Reformations & Dedications

Hi. I said in the last post that I would probably divide all I wanted to share into two separate posts, and when I got writing I quickly realised that would be wise.

In a previous post I had mentioned that I had been invited to speak at the Manantial de Vida church, last night, when the church was planning to have a special service to commemorate the Day of the Reformation and Day of the Pastor. I had been asked to say something of an overview of the Reformation and then say something appropriate to the Pastor and also for those considering the call into the ministry.

During the course of this week I found out that they were also going to take advantage of the occasion and dedicate two infants. Needless to say this sounded like, and indeed turned out to be, a very packed service. It began shortly after 5pm and ended after 8pm, but I must admit that I enjoyed every minute.

Towards the beginning I presented a brief 10min overview of the Reformation, and thanks to a power point presentation I think most people understood at least a little of what I was talking about; that or perhaps were just nodding politely. Later in the service the Pastor presented the two infants to the church and explained the responsibility the parents and the church members were committing themselves to before God. He then prayed for them and the parents. It was lovely.
Shortly after I was then called on to bring the message and I spoke primarily from 1Timothy 4:13-16. I brought a few thoughts firstly for the Pastor, then those being called into the ministry and then finally addressed the congregation to support and love their Pastor.

After this the Pastor brought a few words of his own to the church and also invited his wife to join him emphasising that the ministry in the church did not just involve him, but that his wife was an integral part of team and the support she offered him. Then some church members said some words of appreciation to the Pastor and his family and offered him a gift.

Once the service finished (after 8pm) there was a plate of food provided for everyone. Again this was a lovely opportunity for fellowship, to express gratitude to the Pastor and take photos with the newly dedicated children. It was a lovely service and I felt a great pleasure from being able to join with Gods people and extremely privileged to have the honour of bringing God’s word during the service. I know many of you have been praying for particularly during this week and I am convinced that God answered yours and my prayers last night.

I would ask you to continue to pray for the Pastors in all the churches here as they strive in their ministries before God. Above is Ps. Abraham Rengifo and me. I’m now heading out the door to the Monday night classes at the seminary (only across the road).

Blessings,
Alistair.

Polladas & Picantadas

Hi, so much has happened since last week, and the last post, that I’ll probably divide it into two posts.

Firstly I seem to have recovered fully from the tummy upset, but it did give me a bit of ‘time out’ to think and get perspective on things. It’s interesting how God sometimes allows things like this to happen, putting you out of action, to give you time to rest, recuperate but also contemplate. Being unable to leave the apartment (and the vicinity of the toilet to be precise and perhaps too detailed) gave me time to study and prepare for the activities this week.

Apart from the normal weekly routine this weekend we had the conference with Dr Tito Paredes (Friday night and Saturday morning). It was very useful and interesting.

Above is Dr Paredes signing some of his books purchased at the conference.

On Saturday night I had been invited to bring a ‘talk’ or short message at the ‘Luz de Vida’ church young people’s group again. I was there a few weeks ago. Upon request and discussion with the Pastor and current leader of the youth group I have agreed to offer my support as much as possible. I have committed myself to taking the Bible study every other week and then support with other activities as able. Please pray that the topics I share would be beneficial, but also that God would use me as a good role model for these impressionable young people/adults.
To share a little more about them, they are mostly in between 16-25years old and are very enthusiastic. At present they are planning to get involved in evangelism to children in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Puppet shows are one of the methods they plan to use. They put on a puppet show yesterday morning as part of the Sunday School. We thank God for their abilities and enthusiasm, but please pray for their Pastor and leaders as they guide the young people in this endeavour.

Yesterday, Sunday, I had a lunch at a local church ‘Casa de Oración’ in a district called Natividad which was hosting a ‘Pollada’ to raise funds for musical instruments. These are some of the young people who organized the event.

This is a popular activity in Peru to raise funds for almost anything. Essentially what happens is that for weeks before, the hosts (in this case the young people from this church) sell tickets which represent a meal (in this case chicken- Pollo is Spanish for Chicken). Then on the allocated day, usually Saturday or Sunday, people come and claim the meal with their ticket. People do this sometimes to raise funds for relatives who are in hospital or parents will do it to raise money for school funds etc.

