Page 1 Prayer Letter for Peru STM May 24 - June 22, 2018 Wycliffe serves minority language groups worldwide by fostering an understanding of God s Word through Bible translation, while nurturing literacy, education and stronger communities.
Page 2 Peru Short Term Mission Itinerary & Prayer Items Peru Short Term Mission (STM) 5 th Anniversary Overview: Since 2014, the Chinese Diaspora Engagement Ministry has been encouraging the collaboration of Vancouver s Chinese Churches and Peru s local Christian Organisations, to actively participate and promote crosscultural mission work and bible translation work. Some of the work included: 1. Burnaby Alliance Church and Peru AIDIA established a 5-year partnership after Vision Renewal Conferences in 2014 and 2015. This partnership seeks to fully support AIDIA s work in translating the Old Testament bible to Quechua in Eastern Apurímac, through pastoral training, leadership training, sending missionaries and financial assistance. 2. Since 2017, Coquitlam Christ Church of China has been in conversation with ATEK to discuss the possibility of a long-term partnership. This partnership seeks to fully support ATEK s Cuzco Quechua bible distribution work. By means of pastoral training, discipleship training, leadership training, sending missionaries and financial assistance. 3. The 2 churches, mentioned above, will actively engage and support the Gospel needs of the local Chinese through San Borja Alliance Church s Chinese Ministry. Overview of 2018 Peru STM: Praise the Lord that we have assembled two teams from members of ten different churches to form our 2018 Peru STM team: First STM team: 16 members (May 24-June 7) 7 members from Burnaby Alliance Church 1 member from Calgary Chinese Alliance Church 2 members from Port Moody Pacific Grace MB Church 2 members from Saskatoon Chinese Alliance Church 1 member from Westside Calgary Chinese Alliance Church 1 member from Toronto Jaffray Chinese Alliance Church 1 member from San Borja Alliance Church 1 member from C&MA Mei Foo Church Second STM team: 14 members (June 3- June 22) 6 members from Coquitlam Christ Church of China 2 members from Vancouver Christ Church of China 2 members from Saskatoon Chinese Alliance Church 2 members from Calgary Chinese Alliance Church 1 member from Burnaby Alliance Church 1 member from C&MA Mei Foo Church
Page 3 Day 1 - May 24 (Thurs) Itinerary: The first STM team will depart in the morning from Vancouver to Lima (Peru s capital); they will transit in Los Angeles. 1. Pray for the safety of every member; punctuality of every connecting flight; clearance of all luggage, and everyone will be able to arrive at the hotel on time. Pray for sufficient rest for everyone, and for strength to meet the demands of every day s work. 2. Pray that the Lord will raise up prayer warriors everywhere to pray for the mission trips; and that God s name be glorified in Peru, amongst the natives and the Chinese. Day 2 - May 25 (Fri) Itinerary: STM team will adjust to the local culture and prepare for the following days itineraries at Lima. 1. Pray that the team will have a blessed time of fellowship, and to serve one another with their gifts and talents. 2. Pray for the health of every member; pray that they will adapt quickly to the climate, food, water and culture. Day 3 - May 26 (Sat) Itinerary: STM team will join Los Olivos Alliance Church s worship service in the morning; speak to the parents and children at San Borja Alliance Church s Mandarin School in the afternoon; and speak to HuaQing fellowship group on Anger Management at night. STM team will also foster a relationship with the pastors of the local Chinese Alliance churches. 1. There s a shortage of pastors in the local churches. Pray that the Lord will send pastors to serve the local Chinese churches. 2. Pray that the Lord will bless the second generation of Spanish speaking Chinese and send them to spread the Gospel to all parts of South America. May the Lord guide the Churches Spanish Ministry to cater to the needs of these Chinese children. 3. Pray that the Lord will use the 4 messages to minister to the brothers and sisters of Los Olivos Alliance Church; to the 60 parents and kids of San Borja Alliance Church s Mandarin School, and to the brothers and sisters of HuaQing fellowship group. May the Lord touch the hearts of the unsaved, and use the messages to lead them to Christ.
