Thank you for your prayers and support throughout this year. I have heard many friends mention that 2020 is a “year best forgotten” or a “lost year” due to the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns. For our family, it has been anything but wasted. 2020 has been full of blessing and opportunity.
Our daughter, Grace Lynn Rose Kotvas, was born on September 8. She is truly a gift of grace for our family. She was born a month before her due date, and so we faced some respiratory issues after her birth, but at three months old she is doing better every week, and is a healthy, happy baby. We dedicated her to the Lord before our church on November 22.
Esther, our second child, turned three years old on October 16. She is our little princess. She loves her little sister and likes to sit and gaze at her exclaiming, “my baby is so cute!”
Our oldest, Joseph James, is almost five. He made a clear profession of faith in Christ back in July, and it was my joy to baptize him this month before our congregation.
JJ had been asking to be baptized for weeks, but he was afraid of the water. We decided to practice in the bathtub every night so he would not freeze up on his big day. On November 22 he was still afraid, but he took the plunge, and he did great!
The ministry is doing well, and we are praising the Lord that the government has relaxed some of the harsh restrictions that kept us from holding in-person meetings. We resumed services in our facilities on November 15th after eight months of primarily online meetings.
Our Deaf and hearing people have responded well, and it has been such a blessing to see many of them face to face again. We have had visitors and decisions each week.
Last week was a big week for us as we coordinated our first ever International Deaf Bible Conference online.
We had 22 speakers from across the US and South America participate to preach the Word of God in Sign Language and challenge the Deaf to reach the world for Christ. You can view the conference website and each message online at www.DeafBibleConference.com. (Sign Language only.)
We are looking forward to many more doors of opportunity opening before us in ministry here in Peru next year. Pray for wisdom as we plan to serve and invest in souls.
Next week, our family will be flying to the US for a couple of months to do some paperwork and take care of unfinished business from before the pandemic. Please pray for us as we travel with our three young children. Lord willing, we will return to the field in February.
If you would like to have us visit your church in the month of December, January, or February, please reach out to me at joseph@reachandteach.org and we will do our best to work something out.
Greetings from Peru! Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. God is good, and despite current circumstances, our family and ministry are well.
As I mentioned in our last prayer letter, we have been on a modified quarantine and curfew since March. These restrictions were lifted to some extent in July, but there is still a 10:00pm curfew as well as restrictions on assembly and travel.
I requested prayer for several people in our previous letter, and I want to share with you how they are doing. Pastor Austin Gardner was in a coma for 21 days but has since beaten the virus with the Lord’s help and is recovering his strength one day at a time.
Gisela Sayritupac was overwhelmed by the virus and passed away last month. Please continue to pray for her family as she is greatly missed. Praise the Lord, we will see her again in glory. Pastor Jairo Villaseca’s other family members have recovered, but his mother just tested positive for the virus, so please continue to pray for them. Our church lost two additional members this month from other causes.
Thank you for your prayers for our people. Also, thank you so much to everyone who has continued helping with the food for needy families. It is such a blessing to our congregation and community.
The virus finally made it to our family; I contracted COVID-19 several weeks ago, as did my parents and several of my brothers and sisters and several others in the ministry here. Out of an abundance of caution, I moved into a guest bedroom for almost two weeks, but praise the Lord I had minimal symptoms, and am now fully recovered. Zulema and the kids tested negative.
I know many of you who are reading this letter may have been impacted by the coronavirus personally. Know that I am praying for you and your families also.
Zulema is doing well; thank you to all those who have been praying for her pregnancy.
Lord willing, in less than two months we will be holding our little girl in our arms! We are so looking forward to meeting our Grace Lynn Rose Kotvas the second week of September.
As we approach childbirth, we will have some additional expenses. The Lord has been good to us in the birth of each of our children and has always provided for all our needs according to his riches in glory.
I have continued to preach and teach over the internet throughout this time, using Facebook Live for messages and Zoom for my Sunday School class. It is wonderful to see how the Lord uses these things to encourage and strengthen our deaf people.
There is a renewed desire among many of our people to reach their friends and family for Christ. Cesar Salas, one of our deaf men, recently invited me over to his home to share the Gospel with his family at a memorial service for his sister. The family listened respectfully, but It was so sad to see the grip Catholicism had on their souls. Pray for the Lord to shine a light in the darkness of this family.
Hi there! I’m Joseph Kotvas, missionary to the Deaf in Peru, South America.
