Thanks to all of you that have been praying for my health. I have been struggling with stomach aches for far to long and decided it was time to find a solution. It is a blessing to have the good medical care here in Lima. I called a gastroenterologist and scheduled an appointment the same day! I was able to schedule the needed endoscopy the following day and had the ultrasound test the very next day! I go for the follow-up visit on Monday. I also managed to take care of all the needed tests and lab work between visits. Imagine taking care of all of that in one week! I would be waiting for my first appointment if I was in the states.
I was very nervous about the endoscopy test and appreciate all of you that prayed for me that day. The test was a breeze. I thought I would be able to stay awake after being given the sedative but I was out of it within a few seconds. I actually have no memory of the procedure, or even the taxi ride home! I gave the taxi driver directions, ate a candy bar, and discussed my plans for the day. It's too bad I don't remember any of that. Debbie has enjoyed repeating stories of the silly things I had to say during that drowsy ride home. All in all, it wasn't so bad!
UPDATE: Thanks to all of you that have been faithfully praying for my health. I returned to the doctor for a follow-up visit. We were pleased to hear that all of my tests came back normal. He doesn't believe any further testing is needed at this time. I have been started on four medications that I will take for three weeks. I will then come back for another visit in about a month. The doctor says that it looks like I have been suffering from gastritis for a long time. The medications should help clear it up for now. We are thankful for an easy diagnosis.
"Is it alright if I come?"
This past week has been exciting as we continue to see positive results from our medical campaign. On Sunday a 15 year old girl came to the church during our children's hour. She was very friendly but was obviously uncomfortable being there with the little kids. I greeted her and she clearly wanted to talk. "Is it alright if I come here even though I am Catholic?" She asked. I assured her that she was welcome and we would be happy to show her what we believe from the Bible. She went on to say that she, along with many others in the neighborhood were impressed that we had organized the medical campaign. "We couldn't believe you opened up your doors for people that haven't ever been to your church. I didn't think I would be welcome. I want to come to a place like this where people are so kind." She also asked when we would be starting a class for teenagers her age. It was exciting news coming from a young teenager. We trust the seed planted in her life will grow and we can encourage her to continue coming. It is great to see the church gaining a positive image in the area.
You May See the Doctor Now...
We just finished what proved to be a very exciting day for our family and ministry. Today we hosted a team of medical volunteers from the US. They arrived at our church early to setup and we began to register patients at 9:00 a.m. It didn't take long for a small crowd to gather and we stayed busy the rest of the day. Each person began by sitting down with a "medical history taker." This person would get a brief account of their past and present medical condition. Then this same person would clearly share the Gospel with the patient before they entered the church to see one of the doctors. After seeing a doctor they were given needed medication and a copy of the New Testament.
On an average day this team is able to treat about 85 patients. Today they gave much needed medical attention to 103 patients. The most exciting news of the day is that 12 people trusted Christ as their Savior! Dozens more were interested and have requested a follow up visit in their home. We can only begin to imagine the contacts that we have made today for our church.
Some of you may recall the older man that yelled at us when we first started visiting in Vina Alta. He had screamed "Go away! We are good Catholics and we don't want evangelicals here...Go Away!" He has always refused to talk to us on our countless visits in the area. He showed up today and waited in line to see a doctor. He was counseled, received a diagnosis and medication. As he was preparing to go out the door, he thanked me and shook my hand, "thank you my brother" were his final words. He is not yet my brother in the Lord, but his heart is softening. I look forward to the day when I can call him my brother.
Thanks for praying! Today was a great success. Praise the Lord.
On an average day this team is able to treat about 85 patients. Today they gave much needed medical attention to 103 patients. The most exciting news of the day is that 12 people trusted Christ as their Savior! Dozens more were interested and have requested a follow up visit in their home. We can only begin to imagine the contacts that we have made today for our church.
Some of you may recall the older man that yelled at us when we first started visiting in Vina Alta. He had screamed "Go away! We are good Catholics and we don't want evangelicals here...Go Away!" He has always refused to talk to us on our countless visits in the area. He showed up today and waited in line to see a doctor. He was counseled, received a diagnosis and medication. As he was preparing to go out the door, he thanked me and shook my hand, "thank you my brother" were his final words. He is not yet my brother in the Lord, but his heart is softening. I look forward to the day when I can call him my brother.
