Dear Partners in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is a public prayer mail.
April is almost here. On April 20, we will have been here one year, from when we set out. Wow. Lima, Peru, feels like home.
Thanksgivings:
1) For the election results this past week in Peru. The process includes a series of 5 elections for each position. Each candidate only goes as far as each separate election allows. Fr. Mike Chapman has been the only person elected a Bishop Suffragan for the Diocese of Peru, by three of the five electing bodies that have voted so far. Still ahead for him in May, an executive election from across the Province, as well as an election by the House of Bishops of the Province. It is not over, until it is over.
2) Praise God for the movement of the Holy Spirit in the prayer and healing ministries here. We had a very good healing service on Sunday evening at La Ascencion in the Surco District of Lima.
3) For the opportunities to transform people's lives by what we do, and opportunities to be able to make a difference.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one.
2) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS conferences next week in North Carolina; and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June.
3) For the upcoming CEMO (ordination process) meetings.
4) For our service schedule. As of Sunday evening, I am now preaching on Maundy Thursday at La Ascencion, as well. Julie is preaching at the Easter Vigil at Jesus el Salvador. Pray that we would help transform many lives by what we do.
5) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany.
6) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building.
7) Continuing prayers for good health and spiritual protection.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Scripture Prayer
2Corinthians 2:3-4
It’s clear that you are Christ’s letter, written as a result of our ministry. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, a letter written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Christ gives us confidence about you in God’s presence.
Father God, we pray for the ministries of Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia Mudge. We pray for those to whom they minister and we ask that the Mudges have the same confidence about the Peruvian people that Paul had about the Corinthians. Fill the people of Lima with Your Holy Spirit and may Your Grace and Your Love and Your Mercy be engraved upon their hearts. Continue to empower your servants, the Mudges, to do your almighty work. Amen.
It’s clear that you are Christ’s letter, written as a result of our ministry. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, a letter written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Christ gives us confidence about you in God’s presence.
Father God, we pray for the ministries of Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia Mudge. We pray for those to whom they minister and we ask that the Mudges have the same confidence about the Peruvian people that Paul had about the Corinthians. Fill the people of Lima with Your Holy Spirit and may Your Grace and Your Love and Your Mercy be engraved upon their hearts. Continue to empower your servants, the Mudges, to do your almighty work. Amen.
Prayer Mail
Dear Partners in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail. Spring has begun in North America, and Autumn has begun in South America.
Thanksgivings:
1) For the blessings of this past week which had many challenges. Particularly for the blessing of friends who have helped offset about 3/5 of the $250 a month rent increase that came our way. That has been an incredible sign of the Lord's provision for us and means a lot. That was actually a fair and typical rental increase for this building believe it or not. But it took us a while to get over the sticker shock.
The irony of it all: I had been praying for a just and fair rental price, expecting a lower price, and the thing is, after looking into it, it is a fair rental price from our landlord. Really. And now, it turns out that even the increase is a very good price for the area where we live. Across the street in a newer apartment, they are asking for an additional $400 a month, over our price increase, and that higher price is more typical of the area. Really. Wow.
2) For our friends here and in the United States. Thank you for being our friends.
3) Praise God for the movement of the Holy Spirit in the prayer and healing ministries here.
4) For the opportunities to transform people's lives by what we do, and to be able to make a difference.
5) For clean water. There are districts in Lima that do not have running water, and we live in a desert city. Sunday was water day.
6) For Bishop William Love (Albany) and Bishop William Godfrey (Peru), for the ministries at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center in Greenwich, New York, and for the ministries enabled by Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Diocesan Center in Lima, Peru.
7) That we have our current "Carne de Extranjeria" stickers (an government requirement for our identification card). Normally, this detail should not be anything of consequence. We had arranged for the renewal, and all things being the same, it should have been a simple process of putting stickers on the back of id cards (having paid a fee, and having filled out a form, along with providing all the necessary accompanying paperwork), until it was discovered at the point of putting the actual stickers put on the back of the cards for Julie and myself, that the government office had actually run out of stickers. So, the process had to be continued on another day. Lydia's was fine. She was rejoicing.
8) That there are Andean raspberries in Peru.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one.
2) For the seminary courses and for the students.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany. We had a good visit to the proposed lodging site this week.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building.
5) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop election process in Peru. The election Synod is this week. There are three positions. I know all three candidates, and for that I am grateful: Fr. John Park, Fr. John MacDonald, and Fr. Michael Chapman. Each has to have a majority of the voters vote for them, so it is not over for each one until the required number of votes are in their favor. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon.
8) For the CEMO (ordination) process meetings over the next few weeks.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail. Spring has begun in North America, and Autumn has begun in South America.
