I never cease to be amazed by the size of our current task: to teach people how to lead parishes. It sounds simple, on paper.
And we started out with relatively modest goals: to help teach classes in a seminary in Spanish. To do this, we needed to learn the culture and the language. But almost immediately, when we arrived, our task increased: to help teach Life in the Spirit seminars, to lead mentoring groups, to participate in the life of the Diocese of Peru, helping with healing and prayer ministry, for example.
Someone has called the acclimation process: "dropping you in the deep end." "Dropping you in the deep end" seems to be part of the life of a missionary.
And our task seems to keep getting a bit bigger, over time. For example, additionally, as typically happens to long-term missionaries, we have been helping with mission teams and guests who visit the Diocese of Peru. We have had to rethink curriculum-design in the face of student study skill deficits, resource shortages, and the overabundance of needs of parishes. "How to listen to God" has become a necessary life-skill that we are cultivating in the lives of students.
And most recently, we have begun planning on-line courses, to teach students across Peru, and in other countries, how to lead parishes. Yesterday, I took another step in that direction by developing my first on-line instructional video: how to use a bible concordance, as part of our biblical interpretation resources.
In the missionary environment, when resources do not exist and there is little in the budget with which to buy sufficient resources, we try to create the resources that we need. This seemingly small step of making an instructional video is actually a major step in the direction of developing on-line course materials.
From the beginning of our missionary life, however, I have wondered if there was ever such as thing as a "shallow end" in our work here. My conclusion: Nope. One size fits all. It has probably been that way for hundreds of years.
Prayer Requests:
• For the next seminary cycle of courses (the cycle begins on February 7)
• For seminary and diocesan plans.
• For our relationships, priorities, ministries, and finances.
God bless you, and thank you for your continuing support! I pray for you, every day,
Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+ and Lydia
Recent seminary graduate Marco with his fiancee Vanessa. She liked this photo so much, that she used it as her Facebook photo. He is finishing as an intern at La Ascension in Surco as part of the ordination process. Marco is in the process of getting a teacher's degree, and they are getting ready to get married. You might consider praying for them daily, this month.
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