This Friday is our Alpha Course Invitation Night. We've invited a bunch of people over for tallarines verdes (dinner- which is a small meal in Peru), a short intro video (Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?), and a discussion time afterward. The people we've invited are mostly connected to us or our team in some way, but with only a few exceptions, they aren't people who are currently participating in the Puerto Supe Christian Community. Most of them, I think, are not "serious" about a life of faith but are somewhat interested in exploring it.

We are so excited about this possibility and really looking forward to the evening. The closer we get to Friday, the more I know that I need to be on my face before God, begging Him to do something in this town and among the young people here. Would you pray with us? Here are some of the specific requests we have:

• For God to draw a group of people together who can enjoy this time and be changed by it. I especially want to see a community of friends emerge from this course.
• For our time together with these people to be free and safe. We want people to feel open to say whatever they think and to find in our home the space to express their desires, beliefs, and fears.
• For the logistics of having a bunch of people over, feeding them, making them feel comfortable. There are so many cultural elements that we are learning still, and the possibility of a major faux pas is pretty high.
• For people to find here the basic DNA of the Christian faith, particularly that they would "get" the concepts of community (without gossip!), serving one another, the "contagious" nature of this faith, and living for something more than "me."
• For this to be a bridge for guys to come into a life of faith. In the Peruvian macho culture, Catholicism is hard enough. A spiritual life apart from that is pretty daring and puts these guys in a pretty scary place in town. We are especially praying for God to raise up men who can take leadership in the church.

Oh, in every way we are desperate for the grace of God to fall on this Alpha Course! Pray with us that God's hand would orchestrate every detail and that we would find ourselves caught up in His work around and among us. I can't wait to update you with the results of this Friday night!

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