(This letter has been translated. It’s from Dora Isabel Alvarado de Collantes, National Coordinator of PEPE in Peru.)

Beloved brothers and sisters,
Once again, I share great news about the PEPE ministry (Programa de Educacion Pre Escolar)/Preschool Education Program in Peru. This program was started as a means of providing faith-based education to children that live in extreme poverty and whose access to education is very limited. By the grace of God we now have 38 PEPE units, more than 80 missionary volunteers who serve as educators as well as coordinators, 836 children, 554 families that have been ministered to, 166 adults as well as 454 children that attend Sunday school, 25 in discipleship, 9 baptisms and we hold a regional training every month.

Our Peruvian missionary brother, married to a Brazilian sister in Christ, received the vision and began to work in the Peninsula – Piura; there they strengthened the church and new churches are being started. They then went to the Polvorines region, where they implemented the PEPE ministry, on a piece of land given to them by the community. They recently celebrated their one year anniversary. It all began with the mothers of the children that participate in this program. These mothers are dedicated to making sure their preschool children receive teaching and training through the PEPE program. Many of them continue to believe and obey the Lord in baptism. Praise the Lord!

A local pastor shared with me that they are now preparing leaders for their church. Their plans are to leave a self-supported church in a period of three years, the PEPE ministry functioning well, and if the Lord allows future plans to add elementary education to the PEPE program. They are now praying to start the PEPE project in other places.

The local church that sponsored the PEPE ministry in the province of Ferrenafe – Lambayeque had a change of pastors and decided not to continue with the sponsorship of this program. However, the mothers of the children did not want see this ministry close. Thanks be to the Lord, one of mothers who had made a commitment to Christ, has offered her home for the PEPE ministry to continue. We believe that through the PEPE program new Baptist churches will begin request that the Association of Baptist Churches adopt the PEPE ministry.

At the PEPE ministry in Ferenafe, we have a little boy by the name of Carlitos. He does not have parents therefore lives with his elderly grandmother in a small shack. Carlitos was taken to our program by a little girl that was already part of the PEPE program. In the mornings she would see Carlitos in the streets on her way to class. When he first came to the PEPE ministry, his body was full of scabies; he lacked nutrition and was in need of much love. He now has a life that has been rescued from ignorance and knows the love of Christ.

There’s a missionary movement that God is using to transform the lives of hundreds of children and their families. May God continue to bless all those that support us in various ways. Let’s continue praying for more missionary projects, may all the praises and glory be given to Him only.

Blessings,
Dora Isabel Alvarado de Collantes
National Coordinator of PEPE – Peru

Thank you so much for your support and prayers to the PEPE project. Your generous support will allow us to continue making a difference in the lives of children and families in Peru. As a new feature you now have the option of giving online by clicking here.

Sincerely,
Josue Valerio
Texas Partnerships, BGCT

Give to the PEPE Project

Hardage was serving as director of development for George W. Truett Theological Seminary and interim pastor at First Baptist Church in Waxahachie. He previously has served as executive director of the Waco Regional Baptist Association. He also has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs, First Baptist Church in Holliday and First Baptist Church in Blum. He also pastored First Baptist Church in Weatherford, Okla. and has served as interim pastor at churches such as Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco, First Baptist Church in Huntsville and First Baptist Church in Bryan.

Hardage said he is honored to be selected to serve Texas Baptists. He will begin as executive director Feb. 1.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our Texas Baptist family as executive director,” Hardage said. “It is an honor, and I’m very humbled. I have great respect for those who have served in this position before me and appreciate so much those currently serving this convention. Texas Baptists are making a positive difference for the kingdom, and this is to be celebrated. However, there is so much still to be done. Together, as we work, pray and give we can touch this state and beyond, to an even greater degree.”

Hardage has served as the the chairman of the BGCT State Missions Commission, chairman of the BGCT Missions Funding Committee and as a trustee at East Texas Baptist University. He currently is a trustee at Latham Springs Camp and Retreat Center.

Hardage earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a master’s of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.

Blessed brothers and sisters in Christ, my name is Hector Amaya but I am better known as Brother Amaya.  I will share the following in regards to the Goddard Christian Care Center.

I have been going to the Care Center for some time now, and every time that I go my faith increases and my spirit rejoices. Why? Because I get to see my Christian brothers and sisters doing what they voluntarily do for the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus.

I see the patience they have with all of the people talking and moving around.  I see their patience with the noisy lovable children. their caring love for others and their dedication to what they do. I don’t think they would do all of that without the Love of God.

