Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
The Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
He who watches over you will not slumber nor sleep.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
The Lord is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
He will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
Both now and forevermore.
Lord, we thank You for watching over the Mudges during this critical time as they get used to a very different culture. Thank You for helping them through the rough spots, language problems and times when confidence disappears. Thank You that You do not sleep, that You are the shade of protection. Thank You for keeping the Mudges from all harm, watching over their lives and watching their comings and goings now and forevermore. Amen.
http://mudgeperureport.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Weekly Mudge Prayer
Luke 22:31-32:
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
The Mudges have asked for prayer for spiritual protection. Lord, we know that You are the great intercessor and that You are praying for the Mudges so that their faith may not fail and their ministry will be strong. We pray that in their weakness, You will be strong, and that You will give them every bit of grace to carry out their mission and to strengthen all those to whom they minister. Protect them, Lord, from the slings and arrows of Satan and send your guardian angels to keep Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia safe, as well as Hannah and Ruth. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
The Mudges have asked for prayer for spiritual protection. Lord, we know that You are the great intercessor and that You are praying for the Mudges so that their faith may not fail and their ministry will be strong. We pray that in their weakness, You will be strong, and that You will give them every bit of grace to carry out their mission and to strengthen all those to whom they minister. Protect them, Lord, from the slings and arrows of Satan and send your guardian angels to keep Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia safe, as well as Hannah and Ruth. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Prayer Mail from Father Shaw
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Peace be with you.
This is our regular weekly prayer mail this week, and it is a public one.
Life as a missionary has its moments. This week, we have encountered a bit of spiritual static among our whole family, both here in Lima as well as in the US, but most of it seems to have settled down for the moment, though we are all still on high alert. And, as long as we are preparing for the Life in the Spirit seminar, please keep us all in special prayer; we enter week three of seven in the seminar course, this week.
Praise reports:
1. In various ways we have been discussing aspects of our faith in language class. It is good practice for the future. Sometimes the teacher asks us outright about topics relating to Anglicanism, prayer, the Bible, and so on, and so we respond.
2. We are settling in. I suppose we will continue to settle in further for some time, but we are getting used to our neighborhood, and its ways. This is one sign that we are in the chaos stage.
3. Some of our family members in the US have discovered Skype. They sound like a kid in a candy store when we talk with them. They can't believe they can talk directly to us and see us on video in Peru at no extra cost. Skype has been a good way for us to keep in touch with various family members.
4. Language learning. We're making progress, though from the driver's seat, it seems slower than we'd like. Yet there are moments of assurance that we are on the right path. Today, for example, Julie's teacher mentioned that Julie is making great progress for the amount of time that we have been "in-country." And our teacher has seen quite a few students. I had a compliment yesterday at the Cathedral Spanish service that my Spanish is more Castilian sounding than a month ago (more like someone who is a natural Spanish speaker would sound). And I notice daily that Lydia has a great accent and picks up the language very quickly.
Prayer requests, this week:
1. Spiritual protection
2. Finances in general.
3. Language learning.
4. Preparing to teach.
5. Getting to know Lima.
6. Our continuing relationships with friends, neighbors, and landlady.
It is an honor to pray for you all every day. Thank you for praying for us.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.
Peace be with you.
This is our regular weekly prayer mail this week, and it is a public one.
Life as a missionary has its moments. This week, we have encountered a bit of spiritual static among our whole family, both here in Lima as well as in the US, but most of it seems to have settled down for the moment, though we are all still on high alert. And, as long as we are preparing for the Life in the Spirit seminar, please keep us all in special prayer; we enter week three of seven in the seminar course, this week.
Praise reports:
1. In various ways we have been discussing aspects of our faith in language class. It is good practice for the future. Sometimes the teacher asks us outright about topics relating to Anglicanism, prayer, the Bible, and so on, and so we respond.
2. We are settling in. I suppose we will continue to settle in further for some time, but we are getting used to our neighborhood, and its ways. This is one sign that we are in the chaos stage.
3. Some of our family members in the US have discovered Skype. They sound like a kid in a candy store when we talk with them. They can't believe they can talk directly to us and see us on video in Peru at no extra cost. Skype has been a good way for us to keep in touch with various family members.
