Pollada

This past Saturday, Cristo Rey celebrated it's first annual pollada. We had a good turn out, good food and good games. We had a volleyball and soccer tournament between our cell groups. I think everyone had a fun time!

Conversion

Tim Keller has been writing a series of blog posts on preaching which is largely a review of Martin Lloyd-Jones' book Preaching and Preachers. As always, Keller has had many good things to say. One thing caught my attention, however, that I thought I would comment on. Keller highlights a passage where Lloyd-Jones says that preachers should not "assume that all…who are members of the church, are…Christians. This, to me, is the most fatal blunder of all" (quoted from Lloyd Jones, p. 146). Keller goes on to link this to the Old Side-New Side and Old Light-New Light controversies from the 18th Century and the Nevin-Hodge debates in the 19th Century over (among other things) whether one should ever assume a church member to be unconverted. Lloyd-Jones and Keller both affirm that we should expect to find that many church members are in fact unconverted and thus expect them to be converted under Biblical preaching.

This is the brief response that I left:

Thanks, Pastor Keller. Of course, a third option is to ask whether we should think of conversion as a one-off event, that once done is never to be repeated. If conversion is just faith and repentance then maybe we should should constantly call for conversion (as L-J would suggest) but without thinking that a new, more profound experience of God's grace necessarily implies that all previous experiences were spurious. In that sense, the Nevin-Hodge debate is beside the point. The real question is not: When did I first experience God's grace? Rather it would be: Am I believing the Gospel and repenting of my sins today? Assurance rightly belongs only to those who are believing and repenting now, regardless of what their previous experience(s) may or may not have been.

Sunday at the Baker's

Today we worshiped at Cristo Rey with a short-term team from Hernando, Mississippi. After church we had lunch and a time of singing and prayer at our house. It was a big crowd, but the singing was awesome! We are looking forward to a busy week with them. They will be doing construction in one of the churches on the outskirts of Trujillo.

Happy 4th of July

Yesterday after church we celebrated The 4th of July with our American friends living here in Peru. We had a great time of fellowship and had some awesome food! Later that night several of our husbands left to travel to Cajamarca to assist with a team of doctors and dentists from Jackson, Mississippi. They will have a very busy week. Please pray for safety traveling and for the many lives that will be touched by these dear friends.

Friends from North Carolina and Louisiana

This week we had a wonderful group of friends from Matthews OPC in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with friends from Rayville, Louisiana. They all worked in one of our newest church plants called Cristo Redentor. Many patients were seen by the medical team, and a lot of digging was completed by the construction team. They all worked very hard! Thank you so much!!

Happy Birthday Millie!

On June 30th we celebrated Millie's birthday. I can't believe our baby is now 8 years old! Where has all that time gone? Before we know it she will be driving!!!!!

A Night Out

Last week Wes and I, along with Whitney Ueltchey, attended a social event here in Trujillo. Our friend Edith Cordova had a very nice open house for her new hair salon and spa. It was complete with champagne, tasty finger foods served by men in white coats with black bow ties, lights, and music. Edith is very well known here and has won many awards in Lima for her work. We met her through classes she took in SALI, our language institute. We are so thankful for the friends the Lord has put in our lives!