Dear praying friends. We wanted to thank-you again for your prayers. The hymn says morning by morning new mercies I see, and we are thankful for His mercies, that they are new every morning.

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity. We still have the three brothers (Edwin 18 mos, Jorge 3 and Nain 5) and are uncertain of how much longer they will be with us. They love to eat, sleep and play. The sad look in their eyes is slowing fading and their story is slowly emerging. They watched their father beat their mom while under the influence; they themselves bear the marks of either neglect or abuse. The oldest bears the burden of responsibility for his younger brothers. Obviously this has added a new challenge to our lives; there are now eight of us in our apartment so we have close fellowship. Now the two older boys are on summer break so Kim’s load has increased.

School has just wrapped up for the year and the students are on summer vacation. We wrapped up the year with our annual school closing and awards ceremony followed by a K5 graduation and then a chocolatada for the school and Sunday School children. The chocolatada is a Christmas tradition where they eat a sweet bread called paneton with fruit in it and drink a hot chocolate with a few other spices. During these different meetings we were able to present the Word of life.

This summer in the Lord’s will I will be continuing to work on the curriculum and I will be helping with construction of two new classrooms. We need them for next year to continue to grow by adding third grade. The foundation work is already under way with the main construction planned for January. We are very thankful to God as we have seen Him provide for the new building, both labour and financially.

The Bible studies in various homes are slowly wrapping up. We are sad as some still have failed to turn to Christ but thankful for the opportunity to sow the seed. Others are continuing their studies although still not saved.

I recently registered our vehicle; it took nearly two months and approximately 12 hours in different lines. Then I went to renew the permit for the tinting on my windows and was handed a list of sixteen requirements and six pages of different forms that need to be completed.

This past month we made a quick trip to Lima as Christopher needed to write his SAT for university. We were able to enjoy fellowship with the Christians there and a short break.

We pray you will enjoy your fellowship with Him over the Christmas holidays.

In Him

Mark and Kim

Dear brothers and sisters

Thanks to each of you that remember us in prayer, we have seen some remarkable answers over the past month and more reasons to pray.

At Strong Tower Christian School we are preparing for the end of the year. We have a month left of school, so things are swiftly drawing to a close. The classes are preparing for the final exams and for the Christmas program Dec 16^th.

In the will of God we will add another two classes in January. We already have parents asking about matriculation for next year, today three new families registered for next year. We are thankful for the opportunities to present the gospel to the children and families of the community through this means. Please pray for the people that have heard the gospel that they would respond.

Morning Star children’s home has been experiencing some changes. Recently there have been numerous requests to house children. Since I last wrote a girl of five has joined the second floor family. On the same day she arrived a lady in Chiclayo saw a couple in a mototaxi with two babies abandon one on a garbage heap. The baby only days old has since joined the downstairs household. With the arrival of these two the numbers have reached sixteen. In more than one way the houses are full, but the requests by the state to house more continue to pour in. The home currently has one building with two floors; each floor is a home and can house up to eight children as well as the house parents (a Christian couple).

We prayed the night before the last baby arrived for God to provide more space so we could house more children, but also to allow some of the children to be adopted. The next morning when I arrived at Morning Star I was greeted with the news that one of children (18mo) was being adopted. We are thankful for this answer.

Then today three boys 18 months, 3 years and 4 years were taken from their mother who was mentally unable to care for them. There is currently a strike on with the court workers so the judge had nowhere to send the children. So as of tonight we are taking care of three young boys, Edwin, Jorge, and Nain. The current projection is that it will be for a week. After a haircut (to deal with the lice) and a trip to the store room for some clothes and necessities they came back to our home and quickly fell asleep.

We would appreciate your prayers as we seek to serve the Lord here. We are discovering many different avenues of service for Him.

In Him

Mark Kim and family

Another is month is slipping quickly by, a reminder of how short life is and still how many opportunities there are to serve.

