Personal Bio
Rafael and Sloane Mendez serve in highland Peru with their young daughter, training Quechua-speaking and Spanish-speaking lay leaders for village congregations along ridge routes above the valley markets. Rafael grew up bilingual in southern California; Sloane trained as a nurse before they joined Kindlewick Story Missions in 2018. They live in a market town and travel midweek to preaching points where elders ask for help with baptism classes, conflict mediation, and oral story sets that stick when print is scarce.
The Mission
They equip local leaders to plant and strengthen ridge-route congregations that preach Christ clearly in Spanish and Quechua. Week by week they walk footpaths to teaching groups, help churches examine candidates for baptism, and coach storying teams who retell Mark and Acts in homes. Kindlewick placed them under national partners; they do not run a parallel foreign church. The long aim is elder teams that handle Scripture, care, and discipline without them in the room.
The Heart Behind the Mission
Ridge churches already exist before they arrive. What they often lack is steady coaching when a family feud splits a congregation or when prosperity radio confuses new believers. They show up with open Bibles, first-aid kits, and patience for long meetings. Sloane’s nursing opens doors; Rafael’s bilingual teaching keeps doctrine from becoming a Spanish-only export. They measure progress by local leaders who correct them gently and keep the work when they leave for the next valley.
Join in the Journey
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Key Goals
- Finish a bilingual Mark story-and-study outline for five ridge congregations
- Walk two new elder candidates through a year of supervised care
- Host a quarterly leaders’ retreat that national pastors design and lead
Challenges
- Altitude travel weeks that strain health and cancel visits
- Radio prosperity teaching that undercuts repentance preaching
- Limited print access for Quechua Scripture helps in remote points