Thanksgivings:
1) For the blessings of this past week which had many challenges. Particularly for the blessing of friends who have helped offset about 3/5 of the $250 a month rent increase that came our way. That has been an incredible sign of the Lord's provision for us and means a lot. That was actually a fair and typical rental increase for this building believe it or not. But it took us a while to get over the sticker shock.
The irony of it all: I had been praying for a just and fair rental price, expecting a lower price, and the thing is, after looking into it, it is a fair rental price from our landlord. Really. And now, it turns out that even the increase is a very good price for the area where we live. Across the street in a newer apartment, they are asking for an additional $400 a month, over our price increase, and that higher price is more typical of the area. Really. Wow.
2) For our friends here and in the United States. Thank you for being our friends.
3) Praise God for the movement of the Holy Spirit in the prayer and healing ministries here.
4) For the opportunities to transform people's lives by what we do, and to be able to make a difference.
5) For clean water. There are districts in Lima that do not have running water, and we live in a desert city. Sunday was water day.
6) For Bishop William Love (Albany) and Bishop William Godfrey (Peru), for the ministries at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center in Greenwich, New York, and for the ministries enabled by Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Diocesan Center in Lima, Peru.
7) That we have our current "Carne de Extranjeria" stickers (an government requirement for our identification card). Normally, this detail should not be anything of consequence. We had arranged for the renewal, and all things being the same, it should have been a simple process of putting stickers on the back of id cards (having paid a fee, and having filled out a form, along with providing all the necessary accompanying paperwork), until it was discovered at the point of putting the actual stickers put on the back of the cards for Julie and myself, that the government office had actually run out of stickers. So, the process had to be continued on another day. Lydia's was fine. She was rejoicing.
8) That there are Andean raspberries in Peru.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one.
2) For the seminary courses and for the students.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany. We had a good visit to the proposed lodging site this week.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building.
5) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop election process in Peru. The election Synod is this week. There are three positions. I know all three candidates, and for that I am grateful: Fr. John Park, Fr. John MacDonald, and Fr. Michael Chapman. Each has to have a majority of the voters vote for them, so it is not over for each one until the required number of votes are in their favor. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon.
8) For the CEMO (ordination) process meetings over the next few weeks.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Scripture Prayer
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
Father God, we thank You for Your Love and for the way that Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia reflect Your Love in their lives. Thank You for the love that they have for each other and for those to whom they minister. Thank You for their faith and hope, patience and perseverance.
We thank You also, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit and for how the Spirit has been evident in their prayer life. We ask You Lord, to continue to protect the Mudges and let their love shine through in their relationships. We ask for Your guidance for their landlady so that the increase in rent may be fair and equitable. Thank You for blessing their ministry and continue to guide them every step of the way. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
Father God, we thank You for Your Love and for the way that Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia reflect Your Love in their lives. Thank You for the love that they have for each other and for those to whom they minister. Thank You for their faith and hope, patience and perseverance.
We thank You also, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit and for how the Spirit has been evident in their prayer life. We ask You Lord, to continue to protect the Mudges and let their love shine through in their relationships. We ask for Your guidance for their landlady so that the increase in rent may be fair and equitable. Thank You for blessing their ministry and continue to guide them every step of the way. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Prayer Mail
Dear Partners in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail. Autumn begins soon, and the winds are a bit cooler at night.
Thanksgivings:
1) For the interest in prayer and healing ministries among the students at the seminary.
2) For all the hard work that people put into their studies, parish and mission ministries, and spreading the Gospel.
3) For the answers to prayer this week, from bus routes to language learning to the mission trip preparations, and more. Thank you for praying.
4) Praise God for the movement of the Holy Spirit in our prayer times.
5) For the Diocese of Albany Salary and Benefits Committee work these past few weeks, across two continents. We are just about ready to forward our report for Diocesan Convention 2010, by email, in time for the pre-convention book deadline. The facility to do this across such a distance, as though we were simply across the street from each other, is an amazing feat. The committee is a great team to work with. I am honored to continue to serve as Chair.
6) We have heard that there was a 5.0 earthquake in Lima last week, but we did not feel anything. Praise God.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one and is never out of style.
2) For the seminary courses and for the students. For the improved student access to the library.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building. We are waiting to hear further about her intent to raise the rent.
5) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop Suffragan election process in Peru. The Synod is March 26-27.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon. We are helping out, there, in the interim.
8) For the CEMO (ordination) process.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day, snow or no snow.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail. Autumn begins soon, and the winds are a bit cooler at night.
Thanksgivings:
1) For the interest in prayer and healing ministries among the students at the seminary.
2) For all the hard work that people put into their studies, parish and mission ministries, and spreading the Gospel.
