Huanta, Peru
Janoary 28, 2004

REPORT OF THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOUSE OF PRECHING STARTED BY OUR MENTORS IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, OF THE YEAR 2002.

"It used to be that children buried their parents; but here it is the other way around". (A Palestinian and Jewish mothers)

Here in Huanta, Peru, when I was growing up, it used to be that parents were concerned about the spiritual welfare of their children. But today, it is the young that bring the older ones to church.

What has happened is that "ancient boundaries" have been removed through terrorism, migration and natural death. So...who is left to build the walls of a city that is vulnerable to any and every enemy of the young and the younger?

I asked the chief of the police forces at our Mayor's Prayer Breakfast if he could stop violence, corruption and evil in the city. Sadly he answered, "We cannot!". The same answer was given by the commander of the Armed forces. The same from the judges, the doctors and the Minister of Education. Who then is left to take the challenge to stand for Jesus in our generation?

This challenge was taken a year ago by the mentoring group, where 30 young people launched themselves to start the "House of Preaching". After one year of labour, we prayed for 300 people attendance to our first anniversary.

The Lord surprised us with an attendance of 507people...including young people, adults and children. Far be it from us to take any credit, because we have not worked as hard as we could have. We have really become spectators of God's grace as we Preach and Live in Grace. The words of a Christian congressman who was at one of our first services a year ago and who was invited to our first anniversary, summed up beautifully our past, present and future.

"It is a pleasure for me to be in the house of the Lord with you, especially on this special day of your first year anniversary.

The Lord put something on my heart to share with you this morning as I read His Word. It has to do with the vision God has placed in Gerry Gutierrez and his family and in each of you -- to make out of Huanta a special place in the heart of God. A place where the message is preached, where there is truly room for a profound change...in Huanta, in Ayacucho and even in the whole nation and the world.

In Isaiah 54, the Word of the Lord says...(Please read this passage)

This passage is exactly for our times - and above all, for this church. Here it is saying that in this sterile land, the message of the Gospel was probably not preached in its entirety, and that is why there was sterility. The Lord is saying, "Lift up a song and be happy that the light has come to this place. You will no longer be sterile but will have children, and you are that fruit. When I came here a year ago, you were in just this space (the garage that could seat about 75 people). I read the book of Job that said, "Your birth is small, but your end will be great." Gerry calls me a prophet. Here we are seeing the fruit. Look, the church HAS grown.

Now I come with another word from God, and I think it is another prophecy, if you want to see it that way "Widen the place of your land...

Gerry, brothers and sisters, it is time to pull down all of theses walls and to widen the curtains. It says "curtains", because the temples used to be made with curtains. Then they were converted into temples of stronger materials. Stalks? You've got to widen this because the people cannot fit in. There is no more room to build, so you've got to widen. The Lord said, "........right, left, etc" Let's widen to the right, to the left and back. We need to grow, because Huanta will never be the same....a desert. Because now the Word of the Lord will grow here. Nothing will be able to halt that growth. The Word says, "Fear not, because you won't be ...confounded"

Beloved brethren, move ahead! Today you are more than 500 people; but I believe that if the Lord has the purpose of doing what His Word says, you won't long be 500 but 750 and then a thousand and on to 2000; and you will multiply and there will be no more sterility in this land.

The Word of the Lord, so alive and efficacious, will thrive...changing people, because this country will not change unless each of us changes. We can't hope that others will change the country. No. We need to begin this change.

Please read Matthew 9:17. What this passage is saying is that, "You are the new wine of a new family. The men are renewed, not only in the mind but also, and especially in their hearts.

You are a priesthood, a new people. You are the new wineskins not the old wineskins...spectators, lost, condemned to eternal death. You are new wineskins...men and women who need to produce the fruit that this country needs.

And finally, I encourage you all to go ahead - to persevere in the work. The path you must follow is not an easy path. We need to confront. We need to fight against all the things of this world around us. First we need to fight against the evil that are inside of us. As a proverb says, " It is easier to fight against a city than to conquer our own soul."

We are the first problem for ourselves, because we are selfish, bad-intentioned and we don't know how to love. Those things need to be moved out of us. It is a process. Sanctification is not instantaneous but is a process. We can't accomplish these things instantly, but the more we read God's Word and listen to the Holy Spirit, the old wineskins will be changed to become new and to accept new wine and new fresh water...so that this place, this State, Huanta and Ayacucho can change. How is it going to change? When each one of you; each one of us begins to testify in the streets and to show the people the change that we have experienced: they will give glory to God and will rejoice. Gerry, may God bless......and continue to use you brother"

End of remarks of the Honourable Congressman Walter Alejos member of the Ethics Commission of the Peruvian Congress)

We had built a chapel in our garage, which later had to be extended; and finally, for our anniversary we built a large structure with a roof made of hay, wood and bamboo. Yet we ended up with every square foot occupied and with people standing for a 2-hour service. Because we want to keep the momentum, we are aiming for an attendance of 1000 for our next anniversary....but we have no place to worship with that many people.

We do have a property that our Lord has strategically provided downtown Huanta...on the main square, but there is no money to build. In our church budget, we ended the year in the positive with a surplus of over 2000 dollars, in spite of having purchased 20 large benches, a sound system and used 50% of our budget for missions.

Parallel to working with our first mother congregation, our mentors have started over 24 groups all over town and villages all across the mountains, with the attendance varying from 10 in the smallest group and 66 in the largest.

The former mayor of our city who has become a sort of governor now, wants to leave politics in Dec. and begin to attend seminary to become a preacher. He has asked me at least 12 times to help him, and I am asking you to help me help him.

Can anybody accept him as a project for 4 years? He is a gifted speaker. I remember reading on the U.S. highways signs that said, "adopt a mile". I am asking you to adopt a preacher" for the sum of $3500 a year. I am also needing to support a team of 12 church planting mentors, whose basic needs would be satisfied with $250 a month...in a full-time capacity. They are all home-grown leaders from our mentoring program they have thrown their lives to let the Lord make an experiment of them for our generation.

Before we launch this enterprise we spend four years meeting daily for a period of five hour each day getting deep into the Scriptures with the sole aim of acquiring the mind of Jesus. For as a man thinks; so is He. Our purpose is to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified . It is to lift the name of Jesus and Him only. As the reformers have stated: "Christianity is always beginning again in the Gospels".

Let me just add that the experience has made out of all and everyone of us lovers of Jesus and lovers of men as never before. This is also the heart of the Great Commandment and we feel right on truck in our commitment. Ruthies work with the ladies and young girls are doing great.

Please pray for us as, we seek the Lord's wisdom and guidance as we move forward on this venture of faith. Pray for the protection of God himself of this work. I have no energy or time to fight foreign or domestic opposition. Pray that I may in no way have an agenda of my own in this work but His and His alone.

Fearfully; in His love and care.
Gerry and Ruthie Gutierrez