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