Our friends at Nike sponsored a 10K road race this morning in Lima. While the race did not pass directly in front of the cinema where we hold Flamingo Road Church services every Sunday morning, it did pass by close enough, so close in fact that many of the streets surrounding the cinema were closed off for the benefit of the hundreds of runners. This meant that there was scant public or private transportation around the cinema. This meant that many people arrived very late for the services. This also meant that many others never arrived at all. We know. We got lots of irate cell phone calls from our people stranded on the other side of Lima.
Now, I know what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24 about running a race so as to get the prize. But I don't think that Paul was lacing up a pair of Nikes when he wrote that. In fact, if I had to revise Paul's words a bit in 1 Corinthians 9:24 - let's call it the New International Steve Guschov Lima Version - then I think it might read something like this:
"Do you not know that in the Lima Nike 10K Race all the Nike-clad runners run, but only one gets to pop the cork off of the Inka Cola bottle? Run the Lima 10K in such a way as to get the prize, but don't block the streets around FRC-Lima while you're doing it!"
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Transience
One of the features of an international community, such as Flamingo Road Church in Lima, is that it can be very transient at times. About 50% of our members at FRC-Lima are foreigners. They generally are here in Lima serving as missionaries, or working at an embassy, or working for a multinational corporation.
Our non-Peruvian members greatly enrich FRC-Lima; however, many of them are only here in Peru for a short period of time given their work or mission assignments. As a result, it seems that about once a month we are praying off a person or family that is leaving us to return to their native country. It is always a bittersweet occasion. We are always sad to lose said person or family, but we also are excited about what God has in store for them in this new chapter of their lives.
Transience is a built-in part of any international community such as FRC-Lima. I can't say that I like it, but it's not going away, unlike the many folks that we have to say good-bye to on a regular basis.
Our non-Peruvian members greatly enrich FRC-Lima; however, many of them are only here in Peru for a short period of time given their work or mission assignments. As a result, it seems that about once a month we are praying off a person or family that is leaving us to return to their native country. It is always a bittersweet occasion. We are always sad to lose said person or family, but we also are excited about what God has in store for them in this new chapter of their lives.
Transience is a built-in part of any international community such as FRC-Lima. I can't say that I like it, but it's not going away, unlike the many folks that we have to say good-bye to on a regular basis.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?
This week I performed my third funeral service since I began ministry here in Peru. The funeral was for an 80-year-old man named Victor Raul. He was the father of one of our leaders here at Flamingo Road Church in Lima.
Victor Raul's wake and funeral also caused me to compare and contrast the wake and funeral customs in Peru and in the USA.
Victor Raul died on Thursday morning. His wake was on Thursday night. His funeral was on Friday. It is common in Peru to have the wake on the same day that someone dies, if the person dies in the morning, or the very next day if the person dies in the evening.
In the USA, there is usually a wait of 2-3 days before there is a wake, in order to inform family and friends, put an obituary in the newspaper, make all the funeral arrangements, and allow out-of-towners time to travel. The funeral is usually held the day after the wake.
In Peru, it is common to have the burial service at the cemetery within 24 hours of someone's passing. 6 tuxedo-clad, white-gloved black men carry the coffin on their shoulders from the church to the waiting hearse, and then again from the hearse to the burial site at the cemetery. They do not use their hands to carry the coffin; they just balance it on their shoulders.
At the burial site, a brief service is held in front of the open grave, then the coffin is lowered into the earth, and immediately thereafter the cemetery workers shovel dirt over the lowered coffin, replace the grass over the burial site, and put the headstone in place.
In the USA, generally there is a brief service at the cemetery, but the coffin is left above-ground as the mourners immediately leave to go to a post-funeral meal.
In Peru, the immediate shoveling of dirt right onto the lowered coffin, the immediate replacement of grass over the burial site, and the immediate placement of the headstone over the burial site may appear to be overly swift and even jarring in nature to a non-native. It does, however, serve as a vivid reminder of the words of David in Psalm 103:15-16 (NIV), "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more."
Victor Raul's wake and funeral also caused me to compare and contrast the wake and funeral customs in Peru and in the USA.
Victor Raul died on Thursday morning. His wake was on Thursday night. His funeral was on Friday. It is common in Peru to have the wake on the same day that someone dies, if the person dies in the morning, or the very next day if the person dies in the evening.
In the USA, there is usually a wait of 2-3 days before there is a wake, in order to inform family and friends, put an obituary in the newspaper, make all the funeral arrangements, and allow out-of-towners time to travel. The funeral is usually held the day after the wake.
In Peru, it is common to have the burial service at the cemetery within 24 hours of someone's passing. 6 tuxedo-clad, white-gloved black men carry the coffin on their shoulders from the church to the waiting hearse, and then again from the hearse to the burial site at the cemetery. They do not use their hands to carry the coffin; they just balance it on their shoulders.
At the burial site, a brief service is held in front of the open grave, then the coffin is lowered into the earth, and immediately thereafter the cemetery workers shovel dirt over the lowered coffin, replace the grass over the burial site, and put the headstone in place.
In the USA, generally there is a brief service at the cemetery, but the coffin is left above-ground as the mourners immediately leave to go to a post-funeral meal.
In Peru, the immediate shoveling of dirt right onto the lowered coffin, the immediate replacement of grass over the burial site, and the immediate placement of the headstone over the burial site may appear to be overly swift and even jarring in nature to a non-native. It does, however, serve as a vivid reminder of the words of David in Psalm 103:15-16 (NIV), "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more."
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
No Hablo!
One of the things that confounds me about certain international missions and their workers is how some of them absolutely refuse to learn the local language or adapt to the local culture.
I know of certain foreign pastors, missionaries, and other Christian workers here in Peru who spend all of their time solely with other foreigners, speaking English, and eating at TGIFridays.
They make no effort whatsoever to learn the Spanish language or to embrace the Peruvian culture, except to occasionally quaff an Inca Kola.
It's all slightly bewildering to me, and highly insulting to the locals.
Here are six lessons to learn if you want to fail at international ministry:
1. Only hang out with people from your own country, like you were in some kind of private club.
2. Don't learn the native language.
3. If someone doesn't understand you in your own language, just start speaking louder.
4. Never use the same transportation that the locals use, whether it's taxis or public buses.
5. Ignore local culture, customs, and holidays.
6. Turn your nose up at local food. Ask for a Big Mac instead.
If you follow these six lessons, soon you'll be back at home, scratching your head and wondering why the locals didn't take a shining to you.
Make an effort to learn the native language and embrace the local culture. It'll pay off big-time.
I know of certain foreign pastors, missionaries, and other Christian workers here in Peru who spend all of their time solely with other foreigners, speaking English, and eating at TGIFridays.
They make no effort whatsoever to learn the Spanish language or to embrace the Peruvian culture, except to occasionally quaff an Inca Kola.
It's all slightly bewildering to me, and highly insulting to the locals.
Here are six lessons to learn if you want to fail at international ministry:
1. Only hang out with people from your own country, like you were in some kind of private club.
2. Don't learn the native language.
3. If someone doesn't understand you in your own language, just start speaking louder.
4. Never use the same transportation that the locals use, whether it's taxis or public buses.
5. Ignore local culture, customs, and holidays.
6. Turn your nose up at local food. Ask for a Big Mac instead.
If you follow these six lessons, soon you'll be back at home, scratching your head and wondering why the locals didn't take a shining to you.
Make an effort to learn the native language and embrace the local culture. It'll pay off big-time.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Please Mr. Postman
They say the devil is in the details.
He's also in the mail.
The very first time that the main campus of Flamingo Road Church in South Florida mailed a package to us here in Peru, it was sent by first-class U.S. Mail.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld or George Costanza would say.
However, it also meant that the package arrived here first-class Peru Mail.
Which means that we didn't receive a notice about it for two weeks.