It has become so popular in recent weeks that I had a ticket last weekend for a ‘Picantada’, (same principal but just a different dish- this time a chilli dish). I wasn’t however, able to redeem said voucher as I was ill (that didn’t stop other individuals across the street from redeeming it though). This weekend I attended this one, and next Saturday I have yet another ticket for the ‘Luz de Vida’ church who are also doing a ‘Pollada’ to raise money to buy a speaker/amplifier for these evangelistic outreach activities. A friend here joked that he was going to need to host a ‘Pollada’ himself to raise money to pay for all these other ‘Polladas’ that are being hosted. I would agree with the sentiment.

That said, I find it a very enjoyable way to come into contact or meet up with new people or people I rarely get a chance to see. Yesterday was a case in point. I was able to visit a church, all be it after the official church service, speak with the various church members and have an interesting chat with the Pastor there. His name is Timoteo (the gentleman on the left waving his hand) and many of you may know of him or know him personally. He was on a team that visited Ireland a few years ago.

His youngest son was extremely ill and he wasn’t given much hope by the doctors. The last time I spoke with him was last May and June when I was visiting the churches promoting ‘Misión Rescate.’ At that time things were uncertain but I hadn’t understood the gravity of the situation. Since then it got worse but God has been good and the son, Daniel, has made a miraculous recovery which doctors here cannot seem to explain. In fact Daniel was running around the church with a friend trying to soak each other (and anyone else) with water. It was hard to believe that just months ago he was in kidney failure etc. I thank God for these opportunities to just listen to people’s concerns even if there’s not much I can say or do personally.

I was also able to meet a man called Venancio with his two sons Miguel and Pablo. He worked in the bookshop my parents ran and then pastured the church I attended as a child. Essentially he was my childhood Pastor.

It was good to unexpectedly meet him and hopefully will have the opportunity to speak with him again in more detail in the oncoming weeks.

Please continue to pray for me as I serve the Lord here. Pray for me as I study and prepare; be it for classes, youth meetings or church services. Also pray that God would guide me as I interact with such a variety of people in different situations, people I have known since childhood and others I am just meeting. Pray that my personal spiritual life would remain strong as I am used by God here. I thank God for providing the different members of the missionary family here to whom I can look for counsel and support, and look forward to the imminent return of Trevor Morrow and the Williamson family who have all been missed. Please pray for us as a team working here in South Peru.

Blessings,
Alistair.

Laptops & Bugs

Hi since my last post most things have gone fine.
The visit to ‘Rosa de Saron’ church went well and the congregation really appreciated seeing pictures of my family and home church. It again underlines the fact that ex-missionaries and even visitors from Ireland are not easily forgotten. I have another date to return in November which will allow me, God willing, to continue to encourage these believers.

Mondays night’s class went well, as did the class I was covering for on Tuesday morning. Wednesday saw the departure of Gordon Darragh and Tom Moore. Their visit was much appreciated.

On Friday night Reuben and I were trying to get powerpoint sorted in the main auditorium as I planned to show a short film during the class I teach on Saturday morning; but predictably we couldn’t get it to work. To compound the problems my laptop died. It has done this once before but it seemed to recover after a while, this time it didn’t. If that wasn’t bad enough I woke in the middle of the night to an episode of ‘tummy trouble’. By Saturday morning I was almost in despair. Both feeling ill, but more so due to the prospect of what might need done to fix the laptop or if anyone here even could. I realised how crucial this piece of machinery has become to me here. It is where I prepare all my classes and where I maintain contact with family and friends in Ireland. I was imagining how I would manage to get by without it. Thankfully, an answer to a night of much prayer, the computer awoke and is working fine again. My digestive system hasn’t recovered as quickly however, and it has meant postponing the trip to Tarata planned for today. Yesterday, apart from going to teach my class in the morning, I spent most of the day in bed and today I feel much better. Although still ‘afflicted’ so to speak, I haven’t a sore head and have been able to continue preparing for next Sunday.

Please pray that I would recover completely. I had hoped it was a 24hr bug, now I’m hoping it’s a 48hr one. Pray also for my class tomorrow night, especially if I don’t feel too great.

This coming weekend, God willing, the second conference is planned with Dr Tito Paredes. I’m not too sure what the topic is but will surely find out soon enough. Also next Sunday night I have a sort of special preaching engagement. The churches here are celebrating the ‘Day of the Reformation’ coupled with ‘Day of the Pastor’. The ‘Manantial de Vida’ church has invited me along to speak. The issue is the brief. I have been asked, somehow, to give a résumé of the Reformation and its results, bring a message for the pastor, and then a message for those aspiring to the ministry all in one sermon. Let’s just say it’s still a work in progress.

