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IMM
Mission Trip, August 28 -September 15, 2005
Tom Gilliam As Stuart Burns and I were leaving Atlanta for Lima, Peru on Sunday afternoon, August 28, 2005 the hurricane Katrina was approaching the USA gulf coast. This required our flight to swing to the east of the storm, causing about one half of our 6 ½ hour flight to be rough enough that the captain did not let the flight crew leave their seats to serve the cabin. God is good, we arrived in Lima on time late Sunday night and went on to Arequipa, Peru on Monday. Peru: Arequipa is a nice city, sitting about 8,000 feet in elevation in Southern Peru. There are mountains and desert around the city with numerous mine sites. IMM has five missionaries in this area. Two problems arose from our discussions—the cost of transferring money and coordination with the IEP (evangelistic church of Peru) mission committee. The first IMM missionary in Peru, Aniceto Rodriguez, started about ten years ago. Since then IMM has learned how important it is to have the proper church relationships. We have developed a relationship with the mission committee of the church, but it seems that missionaries did not feel the church committee had the authority to move them to another mine. We had good discussions with all of them and they were set to have another meeting with the IEP after we left and will send us a report. We learned that not only had we paid a wire fee at our bank of $50.00; then the intermediate bank charged $20 and the branch bank in Peru also took another $20.00. This is just plain robbery. We agreed to look into transferring money by setting up an account whereby the missionaries can withdraw funds using a cash card. We had a conference for IMM missionaries in Peru in Arequipa in 2004. Walter Parado of Precept Ministries International conducted the conference. Wives of the missionaries were also invited. All seemed to enjoy the conference and learned about the inductive study method. The wives sent us a thank you for inviting them last year. Santos Valero, a former IMM missionary and now director of the Chiquata Bible School, has been going to Precept Bible classes this year in order to be able to teach Precept. He has also arranged for Walter Parado to come to the Bible Institute in February to teach the students in the Bible school outside Arequipa. Last year Aniceto Rodriquez asked us about an IMM ID card. He stated that the mines would not let him on their property without a picture ID. Paul Liggitt of Roxboro, NC made nice ID cards with the missionaries’ pictures and names on them. IMM missionaries were very excited about their new ID cards. Aniceto Rodriquez is working with churches at the mine in Tintaya. The church has begun to grow and they now have about thirty people. There is a real conflict between the people and the mine management. Aniceto’s wife is very sickly and she cannot leave the house. The dementia he described sounds like Alzheimer’s. Estanislao Mamani is working in the Ubinas area with the miners there. He also has some small groups in the higher elevations. Last year he was working in Orcopampa area. IMM has also had a missionary in that area before him. The church there has grown; however, it is badly split. There are about five denominations in that church and that does not lend itself to stability. This is the church situation that resulted in the meetings with the missions committee of the church. Rene Churata is working in the Caylloma area. The mine there closed last year. A new group has bought the mine and they are expected to reopen late this year. With the mine closed down it has brought great stress on the people. Some have left; others have gone looking for work with their families staying behind. The church has prospered and there are still opportunities with small groups outside of town. Aurelio Castro works in the area of San Juan De Churunga in southern Peru. He has held preaching campaigns in two other towns and a number of people were saved and baptized. The church has grown. Juan Carcausto works with four churches at the salt and borax mines. Only ten percent of the 160 miners are permanent. The rest are temporary. The mining is seasonal and it depends on the rain. He has ten to twelve people at meetings in Moche. He is building leadership in the churches. The church feeds the children before school starts each day. Cerro
de Paso, Central Peru Cerro de Pasco is about 14,000 feel elevation and has the largest open cast mine in the world. They keep knocking down parts of the city to make the mine larger. We met the presbytery leaders on Sunday, September 12 after church. The Pasco Presbytery has two missionaries and the Huayllay Presbytery has one. The Huayllay group requested a second missionary. We told them to send us the proposal by email. They told us that they were having difficulty raising their half of the support. Our deal with them is that we send our support and they match it. We consider our support as half time and the church committee assigns the missionaries full time work. They move them to new areas when they think it is appropriate. They also replace them when needed. They replaced Carmelo Histronoza this year with Jose Alvarez Falcon. A problem