Greetings in Jesus Christ -- Nov 09

Greetings in Jesus Christ,
    Below you will find the newsletter for the month of November. (Last month said this that should have been October)
The pictures are included in the newsletter in the .pdf form which is attached.
Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing it.
In our precious Saviour Jesus Christ,
    Jonathan

. . . To Live is Christ . . .
                        Phil 1:21

Visiting Pueblos (Villages) Oct 19th - 24th:

• Ministry: The week started off early Monday morning as I got into a pickup that would take me to San Hilarion where Brother Augusto lived. Throughout the week, Brother Augusto and I went on his motorcycle from pueblo to pueblo. Sometimes we spent the night at his home and other times elsewhere. It was a time filled with meeting pastors and believers in the villages. Also, I was privileged to see Brother Augusto at work as an encourager and edifier. The open houses and visiting reminded me of Bible times when the disciples were sent out. Throughout the trip many were very hospitable, and often, a meal was eaten at each stop. Above is Brother Augusto, his wife and two of his six children.

  On Monday a good portion of time was with Augusto's brother, a pastor of one year, who was serving in Chimbote. Tuesday found us mostly in Paujilzapa were Brother Augusto preached and where we spent the night. On Wednesday, we got sunburned from all our time on the motorcycle as we visited more villages. I even got to see part of an adobe house construction project. Brother Augusto's wife and family were very very kind to me. We spent several meals together. Thursday found us headed to Nueva Lima. On the way, we visited a family in Bellavista. Here Brother Augusto encouraged the wife of Brother Milton. Because she has migraines, Brother Augusto encouraged her by using some of the things his own wife was going through as an illustration. We also visited the pastor of the two churches in Nueva Lima. The picture to the left is me with the pastor of Nueva Lima to the left of me, and a native missionary, Pedro, to the right of me. That night we spent in the quarter of a brother while he slept someplace else, hospitality abounded, he had given up own bed. On Friday, we rose early to visit two more villages, and  passed back through Bellavista again, visiting the same family there.  Their son knew some English - what a gift during a week where almost all communication was in Spanish!  We went to Juanjui and Zaposoa before returning to San Hilarion that night. That evening we got to see Brother Eulogio indicate that he wanted to follow God once again!  The joy of this was evidenced on so many faces!  I came back home Saturday morning with my new mascot (shown in this picture) who was soon to become Marcos, Lucas, and Sarah's bunny.  I also returned with a better understanding of Spanish and culture in the pueblos. I have much to learn from their hospitality. God was saying throughout the time, "listen, listen, listen."  I want to listen to their hearts, to the Spanish, and to more. Are we listening daily to those around us?

• Culture: Here is a cultural setting in the pueblos:  The rain is falling outside, and a few chickens have huddled under a motorcycle for some shelter. The ground squishes under your feet as you cautiously step toward a shelter. You approach a little area with a fence of sorts and a few people linger outside. You enter a rough shelter.  The doors hang on their hinges at different angles. You enter the dark room and are given a chair near the back. Next to you are some bags with clothing - perhaps this is like a dresser. You sit down and so does Brother Augusto. He lets the man of the house (you suppose) listen to a DVD for a bit. On the way in you saw a 12-volt car battery on the floor below a table that holds the DVD player.  Nearby is a boom-box (radio). By rigging the DVD player to the battery and using the boom-box, those that live in this shelter with no electricity can listen to DVDs!  The ingenuity in the jungle is striking. The importance of entertainment is apparent, and the lack of wealth is revealed. And yet the door was open for us to come in and sit down out of the rain. This is life in some parts of the hilly jungles of Peru.

Spanish with Frank:

• Learning: My Spanish comprehension is increasing bit by bit. Some days it seems there is so much more to learn of grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Recently we looked at 4 past tenses in Spanish. A bright spot in these studies - besides grasping more and more - is often reading the Bible in Spanish with my teacher.

• Opportunity: A while back, Delwin suggested reading the Bible in Spanish with my teacher, Frank.  Since that time we have completed reading through San Juan (John) and now started into Hechos (Acts). I'm encouraged when Frank asks questions or when there are opportunities to explain from the Word of God or what something means.  One of these times was explaining the phrase, “It is finished.”  It does not just mean Jesus died.  It also refers to His work related to paying for sin which was completed on the cross. Praise be to God that sin is paid for! Have you receive that payment by believing in Jesus Christ alone?  (John 1:12)  Do you trust that He is God? Do you trust that He died for your sins? Or are you rejecting Jesus? Do Please pray for my wisdom to know when to share.  Sometimes I feel that the excitement of wanting to explain the Word of God causes me say too much, and other times I feel like I don't say enough. God has also caused my Spanish learning to progress to a new level.  First, I got to teach at the Bible Institute, and now God has given me preaching/teaching opportunities in Spanish on the same series in the church. Praise to God!