And which also means that we had to go to the central post office in Lima to retrieve it.
We had to wait 6 hours in line to retrieve the package.
6 hours.
In line(s).
To pick up one small package.
I am not making this up.
The other Peruvians who were in line with us said, "Oh, this is normal. We just make a day of it and come to the post office!"
How long do you stand in line at a post office in the U.S. before you start to get fidgety?
15 minutes? Maybe 20?
Try 6 hours. On your feet the whole time. In lines that were more like cattle herds.
We smartened up and told our friends at FRC in Florida to start to send stuff to us by FedEx. But we quickly found out that's no guarantee, either.
Stuff that is FedEx'd to us may leave South Florida right away, but then might get stuck in Peru Customs for several days while our good friends in Customs hold our package up to the light, shake it, smell it, rattle it around, listen to it, and decide whether or not to stick us with a tax on it. It has taken as long as 9 days for something to reach our door that has been FedEx'd to us from the USA.
There are times when it actually is faster to put someone on a flight to Lima and have them hand-deliver a package to us.
The moral of this story is that one of the biggest challenges in international ministry sometimes can be in one of the seemingly smallest details - shipping. Find yourself a reliable carrier pigeon, and you might just save yourself a whole lot of headaches.
He's also in the mail.
The very first time that the main campus of Flamingo Road Church in South Florida mailed a package to us here in Peru, it was sent by first-class U.S. Mail.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld or George Costanza would say.
However, it also meant that the package arrived here first-class Peru Mail.
Which means that we didn't receive a notice about it for two weeks.
And which also means that we had to go to the central post office in Lima to retrieve it.
We had to wait 6 hours in line to retrieve the package.
6 hours.
In line(s).
To pick up one small package.
I am not making this up.
The other Peruvians who were in line with us said, "Oh, this is normal. We just make a day of it and come to the post office!"
How long do you stand in line at a post office in the U.S. before you start to get fidgety?
15 minutes? Maybe 20?
Try 6 hours. On your feet the whole time. In lines that were more like cattle herds.
We smartened up and told our friends at FRC in Florida to start to send stuff to us by FedEx. But we quickly found out that's no guarantee, either.
Stuff that is FedEx'd to us may leave South Florida right away, but then might get stuck in Peru Customs for several days while our good friends in Customs hold our package up to the light, shake it, smell it, rattle it around, listen to it, and decide whether or not to stick us with a tax on it. It has taken as long as 9 days for something to reach our door that has been FedEx'd to us from the USA.
There are times when it actually is faster to put someone on a flight to Lima and have them hand-deliver a package to us.
The moral of this story is that one of the biggest challenges in international ministry sometimes can be in one of the seemingly smallest details - shipping. Find yourself a reliable carrier pigeon, and you might just save yourself a whole lot of headaches.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Earthquake Anniversary
Today is the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that rocked Peru on August 15, 2007, at 6:40 P.M. The quake registered a devastating 8.0 on the Richter Scale. Over 500 people were killed. 85,000 were left homeless.
I was in our 5th-floor apartment in Lima, about a 5-hour drive from the epicenter, when the earthquake struck. The whole apartment began to shake, pictures fell off the wall, and books toppled out of bookshelves. Apocalyptic white lights flooded the black evening skies. I could hear people yelling and screaming and crying in the streets below. The earthquake went on for an eternity-like 3 minutes - a marathon for an earthquake - before it finally ended.
The worst damage was 5 hours south of Lima in cities such as Pisco, Chincha, and Ica. All the houses there were made of adobe brick, which crumbled into a fine powder when the earthquake struck. 6 days after the killer quake, we travelled to Chincha with one ton of earthquake relief supplies donated by members of Flamingo Road Church in Lima. Using a battered police station as our headquarters, we gave out non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing, diapers, medicine, tents, blankets, flashlights, and other earthquake relief supplies to thousands of people in and around Chincha. We also served at a local soup kitchen, serving lunch to over 1,500 people left homeless by the earthquake. Every hour or so there would be another tremor, registering 4.0-5.0 on the Richter Scale, and everyone would start screaming and running around again, fearing that another killer quake was about to strike.
