Dear Praying Friends and Family,
“For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:5
This verse has come to my mind many times in the past week as I have reflected over the past ten months of ministry here in Lima, Peru. God has demonstrated His abundant goodness in countless ways, and He has been faithful to extend mercy and show forth His truth. Please allow me to share with you just some of the ways in which He has blessed.
May was a busy month at Fetzer Memorial Christian Academy! (Perhaps the fact that I am writing my May update on June 5th would attest to that fact) :-) During the month of May we were privileged to enjoy some special events. Early on in the month our school was able to take a day field trip to tour the Presidential Palace and the Congress building in downtown Lima. The trip was an interesting insight into a bit of Peruvian history and government as well as a nice break from the normal routine for students and teachers alike. A highlight of the month was our school choir concert “In Christ Alone”. I enjoyed being able to accompany the choir and see the fruit of all the hard work the children put in throughout the semester. The program was a celebration of our Savior, Jesus Christ; many people who attended were encouraged by the truth presented from God’s Word and through song. God was good to allow us to worship Him through the program.
As I write this update only three and a half weeks of the school year remain. It is incredible how quickly the year has passed. God has shown His goodness in helping me teach my English class and fulfill my other responsibilities at school. I have also enjoyed teaching several music lessons and helping with band and choir. Please pray that the students and teachers at Fetzer would strive to finish the year well. Also, pray that God would provide a 1st and 2nd grade teacher for the coming school year.
Thank you for your continued prayers for the ministry at my church, Iglesia Bautista El Manantial. I am so thankful for the group of believers with whom God has allowed me to minister throughout the past year. He has been good in providing many special friendships among the people there. Please continue to pray for the girls in my Sunday school class. I am praying for more opportunities to invest in their lives and reach out to them with Christ’s love. Pray that God will also supply a person or persons to teach the class during the six weeks I will be in the States.
Recently our group of young adults has been studying The Truth Project on Saturday nights. It is a video series that teaches the importance of having a Biblical worldview founded on the truth of God’s Word. Pray that this study of truth would have a lasting impact on the lives of those who listen. Praise the Lord that He is a God of Truth.
The next update you receive from me will probably be written from Camp Point, Illinois! I will be flying home on June 30th to spend six weeks with my family until my return to Peru on August 11th. Please pray for safety in travel and for the various ministry opportunities I will have while at home. I am looking forward to being the VBS missionary at my home church during the week of July 4th-8th! What an incredible opportunity to present the ministry and needs in the country of Peru! I am also greatly looking forward to spending some time with my family. While home we will also have the privilege of celebrating the 20th anniversary of my dad’s ministry at Faith Baptist Church. God is good to allow this time at home with loved ones.
God has also been good to faithfully supply my needs spiritually, financially, and physically. He gives strength and grace during the busy days, He supplies nourishment from the Word for the days of trial and the days of calm, and He continues to meet each financial need.
Please allow me to close with a verse that is my prayer for both my own life and for each one of you.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9
Thank you for your faithful prayers!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Sunday, June 5, 2011
April Update
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
What better weekend to write an update to you all than the weekend in which we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior?! This afternoon I was meditating on some verses from the great "Resurrection Chapter", 1 Corinthians 15. Paul states in verses 14-19 that if Christ did not raise from the dead our preaching and our faith are totally meaningless, we are misrepresenting God, our faith is useless, and we are dead in our sins. If faith in Christ is only a crutch we use to help us make it through life, we are the most miserable, hopeless creatures on earth. (My paraphrase). What a depressing picture he paints. However, verse 20 changes everything...I can almost imagine the excitement and fervor in Paul's voice as he states, "But in fact Christ HAS been raised from the dead.." What joy and what incredible hope are contained in these words!
I pray you all spend some time this weekend pondering the truth of the resurrection of Christ and rejoicing in the fact that we serve a risen Savior!
At Iglesia Bautista Manantial we have several special things going on this weekend as we celebrate Easter. This evening we have an evangelistic Good Friday service. Pray that there will be many unsaved neighbors and relatives of our families who come and are able to hear the gospel presented clearly. Also, Sunday morning we have an early service at 8:00 am followed by breakfast and our regular time of Sunday School. I am looking forward to studying Christ's death and resurrection more in depth with my Sunday School class as well.
