Good Afternoon Everybody,
I will edit this once more and put it into a pdf today. I just wanted to get this out ASAP. Thanks for reading. Thanks for praying. Many of you must be wondering what happened to us once we got back to Peru!!
We have many things to share with you; and I’ll start by saying that we are very excited to be here, and we are staying very busy. We moved into the church when we first arrived, but two of our rooms were packed to the ceiling with boxes. We had stored all of our things there until we came back from the US. Once here, we began looking for a house to rent. We found several expensive ones. We were ready to sign on three different houses when, each time, something came up that made us take a step back. Finally, we decided to stay in the church. That way, we can save the $600-700/month in rent and in a couple of years maybe have a down payment for a house. I don’t even want to think about how much rent we’ve paid over the last eleven years. The problem now is that we are moving into our storage room. There is no place to put our stuff while we set up house. We have been working on the pastor’s house for about a month and a half, and it is beginning to resemble a home. I am building a few closets and things that we need in order to hide our clothes, and the kitchen will finally be set up next week. We have been without a kitchen sink and without an oven for four months. Just last week, I received the part I needed to fix the oven, so we are finally baking again. And we have water, and gas to heat it and a toilet to dump the used water, so we’re getting by. I even have the sink, just nothing to put it in yet – like, a counter. Next week!
The girls are well, busy in their schoolwork. Sienna is growing more and more and staying healthy. Our older three are very active in the music ministry in the church, and we are hoping to get some sort of tutoring for them in piano or violin. It is encouraging to see them faithful in their devotions and growing in the Lord. They have also come a long way in Peruvian Sign Language. Now, we can communicate in three languages. Stephanie and the girls all need to reapply for their resident visas. All the paperwork has been submitted, all the fees paid; now, we are waiting for the call for us to go to Lima and get pictures taken for the carnét. The visa is usually a sure thing, it’s just the waiting and the time and money to travel to Lima that cause all the trouble. It is ever so sobering to think that soon our girls will be heading off to college, getting married, etc…. I mean, who will help me unpack all the boxes when we move again?
The church is doing very well. The members are showing a desire to be more active in ministry. Please pray with us this next year that many more teachers and preachers would be trained. Construction is on hold for a while. A third floor would cost about $25,000, so we are focusing on the pastor’s house and the flooring in the auditorium. We also are looking at new seats, curtains, new platform, sound-room,… So we are still raising money, – about $15,000 – but we can do a little at a time. The roof on the third floor kind of needs to be done all at once.
When we left for the States in March, we understood that our truck was all but sold. After many months of our patience being tested, the verbal agreement that we made back in February has not been honored; so, it’s back on the market. Please pray that we can sell it soon. We are happy with the truck, but we need a vehicle that can hold a car-seat plus five. We had put money down on a new Hyundai 11-passenger van, but came up short. We still have $10,000 on hand, and we hope to get $8,000 (or more) from the truck. We would lack another $8,000 for the new van, so we are looking at used for now.
Thank you for your patience. I finally have my new computer that I left in the airport terminal in Indiana. We have WiFi in the church now, so our States-side line is up and running, and my
printer is being fixed. Now, to find room for an office…
God bless you all. Praying for you.
Markos for the Lindseys
