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I know that Mike has already given you a brief update on our seminars. He kind of beat me to the punch, but there is much more to add and from my perspective. I could hardly contain my excitement after teaching that I was eager to get the pen to paper. So as you take a look at this week’s blog, read it as if it were a diary entry. I hope this conveys the excitement that we all feel about the work going on Trujillo!
Sunday April 11th
I am sitting in the airport in Lima, Peru, on my way home from the most fulfilling experience. I had the privilege of teaching our second Servant Leadership Training on Saturday, April 10th. We considered the first seminar, with John Hendee, a great success, with 150 attending.
On Saturday we had 176 adults, over 200 counting children. I was so anxious for the training and so prayed up. Would the material translate? Would I have a good translator? Would I be able to be practical and interesting for four hours? Would people listen, or would they go to sleep? I was overwhelmed. My translator, Dinko, a pastor in Trujillo, was one of the best I have every work with. I hardly knew he was there. He matched my paths heartbeat for heartbeat, gesture for gesture. The people were attentive and engaged. I was getting feedback during breaks that let me know that the Spirit was using the training to speak to the key leaders of PNHI. I had prayer over all of our Trainers the day before as I watched them play soccer together, and asked God to help me focus on them in my teaching. Just hours ago, before I got on the plane to fly home, I sat with one of our key barrio Trainers and he was able to open up about the challenges of leadership and I was able to do some personal counseling based on the training on Saturday. Saturday evening and Sunday at church I was getting feedback that just filled me up.
The training, “The Inner Formation of a Servant Leader” describes the process and teaching I have used over the years to disciple young believers. Almost every believer in the project is a baby believer, even some of our leaders, so the subject spoke to a very real need.
The Servant Leadership Training is meeting a need and we already consider it an unqualified success. My thanks to Mike and Danielle, to Elena the Project secretary, and all of the barrio Trainers who made the training work. My special thanks to Kellie Castaneda, our Short-Term Group Coordinator and coordinator of the Servant Leadership Training for taking my materials, getting them translating and putting them in an attractive, inviting form, and for developing a power point in Spanish from those materials. She is my hero.
Our leadership in Trujillo is looking forward to the next Training in May with John teaching on the subject, “How To Make Sense Out Of The Bible.” What a great subject for John. I wish I could be there for the session!
Tim Coop
