Young Adults Camp 2010

Hi, sorry for not updating the blog for so long. I have been at camps or ‘Campamentos de Verano 2010’ ‘Summer Camps 2010’, and because of one thing and another I never got round to posting anything. The most I was able to do was half write a post, that never got finished, which became the basis for this current post. I will write a separate post about each camp which will hopefully make it easier to tell you what all went on.

The first camp was the 18+ camp, essentially a young adult’s camp, which went well. There was a good attendance with about 50+ campers, 9 camp counsellors, 6 Misión Rescate team members, 4 worship leaders, 2 speakers and 1 photographer/camp nurse... (no partridges or pear trees, but there were 2 ‘guard geese’ on site but that’s another story; would have been more use in a pot but never mind).
Two main changes to previous camps was firstly having two separate camps for the 12-17 age groups and then the 18+ age group which in the past all attended the same camp. Although there was some questions and trepidation about this change most believe it turned out to be a positive and beneficial change as I will evidence below. What is more, baring that in mind previous camps were joined, that made a 50+ turn out very good. It was also very manageable which is great.

The other change was to have a team of counsellors separate to the Misión Recate team, who last year formed the crux of the counsellor team. This meant that the team of 9 counsellors was able to focus on dealing with the campers most directly, participating with their teams in the various activities etc.

Misión Recate was primarily in charge of organising and running the activities and discipline, which included all sorts of interesting and embarrassing tasks for those arriving late at meetings, chiefly the ‘Baile de la Tasa’ or the ‘dance of the cup’ (pictured above). This organisation has ensured a more efficient running of things in many ways.

We had two speakers at this camp which happen to be the two speakers who attended the two camps last year separately: Pastor Rino Bareta and Santiago Quispe. They have an interest in drama and presented a few sketches and other group activities with the campers. Rino is also an excellent speaker and preached on the life of Joseph. The theme for all three camps was ‘Decisions’ and the passages and messages he shared on this theme were very appropriate and relevant for these young adults.

In their spare time they seemed to enjoy helping out at the camp shop ‘selling’ the available merchandise in a very animated fashion (at least in Santiago's case, Rino not so much).

During the camp we had days to the beach, games, sport, quizzes, obstacles courses etc. Misión Rescate also set tasks for the teams. I don’t have time to write about them all, but one challenge included the presentation of various objects like the ugliest thing, the smelliest thing, etc.
The teams took these challenges really seriously and have put tremendous effort into them. The speakers and I were asked to judge this challenge and the items presented included a dead pelican, moths and a dead bird gutted with all entrails on display.

For example the finalists for the ‘smelliest thing’ were dead Sea Lion guts (pictured below to the left accompanied by a dead rotting crab) and sewage in a bottle; the team declined to say where they had obtained it and I didn’t push them on it.

Suffice to say Rino had to go and spray aftershave on his nose to cover the sickening aroma it left him with. All in all I think the inclusion of the counsellors has made the teams very competitive.

Feedback during, and since the camps, has been very positive. I overheard a girl talking to her friend on the phone, while I was driving her up to the health centre in Ite, trying to convince the friend to come to camp, all be it late, and as a result four of her friends arrived for the last two days. She commented that Misión Rescate had given them so many tasks to do, and where keeping them so busy, that they hadn’t time to take a break.

As a funny/slightly embarrassing aside the same girl when we were at the health centre was explaining to the doctor about the redness and problem she was having with her eyes, mild conjunctivitis. She proceeded to inform the doctor that she reckoned she had got the eye infected because they had got into a pool of stagnant water (the infamous typhoid tank from last year’s camps- see blog posts for last January) in order to fulfil a challenge. At this point the doctor and nurse looked at me with expressions as much to say what planet are you from putting young people up to this kind of nonsense! In truth the challenge wasn’t to get into the pool, but to take a photo of their team creatively fulfilling the term ‘wet’. They decided on this interpretation. What’s more I had nothing to do with it.

