Recent Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for two things we specifically mentioned in the last couple of prayer letters: housing and vehicle.

The week before Thanksgiving we moved into a new home. It is fun to unpack storage boxes that are full of treasures we have not seen since we moved to Mexico in 2004.

From the above story you know we are not driving a new car; however, God has blessed us with a vehicle that meets our needs for now. We have done more work to the car to ensure that we won’t have another wheel fall off. We know that anything can break at any time, but we pray for wisdom in avoiding unnecessary mechanical problems.

Support Needs

As you know 2011 was a tough year economically. Some churches have had to cut their mission’s budgets. I know that churches hate writing a letter or making a phone call to tell a missionary that they are being cut, but it has to happen in some cases. We lost $900 in support during this calendar year. That is a significant amount of the support we had. We need to spend time raising new financial support while still working to provide training and administrative services for the missionaries we serve. Pray that we can recover the lost support quickly. If you or your church does not already support us and you would like to, please talk with your pastor on how best to do that.

BIO Office

I have enjoyed getting acquainted with the other BIO directors in a personal way. I am burdened to help our missionaries working with the Deaf in whatever capacity I can. Since coming to the office I have visited one of our missionaries and provided counsel in financial matters to a couple others. I look forward to getting to know our other missionaries better and become a part of their ministry team.

Thank you again for continued prayer on our behalf.

David Peach

December 2011 Prayer Letter PDF

House

Thank you for praying for us concerning a place to live. We lived with, and paid rent to, a man in one of our supporting churches while we were looking for a house. Last week we moved into our new house which is only about 15 minutes from the mission board office. This is the first time we have unpacked some of our boxes which were packed up 11 years ago when we last lived in Tennessee. Knowing that we were not going to have a permanent place to live all those years, we left some things stored in boxes. We are now unpacking and discovering old treasures.

Vehicle

God’s protection has been evident in our lives over the last few weeks. If you have ever seen a car sitting on the side of the road with a wheel hanging out to the side because of a broken ball joint, then you get an idea of what happened to us. It is an extremely dangerous thing to have happen.

God protected us in our ball-joint incident. We pulled off the Interstate (on which we were traveling 70 MPH) for a bathroom break. As we were backing out of the parking spot to get back on the highway again, our ball joint broke. Our wheel fell off at 2 MPH instead of 70. God is good!

Because of this incident we have done the necessary work on the car to make it safe again. We are thankful for the kindness of God’s people to help us do the work and pay for it.

We would still like to have a larger vehicle for traveling, but until then we are pleased that this car is safe again.

Meetings

Though I intentionally did not schedule many meetings for the rest of 2011, God has seen fit to let us be in some great churches over the last few weeks. We are thankful for pastors who were willing to have us in to present our work and report on the ministry even though money in churches is still tight.

BIO Office

I am still settling into my responsibilities at the mission board. I have visited one of our missionary families working with the Deaf. Next spring I plan to visit a few more. It is a great honor to serve the missionaries working with the Deaf through BIO. I look forward to getting to know them better and serve with them in the future.

Thank you for praying. It is always encouraging to get a note from someone who says that God brought us to their mind and that they prayed for us. We really do appreciate your prayers even if you don’t have the time to write and tell us about it.

In our last letter I mentioned that I would preach the Gospel to a group of deaf friends and my dear friend Victor at our final church service in Argentina. Though no Deaf came to church that night, I was thrilled when Victor and his wife Alicia arrived. As clearly as I knew how, I gave a Gospel presentation that was targeted directly at the reason why Victor won’t put his trust in Christ—pride. He won’t trust Jesus to do for him what he feels like he should do himself. That is, he feels like he either has to earn his way to heaven, or not be allowed in. The sad truth is, with that perspective, he will not enter into eternal life.

Victor did not accept the Lord that night at church. Some of the people from church know Victor and will continue to visit him. Victor and I have a mutual friend who has been witnessing to him besides me. I continue to pray for his salvation.

I previously mentioned our need for a vehicle. We are thankful for the gift of a car that has worked well for us. It is not a good long-term travel car, but it is sufficient for our needs at this time. Thank you for praying. Continue to pray that we will find the right vehicle that will serve us well as we start traveling full time again.

We have intentionally not booked any meetings for a few weeks after getting home so that we can settle in to our new surroundings. Starting the middle of October we will be on the road representing the many wonderful missionaries we serve as well as seeking to raise new support. Over the last few months we have lost quite a bit of support because of the economy. If you would like to have us in to report on our recent past ministry and our future, please contact me through email or telephone. I am filling our calendar as quickly as I can.

As part of our traveling in the United States we get to visit the missionaries who work with the Deaf through BIO. We are excited about visiting one of the missionary families this month (Pete and Marianne Leclerc). Pray with us about future travel to other countries where BIO missionaries serve. By visiting the missionaries on the field we can get a better understanding of how to pray from them. We want to be a blessing and encouragement to them where they work.

It is exciting to stand at the threshold of a new phase of ministry. The future opportunities to assist in the spread of the Gospel is thrilling. We look forward to sharing how your prayers and support will help in the ministry.

David Peach

October 2011 Prayer Letter PDF

Vehicle

We are thankful to have a vehicle, even if it is only temporary. I put about $400 worth of work into my parents’ extra car and we have already taken a trip in it. This car is not a good long-term option for us, but it is wonderful to have something we can use until we can get another vehicle. It is too small to carry all the things we need for extended trips with four people, but it gets pretty good gas mileage and the price is unbeatable.

Housing

We took a week-long trip to Tennessee to look at houses and try to get an idea of a time-table for the move. A friend in the church next to our mission board offered to let us rent his house (for a very good price) for an indefinite time.

The current plans are to make the move from FL to TN shortly after Labor Day. The cost of the move will be around $700. That is just truck rental and gas. We may have to buy pizza on both ends of the move to pay our loaders and unloaders. If you would like to help with the cost of the pizza or the gas you can use the PayPal Donate button to the side or send an offering to our mission board.

Upcoming Months

Because of the transition I have intentionally not scheduled meetings for a couple of months. However, we should start traveling again late in October or November. Please pray that we will have good meetings as we need to raise our support level up again. We look forward to updating current supporting churches. One of the new aspects of our ministry is that we will represent our board and other missionaries working with the Deaf. It will be fun to share with pastors and churches the work God is doing through the deaf ministry.

We appreciate your continued friendship and prayers for our ministry.

There are several people in the church who are doing well with signs, but two have surpassed all the others in their desire to learn and burden for the ministry. They have taken the initiative to insert themselves into the deaf community and start learning from the Deaf as much as possible. However, neither one of them have interpreted when Deaf were present at church. Until last night.

This is a husband and wife couple. We knew the day before that there would be Deaf at our special missions conference service last night (Saturday night). I asked them early Saturday morning if they would be willing to interpret. Both eagerly agreed. However, they were very nervous about it by the time Saturday evening arrived. The husband came to me just before the service started and said that he enjoyed talking to the Deaf before the church service but his heart was pounding out of his chest at the thought of interpreting the music. He has only interpreted a couple of times previously, so this would have been a huge step for him. To keep him from having a heart attack I told him he did not have to interpret. The wife was in tears with nervousness just before the service started. I told her I would take over at any point she felt like she was not able to clearly communicate.

The service went well. She interpreted the whole thing. The two Deaf who were there understood her on a basic level. They come from a different educational background than the Deaf from our city, plus many of their signs are different. The interpreter tried to keep things on their level, but it was also a new experience for her. She was thankful for the opportunity. I don’t know that I could have communicated any better with them than she did.

Last night was a confirmation that we really aren’t needed anymore. Because of our goals here, that is a great feeling.

Tonight we start teaching sign language in a new church. We are excited about the possibilities in this church. We are also thrilled with their desire to see Deaf reached with the Gospel. We appreciate your prayers as this class will last several weeks. I pray that the students learn well and quickly.

