Peruvian Reconciliaton

Dear Friends,
   Thanks for your prayers for my trip to Peru last week. The trip was rich in many ways. We had a great regional team meeting—full of sharing, time in scripture, laughter, planning and dreaming for the future of Young Life in Latin America together. There’s always something special about being with other YL leaders and friends in the ministry and this was no different. I left that time feeling enriched and very blessed God has allowed me to be part of this team and this time of growth in Latin America.

Scott with Alberto Saenz
    The other part of my trip was also very rich in community. I’ve visited Peru several times in the past 3 years to work with Alberto Saenz, our national director there, and his team of leaders and I’d like to share a little of Alberto’s powerful story with you. Three years ago our ministry in Peru, which is called Algo Nuevo, was going through a very rough time.There was a real rupture between volunteer leaders, staff members and our adult committee in Peru. There were hurt feelings all around and the ministry there was in deep trouble as staff members threatened to leave and our national director stepped down. At that point a lot of people looked to Alberto for leadership. Alberto was a former volunteer leader and respected by everyone in the ministry. At the time he was working as a logistics manager for a good company in Lima, was studying in a master’s degree program that his company had selected him for and he had a newborn baby at home. Despite all this, he felt a strong call to help Algo Nuevo through this time. He helped out with national leadership for many months as a volunteer and then felt a strong call to come on staff with the ministry to complete the job he had started. This wasn’t an easy call since it meant leaving a stable, well paying job where he had a strong future for a ministry where he would be paid less and where his salary was less certain. With a wife and baby to consider, this was clearly something Alberto had to lay before the Lord, but still felt called to do.

Leaders in during a discussion time
     So, for the last 2 years Alberto has been on staff and has made reconciliation one of his major focuses as the team leader. There have been some hard conversations and tears, but major moments of apology and forgiveness and a lot of hugs as well. Amazingly, almost all the leaders and adults who were part of this conflict are still involved in the ministry and are working together again—they’re at peace and have one united vision again. God clearly has been at work in everyone’s hearts and is using these folks to impact kids for Christ as every week they have over 360 teens attending clubs and bible studies.


With our Peruvian leadership team at the Wyld Life training
  I was really struck by this change during my training time with the team over the weekend. On Saturday we did some training about Wyld Life, which is Young Life’s ministry to middle school kids. This is a new idea in Peru and two teams of volunteers are going to begin this work soon. However, not just those two teams came to the training, but a large number of Algo’s leadership team. My first thought was that many of them might feel they’d wasted part of their Saturday—why come to a training time about middle school kids when they’re going to still be working in a high school club or with our ministry to disabled kids? I worried they would feel it was a waste. But then I realized none of the leaders were looking at it that way-- none of them felt like it was a waste—not because it was great training, but because they were so excited to spend time together with the other leaders and to share together the vision for this ministry. They may not be part of the Wyldlife team, but they are fully invested with those that are and walking in this together. That kind of teamwork and camaraderie and sense of unity is a beautiful thing anywhere—it’s even more beautiful considering where this ministry was three years ago. 
     So, thank God for the team in Peru, for the healing He’s led them through, for their ministry to teens, and for leaders like Alberto Saenz. Thank you to you all for praying for us and supporting us in this ministry so we can continue to support leaders like Alberto and the rest of the Peruvian team.

Scott

Prayer requests:

         I have a trip to Colombia coming up very soon and then a training camp with leaders in the Dominican Republic in mid-April. Pray for God’s guidance for these times with key leaders and for the prepartion for these times. Pray too for Jenn, Caroline and Jack while I’m traveling since it impacts all of us.

         Valeria Maldonado, the month and a half year old daughter of Alejo, our staff leader in Colombia, was hospitalized this week with potential pneumonia. Pray for Valeria and her folks.

         We have a new nephew! Levi Mertens was born this week and we’re excited about that.

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