Teaching/Preaching in Spanish:

This past Sunday, November 8^th, I preached (in a teaching format) my first sermon in front of the church in Spanish. Praise be to God for this step forward in my language knowledge!  Please pray for my clarity in Spanish, that the message of salvation in Jesus Christ would come across very clearly. Lord willing, I will be teaching/preaching for the next 4 Sundays. Thank you so much for bringing the ministry here before God in prayer, and for your continued provision to the ministry.

Praise & Prayer on the next page. . .

Praise & Prayer:

• Praise and prayer for strength, encouragement and health day by day in ministry.

• Please pray for provision for Augusto and his family and their health.

• Delwin teaching at a Pastor's Conference 19^th – 21^st. Lord willing I will be going along as well, to be with the brothers in Christ and to learn more.

• I need God's direction in sharing in churches, with families, and other places during February 5^th through May/June 2010. If you know of any interest please let me know. Also God's direction in another very important area as well.

Your little brother in Jesus Christ,
    Jonathan G. Koehn

Brother Augusto and myself at the bocatoma
(where a canal starts).

--  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.

To Live is Christ 10-09 Spanish Classes, Bible Institute, Future, and Prayer Requests

Greetings in Jesus Christ,
    Below you will find the newsletter for the month of November.
The pictures are included in the newsletter in the .pdf form which is attached.
Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing it.
In our precious Saviour Jesus Christ,
    Jonathan

. . . To Live is Christ . . .
The ten students in the Bible Institute, along with Pastor Delwin.

Greetings in the precious name of Jesus Christ,

A new month is upon us. Thank you so much for your prayers and support for ministry through the month of September. On Thursday, as I was talking with Pastor Samuel during the Bible Institute, I had the opportunity to explain about being here. He asked if people were supporting me, and I explained that I was the “hand and feet” and you all (supporters) are the “body.” Thank you for being behind the ministry here. It is because of you all that ministry is possible physically and spiritually. Those who are praying before God are the powerhouse behind the ministry. I need this and the ministry needs your prayers and support. Thank you so much.

There are four areas I'd love to share with you: Spanish Classes, Bible Institute, the Future and Prayer Requests.

Spanish Classes:

I had asked during the month of September to be in prayer for the evangelism lessons that my Spanish teacher, Frank, was helping me translate. Your prayers before God were answered wonderfully! He helped me translate them which provided an opportunity for him to hear them and hopefully think about them. We had 5 lessons to go through. Frank basically translated the first lesson while I sat there and watched. With the second lesson, I tried translating it a bit on my own. Then I brought it to class and he corrected it, which taught me more about Spanish than only having him translate it. So for the next few weeks while going through Spanish classes, we worked on translating the rest of the lessons. This time has also included some reading from the Bible in Spanish. We are reading through the book of John. However something caused the translation and study of the evangelism lessons to speed up. We had thought the Bible Institute was the 2^nd week in October but no! It was the end of September and the first few days of October. This sped up the translation process and in the week before the Bible Institute began, God brought about another wonderful answer to prayer. Not only did Frank help me translate the remaining lessons, but I also got to practice-teach the lessons to him.

At the end of each lesson there is a point to ask the students, “Do you have any questions about the lesson?” Frank had a few very good questions. At the end of the 2^nd lesson he asked, “how can one received the grace of God?” A great question, because this is the only way we can enter heaven. We have to be perfect like God – righteous like God. I told him we would soon be talking about this in the next lesson, which we got into on that same day! We talked about God's provision, Jesus Christ. Only because Jesus Christ died on the cross, only through His blood can we be seen as righteous in the eyes of God – not because of our own righteousness but only because of Jesus' blood. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” However, we must receive that righteousness. There is only one way to receive the righteousness of God, and we covered that in the 4^th lesson, which I also got to practice-teach to Frank. We receive the righteousness of God only by belief in Jesus Christ. Please read John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” this is a wonderful verse for explaining this concept. It says we need to receive Jesus. Next, a promise is given to those who receive Jesus. Then it describes how we receive Jesus Christ – only by belief in His name. Often, unfortunately, this verse is read with the word “and” inserted such as receive and believe, but it does not have the word “and”! We must not add to the Word of God. After the 4^th lesson Frank asked, “How is a sinner changed to have the righteousness of God, or to be righteous like God?” The change is because of the blood of Jesus Christ! Philippians 3:9 says: “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” The word “faith” here has the same idea as the word “believe.” Praise God for Jesus dying in our place! We receive this righteousness of Jesus by believing He is 100% God and 100% Man and that He died for our sins. We believe in Him alone. Another word similar to faith, and belief is trust we trust in Him alone for salvation – nothing more, nothing less, nothing else! Thank you so much for your prayers. The next week was the Bible Institute which we turn to next.