Well I could go on talking about the camp but think I should bring this post to a close with one story which probably was the highlight for me. There was a couple who attended from the Luz de Vida church, the church I have been assisting with the youth group, in Tacna. On the final evening we had the customary bonfire at which the campers and leaders were invited to share anything on their hearts. Firstly the young man got up and shared how the camp had impacted on him, how he very nearly didn’t come, and how glad he was that he did. The young lady then got up and although she hadn’t previously planned to share, ended up very frankly and openly sharing about the difficulties they had faced over the last years as a couple. She spoke about how she ended up pregnant at 16 to the young man, how the pastor and church shunned her, the difficulties they faced as the baby was born very prematurely at 5 months 1 week weighing 920 grams, how they were told the baby would never survive. Yet she gave testimony to how God undertook, and even though many other babies in the neonatal unit died, facing lesser odds, God brought their baby through and is now a healthy 5 year old boy. In fact their child celebrated its birthday on the Thursday of the camp and they had come to camp with every intention to return home on the Wednesday but having been benefited so much took the decision to stay on and make the sacrifice so as to fully benefit from the camp.
She then told of how she had, in order to be able to return to the church, stand up and publically apologise to the members about her pregnancy and how they had slowly been involving themselves more and more into the church. They are now both baptised and are soon to be married.

One of the sketches the speakers had presented on a previous evening was about a girl who was tempted to go out with an unsaved boy. Then how having chosen to go out ended up pregnant and faced the choice of whether or not to abort. This young lady spoke about how the themes raised in the sketch had identified with many of the choices she had personally had to take. The way in which she was able to give personal testimony spoke powerfully to those present.

Of all the many reasons why it was good to separate the two age groups this was probably in my opinion the most important. Many of the leaders mentioned afterwards that they didn’t think there would have been the freedom to speak as candidly about this and other issues if there had been 12 year olds present. Whilst undoubtedly the topics are still relevant to the younger age group, they need to be treated and shared in a distinctive way.

There are so many other things I could write about but this will have to do for now.
God Bless,
Alistair.

(I have not mentioned the names or included pictures of the couple I have spoken about for reasons of confidentiality, but I did get their permission to write about their testimony).

Christmas & New Years

Hi, just writing to let you know what I’ve been up to the last couple of weeks.

Firstly I went over to Ilo to spend Christmas with the Morrow family and the three Irish ‘Misión Rescate’ team members. We had a good time of fun and fellowship. On the Wednesday night we all attended a Christmas dinner at La Pampa church in Ilo and it was really tasty. We actually had turkey which surprised me as I reckoned we would have had some other less Christmassy dish. Anyway although it was tasty it proved a bit difficult to cut with plastic disposable knives and forks, but I made a valiant attempt.

Thursday was spent getting a few last minute things sorted. In the afternoon a few of us took a drive out to the old camp site where summer camps previously were held. It was a good time to reminisce. That evening a few of us went to a fun fair round the corner from the Morrows house. I probably couldn’t have imagined a less Christmassy place to be on Christmas Eve, but it was good fun. It’s so different to be in the kind of warmth that has you doing things that at home you associate with summer.

Christmas day was spent at the Morrow home and everyone opened their presents etc and much fun had by all. Then we had a great turkey dinner. During the afternoon I was able to phone home on Skype and get the update on all the ‘goings on’ there. Also over Christmas period I was able to phone other friends and family and catch up on their latest news and that was really good.

On Boxing Day we all headed over to Tacna to have a missionary family get together at the Brews. Again another lovely turkey dinner was shared and a great time of fellowship and I then stayed in Tacna.
On New Year’s Eve I opted to stay in and celebrate New Year in Ireland via Skype with my parents, then finish and print my sermon and youth talk for the weekend before climbing onto the roof to watch the fireworks at midnight. There were fireworks across the skyline of the city in all directions and was lovely to watch. Eventually though the smoke from them and the numerous bonfires got quite dense so I called it a night. On New Year’s Day a friend and I headed to the beach to meet up with friends there. Although we bumped into many people we knew, we didn’t manage to find those we were initially looking for.

Nevertheless we were able to meet up with some of the guys I play football with, and the young people from their churches, and spent the afternoon with them. Judging by the number of people at the beach, this was a very popular choice.

Some I think overdosed on the sunblock; I reckon when you look more like a mime you can be sure you have applied more than sufficient cream. I on the other hand probably should have used more than I did.

On Saturday I was a bit ill on it, not sure if it was the raw fish dish, Ceviche, I ate at the beach or too much sun, but thankfully by the evening I was well enough to go to the ‘Luz de Vida’ youth group. It never ceases to amaze me how many new faces I see attending there, if only their attendance would be more regular. There are 15 or so faithful and then anything up to 20 (or possibly more) who attend sporadically. It was a good time spent together and a lot of encouragement was made for the youth to sign up for camps because I truly believe they would all benefit from them.

