Bill and Lena's fancy slideshow update from October, 2017

The past six months have been some of the most challenging and most fruitful of our lives. We have seen more salvations, baptisms in the Holy Spirit and disasters than I can remember. We want to thank you for being partners with us in it all. The new disciples that are being made and the hungry mouths that are being fed will thank you, with us, when we meet in heaven. Please click the big picture, below, for a quick rundown of all that has taken place or for an impressive array of photos that will amaze you! If the picture doesn't click, try here.

An Open Letter to Our Son, Colton, and the Class of 2016

Congratulations! You have worked hard and long, stayed up into the night to complete your tasks, enjoyed time with your friends and now you are looking back and soaking it in. You pause in these last hang-outs with friends for just moments and think, “Wow. This really is it!”  You know that your heart is in the business of choosing a path. It likely will not be a path from which you cannot re-trace your steps, because much of the joy of youth is that there is abundant time for a do-over.

Still, little by little, you will choose. A pattern will begin to emerge from what looked like a crazy jumble of yarn in the beginning. Your story will take unexpected turns—some that you never would have chosen, and at least a few that take your breath away.  

Some would say that times have changed; that life is harder now than it was in the past. Because you are a young man of the Word, you know that Biblical times dressed sin differently, with its pagan worship, but that the expressions were the very same sins we see today. Paul and the apostles consistently warned against conforming to these sins that are obvious to those who are awake—sexual impurity, drunkenness, greed, selfish ambition, vain conceit, hard-heartedness. True followers of Jesus lived differently, not just adding a thin veneer of Jesus on top. These standards have not changed!

And so, I challenge you now as I have many times before. Root yourself deep in the Lord. I don’t care what the rest of the world is doing, you be a soldier for Jesus. The standards your dad and I have set for you set you out on the path to freakdom. You feel the strain of pulling in a different direction, and you will feel (as you already have felt) like a weirdo as others watch your choices to treat with kindness those who are rejected by others, your purity of speech, your way of only speaking the Name of Jesus with the reverence of one who serves Him, your readiness to share the gospel. You look and smell different. As life goes on, you will do campus outreach when others are watching Netflix, you will go to worship practice when you know you could really use some more study time, you will continue to take time to show kindness to someone everyone else ignores. In lots of little ways, you will set a standard that others see as extreme and unnecessary. They may even insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all sorts of evil things about you. Rejoice and be glad, because a great reward awaits us! (Matt 5:11). Your life will be set on a trajectory that little by little, with each decision to put the Kingdom of God first, you will mark out a path that will be rich and adventurous and the kind of life that leaves few regrets. And you WILL be a weirdo. It runs in the family.

Much Love,

Mom

April 2016 Newsletter

We're winding down our time in the US and gearing up to return to the mission field. (Yay!) You can read our latest newsletter below--or download a printable copy here. In this edition, Bill shares about worshipping Jesus by serving the poor and about our plans to return to Peru in July. Enjoy! 

Thanks for sharing the blessed adventure with us! Jesus said in Mt. 10:42, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” May the Lord bless you for blessing us and Peru!

To join our ministry team and help us transform Peru with the power and name of Jesus, please click here. To sponsor a child with Latin AmericaChildCare, please click here.

Do I hate support raising?

A lot of people ask, "Don't you hate support raising?" The answer is no -- though it can be very challenging. I like to call our time of raising our missionary budget as a time of connection. Here's what I wrote to a friend in Peru today: "We feel the Lord's calling strongly (to the mission field), so we know that this time of connection here in the states is temporary. We embrace it for a time, drinking in our time with our loved ones here and encouraging the American church to not forget that the great commission is still the heart of the Father." The last line is important: God is still calling his church to fulfill the great commission! 

#followingJesusisgood #gratefulfortheblessedadventure
Want to help us get back? -- https://giving.ag.org/Give/Details/42d24086-0a4c-4768-a865-af6c2900d289?CookieCheck=1

Bill and Lena's Peru Update - September 2015

Thanks to the Glorious Savior who called us and to all those who've partnered with us to reach Peru!

