Updates
Summer Teams!
Dear friends and family,
How exciting it is to see what God is doing for His ministry here in Peru. We have had a full summer already. We enjoyed having the wonderful help of two teams who came to help us in our construction. Terry and Sheila Tibbitts came for 3 weeks to help us prepare for the teams and host them. They were such a blessing to us, and we are looking forward to having them again this fall. The first team had heard of us from a fellow missionary here and decided to come and help us build. What a pleasure it was to get to know another group of folks excited about being involved in the advancement of God's kingdom. We had been able to cut more than enough wood to keep them busy for the time that they were here. They completed the floor structure and then assembled ½ of the subfloor. The Team from New Union Baptist that followed was able to finish the subfloor and start on some of the walls. I cannot explain the delight we experience in actually seeing walls take form.
Soon after the teams left, We received word that the container full of donated items had arrived in Lima. I flew to Lima to try and help the container through the customs procedures. How awesome it is to climb amidst all of the wonderful blessings that God has provided through His people! The process for liberating all these blessings has proven to be predictably complicated. I have been across the mountains in Lima away from the family for almost a month collectively. The most worrisome issue is the final price for freeing the container from customs. It will cost 22,000 dollars. Normally, we try to be sure that we have the 40% duty ready to pay before we ship anything to Peru. This time however, the money that we thought was in place, turned out to be much less than we expected. We have 6,000 ready to pay and we need to raise 16,000 dollars pretty quickly. We know that none of this has come as a surprise to God, and that He has it all in hand. We have learned to view each challenge as an opportunity for God to show himself powerful, and get glory through His meeting the needs for His work. We wait with baited breath to see how He will show Himself strong.
We have a few other prayer requests to share with you. Vanessa’s bouts with fatigue and what has been diagnosed as “fibromyalgia” is a daily issue that we have a hard time keeping ahead of. Pray that in the midst of all of our busy schedule she will be able to find the rest that she so desperately needs. I still suffer occasionally with kidney stones and migraines. We have an incredible challenge of work ahead of us this year and covet your prayers and if God so directs – your help. We are so very grateful to those of you who have already been a part of the force that God has used to develop this ministry so far. May our Father richly bless you as we continue to serve Him together.
Your missionaries,
~Vann, Vanessa, Corynn, Ethan, and Clara Brock