Dear Praying Friends,
We made it through our first winter in South America. Winter? That’s what happens when you go south of the Equator, everything gets turned upside down. Even the calendar.

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

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Dear Praying Friends,
Thank you for praying as we have gotten settled in. We are now very actively ministering to the people around us.

We are learning the sign language well and building relationships with the Deaf in our community. In just a couple of weeks we will begin teaching a sign language class in the hearing church. We have already had one deaf man visit the church which helped create a desire in the church members to learn sign language.

I am spending quite a bit of time with a hearing man trying to share the love of Christ with him. Victor is 86 years old and sees no need for the Bible. Because of a mutual interest in bicycles—he has been in the bike business for more than 70 years—we have built a good friendship. Pray that I will show God’s love so that he can open his heart to the Gospel. I spend 2 or 3 nights a week over at his house tinkering with bikes and sharing with him about my ministry.

In July I will go to Las Vegas for the Deaf Nation World Expo. The event coordinators are expecting 50,000 Deaf from around the world at the event. I will join a team from Silent Word Ministries to distribute tracts and Gospel DVDs. Imagine the witnessing opportunity we will have with 50,000 people who are gathered for the sole purpose of interacting with strangers.

The cost of the trip is $2,200. Some friends have already grasped the tremendous opportunity we have and pitched in to make the trip possible. You can get more information on how you can be a part of the effort at www.dpeach.com.

Every few months I send out a packet of prayer letters from national pastors who work with the Deaf. I share these letters with churches and individuals who have shown an interest in praying for deaf ministries around the world. If you would like to receive these letters you can send me an email and let me know your address. I can mail the printed letters to you or send them in PDF format over email.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayers and finances to reach the Deaf both here in Argentina and around the world.

June 2010 Prayer Letter PDF

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Dear Praying Friends,
It is hard to believe we have been in Argentina over a month already!

We are helping two works: one to start a deaf ministry in a local church and the other to help plant a deaf church. Up to now we have spent all our time in the hearing church since the pastor of the deaf church is away on a trip. We begin working with him as soon as he returns. The deaf pastor recommended that we work with the hearing church pastored by Missionary Jeff Bush. God worked in the church long before we arrived to instill a great desire to reach the Deaf in La Plata, Argentina. Every time we are at church we get asked about when we will start sign language classes so that the church people can get involved. As we are still learning the language ourselves, it is heartbreaking to have to tell them that it will be a few more weeks.

Our main need and prayer request in the work right now is simple: we need to learn the sign language quickly so that we can communicate with the Deaf around us. We have met many Deaf while on buses, trains and walking around town. I give them a tract with the church information on it and write that we have a ministry for them. Until we learn the language we only have brief conversations. Finding the Deaf has not been hard here; they seem to be all around us.

When looking for a house we wanted to find a furnished home that we could move into without having to buy (and later get rid of) much furniture. Other missionaries informed us that a furnished home was either unlikely or impractical since there are few and the ones they had seen were quite a bit more expensive per month. Plus, the quality of the furniture would not justify the extra cost. At the end of our second house shopping day we found one for a fair price. However the owner had a problem—he had more furniture than would fit in his new house. As a help to him, he asked if we would keep the furniture in our home at no extra cost! We thank the Lord that He led us to this house.

Even though we found the house on our third day in Argentina, it took another three weeks to complete the paperwork. We are just now getting settled. However the “homeless” time allowed us to visit some cities nearby and share our goals with other churches. We pray that these churches will also have a desire to reach the Deaf around them.

We appreciate everyone who helped us get to Argentina through prayers and finances. We excitedly carry out the task that you have entrusted us with.

PDF version of  the letter.

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Dear Friends,
We bought our plane tickets for Argentina! We load up and fly on March 16. That is less than 4 weeks away as I write this. While we are excited, we are also very aware of how much needs to be done between now and then.

By choosing a date into the middle of March we are able to attend our mission board’s “March Meeting.” This year is special for two reasons; either of which is significant enough to encourage us to stay. We will dedicate the new BIO Office building at the March Meeting. The dedication will be March 8. Anyone in the Jefferson City, TN area who would like to attend is welcome to join us. The dedication service starts at 6:00 PM. There will be an open house between 4:00 and 6:00 that afternoon. You can contact me or the BIO Office for more information.

The second big event that week is we will approve a new deaf missionary. He is a deaf man going to Tanzania to establish a church and Bible institute. This is the first missionary that I have been privileged to work with and bring through the approval process to join BIO.