3) For the answers to prayer this week, from bus routes to language learning to the mission trip preparations, and more. Thank you for praying.
4) Praise God for the movement of the Holy Spirit in our prayer times.
5) For the Diocese of Albany Salary and Benefits Committee work these past few weeks, across two continents. We are just about ready to forward our report for Diocesan Convention 2010, by email, in time for the pre-convention book deadline. The facility to do this across such a distance, as though we were simply across the street from each other, is an amazing feat. The committee is a great team to work with. I am honored to continue to serve as Chair.
6) We have heard that there was a 5.0 earthquake in Lima last week, but we did not feel anything. Praise God.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one and is never out of style.
2) For the seminary courses and for the students. For the improved student access to the library.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building. We are waiting to hear further about her intent to raise the rent.
5) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop Suffragan election process in Peru. The Synod is March 26-27.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon. We are helping out, there, in the interim.
8) For the CEMO (ordination) process.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day, snow or no snow.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Scripture Prayer
Psalm 34: 1-3
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
I will glory in the Lord; let the humble hear and rejoice.
Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
Let us exalt His Name together.
2 Corinthians 5: 20
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Heavenly Father, again we thank You for the Mudge family, Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia. They are ambassadors for You and for Jesus Christ, Your Son, and for the Holy Spirit, three in one. We thank You for the good results in the Peruvian mission field: for the increased attendance at services, for the inspired preaching, for the teaching in the seminary and for the healing that is taking place. You are truly exalted through the work that the Mudges do for you. We ask for Your continued protection and provision for the Mudges as they bless You and praise You and bring glory to You. Amen.
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
I will glory in the Lord; let the humble hear and rejoice.
Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
Let us exalt His Name together.
2 Corinthians 5: 20
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Heavenly Father, again we thank You for the Mudge family, Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia. They are ambassadors for You and for Jesus Christ, Your Son, and for the Holy Spirit, three in one. We thank You for the good results in the Peruvian mission field: for the increased attendance at services, for the inspired preaching, for the teaching in the seminary and for the healing that is taking place. You are truly exalted through the work that the Mudges do for you. We ask for Your continued protection and provision for the Mudges as they bless You and praise You and bring glory to You. Amen.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Prayer Mail
Dear Partners in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail. I thought I sent it out Monday, but from the note I just found today, apparently it did not get sent. Sorry about that. We certainly need your prayers.
This week, some of this gets detailed, and if you prefer simply to pray for the topics than read the details, simply pray for the topic. But to help understand the particular prayer requests, they have been fleshed out a bit.
Thanksgivings:
1) We have some phenomenal prayer experiences lately.
2) We had two great services on Sunday, in the morning at the Mission of The Ascension (Surco District), and in the evening at the Mission of Jesus el Salvador (Villa el Salvador District). The Holy Spirit blessed both congregations. Someone noticed that the attendance at evening service at Jesus el Salvador seems to be growing.
3) I have been praying for specific ways that people could guide me to improve my Spanish. I have been blessed by specific comments that people have suggested to me over the last 2 weeks: for example, on Thursday, someone suggested that I make my distinction between "r" and "rr" sounds more clear (and this emphasis may be partly responsible for my improved my rate of speed when speaking, that someone noted on Sunday).
4) Praise God for the sermon Julie preached on Sunday at the Mission of La Ascencion. Julie and I are part of a team of preachers at La Ascencion, and she received several very good comments from folks for the reason that they like her preaching. They said that they preferred her style of preaching because she is clear, and she follows the scriptures, verse by verse. People like that.
5) Growing in understanding. Thanksgiving that we have been discovering a lot about people that helps us understand the country of Peru better, the missions that we serve better, people we meet day to day, and the people we are teaching better: for example, temperament types appear to be the same in North and South America, parish vestry/council dynamics appear to be the same, triangulation appears to be the same, prayer and healing ministry practices appear to be similarly effective - and the need for sensitivity and respect in these matters is similar, and learning styles appear to be the same (in fact, we have been adjusting our teaching techniques to allow for more movement in class/interaction to help the adult kinesthetic students learn better, and we affirm what someone told us this past week that Peru has a lot of visual learners, so we continue to include a high visual element for adults in our class teaching, and recognize that we need to visually walk people through each step of a process, and this walking through process may typically take three times).
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one and is never out of style.
2) For the seminary courses and for the students. For the improved student access to the library.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans. The trip is in late July, and pray for the next planning meeting in the Diocese of Albany. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building. Pray for our lease negotiations. Our landlady and her husband would like to increase our rent payment amounts, but we do not know by how much, preferably by a reasonably smaller amount than a dramatically larger amount. We are waiting to hear further.
5) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop Suffragan election process in Peru. We hope to be hearing the list of candidates this week. Three are to be elected. Pray for a good integration of this next step in Diocese of Peru. We have only had one bishop to date.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon. We are helping out, there, in the interim.
8) For the CEMO (ordination) process. Julie is working with a really good team. Pray for people (who are in the process) in their CEMO internship assignments in the different parishes.
9) Experiencing culture. For the opportunity to learn more about the variations and mile-stones/ceremonies/passages-of-life that people experience in Peru, so the we have a better grasp of the breadth and depth of the experiences of the people we serve (birth, marriage, major events, etc), to help us in our teaching and preaching, daily conversation, points of contact, and for deeper relationships with our colleagues, and to help us understand the communities of the parishes better. This is a very complex prayer request, for it includes variations/nuances depending on of the part of Peru/South America in a person's background, going back for perhaps 3 or 4 generations.
10) Gestures. That we would be able to use comprehendible gestures creatively in our teaching, preaching, daily conversation, and worship leadership styles. As mentioned above, this is a visual culture for the most part, and one of the things that helps people understand better is if they can see gestures in addition to hearing a person talk. This effectively involves communicating two "languages" simultaneously: one is the spoken word (audio), and the other is the language of gestures (visual). A lot of hand and eye coordination. Fortunately, just as sign language is the same in the US as in Peru, so the use of gestures has correlations, and I have had some experience from a time in Italy of "talking with my hands," that I can begin to build on, though the art of gesturing is a little different, here.
11) Language. That we continue to improve our Spanish in the most fruitful ways in the shortest period of time. We are where one would expect us to be at this time in our experience, but we can always improve. It is a lifetime of improving, but we do not want to succumb to the temptation of "plateauing" (thinking you can get by where you are and do not move forward), as our missionary training called it. Pray that we do not plateau.
This past week, one of our missionary friends here noted that speaking Spanish from a Spanish perspective is a different of speaking from speaking the Anglo-Saxon/German/Norman combination that we use daily in the US as English. It is very complex. Getting our minds into the Spanish mode of thinking is a major breakthrough to accomplish, and combining that with the nuanced melody of the actually pronouncing and speaking Peruvian Spanish is a major accomplishment. Pray that we would be able to do all this as soon as possible in the most fruitful way possible. Some people never make that the cultural leap because they plateau. Right now, as an example, one of my tasks is to continue to work on the hundreds of verbs that have prepositional variations. Pray that I would effectively master them all. It is only one task of many. I have been informed that takes about 1,000 exposures to a word to get it into mid-term memory. What we learn today, benefits us down the line.
And then, after Spanish, there is always the Quechua language and its variations (the official number 2 language in Peru)....and Amyra and its variations (the official number 3 language in Peru)....and the many languages of the Selva (Amazon jungle) and their variations..... Knowing about these other languages is part of what it means to live in Lima among the people whom we serve, but it is always just below the surface, not quite visible at first glance. Depends where you want to dive in. Pray that we would focus where the Holy Spirit would want us to be the fruitful for the Kingdom of God in language learning, and in all of life.
12) Lydia and driving. Lydia is on the cusp for learning to drive (getting a permit and beginning to learn when we visit the US for a month). Pray for her preparation for the written driver's test, for her permit process, and for her parents (that would be us) - especially her dad - and relatives, as we venture forth on this exciting new phase, together. For safety and good driving experience. There are new rules this year for the learning process.
13) Governmental forms. For paperwork and procedures for getting our first residential carnet stamp (periodically we need to check in with the government as part of the residential living requirements) - it is a two phase experience; and for the documentation needed for our visiting the United States (filing the appropriate form with the tax authorities, to be signed by the Bishop, as part of our residential living requirements).
14) For the continuation, development, and expansion of prayer and healing ministries throughout the diocesis.
15) Learning the bus transportation system more fully in Lima. All buses are privately owned. There are no route maps or timetables. We have been given what appears to be a good method for figuring them out.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail. I thought I sent it out Monday, but from the note I just found today, apparently it did not get sent. Sorry about that. We certainly need your prayers.
This week, some of this gets detailed, and if you prefer simply to pray for the topics than read the details, simply pray for the topic. But to help understand the particular prayer requests, they have been fleshed out a bit.
Thanksgivings:
1) We have some phenomenal prayer experiences lately.
2) We had two great services on Sunday, in the morning at the Mission of The Ascension (Surco District), and in the evening at the Mission of Jesus el Salvador (Villa el Salvador District). The Holy Spirit blessed both congregations. Someone noticed that the attendance at evening service at Jesus el Salvador seems to be growing.
