Thursday 30 April 2009

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.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

wow so much work you have done.. hey the kids homes are they in Puno? i still have to read all the stuff you wrote.. i have to say you look the part..

well done.. J-D