We are thankful for some very generous offerings that have helped us raise $5700 of the $7000 we need for the trip to Argentina. We still need $1300 between now and the middle of March. Just as important as the large gifts from churches are the smaller ones from individuals. Whether the Lord leads you to help with this need in a seemingly small or large way, the important thing is obedience to what He would have you do.

We have solidified some of our plans for when we get started in our ministry in Argentina. We will work in 2 different ministries at this time. We also plan to work with other churches as the Lord opens doors. One of the two ministries we are involved with is starting a Deaf church with a  national pastor. That pastor has put us in contact with a missionary who  is interested in starting a deaf ministry in another town. We will work with that church to train people in the congregation to minister to the Deaf through interpreted services and church activities. We pray for other opportunities to help as many churches as we can while there.

Thank you for your prayers and support through this furlough. We are excited to get back to the field. Thankful as we are for the time we spent in churches telling others about our ministry, we long to be back to daily involvement with a work on the field. To do this we need more monthly financial support. Pray that the new churches we were in last year will join our team. If you plan to join us in a financial way, please let us know so that we can better plan our time in Argentina. Just $50 a month more can help us do that much more ministry. Will that $50 come from you?

PDF version of the letter.

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Dear Praying Friends,
I spent the first two weeks of December in Nigeria and was blessed to see decisions made and people accept Christ as Savior. I went to Nigeria to help the pastor of a Deaf church be more effective in his ministry. Though Pastor Wale (Wally) was already the pastor of a hearing church in Lagos, he accepted the pastorate of a deaf church in Abeokuta. The pastor who started the church in Abeokuta also started 4 other churches for the Deaf. Since the death of the founding pastor these churches have wandered a bit from their good doctrinal foundation. Pastor Wale is providing godly leadership to bring these churches back to where they started and take them much further in reaching other Deaf around them.

It was my privilege to preach to both the hearing and the Deaf while I was in Nigeria. Nine people came to Christ during this trip! I also witnessed to a couple of men that Pastor Wale has continued contact with who have not yet made a decision for Christ, but I pray that they will soon.

There is still a need for more monthly support, but we are currently focused on raising the needed money for our move. We anticipate needing $7000 to help get us settled in Buenos Aires. Some of the money has come in for this need, but we still lack more than $6000 to make the move. We trust that the Lord will use you and others to help fill this need so that we can soon be in Argentina working to start the Deaf church.

My trip to Nigeria was my first trip to Africa. I was pleased to see God is at work in places that you and I have never been. Most people will never travel outside of their own country, but through the work of missionaries God is doing a great work in the world. While there is still a need for more ministries in Nigeria, I am thankful to have seen some wonderful works with the Deaf in that country. However, that makes me even more burdened for the need in a well-developed country like Argentina which has so little available to the Deaf concerning the truth of God’s Word.

Please pray for us as we travel over the next few weeks and start getting things in order for our move to Argentina. As you can imagine there are many things that need to be done concerning what we will take and what we leave behind. We are thankful for friends and family who will help store items that we cannot take with us. There are other items that need to be sold and weeded out. As we have experienced with previous moves, this can be an emotionally difficult time.

PDF Version of the letter

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Dear Praying Friends,
Nigeria? Since when did Nigeria become a part of Latin America?

While our ministry is focused on the Deaf of Latin America, we are also helping missionaries and national workers around the world as a broader ministry through our mission board, BIO. As a result of this ministry I will take a trip to Nigeria in December to help national pastor Olawale Orekan in a deaf church in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Pastor Olawale is a hearing pastor who was burdened for the Deaf in Abeokuta and became their pastor this year. I will spend 2 weeks with him helping him to better understand sign language and the Deaf. Prayerfully, my ministry in the church will allow Pastor Olawale to be more effective in his ministry and encourage and strengthen the church in Nigeria as they seek to reach other Deaf around them.

While preparing for that trip we are also making plans for the move to Argentina. We do not have a travel date set yet, but we are planning to make the move at the end of January. To do so we need to raise money for our plane tickets and set-up costs in Argentina. The estimated needed amount is $7000. If you would like to be part of the team that helps us make the move to Argentina you can send a donation to our church or mission board. Simply mark your donation as being for the move to Argentina. This is an opportunity for those who do not support us monthly to join in a financial way.

We have been in some great services recently that have been used to deepen our desire to see others accept the Lord. While we are doing the ministry we are called to, sometimes it becomes more “work” than “ministry” and we lose focus on our purpose. We are thankful that the Lord has helped us get recharged for the ministry He has called us to. Please pray that we will continue to keep our focus on the task.

