February, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am the third child of Pastor and Mrs. Paul Durand of the IBPFM. Along with my parents and seven siblings, we have been serving the Lord in Chile for many years. We came here when I was seven years old, and I am now 24. Apart from the occasional trip back to the USA for furlough, I have gone to Brazil, Guatemala, and Colombia for missionary purposes. I have been homeschooled all my life, and as I grew up on the foreign field, I began to see more and more how desperate the need for Christ is, not only in other lands, but everywhere.
I have a great burden for the people of Chile. There is such a need for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone is able to convict and convert sinners, by the work of the Holy Spirit. There is so much to be done. It is my prayer that I would be able, by God’s grace, to continue spreading His Word among the people here, and that He would use it for the salvation and spiritual growth of many souls.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:19–20
For many years now, in the town of Santa Clara, we were able to have Daily Vacation Bible School for the children of the neighborhood every summer, and weekly classes all the year. We would go from house to house passing out invitations, finding several faithful children who liked to hear the sweet story of Jesus over and over again.
I have spent many years with the children of Santa Clara, and their families, trying to be instant in season and out of season, teaching the Word to a few friends in particular. Even though some of them have moved away, their families are still close to me. I have also held Bible studies with young people in Santa Clara throughout the years, and several have attended our church. It is amazing how God works in the hearts and minds of all ages.
In November of 2023, my brother, Isaiah, and I were able to go to Guatemala to help the Rickers with their Daily Vacation Bible School. Then, in 2024, I was hired by a small Christian School in Santiago, Chile to help as Teacher’s Aide for 1st, and then 2nd grade. I was able to teach a daily Bible class, and also had a weekly Bible study with 7th and 8th grade boys. It is with great sadness that after a year spent with those children, teaching them, praying for them, and spending eight hours with them every day, I leave the school to go, if the Lord wills, to another country. Wherever I am, my prayers will be with them; and God is with them.
It is now my prayerful plan to go to Nairobi, Kenya for one year, according to the will of the Lord, to study there at the Bible College of East Africa, and to receive more practical training in the ministry. I feel that the Lord is calling me to this step through the counsel I have received at the hands of many ministers and friends. My prayer is that God would use me there for His own glory. Your prayers for protection, wisdom, and growth in grace are much appreciated.
I will also need your support to make this trip and to have the possibility of growing spiritually at BCEA, in preparation of becoming a full time missionary with the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, should the Lord so will. My prayer is that I may serve the Lord in the future here in Chile as a missionary, teaching, evangelizing, and discipling the people for Christ. I see a door opening for the founding of a Christian school in Santa Clara where I could be key to the discipling of the children of unbelievers, a help and a blessing to many families who are just beginning to train and raise their children for Christ, and a light to many lost families through the testimony of the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in their children’s lives.
“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers…” Malachi 4:6a
May God bless you,
Josiah Durand
PS from the Executive Director: Josiah has made application to the IBPFM for full time missionary service. The Board recommendation is that going to Nairobi and BCEA, under the supervision of other veteran missionaries, would give him valuable training and first-hand experience at a station that has been in operations for 60 years now. Such training and experience would very well profit his ministry in Chile, or wherever the Lord would take him.
The support Josiah has mentioned would be for his airfare, along with enough to cover his room and board. Contributions for Josiah can be done on the donation button at our website (www.praysendgo.com), or sent to our headquarters office. The next time BCEA can accept new students will be in May of this year, so we are trusting God to provide what is needed well before that time.