Bringing the Mission Field to You

By Steve & Debbie Douglas

"I know God brought me to North America to receive Christ." Eva is a teenager in our work among the professional class in Arequipa, Peru. Her parents heard about our "cultural program" for high school students, and begged us to find a home in the USA where their daughter could practice English and learn about America.

The cultural program began in 1996 as we were trying to find ways to reach and serve the large professional class of Arequipa, Peru's second largest city with a population around one million.

God directed us to this work and John & Aimee Stiles joined our team. As we prayed for God's wisdom and studied the situation, we realized we needed varied contacts to make inroads into people's lives.

To make ourselves known and gain people's confidence, we used sports and got involved in Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, English and cooking classes, and youth and children's activities.

Then we heard of parents who wanted to send their teenagers to the US for a summer (January-April) but needed suitable homes. One afternoon our neighbor, the most qualified cardiovascular surgeon in Arequipa, asked for help in making phone calls to the place where his daughter was to spend the summer. He was upset because his son was supposed to go, too, but arrangements fell through. God directed us to call Mark & Nancy Nelson, now consultants at ABWE's International Training Center, to see if they would receive the doctor's son, enroll him in a local Christian school, and plug him into their church's youth program. Rafael spent six months with them and trusted Christ as his Savior. His sister Maria also stayed with the Nelsons. Meanwhile in Arequipa the favor we had shown their parents gave us the opportunity to present the gospel. They also turned to Christ for salvation.

When Eva's parents approached us about a place for her, we contacted my brother Jim & Bev Douglas. They agreed to host Eva. She arrived in January 1998 and stayed until May. Every contact at home, school and church prepared her to accept the saving truth found only in Jesus Christ. One day she prayed with a friend at school to receive Christ. Back in Arequipa, Eva's mother and sister also accepted the Lord, and we continue to work with her father.

Would you be willing to host a Peruvian teenager? Would your church or Christian school like to have a part in this program? Contact us by E-mail: Peru4u@ptd.net.