Grace

Shalom, Hola, Hello!!  (Don't forget to check out the words in fushia below)

   Well I have been back in the USA for almost a month.  And it has been a whirlwind of excitement. 

 First of all thank you so much for all of your prayers as I left Peru.  It was very difficult to leave all of the absolutely amazing brothers and sisters that I made there.  The work is continuing strong and I know that the Lord had me there to start the work that He wanted and now He is working through other leaders there. 

  So great to remember that all along it is God's work and only He receives all of the glory for the success!  Praise God!

  Coming back to the dry, hot desert was also shocking as in Lima it is extremely humid.  So for about three days it was very difficult to breath.  Not having driven for over a year it was nice to get behind the wheel although with gas being so high i try not to stay there to long *smiles*

  A great blessing my dear friend Kate whom I met while I was in Peru came here to Arizona for a week and we were able to go to Phoenix and meet with and encourage some other people that had been previous students in Peru as well.  It was lovely to see them and be encouraged by what the Lord's doing in their lives. 

  Also the day that Kate left my best friend of 24 years, Kathryn flew in from Oklahoma with her 2 year old and 11 month old.  It was so refreshing to see her and her beautiful children.  We went to California to see her in-laws and also to Oceanside where we have other friends that have been praying and supporting me.  It was just an incredible time to come back and be able to touch base with so many of the people that are so important in my life. 

  I will be sharing all about this past year and what God has done on

Thursday,

June 5th 

6:00-8:30

at Calvary Chapel Bullhead City.  (1690 Newberry Dr.) 

  Please come I would so love to meet you and talk with you. 

There will be food and drinks provided also I will be showing a video that I made so you can actually SEE how it was!

If you have any questions please contact me at gracehensley@hotmail.com

If you are interested in continuing to support me as I am a missionary here in the USA.   I will be starting a Christian ESL school here in Bullhead City,AZ and reaching out to the Latino population.  You can donate online through... http://www.sgwm.com/missionaries.php?id=143  There will be a little button on the right hand side that says "donate to Grace Hensley"

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!

See you on Thursday!

In Jesus, Grace

"But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 2 Tim. 4:5

I have experienced so many different emotions this month. It is hard to believe that my year in Peru is now over. It was such a life changing experience that I will cherish and continue to learn from in years to come.

During this month I was able to invite several families over for dinner. It was a great blessing to get to know my students and their families on a much more personal level.

They have all lived such interesting lives. I can't even imagine experiencing the hardships that some of them have gone though. Through the Lord they have overcome all these things and have such joy and peace. They were a great encouragement to me.

This little lady's name is Sofia. She has a fruit shop around the corner from the Bible College. Her son Carlos has been coming to the English classes for the last 4 semesters. He has learned a lot of English, but most of all He has drawn closer to the Lord. It was so great to hear about their lives, where the Lord has brought them from and where the Lord is leading them. 

                                                                                                                    


In coming to Peru it was never my intention to create a school that was dependent upon me. The Lord gave me His wisdom in order to organize and start the school. It has been my prayer that the Lord would be the center of everything and that He would remain in complete control.

All of the students completed their final exams and almost all of them moved up to the next level. They are all growing in their confidence and enjoying the classes. The best part however is that they are inviting their non-Christian friends and neighbors to come to the English school, and to church.

Thank you so much for your prayers about the Lord providing a new director in my place. He did. Her name is Rachel Mach, please keep her in your prayers.

Classes start May 5 so she has a lot to do in order to get everything ready. Please continue to pray for the students that will be coming this semester.




My last week in Lima was filled with such bittersweet emotions. I knew that the Lord had called me to go back to Bullhead City, Arizona and establish an Christian English School there. But at the same time my heart ached to remain with the amazing Peruvians that had become not just my students and my friends but my family!

The Lord is faithful and i know that if it is His will I will return to Lima someday soon perhaps not long term, but like Paul to encourage and comfort the body of Christ there.