In Christ Jesus, we have victory.
The Bible says in I Corinthians 15:57-58,
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
God has work for us to do in these uncertain times, and in Christ we have the certainty that our service to him is both valued and valuable.
Coronavirus Update
Like most of you, my family and I are under quarantine orders right now. Peru has seen more than its share of infections and fatalities; as of this recording there have been over 100,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths. Peru has responded by instituting universal quarantine and curfew for the past two months.
In spite of all the restrictions, the food markets continue to function. People have to eat! Recurring outbreaks in each major market have fueled one of the fastest growing contagions around the world. Peru is now facing over four thousand new cases each day, and over 100 new deaths. The contagion curve hasn’t showed any sign of flattening as of yet; each day brings more new cases than the day before.
Our church members and students, their relatives, our friends, and national pastors; all have been touched by plague and death. Please pray for the Lord’s hand of healing, protection and comfort for our people. As of right now, there has not been a single case of the coronavirus among those of us who live on the mission campus here at Efata, and we are praying that it will remain so. It’s really in God’s hands.
I want to especially mention a few cases for which I would like to request prayer. Gisela, the sister of one of our dear ladies here, Ellie Cherre, is in critical condition in the local hospital. Because of the overwhelming crisis, the hospital here is not taking phone calls or providing regular updates to family members. Of course, no visitors are allowed either. All the family can do is wait and pray. They need your prayers.
Pastor Jairo Villaseca is a national missionary on our team here whose brother and uncle are in the hospital with the virus as well. Please pray for them. And American Pastor and former missionary to Peru Austin Gardner in Georgia, a friend and mentor of mine for years, is now in an induced coma in ICU battling the virus.
Also pray for the jungle city of Iquitos, where my wife was born. Iquitos has been particularly hard hit. Several national pastors have already gone home to be with the Lord, and more are in intensive care.
Please pray for these dear people, and for all those affected here and around the world.
Family News
I am currently staying an apartment on the grounds of Efata Baptist Church here in Lima, Peru. Our ministry is in a walled facility including the church building, classrooms, dormitories and a play area, as well as a number of apartments housing the pastoral and maintenance staff. So quarantine within Efata isn’t as bad as it might sound.
I’m still amazed at the opportunity to be here; I wasn’t even supposed to be in Peru right now! Or so I thought. God had other plans. We were traveling on deputation in the US, raising our family’s support to come back to the field, but a death in Zulema’s family and our pregnancy brought us to Peru just before the virus struck. So here we are! With the borders closed right now through at least October, it now looks as though our baby will be born here in Peru this September.
My parents and Zulema’s mother are all here at Efata, and they have been such a help for me with JJ and Esther while Zulema has been under the weather.
Please pray for Zulema right now. Pregnancy has never been easy for her. With each of our children she has had a lot of difficulty, and this time has been no exception. She has morning sickness all day long, and is confined to her room, for the longest time surviving on a diet mostly of citric fruit and mint tea. With that said, over the past few weeks she has seen noticeable improvement, so we are praising the Lord for that. Hopefully, the worst is behind us. Please continue to pray for her.
Ministry Video Production
Because of our unique location on campus, even though we are under strict orders to stay at home, I have had incredible flexibility to record and share messages, children’s programs, and special music over the internet for our congregation and around the world.
Our church has had significant fruit this past month. As a result of our online preaching and evangelism efforts, and the dedicated outreach of Deaf Assistant Pastor Frank Chavez, at least seven deaf people have accepted Christ as their Savior during this time. What a joy to see these people come to the Lord for answers and hope in these trying times. It’s not in vain, folks.
Over the past two weeks we hosted two online Bible Conferences in Spanish and Sign Language. Preachers from across the country joined in to share messages of challenge and encouragement “For Such a Time as This.” You are welcome to tune in at fb.com/IglesiaBautistaEfata as we continue to preach the Word in season and out of season.
Feeding the Hungry
Our ministry has also been heavily involved in feeding the hungry, and it’s been such a joy to be used as a channel of blessing, with a portion of our monthly support going to purchase rice, beans, sugar and milk for distribution to families in our church and community who have found themselves suddenly unemployed and destitute.
Operation Renewed Hope, with Brother Jan Milton, has also given generously toward this cause. There are multiple families in our church who would have nothing for their children to eat were it not for blessings such as this.
