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I have waited too long (AGAIN) to post on this team site about anything, and since I always agree I will write about something going on in our lives and never do, I figured I better get with it! (sorry, Wes!)

I am excited to announce to all of you that we had our first Celebration time as a team with several Peruvians whom we’ve met in the last months to a year that we’ve all been here. To take a step back, I want to first explain an approach we’ve taken so far so that you understand what I mean when I say, “Celebration”.

In the world of church planting (and, yes, I already feel inadequate that I’ve started my sentence this way…because I am NO expert on the matter of church planting by any means. In fact, I should probably call one of our guys and ask them to write this paragraph for me.) there is a model called the Cell-Celebration Model. Basically (and, again, you’re getting the Alison Thompson definition of this…short) you begin with small groups (cells) in your home or some other meeting place, and you meet with them on a regular (in our case, weekly) basis. Then, once a month, or once every 2 months as we’ve decided to do it here in the beginning of our ministry here, you have a big group gathering of all your small groups (a Celebration!). Simple, right?

So, all 9 of us adults have been making friends with Peruvians since we’ve moved here, and we all have some sort of small group (whether it just be a Bible Study with 3 people or up to 12 sometimes) that we meet with on a weekly basis. So, on Sunday, February 28th, 2010, we had our team’s FIRST Celebration, and we believe it was successful!

We enjoyed great fellowship, sang, laughed, ate some great food, prayed, the kids played hard, and we read and meditated on Scripture together. It was a time in which Peruvians from the Yoakum’s neighborhood met Peruvians from the Davidson’s neighborhood, Peruvians from the Thompson’s neighborhood were introduced to more of the Thompson’s teammates, and Peruvians who play soccer with Mark Clancy on Monday nights were able to meet Peruvians who attend the small group gathering at the Fletcher’s house each Sunday. It was a time for making new friendships, getting to know more about one another, and worshiping God.

So, enough with the talking. Let me introduce you to some of the Peruvians who came!

Wes and Heli. Heli plays soccer on Monday nights with the guys, and that turned into a weekly Bible Study with John Mark and Justin that began about 4 months ago.

Alison and Corban, José, Maribel, their baby Josías, and Maribel’s niece, Blanca. This sweet family attends the Sunday worship time with the Thompson and Fletcher families at the Fletcher’s house each week, and José works as the main guard on the Thompson’s street.

This was our nice spread. It was delish!

Stacy and Claudia. Claudia and Alison met at the gym about 4-5 months ago, and she gets with Alison on occasion to work on her English. She also meets with the group at the Fletcher’s house.

John Mark and Alex. Alex makes furniture at a local market with his family, and the Fletcher’s befriended him when they were furniture shopping for their home when they first moved here. He now attends the group that meets at their house, and he has been bringing friends each time he comes! This picture shows a copy of the CD we passed out to all of the Peruvians with songs that we hope to be singing together in the future when we meet.

Stephanie and Rocio. Rocio and her husband are the landlords for the Fletcher’s home, and they are very excited about the work we’re here to do. They have a 6 year old son, Valentino.

Mark and Edgar. Edgar works on the Yoakum’s street, and he shows GREAT interest in the Bible and God. Mark and Wes are currently studying the Word with him on a regular basis.

Gathering for the time of blessing on the kids…

As you can see, we had a wonderful time, and we were so blessed that so many of our Peruvian friends joined us. We had others there that we didn’t get to photograph, so we’ll try and do a better job of that next time. As far as the future goes, we are praying that God would make us extremely aware of how he is moving in the lives of our Peruvian friends. We are constantly battling to find a balance between being wise in making plans for the future and being wise by stopping and listening to where the Spirit is guiding us. We would appreciate your prayers for this very thing. Thanks for all you do to support us. We hope this has given you some insight into where we feel we’re being led as a team!