About 10 of the Peruvians came to the airport to send me off. That was such a huge blessing to see all of their love to come out so late and be there for me.

My flight left Lima at about midnight and got to Ft. Lauderdale at 6:00 am. I had a layover till 12:00 pm but it was totally God because I had the opportunity to talk with a lady there in the airport and encourage her in her walk with the Lord.

At noon I left Ft. Lauderdale and went to Orlando. I had to switch planes again and left Orlando at 2:00 pm. My plane stopped in Albuquerque for about 40 minutes and then finally to Las Vegas where my Mom picked me up from the airport.

We went out to dinner with my sister and niece. It was a nice time to be with them and share a little bit about what the Lord has been doing in Peru.

This morning I went to church in my Peruvian outfit, and was blessed to see everyone. Some time this next week I'll have a time that I can share with the whole body the great work that has been started in Lima. Peru.

This is a picture of me and my Pastor after church today






Now I am here in Bullhead City, Arizona. I am now a national missionary to the United States of America. The Lord has put it on my heart to reach out to the Latino population here.

During the next couple of weeks please join me in prayer as it is my heart's desire to start an English school here in Bullhead. There is a lot of preparation that goes into starting a school many materials that need to be purchased, and teachers that need to be trained. But the most important part is that everything is covered in prayer.

Perhaps you or your church might be interested in hearing about how to start an English as a Second Language school at your church. I would be glad to come and share how the Lord has used this ministry to bring so many people to Him.

Thank you so much for continuing to prayerfully support me in this new ministry. I know that the Lord will be glorified and that many people with come to Him.

May God richly bless you and keep you. I would love to hear from you.

En Cristo, Grace

(This is a picture of me and my Mom. She was very thankful to have me back home)

Well...so I thought that we would be going to the Zoo tomorrow.  But we aren't going to be going there because they didn't end up giving us the discount.  Which initially I was prretty bummed about. 

   But the Lord took complete control of everything and provided a new location about an hour outside of Lima where a student of mine helps maintain an orpahanage retreat center.  I asked her if we would be able to use that location since no one is there this weekend and she said YES! 

 It has a pool and grass and a basketball court and large barb-b-que.  We are going to be playing tug of war and having potato sack races tons of games like that.  But most importantly we are going to be sharing the love of Jesus with the numerous non-believers that are going to be coming. 

  We are going to have a time of worship and prayer...I know that the Lord is going to do amazing things.  Please keep it all in your prayers. 

 Thanks so so much...together we are reaching our world for Christ....

 Grace

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10

I can not even begin to describe what a blessing this month has been, but I will try. 

A little background….My parents were divorced when I was about 3 years old. My mother has been an absolutely amazing example to me of a Godly woman. She raised me with a strong foundation in the Lord and for that I am eternally grateful.

During my time here a Peruvian family has befriended me and it has been such a blessing to spend special occasions with them…Christmas, my birthday, their birthdays, New Years, Easter. Well it just so happens that this last week was the parents 30th wedding anniversary, so all their children and I planned a surprise for them. We took them out to Friday’s for dinner and then got them a hotel room for the night. They weren’t believers when they got married, and they’d never spent the night at a nice hotel. We decorated the room and they were so surprised! Pedro even carried Juanita over the threshold. I never got to do these kinds of things for my parents, and this family wouldn’t have had the resources to do this themselves. I know that they were blessed and so was God’s heart in seeing 30 years of faithfulness and obedience. So thank you for being a part of that special day!

English classes: As of this date we only have two more weeks of English classes until the end of this semester. I have seen the Lord’s hand in this program since its foundation. People are getting saved and growing closer to the Lord.

It is difficult to leave something that I love so much, but I know that this is God’s timing as He has raised up another director of the school. Rachel will be taking my position and teaching 3-4 classes, also another American missionary named Natalie will be teaching a class and the Lord is still raising up national bilingual Peruvians that would like to be part of this ministry.