The main theme of my messages this year has been about praying for your missionaries as if they were normal people going through the same struggles that you face. I want to encourage you once again to pray for us, and the other missionaries you support, in the same way that you want someone to pray for you. When you are struggling in an area, be conscientious that your missionary friends may be going through the same problems you are experiencing.

I have been reminded over the last few months that you and I are doing a work for God as a team. I want to thank you for the part you play in our team. Pray that we will perform the role on the team that God has called us to do.

David

November 2009 Prayer Letter PDF

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Dear Praying Friends,
Thank you for your continued prayers. We really needed them over the last couple of months and we can see that God has provided because of you.

We had two wonderful camps in Mexico. The first camp was our northern deaf camp called Campamento Henson, named for Bro. Ron Henson who was a missionary to the Deaf in Mexico for several years. There were 95 who attended camp and we had 1 accept Christ as his Savior. I was pleased to see some new groups attend this year that I had not met before. I was also very excited to see the future leadership of the camp take over my responsibilities this summer.

Our second camp was in Merida where we lived and worked from 2004 to 2008. It was great to be back at the church after a year and see how much it has grown. There are Deaf who now attend the church regularly whom we never met while we were there. I loved seeing the maturity level increase in many of the church people and to know that they are inviting their friends to church. At that camp we had 26 in attendance. That is a few more than we had last year.

When we left Mexico last year we were not sure if we might be going back to work in another area of of the country. We kept many household items that we did not want to re-buy. On this trip were able to sell off the items that we no longer needed in preparation for the trip to Argentina.

After selling everything and enjoying time at camp with our friends it was time for the trip home to the US. We pulled a trailer with the items that we wanted to take back. The trailer was more than a little over loaded. In the process of the 6 day trip we ended up buying 3 new tires and having the trailer welded twice while sitting on the side of the road. God provided the money and the welders at the right time to get us going again. At one breakdown we pulled off the side of the road where a road construction crew was working and they were able to weld the trailer right there at the edge of nowhere.

Previously our plan for going to Argentina was October. Timing works out better for the pastor we are going to help if we go in January. It works out better for us as well. Please pray that I will be able to fill up our travel schedule with the meetings we need between now and then.

We praise the Lord that the man who robbed our house in April was caught last week. We were able to recover some of the stolen items.

With my new position in the mission board I am able to enjoy some of the blessings that supporting pastors, churches and individuals have long enjoyed. It thrills my soul to get reports from missionaries with whom I work telling me of the spiritual victories and salvation of souls on the field. I know that they are able to do their ministry because of the support I am able to provide. I am a partaker in their fruits. Because of you, our supporters, I get to reap benefits from their work. And you receive fruit to your account (Philippians 4:17) as well. What a blessing to be on God’s team in His harvest field!

September 2009 Peach Prayer Letter [PDF]

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Dear Praying Friends,

We are thankful for the Lord’s hand of protection and provision over the last couple of months. As you know from our last prayer letter thieves stole some items out of our house in March. Through generous gifts from a couple of churches and individuals, we have been able to replace the stolen items. We really appreciate the kind gifts that helped us replace the items we needed.

Last week we were in a week-long training school for missionaries. Stephanie and I had a great time learning in the sessions as well as fellowshipping with the other missionaries. I taught a few sessions during the week.

One of the things that was mentioned several times during the training school was that our ministry while we are home is to promote the vision of world missions. This is something that God has been teaching me this year. While we are home reporting to our supporting churches and raising new support, our goal should be to promote the work that God is doing through missions and missionaries. If I can encourage a church to be more involved in spreading the Gospel, then I have accomplished that goal. Even if the church never supports us financially. The particular way that the Lord has burdened me this year is to help churches know how they can pray for missionaries.

We are excited about our two camps for the Deaf in Mexico coming up in the next few weeks. This week I am preaching in a camp for hearing children in Pennsylvania and then we go to Ciudad Mante, Mexico for our first deaf camp. That will be July 20-24. After finishing that week of camp we will drive to Merida (where we lived the last 4 years) to prepare for the camp down there on August 11-14.

There are a couple of weeks between the two camps. We will use that time to pack up the items we still have in Merida that we need to bring back to the US. We will also be selling items that we don’t need to take to Argentina. Pray that we will have wisdom in each decision. Also pray that we will sell the items at a fair price (for the buyer and us) and that we will be a blessing to some people with items that we can afford to give away to other ministries.

