It was a wise decision to have me spend a month in the mother church, Miraflores, in Lima before going to Piura. Tuesday 
and Thursday mornings I join the pastoral staff. I’ve also been interviewing each pastor and sitting in on the classes and events. I’ve especially been getting to know about the youth ministry. This time is giving me a good understanding of how the Miraflores church is organized and how it operates. This knowledge will help smooth the transition to ministry in Piura. The photo is from when they took me out to lunch. Roberto Bastante (orange) is the lead pastor. Please pray that I will learn everything possible in preparation to make a valuable contribute to the Piura team.
I said I would write about the new Piura strategy, but I’m going to put it off until after the joint meeting February 24th. That meeting will bring the TEAM Ministry Area Leader, Craig, the Miraflores pastor, Roberto, the Piura team leader, Jorge and his wife July, and me together to discuss the strategy and to be sure we all have the same understanding of what we hope to accomplish by God’s leading in Piura. While Peru in general is 14% Christian, Piura is the least evangelized department (province/state), not reaching 2%. The needs are great, so please pray for the Lord to guide us in this important meeting.
A huge thanks to all those of you who have been praying that the lost suitcase would be found. God answered those prayers! Last week the church in Guatire let me know they have the suitcase, but they say they won’t send it to me so that I have to return to pick it up. :) As much as I would love to do that, please pray for the suitcase to be transported safely to Peru.
I have taken hundreds of photos to share with you so you could see what Lima and Arequipa are like, along with the Piura photos from 2008. They are divided into 12 albums that are listed under Photos in the left column on the website at http://www.brendamatthews.missynew.ws I hope you can take some time to view them (probably not all at once!). Just click on the album that interests you and then click on the first photo to enlarge it. Centre it on your screen and advance through the photos using the arrow key. Enjoy!
Always grateful for your prayers,
Brenda