3) I have been praying for specific ways that people could guide me to improve my Spanish. I have been blessed by specific comments that people have suggested to me over the last 2 weeks: for example, on Thursday, someone suggested that I make my distinction between "r" and "rr" sounds more clear (and this emphasis may be partly responsible for my improved my rate of speed when speaking, that someone noted on Sunday).
4) Praise God for the sermon Julie preached on Sunday at the Mission of La Ascencion. Julie and I are part of a team of preachers at La Ascencion, and she received several very good comments from folks for the reason that they like her preaching. They said that they preferred her style of preaching because she is clear, and she follows the scriptures, verse by verse. People like that.
5) Growing in understanding. Thanksgiving that we have been discovering a lot about people that helps us understand the country of Peru better, the missions that we serve better, people we meet day to day, and the people we are teaching better: for example, temperament types appear to be the same in North and South America, parish vestry/council dynamics appear to be the same, triangulation appears to be the same, prayer and healing ministry practices appear to be similarly effective - and the need for sensitivity and respect in these matters is similar, and learning styles appear to be the same (in fact, we have been adjusting our teaching techniques to allow for more movement in class/interaction to help the adult kinesthetic students learn better, and we affirm what someone told us this past week that Peru has a lot of visual learners, so we continue to include a high visual element for adults in our class teaching, and recognize that we need to visually walk people through each step of a process, and this walking through process may typically take three times).
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, resources, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us). This is an on-going prayer, but it is a crucial one and is never out of style.
2) For the seminary courses and for the students. For the improved student access to the library.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans. The trip is in late July, and pray for the next planning meeting in the Diocese of Albany. Pray for the on-going preparations in the Diocese of Peru and the Diocese of Albany.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building. Pray for our lease negotiations. Our landlady and her husband would like to increase our rent payment amounts, but we do not know by how much, preferably by a reasonably smaller amount than a dramatically larger amount. We are waiting to hear further.
5) For Julie at the New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop Suffragan election process in Peru. We hope to be hearing the list of candidates this week. Three are to be elected. Pray for a good integration of this next step in Diocese of Peru. We have only had one bishop to date.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon. We are helping out, there, in the interim.
8) For the CEMO (ordination) process. Julie is working with a really good team. Pray for people (who are in the process) in their CEMO internship assignments in the different parishes.
9) Experiencing culture. For the opportunity to learn more about the variations and mile-stones/ceremonies/passages-of-life that people experience in Peru, so the we have a better grasp of the breadth and depth of the experiences of the people we serve (birth, marriage, major events, etc), to help us in our teaching and preaching, daily conversation, points of contact, and for deeper relationships with our colleagues, and to help us understand the communities of the parishes better. This is a very complex prayer request, for it includes variations/nuances depending on of the part of Peru/South America in a person's background, going back for perhaps 3 or 4 generations.
10) Gestures. That we would be able to use comprehendible gestures creatively in our teaching, preaching, daily conversation, and worship leadership styles. As mentioned above, this is a visual culture for the most part, and one of the things that helps people understand better is if they can see gestures in addition to hearing a person talk. This effectively involves communicating two "languages" simultaneously: one is the spoken word (audio), and the other is the language of gestures (visual). A lot of hand and eye coordination. Fortunately, just as sign language is the same in the US as in Peru, so the use of gestures has correlations, and I have had some experience from a time in Italy of "talking with my hands," that I can begin to build on, though the art of gesturing is a little different, here.
11) Language. That we continue to improve our Spanish in the most fruitful ways in the shortest period of time. We are where one would expect us to be at this time in our experience, but we can always improve. It is a lifetime of improving, but we do not want to succumb to the temptation of "plateauing" (thinking you can get by where you are and do not move forward), as our missionary training called it. Pray that we do not plateau.
This past week, one of our missionary friends here noted that speaking Spanish from a Spanish perspective is a different of speaking from speaking the Anglo-Saxon/German/Norman combination that we use daily in the US as English. It is very complex. Getting our minds into the Spanish mode of thinking is a major breakthrough to accomplish, and combining that with the nuanced melody of the actually pronouncing and speaking Peruvian Spanish is a major accomplishment. Pray that we would be able to do all this as soon as possible in the most fruitful way possible. Some people never make that the cultural leap because they plateau. Right now, as an example, one of my tasks is to continue to work on the hundreds of verbs that have prepositional variations. Pray that I would effectively master them all. It is only one task of many. I have been informed that takes about 1,000 exposures to a word to get it into mid-term memory. What we learn today, benefits us down the line.
And then, after Spanish, there is always the Quechua language and its variations (the official number 2 language in Peru)....and Amyra and its variations (the official number 3 language in Peru)....and the many languages of the Selva (Amazon jungle) and their variations..... Knowing about these other languages is part of what it means to live in Lima among the people whom we serve, but it is always just below the surface, not quite visible at first glance. Depends where you want to dive in. Pray that we would focus where the Holy Spirit would want us to be the fruitful for the Kingdom of God in language learning, and in all of life.