My friend Victor, for whose salvation I have been praying, did not come to the play but his wife Alicia did. She enjoyed the presentation. She grew up in a Catholic family and only knows Catholic teaching. She commented that night that she felt comfortable in our church—like she belonged there. At 86 years old and in poor health, she probably will never become a regular attendee of the church, but she may come to other special events. She gives a testimony of salvation, but Victor is still unsaved. Please continue to pray for him.

We are pleased with the progress of the students in the church who are learning sign language. God has given clear direction and we now have a husband and wife who are stepping forward to lead the deaf ministry. It has been exciting for us to see their burden for the Deaf grow. The wife, Flavia, is teaching the new students in the church while I continue to train the more advanced workers.

In a couple of weeks we start a sign language class in another church in the city of Buenos Aires. I preached in the church on a Sunday morning recently to promote the classes. It was exciting to see the number of young people, teens and college age, who came to us telling of their interest in learning Sign Language. There is also a man in the church who learned some sign language while he was in seminary. He was excited about the possibility of learning more and reaching out to the Deaf in their community. Praise the Lord for the interest that is already present in the church.

Our time in Argentina is coming to a close. We feel we are completing what God sent us to do. There is still work to be done between now and August when we leave, but we feel comfortable that we will leave with a good structure in place for the deaf ministry in Argentina to grow. Please pray with us as we make preparations to leave in August.

When we go back to the US we will move to the Jefferson City, Tennessee area. I will work out of the Baptist International Outreach office helping to prepare and train other missionaries working with the Deaf. This will be in addition to still traveling to establish deaf works. We look forward to the transition. Pray that our children do well with the changes.

During the fall and winter of 2011 we will do some limited traveling for meetings and missions conferences. If your church would like us to come and give you an update on the ministry, feel free to contact me. We will try to honor as many of these requests as we can.

As always, thank you for your prayers and continued financial support. We could not do our ministry without your help.

May 2011 Prayer Letter PDF

I appreciate your continued prayers for my friend Victor. Many people are praying for his salvation and he has shown some signs of understanding his position before God, but is still completely reliant on his own ability to earn his way to heaven. Victor, for those who may not remember, is an 86 year-old bicycle builder who has become a dear friend to us.

Recently one of Victor’s clients told me about a deaf man who lives near Victor’s bicycle shop. It took three visits to the man’s house to finally make contact with him. He is in his forties and does not know any sign language. He made it clear that he was not interested in church and did not want us visiting him. However, I told the family that we offer sign language classes at the church. They seem to be interested in the classes. Pray for Walter and his family that we will be able to minister to them and see them saved.

Our sign language students in the church are doing well. One lady is interpreting anything we throw at her. Even with the basic vocabulary she has, she has an amazing ability to interpret what the preacher is saying. She will continue to improve as she gains more knowledge of sign language. Both she and her husband will be going to the Deaf Association with me to take classes and begin getting involved in the deaf community. We also have two other students who are beginning to interpret. We are excited about how the students have matured in their sign language skills over the last couple of months.

For the last two months I have gone to another deaf church to preach for them. I will be doing this on a monthly basis. I took some of the students from our church to help them get a bigger burden for the Deaf in the country. I will be taking different workers for our church with me each time I go.

Pray as we look for other churches where we can train Christians interested in the deaf ministry. We are currently talking with one church in the city of Buenos Aires about teaching a class there. We would like to be in a few other churches before our time in Argentina comes to a close later this year.

It is hard to believe that we have been in the country for a year. We arrived on March 17 last year. While some things in the ministry seemed to take a while to get started, we are thrilled at how far things have progressed recently. Before we can confidently say that our ministry is done here, there are a few other tasks that we feel the Lord would have us accomplish. Please pray with us that we will have wisdom and direction over the next few months.

March 2011 Prayer Letter PDF

We have been a little disconnected from the deaf community during the last couple of months because of the vacation time. But this has given us time to focus on polishing up the interpreters we have in the church. There are 3 ladies who are starting to interpret. While they are all at different levels, they are progressing well. Two of the husbands are learning sign language as well, but as seminary students they have not been able to dedicate as much time to the deaf ministry.

