The Cubases, our bosses and only teammates in Puerto Supe, are going to the US for an extended (6 months?) medical leave. At this point, South America Mission is unable to provide us with the support we need to be successful in our life and work here. We have mutually agreed on a reassignment to Pucallpa, a sizeable city on the edge of the jungle where all the other SAM missionaries in Peru live.
Tim's work in Pucallpa will be primarily split between taking initial steps to establish a university ministry with a local church and providing operational support for the South America Mission office in the US (website stuff, for example). I will be involved with this new university ministry and perhaps also invest in the SAM missionary kid school, other local teaching opportunities, and/or the new Crisis Pregnancy Center.
Our moving date is uncertain, but we will probably stay in Puerto Supe another month or two to help the church prepare for a season without outside (missionary) leadership. We will then complete our two-year term in Pucallpa and anticipate returning to the United States next April.
As you can no doubt imagine, this decision has involved a lot of prayer, conversation, anxiety, and faith. While the transition has been difficult (and probably will continue to be), we feel happy and hopeful about our next steps. Please keep us, the Cubases, our church in Puerto Supe, and our future in ministry in Pucallpa in your prayers. Stay posted for more details!
I pray to God-- my life a prayer--
and wait for what he'll say and do.
My life's on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning. Psalm 130:5-6 (The Message)