12) Lydia and driving. Lydia is on the cusp for learning to drive (getting a permit and beginning to learn when we visit the US for a month). Pray for her preparation for the written driver's test, for her permit process, and for her parents (that would be us) - especially her dad - and relatives, as we venture forth on this exciting new phase, together. For safety and good driving experience. There are new rules this year for the learning process.
13) Governmental forms. For paperwork and procedures for getting our first residential carnet stamp (periodically we need to check in with the government as part of the residential living requirements) - it is a two phase experience; and for the documentation needed for our visiting the United States (filing the appropriate form with the tax authorities, to be signed by the Bishop, as part of our residential living requirements).
14) For the continuation, development, and expansion of prayer and healing ministries throughout the diocesis.
15) Learning the bus transportation system more fully in Lima. All buses are privately owned. There are no route maps or timetables. We have been given what appears to be a good method for figuring them out.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Scripture Prayer
Where can I run from your love? If I climb to the heavens you are there; if I fly to the sunrise or sail beyond the sea, still I’d find you there. Yahweh, I know you are near, standing always at my side. You guard me from the foe, and you lead me in ways everlasting. (From You Are Near, by Dan Schutte, S.J., based on Psalm 139.)
Thank You, Father God, for your unconditional and ubiquitous and ever present love. Thank You that You are there with the Mudges whether they be in Peru or Albany or North Carolina. Thank You that you guard them from every foe and lead them in every step of their ministry. Thank You for the fruit of their ministry: the healing that is taking place in churches and homes in Lima; the teachings that Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie present at the seminary and the resulting learning that takes place. And Thank You for Lydia. Be with her as she takes the SAT’s. Guide her as she chooses a college. And let her know that You are with her every step of the way. Thank You. Amen.
Thank You, Father God, for your unconditional and ubiquitous and ever present love. Thank You that You are there with the Mudges whether they be in Peru or Albany or North Carolina. Thank You that you guard them from every foe and lead them in every step of their ministry. Thank You for the fruit of their ministry: the healing that is taking place in churches and homes in Lima; the teachings that Fr. Shaw and Mother Julie present at the seminary and the resulting learning that takes place. And Thank You for Lydia. Be with her as she takes the SAT’s. Guide her as she chooses a college. And let her know that You are with her every step of the way. Thank You. Amen.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Prayer Mail
Dear Partners in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail.
Thanksgivings:
1) We did not experience anything harmful from the earthquake in Chile, nor did Lima experience any effects from the tsunami.
2) Julie has had her first meeting of the Commission on Ministry (CEMO), and it went very well. Everything up to this point, including committee member selection, has been preparation for the current phase.
3) We had a great healing service at the Mission of The Ascension on Sunday evening. The service lasted for over two and a quarter hours. It was amazing to see the Holy Spirit in action. After it was all over, everybody stayed for about a half hour, just sitting in place and chatting. I do not think anyone really wanted to go home. Several people were there at our invitation, and we prayed for them, and that was special for us.
4) Praise God that I had one of the best prayer partners ever at the healing service.... "mi esposa bonita" (Julie, my pretty wife). I refer to Julie a lot by the title "mi esposa bonita", and for me, it is a referral to her radiant beauty with the Holy Spirit that is so much of who she is. Students and people in the congregations like it when I refer to Julie that way. It says to them that she matters to me, and they like that, and I like that. She is my best friend.
5) I praise God that where Julie and I spent our honeymoon is just over the horizon from Lima.... in Tahiti (well, actually, it is quite a distance away). But it really means a lot to me to look out over the horizon, and to think that "just over the horizon" we had our honeymoon, and it brings back fond memories of starting out married life with my beloved. The fact that Julie is here, and Lima being in the South Pacific where we shared our honeymoon, are but two of the joys of living in Peru.
6) Praise God that our sudden ant problem has been manageable. It is the time of year for ants, but Julie came into the kitchen one morning a few days ago, and saw one wall covered with literally thousands of very small ants in at least two giant columns, several inches wide and another smaller column of about three quarters of an inch wide, and they were heading into all kinds of cabinets, perhaps looking for a new home because of the construction of an apartment building next door, which has begun this week with the tearing down of an old building. They came into the kitchen through a gap along the edge of a faceplate for an electrical outlet. After recovering from the discovery, Julie dispatched them quickly.
