“You need to leave the country.” The words barreled into me. This was not how things were supposed to go. My mind was reeling. After months of paperwork, immigration appointments, and background checks, our only remaining option was to leave the country and then, upon re-entry, try to file the paperwork over again. But after having been misfiled once before by our lawyer, there was a very real possibility that we would not be allowed back into Peru. That thought gave way to an avalanche of confusion. What about the churches? What about the young men I’m training, the dozens in discipleship, the construction project, or even the Youth Conference that I was supposed to be preaching at later that same week? This was not what we had planned. However, as quickly as those thoughts began, I was reminded that this is God’s work, His ministry, not mine. My job is to remain faithful where He calls me, and sometimes, things are subject to change. 

So we left the country and landed in Santiago, Chile. The Lord allowed us the unexpected blessing of spending time with some of our heroes in the faith, Jason and Lori Holt, as well as the opportunity to preach in one of their church plants and to teach a master’s class in church planting. After several days, it was time to try to re-enter Peru. We stood in front of the immigration officer, waiting to hear the verdict. The sound of that stamp pounding into one of the back pages of my passport was one of the sweetest sounds to my ears in that instance. God is so good! We were each given another visa, along with the opportunity to re-file our residency paperwork. Please be praying with us in the days to come, that we would finally be granted residency here in Peru. 

As the last of the Sunday night crowd hugged and waved goodbye, one young man stood back. Bryan had been on my prayer list for the past six months, as he faithfully attended and continued to grow in his walk with God. Well, that night, Bryan told me about how God had been working in his heart about making a change. “I want to leave my secular job, and I want to start at the Bible college this semester to start preparing for ministry,” Bryan exclaimed. My answering smile beamed back. What an answer to prayer! Much in Bryan’s life is subject to change rather majorly in the next few weeks, so I would ask that you be praying with us for Bryan as he begins classes in the Bible in preparation for the ministry. 

Your Missionaries to Peru,
Mitch, Jacqulyn, Landon, and Ryan McCormack

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