6000 miles away

And we're into the final month

2011-07-08T04:02:00.001-07:00

Dear all,

It hasn’t been an easy month for Mision Rescate 4. It’s with great sadness that I write that Judith’s father passed away due to an illness of the stomach and it has been a difficult time for Judith and the family as they have come to terms with their loss and for the team as they have sought to support Judith in this time. Judith has decided that she needs to be at home to support her family in Tacna but continues to be part of the team as she supports the work and prays for all within the team. The team have continued on with the work of Mision Rescate and have sought to follow the Lord and His purposes at this time.

In the last weeks the team have been working with the Missionary alliance church in Tacna during their 3-day Missionary Conference which brings together different churches for encouragement, prayer and teaching in the area of missions. They presented the Amazing Journey at this conference.
- Pray that the Churches would have been encouraged and God would bless friendships made
- Pray that Churches would make use of the Amazing Journey and this would be a great tool in witnessing to local communities

They team have also been leading meetings in the Ite Church with the girls taking the Ladies meeting on the 30th June and the team organizing the Young People’s meeting on 1st July and following Sunday meeting. With only the month of July left before Mision Rescate 4 finish their time in the Campsite pray that god would work in the relationships that have developed with young people and church members in Ite and that they would have many conversations and opportunities to chare God’s word with people in Ite.

July is set to be a jammed packed month, the plan is as follows….
5th – 8th July – Pastor’s and Leaders’ Conference in the Camp Centre
11th-15th July – Leader’s Conference in Tacna
16th-17th July – Helping at the Camp Centre with a Church from Tacna
19th – 20th July – Amazing Journey in Ilo
22nd – 24th July – Visit to Tarata, Tacna
27th – 30th July – Youth Conference at the Camp Centre and farewell to the Team
31st July – Farewell for the Team in the Ite Church
1st August – Team members return home

I know that the team will appreciate your prayers for each of these upcoming activities, but more than that how much our prayers are needed. We all have a desire to finish well and to serve God in every opportunity He gives and our prayers are needed that the Lord would use this last month for His glory and use His people.

Acts 20:24
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
We do not run a race alone, we need support, we need training, we need encouragement, to push on and to give everything we have in those final meters of the race. Please continue in your prayers for the team that this last month will be a time of training and encouragement and that they will complete their task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace in everything the team will do in July.

- Pray for Mision Rescate 5, there have been a number of people interested from both Ireland and Peru, pray that the Lord would guide those interested and Trevor and Gordon as they meet with candidates
- Pray for Trevor as he returns to Ireland on deputation and for Christine, the family and Luz-Maria as they continue the work of Mission
- Pray for the team in the coming months as they return to their homes and churches, that they would be used by God in new and exciting ways and for those who have agreed to help out in the Ite church in Trevor’s absence

2011-05-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

Semana Santa - Holy Week in the Camp and Conference Centre Valley Azul

The Mision Rescate team have been busy working away in the village of Ite for the past week, involved in the ladies meeting and in charge of the young people's meeting tonight, Sunday School and afternoon service. They are making the most of the time through the day, with devotions in the morning and bible study in the afternoon , and a few trips to the beach as well.

If you remember me writing about Ite before, its a small town near the camp and conference centre, with people employed in a mix of government work and farming. Ite is up on a hill and its lovely looking down and seeing all these orange fields where the peppers are spread out drying in the sun, and who knows those sun dried peppers in Tesco could be from the fields of Ite. The team have been involved in evangelism in the town, chatting to people, handing out literature and spending time with the young people associated with the church. I sat one afternoon in the centre of the town and it was so sad to know that none of the people walking past me knew the hope of Jesus in their lives, and so many of them are suffering problems of alcoholism, abuse and violence. Numbers of young people coming to the church on Friday nights have been low. We did a survey of the young people in the village as a game one night (there was prices, it was fun) and many of the young people said they were interested in coming and in learning more about God, in fact many of them wanted to pray, but yet its difficult for them to take the step and come on the Friday night.

- Pray for the young people, that God would work in their hearts and help them in whatever is holding them back from coming

- Pray for the team as the plan for the meetings, that the programs would run smoothly and most importantly that they would be faithful to God's word and preach in spirit and in truth and be blessed in their times of study

- Pray for all those that attend the church that they would grow in their faith, that they would be like trees planted by stream of living water bearing fruit (Ps 1) and using the gifts God has given in the church and as they share their faith in Ite

- Pray for Trevor and Christine in their work and family and that God would continue to keep them healthy

- Pray for Luz Maria as she continues to keep the campsite running smoothly, in the planning for the team and for her upcoming operation.

- Pray for me with my up coming deputation, that I would settle home and be a witness in my workplace and family.

(Recent photos of the Team in the San Antonio Church for mother's Day)

and the campsite is full again

2011-04-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend the campsite will be full of high schollers. Its the first time that a high school has made use of the campsite for a camp, so please pray that everything runs smoothly and that God will give many opportunities during this weekend to witness to the kids and teachers, many of which will not have had contact with christians.
The team are organising games and helping out in the kitchen so plenty to keep them busy.
-Please pray that they get opportunities to chat with the kids and to share with them about the work of mision rescate and their faith.

The team have been based in the campsite for a while now, no jetting off to the big cities, and it can get pretty quiet in the campsite through the day. Chatting tot het eam yesterday Iw as really encouraged to hear that some of team have started a bible study together. We always have devotionals at seven in the morning, (i love 7 o'clock devotionals!) but it was great to hear how people are wanting to make the most of their last months and to learn as much as they can from God's word and from each other.
- So please pray that the team would stay focused and make the most of their days in the campsite, preparing for the work, with bible studies and in prayer.
- Mision Rescate is a time of training and prepartion so pray that God would continue to teach the teamthrough His word and bless the bible studies and conversations about our Lord each day

Many thanks
Jud

MR Part 2

2011-04-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well everyone, MR is into it's second half. I have said goodbye to Peru for a while at least but the rest of the team are still hard at work! After our holiday in Arequippa the team returned to the campsite to begin preparations for Semana Santa or Holy Week. It's amazing that it's 7 returning to the campsite, that in God's perfect timing Judith has been able to join the team as it came time for me to leave. It's been a time of adjustment for us all and it hasn't been easy to say goodbye but with change comes new opportunities for God to teach us and use us, so please remember the team in your prayers, praying that these changes would bring an increased reliance on God, trust in his plans and that God would continue to correct and teach us.

Chatting to the team yesterday, they are hard at work weeding, cleaning the kitchens and washing the minibus, lots of jobs I'm glad I'm missing but it's all part of mission rescate and the manual labour keeps us humble. And why all the preparations? On Thursday the campsite was filling with people from across the south of Peru, with different churches coming together to celebrate Easter. Different Pastors from Tacna, Moquegua and Puno will be leading sessions through the week and there will be some healthy (or more likely vicious) competition as the churches compete through the week in quiz on the book of Acts. the team will be responsible for the kids club each day and making sure the lovely food gets to the campers at meal times, they will also be looking after Sunday school in Ite on Sunday afternoon and will be part of the Sunday service. After this the team will be returning to the various churches we have visited, being part of different ministries and renewing friendships with families and young people.

Prayer Points
- keep praying for each of the team members, Guido, Jorge, David, Daniel, Judith, Mary-Sol and Vanessa and for Trevor and Christine and Luz-Maria over Semana Santa
- for the kids club, for strong teaching and that the kids would listen, learn and have lots of fun!
- for the campers, that this would be a time of refreshing in the word of God, a time of encouragement and hope as they remember all that Christ has done for us in the Cross
- for the Pastors and their families, that they would enjoy the time of fellowship, that there would be new opportunities for partnership amongst the churches and that God would bless them and enable them for ever challenge in their work and give them renewed strength and reliance on Him.
- for Trevor and Luz-Maria as they organize the program for the team, that God would guide them and open many opportunities for the team to share the good news across Peru

Thinking about Holy Week and all that Easter Sunday means to us, the children of God, I was reading leviticus 16, about the day of atonement. The high priest had to wash, wear linen clothes, sacrifice a bull for his sins to enter the holy of holies and then sacrifice a goat and sprinkle the blood of the goat and bull on the alter for the sins of the israelites. It was a lot of work just to enter the presence of God and sacrifices that had to be offered year after year for the sins of the people. We can rejoice that we have the presence of God within us, through the HolySpirit and we have a high priest in Christ that has offered his own blood as a lasting sacrifice for our sins, because of the sacrifice of Christ the rules of lev 16 apply anymore but the grace and mercy of the blood of Christ covers all our sins. Heb 10 says

11And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Counting the Blessings

2011-04-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well its finally happened, no i havn´t suddenly discovered that guinea pig is the delicacy that Peruvians think it is, but my time in Peru is finally drawing to a close.

In the last week we have enjoyed time with Manantial de Vida, Tacna celebrating their anniversary service and spending time knocking on doors and inviting people in the local area to the special service. it was indeed a special service with each of the local baptist churches present celebrating God´s blessings over the year and praying for Tacna in the year to come. The team had their hands full with about 30 kids for the service and after 2 hours with them i didn´t want to see another kid for a long time!

So its a good thing that the team are off on their holidays! I returned from tacna today (after teaching some english in hugo mitchell, a school named after one of our own Baptist missionaries) to pack my bag and try and work out what stuff i have lost along the way. Sorry mum but i have lost at least 3 socks! Tomorrow we leave for Arequippa for a few days and exciting news we will be joined by the other Judith. judith had been accepted on the team but due to family difficulties havdn´t been able to come, but with thanks to the Lord she´s able to come and be part of the team and its arriving tonight! After Arequippa i´ll be heading to Lima for my flight home, stopping for a bit of a holiday in America on the way home. Saying goodbye is never easy and yesterday at my farewell service in Ite I got my first taste of saying goodbye to the friends i´ve made here. The church were so lovely, the kids from sunday school came to say goodbye and while i loved my presents too it was the words of encouragement from the church that meant so much! i want to leave a few prayer points for you for the church in Ite

- Continue to pray for the kids in sunday school, even yesterday i was talking with one of the boys as he was looking for a memory verse in my bible , he was annoyed that his brother wouldn´t let him use his bible. Pray that they would continue to have a desire to read the bible and enjoy learning about Christ and come to know him as their Saviour

- Pray for the young people, there havn´t been as many coming to the youth meetings, so pray that God would work in their hearts and use the team as they continue to work in Ite in the next months

- Pray for Trevor and Christine as they continue the work in Ite, as they minister and are part of people´s lives in Ite

- Pray for Sally, she´s a young mum who has been coming to the church for a while and for baby Carmen, pray that God would bless their family and help her in the difficulties of being a young single mum.

So what´s next for me, I´m coming home but very much hope to be part of this years Mision Rescate as it continues. I´ll be keeping the blog going so really hope that you will continue with Mision Rescate in prayer. The team will be working until the end of July and it wont be easy adjusting to the change of one tem member leaving and another arriving.

- Pray that the team will adjust well and the changes would be a blessing for the team

- Prayed for a renewed focus, enthusiasm and love for the work as teh team return to the campsite

- Pray that we would put God first in all that we do, that we would love hime with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, more than family or careers, and would continue to commit all things to Him.

For me, i´m returning to ireland trusting that God will show me His plans for the future, Peru is going to have a special place in my heart and for this i´m glad that i´ll still be part of the work here through this blog and in the firendship i´ve made here. I really appreciate how you´ve continued with me in this team, for the messages of encouragement, for the messages to let me know where and where people were praying for us and for all those that sent chocolate. Please continue with the team, and future teams in the same way. A few prayer points for me...

