Prayer Mail

Dear Friends in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our public prayer mail for this week.

Thanksgivings, during this past week:

1) We cancelled plans to visit Lake Titicaca and Colca Canyon next week due to a significant strike in the region of Lake Titicaca.
This is a different strike from the one the Daniels were in the other week, and more serious. As of yesterday, the U. S. Embassy in Lima has prohibited its staff from traveling to the Lake Titicaca region.

2) We have water in our apartment building. Due to some work on the pipes in the building, our city water was shut off for 3 days.

3) Last night, Lydia had a great part as a witness in the high school play, "You, the jury." Julie was selected as one of the jurors.

4) We enjoyed the International Christian School of Lima's senior class Bar-B-Q today (Lydia's high school class).

5) We are in the process of donating books to the work of Bp. Mike Chapman (with book shelves), in his part of the diocese.

Prayers, for this coming week:

1) Lydia goes on a senior class trip to Tarapoto in the high jungle area, this week (we may be having a senior high girls sleep-over at our apartment on Monday night as a staging area for the trip - we could use prayers for that).
Your prayers would be appreciated for safe and timely travel for them, also prayers for Lydia's back. She pulled a muscle in it this past week.

2) Please keep us in prayer through the meetings, other appointments and arrangements, over the next week. Your prayers really made a difference this past week.

3) Please pray for the services in which we are participating at the Cathedral this week.

4) Please pray for Lydia as she finishes up her school year (and her high school education). Graduation is in about 2 weeks.

God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.

Scripture Prayer

Isaiah 51:11

Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return; they will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, happiness and joy will overwhelm them; grief and suffering will disappear.

Lord, we await the time in just a few short weeks when Father Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia Mudge will return to the U.S. May they have a happy time visiting family and friends. May they find joy in everything that they do. And we also pray for their next assignment. Whatever that is, Lord, we pray that unending joy will crown them and happiness and joy will overwhelm them as they work for You in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord, guide and direct the Mudges. Help them to settle all their concerns, little and big, as they prepare to move all of their things back to Albany. Be with them as they finish up their ministry in Peru. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our public prayer mail for this week.

Thanksgivings, during this past week:

1) We had a great trip to Machu Picchu.

2) We have had the opportunity to learn a lot how the Andean religion has changed from the time of the conquistadors until now, and apparently how some in the Andean religion and in the Roman Catholic Church have borrowed from each other's religion, as a way of enhancing each's own perspective. And yes, some contemporary Roman Catholics in the Andes' apparently also worship the gods of mountains and glaciers, today. Yet the Andean religion in some ways is a different religion now than in the 16th century, a bit more trendy.

FYI: the contemporary term for "syncretism" (blending religions) is now "cultural fusion."

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who work hard in such a climate.

3) Prayed through some historical Andean religious sites, using the Jesus' prayer and Nigel's blue cards.

4) Items from our last prayer mail, such as meetings and a meeting with our landlady, have gone well.

Prayers, for this coming week:

1) Please keep us in prayer through the meetings, other appointments and arrangements, over the next week.

2) Please pray for the 10 am service at the Cathedral on Sunday. I lead the Dean of the Cathedral and his beloved in a renewal of their wedding vows.

3) Please pray for Lydia as she finishes up her school year (and her high school education). Graduation is in about 3 weeks.

Thank you for praying for us. Your prayers make a difference.
God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.

Scripture Prayer

Colossians 1: 9-12

We, from the day that we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

Wow, Lord. You sure did give Paul the gift of words and long sentences! But this passage says so much about encouraging others in their journey with You. As always, Lord, we lift up to You Father Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia Mudge. Keep them safe and bring them some more mountain top experiences as they travel to Machu Picchu this weekend.

We ask You, Lord, to fill the Mudges with the knowledge of your will so that they may live worthily and please you in every way. Show them the new direction that their ministry is to take, and may it bear fruit as they grow in knowledge of You and are strengthened with all power. Grant them patience and steadfastness and joyful gratitude for their time in Peru and for their next adventure in your kingdom.

Lord, we thank You that Bishop Mike Chapman safely arrived in Lima and then went on to this meeting in Chile. Thank You that Linda Chapman and the Daniels also had safe travel. We ask Lord for continued protection for all missionaries in Peru. Thank You. Amen.

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our public prayer mail for this week.

Thanksgivings, during this past week:

1) Meeting the Daniels and Linda Chapman on Sunday at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Lima. As you may have been reading in the various prayer mails, it has been an interesting week for them. They seem to be in great shape.

2) The sermon and the services at the Cathedral on Sunday went very well.

Prayers, for this coming week:

1) The Cathedral Chapter meeting in Lima on Tuesday at 6 pm, New York time. Both Julie and I will be attending.

2) A meeting of the clergy of our deanery that is proposed for Wednesday morning.

3) An important meeting with our landlady and a painter on Monday evening (May 16).

4) For safe and timely travel. We depart Friday for Machu Picchu and return to Lima the following Monday.

5) For Lydia as she finishes up her school year (and her high school education). Graduation is in about 4 weeks.

God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.

Scripture Prayer

Today’s prayer is for all missionaries in Peru and throughout the world and of course also for Father Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia Mudge. Bishop Mike Chapman was in some serious jeopardy this week in Ica, Peru. He was traveling to a House of Bishops meeting in Chile, when he got stranded. There was a blockade connected to a local strike by cotton farmers. Some feared that the bishop would be captured. Thankfully, as the message below indicates, the danger has passed. Praise God!