4. Language learning. We're making progress, though from the driver's seat, it seems slower than we'd like. Yet there are moments of assurance that we are on the right path. Today, for example, Julie's teacher mentioned that Julie is making great progress for the amount of time that we have been "in-country." And our teacher has seen quite a few students. I had a compliment yesterday at the Cathedral Spanish service that my Spanish is more Castilian sounding than a month ago (more like someone who is a natural Spanish speaker would sound). And I notice daily that Lydia has a great accent and picks up the language very quickly.
Prayer requests, this week:
1. Spiritual protection
2. Finances in general.
3. Language learning.
4. Preparing to teach.
5. Getting to know Lima.
6. Our continuing relationships with friends, neighbors, and landlady.
It is an honor to pray for you all every day. Thank you for praying for us.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Weekly Mudge Prayers
1 Samuel 3: 10
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Lord, we pray for spiritual guidance for Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge as they continue to prepare for their ministry in Peru. Speak to them, Lord. Help them to know exactly which tasks You have selected for them. Give them the boldness to say no to the work that does not come from you. Give them your grace to accomplish those things that You want them to do. Thank You, Lord. Amen
Acts 2: 38-39
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, Lord. Continue to refill Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge with your Holy Spirit. Be with them especially on Thursday nights as they assist the bishop with the Life in the Spirit seminar. Your promise is for the Mudges and for all the participants of that seminar, and for all the people of Peru to whom they will minister. Thank You, Holy Spirit. Come with all Your Power. Come more strongly, Holy Spirit. We praise Your Holy Name. Amen.
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Lord, we pray for spiritual guidance for Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge as they continue to prepare for their ministry in Peru. Speak to them, Lord. Help them to know exactly which tasks You have selected for them. Give them the boldness to say no to the work that does not come from you. Give them your grace to accomplish those things that You want them to do. Thank You, Lord. Amen
Acts 2: 38-39
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, Lord. Continue to refill Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge with your Holy Spirit. Be with them especially on Thursday nights as they assist the bishop with the Life in the Spirit seminar. Your promise is for the Mudges and for all the participants of that seminar, and for all the people of Peru to whom they will minister. Thank You, Holy Spirit. Come with all Your Power. Come more strongly, Holy Spirit. We praise Your Holy Name. Amen.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Fr. Shaw's Prayer Mail
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Peace be with you.
This can be posted as a public prayer letter.
We have enjoyed the comments from people responding to our prayer mails and letters. We enjoy receiving the latest news and prayer updates.
We are adjusting to Lima. There are reminders on occasion of the similarities/differences between hemispheres. This past week the temperature in Lima has been similar to the current temperature in Wynantskill, NY. That is a similarity.
On the other hand, we are about to head into winter in a few days. Perhaps the warmer winter temperature and desert climate in Lima today are closer to the temperature and climate in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth, than to the cold and snow in upper New York State in December at Christmas time. So, I don't think we will be singing hymn 112 (In the Bleak Mid-winter) in December, here... it will be summer and there is no snow, not even in winter. That is a difference.
Praise reports:
1) We have completed the major part of our moving in. The furniture we were expecting came on Saturday evening. Then we took our books out of boxes and bags, and we put the books on bookshelves, to discover that we need about 2 more book cases. Sigh... The need for bookshelves seems to be the life story of seminary professors and homeschooling families. But, praise God! After the books went into the bookcases, Lydia noted that our apartment now seems like ours, and not someone else's. And it appears that our books are in reasonably good shape. So, we are settling in.
2) We are weathering cultural adjustments rather well.
3) We are moving ahead in ministry and ministry planning.
4) We are moving ahead in language learning, day by day. Conversations are becoming easier. Some people have said that Spanish is an easy language to learn, and while it is a category 1 language (such as French or Italian, and not a category II such as Russian, or a category III language such as Mandarin Chinese), Spanish can be as sophisticated and challenging as any other language. All three of us are making good headway with our Spanish.
