Some of our ministry time took on a very different look than normal for us these past two months. It was exciting to have some opportunities to serve the Lord outside of SAM Academy–it was also definitely faith stretching!
I (Marcy) was asked to lead the craft during a Women’s Retreat for ladies from our local Peruvian churches. This was a unique opportunity to minister to the Christian women here in Pucallpa, many of whom are leaders in their own churches, and to form relationships between the believers of different congregations. This was also my first time leading a group “sola” in Spanish. God was so good in not just helping me “get through” the event, but making the time extremely special. I was able to lead my ladies in creating a craft to remember the names of God and the promises that go with those names, but more importantly, God allowed me to share time with these ladies and begin (and continue) some really wonderful relationships. I am so thankful that God guided me out of my comfort zone to participate in this conference!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers for our High-Schoolers as they traveled with teens from the Iglesia Misionera as part of their “Boat Camp.” It was a truly incredible experience for our kids. The teens spent time on the boat studying the Word and going through team building activities before presenting the Gospel through skits in four different communities along the river. Many of our younger and/or “newer” MK High-Schoolers came back with a desire to grow in their Spanish so they could continue sharing their faith. Ella said it was “a great experience to make new friends and do ministry while being ministered to.”
The week of Valentine’s Day we hosted the Middle School youth group in our house. The group is a fun mix of SAM Academy kids and homeschoolers from several different nationalities: Swiss, German, Peruvian, American, and Costa Rican. We looked at the four different types of love (Of course “Eros” love got an “Uck!” from Middle Schoolers.), and then talked about “God’s Conversation Hearts” to us. Mike also got into the Cupid-thing a bit and showed them how to shoot a bow and arrow.
The High-Schoolers helped host a Water Games Competition day with the Impacto Ministry, a group dedicated to serving the senior citizens of our community. I was a little nervous, I admit, when I saw the water slide and obstacle courses–can we say visions of broken hips?! But it was an amazing event that brought tons of smiles–and no broken bones–to our lovely older friends.
And then there are our normal school shenanigans! January brought on Spirit Week, while February saw us celebrating friendships during Valentines’ Day.
We are so thankful for your continued prayer for our school. Some ways you can be lifting us up:
-Rainy season has brought a really nasty bout of flu to the area that has hit our school community hard. Please pray for health and healing.
-We are in the process of recruiting a math teacher, an English teacher and an Elementary teacher. Pray with us for God’s continued provision in providing the exact person we need for each of these roles. He has been so good in not just filling roles but bringing the exact people we need.
-Mid-March, four SAM Academy teachers will be attending the International Christian Educator Conference in Prague. We are very excited to grow ourselves through this experience and hope to make the most of our time together with other International Christian schools. Isolated as we are, we lack opportunities for professional development so we are very much looking forward to this event.
-Our upper-classmen are in the throws of “higher education” planning. Please pray for these young adults and their families as they navigate preparing for life after SAM Academy. We are making plans in our own family to visit the States this summer briefly to allow Ella a chance to visit colleges before she begins her Senior year.
So we have been “out and about”…how about you? We’d love to hear how we can be praying for all of you. Feel free to send us a quick note at mmbrown@southamericamission.org.