Things continue to stay busy on the school side of things. This past month at Fetzer we had a week of achievement tests, and a Middle School bowling activity on top of the other routine school days. One of the other teachers and I have enjoyed working with the school choir as they prepare for our all-school program/musical in May. The title of the program is "In Christ Alone" and it will be a celebration of the life of Christ and a remembrance of His death and resurrection! I am looking forward very much to seeing the children present the program.
For the past seven weeks I have also greatly enjoyed having a good friend from college, Lindsay Yankee, here to do the second half of her student teaching. She worked in our 1st and 2nd grade classroom and we have all enjoyed her presence at the school. Tomorrow she leaves to head back to the States and graduate.
As you think of our school, please remember our director, Alan Frey and his wife Diane in your prayers. Diane has been in the States for about the past month helping to take care of her mother, who is soon expected to go home to be with her Savior. Pray for strength and peace for the Frey's as they face this difficult time.
God is faithful. Although life often brings challenges and trials, God always brings encouragement when we need it, and in His perfect wisdom and sovereignty reminds us that He is remains in control. We rejoice in the fact that last Monday, one of our kindergarten students talked to her teacher, and received Jesus as her personal Savior from sin. What a joy to see God bring a child to Himself!
Thank you for your faithful prayers for what God is doing here in Peru. Pray that I will be faithful to do what He has called me to do and humbly seek His guidance for each new day.
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Praises
1. Jesus is ALIVE!
2. Salvation of Calista, one of our kindergarten students.
3. Lindsay's completion of her student teaching.
Prayer Requests
1. Special Easter services at El Manantial.
2. Alan and Diane Frey, and family as they face the failing health of her mother.
3. God's future guidance for our current teachers and the teachers who He will bring here next year.
4. My personal walk with the Lord.
5. Financial needs for the coming year
What better weekend to write an update to you all than the weekend in which we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior?! This afternoon I was meditating on some verses from the great "Resurrection Chapter", 1 Corinthians 15. Paul states in verses 14-19 that if Christ did not raise from the dead our preaching and our faith are totally meaningless, we are misrepresenting God, our faith is useless, and we are dead in our sins. If faith in Christ is only a crutch we use to help us make it through life, we are the most miserable, hopeless creatures on earth. (My paraphrase). What a depressing picture he paints. However, verse 20 changes everything...I can almost imagine the excitement and fervor in Paul's voice as he states, "But in fact Christ HAS been raised from the dead.." What joy and what incredible hope are contained in these words!
I pray you all spend some time this weekend pondering the truth of the resurrection of Christ and rejoicing in the fact that we serve a risen Savior!
At Iglesia Bautista Manantial we have several special things going on this weekend as we celebrate Easter. This evening we have an evangelistic Good Friday service. Pray that there will be many unsaved neighbors and relatives of our families who come and are able to hear the gospel presented clearly. Also, Sunday morning we have an early service at 8:00 am followed by breakfast and our regular time of Sunday School. I am looking forward to studying Christ's death and resurrection more in depth with my Sunday School class as well.
Things continue to stay busy on the school side of things. This past month at Fetzer we had a week of achievement tests, and a Middle School bowling activity on top of the other routine school days. One of the other teachers and I have enjoyed working with the school choir as they prepare for our all-school program/musical in May. The title of the program is "In Christ Alone" and it will be a celebration of the life of Christ and a remembrance of His death and resurrection! I am looking forward very much to seeing the children present the program.
For the past seven weeks I have also greatly enjoyed having a good friend from college, Lindsay Yankee, here to do the second half of her student teaching. She worked in our 1st and 2nd grade classroom and we have all enjoyed her presence at the school. Tomorrow she leaves to head back to the States and graduate.
As you think of our school, please remember our director, Alan Frey and his wife Diane in your prayers. Diane has been in the States for about the past month helping to take care of her mother, who is soon expected to go home to be with her Savior. Pray for strength and peace for the Frey's as they face this difficult time.
God is faithful. Although life often brings challenges and trials, God always brings encouragement when we need it, and in His perfect wisdom and sovereignty reminds us that He is remains in control. We rejoice in the fact that last Monday, one of our kindergarten students talked to her teacher, and received Jesus as her personal Savior from sin. What a joy to see God bring a child to Himself!
Thank you for your faithful prayers for what God is doing here in Peru. Pray that I will be faithful to do what He has called me to do and humbly seek His guidance for each new day.
