June 2009 Newsletter

June 2009 Newsletter
Life: a journey, an adventure with Jesus
Here in Peru, There in Duluth

Dear Family & Friends:

Here in Peru – We have said it before, and once again we will share that studying is our main focus this month. We did take time out one day to host the Peruvian AWANA Missionary, Pastor Julio Serrano, as we invited him to town to present the program to 3 pastors. We pray that the vision of AWANA will align with the vision of these pastors seeking to reach their neighborhoods for Christ. Weekends we spend our time focusing on the people, history, traditions and activities of Peru. One weekend this month we went to Lake Titicaca. We left Friday night at 9:30 p.m. and returned Monday morning at 2:30 a.m. along with two other students from our language school. The weekend was filled with new experiences, but one which I want to share with you follows.

We were hosted by a Peruvian family from the Island of Amantia, from a tiny community. The family was busy about their work, Grandpa picking bright green pods of some vegetable, Grandma doing laundry with a bucket of water on the lawn and laying the clothes out to dry in the sun on a rock wall. She also washed her long black hair in the tub of water, and braided it tightly as she sat in the sun. Two children, 6 and 8 years old we met the night before and said hello this morning, but they disappeared never to be seen again. Jose, Dad, helped serve our breakfast and was off to a community meeting. Dabina, Mom, scurried about cleaning the outhouse, tending to the rooms, and cooking lunch. At one point in time, Grandpa changed his shirt, looked at his watch and placed his hands in the universal position of ‘praying hands’ and pointed to the sky. Not sure what he meant, but he was then off to the garden alone for a short while. There were sheep on the hillside being driven to a lush spot to graze. A neighbor walked through the pasture with a bundle on her back. Another neighbor was harvesting several fields away. It was totally quiet outside. The lake was a large expanse of deep blue before our eyes. The sun was bright and warm. We sat outside and just pondered our place and time, and realized that these people may never hear the gospel. We may be the only gospel they ever see. This village community is made up of Adventists, Catholics and Muslims. It bothered me throughout our 20 hour visit that they and their neighbors may have never hear the gospel. What could I do? I can't speak enough of their language to communicate the gospel. Ummmm....I could pray. I could ask our prayer partners to pray for them (and, upon our return to Arequipa, via email we did just that!).

Don was photographing the terrain, the family living life (as described above) when Dabina came to me with an envelope and asked that we mail her some of the photos. Ahhh.......God answered my prayer! I had their address handed to me! Isn't that cool? The following week at the ABC Espanol Institute, I inquired about tracts and was given several that I could send to the family. Saturday we went into the city and had some photos printed and mailed a packet off to the family with the prayer that they will receive the gospel!

This is just one story of our weekend excursion. We have so much to think about. The safety of our trip, from the very start with a bus driver maneuvering a double-decker tour bus through the mountains in the middle of the night, to the additional unexpected exertion we placed upon our bodies while hiking rough, steep terrain, the taking in of food and drink over which we had not control of the quality of its preparation, trampling here, there and everywhere under a starlit sky, with little understanding of the language. We have a vivid memory of the living conditions of these happy people and their need of a Savior. The three different people groups we visited were kind, warm and friendly. They were good people. But, did they know Jesus? We pondered this situation and recognize it was a cultural learning experience, but also one that the Lord used to teach us so much about ourselves. Our trust is fully in Him. We have stories to tell, pictures to show, and a new perspective embedded in our minds of this country and the people living here.

This week we attended a ‘free’ concert at the local university. The husband of one of the professors from school has played with this band for 10 years. The leader of the band is a Christian who is the music director for one of the schools for children of missionaries. The college students filled the auditorium with notebooks and cameras as attendance was required for class credits. We watched and listened with amazement to the beautiful traditional music played on drums, pan flutes, flutes, guitars, and a ukulele. These very talented middle-aged men from throughout the country brought alive the beat and melodies of their native music in such a way that they received a standing ovation! Sunday afternoon we attended a dance competition with participants from as young as 5 years old up into young adults wearing traditional costumes and proudly dancing some traditional dances of Peru. The colorful outfits and perfected dance steps provided by those who had practiced hours upon hours is another lesson of the importance of family customs here in Peru.

There in Duluth -- Our children continue to enjoy family life in our absence, filling us in on their activities, such as camping on Lake Lanier, a business trip to Texas, a 60 day business trip in China, the death of a family pet, and launching of a home business. Bridgeway Church has celebrated with the school their first graduation class, a fantastic opportunity to “be the church” to the soccer families, and the arrival of the steel for the new gym. Please continue to pray for the new family the Lord has planned for renting our home. We don’t know, yet, who that may be, but we trust the house won’t be empty for any length of time.

Our TEAMs – Monthly Supporters, Prayer Partners, and our extended family bless us! Through prayer and financial support the two churches which want to start AWANA clubs have been given the okay to schedule their training sessions. We ask that you, too, thank the Lord for His faithfulness and that of His disciples as the required money, and a little more, was received for the startup of this outreach program in two more areas of the city of San Juan de Lurigancho.

Because He Lives!