Efata Ministries Blog

Youth Meeting Pictures

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:36:39 -0500

Efata Baptist Church has a vibrant, growing youth ministry, and our young people love to have fun! Every Friday, the teens meet for an evening of games, contests, music, and Bible teaching.

Last Friday, the contest involved bringing a tasty, decorative fruit salad to the meeting. Assistant Pastor Jonathan Ramirez posted pictures to his blog. Click here to view them and more!

Note: Pastor Ramirez’s blog is written in Spanish, but pictures transcend language barriers.

March - May 2009 Prayer letter

Wed, 27 May 2009 12:49:38 -0500

Dear Friends and Family,

These past few months have been a whirlwind of activity. There is so much to share so let me get right to it.

Ministry News

On March 8^th we licensed two of our deaf preacher boys, Frank and Hugo to preach and commissioned one of our deaf missionaries, Jorge Pozo, to continue the new work in Huancayo. Now that new work has a permanent missionary family working with them.

Also I was privileged to preach the anniversary of one of our missionaries to the Deaf in a town called Ferreñafe near the city of Chiclayo about 10 hours north of Lima. This was a blessing. A deaf/blind man was saved during this time. Pray for this work as their landlord has given them 30 days to move out of the house they have been using for their home and the church for the last four years. They need to find another location and are praying for $7000.00 to purchase a piece of property for a permanent home for the church. This property is around the block from their current location.

Please click on the link below to read more

March - May 2009 Prayer letter

January - February 2009 Prayer Letter

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:27:10 -0600

Frank and Hugo in Huancayo

HOME! We are now back in Peru and have hit the ground running. We arrived on Jan. 14th and immediately went into our Mission conference. We had a great conference with Bro. Bill Schutt Deaf Evangelist from First Baptist Church, Hammond, IN.

Also, we had the special treat of having my mentor in Deaf ministry Steve Houghton with us for a few days as well as he was helping his sister Rebecca with her move to work with us here in her new ministry with us here at Efata. She is going to be a great blessing for us and the work at Efata, especially with our ladies.

To top this all off, Missionary Jim Sloan, Missionary to the Deaf came down as well to visit and preach in the various deaf ministries here in Peru. The Deaf really love it when he comes and so do I.

Click here to read more...

Praise the Lord!

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:11:27 -0600

We just received a gift of hearing aids for 40 of our deaf children! Praise the Lord! We have prayed for this for eight years. God is so good. He provided us with these hearing aids through the Starskey Foundation. We are so thankful! We will be sending out a prayer letter SOON!

- Lisa Kotvas

Merry Christmas

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:24:09 -0600

What a wondrous God we serve! We thank Him for the precious gift of His Son to die for us to that we might live! We praise Him!

We love you and wish you a very merry Christmas!!

Love,

The Kotvas family

Joe, Lisa,

Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Joel, and Jessica

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:17:21 -0600

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful day today. We are so thankful for what God has done for us. One of the main things we are thankful for is you, all of our family and friends. God bless you! To Him be all the glory, honor, and praise as we continue in His service.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving,

The Kotvas Family and Efata Ministries

August – October 2008 Prayer Letter

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:29:32 -0500

Dear Friends and Family,

In the midst of all of the economic turmoil and presidential politics; in the midst of the evil of the day, we are assured and know that the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. (Psalm 33:5)

Even in these times of high gas prices and cost increases, it is a tremendous blessing to see how the Lord continues to supply our needs, grant us safety on the journey, give us mercy and strength in the way and provide a great deal of loving fellowship for the heart.

Click here to read more!...

May - July 2008 Kotvas Family Letter

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:17:59 -0500

Nathan Ramírez

As we are traveling across America reporting to our churches and friends, as well as raising much needed new support, God is giving us a safe and prosperous journey. We very much desire to come unto you and report the wonderful things that God is doing in our ministry at Efata. These last three months have been very busy and exciting. As always there is much to share... Click here to read the rest.

Meet Rebecca Houghton

info@efata.org — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:24:20 -0500

We are excited to announce that our longtime friend and former missionary, Rebecca Houghton, has surrendered to come and help us minister in Efata! Here is the letter I wrote recommending her to pastors.

Dear Pastor:

I am writing you today to recommend to you missionary Rebecca Houghton. Rebecca is a servant whom I have known for almost 20 years. She worked for many years in Mexico and the United States. Rebecca came down to visit us during the month of May, 2008 and the Lord laid it on her heart to come and be a part of Efata Ministries to serve – reaching, discipling, and teaching hearing women and children for Christ.

Rebecca will be involved in many aspects of our ministry working with our ladies and children in soul-winning, discipleship and Christian womanhood. She is a talented pianist and music teacher with old-fashioned conservative music values and will minister in this vital area of music - playing the piano, singing and teaching music.

Being fluent in Spanish and with a basic knowledge of American Sign Language, she is a “puzzle piece” ready to be put in place! She will be able to learn more of the Peruvian signs and help out in other ways in our children’s home and school for the Deaf. God is so good, and we thank Him for this blessing.

I pray you will consider helping Rebecca in her move to Peru, and with monthly support. We know that God will use her in a great way.

If you have any questions, Please feel free to contact me at any time. For more information about Efata Ministries, please visit our web site at the address listed below. God bless you as you consider this choice servant of God.

Respectfully In Christ,

Joe Kotvas D.D.
Pastor/Missionary - Efata Ministries

Meet Pastor Victor Ocampo

info@efata.org — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:04:28 -0500

Pastor Victor Ocampo and his family have been with us at Efata since May of last year. We finally got around to making his web page, and I know you will enjoy reading his testimony and seeing the pictures of his beautiful family. Pastor Ocampo and his wife are an incredible blessing at Efata. He put some great pictures of the school's anniversary cookout on his site as well, so be sure to scroll down once you get there!

His website is http://ocampo.efata.org/.