According to one Spanish teacher, the version of Spanish that one speaks has to do to a great degree with your economic level in the country. It turns out that we have settled on learning a kind of middle-class Spanish as that is the level of language spoken by seminary professors. And, in fact, we are learning two languages: knowledge of every-day Spanish and knowledge of Spanish that one uses when teaching. Some of the variations in spoken Spanish can be particularly noticeable when the Spanish spoken in Lima is compared with elsewhere in the country. Rate of speaking, clarity of pronunciation, and grammar structures can be very different. And it is necessary to understand various versions of Spanish if you are going to answer questions from students.
If you follow the State Department scale of language proficiency, my guess is that we are somewhere between an S-2 and an S-3 level, on a scale of S-1 (beginning) to S-5 (native speaker). My personal goal is to aim for somewhere in the S-3 to S-4 range, the levels that are necessary for teaching, hopefully attaining an S-4 proficiency over time. How to do that? That is where our training in Colorado comes in handy.
5) Julie and I had our 28th wedding anniversary celebration this past week (it happened on the same day as the furniture arrival and Lydia's youth group meeting), so we squeezed in an evening snack at a Starbucks. It was a good half-hour alone together. By the way, there is valet parking for that section of the street. Yes, Starbucks has valet parking available..... But we walk and take taxis. Walking is good exercise, and taxis are relatively inexpensive here.
6) Lydia's hobbies are up and going. She is back to knitting (a poncho), and continues to write her book, and so forth. Aside from youth group on Saturday evenings, which goes into winter break in about a week, she also keeps in touch with friends and family via Skype and Facebook.
Prayer requests:
1) Language learning. Please continue to pray for our language learning. We can tell that you are praying. It is awesome. We have begun weekly private lessons with a Peruvian linguist from church, and these lessons will continue beyond language school. Apparently, language school ends in about 4 weeks for most of us.
2) Communications and keeping in touch with everyone.
3) Ministry in the Diocese and the seminary, including the current Life in the Spirit seminar and preparing for leading classes at the beginning of October. Normally, according to people here, sufficient language proficiency does not really kick in until about 6 months to a year from when a person arrives. That would put us about the end of October at the earliest, because we started at the end of April. So, we are pushing the envelope a bit by what we teach now and by what we teach in early October.
We continue to meet with Bp. Godfrey and Dean Allen Hill of the seminary as part of our planning and getting to know the Diocese and seminary better. The seminary class that we jointly lead with Bp. Godfrey is designed for all the people in the ordination process in this part of the Diocese, so we are getting to know the students, as well, and beginning to contribute to the life of the Diocese, after only 6 weeks.
4) Finances and budgeting.
5) Use of our time. After language school, we have further plans for language study, including attending the other seminary classes and continuing to attend Spanish Sunday services. Continuing with work in the Diocese. Daily living, and preparing for courses in October. It all adds up.
6) Getting out and about to meet people, especially important for Lydia. As a family, we continue to develop various networks of people, and for Lydia, a teen, we are pursuing special avenues.
God bless you. I pray for you daily. Thank you for praying for us.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.
Peace be with you.
This can be posted as a public prayer letter.
We have enjoyed the comments from people responding to our prayer mails and letters. We enjoy receiving the latest news and prayer updates.
We are adjusting to Lima. There are reminders on occasion of the similarities/differences between hemispheres. This past week the temperature in Lima has been similar to the current temperature in Wynantskill, NY. That is a similarity.
On the other hand, we are about to head into winter in a few days. Perhaps the warmer winter temperature and desert climate in Lima today are closer to the temperature and climate in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth, than to the cold and snow in upper New York State in December at Christmas time. So, I don't think we will be singing hymn 112 (In the Bleak Mid-winter) in December, here... it will be summer and there is no snow, not even in winter. That is a difference.
Praise reports:
1) We have completed the major part of our moving in. The furniture we were expecting came on Saturday evening. Then we took our books out of boxes and bags, and we put the books on bookshelves, to discover that we need about 2 more book cases. Sigh... The need for bookshelves seems to be the life story of seminary professors and homeschooling families. But, praise God! After the books went into the bookcases, Lydia noted that our apartment now seems like ours, and not someone else's. And it appears that our books are in reasonably good shape. So, we are settling in.
2) We are weathering cultural adjustments rather well.
3) We are moving ahead in ministry and ministry planning.
