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

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

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

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