While I wait in line for the center to open, I have a chance to give glory to God by witnessing and sharing my testimony with others outside.  So I am thankful to God for the Care Center and the members of the Body of Christ that I have met there.

Here is a small part of the testimony that I am able to share:

In 1965-1966 I was transferred from the Texas State Prison to New Mexico to due to four Federal Counts for violation of the Federal Narcotic Law. This carried 80 years without parole if convicted.  During this period of my life my name came up on God’s agenda and I fell to my knees in prayer with tears rolling down my face. Why? I didn’t know then but I know now. I had made many promises to God in my past that I never kept. Maybe it was because they came from my lips but not from my heart.  In that moment I knew that what was coming out of me was coming from my heart because with tears in my eyes I said, “God, if I am going to keep living for the devil don’t wake me up in the morning. But if you can do something with my life then let me wake up.” With that I went to bed.

In Job 33:14-15 we are told that God does speak to us in dreams. That night I had a dream and I was lying dead in a coffin.  My mother, sister and wife were standing next to my coffin.  I got up from the coffin and stood next to my mother.

“Look mother, I am standing here nest to you and I am dead in the coffin.  There are two of me,” I said to her.

“Son, that,” she said pointing to the coffin, “is the old life that is going to be buried forever and this,” she said pointing to me standing next to her, “is the new life that God has granted you.” Then I woke up.

We know that God always keeps His word. In 1989, after many trials and tribulations, God kept His word to me and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I have been serving Him ever since.  Thank you Lord Jesus.

In His Service,
Brother Amaya

The Goddard Christian Care Center is a ministry of Parkdale Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.  This ministry started when we noticed that so many people in the community lacked enough money to make it through the month. So we began to ask God what we could do to help.

We learned that most of the agencies that gave food were only open one or two days a month and only served their zip codes.  The community needed a source for food that would be open every week. Under the leadership of the Lord, the Christian Care Center opened in 1990.  Our Center is open two days a week and fices food and clothing to about 100 families each week.  We are one of the few centers that gives food to the whole city.

We have a group of women who call themselves “Grandmothers Who Care.” They fill baskets with everything a new-born needs.  We give a basket to all expecting mothers.

What a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with people.  This past week I had an opportunity to share with a 40-year-old woman who had never been to church, not even as a child.  As I shared with her that God loved her and had a plan for her life she opened her heart and incited the Lord to be her Lord and Savior.  This happens often as our volunteers share the gospel.

We make sure that everyone that come the the Center has a Bible. We give Bibles in English, Spanish and large print. For many this is the first Bible they have ever owned and they are so proud of their Bible.

We are so blessed to see lives changed.  Brother Hector Amaya is one of the lives we have seen God change. Read more about him and his testimony later this week.

To learn more about our ministry contact Mary Ann Wright or the church office at 361-853-0204.

Mary Ann Wright, Director

The Midland Baptist CRISIS Center is a cooperative ministry whose mission is to consider and address the needs of the marginalized and poor of Midland. 

Now celebrating its 30^th year, the Baptist churches in the local association have resourced our needs, gathering and recycling clothing, providing food and financial assistance, making appropriate referrals to agencies within the community, being an advocate for those we assist with our partner churches, and helping our churches see social needs beyond the obvious.  Hunger Funds through the BGCT help purchase food we might not otherwise be able to buy.  Over 80% of those who come to the Center, come for food.

We serve a very diverse population – Midland is known for its wealth and economic development.  Yet with such wealth come great financial difficulties – plenty of minimum wage jobs, but a lack of affordable housing; higher costs of gas and other essentials including food; inadequate child care; no emergency shelter.  Midland cycles through these phases often and it never gets easier for those without good health, education, language, transportation, and access to the more lucrative jobs.  So the Center is here to address these needs and urge cooperation with the agencies and churches of the community providing relief when we cannot.

Again and again I’m reminded that we truly serve a population that would be considered “the least of these, our brothers and sisters.”  A few are mentally ill; some live on the streets; others “bundle” and live with extended family to save money; others have physical impairments which limit their mobility and employ-ability. Folks come to us walking, on their bikes, sharing a car, or riding the bus to the stop about 4 blocks away.  We can load them up with food for families (who have cooking facilities), or food that can be eaten from the can.  We can provide the food in a box, a cloth carry-sack, or plastic bags.  In our hot summers, folks put water bottles in their jeans’ pockets and cans of Vienna sausage in their bed roles.  Some sit in our waiting room, dozing … safely… until it is time for us to close for the day and they wander off down the street to another place of refuge.