- That i would be able to leave with peace, in the knowledge that God´s plans are perfect and He will show me what he has next for me

- For safety as I travel and fly on my own

- That i would be able to adjust back to life in Ireland and have a good time with my family on holiday

- That I would be able to be part of Mision Rescate in Ireland and help while the team continues

and down from Puno we came

2011-03-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of Puno, it could be Ireland it it wasn´t for the thousands of houses still waiting on the second floor to be built! It was heard to know what to say for this post, Puno has been a wonderful experience, its a special place and the only place i´ve been to that i gueninely dont know if i could live there! the journey up took about 6 hours while we waited to see who would be the first to puke. Thankfully all arrived without needing the plastic bags and while a few felt the effects of the attitude the first night everyone acclimitised well. what i couldn´t get used to was the fact that everytime i went up the stairs in the church i had to take a rest afterwards, panting like i´d run a marathon, or that singing songs in church left me with a sore head, or that the lack of oxygen made the funky chicken seem like a crazy thing to do! there were benefits to being in the altitude though, sitting on the roof of the church at night, the stars were soo clear and filled the sky! Puno has its own crazy weather system and i could sit at night watching thunder storms and lightning flashing over Lake Titicaca and when it rained in Puno it sounded like the roof was going to fall in with the noise of the biggest halestones i´ve ever seen.

but what about the work....

well our first week was spent with the Alliance church in Puno and we were involved in a lot of street evangelism and open airs.

- Praise God for many opportunities to share the gospel and for those that listened and asked questions and for those in Jayllhuaya who gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

(Evangelism in Puno and in Jayllhuaya (pronounced Hulliaka)

(taking time out after a hard days work for some cake!)

Pastor Juan and his wife Estelle have recently moved to Pastor the church in Puno and would appreciate your prayers as their settle into the work and life in Puno, especially for Estelle, who is from the North of Peru, which has a very different climate, and is having health difficulties as she adjusts to life in Puno.

(the team after the youth night, jam session)

We took a morning to head out the the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, there are hundreds of families living on the various islands across Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia, living in straw houses (you can see them in the photos below). It was great because I wasn´t the only ´tourist´ and for many of the team they were amazed as me and enjoyed the shopping as much as me. Many of the islanders are fishermen and as we were enjoying some local speciality of fish i heard the song, ´There´s Power in the blood´in Spanish of course, i headed off to investigate to discover a packed Adventist church on the Islands. There are in fact two churches on the Islands, one Mormon and one Adventist who also have a school. I dont know if there is any current evangelical witness to the Islands, I cant quite imagine a Baptist church floating on Lake Titicaca but its certainly something to pray for,

- Pray for the many families on the Islands who dont know Christ as their saviour, and for a christian witness in this very unique place

(taking a boat trip between the floating islands, ´Los Uros´)

(Trevor enteraining some of the kids from the Islands)

(From left: Kaiti, Luz, david, Kaiti, Marisol, Vanessa, Jorge and behind Danielle on one of the Island were about 30 people live, 5 families in total)

We then headed to Cristo Salvador Baptist Church were Paster Ramon and his wife Elvira minister. As a testament to God´s timing, i had just agreed to help with a BYE team in Grove Baptist over the summer and arriving at the church read that there is a pre-school held in the church called ´Pequeno Grove´which is supported by Grove Baptist. It was great to see this ministry in action and meet the teachers in the school as they were enrolling children for the year.

- Pray for the school that there would have many enrolled for the academic year and for the teachers as they share the gospel with the children

While in Cristo Salvador we presented the Amazing Journey (the whole story of the Bible presented through story boards and with actors, a resource which also exists in Ireland!) to the children and young people associated with the church. We also got to help hermana Elvira as she feed about thirty kids lunch, who knew i missed peeling spuds. Its a great ministry and she gets to make sure that the kids have a good meal everyday and has the opportunity to encourage and guide the kids as they grow up enjoying her lunches.

- Pray for the kids that come everyday for lunch that they will know Christ and that they will be part of the church family

(some snaps from the Amazing Journey - Viaje Increible)

The weekend was hectic! Saturday started with a fast! Not sure how i managed to agree to a fast, i´m going to have to blame my dodgy spanish because i dont remember agreeing to a fast but praise God for the experience anyway. We headed off in a combi to the campo outside Jayllhuaya to meet and pray with 5 Baptist churches in this area. We sang and Danielle preached, while being translated into Quechua. We spent time praying for the churches, for the sick, and for new leaders for the respective churches. It was a great priviliege to share this day of prayer and to lift up the Pastors and the churches to God. May He grant more churches in this area and more people ready to serve him in Puno and in the surrounding countryside. Life in the country isn´t easy, there isn´t piped water which means no indoor toilets, its cold, people live in mud houses and can live long distances from schools, church and the larger towns. Travel is dangerous at times and some of the roads we were on weren´t much more than mud tracks, as we bounced along in the combi. I´m not sure how the early Baptist missionaries to Peru managed considered in those days there wasn´t even electricity.

- Pray for the 5 churches that we shared with, for Pastor Cesar, Pastor Feliz

- Pray for their assocation with Baptist Missions and the Missionaries that it would be a mutually encouraging relationship and for future partnership

- Pray that the believers we meet would come down to the Church conference in April at the Camp Centre and that this would be a time of encouragement for the believers

(Church in Hosanna - where we met to fast and pray) (with some of the believers before the meeting)

(sharing with the young people over soup lunch)

The fast ended with a soup lunch at 4 pm and then off to a youth meeting in Jayllhuaya with Pastor Cesar in his church in Jayllhuaya. They have a large youth group and it was great to share with them, play some games, sing and be encouraged at the young people God is raising up in the church.

- Pray that the youth group there would continue strong and serve in their area and the other churches

Sunday we headed off the countryside once more saying goodbye to Puno and after a 5:30am start we arrived in time for church at 9:30am, spending time with Pastor Oswaldo who ministers to many churches across puno and the countryside. The church was packed with believers from different churches across this side of Puno and we had a great time being part of a service in Aymara and I shared my testimony; at the end the Pastor asked if everyone understood and one guy said ´yea some of it´! The countryside in Puno is like a different world and the services were filled with a lot of joy and a feeling that the people here really looked after each and sared for eachothers needs. Sharing lunch after the services, enjoying the most amazing fish, you could see the community that surrounds the church.

- Pray that God would protect His church in Puno and the surrounding countryside and give strength to those who minister there

- Praise God for fellowship in the churches and the hospitality

- Praise god for Pastor Oswaldo and his ministry across the churches, pray that God would protect his journeys and continue to give him widsdom as he ministers amongst the churches

(enjoying the Lord´s day and the hospitality of the believers and the food!)

We head to Tacna in the morning to Manantial de Vida to help with their anniversary service

and to work with the kids and young people there. We will be there until Sunday and are then returning to the campsite to do some work in Ite, what we´ll be up to i´m not quite sure yet but will keep you posted!

Prayer points for Tacna

1) For Manantial de Vida that God would bless them with another year of growth in the church

2) For the two kids clubs we have responsibility for

3) For Pastor Abraham and his family as they minister in the church

For the Team

1) Unity for the team and mutual encouragement and support

2) For Guido, the team boss, he has fractured his foot and is hobbling around on crutches for two more weeks, for patience and strong arm muscles

3) That we would honour God in all our preparations, work, actions, words and free time

4) For me, that i would enjoy my last weeks in Peru, that i would finish well and that my leaving wouldn´t spoil the team dynamic

and its off to Puno we go

2011-03-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

that right tomorrow morning, 6am en punto we head off to Puno stopping for some breakfast in Moquegua. Its been a while since i had a 5:30 start so looking forward to that! The journey to Puno has got the better of some irish people over the years with a few emergency stops and sick bags so again cant wait. It will be my first time to Puno and for some of the team as well, while Gorge and Vanessa are returning to their home country and seeing family they havn´t seen in a while . We´ll be in Puno for the next 10 days so this is the last blog post for a while, unless i find a sneeky 30 mins to find an internetcafe! Our first days will be with the Alliance church in Puno, working with the youth people and getting to know the believers there. We will be presenting the Amazing Journey (the story of the Bible from Genesis to Christ´s return including presentations by some special people from the Bible), its the first time that the Amazing Journey has travelled to Puno, so its an exciting opportunity. We will then travel to the campo (pretty sure it means more remote country areas) and visit some of the Baptist Churches with Pastor Osvaldo who looks after the Baptist churches across Puno.

Prayer Points for Puno

- For the Amazing Journey, that those that hear it would understand, enjoy it and want to more about the story of the bible

- For me as i prepared my part as the samaritan women, its a lot of spanish to learn and remember

- For the churches we will work with, that we would encourage and help in their work

- That we would enjoy the expereince of working in a very different context, Puno is more traditional and remote and the cold weather makes life tougher, so pray we would learn from the people we met and be faithful in our testimony

- For Pastor Osvaldo as he ministers to the various churches, for safety as he travels and for wisdom and heavenly strength as he ministers to so many church situations and families.

Thanks again for your prayers

Prayers I have never prayed before

2011-03-08T05:02:00.000-08:00

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.

A Peruvian Adventure

2011-02-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastes is one of my favoutire books, it gives us a picture of what life is like without God and tells us without God,

"Meaningless, Meaningless, utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless"

Wisdom, relationships, money, entertainment , nothing can fill the God shaped hole we have in our lives. Soloman´s advice to us therefore is to seek God, to remember our creator in the days of our youth, to fear Him and keep his commands. This has been true for me in this past week.

We can run lots of programs for kids, have fun as a team and camp out in churches but unless we do it for God´s glory, in his strength and in his will, it is meaningless. We praise God for the blessings that he has given the team, he continues to take us forward and teach us new things every week.

The past week in Ilo we enjoyed the opportunity of sharing the gospel with two groups of kids in the holiday bible clubs and spending time with the young people in La Pampa. We had up to 100 kids between the two clubs and it tested our abilities but God was faithful and we leave the kids in His hands trusting that He will continue to work in their lives and use the teaching they have heard this week, please pray for this. We finished the week with a night for the young people, and we had a few new young people come to the church for this so pray for them also that they would have felt welcomed and would come back again. For me it was lovely to spend time with some ex-mision Rescate people. Freddy is from Mision Rescate 1 and a friend from my first time in Peru and it was lovely to catch up and see he´s as crazy as usual. I got to spend some time with Fanny also MR1, who recently married her fellow MR team member Riachard and they send their grettings to all the Irish MR1s and to the churches in Ireland who support the work in Peru. It was encouraging for me to see so many MrR team members active and encouraging their home churches and who can testify to how much MR taught them. Richard and Fanny are working tin 24, the rough area i mentionned we were doing the kids club in, and are leading the youth in the church. They choose to live in 24 so they could get to know families there and be a light in the community. So be encouraged that the support that you give to Mision Rescate now has a lasting impact and in ways that we cant see and be encouraged that your prayers are making an impact here in Peru, praise be to God. Pray for the members of next years team, from both here in Peru and in Ireland, that God would appoint new people to continue the work!

(kids club in Ilo) (me helping with the quiz) (kids loving MR getting water poured in their face)

Ecclesiatses tells us there is a time for everything

¹ There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

For me, Peru has been a time to learn and to grow in my faith. I have had to depend on God because for language and for strength. But it has also been a time for fun and to try a lot of new things so i want to give you a bit of a taster of life in Peru for me...

New things.... food......i ate my first chicken feet last week. In Peru you are privelged to get the chicken foot in your soup and they eat the meat, skin, whatever it is off the foot and suck the bones. I on the other hand nibbled a bit of the foot and thought that was enough!

