October 28, 2003

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Greetings from Iquitos! Thank you for your prayers, even when you do not hear from me often. The past month has been very difficult for all of us at the deaf church. Two homes have been disrupted, one perhaps permanently. Doris has left Pastor Serafin, desiring to see real changes in their relationship. There is also a crisis in trust due to lies which have been told. We have been praying often for wisdom to know what to believe and how to counsel. The end result at this point is that the pastor has stepped down temporarily to work on putting his family back together, and Abraham Cenepo, who has been at Efata for 19 months, has become interim pastor. He and Patsy were just married September 27 and are still learning sign language, so this is a big responsibility for them to take on at this time. Veteran missionaries, Rich and Dee Donaldson, are working with us as well. Pray also for the eight children involved between the two families.

In other areas of ministry, things are going better. We enjoyed a wonderful 3-day retreat with the students and faculty of the Bible institute. Veteran missionary Jim West came to be our special speaker and led us in drawing closer to the Lord in worship. Truly we serve an awesome God! Now we have about 6 weeks of class left before the end of the school year. In Old Testament Survey we have started the study of the minor prophets. I have 8 students, with the possibility of a ninth one joining us in a couple of weeks. Pray for a good finish to the year and for the Lord’s provision for the students so they can pay their bills.

Praise the Lord, the deaf Bible conference in Lima went well! We were refreshed and encouraged to go forward in our work for the Lord. The three deaf preachers were very good and used of God to speak to hearts. Several also trusted Christ as Savior during the week. My medical exams were well with all negative results, for which I also praise the Lord!

We are excited at the prospect of soon seeing our new colleagues, Patrick and Gina Cassidy and their 4 children. They have received the green light to proceed to the field and are heading our way the end of this month. Pray that we will be a real help to them in helping them adjust to living and ministering in Iquitos and along the Amazon River.

May the Lord continue to bless all of you! Keep looking up!

Your Sister in Christ,

Lynn