Page 4 Day 4 ~ May 27 (Sun) Itinerary: STM team will join San Borja Alliance Church s worship service. A pastor on the STM team will speak at their Spanish and Mandarin worship services. 1. Pray that the Lord will use the three local Chinese Alliance churches mightily; pray that the congregation will actively engage people of the same culture, similar culture, and different culture. 2. The local church will send members to assist with interpretation for the STM team in the following week. Pray that they will have a blessed time of serving together with the STM team. Day 5 ~ May 28 (Mon) Itinerary: STM team will meet with the co-workers of Los Olivos Alliance Church to conclude their work, and prepare to fly Cuzco the next day. 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the work of Peru Chinese Alliance Churches and provide for all their needs. 2. Pray that the team will be well-rested in preparation for the upcoming week of crosscultural ministry work. Day 6 ~ May 29 (Tues) Itinerary: STM team will take a domestic flight at 6.30am to Cuzco, a city at an elevation of 3,326m above sea level. After the team arrives at 9:45am, they will take a 5-hour ride to the AIDIA centre, located approximately 200 km away in the Apurimac Region s capital city, Abancay. Upon arrival, they will rest and adapt to the alpine climate in the centre s accommodation. 1. Pray for the safety of the STM team as they make their way to Cuzco and Apurimac Regions (They will be driving on very windy mountain roads to Apurimac). 2. Due to low oxygen levels, altitude sickness is common on the Andes. Pray that the Lord will bless everyone s ability to adapt to the high altitude; pray also for the Lord s blessings on the entire STM team be able to adapt to the local climate, food, water, culture, customs and practices. Day 7 ~ May 30 (Wed) Itinerary: STM team will meet with the AIDIA team of co-workers and pastors in order to build a working relationship, provide IT, audiovisual, website and social media (Facebook) support, and to discuss evangelism activities at a nearby village during the upcoming weekend. AIDIA is an interdenominational Christian organization whose focus is in seven areas (population over 200,000) of the Apurimac Region. They encourage the locals to use their native language for communication in churches and communities by offering them mother tongue literacy classes, workshops, a written curriculum and an audio-visual curriculum. Members of the AIDIA team are currently involved in the translation of the Old Testament into Eastern Auprimac Quechua. Translation of the New Testament into Eastern Auprimac Quechua was completed in 2013 and copies were distributed throughout the region.
Page 5 1. Pray that the Lord will grant wisdom to the STM team so that they may better understand the needs of the Eastern Auprimac Quechua people; pray that every team member can use his/her gifts and talents wisely to improve the facilities at AIDIA centre. 2. Pray that the Lord will use AIDIA s resources to lead the locals to accept God s Word and therefore lives will be transformed. Day 8 ~ May 31 (Thurs) Itinerary: STM team will provide AIDIA Gospel Gloves for more effective evangelism and discipleship training programs. STM team has prepared 120 Gospel Gloves as gifts to AIDIA, so that they can use them to train the village leaders. STM team will also collaborate with their coworkers to put on a Gospel play; as well as to prepare for the weekend at the village. 1. Pray that the Lord will use Gospel Gloves training to help the local workers, village leaders, and the unsaved; pray that the training will reinforce discipleship, spread the Gospel and lead people to Christ. 2. Pray that the Lord will use the Gospel play to bring forth the good news; pray also for the STM team to strengthen their relationship with the local co-workers through this collaboration and rehearsal time. Day 9 ~ June 1 (Fri) Itinerary: STM and AIDIA teams will drive in the morning for about 4-8 hours to a remote Quechua village. They will conduct bible studies (Gospel books and Acts), a workshop on Breaking Addictions, put on a Gospel play, support their children s ministry, meet the local Quechua church, and experience the local culture. The team will stay at the village for the night. 1. Pray for the safety of the entire team as they will travel on many winding mountain roads to reach the nearby villages. 2. Pray that everyone has cultural and spiritual sensitivity towards the locals needs. Day 10 ~ June 2 (Sat) Itinerary: STM team will be divided into many small groups. Each group will drive or walk to remote villages. They will visit the local families, put on a Gospel play, sing hymns, share the Gospel, and assist the children s ministry. The group will stay at that village for the night. 1. Pray for the stamina of the entire team to complete the journey, as part of the team are required to travel on foot into the villages. 2. May the Lord prepare the hearts of unbelievers that they will be receptive and come to the saving grace of our Lord when the Gospel is preached.