A few army rations from the Food Bank caught the curiosity of one homeless man and he tried the food outside our back door, offering us tastes of it as it cooked (was pretty good!).  Others will barter cheese and crackers for another box of cereal or some granola bars.  A single man likely will not want a bag of flour and oil but a mother and children will be able to use them to bake.  Our volunteers take time to help them find food they want and can use.

It is one thing to put a box of food in the back seat of a car;  it is another to take it to the elderly person’s home and offer to put it away – lining up our few cans on an otherwise empty shelf.  Making sure the person has a can opener he/she can use in spite of arthritis.  Making sure there is a plate to eat from, a spoon with which to eat, and a glass for water or another beverage.

As much as we have our food preferences, so do our clients.  A young Orthodox Jew wanted to know if we had kosher foods.  Even hungry, he honored his traditions.  Another said she had eaten all the pork and beans she could handle, and apologized when she asked if we had some chunky soups.  Still another asked for doughnuts or a small cake – it was her daughter’s birthday and she wanted to get her something special.  Or the folks wanting water to help manage the West Texas heat, a cloth carry-sack to tote their “dinner” to the hide-away without the bag breaking, a cup of coffee to warm their hands as they braved the cold north wind.

Food is such a basic item.  We take it for granted.  We have so much.  And what we don’t have, we can usually purchase.  So, the next time shopping, maybe we need to think of those who don’t have “so much” and probably no good way to prepare it.  Our food may taste differently from then on.

“Our food may taste differently from then on.  Jesus tells us:  “Feed my sheep.”  Three times.  I believe He meant feed them physically, emotionally, spiritually.  So, in the name of Jesus, we feed people who are hungry.”

To get involved with the Midland Baptist CRISIS Center email us at bccenter806@att.net or call us at 432-685-1467.

Susan Edwards, Midland Baptist CRISIS Center

Maria’s face lights up as her family finally reaches the front of the long line of people.  Her family has been coming every month for the last couple of months to Calvary Baptist Church, McAllen, Texas to participate in Bread of Life Market food pantry’s food distribution and Maria knows who and what is waiting for her there—Jesus!

The volunteers call Jesus the “Bread of Life” as they tell each family, in either Spanish or English, whichever is the family’s native tongue, that Jesus loves them.  The volunteers are senior citizens, university students, moms, dads and kids.  They are always smiling and help by sacking the groceries and then carrying them to the family’s car in the nearby parking lot.  Some of the kids that volunteer at the food pantry even sit down with Maria while her mom is shopping and read with her.

Bread of Life Market food pantry is an agency of the Food Bank RGV (Rio Grande Valley).  The pantry offers approximately 20 food products each month to families that complete applications to participate in the program.  Foods range from occasional fresh produce and breads to canned meats, vegetables, and fruits, as well as pastas, dry beans and rice. Each family “shops” through the month’s food products that have been donated by church members or purchased through a shared maintenance program with the local food bank.  This “client choice” method of food distribution helps make sure the families are getting food they can really use.

A popular activity at the food pantry is the “prayer room,” where volunteers offer “orar” or “to pray” with each family.  Almost every family stops to share their burdens and to lift their prayers to this Bread of Life–Jesus.  Maria and her family have been praying with volunteers over the last few months and have started attending Bible classes to get to know Jesus.

To learn more about Bread of Life Market food pantry and/or to make a donation to support households in South Texas that are struggling to feed their children, like Maria, you can contact the pantry’s volunteer director, Jeanette Ahlenius, by calling Calvary Baptist Church at 956.686.4364.

By Jeanette Ahlenius

In August of 2007 God brought the mission field to First Baptist Church of San Antonio where I serve.

In Matt 6:19-21 Jesus says:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.”

The Burmese refugees that God has sent from Burma to Texas are my treasure. When they started arriving I wanted to know more about their history. I learned that Adoniran Judson and his wife Ann were responsible for bringing many to Christ and that we were now being entrusted with helping them to grow in their faith.

Coming to America is a blessing but also has many challenges. I didn’t want these simple people to lose their dependence on God and fall into a sinful lifestyle with their new found freedoms.

Presently I am the Director of the International Ministry Bible Study Classes, responsible for eleven classes using English as a Second Language (ESL) approach to sharing the Word of God. I also teach one of the eleven classes.

My class is made up of about 15 men and women of various ages. I have come to know and love each person in my class. I have a personal relationship with each one. I’m trying to teach them about God’s love and care for them. I go to their apartments and visit with them. They need lot’s of help with various issues and I try to be available . Sometimes they bring papers to Sunday school for me to explain to them.