With all of that said and done I will still miss each and everyone of my students, some I have spent more than 180 hours with so we are all very close. The Lord has done more than let me be an English teacher he has made these classes into families and friends.

Last night I threw a costume party for all the English students and Bible college students. It was a great success. There were about 50-60 people here. I took all my furniture out of my room and everyone was dancing together. It was beautiful to see the interaction and fellowship shared in the body of Christ.

The end of the semester party for the students at the Zoo is next weekend!! Please pray as many of them will be bringing unsaved friends and family and this will give us an opportunity to reach out to them and show them the love of God.

Returning to the mission field…I will be going to another mission field called Bullhead City, Arizona in three and a half weeks. There is so much that the Lord has put on my heart to do there. Please join me in prayer as I would like to reach out to the Latino population in my town. There is a huge barrier in our city dividing it racially through language, culture and economic status.

During this next year please pray about continuing to support me as a native missionary to my own home town. I will be entering a new culture once again as I face re-entry shock into American culture and reaching out to the huge Mexican population with the love of Jesus Christ


Thank you so much for all of your prayers and faithful support. I would love to come and visit each and every one of you. I will be creating a video and power point to share what the Lord’s been doing here.

Please pray for the Lords provision as there is a $100 tax when I leave Peru, also the airline that I am flying home with has a charge of $100 for my third piece of luggage. I still have 3.5 weeks here and there is a lot to do and a lot more that the Lord wants to do!

Thank you, I love you all so much and am looking forward to seeing you!!

En Cristo, Grace

Well it's Holy week here in Peru, or Spring break in the USA.  What are you plans?  Go on a vacation, go to the beach?  Read that book you've been wanting to get to for so long but haven't found the time.  I don't know what your plans are but whatever they are be sure to remember what this weekend is all about. 

  It's about remembering what Jesus did for YOU!  It's not about the Easter bunny or egg hunting, or going out on the lake...We all need to read through a Gospel and recall the life that Jesus led that led him to the cross. 

  And then this Sunday if you go to church... meditate on what a powerful God we serve.  The sacrifce that Jesus made on the cross for our sins was accepted by God, and Jesus did it joyfully...because he knew that because of his death we would live forever with Him.   

   Perhaps all this sounds crazy to you...but it is the truth...and truth is absolute! 

 God bless you

Grace

This week has been so amazing!  Thank you so much for your prayers as I can see God answering them everyday!

First off...My dear friend Mrs. Bratt donated enough money so that We'll be able to have a party at the Zoo at the end of the semester for all the students! 

Secondly-The Lord provided a vechicle for me when I get back to Bullhead

Thirdly-A dear Childhood friend contacted me and she is now seeking the Lord.  Please keep her in your prayers her name is Jenny.

Fouthly-I was able to witness to a girl in the market.  I shared the entire gospel with her, and she is going to, Lord willing, come to church tonight. 

Fiftly- I bought my plane ticket home I will be leaving on April 30th and getting to Bullhead the evening of May 1st. 

This week the Lord has also taught me not to take things that have been entrusted to me not so seriously, not to make them "my own" 

For almost the entire time that i have been serving here I have been making breakfast at the bible college.  We only have an hour to make it for like 30 people...so it is a little stressful.  We also don't just make breakfast, but a huge fruit salad and we have been making smoothies.  Well this last week the person that is in charge of the students hours in the kitchen told me that He changed everything there will be no more smoothies and he changed the menu.  Amazingly I was kind of okay.  A couple of weeks ago I would have gotten really upset, but the Lord is helping me showing me that I am just a servant it's not my place or right to get upset about things as I am just in His service. 

  Well that's what the Lord is teaching me... if you want to contact me my e-mail is gracehensley@hotmail.com.  If you are interested in supporting this ministry please go to www.sgwm.com under Latin America there you'll see a missionaries tab I am there.  You can click on my picture and see what's going on here and donate if you'd like to.

