Summer Highlights

Thank you for holding our family up in prayer. Your partnership allows us to serve Jesus together, and we are deeply grateful.

This summer brought moments of joy, challenge, and unmistakable evidence that God is at work. We would love to share a few highlights with you.

Highlight 1: Local kids ministry. This summer, I served alongside our sending church, Living Waters Fellowship, by taking a lively group of middle school boys to camp. Pouring into them 24/7 for a week was both challenging and deeply rewarding. (it also came with certain middle school smells we won’t get into) Several took meaningful steps toward Christ: two recognized their need for Him, and we are praying they will soon place their faith in Him; another publicly testified to his new life in Christ through baptism just weeks later. What a blessing!

I also served on the evangelism team, spending about 10 hours over four days walking the streets, inviting children to VBS, and sharing Jesus with families—many of whom had not attended church in years. About half of those we met spoke primarily Spanish. Please pray that God will keep us faithfully on mission in Des Moines and in the other five regions where we serve.

Highlight 2: Uruguay. As many of you know, we have been supporting church planting and evangelism in Uruguay, where my dear friend Daniel, a Peruvian pastor, moved with his wife, Johann, and their two boys in January. They hoped to begin ministry in El Cerro, a hard-to-reach area of Montevideo, but shortly before my planned visit, Johann became seriously ill. Her blood-oxygen levels fell, and doctors determined that earlier health complications made it unsafe for her to remain in Uruguay’s cold climate. After nearly six months of investment, the family had to return to Peru’s coast. Please pray for Johann’s healing and for God to lead Daniel and his family into a new season of ministry.

Even in this change, God opened another door. While building a team around Daniel, I connected with Sergio, a national missionary passionate about advancing the Gospel in Uruguay. He has invited us to Montevideo early next year to assess two areas for future church plants and help train men to reach those communities. Please pray that God will go before us as we invest in this work.

Highlight 3: Villa Rica, Peru. In a few weeks, a friend and I will travel to Peru’s central jungle to help believers in Villa Rica address difficult topics and build sound doctrine into the life of the local church. Please pray that God will prepare hearts and use this visit as another step toward a Gospel-centered church in the region.

Wilber- Working together on teaching for our journey ahead in Villa Rica

Highlight 4: Lima, Peru. It is a joy to continue investing in the team and church planter God is raising up there. Additionally, Debbie, the kids and I are praying for the opportunity to spend much of next summer in Lima, helping provide the final groundwork and practical support needed to launch the church. We need to raise an additional $8,000, and God has already provided half! Praise God with us, and please pray that He will continue to open this door.

Finally- As I write this to you, I just want to express with every fiber of my being the extreme amount of gratitude we have for each of you as you continue to support our work in Latin American Church Planting. We recognize that we are not people who are to be placed on any type of pedestal, but rather flawed and broken vessels that the Lord is simply using. Thank you for your prayers for us. Thank you for your generosity towards the Lord. Thank you that you labor with us in prayer and fasting. We are so grateful.

Growing Season