we notice with the elected church leaders is that they are elected for a one-year term and can be replaced any year. We noticed the leaders change just about every time we meet with them. This makes it hard for us to have an understanding with the church leaders when they keep changing. We need to have a written understanding that is given to new leaders each year. One of the presbytery members works at the university in Pasco. He asked about a missionary for the CCU, similar to we have in Bolivia. He also asked for some Bibles and Christian books for the library. We told him to submit a proposal on the books and we would need a proposal from the equivalent of the Peruvian CCU before considering support for a missionary at the university. Jose Alvarez Falcon is the new missionary and his wife, Ana. They have a son twelve and a daughter eight and they live in Pasco. He was converted in 1978 and preached in the jungle from 1981-1983. In 1983 he started in the Huanuco Bible Institute and received a certificate and diploma in five years of study. He has pastored several churches since then. He and his family are living in his father-in-laws house in Pasco. His father-in-law is a retired miner. There are a number of small mines outside of Pasco and he visits these communities and ministers there. Juan Stolelo Cueva has started two new groups at Villa Pasco which is on the way out of Pasco toward Lima. They had a woman (a new believer) who was causing trouble and the whole church fasted and prayed for her to be delivered. God delivered her and there is great rejoicing. There are a lot of self-employed miners in his area. There are always new believers to be followed up and strengthened. Juan and his family live in Junin. Hugo Palacios works west of Pasco. He lives in Huanuco. His daughter has graduated as a nurse and has gone to a German settlement in Pozuzo to work in the clinic there. He works with five congregations in the mining area. There are two main mining companies who contract with satellite mines. There are twenty-eight of them with eighty to ninety miners each. The potential here is great. This is where the presbytery wants to put another missionary. Hugo went on holiday in July to his home town. He went about a days walk across the river. As he went he found a group at the river panning for gold. He was able to preach to these gold miners and some were saved. They organized a church there while on holiday. Esteban Laureano is handling things at the Huanuco Bible Institute. A new missionary there with the Swiss mission is Urs Kunzle and we should send messages about transfer of IMM funds to him. Bolivia Alan Turner of the UK, Stuart Burns and I left Arequipa, Peru on the bus at 2:30 am for a twelve hour bus ride through the Andes Mountains, across the Bolivian border to La Paz, Bolivia. This was one of several bus trips totaling forty-five hours that we took on this trip. Peter Robertson, Perth, Australia, joined us in La Paz for the Bolivian portion of our trip. Peter had been coming half-way around the world and when he arrived at 13,000 feet in La Paz, he was sick. The next day, Friday, September 2, we took a flight to Potosi on a New Tribes Mission airplane. This was a two hour flight instead of a ten to twelve hour bus ride. Peter came along even though he was physically sick. As we were landing in Potosi after going over a 17,000 foot mountain, Peter could not breathe. He scared all of us with his condition. As we were landing he was given some oxygen and taken by taxi to the hospital. He was checked out and they found his blood pressure and pulse were fine. He had extreme altitude sickness. After a shot, three other medications and twenty-four hours of sleep he was much improved. We praise God for his fast recovery. Potosi
Alan, Stuart and I visited the Cantumarca Prison in Potosi and saw the building the believers (prisoners) are building in the prison yard for Bible teaching, prayer and preaching. They are starting to put the roof trusses up. Stuart Burns had been given a financial gift and used it to purchase some two Study Bibles and 20 hymnbooks for the believers in the prison. Marcelo Juarez is an IMM missionary with the Bolivian Baptists. He has been in Betanzos for four years. He is single and was planning to get married this year during our visit. We had received word that the wedding was not going to happen before we arrived. Marcelo told us that his fiancee did not have a heart to serve the Lord like he does and so the wedding was called off. He is waiting for God to give him the bride of God’s choice. He will be moving to a new field this year in Tupiza, which is on the way to Villazon on the Argentina boarder. Bruno Penaranda, IMM missionary in Potosi coordinated our visit to this city. We stayed in a hotel in the center of the city and met each of our missionaries at their homes. Bruno and Leslie named their youngest daughter Megan Melissa. Last year she had no name and was about eight months old. One has a year to name a child in Bolivia. Bruno and family have moved into a large house with their six children. The ministry with the church and the miners is going well. Peter Robertson spoke in their church on Sunday night. Alan spoke in the Genesis church on Sunday morning.
