Kelli Canfield

Robert is sending out the second set of letters to his family and friends in Ohio today. Please be praying that God would work in many hearts to partner with us to help make His name known in Areqipa, Peru, South America. The internship is a necessary component of our training as missionaries, but we look forward to helping spread the Gospel as we learn more about how to be effective missionaries. Here is a copy of the letter that will go out today:

March 12, 2009

Mr. and Mrs. Jay and Shelley

503 Anyroad Court

Anytown, Ohio 44004

Dear Jay and Shelley:

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! My wife and I have been preparing for our church’s third anniversary and planning activities at a park for the kids in celebration of the three wonderful years Vision Baptist has had so far. I’ve been spending a lot of time studying for my courses on Preaching, Doctrines and History of Christian Missions to name a few and I am getting so excited about putting all the things I have been learning into practice in Peru.

Many of you have been asking for more detail about how you can help out with the internship we have in Peru, South America. Let me say first of all how much I appreciate the prayer support you give for my wife and I. Words cannot express how grateful we are for your love and support. And we feel even more indebted to know that there are people who have shown interest in partnering with us financially as well. God’s heartbeat is that His name would be made known in all the world, and I am deeply touched at your willingness to consider helping us work to spread his Word in Peru.

We have asked the Lord to provide our need for support through churches, family, friends and our own savings. Perhaps you can give six monthly gifts of $25, $50, $100 or more for the time we will be in Peru. We understand that not everyone can make a monthly commitment, but maybe the Lord would have you make a one time gift instead. Would you please prayerfully consider how God would have you partner with us to learn how to better serve Him on the mission field and to help others come to know Him?

If God has led you to partner with us to make His name known in Peru, South America, you may send your tax deductible gift by check made payable to Vision Baptist Missions to our home address listed at the top of the page or to Vision Baptist Church at PO Box 442 Alpharetta, GA 30005. Please put our name in the memo line.

Again, we appreciate those of you who have already pledged to help or who have already sent in support for our internship in Peru. We also greatly appreciate those of you who have been supporting us in your prayers. Thank you for loving my wife and me. Please continue to pray that God would prepare our hearts for Peru and for His work there and that He would provide the support we need to arrive in June.

Love,

Robert Canfield

Yesterday we received our first check for our 6-month missions trip to Peru. It came from a completely unexpected source. We are so excited to see how God is going to bring in the necessary funds to make this trip possible for us.

We also found out Wednesday that a family will be supporting us at $100 a month for the 6 months we are there. What a blessing God’s people are to each other. Robert and I only hope that one day God will allow us to help this family like they have pledged to help us!

I am sure all of you know–or at least most of you do–that Robert and I have a 6-month internship in Peru to complete as the culmination of our training in missions at the Our Generation Training Center out of Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, GA. We are in the process of raising support for the 6-month stay. I wanted to post a sample information letter that we have sent out to his family in friends in Ohio. We will also be sending out letters to my family as well as to churches that have a tie to our church and pastor. I have also been talking to some businessmen about our trip. Please pray that God would move on people’s hearts as they read these letters. Please also pray that God would be preparing us for this trip so that we may best honor and glorify him.

March 2, 2009

Mr. and Mrs. Jay and Shelley

503 Any Street

Anytown, Ohio 44040

Dear Jay and Shelley:

First of all, thank you for your support you have shown me since I moved down to Georgia to begin missionary training at Vision Baptist Church and the Our Generation Training Center. I am so appreciative of all the love and support you and the rest of the family and our close friends, who will also get this letter, have shown to me during the two years I have been studying to be a missionary. I couldn’t have been more blessed than to have been placed in such a wonderful and close family.

Since moving down to Georgia, God has done some wonderful things in my life. I met my wife here who was already a student when I enrolled. I knew almost immediately that she was the one God would have for me to marry. But, not only did God give me a wife, he’s also been doing a great work in preparing our hearts and minds to be missionaries somewhere when we graduate from the Our Generation Training Center.

As part of our missionary training, Kelli and I must complete a six-month long internship abroad in Arequipa, Peru, South America under the direction of Chris Gardner, missionary to Peru. We are praying about taking this opportunity to finish our degrees in June of this year. Our goals for the six months in Peru will be:

–to learn the Spanish language and communicate conversationally with Peruvians

–to successfully adapt to a foreign culture

–to learn proper methods of church planting in a foreign country

–to learn to effectively train leaders who will plant churches themselves

This internship in Peru, South America is a wonderful and necessary opportunity for Kelli and I to demonstrate what we have learned while here at the Our Generation Training Center. We are excited about being able to put to work the things that have been taught to us. I’d like to ask you to keep us in your prayers as I finish up my studies Stateside and put what I have learned into action on the mission field. Thank you for already being so supportive of me and thank you ahead of time for praying for me as I prepare for this internship.

Love,

Robert Canfield