Good Trip and Good Class

What a busy last two days it has been. Monday, we went to Chile to get more time for Josiah because his visa recently ran out. We took a 6 hour bus ride to Tacna, Peru, which is the border city with Chile. Then, we took a taxi across the border into Chile. We thank the Lord that we were able to get the maximum time for Josiah's visa of six months. Because the process to get the residence paper takes so long, we wanted to get the maximum time possible. Thank the Lord that we simply asked for the time and they gave it to us (it doesn't always happen that way)! After we had crossed back into Peru, we asked the taxi driver to hurry to the bus station because our bus was to leave at 5:00 p.m.. We got there right at 5:00 and managed to get on the bus with 2-3 minutes to spare. Needless to say, we were quite exhausted after we arrived back in Arequipa at 11:30 at night. But it was 14 hours of travel well-worth it as the Lord allowed us to get the whole process done in one day. Tonight, we had our first English class on the church and 44 people attended. We were thrilled to have this number of people because it was such a wet and rainy night tonight. There were a number of visitors there tonight that do not attend the church. Please pray that we could form relationships and share the Gospel with these people. The classes will be every Tuesday and Thursday night for one hour.

Residence Papers Secured

Well, it has certainly been a busy week this past week or so. We went to Lima, the capital city in Peru, to pick up my mother-in-law last week. Everything went well and she arrived in good time with our field director Chris Gardner and his family; she will have the opportunity to visit us for six weeks. We are very thankful that Bro. Chris and his family are now back living permanently here in the country. Also during the time in Lima, I went to have the LASEK eye surgery performed. I have worn glasses since the sixth grade and had checked out the possiblity of my eyes being corrected back to normal. It is a procedure that can be done here in Peru at a tremendously lower price than in the States. My vision is now back to "perfect" and I am loving it. We also have been trying to get our residence papers so that we would not have to be constantly going out of the country every three months. We had been expecting to get a date sometime in the March or April, but we were pleasantly surprised to learn on this past Tuesday that we had gotten a date for yesterday to get the papers done. Thus, we went to Lima yesterday and got everything situated. Thank the Lord we got everything done in one day (which here in Peru that is saying something) in Lima and were able to fly back to Arequipa in the evening. Thank you for your prayers concerning these things. Please continue to pray because we still have to get Josiah's papers done and this process could possibly take a long while On another side note, I think that I mentioned that the exchange rate for the dollar and sole was at right about 2.80 when we arrived back in July. As of yesterday, the rate had gone up to 3.21 soles on the dollar; this is a tremendous blessing to all the missionaries here. Praise the Lord and thank you for prayers. May the Lord bless you with a wonderful day. Robert

Great Camp Time

I had a great time at youth camp this past week. We had a group of about 100 teens that attended the camp along several pastors as well. The pastors taught classes in the mornings and preached during the evenings. I had the privilege of teaching two classes and thank the Lord for the help that He gave me in the language. Thank you for your prayers concerning this. Many decisions were made as young people responded to the messages by giving their lives more fully to the Lord. Also, this past Sunday, I had the opportunity to begin teaching a discipleship class in the church. The Lord blessed as we saw more than 20 people attend the class. I taught on the subject of becoming a member of the church, believer's baptism, and how a member of the church should behave himself both in the church and outside of the church. The Lord loosed my tongue as I taught and I definitely praise him for that. Please pray that the people in the class would continue to grow in their Christian lives. Sara is doing well carrying our new little one. She has now passed seven months of expectancy and both baby and mom are doing great according to the doctor. Josiah is now walking very well by himself and talking up a storm, too. We thank you for your prayers and faithfulness to the Lord of the Harvest. In Christ, Robert

Teen Camp

Today I'll be going with a group of teens from our church for a week of camp in Canama, a city about 3 hours from Arequipa. Please pray for safety in travel and that the Lord would bless mightily in the week. Camp is always a great time for teens to get away and let the Lord speak to their hearts. I have the opportunity to teach on Thursday and Friday and am excited about the opportunity to be using my Spanish. God is really helping Sara and I both to be able to communicate more and more every day. Thank you so much for praying for our family! Our trip to Lima went very well. We have to go back again in about 2 weeks to complete some more things. Please pray that all our visa matters will be able to be settled before Baby Caleb arrives in March. We were excited to welcome a new missionary here this week. Beth Homan arrived on Wednesday. We know she will be a great asset to the ministry here. Please pray she would be able to find an apartment soon and that God would help her as she gets settled and begins to study Spanish.

We're getting ready to head out on a long bus ride to Lima, the capital city of Peru, at 6:30 tonight; we will be returning, Lordwilling, on Tuesday night and should be back in Arequipa by Wednesday morning. The purpose of the trip is to begin the process to get our residence visas. Please pray that the Lord will keep us safe. I also would like to wish a very Happy New Year to each and every one of you. Thank you for all that you do for our Lord and Savior.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Greetings

Just wanted to write a word and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We thank you for all of your prayers and support throughout this past year and look forward to a wonderful year this coming year full of the Lord's blessings and lives changed by the power of the Gospel. I had the extreme blessing this past Sunday morning of preaching in a drug and alcohal rehabilitation center here in Arequipa. There were about thirty to forty men in attendance as I had the opportunity to preach about the "Greatest Gift Ever Given" speaking about Jesus Christ and his birth; but also, most importantly, his death on the cross. After the message, we distributed sweet bread to the men as a Christmas gift. Please pray that the seed of the Gospel would take root and cause these men to realize their need of a Savior. May the Lord bless you this Christmas season! The Stover Family