NMBC kids standing on South America

What a treat to receive some pics of our old Sunday school friends standing on South America.
They visited Kew gardens and not only did they remember us when they looked at the world map they were good enough to send us a few pics! Many thanks .

Cusco March for Jesus

Today we joined a couple of thousand evangelical christians in the Cusco March for Jesus. We stood for 90 mins in the hot sun waiting to leave and then walked for an hour to the plaza de armas.There was a wonderful atmosphere as we marched with people singing and praising God it was good to all be united and join together . We then all met in the plaza de armas for a worship service, imagine Scott's surprise when they announced that Pastor Scott would come forward to lead us in a prayer and then later to take part in a radio interview!!

photos of Inti Raymi

I didn't have the camera yesterday but Hannah Jess's teacher has kindly allowed us to post her photos from the ceremony here. The colours and the music and the dancing really was impressive!

Feliz Dia de Cusco

Today Jess Sam and Anjanette watched the Inti Raymi celebrations in the plaza de armas. There was a reenactment of the Inca winter solstice festival. The street dances and parades were amazing and a real spectacle! We watched the whole parade from a balcony in the plaza and Samuel proudly waved his Cusco flag which he made in school!
Jess and Sam have been asking us to buy them ponchos for some time now that the weather is much colder we bought then both a poncho today so they really look the part!

Dia del Padre

Fathers' day is celebrated in the Americas on the same day as in the UK (unlike mothers' day) .
Scott had breakfast in bed and had a fun day with the family today in between church activities.
Happy Fathers' day Scott and also to our dads back in the UK !!
Tomorrow Scott will travel to Arequipa for 1 weeks intensive language , he will also visit the Arequipa Cafe church and meet the radicales team who will be joining us in August as well as hopefully finding out some current information about Anjanette's medical accreditation.

Culto de accion de Gracias

hermana Lidia sings a song of praise in Quechua (to the tune of El Condor Pasa)

a few of the pastors and autoridades

Today as part of the June Cusco celebrations all of the Evangelical Pastors in Cusco and the city dignitaries held a service of thanksgiving for Cusco. It was great to meet together to praise and worship and to ask for God's blessing on this city and for those in positions of authority and leadership.

Wonderful link churches

One of our greatest unexpected blessings has been getting to know folk in our link churches, today we have been been blessed by 3 of them.

Godalming sent us their church magazines and a belated birthday card signed by many members!

Jess and Sam received a pile of letters from the children of Trafalgar Rd Baptist church

including the memory verse they were learning Psalm 59:9 I have confidence in your strength ,you are my refuge O God.

our third blessing from another link church this time Cupar Baptist church is that they are trying to arrange for some church members to paint our flat in Scotland for us in between tenants

so a huge thankyou to our linkchurches!

Peru Moves to ease Amazon Crisis

This article is copied from the BBC World News website PLEASE PRAY FOR A PEACEFUL SOLUTION .


Peru's government is set to send a bill to Congress revoking land laws that led to deadly clashes between police and indigenous protesters in the Amazon.
The move follows talks between the government and indigenous leaders on ways of easing tensions after more than 30 people died earlier this month.
Amazon Indians say the laws will open their lands to drilling and logging.
Peru's Prime Minister Yehude Simon, who has led the talks, has said he will step down once the dispute is settled.
"I will leave as soon as everything has calmed down, which should be in the coming weeks," Mr Simon told Peruvian radio on Tuesday after meeting indigenous leaders.
He said the government would send a bill to Congress on Wednesday asking for a repeal of the laws which would have allowed mining, oil and gas exploration and other economic development in the Amazon rainforest.

Indigenous people say they want to be consulted on development
The government had to know how to listen, Mr Simon said, insisting that the reversal of policy would not put at risk Peru's free trade agreement with the US.
Mr Simon offered to end a state of emergency and curfew in the region, while Amazon leaders indicated they would end their blockade of a main road if the decrees were overturned.
Thousands of indigenous people have been blocking roads, rivers and fuel pipelines since April to force the government to repeal the laws which they say were introduced without consultation and would open their lands to foreign exploitation.
Violence erupted on 5 June when security forces moved to end the blockades near the town of Bagua, more than 1,000km (600 miles) north of the capital, Lima.
At least 34 people, both police and protesters, died in the clashes, officials have said, although indigenous leaders say more than 50 people were killed.
Safe passage
Peruvian President Alan Garcia has said that developing parts of the Amazon are part of his investment programme to tackle widespread poverty.
He has repeatedly argued that all Peruvians should benefit from the country's natural resources not just the people who happened to live in the areas concerned.

