We are excited to update you all with the many blessings we have seen over the last several weeks! We also have a few big prayer requests.
During the last week of February, we had two conferences during the same week: the Fires of Evangelism Conference, hosted by Efata Baptist Church, and our own Youth Conference, hosted by Team Peru. We were grateful to help by preaching, teaching, and singing throughout the week. It was amazing to see so many of our church members get involved. Three of our own church members surrendered their lives to full-time Christian service during the week. One of the three men was Jesus, whom I was able to lead to the Lord this past October. He is starting Bible college this semester. It was a wonderful week, with many blessings.
The next week, we had summer school classes at the Bible institute. Our friend, Bro. Caleb Amoros, stayed with us for the week and spoke on the subject of missions. That week ended with our Missions Conference on Saturday and Sunday. We praise the Lord that our church is now supporting a total of 14 missionaries!
The following Monday was the start of our new Christian school! The school is located at the church my dad pastors in the district of Surco, which is not too far from us in Lima. This project was planned by my mom and has been in the works for quite some time. Cassandra has been able to help with much of the planning, and she teaches multiple classes. We have several students from our church enrolled. It is so exciting to be involved in providing a Christian education for our young people.
Shortly after we started the Christian school, we took an impromptu furlough. On the 11th of March, Cassandra’s grandma passed away. We returned to the States for my first time since moving to Peru one year ago. We were able to attend the funeral and see much of our family. A secondary purpose for returning was to complete some paperwork required for our residency in Peru. This has become a complicated process, and some laws have changed since our arriving in Peru last year. We would appreciate your prayers on this matter! We are scheduled to return to Peru on May 15. Please pray for the Lord’s will to be done and that we could get back to Peru as soon as possible.
While being away from our church, several exciting events have taken place, including two trips to the jungle. One was to help a national pastor friend with a building project, and the other was to train national pastors in the Pucallpa region of the jungle. We heard wonderful reports of our Resurrection Sunday service, including several visitors and multiple people accepting Christ. Also in our absence, a new semester of our Bible institute has started, with close to 50 people training to
serve the Lord. While in the States, I have the privilege of teaching remotely via Zoom video call. I look forward to teaching in person again soon!
While in the States, we have been able to visit several wonderful churches, and right before we leave, I will be speaking at Marion Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, Iowa, for their Our Time Youth Conference. Please pray for the Lord to do a work in the lives of those young people.
We have one more prayer request! Please pray for a young man named Aaron, whom I was able to lead to the Lord shortly before leaving Peru. He has come to church twice, and we are praying that the Lord would work on his heart.
Thank you all very much for your prayers and support for us! We look forward to updating you all again soon with what the Lord is doing in Peru.
Sincerely,
Zach & Cassandra Foust