This is no ordinary Sunday School class, while I’m teaching them about the love of God, about his plan of salvation, and living the Christian life, they are teaching me about their simple faith. My favorite part of the morning is when we sing a hymn from the Baptist hymnal and they sing with joy and smiles in their imperfect English. I am blessed to be with them.

To volunteer with First Baptist Church and reach out to the refugees in the San Antonio area please contact Hugh Ames at yeslord@fbcsa.org.

By Tim Deemer, San Antonio, TX

Texas Baptists Congregational Strategists Richard Mangum and Fred Ater are in touch with churches, directors of missions and church members in the Central Texas area. So far no churches have been destroyed. Primera Iglesia Bautista in Bastrop is housing 10 families and serving as a distribution center for those affected in the file. Texas Baptist Disaster Response Specialist Marla Bearden is in the area this week to discover needs.

Funds are needed to help Texas Baptists minister to those fighting the fires and those affected by the fires. To aid the effort, visit www.texasbaptists.org/give and click on Disaster Response.

Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve meals as well as other duties at Primera Iglesia Bautista in Bastrop, which is housing 10 families and feeding 50-75 people each day.

We pray that we then can move outside our walls using our church’s unique strengths to impact our communities, state, nation, and world. We must remember that people from the most unreached parts of the world are moving into cities (including ours). We have an opportunity for everyone in our churches to have a more active role in missions. God has a unique and strategic plan for our churches, to reach every tribe and language, and to accomplish His purpose in our world. God calls us to go, from the inside of our churches to our neighborhoods and nations. With Hope 1:8 Weekends we hope to Encourage, Partner, or Start a mission’s emphasis and lend a hand so that our churches can connect Gods’ mission to His Kingdom… bringing hope to everyone.

For more information on how your church can be a part of Hope 1:8 Weekends please contact:

Fernando Hill
Phone: 469.766.3628
Email: Fernando.hill@texasbaptists.org

The convention is giving $20,000 from its disaster relief funds and $5,000 from the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger to TEAM – The Ethiopian Aid Mission, a consortium of primarily Texas Baptist congregations who have been serving in Ethiopia for more than three years. The coalition will work with Ethiopian congregations to insure that people who need food receive it.

Members of the coalition are: First Baptist Church in Athens, First Baptist Church in Longview, First Baptist Church in Corsicana, First Baptist Church in Kilgore, First Baptist Church in Lufkin, Central Baptist Church in Marshall, First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, Cross Roads Baptist Church in Marshall, First Baptist Church in Marshall, East Texas Baptist University and First Baptist Church in Blue Springs, Mo.

Roughly 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are facing hunger and thousands of Somalis daily are fleeing the nation for refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Camps are swelling in size as people begin living on the outskirts of the settlements. According to media reports, roughly half of the children attempting to get to the camps are at risk of dying as a result of malnutrition and disease.

Jim Palmer, who coordinates TEAM’s work in Ethiopia, recently has been in dialogue with church leaders there about how to provide assistance. He is continuing to sort through the details of how to best do that. TEAM congregations and partners have raised nearly $10,000 for the relief effort as well.

“This is the beginning of a major crisis,” Palmer said. “This isn’t going to be over in six months. I’m just thankful we have people in Ethiopia and people here who want to help like this.”

Ferrell Foster, who coordinates the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, said the allotted funding will help TEAM continue to share the hope of Christ in the region, especially in this particularly trying time.

“The depth of suffering caused by the famine in East Africa is shocking to behold,” Foster said. “The heart of compassion given by God pushes us to look for ways to make a difference, and that is exactly what these Texas Baptist churches have done through their ministry in Ethiopia. Through the disaster funds and the hunger offering, all Texas Baptists now have the opportunity to join these churches in their efforts to change lives, helping satisfy their physical and spiritual hunger.”

Chris Liebrum, who leads Texas Baptists Disaster Response, noted that God grieves with those who are hurting and calls His followers to minister in His name. TEAM is committed to serving those who are searching for food in East Africa.

“Over the past few months we have all seen disturbing pictures and stories from the East African area,” Liebrum said. “God is calling His people to respond to the need in this part of the world. The most effective way for Texas Baptists to respond to this crisis is to work through TEAM and their contacts within Ethiopia. Because of the generosity of Texas Baptist churches, we are able to work through TEAM and indigenous Ethiopians to serve in the name of Christ during this critical juncture.”

To give to Texas Baptists Disaster Response efforts or to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, visit www.texasbaptists.org/give.