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!

Corban Thompson (L) and Liam Fletcher (R)

When Justin and I first came to Peru, the Davidsons introduced us to Carlos, an employee at a store located in a main mall here. They had developed a relationship with Carlos in their time of shopping for things to fill their new home here in Peru. Not too long after we arrived, the Davidsons headed back to the States for a while. Justin and I then began to frequent a few of the same stores the Davidsons had shopped at. So, as time went on, we also made a friendship with Carlos while we shopped for our home. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to invite Carlos over for dinner. This past Monday, he enjoyed a meal with us, and we had some wonderful conversation with him. Mark C. was with us as well, and I think I can speak for the guys as well when I say, last Monday night was very encouraging.

Carlos was the first Peruvian we’ve had in our home here, and the evening left us all feeling like our purpose here can truly be fulfilled. Now, don’t get me wrong…it’s not that we’ve doubted our existence here in Lima, but there have been moments (at least for Justin and me) when we’ve felt like all we’ve done is “set up house”. We have now been here 2 months, and while that amount of time sometimes feels like no time at all, there are days when it feels like forever. We have been praying that God would give us the confidence and willingness to initiate when He lays something in front of us to accomplish. We believe God provides opportunities every day for each of us in order to further his Kingdom, but so many times we can allow our insecurities or just our business in life to get in the way. It felt so right to accept the invitation God put in front of us to invite Carlos into our home.

That evening consisted of several hours of great conversation, and much of it was centered on what we believe God desires for our lives and why we are here. Carlos was very open with us about his life as well, and while we hope that God desires for us to continue our friendships with Carlos in a very specific way, we are just very grateful that God allowed us to be a part of planting a seed last week. Praise Him for putting Carlos into the lives of the Davidsons, and praise Him for giving John Mark and Tara the courage to develop a relationship with Carlos in the middle of his work place. We look forward to many more experiences like this!

John Mark posted a little bit about the night we got in, and we would like to reiterate that the night of the 26th of May could not have run more smoothly. John Mark was there along with Mark Burgess, a friend the Davidsons have made since moving here, to pick us up, and it was such a wonderful feeling to see some familiar faces.

By the next day, we had hit the ground running. Through some connections that the Davidsons have made, we were able to immediately begin the process for acquiring our visas. Now, we hope to be official with our visa cards (like the Davidsons) in a few weeks!

For the rest of the week and that first weekend, we searched the Classifieds for listings of houses that might be up for rent within our budget. All the while, we were staying in an apartment that we were able to secure for a month while we looked for more permanent housing. John Mark and Tara had picked up the paper from the Sunday just before we got there, so we were able to immediately begin looking for a home. Here we are on our first Saturday morning in Lima checking out the delicious all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast at Mangos, a fantastic oceanside restaurant here in Lima (and, yes, you might have guessed it…the Davidsons introduced this to us as well).

Through the faithfulness of God, the first Monday that we were here, we found our home. We were so blessed with an easy house hunting process, and much of that was due to the direction of the Davidsons. Their family has allowed God to use them in ways that have been unimaginably helpful to us. Part of their reasoning for arriving in Lima earlier this year was to help pave the way for the rest of our team when we all arrived. We feel honored to be associated with this family. God has given them some true confidence and courage to really learn this huge city and the way it works (or at least the main areas in which our team hopes to work in the future). Thank you, John Mark and Tara, for the hard work you’ve done, the difficult times you’ve weathered, and the ways you’ve made our transition into this new city much more manageable. We look forward to being able to pass on what you’ve given us to the rest of the team!

So, by the following Saturday, June 6th, we were receiving the keys to our new rental home, and on top of that, we had the treat of celebrating our 2 year old, Cailyn’s, birthday on the same day. That night, we celebrated with the Davidsons, and the kids were completely entertained by the wonderful gift that John Mark picked out for Cailyn. We were all impressed.

Since the 6th, our family has been busy checking out all of the places you would go if you had to furnish a home. We praise God that we have our list of items that are packed in boxes to be shipped from the States to us in Lima, because it has helped us to know what we have coming and what we still need. While not every day has been peaches and cream, we have truly enjoyed our time here as we learn this new life. God has planted us in a wonderful neighborhood, and we have loved getting to know the area. The Davidsons have played such a key role, as I mentioned earlier, in the way God has blessed our time here, and we are so thankful for that.