When we return from Mexico and our deaf camps, we will be working towards the final preparations for Argentina. There are some pieces of the puzzle still not in place. You can pray that God will give wisdom in each step and that we will know the right timing for the things we must do to get there. Through different missionaries God has given us a much better picture of the need in Argentina and clarified some of the work that is before us. I believe this is the result of your prayers. God has brought us in contact with missionaries from Argentina as well as missionaries who have knowledge of the situation of deaf ministries in the country.

Each day is ministry; whether we are in the trenches, preparing to go, or supporting those who are there.

David Peach

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Dear Praying Friends,
Thank you for praying. God is working and we are excited to be in His ministry. It is thrilling to report that we have had some great meetings and are excited about the new prayer and financial support we have as we head towards Argentina.

Recently we returned home from some meetings to find that our house had been broken into. We were thankful that the thieves did not take any personal or sentimental items and that they were not destructive. What they took amounted to be tools for our ministry. While the cost to replace the items will be close to $3000, they can be replaced. Because we were traveling, we had all of our jewelry and most precious items with us.

During Easter week I flew to Guadalajara, Mexico to conduct our yearly planning session for the upcoming summer camp for the Deaf in Mexico. Because this will be my last summer as camp director I was pleased to see one of the national pastors take charge during the planning week to help us prepare for the camp in July. Please pray that this summer’s camp will be effective in giving the gospel to many Deaf who have never accepted the Lord and that God’s Word will become more personal to the Christian Deaf in churches across Mexico. The camp week will be July 20 to 24.

After camp this summer we will return to Mérida for a couple of weeks to collect the items that we need to bring back to the US with us as we prepare for the trip to Argentina. While in Mérida we will be selling some items and spending precious time with our many friends in the church. Because of your prayer support we know that this church will continue to reach many Deaf in the Yucatan peninsula.

The Lord has opened many doors and opportunities for us over the last several weeks. Of course we are going to Argentina later this year to start that new work, but then we have been invited to be more actively involved in the ministries of other missionaries with the Deaf through our mission board. I am looking forward to assisting missionaries in other parts of the world as I take on the responsibilities as the Director of Deaf Ministries with Baptist International Outreach. Pray that I can be an effective help to missionaries and nationals around the world who are reaching the Deaf with the gospel.

We are getting much closer to our goal of 100% financial support before returning to the field. Pray and ask the Lord what He would have you do to help us reach that goal. When you pray, God will provide.

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Dear Praying Friends,
The Lord has blessed with great meetings over the last few weeks. We have picked up some new support and are excited about returning to the field before the end of the year. We have recently had meetings in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Currently we are on our first big trip of 2009 with meetings in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. As soon as we return home from this trip I will be going to Mexico to meet with other missionaries and national pastors working with the Deaf to plan our summer camp. It will be a very busy time for us. We covet your prayers for health and safety during these weeks. We will finally be home to rest a few days in April before heading out again.

In our last letter I mentioned that we were planning to start a ministry in Peru. As soon as that letter went out, I got an unexpected phone call from a missionary friend there. He gave me more information about a ministry opportunity in Argentina we had previously considered participating in. The Lord has shown us that, while the need in Peru is great, there is a greater need in the country of Argentina.

Through several phone calls and a lot of prayer over the last few weeks, the Lord has given us peace about going to Argentina to work with a national pastor, Manuel Caceres. Bro. Caceres has already started a church for the hearing and knows how to work with the Deaf. We will be working to assist him in getting a Deaf work started near the city of Buenos Aires. The focus of our ministry there will be to evangelize the Deaf and lay the foundation with Bible teaching. Our goal will be to help Bro. Caceres build a core group with which he can continue the ministry.

We are thrilled in that God has blessed with new support over the last couple of months. We also covet your prayers for our current supporters that they will be able to faithfully support us during our time in Argentina. Also pray that we will raise our needed support as we travel this year.

As we look forward to the upcoming months we know there will be several expenses that will not be covered by our normal monthly support. These expenses will include our camp needs in Mexico this summer as well as our move to Argentina. In the next letter I will know more about what will be needed for camp. If you are able to help with these expenses please mark your donation for the specific project you want to help with.

My (David) mother was in the hospital since just before Christmas. She had pancreatitis and really struggled to beat the infection. Last week she was released from the hospital and will now be under Dad’s care at home while she works to regain her strength. Since we will be gone so much over the next couple of months, we won’t be able to help Dad nurse her back to health. Both Mom and Dad would appreciate your prayers.

David Peach

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