Bruno went with me to the mines on Monday morning. He has a way with
people allowing him to talk with anyone. He spoke with the miners and some of
the women who were picking through the “tailings pile,” looking for small
bits of ore to sell. God is using Bruno to reach all types of people. Carlos Castillo is the IMM missionary with the CCU (student union) at the University in Potosi. During June of this year there was a great upheaval in the country and it affected the university. Some students took over the university and conflict was widespread. During this time a number of students turned to the Lord Jesus Christ. The rector resigned and a new one will be elected this fall. Carlos has been raising up new leaders in the Christian community in the university. He will have an assistant this coming year and will be able to spend more time trying to get the work organized at Uyuni. He also told us of the new mining project out past the salt flats at Uyuni, where it is rumored that a silver mine will be developed at a cost of over $200,000,000. We want to know when this gets off the ground so IMM can send a missionary when the work begins. Eddie Mendieta and his wife Nancy have four active sons and they work with the prisoners in the Cantumarca Prison in Potosi. They teach Bible studies and council with the prisoners and their families. He also works half time with the Christian school in Potosi. He and his wife are very involved with other ministries around Potosi. Oruro On the five-hour bus trip to Oruro, Stuart’s handbag was stolen from the bus. One of us was on the bus with it all the time, but it was taken nevertheless and not discovered until later. He lost three years worth of notes, his medications, cell phone, and air plane tickets that were in the bag. Praise the Lord that the plane tickets were E tickets. His medication was replaceable because in Bolivia and Peru you do not have to have a prescription. Fortunately, he had his passport and money in his pocket. Jhonny Orozco, missions chairman for the UBB (Bolivian Baptist) met us Tuesday morning with his missionaries. Jhonny has moved from Oruro to Cochabamba. The Baptists have their evangelism emphasis called Operation Andrew October 1-9 this year. They will send over one hundred pastors and leaders into the Sucre and Potosi area to visit each home during the day and preach each evening. The hosting churches will feed them and give them a place to stay. They have been doing this for a number of years and have found it very effective for evangelism. Jhonny is interested in our using the cash card method to move money to Bolivia since it will reduce expenses on both sides. Basilio Calani Rufino is the new missionary in Llallagua. He has been there since January. He has three children. He has been getting to know the people this year. He has started Bible study programs with all groups, including the ladies and young people. They are studying the Bible, book by book. They did not have much structure to their study in the past. He is also reaching out to the small groups outside of Llallagua. Bible study and leadership training are important. Mario Abraham Mendez is working in Abrapampa, Argentina. He is with the UBB and is working with Argentine Baptists as an itinerant preacher in the large mining area of the “Mina Aguilar Complex.” He is identifying and developing leaders in the different groups to which he ministers. There are many social problems in the area—illiteracy, family violence, alcoholism and other disorders which affect the families. He is working with literacy classes and simple Bible literature. Eliodoro Padilla Cardences works in Villazon on the Bolivian, Argentina border but could not come to Oruro due to road blocks in that area. Road blocks are used as a method of protesting by groups who are discontented with a particular issue and are used to disrupt travel and the shipping of goods. The Baptists have one other missionary slot with IMM that will be filled in the Sucre area by the end of the year. Jhonny Orozco will send the missionary’s photo and other information to IMM by e-mail. He asked for some money to help with transportation for all the missionaries to go to a training conference in November.
Nicolas
Ajhuacho, has been with IMM for over ten years. He is with the UCE, Florentino Apaza is still going strong. He is in his seventies and is a strong Quechua preacher. He works out of Llallagua with the UCE churches and walks to the small places to preach. We asked him about retiring and he has no intention of doing so as long as he has breath. I have talked to others in South America and they do not have the same concept of retirement that we have in the USA. They all talk just like Florentino. Mario Medina ministers in the University in Oruro. He will be finishing up his time with us in December. He has been a good asset while he has served with IMM. We thank God for his faithfulness. Eliseo Quispe Bustamante is taking over the CCU leadership in Oruro. He will also work with the University in Llallagua. He has been involved with the CCU work all along. I heard him teach a Bible study last year and he was very good. He is not married and is getting his degree in civil engineering.