This week I also go back to school. Sign language classes in the local Deaf Association start again. Two of the church members will be going to sign language class with me (though they will be in a different level). They are not going because they feel they need more instruction than what I can provide. Rather, they are going as an opportunity to connect themselves more to the deaf community. That thrills my soul! While we are not yet done in Argentina, we feel like we could walk away at any time and God would continue to do a great work through the students.

Please continue to pray as we seek God’s leading daily in the ministry.

We have made some great contacts in the Deaf community, but we have not seen any Deaf from the area in church yet. I just finished a sign language class at the deaf association in town. Because of the class, I have been involved in a couple of community events that have helped us get acquainted with more Deaf. A couple of weeks ago the deaf community sponsored a fund raising event for a homeless shelter that we were able to participate in as a family. There is another event at the end of November that I will attend. I look forward to meeting new Deaf and inviting them to church.

I am still working with my friend Victor. I am not sure where to go from here other than keep showing him the love of God and praying for him. I have talked with his wife, who gives a salvation testimony, and she is glad that I can share God’s Word with Victor. His wife told me that Victor’s attitude is that God will just have to accept him as he is, or not accept him at all. He is too proud to ask Jesus Christ to provide salvation for him. He feels he must save himself or accept the consequences. The frustrating thing to me is that Victor is a kind and loving man. Socially he has done many good things. For him to accept that he cannot save himself is for him to say that all the good things he has done have no value in eternity. He does not understand that no matter how many good things we have done, we are still sinners before a Holy God who is ready to forgive us and save us if we are willing to accept His work on our behalf.

A radio station was recently donated to our church. Victor’s wife is excited about listening to the station and learning more about God’s Word. Victor said he would listen too. I pray that they do and that God will use this new opportunity to reach Victor, and many others, with the Gospel.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We understand that the economy is tough on everyone and therefore are thankful for the continued support. We appreciate the extra gifts even more than normal since we know it is a greater sacrifice for those of you who are supporting us financially.

We wish you a great Christmas season this year. As you celebrate the upcoming holidays, continue to pray for missionaries around the world who are separated from their families.

November 2010 Prayer Letter PDF

I had a great trip to Las Vegas for the Deaf Nation World Expo. There were over 23,000 people in attendance for the event. Our team of 34 gave out 24,000 tracts and 16,000 Gospel DVDs! During the week we saw 11 people saved. Since the week ended we have gotten reports of others who have come to know the Lord through the literature and videos. We trust that the Lord will continue to do a great work through the materials we put in the hands of the Deaf and hearing we met in Las Vegas.

We started teaching sign language classes in the church in Argentina. The students are learning well. While they are struggling with the idea of actually communicating and interpreting, I know the Lord can give them abilities beyond their imagination. I have seen the Lord do it many times in churches in the past. I pray for the students that God will continue to work in their lives and minds to learn as necessary. I encourage you to pray for them as well. This is why we are here—to train people to reach the Deaf with the Gospel through sharing God’s Word in signs. We look forward to upcoming activities that will help integrate our sign language students with the Deaf community.

We have an invitation from another church to start a Deaf ministry in their community. We have certain goals that we would like to accomplish in our time here. That particular church could be used to accomplish 2 of our main goals. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom in working out the details with the church to start that ministry and train another sign language teacher.

Previously I mentioned that I have been working with a bike repairman named Victor. I have not seen Victor accept the Lord yet, but he continues to accept literature from me and says he enjoys reading it. Like so many people we have met here, he does not see why he needs a Savior. He does not think he has done enough wrong to be sent to Hell. Victor feels that God will accept him because of all the wonderful things he has done in his life. He is very proud of his many social accomplishments and does not think he needs to humble himself before the Lord. Victor says he has always rejected religious people because they have been more interested in preaching at him and not loving him as a person. However, he appreciates the time I spend with him and his dear wife as friends. I pray that showing him God’s love will help him turn to the Lord before it is too late.

Thank you for your prayers and support. While we are accomplishing God’s work by laboring physically on the field, you are needed to do a spiritual work through prayer.

David Peach

Sept 2010 Prayer Letter in PDF format