Keesa & Jorge Gutierrez-DuPré
Missionaries in Peru
Testimony
Jorge: Ever since I was very little my mom made me go to church. I had a habit of sneaking out of church to go play soccer, but one day I couldn’t sneak away from God’s love. When I was 13 years old I got caught sneaking out. The pastor’s wife (my Sunday School teacher) shared the Gospel with me and I understood my sin and the necessity of a savior and believed. From then on, I didn’t sneak out of Sunday School any more!
Keesa: I came to Christ when I was four years old. My mother was a Christian and often spoke of God and Jesus. My favorite bedtime stories were Daniel in the Lion’s Den and the Fiery Furnace, with its three characters Shadrach, Meshach, and To Bed We Go. (Imagine my disappointment later in life when I realized that his name was not, in fact, To Bed We Go.) There was never a time I can remember when God was not part of my life. However, when I was four, I understood something more. I wasn’t a bad girl (I was a people pleaser, so for a four-year-old, I was pretty good!) but even I knew that I did bad things sometimes. But that night my mom explained to be that I could never be “good enough” for God and heaven, and that the punishment for being bad even once was being separated from God for forever. Thankfully, my mom also explained that when Jesus died on the cross, He died in my place, and that all I had to do was believe in Him, and He would give me eternal life in heaven with Him – so I did! Of course my faith would grow and mature over the years, but I am firmly convinced that I became a Christian in bed that night when I was four.
Ministry
Jorge: In my church in Peru I work alongside my pastor as his helper and assistant. I am also responsible for the areas of teaching and evangelism in church and coordinator for the Bible Institutes in World Reach in Peru.
Keesa: My main ministry is evangelism and discipleship. I also teach English as a Foreign Language at La Roca Christian School, prepare English curriculum and materials for the school, teach Sunday School, teach ladies’ Bible studies, support Jorge in leading the College and Career group, and prepare Bible studies and discipleship materials for the church. In 2023 I had the privilege of beginning to study for a Master’s in Biblical Counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary, and although I still have a long way to go until graduation (Lord willing, I will graduate in 2030, if Christ hasn’t come back before then!), my courses are deepening and enriching my ministry in ways I never even dreamed.
Favorite Scripture
Jorge:
“I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.“
~ Psalm 40:8
Keesa:
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me..” ~ Galatians 2:20
About Us
What are some of your Hobbies?
Jorge: I really enjoy working with wood; ever since I was 17 I’ve worked as a carpenter and it was one of the ways I was able to pay for my theological studies. I also like driving cars.
Keesa: My favorite hobby is reading (writing is a close second!). Picture it: a gray, drizzly day; snuggled up on the couch with a warm blanket; a cup of hot coffee by my side, my kitty cat Enya on my lap, purring away, and a really good book. Could life get any better? I rarely have time to sit on the couch and read, but when I do, that is my idea of a perfect day! Either that, or hiking in the woods in the middle of nowhere on a beautiful crisp autumn day…but we have a lot more gray, drizzly days in Peru than woods or autumn.
What is an adventure you would like to go on?
Jorge: I would like to visit Europe and also Eurasia where the Gospel started.
Keesa: I’ve already been to the one place I always dreamed of going, when I had the chance to visit my brother and his family in England in 2023. Of course the trip was only for two weeks, so there is technically still a lot of England where I haven’t been yet. But I loved walking through the Lake District, hiking in the forests in the national parks, and seeing Wordsworth’s “lonely clouds.” I am not a particularly adventurous person, so my favorite part of the “adventure” was drinking coffee (not tea…sorry, England!) and eating a meat pie in a little tea room in the Lake District with my brother and sister (who I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic) while a little fire blazed away in the corner and we watched the rain drop softly and steadily over the lake through the window.
Who from the Bible would you like to meet in Heaven?
Jorge: I’d like to talk with Jonathan, Saul’s son, because of his friendship with David and the loyalty he had.
Keesa: If it were just a casual conversation over a cup of coffee, I think I would most like to talk to Barnabas; I’ve always been drawn to his compassionate and encouraging spirit. But if I wanted a lively intellectual discussion, I would definitely choose Apollos! I admire him so much for his eloquence, his fervor, his humility, and his incredible knowledge of the Old Testament. Acts 18:28 says that “he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus,” and in his times, the Scriptures would have meant the Old Testament. In fact, that’s been one of my favorite parts of my classes at Westminster; learning how to see Christ in the Old Testament. I’ll bet Apollos could teach me a lot more!