Key
IMM Adviser – Oruro, Bolivia We talked with Julie Noble in Oruro, a Latin Link missionary from the UK. She is very helpful to IMM and relays messages to the missionaries and translates and sends us many of their reports. Her insight into the situation in Bolivia is very helpful. We praise God for her and her ministry with the university students, prisoners, women’s groups, IMM missionaries and the churches. She has a busy schedule of activities. Kachi (Salt) Ministry – Pocoata, Bolivia The following e-mail, written to the Living Truth Ministries Board of Directors after we met with Dionicio and four IMM missionaries in Oruro, Bolivia, is self-explanatory: From: "Stuart Burns" <sb4miners@yahoo.com> To: "Chuck Shelton" <cvsshelton@comcast.net> Cc: <imm@esinc.net> Subject: Re: Fw: IMM visit Date: Monday, September 12, 2005 4:33 PM Chuck, Tom Gilliam, IMM USA Board Chairman, asked me to send the following to you, from my e-mail. We leave Huanuco, Peru for Lima tomorrow en route back home. Stuart Dear Brother Chuck, We met Dionicio and the others at the Grand Sucre Hotel in Oruro, Bolivia on Wednesday, September 7,2005. They arrived about 2:30pm and stayed until 5pm. We had good discussions with Dionicio and the 4 men IMM supports. The following comments are from the meeting: People in charge of Kachi: Dionicio - President ! these two attended Benjamin - Secretary ! our meeting Aurora - Board Member Velario - Treasurer Arminda used to be a member of the Kachi Board. She has left the ministry and has enrolled in the nursing program at the University of Llallagua. She tried to get into the medical program for doctors in Oruro;however, she was not admitted. She is having difficulty with her teenage son. Arminda has not been replaced on the Kachi Board. Other Kachi workers: Edgar - is engaged in the literacy program Rosa Marie - is a nurse Maxima - is a nurse and takes care of the health center We met the men IMM supports at $50 p.m. They are: 1, Justiniano Villka Quenonez 2. Basilio Auca Huacanchede Khari 3. Estanislao Flores Choque The above are the ones we met last year 4. Eulogio Huarayo Cory Eulogio is the new man now supported by IMM. He is unmarried (39) and only has his mother. He has no siblings. He graduated from Bible School in 2000. He got discouraged in ministry and went to secular work. Then he had an accident and God raised him up to return to ministry. He promised God he will serve Him to the end. He loves the Lord very much and he has a humble heart. He is working in the Chaypirana area of Quesimpuco which has 30 communities. Dionicio has the ability to translate English to Spanish online so anyone can send him an English e-mail and he can translate it. We did not know the questions Living Truth wanted answered and Dionicio was reluctant to give information we did not ask for. I would recommend sending him some questions in simple sentences you wish answered before your next board meeting. If you do not know how to translate online,you would be welcome to send it to me at IMM. We can translate online and send it back to you or we can tell you how to do it. The translation program we use costs about $10 per quarter and is better than the free one. We discussed with Dionicio how to send money to the Kachi ministry. We have found that banks charge large fees each time funds are wired. We knew what the banks were charging us at home, then we discovered that intermediary and final destination banks also charge their own fees. We are going to open an account in the US for each ministry IMM supports, including one for Kachi, into which we will deposit their support. Dionicio will be able to withdraw the funds in Bolivia using a cash card and PIN number. He will only be able to withdraw what we deposit and will not have access to IMM's principal account. The only cost will be $1 or $1.50 per withdrawal. We are requiring the withdrawal to be as large as permitted each time to save fees ($300 - $500 at a time or whatever). We told Dionicio we had not received any reports this year. He said he had sent 1st Quarter and 2nd Quarter reports to Bob White. He had the 2nd Quarter reports with him for IMM so we made a copy and have them with us. We asked for a report for Living Truth, however he did not bring that with him. He was surprised that we asked. I gather he has been sending those also to Bob White. Again, I would ask him by e-mail what you want to know. We asked about the Bible School and he said there are two of those and they are doing well. I was impressed with the fact that the workers continued to serve over the past few months even though their support had not come. One of the advantages of the deposit and cash card withdrawal system is that funds can be placed in accounts in smaller amounts over time, if desired, and do not have to be sent less frequently to reduce bank charges. (We have been sending funds quarterly). The Kachi Board that Dionicio told us about seems to be an inside board. IMM will require that it be strengthened with some outside people. We did not discuss this with Dionicio at this time. He asked us to support another person, specifically the Secretary of the Kachi Board, Benjamin - see above. We will be home the evening of this Thursday, September 15. If you wish to discuss anything, please feel free to call me at 336-597-2214 (office) or 336-599-5125 (home). I pray God´s blessing on Living Truth Ministry. In Christ, Tom Gilliam IMM USA Board Chairman copy: Stuart Burns (IMM USA Gen. Sec.) copy: IMM USA Note from Stuart: Chuck, I think all of us were impressed with each of the Kachi workers present including their heart for the Lord and His work. Also, Dionicio is very organized with his reports, receipts and other paperwork. Trip Summary – Action Needed
1.
Change
our money transfer system to cash cards from the ATM machines. 2.
Request
for two new missionaries, one in Bolivia and one in Peru, and to replace one in
Bolivia. 3.
One new
area is open in Huaraz, Peru. 4.
Strengthen
relations with the UCE church in Bolivia. 5.
Write
down IMM’s policies to pass on to new members of the church committee on
missions after election. |