I went to the beach today with some friends that are also missionaries here they are teachers at the International Christian School. 

  We drove through the McDonalds and grabbed some lunch...so funny to do that here...then about a 45 minute drive and we were there.  We also went with a missionary family who have 4 children, who are all white with blond hair...they said the funniest things...like

I know why m&m's are called m&m's..."why" I asked?  To which he said,"because when you eat them you go mmmm..mmmm..."  Hehehe...It was cute. 

  Then when we were coming back a song from Phantom of the Opera came on and he asked ..."Is this Ket Green?"  we all laughed....It was so nice to spend time with kids and just soak up their pure joy of the sun and the ocean...being all covered in dirt but loving it!

    Then i went to the Believer's night which is a bilingual service every Sunday night here....it was nice we watched the movie, "The end of the spear"  because the boy in that movie..Steve...He's going to come to the church here next Sunday night and personally share with us.  That's really neat I am looking forward to that.

    Please keep this coming week in your prayers...that the classes will go smoothly and that many students will be ministered to through the Word. 

   God bless you!~

En Cristo, Grace

Well my alarm might have gone off this morning, but if it did I didn't hear it.  I woke up at 7:00!  I am supposed to be at the Bible college at the latest 6:45 every morning, and it was 7:00.

  So I got all of my things together put my hair up and caught a taxi to the bible college...3 soles.  *smiles*  Only 1 dollar.  Still it would be better if i got up early and walked.  I wish i was more of a morning person. 

  Just as I was getting here so were the figs.  So that worked out really well because I made fig and plum juice this morning.  Everything got out to the breakfast table pretty much on time which was a blessing. 

   Then I got everything ready for the classes...as it was Deb's first day teaching.  She is teaching the highest level of English classes that we offer, so it is quite intimidating because many times the people that you are teaching have studied more English grammar than you have.  We did the class together and got through it.  *grins* 

    There are a lot of people that are coming that don't go to the church and that aren't believers which is so great as that means that we will be sharing the love of Jesus with them for almost 5 hours a week, and they are there to learn. 

   I was busy running around making sure that everyone had everything that they needed.  It was and is a lot to do to administrate everything.  But I have to give all of the thanks to God because I have never gone to school for any administration classes or anything like that, but He has helped me and the school is growing and more people are coming and more teachers are interested in teaching so that means that I must be doing something right. 

   Tonight I had my level 1 B class.  I have been with these people for 6-7 months now as their teacher, and it is exciting to see how much they have learned and are able to understand now. 

   I also was able to talk to a couple students for about 30 minutes outside just chatting and I shared with them the vision that the Lord has given me to open up schools like this in different areas perhaps all over the world.  

   Please continue to keep all of this in your prayers...as I know that.....

  "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;  Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." Psalm 127:1

    There is so much that the Lord is doing here that is unseen and i couldn't even describe it to you if i wanted to, but just keep praying. 

   Goodnight....God bless!  Buenos Noches...Dios te Bendiga! 

In Christ, Grace

p.s.  If the Lord puts it on your heart to support me please go to www.sgwm.com and look for me under the Latin America tab.  Thank you. 

 

Okay...so only a week ago the 7 week English classes ended.  There was a week long break, and the classes are starting again tomorrow, March 3rd. 

  Last semester there were 3 teachers.  Llubitza was teaching 2 classes, Marysol was teaching 2 classes and I was teaching 5 classes. 

   The Lord called Llubitza to serve in a different ministry here at the Bible college....so that left only Marysol and I.  But God is so so good.  Because in only one week he provided 5 teachers!!  Don-an American Bible college student, he'll be teaching 1 class.  Deb, she has been a missionary here in Peru for alomost 2 years, she'll be teaching 1 class as well.  Alejandro is a Peruvian that is graduating this semester from the highest level of English that we offer.  He'll be teaching 1 class.  Marysol-this will be her third semester teaching she'll be teaching 3 classes.  Yesmi-she is also one of my students that is graduating this semester, she'll be teaching 1 class.  Lastly I will be teaching 3 classes.