We were happy Friday to witness a baptism at our local church as two teenagers obeyed the Lord and were baptized. Friday was a holiday, so we invited another assembly (from about ½ hour away) and enjoyed a time of ministry, singing and fellowship followed by a meal.

I’m spending most days out at the school working with the teachers or on the curriculum. The days however never turn out as planned. The other day I was called into the K5 classroom because one of the girls was locked in the washroom. The key wouldn’t work because the doorknob was torn apart (with some inside help). It took 15 min. to get the door opened, and another 15 min. to fix things up so it wouldn’t happen again. I returned to the school office and when I went to wash my hands in the office washroom (which is shared with the K4 class) I discovered the door was locked, I went around to the other door in the K4 class and it was locked, and yes the window was locked too, all with the no one inside the washroom. Finally after half an hour I found the keys and managed to get in to wash my hands. When I returned to the office I discovered a young man who needed my attention.

The Bible Studies with the parents of the school have started to bear fruit. One lady professed salvation recently. Please pray for this new believer that her life would demonstrate her new birth. Other parents are showing interest as well so please continue to uphold these in prayer.

We just last week had a fourteen year old boy Esaul stay at the children’s home for three days. He had been removed from the home he was staying in since his aunts were beating him with a rubber hose. Unfortunately we do not have the space or the personnel for more children right now, so he stayed until the judge could find a location. The same day Tom was asked to take a 3.5 year old but had to refuse.

An update on little Daniel! He was fighting a cold and has recovered from that, but since then it was determined that his protein needs to be higher before he goes in to have the colostomy reversed. Lord willing this will happen in three weeks. For the rest he is a very healthy and pleasant baby boy.

We are happy to have my sister Audrey here with us. She is teaching the English at the Christian School. Remember her as she settles in to life here in Peru.

Thank-you for your prayers

In Him

Mark and Kim

Dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ.

I join Paul when I say I am thankful when I remember you. We have been acutely aware of the need of your prayers over the last month and are thankful for them.

We recently had a young boy come to the children’s home. He is around nine years old and his name is Omar. His parents had left town and he was left with relatives who beat him regularly. Finally he left them and showed up in someone’s house in Ferreñafe. They fed him and then called the police the next day. Since then he has been at the children’s home, settling into a new life of structure and discipline. He had not attended school yet this year (since March) so he is behind. His teacher is working to help him catch up.

Today was the Spring Picnic for the Christian School. It is a field day for the school. Families from the school and Christians from the local church attended. There were games, food and a Bible lesson. We were able to use the local “coliseum” (without any lions) for our event.

I have been working at the Christian school. Most of these last weeks have been taken up getting to know the staff and where they are in the curriculum, along with outstanding needs in the school. Kim has been working at home with our children on their schooling.

One night when returning home from the meetings Tom took a photo of us in one of the local Ticos. Its a snug affair esp. in the back seat. The fact that it is almost sitting on the ground is as much a factor of the state of the shocks as weight.

The Bible Studies in the different homes are coming close to wrapping up. Please pray for fruit and for a desire to study the Word further. Some of the fathers have started to leave the home whenever it’s time for the study, so obviously the Word is taking its effect.

In just a few weeks we will celebrate the anniversary of our first year in Peru. The time has slipped by so quickly. Please know that your prayers have been heard before the Lord, sometimes in ways we can share but many times in things we cannot share but are so aware of the abundance of God’s grace for the day.

In Him

Mark Kim and family

Dear praying brothers and sisters

Time is swiftly passing as we look forward to the Lord’s return.

The Bible studies for the parents of the children from the Christian School are progressing well. The men of the assembly are being stretched as they teach Bible studies in more than 20 homes. Then last Saturday evening at 7:00 pm there was a ladies meeting – basically an outreach for the community ladies who would like to attend. Once a month the ladies meet for a time of fellowship, crafts and a gospel lesson. This past week approximately 15 ladies from the community attended.

