Raven of Love- Pastor David Baquerizo( Lima, Peru)
Tears to Life
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My ministry has many challenges but with the support of my sponsor, I will not give up.
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I remember the day God brought Nam Sik Kwon to my life. At the time, I was pastoring at Lomas de Zapallal( Hills of Zapallal) church. God had taken me out of my comfortable city life and called me to a challenging region where the love of God was needed most. Our ministry began in 2003 with my sister Rosa. We wanted to start with ministering to the adults. We designed mission strategies to win lost souls. We envisioned a church for adults. But two nights before our scheduled events, God spoke to my heart,“ Start with the children.”
Engulfed in my own understanding, I angrily asked God,“ How am I supposed to start with children if they do not tithe nor give offering? How am I supposed to keep the ministry going?” For the second time I heard God repeating his words to me. I humbled myself and surrendered to His will. In fear and tears, I bowed my head once again and said,“ Yes Lord.” I understood that God’ s ways are higher than ours and His plans will make our ministry succeed.
I called Rose to cancel the plans. We held our first meeting with five children in Rosa’ s house. Although the group was small, it did not last long. By the end of 2003, we could no longer meet in Rosa’ s house with 35 children and moved to another location. By the end of 2004, we had to move out again as we grew to over 75 children. By 2005, we were meeting at an abandoned soup kitchen. The location was decrepit. We slowly raised funds
to remodel it, but there were not enough. The whole endeavor was financially and spiritually challenging for us so we started to pray early in the morning. That was also the same year we received a visit from Pastor James Lee and the missionaries.
He recommended for us to apply for the Children of Jesus program. We were excited to receive financial aid from the marvelous ministry but there was a greater blessing in store. Pastor Lee notified us that they decided to pay for our land and construct a church. This was the answer to the cries of the children! But that was also the time I was recommended to apply for the Raven of Love ministry. Soon after, I was matched with Nam Sik Kwon from Denver, Colorado. While the primary goal of this ministry is to help offset pastors’ finances, I could never imagine what happened next.
Her encouragement and Godly words in her letters brought tears to my eyes and life to my tired soul. I felt comfort in knowing there was someone thousands of miles away praying and caring for me. I also had the blessing of being able to meet her twice in Peru. While we could not exchange many words, my heart felt her love.
My ministry has many challenges but with the support of my sponsor, I will not give up. God has changed the lifestyles and future of the children of Zapalla, many of who are now becoming young professionals who serve faithfully and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in their workfields. I want to thank the Raven of Love ministry and my sponsor Nam Sik Kwon who helped to encourage and support my ministry. I pray for the HHK WMC to continually be blessed by God as they bless everyone in Peru. Amen.
12 HHK World Mission Center