". . . To Live is Christ . . ."
Philippians 1:21
Carné de Extranjería:
Praise be to God, I am now a “foreign Peruvian”! Near the end of August I received my Carné de Extranjería which is like a yearly visa. This is something I need to renew yearly but it is good for an indefinite amount of time. Thank you so much for praying about this. I went to Lima, Peru, to complete the paperwork, and while there, I stayed with Heber, who is Techy Fowler’s brother. He is a wonderful brother in Christ who helped me greatly in getting my Carné de Extranjería. To the right is a picture of us together.
Spanish:
Classes: My classes are Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 am to 9:15 am each day. This is a good schedule because it helps me rise earlier in the day, which helps me make more of each day I’m here. The walk to class is roughly 13-14 quadrants (about 20 minutes), and it gives me time to think and pray. It also gives me some exercise and allows me to interact with people along the way. The other cool thing is that when I'm done with class, I'm not too far from the market where Mamita Asucena cooks. She is the mother-in-law of Delwin Fowler. Here I can get a wonderful meal and have opportunities to talk with people in Spanish.
Teacher: My teacher’s name is Frank. He is a man that teaches several languages such as English, German, Portuguese, French, and Spanish – perhaps more. However, he is also a man who is missing the most important thing in life and that is salvation in Jesus Christ. Please pray for his salvation. There is hope while we live, but once we die, if we have not believed in Jesus Christ, there is no more hope. (2 Samuel 14:14) God is providing wonderful opportunities to share Christ through such things as reading the Bible and through the Bible lessons Frank is helping me translate.
Translating: Frank is helping me translate evangelism lessons to be used at the Bible Institute of the AIENOP Association. These lessons are based on notes from one of my professors at Frontier School of the Bible, Dr. Richard Seymour. They also incorporate other resources such as By This Name – a book from Goodseed.com which I recommend. These lessons have the following five points:
1. God's Requirement: Perfection, the righteousness of God
2. Man's Need: He is sinful, not perfect or righteous like God.
3. God's Provision: His Son, our Savior and salvation by grace.
4. Man's Response: Believe in Christ.
5. God's Guarantee: Eternal life to those who believe in Christ.
Please pray that I would be ready to share these Bible lessons at the Bible Institute on September 28th – October 2nd. I would love to be able to teach them in Spanish and be able to really explain the lessons from an outline. By doing so, I could connect much better with my audience and adjust my lessons as I see various things come up. Frank is helping with this translation work, and God is providing wonderful opportunities to share. For example, while translating, the words “redemption” and “propitiation” came up. The word “redemption” means “to be bought out of” with the idea of being freed. Redemption points out that we are bought out of sin by Jesus' blood. “Propitiation” means “satisfied payment.” It points out that because of Jesus' death on the cross, His blood satisfied God's justice. We discussed these words, and in other areas I had opportunities to explain illustrations to him. Please pray that Frank is thinking deeply about these things.
Reading: I am currently reading through the Gospel of John with Frank, too. This has provided opportunities to input comments here and there and ask questions about the culture. I want to know what Frank thinks about religious topics without asking him directly. For example, I asked Frank about the concept of “born of water” as stated in John 3:5: “Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” He responded that much of the Peruvian culture looks at it as water baptism, and he seemed confused that it could mean anything else. This gave me the opportunity to point out the next verse: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” I briefly mentioned that when we are born of flesh there is water in our birth, referring to physical birth. We as readers will see what Jesus says next: “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This is referring to the moment of salvation. The moment of being born of the Spirit is when you trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 Please pray for more opportunities like this and for Frank to understand more and more.
Culture:
I've been reading some books to help gain insights into the local culture. Only Imagine and It's a Jungle Out There are the first two of four I’m looking at. There is much “religiosity” here in the city. In the tribal areas, there is much worship of spirits, and I'm sure there is superstitions as well. “Who is Jesus Christ?” is a question to ask. Is He man, a great teacher, or is He the LORD GOD? What do you believe, and what is the culture belief here in Peru? These are things I want to learn more about and learning about the Peruvian culture will help greatly.
A cultural tidbit is that it is important in pueblos to use simple terms. Complicated terms will be lost on the hearers. This is why clarity is so important in sharing the gospel. For example, when we say you need to “receive Jesus Christ,” we leave much left to the hearer. Many here believe they receive Christ every time they partake of bread in their meetings. We need to explain how we receive Christ according to the Bible, and we must not leave what we mean to say up to them to figure out. We must tell them what we mean! “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” John 1:12 We receive Jesus Christ by believing in His name alone. A name has two parts Who/Identity – Who is Jesus Christ? – God (John 1:1,14,17) and What/History What has Jesus Christ done for you? – Died for you on the cross, was buried, and rose again the 3rd day proving He is God – (1 Corinthians 15:1-4.) We must be very clear!
I also had the opportunity to go with two friends from church to a motocross near Tarapoto. This was a fun time with Renato and Richard. Please be in prayer for more opportunities to connect like this with people. Renato is a young man in the youth group. Here he is on the right holding a bottle of Inca-Cola – a Peruvian pop.
Home:
On Thursday evenings at 9:00 pm, we have a Men's Bible Study in my home. We meet later in the day to help accommodate those that are working. Pastor Delwin is teaching and we are hoping to use this as a time to look for future leaders. On Saturdays at my home we have Youth Group at 5:30 pm. Missionary Vikki is teaching on dating and courtship. Please be in prayer for these meetings, and that my home would be a usable tool in ministry. I am so thankful for this gift from God.
Praises:
Speaking of my home, I praise God for the provision of not only the apartment itself, but also the items inside that have been given or lent to me. In the picture to the left, you can see my kitchen and dining area with several of these items. Mamita Asucena, a believer in the church here, lent me a table, pots, pans, etc., and gave me some plates. Praise God for her tender heart of giving. I eat with her from time to time in the market, and she often spoils me. Thank you, too, for your support of me that has allowed me to purchase other things I need to live and minister here!
I also continue to praise God for Pastor Delwin and his wife Techy who are so very kind to me and who open their house so I can use the internet. They also feed me a lot and I’m so thankful for that! Please pray for me that I will be a blessing to those who have so often blessed me in ways I cannot repay.
Prayer:
-Property for the church.
-Property for a camp.
-Church leaders: elders, deacons, and a future native pastor.
-Missionaries: There is much to do here, and we cannot do it alone. We need more missionaries to help teach in a Bible institute, plant more churches, and probably much more than we know. Please be praying for this need. I believe God may be directing another person to serve here please pray for God's continue hand of direction for this possible future missionary.
-Bible Institute: September 28th – October 2nd
Your little brother in Jesus Christ,
Jonathan G. Koehn
-- Jonathan G. Koehn serving in the San Martín Project in Peru. Serving God with http://www.tentmakersbiblemission.org If God has directed you to support please go to https://tentmakers.webconnex.com/giving/southamerica Skype: jonathan.g.koehn Facebook: Jonathan G. Koehn Email: Jonathan@customgraphicwork.com Website: http://jonathankoehn.customgraphicwork.com ----If you would like to be removed ----from my emailing please let me know, ----thank-you.
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