Youth Working Together to Make a Difference

For the past several months, the youth leaders from three area Free Methodist churches have been planning joint events.  These have included fun events like hiking part of the Inca Trail.  But they have also included training events, like how to use sports as an evangelism tool and how Christians should care for creation.  And over the past month, they have also planned two creative and effective outreach events using sports and the arts to evangelize young people. 

September 27 they organized a sports tournament in Huaricolca.  Teams competed in soccer and volleyball and received awards at a closing ceremony where the gospel was shared.  Several young people raised their hands to indicate that they wanted to receive Jesus as their savior, and several new children have begun participating in the after-school program at Centro Ruhamah.

October 18 the youth organized a talent program in Tarma.  They rented the municipal auditorium and prepared several skits, and musical and choreography numbers.  Then they invited area school youth to make their own presentations.  Peruvian actor Jose Luis Ruiz shared his testimony about how even though he was famous and had everything he thought he wanted in life,
he was still empty without Jesus in his life.  Several people prayed to receive Christ, including Oscar's sister.

We congratulate youth leaders Oscar, Karina, Anibal, and Frank for their efforts, and look forward to how God will continue to use them and the young people they lead for His glory.

A Few Minutes More

I thought ladies' meeting was a washout today.  The lady who was supposed to lead the lesson had gone on a church hike and had gone straight home exhausted.  Starting time was 4:00.  When no one had shown up by 5:00, I figured that was that.  Then the doorbell rang at 5:05.  Two ladies from out of town with their five young children were there.  My American side was tempted to tell them there was no meeting and send them home.  But since they had taken all the effort to walk across town to come I invited them in for a few minutes.

Five minutes later Graciela arrived.  If you read my last entry, you know she has a heart for sharing about Jesus with people.  We visited for a while, and I asked for prayer requests to end the meeting.  Graciela said to one of the ladies, "Excuse me, but, sister, your face looks sad.  If there's anything you'd like to share, we'd love to listen and offer any advice we might have."  So we extended the meeting a few minutes more while Techi poured out her heart about the big struggles she has been having in her marriage.

Graciela shared some about her own experiences and encouraged Techi to take the issue to God in prayer and look for a church near her home.  I then made some follow up questions and ended up leading Techi in a prayer to accept Jesus as her savior and Lord.  Techi left with a smile on her face and plans to visit us at church tomorrow before she heads back to Lima.  Please join me in praying for her marriage and that she will find a good church home.  I'm so glad we were willing to tarry a few minutes more.

Valuable in Christ

Sara is a neighbor who sells souvenirs in the tourist market.  When we first arrived in Tarma I bought a weaving from her that her husband had made.  Over the years we've formed a casual friendship, with me stopping to visit at her stand from time to time.  She shared with me about her difficulties with her husband and a person at her workplace.  I frequently invited her to come to ladies' retreats, and so did another neighbor, Graciela, who also goes to our church, but Sara could never make it.

A few weeks ago when Graciela stopped by to invite her to yet another retreat, Sara was in a crisis point.  Conflict at work had led to a lawsuit.  She was discouraged and frustrated.  Graciela encouraged her and invited her yet again to a retreat.  This time her young adult sons insisted that she attend, and she was the first to arrive.  (She is in purple and white in the middle-right of the photo above.)

The theme of the retreat was "Valuable in Christ".  We listened to teaching about how much God loves us, and how the difficult times we go through can be used to refine us and make us more beautiful in character.  When first time visitors were invited to stand, Sarah and four other ladies stood.  They all five accepted the invitation to pray to ask Jesus to forgive them and take control of their lives.  Please join me in praying that Sara and the other new Christians will continue to remember how valuable they are in Jesus, and will continue to grow in their knowledge of God.

The Mother-in-Law

I answered the door to find my friend Analuz crying.  Her mother-in-law Theodora was very sick in the hospital and would need surgery.  And even though her mother-in-law had mistreated her throughout her entire marriage Analuz was still concerned about her.  And she was especially concerned about her soul.  She asked me how she could help Theodora prepare for heaven.  I offered to go with her to the hospital or send a pastor, but she thought her mother-in-law wouldn't listen to a stranger.  So I coached her through how to share the gospel with Theodora and lead her in a prayer to accept Jesus Christ as her savior. 

