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Unlike many of the world’s lost,
not having the opportunity to “hear” about Jesus isn’t the problem for
Peru’s Aymara people.
“Everybody here has heard about Jesus—everybody,” explains Florida native
Rick Martinez, who serves among the Aymara in the high plains of the Andes
Mountains with his wife, Kelly, from Tennessee.
When Catholic missionaries first brought the Gospel to Peru hundreds of
years ago, the Aymara blended it with their animistic traditions. The
result is a folk Catholicism that reveres both God and natural
“spirits”—not saving faith in Jesus.
Rick and Kelly separate worship of creation and Creator by presenting an
undiluted Gospel message through simple Bible studies coupled with the
JESUS film. They’ve launched three new churches so far. It’s a good start,
but only a beginning.
“My ultimate vision is to see Aymara going out with a heart for their own
people,” Rick says. “Once that starts to happen, I don’t think it will
ever stop.”
Pray:
Ask God to raise up young Aymaran believers who have a passion for sharing
the Gospel with their own people. Pray that the Holy Spirit will move the
Aymara beyond spiritual apathy and that churches will be planted in the
cities of Huancané and Moho.
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