Post.... i received a few parcels from home this week, and actually ran across the campsite to open them, not just because i suspected they contained chocolate but because it was exciting to have a little taste of home. I sat drinking my startbucks coffee this afternoon, translating my devotional, thinking, life is good! Praise God that the parcels arrived safe and sound. The Morrows are still waiting on post sent before Christmas, and a few christmas cards, just one of the difficulties of missionary life, keeping track of your post!

injuries....I received my first electric shock plugging in my straighteners, my foot got stood on by a slightly large child at the HB in Ite, I fell into the rubbish bags outside our bedroom, impailed my foot on a piece of stick, and fell while running with paddington the spaniel in my arms... dont panic the dog was all right but my bruise is still there.

jokes...i may have painted the boys toes scarlet red in the first couple of weeks and a couple of times since then, the girls may have threw some water baloons and pink dye in the general area of the boys, so i continue to live in fear of whatever revenge is coming my way!

(mugged while out on a walk/ hike) (we walked past the film crew working on the Peruvian version of Titanic) (Peru is rather pretty, and the top left photo is the path down to the beach) (delivering some baby clothes for Sally, mum to be in Ite)

skills.....íve been getting a bit of grief from the boys becuase i cant roll my r´s which is important in spanish. For example ´caro´ means car and ´carro´ (with a nice long r) means expensive. They try to make me practice and laugh when my rrrr souns like i´m choking. one night i was feeling a bit out of sorts, i may have been missing my family but i´m not sure, that doesn´t happen often. but anyway i was talking to guido and in a particularly wingy voice said, ´í just feel grumpy´only to discover that i can roll my r´s and can say grrrrumpy. God uses all our emotions!

I also had to wash my clothes by hand! the campsite has run out of water and for the past three days we´ve been filling buckets for water for toilets and showers and washing clothes. i was washing my clothes remembering the days when i put my washing in a basket in my room and it magically returned on hangers on my bedroom door! dont think my clothes washing abilities are quite at the same level as the rest of the team but its good fun sitting with my feet int he sink scrubbing the dirt out of my socks!

people....i had some time one afternoon in Ilo to head down into the centre to buy a frappuccino (amazing). true i got one the bus in the wrong direction and the journey took 20 minutes longer than expected. I got chatting to a gentleman who is married to a french lady and who used to go to church. i was able to share why i´m in Peru and a little of the work the team does with the churches here, it was nice to be able to talk about my faith with someone outside the church.

prayer....i have prayed my first prayers in spanish! prayer meetings are difficult for me, because its a lot of spanish words and words in tenses i dont know...yet. i have missed praying out load in meetings but God again is good and has given me opportunities to pray one to one with people and yesterday i managed to pray a whole prayer in spanish with Vanessa. small victories!

so what´s next....

Today is our final day of prep for the next two church visits. On thursday we head to Tacna to work with Luz de Vida another chruch associated with Baptist Misions working in the community in tacna. On Saturday we return to the Campsite, we have church in Ite on Sunday and then off to Moquegua to work with the church in San Antonio. So i wont be at the computer for the next week and a half but really appreciate your prayers for the work we´ll be involved in, again working in kids clubs and children´s meetings and being involved in the life of the church.

Prayer Points

- that God would lead us and keep us close to his word and we would serve him faithfully in all that we do

- for the children and young people we will work with in Tacna and Moquegua and that we would encourage the churches

- for Pan de Vida church and for San Antonio

- for mision rescate for old and new members in the team

- for me, for greater courage in using my spanish and talking in the churches and in sharing my faith at every opportunity

^{Joshua 1:9} Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

moving to pastures new

2011-02-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all your prayers for Ite. The week has finished well with over 40 kids and a few parents enjoying a fiesta in the church, with songs and games and lots of lovely cake. The kids have enjoyed their week and everytime we finished another part of the story of Ruth they were shouting that they wanted to hear more! We trust and pray that God will have used the holiday bible club this week, that the kids will have enjoyed all the memory verses and quizes and lessons but more than that that they would have heard and understand the message of salvation.

Today is one more day of preparations before we head to Ilo. Ilo is a larger town than Ite, and where the Morrows live. We will be working with the La Pampa church and they have plenty for us to do! The team will be dividing their talents between two kids clubs, one in La Pampa and another in 24, and taking part in youth meetings, women´s and prayer meetings inthe evenings. La Pampa is the more underprivileged area of Ilo and we will again be working with kids from difficult backgrounds and family situations, especially in 24. There´s the potential for a few difficulties with the team being divided between the two clubs, keeping track of all the kids and especially during the games, so we appreciate your prayers. With having the two clubs there is also the potential to tell so many more kids about Jesus Christ! We are excited to meet a new bunch of kids and to work in a new area and pray that this will be a beautiful week in Ilo, and that we would know God´s help and guidance in all that we do, for it is for His glory and in His strength that we work.

A New Work

2011-02-08T06:18:00.001-08:00

Once again thank you for all your prayers, i´ve heard missionaries say before that they can feel when people are praying and i always thought to my self ´how would they know?´. Being here in Peru I can see the difference that prayer makes and see the impact of prayer so clearly.

(H´day bible club in Luz de Vida) (Young people in Luz de Vida)

We have had so many answers to prayer.

- the Mision Rescate team are working well together and learning from eachother

- the team enjoyed their time in Tacna and spending time with their families and havn´t been too homesick since returning to the campsite

- we had around 50 kids at the holiday bible club in Luz de Vida Church in Tacna

- the kids enjoyed themselves at the club and learned so much from the memory verses and from the story of Ruth and Boaz

- we had the opportunity to work with Pastor Fredy and the young people in Luz de Vida and help them in their ministry and we too were blessed by the relationships with the church

Please continue to pray for the children and young people we met in Luz de Vida, that what they have learned with excite their hearts and that God would continue to work in the lives. Luz de Vida is a small church in Tacna reaching a difficult area so pray that Pastor Freedy and his wife, Epifania, would remain strong and encouraged in the Lord.

^{^{Ephesians 1:18}}I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

So what happening at the minute?

We have just started our second holiday bible club in Ite. The campsite that we are staying in is situated beside the small town of Ite and for the past 10 years Trevor and Christine Morrow, and others, have been planting a church there. There have been many blessings and difficulties in this work over the years, for example since i was last in Peru (2007) there was a fire in the building and the church has since been rebuilt. A church is much more than a building, however, and while people have come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour in Ite the number of people attending the chrurch at times is small and there is still a need for men and women in the church who can help lead and devolop the work in Ite. We praise God for the Sunday school and women´s meeting which has continued over the summer and for the young peoples meeting and men´s bible study and ask that God would bless those who attend.

(kids club in Ite)

Its exciting to be part of the work in Ite this week, and to see the 40 kids arriving for Holiday Bible Club yesterday. the kids were so excited to see us and were waiting at the door 40 minutes before club started shouting ´Mision Rescate, mision rescate´when we arrived.

Prayer points

- we telling the story of ruth and boaz so pray that we would faithfully explain the story and that the kids would know that they can have Redeemer and friend in Christ

- the the kids that come to club, many are from difficult homes and difficult family situations so pray that they would enjoy the club and the games and the songs and the quiz and time with the team

- many of the team havn´t worked with children before so pray that we would continue to learn and develop our gifts in children´s work

- that the team would continue to serve God with joy, place him first in our lives and be faithful to His word

And me, i love being here, i love Peru and the work that we´re involved in and spending time with the missionaries and national workers. Yet the more time i spend here the more i see the need for God to

So many of the stories i have heard this week break my heart. Stories of abusive homes, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and families who are survivng on very little. One girl that i meet in 2007, in the sunday school is now 15 and 8 months pregnant and has a difficult family situation. Some of the ladies from Ite had a baby shower for her last week but before that she had nothing for the baby. Trevor and Christine work so hard in the campsite and in keeping the church in Ite going and trying to help in these situations but there is so much more that we could do. Continue to pray for the work here in peru, for the church in ite and that God would send new people to serve in Peru. Please continue to support and pray for our missionaries and for the many gifted and faithful peruvian workers associated with the mission here in Peru and if you would like more information contact Baptist Missions c/o the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland.

Prayer points for me

- for for love for the people of peru

- for faithfulness in studying God´s word and my personall devotions. I miss sermons and prayer meetings and devotionals where i understand all the words!

- for my spanish, trying to tackle past tense this week, so prayer is needed

- for more opportunities to talk about the bible and faith with the people i meet

^{Luke 10 : 9}“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

the end of camps!

2011-01-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

(Campamentos Jovenes 2011)

What a month it has been, cant belive that January is over, camps have finished and that i´m still in one piece.

The last week has been great and the campers have had a brilliant time at camp. Every camp we finish the last night with a bonfire and people share their testimony, songs or their experiences of camp. This week the bonfire lasted til 1 in the morning with so many young people sharing how God has impacted their lives and their hopes for the future. we had roughly 87 young people (including the team) at camp this week and i just cant help thinking about the potential there was, so many young people passionate about serving God here in Peru and trying to work out what the future holds, whether is serving God in their jobs or going to bible college or working with churches in full time basis.

(one of the teams) (obstacle course) (praise team)

Some stories from the week, on thursday the obstacle course finished with a waterfight, my attempts to escape the campsite didn´t quite work out. the Pastor came out of his room to see what was happening. Jonny Younge told him it was safe to come out, that noone would soak the Pastor but Jonny was wrong! Friday at the beach had a few more people thrown into the sea, the waves were huge on Friday so good job we had our faithful life guard on duty! had a few pranks this week as well, a few of the boys on the team looked very pretty with scarlet red nails, and not sure whose underwear was up the flag pole but they got a bit of a shock on friday morning. I now sleep with the bedroom door locked, just safer that way!

Pray points post camp

- For the young people, that the teaching would have a lasting impact on their lives

- For an excitement for God´s word and a passion to live for him

- For the family issues that many of the young people have, that they wouold find strength in God to deal with incredibly difficult situations

- For the Counselors, that they would know God´s guidance for the future and would continue to serve faithfully in their churches

Ephesians 1: 18

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

(me and tiara and morelia, (from back left: Daniel, Jorge, Jonny,

daughters of our lovely cooks) and in the front David)

So what next for mision rescate.....

sleep.....sleep.....sleep

this week is time to recover post camps and to start preparations for the craziness to come. On thursday we head to Tacna for our first Holiday Bible club. We will be working alongside Luz de Vida in church services, youth work, kids clubs, and anything and everything else. So in the next few days we´re looking over the material, preparing testimonies, devotionals, memory verses, songs etc. I´m looking forward to working with kids and to visit the different churches associated with Baptist missions, to meet people and travel.

Pray for the team as we head to Tacna, most of mision rescate are from Tacna so it will be hard being so close to family and friends and not having a lot of time to see them. Pray for Luz Maria Camp Co-ordinator) too, now that camps are over the campsite is quiet and when the team head off to Tacna, it will be even quieter, so pray that she will be encouraged this week and not too lonely at the campsite. After Luz de Vida, we have a holiday bible club in Ite and then to Ilo to La Pampa, so ready for another busy three weeks!

For me, i´m really loving this experience. Not going to lie, its hard at times being the only irish person in the team, living so far from home and working flat out. Yet i see so many blessings from God, and his mercies are new everyday. This week i got to sing with the worship band and find that i´m even starting to understand the words of the songs, its a baeautiful way to learn spanish. we have great cooks at camp and i enjoy the banter in the kitchen. a special moment for me was when i was telling them i had done the devotional in the morning, they asked what is was about and i got to share i bit of my devotional. It was brilliant to be able to share a little bit of the Bible in spanish, we were talking about Abraham and Sarah. They had many reasons to doubt God

1) God promised them they would live in Canaan a land which belong to another tribe

2) God had promised them they would be parents to many nations and Sarah couldn´t have children

3) God promised them a son but they were both over 100 years old.

Yet Romans 4 says that Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promises of God.

