The Joy of Giving

As we travel to visit others during mission trips, we are amazed and humbled by the outpouring of interest, support and prayers of those who physically stay behind. One Sharon Presbyterian ministry that quietly supports the annual mission trip to Peru is the Prayer Shawl Ministry. Members of this ministry began making prayer shawls and church pew seat cushions for our precious sisters in Huanta in 2009.

We only wish that the ladies that make the prayer shawls and cushions could witness in person the joy and blessings that the fruits of their time and talent bring to the good people of Huanta.

Special Prayer Requests

• Pastor Juan Martin Escuza and his wife Demetria Montes who was injured in a bus rollover in the Andes in January.
• Pray for the communities of the Andes Mountains as rainy season, which has just begun, devastates the region with flooding, destruction of crops, buildings and transportation networks.
• Pray for the communities as they work together to alleviate disasters. Just in the state of Cuzco 4,689 homes are destroyed, nine bridges are ruined and 40,000 acres of crops have been lost.
• Pray for the family of Pastor Samuel Montes (Vice President of the national IEPRP church) whose home was flooded.
• Pray for the daughter of Pastor Gaspar Huiche (Light & Life Church) whose house was washed away.

From Peruvian Bridges

News From Our Friend Samuel Montes

Samuel Montes recently resigned as director of Radio Amauta. He has also “rotated off” as President of the Presbytery of Huanta. Samuel remains a member of the Junta Directiva (the governing council) of the Presbytery and he will continue to coordinate the activities of mission delegations. In this capacity, Samuel will be actively (and no doubt enthusiastically!) involved in Sharon Presbyterian Church’s 2010 mission trip to Huanta.

Samuel also remains a member of the Junta Directiva of the national church, the Evangelical Presbyterian and Reformed Church of Peru (the “IEPRP”).

Change is often unsettling but nonetheless inevitable. Sharon Church has certainly experienced its share of change in recent years. And yet, despite change and the associated uncertainty, Jesus Christ remains the head of the church. The grace of our Lord endures and His work must go on.

When Sharon Church began its relationship with the Presbytery of Huanta just a mere two years ago, it was based on the hope and understanding that the relationship would be one in which TOGETHER we would share in good times and bad times, feast and famine, togetherness and separation, hope and despair, sunshine and rain, joy and pain. It is my hope that our relationship with the Presbytery will continue and be strengthened.

I found inspiration and comfort in Samuel’s words in the letter that follows. I hope and trust you will too.

Please join me in keeping our precious brothers and sisters in the Presbytery of Huanta and especially the Montes family in our thoughts and prayers.

Randy Ross


Huanta, Peru
February 16, 2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thank you very much for the donation to the Presbytery of Huanta which allowed the Presbytery to purchase calaminas (corrugated metal roofing panels). During Sara Armstrong’s and Rusty Edmondson’s recent visit to Huanta, we took the opportunity to distribute 600 calaminas directly to the beneficiaries of your donation, or to their local churches.

As you may have heard, I am no longer the President of the Presbytery. The new leadership asked me to assist with the distribution of the calaminas, a basic and humble task. We have completed the distribution of the calaminas to those most in need; the elderly, widows and others who lost their houses in the recent rains, floods and mudslides.

Leaders of the local churches will be responsible for motivating their congregations to build homes for the elderly and widows in their communities. This is another way the churches can think about meeting the needs of the poor. The president of each church session collected the materials and then will undertake to build the houses and report back to the Presbytery on their construction progress.

The churches which received materials on behalf of their members are: Light and Life (7 houses), Cristo Rey (3 houses), Aranhuay (5 houses), Ccantuyucc (5 houses), Hatun Rumi (3 houses), Choccewichqa (5 houses), Chula (4 houses) and Pucara (5 houses). The Presbytery is committed to deliver a final report by the end of July 2010.

Once again, thank you for your love and solidarity with our churches. Thank you for your prayers for me, my family, and my concerns about my employment status. I am not alone; I have my brothers and sisters everywhere thinking of me and a great God to continue guiding me. I know the Lord has a purpose for me although I cannot understand it at this moment. I am very happy and at peace because I am in the hands of God.

No matter what happens, we will still be together again as a family in August in Huanta. I love you all very much. Greetings to all my brothers and sisters at Sharon Presbyterian Church, especially those who have traveled here to be with us and most of all to my brother Randy and his family. Randy, your words inspire me to continue supporting the church.

Hugs,
Pastor Samuel Montes

God's Mission Matters

How many times have we participated in a mission trip and felt that "we just didn't get anything done"? This month in Mission Crossroads PC(USA), Hunter Farrell, PC(USA) Director of World Missions, explains "Just be there! Being, not doing..." should be our true mission.

Also listen to this month's edition of "God’s Mission Matters" and hear stories by Doug Welch, former mission worker in Congo for 20 years and current Associate Director in Presbyterian World Mission, and Rob Fohr, former Young Adult Volunteer to Argentina.

We often try to persuade other church members to join mission trips because "you receive much more than you can possibly give". That is always true, on every visit.

Mission members usually don't get satisfaction by the building or repair. The receipt of satisfaction and blessings come by the interaction, the working side by side, the giving, the heartfelt thanks, the worship and the sharing with our hosts.

ACT Alliance in Haiti

This video link has been sent to us from Dennis Smith PC(USA) missionary in Guatemala by way of his colleague Karla Koll. They have received the video from Paul Jeffery, a good friend and Methodist missionary photojournalist in Haiti. The video is based on ACT Alliance, (Action by Churches Together) the global church emergency aid agency of which Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is a part of.

Please keep ALL of our missionaries in your prayers, especially those suffering through the earthquake in Haiti and those struggling through the floods in Peru.

Thank you to Dennis Smith for sending the video, Karla Koll for passing it on and Paul Jeffery for creating it.