Cristo Salvador Church

Another note to let you know how the rest of the Puno trip went.

The rest of our time with the 'Alianza Cristiana y Misionera' Church went well. We attended the Sunday morning service and then took the last campaign night that evening. I spoke on the Resurrection, the topic the pastor had selected beforehand for that night. There was a good attendance at the meeting with some staying after to speak with the pastor.

On Monday morning we packed and moved to the Baptist Church 'Cristo Salvador', the next church we were due to work with. During the course of the week we took the midweek meeting, the young peoples meeting/service, Sunday school and the Sunday morning service were again I had the privilege to speak on the Church from 1 Peter. We also visited a local school three times to speak to both the entire of primary and one class of secondary.

The church has two ministries in which it is involved as a means of evangelism. The first is a kinder garden. During the week Roberta and Guido taught English to the 3-4 year old's at the teachers request. This was a bit funny as two of the girls didn't speak to them at all let alone in English. After that Liz and Chris taught them Bible stories each morning. On Friday there was a parents meeting to arrange some activities later in the year. We were invited to deliver an evangelistic talk at this meeting.
The other ministry is a children's home. Sadly there have been some difficulties lately in terms of finance and support. As a result some children have been returned to their relatives. On a positive note other children have been returned after their parents have been reconciled. In the end there are only two boys still at the home and their father is due to take them back in May.
On Friday we took the two boys to a play park near the church but the youngest, Michael, fell and hurt his arm. We took him to the local hospital and after the x-ray was taken the first doctors said it was fine. I wasn't convinced so we waited for the specialist who diagnosed that there actually was a fracture. The boy had a type of plaster cast put on and was due to be reviewed on Monday past, but I haven't yet heard how that went. Please pray that it heals well with no problems. The Pastor and his wife are a bit worried about how the relatives will react to this when they finally manage to get in touch with them.
I would also ask you to pray for the Pastor of the church Ramon Chavez as he is quite discouraged at present about the work of the children's home and other issues in the church. Its a lonely task and very demanding.

On Monday we travelled down to Ilo/ Ite. The journey took about 9 ½ hours, though we stopped for a bite of lunch and some photos along the way. The team and I had a meeting on Tuesday to plan the rest of May and their departure. This weekend they are in Ilo, the following in Moquegua and the following two in Tacna. Each visit is primarily to promote next years team but they are also involved in other activities. Please pray for all the activities planned and for the farewell activities. Pray especially for a retreat we've planned at the end of the month where they have asked me to speak on topics relevant to the team breaking up and returning to their home churches. Pray that the Lord would guide me as to what to speak on and that the time spent together would be beneficial. Pray also that during the visits to the churches God would raise up young adults for next years Mision Rescate team.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Photos of team visit to the old peoples homes

Photos of the team visit to the old peoples home.



The lady who sung the national anthem for us.

We even played some games with them.

Everyone enjoyed the cake and fanta.
Sara with Manuel who made a profession of faith.

Photos of team visit to Boys Home San Juan de Dios

These are photos of the teams visit to the boys home.
Some fun and games.

Learning memory verses

Singing some songs with actions.

Photos of Visit to Girls home Virgin de Fatima

These are photos of the team's visit to the girls home Virgin de Fatima.

We visited twice. In the morning to speak to the primary and adolescents. In the afternoon to speak to the primary girls who were an the school in the morning and to speak again to the adolescents who don't have school or work to go to. We had some meaningful conversations with the girls after the program was over.

Photos of Alianza Church

These are photos of the week spent at the Alianza Cristiana y Misionera church in Puno.

The team and church members on Sunday morning.

Time spent in prayer at the beginning of each service. This is me speaking at the Sunday evening service.

The team presenting their special item or 'especial'.

The team with Pastor Jair at the front after breakfast on the last morning. As you can see breakfast was a tight squeeze!

Arequipa & Puno

Hi, I’m just writing to let you know what we’ve been up to in the last week or more since the last post. On Sunday the 12th the team and I left Ilo and Ite in the morning to travel to Arequipa. We arrived just after 2pm and got settled into a cheap but comfortable hostel. The aim of our stopover in Arequipa was primarily to allow the team to get gradually adapted to the altitude. When they last traveled to Puno all but the driver and Dave Murphy succumbed is some way to altitude sickness.

Arequipa proved to be a good time for the team to relax for two days. There was a lot of fun and we managed to visit the Roycrofts which gave both Andrew and Carolyn and the team a chance to get to know each other a bit better. Whilst in Arequipa I was able to see the doctor who has been treating me so far and she gave me the green light to travel to Puno (which is where I’m writing this from).

On Wednesday morning we departed for Puno. It’s a good road and the journey went well with a few pit stops for the toilet and also to take photos of the scenery and especially a few Vicuñas which were grazing close to the road. They are an endangered species but there is a reserve for them on the road between Arequipa and Puno.