Thank you
Finally, thank you to all those who have been so faithful to give and support our family and ministry even as economic turmoil and uncertainty abound. As we are at around 30% of our support right now, and saving up for childbirth and travel expenses, God has been so good to us to allow me to find some extra work on the side designing and developing websites. This is something I have done professionally for years as my way of “tentmaking” to supplement our income and provide for our needs on the field.
If you are interested in hiring me to build a website for your business, blog, church or ministry, reach out to me at projects@josephkotvas.com, and I would be happy to look at your project. I’ll give you a competitive rate, and the additional income allows me to do more take care of my family and people here.
Prayer Requests
Pray for God’s protection and healing for those who are threatened by the coronavirus in our ministry, our nation and our world. Especially pray for Gisela, Jairo’s family, Pastor Austin Gardner, and the jungle city of Iquitos.
Pray for wisdom for those in government who are guiding the country through the coronavirus crisis.
Pray for Zulema’s continued recovery and health throughout her pregnancy.
Pray for our online outreach to continue to bear fruit for the Savior.
Pray for those who have been left with no income or savings during this crisis.
Hi there. This is Joseph Kotvas, your missionary to the Deaf in Peru, South America.
I’m in Peru right now; I’ve been traveling in the States with my family: Zulema, my wife, and JJ and Esther, my two children. The way it worked out, we come back to Peru for a while just all of this hit. We had planned to return to the States on April 2nd, and that hasn’t worked out; the borders have been closed and a curfew has been imposed. No one can go out after 8 o’clock until 5:00 in the morning, and no one can go out period except to the grocery store and to the bank or to the hospital in case of emergency.
But God’s been good to us; we’re together. If this had happening a week or two previous, I would have been in the States by myself, my family here with no way to to get back to them. I’m so thankful the Lord allowed us to to be together at this time and I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve Him.
I’ve been able to help the church here livestream their services and do some preaching to the Deaf over Facebook Live and also do some some counseling and witnessing actually through video chat. No one’s coming to the services, but people are scared and people are concerned right now and so there’s been a large opportunity for us to speak truth to people who really weren’t open before that, and I’ve heard testimonies of people in other places that have been saved as a result of coming to realize their own mortality through this crisis.
I’m thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to share the gospel with the Deaf online. I had an opportunity to provide relationship counseling online, and it’s amazing what you can do through that. Now, it’s not a replacement for church, but I sure am glad we’re able to do that.
JJ, come here buddy. I want you to say hi everybody. Tell them, please pray for us in Peru South America.
Our quarantine measure has just been extended; the president just announced that it’s been extended through April 12th, and so just pray for us. We’re doing okay. We’re thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord, but we do need your prayers. Thank you for your prayers and support, God bless you. Bye-bye.
Praise the Lord! “Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” (Ps. 150:2). God is so good to us, and we are thankful for the opportunity to serve him.
Deaf Camp last week was a tremendous blessing, with one
young deaf girl receiving Christ as her Savior and thirteen people making
decisions to dedicate their lives to the Lord. Several of you who
received my last prayer letter gave to help the campers financially this year;
thank you so much! It
was worth it.
Miss Vanessa Choquehuanca Teaching the Ladies
Missionary Markos Lindsey Preaching
Pastor Frank Chavez Encouraging Those Who Made Decisions
Testimony Time Around the Bonfire
We had over 70 campers this year. Pastor Frank Chavez and Pastor Jorge Pozo, our two Deaf pastors in Peru, directed the camp this year, and they did a great job. It is wonderful to see Pastor Frank assuming more and more leadership and responsibility in ministry. Missionary Markos Lindsey brought great Bible preaching in Peruvian Sign Language throughout the week of camp, and he and his family were such a blessing to our people.
The campers returned to Efata last Friday, and the church immediately transitioned into a Fires of Evangelism Bible Conference and Youth Bible Conference, with Pastors José Aguero, Gil Torres, Franco Loyola and Carlos Sauceda as guest speakers. Deaf and hearing believers from around the country came together for a week of challenging Biblical preaching.
Zulema is in Peru right now with our two children, and she enjoyed helping with the hospitality and interpreting at the conference. She is going through a lot with her health this pregnancy.
It has been difficult for her, and doubly so these past three
weeks as I have been away from the family for the first time in our marriage.
Please pray for strength for her and the kids. We are looking forward eagerly to being reunited in Peru
on March 9th.
Zulema Interpreting
Preaching at PBC, Springfield, TN
I love it when kids love missions!
