September 1, 2003

 Dear Friend,

Joshua and Missy Saune, Quechua workers in Ayacucho, Peru, were awakened by the clap of an explosion, very close at hand. They rushed outside to see a bundle of dynamite sticks leaning against the front wall of their home. Joshua had received death threats before, but now the threat was very real. Miraculously, only one stick of dynamite of the ten in the bundle had exploded.

Death threats still come from the Shinning Path guerillas. Why would they target someone who has been caring for orphans and widows, starting Christian schools, and is constantly traveling to train pastors for the hundreds of Quechua Evangelical Christian Churches?

These guerillas are minions of Satan, and they only use his strategy. "Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered" (Matthew 26:31).

And Satan has a lot of ways to remove the shepherd-leaders of the church. In Chiapas, there is still a flow of refugees from isolated villages out in the mountains. They are Christians who were threatened, or had their houses burned, or their pastors and elders ambushed and murdered.

We thought the new governor of Chiapas, a fine Christian man, would make a difference. He has, as far as the refugees are concerned, but he has no way to control what happens back in those witchcraft-dominated communities in the mountains.

Now Satan is using another tactic in the Totonaco Sierra. There has been a severe drought, and the corn crop has failed. Families are suffering great hardship--particularly those of the pastors who were dedicating much of their time to caring for the flock, or traveling to unreached villages to spread the Gospel.

Now these men are faced with the desperate need of their family. So they leave off their ministry and seek jobs in the cities, in order to earn at least $80 a month. That's the average family income among these rural folks.

This past month we were unable to supply that need when we would so like to have done so. As usual, our summer income was way down.

I'm writing this letter on Labor Day--the end of summer--with a deep sense of urgency. We don't want to lose momentum in the work that has been showing so much promise. We have a strong sense of God's hand moving among the Indian Christian congregations in many areas of Latin America, but our energy, in prayers and support, are very much needed. The pastors often tell me that they can feel the effect of your prayers. Keep up the pressure against the wiles of Satan!

God bless you as you labor for Him!

Yours on behalf of the Indian believers,

Dale W. Kietzman