We recently had a young girl returned to the children’s home. Cesia is a year and a half old baby who was sent home to her mother in March for a trial period. Her two older siblings remained at the children’s home to see how their mother would fare. Regular assessments were carried out in the home with the result that Cesia was removed from her mother’s care just a few weeks ago. For a tiny baby this time away from proper care has definitely left its mark. The court has said they will terminate parental rights for the children. Once the process is complete the three children will be available for adoption, but jointly as they are not permitted to be separated.

I now have half of my family home, Kim and Jonathan returned safely Aug 10^th, while Christopher and Lindsay will return Aug 31^st. Jessica will remain in New Brunswick to continue her studies. The people from the assembly were happy to see them back, while the young people are looking for the rest to return.

In two weeks, I will be reducing my time spent studying the language, and begin working each day with the school. My main focus will be on Curriculum and Professional Development. When we arrived I had as my goal to spend until Sept in language study and then move on. I am hoping this will allow more direct language practice as well as allow me to prepare for the next school year.

Today was national earthquake simulation day; we helped transfer the “victims” to the collection point. Ironically we had a 5.0 earthquake two days before, approximately 100 kilometers north of us.

In Him

Mark, Kim DeJager and family

Faithful is He that called I Th 5:24. I wanted to update you on some events here in Peru.

I’m delighted to tell you that Daniel is continuing to do well. He's back to his old self again, laughing, smiling and being playful. In another month they will begin working with his bowel to prepare for the reversal of the colostomy in September. Please continue pray for this little guy.

We have begun to visit the parents with children in the Christian school using a survey to get feedback on the school from them and then to ask them several questions about their relationship with God. At the end of the questionnaire we ask if they would be interested in learning more about the Lord. The response has been overwhelming; so far we have over 20 families who have asked for follow-up visits which will entail a weekly Bible study in their home. This will stretch the resources of our assembly as we respond to this need. Please pray that these people will find the Lord and pray for each of the teachers of the Bible study.

I’ve had the opportunity to begin teaching a course on preaching to three young men from the assembly. We’re using a little booklet by A.P. Gibb as they prepare to begin taking a more active role in the meeting. This is my first foray into teaching in Spanish so it takes lots of time to prepare. Fortunately they are patient with me as I try to communicate these very important principles in a language I am still learning. Please pray for all of us that God will be glorified.

As part of my Spanish lesson each day I read orally. My teacher (Luis) corrects my pronunciation and helps me to understand difficult parts. For the last week and a half we have been reading the Ultimate Questions booklet (in Spanish). Today as we finished it I had the opportunity to speak to him more about the Lord (he’s not a Christian). Please pray for his salvation.

Kim and the family are now in Canada. Kim will be returning August 9^th with Jonathan. Lindsay and Christopher will return August 30^th. Jessica hopes to return sometime in September and continue her studies online for the coming year.

In Him

Mark Kim and family

To our praying friends, we wanted to update you on some of the answers to prayer and other events in the work here in Peru.

I mentioned in the past the addition at Morning Star of Daniel Lee, an infant with water on the brain and “bowel problems”. Recently, Daniel went to a neurosurgeon about the water on the brain. The surgeon looked at his CT scan and general progress and felt there was no need to operate. He will follow up his diagnosis with the top neurosurgeon in the country. Very soon Daniel will be going to see another surgeon about reconstructing his bowels and possibly his bladder. Please pray the surgeon will have wisdom how to best help Daniel. Daniel continues to be an excellent baby – that is he is well behaved and is growing well.

Since our last newsletter, we have had the joy of seeing a number of children profess salvation in the grade two class. The first two boys, who had been talking with a classmate from the Children’s Home, approached their teacher asking how they could be saved. The next week, on different occasions, four girls came to their teacher asking how to be saved. Please pray for these young souls that they would go on for the Lord.

Lord willing, the week of June 13^th, we will be working with a group from the United States distributing Seed Sowers to the town of Ferrenafe. Please pray that the seed will bear fruit in the lives of these people.

