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The Word of the Lord...
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:28-34 Grow where you are planted... Why is it the tendency of the human heart to always wish for things it does not have? "The grass is greener on the other side" is a saying that did not come about without reason! When I was in the United States, I couldn't wait to come to Peru. Now that I am in Peru, I am missing my homeland like crazy. God takes care of the lilies of the field, and HOW MUCH MORE will he take care of me? This section of my life is not in vain, although it does come with its own set of hardships. But oh, the opportunities that come with the hardships! Can I grow where I am planted, even if it means feeling humiliated in not being able to communicate or doing the simplest task with ease? All those years of training, education, and experience do they sit in the closet while I hold my aching head between my hands and beg God to give me the ears and the heart to understand another language and another culture? I hope the answer is "Yes." I hope I will allow God to grow me where I am planted, even if it means letting go of the things that I used to consider critical for my self worth and HOLDING ON TO NOTHING BUT HIM FOR MY SELF WORTH. I hope I will be able to put those "things" in the closet, while sitting before God in all humility and learning like a child. I hope I will give God my whole heart and sit quietly before him, and ASK rather than TELL. It does not come naturally for me, but I do believe God is setting me up to do HIS work... not my own. He gives me just enough hope and vision every day to say, "Lord, I will be still and endure the ripping away of my idols so that you have room to work." A vision for the future... Someone recently said to me to be sure to remember what God made clear in the light when I feel that I am in the darkness. In other words, remember how I got here. The call to come was clear, the approval process was without snags, the financial and prayer support was raised quickly. My house was rented, my cats have a wonderful home, my friends and family are supportive and keep in touch... so many prayers were answered and God's direction was clear to me. Now I stand before him and remember these things. He gives me peace and hope along the way. One tremendous vision of hope that has been laid before me is that of Manuel Correa. This is a very poor area in which we are starting a church. I can't communicate well, but I can assist those who do. Because of the language barrier, I cannot teach, but I can assist those who do. And with the kids... well, a hug, a smile, and a little bit of grammatically incorrect Spanish goes a LONG way!! Manuel Correa is a small community built into the dirt hills near our neighborhood. The thing that constantly amazes me is the abundance of dirt... the dry, dusty dirt that comes with a desert climate and the lack of rain. Everything gets covered with dusty dirt. No clothes, no hands, no books, no musical instruments, no people are safe from the layering of dusty dirt. In Manuel Correa, we have a Sunday morning meeting from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the kids. We sing, pray, have a lesson and a craft, sing again, and close in prayer. We have anywhere from 25-45 kids on any given morning in a small dusty room. The kids come on their own, some from nearby streets and some from the houses that sit high up on the sides of the dirt hills. Last Sunday, one of my favorite little boys, Junior (age 7, who comes with his younger brother Julinio, who is 6) showed up with a knot over one eye and a scratch down the side of his face. After the customary hug, kiss, and playing around with music, I asked him "?Que Paso?" and he suddenly became very quiet and hung his head. I wasn't sure if I had asked an appropriate question... I expected an answer of falling on the playground or getting hit while playing soccer... you can imagine the things that went through my head, but I did not press the issue further. I paid special attention to him that day and he did come out of his shameful silence a little bit by the time the morning was over. After talking it over with my team leaders, I found out that I was free to pursue questioning the kids on things like this, as it will help us to understand more about their family situations. Wednesday evenings in Manuel Correa we have a prayer meeting with the adults (and whatever kids come running in). We have 3-4 regular attendees (all women), and about 5-6 kids that want to come in and will actually sit still and participate in the prayers and songs. We sing, have a short devotional, and then have an extended prayer time for whatever the needs are. In time, as relationships build, we hope to be able to begin sharing the gospel with entire families, not just the kids, and to reach many for Christ in this area. Manuel Correa the people, the church, the kids, the families, and God's work there is one of my biggest requests for prayer. One last quick note on Manuel Correa... there are kids in Manuel Correa who are in danger of becoming street kids as well as kids who actually do live on the streets there. One of these kids is a 15 year old girl named Gabriella. If you don't look closely you could mistake Gabriella for one of the teenage boys. She keeps her hood over her head and her mannerisms are similar to the boys. Last Wednesday, she came to the room where we were holding our prayer meeting, grinning, but when we all invited her in she refused to come inside. But... she stayed close to the window and listened to all that was said and sung. I can still picture her serious face peering in through the open window pane for the duration of the meeting. Later, Julie and I went outside and as she turned to leave we called to her, and introduced ourselves. The three of us stood out in the moonlight, in the dusty dirt, leaning against brick walls and a car, and had moments of silence interspersed with conversation. We weren't sure what to say or ask, and she didn't seem to want to leave. So we stood there together, occasionally conversing when we could think of something to say. When I asked her "Why didn't you come inside?" she motioned to her clothes. I wasn't sure if she was indicating that she was dirty, or that her clothes weren't nice, or exactly what she was indicating. I understand that Gabriella is not able to read or write. I don't know where God will take this relationship with Gabriella, Julie, me and the others, but I will ask you to pray for this situation and more like it. Pray for our building of relationships for his work. Just for amusement... I go to tutoring twice a week for Spanish, and take either a taxi or a van (a "combi" sort of a mini-bus). When I first began, I took a taxi both ways. Then I figured out how to take the bus back home with a short walk to get to my house. Next week I try taking the combi TO tutoring as well as home FROM tutoring. The first few times I went to tutoring, after I finished I would leave my tutor's house and walk the 3 blocks to a busy street in order to take a taxi home. There were these vans with names painted on the side that would pass (I thought they were school vans for kids), and each time one would pass someone would lean out the open door and holler at me "Hallo! Hallo!", and something about Javier Prado, which is that particular busy street. I kept thinking... "Why are all those people hollering at me?" The next week I found out that the vans were called "combis" and that the person hollering out the door is soliciting business. They shout "Todo a Javier Prado!" (all of Javier Prado) and "Al Ovalo!" (to The Oval not "hallo hallo") to let people know where that van is going. I'm sure glad I didn't holler back: "Hallo Yourself!". I thought maybe they were just being really friendly. Your prayers are critical... Dependence on God is still at the top of my list, although maybe soon I'll just ask for "happiness". God continues to keep me close as I struggle with the cultural and language adjustments. Pray for my heart to be soft for him and teachable. Please pray for my health. Round #3 of antibiotics in week #6 finally took care of my bronchial infection, and round #4 of antibiotics in week #8 took care of the parasite. Please pray that I will be able to enjoy good health for a while. Please pray for my language!! I am progressing little by little with my ability to speak the language. My main problem seems to be in the understanding of others as they speak rapidly and slur words (as every one of us here in the States do as well!!). Please pray that God will graciously tune my ear into the language here. Please pray for my visa!! We have received word that our Visa's are ready and will be sent to Arica, Chile on Monday, January 28th. Please pray for Julie and me as we fly to Tacna, Peru and then take a bus to Arica, Chile to obtain our Peruvian work visas (January 28th-29th). Please pray for my team!! Sean Galton will arrive March 1st and Mark and Lori Berry (and their kids Emmet, Ana, and Tailor) will arrive around the 3rd week of March. Julie and I are tremendously excited that they will FINALLY be here with us in person. Mark and Lori are also expecting their 4th child this summer! Please pray for the ministry at Manual Correa!! Pray that God will use us in the building of his church and in the building up of his people in this poor area of Lima.
Laura Deadwyler
and check out our MTW South America web page!!
...as well as my personal page: Date - January 26, 2002
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