The 6th Triennial Mical Global Consultation in Peru has been an incredible experience! I arrived in Lima, Peru last Monday morning, September 14th. I wanted to give updates along the way all week because there was so much going on, but so many people attended the consultation that we flooded the wifi system where we were staying and I wasn't able to ge online. I'm staying near the airport tonight since I fly out early in the morning tomorrow, so I finally have wifi and I can give an update.
This journey has been quite an adventure. Lima is a huge city with 10 million residents and growing. As an urban missiologist, I love to explore new cities. The residents of Peru were amazing, and it's a beautiful city. There are some signs of need as there are in many world class cities, but there are also many signs of hope. I toured one of the largest cathedrals in Latin America. The artwork was absolutely incredible. The people demonstrated wonderful hospitality. The food was definitely different, but it was very good. Lots of potatoes. I guess there are hundreds of different kinds of potatoes in Peru. We also ate lots of rice, chicken, beef, and vegetables. As far as I know I did not eat any guinea pigs even though it is a local delicacy. My daughters have owned guinea pigs as pets and I don't think they would have ever forgive me if I had eaten one.
The consultation itself was fascinating. I'm sure I'll be integrating what I learned in future sermons and writings. I was inspired! C. Rene Padilla is a theologian who is one of my heores. I had the chance to meet him and talk to him, and he gave a great presentation. His daughter, Ruth Padilla DeBorst, gave one of the most profound presentations on integral mission that I have ever heard. I learned a lot from her. All week I also heard from many other theologians and leaders from over 60 different countries. CB Samuel from India gave a powerful presentation on incorporating family in mission. This is an issue that is close to my heart as Julie, Kyra, and Sierra are deeply impacted by our family's ministry in Homewood and the East End of Pittsburgh. I met Ash Barker from the International Society of Urban Mission. He's a great guy with a huge heart for cities and incarnational leadership, so it was inspiring to hear his talks and interact with him a bit. I also really appreciated Johannes Reimer's talks, as well as Joseph Nyamutera and Zac Niringiye from Africa. There were many challenging thoughts and prophetic messages presented over the course of the week.
I presented a story to the Micah Conference on my work with the Learning and Mentoring Partnership in Pittsburgh. I shared about my journey through LAMP, presence in Homewood, and pastoring North Way East End. It was a fun opportunity and hopefully I contributed to the global conversation in some small way. I'm excited about what God is doing in Pittsburgh, and I will continue to share the Good News with a wide variety of audiences down the road. God was very good to me this week. I also had the opportunity to colloborate with with academics from around the world as we prepared a course on integral mission that could be taught through higher education partnerships globally. It was another amazing opportunity! I met many incredible people from organizations around the world. God's Spirit is moving globally and I am definitely excited to be a part of God's global holistic mission. This week really confirmed my calling to go anywhere at anytime for the sake of God's mission. I'm sure there will be a lot of fruit from this visit to Peru.
This journey has been quite an adventure. Lima is a huge city with 10 million residents and growing. As an urban missiologist, I love to explore new cities. The residents of Peru were amazing, and it's a beautiful city. There are some signs of need as there are in many world class cities, but there are also many signs of hope. I toured one of the largest cathedrals in Latin America. The artwork was absolutely incredible. The people demonstrated wonderful hospitality. The food was definitely different, but it was very good. Lots of potatoes. I guess there are hundreds of different kinds of potatoes in Peru. We also ate lots of rice, chicken, beef, and vegetables. As far as I know I did not eat any guinea pigs even though it is a local delicacy. My daughters have owned guinea pigs as pets and I don't think they would have ever forgive me if I had eaten one.
The consultation itself was fascinating. I'm sure I'll be integrating what I learned in future sermons and writings. I was inspired! C. Rene Padilla is a theologian who is one of my heores. I had the chance to meet him and talk to him, and he gave a great presentation. His daughter, Ruth Padilla DeBorst, gave one of the most profound presentations on integral mission that I have ever heard. I learned a lot from her. All week I also heard from many other theologians and leaders from over 60 different countries. CB Samuel from India gave a powerful presentation on incorporating family in mission. This is an issue that is close to my heart as Julie, Kyra, and Sierra are deeply impacted by our family's ministry in Homewood and the East End of Pittsburgh. I met Ash Barker from the International Society of Urban Mission. He's a great guy with a huge heart for cities and incarnational leadership, so it was inspiring to hear his talks and interact with him a bit. I also really appreciated Johannes Reimer's talks, as well as Joseph Nyamutera and Zac Niringiye from Africa. There were many challenging thoughts and prophetic messages presented over the course of the week.
I presented a story to the Micah Conference on my work with the Learning and Mentoring Partnership in Pittsburgh. I shared about my journey through LAMP, presence in Homewood, and pastoring North Way East End. It was a fun opportunity and hopefully I contributed to the global conversation in some small way. I'm excited about what God is doing in Pittsburgh, and I will continue to share the Good News with a wide variety of audiences down the road. God was very good to me this week. I also had the opportunity to colloborate with with academics from around the world as we prepared a course on integral mission that could be taught through higher education partnerships globally. It was another amazing opportunity! I met many incredible people from organizations around the world. God's Spirit is moving globally and I am definitely excited to be a part of God's global holistic mission. This week really confirmed my calling to go anywhere at anytime for the sake of God's mission. I'm sure there will be a lot of fruit from this visit to Peru.
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