March/ April 2012 Prayer letter

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from the Melendez family! We trust and pray that each of you is well, and that God is blessing you richly. We all have so many reasons to praise our good God. We are praising God for all that He is doing in our lives. Mattie and the babies are doing very well thus far. The babies are 5 ½ months along!!!! Though the placenta for Baby A is still very low, it is not AS low as it was a few weeks ago, which is excellent news! However, bending and lifting are still prohibited. Daniel is in charge of the cooking and cleaning for now. We are very thankful that all is going well. During all of the medical scares that we had during the first 4 months, we learned in a new way to depend on God. Now that things have calmed down and all seems to be going well; we are still depending on God. It is so easy sometimes to forget to trust in God all the time (especially when times are good).

What is going on with Daniel’s visa? Well, we had an interview with the consulate on Friday March 9th. The interview went well, however we still needed to present two documents that were not ready for that date. So we were instructed to send them (as soon as possible) to the embassy, which we did on the 14th of March. Once the visa has been issued we should receive notification to go pick it up. We are waiting. It is hard not knowing when or if the visa will be issued, but we are trusting in the One who does know!

Will the twins be born in Peru or in the USA? That seems to be the question of the day. There are pros and cons to both sides of the question. If God allows the visa to come through fast, then we will most likely travel to the USA for the birth of our babies. However, if the visa is issued too far along in the pregnancy to travel, they will be born here in Lima! Either way we won’t be back in Tarapoto very soon. That was a very tough decision to make, but we know that Mattie and the babies will get much better medical care here in Lima than in Tarapoto.

What is going on in the Bible Community in Tarapoto?

Although we are not serving the Lord in Tarapoto right now, we would like to let you all know a little of what is going on. Bible club has begun again! We received great reports from our church family that Bible club has started up again for another season. There are between 20 and 25 children in regular attendance! Yay! Sadly, many people who live close to the church live in rentals. Many of the children that we worked with last year have moved away. We can only pray that they are able to attend a Bible believing church in their new neighborhood. We have the assurance though, that they left having heard the Gospel. Please continue to pray for them as God continues to work in their lives. Both Bible club and Sunday school have new faces. Many new children are coming and hearing God’s Word, and for that we are thankful!

The youth are also continuing to attend their weekly meetings. These past (summer) months have been full of activities for them. In February the majority of the teens attended a Christian camp put on by another church in another town. They had a wonderful time learning more about the Bible and spending time with other Christian teens! The teens also had the opportunity to help out in Vacation Bible School right in our own church!

We are also excited to announce that another member of our church family has decided to dedicate her life to the ministry! Daniel’s youngest sister is now here in Lima studying in BCM’s Bible institute. How encouraging to see young people sacrificing luxury and worldly pleasures to serve God. It’s truly a blessing.

We thank God for our co-workers in Tarapoto, Pastor Delwin, his wife Techy and their niece Raquel as they continue to teach and minister in the jungle area of Peru. We pray that we can soon return and join them in the great work that they are doing!

Please continue to pray for us as we wait on the Lord for the visa and the birth of our twins! Pray that He gives us the wisdom to make the right decisions for our family. We would also like to thank our ministry partners, who have been such an encouragement to us! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Praises:
Our marriage (we celebrated two years on March 27th).
God’s faithfulness to us EVERY DAY.
Our babies! We can’t wait to meet them!　
Prayer requests
Our spiritual growth as we learn to trust and depend wholly on God.
The health of our family (especially Mama and babies)
Daniel’s visa!

We would like to encourage you with a verse that has touched our hearts this week. I Peter 1:22 since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.
May God bless you
In Him,
Daniel and Mattie Melendez