Team Arequipa is very proud to release its first newsletter. As we take this next small step in our journey toward the mission field our excitement grows, and we are hopeful that yours will as well. God has continued to bless us all along this path with support and encouragement. We hope to continue fostering support for the sake of our work and to give encouragement in return with the monthly testimony of what God is doing in us.

Our team of wonderful people has been planning mission work in Arequipa for years now. Yet, the team has morphed through the years so that my beautiful bride and I were the only two (of six) who had been in the city. Our vision casting has been second hand in the main, based on my impressions and those of former team members. The team has nurtured love for people whose faces it has not seen. It has tried to image God’s faithfulness in the unknown. At last it was necessary to stand in the city.

Team Arequipa finds itself now, at Shiloh Road church, in a place that is both natural and strange. So much has changed since the beginning, and although it has not been too awfully long in the grand scheme of things, that beginning seems quite distant now. Onlookers might imagine that the team has always been more or less like it is now, but hopefully a short journey into Team Arequipa’s history will reveal something of the refinement we have experienced. 

Texas and Tennessee to Atlanta to Lima to Arequipa, Peru. After five years of planning, our two families packed our bags, said our goodbyes, and headed to Peru. We are so thankful that we are here. God has blessed our journey and we are eager to see his kingdom spread in this part of the world.

The Team Arequipa field workers have been here for a year! We have been blessed, and we have so many of you to thank for your prayers and support. We serve a faithful God. He has been good to us. For this publication we each decided to write a reflection on the last year. Enjoy the read. We look forward to many years to come! 

A word about the new look. First of all, we hope you, the reader, dig it. Our newsletters are for your benefit. The bit of extra work we put into this little publication is meant to make your reading experience more than just informational. And we figure, if we’re going to do something, we might as well kick it up a notch. 

Can you believe it? We have been here for two years! The Smiths will leave for their furlough next week, and we will leave on our furlough right before Thanksgiving. It is funny how anniversaries naturally cause a time of reflection. This month I have been able to reflect on many things, but what was really special was having the Henderson family come visit. 

Since the words ‘holistic ministry’ first left our mouths we’ve been explaining, and sometimes defending, our position on the work here in Arequipa. Taking our cues from Jesus’ own ministry we seek to reach those around us in a holistic way. We can no more just preach the news to people than only provide clean water to a new community. 

The four new families that are part of Team Arequipa are not our replacements. They are the next wave crashing toward the shore as our wave begins the slow fade back into the ocean. For a little while, you can’t tell that both are happening, but standing in that water reveals the push and pull occurring simultaneously. Their effect will be similar, but new. They are a blessing to our team, our church, and the city of Arequipa.