Perhaps the most important lesson that we learned from last year's devastating earthquake in Peru was that immediate involvement in disaster areas is one of the most effective ways of being Jesus Christ and showing His love to others. It's all about having your deeds match your faith (James 2:14-26). Many times the most important lesson you will ever teach to others will consist of nothing more than handing them a hot meal and a blanket after disaster strikes. It's like what St. Francis of Assisi supposedly once said: "Preach the Word of God at all times. If necessary, use words."
I was in our 5th-floor apartment in Lima, about a 5-hour drive from the epicenter, when the earthquake struck. The whole apartment began to shake, pictures fell off the wall, and books toppled out of bookshelves. Apocalyptic white lights flooded the black evening skies. I could hear people yelling and screaming and crying in the streets below. The earthquake went on for an eternity-like 3 minutes - a marathon for an earthquake - before it finally ended.
The worst damage was 5 hours south of Lima in cities such as Pisco, Chincha, and Ica. All the houses there were made of adobe brick, which crumbled into a fine powder when the earthquake struck. 6 days after the killer quake, we travelled to Chincha with one ton of earthquake relief supplies donated by members of Flamingo Road Church in Lima. Using a battered police station as our headquarters, we gave out non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing, diapers, medicine, tents, blankets, flashlights, and other earthquake relief supplies to thousands of people in and around Chincha. We also served at a local soup kitchen, serving lunch to over 1,500 people left homeless by the earthquake. Every hour or so there would be another tremor, registering 4.0-5.0 on the Richter Scale, and everyone would start screaming and running around again, fearing that another killer quake was about to strike.
Perhaps the most important lesson that we learned from last year's devastating earthquake in Peru was that immediate involvement in disaster areas is one of the most effective ways of being Jesus Christ and showing His love to others. It's all about having your deeds match your faith (James 2:14-26). Many times the most important lesson you will ever teach to others will consist of nothing more than handing them a hot meal and a blanket after disaster strikes. It's like what St. Francis of Assisi supposedly once said: "Preach the Word of God at all times. If necessary, use words."
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Mickey D's, Peruvian Style
Go into a McDonald's in downtown Miami, and then go into a McDonald's in downtown Lima, Peru (where there are about 15-20 of them), and you'll notice quite a few similarities. The restaurants look the same. The restaurants smell the same. The Big Macs and Quarter Pounders taste the same. So do the fries.
But at the 15-20 McDonald's in downtown Lima, you also can order fried yucca. And fried chicken, since Peruvians prefer chicken to beef. And you can drink Inca Kola, the #1 soda in Peru. At breakfast time, in addition to Egg McMuffins, you also can order breakfast sandwiches made with Peruvian country ham and garnished with onion salad.
You can't get any of that good stuff at a McDonald's in Miami!
But that is what successful international ministry is all about.
It's about taking the best of what you have to offer, and adding to it that which is appealing to the local population. Then you have a combo that works!
McDonald's gets it. Starbucks gets it. We at Flamingo Road Church in Lima are continually endeavoring to get it. When you get it, too, then you will begin to bear much fruit worldwide.
But at the 15-20 McDonald's in downtown Lima, you also can order fried yucca. And fried chicken, since Peruvians prefer chicken to beef. And you can drink Inca Kola, the #1 soda in Peru. At breakfast time, in addition to Egg McMuffins, you also can order breakfast sandwiches made with Peruvian country ham and garnished with onion salad.
You can't get any of that good stuff at a McDonald's in Miami!
But that is what successful international ministry is all about.
It's about taking the best of what you have to offer, and adding to it that which is appealing to the local population. Then you have a combo that works!
McDonald's gets it. Starbucks gets it. We at Flamingo Road Church in Lima are continually endeavoring to get it. When you get it, too, then you will begin to bear much fruit worldwide.
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