Santiago Apóstol

No we weren't robbed! It's Padre Salvador trying not to inhale so much dust!

Stirring up a lot of Dust

Yes, indeed! In our "hurry-up-and-wait" culture St. Matthew's team has been great! While waiting for the workers, the water truck, the civil engineer, and the bulldozer to appear, the team filled in deep holes remaining from survey excavations, and hauled more rocks to mark the boundaries...again! Some of the rocks seem to have migrated to the neighbors' walls! Finally, by the time we left, at least the perimeter of the church building was marked out. Thanks be to God. Much discussion about each part! The "bandit" was Padre Salvador who was there with his wife, Denisse. Maybe tomorrow we will have a somewhat level piece of ground to work with. Call me the "optimist."

Growth

We now have 7 clergy down here in Southern Peru. Deacon Ruben is the newest member and has just started at Juliaca. We were informed at Synod that seminarian Luis,in his last courses now, would be moving up to Juliaca very soon and commuting back to his classes here. We look forward to his ordination. He is a gifted preacher and will be a great help to Ruben. Of course he will be missed by the kids at Casa Sagrada Familia and his friends here. We pray God's protection on him and God's blessings on his ministry.

Synod

Just back from the Diocesan Synod, we had the opportunity to network with friends in Lima that we so seldom see. This year there was a large contingent from Arequipa. The interaction between the delegates was good and we were informed of various diocesan organizations. Padre Ron and Vicki stayed at the Cathedral with the Parks. A wedding the night before provided the beautiful flowers in front of the altar for the Sunday service.

Mexican Dominos

Recently Fr. Ron and Vicki invited the other clergy families over for an evening of fellowship. We were sorry Deacon Ruben's scheduled arrival was changed and he couldn't make it. After visiting and dinner, we broke out the dominos and played a number of rounds filled with much laughter and friendly competion. A great time of fellowship outside the usual "business" environment that was enjoyed by all...even the losers!

Palm Sunday

We had a great time in the Palm Sunday procession. The neighborhood got to hear us praise the Lord!

Santiago Apóstol

Here are a couple of architectural renderings for the church at Santiago Apóstol. We are eager for the St. Matthew´s Cathedral team to see them. It will be so awesome to see it begin in just a few weeks! Halleluia! Deacon Nancy, Deacon Noe, Padre Tony, everyone else! Look! Look!

Costruction Under Way

Yep! We are about to finish up the 2 additional bedrooms at Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia. This will allow us to move over the 6 kids we need to move this year from San Jose. They should finish the bedrooms by this Wed. and we will move kids over next Wed. I hope to put on line a couple of priliminary plans for the "big" dorm project that will meet our need for dormitory space in the future. We believe this is according to the Lord's will and would ask you to pray with us for His guidance in this large construction project.

AMA

Vicki was just in to Lima to visit with the leaders of AMA along with Deacon Maria Andia. Earlier this year Vicki led the music for Cristo Redentor's AMA event. It was an impressive service.