Enrique* knew his life was in ruins, but the 35-year-old electrician in Peru felt helpless to repair it.
He had lost the woman he had married at age 24 when she finally decided she had to get away from the violence erupting from his addictions to drugs and alcohol. Enrique wished with all his being to be free of those addictions but couldn’t shake them.
When a neighbor in his village in northern Peru (unidentified for security reasons) brought him to a native missionary’s church, he seemed impervious to the Gospel preaching but liked the worship atmosphere, and he returned to the Sunday services for months. After repeatedly hearing the Gospel from the local missionary, one day the message got through that the Son of God’s death and resurrection could save him from death and his sinful path leading to it.
Upon putting his faith in Christ, he realized he had been living in a kind of spiritual stupor, the native ministry leader said.
“In spite of the difficult circumstances in which the population lives, it is evident that there is a hunger and thirst for the Word of God.”
“After studying the Bible with our missionary, he realized that the addictions and bad habits in his personal life were disappearing,” the leader said. “Then he was baptized in water, and he continues to take Bible discipleship on Saturdays and Sundays. Now he is an active member and collaborator in the activities of our congregation.”
Enrique was one of hundreds of people the native ministry led to Christ in the past year, including 1,500 people who came to saving faith from 15 evangelistic outreaches. The ministry also shares the Word of God through its radio station, which is reaching an increasing number of remote people from the Quechua, Lambayeque and Cañaris ethnic groups, he said.
“We thank the Lord for the opportunity to present the Gospel to extensive areas and diverse populations,” he said. “In spite of the difficult circumstances in which the population lives, it is evident that there is a hunger and thirst for the Word of God.”
Peru has 68 people groups that are 2 percent or less evangelical Christian, according to the Joshua Project.
SOURCE: Christian Aid Mission
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