Here’s Cailyn enjoying one of our new couches…

Slowly but surely, we hope to feel settled in our new home. Cailyn is doing such a great job here, and while I’m on that subject, allow me to solicit your prayers for our children. I would ask anyone reading this to pray fervently for all of our sweet children as they are all going to be going through some time of transition (not that they all shouldn’t be pros at that by now!) for a number of months in the future. It is so important to all of us that our children feel loved by us and that they know the comfort of a Christ-filled home. Please pray that God would give each of us the wisdom to know just how to parent our children so that they may know His love.

As of now, the Davidson family is in the USA spending some time with their families as well as their supporting church, so we are actually here in Lima flying solo for a few weeks. We eagerly await July 7th, the day that our teammate, Mark Clancy, arrives. Until then (and after then probably!), we plan to continue making our house a home, learning more about our neighborhood and the people we live near, working on our Spanish, and patiently waiting until the day God brings the rest of our team to Lima.

“Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.” Psalm 9:11

Therefore, we beg you to hit your knees on our behalf.

I realize the word beg might seem like a strong or possibly harsh way of expressing our need, and yet, it is how we feel. If there is one thing that we learned as a team in the last months of 2008, it was probably that prayer is a necessity. When we arrived in Costa Rica as a team, we did not have any clue as to what the months of August through December would bring. In the midst of some fun times, opportunities to meet great, new Christians, and learning a beautiful new language, we experienced attacks from Satan that we had not seen coming. As a team, we have prayed, and we have solicited the help of outsiders. As a result, God has been faithful. In most of our situations, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope, and where we are still struggling to find that hope, we continue to pray for one another. This has been our story.

When we came together to make “Team Lima”, we were aware that our future would hold struggling and strife. After all, isn’t that what the life of a Follower includes? Despite this, we each feel that our ultimate goal of reaching lost souls in Peru is worth these struggles. This is the exact reason that we solicit you all as prayer warriors. We have had moments, and we will continue to have times in which there are some of the 9 of us that feel lost. We might feel like our goal is out of reach. Our passion for Christ might only be at a simmer. We will miss comforts of the home we used to know. Peruvians might disappoint us. Our marriages will be attacked. And the list could go on. Without a group of prayer warriors, we might never make it.

God calls us to call on him. We are learning as a team and as individuals about the power of prayer. We have experienced both lack of desire to pray as well as desire to do nothing else but pray. We hope that we will learn to do the latter more and more as we grow in Christ, but we also know that we do not have to be the only ones petitioning our Lord to hold us up in times of trouble as well as praise Him for his endless blessings.

As it stands, we are not completely out of the clear as a team when it comes to struggling. I don’t know that we will ever be. There are just too many of us to be honest. But, you know, this is not a complete discouragement to us. We realize that we have chosen a life that makes Satan unhappy. We also know that no matter where we live in this world, we are not promised a life without hurt. All we can do is continue to hand over our fears, our frustrations, our praises, and our lives to the One Who Promises Never To Leave Us! Praise Him for that!

Please join us in prayer. We beg you.

A Start to some of our Prayer Lists:

Yoakums:
-Strength as they seek counseling and healing for their family
-Opportunities for the Yoakums to continue practicing his Spanish despite being away from language school

Davidsons:
-Safety in their move to Peru in a week
-Strengthened desire and commitment for their relationships with God

Mark Clancy:
-Wisdom as he leads the student body at ILE as President as well as continued learning of the spanish language
-Encouragement as he begins to be involved in new ministries here in CR.

Fletchers:
-Strength as they grieve the loss of two sweet babies and try and make sense of their hurt
-Wisdom as they seek God’s plan for their entrance to Peru in a few months.

Thompsons:
-Commitment to the spanish language as they continue language school for one more trimester
-Strengthened desire for time in God’s Word

We have made some amazing friends here at ILE (our school). They are a big part of what makes our time here in Costa Rica so fun. We didn’t figure we could have a party and not invite them, so we enjoyed the company of some of our wonderful friends as well. We definitely had a blast, and we were all “sugared out” by the time the night was over. Our biggest, and probably most fun activity was our Cake Walk. The kids caught on really quickly that their number being called was a GOOD thing! We had tons of dessert to give away, so we played that game several times. The kids and adults got to bob for apples, so that was entertaining. After a while, the kids really didn’t care much for the whole point of the game. They just had fun splashing each other and eating the apples. The kids also got to “fish” for prizes at the Fletcher’s house as well as color pictures of pumpkins and candy corn. We just enjoyed our time together, laughed a lot, made fun of each other’s costumes, and got crazy as the night and sugar set in. Here are some of our fun times documented through pictures. Enjoy, and Happy (late) Halloween!