Please continue to pray for the work here, for the seminary both students and teachers, for the churches and especially for their pastors coming up to this special date next Sunday.
Thank you again for your interest and prayerful support.
God Bless,
Alistair.

Conferences & Sports Days

Hi, just a post to keep you up to date since the pancakes and Calvin conference.
The seminary’s weekend conference went very well. The invited speaker was Dr Donald Smith (principal of the Evangelical Seminary of Lima). He spoke very well on the subject of Calvin. The students gave very positive feedback and requested more conferences of a similar kind.
Thankfully there is just such a conference scheduled later this month. Dr Tito Paredes, also from Lima, is due to attend. It isn’t normal to have conferences so close together but Dr Paredes’ conference was originally scheduled during last semester but due to potential strikes was postponed to these dates. Anyway, no one’s complaining and hopefully it will be an equally enjoyable and beneficial event for the students.

Last Sunday I preached in two different churches, ‘Pan de Vida’ in the morning and ‘Luz de Vida’ in the evening. Both visits were very enjoyable. Classes took place as normal this week only we are getting a little behind in both courses as we always end up having all sorts of discussions, thankfully almost always related to the course content.
On Thursday there was a bank/national holiday and the four ‘de Vida’ churches in Cono Sur had a joint day trip to the countryside to have a sports day. I went along and it was very enjoyable.

As is customary, the day started with a short service of singing, and epilogue and greetings. Then it was on to the games. It was good to be able to get to know the church members better, and play football together.

There were different activities including volleyball, football, obstacle races and even a ‘who-can-eat-the-food-quickest’ competition, sadly only for the children.
Last night (Saturday) I had the opportunity to visit the young people’s group in the ‘Luz de Vida’ church. I joined in the games and then brought a short talk.
It was really good to spend time with these young people, some who I already knew from camps and the youth conference.

They are really enthusiastic and full of energy that needs channelled in the right direction. Pray that I could be a good influence for them.

Today (Sunday) I visited ‘Palabra de Vida’ in Cono Sur and this afternoon I am visiting ‘Rosa de Saron’ church in the north of Tacna for a second time. I am preaching again tonight and pray it will be beneficial to them. They also asked me to show some photos of my family on their power point to show them what my parents are now involved in. I plan to show some photos not only of my family but also my church; a bit like deputation in reverse.

Other interesting happenings include the arrival of Gordon Darragh (the mission director) and Tom Moore (the president of the Association) along with the three Irish members of the ‘Misión Rescate’ team who are now in Arequipa starting language school. Also the Roycroft family arrived from Arequipa on Thursday and are temporarily settling into a flat in the seminary until a permanent house can be found. Please pray for all of them and their individual needs and circumstances.

This incoming week includes the normal classes (and filling in for another teacher who is away to Lima), preparation, field meetings (meetings with all other missionaries and the visitors from Ireland) and then, God willing, a second visit to Tarata next Sunday.
Thank you once again for you interest and prayer support.
God Bless,
Alistair.

Pancakes & Calvin

Hi, just writing to keep you up to date with things.

Since my last post things have mostly just continued the same. Classes continue with a confirmed 16 in the 1 Peter class on Monday nights and 11 in the Saturday morning class. This is good because in the very rare circumstances that you have less than 5 students by the second/third week the module is postponed to another semester. What is even more interesting is the variety of students. For example the Saturday morning class which is aimed at pastors actually only has one pastor and a retired pastor. The rest include housewives, an architect, a nutritionist and an elderly gentleman among others.

I also had the opportunity to visit the ladies program which the seminary runs on a Tuesday afternoon. This wasn’t to attend but to bake pancakes. Rosa who supervises the program was interested in some pancakes I had made a few weeks ago. She talked me in to coming and showing the ladies how to make them during their break time between sessions. This week end the seminary is hosting a conference to make the 500th anniversary of Calvin. The invited speaker is Dr Donald Smith (the Evangelical Seminary of Lima’s principal). I hope to attend and maybe learn a thing or two.

In the next few weeks I am scheduled to speak in a few of the Cono Sur churches and then mid-October I plan, God willing, to visit ‘Rosa de Saron’ and Tarata again on separate Sunday’s.
Please continue to pray for the work here and for these special events. Please also pray as I continue to prepare and teach here at the seminary and as I visit and preach in the different churches, that God would use me as an encouragement.

Blessings,

Alistair.