Yesterday I saw Analuz again and asked her how things went with her mother-in-law.  She said she had shared what I had told her, and that Theodora had accepted Jesus as her savior.  Even though Theodora remains in serious condition physically, we rejoice in knowing that her soul is at peace, thanks to a daughter-in-law who did not repay evil for evil, but sought the ultimate good for her mother-in-law.

Pastors and Spouses' Retreat in Huancayo

Plans weren't going well for a get-together that was scheduled for Peruvian Free Methodist pastors and their spouses for April 25-26.  None of the pastors who lived farther away would be able to make it.  Speakers we had invited couldn't come.  Lodging arrangements fell through at the last minute. And then the organizers were driving around the city in a rainstorm complete with hail looking for an alternate hotel.  But God still had plans for this event.

Five pastoral families from the central area of Peru met together for a day of training, encouragement, and fun.  The pastor of the local Huancayo church was encouraged by the presence of the visitors.  National director Pastor Miguel Algorta and his wife Maria presented workshops on staying true to your calling and how to maintain family priorities while in the ministry.  We played a couple rounds of a charades/Taboo type game.  (The ladies tromped the men!)  During one round a couple of the ladies were missing as Pastora Maria was talking outside the room with the step-daughter of one of the pastors.  We didn't mind their absence since we found out that Jacqui (the young lady next to me in the photo) was praying to become a Christian!  And everyone was satisfactorily fed and housed for the night.  We thank God that His plans prevailed!

Blooming

Our family has been back in Peru after our home assignment for almost three months now.  In many ways it feels like we never left.  We dove into ministry with making preparations for and then hosting a team of 14 from western New York State.  They participated in the annual youth conference and did some service projects.  Soon afterwards, my (Becky) sister arrived with her husband and two children for their first visit to Peru.  As well as experiencing our lives and spending a few vacation days together, they raised funds for a children's ministry and presented a workshop on Christian business principles.

In between the busyness of visitors, we have met several times with national director Pastor Miguel Algorta to discuss ministry priorities.  Here are what are focusing on over the next few months.

JR:
1.  Help the Centro Ruhamah children's ministry find stable funding.  JR is linking them with resources to start a guinea pig project to raise funds.
2.  Assist the Peruvian church with accountability measures.
3.  Meet with coffee producers in Agua de Nieve in anticipation of their upcoming harvest.

Becky:
1.  Getting the girls well established in another semester of home schooling,
2.  Help the Mujeres Jireh handicraft group develop some new products and plan for the future.
3.  Assist with a couple ministries at the local Shalom FM church, with the goal of capacitating leaders.  I'm presently leading the worship team and assisting with ladies' ministry.  This month I am doing some training in Bible study and lesson preparation.

We've been pleased to see some buds forming because of these efforts.  As the worship team has been praying with one of young Christians who is participating, we have been overjoyed to see her husband recently return to the church.  The Peruvian church has been able to continue to receive outside funding because of JR's assistance in helping them increase their transparency and accountability.  A young man that we discipled several years ago has recently come for counsel and plans to return to the church. Thank you for your prayers as we continue to see how God brings growth in people's lives and in ministries.

As for the rose bushes that were pruned back to almost nothing a few months ago, take a look for yourself. 

Pruning

As we settle back into a home that we haven't lived in for 5 1/2 months there are lots of jobs to do:  unpacking, restocking, cleaning, organizing, repairing, etc.  Since the inside of the house is mostly done, this afternoon I decided to tackle the rose bushes which had been growing for all that time without any trimming.  Since it's rainy season, the bushes were very overgrown.  As I looked more closely I realized that most of the blooms were already gone and that most of the leaves were covered with an orange rust.  I decided a radical pruning was the best course of action.  The bushes look like bare sticks now, but I hope soon the plants will be covered with healthy leaves and lots of rose buds.

As we settle back into ministry in Peru after a time away, we always take a little while to get back up to speed on what has happened in our absence and to reevaluate ministry goals.  After doing this we sometimes decide that some ministries need to be pruned back or cut out entirely.  Some things need to be watered and fertilized carefully.  And some need to be allowed to flourish, perhaps under a different gardener.

The roses in the photo above were the only current blooms on five rose bushes.  I hope to be able to show you another photo soon, and to be able to share with you what ministry God will bloom in Peru in 2014,