June 2007

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?

The last few months have been busy again and we have much to thank the Lord for.

We went to Chile just before Easter for the children’s visas and all went smoothly. This then meant that we had to go to Lima for a few days to pick up their resident cards. It was a welcome break and we enjoyed 10-pin bowling and the coffee shops!

You may also remember the young German man we asked prayer for; well he has returned fit and well to Arequipa. When he returned to Germany it was discovered he had a rare form of migraine and it appeared like he had had a stroke. Praise the Lord!

Iain has been visiting a breakfast programme here in the city each week which has helped us understand some of the difficulties they can have each morning, like children being late and missing the Bible lesson. So this is something we need to work on over the next few months.

We also had a visit from Willie Logan on his Bible college placement. You may have met him at one of the SIM conferences. He and his family are considering where the Lord would have them serve. Our whole team took him around their ministries here in the city and we enjoyed having someone else with a NI accent! As Debbie said “mum he talks our language”! Continue to pray for them in the decisions that they make before the Lord.

I (Heather) have also found a gym nearby that is similar to back in NI. So I go to a “spin” class twice a week with Phillip. He really enjoys being old enough now to go to the gym and its really good exercise for us!

Iain and I have had birthday’s—another year older, but we give thanks for celebrating them with friends here.

We also have our website sorted out again after a temporary breakdown. You can also contact us via skype which means that we can talk and see each other for free (visit www.skype.com for more info). Please note our new email address as well to the side. We will continue to keep all our email addresses, hotmail users should still use our hotmail account.

I (Heather) have also begun an on-line TEFL course which may be of use as everyone seems to want to learn English! Pray for time to study once a week.

As we write, we are in the middle of the 2nd round of interviews with the churches who run the breakfast programme. We have gone through the paperwork, discussed any problems/suggestions they have had and then given sufficient food to do them until the beginning of August. Some of the churches have completed their paperwork correctly, others needed a little more help. Some days we had churches in the afternoons which meant that I couldn’t get involved. So in future we will have them in the mornings only and one at a time to allow them time to talk over suggestions/ problems they might have. Give thanks for understanding in Spanish!

The church from Pedregal picking up their food

FRUSTRATIONS

When Iain and Hans went to the milk company back in March, they were told that because of the extra vitamins in the powdered milk, the use-by dates were short—to August in fact. So they only bought a small supply and made sure the churches realized that they could not use this milk beyond the expiry date.

So they went again to the milk company in May to order the new supply for the churches arriving early in June, only to be told that they could now have milk with an expiry date of over 1 year on it!

Sometimes in Peruvian culture we get told what they think we want to hear. Pray for continued patience with the culture and understanding of what is really being said.

The Next Few Months.....

Siegfried and Dorothee Reuter will be returning to Arequipa on Sunday 17th June and we are really looking forward to seeing them again. We will spend the next few months together discussing the future of the work here in Arequipa. Pray for us as we seek God’s will for His work here in the city and in the highlands around us.
At the end of June, Iain is going to Lima for 4 days with another missionary to a conference of the leaders of the IEP church here in Peru. He will be leaving the same day Sarah Donnan leaves Arequipa to return back to NI having been here as a short-termer since October last year. We will all miss her so much, but realize that this is the end of her time here and she needs to seek the Lord’s will for the next step in her life. Pray for her as she re-enters “western” culture.

Sarah Donnan

At the same time the children have the Friday off school and so I will be taking them to Chivay (the Colca Canyon) with another family for 2 days. Debbie especially is looking forward to this trip because of the “hot pools” that are heated by the volcanoes. It’s a very special place, and so we will have a well deserved break and hopefully it will soften the blow of having both Iain away and Sarah leaving.
We are also in the middle of writing a project for ministry with young people here in the city. Please pray for all the

Stress.........

We have been challenged greatly over the past 3months. The children have both been struggling with school and the homeworks they have each night including the weekends. We are so thankful to a Peruvian (Sandra) who comes each afternoon for 2 hours and helps them both. We have been so many times into school to talk with both their teachers and we think at last they are understanding better that they both need more time to adjust and learn the language. Please pray for friends for both of them and time to enjoy being children. Also pray for patience for us as we try and understand them and that we would all find time to enjoy a relaxing holiday together in July.
We have also seen the stress of others around us and have offered our help where we can.
We are so thankful for the team here in Arequipa and the fellowship and bible study we can have each week on a Tuesday morning. We are now heading into winter and so pray for the health of each of our fellow team members and their children. You may have heard recently on the news that the South of Peru has been suffering from colder-than-usual weather and children especially in the highlands are suffering from pneumonia and serious flu’s. Pray for the churches as they continue to reach out to their communities and be salt & light in both practical and spiritual matters.
Thank you so much for your prayers and interest in our work, we pray that God would make Himself real to you and bless you in your daily lives.

All our love,
Iain, Heather
Phillip & Debbie

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”. Psalm 91:2