our next trip.  Tentative plans are to do a Marketplace Evangelism Workshop in Lima, then going to Cusco for a Pastors Conference and Marketplace Evangelism Workshop.  Please keep us in prayer as we seek God for our marching orders.  Thank you, again, for your prayers and support.  God bless you!

June 12 PM

God never ceases to amaze me!

We were supposed to start the Marketplace Evangelism Workshop at 8:45 this morning so I could start teaching at 9:00.  Started at 9:30, so I lost a second hour of teaching.  But God is still God in spite of what WE think should happen for everything to work out.

I finished “rushing through” the material, and gave instructions for ministry.  Then I had a word that somebody had a back pain inside their right shoulder.  A woman came forward and I called on one of the students to come minister.  I reminded the ministering girl to wait for the Holy Spirit to tell her what the real problem was and how to minister.  It took a LONG time, but finally she identified the problem and how to bring healing.  The woman was INSTANTLY healed, and it turns out the girl doing the ministering was 13 years old!

Stomach problems, “female problems” and many other prayer needs were shared and ministry given.  I won’t take your time to share each one, but all of them experienced immediate results.

Thank you for your prayers.  We really needed you undergirding our work today.

Tonight we relax at the home of a friend, then preach twice tomorrow before returning home.  I’ll do a final update when we get back to the US.  Thanks, again for your prayers and support, and God bless.

June 12 AM

Greetings from Lima, Peru!

Wednesday evening I spoke at a special meeting for Compassion International parents of children who are part of the Compassion program at the Evangelical Church of Christ at San Martin.  My message, “They Saw the Scars”, from Luke 24, the two travelers to Emmaus, moved me emotionally as I suggested the two travelers recognized Jesus when He lifted the meal toward heaven as He blessed it, revealing the scars as His sleeves dropped.  Of the 75 or so present, at least 6 were also moved, for they came forward to receive Christ.  Praise God!  At the end of the service I handed out Bibles to the Compassion students.  I told them they could take the Bibles home and put them on the shelf, or take them home and read them and put the Word in their hearts.  Please pray they will do the latter.

Thursday evening I had planned to teach at Victory Bible Institute, but they could not find a translator for me.  So I joined the gals at the Women’s Conference.  It was a great evening…Jose and Raquel Vicente do things first class, as you might have seen in the video promotion of the event.  The theme of the conference was “The Power of Love”, and all three of the gals—Martha, Sandy and Marsha—did a great job.  I have never seen Marsha speak with greater confidence than last night.  Many women responded to all three of the team’s messages, as they shared how love can overcome their challenges of life.

Friday Sandy and Martha toured the Mayor’s Palace, formerly the Presidential Palace, while Marsha and I stayed at hotel and I prepared for Friday evening’s Marketplace Evangelism opening session.  Then Martha, Marsha and I had lunch with Jose “Pepe” Ortega and his wife, Annie Borjas.  The two are known throughout the Latin American music community.  Annie has a new music video she shared with us.  We always enjoy being with them when we are here.

And last night I taught the first session of the “Signs and Wonders in the Marketplace” evangelism workshop.   I wanted to teach two sections of the workshop last night, but we were and hour late arriving so I could only cover one section.  It was rough sledding…it was the end of the week; it was late; and the people were weary.  But God’s Word won’t return void, and the groundwork I laid last night will be a foundation for today’s session.  Please, if you are reading this before noon, pray for the workshop.  I have seven hours of material to cover in a four hour slot, and everything has to be translated (which means I actually have about 2 hours of actual teaching.)

Tonight Martha is ministering to the youth at one of the churches while the rest of us spend the evening with our friends Bernabe and Susana Ardilles.  Tomorrow I preach in the AM at Comudidad de Fe  and in the PM at the Evangelical Church of Christ in San Martin before heading for the airport and home.  Martha will be remaining an extra day, and will spend the night Sunday night with our daughter, Maria Momojarah, and working with her at Compassion on Monday.

Thank you for your prayers.  They are ALWAYS needed when we minister here.  God bless.

June 7

Greetings from Lima!

I have been doing brief updates on FaceBook and Twitter, but this is my first real opportunity to bring you an update via email.  Rather than give you a long report, I’m going to break it up into short ones even though I’m putting it all together this morning.

Our flight from Houston to Lima was delayed six hours due to a malfunctioning door lock on the plane.  Eventually they brought in a different plane and we took off, arriving in Lima at 4 AM. In bed about 6 AM.

Wed PM I spoke at the Evangelical Church of Christ flagship church in San Martin, “What Makes You Mourn?”  Taken from Nehemiah, the message highlighted how Nehemiah mourned over the news about the wall at Jerusalem; he prayed; he took action. 