A message from Bishop Mike Chapman: I arrived in Lima around midnight Friday the 13th. I hope to fly out to Santiago de Chile today sometime. The roads were pretty clear and the bus ride was uneventful. Please continue to pray for the team until all of them are back in Ica and then switch to prayer for Ica. I will return to Lima the 18th where I will meet up with Linda and probably take a few days to let it all sink in before returning to Ica. Please thank everyone for their prayers. I think everything that is going on is proof of the desperate need for strong intercessory prayer for missionaries. Please put this out to the list and God bless you for all you do and everyone that intercedes because it really makes all of the difference.

Psalm 91: 4

He will shelter you with his wings, you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.

Thank You Lord, for protecting Bishop Mike during his harrowing experience. Please continue to protect him and the Mudges and all missionaries in Peru and throughout the world. Thank You that the Mudges enjoyed their railroad trip into the Andes. Thank You that they were safe. Lord, let them have more joyful experiences during their last weeks in Peru. Thank You for the work that You have given them to do and guide them into their next assignment. Give them your discernment and help them to get ready for their trip back to the States. Amen.

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our public prayer mail for this week.

Julie, Lydia, and I just came back from a trip to get to know Peru better, on the second highest railroad in the world. It was worth it.

Thanksgivings, during this past week:

1) For the time we had on the train, visiting towns, and getting to know people at 10,500 feet in the Andes mountains. It was breath-taking in more than one sense of the word.

2) For the progress we are making towards God's plans for us over the next 7 months.

3) I feel fully restored in spirit, after perhaps 6 or so years. Amazing. This trip was a true mountain-top experience.

Prayers, for this coming week:

1) I am preaching at the Cathedral in Lima on Sunday, and leading the 8 am service, as well; pray that I would preach and do as the Holy Spirit leads.

2) Pray for all the things to do prior to our return to the US in July. We have an important meeting with our landlady and a painter on Monday evening.

3) For Lydia's getting settled in college, and for obtaining her driver's license.

4) For continued progress in Spanish.

5) For the continued improvement of relationships among the missionaries and clergy in Peru.

6) For God's plans for us over the coming year.

God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia

May Newsletter

Conversations along the way.

Being a missionary in Lima generates some interesting conversations at times.

In the past week, as I write this, I have had a conversation about Indian (subcontinent) marriage customs, and I came to understand that a dowry (perhaps $100,000 or more, in general) was the passing along of an inheritance, as part of an arranged marriage, even in India today.

Also this week, there was the story of the missionary who was explaining the Gospel to an Amazon tribe that did not have a written language. After a year relating the biblical accounts, he was talking to an elder of the tribe in a conversation, and the elder said: "we like your stories. Too bad they are not true." The missionary was puzzled by this. The elder explained. "Where you stand, is where people tell stories that are not true. True stories are told over there." He pointed to another part of the room.

Another conversation noted that the Quechua language that is spoken in Ayacucho, Peru, is the same version that is spoken near La Paz, Bolivia, on the other side of the Andes mountains. This is remarkable, considering the varieties of Quechua spoken throughout the region; the language differs from town to town. The explanation for the similarity dates back to the time of forced relocations of whole villages in the time of the Incas, the Incas moving whole peoples from places now in Peru to places now in Ecuador and in Bolivia.

And I was talking with an entrepreneur. A considerable part of the profit of his company, after paying salaries, etc., goes to support mission work of the Gospel.

Another interesting part of the week was a conversation on how to present the scriptures to peoples in the Amazon jungle who do not yet have a written language. The question on the table was: "how do you do that?" The people around the table represented different missionary organizations, and some of them were involved with the translation of the scriptures, mostly for peoples who have a written language. One man was about to go off to the jungle to encounter people groups who did not yet have a written language. There was no consensus of an answer. In fact, no one said much of anything. I suggested contextual pictographs.

Then, there was the story of a young lady in the jungle who was walking along a path, stepped on top of what appeared to be a log across the path, and went down to a river to swim. A friend joined her. She learned from her friend that the "log" was actually a huge snake, which had been sleeping. The young lady did not believe her friend, but sure enough, on the way back, it was still there, sleeping, and large enough to eat a person....

It has been a very interesting week.


Missionaries serving in Lima, Peru.

Prayer Request:
• For our relationships, priorities, ministries, and finances.

God bless you, and thank you for your continuing support! I pray for you, every day.

Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+ and Lydia

Prayer Mail

Dear Friends in Prayer,
Peace be with you.
This is our public prayer mail for this week.

I like Julie and my wedding, best of all.

Thanksgivings, during this past week:

1) For the great Easter week services, including the ordinations yesterday at the Cathedral.

2) For the progress we are making towards our plans for the summer.

3) For the opportunities to meet and share experiences with other missionaries in the past few days.

Prayers, for this coming week:

1) Pulling together various matters between now and July.

2) For the final exam that a student will take on Thursday.

3) For improved relationships among all missionaries in Peru, as well as for their provisions.

4) Helping Lydia prepare for college.

5) For Bp. Godfrey's visit to the Diocese of Albany.

God bless you.
In Christ,
Shaw, and on behalf of Julie and Lydia.

Scripture Prayer

Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Father God, we lift up to You, our friends and your loyal servants, Father Shaw and Mother Julie and Lydia Mudge. They have dedicated their lives to your service and have presented their bodies as a living sacrifice which we hope that You find holy and pleasing. Help them, Lord, to not be conformed to this present world, but instead transformed by the renewing of their minds; help them to hear your voice and to discern your will for them: that service to You which you deem good and well-pleasing and perfect. Let them feel your love and comfort and peace as they contemplate their futures. Amen.