Dear Praying Friends,
We have settled into our new house and the daily ministry that I will be doing with the mission board office. Just because we are settled in, does not mean we are sitting back and doing nothing. The next two months we are presenting our ministry in churches and assisting other missionaries in their works. We will be in 13 different churches in 6 states during March and April. A few are one-day meetings and others are multi-day missions conferences. In the midst of these meetings we will also visit and help one of our BIO missionaries working with the Deaf in Arizona.

At the end of April we are going to a church in Maryland to help start a deaf ministry. As with all these types of meetings, we are praying that God will accomplish certain things. We need an inroad to the deaf community in the area. We pray that people in the church will learn the language well. And finally, we trust that the Lord will gift at least one person in the church to be a proper leader in this new ministry.

It was a blessing to preach in a missions conference at a church near the BIO office recently. During this conference there were two young ladies who accepted the Lord as their Savior! I pray that as a result of this conference we will see new missionaries going to the field from this church.

There are Deaf all around good churches who have no access to the Gospel because people don’t know how to share the Gospel with them. That number and need are even greater around the world. Wouldn’t it be great to reach the Deaf from many countries at one time?

New prayer card coming soon!

Stephanie and I do have an opportunity to reach an international group of Deaf this summer in Las Vegas. You may remember that in 2010 I traveled to Las Vegas with Silent Word Ministries to give out 60,000* 40,000 pieces of Gospel literature and DVDs to more than 20,000 Deaf from 73 countries. Still today we are reaping a harvest from that outreach. I learned recently that two more Deaf called in January asking questions about the literature we gave away. Both of them accepted the Lord through a video phone conversation!

We need to raise $2,400 for both Stephanie and I to go. This money is in addition to our regular monthly support. If you will help with the trip please mark your donations for the Peach Las Vegas Trip and send them to BIO. Or, you can donate online at www.dpeach.com by marking your donation specifically for this trip. This outreach will have a huge impact on eternity. Will you invest in the salvation of Deaf souls?

We covet your prayers as we continue to serve the Lord in the ministry to which He has called us.

David Peach

March 2012 Peach Prayer Letter PDF

*[Correction: The printed form of the letter says that we gave out 60,000 pieces of literature. However, after checking through my records the right number was 40,000.]

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Dear Praying Friends,
God has been good to us by showing His hand of protection while at home and traveling. A few weeks ago we were backing out of a gas station parking lot when one of the front wheels of our car fell off! Thankfully we were moving at only 2 MPH in a parking lot and not 70 MPH down the interstate. In less than 3 hours we had the car towed and repaired for about $150. The speedy, and relatively inexpensive, repair was an answer to our prayers. We are grateful to God for His gracious protection.

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

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Dear Friends,
We are back in the United States and have been busy since we arrived a few weeks ago. We completed the move to Tennessee. That word completed may be a little optimistic. All our stuff is here but we are far from settled in. We are renting a temporary place to stay until we work out a more permanent housing solution.

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

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Dear Friends,
Thank you for your support and prayers while we have been in Argentina. God has blessed tremendously and we have accomplished what we felt God had planned for us here. We are returning to the US on August 2. By the time we leave we will have been here almost a year and a half.

We had a three-fold plan when we came to Argentina. We realized those goals and more. God allowed us to train interpreters in one church and teach sign language in another. The first church has interpreters who are skilled enough to train others in the ministry. The second church that we taught in was a blessing in that there are several in the class who showed great skill with the language. There are a couple of sign language classes near the church that are open to the public that I have encouraged the students to get involved in. Those classes will give them an inroad to the deaf community that can be used to make contacts for their new ministry.

As we approach our final few days in Argentina I am excited about the opportunity to preach on our last weekend at the hearing church. I will preach the evening service on July 31. At that service I plan to preach in sign language and have worked hard to invite all the Deaf friends I have made here. The deaf association in town invited me to remind the deaf community of that special service on their Facebook page a few days before I preach. I am praying for a group of Deaf to come so that I can clearly share the Gospel that evening.

While visiting my friend Victor the other day, I again invited him to church. Victor has never come to church with us nor has he been receptive to the Gospel. However, he said that out of respect and love for me and my family he would come to church on that special evening. I pray that God will give me the ability to clearly share the Gospel with Victor one more time before we leave Argentina.

Will you please pray for that church service? Sunday night, July 31, is this special event.

We look forward to visiting our friends and supporting churches in the upcoming months. We are excited to personally tell you what God has allowed us do in Argentina as well as share what the next phase of ministry is for us.

We need to quickly find a car. If you know of a great travel vehicle that is for sale, or even just a car that we could borrow/rent for a few weeks, we would appreciate any information you have.

When we arrive back in the US we will spend a few weeks finding a place to live and getting settled in to the BIO office. I am not scheduling many meetings until later in the fall. This will give us time to work out the details for our move and everything we will be doing in the near future. However, if you would like to have us in your church please contact me via email or phone and we will schedule a meeting with you when possible.

July 2011 Prayer Letter PDF

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Dear Praying Friends,
We praise the Lord for the recent Easter celebration at our church. God blessed and we had many first-time visitors in the service with several being dealt with for salvation. We used the Easter play as an opportunity to invite Deaf to the special event. Though no Deaf came to the play Sunday night, we did have one deaf man visit in our church that morning for the first time. He has a testimony of having been saved for several years, but has not had the teaching to grow in the Lord.

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

Categories: Ministry Update, Prayer Letter
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Dear Praying Friends,
We have just finished summer vacation and the school children are returning to classes. Yes, they really do things backwards in the southern hemisphere. We even walk upside down! We had a good summer with a couple of relaxing weeks, but we are ready to get back into the full swing of ministry.

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

Categories: Ministry Update, Prayer Letter
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Dear Praying Friends,
Thank you for your continued support. We completed our first sign language class and are now into our second group of students. We are teaching two classes: beginner and advanced. In the advanced class the students are beginning to think through when they would each be available to interpret based on their other responsibilities in the church. Up until recently they have all been talking about how to avoid ever having to interpret.

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

Categories: Ministry Update, Prayer Letter
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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

Categories: Ministry Update, Prayer Letter
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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.

Categories: Ministry Update, Prayer Letter
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