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Praises
1. Jesus is ALIVE!
2. Salvation of Calista, one of our kindergarten students.
3. Lindsay's completion of her student teaching.
Prayer Requests
1. Special Easter services at El Manantial.
2. Alan and Diane Frey, and family as they face the failing health of her mother.
3. God's future guidance for our current teachers and the teachers who He will bring here next year.
4. My personal walk with the Lord.
5. Financial needs for the coming year
Monday, March 21, 2011
March Update
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
I’m typing this update to you all while sitting outside our school enjoying the coolness of a summer evening. Around me float the sounds of passing traffic, distant music, the neighbors children’s voices, a few barking stray dogs, and the laughter drifting from my friends’ houses. Gazing upward I see the dark outline of the dusty foothills of the Andes silhouetted against the orange glow of an evening sky illuminated by the lights of this great city. Looking at these mountains brings to mind the verse that our church memorized during the month of February. (I’ll be kind and share it with you all in English :-)
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2
What a privilege it is to serve this everlasting God. He is so good to use us, finite humans, in the outworking of His eternal plan.
Life is settling into a somewhat “normal”, albeit busy routine as we near the end of the first month back in classes. I am enjoying continuing to teach my Junior High English class about grammar, vocabulary, Literature, and other things which they find equally as fascinating. :-) This semester I am also teaching piano to five students and flute to two students, which keeps me busy several days a week after school. Please keep the students of our school in your prayers. MKs need encouragement, support, and spiritual growth as much as any of us. Pray for those of us who are teachers, that we would be Christ-like examples to our students and teach them with love, patience, and passion.
Please continue to pray for my church, Iglesia Bautista El Manantial. I have been especially challenged recently to be faithfully and fervently praying for the growth of my church and the faithfulness of the members. Please join me in that prayer. Also, pray for the young ladies that attend my Sunday School class and for me as I seek to teach them from the Word of God.
Several of you have written to ask details about my plans for next year, finances, coming home, etc. Allow me to answer some of those questions. My plan is to return to the States during the first week of July and come back to Peru around the second week of August. I am greatly looking forward to spending some time with family and friends, but will also be anxiously awaiting my return to Peru for the following school year. (And in case any of you are wondering, yes, I plan to also return home in October for two weeks to attend the wedding of my dear brother! :-) Next year I will be continuing my ministry at Fetzer and also will be involved in various ministries within my local church. My financial needs for the year will be basically the same as they were for this past year. I will need to raise around $1200 dollars for airfare, and roughly $610 dollars a month to cover insurance, rent, and living expenses. Please pray for the Lord’s provision in His perfect timing.
As always, I covet your prayers! Please feel free to e-mail if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer you (and I love to get mail ;-). God bless each one of you as you serve Him faithfully!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
I’m typing this update to you all while sitting outside our school enjoying the coolness of a summer evening. Around me float the sounds of passing traffic, distant music, the neighbors children’s voices, a few barking stray dogs, and the laughter drifting from my friends’ houses. Gazing upward I see the dark outline of the dusty foothills of the Andes silhouetted against the orange glow of an evening sky illuminated by the lights of this great city. Looking at these mountains brings to mind the verse that our church memorized during the month of February. (I’ll be kind and share it with you all in English :-)
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2
What a privilege it is to serve this everlasting God. He is so good to use us, finite humans, in the outworking of His eternal plan.
Life is settling into a somewhat “normal”, albeit busy routine as we near the end of the first month back in classes. I am enjoying continuing to teach my Junior High English class about grammar, vocabulary, Literature, and other things which they find equally as fascinating. :-) This semester I am also teaching piano to five students and flute to two students, which keeps me busy several days a week after school. Please keep the students of our school in your prayers. MKs need encouragement, support, and spiritual growth as much as any of us. Pray for those of us who are teachers, that we would be Christ-like examples to our students and teach them with love, patience, and passion.
Please continue to pray for my church, Iglesia Bautista El Manantial. I have been especially challenged recently to be faithfully and fervently praying for the growth of my church and the faithfulness of the members. Please join me in that prayer. Also, pray for the young ladies that attend my Sunday School class and for me as I seek to teach them from the Word of God.
Several of you have written to ask details about my plans for next year, finances, coming home, etc. Allow me to answer some of those questions. My plan is to return to the States during the first week of July and come back to Peru around the second week of August. I am greatly looking forward to spending some time with family and friends, but will also be anxiously awaiting my return to Peru for the following school year. (And in case any of you are wondering, yes, I plan to also return home in October for two weeks to attend the wedding of my dear brother! :-) Next year I will be continuing my ministry at Fetzer and also will be involved in various ministries within my local church. My financial needs for the year will be basically the same as they were for this past year. I will need to raise around $1200 dollars for airfare, and roughly $610 dollars a month to cover insurance, rent, and living expenses. Please pray for the Lord’s provision in His perfect timing.
