From Peru - Through the Eyes of Episcopal Missionaries in Peru

Fr. John and Susan Park are SAMS Missionaries stationed in Peru.


Dear Friends in Christ,

160 YEARS/60 YEARS
In May, Good Shepherd congregation, where we serve here in Lima, celebrated 160 years of existence and 60 years since the dedication of its current building. We are the oldest non-Roman Catholic church in the country. Originally it couldn't even look like a church on the outside. Our current building looks very much like an English church, as that is what we were until only about 10 years ago. Our Spanish-language ministry is now stronger than ever. But we have just lost Fr Juan Bernardo and Maria Isabel Marentes to Belize. They have accepted a call there to serve in a bilingual church and will begin there this month. Please pray for their transition as well as for our Spanish-speaking congregation here.

John has been busy each month with different activities to celebrate the anniversary and to reach out to the community. On Twelfth Night in January, we held a Christmas service of Lessons and Carols. February brought a Christian music concert by Nazareno (a group from one of our shanty town churches). In March, we had a movie night showing "On the Town" with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, from 1949 when the church was dedicated, and in April, a formal tea for the older members of the congregation and their friends,

May's anniversary weekend we had a formal dinner, ordinations, and celebration eucharists in Spanish and English. The dinner on Friday brought together many people who had a history with the church, including some who flew in from the United States and brought pictures of the first services held in the building. Members of the congregation put together a fabulous time line of the history of the church. We had a buffet with typical Peruvian food and dancers and musicians performed throughout the evening. One of our desserts for the evening was Suspiro al Lime–o. It's a very sweet dessert made with evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk cooked together with egg yolks. Then it is topped with a meringue that has a syrup made with pisco mixed in and sprinkled with cinnamon. See the website for the recipe, I'm adding a recipe section!

On Saturday, our deacon from the English congregation, Anderson Sanchez, was ordained to the priesthood along with Ruben Mancilla who works in the mission church in Juliaca in the south of the country. The Cathedral's lay minister Pastor Zevallos from the Spanish congregation was ordained to the diaconate. He currently serves as head of the diocesan NGO (non-governmental organization) where all our special ministries are located. I will try to put some of those photos up on the website soon.

Then Sunday both the English and Spanish congregations had special eucharists with our Bishop Bill Godfrey celebrating. We had put together a special choir just for the occasion and sang an anthem during communion. That way the two of us who teach Sunday School could be back in time to sing!

John also leads a Bible Club, which is a Bible study in English for those who speak English as a second language. It is small, but there are several regulars who are improving their English skills while they study the Bible.


SMINAERY AND MENTOR GROUP
I (Susan) continue to be active in the seminary. This year the mentor group now meets each week rather than every other week. It gives us a chance to do more praying together with each other as well as giving more of the women a chance to talk. We tackle some of the issues that they face ministering in their churches and families. Many of them are the first Anglicans in their families and they are eager to lead others to Christ.

Last year, I was asked to teach an English class at the seminary, but there wasn't time just then. So when this school year started in March, we began an English class specifically targeted for conversing with visiting groups. So our lessons are greetings, family, food, housing, medical, and construction, all of which are themes which they encounter with visitors. It's something I enjoy doing and try to make it interesting for them. They learned their alphabet quickly when they got to use M&Ms to cover the letters!

TEAMS
Earlier this year the bishop called a meeting of all the people who deal with teams that come to help in the diocese. Each of the different areas; medical, educational, seminary, construction, and Arequipa had people working with them, but there was no particular coordinator as that person had left the diocese. The bishop asked who was in charge overall and there was a pregnant pause. Then I spoke up and said, "Well Bishop, you need to appoint someone." He laughed and said, "I had decided that the person who spoke up first was it. All in favor say Aye." So now I coordinate all the visiting teams for Lima. Thank goodness, we have a very able group of people who can help me handle all the different areas. I'm still learning a lot and Vicki (SAMS missionary in Arequipa) has been an invaluable resource when I call for help.

This past week, the first team ever to serve in the northern cone of the city of Lima is here. Holy Nativity from Plano, Texas is doing a VBS with children in a shanty town. The team leader, Fr Noe Mendez, was ordained to the priesthood on Wednesday before coming and celebrated his first eucharist here on Sunday at the church where they are working, Jesus, Fount of Life. The team wowed the congregation by singing a song for them in Spanish. They're real troopers having already lost all their luggage (they finally got it back the next night), gotten lost on the way back from church, and had a flat tire in the first 24 hours here.

The northern area, Trinity deanery, has 5 congregations, widely scattered and divided by mountains, none of which has a church building. They all meet in houses of people who attend the church, or in buildings made with woven cane mats or wood slats taken from packing crates, or just open air sandwiched in between the neighbors walls.

We had a get-together with all the clergy and lay leaders from the deanery with the team. Some of them traveled 3 hours on buses just to meet the team and talk with them about the work in their churches. At the end, the team invited the 7 people to join them for lunch. Our cook, who had prepared for 16, suddenly had 23. We had to send out for paper plates as we didn't have enough regular ones. There was enough food for everyone with some left over. God is so good!

In addition to the teams, we've had several new missionaries come to the diocese in the last few months whom I have helped get settled in and find the things they need. They're all studying in language school. The Lord is really positioning us as a diocese for a great move.

