PEPA - Planting the seeds

Most of you already know what I'm going to say, based on the picture. Our great friends Katie and Boots Holder live on the outskirts of Lima and have just enough grass area to have a garden. One of the things they grow is Okra. To our delight, Boots and Katie came by the other night with a bag full of fresh okra. Can you believe that! Fresh Okra. Susie made one of the best tasting Chicken and Sausage gumbo I'd ever tasted.

In Spanish, fruits and Veggies can have either Semilla or Pepas. Semillas are seeds, while Pepas or pits. In case you are wondering, you can't say that something is the pits in Spanish....it doesn't work. You get the all too familiar deer in the headlight look of confusion.

All this talk of seeds and pits is quite relevant to our work here in Peru.

PEPA is a word we use all the time. It is an acronym for how we teach layman farmers and herdsman throughout the Andes how to lead Bible Studies in a simple, interactive form.

Pepa Stands for:

P - Promesa Promise Is there a promise from God's word?
E - Ejemplo Example Is there an example to follow?
P - Pecado Sin Is there a sin to confess?
A - Accion Action Is there an action to take?

In the middle of the Andes, there are no seminary trained pastors and there are no missionaries living with them full-time. They must learn to study the word of God for themselves. It's our job to train national leaders just how to do this, guiding them to lean on the Holy Spirit to confirm in their hearts doctrinal truths based on the only source they need...the Bible, it's not about what a Seminary Professor says or about what I as a missionary say. It's about what the word of God says and that's how we teach them to learn what is truth...straight from the source, ina simple, interact way of digging into the word of God together.

Coming Home?

It's funny because when I say "I am almost home", "I am coming home" etc, I automatically think of our little house and our little family here in Lima, but also when I talk about Louisiana or Baton Rouge, that is home too. Well guess what? I am coming home...to the states!

Alisha and I (Susie) have just secured airline tickets to return to the states. Her flight leaves on June 20th and she will spend her whole summer in the states and return to Lima on August 3, the morning before she starts back to school. I will be arriving on July 7th and returning on July 23rd.

Our main objective for this trip is to take Alisha to check out a few colleges before she makes her final decision. We will be hitting 4 or 5 colleges in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.

The great thing is, these states are where most of our friends and family live!!!! How lucky is that. The bad thing is, I will leave the night before Arnold turns the big four "UH-OH"! (40!) He booked the tickets without listening to me!

Alisha and I are working on our itinerary so we can know when we will be where and be able to see as many of you as possible.

Please pray as Alisha prepares for this new chapter in her life, that the Lord will fill her with peace and the confidence to know where He would have her go. Also, pray for me...for one, I will be doing a lot of driving while in the states, but also that the Lord will protect my heart as I prepare to watch my daughter fly away from the nest and her family and we leave her in the states. (This will be in August 2009)

We love you and are very excited to have this unexpected opportunity to come to the states.

His
Susie

Geaux Tigers

The LSU tigers have made such a name for themselves that Peruvian fans have started putting bumper stickers in their public transportation.

This picture was from a fellow missionary

Some things never change

...but some things always do. For example: food.

You can trust the Cracker Barrel menu to always be what it is....tried and true, proven by millions of hungry diners.






On the other hand, some things never stay the same...for example, flavor addd-ins to Dr. Pepper.







These are just some of the foods I had while in the US. You guys are so spoiled up there!

The Way It Ought To Be

What would a church look like if they were on fire to be on mission with God to see the whole world know who Jesus Christ is? It would look like Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, AR. They know how to motivate its people to be on mission for God. For 3 days, missionaries from all over the world: Africa, Asia, South America, NYC, Omaha, New Orleans, Little Rock, and downtown Jonesboro were ushered in for a three day conference. The missionaries represented an Acts 1:8 spectrum from Jerusalem to the uttermost. Check out their website in the coming weeks to see the conference speakers (and maybe even a glimpse of me).

We stayed with church families and spoke with Sunday School classes about what it is that we do. We were able to share with the whole church about what we do before and after services Saturday and Sunday, where we had display booths and dressed in native wear. I chose the dress of the Cusco Quechua (see below). Our hopes for the church is that every member found some ministry, whether it be around the block or around the world, where they can plug in and get involved in missions.

A special surprise was getting to visit with the Bushes (shown with me here), who were on the REAPSouth team before we came to Peru. We worked with them for just 10 days before they returned to the states. They were at the conference representing the Crisis Pregnancy Center where they are no working in Little Rock, AR. They decided not to come in native dress (ie, maternity clothes). Maybe next time they'll catch the spirit!


I want to thank Jay Little and his family for opening up their hearts and their home to me during the week. I want to especially thank Julianna and Jordyn Little, my new friends, who made me feel like family...Jordyn even let me borrow her room while I was there. I will cherish this family for all eternity