I am trusting in the promises of God and i´m thankful that he promises he will never leave us or forsake us, that when we come to him we can find rest, that we can do all things through christ who gives us strength. Thank you so much for all your prayers, your prayers make a real difference and the fact that i can talk as much spanish as i do is a result of prayer. Pray that i would continue to know God purpose for having me here, and that i would be as useful as i can be, and would enjoy every moment of my time here!

Prayer points

- That the team would be faithful in our preparations for our work with various churches

- That we would be faithful in prayer and continue to rely on God in all things

- That God would send kids to the holiday bible clubs and that we would have fruitful conversations with the young people as we work with them

- that we would be an encouragement to the churches and pastors and that god would bless those relationships

- That i continue to learn and practice my spanish and not be frustrated, that i would trust God to meet every need

^{Romans 4:20} Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

And then there were 3 camps

2011-01-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

Well teenager camp has just ended and what a week it has been. We finish each camp with a bonfire and people share what they have thought of the week and how they have been challenged by the teaching. It was amazing to see young people, 13-16 telling stories of God´s grace in their lives, how he has helped them through incredibly difficult situations and committing to know him more. The Pastor this week was great and really releveant for the young people, played some interesting videos to illustrate his points. He talked so fast that i couldn´t understand a thing he said but i know that the young people were challenge about how they were living their lives, the consequences of the decisions they will make in life and shown the grace that is freely given in Christ´s death on the cross. The theme of camps is ´The way´, Caminos in Spanish and our verse for the week is Psalm 18:30:

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
³² It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.

We had plenty of games through the week, the Pastor had some great ones he played with the kids in the morning and he had the young people do dramas on bible lessons and some typical tough decisions young people make regarding relationships, drugs, friendships with hilarious results. Weve had plenty of time at the beach (i think exteme frisbee is the sport for me), treasure hunts, quiz night, a dance off, ningas and photo challenge. It has been great to get to know the kids, to teach some english and learn some spanish slang!

Jonny Younge, has joined the Mision Rescate team from Arequipa! Jonny works in Arequipa with Latin Link, another Christian organisiation seeking to share the good news of Christ here in Peru. He has been studying Spanish for the last few months and is about to start working with the young people in his church and pyoung adults with dissabilities. He will be with us for the next camp and we´d be happy for him to stay longer! he´s been a great addition to the team and its great to have another northern irish accent, we even sang a few n.i athems. If you want to read more about what jonnys been up to in peru have a look at jonnyinperu.blogspot.com

for me its been a busy week and today exhaustion took over, slept for 4 hours this afternoon and couldn´t work out why it was dark when i woke. but feeling ready for the next camp, up to 100 young adults are due to arrive tomorrow (sunday night) and a few more counsellors to keep us right.

Prayer points

- For the young people people who have just finish camp that the teaching they have heard would stay with them and they would faithful serve God int eh future

- For the young adults arriving tomorrow that they would have a fun and encouraging camp and they would find the help they need here

- that the team would learn together, learn from the campers and from the teaching at camps

- for the health of the team and counsellors as the start another camp

- that we would know the joy of the Lord daily, listen for His voice and know His love

Neh 8: 10+

"For the Joy of the Lod is our Strength...Be still"

Campamentos de adolescentes

2011-01-16T23:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry this will be a short post. The young people´s camp has begun with about 35 young people filling the campsite this evening. Things have started well and we pray that this will be a time of teaching, encouragement and training for the young people. Many are coming from difficult situations at home and we hope that this week will be a time when they can find wisdom and srength. Pray that the Lord would meet the needs of every camper, leaders, counselor and those of the mision rescate team as we start camp numero 2.

Gracias

Family Camp

2011-01-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well family camp has nearly ended. It has been a fantastic week with families from Ilo, Ete, Moquegua, Tacna and Arequippa. The focus of the week has been ´The way´asking whether we lives our lives according to God´s word in how we love others, and whether the realities of life put roadblocks in the way.

(kids at camp)

It has been great to spend time with the different families at the beach, doing the obstacle course, treasure hunts round Ete and the most inventive photo competition i have ever seen. The teams put so much work into everything they´ve been asked to do including kissing crabs, dressing up like pirates and reenacting Titanic! The holiday bible club has gone really well and the team have learnt so much whilst having fun with the kids. After kids club the kids go to the main meeting and stand at the front to say their memory verse and sing for their family one of the songs we have learnt in kids club. it has been great to see their enthusiam and to see how much they have remembered from the bible lessons and verses.

(Obstacle course)

^{Matt 7:13} “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find

it.

(One of the team at camp)

Pray for the families who have come to camps, that they will have been encouraged in their walk with God and are better equipped to follow in His Way. Please pray for the kids at camp that the things they have learnt will have excited their hearts as they have learnt about a

wonderful saviour who can give them life and life to the full. Pray for Pastor Silas who has led our studies this week and his family that they will have had a blessed time and for their church in Tacna.

For the team, this has been such a busy week but they is joy that comes in serving God and knowing that you are being used by him. Unfortunately Judith hasn´t been able to join the team so pray that see will find peace and know that God has other plans for her. Pray for Guido as he leads the team, as he keeps track of all the things we have to do and for wisdom as he counsels and guides the team.

(Me, Jorge (MR), David (MR), Andrew Morrow, Chris (former MR))

For me, its been a week of new things. I did my first memory verse in Spanish, have sang in spanish at the talent night and also had a 4 year old correct my spanish. A special moment was when i was practicing my memory verse, four of the girls from the kids club came to chat and let me practice with them and helped me prono

unce a few words. I praise God for his provision in the little things, that i have had such fun with the kids, that i´ve been healthy and surviving late night preparations and spanish translation, that the team have been so patient with me. i´m thankful for Trevor and Christine, Andrew and Rebecca (missionary family who look after mision rescate) for looking after me and for all those from home who have sent emails and facebook, it always brings a smile to hear from home. I imagine that i will ask for pray for my spanish a lot over the next months but as i start to get the hand of simple phrases and sentences i realise how much more there is to learn. Pray that i will find strength and courage in God and serve him and him alone.

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong andcourageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Welcome to Camps

2011-01-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome

After all the cleaning and preparation camps begin this week. Family camp starts tomorrow (Sunday) and we expect to have 50 people staying at the camp all week, leaving on Saturday. While the grown ups are meeting and studying God´s word together the mision rescate team will be looking after the children. We´re organising a program of games, songs, memory verses and bible lessons and appreciate your prayers as we finalise the program. I´ll be teaching memory verses, so pray i can manage the Spanish. The team have been working really hard and as i write its 12 oclock and we´re painting and cutting metal posts, so pray that we would find strength in God and that he would sustain us through the week.

For many families, family camp provides an opportunity for parents and children to be together. Many parents work long hours to support their children and dont get to see their children through the day. It will be a time when families can relax and enjoy spending time with each other, pray that families wold feel refreshed and encouraged. Some of the family members who will come to camp are not Christians and dont follow Jesus, and for some this will be the first time that they have heard the message of the gospel. Pray that the seed would be planted and especially for the children that they would understand and accept the wonderful gift of salvation.

^{Matthew 11:28-29}

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Meet the Team

2011-01-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

This the team (plus two Baptist Missions workers and minus David and Judith). From the left round, Vanessa, Jorge, Elizabeth (married to Raul), Raul (Radio el Sembrador) Guido, Luz (BM worker and camp coordinator) Me, Marisol

It´s now day 6, and 6 packed days they have been. I think i can say that i have settled into life in Peru. Below is the campsite, where i am saying, the team have their own accomodation in the campsite. I received a great welcome from the team, i´ve even had a few rounds of the song ´hey jude´!

It is great getting to who the other team members. Here´s a bit of info about the team:

Marisol worked in a clothes shop in Tacna, she´s 19 and the baby of the team. Vanessa is the eldest and she´s a primary teacher in Tacna. They both work with kids in their churches in Tacna and have been so patient with my spanish. We´ve having language lessons tonight, i´m teaching english (which will be interesting considering how bad my spelling is).

Guido is the team leader, and has been brilliant at managing the team, keeping us focused on what we´re doing and helping us bond as a team. It´s easy to get distracted with all the work we have to do and the tiredness that comes from working in the sun, but he reminded us this morning that our relationship with God comes first, and like Mary we should choice what is better, and spend time with Christ our Saviour (luke 10).

Then we have Jorge, a mechanic from tacna. He the singer of the team and unfortunately the snorer. David, is a dental assistant and is great with impressions and finally for the boys Daniel who is my second translator and who has just finishing a degree in computer science and led the Christian union in his university in Tacna.

We are getting on well together and each person brings a different element and different gifts to the team. We expected to have another girl on the team, another judith but unfortunately due to difficulties at home she hasn´t yet been able to join us, so pray that she will be able to join us and complete the team.

this week our days consist of getting the campsite ready for camps. We have painted the shop in the campsite, cleared and cleaned the games room and kitchen and this afternoon we will build the obstacle course. The work is mixed with plenty of food (some of which definately doesn´t exist at home) , games and the occasional siesta. There´s also three crazy dogs to keep us entertained, one who likes to lick knees, one who drools and paddington who needs to be loved and petted.

While things have been going well, please continue to pray for me. I´m learning spanish and the team have been patient but its frustrating not being able to join in during the bible study and i want to be able to talk to people about their faith. Its easy to let frustrations turn into negativity so pray that i would keep the right attitude and be constant in prayer. Pray that we as a team would be focused on the work that we have to do and that we would rely on God for all things and show unity as a team.

A New Year in Peru

2011-01-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all!

After 18 hours of travel I have arrived in Peru! I managed to make all my connections and get through immigration and customs without any intergoations or bag checks, praise the Lord! I had time to enjoy a last starbucks in Miami. only for Christine Morrow to me for a coffee in Starbucks in Lima airport. Travelling to Miami I was sitting beside a comedian heading to a weeks shows on a cruise ship and had a great chat about the differences between world religions, he had been a Budist for a time but had started reading the Bible. Chatting about what we hoped for the new year we were both resolving to read and study more.

I got into Lima about tenpm and Trevor was waiting at the airport! It was so lovely to meet the Morrows at the hotel and Lima was celebrating my arrival with an hour long fireworks display which filled the sky! It was an amazing way to mark the new year and a new adventure for me in Peru. On Saturday we returned to the airport for our flight down to Tacna and I enjoyed the sunshine and 28oC very much!

We have now arrived in Ilo and Andrew and Rebecca have been been keeping me right! We´re leaving for the campsite shortly where I will meet the rest of the mision rescate team and get settled into the campsite for the next few months. We´re also heading up to church in Ete where the team are taking sunday school and Trevor will be preaching.

Please pray
- for the team as we are finally all together
- for all those who will meet together to plan for the camps in the coming week
- for my spanish this week as i have to actually start talking in Spanish!

Thanks you for all your prayers as i have travelled, i still cant believe how smoothly everything has gone, that i havn´t lost anything and have been on time for everything! It exciting thinking what the new year will bring in Peru and I have great anticipation for how the Lord will lead. I pray that you all will look to the Lord for his leading in the year to come and seek Him in all your plans for the year. As God calls in Genesis 17

"I am God almighty, walk before me faithfullly and be blameless"

Mission Rescate IV

2010-12-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

This is the first blog post of Mision Rescate 4 and I write to you from a cosy living room, in front of the fire as the snow melts in Northern Ireland. My case is almost packed and there's just the essentials to take care of .... getting a hair cut, picking sweets for the plane, oh yes, and saying goodbye to the family for a while.