Pray also for them at the moment as their Pastor has accepted a call to ‘Pan de Vida’, one of the other churches affiliated to the mission here in Tacna and has taken up pastoral responsibilities there since the first of January. Pray for him as he juggles pastoral responsibilities in both churches for the near future. Pray as the congregation in ‘Luz de Vida’ include many young people who are only beginning to take some tentative steps into any sort of leadership responsibility, and those adults who do attend are either saved a short time or still unconverted. Pray for God to guide them as they now begin to consider possible candidates for the pastorate and that God would provide the right man to lead the church.

Today, Sunday, I made another trip to Tarata to visit the church there. This time Reuben, the director of the radio station, accompanied me which was much appreciated. I had a lovely time with the believers there, though numbers were down as many had travelled elsewhere for the New Year. This however, worked also in our favour as some of the Pastors children, now all adults working in other cities in Peru, had travelled home for the New Year. This meant I was able to catch up with a childhood friend, his sister who I haven’t seen in 20 years, and his eldest brother also. We also managed to fit in a visit to the village of Ticaco to visit Gregoria once more, and as always she was delighted by the visit. Despite being almost blind and quite deaf she amazed us with her lucidity. She enjoys being kept up to date by Berta about the major happenings in the different villages in the Tarata valley, just like any Granny. We again shared from Gods Word and Reuben prayed with her. We then had a prolonged departure as she almost systematically interrogated each one as we left for any details we hadn’t already mentioned; details shared with anyone in the surrounding vicinity! Pray for her as she continues to trust in her saviour and witness to any of her relatives who care to visit.

I’m now back in Tacna getting caught up with things like this blog and making plans for camps which start later this week. I am planning to attend as first aider so I’m making a list of things I need to buy in the next few days and other things I need to do before going to camps. Please pray that God would undertake in all these final preparations. Pray also for the camps themselves:

• That many campers would attend, and that God would prepare their hearts to receive his Word.


• That God would guide the speakers in their preparations and then also as they share with the campers.


• That God would enable the leaders and helpers to be used by Him to witness and minister to the different groups of campers.


• And finally as first aider I ask you the please pray for safety and good health for everyone, as I would like nothing more than to be unemployed in this respect during camps.

The first week of camps, starting Saturday the 9th, is for young adults 18+years, the second week for teenagers 12-17 years, and the third week of camps is for families.

If I get a chance I will write something to keep you up to date as camps unfold.
Happy New Year,
Alistair.

Streets & Statues

Hi I decided to write the following as a separate post, simply because the previous was getting too long, and this is really about a different topic.

This is Christmas time, in case you hadn’t realised, and given the heat here I easily could forget. It’s really difficult in some ways to feel Christmassy when you’re sweating and especially when you hear of all the snow back home. Though a friend of mine reminded me the other day that Jesus was actually born in a climate somewhat similar to the desert I am presently living in. It strikes home how little much of the hype about Christmas actually has to do with the reality of Christ’s birth. Anyway during this time we remember Christ and specifically his birth. But as I think of this I remember something I was confronted with last week in Arequipa which has been on my mind ever since. I mentioned previously visiting the ‘Santa Catalina’ (St Catherine of Siena) monastery. It is famous for apparently being the only monastery in the world to be a citadel, essentially a city within the city of Arequipa, with a number of streets named after Spanish cities.

It even had its own cemetry which is no longer used, behind the doors in the distance in this picture.

There still exist a small number of nuns in a little section of the citadel, but the rest has been opened up as a tourist attraction. They live behind these doors.

It is a beautiful place to visit, with old Spanish architecture built mostly out of a white volcanic rock. Anyway what struck me was one statue in particular, out of the many in different locations around the monastery. It was an statue of Christ crafted a in the 16th or 17th century; I can’t remember the exact date the guide said it was made.

What did strike me were some of the details she shared about it. She explained that the hair on its head is real human hair, that the teeth in its mouth are real teeth-the milk teeth of one or many children, and the finger nails are real human nails taken from the cadavers of deceased people. I was intrigued by the black finger tips which are not the result of the finger nails, but were painted that way to represent the flesh dying as Christ died. The guide also pointed out that if I stooped down and looked in the mouth I would be able to see a small mirror placed in the roof of the mouth to give the appearance of saliva and increase the life-likeness of the statue.
I have seen many statues and icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary and various saints, but I have to admit that this one really repulsed me on a number of counts.