Thankfully no one suffered any major problems with the altitude, just a little nausea which was quickly resolved. So thank you for your prayers in regard to this. We arrived in Puno around 15:30 and after meeting Pastor Jair Ventura, with whom we are presently working, we settled into our accommodation. It’s a little cramped but cozy. Our team consists of the 7 Misión Rescate team members, Freddie the minibus driver who was a member of last years M.R. team and myself. We are also accompanied by Luz Maria the Ite camp centre administrator who has been very helpful. In total that makes 10 of us and thankfully everyone has gelled and are working well together.

Jair is pastoring the Missionary Alliance Evangelical Church here in Puno. Its a difficult task for him so we are more than glad to be able to help in any way possible. He has had plenty of activities lined up for us. On Thursday we visited a children’s home for boys and undertook a “program” to transliterate the Spanish, which means a selection of games, memory verses, a Bible story or lesson and then a quiz based on the story. We had programs both morning and afternoon because in Peru most children go to school either in the morning or the afternoon. So this way we were able to share with all the boys in the home.

On Friday we then visited a girls home which had a bout 70+ girls in total but of very different age ranges. This time we carried out a program for the younger girls and then a separate program for the teenagers. Again we revisited the home to speak to the girls who had been at school in the morning. In the morning Lizbeth spoke to the teenage girls about self esteem and our value in Gods eyes. Some of the teenage girls dont attend school or work for various reasons so in the afternoon Sara spoke to them about Gods love and relationships. After both the morning and afternoon sessions with the teenagers, the girls surrounded some of our team members and initiated very meaningful conversations. These girls have very difficult backgrounds and it was a great opportunity to minister to them in even a very small way.

Today, Saturday, we visited an old peoples home and spent time with them. We sang songs, played not very strenuous games (at least not for the old people) and shared the gospel. We also spent time just speaking to them. Ricardo was invaluable as he was able to speak to the old people in Quechua and translate the gospel message to them as some of the old people spoke very little Spanish.
It was a lovely time and my heart went out to these old people who seem so content despite their basic living conditions. This was the first time I have visited an old peoples home here and to see them content spending their days sitting in the sun to keep warm and doing what they can around the home like working in the gardens or peeling potatoes in the kitchen. While I felt for both the boys and girls in the other homes I felt particularly touched by the old folk who were just so happy to have fun with us strangers. One lady was so impressed with our singing she insisted on singing to us. She stood up and promptly began to intone the Peruvian national anthem. She could only remember the first verse or so and soon began to invent something of her own creation; I couldn’t make out exactly what. We gave out cake and Fanta (hope there weren’t any serious diabetics) and spent almost an hour after finishing our program just sharing with the old folk. After the meeting Sara told me she had led a man called Manuel in the believer’s prayer. Pray for Pastor Jair and the church here as they seek to continue their visits to all these homes, and especially the contact made with a number of the girls who would like to come to the church and also Manuel and the other old people who we witnessed to.

In the evenings from Thursday to Sunday the team are taking the meetings. Thursday night was a Bible study, and then Friday to Sunday are evangelistic meetings. Simon Curry spoke last night (Fri), Guido is speaking tonight and then I’m speaking on the resurrection on Sunday night. Please pray that these meetings would be well attended and pray for all those taking part and especially the preachers as they share the gospel.

I’ll try to get a good number of photos posted of all these visits. On Monday we start working with a Baptist church here in Puno so please pray as we continue planning and preparing for this.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Tacna, baptisms... & this time paratyphoid!

Hi, I have spent the weekend (Thursday-Tuesday) in Tacna with the Misión Rescate team. We had a great time. The team was working with 'Manantial de Vida' Church who were celebrating their 7th anniversary this week. The team did visitation and door to door work handing out leaflets about the church activities and inviting the people to attend the anniversary services.
On Saturday there was the church outing to a country club/restaurant. They hired a room for the day and the pool for an hour. The purpose was to undertake a baptismal service, which apparently has become a tradition over the past few years. We had a short service in the room and then everyone gathered around the pool where 5 people were then baptised.

After this we spent time playing games the team had organised and then had lunch which we had arranged ourselves as the restaurant would have been too expensive. I have never attended a baptismal service quite like this, but I was glad of the opportunity.
Sunday was spent at Church with a special service in the morning where the newly baptised believers were accepted into membership and then the Lord's Supper was celebrated. In the afternoon there was another service where the other churches in Cono Sur who work directly with the mission were invited. The four 'De Vida' churches as they are known (Pan de Vida, Luz de Vida, Palabra de Vida and Manantial de Vida) customarily cancel their own evening services to attend each others anniversaries. This helps promote fellowship and support between the churches. (Below are are some team members with a few of the young people from the church).
On Monday the team returned to Ite while I stayed on until Tuesday to complete the tests at the laboratory. Sadly the result is that although the antibiotics cleared the typhoid bacteria, they didn't successfully eliminate the paratyphoid (trust me to get both at once). Presently I am awaiting an e-mail from the laboratory to tell me what antibiotic the bacteria is sensitive to and then I have to phone the doctor who treated me in Arequipa to get an antibiotic prescribed. This also throws into doubt whether I will be able to accompany the team to Puno. I'll keep you posted on this.