JJ and Esther, Missing Daddy
Meanwhile, I have continued to travel, preach, and present
our work to churches across the United States, and our labor and ministry of
deputation has yielded much fruit. Each church has been so kind and generous to
me and to my family, and over the course of the last month, three additional churches have
notified me that they are adding us to their missionary family.
Providence Baptist Church in Springfield, TN, Bible Baptist Church in Grove City, OH, and Open Door Baptist Church in St. Louis, MO, thank you for partnering with us to reach this world for Christ! Thank you to each of you reading this letter for your faithful prayers and support. Praise the Lord!
God bless, Joseph and Zulema Kotvas, JJ and Esther
As I write this prayer letter, we are
preparing to drive to Chicago and board a plane headed to Lima, Peru. We have so much to share with you
this month, with major family news as well as ministry opportunities. We are
thankful for the Lord’s promises in Psalm 23:3, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
On Friday, January 17, Zulema’s
brother, David, went home to be with the Lord. While this is a difficult time for
our family, we are praising the Lord for David’s testimony, and because of our blessed hope of reunion with
him at the end of our own journey.
A charismatic and expressive signer,
David dabbled in television acting and directed sign language dramatic
presentations. He made friends easily and was quick to help when a deaf person
needed an interpreter or advocate. David learned the Word of God from an early
age, but for years he chose a different path and faced the consequences of
those decisions.
My wife and I are so thankful that in
the final year of his life, David accepted the Lord as his Savior and lived out
the fruits of the Spirit in his life, demonstrating love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance in his own
life. Instead of being a tragedy, his life became a trophy of grace.
Over 400 people attended the service
this past Sunday at Efata Baptist Church, including over 100 who would not
ordinarily come under the preaching of God’s Word, but came out to remember
David’s life and pay their respects. We are thankful for David’s life, and most of all, we
look forward to meeting David again one day in glory.
Zulema and I are thrilled to announce
we are expecting a baby this September! JJ and Esther are looking forward to having a brother or
sister. God has been so good to our family. Zulema’s pregnancies have always
been difficult, and in order for her to receive the care she will need as I
travel on deputation, we
are making the difficult decision for her to remain in Peru with our children
while I travel and present our ministry over the next few months. We
are flying out this Saturday, January 25. At Efata, our parents will be able to
help with the children and monitor Zulema’s health. I will return to the US on
February 6, and once Zulema is well enough to travel, she will join me back in
the US.
Deaf camp is upon us! Those of you who helped us last year
may remember that we had five professions of faith as well as seven young
people who surrendered their lives to preach the Gospel to the Deaf. This year,
Brother Frank Chavez and Brother Jorge Pozo are coordinating the Deaf camp, and
we do need sponsors
again for those deaf young people who want to go but don’t have the funds.
If you would be able to sponsor some
campers, please let us know! This year, the cost per camper is $45.00. Deaf camp is a wonderful
opportunity to invest spiritually in our people.
Other Praises and Prayer Requests.
Praise the Lord for His presence, his power,
his protection and his provision.
Praise the Lord we are now at 30% of our
needed support level, and we have many meetings on the calendar this year.
Praise the Lord for eternal life and for new
life in the womb.
Pray for souls to be saved and lives changed during Deaf
Camp.
Pray for safety as we travel, and for provision for travel
expenses.
Pray for Zulema’s health during the pregnancy.
Pray for our family during this time of necessary
separation.
Pray for fruit as we labor, and for more laborers to be
called out into the harvest.
God bless,
Joseph and Zulema Kotvas, JJ and Esther
While I will send out a
full prayer letter in January, today I want to wish each of you a Merry
Christmas and Blessed New Year and thank you for your faithful prayers and
support. Our ministry is possible because of the Lord’s grace toward us
through you.
As we conclude this
year, allow me to say thank you:
To those who have been supporting us now for five years, holding the
ropes for us from the beginning of our ministry. The fruit we have seen on the
mission field abounds to your account!
To the new churches who have accepted the challenge to begin supporting
us this year. Thank
you for believing in us, and in our Great Savior!
To those who gave us generous love offerings this year. So often, God has used these special
offerings to sustain us in the face of accidents and personal needs.
To those who have prayed for us throughout this time. “The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.”
God bless you for your
heart for World Evangelism among the Deaf!