First the use of human body parts to increase the realistic appearance of the statue (though this is not unique to this statue). Secondly the fascination with Jesus’ death and not a balanced view of his life including: his birth, ministry and resurrection- reminding me of the importance of celebrating the true reason for Christmas. Thirdly the efforts and lengths to which some people have gone, and still go to, to create statues which end up essentially as idols; creations of man which do not represent the truth about God. I realise there is a difference between idols of other gods and the supposed statues of Christ, yet these still fail to present a truely balanced representation of Jesus.

It made me think how men seem to have had an urge, since the earliest civilisations, to create images of their gods, or to be their gods, and how this urge historically infiltrated the church and resulted in the many representations of Christ and other Christian personages which get paraded though streets and up mountains in various parts of the world. I’ve heard many people say that in every major heresy, throughout the history of the church, there is always an element of truth. And I have to admit that there is an element of truth behind even this effigy; Christ did die and I would not wish to deny that, for if I did I would no longer be a Christian. But how do we get from a Biblical truth to a manmade creation, admittedly of great effort and expense, which people bowed before and has now become a item on display for tourists. I don’t know if I feel more sad, annoyed or repulsed... or perhaps a mixture of them all.

It is beyond the scope of this blog to say much more about whether statues and icons of Christ are in fact idols or legitimate representations of instances of His incarnation. I think it’s evident that I believe that in one way or another they have become more than what they were intended to be, and therefore would not favour them. I realise however, there are those who would disagree. So therefore let me propose what I consider to be a more suitable, and crucially Biblically mandated, alternative.
In the gospel of Luke chapter 22 Jesus has been celebrating the Last Supper and note that in verse 19 He commands the disciples, and therefore us His followers, to “do this in remembrance of me” (also 1 Corinthians 11:25). I have often wondered why Christ chose to be remembered in this manner. Obviously we can remember Him in any given moment in any given place, but in terms of ritual and worship why did he instruct us to remember him in this manner? Well there are many reasons but the following are a few which relate to this discussion. Firstly He chose to be remembered symbolically and not pictorially- in the sense of a picture or physical image of Him which a statue essentially is. Why? I think it’s because it allows us to get a balanced representation. When something is represented as a picture, like a statue, the physical appearance dominates our mind and our understanding. And in many cases this is good, as they say a picture says a thousand words. But in this case it says a thousand words the most of which are those the sculptor wants to say and have portrayed.
When something is portrayed symbolically the symbols themselves no longer dominate our minds (in the same way that a picture does) but rather the meaning we ascribe to the symbol. And what meaning do we ascribe to the symbol? Well we know that the Lord’s Supper should never be separated from the sharing or preaching of the Bible or the Word of God, therefore it is what the Bible says that gives meaning to the symbols. In one sense what the Bible as a whole teaches about Christ can be symbolised, but specifically what Jesus himself declared the bread and the wine to represent: His body and His blood. In other words by joining the sharing of the Word of God we allow God to speak symbolically through the elements what He would have us understand; and in celebrating the Lord’s Supper we do not remember solely his death but his life and crucially his resurrection. In a picture we see only one point in time, but when we remember symbolically we can simultaneously remember various points in time and achieve the balanced view or understanding I believe we were intended to have.

If I have lost you already I apologise, but in short what I am trying to say is that we do not need to make statues, pictures and icons to remember our Lord. They may have some limited use, for example in Bible picture books for children or nativity scenes. But when we come to a highly elaborate statue with human hair, teeth and finger nails we undoubtedly do more harm than good. Rather than this, we should seek to remember Christ in his own appointed way: through the Bible, our hearts and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

This Christmas I hope we will all remember the whole truth about the life of Christ and especially that he no longer hangs dying on a cross, but lives interceding for us as our all sufficient Saviour.
Merry Christmas,
Alistair.

