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Chapter by Chapter

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What an exciting January!  We have so much going on, and to be honest, I don't see it slowing down anytime soon.  First, this September marks the beginning of our final year in the contract.  Please be in prayer with us over the future of the work here and our families.  Also, both families will be traveling to the states for furlough.  The Smiths leave in early March and my family will leave in mid-August.  We are excited to see our supporters and hug on some people we haven't seen in quite a while.

CUDA seems to have started rolling, and it isn't slowing down.  I am elated that Alfredo Oporto, our brother in Christ and the first person we met in Arequipa, has taken the reigns of executive director.  Kyle, Larissa, Greg, and I are all volunteers now.  I attended my first library meeting early this month to discuss the future of the program.  I was an expert volunteer called in to help with curriculum development for the reading literacy program.  I cannot express how wonderful it is to see the Peruvians take charge of something that we began 3 years ago.  Sustainability has always been our dream for this work, and putting Peruvians in charge is the first major step to making it a reality.

We are planning a team day retreat.  We have a long strategy document listing the goals and dreams we had for this work year-by-year.  The elderships all signed on to it, and as a team, we are revisiting the document to pray and dream further about where we are and what the future holds.  We can plan all we want, but his ways being higher than our ways becomes quite clear when you can look back over four years of the ministry.

This month has also been a month of good-byes.  Anna and Sakari, the Finnish couple that worked with CUDA for 4 months, left on the 21st.  One of our friends that was associated with the mine here left on the 24th (we had a ladies Bible study group in English that she was part of).  And, Rachel Steele is preparing to leave on February 15.  Her two year commitment has come to an end.  So, though sad to say these good-byes, it is a reminder to me that God's story is full of new chapters, and we learn to go with it.

Part 4: An Example - The Offering

I grew up with five acts of worship: praying, singing, preaching, Lord's supper, and offering.  These were taught to be the defining traits of the true local church.  A little searching online will quickly indicate the extent to which many Churches of Christ still promote this ecclesiology, as well as how contested it is by others.  The goal here is not to deal will all the dimensions of that dispute but to look at one of these "must-do" practices a little more closely from the Arequipa context.  

Just for Kids

Have you ever tried something new, that you either had interest in or your parents encouraged you to try? When I was a little girl, my parents encouraged me to play softball, partly because my sister was already playing and partly I suppose because they wanted me to participate in something that involved teamwork. Needless to say, I was a terrible softball player. I lacked the focus to pay attention to what was happening in the game, the coordination to catch and throw the ball, and the desire to improve. So I was put in the outfield, where very few 5 year olds could actually hit the ball, and I would sit in the grass, take off my glove, and play. I'd weave pieces of grass together, or make whistles, and completely ignore the rest of the team. In some ways, I think it was my subtle, or not so subtle way of telling my parents I didn't want to play softball. 

Part 3: From Idea to Embodiment

Last newsletter we left off with the question, how do our contextual ways of being together as family manifest? Or, how do we move from our theological claim about what the church is (the family of God) to a lived experience? In order to pose the question in one more way, I’ll share a story.

Just for Kids

Once again it is December and Christmas is almost here. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always my favorite time of year. It isn’t Christmas day that I love, so much as the time of preparation before Christmas day. It is the baking and decorating. The shopping and Christmas carols that play over the radio and in the malls. There is a feeling of anticipation and expectation that is felt in the month or so before Christmas that is unlike any other time of year. 

CUDA View: Offices

If you read my article in last month’s newsletter you know about the big changes taking place here in Arequipa. Some of those big changes have already started to take place. We have now signed a contract on a three story building that we will put to use in a variety of ways. We have also worked out the details of Alfredo’s employment and he will begin working for CUDA full-time in January. Here on the field these changes seem monumental and extraordinary. We are moving from an informal NGO run by two families to having Peruvian leadership and planning two businesses that will begin to generate an income for our organization. Big changes. 

Missionary Mom: A Christmas Story

You know how almost every home in the states has a Christmas tree this month? Well, here in Peru, almost every home has a nativity scene displayed. It is hard not to think about the story of Jesus’s birth when I see the nativity scene everywhere that I go. Peruvians can relate to the story of baby Jesus and theVirgin Mary. I would like to share a personal story with you relating to the Christmas Story. 

Crossing Cultures: Acclimation

Living in a foreign culture for years is an odd thing. At first, everything was either extremely interesting or extremely annoying, because we were evaluating all experiences against our own and determining whether new things should be accepted or merely endured. I’ve been writing this column for two years, which means I’ve spent lots of time paying attention to the things I experience, trying to put my finger on their value to a Peruvian’s life and extrapolate the value I should integrate into my own. 

Just for Kids

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and as the weather in the states grows cooler, your family might be making plans to go visit grandparents or relatives. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because not only do I get to eat as much pie as I want, it also provides an opportunity for me to thank God for all the blessings that he has given me. Surrounded by family, friends and great food, it is hard not to be thankful for God's blessings in our lives. 

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Part 2: God's Family

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The New Testament employs a variety of metaphors to represent the church’s essence. One of the most significant is certainly family. Family is an expression of the real relational dynamic that exists among followers of Jesus. We articulated our vision over five years ago: God’s family celebrating and serving in Arequipa.