Back in Peru

Dear Praying Family,

We’re back in Peru! We arrived at the beginning of November (has it really been over a month now?!). God provided a couple of new individual supporters and one church decided to take us on for support the day before we left for Peru! God sure provides, but He loves surprises. :-)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” I find great comfort in the fact that although the future is hidden from me, my God knows the end from the beginning.

THANK YOU to each of you who pray and give so we can serve the Lord in Peru. Our time of ministry in the Sates over the last year was a wonderful blessing. We greatly enjoyed our time in your churches and homes. God has a wonderful family and I can’t wait for that amazing reunion we’re going to have any day now!

Baptism

Last Sunday Doris was baptized at our church. Her father, her brother and his family, and a friend who has visited several times all came to the baptism. She comes from a family that is devoutly Catholic. Doris gave a wonderful testimony of her faith in God for salvation and the new life He has given her. Please pray that God would use His Word to change the lives of her friends and family as well. We also accepted 2 other new members at Living Hope Baptist Church.

Christmas

Our church Christmas program is Sunday, December 20. (“Tomorrow” as I start this letter, but probably “today” by the time I get it sent.) Please pray that many of the friends, family, and neighbors our church people have invited will show up. Pray that God would use the message of Christmas to bring them to faith.

Paperwork, bureaucracy, and logistics

YAWN. Or maybe GRRrr? They created a new law recently that says foreign residents in Peru (us) cannot leave the country for more than 6 months. But an extension up to 12 months could be granted. While in the US, we asked Peruvian Immigrations for the extension and were told to send a letter to the Peruvian consulate so they could provide us with a “resolution” which would grant us the extension. We sent the letter and the consulate said, “We don’t do this.” So we explained to Peruvian Immigrations that their consulate doesn’t give these resolutions. Immigrations said, “send a letter to the Peruvian consulate so they can provide you with a resolution…”
So now we’ve had to annul our resident visas, get signed in as tourists, and start the resident visa application all over again. It does complicate things: like not being able to open a bank account with just a passport, etc. But we should have our resident visas again sometime next month Lord willing.

On a positive note, we moved into a new apartment a couple of weeks ago! After about a month of living out of suitcases we’re finally unpacking. The apartment was a real answer to prayer. Another missionary family left for furlough early and graciously offered us their home. We even have a little yard in back where the kids have already spent many hours playing. We’ve unpacked enough to have the youth group over for a Christmas party this evening.

Our Growing Family

We have been telling Alison that she is going to have a new baby brother or sister in April. Every time we talked about it, she would get a big smile on her face and say, “I want a baby sister!” So at our first ultrasound we brought Alison and Ben along to see the baby. The doctor announces, “It’s a girl!” I was really hoping for a boy, but I was happy for Alison. I said to her, “Alison, did you hear what the doctor said? You’re going to have a baby sister.” She breaks out into a huge smile… Then a few minutes later the doctor says, “Wait a minute… Hmm… Nope, it’s a boy.” Of course now I don’t know what to say to Alison – how do I break the news to her after that? I go ahead and tell her and she just smiles and seems to take it in stride. Even at the age of almost-three life throws you some curveballs. I’m so thankful that God knew all about this little boy long before we saw the first grainy picture. Our lives are in His hands.

It’s a boy! … we think.

In Him,
Jonathan, Angela, Alison, Benjamin, and Baby Boy #2 Stone.
(570)972-1272 (rings in Peru)
jastone@abweperu.org or jastone@abwe.cc