November - December 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

We are thankful for all that the Lord has done for us in 2007. We are grateful to all of you who partner with us with your support, offerings and prayers. This has been one of the greatest years here at Efata.

Our family and ministry have been comforted and edified together with you all as you have cared for us during this year. You all represent the second part of the verse above “even as also ye do”. Thank you so much for helping us make this the greatest year in ministry for us here in Peru in both blessings and trials.

We have seen more people saved and baptized this year than ever before. The average attendance of the church has gone up; we are running between 180 and 210 in our services and we are supporting more missionaries.

The church celebrated its 30-year anniversary; we had a record attendance of over 600. The Lord blessed and gave the increase; we thank Him for the hard work of the pastors, staff and members of Efata Baptist Church and for the support and prayers of all of you.

This year we were able to install a computer lab for the students, expand the carpentry shop and the sewing shop, and build a new dormitory for the young boys.

We have received several new children this year, and once the family Judges to go off strike, we will receive a 3-year-old girl, and 5, 8 and 9 year old boys. All these children are from orphanages. We thank God he cares for these little ones, and gives us a chance to love and care for them. It is a joy to see them learn language and through this, learn to love and know their creator. We know that when God sends us the children, He will provide for them as well.

This year has not been without its trials as well. On December 7th my dear pastor, Richard Riley of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Fort Myers, FL, went home to be with the Lord. He pastored Emmanuel for 43 years. His loss is being felt by many. Please pray for our church as they go through the process of trusting the Lord and seeking a new pastor.

If you have been keeping up with the Blog, one of our deaf men, Hugo, had three fingers cut off on a circular saw. Thank the Lord the doctors were able to reattach most of the fingers. He only lost part of his pinky and the tip of his middle finger. That was a trying time, as we had to take him to four different hospitals to finally get good treatment. The family is poor and has no money so we had to incur that cost of about $2500.00.

In June, Lisa underwent back surgery. She was in a great deal of pain. Thankfully, the surgery went excellent and she is pain free and has completely recovered.

We thank God for his blessed intervention in several trials that we faced during this last year in the school and home. It reminds us that the king’s heart is in the Lord's hand.

As you know, we are expecting our ninth child on January 28th. Her name will be Jessica Riley Kotvas. We are looking forward to this addition to the family. The little deaf girl Jenny is still living with us. We continue to investigate the adoption process for her and ask that you pray for us regarding this as well.

With the devaluation of the dollar it has been hard on missionaries all around and we are no exception to this. We have lost approx. $.25 on the dollar. This has greatly affected our ministry as our expenses continue to rise and we need more staff. If I could ask one prayer request, please pray that the Lord will open new opportunities for support for our ministry in 2008, both in terms of financial monthly support, one time love offering support and much needed staff support.

Entering 2008, we rejoice in what the Lord is going to do in and through our ministry here at Efata. We covet your continued prayers and support that allow us to be here and serve our Lord. From all of us in the Kotvas family and all of the pastors and staff of Efata Ministries, thank you and God bless you as you continue to serve the Lord where you are.

In Christ,

Bro. Joe & Lisa,
Joseph, Julianne, James, Jared, Judson, Joy, John, Jenny, Joel