Please click on the image below to read our latest newsletter. Or, download a printable copy here. In this edition, Bill shares about what we do in Peru and about our recent return to the states to connect with our friends and support team.

We have a great story to tell of God's faithfulness and of a people hungry to hear the gospel. We have openings for services starting in December, 2015. Please email Bill.Shrader@agmd.org so we can set up a time to get together. Thanks!

Bill and Lena's March, 2015 Newsletter

Thanks to everyone who has helped us proclaim the Gospel in Peru and the Andean region. Thank you! Please find, below, our latest newsletter. You can read it here -- or click on the caption to open it as a printable PDF. In this newsletter, Bill writes about ministry in the Amazon and about our upcoming return to the sttaes to connect with our friends and support team. There's also a few prayer requests. Enjoy!

Click here to read Bill and Lena's March 2015 Newsletter

We'll be returning to the U.S. at the end of June to let those on our support team know what they've been supporting! We're looking forward to it but moving back to the states for a year involves a lot of logistics and questions. For example, where are we going to live and what will we drive? How will the kids handle the transition? For all of this, we ask for your prayers. When we get back, we'll need to share the story of what God is doing here. As such, we'd love an invitation to share in your church or home fellowship group!

University Evangelism

This from Bill:

Lena and I began the past year with a strong emphasis on University ministry. Here, in Peru, we call Chi Alpha, La Red Universitaria de Las Asambleas de Dios -- the University Network of the Assemblies of God. It's been an exciting experience for both of us. Lena is doing multiple evangelistic Bible studies with students from various campuses, and both of us have taught at churches and national youth leaders conferences about how to start a campus ministry. The pictures above and below are of us teaching on Evangelism. These pics were taken at the "Christ - Light of the World" church in Trujillo, which has six small groups on 5 campuses! I'm a big fan of using a white board, instead of PowerPoint slides (because I like the organic nature and the intentional emphasis on content over form). After I teach, I take a picture of the white board and invite the students to do the same. Looking at these boards reminded me of what a great time we had! After taking the college students and leaders through some basics of university evangelism, we hit the streets and had a blast talking with people about Jesus. I was very proud of Will, my younger son, who (with unassuming warmth and friendliness) is an incredibly effective evangelist! 

For this event, we were joined by our friends Shawn and Melissa Pallotta, who (along with their kids) have a very prophetic ministry. Shawn and I taught on making godly decisions.

Some of the evangelism themes we covered included: 

1) The power of your personal testimony (Rev. 12:11). 
2) Basic components of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15). 
3) Apologetics -- explaining why the Christian faith is reasonable (that is, it's requires faith, but not blind faith). Also, Jesus claimed to be God, therefore he is either a Liar, a Lunatic or the Lord (hint: it's the last one!)

4) The best 3 questions to do Evangelism: If you died tonight, do you know where you would go? If you were in front of Jesus and he asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say? And, the best question of all: How can I pray for you?

Peruvians love their late night soccer matches, which provides a great way to make friends and share the Gospel with your neighbors. These pics are of Colton (above) and Antonio Pallotta (below) playing.

Colton and Antonio also teamed up for some street evangelism, outside the C&T Restaurant.

Will and Abi talk to kids about life in Peru

Sometimes churches call and ask us for videos about our ministry or our life in Peru. This is one that was produced by three of our kids (Colton, Will and Abi) regarding their lives in Peru.

Will explains a Simple Electric Motor

Each year, the Shrader family has one or more entries in the International Christian School of Lima Science Fair. The 2014 entry came from Will, who built a small electric motor, then had to explain how it works. Will produced two videos: the first is entitled, May the Force be with you, is short and sweet (but to see it, you have to go here). The second is below.

Bill and Lena's Peru Update - March 2014

Lena and I are grateful to serve as missionaries to Peru. We're also grateful to our friends who've partnered with us in this great adventure. Thank you!

Please click on the picture (at right) to see our latest update.

Bill and Lena's Peru Update - click here.

