Atul grew up in India from ages 5 to 15 years old. Atul was saved out of Hinduism and became a Christian at the age of 15. Since then, he has had a heart for bringing the Gospel to the lost in the world. This has led him to go on short-term mission trips to Kenya, Dominican Republic, and Philippines. Atul has also served in long term missions in South Korea for 3 years and in China for 1 year.
Maritza grew up in Lima, Peru and has been living in the US for the past two decades. She learned and grew in Biblical knowledge through attending churches in USA and expository preaching. Her desire is to help plant healthy churches in Peru. Maritza’s prayer is that the Lord would use her background in dental and translation to bring the gospel to the lost.
Atul and Maritza have been married since 2012 and have two children (Gideon and Izabella). Since their marriage, they have been visiting Peru every two years. Through these visits, they have noticed that there is a lack of teaching in the churches in Peru and a general hopelessness among the people in different parts of Peru. The Lord slowly started working in their hearts towards serving amongst Peruvians and a desiring to see churches planted in these areas.
When the COVID Pandemic occurred in 2020 and churches were shut down, Maritza and Atul started Bible studies with her friends and family through Zoom. They saw God use this in a mighty way. Atul and Maritza started praying for God’s direction and He continued to burden them towards ministering in Peru. They decided to do a medical mission during the summer of 2024 with VASE. On this mission, they saw how God used meeting people’s physical needs to bring the gospel to the lost in that town through the local churches. They were encouraged that the gospel was being brought to the unreached parts of Peru through this ministry. God used this experience to place on their hearts the desire to serve with VASE in a greater capacity in Peru.
Along with this, Atul is a teacher in United States. He sees how his gifts as a teacher can be a useful means to both bring the gospel to the lost and a means of discipling.
Therefore, they began praying and looking at different sending agencies. South America Mission became a good fit as they believe that by redeeming lives and establishing churches, God will use this to transform communities. Their desire is that the Lord will use them to either strengthen local churches or start a church in Peru.
