It is hard to believe that April has already come and gone. Time here in Peru is flying by. April was a great month for me. I enjoyed celebrating my birthday with friends in Lima, I have enjoyed my continuing sign language classes, and I have really enjoyed having a little bit more time to get involved in my local church here in Peru. I have made some new friends, joined in on a service project to paint a school for children with special needs, participated in the recording of my church's live worship CD/DVD, and I have begun translating some of the Sunday morning services from Spanish to English. No, I don't translate in front of everyone, but each week we have a few English speaking visitors that would like to know what is happening during the service. They are given headphones, and I speak into a microphone in the back of the room that transmits to their headphones. It is a little bit more challenging than translating up front because there are no pauses for me to jump in and translate. I have to do it simultaneously. It is great practice, though, and it is a joy to be able to serve my local congregation. You are welcome to look at my pictures from the last few months. Just click here or look for them on Facebook.
Painting the School
I have also kept busy with Scripture Union. Last week our international relations team had an opportunity to meet with our board of directors. It was a good chance to talk about different ideas and visions that we have as well as a good opportunity to become better acquainted with the board. The week prior to the meeting was full of preparations for our presentation to the board, and I think that our work and preparation paid off.
In many ways the month of May is kind of the quiet before the storm. Our first work team arrives on May 22, and we will hit the ground running. I will be with teams almost nonstop between then and mid August in different parts of the country. Right now it is all logistics. Booking hotels, buses, and figuring out budgets. Thankfully my friend and colleague, Rachel, is in charge of most of these logistical details. She does a great job, and I am around this month to give her an extra hand where need be. Please pray for us as we make preparations this month. Also pray for all of the teams who are preparing to come and partner with us. Pray for the volunteers who will be coming to help host the teams and all of the full time SU staff who will be involved with the short term teams.
If you are interested in getting to know a little bit more about SU Peru, then I encourage you to look at these two videos below. The first explains our general work and the different options for work teams that come down. The second shows a little bit of our medical ministry on the Amazon River. If you are interested in work teams or medical missions, give me an email (bgreenman@latinamericamission.org), and I will get you more information.
