Lew and Mariesa Davis

Dear Friends,

What a wonderful month this has been. We have had so many wonderful opportunities to minister. Lew has preached in many different places and we have participated in the joy of bringing people to Jesus in and out of church services. We are constantly praying for the Lord to touch hearts and change lives here in Arequipa, and as always, He is faithful to do so. We have opportunities to share the gospel with taxi drivers almost daily. Praise the Lord, what a privilege! Lew is preaching every Sunday, sometimes twice a day. We have to travel for hours to get to some of these churches, so we are really tired when we return. It is all worth it, though, as at every service there are people that come down to the front to receive Jesus as their Savior, and to ask for prayer. What a thrill to see these new converts!

Christian Motorcyclists Association donated 13 bicycles to pastors who live and minister in remote areas where a car could not maneuver. At the left is a picture of just a few of them as they received their bicycles. You can see by the big smiles on their faces what a tremendous blessing this is to them. They are able to get around better and faster and minister to their people more effectively. Thank you, CMA!

Mariesa spent nearly a week in Lima at a conference and came home refreshed and renewed in the joy of the Holy Spirit and ready to throw her heart into ministry again. Time spent away in concentrated focus on our Lord Jesus is refreshing. What a blessing it was to stay in the home of some fellow missionaries and meet many new contacts to work together with in ministry.

This week there is a medical team here from Canada that is doing cardiac surgeries in one of the local hospitals. They brought along some help to paint the orphanage, El Hogar del Amor de Dios here in Arequipa. On Friday they are setting up a clinic in two of the Christian schools up in one of the poorer areas of Arequipa. Then on Saturday all the doctors and nurses are off, and will be visiting two orphanages and a feeding center to give out school supplies, clothes, toys, etc. The children love to see all of us coming, and make us feel so welcome. The team will leave Arequipa on Sunday to join up with Savannah (see paragraph and picture below) in giving medical attention to the people in Cusco.

We are thrilled to have an intern from Texas join us to help in the work here. Her name is Savannah Mitchell and she has jumped right in and filled her schedule with many different types of ministry. For these two weeks, she is working with Medical Ministry International in the poor pueblos outside Lima. As you can see by the photograph there was much damage, and mostly to the poor pueblos where many homes were swept into the river, and bridges, roads and fields of corn and potatoes were washed away. Please pray for the people around Cusco and Puno as this was their livelihood and there will be little food for the cold days coming soon in Peru’s winter time. The seasons here in the southern hemisphere are exactly opposite ours in the U.S. and Canada. You all are just coming through a tough winter. The people of South America have that to look forward to and many here are now homeless due to the earthquake in Chile, the tsunami that hit the coast of Peru and Chile, and the devastating flooding in the mountains.

In the picture at the left, Savannah is encouraging the students in the Bible College. We are so excited because el Centro de Entratamiento Biblico (CEB) is growing fast. We now have 24 students attending classes. The students are eager and excited to learn, and have many questions. Please keep the students and Lew in your prayers as he teaches. Beside Savannah is our new translator, Luis. We have a rugged schedule for the rest of the year, and are thrilled and eager for the Lord to continue opening doors. The fields are white, fellow laborers…..come soon.

Friends, we just discovered how very much we need your prayers and support. Less than 3 weeks ago Lew was very ill and I finally got him to slow down long enough and go to the doctors. The doctor ran a lot of tests and discovered an underlying problem with Lew’s prostate. After another battery of tests the urologist insisted on a biopsy. A friend in the U.S., also a urologist wants a particular biopsy done which is not available here in Peru and therefore we are returning to the U.S. for Lew to receive more tests and treatments at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. We are waiting for them to contact us to let us know how urgent it is for us to return before booking our flights. We have a team coming in April, and are hoping to be able to stay through that time, but if we must leave urgently, we shall do so. We will keep you all in the loop, please keep us in your prayers.

Much love in Jesus,

Lew and Mariesa Davis