Graduation & Christmas

Hi, since the last post I had my 30th birthday which passed without too much fuss but thank you to those who send cards and birthday greetings, I really appreciated it. I visited ‘Rosa de Saron’ on Sunday evening (13th) and had a lovely time with the believers there, and John Brew (one of the veteran missionaries and principal of the seminary in Tacna in case you don’t know who he is) was able to accompany me which was an added blessing and encouragement to the believers there. Hopefully he will be able to continue visiting the church there once I leave so remember him prayer concerning that.

On the Monday night (14th) the seminary had its graduation which turned out to be a lovely service. The pastor from the Ilo church, Mario Carhuaricra, was the invited speaker and preached very well and directly to those graduating and seeking to enter the ministry.

A few graduated with certificates, others with diplomas and others graduated from the ladies program.

On Tuesday I travelled up to Arequipa for a few days to meet up with a few people, but sadly most of those I knew were away either on deputation or, as in the case of the Misión Rescate team, away to the jungle. The lengths people will go to to avoid having to see you! It was a pleasant visit none the less and I still managed to see some folk I knew, like those at the language institute, and also visit a few places I hadn’t previously got round to visiting like the ‘Santa Catalina’ monastery; more about that later.

I then returned to Tacna on Friday in time to attend a few Christmas activities this past weekend. The first was a Christmas event in the ‘Luz de Vida’ church, hosted by the ‘Network of Christian Young People of Tacna’ which I have mentioned in previous posts, who had organised to invite in lots of children from the locality, put on a special program, give out presents and also hot chocolate with Paneton (a kind of sweet bread/cake with dried fruit, raisins, currants etc, in it). It is customary in Peru to have hot chocolate and Paneton at Christmas.

Apparently it was only arranged a couple of days previous and involved a lot of last minute running around for the pastor and his wife, but not knowing what to expect, they were delighted that soo many children turned up. Someone mentioned 200 but I don’t know how accurate that figure is, but I do know the church was packed to the door with children and many mothers as well. The program included a lot of children’s songs, some games, a clown, a pink panther, a chicken (don’t ask me what these three have to do with Christmas) and also the pastor was able to present a gospel message over all the noise.

This is the pastor Freddie and his wife Epi struggling to silence the children before bringing the epilogue.At the end the young people handed out the chocolate and Paneton, and later the presents.

It was almost impossible to control the number of children that turned up but the pastor and his wife were very encouraged afterwards at the contacts that had been made, and the prospect of being able to follow up on all these parents and children who had attended the church for the first time.

After a quick dash back to my apartment I was back to the same church to speak at the young people’s group. We had a profitable discussion about issues related to their lives and the society we all live in and I thank God for being able to continually develop relationships with them. The youth leader wasn’t able to attend for unexplained reasons, but it was encouraging to see a few of the young people take the initiative and lead the meeting and worship themselves. For a long time they have been very dependent on the youth leader but she has slowly tried to get them to take on responsibility, especially the male members, and now slowly they are showing signs of maturity. Pray for her as she works almost singlehandedly, with only the Pastor and his wife for support, to disciple this group of young people.

The three young men in this picture led the meeting; below is a photo of them leading.

This is the group that attended on Saturday. Many who normally attend were missing. If they all came at the same time there would be a large group of about 20-30 young people.

Thanks to God a few of them were recently baptised and are now taking these steps of independence.

On Sunday (yesterday) I travelled to Ilo to spend some time with the Morrow family and the Misión Rescate team members and then attend the Christmas service at the Ite church were we all enjoyed a lovely service. I returned to Tacna last night to catch up on unfinished business including this, and hope to return to Ilo later in the week to spend Christmas day there. Then on Boxing Day the whole mission family gathers at the Brews home here in Tacna to celebrate together. Pray as always for safety in travel, but pray especially that these times of fellowship would be refreshing to the missionary family here and that we would know God’s presence as we remember Christ’s birth and the bond that unites us in Him.
Merry Christmas,
Alistair

Red pens & Rojo music

Hi in the last post I wrote about the trip to Tarata which, thanks to God, went very well. I have already arranged another visit at the beginning of January.