Bible Institute:

The topics Pastor Delwin taught on were Evangelism and Discipleship. I had the opportunity to teach those 5 lessons on Evangelism, that Frank helped translate, as well, praise to God! The first day we had 9 students in class. On Wednesday the 10^th student was also there. If you look in the title picture of this newsletter you will see the 10 students. Here are their names from left to right in order:

1. Arquimedes Pau Cachique (older gentleman)
2. Joel Sandro Pau Gonzales
(younger gentleman, with his dad Arquimedes)
3. Omár Rodrigez Gomez (older gentleman)
4. Belarde Rios Allegria (younger, mid-aged gentleman)

5. Leopoldo Gonzales Chaquizuta (young gentleman)
6. Chemo Amasefuen Tuanama (young gentleman)
7. Maria Juana Mar Tinez Salas (lady)
8. Percy Soria Tuesta (mid-aged gentleman)
9. Noe Sangama Cachique (older Pastor)
10. Samuel Tello Zanbramo (older Pastor)

To the right you can see Pastor Delwin teaching. He is a great encouragement to me in ministry here. We often enjoy times talking together about ministry and various things. A point that Pastor Delwin taught from his discipleship lessons, that stuck in my mind through this week was: We as believers can always be teaching someone else younger in the faith. We can be passing down what we know. Let me show you this through two pictures.

Here Pastor Delwin is explaining to Pastor Samuel how to use a specific Study Bible that Delwin had brought for him. This is a form of Discipleship. Pastor Delwin is teaching Pastor Samuel.

Samuel above is the Pastor of Arquimedes and Joel. Pastor Samuel was probably involved in these two men coming to the Bible Institute. Arquimedes (on the left) has 1 year in the faith. His son Joel (on the right) has 4 months in the faith. Perhaps Arquimedes plays a significant role in his son's life. We all can play a significant role in someone's life by discipling them in the Christian walk. (“Christian” meaning one who trusts only in Jesus Christ for salvation. “Walk” being the life lived after belief in Jesus Christ.)

I enjoyed my time of teaching. I taught roughly one hour each day which varied from day to day. It was energizing for me as can be attested. I have a long ways to go in Spanish, and need to study more about pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. However, the students were kind to me, many listened quite well, and many helped here and there with pronunciation, and reading the Bible verses. We started the week off with a quiz that I had been given in my personal evangelism class when I was in Frontier School of the Bible. (I and another missionary, John Cook, used this quiz in Guyana, and added a bit to it.) The questions then got translated into Spanish and used here in Peru. I challenge you to think about these questions: 1. What are the things I must do to make sure I will one day end up in heaven? 2. Why does man die? 3. What happens to man after death? 4. Who is Jesus Christ? 5. What did Jesus Christ do for you? After the quiz it was evident that much work was needed to clear up confusion in sharing the gospel. It was encouraging at the end of the week to hand out the quiz again and get much clearer answers from many of the students.

Class was interesting as we looked at various verses about salvation in the Bible that can be confusing. But the wonderful thing about the Word of God is that over and over, it points back to this simple concept: Believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation! There are 160 such verses. If you would like to have a list of these verses please let me know. This information is from a wonderful book on evangelism called Fishing for Men by Dr. Richard Seymour. Please know that we as men can be confused by what we think are contradictions in the Bible. We should write down our questions and continue to seek out the answers in the Bible. Know there are no contradictions in the Bible – it is simply that we don't understand the Bible completely.

Thank you again so much for praying for this week. It was a great encouragement, and I look forward to future opportunities. Please pray for those future opportunities.

