Prayer Mail

Dear Partners in Prayer,

Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail.

As I write this, Spain has just won the world cup. We did not have to hear about the Spanish goal on the radio or see it on TV or follow it on the Internet to know the outcome.... we heard people cheering nearby. And subsequently, car horns have been blaring in the streets.

Our final weather projections, for the benefit of short term mission trip arriving on Monday the 19th of July, appear after the prayers:

Thanksgivings:

1) For the amount of work accomplished in the past week: particularly for the Commission on Ministry meetings that Julie coordinated, for the seminar coursework preparations, and for the mission trips preparations in which we are involved (the Albany area trip and the trip from Worcester Diocese in England).

2) For the Sunday service that we led at the Cathedral on Sunday which included a baptism. This was our last week there for the foreseeable future. I am completely humbled by the overwhelming positive response to my time. May God use our time there to his glory.

3) For the steps being taken for the next phases of Lydia´s education. She is in the midst of filling out college applications.

4) For the opportunities before us to transform lives by what we do.

5) For the response so far for the books that we have requested.

6) We finally bought a dining room table with chairs at a very good price, and that enables us to have expanded hospitality opportunities. Praise God for that.

Prayers:

1) For fruitfulness and discernment, 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).

2) For the Albany/Peru short term mission trip that arrives on Monday, July 19, and that everything would go according to God´s plan. We are in the final week of preparations.

3) For Julie´s Commission on Ministry interview plans over the next few weeks, and for Lydia's college application process.

4) We are making some progress in some repairs needed/work to be done at our apartment in conjunction with our landlord´s agreement, but there is a ways to go, particularly on a kitchen cabinet door that needs to have hinges reset, curtains that need attending to, some lighting fixtures that need an electrician´s attention, and the replacement of our bathtub. We would appreciate your continued prayers for appropriate next steps.

5) For seminary class registration on Monday, July 12, in the evening (this happened last night, but we anticipate additional registrations over the next few weeks, so continued prayers for registration are appreciated); and for the Diocese of Worcester short-term-mission-trip visitors from England to the seminary, on August 16and 19; for course preparation work in advance of the first day of class on August 2.

Thank you for praying for us. Your praying really makes a difference, and I pray for you every day.

Weather: especially as a guide for members of the short-term mission team who may want to know what the weather is projected to be, through July 20:

Each day the highs are expected to be in the low 60s, and the lows in the upper 50s. Dwellings, however, do not have central heating and walls generally are not insulated. There is hardly any precipitation projected during this time. Humidity varies and can make the cold feel colder. At 4:55 pm, today, it was 72%. On some days it can be up to 100%, taking into account desert/sea coast conditions for how this feels.

Official sunrise time (and add about an additional 30 minutes or so to this, for the sun to climb over the foothills of the Andes Mountains) is projected to be 6:28 am for the next week, but sunset varies from 17:57 (5:57 pm) to 17:59 (5:59 pm) out over the Pacific Ocean.

If traveling away from our particular district of the city, you may encounter more sunshine during the day than where we live; we have a unique micro-weather system here. We keep on hand a sunscreen of SPF 45 for use if we are going to be in the direct sunlight for more than say 15 minutes at a time. Hats can be very useful in a variety of weather conditions.

God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia