Mudslides and Motivation
In March 2017, northern Peru suffered massive mudslides that erased villages and killed over 70 people (learn about that HERE or HERE). The same month, Christian and Janeth, from Lima, Peru, began to study in Seminario Carey. The daily news of the floods and their daily exposure to the command to preach the gospel came to a head: “We were so impacted by William Carey’s life, and would fall to our knees in the conviction of what the Lord wanted from us,” they recount. They joined the Missions ministry at their church and traveled to Piura, Peru to minister through social aid and gospel-preaching. During that trip, they distributed over 2000 Bibles and Christian preached the Word at a local church.
The thing is, Christian and Janeth themselves have experienced numerous mudslides since beginning the Seminary, though not the ones you see on CNN. As they’ve gone through the Seminary, they’ve experienced trial after trial, and their testimony is a display of God’s faithfulness.
As the couple was finishing their first class - the very same day Christian was to present his final oral report on Evangelism and William Carey - their house was robbed. “They took everything: computers, appliances, even my notes for the presentation!” says Christian.
While the two were in Piura, Peru, on a missions trip with their church, Christian’s law firm decided to let him go. He received the news upon arriving in Lima and started to look for a new job. To this day, he hasn’t found anything permanent but has been able to offer occasional consulting services here and there.
The most significant blow came toward the end of October 2017, when Christian’s brother suddenly died. Christian and Janeth were responsible for taking care of the funeral and his brother’s widow and three daughters. Not only were the two emotionally distraught, but their financial responsibility to the family eliminated their savings. “There were days when we had just $1 in our pocket, and that was that.” The couple put their Seminary studies on hold and entered survival mode.
“We were so impacted by William Carey’s life, and would fall to our knees in the conviction of what the Lord wanted from us”
“Maybe,” says Janeth, “you hear all that, and you think, WOW look what they’ve gone through. I don’t want us to get any recognition from this story though! All the glory goes to God - He sustained and provided for us, He gave us the grace to continue.”
Continues Christian: “If there is one thing we’d learned in the Seminary, it’s that God has a perfect plan and we can rest in His will and timing.” While they prayed for provision to return to the seminary, they began to lead the Evangelism Ministry of their church, still thoroughly convicted that, with or without their studies, they were called to serve and preach the gospel.
This month, the couple returned to their theological studies. Seminario Carey offered Christian and Janeth a scholarship for their current course, but the couple turned it down. “God gave us just what we needed, just enough to study this semester, so why would we take a scholarship away from someone else who has no resources at all?” they ask.
One thing is clear to see: their faith is unwavering, and not even a mudslide can daunt their motivation to finish the Seminary.
