Coming to a Close

As we wrap things up here in Arequipa we are overcome with so many different feelings – sorrow to leave behind great friendships, joy to see others take over and step up in leadership, worry of how things are going to hold up when there aren’t enough leaders to take over the many different meetings that Wendy and I could handle because we had no other work…and the list of feelings and emotions goes on.
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On Good Friday we had a youth retreat with 18 teens - 12 from Huacshapata and 6 from Hunter.  The retreat was held at the International Club in the center of Arequipa. With the help of a friend we got access to the club and permit the teens to have an experience that few can afford. I have many photos from the retreat in my facebook album “parting is such sweet sorrow…” One young lady told Wendy that she was not leaving from the retreat as the same person that left from her house that morning. Glory to God.

We’ve had some great times with our folks in Hunter as time has been winding down.  We’ve finished the classes for membership with Zelmira and Abel.  And recently Pastor Cristobal joined us in their house to administer a “gifts” test, which was particularly neat to discover with them what their spiritual gifts are.  We have a future pastor couple in the making.  We’ve had the privilege to see Zelmira’s sons off on their first day of school back in March, more recently watched Soul Surfer with the extended family and in the middle of lessons we’ve found time to play several rounds of UNO and make animal noises.  It’s been a great time deepening our relationship with them as they deepen their relationship with God.

 

Thick & Thin

Through thick and thin we keep treading onward.  In Hunter there are both moments of joy and frustration.

What a difference a day makes.  From one day to the next carried the difference between having a locale and dreaming about all that could take place in the new space and then being told that the decision to rent it out had been retracted and we were back at square one.

We continue teaching Abel and Zelmira.  We're in the middle of membership courses and it's really neat to experience this process with them.  When we met Zelmira she had just given birth to Camila 2 months prior and was living alone.  Abel has since then moved in and they are currently taking care of her boys for "summer vacation".  They are both in the same sales program and growing together as a pair and as Christians. 

Nilda and Jessica continue with discipleship courses and their teenage girls and now Meri's boy and his friend are coming to discipleship/youth group every week. 

The elderly group at the health post are always a good time.  This month we took a trip with them on our free day and went to the beach.  I'm still recovering from a bad sunburn.  It was a pleasure to pass the day with all of them.  The doors have finally opened to do a Bible study with them and the psychologist is offering the meeting room next to her office.  Many people here in Arequipa are traditionally catholic, but non-practicing and more so superstitous than anything.  I would say that the majority are not what catholocism intends for them to be.  Many are closed to considering anything new, so the time we've had singing, dancing, exercising, sharing and so on for the past year has made many of them comfortable enough to say that they're coming for sure next week. 

We've started back up with the Joves.  Always interesting. Always something.  This past week we spent time with Señora Cristina and Señor Julio, just the two of them.  Señor Julio whined about missing us terribly and said that next week he's going to make a typical pasta and cheese dish for us.  He was drunk, but I have a 5 minute video of him promising to be sober the next week and wanting to hear the word of God.  He repeatedly asked me not to take his photo.  I do plan on showing it to him next Sunday evening.  In all, there has been a great change in the family and we continue praying for more.

We started visiting Laura who used to be at the Jove's house, but for a new business and frustration with Jimmy's drinking habits she rarely goes anymore.  While Wendy talked with her about emotional healing and partnership from a biblical standpoint, I held grandma's hand and listened to her lonesome repetition of a hard life and little to hope for.  I prayed through our conversation that this widow would find the hope that Christ offers and could maybe feel it in her bones and know it deep in her soul before fading out of this world.

These days are varied and blessed.  I ask that you join us in prayer for Nilda's nephew that is hospitalized for drug use and for her father that is currently in the hospital for health problems.  Also, a lady from the elderly group has had horrific back pain for 2 weeks and can't sleep; she wept as I asked her how she felt and if we could pray for her.  The strongest meds she's been taking are not helping.  Pray that we can continue to use the municiple center even though they don't want to show favoritism by letting us use it with out paying.  We need to find a permanent place to meet and are down to 2 months.  Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for supporting Hunter and these lovely people with your prayers.