The rest of that week went fairly straight forward. Classes as normal, trying to make sure the material got covered as we approached the end of term. Essays were handed in and considerable time was spent correcting them. It was actually quite enjoyable to read some, others very difficult to know what was being talked about (certainly not much about 1 Peter) and then some unashamedly bold attempts at plagiarism. One essay for my Saturday class was an excellent article downloaded entirely from the internet from title to bibliography, a front page with name attached and then submitted. The tip off was the fact that a student who contributes little in class then handed in an essay with a title so specific it was worthy of a doctoral thesis.
Others were good attempts but again it was easy to identify which parts where copied verbatim from commentaries. For example in one essay for 1 Peter, on three separate occasions, the student apparently asked me, in brackets, to refer to comments on specific verses for example in Daniel and 2 Corinthians, obviously copied form a complete Bible commentary. That said they were good attempts and encouraging overall.

Last Sunday John Brew, Chris (who accompanies me to Tarata) and I headed to Moquegua to attend the San Antonio church anniversary at which John was preaching. It was a lovely service and I was asked to pray for the newly appointed or re-elected memebers of the eldership and diaconate.

After a church lunch we headed back to Tacna in time to say goodbyes to the Roycroft’s and attend the Luz de Vida church anniversary at which John was also preaching.

This week has had a number of highlights (not least of which has been marking some more assignments handed in late). Firstly Monday night saw the end of my course on 1 Peter and I was encouraged to have positive feedback as to the course.

In the photo are the majority of those who attended. Some sadly chose to skip the last night.
On Tuesday I attended a summer camps planning meeting and it looks like they will be really good though very tiring.

The highlight of highlights was definitely being able to attend a concert on Wednesday night. The ‘network of young Christians of Tacna’ I mentioned in a previous post has made efforts to bring well known Christian bands and singers to Tacna, no mean feat given that in the grand scheme of things Tacna is fairly remote. This time it was a Mexican band called ‘Rojo’ or ‘Red’ in English- presumably a reference or inference to Christ’s shed blood. One of the other lecturers, Silas Ramos, encouraged me to attend even though I didn’t know who they were. Interestingly they played at the ‘Concha Acústica’ or Band shell/amphitheatre facing the house I lived in for a few years here in Tacna during my childhood. I those days I remember having to listen to all sorts of rubbish play there whilst never actually having entered the grounds.

Well I had a really great time firstly because I met a lot of people, especially young people, who I knew from the seminary, camps and various churches. Secondly because the band was excellent, not just in their performance but in what they shared. They sang a number of worship songs I recognised from the churches here but also at certain intervals the lead singer/guitarist, Emmanuel Espinosa, took time to share a little about his testimony, some of the difficulties faced in his youth like his parents both dying in a short space of time from each other.

Later he spoke about the importance of decisions, both in practical things in our Christian lives with regard to sanctification but then also about who we serve and why; leading to a clear sharing of the gospel.

Later again he introduced his wife who is presently the lead vocalist and then his three boys who had accompanied them. The oldest, no more than 9 probably, had been darting about the stage during the songs moving microphones etc.

He shared then about the importance of family, of parenting and spoke short but directly about Christian principals with regard to parenting and family life.

All in all I got so much more from this concert than simply the music and would highly recommend anyone who understands Spanish to avail of their music and attend a concert if you have the chance.

One of the bands ex-vocalists, Edit Sanchez, who is now performing on her own, sang first. I can’t presently remember what you call the band or singer that performs before the main band, but she was excellent too. In fact I was able to meet her as I was buying a couple of the bands CD’s. I managed to take her picture (in the centre with the stripy jumper) with some of the friends I came with to the concert.
It’s my birthday this weekend so I considered this a very enjoyable birthday outing, and apparently there is another Christian band coming soon (though that might be too late for me) who are even better and if I’m still about here I will try to attend.

This coming weekend I will probably attend the youth at Luz de Vida although it’s not my turn to speak, and then on Sunday I am due to preach, God willing, at the Rosa de Saron church in the evening. Don’t know yet where I will be in the morning. Please pray that God would use me there.

Next Monday then sees the closing ceremony/graduation at the seminary so that should be an enjoyable occasion and then on Tuesday I am heading to Arequipa for a few days. I hope to meet up with some friends, including the Misión Rescate team, as this will likely be my last visit before I head back to Ireland. Pray for safety in travel and that it would prove to be a beneficial visit.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Tarata & Ticaco

Hi, I just thought I would write a little about my weekend because the rest of this week looks as though it might get a bit crazy and I may not get round to this if I don’t do it now.

