The Miraculous Vending Machine

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!

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!!!!

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!

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.