I witnessed another burst of ant activity Sunday morning, and keeping in mind Genesis 1:28, I dispatched probably a hundred or two hundred ants trying to make their way into our garbage bag, under the sink. We generally do not have serious ant problems, in part because we are on the 9th floor of an apartment building. It is a reminder that we share this planet with others of God´s creatures, and many of smaller kinds outnumber us.
7) Praise God that we have solved a communication mystery that some of our students were having this past week. This was our first week in this cycle, and a few students mentioned that I was not communicating well enough, which was a puzzle for Julie and myself. So, we looked into what they could have meant by that. Well, it was not because of my prepared remarks, because Julie uses the same language advisor as I do, and the students do not have a problem with Julie´s remarks. And it was not my Spanish pronunciation, according to the students. Ok....
It turned out that I was not using gestures enough or not writing enough on the white board compared to what I did last semester. In the end, the central point was the white board issue, and that in turn, was the result of our surprise discovery at the beginning of the class that the seminary´s white board markers in the classroom were just about all dried up, so we did not use them (or rather, we tried, but no one could see what we wrote. It was too faint.). As a remedy, I have bought my own set of markers to use.
8) Lydia has registered for SATs. She would be taking them, here in Lima. And in our minds with this registration, she has moved into the category of college student. Whoa. I am thankful that she is such a very fine young lady.
9) Praise God that we amiably resolved a false complaint by a neighbor in New York State this week. The false complaint that we received was about two friends of ours who are staying in our home at the moment, claiming that they were passing out literature pertaining to Jehovah´s witnesses, which would have been in violation of the rules where we live. They weren´t. The complaint had not been researched very carefully. And when I looked into the matter, I discovered that it was simply an error of judgement on behalf of the person filing the complaint, and all records pertaining to the complaint will be destroyed. Hallelujah. And I did all this from Peru, which was rather amazing in and of itself. My hope that this incident will become an opportunity for at least one of us to pray with our neighbor.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, planning, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us).
2) For the seminary courses, for the students, and for all that the Holy Spirit wants us to accomplish together. For the improved access to the library. We are trying to work though some internet access issues for student homework assignments associated with our preaching class. We may have solved some of them.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July, and the mission trip preparation discussions that continue to take place. The preparations appear to be in really good shape, with more things to come.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building. We have begun negotiations to renew our lease for another year (one year at a time), and we hope that the renewal goes smoothly. The landlady and her husband would like to increase the rent, and we do not know by how much. If the rent goes up too much, we may decide to move, yet with the exception of a few irritants, we like the location.
5) For Julie at New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop Suffragan election process in Peru. We hope to be hearing the list of candidates about the end of next week.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon. We are helping out, there, in the interim.
8) For the lady who comes to help Julie with housework and to keep the dust in check, a few times a week. The lady´s father-in-law died over the weekend.
9) There is a lot of dust, every day. Think: "Sinai Peninsula," and you get the idea. This desert has its winds and dust clouds, even in the city, and in addition, construction next door is churning dust all the time, which sometimes rises to levels that are higher than our apartment building. Taking care of the dust and dealing with the continuing sounds from the Hari Krishna restaurant next door (which has become less melodious and more like a war dance or something from a college fraternity movie), is a prayer request in and of itself, especially when the weather is hot (as it is now) and opening the windows more often would be nice, to let the breeze through. But the amazing thing is that my allergies to dust do not seem aggravated by all this construction, so praise God for that.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day, snow or no snow.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail.
Thanksgivings:
1) We did not experience anything harmful from the earthquake in Chile, nor did Lima experience any effects from the tsunami.
2) Julie has had her first meeting of the Commission on Ministry (CEMO), and it went very well. Everything up to this point, including committee member selection, has been preparation for the current phase.
3) We had a great healing service at the Mission of The Ascension on Sunday evening. The service lasted for over two and a quarter hours. It was amazing to see the Holy Spirit in action. After it was all over, everybody stayed for about a half hour, just sitting in place and chatting. I do not think anyone really wanted to go home. Several people were there at our invitation, and we prayed for them, and that was special for us.
4) Praise God that I had one of the best prayer partners ever at the healing service.... "mi esposa bonita" (Julie, my pretty wife). I refer to Julie a lot by the title "mi esposa bonita", and for me, it is a referral to her radiant beauty with the Holy Spirit that is so much of who she is. Students and people in the congregations like it when I refer to Julie that way. It says to them that she matters to me, and they like that, and I like that. She is my best friend.
5) I praise God that where Julie and I spent our honeymoon is just over the horizon from Lima.... in Tahiti (well, actually, it is quite a distance away). But it really means a lot to me to look out over the horizon, and to think that "just over the horizon" we had our honeymoon, and it brings back fond memories of starting out married life with my beloved. The fact that Julie is here, and Lima being in the South Pacific where we shared our honeymoon, are but two of the joys of living in Peru.
