This newsletter brings us back to two weeks into January for the wedding of Alex and Livia, the temple keepers in Ciudad Nueva. This was also the last day for the CCV short-term team to be here. It was beautiful to see that they were finally able to have their wedding after a long wait from their civil marraige. It was also a great way to finish off the CCV team's time in Tacna, Peru, with a wedding feast so symbolic of the very work we were doing of inviting them all to the wedding feast with Christ.
The chilean team was huge and had a very busy schedule. There were 40 people who came down for 2 weeks to do street evangelizing through music and theatre, to work hand in hand in all the church activities, and to do other different social activities for the glory of God. During the first few days the team went to two church locations and did a VBS for the children. The rest of the time the group was split into two and they were usually doing two street performances at a time in different strategic areas of the town. Afterwards, we would all walk back to the Church and invite those who were watching to come back and have cena(dinner consisting of bread and a hot tea or coffee). This provided us with time to talk to the people and explain everything that we do and why. Other activities that were done were more to help where there are needs. A few days we went to convelescent homes and orphanages to hang out with the people and try be bless them with the simplicity, yet important, of our time. We have found that they usually just want someone to talk to and spend time with as opposed to some show that in the end they do not get very much quality time given to them. Also, in the poorer areas of Tacna we went around to wash and cut the childrens hair. This helps the people in their needs and allows them to see God's love for them in a tangible way. This is the focus of many off our ministries...give them God's love in a tangible way and they can accept it spiritually with more ease.
The month of February is usually a very slow month due to the fact that is it the biggest month of the year for vacationing, which means the slowest month of the year for everything else. . ??With Pastor Tito? and his family in Chili on the furlough, the rest of the church was taking care of the regular church running through the month. A group of us went down to chili for about a week to celebrate with Jake Standerfer and his new wife Heidi (Phillips). It was a good time to get some rest for a couple of days after the wedding and the wedding itself was beautiful and encourageing for my fiance and me. Though February was slow it was a time of preparation for the many activities that will begin very shortly : Culto.com is being redesigned, the interns are beginning with the English classes, the first discipleship and guitar lessons with the Ciudad Nueva youth, and then Chiqui and I are getting married in June. The next letter I am sure is going to have many new and exciting things to tell as our new season of work is just beginning. The harvest truly is plentiful...
God Bless.
Brian Ridenour |
