We are counting our blessings this month as we see the goodness of God in so many areas of our ministry here. Along with the blessings come the trials, but we wouldn’t trade them for anything, as we see the incredible blessing’s He’s pouring out on our lives and ministry. We’d love to share just a few of them with you in this letter.
Luis celebrated the first anniversary of his church way up on top of San Genaro 2. The way we visit his church is to get on crammed Combi Bus #22 and ride up to almost the very last stop on the top of the mountain. Upon getting off the bus, you can see below the lights coming from the church that shines God’s light to their mountain. They had over 100 people come out to celebrate their first anniversary! It was an awesome night! Please continue praying for Luis, his family, and their church. This is still a very young ministry; and, as always, we very much need the presence and power of God.
Three large travel buses, crazy big balls, soccer, volleyball, and roasted marshmallows were all part of our first day of Family Camp. We took over 200 people out of the city of Lima to a campsite, where we enjoyed a full day of activities, games, fellowship, and preaching as a church family. It was a sweet bonding time for many families and gave a great alternative to the worldly activities that usually occur on holidays here.
Three times in the Gospels, Jesus call His house a “House of Prayer.” God has particularly laid this truth on our preacher’s heart. As he has been preaching on this subject, the hearts of our people have been stirred, and a desire to pray more has been born. Now, instead of our typical one or two prayer meetings a week, we have begun many other prayer meetings. Nearly every day, and sometimes twice a day, a group of people meet to come before the throne of God together.
Through these prayer meetings, God is strengthening our church members, and much spiritual growth is the result! Just last Wednesday night, we had 100 people in our services. On Sunday the Lord blessed us with 178 people in the morning and 158 people that night; 8 people received Christ as their Saviour. Please pray that our believers will stand strong and see the importance of prayer in their lives. Satan does not like what is going on in our church and seems to be sending quite the attack to many of their lives. Please pray that they will stand strong in the faith and in the strength of the Lord and not grow discouraged in doing what is right.
While we had pretty much assumed that outhouses were a thing of the past, we very quickly realized on our trip to Piura that in some places, they are still very much used! Returning to Lima, we have treasured the modern conveniences we so often take for granted, such as running water, indoor toilets, and hot showers. Although we visited just a small people group out in the middle of nowhere, God was at work! We were able to celebrate the 34th anniversary with a people group called “CP4.”
Their strong church of 120 people amazed us as they opened the doors on Saturday to the 7 other churches they have started in that area for a large conference. I was blessed to have the opportunity to preach 7 different times that weekend and to over 400 people that Saturday afternoon. On Friday at four in the morning, a bull was slaughtered behind the house where we stayed. This would be enough food for the entire weekend. My wife had the experience of serving up rice plates with the ladies in a small room with a dirt floor. On Sunday the people made 16 cakes to celebrate their anniversary, and 150 people arrived to celebrate! It was an amazing weekend! I thank God for the opportunity to travel, preach, and experience life outside of Lima. It confirmed to me the great need that all of Peru has for Christ and the incredible importance of everything we are doing in Lima.
This week we will be helping 2 of our church men start brand-new Bible studies. Please pray for these studies and the 6 other studies that we currently have. These play a huge role in our team goal of “making disciples.”
Thank you for rejoicing with us in our blessings! As we approach this special time of Thanksgiving, we want each of you to know how grateful we are for you and your part in our ministry. We thank God for you!
In His service,
Daniel and Heather Kokubun