Page 6 Day 11 ~ June 3 (Sun) Itinerary: STM team will join the local Quechua church for worship service and conduct leadership training (Foundations of the Christian Faith), which discusses fundamental knowledge of the Christian Faith, and assist in Children Ministry. They will return to AIDIA centre in the afternoon. Today, the second STM team will depart from Vancouver to Peru. 1. There are only about 200 churches in Apurimac Region s villages and communities. Pray that the Lord will use the Bible translation ministry to plant more churches in the remaining 3,003 villages and communities. 2. Pray that the Lord will bless the work of translating Old Testament into Eastern Auprimac Quechua, which is expected to complete by 2022. Day 12 ~ June 4 (Mon) Itinerary: The first STM team will put on a Gospel play for the elementary students at the AIDIA centre. Afterwards, the STM team will conclude the work done over the last few days with the AIDIA s pastors. The second STM team will arrive in the southern Lima and visit the local Chinese brothers and sisters in the upcoming days. 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the AIDIA s School Ministry; pray that the students will commit their lives to Jesus at a young age and God s Word will always be in their hearts. 2. Pray that the STM team and AIDIA team will have a blessed time of fellowship and discussion on the direction for the following year s partnership at the debrief. Day 13 ~ June 5 (Tues) Itinerary: The first STM team will drive to the ATEK centre in Cuzco in the morning. The second STM team will be serving in the southern Lima and visiting local Chinese brothers and sisters. 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the AIDIA ministry so that they will shine forth as bright lights and become a blessing to many locals and Canadian believers. 2. There are a total of 93 minorities language groups (see Appendix) in Peru. Out of these groups, only 5 groups own the complete Bible; 47 groups possess the New Testament; 14 groups have some books of the Bible and 25 groups do not possess any part of the Bible. Pray that the Lord will send more workers into these people groups to work on Bible translation.
Page 7 Day 14 ~ June 6 (Wed) Itinerary: Part of the STM team will visit ATEK centre and meet with the pastor, to discuss the direction of future partnerships with multiple Canadian churches. The second STM team will be serving in the southern Lima and visiting local Chinese brethren. 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the meeting between the STM team and ATEK pastor; pray that they will understand the needs of the local Quechua and future partnerships. 2. Pray that the Lord will revive the churches in Canada and Peru, that through fostering a kingdom friendship, they can establish a complementary evangelism network. Pray that through prayers and financial support, the churches can continue to collaborate and work together in Sunday school, leadership, ladies and children ministries and crosscultural training. Together, they can advance God s Kingdom. Day 15 ~ June 7 (Thurs) Itinerary: The first STM team will make their way back to Canada; they will travel to Lima from Cuzco at night. The second STM team will be serving in the southern Lima and visiting local Chinese brothers and sisters. 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the steps of the STM team returning to Canada. 2. Pray that the STM team can feedback the needs of the local minorities and Chinese effectively to their home church. Day 16 ~ June 8 (Fri) Itinerary: The remaining STM team members will take a short break; they will also take some time to understand the local culture. The second STM team will be serving in the southern Lima and visiting local Chinese brothers and sisters. 1. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to engage in His Great Commission and to be able to experience His marvellous creation. 2. Pray that the Lord will empower Canadian brothers and sisters to support Peru s Bible translation ministry; pray for more opportunities to share the needs of and prayers support for this ministry with more Canadian churches. Day 17 ~ June 9 (Sat) Itinerary: Remaining members of the first STM team will return to Lima and meet with the second STM team; they will join San Borja fellowship group at night. 1. Pray that the STM teams will have a blessed time of fellowship with the San Borja fellowship group. 2. Pray that the Lord will lead the work in the Southern Chinese Ministry and the STM team can better understand the local Gospel needs.
Page 8 Day 18 ~ June 10 (Sun) Itinerary: STM team will join San Borja Alliance Church for worship service; STM pastor will speak at San Borja s worship service and members will teach at Sunday School. 1. Pray that STM team will have ample opportunities to share their mission in Peru and engage the local brethren to see the need for the Gospel in Peru s minorities. 2. Pray that they will have a blessed fellowship time in encouraging one another. Day 19 ~ June 11 (Mon) Itinerary: STM team will take a short break. 1. Pray that STM team is well rested and the Lord will renew their strength to serve Him better. 2. Pray that everyone will have their quiet time with the Lord for spiritual renewal. Day 20 ~ June 12 (Tues) Itinerary: STM team will join the southern fellowship and conduct discipleship training. They will have a review session at a local restaurant to explore the possibilities of venturing into new mission fields in the southern Lima. 1. Southern Lima is a new mission field. Pray that the Lord will raise pastors and brethren to preach the Gospel at the new mission field. 2. Pray that everyone is well rested and prepared for the upcoming week of crosscultural work. Day 21 ~ June 13 (Wed) Itinerary: STM team will take a domestic flight to Cuzco, a city at an elevation of 3,326m above sea level. Upon arrival, they will rest and adapt to the climate. Together with the ATEK team, they will prepare for the upcoming weekend s Gospel rally and workshops. ATEK, a local Cuzco Quechua organization, seeks to promote the use of Quechua New Testament Bible among the locals. 1. May the Lord bless every member of the team; pray that they will adapt to the climate, food, water, culture, customs and practices. 2. Pray that the Lord will raise more native language trainers and the 1.6 million Quechua population can come to accept Christ. Illiteracy deters the Quechua people from reading the Bible effectively; pray that the Lord will invigorate the literacy program and help the locals to comprehend the Quechua Bible.
