Full of Joy & Sorrow

Yesterday, was our last "teaching" Saturday.  Wow, is that hard to soak in.  Next week we will have a farewell party with the kids and teens...and some have threatened to tie us up so that we can not leave. We've had an amazing year with the Huacsha teens.  We've watched them grow and start to take on more seriously their relationship to and with God, absorbing the love that he has for them.  Looking back over the past 10 months we've had the priviledge of organizing a quinceañera for 4 girls in the youth group, held medical campaigns and a special youth service for the community incorporating the short-term volunteers, lead a vacation bible school for 45 kids, supported the Pastora with the Christmas chocolatada for the church, traveled with the teens to a youth camp, and last weekend we lead a youth retreat.  It's neat to look back and see what you accomplish simply through committment and love for a group of people.  I hadn't been involved in any of these types of activities from a planning or leadership standpoint.  And we are so grateful for the support of other missionaries and short-term volunteers.  Thank you!

The youth retreat, was only a one day retreat with 18 teens (12 from Huacsha and 6 from Hunter).  It was held on the grounds of the International Club - Arequipa's only club of this nature.  We had a castle for our gathering space, where we had different speakers along the lines of stewardship and vocation, self-esteem and dating, the holy spirit and allowing him to do his work in us, and the 3 areas of our life hat trip us up as Christians.  We also had a prayer labrinth and a few sessions of worship.  Besides lunch, we played games in between the lectures and later went swimming.  It was a great day.  A couple of the teens told us that they felt lighter, more connected to God by prayer throughout the day, and that they left differently than how they came in.  Isn't that the point?!

Please be praying for the church and the teens in Huacshapata.  It will be hard to leave them.  At this point, we're still praying for someone to take over with the teens.  The Pastora already has a pretty heavy load in ministry and we hope to lighten that for her by finding someone or a couple of people that are passionate and young spirited to continue with them.  This is our biggest need right now.  Other exciting news is that Huacshapata was approved for assistance from Compassion (I have to check with the Pastora if it's Compassion International or the Nazarene program).  So, I'd love it if you, who have a salary or a pay check could continue supporting this awesome community and the program that Pastora started for children and teens there.  Stay tuned to find out which program it is and how to help.

And pray for us - our hearts are full of joy for the relationships we have built and the experiences we have shared, but also they are filled with sorrow to leave behind so many wonderful people learning to trust that God, who brought us here, has a plan to continue caring for them and is sufficient to do the same for us wherever else we may be - no matter how far away.  God is able. God is good. God is the reason we are sent.  Thank God for his love and mercy; may I trust him more each day.