As always, I covet your prayers! Please feel free to e-mail if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer you (and I love to get mail ;-). God bless each one of you as you serve Him faithfully!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February Update
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
Tonight as I stood in my kitchen and packed my lunch for the first day of school tomorrow, I thought to myself, “Where did the summer go?!” However, looking back over the last month, it is easy to see how summer slipped by so quickly! Tomorrow begins the second semester at Fetzer Memorial Christian Academy, and those of us who are teachers have spent the last few days putting the finishing touches on classrooms and lesson plans and preparing for the return of our students! Please keep us in prayer this week as we return to our school schedule and seek to serve one another and our students.
Now please allow me to recap the highlights of the past four weeks:
Junior High (Adolescentes) Camp- I had the privilege of counseling thirteen girls ages 13-18 for a week. It was not a week without challenges, however, it was a blessing to get involved in the lives of those teenagers and see some of them make decisions to change and grow in their walk with the Lord.
Pastors Camp- Three of us teachers from Fetzer spent the week working with the children of national Pastors. We held a VBS of sorts for the children while their parents were in special meetings. It was a busy week, but a lot of fun to sing and play games with the children, as well as get to know other families in ministry from all over the country.
Missionaries Camp- Always a highlight of the summer! All of the Baptist Mid-Missions missionaries and their families come together for a week of fellowship and fun. (The adults also have business meetings, but we get to play with the kids!) The five of us Fetzer teachers and the two ARRIBA students held VBS for the MKs during the mornings. We enjoyed turning the dining hall into an underwater world (complete with a submarine), hiding treasure for the week long treasure hunt, playing with the kids, swimming, teaching the Word of God, and enjoying the chance to invest in the lives of these special children. The entire week was an encouragement.
Vacation Bible School at Manchay- This past week marked a special milestone for Iglesia Bautista El Manantial. We held our first ever Vacation Bible School! How exciting to be a part of what God is doing in Manchay! I had the opportunity to teach the 10-12 year olds. We had up to 19 kids in our class and over 50 children attended in all. Sunday morning we had a closing program and many of the kids returned. Pray that some would continue to attend Sunday School, bring their parents, and make decisions for Christ.
That was the “short” summary of what has been happening down south. As the Lord brings them to mind, please keep the following requests before the throne of grace.
1) The start of the new semester at Fetzer. Wisdom for the teachers and adjustments for the students. (We have two new families this semester)
2) Ministries at El Manantial and follow-up from VBS. Growth in our Jovenes and in my girls Sunday School Class
3) Opportunities to encourage other believers and witness to unbelievers.
4) For my walk with the Lord, that I would be faithful to seek Him through His Word and prayer, to be led by the Spirit, and strive to have an attitude of servanthood.
5) For financial provision for the coming year.
Thank you all for your faithful prayers!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Tonight as I stood in my kitchen and packed my lunch for the first day of school tomorrow, I thought to myself, “Where did the summer go?!” However, looking back over the last month, it is easy to see how summer slipped by so quickly! Tomorrow begins the second semester at Fetzer Memorial Christian Academy, and those of us who are teachers have spent the last few days putting the finishing touches on classrooms and lesson plans and preparing for the return of our students! Please keep us in prayer this week as we return to our school schedule and seek to serve one another and our students.
Now please allow me to recap the highlights of the past four weeks:
Junior High (Adolescentes) Camp- I had the privilege of counseling thirteen girls ages 13-18 for a week. It was not a week without challenges, however, it was a blessing to get involved in the lives of those teenagers and see some of them make decisions to change and grow in their walk with the Lord.
Pastors Camp- Three of us teachers from Fetzer spent the week working with the children of national Pastors. We held a VBS of sorts for the children while their parents were in special meetings. It was a busy week, but a lot of fun to sing and play games with the children, as well as get to know other families in ministry from all over the country.
Missionaries Camp- Always a highlight of the summer! All of the Baptist Mid-Missions missionaries and their families come together for a week of fellowship and fun. (The adults also have business meetings, but we get to play with the kids!) The five of us Fetzer teachers and the two ARRIBA students held VBS for the MKs during the mornings. We enjoyed turning the dining hall into an underwater world (complete with a submarine), hiding treasure for the week long treasure hunt, playing with the kids, swimming, teaching the Word of God, and enjoying the chance to invest in the lives of these special children. The entire week was an encouragement.
