Intern Despedidas

Sadly, we are saying goodbye to some great interns this month: Jamey Elkin, Courtney Lott, Harrison Hood, John Harrison, Nathan Ross and Brady Kilgallen. They have made invaluable contributions to the Lord's work here in Peru and we are so thankful for their willingness to serve among us. We hope to see them again soon! Please pray for them as they move back to the USA and make big decisions about their future.

(Thanks for the pic, Eric!)

Field Trip to El Brujo

Yesterday we took a fascinating field trip to El Brujo Archaeological Complex, which is located about 1 1/2 hours from Trujillo. The site is important because there are ruins from many important eras in Peru history - and because an intact mummy over 1300 years old was discovered in one of the pyramids in 2006. Until this discovery, historians assumed that all Moche rulers were men – but she was decked out in military regalia, denoting political power, and was covered in spider and snake tattoos, denoting religious power. The Museo de Cao, which now houses the preserved mummy, was recently opened next to the ruins, so we were able to tour the ruins and the museum. And, since the pyramids overlook the ocean, we relaxed on the beach while waiting for lunch. We finished the trip by eating a delicious lunch in the home of the Presbyterian pastor’s family in the neighboring community. It was a great day – informative, fun and encouraging!

Tucker Robbins Visits Parish Furniture

It has been a fun week for Parish Furniture. They hosted some special visitors here in Trujillo, namely Tucker Robbins and a couple of his associates. Tucker Robbins is a well known furniture designer and retailer in New York who took keen interest in Parish at the recent show in New York City. He is interested in collaborating with Parish on promotion and distribution, and even has some of Parish's furniture in his gallery in New York right now. Our hope is that the relationship be mutually beneficial, but especially beneficial for our carpenters. Tucker came to Trujillo to meet the carpenters, discuss more with the Balls and put together some promotional material. So, today lots of the team went out to the Clementina community to film some footage for a promotional video. We'll let you know when it's ready for viewing!

Park Facelift

The park in front of our house is getting a facelift. It's big news among the kids since they spend time there every day. We are excited and eager to see how it turns out!

Amazonas Seminary Postponed

Pedro Ruíz

During the IEPP General Assembly in January, several brothers from a sister presbytery in Pedro Ruíz made a formal request for help from our SBR Seminary. Pedro Ruíz is a small town located in Amazonas, a remote Province in the high jungle of northern Peru. The church feels alone, ignored and under-trained. They are hungry to know more about God’s Word and how to apply it to their everyday lives, but they just don’t have the resources. They asked that SBR Seminary teach courses in their church twice a year as well as provide practical training and pastoral care four times a year. “Of course we will!” was the resounding answer from SBR.


So, our family took our malaria pills and packed our bags, planning to travel on Saturday with Alonzo Ramirez to teach the first seminary class. Unfortunately, Alonzo called on Friday night with a bad report. Due to heavier-than-usual rain, the Province of Amazonas has been declared to be in a state of emergency. There has been flooding and several big landslides that have covered houses and blocked roads into the area. We have postponed the class until June, when the rainy season will be over and the roads will be cleared and safe.

Please pray for the brothers and sisters during this difficult time and pray especially that nothing else would hinder the teaching of God’s Word.

From the Imagination

Our 4 year old has been inspired by the art classes that the older children are taking as well - he has been drawing and painting with them at home. Tonight he created his most clever illustration yet. He says very matter-of-factly that it is "a monkey in a ghost suit." Brilliant!

Washington & Lee Team

We just spent a fantastic week with a team from RUF at Washington & Lee University in Virginia, who came to work with us in Trujillo. They painted a lot of the interior of the Arevalo Presbyterian Church building and held a conversational class at SALI, as well as touring ministries in Trujillo to learn about the renewing impact of the gospel upon the culture of Peru. Thanks, y'all! (And thanks for the pic, Robin!)

Alleen McLain Arrived

Alleen McLain arrived in Trujillo today! Alleen is a lawyer from Jackson, MS, who is joining our team to serve as Short-term Team Director for 2 years. Alleen has served in Trujillo before (with the Twin Lakes Camp crew) and just completed a 4-month Spanish study program in Guatemala, so she is ready to hit the ground running. We are so thankful to the Lord and excited to have her with us!