An aspect to the ministry that we hadn’t foreseen is working with the different volunteers that come to visit. As of the end of the week, we will have had approximately 40 visitors from all over the world. We have enjoyed the opportunity of meeting them and fellowshipping with them. Most importantly though, our objective is for them to be able to participate in the work here and see how God is at work. We have seen God touch many of their lives.

June 18^th, Kim and the children will be returning to Canada. This was the return ticket we were told we needed when we came. We wanted to keep the children connected so this will give them the opportunity to work at camp and visit with friends and family. I will not be going, instead I will be staying and working on my Spanish. My goal is to start working at Strong Tower in early September. So continue to pray that I would continue to learn Spanish (God made the donkey speak, so nothing is impossible for Him!).

One “exciting” side note – we experienced our first real tremor – the epicenter was 275 kms away and 6.4 magnitude. A real reminder of where we live and who is in control.

The rice harvest here is almost over, and I can’t help think of the verse – the harvest is past the summer is ended and they are not saved. Please pray for souls and persevere in your walk and work.

In Him

Mark, Kim and family

This has been a busy but exciting month. It started with my sister Audrey who had been helping out at the Christian school sharing that she would like to return in the fall to help out with the school on a fulltime basis. We are in need of an English teacher so please pray as she works through the preparations. Shortly after she returned to Canada, a group of friends from Charlottetown PEI came down to work with us and encourage us. They were followed the next day by the arrival of our oldest daughter Jessica and a young lady Bernice Bouter.

We were excited to introduce them to Peru and to show them the work in Ferrenafe. We worked together blanketing the town of Pueblo Nuevo with Seed Sowers (which they had brought in their suitcases) and gospel literature. It was encouraging as I drove around the town (trying to keep things organized and trying to keep them hydrated) to see where they had been. I saw people walking or standing with the packages in their hands. Two images stand out in my mind: one of a man I passed by sitting in his doorway intently reading the way of salvation, second of a little barefoot boy running over asking if he could please have one. Please pray for the seed to bear fruit in their lives. God willing the adjoining town of Ferrenafe (a street divides the two towns) will be covered in June by a group from Georgia.

The group from PEI also helped out at the children’s home with the children and in the Christian school with the English classes – we even had their leader Greg MacIsaac reading to the children.

One highlight of their time here happened at the end of one of the Bible studies when a young man made a public profession of salvation. His wife was saved a year ago and has been going on faithfully praying for her husband. He had been prayed for over the last few years so it was a delight to see him come to the Lord.

Shortly after my last newsletter we had a new arrival at the children’s home – Daniel Lee is a two month old infant whose bowels do not function properly. His house parent Janet Coates was a neonatal nurse and provides the care he needs. He is an excellent baby and is in great health aside from his bowels. Please pray as we await the opening for him to receive surgery (it could be a year).

Then Friday May 8^th was the annual Mothers day presentation put on by the children of the Christian School. Approximately 250 people attended this event where there was a program by the children and then the gospel was presented to them

In Him

Mark Kim and family

Hello friends we wanted to pass on some of the recent events here and thank-you for your prayers for us here in Peru.

It’s hard to believe that its almost six months since we arrived in Peru October 6^th. Around the time we arrived one of the young men who lived close to the children’s home made a profession, this past Sunday we were happy to see him follow the Lord in baptism.

This month I went with seven men from the assembly (three of them young men 16-21 years old) to a conference for the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. It is an opportunity for the local people to economically obtain a Bible with some tools they could use in their studies and teaching. Most of them could never afford the books so many of us take for granted. Part of the conference was to teach them some basics of studying the Bible and preparations for speaking.

School is up and running with approximately ninety students. Please pray for the teachers as they work with the students. Friday March 26^th will be the first parent meeting where the gospel will be presented so please pray for Tom as he presents the gospel.

We were happy to see my sister Audrey arrive safely Thursday March 18^th, she will be spending a few weeks here helping out with the English program at the school and helping out in the children’s home. Please remember her as she helps out and as seeks God’s direction for her life.

