Praise Report in Lima

Happy September, everyone!!

This past week I celebrated the one-year mark since coming to Peru on September 7th, 2010. It is amazing how the time has flown by and I have enjoyed reflecting on the ways that the Lord has blessed me this past year. Thank you for all of your fervent prayers and support!

I want to update everyone on a few prayer requests and updates that I sent out last month. I had been asking many of you to pray that the Lord would provide an office for us in Lima and I am excited to share that we received the keys to the new place yesterday! It is a great space located within walking distance of my apartment and will be utilized for many things. Not only will it be used for office space, but it also has rooms to house visitors and host small group meetings. We are extremely blessed by this provision and are looking forward to furnishing the rooms! Thank you for your prayers.

Secondly, I also had been asking many of you to pray as I met with different colleges and universities in the area seeking places where I could get involved. Last Tuesday I began teaching an English conversation course at La Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. This school has a language center that is actually available to the whole community, not just the university students studying on campus. Though most of my students are college students, I am also teaching a few professors and other professionals from the area who want to practice their English. Needless to say, it is a fun mix of people. Please continue to pray for those relationships and for my involvement at the university.

:)

Earthquake Strikes Northern Peru

I have received many e-mails the last two days as people hear about the earthquake that struck Peru on Wednesday, August 24th. Rest assured, all is well here in Lima! The epicenter of the earthquake hit the jungle region in northern Peru near the Brazilian boarder. Even though that is about 350 miles away from Lima and is separated by the Andes Mountains, we still felt the tremors for about 10 seconds between 12:30-1:00pm yesterday. The earthquake has been recorded to have had a magnitude of 7.0 and was felt in at least four different countries (Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and Bolivia). Though the earthquake was strong, the area in which it struck is sparsely populated keeping damage and injuries minimal for the strength that was exhibited.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as you heard about the earthquake! I am happy to share that the whole team is safe and sound. :)

Dave and Deb come to Peru!

The last two weeks have been full of new adventures and special guests in Peru. My parents were able to come to Peru July 23rd- August 6th and we had a wonderful time together. We were able to hit up a few tourist spots as well as participate in some of the ministries that are going on in Peru. The first week they were in town we took the trip to Cusco and enjoyed tours of the city, the Sacred Valley, and, of course, Machu Picchu! We learned a lot about the Incan culture and its impact on how the culture has been shaped and formed. The second week they were here we were able to travel to Lunahuaná for Wednesday worship. My dad even helped lead some of the worship songs during the service and the children's ministry. I was able to show them where I lived and taught English last year and introduce them to many of my friends. They especially enjoyed being able to put some faces with the names that I so often mention to them.

Though their time in Peru came to an end last weekend, I still feel so blessed that my mom and dad were able to make the trip across the equator. It's so much easier to explain what I am doing and who I am with to people who have been here, and who better to have that connection with than my own parents. Thank you for all your prayers as they traveled- they are now back safely in Minnesota which is surprisingly much sunnier and warmer than Lima this time of year!

Reporter Article

Check out the link below in order to read an article written by the Lutheran Reporter about the first worship service in Lunahuaná!
Enjoy!

http://classic.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=18973

First Worship Service in Lunahuaná

Great news from Peru....last Wednesday (July 6th) was the first worship service in Lunahuaná! After three years of praying, the Lord opened the doors for services to begin and I am excited to be able to share that with you today. Here is a little bit about how the day went:

Since all the missionaries are now living in Lima, Anthony, Jamie, the Eisold family, and I got up early on Wednesday morning to drive to Lunahuaná. We arrived at about 9:30am and some of us began inviting people to come while the rest took care of getting tables to the worship location (Hotel Las Brisas- found in the picture). We also drove to invite many of my former students from the English classes. It was a busy morning and early afternoon, but we had some great conversations with old and new friends.

In the afternoon, part of the team went to Lucumo which is where Jamie, Anthony, and I used to travel to do Bible study with a family every Saturday morning. We went to Lucumo to continue Children's ministry there for about 45 minutes and invite the families to worship in Lunahuaná. We sang song, read a Bible story, and played a game with the kids during our time there.

After Lucumo, everyone met at Hotel Las Brisas to begin our activities there. Jamie led the adults in a Bible study while Anthony and I led the Children's ministry. We did a craft, read the Bible story, and played a few games. We also learned the phrase, "¡Jesús es nuestro sanador!" which means "Jesus is our healer!". Jesus physically healed the lame man in the story (Mark 2:1-12), but he also heals us from our sins. What a wonderful message!

After Bible studies, everyone came together to worship. There were 31 Peruvians at the worship service and about 7 more who came to Bible study, but had to leave before the service began. What a blessing! We plan to return to Lunahuaná the first and third Wednesday of each month to continue with Bible studies and worship. Please keep those days on your prayers.

"For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." Psalm 57:10-11