We’d like to introduce you to Pastor Rómulo Rafael Durán Verástequi. To meet him in person, however, you just may need an extra helping of courage in order to navigate some of Peru’s treacherous Andes Mountains roads (check out this VIDEO). But if you do, you’ll find him nestled just over halfway up the 18,232-feet high snow capped Huaytapallana Mountain in the town of Concepción.
Fishing for trout in the Mantaro River brings tourists to Concepción, where some 15,500 people live. Among them are Pastor Rómulo, brand new baby Pedro, Rafael (9), Belen (6) and Helena (3). Life for Rómulo and his wife, Yénifer, is rather busy these days.
When he’s not changing diapers or chasing after Helena, Rómulo is pastoring the Christian Missionary Alliance Church. “LOGOI,” he explains, “is a great blessing and support for my preaching every Sunday and Wednesday. And I am able to get counsel and trustworthy advice from a biblical perspective which impacts my life and teaching every day.”
Growing up, the furthest thing from his mind was becoming a pastor. “When I was in college,” he explains, “my mother died. I was devastated and felt as if life had no meaning. I started to drink which left me even more empty inside. One day out of the blue, I received a letter from my older sister. All the letter said was,
‘Dios te ama’ (Jesus loves you).
I can’t explain it, but even though I was drunk at that time, those words pierced my heart. I fell to my knees and asked the Lord to save and forgive me. With tears rolling down my face, I found a Bible and read John 3:16. As I read His Word, I believed. I stood up a brand new creature in Christ. I was baptized the very next day.”
Rómulo has been a pastor now for 12 years. God has enabled him to start a Bible academy, youth ministries, even mission and evangelistic teams. “Right now,” he explains, “the Covid-19 cases have increased dramatically and hospitals don’t have enough room. People are dying in their homes. We ask for your prayers so that our little church will be an example of living in God’s grace and a place where people will find Jesus!"
As we do so often in our “National Missionaries of the Month” letters, we ask you to take a moment right now and pray. In this case, would you please pray for Rómulo, his family, and their church? It is such an encouragement when we let them know you and many others are praying and making their free on-the-job Bible training possible.
So thank you for being a part of training, equipping, and encouraging Rómulo — and thousands more just like him — to boldly and joyfully proclaim the Gospel. It is a JOY to serve the Lord with you!
Every month, those who signed up to be a part of LOGOI’s FiveDollarMission family receive a special letter introducing one of our “National Missionaries of the Month.” They are short and simple and simply designed to introduce you to one of our national missionaries in a more personal way.
They also serve as powerful reminders of some of the things God is doing with our $5 investments. So if you haven’t already, we’d love for you to sign up, too. You can even sign up a relative (or two) as a terrific way to get them more interested and involved with
missions — a pretty great $5 monthly investment!