2008 Nashotah Conference on Global Missions

the Jackson Kemper Missionary Society

in cooperation with

Anglican Global Mission Partners

presents Nashotah House's

2008 Conference on Global Missions

"Global Missions: All are Called"

featuring

the Rt. Rev. William Godfrey

of the

Anglican Diocese of Peru

October 31st and November 1st

for more information contact

register@nashotah.edu

Two Articles About Our 2008 Peru Mission

Greetings Friends,

Two articles about Nashotah House's 2008 Mission to the Anglican Diocese of Peru have recently been featured in Nashotah House's Missioner (here) and the Diocese of Quincy's Harvest Plain (here). Both were written by your's truly so much of the content is similar to what you can read in this blog's daily journals (although much more brief) but I wanted to make these available nonetheless.

Blessings,

Joel Allen Prather
President, the Jackson Kemper Missionary Society

Peru Trip Day 1

January 11, 2008
Greetings Family and Friends,
So after a long day of travel my comrades and I arrived safely in Lima. As I write this I’m sitting looking out the window and enjoying some homemade chicha-morada, a fruit drink made from cooking pineapple and blue corn then adding sugar and lemon. Last night we were warmly greeted by our hosts from the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd at the airport and taken to the five-room apartment my team and I are sharing. It was very foggy this morning and to our surprise, upon returning home from our day, we looked out the window to discover the beautiful view of the ocean in this picture. It's a little foggy but you can see a mountain and the ocean in the background (this photo doesn't do it justice).

Our day today started with Morning Prayer at the Cathedral followed by an official welcome presentation on the history and work of the Anglican Diocese of Peru.

(Here we are sitting in a choir stall as Fr. John gives us the history and vision of the Anglican Diocese of Peru. L to R: (front) Sven, Mark, Sandy, Ellora (back) Bill, Micah, Michael, me and Joe took the photo.)

The Lord has been, and is doing a mighty work here and the Diocese is growing faster than they can keep up with. The Cathedral is its own little walled community which includes the Church, a fellowship hall, library, diocesan offices and (I believe) some residences. (The Cathedral compound, the Churh is on the right and the fellowship hall is the brown doors on the left. I'm standing on stairs leading up to some offices. More offices are through the passageway.)

So after not using my Spanish in years I fared pretty well today talking to our new friends; Mariela, Fr. John and Marco; telling them about my family (mi hijo con pelo rojo y mi sposa qui studia nuovo testamente ala seminario) and where I’m from. Pictured are Mariela and Marcom seminaristas (seminarians) and lay ministers who will be our guides during the whole trip and Fr. John the Dean (priest & head pastor) of the Cathedral. I love the name seminarista, that's what's on our nametags here too...sounds cool huh? Like we should be wearing sombreros with gun belts crossed on our chests shouting "Viva Jesus!!! Y viva la Iglesia!"

(L to R: Me, Mariela, Fr. John and Marco.)

This afternoon we visited pre-Incan ruins that are just a few blocks from the Cathedral smack in the middle if the city. They date from 200 to 700 A.D.

Here are some photos of “American camels”, as our tour guide at the ruins called them, a.k.a. llamas. Guinea pigs are also very popular here in Peru…

...on the menu! They call them cuy (for the sound they make). We’re supposed to dine on cuy at some point while we're here. Should be...uh...interesting.

All that said, I feel so blessed and privileged to be here in Peru seeing the work God is doing. Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for my comrades and I. Gloria Dios!

Peru Trip Day 2

January 12, 2008
Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ dear friends and family!

So today our team visited the shanty-towns on the southern edge of Lima. The bakdrop to this area is the Andes mountains as you can see in this picture, a truly breathtaking panorama...This picture is the same view, more or less, for 360 degrees; the shanty-towns spread out literally as far as the eye can see and are areas that are at the foot of the mountain are legal neighborhoods; the further up the mountainside you go they are illegal squatter communities. We spent our day towards the "top" among the squatter communities. The poverty is saddening and the immensity of how many people are here (if I recall, our translator said there are about one million in the shanty-towns!) is staggering. Most of the people who live here are Quechua Indians who've migrated from the Andes.