4) We are moving ahead in language learning, day by day. Conversations are becoming easier. Some people have said that Spanish is an easy language to learn, and while it is a category 1 language (such as French or Italian, and not a category II such as Russian, or a category III language such as Mandarin Chinese), Spanish can be as sophisticated and challenging as any other language. All three of us are making good headway with our Spanish.
According to one Spanish teacher, the version of Spanish that one speaks has to do to a great degree with your economic level in the country. It turns out that we have settled on learning a kind of middle-class Spanish as that is the level of language spoken by seminary professors. And, in fact, we are learning two languages: knowledge of every-day Spanish and knowledge of Spanish that one uses when teaching. Some of the variations in spoken Spanish can be particularly noticeable when the Spanish spoken in Lima is compared with elsewhere in the country. Rate of speaking, clarity of pronunciation, and grammar structures can be very different. And it is necessary to understand various versions of Spanish if you are going to answer questions from students.
If you follow the State Department scale of language proficiency, my guess is that we are somewhere between an S-2 and an S-3 level, on a scale of S-1 (beginning) to S-5 (native speaker). My personal goal is to aim for somewhere in the S-3 to S-4 range, the levels that are necessary for teaching, hopefully attaining an S-4 proficiency over time. How to do that? That is where our training in Colorado comes in handy.
5) Julie and I had our 28th wedding anniversary celebration this past week (it happened on the same day as the furniture arrival and Lydia's youth group meeting), so we squeezed in an evening snack at a Starbucks. It was a good half-hour alone together. By the way, there is valet parking for that section of the street. Yes, Starbucks has valet parking available..... But we walk and take taxis. Walking is good exercise, and taxis are relatively inexpensive here.
6) Lydia's hobbies are up and going. She is back to knitting (a poncho), and continues to write her book, and so forth. Aside from youth group on Saturday evenings, which goes into winter break in about a week, she also keeps in touch with friends and family via Skype and Facebook.
Prayer requests:
1) Language learning. Please continue to pray for our language learning. We can tell that you are praying. It is awesome. We have begun weekly private lessons with a Peruvian linguist from church, and these lessons will continue beyond language school. Apparently, language school ends in about 4 weeks for most of us.
2) Communications and keeping in touch with everyone.
3) Ministry in the Diocese and the seminary, including the current Life in the Spirit seminar and preparing for leading classes at the beginning of October. Normally, according to people here, sufficient language proficiency does not really kick in until about 6 months to a year from when a person arrives. That would put us about the end of October at the earliest, because we started at the end of April. So, we are pushing the envelope a bit by what we teach now and by what we teach in early October.
We continue to meet with Bp. Godfrey and Dean Allen Hill of the seminary as part of our planning and getting to know the Diocese and seminary better. The seminary class that we jointly lead with Bp. Godfrey is designed for all the people in the ordination process in this part of the Diocese, so we are getting to know the students, as well, and beginning to contribute to the life of the Diocese, after only 6 weeks.
4) Finances and budgeting.
5) Use of our time. After language school, we have further plans for language study, including attending the other seminary classes and continuing to attend Spanish Sunday services. Continuing with work in the Diocese. Daily living, and preparing for courses in October. It all adds up.
6) Getting out and about to meet people, especially important for Lydia. As a family, we continue to develop various networks of people, and for Lydia, a teen, we are pursuing special avenues.
God bless you. I pray for you daily. Thank you for praying for us.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June Newsletter
“It’s not easy being green”
They told us at missionary training school that we would make a million mistakes. Silly us! We thought we would make them one at a time! Here’s a highlight of two of the more interesting mistakes:
Do you know what happens when you plug an appliance into the wrong voltage: it overheats and/or melts, right? Do you know what happens when you plug in a crockpot (practically nonexistent in South America, and therefore highly prized by the missionary who lends it to you)? Not only do you shut down the entire circuit breaker, you literally melt the plastic feet right off of it.
Do you know how God shows His grace? When you show the missionary what you did to her poor crockpot, she laughs!
Try this scenario: it is time to move out of your temporary apartment. Since you are not returning, you know you shouldn’t keep the keys, right? So you hand them to the guachiman (watchman), right? Wrong! You are told the next day that one never ever ever does that, because guachimans are known for going into the apartment and robbing you blind! So you spend a sleepless night before you can go back to the apartment and find out where the keys are and whether or not the apartment has been robbed.
