Prayers I have never prayed before

28th Feb - 6th March was Moquegua

6th - 14th March - Ite

15th - 25th March - Puno (various churches)

30th - 3rd April - Tacna (Manantial de Vida)

Well what a start to the month of March! There are many reasons to come on mision rescate, one of which is the insight it gives into missionary work and the realities of living and working in another country. This month i have seen earthquakes, tsunamis, and realised that there are many things that our missionaries need prayer for and many prayers i have never prayed for them.

So earthquakes....

Last Friday morning, started like any other friday morning, i got up, washed and the team had their devotional together. We had just finished the bible study and had started to pray when i started to hear noise on the roof. I was thinking, what is the Pastor doing in his apartment that he is making so much noise? Then the noise got louder and the walls began to shake and the floor began to move. The team looked at each other, and as the shaking got worse we all decided to exit the church rapidly. I had never realised how much confience i place in the ground, in the fact that the ground will stay in the one place and not fall away from beneath me. Never before have i prayed that the ground would stop moving, or that the walls around me wouldn´t fall in, or that the town in which i was living wouldn´t be utterly devastated by a tremor, that in 2 minutes time i wouldn´t be looking at a collasped church, or worse be in a collasping church! we have been praying for the people of Japan and continue to pray for the all those in pain, who have lost loved ones, homes, friends and that God would give strength to the believers there.

^{Isaiah 54: 10} Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

So for the first time I have thanked God for his protection from earthquakes here in Peru and continue to praise him for the brilliant week with the church in San Antonio. The photo below is of the kids we had at our holiday bible club, kids from San Antonio, and also Costa Verde (an area that the church ministers to and an area in need of greater christian input). In my second trip to Peru we went to Moquegua and stayed in the Baptist Seminary there, it has since been turned into a Christian school which we had the opportunity to visit and do a short program over lunch. It was strange to see the room which once was your bedroom being used as a classroom but encouraging to see the premises being used to effectively and God being glorified in the education of the children there.

- Pray for the future development of the school, its a new school and numbers are growing, pray for the staff in their witness to the children there.

(Moquegua Holiday Bible Club) (Pupils in the Mitchell and Porter School , some of which were at camps!)

(photos from children´s work in San Antonio)

We got to spend some time with the young people in the church and it was a great time catching up with the young people from camps and developing friendships and many of the team had good conversations with the young people and were able to help them in issues and with problems there were having. There is a large group of young people in Moquegua,

- pray that God would protect them, and guide them and develop strong christians ready for leadership roles in their churches and excited to share Christ with those around them.

(bonfire after the youth meetings) (me with natalia, adriana and their dad, a family from camp)

(team and church young people at the big park place)

We also had some fun in Moquegua, visiting a big park place, and playing on the slides and swings as you know, grown ups do. The park looks over all of Moquegua and it was great to be able to see the thousands of houses and pray for the people of Moqguegua knowing that there are so many who still dont know Christ as their Lord and Saviour! San Antonio is such a welcoming and such hospitality, we didn´t have to buy one meal the whole time we were there and it was lovely to spend lots of time with church families. On the saturday afternoon we travelled to the waterfalls outside of Moquegua with the church folks and while NI might be greener and more beautiful than Peru i have never seen waterfalls like that before. The photo below, where i´m sitting on the rock with guido. when you looked up all you could see was water pouring over the edge of the water, constant and loud and all around you and i was reminded that this is how god loves us, constantly, powerfully. His love constantly pours out to us and with fresh waves when we need more.

(at the waterfalls, and enjoying the mango´s of Peru!)

We have returned to the campsite and this week have had a Young people´s Camp in the church in Ite. We had meetings each night looking at the topic of decisions and while numbers were few we had good conversations with the young people and hopefully the week will have created a bit of excitement with the young people as the youth meetings start back next week.

- Pray for the young people we have met this week, for their interest in the bible and that God would save those who dont yet know Christ.

We weren´t sure what would happen with the final night of meetings in light of the events in Japan and the subsequent tsunami. Much of Peru is coastline and had to be prepared for the possibility of tsunami waves and therefore we have been on alert yesterday and will be today as well, never before have i prayed for Tsunami risk!

So tsunamis......

Getting up for devotionals on Friday morning I was met by Daniel saying that we were going to Luz Maria´s (camp administrator) appartment to watch the news because there had been an earthquake in Japan which had caused an tsnami. I was praying for the situation in Japan but it was only as i was listening to everyone talking around the tv that i realised the team weren´t just worried for Japan but for the tsunami that was sweeping across the pacific and that could hit America and Peru and anxiously waiting to see how big it was going to be. We went over the plan of action in the case of a tsunami and told that the next update was at four and to have a bag ready in case we had to evacuate. ´Evacuate!´ I dont know that i´ve ever been evacuated in my life! the day continued as usual and we prepared for the young people´s meeting in Ete as usual and continued getting things ready for Puno and the Amazing Journey. At four Luz told us that Ilo had been evacuated and Trevor and Andrew (missionary family) were goign to be spending the night in the church in La Pampa (were we were working a couple of weeks ago) which is in the top part of Ilo. We got a bag ready just in case the bottom part of Ite would be evacuated too and headed up the youth meeting as usual. Praise the Lord that we still had plenty of young people come to the last night of the meetings and we had a great time sharing the word of God and that the message of the gospel was clearly expalined and we all enjoyed a lovely dinner! After the meeting we got the final word that while we would still be on alert the tsunami waves weren´t strong enough to cause any serious problems and we were safe enough to return to the campsite.

Never before have i thanked God for his protection from earthquakes and tsunamis. Never before have i realise that the earth is growning and that we will conitinue to face antural disasters and devastation until Christ returns. Our day was overshadowed by worry of what could happen, and greatefulness that when i got up this morning it wasn´t to run up the hill in light of an approaching wave. I have never realised that our missionaries live here in the knowledge that earthquakes and tsunamis are a threat that comes with that decision, and i have never before paryed that God would protect them and their families and the churches and their members from the devastation that they could bring.

I thanks you so much for all your prayers, but ask you to remember the country of Peru as well. There is only 2% evangelical christians here (if i have remembered correctly) and pray for Baptist Missions and the missionary families: The Morrows, the Brews and the Williamsons, as they continue to reach those that are lost.

- Pray that they would continue the remember there purposes here, and find strength in God for every situation

- Pray for safety as they travel between Ilo, Tacna and Moquegua and within the twons they work in

- Pray for wisdom in decisions and in their work with the churches here

- Pray for the future as the Mission continues to seek God´s will for the fututre of the work

- Pray for joy in the work and confidence in his purposes for them

^{Romans 8:22} We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for gGod´s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love hime, who have been called according to his purpose.