Surretts Update 2012: October to December

October - December 2012

Ministry News

Preaching in the church in Manchay

After teaching the evangelism course for the church in Manchay, we have continued to attend the church services and have had the opportunity to preach a couple of times. We enjoy the fellowship with the church but will not be staying in this church for much longer as the Lord has provided them with enough other missionary support during this time. The missionary pastor has returned from his furlough and they also have a few single missionary ladies that assist them in the church. Two of them are here until May as they are part of the Arriba program, a program for students in Christian colleges that come down to Peru for one school year to serve and learn.

School Ministry

At this time, my main ministry is with the school. In addition to my responsibility as the General Director, I have also been serving as the Elementary Supervisor and Chemistry teacher. We are in need of some qualified teachers to help complete our staff. Please be praying that the Lord would provide the staff that we should have to properly serve the students, parents and each other.
Many times as the director, I fulfill the role of family counselor. Parents that might not go to a church are willing to listen to my advice as an educator. I then am able to witness to them sharing with them the fact that until we repair our relationship with God, our relationships with others will continue to be hampered. I have had the opportunity to pray with them, give them books to read and help them to focus on what is truly important. The group of parents that we have at the school are middle to upper-middle class and most of the parents work long hours and delegate the responsibility of raising their children to the school, grandparents and nannies. Please pray that God will show them that even if they make all the money in the world, if they loose their own soul or they loose their family, it is all for naught.

Special Events

Not only do we have the opportunity to reach families through one-on-one meetings, but we also host special activities to give us a chance to get to know the families better. Halloween is an event that has grown in popularity here in Peru. To avoid the associations of the celebration of Halloween and to provide a clean alternative, each 31st of October the school holds a Family Fun Night. Inflatables are brought in and different fair-type games are setup for the families to enjoy. We even have an improvised dunk tank which I had the privilege of sampling.
This year we also started a Science Fair and invited parents and friends to come and see the projects of the 6th through 11th graders (Peruvian schools only go to 11th grade). We hope to expand on this idea in the years to come to include special Science presentations which emphasize Creationism and the opportunity to show that Christians do not have to fear science but that science actually reveals God for the God of order and design that He is.
Our end-of-year ceremonies for preschool, elementary, and secondary also give us a wonderful opportunity to minister to the parents. The programs contained elements of the gospel, missions, serving others as well as rewards for testimony and achievement.

Saying goodbye

At the end of each school year, there are changes to a school's personnel. As a school with American teachers who come with a two-year commitment, we have some years where there may be more goodbyes than normal. In addition to two preschool teachers, two elementary teachers, two high school teachers and two other American teachers, our national director, Ander Villegas, who has been with the school since it was started retired as well as an Art teacher who has taught at the school for many years. It is difficult to find Peruvian teachers who have a solid Christian testimony and are qualified to teach. It is also difficult to find American teachers, especially ones with experience, who are willing to come to Peru and serve the Lord as missionary teacher. The need will always exist but we feel the need more intensely this year.

Debbie's Health

In our last prayer letter, I mentioned that Debbie was struggling with some health issues. We had her examined by a couple of doctors and were not able to get a good diagnosis. We decided to have Debbie return to Pennsylvania for two weeks in November to talk to her doctor there, have a change of climate and an opportunity to gain some emotional strength. The Lord worked it out for her doctor to see her at short notice and to be able to diagnose her with pernicious anemia, a vitamin B-12 deficiency which affects the nervous system as well as many other vital systems. We do not know why her body stopped processing the B-12 but it is good to have a diagnosis. Debbie will require shots of B-12 on a regular basis in order to help her body to recover. The recovery is a process with good days and bad days. Please pray that God will help her to rest in His strength throughout this process.

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