Update from Father Shaw

Dear Friends in Christ,

Peace be with you.

We hope you are having a great Ash Wednesday. As I write this, it is 5:40 am, and pitch black outside. We are on a two hour time difference from Albany.

Thanksgivings:
1) As of yesterday, we have an offer of a long-term place to live in Lima, beginning in May, with a trustworthy landlady, in a good location, at a good price. Along with that arrangement are some other plusses. Now, comes the part of working out the details to see if this is possible, and what to do about living accommodations from April 21st to the time we could move in.

2) We also have two offers of help to get us to the airport on April 20. (The flight is overnight, so we depart on the 20th and arrive on the 21st), and it looks like we will take up both offers. Thank you very much!

3) We are continuing to be blessed by the prayers and financial contributions that support our mission work in Peru.

Prayers:
1) Learning Spanish (see below).
2) Moving forward with living accommodations in Lima.
3) For our time here in Palmer Lake.
4) Meeting with Julie's and my niece in Denver in about a week an a half.
5) Tax preparation matters both this year and in following years, as we try to figure out how to do this across long-distances.
6) Internet banking arrangements.
7) Preparing for cultural adjustments in Lima.
8) For continued support raising.
9) Continued vigilance against effects of high altitude: we are at 7,400 feet above sea level, and we are adjusting very well.

A more detailed prayer request, regarding "1", above:
Last week, I mentioned two sources of language learning that we are planning to do. Here is the basic difference between them: 1) A language school helps us learn deductively (from the top, down, instruction). 2) local helpers help us learn inductively (from the ground, up, instruction).

At first, it may sound like the methods overlap, but the content focus is different. The following is a way to understand this from a similar approaches to the Scriptures: the deductive approach involves a teacher with a set curriculum teaching the scriptures, but an inductive approach is your own daily study of the scriptures with tools that you have available.
Both methods complement each other.

We now understand that both approaches to Spanish are extremely important for what we are planning to do, and your prayers would be appreciated that we would learn much from both methods. Finding the right helpers is important (it is suggested that we do not depend on just one helper, and that we start out, trying several in succession), and your prayers would be appreciated for that.

Thank you for your prayers!

God bless you.

In Christ,

Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.