"Divine Contacts" Revisited

After our team’s first research trip to Arequipa I wrote an article about ‘Divine Contacts’ that had been made. So much has happened that I think this concept needs revisiting. Entering the “mission field” of Arequipa we felt very confident that we were supposed to be here. We had signs point to a ripening field for harvest in the city and we experienced God’s love and provision through our supporters in the states. Even still I think there has always been a few questions about how things would get started. We have our five year plan mapped out with reachable goals (with God’s help), so you can say we came prepared. A few signs of affirmation never hurt though. 

Above and Beyond

During our time with each of our sending churches, one of the tasks we undertook was to put together a mission support team. You may be thinking that must have been a little awkward, since the point is mostly to support…us. It’s natural enough that we need support, but putting it together ourselves is something else, partly because it’s hard to know what a support team should do and partly because it’s strange to ask people to be actively thinking about what we might need or even want. The short of it is that we were in a position, in terms of time and energy, to kick-start such a support system, which everyone agreed was beneficial for the longevity of our missionary service. 

Preparation

I have experienced a lot of death in my life. Grandparents, friends, parents of friends, car wrecks, suicides, illnesses...I couldn’t begin to count the number of funerals I have attended and the heartache I have witnessed firsthand. And I never thought anything of it until late high school/college, when I would actually hear friends say they were going to their first funeral. First funeral?! How did you make it this far in life with never going to a funeral before? Why has my life been so different? 

Holy Spirit Park

January has been a month of new experiences. Two such experiences stand out most clearly in my mind. In our last newsletter Greg shared with you about our new office location in a part of the city called Alto Selva Alegre, but as of that newsletter we had not actually obtained the office. Shortly after the new year, we signed the lease and began work on our office space. Painting, sanding, and cleaning are not special things, but being a part of a community, that is special. That’s the first new experience we had in 2009. 

Visa Progress and 2009 Funding

As the new year kicks off and the team takes a look at what lies ahead, there are two things that really stand out. Even before we left the States, we knew securing our long-term visas would be a major hurdle and one of the primary points of uncertainty and concern in the early phase of our work. It continues to be. The short of it is that we need a church established in Lima to have a formal legal status in order to vouch for us to the government. The church has had difficulty attaining that status, but we received word recently that they have made good progress.

Funds 2009

Don’t look now, but 2008 is about to be over. Somehow we have come to the end of another year. This year has been pretty important for our team (obviously!) since a number of things have happened. We lived and worked with both of our main supporting congregations. We formed support teams to aid us at both churches. We sold, stored, or gave away virtually all of our material possessions in preparation for our move to Arequipa. We packed six suitcases, said goodbye to family and friends, and boarded a plane to our new home. We completed three months of intensive language learning while finding housing and establishing ourselves in our new city. We prayed and prayed and narrowed our target area to the Miraflores/Alto Selva Alegre areas of Arequipa. We secured office space for 2009 and bought a “Mauve-Taupe” (not pink!) van. And that’s just the “big stuff” list… 

Summer Break

I can’t believe Christmas is this week! For one thing, it doesn’t feel anything like Christmas here (or at least our idea of it). I am wearing sleeveless shirts during the day because it is officially summertime. While students in the U.S. are relieved to get time off for Christmas break, Peruvian students are relieved to finally enjoy Summer break.