Future:
In the future, I may get to teach these lessons in the church. Please pray for my Spanish pronunciation, vocabulary and understanding to increase. I look forward to going with Pastor Delwin on November 19-21^st to a pastor's conference in an area about 2 hours from here. It will be enjoyable to get to know more of the men in this area of Peru.

I'm praying about coming back to the states in February for more deputation, and, Lord willing, for something else that I hope to share about later on. Please pray for wisdom in this decision and for God's direction. If you would even now start praying for opportunities to share in churches, Bible studies, youth groups, Sunday school classes, barbecues etc. If God would have me come, I would appreciate your prayers in this area so much!

Continued on next page . . .

Prayer Requests:

God's guidance for the future

Church ministry to grow spiritually and physically.

For me to understand more and more the role of serving as a missionary/pastor. I have so much to learn and I am so inadequate in myself. This ministry is only possible through the strength of Jesus Christ which Pastor Delwin reminded me of and also a very important person in my life reminded me of as well, specifically through these verses: 2 Corinthians 3:5,6: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Believers, we were saved by grace through faith – not of ourselves. Why do we often think we can go it alone in the Christian walk? We need God! Our sufficiency is from God!

Thank you for your ministry before God in prayer and support for the ministry here,

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.

Greetings to those on bended knees -- Teaching in Spanish

Greetings to those on bended knees,
Thank you so much for praying and I continue to ask for your prayers.
Today was my second day of getting to teach in the Bible Institute in
Spanish. I taught roughly 1hr. and 10mins today. I'm going through notes
based off of teaching by
Dr. Richard Seymour. We have completed lesson 3. Please pray for
tomorrows lesson, lesson 4 is the central focus of the lessons. I hear
from Pastor Delwin that they are understanding, this is a praise and
answer to prayer! Plus Pastor Delwin is there to help me when I don't
know a word in spanish or say something wrong. The students help with my
spanish pronunciation as well.
Please pray for the students understanding of the content of the
lessons. Please pray that it will grab a hold of them and propel them to
go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ. There are 10 students in
the class, below are their names. They range from pastors in churches,
younger men in the church, and to a lady as well. They represent between
4-5 different churches.
1. Chemo Amasefuen Tuanama (young gentleman)
2. Leopoldo Gonzales Chaquizuta (young gentleman)
3. Samuel Tello Zanbramo (older Pastor)
4. Belarde Rios Allegria (younger,mid aged gentleman)
5. Noe Sangama Cachique (older Pastor)
6. Juana Mar Tinez Salas (lady)
7. Arquimedes Pau Cachique (older gentleman)
8. Joel Sandro Pau Gonzales (younger gentleman, with his dad Arquimedes)
9. Percy Soria Tuesta (mid aged gentleman)
10. Omár Rodrigez Gomez (older gentleman)
Perhaps some did not go to school that long so studying can be a
difficult process to grasp a hold of and take notes etc.
I need understanding in making things very clear.
Please pray for Pastor Delwin's teaching this takes much energy to do
and it affects him greatly with his CMT.
Thank you for coming before the throne of God on our behalf,
The prayer of the righteous man means very much James 5:16-18
In our precious Saviour Jesus Christ,
Jonathan

--
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.

A clarification on a phrase in my last email.

"When we believe in Jesus Christ God no longer sees are sins but He sees the blood of Jesus Christ." (Sorry bad grammar are should be our)
    Let me clarify the portion "God no longer sees our sins"
    This is related to eternal salvation. In light of eternity the price for our sins have been paid. In this aspect God does not see our sin the believer in Jesus Christ is saved from the
penalty of sin. To illustrate this: You are the son or daughter of your Father. You will always be this.
    Please note in the life of a believer we are sinners saved by grace. We have the power of sin in our life because we do still sin. 1 John 1:9 is what we are to
do when we sin the believer in Jesus Christ is to acknowledge our sin before God. The believer is saved from the power of sin.
In this aspect God sees our sin. Let me illustrate. Even when you sin as a believer there is consequences for
sin. Back to the illustration of a Father, son or daughter. You may hurt, disobey, sin against your Father the relationship is hurt which has its effects but you are still his son or daughter.
    The third form of the word salvation the believers in Jesus Christ is saved from the presence of sin. This only happens with the believer in Jesus Christ when we are with Jesus face to face the believer
will no longer have sin in our lives.
The three forms of the word salvation are:
    1. Salvation from the Penalty of sin -- Happens at the moment of belief in Jesus Christ ALONE. (God no longer sees our sin in light of the eternal penalty of sin -- Eternal Death) John 1:12 We become                                                             children of  God at this moment.
    2. Salvation from the Power of sin -- This happens when we acknowledge are sin before God. 1 John 1:9 Restored fellowship
    3. Salvation from the Presence of sin -- This happens when we are before Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2; Philippians 3:21
    Three other words that represent these same statements are.
       1. Justification -- salvation from the penalty of sin. John 1:12
       2. Sanctification -- salvation from the power of sin. 1 John 1:9
       3. Glorification -- salvation from the presence of sin. Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2; Philippians 3:21