Day one of the conference-Seven Keys to a Strong Family Foundation.  Text was Eph 5:1-21. Keys are Live: 1)Lovingly; 2)Wisely; 3)Opportunistically; 4)Willfully; 5)Spiritually; 6)Thankfully; 7)Submissively. Altar ministry invited people to come forward to strengthen their resolve to build a strong foundation for their families, and the front of the auditorium was full.  

I closed the conference with an “apostolic word for the church”, from Isaiah 43.  I challenged the churches to be willing to adapt to the culture to become relevant to a generation that is being lost because they don’t connect with the same old way of doing things.  The message never changes, but the method has to change if we’re going to survive as a church.  The altar was flooded with people who acknowledged they were inflexible and needed to change to grow.

Sunday morning I preached at Jose and Raquel Vicente’s church in Zarate.  Their church is doing an awesome job of demonstrating how when God guides He provides.  I preached on the importance of having a revelation.  My text was Eph 1:15, how Paul prayed for the church that they would have a revelation of God’s 1)Purpose for their lives; 2)Provision to fulfill that purpose; 3)His Power at work to fulfill that purpose.  The most important revelation: your need for a Savior.  About a dozen responded to that revelation and gave their lives to Christ!  I had a first-time translator at Zarate, but she did a great job under the circumstances.

Sunday night at one of the Church of Christ Churches we saw about 20 receive Christ as their Savior following my message from 1 Sam 30-in times of trouble David 1)Sought the Lord; 2)Secured the Victory; 3)Shared the spoils.  When I shared that the greatest trouble a man can face is not knowing Christ, the response was amazing!

We are spending today with Pastor Julio and Soledad, and I’m teaching tonight at Victory Bible Institute.  We have some holes to fill in our schedule yet, and will be working on that today.

Thank you for your prayers and support.  You can follow us on Twitter or FaceBook @pastorjimdixon.  I am doing brief updates regularly there.  God bless.  We’ll continue to update as the trip continues.

June 9

 Monday night I taught at Victory Bible Institute of Peru, two sessions.  The first was about giving—a message most pastors don’t like to preach and most members don’t want to hear.  Until you surrender ALL of your life, including your finances, to God, you’ll never experience the fullness of His blessings, which includes your provision.  I won’t re-teach my message here, but the bottom line is that if God truly is your source you need to act like it and quit giving Him the leftovers. Mal 3:10 is a promise from God and He NEVER breaks a promise.

 The second session was on integrity, and how when we receive Christ we are set free from the bondages of sin, and that integrity is walking in that freedom.  Following the second session I invited the students to write down the areas of their lives where they were still struggling—areas that affected their Christian witness (integrity), bring them to the foot of the cross, shred them and be set free.  Every student responded and burdens were lifted.

Yesterday we spent the day with Jose and Marlene Navarro and their kids, having lunch with them and taking a quick tour of the district where they live.  Most of the new residents in the district are from the Andes mountains.  I can’t begin to describe the conditions under which hundreds of thousands live in that district; but even under those conditions it is better than they had in the mountains.  Jose has planted two new churches among the people, and has an active street ministry in the area as well.

Marsha, Sandy and Martha met with Marlene and her weekly women’s group.  Look to one of them for a report on that meeting. 

In my prayer time last night, God reminded me that some of the most important work we do isn’t before the congregations but in those times when we are with the pastors and their families, encouraging them and showing them the love of Jesus.  Yesterday was one of those times.  We took the Navarro family out to dinner (Pizza Hut) and just listened to them.  Our times with the Navarros and the other pastors and their families is SO IMPORTANT, but we don’t realize the impact because we don’t see immediate responses like we do in the altar calls of the services where we minister.  What impact are we having on the pastors and their families when we go out to dinner with them?  It may be more important to them than the time we spend in their congregations. 

Today Martha and Sandy are at the Church of Christ in San Martin, working with kids from Compassion International.  Afterwards Martha will be going with Jose Navarro to work with his street ministry, then this evening she will minister to the youth in his church, RUMI Church (RUMI is Quechua for “Rock”.)

Tonight I’ll be preaching at the Evangelical Church of Christ in San Martin, which is hosting a special meeting for the families of the Compassion International students that attend classes at that church.  It will be a great evangelism opportunity, and I’ll be spending a lot of time today praying and preparing.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with Jose and Raquel Vicente and their family, then the gals will minister tomorrow night at a women’s conference hosted by their church, Emmanual Bible Church. 

Friday evening we have our first sessions of the Signs and Wonders in the Marketplace Evangelism Workshop, which will continue on Saturday morning.  Sunday we are at Pastor Julio Romero’s church, Comudidad d Fe (Community of Faith), and Sunday evening we are at the San Martin church before going to the airport and returning home.

Thank you for your continued prayers.  Together we are making an impact in Peru.  Dios te Bendiga! (God Bless You!)