Thank you from the Perez’s

Hello again, this is Bob Perez,

For a brief moment or two, I would like to address what it means to have gratitude.  Websters describes gratitude as “a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation”.  In my job as a missionary, gratitude seems to be a daily feeling for me.  That is to say that I realize my inadequacy and inability to achieve our God-directed goals here in Chile by myself.  So much of what I do is a result of our church family in the U.S.A. and friends, you have no idea how grateful we are.

Every morning when I wake up, I know someone is praying for our family, others are making financial decisions on how they will help keep us on the field, others are making home-made gifts which will aid us in reaching people in a practical way, while still others are maybe reading this blog   At the end of the day, how can I not be grateful?  So often, I am overwhelmed with an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness for God’s people that I am at a loss for words.

Just recently, we were with a young Lady who was crying because for years she had been violated by her sibling and her mom would never believe it.  Finally the gov’t came in and took control of the situation destroying relationships and creating a void that could have probably reached from Chile to China.  WOW!!  Michele was extremely impacted and distraught over the situation and how to best minister to this young lady and do you know that friends, situations like these continually keep us looking up and realizing all that you have done to make these encounters possible and I want to say THANK YOU.

The honest truth is that my words are inadequate.  I could never express my thanks to all of you that have made our ministry possible in Chile and my prayer is that you will always know how much we cherish each and every one of you.  This morning I am overwhelmed with an enormous attitude of gratitude.  Thank you Lord for you Holy Spirit and for your people who we love dearly.  THANK YOU.

Filed under: Love

Going Back To The All Girls Orphanage

This Wednesday I will be visiting the all girls orphanage in La Pintana, Santiago again.  I have been meeting with the older girls and need God to give me a word for them.  They are dealing with so much and I know that Jesus is the only one that can give me the words they need to hear. 

It’s almost Christmas again and it breaks my heart knowing that most of them will be their yet another year with no family to love them.  They have all come from broken homes and have suffered so much and I can’t help but feel guilty with all of the blessings that I have.  So many times we have pity parties when things don’t go exactly the way we want them to and just stepping into this orphanage reminds me that I should have no complaints. 

This Christmas season as you are spending time with loved ones, please remember those who are in desperate need and send up a prayer for these precious lives!

Michele

 

Filed under: Evangelism, Love

Hurting Hearts

I just got off the phone with my dad and boy is my heart hurting.  My dad and I have never really had that close of a relationship and lately my heart has been aching to get to know him better.  I have tried over the years to build a better relationship with him but I always end up at the same spot.

My dad is not a Christian and does not understand why I am in Chile.  I long for him to have a relationship with my girls, but I don’t even know if that will ever happen.  I often dream of the relationship that I would like to have with him and wake up with a longing in my heart.  I know that God is the father that I need, but it is so difficult having an earthly father that you don’t really know.

Things are often magnified on the mission field, especially being so far away from home.  Friends I need your prayers to get me through this rough stage in my life.  Family is extremely important to me and there are so many unspoken needs in my family right now.  Would you pray with me, that God will give me the strength to rely on him and let him fill that gap within my heart.

Michele

Filed under: Family, Love, Prayer

Miracles

Hello again, this is Bob Perez.

I have been super busy managing a team of young people that are here from Nebraska and boy am I spent physically.  I have these kids running all day long and I am sooooooo tired!!

We have had some good times playing with kids, hanging out and just watching God move.  Two nights ago during a healing crusade we held, God showed up to heal.  One ladies eyes were healed and we had her count fingers to prove the miracle and the next day she came to church WITHOUT glasses!!  Then a woman with pain in her back began to jump and bend over saying it felt better.  Some ten minutes later she came running to me saying that she could breathe better as well.

To God be the glory.  We had an incredible time and with three more days left, I pray it happens again.  I am also plannng to schedule, by faith, another healing crusade tomorrow night.  So friends, we need God! because I nor the kids can heal, so please be in prayer with us and lets see some mighty miracles.  We have seen many addicted to drugs (Kids, moms, dads) alcohol (kids, moms, dads) and some of the most extreme poverty conditions.  We have been painting houses and meeting practical needs as well and it is our prayer that Jesus be glorified in all that we do.

~Bob / Michele / Silla / Izzy and the AIM team from Nebraska

Filed under: Evangelism, Love, Santiago, Youth

“NEW” Church Plant

Tonight is an exciting night for us here in Santiago. Two weeks ago, a new church was planted right by my house in an area of extreme need and extreme poverty and I have the “HONOR” of preaching there tonight. The majority of the church is un-churched and so it is an incredible opportunity!! The Pastora (Lady) is a good friend of ours and we are excited about the opportunity to be able to partner with them as they embark on this new endeavor.

So please pray for us as I am excited about the message tonight. I am doing an illustrated sermon of sorts on the cross and it is very much a sermon for the non-churched individual. This is exactly the reason we came to Chile and I am super-excited!!

My apologies as I am unable to take pictures since we are temporarily without a camera for a few weeks and once we can get a new one I will be sure to upload some photos to our website. Blessings…

Filed under: Evangelism, Love

A night w/the Ambassador

I was challenged by a post I read this morning and I once again realized the importance of ministry outside of the church. You can view the post here at: http://www.disciplemexico.org/ You see, we have become so accustomed to forming our little church cultures that we forget about the non-Christian culture and we lose touch with how to reach them.

