The McEuen Family

Cross Cultural Witnesses to Peru Jirn San Jos 230, Urb San Carlos Huancayo, Per opencircleperu@gmail.com http://opencircleperu.weebly.com February 2012 It sure does feel good to be home again. After two and half years in Huancayo, weve made some good friends and acquaintances of people. We didnt realize just how many people we know here until we started walking around after being gone for a few months. A lot of people stop us and, after the customary kiss on the cheek, they say something like, Havent seen you around for a while or Its sure good to have you back. A lot of times they say the latter one with a hint of surprise in their voices, as if they werent really expecting us to be back. But why wouldnt we be? This is where God wants us to be right now. That has been confirmed a number of times since coming home. Its been funny (and tiring) to see just how long it has actually taken us to put our feet on the ground. We arrived in Huancayo on Saturday night and, after church on Sunday morning, we were running from one thing to another. God is opening up doors, renewing old relationships and starting new ones. For example, Audra and I had to walk downtown one evening to pick up our laptop that was being fixed. On the way home we debated on taking a taxi, but decided instead to walk home taking the well-lighted streets with a lot of people. About six blocks from the house, we passed an English language school where the professors where striking. As we passed them, a young man ahead of us was talking a bit under his breath in rather good English. He was laughing at seeing his professors in a picket line and from that, we started a conversation. The conversation lasted for more than an hour. I dont know where this will lead, but Im sure God will use this young man in a tremendous way Another opportunity came up as Ash was walking down the street. Hed just had a meeting with the pastor of the church (who told him about all the changes in leadership and pastors of the area) when he ran into the lay pastor of the church. They talked about possibilities and next steps before saying goodbye. A few steps further down the street, Ash ran into the pastor of another local church and the district superintendent of the Methodist church. Long story short, a meeting was arranged and a door opened for Ash to teach two grades of Christian formation at one of the local schools. Currently he is working through the curriculum and trying to make the best of it. Classes begin February 26

Page 2 And then there was a knock at the door. A man standing there said his children use the library quite a bit and that he would like to speak with us. He has worked with non-profit organizations in the past, he said, and was interested in talking with us about opening libraries in some of the small communities. When we later met, we agreed that there are possibilities in working together, but still some details (both political and logistically) that we need to work through. We dont know what will happen with this, but the possibilities are there. The goal, after all, is to ultimately have all the libraries in the hands of Peruvian nationals. This could be a step in that direction The first Sunday in February, we as a family have the opportunity to present A Date with God to the local church and community. We experienced it at our regional gathering in Florida last month. What it is is an individualized hands-on activity that helps people to slow down and listen to God for an hour or two. Ultimately, the goal is to help people (of all ages, by the way) to learn to apply some of these things to their day-to-day lives. Its going to take a bit of work (and translation), but the end result will be worth it As we enter into the month of February, please join us in P prayer for the following things: Pray for Ash as he prepares to teach. He also is talking with a few young adults to see how best to reach out to the youth of the community. Audra has taken over the vast majority of the administrative and leadership role of the libraries. Pray for her as she plans and moves forward with that part of the ministry. Kia, Aylis, Todd and Soraya are back in School (the older three are online and Soraya is at a local school). Please continue to pray for their personal motivation in that (its sometimes hard to get started in the morning!). Also, please pray for the team from McDonough United Methodist Church coming to Peru this month. Thank you for all you do for the Kingdom of God in your own neck of the woods. We love you and God bless!

Ash, Audra, Kia, Ayli, Todd and Soraya