On Sunday three of us set off up to Tarata. Chris, one of the members of last year’s ‘Misión Recate’ team, and I headed for the Baptist church. Chris has accompanied me on all three visits and I have appreciated his company, not just in terms of the drive but someone to be with you in case something goes wrong. (The AA apparently doesn’t cover the Tacna-Tarata road). In this regard I am thankful to all who give so generously to Baptist Missions so that the Mission can provide reliable vehicles. The other member of our party was Rueben (the radio station technician) who was going to another evangelical church he had been invited to. They were having a baptismal service and he had been asked to preach at it. Upon arrival he realised they also intended him to perform the baptisms. He hadn’t brought a change of clothes but apparently they were able to find suitable attire from somewhere for him to baptise four people in a pool in a nearby river.

Anyway Chris and I went to the Baptist church as planned and shared a lovely time with the believers there. At the end of the service we were treated by the small Sunday school class who sang a favourite hymn of my parents ‘Montes y Valles’. I don’t know the name in English but will add it in when I remember or am reminded.

Over lunch we worked out that the work in Tarata has existed for 66 years. The Pastor was saved at 18 and is now 84 years old. The Pastor and his wife are thankful to God for His faithfulness over all these years and also for the support of both missionaries and visitors from Ireland who have come as far as Tarata to be an encouragement and get involved, when possible, in the work there. They shared numerous stories of how God had blessed them over the years, too many to share here.

In the afternoon we headed for Ticaco, a town near Tarata, and after bumping along a dirt track we were thankfully finally able to visit an elderly lady named Gregoria, the object of our past failed attempt. She is a lady who attended the church in Tarata even when the road was not as accessible as it is now. According to Pastor Orestes, unlike many others, although she was illiterate she had a good grasp of basic doctrine and shared the gospel message clearly with many in her town. Many who have been on past Baptist Mission teams that have visited Tarata have probably also gone the extra mile and had the privilege of visiting this lady.

She now lives in this house with her brother who is much younger than her. He shepherds goats but is not always there or able to provide the support necessary when he is.

She is now very old and frail, almost blinded with cataracts and so deaf that I think all the neighbours were privy to the conversation we had with her. She was surprisingly lucid and remembered many who had visited her in the past even if not by name.

She suffers from arthritis which causes her a lot of discomfort and pain, especially her in elbows she said.

Her living conditions are very basic, and apparently recently she set her kitchen on fire trying to cook. St the minute a niece brings her food most days so she doesn’t attempt cooking. I read to her the 23 Psalm the same passage I shared with her 5 years ago when I accompanied the 2004 mission team who visited Ticaco with Derek Baxter. We prayed and then Berta the Pastors wife led us in a hymn that Gregoria knew by heart.

It was such an honour to be able to share something of God’s Word with someone so isolated.
It was also a pleasure to be able to leave a few gifts of food to encourage her and perhaps even help boost her health.

She was complaining about having developed a cold, so we left her eating one of the mandarins we had brought from Tacna.

The visit really touched our hearts and Chris especially expressed how his heart had gone out to her. As we left we wished we could do so much more but that is when you have to trust that we have a God who knows all about it and will provide, even for Gregoria, in ways and means we cannot even begin to properly understand, as He has done up to now. Please pray for Berta as Gregoria is only one of many elderly people in the towns surrounding Tarata that she visits almost weekly. Pray that she would know God’s strength as she seeks to share God’s Word with many of these elderly people, some who are believers and others who are still seeking but willing to listen.
Pray also for others in difficult circumstances, some similar to Gregoria and others with distinct problems, whom other missionaries and BM workers seek to minister to. In a sense Gregoria is only one example but others could be written about. Please continue to pray for the work of Baptist Missions here in Peru in all the various areas and facets of ministry.

Pray for me as I start marking essays (the students did hand some in eventually) and as the term draws towards a close. Please also visit as I continue to seek future ministry possibilities here in Peru and especially the Lords guidance in this. Finally I would ask you to pray for Gregoria that she would know God’s comfort in her life there in Ticaco and also that the Lord would bless Pastor Orestes and Berta as they serve Him faithfully in the Tarata valley.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Cards in the Park

Hi. Last week end went well. I shared at the ‘Luz de Vida’ young people’s meeting and then also preached there on Sunday night. Both meetings went well and I feel I am continuing to develop relationships particularly with the young people there. Please continue to pray that I would be used of God in all the churches I visit.