This was the Thompson house all decorated – only half of the party area. The other part was next door at the Fletcher’s…




This is Jason Kliewer, the husband of a couple that is actually going to be in Lima just near where we will be. He and the Yoakum boys all had the same cool costume idea…

After the party, our team pigged out on pizza together along with Steve Allison, an ACU professor and counselor that is here to visit our team! He came in on Thursday this past week, and he will be leaving us on Monday. During his time here, we have had a great time meeting with him as couples and as a team.

Just thought we could share this picture of our kids. Minus 4 month old Derek, they are all just old enough to sit down and have a meal together.

Oh…wait…once one of them decides to get up, it’s all over from there…

Stay tuned this next week for some pictures and stories of what we got to do this past Saturday with Steve Allison…it was tons of fun!

*I can’t wait to have some girl time with Tara, Stacy, and Stephanie,
*I love to watch the guys all interact as they joke with one another, encourage one another, laugh, and pray together (from what I hear, they have a mock “Olympics” all planned out for themselves to be held in College Station before we leave. Pretty much, they’re crazy.),
*It will be priceless to see all 7 of our kids begin to develop what we hope are lifelong relationships with one another,
*I LOVE having worship time with these people,
*I laugh more with them than I do with almost any other group of people,
*I will have work-out partners again!,
*Justin and I will be around others that support us and hold us accountable in our marriage and as parents to Cailyn,
and
*The work that God has called us all to is finally beginning (at least internationally!)

Honestly, I could continue this list, but for your sake, I won’t. I just had the urge to share the excitement that is welling up within me with someone. As each day passes, I grow more and more in love with the path God has for our lives at this time. I pray that in return for you as well. May God grant you the ability to surround yourselves with people who encourage you to do the will of our Creator – whether in your home in the US, or in Peru!

Justin Thompson: Justin is like Stacy, but a guy. Sound funny? You should see them on paper! No, I’m only kidding, I am going to write more than just that. Justin is our team’s note-taker. He is always there to take notes at our meetings even when none of us are even saying anything worth remembering. Then, he makes them available to all of us, and we are usually very thankful to have them. Justin is a deep-thinker. He is never the first one the speak in our group, but when he does, he always seems to have really thought through what he wants to say. He will be great at cultivating deep one-on-one relationships with Peruvians when we get there. He is passionate about understanding God’s Word. Justin would never say he is one of the better preachers on our team, but when he speaks to a crowd, it is always extremely heart-felt and causes you to think through things.

So, there it is. Justin in a nut shell. Thanks to those who have commented. It is encouraging to all of us to see that people actually read these posts. Keep ‘em comin’!

I guess I will start by letting you all know that we, as a team, have taken more personality/strengths tests than we ever imagined we would. At times this got old, but I think we can all look back and see the benefits these tests will give us in the future as a team. I will be the first to admit that remembering the specific/technical terms that each test labeled us with is not my strong point, so I will just describe each team member in my own words.

Wes Yoakum: Wes is the reason we even have this website. He thinks of just about everything. Wes is great at researching and finding information whenever anyone on our team needs to know more about something. He is constantly sending us emails with links, instructions, or great information about anything and everything. He also knows no stranger. Wes is going to be great at bringing people in when we get to Peru. He can strike up a conversation with anyone. Wes also gives his opinion about everything. Even though we all tease him about this, Wes always has something wise for us to think about. He is a fantastic partner to Stacy, and he is also one of the best dads I know.

Stacy Yoakum: This is one creative, determined, and strong friend, wife, and mother. Stacy has continually worked at opening herself up to each of us, and she is always seeking to teach us something new about her personality. She is very patient, and I believe she has taught our entire team more about patience in these past couple of years than anyone else. Stacy has a deep passion for God, and that shows in her desire to continually be in God’s Word. Stacy won’t be the first one out meeting strangers, but she will forever be deepening the relationships with those she already knows. She has a strong belief in discipling, and she will be great at acting this out in Peru. Stacy is a loyal friend. She also deeply loves her children, and that is evident in the ways she interacts with them.

Lee Fletcher: Lee is one of the most honest guys I know. He is always striving to do the right thing in every situation. Lee is also one of our team’s best researchers. He is always volunteering to find information for us, and he is always thorough. Lee is considered an introvert on paper, and he is an introvert in many situations, but he is also one of the funnniest guys on our team. He is great at providing comic relief for us in the midst of a “too serious” time. Lee is a wonderful learner, and he is always striving to gain knowledge about something else. He loves his family, and he is one of our team’s best prayer warriors.