Vacation Bible School at Manchay- This past week marked a special milestone for Iglesia Bautista El Manantial. We held our first ever Vacation Bible School! How exciting to be a part of what God is doing in Manchay! I had the opportunity to teach the 10-12 year olds. We had up to 19 kids in our class and over 50 children attended in all. Sunday morning we had a closing program and many of the kids returned. Pray that some would continue to attend Sunday School, bring their parents, and make decisions for Christ.
That was the “short” summary of what has been happening down south. As the Lord brings them to mind, please keep the following requests before the throne of grace.
1) The start of the new semester at Fetzer. Wisdom for the teachers and adjustments for the students. (We have two new families this semester)
2) Ministries at El Manantial and follow-up from VBS. Growth in our Jovenes and in my girls Sunday School Class
3) Opportunities to encourage other believers and witness to unbelievers.
4) For my walk with the Lord, that I would be faithful to seek Him through His Word and prayer, to be led by the Spirit, and strive to have an attitude of servanthood.
5) For financial provision for the coming year.
Thank you all for your faithful prayers!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Saturday, January 22, 2011
January Update
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
Summertime has officially arrived here in Peru! And while summer means warm temperatures, trips to the beach, and the start of camp season, it also means that the bug population is has begun to wage an all-out attack on humanity, and that the "close to the equator" sun is shining at full brilliance. For this reason, I am arming myself with plenty of bug spray and sunscreen as we continue on in the summer months! :-)
Quite a few things have been happening around here since my last update in mid-December. We finished out the school semester at Fetzer with a special musical Christmas program. It was a nice end to the first half of the school year. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent celebrating with the BMM missionaries here in Lima. On Christmas Eve at midnight, the tradition in Peru is to shoot off LOTS of fireworks. The five of us Fetzer teachers climbed on the roof of one of our buildings and enjoyed the luminous (and loud) show in all directions as people celebrated in the streets all over Lima.
The week after Christmas, the Fetzer teachers, along with the Freys and their son Christopher, were able to take a 4 day vacation to the mountain town of Huaraz. We enjoyed the time away from Lima, seeing some of God's creation, and fellowshipping with one another. We returned to Lima in time to celebrate New Years Eve at our various churches. At El Manantial we had an evening service with songs, preaching, and a movie, and brought in the New Year with a chocolatada (Peruvian fruitcake and hot chocolate). It was a special time of fellowship as a church family.
I continue to praise the Lord for the opportunity to be involved at my church, Iglesia Bautista El Manantial, in Manchay. Last weekend we celebrated the church's 13th anniversary. We had special meetings Friday through Sunday evenings filled with the preaching of God's Word, special music, and of course, lots of food! Our speaker challenged us about being a church after God's own heart, a church that recognizes the sovereignty of God in all things, and a church with a passion for God.
Please continue to pray for my Sunday school class of teen girls. I have 3-5 girls in my class every week. We have been going through the book A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. Pray that these girls' hearts will be tender, and that they will desire to grow in their walk with the Lord. Pray that I would be led by the Spirit in teaching them, and show them Christ's love. Lord willing, I will also be starting a discipleship with a girl that has recently begun attending our church. Pray for Rut and her spiritual growth.
This past week a Medical and missions team from Origins church in Ohio came to Lima to hold a medical campaign in four different area churches. At each church people were offered free medical care (foot, dental, general health), medicine, as well as haircuts, fingernail painting, and face painting for the kids. A special team from one of the churches did nothing but witness to people as they waited in lines throughout the day. Each person who came received a New Testament, tracts, and various Biblical literature. Every afternoon a kids club was also held for the many children in attendance. I had the privilege of helping out for two of the days as a translator or doing odd jobs. Translating for the American podiatrists was a fun challenge. My medical vocabulary has certainly increased, especially if the words have to do with feet. I will spare you further details. :-) It was exciting to see and hear about how God was at work throughout the week. Many people made decisions for salvation, and many good contacts were made for further follow-up in the churches. Praise the Lord!