It's great to be able to continue this blog from last year and my prayer is that Mision Rescate 4 can continue on the work of the great teams that have worked in Peru in previous years. As I leave on Thursday, I will be spending January helping in camps at the camp centre in Ete. In February the team will travel around the churches supporting their summer outreach programs, working with children and young people and getting involved in anything needed. Its an exciting time as I think that in 3 days i'll be meeting the Morrows (the missionary family i'll be working with) in Lima, joining the rest of the team and getting settled into the work to come. I've been told that its so warm in Peru at the minute that people dont go out in the afternoons, thinking the heat is going to be a shock to the system considering that its been subzero temperatures keeping us inside in Ireland.

We've had a lovely christmas in our house and now that the festivities are over, I'm ready for the next adventure. This team has came together in its own way and in its own time, and its great to know that God has brought things together according to his perfect purposes. Thinking of the Christmas story, I was reading in Galatians 4
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit if his Son into our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

God has brought the team for Mision Rescate 4 together in His own time and with the purpose of sharing the news of his Son, whose birth we remember at christmas and whose life brings us hope. The time has come for the team to start work and we trust that God will help us in all that we will do, in the difficulties we will face and teach us as we serve him together.

Please pray for us
- For safety as I travel
- For the team as we meet and get to know each other
- For the missionaries and team as we plan for camps
- For the people we meet, that we will share Christ faithfully
- That God would be glorified in all that we do

Thank you so much for you support and prayers! Please keep in touch over the next months with whats happening in your lives and stories from home.

God bless
Jud

Farewells after an amazing 8 months....

2010-08-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry its taken us so long to get our final update on!! We spent our final week in Tacna (based in the Brew household) in a 'Pepe' nursery school teaching English. This was a challenge to say the least, we were going well when we managed to get the 25 4/5 year olds sitting on their chairs! However, by the end they had learnt colours, numbers, fruits and animals along with listening to a number of bible stories and songs.
In the evenings we held 2 sessions of English classes (both primary and secondary level) in the Brews home. It was great, all the students were so enthusiastic about learning and were even able to present themselves by the end of the week. We had the opportunity to share some bible stories during the lessons too, with the older group doing a question and answer session!
The final week was spent saying lots of farewells to many of the people we met over the previous 8 months. We had a special farewell service in the church in Ite, where a number of the team shared about their experiences on Mision Rescate. It was really encouraging to hear how God has been working in each persons life and all the things that each person has learnt.
Later in the week we travelled to Arequipa for some 'team time'. We were able to meet up and say goodbye to some of the people from the church in Arequipa (where we spent our first 3 months). Finally on 5th June we bid farewell to our fellow team members and a number of people from Moquegua (who came especially to 'see us off'). Over the past 8 months we have met some wonderful people so it was pretty difficult leaving!
We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank-you to you for your continued support during our time in Peru. We have been totally overwhelmed by how generous people have been- sending cards, gifts, donations not forgetting your continued support in prayer. It really does mean so much and got us through the last 8 months!!

Points for Praise
-work of Baptist Missions
-Gods constant provision during our time in Peru
-a wonderful experience and for all the things we have learnt

Points for Prayer
-team members as they settle back into life

Spiderwoman Returns!

2010-05-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!! The team is now complete again with Lynne and Shirley coming back to the campsite last Sunday although we´re having a hard time keeping Lynne on the ground and controlling her random sprays of web!

Ilo went really well. We did not realise that we had to go until a few days beforehand but we were able to take the women´s meeting, the youth meeting, a kids club, the church service and get into two primary school classes. Thanks for all your prayers.

Next week we´ll be heading to Tacna at 5 in the morning...that´s ridiculously early!!! We´ll be helping out in a children´s school, church planting (with Manantial), and we´ll be working in the a little in the Peschay Church where John and Lourdes Brew go. It will be a full week so please pray that we´ll have the strength and energy to keep up!

Thankyou for all your prayers - they´re very much needed.

2010-05-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

After our week in Tacna we headed back to base (Ite camp centre). We finished the Amazing Journey 6 day kids’ club activity sheets and perfected our acting skills for the ‘Amazing Journey’ presentation. We helped out at the ladies meeting ‘May Sale’ (700 soles was raised for the work of the ladies meetings and Sunday school ministries of the church), Friday night youth meeting and Sunday services.
On Monday we returned to Moquegua for a very eventful week! The first evening we took the kids club in Costa Verde (it’s like a mission area of the church) it turned out to be the 3rd anniversary so the evening finished off with lots of food, cake and sweets!! On Tuesday, we presented the Amazing Journey in the Mitchell and Porter school, and were even invited back to take a kids club the followind day and to judge a ‘best decorated classroom’ competition (sadly we didn’t have time to judge the classrooms!) One evening we experienced our first strong earth tremor, this time it was more obvious than any of the others which we have slept through, or just didn´t notice!!
During the week we were able to run kids clubs in ‘Las Vegas’ and ‘Las Americas’ (no, we didn’t board a flight to the U.S.) these are two areas were the church is trying to start up a ministry (like the Costa Verde project). We had a great turn out considering we just arrived and started the club (they don’t do the whole publicity thing here).
During the week we helped the youth of the church prepare and sell ice-cream type things in the market (they are trying to raise money to buy instruments and get a music group in the church). Over the weekend we participated in a youth night and Sunday service Mothers Day Specials (Mothers Day is huge over here they provided meals during the services and people sang songs etc for their mums.) After an incident with a spider bite on Friday morning, Lynne has had stayed on in Moquegua (with Shirley). They bid farewell to the other members of the team on Sunday afternoon, (so she can continue to receive the necessary treatment). Thankfully it seems to be improving and they are both being well looked. They will hopefully be reunited with the team on on Friday.
Please remember the team this weekend as they will be in the Ilo church. They return to Ite on Sunday to lead the Sunday school and participate in the Church service. The following week will be spent in preparation for helping out in ‘Pichi’ church in Tacna (this will be a new adventure, Mision Rescate teams havn’t previously been involved with this church), doing kids activities and English classes in a ‘Pepe’ school and helping out in the Manantial De Vida kids Missions project!

Manantial de Vida happenings.....

2010-05-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the recent lack of updates, we have been busier than ever!!! We finished a great week in Manantial de Vida church in Tacna a couple of weeks ago. During our time we were able to do lots of door to door visitations inviting kids who had attended the kids holiday bible clubs to the sunday school. We also did an open air in the market and helped out at a Christian concert! It was great being able to see the various ministries within the church, they have a great crowd of young people who are willing to get involved (if the truth be told they didnt need our help, but it was great to see the work they are doing). We also had the chance to 'star' on the radio 'El Sembredor' which is part of the mission!! It was great to see this work after hearing so much about it back home in Ireland.

We´ve been round the mountians (minus the pink pyjamas!)

2010-04-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been really busy (nothing new there then!). We had the oppurtunity to return to the Andes with the Baptist Womens team. (A team of 8 women - who were very loud!) It was brilliant being able to return to the churches where we did the kids sunday school project (before Christmas). Some of the pastors gave us an insight to the work of previous missionaries over the years.

This weekend we have been able to help the church in Ilo. We took part in 2 youth nights, 2 kids clubs, prayer meeting, 2 church services - and Pastor Marios Birthday Party - which was an experience to say the least!

Please pray for us this week as we return to Tacna - Manantial de Vida until monday.

Sorry it has been a while and this is a short post ... more will be added later in the week (we hope!)

2010-04-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks we have been back to base- this doesn’t mean rest time, we have been busier than ever. No two days have been the same! We began with a big ‘Spring Clean’ (even though its not Spring time) and cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom…literally, everywhere was sparking after 8 hours (yes 8 hours with 9 people)! The following 2 days saw the girl team members carrying (outside), washing, drying and returning 500 chairs and 50 tables, whilst the boys cleared out the Macen (shed type of thing) which could only be described as Aladdin’s cave, it contains anything and everything, by the end it was unrecognisable!
The week finished with the ‘National Workers Conference’- an opportunity for the entire mission family to come together for a series of meetings. It was brilliant catching up with Pastors, their families and some people who attended summer camps. We held a kids club and got to know and share with the children of the workers.
The 2nd week was spent working on the amazing journey (El Viajé Increíble). It’s a presentation which takes listeners though the entire Bible from creation to revelation in 40 mins! People dress up as biblical characters and tell their ‘story’. We learned how to assemble and dissemble the panels and were guided through the story. We received scripts for performances over the next few months. We spent time planning and constructing ideas for the amazing journey ‘packs’ that kids will receive at the end of the presentation. The vision is to make it into a ‘3/5 day club’ presentation, we have been working on making up activity sheets for 3 separate age groups for each day, its been a really exciting venture to be involved with it.
Gordon Darragh the ‘Baptist Missions Director’ (a.k.a. The Boss/Hermano Gordon) came to visit us for a few days. It was great to see him again; he kept us entertained with his video camera and music selection, it also nice to have another English speaker for a few days!
We also had an opportunity to take a youth night in Ite, we arranged a sports night (football and volleyball) in the local school. Around 35 attended and were able to listen to the Gospel. On the Sunday we were responsible for Sunday school in Ite. It was brilliant seeing lots of the kids from the EBDV which we ran in January
More recently, we had another Spring clean for the arrival of the Baptist womens team/ ‘Easter Churches Congress’. We cleaned windows, camp centre walls, weeded and rebuilt the giant obstacle course amongst other activities! It was well worth it, there were around 150 campers for the Congress. It was excellent to meet the womens team and seeing lots from the summer camps returning again.
Next week we head to the ‘Sierra’ with the womens team, we will visit churches (same ones we attended with the Christmas Project.). This time travel may be a little more difficult as we are travelling from coast to the altitude….lets just say everyone is packing the sick bags!!

Points for Praise
-Great turn out at Youth night and Sunday school
-Successful Churches Congress
-The entire Mission Family and Baptist Missions

Points for Prayer
-That we would be an encouragement to ther churches in the Sierra
-Travelling to Puno and the surrounding churches

An Amazing Journey ... around the Auditorium!!

2010-03-26T12:10:00.001-07:00

We have been preparing for the Amazing Journey. All week we have been walking around the auditorium preparing and thinking through the display. The Amazing Journey is an exhibition which eplains the entire message of the Bible in around 45 minutes. It´s incredible! Children, young people and adults get the chance to hear the entire Bible story and of how Jesus is the centre of it all. This week we have been learning script, practicing our parts, brain-storming ideas (or to be politically correct - doing a thought shower,) and trying to develop a pack that children can take away with them at the end of the exhibition. It has been a great opportunity!
Please pray for these packs that they´d be exciting and fun and full of good teaching to reinforce the story of the Bible

2010-03-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

From 11th-14th March we were in the Palabra de Vida Church in Tacna. We managed to pack in a whole host of activities including- two door to door visits (inviting locals to the various events), two open air kids clubs, one primary school visit, one secondary school visit, one youth night, one Sunday school and two church services. We seemed to be on the go non stop, but it was brilliant working along with the church. Taking part in the school assemblies was a new opening for the church being able to share the gospel and to have contact with the Catholic school. Over the next two weeks we are back home in the Camp centre. This weekend sees the missions ‘National Workers Conference’ which will be followed by a ‘Churches Congress’. This is open to anyone from the various Baptist Mission Churches (the ones we have been working along with). It will be great to meet up with many of our friends from the churches! We will also be leading the ladies (well the girls will be taking part) meeting and the youth night in the Ite church.

Points for Praise
-the Pastors and their families
-Contact with the Catholic school
- Gods constant provision for the team

Points for Prayer
-The Palabra de Vida Church
-The workers conference and churches congress
- Ladies and Youth Meetings

From Tacna to Tacna....