Thanks for praying! Today was a great success. Praise the Lord.
Backward Christian Soldiers
I recently heard that only 2 percent of believers in America share their faith with others around them. Then we wonder why our churches aren't growing and why our world seems to be declining in sin. Here is an anonymously written song to the tune of "Onward Christian Soldiers." It is convicting when we consider the importance of telling others the great life-changing message of the Gospel.
Backward Christian soliders, fleeing from the fight
With the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight,
Christ, our rightful master, stands against the foe
But forward into battle, we are loathe to go.
Like a mighty tortoise moves the Church of God
Brothers we are treading where we've always trod.
We are much divided, many bodies we
Having many doctrines, not much charity.
Crowns and thorns may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never 'gainst the Church prevail
We have Christ's own promise, but think that it will fail.
Sit here then ye people, join our useless throng
Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease and comfort, ask from Christ the King
With our modest thinking, we don't do a thing.
Backward Christian soliders, fleeing from the fight
With the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight,
Christ, our rightful master, stands against the foe
But forward into battle, we are loathe to go.
Like a mighty tortoise moves the Church of God
Brothers we are treading where we've always trod.
We are much divided, many bodies we
Having many doctrines, not much charity.
Crowns and thorns may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never 'gainst the Church prevail
We have Christ's own promise, but think that it will fail.
Sit here then ye people, join our useless throng
Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease and comfort, ask from Christ the King
With our modest thinking, we don't do a thing.
A Problem Solved
A tight squeeze? There is plenty of room to spare, at least 6 inches!
Perhaps the only garage door of its type, in our neighborhood anyway!
As you know God recently blessed us with a larger vehicle. The van has proven to be a real blessing to our ministry. The van has proven to be just perfect for our needs in every way. There was only one problem. It wouldn't fit into our garage! Now, we realized this before we purchased the van. We just figured that with some wise peruvian ingenuity we could solve the problem. After a few weeks of searching we found the answer to the problem.
A christian mechanic friend came over and cut the bars on our garage gate. They took them over night reworked them and made the gate extend out at the bottom. So, if the van doesn't fit in the garage what do you do? You just bend the gate to make it fit! I think it turned out pretty nicely myself. Our van sits safetly in its new home each evening. There is even a little room for growth!
Report: Mother's Day
For those of you that do not receive our email updates, here is a portion of our recent report: Mother’s day is one of the most celebrated and important holidays in Peru. Families make special plans to travel home to see mother. Children spend hours in school practicing poems and songs for elaborate programs. Flowers, balloons, candies and special gifts for mom are on sale on nearly every corner. We decided to take advantage of the day and started planning several weeks in advance. The children prepared several special songs, poems and an acrostic message. Then three days this week we opened up the church for the children to come in and prepare a special card for their mother. Each day the kids were given an invitation to take home for their family. We prepared a special gift for each mother and prayed that at least a few would show up. When it was time for church to start not a single seat was available in our tiny building. We ended up with a total of 55 people. (That was made up of 20 mothers, 26 kids, and 9 men.) It was great to see the Lord’s house filled with people.
One highlight of the day came just after the service was complete. A mother came up and wanted to thank us all for working with her son. She told us that her son had been disobedient and unruly since he was a baby. She commented that he would never listen to anyone, especially his parents. “I don’t know what you did with all of these children, but I don’t want my son to miss out! He obeys at home and is a different child.” We thanked her for entrusting her son to us each Sunday afternoon. It is exciting that he is not the only child that has started behaving. Before, we could have never allowed the children to stay in the church for the preaching part of the service. Today they all sat up front and were completely silent. We were super proud of all of our kids today! In a few weeks we’ll start getting ready to do it all over again for Father’s Day!
One highlight of the day came just after the service was complete. A mother came up and wanted to thank us all for working with her son. She told us that her son had been disobedient and unruly since he was a baby. She commented that he would never listen to anyone, especially his parents. “I don’t know what you did with all of these children, but I don’t want my son to miss out! He obeys at home and is a different child.” We thanked her for entrusting her son to us each Sunday afternoon. It is exciting that he is not the only child that has started behaving. Before, we could have never allowed the children to stay in the church for the preaching part of the service. Today they all sat up front and were completely silent. We were super proud of all of our kids today! In a few weeks we’ll start getting ready to do it all over again for Father’s Day!
