Peru Trip Meeting

Dear Mission Trip Participants:

Please mark your calendars for the late afternoon/early evening of Sunday, June 6, 2010. Let’s plan to get together in the Sharon Church Annex Basement at 4:00 p.m. We will go over the trip schedule and other trip logistics and pack some of the donations we will be taking to Peru.After our meeting and packing donations, let’s have dinner at Genaro’s Peruvian Rotisserie Grill. Genaro’s is located at 10405 Park Road , just past the Kangaroo convenience store heading south on Park Road towards Pineville.

I have received a couple of e-mails from Samuel Montes which I wanted to share with you. Samuel is the past President and the current mission trip liaison for the Presbytery of Huanta.

The leaders of the Presbytery of Huanta have asked that we assemble, sand and paint one hundred fifty (150) benches (to be used as pews) during our week in Huanta. The recipients of these benches will be four (4) presbyteries neighboring the Presbytery of Huanta in the District of Tambo.

I am excited that we will again be able to be with members of the Presbytery of Huanta and students attending the August session of Huanta’s Biblical Institute yet join with the Presbytery of Huanta in their outreach to neighboring presbyteries. There are thirty-one churches and groups with over one thousand members in these four presbyteries.

The detailed 2010 Project Proposal. I thank Sara Armstrong and Rusty Edmondson for their translation of the proposal.
In an e-mail I received last week, Samuel made the following comment:

“It is hard for me to explain what it means for my brothers and sisters in the United States to travel so far to love us and be with us. It is a lesson of what true love is all about.”

I think Samuel’s words speak volumes to what personal relationships and what “just being there” means to our brothers and sisters in Peru.

Project funds were sent to the Presbytery of Huanta on Monday, May 24, 2010. This will enable Samuel to purchase the wood, have it cut and mortised and along with the other materials necessary to assemble, sand and paint the benches, delivered to the Christo Rey Church prior to our arrival in Huanta.

Sarah and I had the opportunity and pleasure to visit and worship with the congregation of Port Orange Presbyterian Church (“POPC”) on Sunday, May 2, 2010. After worship, we met with Sarah Dolatowski, Kaitlin Lyons, Kerry Lyons, Kendall Ward and Theresa Wolf, POPC members who will be participating in the trip to Peru . POPC has committed to expanding its outreach beyond its local community and is sending mission teams to Cuba, Nicaragua and Peru this year. Sarah and I are looking forward to our journey of faith and service with Sarah, Kaitlin, Kerry, Kendall and Theresa in Peru!
Thank you for participating in this year’s trip. If you have questions, concerns or comments, please let me know.

Peace,
Randy