The Peru Mission Team 2009

Christ and Culture in Spanish

Bill has been working hard to provide church planting resources for the Peruvian pastors. He just finished translating a brief summary of Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture, which he will share with several pastors and pastoral candidates during a pastoral training session in Arevalo today.

Claymation by the Kids

Check out Mollie and William's first movie - they learned how to do claymation in thier art class at Eclectico!

Tribute to Our Canary

We lost our dear canary, Peter Parker (the yellow & gray one), today. Many tears were shed. We will miss hearing his beautiful song lilting through the house, especially as the kids play their violins. Peter's wife, Mary Jane (the orange one), died several years ago, so now our once-lively birdcage is empty.

Peru Mission Map

Left click on image for a closer view.

Happy Easter!

We started this wonderful resurrection celebration day by sharing a congregational breakfast at the Arevalo Presbyterian Church, which was followed by a packed-house worship service.


Then, we enjoyed a delightful Picnic in the Park with the Peru Mission team , along with several visitors. The highlight for the kids was the huge Easter egg hunt - especially for William, who found the Golden Egg!

Double Digits at Last!

Happy Birthday William!!!

Intern Families

Peru Mission has been blessed in so many ways - not the least of which is through the incredibly gifted group of interns we have serving alongside us here in Trujillo. Each missionary family adopts a couple of interns during their time here. Our kids love spending time with their other "brother" and "sister" - Nathan Ross and Heather Campbell. And, during the last couple of weeks, we received the added blessing of getting to spend time with their parents, who were visiting Trujillo during the Interns' break.

Heather Campbell and her parents, Gary and Holly
Gary, who serves as President of the PCA Retirement and Benefits, Inc., also spent some time with our team, discussing options for setting up official benefit plans for our missionaries and interns.

Nathan Ross and his parents, Mike and Jane
Dr. Ross, who serves as pastor of Christ Covenant Pres. in Charlotte, NC, also preached in our Larco Pres. Church while he was here.

Pray for Chris & Marti in China

Praise the Lord that our team members, Chris and Marti, are heading to China to receive their soon-to-be-adopted daughter into their loving family of 5! They have been praying and waiting for almost 4 years for this precious baby to become a part of their family. We can't wait to welcome her into the Peru Mission family as well! Please pray for all of their travels to China and the USA and back to Peru over the month of April. And please pray for this dear new covenant child, Mei Mei (which means "little sister" in Chinese).
From Marti:

We are so excited to share our long awaited good news!!!!!! Attached is a picture of our new baby, Mary Marshall (Mei Mei) Bolton. Her birthday is June 19, 2008. She is 8 1/2 months old and she weighed 13 pounds at her check up in December. Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Orphange Board Formed

For several years, Peru Mission has had an informal, working relationship with a wonderful orphanage in town - Hogar de Esperanza ("Home of Hope"). The orphanage recently asked Peru Mission to move into a more formal role and serve on their newly formed Board of Directors. Bill and Gerardo Castro (our Peruvian University Minister) enthusiastically assumed their posts and will serve for the Board's first term.
The orphanage is the fruition of Dave and Vickie Miller's (from Kansas) answering God's call to sacrificially serve the needy street children in Peru. They opened the doors of the orphanage to the first orphan in February 2002. Since then, the orphange programs have expanded, another building has been built, and social projects have been added to the ministry. The growth has been good, but also tricky, especially since Dave still lives in the USA, visiting Peru for month-long intervals twice a year or so. Running the orphanage now requires more of a presence - so, they decided to install a board to help out.

Read Dave's own words from his latest newsletter:

I am also proud to announce that we now have an "Association" or Board of Directors in Peru. We met together for the first time and it is a blessing to have men and women of God working together to help with the happenings of this ministry. We discussed the vision, the desire to continue reaching the street children of Peru and help the poor in the surrounding communities. Please keep Gerardo Castro Linan, Bill Bradford, Carlos Vasquez Blas, Alex Cenepo, Elizabeth Bernuy and myself in your prayers as we continue to lead and guide this ministry.