Mark Rader Prayer Letter: We Had Another Wedding!

What God has done in February and March is marvelous in our eyes. We celebrated Paul’s sixth birthday and Rebekah’s first birthday. The last night of January, we went to sleep with most of the stuff from our house in the church auditorium. The first morning of February, we began to put things in their place. While my wife began to do the laundry, the four-inch sewer pipe from the bathroom on the third floor, stretching out for 30 feet across the back of the building above the church kitchen, collapsed through the roof of the church kitchen. Needless to say, we were devastated—but not for long. God used this situation to give our teenagers a chance to earn their way to camp. The next morning and the following week, our teenagers helped with our apartment and church property. Through example and Bible studies, we taught them good work ethics and biblical principles of employment. We also had the privilege of taking 14 of our young people and 8 adults to camp, and they came back on fire for God. After camp we continued with construction projects, soul winning, preaching on public buses and in nursing homes, etc. In our institute classes, we studied biblical finances and Bible doctrines.

After several months of premarital counseling, we had the privilege of conducting the wedding for Carlos and Angie on March 3. Carlos and Angie started attending our church about eight months ago. Carlos invited us to speak to his parents, who were Seventh-Day Adventists. On a Tuesday evening at their house, we talked for three hours about the Sabbath, the first day of the week, and instructions concerning prophecy from the Old and New Testament. We left our notes with them that evening, and the next day, after reviewing the Scriptures, Carlos, Angie, and his mother were fully persuaded that Jesus is our Sabbath. They turned from trusting the keeping of the law to trusting in only Jesus. We continued having Bible studies with Carlos’s mother and father. These were some of the most intense Bible studies I’ve ever had. After a few weeks, Carlos’s father was persuaded. Their wedding was held at an Anglican Church in one of the most prestigious districts of Lima. Two hundred people were in attendance; most were Catholic, and some were Adventist. Before the vows, the Gospel was preached; we preached “Jesus Is the Sabbath.” During the invitation we could hear several voices calling on Jesus for salvation. After the wedding, Carlos’s parents, Carlos and Marina, asked for more Bible studies because they want to win their Adventist family members to Christ.

Also during March, one of our good friends, Pastor Richard LeJeune, bought our tickets to come to his missions conference. Sarah and I enjoyed a week with friends and two veteran missionaries. We came back home to Peru encouraged and ready to take everything to the next level. Thank you, White Oak Baptist Church, for your love for us and for missions.

Thank you to all of our supporters, not only for the support but also for the love and prayers. Please pray for our church’s 5th anniversary in May. Please pray for many upcoming projects for this year. Thank you so much for what you do for our Lord. God bless you.

In Christ in Peru,

Mark, Sarah, Savannah, Paul, Samuel, and Rebekah Rader