6) Praise God that our sudden ant problem has been manageable. It is the time of year for ants, but Julie came into the kitchen one morning a few days ago, and saw one wall covered with literally thousands of very small ants in at least two giant columns, several inches wide and another smaller column of about three quarters of an inch wide, and they were heading into all kinds of cabinets, perhaps looking for a new home because of the construction of an apartment building next door, which has begun this week with the tearing down of an old building. They came into the kitchen through a gap along the edge of a faceplate for an electrical outlet. After recovering from the discovery, Julie dispatched them quickly.
I witnessed another burst of ant activity Sunday morning, and keeping in mind Genesis 1:28, I dispatched probably a hundred or two hundred ants trying to make their way into our garbage bag, under the sink. We generally do not have serious ant problems, in part because we are on the 9th floor of an apartment building. It is a reminder that we share this planet with others of God´s creatures, and many of smaller kinds outnumber us.
7) Praise God that we have solved a communication mystery that some of our students were having this past week. This was our first week in this cycle, and a few students mentioned that I was not communicating well enough, which was a puzzle for Julie and myself. So, we looked into what they could have meant by that. Well, it was not because of my prepared remarks, because Julie uses the same language advisor as I do, and the students do not have a problem with Julie´s remarks. And it was not my Spanish pronunciation, according to the students. Ok....
It turned out that I was not using gestures enough or not writing enough on the white board compared to what I did last semester. In the end, the central point was the white board issue, and that in turn, was the result of our surprise discovery at the beginning of the class that the seminary´s white board markers in the classroom were just about all dried up, so we did not use them (or rather, we tried, but no one could see what we wrote. It was too faint.). As a remedy, I have bought my own set of markers to use.
8) Lydia has registered for SATs. She would be taking them, here in Lima. And in our minds with this registration, she has moved into the category of college student. Whoa. I am thankful that she is such a very fine young lady.
9) Praise God that we amiably resolved a false complaint by a neighbor in New York State this week. The false complaint that we received was about two friends of ours who are staying in our home at the moment, claiming that they were passing out literature pertaining to Jehovah´s witnesses, which would have been in violation of the rules where we live. They weren´t. The complaint had not been researched very carefully. And when I looked into the matter, I discovered that it was simply an error of judgement on behalf of the person filing the complaint, and all records pertaining to the complaint will be destroyed. Hallelujah. And I did all this from Peru, which was rather amazing in and of itself. My hope that this incident will become an opportunity for at least one of us to pray with our neighbor.
Prayers:
1) For the people, relationships, ministries, finances, planning, and priorities associated with the Diocese of Peru, Saints Augustine seminary, and the Missionaries in Peru (including us).
2) For the seminary courses, for the students, and for all that the Holy Spirit wants us to accomplish together. For the improved access to the library. We are trying to work though some internet access issues for student homework assignments associated with our preaching class. We may have solved some of them.
3) For the Albany short term mission trip plans in late July, and the mission trip preparation discussions that continue to take place. The preparations appear to be in really good shape, with more things to come.
4) For our landlady, her husband, and the others in our apartment building. We have begun negotiations to renew our lease for another year (one year at a time), and we hope that the renewal goes smoothly. The landlady and her husband would like to increase the rent, and we do not know by how much. If the rent goes up too much, we may decide to move, yet with the exception of a few irritants, we like the location.
5) For Julie at New Wineskins and the SAMS worldwide conference in April in North Carolina, and for Julie, Lydia, and I in Pennsylvania and New York State/Connecticut in May/June, including our Diocesan Convention.
6) For the people in and involved with the Bishop Suffragan election process in Peru. We hope to be hearing the list of candidates about the end of next week.
7) That the Holy Spirit would raise up the next clerical leadership for Jesus el Salvador, soon. We are helping out, there, in the interim.
8) For the lady who comes to help Julie with housework and to keep the dust in check, a few times a week. The lady´s father-in-law died over the weekend.
9) There is a lot of dust, every day. Think: "Sinai Peninsula," and you get the idea. This desert has its winds and dust clouds, even in the city, and in addition, construction next door is churning dust all the time, which sometimes rises to levels that are higher than our apartment building. Taking care of the dust and dealing with the continuing sounds from the Hari Krishna restaurant next door (which has become less melodious and more like a war dance or something from a college fraternity movie), is a prayer request in and of itself, especially when the weather is hot (as it is now) and opening the windows more often would be nice, to let the breeze through. But the amazing thing is that my allergies to dust do not seem aggravated by all this construction, so praise God for that.
Thank you for praying for us. It makes a difference. I pray for you every day, snow or no snow.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia
Lima, Peru
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