Stephanie Fletcher: The joy and happiness that shines through Stephanie are contagious. She is one of our team’s best “includers”. She is able to find a place for anyone, and her ability to include everyone makes people feel special. Stephanie is also great at accomplishing anything. Nothing is impossible or too inconvenient for her. If she has an idea or is given a task, she will get it done. Her ability to pull things off is such an asset. Stephanie is also a fun friend. She has a contagious laugh, and I think she has a special relationship with each of our team members. She loves her family, and she is a great mom.

Mark Clancy: This guy is vital to our team. He knows more about the Bible and Bible times than most of our team members. Mark pours himself into learning, and it has paid off. He is also a great teacher. His ability to transfer his gained knowledge to others is unique. Mark not only KNOWS the Word, he LIVES the Word. Mark is also one of our team’s best “includers”. He is great at giving one person his full attention. He will do everything in his power to make sure that person knows he is focusing on them. Mark is also great at sharing what has been given to him. Even if it is something as small as a piece of fruit, he will make sure everyone has a piece before he even takes some for himself. Mark has also shown all of us that he can be one of the most loving uncles to all of our kids. This means so much to us as parents.

John Mark Davidson: John Mark is our team’s Mr. Positive. While this is said about him often, I don’t feel like I can skip over it now. John Mark has the unique ability to bring out the best in any situation. He can also make anyone feel like a winner. John Mark is probably our team’s best tech guy. Any video, slideshow, presentation, or newsletter that our team has used was most likely created by him. This is saying a lot, because there were numerous times when our team could not have pulled something off without his skills. John Mark is also a loyal husband and father, and his desire to become more what Tara, Kellan, and Parker need is more evident each day. John Mark is a wonderful leader for our team.

Tara Davidson: Level-Headed. This is a word that can best describe Tara. Tara is one of our team’s best realistic thinkers. She is wise beyond her years. Tara is also a loyal and honest person. She has the desire to be transparent with others, and she encourages them to do the same. Tara is also passionate about healthy living. I believe our team has learned a lot from Tara’s knowledge about this. She is always ready to share with others how they can better honor God with their bodies. Tara is the true package. She understands what God means when he tells us to consider our bodies as a temple for him to dwell in, and she lives that out. Tara is fun and energetic, and she makes one great friend.

I hope this has not been a post that was only for our team, but I pray you read this and feel now that you know more about each of us. It has been extremely evident to all of us that we need prayer as a support for us to continue living out the strengths that God has blessed each of us with. We are excited to see how God uses us in Peru.

We have had the honor of being in close proximity to several wonderful men and women who have “been there” and “done that” when it comes to missions and ministry. A few weeks ago, our team met with David Wray, an Undergrad./Grad. Bible Professor at ACU. He has wisdom concerning the dynamics of small groups, and we were able to talk with him about the “ins and outs” of small groups. This was wonderful considering we are in and of ourselves a “small group” as well as preparing to work with small groups in Peru. He was able to give us some research that has been done on how to best handle being in small groups as well as his own knowledge and experience with small groups. Our time with him was definitely productive.

Then, just last week, the guys on our team got to meet with Kent Smith, an ACU Professor who is extremely involved in North American missions – specifically house churches. He spoke with the guys about the positive and potentially difficult things about several different church models. They were able to discuss with one another the vision they each have for our church in Peru. Do we meet in homes? Do we follow a Cell Celebration model? Do we rent a facility and meet in a large group? These are the types of things we hope to discuss and pray about before reaching Lima. Ultimately, we know that God will lead us in His own timing and way. Knowing that God is in control gives us much peace.

In a couple of hours from now, we women are getting the chance to meet with Frances Green, the wife of Gary Green who is leading our training at ACU. She and her family were missionaries in Venezuela for 8 years, and we look forward to picking her brain, asking tons of questions, and sharing fears as well as our excitement with one another. She has been a sweet and caring mentor for each of us. What more could a future missionary-woman want?!

As you can tell, we are staying busy. We continue to want to express our thanks to the A&M Church of Christ in College Station, TX for the support they are giving us right now – financial, spiritual, and emotional! We could not be doing these things if it weren’t for this congregation.

On a final note, here are a few things on our upcoming calendar…

Our Christmas holiday will be very busy, and we all look forward to enjoying time with family and friends. One last bit of information. Everyone needs to check out the Yoakum’s blog (linked at the bottom) for some exciting news. Looks like our child population is growing!

Have a wonderful week!