The Fun and the Folly

This one is from Bill:

It was a dark night in a strange town. I was in the mountain town of Ayacucho, which means “Corner of the Dead.” It is a town well known for spiritual warfare and is the same town where my transmission died in November. So, now I want to rename Ayacucho to mean “costly town” or even “Ouchy-cucho” (which is what Charo, the famous flamenco guitarist, says when she hears how much it costs to fix a transmission). Colton, Willy and I went there to give out Christmas gifts to students and orphans in our Latin America ChildCare program. We finished giving out the gifts and were heading for the bus station. The street was really dark and on a steep hill. As I crossed the street, I stepped onto a storm sewer grate that was broken. My leg went through a separation in the iron bars and I fell with my leg trapped in a small shaft. It was horribly frightening and left me crying out, “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!” I also said some other things that might be translated to mean, “Oh no! Wow, what a surprise!” and “Oh boy! I wonder how deep this shaft is and if I’m going to survive!” Colton and I were sure that my leg was broken; but after I pulled it out of the hole (with help from equally frightened bystanders), I was able to walk. The only apparent damage was that my shin was scraped and bruised.

Two weeks later, still bruised but able to walk without pain, I found myself in the city of Trujillo, doing ministry with my friends Shawn and Melissa Pallotta. We went to Trujillo to do a retreat for college students and people involved in Campus Ministry. (College students + prophetic friends = my favorite kind of retreat!) Trujillo is on Peru’s northern coast and is famous for surfing and the pastor we were working with (Jhonatan Boulangger) loves to surf. So, with a few hours of free time before our afternoon session, we hit the waves. I got up right away and rode many successful waves that day. When I was taking off my wet suit, I noticed that my ankle was swollen. I thought it was from a bug bite and didn’t think much of it. A week later, back in Lima, I noticed that my leg was really swollen, again. After chatting with some friends about it, I finally came to the realization that it may have been a good idea to get my leg X-Rayed after that fall in Ayacucho. Sure enough, the leg was broken. The doctor showed me the X-ray and said that the Fibula (the smaller of the two bones in your lower leg) does not support your weight—which is why I was able to walk. He then explained that surfing with a partially healed fibula was the broken bone version of grinding your teeth together—thus producing a dumbfounded missionary with a swollen leg. So, that is the fun and the folly. Surfing with friends while on a retreat for college students was the fun part. But, surfing on a broken leg is great folly, no matter how much fun it is. Since the Fibula was already healing (and it’s really hot here), the doctor opted against putting it in a cast. I have to put my foot up for a week and give it a chance to heal. It’s actually working out well for me. Being forced to sit still has given me a chance to focus in prayer – which sometimes leads to an unintentional nap! And we all know that that is what my leg needs to heal.

P.S. I posted the picture at the top of the page to try and make it look like I'm in control. The picture directly above tells a more complete story. You can see from the wake behind my board that I had just cut off Colton. I was heading straight for the folks to my left and had to swerve to avoid wacking them in the head. So, I cut to the right and screamed, "Colton, look out! I can't steer this thing!" Thankfully, Colton ditched out on what was turning out to be one of his best waves of the day. My son gave up his "glory wave" so that 1) his dad would look good riding all the way to the shore, or 2) to save his life!

P.S.S. 40 years ago, my mom and dad planned a trip to Hawaii to celebrate my father's 50th birthday. He was really looking forward to surfing. Just before they were to leave, my father had the first of a long string of heart attacks. He never got to Hawaii and never got to surf. Now, whenever I get in the big waves (whether I'm surfing or boogie boarding), I dedicate the experience to dad.

P.S.S.S. For those who might be tempted to think that by surfing, we're living "high on the hog," I'd like to clarify two points: 1) We don't even own a hog, and 2) it only cost me $12 to really damage my partially healed leg.

