Visitors 'til Tomorrow

More pics will surely follow, but for now we are just enjoying Sadie and Kimi and Brian. Thank you, Lord, for this visit.

Scholastic Excelence

Bet you hardly recognize Margot without her glasses and with all the fancy curls
She was really excited to be selected for academic achievement.

AMA RETREAT

AMA

Vicki had a great time at the women's retreat. She enjoyed leading the worship music with her guitar and she played her flute out in the garden by the chapel at one point. It was a great experience for the ladies and they felt that the Holy Spirit was really present. This is a picture of the leadership team and then the entire group.

Anyone got some grass?

That has been what we have been looking for. Thanks to a gift from a friend we were able to buy some sod yesterday. With help from our friends from Peru, Texas, and New Mexico, we were able to set it out today. Pretty cool isn't it? Every time the kids had a free moment this afternoon, they clustered on it. Thanks everyone

New Students

In this round of seminary classes we have some new students- Leonor in the forground and Elsa and Milton in the background. We also have Jazmani joining us, too. This class is Anglicanism which I try to teach frequently as one of their first courses to orient students to the Anglican Communion and what we are and what we are not. Remember that unlike seminarians from other countries, our students don´t have long backgrounds in Anglican Churches. Most have only been in the church for 3-5 years.

Padre Juan Carlos and María join us for "refrigerio" "snack" before we do Morning Prayer.

Got the Picture to Prove It

Vicki went along with Juan Carlos and María to take pictures of the official singing in of Santiago Apóstol as a voting member in the township of Vía Ecológica. This is an important part of the lengthy ownership process in a "pueblo joven" or "young town." Juan Carlos does the signing for the church and María gets the detailed information from the mayor Vladimir. Better tell it straight, Vladimir, you won´t pull the wool over Mariía´s eyes!

Clergy

Arequipa clergy and friend: L to R- Padre Alejandro; Padre Misael from Lima; Deacon David; Padre Juan Carlos; Padre Ron. We'll need to work really closely together now as we try to cover all the missions as a team. Pray for our meeting Sept. 15 that the Lord will give us wisdom and insight in planning to cover all the locations where the Lord's People meet to praise Him.

September 11

O God, our help in ages past,our help for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home:
A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone:
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun,
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
be thou our guide while life shall last , and our eternal home.

Cuy

Yes, we are talking "cuy" again. One of the San Lucas School families (where we ate" cuy" or guinea pig) raises them. Right now they have about 150. He knows of places that raise up to 5 to 7 thousand! Anyway, he went out with his wife, Ron, and Vicki to check out how to place pens. It will take a bit of construction, but we hope to have them in before long. Stay tuned......HEALTH NUTS BEWARE!!! While looking at a book on cuy, Ron discovered some interesting facts when comparing guinea pig to beef, chicken, and lamb. Cuy is LOWER in fat and HIGHER in protein. I wonder if the "Roof Dog" Gang in Plano have thought of a cuy farm in Plano?? Stranger things.....

Ya Gotta See It!

Ron sighed and passed by the sacristy on his way home from his afternoon class yesterday thinking that NOW he could relax. Oops! Hmmm. Juan Carlos passed by at that moment in the best of moods, laughing and smiling. Hmmmm. "Why isn't he working on his sermon about now?" Ron asked himself. Hmmmm.. Suspiciously he looked at the role. OH, OH! Ron was down to preach! "Lord, inspiration-quick!" prayed Ron. All came off well this morning at both services. Thank you, Lord-again! Fortunately, Ron does get a bit of relaxation each morning. It takes about thirty minutes to water the flower beds. If even one day is missed, things begin to wilt, so every morning you will find Ron outside in PJ's with jeans and a jacket on watering the beds around 7:15. Our flowers are truly beautiful. Soon I hope to put on pictures featuring each of the types of bouganvillea we have in the yard-actually 6 different colors. Right now the Lantana on the back wall is stealing the show with pastel pinks, purples, and light yellows. But, ya gotta see Ron's prize plant. Yes, sir, it is for real. Probably the only Jalapeño growing at 7300 ft. We are agonizing over whether or not to pick it. For about 3 months Ron and Cornelia have been bringing it in at night because of the cool nights around 42 degrees. Will there EVER be another one? Never mind. A Mexican bash is sure to follow soon!

Business

While the bishop was here in town, he had a meeting of the clergy. This picture is in our seminary library. Padre Juan Carlos put up the cross that Ron has had sitting there on the shelf for 3 months or more. Planning for this area takes more thought now. We have ministries going in San Lucas, Cristo Redentor, Santiago Apóstol, San Bernabé, Cabanaconde, Juliaca, and San Antonio. With Deacon David here, and Justo soon to be one, we can cover the bases more effectively. Ron has his hands full with teaching 5 classes a week and directing the 2 Casas Hogares. This morning he preached at the first service in Cristo Redentor and then took the entire second service so that Juan Carlos, Deacon David, and the crew could get an early start on going to Juliaca. Our thinking is to send the deacon up every other week. That would give Juliaca a clergy person EVERY week. That will thrill them and should really help the church take off.

He's Back

This past week we had Bishop Godfrey with us on an "in-and-out" basis. He spent Thursday night with us. With him came Padre Misael. We got them up at 4:30 a.m. and out on the corner at 5:15 a.m. to catch a bus to check on the property in Cabanaconde and plan for the construction there. The taxi company I had called twice did NOT show up. As I prayed in the deserted pre-dawn, one of my taxi friends just "happened" by and whisked off the bishop to the bus terminal. In all things great and small, give thanks to the Lord! Next, on Saturday the bishop returned to stay until Tuesday afternoon. That always is a challenge as we don't know whether we will have 5 or 15 for lunch! Of course we were glad to host him and Padre Misael, but it kept us on our toes!

My! Time Flies!

Just a couple of weeks ago the bishop's wife Judith was up here to discuss the women's retreat. Wow! Now it's time for the retreat this week. Day after tomorrow the team arrives. Vicki is all ready. She has been practicing guitar, making transparencies, and doing song booklets. This year she really KNOWS a bunch of the songs. No small feat when you consider everything is done here by EAR with no music! Go, girl, go! Also in the picture is Maria Andia (most of
the "Maria's" here use their middle names too) who, besides being Padre Juan Carlos's wife is the diocesan administrator for Arequipa and its projects as well as Ron's part-time secretary for the seminary. We hope she gets some rest and a spiritual boost from the retreat! What a blessing she is to us. Please remember our cook Cornelia in your prayers. She will leave tomorrow to go with her husband Justo to Lima. Justo is being interviewed by a diocesan committee and we expect him to be ordained in Nov. He is a seminary graduate. The trip to Lima is a big adventure for Cornelia and the prospect of being a clergy wife is overwhelming. She is terrified and would appreciate prayers.