Genesee Conference Missions Promotion Team
A grassroots, layperson effort to partner with local churches and districts
to encourage increased awareness of, involvement in and financial support of missions.
 

 

Team Information
Leaders
Purpose/Goals

Missions
Have You Heard?

Missions Hotline

Short-Term Teams

Regional Opportunities

Genesee Missionaries

Important Links
 

Updated on:
12/21/2007
CROUSE FAMILY UPDATE (January/February 2007)
click to return to Crouse home page

 
The Tarma Times
News from the Crouse family in Tarma, Peru
January/February 2007

"See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare.." Isaiah 42:9

As we begin a new year in a new country of ministry, we are excited about all the new things God is doing here.

New Church Members
On New Year’s Eve we were delighted to see over 15 people accepted into the Tarma Free Methodist church as new members. One young man was baptized, as well.

New Church
Because of the new members and constant visitors, the Tarma Free Methodist Church is outgrowing its present facility. A lady from the church has offered to rent her property, a former bottling factory, to the church. It will take a lot of work to renovate and clean up the building. Marvin DeVisser and Keith Bushouse from Spring Arbor, Michigan were here for 10 days to help get the work started. Men from the church continue with the renovations, with J.R. assisting with leadership while Pastor Miguel is speaking at churches in the States for a few weeks. Please pray that things will be ready for the church to move to the new location in March.

New Believers
When J.R. went to a local computer store looking for an item he needed, he never anticipated what the long-term affects would be. J.R. got talking to the owner, Anibal, who was a life-long Catholic but was looking for something more. J.R. invited him to church. The next week he came with his daughter. A few weeks later he came with his wife, mother, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law. That night and the following week they all invited Jesus into their lives. Two weeks ago J.R. and I began a weekly Bible study for Anibal and 3 other family members in our home. Please pray for Anibal, Sonya, Lise, and Samuel as they grow in their faith, and also for wisdom and fluency for us as we work with them.

Other praises for this month
On New Year’s day we had a great time hiking to a beautiful waterfall with some friends from the church. It was about an hour’s drive away down into the warmer, "jungle" area.

The Tarma church blessed J.R. with a surprise birthday party at the church complete with a lovely cake and presents.

Looking Ahead
February 5-9: I teach English classes to local children as part of a VBS program.

February 15 – March 6: We’ll be away from Peru as J.R. and I travel back to Haiti to retrieve belongings, wrap up loose ends, and say good-byes. Please pray for logistics, wisdom for decisions, and strength as we know it will be an emotional visit.

March 8 : Marissa will have her first day of school in a local Christian school. She recently began some tutoring to help get her ready. J.R. and I have also started taking a few hours a week of Spanish study to increase our fluency. Please pray that the whole family will learn how to better communicate in Spanish.

Thank you for your prayers as we have adjusted to living in our new home. We look forward to the good things God will continue to do in and through us.

In Jesus,
Becky, J.R., Marissa and Alena Crouse

Mailing address
A.P 202
Tarma, Peru
South America

Email: jr_crouse@fastmail.us
Web: www.geneseemissions.org
Web: www.fmwm.org

Support address:
Free Methodist World Missions
P.O. Box 535002
Indianapolis, IN 46253-5002
* Please enclose a note indicating that your support is for the Crouses in Peru.

Micro-enterprise Development Spotlight: Cuy (Guinea Pig)
A favorite dish of the Andean people, cuy has been raised here in the Andes Mountains for centuries. It seems like every backyard has a cage of cuy for home consumption. The demand for cuy is growing, especially in other countries, as the public learns about this healthy, low cholesterol meat. This is good news for many families in the impoverished Andean mountain regions where the conditions are ideal for cuy production.

The door is now open to produce for the export market at a higher sale price. Several Free Methodist families in the Tarma area are already producing cuy for sale in the local markets. They have a business plan written for growing and orienting their production for exportation. Through a new micro-enterprise development fund called LYDIA, these families will be able to request a loan for expanding their operations. If you would like to know more about contributing to the LYDIA fund and helping Free Methodist families, please contact us at our email address above.