Grabers Grapevine: February 2008

Don and I are planning a missions trip to Peru from March 26 to April 16, 2008. We are excited as we anticipate what the Lord has in store for this time. We plan to travel to Lima, spend the night in a hostel there, and then travel on the next day to the mountain area of Arequipa. Dan Cunayapi, a former student from RGBI, and his wife Doyli (Jully) will meet us in Arequipa. They are there trying to plant a new church. They have found the work very difficult there. This is a predominately Catholic area with little interest in the Gospel.

My brother, Roger, had prepared a paper in Spanish when he travelled to Ecuador to minister there. We are planning to become more acquainted with his teaching in Spanish and share that also in Peru.

Just a personal note to those that don't know us as well. Don was saved at 8 years of age, and as a young adult was challenged by the martyrdom of the 5 missionaries in South America. He attended Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, and after raising his family, he and his wife spent 11 years on the mission field in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. When her health failed they came back to the states and settled at Rio Grande Bible Institute. Don chose to continue on serving here thinking he would not make any more trips to foreign lands even though he loves to both travel and serve others.

On the other hand, I was also saved at 8 years of age and from that time I wanted to be a missionary nurse, probably in Africa, or New Guinea. Following nursing school, I, too, attended Grace Bible Institute in Omaha. At the age of 42 I did spend most of a summer in Irian Jaya (near Paupau, New Guinea). I loved that area but discovered that the jungle environment with all the mold and humidity were probably not the ideal for my health. I have had health problems ever since, but am still seeking the Lord for complete healing. I, too, thought my visits to foreign lands were over, but I have still had an intense interest in missions, and desire to be there myself, not just reading about missions.

Then suddenly everything changed. In January 2002, Don's wife of over 46 years passed away. The Lord graciously brought Don and my pathways together in his mom's hospital room shortly thereafter. We talked about missions, our lives, his family, etc. etc. Later in 2002 we were married and I joined him here at RGBI. I was finally in missionary work, and no longer alone. We could see how over the years God brought things into both of our lives to prepare us for this time together.

The fall of 2003 brought a trip back to Bolivia for Don and my first exposure to S. America, The fall of 2006 we journeyed to Hong Kong and China visiting my brother John and his wife Dorice, who had ministered there over 40 years. Don and I got to visit many places where they minister in China to the very, very poor. Since 2005 at Christmas time the Lord has given us a ministry to the poor of Mexico in one of our border towns here. We cross the border and minister there along with some of our Spanish speaking students about every other week on Sat. afternoon. And now, we are planning a missions trip to Peru. Don is 74 and I am 64. Both of us had thought our foreign mission days were over, but just see what the Lord can do when we wait for his timing. It is never too late!

Please pray with us as we prepare for this important trip. Dan and Jully are so excited that we are coming. We pray for heart preparation for those to whom we minister as well as our own heart preparation. Our time on this earth, with our freedoms to minister may be short, so we want this time to really count for the Lord.

We will keep you updated on our trip, but still haven't figured out how to get pictures and text on the same blog. I may have to alternate as I have been.

Thank you for reading this epistle and then for praying.

Roberta for both of us.