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"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken... ..Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Ps. 62:1-2, 5-8.April 8, 2002 The Word of the Lord... The Joy of the Lord... God has certainly been my refuge these last several months. I was so homesick in December and January that I came very close to coming back to the United States. I give praises and glory to God that he has kept me here, and allowed me to be a part of this work here in Lima. It is a true privilege to be participating in this work, and I want to give each of you as prayer partners and as financial supporters a THANK YOU from the depths of my heart that you have allowed me to be here.Please continue to pray faithfully for me and for my team. We have had some rough times as we have been going through adjustments. I do not want to go into detail here, but God knows what I need, and what we need. Ask him to continue to work in each of our hearts, that we will be humble before him and that we will have his love for one another. Peru is starting to seem "normal" to me, and I have been very happy to be here in spite of the cultural adjustments. Each day I look around and thank God for allowing me to be here. The Hope of the Lord... I have had several people ask for updates on Graciela and Junior, two young people I had mentioned in an earlier e-mail. I had referred to Graciela as Gabriella, but her name is Graciela. She is about 14 years old with very little education and lives mostly on the streets in Manuel Correa. She is has a very enthusiastic personality, but can also show a lack of respect for authority and can have some pretty colorful language. She is doing well, all things considered. She comes regularly, although she doesn't always come inside. I have a picture of her in my mind, her face peering through the open window on Wednesday nights as our pastor teaches and as we pray. She doesn't come in, but she doesn't leave either she stays at the window, listening. She has been coming to Sunday school the last 2 weeks though, and has been participating we are very encouraged... It is up to God to plant the seeds.Junior and Julinio, the brothers in my Sunday school class, seem to be doing very well clean, happy, alert, participating in Sunday school and very bright with their answers. They are typical 7 and 8 year old boys... I have not seen any signs of abuse and have hopes that the swollen and scratched eye that Junior suffered a few months ago was the result of some accident while playing. You never know and we will continue to pray for all of these kids and watch them as carefully as possible, but I also don't want to put their father (who I don't know) in a bad light without anything tangible. He may be a very honorable and hardworking man. Please forgive me if I have put this idea in your heads and join me in prayer as I lift up all of these kids with whom we interact at Manuel Correa. We do have a few kids that come into the Sunday school consistently dirty, but with big smiles and interested in what we are doing. They are hearing the gospel, participating with the songs and memory verses, and hearing the bible stories. Some of them have a hard time sitting still and have very short attention spans (A.D.D.??). There is one 7 year old boy named Jerson I wish you would pray for. It is hard to keep his attention and he often disrupts our class, but he loves to get a hug or lean on my arm during the story, and he always has a big smile for us. He is one of the consistently dirty kids and I love to give him a hug and kiss his cheek (all the while telling him- "sit down..." "listen to your teacher..." "don't hit..." etc etc.) Last Wednesday Norma and I went an hour early to meet with the junior high aged girls to start a practice time for a "chorus". I loved it... I have to admit that at times it sounded like 8 part harmony (you can only imagine and that was just the melody), but I think with a little training and practice they will learn to sing. I can tell they have the potential! The Children of the Lord... Next Sunday I plan to take my camera and take photos of the kids in our Sunday school class (ages 6-8). I may try to scan them in and have a "spotlight" featuring one or two of the kids in each of my newsletters. Then you can see their faces and know better how to pray for each one. It can seem overwhelming to get missionary letters with all of these strange names and stories often they all run together and who can remember them. But, I believe (and am praying) that God will put one or two of these kids on each of your hearts, and you can pray for that child or those children, see their faces, write me with specific questions, and receive information as I am able to provide it. This is why we are called a "team" because we share the burden that God has given us to reach his children! The Prayers of the Lord's people... Dependence on God He is answering this one. He has taken away many of the idols to which I turn for support, leaving me with only HIM. It is a hard, and beautiful, place to be.Praises for my health! - I have had 2 months of good health! I have been able to sing again and walk consistently. Thank you so much for continuing to lift me up in this area!! Pray for the language!! - I am progressing! Many people have told me how much better I am speaking and understanding since I arrived in November. My brain stays tired and it is hard for me to concentrate. But God is faithful I am praying for the gift of (Spanish) tongues! Praises for my visa!! - We have received our visas, and are now in the process of getting the card that goes with the visa so we can leave the country and not LOSE the visa! Visits to Interpol (the police), Immigration! now I can say I have been fingerprinted! (3x !!). They are checking our record to make sure we are not wanted internationally for any crimes. (Do you think any of those speeding tickets will show up??). Prayer and praises for my team!! - Sean arrived March 1st and the Berrys arrived March 20th. It has been GREAT to have them here! Please continue to pray for us to continue to bond as a team and family. Pray also for our relationships with our national team members. Please continue to pray for the ministry and the children at Manual Correa!! - You can add Jerson to your list of Graciela and Junior. I will plan to include some photos next time either in the letter or at our website (I will let you know). Laura Deadwyler
Las Zarzamoras 183 Salamanca, Ate. Lima 03, Peru 011-511-435-4038 EMAIL: ldeadwyler@mtwla.org WEBSITE: http://www.mtwla.org/people/ldeadwyler.htm Date - April 9, 2002
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