Ever since I was little, I knew that my calling in life was to follow in my father's footsteps and continue the work that my grandfather started years ago down in Peru. Through countless hours of conversation and encouragement from my dad, and years of being a missionary kid, I decided to take steps towards my life goal and intern with MTW. Each summer of interning, and each year of being mentored by my dad, I came away with a greater sense of confirmation that the Lord is calling me to serve in the mountains of Peru. This year, God confirmed my calling in a very special way, by giving me a life partner to share this calling with, and someone who is as committed to serving the people of Peru as I am.

At the end of my internship this past summer, I drove up a country road as the sun disappeared behind the Andes across the valley. I was taking Alicia Skrivan (my college sweetheart) away from the city lights so we could get a great glimpse at the thousands of stars in the southern hemisphere. Alicia had come down for a visit in August to meet my family and see for herself the ministry we have in Peru. While she was experiencing everything there with a fresh and new excitement, she was also looking at my home with wide eyes knowing that this was going to be her home someday too. After hours of long and deep conversations about her impressions, fears, and excitements about our future down there, she told me that she had no doubt in her mind that this was where the Lord was calling her to serve with me for the rest of our lives. When we arrived at the spot I had carefully chosen, we hiked up a small trail and sat on a Peruvian rug. I pulled out my old guitar and told Alicia that I had written her a song, the first song I had ever written for anyone. She sat there excitedly and listened as I sang about the way our relationship had unfolded, and then at the end of the song, in the most nervous way possible, I sang, "I'm asking for your hand tonight, that you would give me all your life, that you would walk with me"... "I'll give you all that I am; I'll serve you to the very end, if you would marry me...tonight...." When I was finished, she said thank you and hugged me and smiled (later admitting that she was thinking that it would be nice if I would have saved the song for our engagement). A few seconds later the fireworks lit the sky and holding her hand I led her to the spot where she would be able to see her surprise. I pointed toward Calvary Mountain, the mountain that every young man in Huanta climbs to feel like a man, the mountain that sits overlooking the city of Huanta. She looked and saw 150 foot letters, blazing with fire spelling the words "Marry Me?" She turned around and saw me, the most nervous person in the world, down on one knee asking Miss Alicia Anne if she would spend the rest of her life with me. She joyfully exclaimed, "Yes! Of Course!" I'd never seen anyone so happy, and I'd certainly never been so happy in my life!

After a few moments of celebrating and admiring her new ring and the incredible Andean sky, we packed up and went down to one of the restaurants in the main square in Huanta to have some Pollo a la Brasa chicken for our engagement dinner celebration. We sat there with my Dad, some of the girls in the mentoring group, and all of my friends, including my brother Caleb, who had set up the thousands of cans with kerosene and rags on Calvary Mountain. The table was filled with laughter and smiles coming from their dirty and charcoaled faces after having completed such a task to ensure we had a memorable engagement. There was an incredible sense of love and support as we both looked around at the people celebrating with us.

These are the same friends that I've worked with for the past few years, and the same friends with whom Alicia and I plan to be working with as we continue the work that has been started in the mountains of Huanta. We ask for your prayers as Alicia and I plan to be married May 14th, 2005 in Tacoma, Washington, where Alicia was born and raised. Right now, we are taking steps towards establishing our work for a year so that we can raise support to head down to Peru for the next year. Our plan during that year in Peru is to work on the ministry we will have when we are down there full time after I finish seminary and give Alicia a full year to learn and perfect her Spanish. Alicia is very excited to begin working in Huanta and has already made some great friends among the women and young ladies of the church and mentoring group. It was such a beautiful thing to watch her spend some quality time with the girls and enjoy the prospect of living in the Andes for the rest of our lives. The Lord has truly blessed us with the most amazing friendship and fellowship, and we cannot wait to get back onto the field to be with those people again. Please pray that the Lord would provide open doors that we might be able to quickly return without hindrance. This March Alicia and I will have our first experience being missionaries together as we have the opportunity to lead a large team from Covenant College to our Project Nehemiah orphanage at my home and minister to the orphans, mentoring group, the church and my family. Alicia and I look forward to working together as a team, using the many incredible gifts that the Lord has blessed her with.

As a team we will continue the work that I was doing with the teams this summer. We will be building on to the new church building, but more than that, we plan on building up the church as a body. My father encouraged us to focus more on building up the spiritual church than on building the physical church. It is such a delight to work alongside my brother Caleb as well. We continue to grow closer and closer together as we look forward to the day in which we will be able to fulfill our commitment to each other to serve the Lord together in the ministry in Peru. Please pray for him as he prepares take SATs and the GED in order to get into Covenant College as soon as possible.

Please pray for Alicia and me as we plan to spend our first year of marriage in Tacoma, Washington taking an internship that would help prepare us further in our ministry in Peru. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We are greatly indebted to you.

In His Service,
Nathaniel Gutierrez

- February 8, 2005