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Steve
& Lisa TWINEM
~ s e r v I n g
w i t h ~
may 26, 2009
“You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like
silver or gold,”
1Peter 1:18
In preparing some material to teach the doctine of
salvation I was struck again by how otherworldly the
Grace of God really is. We would prefer, naturally
speaking, to put our hope in things that sparkle, things
that impress as far as the world is concerned and yet
God called us and transferred our focus, by faith, from
these distractions to principles that are not as flashy
but are eternal. There is really nothing in the cross
and a humble Saviour who dies that speaks to our human
pride, intellect or desire. Yet there are those of us
who have been called from ‘the darkness into the light’
(1Peter 2:9)
and this is certainly not of ourselves,not a retraining
or a rehabilitation but a transformation that has come
from the outside
(James 1:21)
and affected us to the uttermost. We are ‘new
creatures’
(2Corinthians 5:17)
with a new responsibility
(Romans12:1&2)
to submit to, even to embrace, and in this ongoing
process we continue to ignore the things that impress in
a worldly way
(Galatians 3:1&2).
Even the ‘strange religious fire’
(Numbers3:4)
that calls us in a seemingly spiritual way
to once again look for ways to gratify ourselves instead
of glorify God. As I considered this I was suprised
with how this theme permeates the scriptures. From Old
Testament examples like Moses the oratorically inept
liberator or Elijah who finally heard the still small
voice of God after looking for Him in the incredible
powerful forces of nature to the New Testament teachings
about the gospel, those saved by it and the mission to
carry it further.
(1Corinthians 1:18-2:5)
We see God most often using very underrated methods to
do His supernatural work.
 Can
we be encouraged by this? Encouraged that God is at
work in the world today? That we don’t have to be what
the world
(or even the worldly church)
expects us to be in order to be of use in God’s eternal
purposes? To simply serve the Lord in a sacrificial way
looking for Him to show His power rather than us build a
prop that falsely represents it? I pray we can “crucify
the flesh and live by faith of the Son of God”
(Galatians 2:20)
Life in General:
We are doing well and I as look back at our last prayer
letter I need to tell you we have crawled out of our
hole of discouragement. Yes, there are still challenges
but the knowledge that God is with us during these times
helps us overcome the emotional downturn. Lisa is back
to teaching the kids and surviving without all of the
extra help with the home. This has provided room for
the girls, and Dad to step up there participation in
this and this afternoon, even as I type this, the girls
are doing “home economics”. Most of you heard in a
brief e-mail update about Larissa’s new challenge with
asthma. Although it was very severe it seems that it is
under control with medication and she is back with Emma
swimming again which is supposed to be an excellent
treatment for the problem. Kalena has just started
teaching kindergarten children English one morning a
week in an educational ministry that the Church has in a
poor area just outside of Trujillo. And Nate, well he
had a birthday so I guess that counts for something.
Actually Kalena turned 16 and he turned 4 and we tucked
in a wedding anniversary in there as well in the last
few months.
Technology:
We are happy to announce that we now have a webpage so
if you want to keep even more up to date on our day to
day lives, read a few more details about ministry, and
see a few more photos you just have to go to
www.twinem.com
and read. Some friends were a little dismayed at this
development thinking it has marred my image of being
technologically backwards. Don’t worry, nothing has
changed. This was inspired and set up by a friend Steve
Crewson from Bible college days.
Past Highlights:
I am surprised what is included in the last few months
of ministry as some of these things feel like they
happened years ago. We did finish up the 7th and final
module of IBEM (Insituto
Biblico del Etrenamiento Missionero)
the end of February and there were 6 graduates from the
program and more on the way better equipped to go back
to their areas of ministry and serve the Lord.
The group of 8 university students did arrive from Palm
Beach Atlantic University and even with the extra work;
they were a delight to host. They came with a great
desire to serve.
(There is a good picture of them on the website)
They were involved in a whirlwind tour of ministry
putting in most of their time in the building ministry
in Wichanzao and then doing evangelism in the plaza,
visiting the orphanage, the prison and etc. If you want
to see some pictures, one of the guys is a photographer
and put together this slide show you can access with
this link on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uEp5bZlTWo
I also went north to Chiclayo the end of April in order
to speak at the anniversary services on the evenings of
the 29th and 30th. A bit before I
went they asked if I would do workshops in the
afternoons one for the married couples and one for the
youth. It was a good time and the Lord blessed in a
number of ways. One of the ways was that during that
time the rest of the family, everyone of them, had a
very bad flu but I didn’t get it and so was able to be
helpful in taking care of them and then go to the
anniversary and speak.
The last major event in ministry was a conference for
church leaders in Peru hosted in Trujillo. It was a
good time with a lot of pertinent themes being covered
and a valuable time of fellowship for those who were
able to attend. There was a lack of participation from
those from the south and the majority of the leaders
from the jungle could not attend because of a road
blocked for political reasons. I had one session where
I spoke to the men about their responsibility to their
families. We trust that through events like this that
the Lord will build His church here in Peru through
wisdom gained and through better communion between the
men. During all of this the Elliot’s were returning
from a short 3 week visit to the US where they were
honoured for 60 years of ministry here in Peru. If I
can I will soon put the photos from a presentation, made
to commemorate these years, on our website.
Ministry:
We have a number of things that we are looking forward
to. In the next month I will be going to two different
church conferences in the Cajamarca area. Please pray
for the travel and teaching, that Ruben and I will be
able to communicate clearly the Truths we are going to
teach. We also have a visit from the Ohler’s from our
home church and this coincides with the second trip to
the mountains the 17th to the 20th
of June. They will be coming along and offering dental
services to these very needy people.
There is another opportunity that has come my way in the
past weeks. 4 university age guys have come to me to
ask if we can meet for a theology class each Monday
mornings. It was something unexpected and really beyond
what I have time for but how could I turn down an
opportunity like this? We are three weeks into the
study and are having a good time. Please pray for these
(now 5) guys and their growth and future impact on the
country of Peru. They are Jean Carlo, a psychologist
recently graduated, Augusto, a recovered drug addict
studying graphic design, Jose Antonio, and Julio, music
students here in Trujillo from the mountains and the
jungle respectively and Carlos, a guy studying
architecture and the drummer in the church.
Final Word:
We hear much about the financial crisis in North America
and the rest of the world
and understand that it is causing a lot of challenges in
the lives of you folk there. In Peru it is still just
a storm cloud on the horizon and will take some time for
the full effect to filter down here. We all want to
escape its effects but we need to see this as an
opportunity that the Lord will use to help us grow in
our faith amidst the uncertainty of this life. We pray
that the Lord will bless us all on this journey as
individuals, families and churches and that through this
we may be a “spotless bride”
(Ephesians 5:27)
even better prepared to meet our Lord and Saviour.
18 years on May 18th
In His Care, Steve and Lisa, Kalena, Larissa, Emma and
Nate
Our Mailing Address: Our
Phone Number:
Sr.
Stephen y Lisa Twinem Trujillo -
011-51-44-42-0938
c/o Centro Biblico
Our E-mail Address:
Av.
Victor Larco
1069
stephentwinem@gmail.com
La
Merced, Trujillo
Our Website:
Peru, South America www.twinem.com |