Do you know how God shows His grace? When you get to the apartment, the guachiman tells you that the owner’s brother has picked up the keys and has checked the apartment and that everything is perfectly fine.
How are we doing?
Language school: We will finish the advanced level next week. Then follows three weeks at the “superior” level. (This means that we understand much more than we are able to speak or pick up when listening.)
Present Ministry: While we did not anticipate doing any ministry until after language school, the Lord apparently had a different idea. We are helping Bishop Godfrey lead a “Life in the Spirit” course for the seminarians. It gives us extra opportunities to practice our Spanish. Discussion time is a challenge!
Future ministry: The plan is for us to start teaching at the seminary in October. In August and September, we will be observing classes and preparing materials for October.
Prayer Requests:
• Ability to communicate
• Life in the Spirit Seminar
• Adjustment to Peru and city living
• Continued good health
Blessings! – Julie, Shaw, and Lydia
They told us at missionary training school that we would make a million mistakes. Silly us! We thought we would make them one at a time! Here’s a highlight of two of the more interesting mistakes:
Do you know what happens when you plug an appliance into the wrong voltage: it overheats and/or melts, right? Do you know what happens when you plug in a crockpot (practically nonexistent in South America, and therefore highly prized by the missionary who lends it to you)? Not only do you shut down the entire circuit breaker, you literally melt the plastic feet right off of it.
Do you know how God shows His grace? When you show the missionary what you did to her poor crockpot, she laughs!
Try this scenario: it is time to move out of your temporary apartment. Since you are not returning, you know you shouldn’t keep the keys, right? So you hand them to the guachiman (watchman), right? Wrong! You are told the next day that one never ever ever does that, because guachimans are known for going into the apartment and robbing you blind! So you spend a sleepless night before you can go back to the apartment and find out where the keys are and whether or not the apartment has been robbed.
Do you know how God shows His grace? When you get to the apartment, the guachiman tells you that the owner’s brother has picked up the keys and has checked the apartment and that everything is perfectly fine.
How are we doing?
Language school: We will finish the advanced level next week. Then follows three weeks at the “superior” level. (This means that we understand much more than we are able to speak or pick up when listening.)
Present Ministry: While we did not anticipate doing any ministry until after language school, the Lord apparently had a different idea. We are helping Bishop Godfrey lead a “Life in the Spirit” course for the seminarians. It gives us extra opportunities to practice our Spanish. Discussion time is a challenge!
Future ministry: The plan is for us to start teaching at the seminary in October. In August and September, we will be observing classes and preparing materials for October.
Prayer Requests:
• Ability to communicate
• Life in the Spirit Seminar
• Adjustment to Peru and city living
• Continued good health
Blessings! – Julie, Shaw, and Lydia
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Weekly Mudge Prayer
Acts 11: 23-24
When he (Barnabas) arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Lord, on this day, the Feast of St Barnabas the Encourager, we thank You for all of the intercessors who bring encouragement to Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge and for those who support them financially. And we thank You for the Mudges who will be like Barnabas to the Peruvians, helping them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Continue, Lord, to fill the Mudges with Your Holy Spirit and Faith. We look forward to the great number of people who will be brought closer to You because of their ministry.
Lord, we also ask that You continue to protect the Mudges from near-death experiences in taxis and equip them to do a mighty work for You during the Life in the Spirit seminars. Help them through the struggles of this time of “chaos” when so much energy has to be expended to communicate in a foreign language and to get acclimated to a new culture.
We praise You and we thank You, Lord for all that You are doing! In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
When he (Barnabas) arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Lord, on this day, the Feast of St Barnabas the Encourager, we thank You for all of the intercessors who bring encouragement to Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge and for those who support them financially. And we thank You for the Mudges who will be like Barnabas to the Peruvians, helping them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Continue, Lord, to fill the Mudges with Your Holy Spirit and Faith. We look forward to the great number of people who will be brought closer to You because of their ministry.