Just this past weekend I had dinner at the French ambassadors house and he is very much Anti-Christian. His wife explained that she had never invited evangelicals to the house before and this was a first. Her fear was that an argument would ensue and would enfuriate him all the more.

My question is this, WHY? It should not be that way!! I had an absolutely incredible night and I left having made a new friend. It begins with “RELATIONSHIP”. We stayed until 11:00pm and we literally had a great time I would challenge you this morning, break out of the box and who knows who God will put in your path! I hope to develop my new friendship and even beyond that, I hope to develop more. Jesus went to the well and if your really think about it, he was criticized many times for being around the non-religious and friends, he calls us to do the same! Think about it, chew on it, and most importantly, let God speak to you.

Filed under: Evangelism, Love

Saturday night follow-up (Espanol)

Ok, so your asking, what happened Saturday? Well, it was quite a challenge. I must admit that the message was a difficult one and quite challenging in many ways, but God was no doubt in our midst. During the ministry time at the end I prayed with 3 individuals that felt a call to missions work and it was powerful!! Believe it or not, the service Saturday night turned into a Sunday night general service as well and that was when things got interesting.

The church was packed and it was pouring down rain outside when I arrived late due to the rain. We began the service and immediately I knew I had to preach extra animated and it was an exciting challenge. We got to the end and upon initiating a call for salvation, various individuals responded!! My faith began to grow and as we continued on I felt as though we hit a plateau and we just sat in a moment of silence WHEN, from the back, it started.

Various individuals began trembling, crying, and even praying in unknown tongues. It then began to move forward and gradually each row caught on!! People began laughing, crying, and just experiencing God in the midst of silence. Or maybe it happened because I finally stopped talking J But it was incredible. “IMPRESIONANTE”.

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ok, me imagino que quieres saber sobre lo del Sábado. Pues, era desafiante. Tengo que aclarar que el mensaje era fuerte y bastante desafiante pero sin duda, Dios estuvo con nosotros! Durante el tiempo de ministración al final del culto, oré con 3 individuos que deseaban trabajar en misiones y el tiempo era potente!! De hecho, el culto esa noche produciría otro culto general la siguiente noche y en ese culto las cosas se pondrían interesantes…

La iglesia era repleta de gente, llovía con aguaceros y llegué atrasado debido a la lluvia. Así que, empezamos el culto y inmediatamente, me dí cuenta que tenía que predicar extra-animado y era un desafío apasionante. Llegamos al final del culto y al iniciar un llamamiento por salvación, varios individuos respondieron a ello!! Se crecía la fe y mientras seguíamos, sentí que habíamos llegado a un límite y debido a ello, pasamos un tiempito en silencio cuando, comenzando con los que estaban atrás, el mover de Dios comenzó.

Varios individuos temblaban, otros lloraban hasta orar en otras lenguas. Luego, la ola comenzó a moverse hacia adelante hasta que cada fila estaba metida en ella!! La gente se reía, lloraba, y simplemente experimentaban Dios en medio del silencio. O tal vez, debido a que yo dejé de hablar Pero, era increíble, “IMPRESIONANTE”.

Filed under: Evangelism, Love

Girls Reading The Bible

Just last night Bob and I were almost moved to tears as we heard Silla reading her bible to Izzy. Silla really enjoys reading and has just started picking up the bible on her own. It was really funny as they both ran down with excitement in their eyes when they found out that our last name was in the bible. They were reading the book of Ruth and came to chapter 4 verse 12 when they burst into our room super excited!! Read below.

Ruth 4:12 “Also, from the descendant whom the LORD will give you from this young woman, may your family become like the family of Perez“

It is exciting to see that the Lord is placing a passion in their young lives!!

Michele

Filed under: Family, Love

Interesting Evangelism in 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — To get people to attend his new church campus, Robbie McLaughlin is sending his message out to where the people are.

‘Give Us a Shot’: N.C. Church Hands Out Shot Glasses at Bars

Next Friday, staffers from Next Level Church of Matthews will go to bars in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte to hand out shot glasses which ask patrons to “give us a shot” and bear the slogan, “Real church for real people.”

The idea is to draw people to the Ballantyne campus, which opens next month.

McLaughlin is the pastor, and said he is confident that it will be controversial, but he said the goal is not necessarily to impress people who already go to church. He said it’s to impress people who don’t.

Next Level is a nontraditional church that encourages members to dress casually and snack on coffee and doughnuts during services.

McLaughlin said the idea has caught on, and in two years, the church has grown from a handful of members to more than 700.

Filed under: Evangelism, Love

Chile prisons

Chile’s prisons: Currently here in Santiago we do not have one Pastor or church working with the inmates in Santiago or the surrounding communities and I am currently in the process of going through all the red-tape to try and bring “The Gospel of Good News” to the lost and forsaken inside the bars of of this unmistakable landmark in the center of the city.

Through various individuals, I have been told that the Methodist Pentecostal church does have a team that has been granted access and I am following up on leads trying to see if they would allow me to accompany them inside and possibly even be able to work with them in an on-going basis. Sadly though, outside of this group, there is “NO-ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO-ONE” bringing the Gospel inside as per the guards and I see this as an incredible field ready for seed that will surely bring a harvest.

I have scheduled a meeting with the “Jefe Interno” who is the big boss man on the inside and Lord willing I will find favor in his sight and he will open those doors that no man can shut. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity to minister where ministry is needed but I also realize there is considerable danger invlolved at the same time!! So please pray with us that God will go before me and open each and every door that needs to be opened.

Filed under: Evangelism, Love