I would ask you to pray for the following things. Firstly for the team and myself as we prepare to go to Arequipa this Sunday and then on to Puno (presuming I get to go). Chris, one of the team members, and I visited a Cardiologist while we were here in Tacna. He has a history of heart problems as a teenager and was not able to join the team when they last visited Puno in December. The doctor has decided that it would be fine for him to travel this time but has recommended that we keep a careful eye on things. The other thing the doctor pointed out is that altitude sickness can affect anyone therefore we all need to be careful to take it easy the first few days in Puno. Hopefully the couple of days in Arequipa will help minimise the effect on our bodies and allow us to acclimatise more gradually. Pray for safety in travel and also for good health as we adjust to the altitude.

I also want to ask you to pray for Pastor Ruben Mendoza. He works in the radio in Tacna and also pastors the Pan de Vida church. He has had pain and other difficulties over the past week or so and was finally diagnosed on Monday as having renal stones in both kidneys and also some other problems. However, the hospital are presently saying he may have to wait until May/June to see a Urologist and later in June to get surgery. At present he has been sent home to await an appointment. His wife nevertheless, is trying to get him seen sooner as he is in a lot of pain and his own doctor says he needs surgery urgently. Please pray for him and his family at this time and I'll keep you posted as I hear how things are going. Also pray for Christine Morrow as she continues to recover.

Sorry that health matters seem to dominate this post but they are genuine needs for prayer. Thank you again for your faithfulness in prayer and also for your encouraging comments and e-mails. They are a real blessing.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Settling into Ilo

Hi, this is just a post to let you know what I've been up to in the last week or so.
I moved from Arequipa to Ilo on Saturday. The most difficult part of the journey was getting to the bus terminal and making sure my luggage got put on the right bus and don't get appropriated by alternative owners. I actually had more baggage than I could safely handle so thankfully Iain McKelvie, the missionary whose family I was staying with, accompanied me to the terminal.
I was obviously over my 20kg allowance and the attendant informed me so stating I would have to pay a charge. I responded that that was fine and asked how much? For some reason this seemed to shock him and after looking at me in a sort of stunned manner he then said not to worry that he wouldn't charge me, but would do so the next time. I don't know if he expected me to argue, or bribe him or what exactly. Obviously he expected anything but what I think would be the most probable answer to his question- “how much?”.

Anyway the journey began well, with all luggage on board and the lady beside me crossing herself every time we passed a Catholic shrine. This was at least six times before we even got out of Arequipa, and pretty much at every village or township we passed through. I got the vibe that she was quite nervous about our journey and I soon wondered had she travelled with our driver before. It was about 45 minutes into the journey when the stewardess/conductor ran past me and shouted to the driver to stop. Both then got out and disappeared round the side of the bus. It quickly became apparent to everyone that one of the cargo doors had opened as we had been going round the corners. When the stewardess got back on the bus she reassured us that it wasn't the door of the luggage compartment that had opened but of the compartment containing the deliveries and postage people were sending to Moquegua or Ilo. I nevertheless sat for the rest of the journey wondering if this was really the truth and would I find my luggage missing on arrival. At Moquegua I got off and checked that my luggage was there, which it thankfully was. I wonder however, if someone else's bags or post is now at the bottom of a ravine outside Arequipa?

I have spent the last few days settling into the Murphy's home here in Ilo, where I will reside until July. This has included buying in food and trying to get myself organised in terms of paperwork, accounts etc. Sunday night I accompanied Trevor Morrow to Tacna where he was speaking at 'Manantial de Vida' Church, which is celebrating it's 7th anniversary this week, and stayed the night so as to attend a meeting for the missionaries on Monday morning. Tomorrow, Thursday, I am planning to travel over to Tacna again and stay probably to Monday. This is to visit the 'Mision Rescate' team, see how they are doing and also share in the anniversary celebrations at 'Manantial de Vida' with whom they are working this week. There are baptisms planned for Saturday morning and special services on Sunday. Also this weekend the seminary has an invited speaker coming from Lima who is speaking on Friday night and Saturday morning. I hope to attend Friday night's session but will probably have to miss Saturday morning to attend the baptisms. Please pray for these various events, and especially for those getting baptised and for the invited speaker.
Whilst in Tacna I am also going to see if I can get some tests done at a reputable laboratory there to see if I am indeed clear of typhoid. Please pray for this and other tests I have to have done. One of the Peruvian male team members also needs to be seen by a doctor while in Tacna to ensure that he is medically fit to travel to Puno next week. Pray that he would get the all clear. Please also pray for Guido, another of the Peruvian team members, who has been suffering from backache since February. He was seen by a doctor back then and as symptoms haven't resolved he was examined by another doctor on Monday who again diagnosed him with sciatica. Pray for him as he tries to get relief from the pain.
Lastly please remember the team as they minister in Tacna this week and then next week as they prepare for our trip to Puno. Pray for safety in travel both to and from Tacna and then next week up to Arequipa and on to Puno.

Thanks again for your prayers,
God Bless,
Alistair.