2010-03-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we headed back to Tacna to work alongside the Pan de Vida church. We only went for a long weekend, however it was packed with a variety of activites. The first day was spent doing door to door, inviting kids to the 2 open air clubs and the sunday school. On the Friday and Saturday it was really encouraging to see around 30 kids attending each day. On Saturday evening we were responsible for leadning the youth night, which turned out to be an age range of about 12-80, but as the saying goes 'age is only a number'! It was great to see so many people coming along. Sunday morning was to be a 2 hour Sunday school programme followed by a church service, which was changed at the last moment (nothing unusual for Peru) so that it was cut short.

It was great to see the enthusiasm of the church which has suffered much over the past few years. Being able to meet young enthusiastic christians, people who wanted to learn more and a church with a desire to move forward was very encouraging.

This Thursday we are heading back to Tacna...again! This time to work along with the Palabra de Vida church. The plans are not yet concrete, but hopefully we will be able to enter a secondary and primary school, do a kids club, youth night, sunday school and 2 church services.

Points for Prayer

-Pastor and members of the Pan de Vida Church

-Jonny, one of the young people from Pan de Vida who became a Christian 3 weeks ago

-Preparations for Palabra de Vida

-Team unity

2010-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

This past two weeks we have been non stop with more EBDV’s (Escuela Bíblica de Vacaciones….Holiday Bible School). The first week we were in the Luz de Vida church in Tacna. They have a team of enthusiastic young people who regularly work with kids in the local area, so we were assisting them throughout the week. Each morning was spent doing door to door giving out invitations for the EBDV which was held each afternoon. Every day we had an average of around 60 kids, (although it was difficult to count as the meetings were held in the local plaza, many kids and parents dropped by at some point during the week). Once again, throughout the course of the week we looked at the theme ‘Dios es Todopoderoso’ (God is all powerful). On the Saturday morning we did a big clean up in the church, which turned into one giant water fight, well, at least we now know that the floors will all be sparkling clean with the amount of water that ended up being brushed out of the building!!! Saturday evening was an opportunity to lead the youth night, there were around 20 people, it was a great chance to get to know some of the youth from the church. The week finished off on Sunday morning with a special service where the kids were presented with prizes for learning memory verses etc.

We literally stopped by the campsite to do washing and get a few hours sleep before setting off for Moquegua. We were welcomed into the church (which was filled with balloons and great illustrations for the EBDV) and got stuck in right away. Each day we had an average of around 45 kids coming along. We again followed the theme of ‘Dios es Todopoderoso’ but changed the stories and verses for some variety. We were only supposed to be here until Friday but the church has asked that we stay on, so, this weekend we will be taking an open air kids club in the surrounding area, followed by a youth night on Saturday evening. On Sunday we will take part in the morning and evening services, squeezing in the final session of Kids Club in the afternoon. The hospitality has been amazing; it has been great working in both churches, meeting up again with many of the people who attended the summer camps in January.

We head back to Tacna- Pan de Vida Church from 4th-7th March where we will be taking part in 2 open air kids clubs, door to door work, youth night and the Sunday services.

Points for Praise
-Enthusiasm/commitment of members of the churches
-Number of kids attending various meetings
- Gods constant provision

Points for Prayer
- Continued motivation
-Next week in the Pan de Vida church
-preparations for Tacna

¡¡¡Es Increeeeeíble!!!

2010-02-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we finished an "Incredible" Holiday Bible Club in the church in Ite. The theme was "Jesus is all powerful," and each day the children were taught a different story about one of the miracles of Jesus. We had on average 35 children each day with 60 different children attending at some point throughout the whole week. The club lasted 2 hours with the usual mix of games, songs, memory verses, lessons, quizzes and worksheets. In total, at the end of the week 7 children could say all 5 memory verses word perfect. Spanish was definitely put to the test as each of us had to take part part each day from the front.

Tomorrow is a family service where we are responsible for the whole program. All the parents have been invited to a special service which will show them what the children have been doing throughout the week, the children will also receive prizes for memory verses and attendance. It is an opportunity for us to evangelise to the parents. It was great see some kids coming along that have not had any connection with the church or sunday school before.

On Tuesday we head to Tacna to "Luz de Vida" to help with their holiday bible club.

Please pray for us with;Holiday Bible Club (In the plaza)

The youth meeting on Saturday night

The special parents day service on Sunday

A Busy Rest

2010-02-13T08:46:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we got the chance to go as a team to Arequipa for two days. We left on the Friday after a "shovelled in lunch," jumping on a bus for our 5 hour journey. In Arepuipa we stayed at the church where we lived for 3 months during our time there although this time we had to share the building with a team of young people called "Los Radicales." They´re a group of 7 who are recieving training in Arequipa before leaving to do 4 months of missions. It was great to get to know them and share in their devotionals.
On the Saturday night we went to the young people´s meeting which was full. There used to be around 8-15 people every Saturday but the group has grown to around 40!
We decided to walk home afterwards and stopped at the plaza which was full of people. There were bands playing on a stage as huge "firework laden towers" of bamboo were lit up. The firework display was amazing. It was soon obvious that all firework rules and regulations were out the window as people walked around with burnt jumpers and as small bits of flaming bamboo fell. It was awesome!
But the highlight was definitely the Sunday morning service. It was a baptismal service where Nelson (along with another person) gave his testimony and was baptised. It was really encouraging.
It was great to see everyone again and to have the chance to hang out as a team.
Thanks for you prayers!!!

Wake me up when it´s tomorrow

2010-01-30T12:39:00.001-08:00

We had no sooner bid farewell to the campers from the young adults 18+ camp before it was time to welcome 46 campers from Tacna, Moquegua, Ilo and Ite for the youth camps.

Once again the theme of the week was ‘Decisions’. The messages were brought by Pastor Felipe (Argentinean) and his wife Ester, they both work with the Alliance church in Tacna. The theme focused on relationships with family, friends and God. Many were affected by what was said.

The young people also completed similar activities to the first week; visiting the beach, completing the obstacle course, a table quiz, making videos of famous films and taking part in the talent night etc.

This past week saw the commencement of the Family camp. Last year there were only 15 people from 2 families, however after a successful camp they returned to their towns and invited more friends and family members, so that this year we had around 40 people ranging from 3-80 years old!!!! However, as the saying goes age is only a number, it doesn’t seem to have hindered anyone. Everyone has been fully involved in the activities. Even the 80-year-old Don José ran through the obstacle course!

The speaker was Pastor Pedro from the Christians in Action church in Arequipa (Pedro is also head of the language school we attended!) During the morning seminars Mision Rescate were responsible for the kids club. The theme was ‘God is Powerful.’ We had the opportunity to look at some of the miracles of Jesus, learn verses, sing songs and play lots of fun games.

This week is a chance to ‘rest’, however most of the time will be spent in preparation for the following week when we will be holding a 5 day holiday Bible club in the church in Ite and a football club (for 3 days).

Points for Prayer
-For the many of the young people who are returning to difficult home backgrounds
-For those who don’t know Christ, that they will have been impacted by the messages
-Our preparation for the holiday Bible club and football club

Baptist Youth... Eat Your Heart Out!

2010-01-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

Summer is here, the camp centre has been converted into one giant obstacle course, the cupboards are packed with food, so, this can only mean one thing…..its time for the Baptist Centre Valle Azul Summer camps! It all kicked off with the young adults 18+ camp on Saturday 9th January. It wasn’t long before the place was buzzing with excited ‘campistas’.

The theme of the week was ‘Decisions’. We had the opportunity to learn from two speakers from Lima- Pastor Rino and Santiago. They brought various biblical messages on finding your true identity, relations in your community, relations with friends and choosing Jesus or the world.

The young people also had the chance to take part in lots of fun activities- visiting the beach, the obstacle course (for which Pastor Byres will forever be remembered!), a table quiz with a difference, completing a photo safari, performing on the talent night and taking part in lots of other silly games.

On the final night we had the last of the ‘decisions’ talks, after which a number of non- Christians gave an encouraging response. This was followed by a bonfire and a time of reflection where a number of people give their testimonies. It was great to hear how God has been working in their lives.

Points for Prayer...

- A young guy called Jesús- who made a commitment to Christ. That God would protect him as he begins a new job in the Police and that he would find a church.

-For those who don’t know Christ will have been impacted by what they have heard

-The teenager camp this week-Pastor Filipe (Argentina)

-Teenagers attending the camp

-The leaders maintain enthusiasm after a tiring week

2010-01-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

We moved to the campsite in Ite (this will be our base for the remainder of our time in Peru) on Sunday 27th, meeting up with our fellow Peruvian Mision Rescaté team members: Maria Del Karmen, Diana and Raúl. (Enrique who is an Argentinean will be joining us on 16th January). We were introduced to the church in Ite on Sunday 3rd where we received our team tracksuits.

Over the past 2 weeks we had various classes (in Spanish) on homiletics, oratory, leadership, Baptist principles, children’s ministry and evangelism. Each of us had to prepare and deliver a 15 minute sermon (again, in Spanish!!). It’s been great to learn from the various Pastors and locals who work with the mission.

The 9th January sees the beginning of summer camps in the campsite. We will have 2 youth camps followed by a family camp which will bring us up until the end of January. During any free time (which isn’t much) we have been trying to squeeze in some preparation for the 3 camps. This included designing and building an obstacle course around the entire camp centre, weeding, painting a house among other jobs!

Points for Prayer
Mision Rescate team (unity)
That God would be glorified in all that we do
Youth and families coming to camp
Camps: speakers, leaders, youth, families

Christmas Greetings

2009-12-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a great Christmas. We had a brilliant time with the Morrow family over Christmas week. The hospitality was amazing and the Christmas dinner was something else....we can't complain about not being well fed!

Boxing day was spent in Tacna in the Brew household along with the Morrows, Williamsons and Allister Creelman. We had yet another delicious Christmas dinner and it was great to have a time of fellowship with the other missionaries.

We are heading off today to Ite (the campsite) where we will be based for the rest of our time in Peru. Tomorrow sees the commencement of 'Mision Rescate' where we will be joined with a Peruvian boy and girl and a boy from Argentina.

Pray for us as we begin our work with 'Mision Rescate'
-for team unity
-that God would be glorified
-that we would settle in quickly

Also as we prepare for the 3 Summer camps which begin on the 9th January
-that the children, young people and families would be reached with the Gospel
-that God would be at the centre of everything

Once again thank you for your continued support. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Report from the Jungle

2009-12-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

What a journey!! On the Friday morning we got onto a bus headed for Puerto Maldanado. We were promised a journey of 18 hours...which was a bit of an "under-exaggeration!!" Due to strikes, 2 breakdowns and alternative routes we arrived in Puerto Maldanado 28 hours later! It wasn´t quite up to the Ulsterbus Goldliner standard...but it was all worth it!

We made the most of the local cuisine, eating fruits that we had never seen before. We were also given monkey to try, which tastes nothing like chicken but is still very nice all the same! On the whole the food was awesome and the fruits were full of flavour.

We went to Puerto Maldanado with 3 other members of the church who had worked there for a period of 3 months. The purpose in being there was to have a baptismal service and to encourage the new believers in the area. There is no local pastor or missionary so the believers need a lot of prayer and encouragement. Fortunately there is a missions team who will be working there to establish a church and to discilple the young believers.

During the week we were also able to have an event for the children in the area. We had games, choruses, Bible lesson and quiz which the children really enjoyed. About 30 children came altogether which was brilliant. We also held a football tournament for the guys from the town in order to build up contacts with them. It was a good opportunity to get to know them better.
weather

A lot of the week was spent building up relationships and sharing with others from the town. A number of people have drug related problems and it was encouraging to find that two boys from the town came back to Arequipa with us because they wanted to enter the rehabilitation programme run by the church there.
Please continue to pray for the Christians there that they would grow and mature. Please pray that God would look after them and protect them and that the Missions Team who are to begin in January would be used by God to build up a church there in Puerto Maldanado.