DIOCESE
John serves on several committees which help the bishop. Most recently they have been revising the canons (church laws) which govern the Anglican Church here. Another problem is that anytime the church's constitution changes, we have to send it to the government for their approval. They are trying to make it as simple as possible and put all the internal dealings in the canons, instead of in the part that the government has to approve.

One move forward for our diocese came about with our last synod meeting. We have received approval from the Province of the Southern Cone (of which our diocese is a part) to elect suffragan bishops. These bishops will assist Bp Godfrey and be missionary bishops to the areas that the diocese already has work and to other areas where it is expanding. Please pray for the committee as they work to bring this about.

FAMILY
John and I have adapted to being "empty-nesters" with both fellows in the US now. The internet helps us to be able to keep in touch on a regular basis.

We were blessed by a three-week visit from Robert in May whose part-time job as valet for Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh was phased out due to their move to a new area and building. It allowed him to have the free time to come. He was able to "tele-commute" with his job at Rock the World Youth Mission organization while he was here. He's hoping to go to Thailand with them in August to serve on a team ministering to teenage children of missionaries there. To that end, he needs to raise his funds to be able to go. Please pray for this. We were blessed to have him serve as the acolyte for the ordinations and anniversary weekend. Everyone commented on how great it was to have him back.

James successfully finished his first year at Chapman University. He was able to get quite a few credits for his work in the International Baccalaureate program as well as carrying a full load. While he originally went with the intention of majoring in Computer science, with a minor in computer games, the family "theatre bug" has bitten him hard. While here in Peru, both at school and in community theatre, he performed both in English and in Spanish. At university, he's discovered the technical aspects of the stage and has even directed three plays already! We're not sure where it will all lead yet, but he's taking more theatre courses this coming year. We are blessed that he is spending the summer with Susan's sister, Liz and his brother in Pittsburgh. He's even gotten a summer job already, at GameStop, no less.

Our house is seldom empty though. Mary Ann, whose daughter Alenda was murdered a year ago, is living upstairs in what will eventually become the cathedral offices while she makes preparations to return home to South Africa. She regularly attends the Morning and Evening Prayer services at the cathedral. Please pray for closure as Alenda's case has still not come to trial. Thank God that she is handling it all well.

Joan comes around several times a week. Her memory is slipping more as she forgets even events from the more distant past. She was concerned that she was "having trouble seeing out of this eye"; the one she had lost many years ago. She's always eager to help when she comes for a visit, so I often let her chop the vegetables for lunch or help fold the sheets. Thank God, she can still find her way back and forth from the home. We know the day is coming soon, when she will need help with this. The Lord has been working on her heart and she is a much more pleasant person than she used to be.

Lidia regularly comes to Wednesday eucharists. We often have a bible study and will translate a verse or two into English for her to study. She really has a gift for languages. She's been taking cooking lessons with me on how to use her "magic oven" and she helps prepare the meal and then eats lunch with us. She is more confident and beginning to have friends with more of the women that she comes in contact with. Her prayers are much more about her blessings now and much less of the "poor me, guess I'll go eat worms" variety. Please pray for how Susan can best help her.

BEING MISSIONARIES
Serving our Lord in Peru is an absolute joy for us. It is hard to believe that we have been here almost 5 years already. Our work continually changes and evolves and blesses us in so many ways. Thank you for making it possible. Please know that we pray for you all regularly as you are our lifeline. Our being here depends on your prayers and support. We know that the situation in the US has been difficult all around, so we feel doubly blessed by your participation in our ministry here. Your prayers encourage us and your financial support sustains us. We know that you have many appeals for your help from many different areas and we know that you consider prayerfully what you are able to do. Our SAMS account is very low right now, so any donations are greatly appreciated. Thank you for being a part of our ministry.

I'm still working on learning how to do our web page, but hopefully, it will have pictures on it soon. Check it out.
ParkPeru.org


PLEASE GIVE THANKS FOR--
--the visit of our son Robert
--James's successful first year of college and a summer job
--mission teams which enrich our diocese
--new missionaries coming to help
--Lidia's continual growth in her walk with the Lord
--Bp William's continued good health

PLEASE PRAY FOR--
--our Spanish congregation as they adapt to a new ministry team
--the government's approval of our churches' constitutions
--the committee which is preparing for the search for candidates for suffragan bishops
--Susan's work with the teams and all the details that are involved
--John's work with the cathedral, especially the anniversary celebrations
--Joan as she gets more frustrated about forgetting things
--Mary Ann that things will be resolved quickly that she may return home
--Robert's finances that he may join the Thailand team

Blessings,
Susan for the family

Blessings,
Susan for the family

"Even when things are out of our control,
they are never out of God's control."

Vonage line--412-567-5300 (US telephone-rings in Peru)

John+ & Susan Park
johnpark@sams-usa.org
susanpark@sams-usa.org

Tax-deductible contributions to our ministry in Peru may be made on line at http://www.sams-usa.org or by sending a check payable to SAMS (with Park in the memo line) to
SAMS
PO Box 399
Ambridge PA 15003

You can also arrange for automatic deductions from your bank account or for automatic charges to your credit card. If you wish to do so, please call SAMS at 724-266-0669.

In Canada, tax deductible contributions may be online at
http://www.samscanada.ca
Or you may send cheques to:
SAMS-Canada
PO Box 21082
Barrie, ON L4M 6J1
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