(Pictured are some women washing clothes at the community water spicket.)

The area on which they build homes is very steep so the way people build is by carving out the mountainside to make a flat enough space for a house (all by hand with pick axes and lugging rocks in a bag).

The purpose of our trip was to visit two Churches in the shanty-town, Cristo Redentor and San Pedro. The couple who run these, Fr. Misael and his wife Claudia, are an incredibly godly couple; totally sold out for Jesus and committed to serving Him. Likewise for a young seminarista, Raul, who works with the youth at Cristo Redentor. Their passion for ministering to the children and youth in these slums was incredible to see. (Sandy, Fr. Misael, Claudia, local kiddies, our translator Clara, Mariela (in the blue shirt) and Ellora)

We had a great time with the kids, singing songs and playing games. Then with the teenagers one of our group, Sven, gave a wonderful short exhortation to them about finding their identity in whom God created them to be.

(pictured L to R: Marco, Sven, Joe, Ellora-seated and Michael-drums)
One fun moment for me was having my new friend, Marco who is a seminarista (seminarian) at the Anglican seminary here, help me translate some Portuguese songs I know into Spanish.

(pictured: Marco, me and Joe)

After our time at Cristo Redentor we got back on the mini-bus to return to downtown Lima and were bid farewell by a common sight...a dog on the roof...

On the way back to downtown Lima where we're staying we got an impromptu tour of the city from our driver.

They have these neat little motorcycle taxis out in the shanty-towns (mototaxis).

After dinner our group, a little sunburned and tired from hiking up and down all the steep inclines like those pictured here...

...prayed Compline together and had fun cracking up excessivley at each other in our tired, slap-happy state. (our team: Joe, Ellora, Michael, Mark, Sandy, Micah, Bill, me, Sven and one of the local priests, Benjamin)

Once again, all I can do is praise God for the privilege to be here and see the passion of those who are ministering for Him. It's truly inspiring. Please pray for Fr. Misael, Claudia and Raul and the churches of Cristo Redentor and San Pedro. They're doing awesome work here to bring the "least of these" to faith in Jesus Christ. May Our Lord bless each of you abundantly! Gloria Dios!

Peru Trip Day 3

January 13, 2008
Greetings from Peru family and friends!
Today was another eventful and wonderfully day. We began our day at the English-speaking service at the Cathedral. The congregation is a mixture of ex- patriot Brits, Americans and English-speaking (and learning) Peruvians.

(Catedral del Buen Pastor)

We were invited to serve at the English service today and every member of the team did so. I read the New Testament lesson, Mark read the Old Testament, Sandy and Micah were ushers, Ellora lead the Prayers of the People; Sven, Joe and Bill served in the altar party and Michael preached (a great message!). This was a fun chance for us, as Nashotah House seminarians, to do what we do best.

(Bill {hidden}, Sven and Joe showing what Nashotah does best...liturgy!)

We then attended the Spanish service which included the Baptism of a young girl named Vanessa. It was a privilege to witness the beginning of this young girl’s life in Christ and; even though we were halfway around the world, in a different culture and language; reaffirm our own Baptismal vows together with her and our Peruvian brothers and sisters in Christ in this congregation.

(Michael preaching)

We then were invited to the home of Dean of the Cathedral, Fr. John, and his wife Susan for a great time of fellowship and a wonderful lunch.

This afternoon we visited the Mision la Ascension, a very small, new church in the city which is the home Church of Mariela and Marco (who you can see in photos from Day 1). They have been our guides here everyday and are such a blessing. They have true servants’ hearts and have become great friends to us.

(Mision la Ascension, about the size of a typical American garage)

Their priest, Fr. Alberto lead the music and also gave an awesome message on the Baptism of Christ which Sven translated for us. (Sven translating for Fr. Alberto...and possibly the only evidence of him ever wearing a tie!)