"We have to open up a space for reconciliation, peace and hope," Mr Garcia said in a statement on Tuesday.
But he indicated that he intended to move ahead with his development policies based on free trade and foreign investment.
"Time will show that those who reject something today will be the first to ask for it in the future because they need development, investment and a better life," he said.

WE LOVE SKYPE

We often think how fortunate we are having a good internet connection and the ability to stay connected with friends via email skype , so much easier when you feel far from home to be able to hear someones' voice or even see their face on your computer screen! What a delight is was to chat with the Halseys on skype today (thanks Dom for setting it up) Stan and Dina are our home church link coordinators and they do a wonderful job keeping the church up to date with our news and prayer requests. We thank God for technology and also for commited link coordinators in our churches!!

Our Just giving web site

We have set up a just giving website to help raise funds for the new cafe church which we hope to be setting up very soon. It is in a middle class area on the high street, our vision is to open a community centre/cafe church where we will run many activities, clubs and meetings . We also hope that since it is a high street coffee shop this will also make it more accessible and friendly for folk in the community. This cafe church will become a middle class church plant and in the future we hope members of this middle class church will help to support a church plant in a poorer area. So the plans and the vision are big! We are so excited about the potential this project has. If you would like to help us realise this vision any money given to BMS via the just giving website will pay the monthly rent for the cafe church.

http://www.justgiving.com/cuscobmscafechurch

First Childrens' club today

Thanks for your prayers for our first childrens' club today. Typically we started late and many who said they would come didn't but hopefully as word gets around more will come. We were delighted that Veronica and Maxi the students who led the group with us did brilliantly and for the few children who came we had a lot of fun together, they absolutely loved the parachute, thanks Vale Community church for providing that for us!

meet the Williamsons

The Williamsons with Bill and Jean Williamson and Margaret Swires.

What a treat it was for us to meet up with Bill and Jean Williamson . They are missionaries in Lima working with SIM in the shanty towns running nutrition and education programmes in the poor communities there for years. We enjoyed hearing the Brummie accent again and it was lovely to chat with experienced british missionaries who have such a love for the people of Peru.

At the lama sanctuary

Enjoying the clinic today

Anjanette examining the most gorgeous photogenic patient in the clinic today!
My colleague Margaret Swires from Lima spent the morning with me which was great when another lady with a lot of social problems needed us to pray with her, Margaret's prayers were much longer and more eloquent than my short sentences!

JUSTGIVING

picnic with the students

the whole group

enjoying football,poor Samuel got knocked over

trying out the parachute, practising for our childrens' ministry


Today is a public holiday (Corpus Christi) so we enjoyed a picnic at Sacsayhuaman with our students.

woops wrong timing!

pic of Samuel and his Grandad Gordon

Do you ever get a phone call in the middle of the night that makes you worry that something serious has happened? We are occasionally woken up in the middle of the night by the phone ringing each time we worry that somethings serious has happened to loved ones who live far away, it has so far been a wrong number annoyingly yet thankfully! Well today it was our turn to create the worry. Tomorrow is Scott's dad's birthday we sent the card present and birthday video greeting all ready to be received this morning , then today Scott called him at his work telling the switch board it was his son calling from Peru.Gordon answered the phone "What's wrong son?" Of course nothing was wrong we were phoning with birthday greetings, only problem being we were a day too early !! Sorry Gordon we will try and get it right next year, you may be a year older but it seems that we are the ones who are confused, Happy Birthday!!

Jessica's broken arm

Poor old Jess! Yesterday she sustained a greenstick fracture to her left forearm when another child fell on her at the bottom of a slide. She has been incredibly brave so much so that we nearly didn't take her to the hospital! Thankfully we did and the whole process in hospital took less than 2 hours which was amazing! She will have the cast removed in 3 weeks .
She is very proud of her cast and is looking forward to all her friends signing it. she has even written on the names of some friends and family in the UK who can not sign it!She seems to be enjoying all the attention and was dancing around with excitement when our kind missionary friends Jason and Rebecca brought over a card made by their daughters and a plate of brownies!
Thankyou all for your wellwishes and prayers. Not wanted to be left out, Samuel is also sleeping with his arm resting on a pillow at the moment!

Saturday morning walk up the mountain behind our house

Quotes from the Williamson house this week

Jessica I love living in Peru

Samuel When I grow up I will make a church like Daddy but all we will do there is sing and dance

Scott Why is there a harmonica on the toilet seat?

Anjanette Yes it's true when we were bouncing on the trampoline Samuel's trousers fell down!

Scott I can't believe the children have another 3 days off school next week!

Anjanette please can someone remove the dead dog from outside the front gate ?

Jessica I am going to marry another bilingual person

Samuel I have been sick all over my bed!