¡La Selva!

2009-12-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

We have just been told that we are heading to the jungle on Friday! We will be jumping onto a bus in the morning to travel over 18 hours to a small town in the jungle. We have no idea what the acommodation is like but we have been told that we´ll be "roughing it."

Two young people from the church here in Arequipa worked there for a period of 5 months as part of a missions team. There are a handful of Christians there who don´t have a church. They really need teaching and discipleship. The 3 of us along with Marcos, Marilyn and Bernardo will be leaving on Friday morning and we´ll be back on the 18th just before travelling down to Ilo the next day.

Please pray for us as we travel that´d we´d be kept safe and that God would use us to help encourage and teach the young believers there.

Thankyou for all your prayers. We really appreciate them and need them.

There ain´t no mountian high enough....

2009-12-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we took the 6 hour bus trip higher into the Andes. Puno is 3,800 metres above sea level, on the edge of Lake Titicaca, and, as we soon discovered - a totally different world. The purpose of this expedition was to help Lourdes Brew with what is known as "The Sunday School Project". The Sunday School´s back home raise money to buy a Christmas gift for the children of the Sunday Schools high in the Andes.

During out time we stayed with Lourdes´ family in Yunguyo - a small village 2 hours from Puno. We had a great time with them and were continually told to "serve ourselves" at meal times. We definitely ate more than our share of food!

On Friday we sorted, named and packed 467 t-shirts for children, from the ages of 4-15, that belong to 14 different churches. On Saturday and Sunday we visited the Churches to distribute the gifts. Each Sunday School recited different verses they had learnt or sang songs. We also gave out sweet bread to the children and had hot chocolate.

One of the Churches we visited on Saturday afternoon was in the country side near Huapaca. We stopped at a small house on the edge of the road. The next thing we knew about 20 children had climbed into the combi all excited and ready to go. We drove further down the road and onto a track, at the end of which was a small building. These people were so welcoming and so grateful for every little thing. Simon had the oppurtunity to share a childrens story at this church and also preach twice on Sunday. After visiting the first church on Sunday morning we were presented with dinner - rice, chuno (freeze dried potato) and fried cheese. The second church once again saw us being presented with dinner - rice, chuno amd fried cheese... Thankfully we had some spare plastic bags and were able to discretely bring our second dinner away with us for consumption later on....

It was a great weekend and we really gained a understanding of how difficult life can be here. It was very interesting to see where the work of Irish Baptist Foreign Missions began all those years ago in 1927.

Schools out for Summer!!!

2009-12-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

Last Friday saw the 3 of us bidding farewell to the Language school. (It´s hard to believe that 2 months have gone by so quickly!!) Each time a student leaves, the school has a 'Dispedida' (farewell), where we eat empanadas, share 'thank-you' gifts and listen to a farewell speech in Spanish. We were no exception, the 3 of us gave our speechs and told the teachers how great they were...we also made some 15's which seemed to go down pretty well with both the teachers and other students.

With a bit of extra time over the past few days, we have been able to use it to help with the various projects in both the church (Pepe and Jardin- schools belonging to the church) and Latin Link (Shalom- Latin Link school)

We head to Puno tomorrow for 5 days to help out with the Christmas Project. Each year churches back home send money to be used in the Sunday schools in Puno. Lourdes Brew heads up and brings clothes for the kids, kind of like a reward at the end of the year and as a special Christmas treat. Its also a time that is used to encourage the Sunday school teachers in the great work they do.

Pray for us

- as we adapt to the change in situation

- as we get more involved in the various projects with the church and Latin Link

- for safely in travelling to Puno

- God might use us in assising Lourdes Brew

Thanks once again for your continued support in prayer, it is greatly appreciated!!

Meeting Missionaries

2009-11-25T12:06:00.000-08:00

Once again we have had another pretty hectic week, but it's been great!

Sunday week ago we had the opportunity to meet up with Iain and Heather McKelvie and their 2 children, Philip and Debbie. They are SIM missionaries from Mountpottinger Baptist and have been serving here in Arequipa for around 5 years. It was great to have a time of fellowship in their church cafe and then the following evening in their home (the homemade choc-chip pancakes weren't too bad either!!). They were able to tell us a little bit about the childrens ministries they are involved in. For more information check out http://www.themckelvies.co.uk/

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon in the Turner household, once again they provided wonderful hospitality with a roast beef dinner (champ included!) followed with apple crumble and custard (at Simons request!!!) They have a hectic schedule so it was lovely to spend some time with them outside of the regular church activities.

That evening we were hosted by Steve and Rachel Peat along with their kids Amy, Gareth and Joel. They are from York and have been serving in Arequipa with SIM for around 13 years. It was a brilliant opportunity for us to gain insight into the ministries they are involved in. They gave us lots of kids and youth resources in Spanish (it's extremely diffiucult to find good quality scriptural materials), these will definitely come in useful throughout the rest of the year. You can find out more about the Peat family at http://www.peats.org/

One moring when we arrived into language school, the school´s director told Simon that a friend of his Dad´s was in Arequipa. He gave him a mobile number which resulted in Simon meeting Pastor Spencer Cunnah who is the minister in Wycliffe International Church, Sheffield. He is over for a few days visiting. He then put us in touch with the Peats which was great! It´s a small world!!!

Both the McKelvies and Peats are returning home at the beginning of December until February/March. Pray for them as they leave their ministries and pack things up here in Arequipa, adjusting to life back in the UK. Also as they travel around, speaking at various churches services and meetings, that they will have an impact on those they speak to and that others would be a source of encouragement to them in the wonderful work they are doing here.

What is Misión Rescate Anyway?

2009-11-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! This is just a quick video post of the Misión Rescate team from last year, which will hopefully explain what we´ll be up to after Christmas when we head down to Ilo, Ite, Moquegua and Tacna. Hopefully it´ll give you a bit of an insight into what we´ll be doing as a team.

Another week has past!

2009-11-12T17:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry that our blog posts haven´t been as frequent as we would have liked. The weeks seem to fly past so quickly at times, without us knowing exactly what we´ll be up to from one day to the next, making it very difficult to let you all know what we´re up to in advance. The weeks are very changeable...but there are some things which always happen!!! -

Language classes-everyday we´re in school and are slowly learning (some more slowly than others!) It´s frustrating at times but has been a huge help to us. Please keep praying that we´ll understand more and more.

Lynne´s teaching - Lynne is helping every Tuesday and Friday in a pre-school run by the church. She´s teaching a group of four and five year olds to play jingle bells on the recorder for a Christmas concert.

Children´s home - On Wednesday afternoons Shirley goes to a children´s home just outside of Arequipa, to help for a few hours. Pray for the children who come from some terrible situations.

Discipleship class - Every Tuesday morning Simon meets up with Nelson from the church to have discipleship classes. Please pray that Nelson will grow more and more.

Shalom - Simon has been heading to a special needs school every Monday to help young people in their 20s. They´ll be finishing their studies next year. Please pray that jobs would become available for them.

Thankyou for all your prayers and thoughts. It is an amazing encouragement when we hear that people are praying for us.

The Day of the Dead

2009-11-06T17:51:00.001-08:00

On Monday morning we went on a school trip! It was somewhat strange sitting on a bus with our teachers, with our school bags under the seat, considering that most of the pupils were in their 40s!! It was a bit surreal to be on a school trip again...but very worthwhile.

The teachers chose an unusual destination for our school trip - The Cemetery! When we arrived the place was packed. It was full of people. There were people running about with ladders and water, others carrying flowers, and many others gathered together around a gravestone. Here in Peru the 2nd November is known as the Day of the Dead.

It was sad to see. Juan Carlos (one of our teachers) told us how he was pleased that God had saved him from all this. He explained to us that any gathered around the graves to pray for the souls of their dead family members and that they believe that on this day the souls of their dead return to the earth. The graves were decorated with flowers to guide them back to the appropiate grave.

Real or not: A Priest paid to pray for one of the dead (although many dress up and pretend

to be Preists on this day to earn a bit of extra money!)

We left the cemetery and travelled to another one at the edge of the city. It was a lot poorer and is used by some very poor people from the sierra. Here people laid food across the grave, listened to a brass band playing and ate and drank.

They believe that on this day at midday the souls of the dead return to the earth. The people bring food and drink to share with the souls of the loved ones. Many prepare a favourite dish of the one who has died to encourage the soul to come back to its grave to talk with them. Some families contract music bands to play the music that their loved one liked the most.

It was a very sad and dark insight into part of the culture in this area of Peru. It was a very real reminder of the depravity of the human heart and of the need for God in the lives of so many people. So many are so lost and just need the truth.

Anniversaries, Cake and Football!

2009-11-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday saw the 13th Anniversary of the church here in Arequipa. To mark this event the service was held at the church mission project - a rehabilitation centre in another part of Arequipa. We had an outdoor service with many families. The men from the centre, who do not usually come to the church, attended as well. After the service we enjoyed a church lunch together and remained there for the rest of the afternoon.
On Saturday we were involved in a children´s outreach at the Latin Link International School. There were around 200 primary school children as well as their parents. The theme of the afternoon was how powerful God is.
This week Simon was involved in a 5-a-side football competition with the men from the rehabilitation centre. There was a team entered from the church as well as four from the centre. Simon ended with a red face - not only from the embarassment of coming second but also as she sweated off all his sun cream!

At the weekend Luz Maria came up from Ite to stay for a few days. It was brilliant to see her again and we had a really enjoyable time. It also included celebrating Luz´s birthday a couple of weeks early on saturday night - any excuse for a cake!

Luz shared with us on saturday morning for team devotions from Matthew 9 v36-38:

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a sheperd. Then He said to His disciples, "the harvest is plentiful, but the labours and few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labours into the harvest"

There is so much work to be done, please continue to pray for the work here in Peru.

The Miraculous Vending Machine

2009-10-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

In the last month we have seen many people here in Arequipa dressed in purple dresses or purple shirts, with a white rope as a belt or tie. In class it was explained that people dess this way for the entire month of October because they believe it´s the month of the "Lord of the Miracles." So, if they need a miracle they´ll say to God "I will wear purple for the entire month of October for 5 years so that you can give me..." It seems really bizarre but that is how some people think here.

Lynne just stood in front of this woman and non-discreetly took her photo!!

Two weeks ago we decided to go and see a bit more of Arrequipa. We ended up looking around a huge catholic church. There were a lot of statues behind glass, but one in particular stood out. It was a small child with a lot of plastic toy cars piled up to its knees. In school one of our teachers said that many believe that the child Jesus is a miraculous child who grants many miracles. People come to his statue, give it a plastic toy, and expect to recieve a miracle.

It is incredibly sad the mentality that many have. They want to use God as a miracle vending machine. They want the blessings of God but care nothing about having a relationship with the God of blessings.

Please pray that many would have this superstitious hold broken. Pray that God would reach into the lives of many here, that they´d be able to know and love Him, that they would know what it is to believe in Jesus, have their sins forgiven and be eternally secure. Pray that God would change them.

From One Primary School to Another!

2009-10-27T09:04:00.001-07:00

Lynne taught for 2 years in Cookstown Primary and just can´t seem to give it a rest!!! In Cayma Baptist, the church were we stay, there´s a small primary school which runs during the mornings. Lynne has been asked to help out every Tuesday morning from 9.00 until 10.00 which is brilliant! She´ll be teaching some music and maybe a bit of English.

Please pray for her with the language barrier and also that the children would be impacted by the difference that Jesus has made in her life.

Thankyou!!!!

2009-10-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is a blog post to say thankyou very much for your prayers this last week. We were very grateful for God´s help.