Page 9 Day 22 ~ June 14 (Thurs) Itinerary: STM team will have a meeting with the ATEK team to build a working relationship and discuss the direction of future partnerships. They will continue to work with the ATEK team in the preparation for the upcoming Gospel rally and a series of workshops in the village. 1. Although the Cuzco Quechua Bible was translated in 1998, Bible distribution work is still in progress. This is because the local population is sparsely spread out in thousands of big and small towns and remote villages. Pray that the ATEK team is able to strategically distribute the Bibles and that the Bible will be a blessing to the people. 2. Pray that the Lord will use the Quechua Bible to bless the believers spiritual growth and bring more unbelievers to the saving faith of the eternal God. Day 23 ~ June 15 (Fri) Itinerary: STM team will drive 2-4 hours (from Cuzco) to reach a village on the mountain. They will fellowship with the local Quechua church and experience the Quechua culture. ATEK will conduct various workshops, while STM team will support their discipleship training and participate in their children ministry. They will stay in the village for the night. 1. Pray for the safety of the entire team as they will have to travel on many mountain roads to reach the nearby villages. 2. Pray that the Lord will revive the local children ministry; pray that the children will commit their lives to Jesus at a young age and God s Word will always be in their hearts; pray that the Lord will raise and prepare more Sunday School teachers, who will use ATEK s materials to minister the children. Day 24 ~ June 16 (Sat) Itinerary: STM team will set off to another village and conduct 3 workshops for the locals: How to Evangelize, Leadership Training, and Understand Marital Relationship from the book of Ephesians. They will also put on a Gospel play for the locals and some members will be involved in children ministry. They will stay in the village for the night. 1. Pray that the locals will have receptive hearts to apply what they have learnt in their daily lives. 2. Pray that the Lord will help the STM team to adapt to village life and bless them with spiritual sensitivity to understand the needs of the Quechua people and share their needs with the Canadian churches.
Day 25 ~ June 17 (Sun) Itinerary: STM team will make their way to another village and join them for worship service and children ministry. STM team pastor will preach at the service and the team will return to ATEK centre in the afternoon. 1. The worship service will be conducted in Quechua language and though many members may not understand the language, pray that the Lord will enlighten their hearts to experience God in the worship service 2. Pray for the safety of the team as they returned to the ATEK centre. Day 26 ~ June 18 (Mon) Itinerary: STM team will set off to another village; they will conduct various workshops and put on a Gospel play. They will return to the ATEK centre in the afternoon. Page 10 1. Pray that the Lord will use the workshops to help the locals understand the importance of discipleship training. 2. Pray that the Lord will use the Gospel play to reach out to unbelievers 3. Pray that the Lord will bless the ATEK team; guide them to evangelize effectively in the Cusco region. Day 27 ~ June 19 (Tues) Itinerary: STM and ATEK team will have a Q&A and fellowship time. Alice will conduct some interviews at ATEK, in preparation of the next issue of Word Alive, a Chinese publication on Chinese Mission Ministry. 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the entire production process of Word Alive publication; pray that readers will understand the cross-cultural needs of Peru s ministry. Day 28 ~ June 20 (Wed) Itinerary: Alice and ATEK s co-worker will meet to review and discuss on future partnerships. STM team will have a rest and relax (R&R) time. 1. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to engage in His Great Commission and to be able to experience His marvellous creation. 2. Pray that s Chinese Diaspora Engagement team will strive to promote the ATEK and AIDIA Bible Translation work in Canada, so that more Canadian churches will understand the importance of this ministry.
Day 29 ~ June 21 (Thurs) Itinerary: Alice and ATEK pastor will conclude their work done over the past few days. STM team will take a domestic flight from Cuzco back to Lima at night, making their way back to Canada. Page 11 1. Pray that the Lord will bless the steps of the STM team returning to Canada. 2. Pray that the STM team can communicate the needs of the local minorities and Chinese effectively with their home churches. Day 30 ~ June 22 (Fri) Itinerary: After arriving at Lima, STM team will take a 2 am flight back to Canada via Los Angeles. It will be a late night arrival in Canada for the STM team. 1. Pray that God will provide a vision and lead the 2019 Peru STM team in their preparation work. 2. Pray that the Lord will bless the churches in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and other cities; pray that they will see the needs of Peru s churches and will join us in future short term mission work. Thank you for being part of our ministry, praying with us for Peru s Bible translation work. If you would like to know more about Peru s Bible translation work, click on this link to browse 2018 Word Alive magazine. For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. (Zephaniah 3:9 ESV)
Page 12 Appendix ~ Ethno-linguistic Map of Peru The three locations of the STM