Thank you for your prayers and support! God is so good to us. It is our joy and privilege to be able to serve him in ministry. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”– Psalm 122:1
Pastor Al RooseDr. Don Sisk at the World Evangelism Fellowship
A New Supporting Church. In October, I had the privilege to present our burden in six new churches across Kentucky and Illinois. We are thankful to Pastor Al Roose and the members of New Beginnings Baptist Church, Creston, IL, for partnering with us as our latest supporting church. One step closer to Peru!
This month we are traveling through Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida as we continue raising support for the ministry to which God has called us.
World Evangelism Fellowship. Last week, I attended the World Evangelism fellowship and heard Dr. Don Sisk, Pastor Austin Gardner and other veteran missionaries preach on missions at Vision Baptist Church, Alpharetta, GA. What a challenge! The opportunity to fellowship with missionaries and learn from them at every stage of ministry – beginning deputation, finishing deputation, on furlough after some time on the field, and retiring with decades of service – was invaluable.
Macedonia World Baptist
Missions Annual Conference. As I write this letter, we are preparing for our mission
board’s annual conference, to be held this year at Calvary Baptist
Church in Statesville, NC from November 13th to 17th.
This will be another opportunity both to present our calling and to “sharpen
our iron” with others with the same vision to fulfill the great commission and
reach every creature with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Family News. Joseph James
(JJ) and Esther are doing great. Esther turned two last month, and we enjoyed
celebrating with our current neighbors, Missionary Javier Pizarro and his
family. Esther is
adorable, learning and growing every day. What a precious gift from God!
JJ and Esther
Esther is Two!
Party with Friends
Health Requests. Zulema’s health
seems to be getting worse; please keep her in your prayers. She deals with back
pain, insomnia, and dizziness and balance issues, among other things. We really
need to do some further testing to ascertain if there is anything we can do to
get some relief. Our support is not yet sufficient to cover medical insurance
or bills, and we are praying for the Lord’s wisdom and provision in this
matter.Also, please pray for the health of one of
Zulema’s family members in Peru. I can’t give more details at this point, but we truly appreciate your prayers.
In Case You Missed It. Last month I included an appeal for
help for Rafael Ramirez, a fellow missionary in Venezuela, along with a link to
his recent video presentation. If you haven’t had the change to watch it yet,
please take the time to do so; it is a great blessing and eye-opener to see what God is doing in
Venezuela.
God bless,
Joseph and Zulema Kotvas, JJ and Esther
A Whirlwind of Meetings. In September, we traveled throughout Michigan, sharing our work in 15 (!) churches. Thank you so much to each of you who hosted us and loved on us. We are so blessed. We received several offerings and pledges that will allow us to purchase needed clothing, as well as a laptop for ministry use. We made many new friends as we traveled. I hope to stay in touch with many of you, whether through email, Facebook, or telephone.
More to Come. This month we are presenting our work in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Illinois; in November we will be speaking in Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida, and then we will be headed up to Ontario for more meetings and a VERY white Christmas in December!We are currently scheduling meetings for 2020 and 2021. Some of the best meetings are scheduled by personal reference; would you help us connect with more churches and present our burden for the Deaf in Peru?
Our Trusty Van. Those of you who received our
September letter may remember how the Lord provided for us to purchase an ’06
Dodge Grand Caravan at the end of August. We started out at around 201,900
miles, and the van certainly worked hard last month, adding 4000 more miles to
the odometer! It has been so amazing and encouraging to see how the Lord has provided each time
there has been a need and kept us on the deputation trail.
Deaf People Along the
Way. We enjoyed
meeting two deaf people last month. My wife was able to interpret the service
for one deaf lady in eastern Michigan, and we spent some time with her
afterwards. We try to be an encouragement as the Lord allows to those deaf
Christians we encounter, as well as challenge churches to reach out to the Deaf
in their communities. Several people approached us after services mentioning
specific deaf people whom they will try to reach in the coming weeks. Pray for them! It’s not easy
reaching across languages and cultures. Pray that the Lord will give them
boldness and that he will give the increase.
Family Praises and
Prayer Requests. My
son JJ (3 ½ years old) is learning more about God every day. When we pass
churches on the road, he calls them out to us, recognizing what he calls “Christ’s
letter t” 😃
We remind him that it is called the cross, and he replies, “yes, where
God died for us.” He has much to learn, but we’re on the right track! It’s
heartwarming how people have gone out of their way to bless our children. JJ
prayed for over a month for a “Bumblebee” transformer robot toy, and at a
church in Grass Lake, MI, the children were showered with “Christmas presents.”