Lord, we also ask that You continue to protect the Mudges from near-death experiences in taxis and equip them to do a mighty work for You during the Life in the Spirit seminars. Help them through the struggles of this time of “chaos” when so much energy has to be expended to communicate in a foreign language and to get acclimated to a new culture.
We praise You and we thank You, Lord for all that You are doing! In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Prayer Mail from Fr. Shaw Mudge
Dear friends and family,
Peace be with you.
Praise reports:
1) Things continue to move along towards settling in; I would estimate that we have about 1 week to go before we can say that we have moved in. We have been in transition since June 2008.
2) We are continuing to make progress in language learning; we have about 7 weeks to go at language school.
3) We are beginning our first steps in diocesan ministry, assisting Bp. Godfrey in a Life in the Spirit Seminar ("Los Seminarios de Vida en el Epiritu") that will take place over the next 7 weeks, and we are meeting with him regularly to plan the seminars. This course is intended for the people in the ordination process in the Diocese of Peru. Please keep us all in prayer, that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts and minds of everyone. The course is on Thursday evenings, from 6 pm to 9 pm, Chicago time.
4) We have begun our meetings with Dean Allen Hill concerning the seminary ministry in Lima, and together we have begun to make our initial plans about teaching. As of now, we intend to begin teaching in early October. During August and September, we plan to be preparing our classwork. Please keep this important ministry of teaching in prayer.
5) We continue our plan to get to know the Diocese better, especially in and around Lima.
Prayer requests:
1) Your prayers are very helpful, and we keep praying for you, as well. It seems, that right after I send the weekly prayer mails, that something unexpected seems to pop up. So, keep us in prayer, even if it seems that everything is OK in the prayer mail.
2) Language learning. We continue to move forward and are making great progress daily, but there is a ways to go.
3) For our schedule. Quite a few people look upon us as an opportunity to get something done aside from seminary ministry, and if not careful, we could easily be consumed with projects and opportunities that take us away from our main goals of language learning and seminary teaching. We want to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and his plans for us, here.
4) Our remaining furniture comes this week, such as the bed frames and bookcases. Please keep the remaining part of our move in your prayers.
5) For our health and safety. Always good to keep praying for that. We only had two near death experiences in taxis this past week. They keep us close to Jesus.
6) Finances. Always good to keep them in prayer.
7) If you follow the calendar and experiences of missionaries world-wide, the ministry adjustment phase of "Chaos" is upon us ("chaos" in this sense is a technical term). This is a necessary phase, and helps us prepare for what is ahead. But, unless we missed it, thus far it is a lot like normal living....
God bless you all.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Lydia and Julie.
Disciples Making Disciples.
Discípulos Haciendo Discípulos.
Peace be with you.
Praise reports:
1) Things continue to move along towards settling in; I would estimate that we have about 1 week to go before we can say that we have moved in. We have been in transition since June 2008.
2) We are continuing to make progress in language learning; we have about 7 weeks to go at language school.
3) We are beginning our first steps in diocesan ministry, assisting Bp. Godfrey in a Life in the Spirit Seminar ("Los Seminarios de Vida en el Epiritu") that will take place over the next 7 weeks, and we are meeting with him regularly to plan the seminars. This course is intended for the people in the ordination process in the Diocese of Peru. Please keep us all in prayer, that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts and minds of everyone. The course is on Thursday evenings, from 6 pm to 9 pm, Chicago time.
4) We have begun our meetings with Dean Allen Hill concerning the seminary ministry in Lima, and together we have begun to make our initial plans about teaching. As of now, we intend to begin teaching in early October. During August and September, we plan to be preparing our classwork. Please keep this important ministry of teaching in prayer.
5) We continue our plan to get to know the Diocese better, especially in and around Lima.
Prayer requests:
1) Your prayers are very helpful, and we keep praying for you, as well. It seems, that right after I send the weekly prayer mails, that something unexpected seems to pop up. So, keep us in prayer, even if it seems that everything is OK in the prayer mail.
2) Language learning. We continue to move forward and are making great progress daily, but there is a ways to go.
3) For our schedule. Quite a few people look upon us as an opportunity to get something done aside from seminary ministry, and if not careful, we could easily be consumed with projects and opportunities that take us away from our main goals of language learning and seminary teaching. We want to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and his plans for us, here.
