Chillin' in Chincha

We've been in Chincha since late Thursday night ... Hard to write a lot because of the Spanish-language keyboard and the crowded conditions in the Internet cafe. This has been a wonderful trip, different in some significant ways than trips I have taken to Peru in the past. Because of the large number of seminary students and young pastors on this trip, we have been focusing heavily on forming relationships with local churches and communicating the story of the Methodist churches of this area to the group. This is all in the hopes that some of the folks will want to lead groups themselves in future years.

Pastor Pedro continues to amaze me with his energy, his leadership, and his love for Jesus. They have been working through some difficult times here lately, due to theological differences with the iglesias libres, the free churches, which tend toward an over-spiritualized gospel and a tendency toward 'prosperity preaching'. Pedro has been sharing a lot of this with me and with the group as a whole, and in some strange ways, it is nice to see a church struggling bravely with divisions that are truly theological in nature (not that our church's struggle over moral issues is not rooted in theology, but our debates over them rarely reach the level of theology from which they spring). As the district superintendent for the Chincha District, it is Pedro's task to help the church through its current struggles and grow it stronger.

As always, the church's ministry with children is among the most awe-inspiring example of God's work that I have seen. In a few days, I'll have some free time in Lima and will try to write more then. For those of you out there who have been to Peru with me before, you would be interested to see a lot of what is happening here.

Your continued prayers for this mission are appreciated!