My son was jumping for
joy because God answered his prayer!
JJ with his Bumblebee
Our Little Cook
Esther will turn two on October 16th, and we can’t
believe it! She’s talking so much already, in full sentences. She’s so much
fun. She’s a handful, too! She and JJ keep us on our toes 24/7. Continue praying for my wife’s
health; she deals with a lot most days.
Opportunities in Venezuela. I close this month’s letter with an appeal for help for another missionary. Brother Rafael Ramirez and his family have been doing a wonderful work with the Deaf in Venezuela despite incredible economic and social hardships. Please take a few minutes to watch the following video and pray about joining me in giving to help this wonderful ministry. Also, please pray for me as I may have the opportunity to travel to Venezuela in 2020 to encourage the churches there in their work with the Deaf.
God bless,
Joseph and Zulema Kotvas, JJ and Esther
P.S. As announced last month, this letter has been sent via email only. I’ll continue to mail printed letters every three months. To make other arrangements, please give me a call at (904) 335-8563 and I will gladly accommodate your needs.
Thank you all
for your prayers and support! Deputation is a major undertaking, but slowly but
surely becoming a “new normal” for our family, as we develop and refine
strategies for the constant packing and unpacking, budgeting for eating in and
out, managing long trips and the pressures that come along with them, and
contacting and following up with churches and friends. We are on our third
vehicle (this one’s an ’06 Dodge Grand Caravan!) in six months, and we are
putting on the miles quickly.
Deputation
certainly offers its challenges, but it has also been such a joy and blessing
for our family. The time I spend with my wife and children as we travel has
been a real treasure, and our family is better and stronger for it. The
constant tangible demonstrations of God’s providence have awed us and built our
faith. God has encouraged us, humbled us, and taught us to both be content with
a little and to appreciate the many material and spiritual blessings that he
does send our way.
Provision
and Progress
Just last month, when our minivan
broke down on the side of the road, we received a total of $2000 in one-time
love offerings from people hundreds of miles away, who had no idea of the need
we were experiencing at that moment. We were able to get back on the road
without missing a single scheduled meeting. Many thanks to Faith Baptist Church
in Terre Haute, IN and to the Nelsons in Harrisburg, IL for allowing the Lord
to show us his love and provision through their generosity.
Thank you to
each of you who has been supporting us and praying for us throughout these past
six months (and some of you for the past four and a half years)! We started
this deputation in the middle of March at around 10%, and with the monthly
commitments of four new churches, we are now up to around 15% of our goal!
I am sure that additional churches we have visited over the past six months
will also be taking us on shortly; several pastors have indicated such a
likelihood.
Itinerary
and Communication
This next
month will be a busy month for us, with 13 meetings scheduled for September. I
write this letter from Kalkaska, Michigan; please pray for us as we travel
around Northern and central Michigan through September before heading back down
to Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky in October.
I will be
communicating with you more frequently from here on out; several pastors have expressed
a preference for monthly updates. From now on, I’ll be sending out my updates
via email the first week of each month. Postage is not cheap, and my mailing
list is rather large, so the first week of each quarter, (March, June,
September, and December) I will send out my three latest letters via regular
mail.
* If you would like to be added to my email list in order to
receive more frequent updates, please write me at joseph@reachandteach.org.
Prayer and
Praise
JJ and Esther at “School”
Please continue to pray for our health
and strength on the deputation trail. JJ’s dental surgery went remarkably well,
and he no longer complains of pain in his teeth or gums. Zulema’s chronic struggles
with fatigue, dizziness and nausea continue to recur, but she pushes through it
and is a wonderful blessing as a wife, mother and travel companion. Later this
winter, we will be on the Ontario peninsula in southern Canada, and my
children, growing up in Peru, have never dealt with temperatures that low,
especially for extended periods. Please pray we don’t fall ill!
JJ is working
on reading and writing his ABC’s, and is doing very well, and Esther is
parroting everything any of us say. Zulema and I are so thankful for them both.
Also pray for
the ministry back in Peru. We yearn to get back to the work there; there is so
much to be done, and so many souls to reach. Pray with us to the Lord of the
Harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest. It’s our joy, privilege and
grave responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with this lost and
dying world.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be in touch soon! Again, please be sure to let me know if you are not receiving my email updates, and I will get you added to the list.
God bless, Joseph and Zulema Kotvas, JJ and Esther