4) Our remaining furniture comes this week, such as the bed frames and bookcases. Please keep the remaining part of our move in your prayers.
5) For our health and safety. Always good to keep praying for that. We only had two near death experiences in taxis this past week. They keep us close to Jesus.
6) Finances. Always good to keep them in prayer.
7) If you follow the calendar and experiences of missionaries world-wide, the ministry adjustment phase of "Chaos" is upon us ("chaos" in this sense is a technical term). This is a necessary phase, and helps us prepare for what is ahead. But, unless we missed it, thus far it is a lot like normal living....
God bless you all.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Lydia and Julie.
Disciples Making Disciples.
Discípulos Haciendo Discípulos.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Prayer Mail from Father Shaw
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Peace be with you.
This is this week's prayer mail, and it is a public prayer mail.
Praise reports:
1) Despite all the changes (large and small) that needed to be made in our apartment this week, we apparently are on very good terms with our landlady. I pray for her and her husband, daily.
2) After a couple of false starts, our communications system is up and going, and it is working really well.
3) If the normal schedule of adjustment fits our situation, we are on the cusp of "chaos," which would likely begin next week. However, on Pentecost in the church service, I had an unusual special blessing of God's peace and in one sense, it was more like I am coming home to Lima, to a place that the Lord has been preparing me for a great part of my life. So rather than look ahead at chaos, I seem to be sensing the cusp of belonging. Please keep our adjustment phases in your prayers.
4) Mail service to our apartment is great and appears to be very secure. Jerry Carroll sent us a letter from the Diocesan Office that was postmarked on May 28 (Thursday), and we received it on June 1 (Monday).
5) We are getting to know the Diocesan Clergy rather well.
6) Lydia has found a great youth group of "ex-pat youth," and she has become a kind of big sister to a Peruvian girl a few floors down from us. They plan to see a movie together on Saturday. Julie is helping the other girl with her English. The girl's mother helped us buy appliances this week.
Prayer requests:
1) "What's in a name?" If a Peruvian only speaks Spanish, the person has a very difficult time pronouncing either my first or my last name; it's a good conversation piece, though. On the other hand, Quechua speakers and those who know English do reasonably well. So, pray that a suitable solution to this interesting situation would be found for our Peruvian friends and acquaintances who only speak Spanish.
2) We are settling into what our normal budget looks like. Please cover that in prayer. It's like praying for the diocesan budget. We want to be doing what Jesus wants us to do.
3) I am looking for a book on house/apartment repairs in Spanish, and a book about typical events in Peruvian life in Spanish. Please keep this in prayer. If I go to a US bookstore, these kinds of book for the US are readily available, but not in many bookstores here, at least not in the same way.
4) Bp. Godfrey would like Julie and I to help out with a Life in the Spirit seminar, perhaps beginning this Thursday; the seminar is intended to train people how to lead Life in the Spirit seminars, and one way to do that is by having people go through the program as part of the training.
5) A few people have said that our Spanish has improved a lot since we arrived. This is very good news. Please keep us in prayer on this. Lydia enters the pre-Intermediate class this week, and Julie and I enter the Advanced class. Spanish is spoken in different ways here in Lima by all sorts of people and at varying speeds; we still have difficulty understanding what some are saying. Please pray for our listening skills. We pray for our witness to the others in our class. Please keep them in prayer.
6) The Dean of the seminary and Julie and I are planning to get together in the next week or two, to plan for what happens after language school ends. Please keep that important meeting in prayer.
7) Hopefully, we are in the final phase of moving in, this week. Our books are scheduled to arrive on Friday. We plan to hook up appliances this week (stove and washing machine and dryer). Furniture may in fact arrive this week. It's all on Peruvian time, which is ultimately controlled by the Lord's timing. Please keep this in prayer.
Have a great week, and a great Diocesan Convention, and Happy Birthday to our daughter Hannah (her birthday is on Saturday).
God bless you. I pray for you daily, and I thank you for your prayers.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.
Peace be with you.
This is this week's prayer mail, and it is a public prayer mail.
Praise reports:
1) Despite all the changes (large and small) that needed to be made in our apartment this week, we apparently are on very good terms with our landlady. I pray for her and her husband, daily.