Finally, Pay Day for Mom?
I recently heard that there was a website that would calculate the value of all the work that a mother does in her home. It starts with your zip code and then gives you the option to calculate how much "mom" should be paid for all of her "domestic engineering!" It includes hours worked cleaning, doing laundry, working with the kids, doing homework, and much more. It then gives the average salary in your area for that class of work. I decided to reward Debbie with a printable paycheck that showed how much her mothering was really worth. Like to guess her total annual salary? An incredible $146, 605! That did not include her ministry time or rubbing dad's back.
I guess it should be an eye opener as we realize how much work our mom's really do! Of course Debbie's worth to me and the girls is priceless! Thanks Debbie for being a great mother, wife and helpmate! Plus Happy Mother's Day to all of the other ladies out there that work so hard to make our lives pleasant.
(Debbie, sorry, but the check will bounce if you try to deposit it!)
I guess it should be an eye opener as we realize how much work our mom's really do! Of course Debbie's worth to me and the girls is priceless! Thanks Debbie for being a great mother, wife and helpmate! Plus Happy Mother's Day to all of the other ladies out there that work so hard to make our lives pleasant.
(Debbie, sorry, but the check will bounce if you try to deposit it!)
Something's Fishy...
It isn't unusual for us to notice strange and often unpleasant smells here in Lima. We have millions of neighbors and therefore the environment might not always be super pleasant! There is the smell of exhaust fumes while waiting in traffic. There is the smell of open sewers in certain parts of town. There is the smell of the trash trucks going by on there way to the landfill. Yet, most days we don't notice any of these smells and life goes on as normal! However, yesterday something changed. There was a horrible smell that we could hardly tolerate. Fortunately, we weren't the only ones that noticed the smell. Here's what the local paper had to say:
Fishy Odor Takes Over Lima
Peru, LIMA-- For residents living in Peru's capital city, Monday proved to be the stinkiest day of the week in every sense of the meaning as winds coming in from the north brought the unpleasant odors of freshly made fish meal to Limean homes.
Although it has several uses, fish meal is predominantly used in animal feed and associated products. Peru is the world's largest fish meal producer and on days like yesterday, residents are well aware that fish meal must be churned out in large quantities to produce such an overpowering smell. According to Peru's Ocean Institute (Instituto del Mar del Peru -Imarpe), fish meal factories located along the coast north of the Peruvian capital and changing wind patterns are responsible for yesterday morning's rude awakening. "This foul odor is a byproduct of fish meal production. Although it is not common to smell this odor in Lima, varying wind patterns called 'viento norte' (northerly wind) will bring in the unpleasant odor from time to time," said a representative from Imarpe.
Imarpe indicates that winds along the Limean coastline generally run from south to north, but due to weakened southern Pacific wind currents, they can reverse and create the 'viento norte.'The institute also warned swimmers and beachgoers that these conditions can also create changeable ocean currents along Lima's coastline.
Today the air is fresh once again. We're thankful for that!
Fishy Odor Takes Over Lima
Peru, LIMA-- For residents living in Peru's capital city, Monday proved to be the stinkiest day of the week in every sense of the meaning as winds coming in from the north brought the unpleasant odors of freshly made fish meal to Limean homes.
Although it has several uses, fish meal is predominantly used in animal feed and associated products. Peru is the world's largest fish meal producer and on days like yesterday, residents are well aware that fish meal must be churned out in large quantities to produce such an overpowering smell. According to Peru's Ocean Institute (Instituto del Mar del Peru -Imarpe), fish meal factories located along the coast north of the Peruvian capital and changing wind patterns are responsible for yesterday morning's rude awakening. "This foul odor is a byproduct of fish meal production. Although it is not common to smell this odor in Lima, varying wind patterns called 'viento norte' (northerly wind) will bring in the unpleasant odor from time to time," said a representative from Imarpe.
Imarpe indicates that winds along the Limean coastline generally run from south to north, but due to weakened southern Pacific wind currents, they can reverse and create the 'viento norte.'The institute also warned swimmers and beachgoers that these conditions can also create changeable ocean currents along Lima's coastline.
Today the air is fresh once again. We're thankful for that!
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