Reformation Day Celebration

Wichanzao Presbyterian Church had a Reformation Day Celebration today, inviting all the Presbyterian Churches in town, as well as all the neighbors around the church. Today marks the anniversary of the day that Maritn Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Door - marking the reformation, or changing, of the church, which had fallen into sinful practices such as selling forgiveness for sin. We celebrated in an outdoor ceremony through prayer, singing, preaching, and special presentations. One of the special presentations was a wonderful performance of Ode to Joy by 10 of the missionary kids and an intern - they did great!

Pumpkin Carving Fun

This is the first year we have been able to buy tons of real-live carving pumpkins in Peru (thanks to the recent westernizing economic boom). So, two Peru Mission interns, Heather and Gillian, offered to celebrate with us by carving pumpkins with the kids. They crafted a butterfly, Harry Potter, Batman, Funny Grin, and a polka dot pumpkin. The kids had a blast - and even got to taste roasted pumpkin seeds too! Thanks, y'all!

E-letter October 2008

Left click on image for larger, readable view.

Aid to Clementina Outreach

The youth of Arevalo organized a very successful outreach project to the very poor neighbors living around the Clementina church plant. Pablo Quiroz, Arevalo’s effective and energetic youth leader, wanted to encourage the youth to help those in greater need than themselves – and they did! They raised funds and collected donations of clothing and household goods over a 3 month period. On Saturday, they not only delivered the goods, but they also organized a day of games, evangelism and medical attention in the Clementina neighborhood, with the help of youth from the Larco and Wichanzao congregations. It was a blessed day for all involved. And the youth don’t plan to stop there – they are planning to offer tutoring classes to the kids in Clementina during the summer months.

12th Birthday Party

Our "little girl" turned 12 this weekend! We celebrated with a Mystery Dinner Party - where all the guests were suspects in a Western train robbery. They all had to figure out who was guilty and it turned out that half of them were guilty! We had lots of laughs!

Movin' On Up

The structure of the fourth floor is going up in Arevalo Presbyterian Church. Windows are being built right now over in the jungle (lots more wood over there than over here in the desert, of course!) and should be ready for installation soon. We are so thankful, because this makes the building so much safer, completes the facade of our multi-purpose building and will provide more mission living quarters so that we may have a more consistent presence in the community.

NEW Peru Mission Logo

We are so excited to unveil our new logo! This is the culmination of many months of thinking through and praying about what would represent who we are and what we are seeking to do in Peru. The logo’s geometrical shapes and colors reflect consistent patterns in Peruvian art, thus capturing our desire to present an authentic witness within Peruvian culture. The cross, set off by white and occupying center-stage within the other shapes, expresses our commitment to the centrality of the Gospel in all our interconnected ministries and our conviction that only the Gospel can truly transform culture.

Thanks to the good folks at Disciple Design for all their hard work!

Hasta Luego Caleb!

Last night we had a lovely time together as a team celebrating Caleb Sutton's time among us for the past 2 1/2 years (actually he has been in and out of Peru since 2000, but this stint started in May of 2006). Caleb has worked long and hard as Director of SALI - the English Language Institute - holding it together and helping it to flourish by God's grace. Peru Mission is greatly indebted to him and will miss seeing his smiling face. But, as he himself said, this is not "Adios"; it's only "Hasta luego!" Godspeed, Caleb. (Just for fun: When you watch the slide show, try to count how many times Caleb is holding a microphone - then you will know how much he loves karaoke!)

Cajun Picnic in the Park

Thanks to Don and Susan Charlet's cajun cooking secrets, we feasted on some incredible food today at Peru Mission Picnic in the Park. The Charlets cooked up some Gumbo, carrot beignets and sweet potato bread pudding. Everybody else brought rice, bread, drinks and yummy desserts. It was quite a banquet! Then, we just basked in the lovely weather and enjoyed good fellowship with the Peru Mission family.

Meet Caramelo

We have a new addition to the family! Caramelo Dulce (Caramelo for short), our precious new Cocker Spaniel, moved in with us today - an early birthday present for our soon-to-be-twelve-year-old daughter. "Caramelo Dulce" can mean "Sweet Caramel" or "Sweet Candy" and is actually the name of the first song the kids learned on their violins. We are in puppy heaven!

Peru Mission Cards

Peru Mission Cards is a growing business that continues to employ more women in Trujillo as word spreads and cards are sold!

This year we have some new Christmas card designs that the ladies came up with on their own, and they look great! As you think of sending out Christmas cards, please think of using Peru Mission cards. They are beautiful and unique, as each one is handmade. In addition, they provide jobs for some amazing Peruvian women and all designs are made from recycled materials! Cards make great gifts and can be packaged into gift sets if you like. They also make great artwork when framed.

You can see all the designs here.

If you are interested in ordering cards, please send an email to gracebateman@perumission.org.

History Class

Many of us in Peru Mission homeschool our kids - many of whom are in the same age range. So, this year we joined together in a history co-op class. We are studying the wonderful book The Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer. We study the week's lesson and read the extra readers (thanks for sharing, Marti) at home. Then, once a week we get together at one family's home and do a project that relates to the week's lesson. So far we have made Roman standard bearers, edible oases, mosaics, kites, boomerangs, royal capes and numerous other creative crafts. The kids are learning a ton and having a great time together!

Bill Teaching in Cajamarca

Bill is back in Cajamarca this week teaching seminary to the leaders in the Cajamarca churches, as well as some brethren who travel in from the rural mountain churches. Bill is actually teaching 3 separate courses in 5 days - New Testament Theology, Greek and Sunday School Training. Please pray for him, as well as for the students, that this would be a time of growth and encouragement.

Mystery Dinner 2008

Our 3rd Annual Mystery Dinner was a huge success! The theme was "Caught in a Spanish Web" this year - set in an international 4 3/4 star hotel - with quite a variety of characters. Everyone wore incredible costumes and had some crazy accents coming out as we mixed Spanish, French, Chinese, Australian and Southern English!