The worship was Spirit-filled and lively with a true Peruvian flavor and the faith of the people in this tiny Church was so encouraging to see. We had a great time worshipping with them and fellowshipping after the service.

(Paola {in the purple floral shirt} and members of Ascension; Joe, Ellora, and Bill listeing to Fr. Alberto's sermon)

They are growing and therefore need a larger building so asked for our prayers, please do say a prayer for a new building for Fr. Alberto and Mision la Ascension. Thanks!

(the wonderful band, note the box the drummer is sitting on; its actually a traditional Peruvian drum played much like an African djembe...Cool "guitar mans" huh Booj?)

Tonight was our “free night” and Fr. John and Susan recommended we go to a buffet and show a couple blocks from our apartment. The food was traditional Peruvian food which consisted of rice, cold and hot potato dishes with a curry(ish) sauce; beef, poultry and pork in various sauces; lots of olives and all kinds of wonderful fresh fruit…oh and octopus ceviche (marinated in lime and spices), mmmm!

The show consisted of a live band playing traditional Peruvian music and about a dozen different “acts” of all kinds of traditional Peruvian dancers. One word for the quality of the music and dancing…fantastico!

(Traditional "Scissor Dancers" accompanied by a violinist and harpist {behind "Air Inca"}, these men hold two halves of scissors in one hand which they play like castanets while dancing and doing all kinds of amazing acrobatic feats...a little like American break-dancing. The harp and violin music was Peruvian but vaguely reminiscent of Irish/Celtic music believe it or not.)

The quality of the music, dancing, costumes, etc was really incredible. As one who absolutely loves indigenous / ethnic music this was a real treat for me. It was a fun night out and a blessing from the Lord.

Today was a great day. I must say the highlight for me was visiting Mision la Ascension. They are such an inspiration and encouragement to me as one who aspires to plant Churches after seminary. Then again, all the Christians I’ve met here in the missiones (missions) and parroquias (parishes) have the kind of faith which inspires me. Praise God for the faithfulness of His saints in Peru. Gloria Dios!

Peru Trip Day 4

January 14, 2008
Saludos in el Nombre de Jesus!
Today was an incredible but exhausting day, both physically and emotionally, and can be summed up by a sign at the first Church we visited this morning, Jesus es Salvador…


(The Word of God has life and power. Hebrews 4:12)

Over and over today we saw how Jesus radically transformed lives in midst of desperate situations. We started by driving about an hour south to Jesus es Salvador which is in an area similar to the area we visited Saturday (San Juan de Miraflores), neighborhoods which about 30 years ago were settled by squatters and have since become established neighborhoods; poor but established nonetheless. The Church, Jesus es Salvador, has been in this area over 23 years and this woman has been there from the beginning.
(Unfortunately I can’t recall her name)

Marco is a lay minister who serves both Jesus es Salvador and Mision San Andreas de Oasis and studies at the seminary in the evening...whew! After giving us a tour of Jesus es Salvador, which has a beautiful new building, Marco and some members of the Church took us down to a district called Oasis.
(the new sanctuary of Jesus es Salvador)


On the way there they were careful to tell us that this area very poor. Somewhat ironically, Marco and co. are from an area that itself is very poor, so for them to describe where we were going as very poor was startling.


While San Juan de Miraflores (the first shanty-town we visited) was poor, people lived primarily in brick homes, had legal power, etc. In Oasis people lived in makeshift shacks made from whatever materials they could scavenge, dirt floors, illegally acquired electricity by tapping into lines, etc. This was certainly the worst poverty I’ve ever witnessed. And, like all the shanty-towns we've visited, what you see in this pictures seems to go on forever.

(Look closely and you will see a cross next to the red and white flag, modeled on the Peruvian flag, which says "Oasis")

Marco made pastoral calls on a number of families and took us with him. He asked for prayer as serving two Churches and studying at night is taxing on him but he loves the people in his care. Please say a pray for Marco to have strength, refreshment and encouragement in his ministry.