On Monday morning Simon met with Nelson for the discipleship class. They looked at how a Christian should face the daily battle with temptation. Nelson is very keen to learn and just wants to follow God. They´re meeting again on Wednesday morning in Nelson´s home which is about an hour away from the church. He´s getting lunch there with the family so he can´t complain! Please keep praying for Nelson.

Shirley and Lynne were roped into helping organise the women´s meeting on Friday night because the Pastor´s wife hasn´t been too well. So a few of the women in church are now professionals in making 15s! Someone from church led the Bible Study and the night seemed to go well.

The Saturday night we went to the youth meeting. Only 8 were there in total which was less than the last one but still very worth wild. Simon had the chance to share a short message with the young people which hopefully they understood!

Thanks especially for praying for the Sunday School during the church service. We had 8 lively children for ... an hour and a half!!! But we really enjoyed it. We got to teach them the next lesson in the life of David, which was David and Absalom and talked about how we can think that there is no way we´d ever be as rebellious as Absalom and do the things he did, but in reality all of us have rebelled against God and need His forgiveness. We had a quiz too which was great fun and reinforced the story before they got stuck into their worksheets and played games. Please keep praying that something said might stick with them and be used by God, if not now in the future, to bring them to Himself.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. With little language and with being in a new culture it does make it more difficult so your prayers are really appreciated!

Busy Week Ahead!

2009-10-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! This is just a a quick note to ask for your prayers this week. Things are going to be hectic! As well as all our regular church meetings and hours of homework everyday, we´ve been asked to take the Sunday School this week which happens during the main church meeting. Please pray for us as we prepare and get ready.

As well there is a discipleship programme beginning this week, which Simon is able to be involved in. Please pray for Nelson and Rezar who are both in their 20s and want to learn more about the Bible through this course.

Please pray that we´d continue to learn and understand more of the language. It can be very frustrating and tiring at times. This week our classes have changed again - Shirley is in school 8.30-12.00, Lynne 10.30-2.00 and Simon 2.30-6.00. Please pray that we´d be able to communicate well with others.

Also please pray that we´d get to know the young people in the church more and more. This week we´ve been able to get to know Abel who has been teaching Simon how to cook...he needs it! He has been here most mornings cooking lunch for us. It turns out Abel is a chef in a 3-star restaurant so we´ve been getting meals which normally cost up to $30...which has been great!

Thankyou for all your prayers. It´s really encouraging to hear that people are praying for us and we hope that with all we have to do this week that God would use us.

A day in the life of Simon, Shirley and Lynne

2009-10-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hello again and welcome to the blog.......

We thought it was time to fill you in on what a typical day is like here in Arequipa

7.00am- A time of prayer and devotions as a team

7.30am- Breakfast

8.00am- Shirley and Lynne leave for school

8.30am- School begins with Grammar class

10.00am- break time

10.30am- One-to-one conversation class

12.00am- School ends...walk home

1.00pm- Lunch

2.00pm- Simon leaves for school

2.30pm-School begins for Simon with grammer class

4.00pm-Break

4.30pm- Conversation class

6.00pm- School finishes

Any free time during the day is usually spent doing homeworks, emails, updating blogs, washing etc etc

Every evening we have something to keep ourselves occupied too.....

Monday- Church cell group

This is a small Bible study group which meets every Monday at Paul and Ruth Turners. Last Monday there were around 5 Peruvian young people. Everyone shared a little about a verse from the Bible that meant something to them. Paul did a great job translating so we all gained something from it.

Tuesday- Latin Link Prayer group/meeting with Latin Link Striders

Wednesday- Free until we are given something to do!!

Thursday- Church prayer meeting

Friday- Church Ladies meeting (for Shirley and Lynne......Simon watches a film at Paul´s house!)Last Friday Shirley and Lynne has their first experience of a Peruvian Ladies meeting, where sewing skills were tested when they had to make flower badges to be sewn onto a t-shirt! It was a good opportunity to meet with the ladies from the church though!

Saturday- Simon plays football in the morning with others from the Language School. He leaves at a quarter to eight in the morning and comes back wrecked! Last week he went for the first time and came back scunnered after trying to play in the altitude!

Saturday evening - Youth meeting (alternate weeks)
Last Saturday we were able to go to the church youth meeting. We got to play football with our ankles stuck together with sellotape...no need for insurance policies here!! The losers got to do a forfeit. We also played a form of tug of war which ended in a number of people getting rope burns, but it was great banter!

We had a church fellowship lunch on Sunday afternoon, which allowed us to try out some Peruvian dishes again.

Life goes on and many things that were strange a few weeks ago are now normal!! Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.

Week One Completed in Arequipa

2009-10-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

So we have survived our first week here in Arequipa.

On Sunday morning we bid farewell to Gordon and Tom and the fun
begins.......We experienced our first of many Peruvian Sunday schools and
church services. This was somewhat different from services back at home, the
service lasted around 2 hours which was quite intense with the lack of
Spanish on Shirley and Lynnes part!! However it was a great opportunity to
meet some of the people we will be spending the next 2 months with.

On Monday we had our first day of language school. We have 2 classes every day, an hour and a half of grammar and then an hour an a half of one-to-one conversation class, so there is no place to hide!!!! We didn´t quite realise the intensity of the classes and the homework that follows. However, the teachers are great craic and we are enjoying meeting lots of other foreign students. Shirley and Lynne got a special welcome with another cake and happy birthday being sung in 5 different languages.

In the afternoon we had a birthday lunch and then visited the Juanita the Ice Princess after the recommendation of Gordon. She was an Inca sacrifice who was found frozen at the top of a mountain a number of years ago.

Monday evening was our first Church cell group at Paul and Ruths home. Here we received MORE birthday cake and got a chance to get to know some of the young people from the church.

Tuesday evening was an opportunity to meet the Latin Link Team who are situated in Arequipa. There were 4 generations of Latin Link missionaries present at the meeting and it was great to join with them for a time of prayer and fellowship.

Wednesday was a day full of learning, we attended the Spanish class in the morning and then came home for a special class on 'washing our clothes'. There are apparently a variety of ways to wash your clothes by hand. Simon kindly took time out to show us his very special technique where you fill a sink, put in detergent, wash, rinse, shake then hang on a washing line- all very technical......Thank-you Simon!!

Thursday was a national holiday so no school...yeahhhhh!! We made the most of a free day and headed out to the country with the other Latin Link short termers and Ruth Turner. We visited some sort of mill, it was lovely to get our of the city for a while. We finished up the afternoon with a BBQ.

Thanks again for following our blog.

Busy Times!

2009-10-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

We have just had our first full day in Arequipa!!!! A lot was packed in! We started off by having breakfast with the Turners who literally live a stone´s throw away from the church. Paul and Ruth have been very good to us and are helping us to settle in very quickly.

After breakfast and a quick wash-up we found ourselves standing outside the Turner´s house waiting for a taxi. No taxi was ever able to take all of us so we quickly decided to all hop into a combi. These tend to be battered mini-buses, crammed full of compressed people, which ferry people from place to place around the city. This was another first "Peruvian Experience" for Lynne and Shirely!We jumped out of the combi and walked around a few corners until we found ourselves outside a small building. A plaque on the front read 'ABC Language Learning Centre.' We had a quick tour of the building in where we will be spending a lot of time. Monday sees the start of our language training beginning at 8.30 am. The teachers have a brilliant reputation and a brilliant sense of humour!!

After the quick tour we met up with the Roycroft´s in a cafeteria. Andrew was experiencing more matress problems (see their blog for more!...) while the rest of us chatted over an Inca Cola (our new favourite drink) with Carolyn and Grace. Ruth then brought us to the local supermarket for our groceries. Unlike supermarkets at home there are very few convienience foods so we will be busy cooking most things from scratch (we miss Uncle Ben but Simon is excited about develping his cooking skills!)

The theme of this blog, thus far, seems to be food and the next event was no exception! Paul and Ruth once again put on another huge spread (for 17 people) which included lasagne, breads and a mountain of salad. This was all washed down with maracuya (passion fruit juice). This gave us an opportunity to meet the Pastor and some locals from the church we are staying at. Andrew, Carolyn and Grace also joined us for the occasion.

Another surprise was in store for Lynne and Shirley as a cake was produced to celebrate their birthday (3 days early!). We think this was only an excuse for Gordon and Tom to get some birthday cake before bidding farewell to Arequipa.

In the evening we headed into Arequipa centre with Ruth as our tour guide, showing us some of the sights and how not to get lost. The night was ended by visiting a church cafe where we chatted and played games (Haly Galy) with some of those from the church.

Work beings properly on Monday when not only will we be attending language school but also getting involved with the different ministries within the church.

We´re Alive!!!!

2009-10-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

After 20 hours of travelling and forcing down plane food we arrived in the capital of Peru! You have never felt the need to wear your seatbelt more, than when seated in a taxi driving through Lima...they are crazy! After arriving at our hotel we went out to grab something to eat, and got our first taste of Peruvian cuisine; emapanadas (like cornish pasties except nice!) and Inca Kola (Irn Brew with more sweeteners and colourings!)
The next day we flew to Tacna where we were able to use the Brew´s house as our base. It was brilliant to see John and Lourdes along with their Son-In-Law,daughter and two grandchildren. Stephanie, who was the grandchild of 8, thought it would be hilarious to turn Simon into a Pirate. Gordon, the director of Baptist Missions, was next in line to be attacked by the face painter but carefully evaded the situation by threatening to fire her grandad!!! (Only joking!)

On Wednesday we were sent in different directions to spend 6 hours with 3 separate families. We woke up to find the table spread for breakfast before going to the seminary. There we met 3 of the pastors who took us to different homes. Simon and Shirley were treated to a second breakfast when they arrived! It was a good start to the day. Simon then went with Pastor Abram who took him to do chruch visits. A starter and main cousre was produced for them at the third home before they headed to see Wilmar from church who made a Peruvian dish called ceviche (a dish of raw fish covered in lemon...delicious!) So he didn´t do too badly having 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches! He´ll be massive by the time he gets home!
After breakfast Shirley headed into Tacna Centre with 2 young people from the Luz de Vida Church, while Lynne went with Pastor Quintin to a family where she visited the dentist and peeled potatoes. It was difficult to make conversation but the Peruvians were patient and the dictionaries came in very handy!

This morning we left Tacna after our "whistle stop tour" and travelled to Ite where we had a 15 minute tour of the campsite. Ilo was our next port of call where we had lunch with Christine Morrow. It was great to see Christine although we only had an hour with her before we had to catch the bus for our 5 hour journey to Arequipa.

In Arequipa we met Ruth and Paul Turner from Latin Link. They´re helping us get settled in to life here. We are really glad to be here and can´t wait to get stuck into the language school and the church where we are staying. Tomorrow morning we´re heading to the market to buy the two main essentials ... food and bog roll!

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.
We´ll hopefully keep you updated as much as possible!

The Count Down is On!

2009-09-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

We have 3 weeks of Norn-Irish culture left before we head off to Peru where we will spend the next 9 months. That only leaves us with 21 days to cram in as many Sunday Dinners and Ulster Fries as possble!! There are a lot of things that we will be sorry to leave behind ... but one of them is not the weather!!

This year won´t be easy and we know that we´ll meet many challenges during our time in Peru. For one thing we will be living in another culture and speaking another language (or should we say attempting to speak another language!) It will also be difficult to be separated by over 6000 miles from family and friends back here in Ireland.

However in all this we know that the God whom we know and love here in Northern Ireland is the same God who will be with us in Peru. He never changes and already knows what lies ahead of us in Peru.

Please do pray for us while we are away.
Pray for-

Safety as we travel
Unity within the team
Language studies
that people would be reached with the gospel
the missionaries - that they would be encouraged
that we would depend fully on God

Thankyou for all your support and prayer,

Lynne, Shirley and Simon