My First Women's Event - in Spanish!!

As I was sitting down to write this entry, I realized this would probably be a good time to make sure that we told you all that Tony has taken over the pastoring responsibilities of the local church, Iglesia Bautista Amistad. Tony's parents founded this church around the same time that they founded the children's home, and the two have been closely linked in leadership and function ever since. The local pastor resigned from the church near the end of September and Tony has taken on the leadership responsibilities there. The church has never had elders in place, so we have appointed elders and Tony has been meeting with them weekly to teach them about the role of elders and lead them in making decisions for the church. He's been teaching most every Sunday and Thursday, so it was a welcomed break when Tony's dad was here for the church anniversary!

Tony and I have both been surprised at how much we've enjoyed this role. Aside from the extra responsibility load, it's been a surprisingly good fit for Tony's passions of working with people, studying Scripture, and integrating his philosophy of religion background with it all.

I have accordingly been placed in the position of "pastor's wife" and thus am responsible for coordinating women's events, etc. And yes, this must all be done in Spanish. : ) On November 3, I hosted my first Reunion de Damas (Ladie's Meeting) at the local church. We played several fun games, sang songs, and then I taught a lesson on godly friendship that I had been practicing and practicing in Spanish. We enjoyed a fun spread of snacks together, including No-Bake Cookies (the chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal Olson family favorites!) and egg-salad sandwiches that I made in response to their request for American snacks.

I wish I had a picture to post here of the meeting, but alas I forgot my camera. A photo at 4:00pm, the start time of the meeting, would have shown me standing in front of an entirely empty church, hoping desperately that at least one person would show up! Punctuality is one major cultural difference between the US and Peru. : ) Photos between 4-4:30pm would reveal women slowly trickling in, while I stood uncomfortably among them trying to decide whether we should get started or wait for more to show up. By 4:45pm you would see about 30 women sitting in a circle, laughing and enjoying a Peruvian rendition of Pictionary. A photo at 6:45pm would show a much relieved Julie recounting everything to Tony while cleaning up and preparing to go home. All in all, I think it was a success!