Stairway to Heaven...(or at least heavenly moments)

Over a year ago we got to know a lady name Sandra, she’s probably 25 and a single mother.  Life has been hard for her.  We went to her house several times, chatted with her outside – she never trusted us enough to let us in.  I guess a while back, some people came through that claimed to be missionaries and kidnapped someone’s child just a few houses down from hers.  We returned several times at an hour that we had chosen together to start discipleship, but she was never around.  We called, but then her cell phone service went out.  We finally stopped going to her house, when the drunken landlord came out and said some choice words to us because we were standing outside her house yelling for her in hopes that she would come out.   We got the picture, not only did she never let us in her house, she was pretty non-committal and then she continued to stand us up, until we finally decided that are time was better used elsewhere.

Well, yesterday she was on bus as we headed out from Zamacola to go to Hunter, minimally a 45 minute ride.  Apparently she sells vegetables out in Rio Seco, farther north than where we live.  We caught up and as it turned out she did want us to come visit her.  Wendy was in the back of the bus, so I made the arrangements to visit her today in the afternoon.  I think that she is less afraid of who we are now that she sees that we’re still up to the same business over a year later…we haven’t run off with anyone’s kids; which is a valid fear.  I don’t exactly look like many folks from around here.

So today, after trudging through lots of rain water, we arrived at the long series of no less than 100 steps that pass by her home.  About halfway up she resides and had been waiting for us.  She came out and was interested in a lesson.  We had the lesson outside on the stairs – Wendy taught and I entertained her daughter Camila so that mom could focus.  She is looking forward to the next lesson and even said that the next time we can enter the house.  Praise God.  I did a split second hesitation to write that, thinking if any of my friends that don’t have faith read that, it will sound so old-fashion and churchy.  But, I decided, no, I will say exactly what should be said.  Praise God.  It’s been a difficult couple of months realizing that we’re not where we were hoping to be and it’s been discouraging.  Although, we’ve come up short on some man-made goals, we find ourselves in the middle of what God wants for us and he continues to show us right where he wants us to be working.  It’s a beautiful thing. 

Faith In Things Unseen

So the end of 2011 brought a few disappointments for us in Hunter.  As you know, we've come to plant a church here in Hunter among other locations.  What has been difficult for us, is that after discipling folks from anywhere in between half a year to over a year, they have really enjoyed having us in their homes, but were not motivated to begin attending the church.  While, we've been doing what we feel God wants us to do here, our reality and are expectations have fairly big gap between them. And I'm experiencing how weak my faith can be at times.

So we've been praying and at times fasting throughout this process.  I just finished Henry & Richard Blackaby's book Experiencing God, which was a good reminder to keep my relationship with God fresh and not just look for answers.  In the midst of our reality we don't want to force our agenda but see where God is working and to join him in that work - another key theme of the book.  So after a 12 day vacation, we've come back to work learning to submit ourselves to God's will, to have more patience, to observe where he is working and to join him in it -- this serves as good medicine for the anxiety that can come from wanting to do a good job and complete the human goals set on the forefront of our time here -- when in all reality we have little visible signs of accomplishing that with just under 4 months to go.  However, there is a solid base of people that we've been discipling that we continue to pray the Holy Spirit will move to become more involved.  And on a positive note, in Hunter we've seen an alcoholic change his behavior and stop drinking as much, caring more for his family, not running away from home for multiple days.  We've seen the faith grow of many folks and teens recognize there worth.   

Sunday, at our first service of the year, no one arrived by the time we typically get started.  We could not enter the auditorium because they had changed the system of permissions for usuage of the auditorium without notifying us and now we have to have a letter of authorization.  So, Lindy, Tricia, and I went up the street so I could show them some properties up for rent, but both are outside of our budget because it's an urban area and everything costs more.  I really was beginning to feel discouraged and allowing myself to waller in it.  Is that a word - waller? Or just a hillbilly notion of a word?  I'm from West Virginia, ya know.

