MISSIONS TO PERU NOVEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER

Jim and Sue Brannan, MVI Field Coordinators  mailing address: Apartado 20, Puerto Maldonado, Perú, South America

 photo above—saying “good-bye”

jimsueperu@hotmail.com

HELLO EVERYONE FROM SUNNY, HOT AND HUMID PUERTO MALDONADO, PERU!

   We arrived back home in Peru after 5 1/2 months furlough in the USA! It was tough to say good-bye to our two new baby granddaughters in the States, our 2 grandsons, also our 3 kids and their spouses, also our parents and siblings. We realize how blessed we were to be able to spend so much time with them; also to visit with quite a few friends all over the country. Truly, there is no place like home (and comfortable furniture.)

We had a great welcome home celebration with 3 Peruvian families who had cleaned, decorated the house and cooked Ají de Gallina for us all. We were glad to see the girls’ refuge doing well, that the church that we were attending is growing larger and we are anxious to be getting started on our newest projects: the public library and — the new Christian School which will be our biggest project ever.

   Since arriving back home in Puerto Maldonado, we have had a little bit of jungle culture shock—for one, we've a lot of cleaning to do from being gone so long. We have been making several trips to repair shops for our van, motorcar, generator, general stuff for some much-needed house maintenance. Then, wouldn’t ya know it, the city just put up a sign this week shutting down a major bridge on the road that gets us to our house, 7 kilometers outside of town. Like the rest of the Peruvians who live on this road, we are still using the twisting, condemned bridge—a major prayer point this month for us and our neighbors. (See the bridge video on Facebook--Jungle Jim Brannan)

 We’ll have a few trips to make this month to other cities in Peru, about 3 week’s worth. Please pray that our travels will be safe and fruitful, that the bridge will be repaired by the time we return and also that nothing important will break before we return. The Peruvian family caring for our mission house did very well, considering the differences in our cultures.

  Also, pray that Jim's right hand will heal up well--the neighbor's dog mangled it as Jim was separating our dog from theirs. And so, Jim had to have stitches and one rabies shot in the belly before we were able to confirm that the neighbor dog had been vaccinated. Thank you Lord, that Jim didn't need the other 6 shots. It didn’t seem to slow him down much.

However, on the up-side, since we’ve returned home to Peru we are receiving answers to many prayers about starting a Christian School in Puerto Maldonado. One of our trips this month will be to Arequipa to brainstorm with a dear friend who had started her own school years ago. Also, we will visit with a couple of very reputable Christian Schools in Arequipa—one of which is already asking how they can help us. God is good.

When we returned home, a mission team of Peruvian students from Rosa’s old Christian high school in Arequipa was ministering in here in Puerto Maldonado. Jim was able to meet with 2 of the school’s directors who were leading the student team and also hang out with them for a day before they all headed back to Arequipa.Since then we have been in correspondence with this reputable Christian school from Arequipa and will be able to meet, not only with them, but with a friend who had also started her own Christian School years ago. Then also, another friend who is currently building and growing another Christian school in Arequipa invited us to see her also. God is good; He is faithful to answer prayers and in the process we are sometimes swept off our feet. Pray that we can keep up! (And thank you for your prayers.)

*To send tax-free donations to MVI, preferenced for the ministry under Jim and Sue Brannan, or for any of their Peru Projects:
MVI
PO Box 593550
Orlando, FL32859-3550

( *send with a note like this attached to let the MV office know—and thanks! God bless you! )

“Notwithstanding any other statements in this communication, please remember that any contributions to MVI are under MVI's full discretion and control as required by IRS regulations.”

A reason to rejoice--God is moving here in the jungle and the enemy is NOT happy!

We will be keeping very busy for some time to come. We’ll both continue to be on the association for the Girls’ Refuge in Chonta and with helping the girls, Joel and Patti; showing Christian movies in town, upriver, and in other remote areas; starting up the plant nursery again as a career-training facility for the girls’ refuge; starting a library in town as a precursor for the Christian School; continuing the weekly women’s Bible study upriver in Santa Teresita; getting a new riverboat built to continue upriver ministries on the Madre de Dios River; completing all the paperwork necessary for the new Christian School, then afterwards finding a school building to rent, a capable director, North American interns, Peruvian teachers, furniture, teaching materials and supplies…and so on. No lack of work here.

We also hope to host several teams this coming year—a wonderful medical team is scheduled to come in April and there are rumors of teams from NY and from Oregon, God willing!Call MVI (407-328-7322) or find Missionary Ventures online ( www.mvi.org )if you want be a part of this.

PRAISE REPORTS!

• All our cargo bags made it back with us and this good news is almost a miracle—we are missing nothing but a pack of tea!
• MVI medical team: April 21st to 28th, this remarkable team has room for more team members
• PtoM has no public library, so we will start one—there’s been a great response to setting up a library/tutorial center in town
• This week we’ll go back upriver to Santa Teresita; the end of this month we’ll go up another river to the community Inambari
• A new Christian orphanage (with Italo and Rebecca) has opened its doors, just a kilometer from Joel and Patti’s refuge for girls
• Funds came in to cover house repairs, some medical needs, extra travel this month for the river ministry and for the school

PRAYER REQUESTS

                             
              Movie night at the girls’ refuge, but first dinner—rice and cow stomach; then Sue teaches the girls a new recipe—lemon bars.

                                     We brought back many cool things from the USA—a camp toaster for Sue, some plants to start up the nursery again for the girls’ refuge  (this plant originally comes from South America and in two weeks its bare roots had sprouted leaves and even a flower!)

PS—During our time in the States we discovered that several of you would like to have a master copy sent of this newsletter—something that is easily printable onto 2 pages. If you do, reply and let us know. God bless you today, Sue