June 2008  
     
  “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:1-2  
     
  The Weather  
     
  Imagine, from an area that has such wonderful blue skies that we would want to talk about “the weather”! We´re just entering winter and we´ve been hit by a cold snap, believe it or not! T-shirts are gone! Iain was visiting one of the breakfast programmes in Ciudad de Dios, so he left the house just before 6am with 4 layers, woolley hat, gloves and a scarf and he was still cold! What was worse was seeing the children arrive with a t-shirt and a jacket un-zipped because the zip was broken! Others came with sandals on their feet because they don´t have shoes! Yet they still come faithfully to hear the word of God and to receive their breakfast. And spare a thought for the highland churches where the children find themselves living in temperatures up to –10. Please pray for these children and for their families as we enter what looks like a very hard and long winter. During this month we will be sending to each of the churches in the highlands boxes of lemons and medicines to combat illnesses during the cold weather.  
     
 
 
     
  The Breakfast Programme  
     
  This year 3 new churches have started with the breakfast programme, 2 in the highlands and one in the city. What we have seen from the new breakfast programme in the city in Villa Aviacion is that the programme can spread over 2 decades. The leader, Julianna, grew up through the Breakfast Programme in the highlands in a village called Quenco. She started when she was 4 years old and through many years and faithful teaching, she gave her life to Christ and continued living in Quenco. We have now met this girl who is now 19 years old, living in the city and because there was no provision of secondary education in Quenco, she is completing it through night-classes. She starts her day in the Breakfast Programme with 30 children and faithfully prepares the devotional, she wants to share God´s word with others because she knows it has the power to change lives, as the leader in Quenco was faithful to share God´s word with her and others. This is a marvelous example of the blessing of the Breakfast Programme and how God can use it to reach children, to change their lives and to use them in the future. As we work in the Breakfast Programme we don´t know who God is going to touch, but after many years we can see that He is Faithful and those that He touches, He uses in local churches. In the Breakfast Programme we have Sunday School teachers, Pastors, Youth Leaders and those in Bible College.

Another part of ACM is mother and child care and we call this the Dorcas Programme. Heather works alongside Dorothee Reuter and another missionary Martha Kaser. Our aim is provide needy mothers with clothing for their babies for the first year after their baby is born. The majority of the mothers are young, around 19-22 years of age and single. Some have been abused and find themselves in particularly difficult circumstances. Last October we started a monthly meeting for the girls to come to along with their babies from 9.30am—11am, but in reality some arrive before 9.30am and some stay until 1pm! We have discovered that these girls often have to stay at home to look after the house, so they are really “house-bound”. We share a devotional with them and then a topic that is relevant to them. In the last few months several of these mums have asked for Bible Studies, please pray that God would draw these girls back to Himself.		  
     
 


A Dorcas meeting in our new house about nutrition
28 May 2008

 
     
  The next few months…..  
     
  Iain and Siegfried continue to visit a different programme each morning to see how they are managing and to encourage and support the teams. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for all as they guide and direct the individual programmes and for traveling about the city.
During this month we will have 3 visitors from our home church which we hope will be very refreshing and help us to tune our ears to such a wonderful accent, as well as encourage us! Heather is planning a trip with them to the highlands to visit a Breakfast Programme there and they´ll also see one or two in the city which will help them understand the difference between the cultures of the city and highlands.

In August we will have the second round of interviews with the churches from 11th—22nd. Before they come we need to buy in the new stock of food. So pray as Iain and Siegfried search for the best prices in July, this can take up a lot of time as they visit different companies for each of the ingredients of the breakfast!
After the interviews in August we will be traveling to the highland churches to encourage them, especially during such a harsh winter. Pray for safety in travel and good communication and relationships with the Christians in those churches.
In September will see us preparing for the Breakfast Programme retreat in November. Please pray as we start to tie together all the loose ends and finer details and find a suitable speaker for the weekend retreat.

  
     
 

Mr Belling couldn’t have made anything
better than this! The “kitchen” where the breakfast
is made in Chivay for 50 children
 
     
  Family and Home!  
     
  At last we have a house, thank you for praying! We moved in on 7th March and by now we are settled! Unfortunately the children had already gone back to school, so we missed out on our holidays. The house meets all our needs with a large lounge for a meeting room where we can facilitate the churches and have the monthly Dorcas meetings. We have a separate dining room which means the children can do their homeworks while a meeting is going on in the lounge! We also have 2 spare bedrooms if anyone wants to visit!

So we were all very tired when school started again and were really in need of a holiday! In May the children had one week off school, so we planned a trip to Cusco to visit historical sites and also to relax. However Debbie had other plans! Just a few days before we left she was sick but she recuperated enough for us to leave. But on the bus journey she was sick again and had a temperature that would not come down! So in Cusco we called a Doctor and he admitted her to hospital suspecting either appendicitis or a kidney infection. It was the latter and we had to return back to Arequipa by plane and she went to hospital here in the city for another 2 days and further treatment. She has recovered well, but continues to have a sore stomach. Please pray for a full recovery for her and a holiday for us all! Phillip also has a cough at the moment and is generally tired. Please pray for them both.

So we now need a holiday desperately! Pray that during the 3 weeks holiday in July we would have time for rest and relaxation, we´ve had 8 days off in the last year.

Can you also pray for Phillip and Debbie as they go through exams at this time in school. They are both doing really well and working hard on their homeworks and study for exams.

Iain may have the possibility to do some further studies. At present he is making investigations into doing an MA in Pastoral Studies. He is in the process of applying, pray for God´s will if he is to be accepted for the course which will start in early September.

Heather continues to teach English, but only once a week. This gives her more time for things around the house and the increasing time that is taken up by the Dorcas Programme. Pray for her as she prepares the devotional for the next meeting on 18th June. She also continues with the administration and accounts for ACM, which sometimes is a headache!

Since finding our home, we have also settled in a church called “El Refugio” (the refuge). It is a young church with around 30 people connected to Calvary Chapel in the States. Pray as Iain gets involved with Youth Work and other areas of the church, that he would have wisdom and discernment as he draws alongside the Pastor and others in leadership. We all feel content to be there, pray that we would settle in and get involved where we can.

  
     
  Finance  
     
  As in the whole world, our bills have all gone up. Rent by 100% and most basic foods generally by 20% in the last year. School fees too have risen this year Also we have noticed a drop in our support by around 15%. We are aware that most people find themselves in the same position, however please pray that God would continue to meet our needs.

A big thank you for all your support, both financially and in prayer. Please remember to drop us a line from time to line and let us know how you are!

If you receive this letter by “snail mail” and would prefer it by email, please drop us an email. This will save postage, paper and ink! We also send out a monthly prayer update by email, if you would like to receive this, please email us.
  
 
All our love,
Iain, Heather, Phillip & Debbie
  
 
 

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