Anyway, coming back down the street we got back as the town meeting was letting out.  And as always, Señora Sonia was there and started talking to us about another auditorium/location that was closer to all the elderly folks we work with and closer to other folks that we disciple.  As we wrapped up chatting with her, a couple of our teens showed up, then a couple more.  So we decided to have service with them in the park in front of the municple center.  Then Zelmira & Abel arrived with Camila and Zel's two sons that are here on summer vacation.  Yes, it's summer here.  Then Nancy and Shirley with two toddlers showed up at the end of the service when we were getting ready to serve a snack during our community building time, "the share".  This was the first time we had many of our regular folks show up, even if incredibly late...and all were at least a half an hour late.  One of the teens is going to lead worship next week and we're going to get Abel involved with the treasury and offerings if possible.  Monday when we were at Zelmira's new house, (they got kicked out of their other place) she said her favorite thing to do is share and encourage.  So we're going to have a time of sharing and she'll be our first testimony in church. 

There are still many others that we disicpled for over a year that are not attending and we hope them to be involved in the family, that they'll be taken care of when we head off.  We need your help with prayer support: one, that the those we've known and been working with for awhile will want to gather together; two, that we can find a permanent location; and three, that we will always bring in new folks or share with them where they're at and that this concept will be passed on to those we've been working with.  Thanks for reading and please keep praying for Hunter and the formation of both believers individually and as a community.

Celebrating Spring

This week in Hunter:
We met with Maribel in her home and talked for a long time about life and what's going on in the house.  We rounded a corner in which it was safe to say that we can choose to shut the door on being a seeker in general and be a seeker soley of the Christ of the Bible.  We've completed the first study book with her and will be moving on to the next which is a more profound look at themes along the lines of developing our understanding of God, the Bible, and what it means to be part of the church. 

The Joves as a group had shrunk to 5 - 6, but it's a much more serious, fervant group.  And we were happy to see Nancy and Laura once again after months of not seeing them.  It's cool to watch this group grow in understanding and commitment. Señor Julio was sober this past Sunday, which was a change from the past 2 weeks prior.  He apparently had changed and instead of drinking all week long he was only drinking on Sundays.  I made a comment to Javier that if we only get to see him on Sundays and he's drunk, it's wonderful that he has changed that pattern, but we only see him during this time and it's a little disruptive - his tyraids of commentaries that losely fit with what's going on.  So, I was grateful to see him present and ready to participate.  Unfortunately, the father of Señor Julio is on his deathbed and we will be going to see him next Sunday.  Be praying for their family and our meeting, if you will.

Things continue to go well at Zelmira's.  We recently taught about baptism, which Zelmira and her father will probably participate in next month.  One church told her that she had to marry first, which is very expensive for the average person here and so she never had.  She intends to marry, but it's not an incredibly easy process for many.  Her father used to read coca leaves to guide people; he was baptised immediately after becoming a believer and never fully understood it.  He's interested in being baptised, fully acknowledging it's simbolism. 

Thursday at the Wawawasi, we watched a video with the ladies there.  Numbers where low, because the owners of the Wawawasies had to go to a work meeting and couldn't attend; I'm grateful that they permit us to use their space either way.  We realized that a group of teens will probably be the next step there because of the average age of attendance for the video.  Maribel came for the first time and a neighbor came for the first time with her daughter.  So I was pleased with the quality compared to quantity. 


Earlier that day we were with the elderly celebrating Spring's commencement and had a coronation.  Thanks to the group of missionaries headed for Paraguay for helping us with the festivities.  We also made a trip to the Founder's Mansion with the elderly folks this week on our free day - good times!

I'd like to wrap up with a couple of prayer requests.  Things fell through with the Youth House.  It's occupied everyday of the week.  We hope to use the municiple auditorium and will eventually go to the administrator for the University to talk about the property in Hunter.  Also, we were out and about visiting other contacts when a regular contact was out of town and discovered that a lot of our contacts play volleyball Sunday afternoons.  I joined in a game and we lost, but it was a good time.  We're praying and thinking about what can come of this natural grouping of people and how we can use this time to reach out to more people. 

Quickest of Updates

We currently are discipling:

The Jove family

Zelmira & Abel

The Wawawasi Ladies (with Vilma & her daughter from the Naz church that died 10 years ago.)

Rosa

Maribel

Natali and her mom (starting tomorrow)

______

Tomorrow we will go to finalize a schedule for the “youth house” where we’ll start having services.

I’ve got a few stories to share that are evidence of God working in Hunter…but I’ll share them at the end of the week.

Pray for all the folks above and Charo & the Sello – that God would open doors.

Don’t go too far…things are just heating up.

Vlog con Wendessa en español!