Although this blog is mostly dedicated to keeping you up to date with what I am involved in, a few weeks ago I included a post about ‘Day of the Dead’. I received very positive feedback and felt I have been asked to share other posts of a similar vein from time to time. As I live here in Peru I have been making a concerted effort to broaden my understanding of various aspects of life, but particularly with regard to religion. Well, I thought I would share about something I learnt a little about this week.

On Monday morning Andrew Roycroft and I went out to get some things done in town and we were walking down a major avenue in the centre of Tacna. We unsuspectingly came across a number of fortune tellers who seemed to be plying their trade along the length of a certain section of this avenue in a little park that divides the two carriageways.

We were intrigued by a few things we saw in particular so I returned that afternoon to see if I could get a few photos. By the time I returned it was a little cloudy but there were plenty of people about, children playing on the grass and people lying about chatting eating ice-cream. In the middle of this the fortune tellers continued to attend their clientele.

The first man I asked to photograph was very obliging. He was the man we had seen earlier. What had intrigued us were not the tarot cards or coca leaves but the crucifix.

As I watched for a few moments I noted that his routine at the beginning of dealing the cards is to place them on the crucifix and in a sense have the crucifix ‘kiss’ the deck before he begins to deal.

As I walked down the avenue I took a photograph of this lady who was very eager for me to do so. She reads coca leaves and has a few superstitious items pinned to the coloured cloth under the leaves. You can’t quite see it in the photo but she showed me a little rubber sandal pinned there.

The next fortune teller also was keen that I should photograph him in the middle of attending a client. Note again a smaller crucifix strategically placed on the cards.

I was able to get into a conversation with this gentleman who was one of the last fortune tellers I passed. He insisted I wait until a client came before I took his picture.

While waiting we chatted about his profession. He told me a little about himself, namely that his Grandfather and Father were fortune tellers before him and that he learned the trade from them. He was sad however, because his children were not interested in carrying on from him but have tried to pursue other more mainstream professions. This nonetheless does not mean there is a lessening interest in people wishing to have their fortunes told.

I asked him who normally comes and he said that people of every age, gender and social class will come and seek to have questions answered. I asked for some examples of people who had visited him that day. He said that in fact there had been a lot of young adults that day. They had been looking for advice whether to travel or not. Travel can sometimes be dangerous here, and given that fear and uncertainty about the future is one of the primary motives for going to a fortune teller, then I presume this is why people seek some form of reassurance about upcoming journeys.
Others were seeking advice about job opportunities, whether to change, or about accepting or seeking promotion. He also said that very often young people will come with ‘romantic questions’ as he put it. They will come asking if a person they have ‘their eye on’ is a good match, or will bring a profitable or happy future. He said that often couples will come together before getting married seeking to see if their relationship will have good or bad future.

All in all I found it interesting, though in the same instance saddening, to see how the syncretistic nature of religion here in Peru has meant that crucifixes have been mixed in with tarot cards and coca leaves. It was worrying that people could be duped into thinking that this practice was in anyway related to Christianity. Though I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising given that many people like to blend or adapt various ‘religious’ traditions or superstitions to suit their own needs or fill their own void.
It also struck me that this was practiced in the middle of a busy street. This is not the stereotypical image of a fortune teller in a room down a dark alley. This is in a very public place with ease of access to all. The children playing nearby growing up with the impression that this is just as normal and harmless as the key cutters on one side of the street and the hardware shops on the other who also just seek to ‘practice’ their trades. What is more this is not isolated to Tacna. In Ilo there are also fortune tellers at a certain point on very public promenade along the seafront.

Lastly it alarmed me that so many of those looking to have their fortunes told were people about my own age. These were not elderly people stuck in an old animistic mentality. Whilst most of the fortune tellers appeared to be of an Andean background, those seeking their advice appeared to be people who I would never have guessed as people who would believe in ‘luck’ and fortune. I cannot pretend to understand the individual motivations for those seeking to have their fortunes told, but what I can say is that from what I observed, this ‘trade’ does not seem to be dying out. Rather superstition and animism seems to continue to grip the Peruvian mindset even among the educated younger generations.

Please continue to pray for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom here in Peru.

This Sunday I hope to visit the Tarata church once again. Please pray for safety in travel and also as we seek to visit an elderly lady in Ticaco (a nearby town) during the afternoon. Pray that this would be an encouragement to her.
God Bless,
Alistair.