Prayer Mail

Dear Partners in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail for 21 Febrero 2011. Happy Presidents´ Day, and a Happy Birthday to our daughter Ruth.

Thanksgivings:

1) In all the courses, combined, there are quite a few students, including about 32 students taking an on-line course, from four countries. It is the seminary´s first on-line course.

2) Lydia came back from a really good diocesan retreat for Peruvian young adults on Sunday. She had fun and had a really good encounter with the Holy Spirit. (and Julie and I had a great date weekend while she was away!)

3) My large print altar book has been bound. I am pleased with the results.

4) Julie had a really good meeting with Bishop Godfrey on Friday to go over plans for ordinations and to begin planning for the next wave of students entering the ordination process in the Diocese of Peru.

Prayers:

1) For our visa and residency card situation upgrade. We head to Migraciones on Wednesday to find out our next step.
Number of days left on our tourist visas: about 133.

2) For upcoming meetings and appointments.

3) I celebrate the Holy Eucharist at La Ascension on Sunday.

4) For Julie´s CEMO interviews with people in the ordination process over the next week or so (Commission on Ministry).

5) We are getting approvals to make a trip to the US in July/August. There are many facets to this trip to be praying for, but the main purpose would be to get Lydia to college. Here are some things to be praying for on that trip, especially the logistics:

a) there is a program suggested by our missionary society to help her adjust back to the US, one of which is in Colorado, not far from where our niece will be getting married (two days after the end of Lydia´s program).

b) getting her driver´s license, including taking her five hour course, putting in the remaining driving hours (including night driving), and arranging for her driver´s exam.

c) setting up visits to churches around the Diocese of Albany, to visit while we are in the Diocese of Albany

d) Lydia has a college requirement to attend a wilderness experience which would be in the Adirondacks

e) packing and getting Lydia to college in time, and letting go.


6) We send out a short weekly prayer and praise to parishes for the Sunday bulletins, and we are in the process of hopefully sending out our monthly newsletter, instead, beginning in March.

This way, churches can post the newsletters on bulletin boards about what we are doing, and they can help raise parish awareness about missions activities of the Diocese of Albany. Please pray that our parish email database is current and comprehensive.

8) We are also thinking about making available short monthly video newsletters, accessible on the Internet. Your prayers about this would be appreciated.

9) For the relationships and spiritual protection of missionaries and other diocesan team members in Peru, and for our ministries, finances, resources, and priorities.

10) That we would be able to keep on top of all the things that God would like us to do.

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

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