This brings us to the next four weeks before school starts. For the next three weeks I will be working at the BMM camp about 2 hours away from Lima. Next week, January 24-29th, I will be counseling for Adolescents week. The following week, Jan. 31-Feb. 5th I will be helping with children's classes at Pastor's camp. The final week Feb. 7-12th is our Baptist Mid-Missions missionary camp where all the BMM missionaries in Peru gather to have their annual meetings and a week of fellowship. During the mornings the five Fetzer teachers and two ARRIBA students will be holding a VBS for the children! Please pray for everyone involved in these various weeks of ministry. As you remember these weeks in prayer, I would appreciate prayer for physical strength and energy, spiritual focus and growth, and a heart prepared to serve.
That brings me to my final news. In my last couple of prayer letters, I have asked prayer about the Lord's will for me regarding future ministry. Through much prayer and godly counsel, I feel that God is leading me to stay here in Peru for another year to continue working at Fetzer and increasingly get involved in missions ministry and outreach through my local church! God has given me a deep desire to serve Him here for this time and an incredible joy in knowing that this is where He has placed me for this stage of life. Please be in prayer as there are still many details to be worked out.I will need to raise enough support to provide my living expenses and airfare for another year. Also, please pray about how God might have you be a part of this ministry, whether through prayer support or financial giving.
It has been a joy recently to be reminded of the truth of these verses, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act." Psalm 37:4-5
I thank the Lord for each one of you and the vital part you play in my ministry here in Peru.
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Summertime has officially arrived here in Peru! And while summer means warm temperatures, trips to the beach, and the start of camp season, it also means that the bug population is has begun to wage an all-out attack on humanity, and that the "close to the equator" sun is shining at full brilliance. For this reason, I am arming myself with plenty of bug spray and sunscreen as we continue on in the summer months! :-)
Quite a few things have been happening around here since my last update in mid-December. We finished out the school semester at Fetzer with a special musical Christmas program. It was a nice end to the first half of the school year. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent celebrating with the BMM missionaries here in Lima. On Christmas Eve at midnight, the tradition in Peru is to shoot off LOTS of fireworks. The five of us Fetzer teachers climbed on the roof of one of our buildings and enjoyed the luminous (and loud) show in all directions as people celebrated in the streets all over Lima.
The week after Christmas, the Fetzer teachers, along with the Freys and their son Christopher, were able to take a 4 day vacation to the mountain town of Huaraz. We enjoyed the time away from Lima, seeing some of God's creation, and fellowshipping with one another. We returned to Lima in time to celebrate New Years Eve at our various churches. At El Manantial we had an evening service with songs, preaching, and a movie, and brought in the New Year with a chocolatada (Peruvian fruitcake and hot chocolate). It was a special time of fellowship as a church family.
I continue to praise the Lord for the opportunity to be involved at my church, Iglesia Bautista El Manantial, in Manchay. Last weekend we celebrated the church's 13th anniversary. We had special meetings Friday through Sunday evenings filled with the preaching of God's Word, special music, and of course, lots of food! Our speaker challenged us about being a church after God's own heart, a church that recognizes the sovereignty of God in all things, and a church with a passion for God.
Please continue to pray for my Sunday school class of teen girls. I have 3-5 girls in my class every week. We have been going through the book A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. Pray that these girls' hearts will be tender, and that they will desire to grow in their walk with the Lord. Pray that I would be led by the Spirit in teaching them, and show them Christ's love. Lord willing, I will also be starting a discipleship with a girl that has recently begun attending our church. Pray for Rut and her spiritual growth.
This past week a Medical and missions team from Origins church in Ohio came to Lima to hold a medical campaign in four different area churches. At each church people were offered free medical care (foot, dental, general health), medicine, as well as haircuts, fingernail painting, and face painting for the kids. A special team from one of the churches did nothing but witness to people as they waited in lines throughout the day. Each person who came received a New Testament, tracts, and various Biblical literature. Every afternoon a kids club was also held for the many children in attendance. I had the privilege of helping out for two of the days as a translator or doing odd jobs. Translating for the American podiatrists was a fun challenge. My medical vocabulary has certainly increased, especially if the words have to do with feet. I will spare you further details. :-) It was exciting to see and hear about how God was at work throughout the week. Many people made decisions for salvation, and many good contacts were made for further follow-up in the churches. Praise the Lord!
This brings us to the next four weeks before school starts. For the next three weeks I will be working at the BMM camp about 2 hours away from Lima. Next week, January 24-29th, I will be counseling for Adolescents week. The following week, Jan. 31-Feb. 5th I will be helping with children's classes at Pastor's camp. The final week Feb. 7-12th is our Baptist Mid-Missions missionary camp where all the BMM missionaries in Peru gather to have their annual meetings and a week of fellowship. During the mornings the five Fetzer teachers and two ARRIBA students will be holding a VBS for the children! Please pray for everyone involved in these various weeks of ministry. As you remember these weeks in prayer, I would appreciate prayer for physical strength and energy, spiritual focus and growth, and a heart prepared to serve.
That brings me to my final news. In my last couple of prayer letters, I have asked prayer about the Lord's will for me regarding future ministry. Through much prayer and godly counsel, I feel that God is leading me to stay here in Peru for another year to continue working at Fetzer and increasingly get involved in missions ministry and outreach through my local church! God has given me a deep desire to serve Him here for this time and an incredible joy in knowing that this is where He has placed me for this stage of life. Please be in prayer as there are still many details to be worked out.I will need to raise enough support to provide my living expenses and airfare for another year. Also, please pray about how God might have you be a part of this ministry, whether through prayer support or financial giving.
It has been a joy recently to be reminded of the truth of these verses, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act." Psalm 37:4-5
I thank the Lord for each one of you and the vital part you play in my ministry here in Peru.
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Saturday, December 18, 2010
December Update
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
The Christmas season is in full swing here in Lima! Schools are wrapping up their classes and finals before the summer break, the weather is progressively getting warmer, Christmas lights and decorations are appearing on houses and in windows, and churches are preparing for special Christmas programs and events!
This week was our final week of classes at Fetzer! For the last couple of weeks we have been celebrating the "Fetzer Twelve Days of Christmas" with a different dress-up theme or activity each day. We have seen angels, Bible characters, Christmas presents, Ebenezer Scrooge, and even the Grinch walking around the school campus! This has been enjoyable for the students as well as the teachers. Friday brought us to the last day of finals, a Christmas party for the Elementary students and the final closing Christmas program for the school in the evening. The students did a great job preparing for and presenting various instrumental specials and the musical "A Peanut Butter Christmas". It is quite unbelievable that the first half of the school year is already finished! It has been a great experience to work with the children and other teachers. Even so, everyone is excited for Christmas/summer break!
Things are also quite busy at my church, El Manantial, as we get ready for special Christmas events! Today we are holding our "Christmas party" for the jovenes (youth group) which includes a Chocolatada. This is a fellowship where everyone eats paneton (a Peruvian version of fruitcake, only much more delicious than fruitcake!) and hot chocolate! We will also have some Christmas themed games and songs. Tomorrow evening is our church Christmas program. The children's Sunday school classes are singing, the Jovenes are presenting a short drama, and the adults will be singing several choir numbers. I will be involved with singing in a couple of small group ensembles and playing for the choir.
This time of year is so joyful as we celebrate the wonder of our Savior's birth. Celebrating Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is always a different feeling. All of the normal things we North American's associate with Christmas, like snow, cool weather, coats, hats, and scarves, etc... are replaced with sunshine, summer weather, and trips to the beach. :-) It can be easy to fall into the trap of enjoying the Christmas holiday because of all the "warm, fuzzy feelings" that we associate with this time of year. Being away from all the typical "warm fuzzies" is a great reminder to me that those feelings are not at all what Christmas is about. At Christmas I celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God coming to earth in the flesh to die for the sins of mankind. How thankful I am for the reminder of the true reason for the season! I pray that you all take time out from the busyness of the holidays to focus on the real reason we have to celebrate!
As we enter our two months of summer break here in Peru, please keep the following items in prayer!
1. My teenage girls Sunday School class. Please pray that there would be faithful attendance and many opportunites to invest in the girls' lives and point them to Christ.
2. Camp ministry- I will have the opportunity to help at a camp near Lima for three weeks during the summer. One week counseling for Junior High camp, the second week working at a camp for national pastor's and their families, and the third helping run VBS for missionary children at the BMM missionary camp. Pray for the preparations and for fruit to come from these weeks!
3. Further opportunities for outreach and service at my church and in the community. The summer break is a great chance to spend more time investing in people's lives since more of the day is freed up for ministry opportunities. Pray that I will use my time wisely and look for the opportunities that God presents.
4. Pray for God's continued guidance and direction as I seek Him about plans for the future.
5. Pray for growth in my walk with the Lord, and that my relationship with Him would always be my top priority.
Thanks once again to each one of you for your faithful prayers and encouragement. May God bless you as you celebrate the season of our Savior's birth!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
The Christmas season is in full swing here in Lima! Schools are wrapping up their classes and finals before the summer break, the weather is progressively getting warmer, Christmas lights and decorations are appearing on houses and in windows, and churches are preparing for special Christmas programs and events!