In light of the conversation on salvation the phrase "When we believe in Jesus Christ God no longer sees are sins but He sees the blood of Jesus Christ." is important because this is what happens
at the moment of salvation the other two forms of salvation are only for believers!
    I hope this makes sense and if anyone has a question please feel free to email me.
In Christ
    Jonathan

Note: resources for this email from various sources.

--  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.

To those on bended knees before God

Thank you for your prayers in Jesus Christ,
    Today we completed lesson 4. Man's Response: Believe in Jesus Christ. Then we did lesson 5. God's Guarantee: Eternal life to those who believe in Jesus Christ.
Please note if I've not said it already these lesson are based directly from some notes by my Bible school professor. Dr. Richard Seymour.
At the end of lesson 5 I asked again if there was questions about the lesson. My Spanish teacher Frank asked something like these words. How is a sinner changed to have
the righteousness of God, or to be righteous like God. I illustrated that it is Jesus blood. Let me explain the illustration in detail.
    When we believe in Jesus Christ God no longer sees are sins but He sees the blood of Jesus Christ. Before we believe we are seen as sinners by God. Jesus Christ died on
the cross for our sins his payment for our sins is available to be received. It is a free gift waiting to be received. How do we receive it? By believing in Jesus Christ, He is God,
by believing He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead proving He is God. Over and over throughout the Bible salvation is by belief! Not
a factual belief in the fact of Jesus being a man, dying on the cross. But the trusting belief that Jesus died on the cross in our place, that we are trusting in HIM ALONE not
in our works! Works are great things but they can never gain us entrance into heaven! They are not part of salvation! John 3:16; John 3:18; John 3:36; John 6:47 and many more .verses. . .
    We had talked about this through the lessons. Frank said the lessons were understandable he said also because he went through them 2 times. (He helped me translate them as well, and then
practice teach them) Please pray He will not only truly understand but that he will believe in Jesus Christ ALONE for salvation. What about you? What do you trust in for getting to heaven? Before you answer make sure you know what GOD requires, remember He requires perfection the perfection of God, how do we get that? Open up your Bible Galatians 2:16; Romans 4:2-5; Romans 10:3,4
    I hope many more opportunities will come to share with Frank, and many more here. Thank you for your prayers dear believers in Jesus Christ. The prayer of a righteous man James 5:16 avails much.
But remember it is the prayer of a righteous man that avails much, there is only one way to be righteous in God's eyes! Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
    In Jesus Christ the Saviour,
       Jonathan

--  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.

Update on praying for my Spanish teacher Frank

Greetings in Christ to those on bended knees,
I want to thank you so much for your prayers regarding my Spanish
teacher Frank.
I would still appreciate your prayers greatly.
Yesterday I got to practice teach 2 lessons to my teacher Frank.
(These are evangelism lesson for the Bible Institute)
I really enjoyed the time I've much to learn but very grateful for this
opportunity.
Today I got to teach the 3rd lesson, and part of the 4th. At the end
of the 3rd lesson when I asked if there is questions
about the lesson. If I remember correctly He asked how one received the
grace of God. I let him know we
would be looking at that in the next lesson. Which we started into the
next which was lesson 4 soon after that. The only reason I wasn't
able to finish teaching it today was because I ran out of time.
Please be praying for tomorrow, I'll finish up lesson 4 and then
lesson 5 Lord willing. Please pray for Frank's salvation.
Those lessons specifically again are:
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.
Thank you all so much for being before God in prayer, God hears and
answers our prayers James 5:16-18.
Your little brother in Jesus Christ,
Jonathan

--
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.

To Live is Christ -- Carné de Extranjería, Spanish, Culture, Home, and more . . .

Here is my latest newsletter, for the newsletter plus photos please see the attached pdf.

". . . 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 28^th – October 2^nd. 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 3^rd 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 28^th – October 2^nd

 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.