PERU '09 ~ DAY II ~ Painting at San Pedro & Lectures

(David Adams embracing the shanty towns of San Juan de Miraflores)

When I had last left off we were on our way out the door to the seminary for a night that included the Eucharist, dinner and fellowship and the first installment of the curriculum they asked us to teach on Keeping a Rule of Life. David Adams did an incredible job teaching on the topic "What is a Rule of Life and Why is it Important in the Christian Life?" We had a great discussion time towars the end with our Peruvian brothers and sisters where their shared their hopes for our time together and helped us understand their lives and the cultural context in which they live their spiritual lives. It was an awesome evening.

In 2008 Nashotah House made it's first visit to the Anglican Diocese of Peru through a very generous grant from the Evangelical Education Society (EES). Thanks to EES's generosity and encouragement this first encounter paved the way for the relationship Nashotah House and the Seminary of Sts. Augustine are continuing to build now, and which I hope will continue for years to come.

(In front of Cristo Redentor: Ana, "the Davids", Mark, Fr. Misael and Fr. Allen)

Then this morning we headed south on our combi (van) to the Churches of Cristo Redentor and San Pedro which are under the care of Fr. Misael and Claudia. These Churches are smack the heart of the shanty-town/squatter settlements of the district of San Juan de Miraflores and their atop some big mountains and you can see the sprawl in every direction for what must be ten or fifteen miles? It's staggering.

(The four-year-old class at Cristo Redentor. Can you spot a red-head among the students?)

We had a chance to visit the classes of their day school, which are sponsored by Compassion International, and it was wonderful to see Jude connect with the Peruvian kids.

We also were able to help paint the exterior wall of the Church of San Pedro, also in Fr. Misael and Claudia's care, since it unfornately is the victim of graffiti. It was a great team effort with by everyone. These photos show the transformation from grafitti to a clean, white wall. Not unlike what the Lord does with our hearts, eh?

Here you can see the fruit of our labors. Notice the mountains in the background on the left?


This afternoon we had some fun down-time. Half of our team (Mark and the Prathers) are staying with Fr. Allen and Dcn. Rachel Hill and they're two boys and its been such a blessing. Their generosity in opening their home to us, and share their lives and example of life as a missionary family, is incredible. The boys had fun playing "Pile On Mark" this afternoon. It's so great to see Jude enjoy the new friendships with the Hill boys which they're quickly formed.

(Joel teaching about spiritual disciplines of engagement, like Lectio Divina)

Tonight we returned to the seminary for Eucharist and then my (Joel's) lecture on "Spiritual Disciplines of Engagement." It was a real privilege to present this material since it is material I'm passionate about and I'm presenting it to friends whom I have an incredible amount of respect for. These fellow seminarians have incredible lives which include working full-time, serving as ministers in their Churches (often be fully responsible for a Mission Station) having families and going to seminary four nights a week...all of which they do with incredible faithfulness, committment and joy! They're such a wonderful example. It was humbling to be asked to teach them. They certainly are teaching us as well through the incredible examples of committment and joy which they are.

(Ana translating for Joel...even the hand gestures!)

It's been a real blessing as well to have our very own in-house translator in Ana McGlynn. From the moment we headed to the airport she has been reaching out to people, striking up conversation and offering encouragement in the Lord to all and translating our curriculum each night. We're privileged to have her with us as a member of our Nashotah Team.