2) After a couple of false starts, our communications system is up and going, and it is working really well.
3) If the normal schedule of adjustment fits our situation, we are on the cusp of "chaos," which would likely begin next week. However, on Pentecost in the church service, I had an unusual special blessing of God's peace and in one sense, it was more like I am coming home to Lima, to a place that the Lord has been preparing me for a great part of my life. So rather than look ahead at chaos, I seem to be sensing the cusp of belonging. Please keep our adjustment phases in your prayers.
4) Mail service to our apartment is great and appears to be very secure. Jerry Carroll sent us a letter from the Diocesan Office that was postmarked on May 28 (Thursday), and we received it on June 1 (Monday).
5) We are getting to know the Diocesan Clergy rather well.
6) Lydia has found a great youth group of "ex-pat youth," and she has become a kind of big sister to a Peruvian girl a few floors down from us. They plan to see a movie together on Saturday. Julie is helping the other girl with her English. The girl's mother helped us buy appliances this week.
Prayer requests:
1) "What's in a name?" If a Peruvian only speaks Spanish, the person has a very difficult time pronouncing either my first or my last name; it's a good conversation piece, though. On the other hand, Quechua speakers and those who know English do reasonably well. So, pray that a suitable solution to this interesting situation would be found for our Peruvian friends and acquaintances who only speak Spanish.
2) We are settling into what our normal budget looks like. Please cover that in prayer. It's like praying for the diocesan budget. We want to be doing what Jesus wants us to do.
3) I am looking for a book on house/apartment repairs in Spanish, and a book about typical events in Peruvian life in Spanish. Please keep this in prayer. If I go to a US bookstore, these kinds of book for the US are readily available, but not in many bookstores here, at least not in the same way.
4) Bp. Godfrey would like Julie and I to help out with a Life in the Spirit seminar, perhaps beginning this Thursday; the seminar is intended to train people how to lead Life in the Spirit seminars, and one way to do that is by having people go through the program as part of the training.
5) A few people have said that our Spanish has improved a lot since we arrived. This is very good news. Please keep us in prayer on this. Lydia enters the pre-Intermediate class this week, and Julie and I enter the Advanced class. Spanish is spoken in different ways here in Lima by all sorts of people and at varying speeds; we still have difficulty understanding what some are saying. Please pray for our listening skills. We pray for our witness to the others in our class. Please keep them in prayer.
6) The Dean of the seminary and Julie and I are planning to get together in the next week or two, to plan for what happens after language school ends. Please keep that important meeting in prayer.
7) Hopefully, we are in the final phase of moving in, this week. Our books are scheduled to arrive on Friday. We plan to hook up appliances this week (stove and washing machine and dryer). Furniture may in fact arrive this week. It's all on Peruvian time, which is ultimately controlled by the Lord's timing. Please keep this in prayer.
Have a great week, and a great Diocesan Convention, and Happy Birthday to our daughter Hannah (her birthday is on Saturday).
God bless you. I pray for you daily, and I thank you for your prayers.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.
Weekly Prayer
Psalm 50:14-15
Sacrifice thank offerings to God.
Fulfill your vows to the Most High,
And call upon me in the day trouble,
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
We thank You, Lord Most High, for all the thank offerings that have been lifted up to You, for all the prayers that have been said for Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge. We thank You that You are with them during this period of acclimatization in Peru. We thank You that You have delivered them from confusion and that You will continue to watch over them as they better learn the language and the culture in Lima. We know that when their formal ministry work begins, it will honor You greatly. Lord, we ask You to continue to guide the Mudges and bless them mightily. Amen.
Sacrifice thank offerings to God.
Fulfill your vows to the Most High,
And call upon me in the day trouble,
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
We thank You, Lord Most High, for all the thank offerings that have been lifted up to You, for all the prayers that have been said for Fr. Shaw, Mother Julie, and Lydia Mudge. We thank You that You are with them during this period of acclimatization in Peru. We thank You that You have delivered them from confusion and that You will continue to watch over them as they better learn the language and the culture in Lima. We know that when their formal ministry work begins, it will honor You greatly. Lord, we ask You to continue to guide the Mudges and bless them mightily. Amen.
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