Semi-Annual Report - December to April 2015

Ministry

Beloved in the Lord, I thank God for each of you that are praying for me because in my daily walk with the Lord I am learning to trust Him more, laying hold of His promises, because without Him I could do nothing. Since December 2014 the Lord has given me great challenges in the missionary ministry of Segadores because I was permitted to continue in the leadership as President. Among the challenges that I face, I need to strengthen and broaden the vision and mission of Segadores, pastor our missionaries, and strengthen our unity. Also there is the challenge of caring for the legal matters relating to the properties of Segadores in Lima and in the jungle.  

With the Lord’s help, these past months I have continued making trips to the native communities around Atalaya (especially to Ashaninka communities) in order to facilitate the entrance of missionaries to the villages that do not have churches. With God’s help, a missionary family will be moving to an Ashaninka village this year. 

January

January 7th we held a good-bye meeting for our former Treasurer, Milagros Goicochea, who was traveling to the U.S.A, to participate in a 3-month missionary training. (She is now back in Peru.) 

January 15-16 Segadores held its annual evaluation and planning meetings. All our missionary families attended this meeting and we had the visit of the missionary Bill Conard who gave us wise counsel for our missionary work. On January 17th I met with Peter and Bill to examine the opportunities that Segadores has for serving as a mission agency, and to examine how we can best help the churches in doing missionary work. We thank our brother Bill for his help and counsel.  

February

On February 3rd brother Peter and I had the first interview with the national President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church of Peru to feel out the possibilities of uniting efforts with them in missionary work. We suggested the possibility of signing an agreement of cooperation and we were asked to send him a letter asking for that, which we did. 

February 9-19 I travelled with my family to the Andes, accompanied by nine of my brothers plus our elderly parents, in which I was able to talk with my brothers and share God’s Word with them. 

February 26th I had an important meeting with the possible members of our future Advisory Board: Pastor Alfred Smith and Fernando Campos. Three of the Board members of Segadores were there. The meeting was very worthwhile. They said that they were willing to help us and they gave us some very practical suggestions. 

March

March 17-23 I travelled to Atalaya with a young couple interested in missionary work. (Presently she is helping us in improving the web-page of Segadores.) Their names are Victor and Fanny Ayala. They accompanied me in visiting an Ashaninka village in the Atalaya region. They are praying that the Lord guide them in beginning their theological training. In our visit to the community we had a meeting with the school Principal, and the teachers of Primary and Secondary school, to feel out the possibility that our two missionary families that live in Atalaya might be allowed to teach the course of religion (which the teachers call the course of spirituality). All the teachers willingly accepted that our two missionaries teach this course twice a week in the Primary and Secondary schools. We thank the Lord for this open door for the Word of God. (Manuel and Lucy, and Liviu and Amalia, are now teaching this course.) 

During our time in Atalaya we also did some work in cleaning the Segadores land (for the future missionary base). On our return trip to Lima we saw the care of the Lord’s hand in a special way. We passed through Chosica in the morning in the midst of rain. When I arrived home, I heard in the news that Chosica had suffered a natural disaster. A large mud-slide had carried away trucks and cars and many families had lost their homes and a few family members. We thank the Lord that He protected us when we passed through Chosica. How good is the Lord with us! 

Once more we received an invitation to meet with the President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church of Peru. In this meeting we received an invitation to prepare a rough draft of a possible agreement of cooperation between Segadores and their denomination. We are now writing up that agreement. 

With the Lord’s help, Segadores is having a day of prayer and fasting one day a month, in order to pray for the unreached tribes of Peru, and for our various missionaries and ministries. We held these meetings on March 27th and April 24th with much blessing. 

April

In the month of April I have continued with the administrative tasks in Segadores, plus a second trip to Atalaya to visit our missionaries. While there I also met with the top officials of the Province of Atalaya seeking a solution to the legal barriers hindering the building of houses on our land. The meeting was positive, clarifying the next steps that we need to take. Lord willing, we expect to begin building the first house in May.  

Personal Life and Family

First, I wish to thank God for sustaining me through every time of difficulty when it seemed that things did not make sense. He helped me to be firm, walking in the center of His will. The difficult times had to do with the health of our children. Briana is now 7 years old, and Filip is 5 years old. As you know, our daughter Briana has many problems with allergies and respiratory problems. Our expenses mainly involve her. We feel ourselves sustained by your prayers. It gives us much joy to hear our children pray for the unreached tribes of Peru and their desire to travel with me to the tribal communities. They make a special effort to be first in their classroom and they take every opportunity possible to speak the Word to their school teachers. I thank the Lord especially for my wife because she gives me joy and support in my missionary work and takes special care for our children (because she teaches our children the Word of God when I am travelling). 

In February the Lord allowed us to travel to the mountain region where I was born. It was more than 38 years that I had not returned there. We travelled there with all my family, upon the request of my father that we travel with him. We travelled with 10 of my brothers for 9 days. For me, it was something new to visit the place where I was born, and to see from where the Lord had called me to serve Him. The Lord told me: “Remember from where I took you, because without Me you are nothing.” I thank God for drawing me towards Him in His love.  

I also thank the Lord for the life of my parents (i.e. that they still live). When I am in Lima, every morning I go to their house and prepare them their breakfast. 

As a family, we are praying for a house of our own. Especially my children pray for a house. We are grateful, though, that we can pay the rent of a small apartment, thanks to the prayers and offerings of each one of you. 

All my responsibilities in Segadores are very important; but, above all, my communion with the Lord is my top priority. After that is my responsibility of leading my wife and children in the ways of the Lord. My goal this year is to continue learning to live in complete dependence on the Lord, and to continue in the center of His will, because I want to be a blessing to the tribes. Other believers bend their knees in prayer on my behalf (that this might be so). 

Prayer and Praise Points

1) That the Lord give me wisdom in the decisions and leadership that I exercise in Segadores
2) That God protect the health of my wife and children
3) That God provide finances for my tribal research trips
4) For God’s protection on my trips in the jungle
5) For solutions to the legal barriers in Segadores
6) That God bring us more missionaries to work in the needy tribes
7) For God’s provision for building the missionary base in Atalaya
8) For God’s provision for the missionary training center in Atalaya

Comments

Every material or spiritual blessing that we receive from you is by the grace of our God. For this reason, we offer our thanks to God and we trust that He will sustain us as long as He grants us life. Many thanks to each of you, dear brothers, for sharing with us the fruit of your labors. 

Oscar Tello & family