(Sarah - a British missionary who was our translator today, Marco from Jesus es Salvador, Rosa and another young girl whom he made a pastoral call to. Marco loves God's people immensely.)

(the lovely family - Rosa, Giancarlo, Elva-mom, Grandma and Grandpa)

One lovely family we visited invited us all into their home. We learned that around the time the Mision San Andreas de Oasis was started the father, of the family pictured above, was murdered and the priestvRuben (who is working currently in the area hit by the earthquake) counseled the family through it and they all subsequently gave their lives to Jesus. Gloria Dios! They were an absolutely beautiful family and I was again humbled to sit in their simple home (their entire house was about the size of a typical American’s living room) and see the joy on their faces in spite their circumstances.

During our visit to Jesus es Salvador Marco was kind enough to show me a charango (a small Peruvian stringed instrument similar to a mandolin) they use for worship. Some of the ladies traveling with us took us to a music store who sold high quality charangos for a very reasonable price and after Marco (our guide, not be confused with Marco from Jesus es Salvador) inspected one meeting his discerning eye, I became the proud new owner of the coolest souvenir I’ve ever gotten overseas! (And all for $40). And I also got a real zampona (pan pipes) for mi hijo. I can’t wait to learn to play it. Michael and Sven purchased box drums like that used at last night’s show. We’re hoping to rock out some worship songs Peruvian style. Arriba!
(the world's newest charangista)

In the shanty-towns one thing I found fascinating was that even in the worst slums there were Internet Cafes, sometimes in the same kind of makeshift buildings as the homes I mentioned.
(If you look closely in the left of this picture you'll see a vertical, blue sign that says "Internet")

(A young boy sitting on the side of the road playing his charango and zamponas who was elated when I stuck my head out the window to snap his photo)

We then drove two hours from the south of the city at Oasis to the far north to visit the community of Collique to visit a new mission of the diocese. This area was another shanty-town that is known for being home to many thieves and bandits. Most families here are a single mother with children from numerous fathers who are not present. While the other areas we visited were poor, they didn't feel unsafe. Collique was the first place we visited that seemed to have have a threatening vibe.


(A typical scene in Collique - a shack with laundry hanging, mangy dogs and pigeons wandering and the mountains surrounding the community)

The mission does not have its own building yet and meets in the home of local woman named Suzy who donated the 1st floor of her house to the mission. She had to add a second floor in order to make room for herself to live!
(Jerry; Suzy and Edith, Jerry's wife)

Suzy herself was a thief who gave her life to Jesus and now runs an afternoon program Monday through Friday for the local children teaching them Bible lessons and then giving them a small meal of bread with jelly and a beverage of powdered milk and quinoa (like oatmeal). This is the only evening meal these children eat each day.


(This picture the children made of the Good Samaritan was riveting to see here in Collique, seeing as we too had to come through a roadway known to be inhabitted by bandits to get there.)

One of the main purposes of our visit was to help paint Lucy’s home. While helping paint was fun we had the time of our lives with the 80 children who came for lessons and a snack today. I could talk about it...but the pictures tell the story(Before...)



(...and after)
(Sandy with our new friends)
(These little cuties were delighted when I showed them their picture in the display on the camera pointing and covering their mouths and saying in Spanish, 'Look it's me! It's you Luis!')
(Marco - our guide and Micah playing volleyball with the kids)
(Bill fell in love with the little ones in Collique)
(Ellora being mobbed by 'ninas' as we prepare to leave)
(Joe saying grace with the kids before snack time)
(One of the best moments all day, Mark was staining the door when he got a surpise hug from Jesus...we have now officially dubbed Mark "Cuddly-Bear")

We fell in the love with these kids. Praise God for changing the lives of women like Suzy, the theif-turned-Bible Teacher. We saw so much joy and hope shining forth in this area today. In such a desperate, hopeless set of circumstances the only explanation for the kind of joy, hope and faith we saw was Jesus' Presence. Amen. Amen. Amen. Gloria Dios!