This week was our final week of classes at Fetzer! For the last couple of weeks we have been celebrating the "Fetzer Twelve Days of Christmas" with a different dress-up theme or activity each day. We have seen angels, Bible characters, Christmas presents, Ebenezer Scrooge, and even the Grinch walking around the school campus! This has been enjoyable for the students as well as the teachers. Friday brought us to the last day of finals, a Christmas party for the Elementary students and the final closing Christmas program for the school in the evening. The students did a great job preparing for and presenting various instrumental specials and the musical "A Peanut Butter Christmas". It is quite unbelievable that the first half of the school year is already finished! It has been a great experience to work with the children and other teachers. Even so, everyone is excited for Christmas/summer break!
Things are also quite busy at my church, El Manantial, as we get ready for special Christmas events! Today we are holding our "Christmas party" for the jovenes (youth group) which includes a Chocolatada. This is a fellowship where everyone eats paneton (a Peruvian version of fruitcake, only much more delicious than fruitcake!) and hot chocolate! We will also have some Christmas themed games and songs. Tomorrow evening is our church Christmas program. The children's Sunday school classes are singing, the Jovenes are presenting a short drama, and the adults will be singing several choir numbers. I will be involved with singing in a couple of small group ensembles and playing for the choir.
This time of year is so joyful as we celebrate the wonder of our Savior's birth. Celebrating Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is always a different feeling. All of the normal things we North American's associate with Christmas, like snow, cool weather, coats, hats, and scarves, etc... are replaced with sunshine, summer weather, and trips to the beach. :-) It can be easy to fall into the trap of enjoying the Christmas holiday because of all the "warm, fuzzy feelings" that we associate with this time of year. Being away from all the typical "warm fuzzies" is a great reminder to me that those feelings are not at all what Christmas is about. At Christmas I celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God coming to earth in the flesh to die for the sins of mankind. How thankful I am for the reminder of the true reason for the season! I pray that you all take time out from the busyness of the holidays to focus on the real reason we have to celebrate!
As we enter our two months of summer break here in Peru, please keep the following items in prayer!
1. My teenage girls Sunday School class. Please pray that there would be faithful attendance and many opportunites to invest in the girls' lives and point them to Christ.
2. Camp ministry- I will have the opportunity to help at a camp near Lima for three weeks during the summer. One week counseling for Junior High camp, the second week working at a camp for national pastor's and their families, and the third helping run VBS for missionary children at the BMM missionary camp. Pray for the preparations and for fruit to come from these weeks!
3. Further opportunities for outreach and service at my church and in the community. The summer break is a great chance to spend more time investing in people's lives since more of the day is freed up for ministry opportunities. Pray that I will use my time wisely and look for the opportunities that God presents.
4. Pray for God's continued guidance and direction as I seek Him about plans for the future.
5. Pray for growth in my walk with the Lord, and that my relationship with Him would always be my top priority.
Thanks once again to each one of you for your faithful prayers and encouragement. May God bless you as you celebrate the season of our Savior's birth!
Serving the Savior,
Heidi Robbins
Monday, November 22, 2010
Chinchil Photos!
Part of our group at the bus station, preparing to leave Lima!
Mrs. Carlton and me, seatmates for two 24 hour bus rides!
My first taste of "Caldo de Cabeza"-- Sheep's head soup!
A few samples of the indescribable beauty we witnessed in the Andes!
We hiked for hours over trails in these mountains to arrive at the village!
Nothing like living above the clouds!
Our group with Pastor Josue and his wife!
Pastor Josue Tinta, his wife Sarela, and their new daughter! What a sweet, faithful couple.
Two little girls we got to know and their adorable 3 day old baby goats!
A precious little girl at the kids club, dressed in traditional mountain woman garb.
One of the highlights of the trip for me, getting to teach a Bible lesson to the children!
Teaching about the Lamb of God
We also had the privilege of witnessing the baptism of four ladies of the church!
Looking out on a glorious display of God's grandeur. One can't help but pray, 'Come quickly, Lord."
Yet another beautiful sunset
Hiking away from Chinchil. The four hour uphill climb required much "Pressing on" and was a fitting reminder for the need to do so in the race of the Christian life.
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