PERU–BUENOS AIRES
NOT IMPRESSIVE! That is what most people would say about the radio station in Buenos Aires, Peru. It seemed like a waste of time and money to resurrect a dilapidated shed in the middle of a bean field in a town of 5,000 with the hope of reaching several small villages with a continual Gospel message.
Area Population: 20,000. Yeah, right! That’s a stretch of the imagination! Really, Lord? Can anything good come out of Buenos Aires, Peru? Are You sure You don’t mean Buenos Aires, Argentina?
He didn’t!
God was not concerned with population, and God certainly was not deterred by the circumstances. (The tower site was an arduous 20-minute hike to the top of Mt. Cross. Dozens of trips were required to haul all the building materials and technical equipment to the summit.)
Who picked this spot?
“I did!” God said. “Put it here!”
So, ignoring the dirt floors, the unpainted adobe walls, and the sheet for a door, CRI Technician Gene Sharp, along with helpers Stewart Hoffmeister and Andy Chafa, installed a state-of-the-art computer system on a hand-constructed table in the add-on room of the lay pastor’s crude shanty. Then Gene spent three days trying to explain the technical nuances of the equipment to men who spoke no English.
We must be out of our minds! We can’t show pictures of this. People will think we’re crazy putting such expensive equipment in this unprotected place where the pastor is an itinerant preacher, and the church is 10 men, women, and children. This is embarrassing!
Yes! Sometimes it is embarrassing when God’s work is done to God’s specifications because man only sees the outward appearance, but God sees the heart . . . and what God saw was monumental!
ONE YEAR HAS PASSED. Pastor and church planter, Carlos Flores (overseer of the Peru Project), sent this report:
“Shortly after we upgraded our radio station tower and equipment, the government issued draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, which forced everyone to stay inside for days on end. Sundays were especially difficult. As a result, many Catholics, Christians, and especially Pentecostals began listening to the radio station. Almost immediately, people (including one pastor) began contacting the radio station, requesting information about salvation and doctrines like the Holy Spirit. A group of people in Huaraz (30 minutes away) requested that a pastor come to them to explain salvation. Pastor Victor (from Morropón) and Benito (station manager) have discipled these converts and have established the first church, which has been planted solely because of the radio station outreach.
A few weeks later, a group in Virrey-Olmos (one hour from the station) asked Pastor Victor and Benito to teach them how to be saved. A second church was formed after every adult in that group received Christ and was baptized. In less than a year, two new churches have been established with radio converts from the Morropón District.”
Today in Buenos Aires, Peru, Benito’s house is still an adobe shack. The floors are still dirt, the walls are still unpainted, and the doors flaunt a mere limp sheet. Benito has now become energized to install a repeater on the next mountain to send the signal to Piura, the regional capital, which has a population of 500,000 people.
God was right all along!
IRAQ—BAGHDAD
The New Testament Baptist Church and Radio Station have expanded their influence once again. A Christian bookstore has been opened in order to supply the community with Bibles and spiritual books in the Arabic language. This is just one more outlet to bring the Gospel to Muslim Iraq.
IRAQ
Church/Christian School Fundraising Update
CRI is partnering with Dr. Edgar Feghaly (MAP Ministries) and Pastor Maher to build a new church building and Christian school to accommodate 270 students.
Funds needed: $838,000
Funds given to date: $526,000
Matching gift funds still available: $ 34,000
Will you help us? Your gift will be matched dollar for dollar!
USA—TENNESSEE
Prayer Alert
Dr. Edgar Feghaly of MAP Ministries has contracted the Coronavirus. At press time, he was only suffering fatigue, with no other serious complications. Please pray for his complete healing.
ONLINE GIVING
CRI is now able to receive donations online. Please use the following link for your contributions: www.cri-media.org/support
Send your tax-deductible eternal investment to:
CRI
P.O. Box 3132
Munster, IN 46321
Email: georgeazarris@yahoo.com
Thank you for partnering with us to reach the world.
George Zarris
Christian Radio International