 All together there are aver 100 students in the English school now!  What an amazing ministry!

   The Lord also blessed me with the opportuinty to start teaching the Bible college students that were interested in learning how to teach ESL.  There are about 8 students in that class. 

    Please continue to keep the students and teachers in your prayers. 

 *Also please pray for me as i will be going back to Arizona in 2 months to start an English School like i have here in Bullhead City.

 Prayer requests...

1.  That the Lord will greatly bless this semester and bring many people to Himself. 

2.  That He will provide reliable transportation for when I am back in the States

3.  That He will bless the rest of the time that I have here in Peru. 

4.  That He will prepare the hearts of the Latinos in Bullhead to receive the Gospel. 

 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

December here in Peru was a very full month. The holiday season is just as rushed as it is in America. Although it is summer here in South America the stores are packed with Christmas trees, reindeers and Santas. They have very different Christmas traditions that I am used to.

I had the pleasure of being invited to spend Christmas with a Peruvian family from the church that I have become very close to. The tradition here is that they wait until midnight and open all the presents and have their huge meal with Turkey, potatoes, hot chocolate and panetone(a fruitcake bread, that absolutely everyone has for Christmas) During all of this there are so many fireworks going off that it sounded as if I was in the middle of a war zone. Even though everything was so different I was so thankful to experience this special time with them. For New Year’s Eve we had a big potluck at the Bible College Campus.

There were over 60 people and it was a great celebration we prayed and sang worship songs to bring in the new year. I have to tell you that I was a little sad even though there was celebration going on all around me. Almost all of the American Missionaries had left to go back home for the States so I was practically alone for the holidays and I missed my family very much. But I want to say thank you so much for your prayers and e-mails as they were a huge encouragement and the Christmas cards that you sent really blessed my heart. Thank you!

During the second half of December and all of the month of January the cook for the Bible College is on vacation. I love to cook and was given the opportunity to cook all of the meals for the 10-15 people that are on the campus everyday. I have learned so much. As there aren’t very many things that are packaged here mostly everything is fresh and you have to make it from scratch. So if you have any good recipes that you would like to share with me that would be awesome  I will be cooking all the meals until the end of January and then when the students come I will only be cooking breakfast.

Also the English classes just started this last week. There are about 90 students enrolled in the classes. Many more non-believers are coming so please pray that the Holy Spirit will minister to their hearts. Every class begins and ends with prayer and there are memory verses every week. I am not only having them memorize them but study them, as so many times we can repeat a verse by heart, but if someone were to ask you what does that verse mean, or how can I apply that to my life, we wouldn’t know how to respond. Something new that has started is a Conversation Club which is on Friday afternoons for 2 hours. This is an incredible platform for the students to use their English and practice how to share the gospel.

I have also moved off the Bible College campus. One of my students had an apartment that is right next to hers and was having it completely remodeled. She was asking the same price that I was paying to stay at the Bible College and it is fully furnished and only a 15 minute walk from the Bible College. I love it! I have been here for a week. I really enjoyed living at the Bible College, but there was always constant activity and at some points I felt as if I wasn’t even in Peru as there were always so many Americans around. But now I am living out in the community and have the opportunity to talk to and get to know the Peruvians here in my neighborhood. Please continue to pray for divine appointments.

Lastly this last weekend I went on the outreach to the park where we street witness to people and I met an older man named Peppy. He didn’t have a bible of his own but he wanted to know more about God and his heart was so open to the Gospel! I shared with him the truth of God’s love and gave him the bilingual bible that I had. I invited him to come to church and he came and even brought a friend. Please pray that he will continue to come and that the Lord will speak to his heart.

There is so much more that I could share with you about what the Lord is doing here... Your prayers are being answered. May God bless you and keep you…thank you for your support. En Cristo (In Christ) Grace