We also have two young men helping at the school for the next month. They are two brothers (same family) from Honduras who are fluent in Spanish and English, a great asset in the school.

We have been happy to have different ones of the young people over to the house to “hang out”. It has been good for everyone especially for our children to have found young people to spend some of their time and to provide some friendly help in learning Spanish.

We wanted to thank-you for your prayers as we learn Spanish, we continue to make progress slowly but surely.

In Him

Mark Kim and family

Warm greetings from the south.

We had a successful trip to Lima to pick up the children’s visas. There was a glitch that ended up with me asking the director to allow us to get our paper work done on the day we had planned. God intervened and we were able to get everything done.

Since the last newsletter we have had two of the children leave the home. Jose was two years old and was adopted by a couple from Norway, while Cesie is nine months and went home with her mother. The challenge is that Cesie and her older brother (10yrs) and sister (5 yrs) were taken because of neglect, please pray that the mother will take care of her daughter.

We have had some rain here! One day of steady rain flooded the streets (there are no storm sewers) and left all unpaved roads a literal swamp. Traveling to the meetings the next day was interesting since the streets leading up to the children’s home are not paved. Fortunately we did not get stuck.

One of the young men from the local assembly and a young lady who works at the children’s home were married recently. It was great to be a part of them uniting together to serve the Lord.

Late in February our assembly will host a youth day for the young people in the area. It will be a great opportunity for the young people to spend time together and hear the Word of God.

We are looking forward to school starting please pray that as we see a new group of children and the families they represent they would be receptive to the gospel.

We have been thankful to have several young ladies from Nova Scotia -Susannah MacKinnon and Jessica-Rae Linzel to visit for a week. They have helped out at the children’s home and with the summer school.

We recently changed Spanish teachers (our former teacher was working two jobs and very tired). We also have continued to visit a local university and practice our Spanish with some of the students. We have been able to start meeting with some of them outside of these times which gives us more opportunity to talk. Kim has also started to meet with a lady who would like to improve her English, which gives Kim a chance to practice her Spanish as well. This lady grew up attending a local meeting but was never saved. Please pray as we spend time with these people.

Thank-you again for your prayers and interest in the work here.

In Him

Mark Kim and family

January News

It has been nearly a month since I last wrote, so I thought I would update you on what is happening in the place where God has us.

We spent Christmas and New Year’s in Chiclayo. Christmas was quite quiet here, and yes most people eat turkey here too (we had chicken). New Year’s on the other hand was very different. They have a custom here of stuffing old clothes with straw and fireworks and burning them in the street at midnight. This is besides the fireworks everyone sets off. Between the fires and the fireworks it made the street seem like a war zone.

Early in January a group of men from the United States traveled down and began construction on two classrooms for the school. These will house grade one and two in the new school year. The current grade one classroom is very cramped. School will commence here March 8. We are still looking for a qualified Spanish teacher for grade two.

Two weeks ago during our Sunday school the visiting group of men shared their testimonies. After the meeting a young man (David) who has been attending the meetings for two years said he had put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We had a baptism planned for the following Sunday so he asked to be baptized as well. My youngest son Jonathan also had requested to be baptized so it was my privilege to be able to baptize him and to see a number of others baptized. Please pray for these believers as they seek to follow the Lord’s guidance.

We received notice that the children’s paperwork is ready so we will all be traveling to Lima in early February to pick up their visas. These visas will need to be renewed once a year.

Please pray for us as we continue to learn Spanish. It is coming slowly but surely. Our watchman has been a help as he enjoys talking and speaks clearly. I have spoken to him about the Lord and fortunately he is good at repeating and rephrasing things so I can be sure what I said is understood. Please pray for our progress in the language and for us as we try to share our faith, that it would be clear.

Please pray for the following:

· New believers and those recently baptized that they would grow

· Wisdom as we learn the language and speak it to others

· A second grade teacher

We wanted to thank you for your prayers and emails, they truly are an encouragement.

In Him

Mark Kim and family