God has blessed us in a mighty way this March here in Peru. More souls have been saved, and more members have been added to our church. In our church and in our lives, March has truly been a month of transition.
We began the month by saying goodbye to one of our dear faithful saints, Blandina. Blandina had four generations of her family attending our church. She was truly an evangelist. Every day she would pass out Gospel tracts in the park and the streets. She would tell everyone she could about salvation. We nicknamed her “Hermana Temprana,” which means “Early Sister.” She was always the first one to arrive at church. Sometimes we would arrive an hour early, only to have her already at the door and scolding us for being “late.” Her grandson is one of my best soul-winning partners. One day Blandina, age 83, had a bad fall down a stone staircase. Her health deteriorated after that day. On March 8 at 10 p.m., she went to be with the Lord. The family gave us the opportunity of conducting the funeral and graveside services. Twice the Gospel was presented clearly, and some received Christ. We pray that her legacy of evangelism will live on through our church.
Just a few days later, our country was inundated with flooding in many regions. Entire communities were swept away by the flooding rivers. Here in Lima, we only suffered a water shortage for a week, which is nothing compared to what others have suffered. Our church was able to send a few offerings to churches of like faith that were suffering through this time.
Also through this time, we were without water (at our house) for five days! During such time, a miracle happened. On Thursday we were already without water. In the late afternoon, Sarah called me to say that she was having labor pains 15 minutes apart. In spite of this on her own accord, she came to the evening Bible study to play the guitar. When we got home, we had water for only three hours, so we cleaned and filled the birthing pool in the living room. In the morning, the doctor was called, and we sent our three oldest children to spend the day with one of the faithful ladies of our church. After 30 hours of labor on Friday, March 17, at 10:20 p.m., Rebekah Joy Rader was born in water in our living room. She weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. Mommy and baby are well.
The Lord is mighty good to us, and His timing is perfect. Our church will be moving very soon. Please pray with us for a more ample auditorium for a decent price. Property prices here have increased greatly over the last few years, but we know the Lord will provide. Please pray with faith, believing that God will show His power and provision through this transition.
We have felt your prayers through this time. Thank you so much for your love, support, and prayers. God bless you.
In Christ in Peru,
Mark, Sarah,
Savannah, Paul, Samuel, & Rebekah Rader
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- We are still having great fun and preaching with our teenagers.
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- We have fun during the preaching.
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- We celebrated Paul’s fifth birthday.
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- We said goodbye to our dear friend Blandina. She was our loss but Heaven’s gain.
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- Rebekah Joy Rader was born March 17, 2017.
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- Here is the champion with her prize.