Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The end of a rodeo

With just one week left in our current ministry in Tarma, things are both speeding up and slowing down at the same time. I finish up my English classes this week, and have already finished my Spanish tutoring for the year. That will be something I will start back up in January. Right now the team is focusing on two major events we will be hosting before heading back to Lima for Christmas. The first is going to be a neighborhood children’s event, one similar to our Noah’s Ark event in October. This is to continue a strong presence in our neighborhood and continuing to gain the trust of parents by blessing their children. The second event will be our big “Celebration” for all of the bible studies we’ve been hosting over the past six weeks. This will be our “final act” of this year’s ministry, as we gather together to celebrate the completion of Advent (a little earlier than normal), and celebrate what God has been doing in the lives of the TarmeƱans. We will have a slideshow featuring pictures of all of the groups, a few video interviews, Christmas singing, and a presentation of the Gospel message. We will be celebrating with the traditional Peruvian Christmas treats, Hot Chocolate and Paneton. The hot chocolate is made with bars of chocolate that have cloves and cinnamon added to them – so the taste is a lot richer than the powder mixes we drink at home! And Paneton is cake-like bread that has dried fruit in it. We are trying to make this event as special as possible, to invite non-believers, and to encourage those that have been attending our studies to want to continue next year.
I confess that there is a large part of me that is ready to be done with these studies, so that we can move on to the next thing. I am ready for 2010 with gusto, and right now getting through the holidays away from home is my next hurdle. I may be somewhat childish here, but this will be my first Christmas away from home, and it is hard to not be with my family in my hometown, sharing traditions that I love. I am praying that God will allow me to experience the joy of his birth in new ways this year, and that the meaning of the season won’t get lost in all that I am “not” able to do for the holidays. The meaning of Christmas doesn’t change just because there is no snow in Tarma.
Anyway – we are at the end of a rodeo of sorts, beginning the process of tearing down the arena and packing up the horses. January will be a quiet month of planning, praying and preparing our next moves in Tarma. I’m glad to have some time to evaluate, to problem solve and make some changes in how we live and operate in this town. My personal prayer is that God would be very specific with what He wants us to accomplish in 2010.

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