The young adults’ group at Gethsemane Baptist Church in Trujillo, Peru, encourages its members to invite unsaved friends to events. Rubén decided to invite Yrene, a fellow student at dental tech school. Yrene enjoyed the event at the beach, which extended into an evening bonfire with singing and a Bible challenge given by missionary Jonathan Stilwell.
She began coming on occasion to Saturday evening youth meetings. Annually, the group holds a Friend Night, and Yrene was there, listening carefully to the message. She and seven others made professions of faith. Of all these, only Yrene kept attending. Jonathan asked another single girl, Rebeca, to teach Yrene about her new faith.
The discipleship classes deepened her understanding of God’s Word. Often, she came to with challenging questions about the Trinity, spiritual gifts, and other topics. Jonathan helped Yrene with the tougher questions, and little by little, she began to embrace biblical faith and practice.
Finally, two years after her salvation, Yrene was baptized. In Peruvian culture, this is highly significant—a sign of the genuineness of a person’s salvation decision. Her mother, a sister, two little stepsisters, and some friends witnessed her public testimony of faith in Christ.
As a result of Yrene’s growth and baptism, the youth elected her to be the secretary of the group. She took her new responsibility very seriously. Acting a little out of character, she even participated in a skit to kickoff a two-month basic Christian duties contest between youth and adults. She obtained the top individual score and received a study Bible for her great effort. Rubén also was a top scorer.
Rubén is a faithful servant leader in the church. Shortly after the contest, he and Yrene began dating. In August of 2009, they publicly announced their relationship to the church. The church is excited for them as they look toward continued service in God’s work in Peru.