Anderson Team Hard at Work

Anderson, SC, Group Arriving Tomorrow

We are looking forward to a very busy and very fulfilling week. A group of 33 folks from New Covenant Church in Anderson, SC arrive in Trujillo tomorrow afternoon to begin a diverse week of ministry. They will be involved in digging the remainder of the foundation for our medical clinic in Arevalo (work begun by our visiting Texas team), doing construction in the pastoral house in Wichanzao, teaching religion classes in schools in the Arevalo neighborhood, leading a VBS extravaganza on Saturday in Arevalo and attending in the medical clinic in Wichanzao - along with preaching and evangelism throughout the week at our churches, Language Institute and University Ministry. We are especially excited about this group as a family because 5 of the members of the group are Bradfords! Please pray for their health and safety, and espeically that the Lord would bless the fruit of the labors of their hands.

SBR Seminary

Because lack of trained pastors and leaders is a consistent obstacle for spiritual and physical church growth in our denomination and all of Peru, the Seminario Biblica Reformada is a very important aspect of our ministry. In 2000, we began teaching classes for the then-new seminary of the Iglesia Evangelica Presbiteriana del Peru, with whom we work. Now, classes are ongoing year-round in Cajamarca, Lima and Trujillo, offered in modular cycles to fit the busy schedules of our pastors and church leaders, who must continue working and providing for their families (immediate and extended) as they study.

Bill teaching seminary class

Currently, a variety of courses are being taught. Bill is teaching Greek and Nouthetic Counseling; Wes Baker is teaching Patristics and New Testament Survey; Guillermo Diaz is teaching Hebrew; and Alonzo has been teaching Research Methodolgy and Ethics in both Cajamarca and Lima.

We are encouraged by the desire of the students to learn, although they face the constant struggle of balancing their studies with their daily financial demands and need to work. Bill has been especially excited by the response and growth of the students in his counseling class, especially considering the far-reaching benefits these lessons will have in the lives of the brothers and sisters in our congregations.

Please keep our professors in your prayers, that they would faithfully present the truth of God in a meaningful way, as well as for the students, that they would not be distracted by the pressures around them and would diligently pursue knowledge of the Lord.

Internet Business - Economic Development

Jaime and Jesus Castillo with daughter Coley in the new internet cafe

We are really excited about one of our newest economic development projects. One of our former pastors, Jaime Castillo, had to leave his pastorate in San Marcos, in the mountains around Cajamarca, because his wife encountered medical problems requiring her to be in Lima for treatment. Praise the Lord, his wife's health is much better now. To help him get back on his feet, and since he is a computer whiz, we have helped him open up an internet cafe in the neighborhood of our Wichanzao church. Our prayer is that the business prosper and provide Jaime with a viable living, while opening many doors for ministry in the community as well. Already Jaime and his family have been a great encouragement to the Guillermo Diaz family, who are pastoring the Wichanzao church. Please pray for the Castillo family, that the business would prosper financially and in contacts for the gospel, as well as for protection, as this is one of the rougher neighborhoods in Trujillo.

SALI Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Mother's Day is a very special day in Peru, always celebrated in grand fashion, with an abundance of sincere gratitude to all mothers in the country. Each woman is greeted with "Feliz Dia!" ("Happy Day!") and is given regalitos (little gifts) from businesses and churches, family and friends. In honor of this tradition, the students at our Saint Agustine Language Institute, led by one of our Peruvian teachers, Dinko, held a Mother's Day celebration tonight, and they did it in style...

...with food...

... fellowship...

...entertainment...

...lots of mothers...

...and lots of tired children in taxis going home!