Lena's Top Ten of 2012

Every New Year, Lena writes a Top 10 summation of the year we’ve left behind. Here’s her summation (in no particular order) of the best of 2012:

1)      Construction in Catacaos: Another way to say this is--The Shraders get to be a part of making an educational dream come true in Catacaos, Peru. When we came to Peru in 2008, Pastor Walter Carranza showed us his plans to add a high school to the existing Latin America ChildCare (LACC) elementary school. We didn’t laugh at him out loud, but we knew at the time we didn’t have the funds to help him.  Well, our Isaac was born this year as we are completing the third floor of a four story high school. Thanks to the churches and teams from the U.S. who’ve given time, money and sweat to see this dream take form. Thanks to LACC and the Ohio Women’s Ministries for helping us raise the funding. We couldn’t—and didn’t—do it alone. 

2)    Hannah (age 18) prepares to launch into her college career with some kickin’ SAT scores and a ton of intensive scholarly pursuits.  Hannah took an AP History course solo and completed it by sheer grit.  She’s maxed out the number of Spanish credits one can apply toward colllege and got an “A” in Stats.  She is amazingly dogged both in her studies and her pursuit of the Lord. If she could major in “Soaking in the Presence of God through Worship,” she would have picked her major a long time ago.  We know she is ready for college.  The question is, “Is college ready for Hannah?”

3)      Will busts into Bible-reading. Will (age 10) wakes up early—often an hour before the rest of the family. Bill challenged Will to put that time to good use and read the Word.  Since then, Will has read many of the books of the Bible, including Revelations and Song of Songs.  Will had great insight into the latter two books, which is crazy-exciting for Bible geeks like Bill and I.  He called out while reading Song of Songs, “Hey, Dad, is this book just about being in love?”  Good questions, smart boy.

4)      Abi continues to blossom as resident artist and Hannah-in-training.  Abi continues to surprise us with her gift for artistic expression.   She draws things that make you feel something, and we love seeing her latest creations.  Her favorite color is all of the rainbow, and she has a great eye.  She also shows signs of budding vocal talent and imitates Hannah in everything but fashion sense (Abi is much more flowery than Hannah’s sporty style). 

5)      Colton shows promise in developing musical talent and growing facial hair.  Colton has been working on mastering the drums, as well as picking up the bass guitar.  He has come quite far already with starter hints from Dad, video tutorials, and an occasional lesson from a friend.  He continues to be a sweet young man who is known for his character at school.  He also passed up his dad in height this year and, every day, looks more like someone who needs to get a job instead of someone who needs to go to high school. 

 6)      Bill and Lena take on working with young adults in our home church and it feels really good. Twenty plus years in XA left serious grooves in our ministry style, and we have very much enjoyed getting to work with the young adults of our church.  We don’t have the same time to put into it, but we so love those chat times after church with young people, praying for them, and teaching them to find God’s will for their lives.  When they come to our house for a cookout, our old XA selves get all happy. 

7)      Bill hosts 7 missions teams, a bunch of visiting missionaries and assists in hosting a major international educational conference all in one year.  The amount of planning and prep that go into a successful missions trip on this end is equal or surpasses the prep stateside.  For our friends who have led trips, they will remember how much work that was for them.  Now multiply it by 7 and stick a big conference at the end.  It was a HUGE undertaking for Bill, but had great returns.  Hundreds received Christ as savior, thousands received medical care, the school in Catacaos took shape, many received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel was preached in the mountains and at University, and we made a lot of really good friends!

Avon Christian Heritage in Cusco (with Colton and Hannah)

Capital Christian Center (Sacramento) medical team

Brown University XA in Ayacucho.

 

8)      In addition to ministering in churches and working with Latin America ChildCare, Lena becomes president of the PTO at our International Christian School -- and loses the capacity to separate Spanish and English in her brain. This school year brought growth and increased diversity to the International Christian School our children attend in Lima. Lena accepted the position of president of the PTO and has enjoyed the challenge of leading—which involves a lot of Spanish and team building.  Participation this year in PTO has grown significantly and she has enjoyed being in the middle of it all.

Lena giving out Christmas gifts to LACC children.

9)      Bill gets serious about seeing Peru moving in the Spirit. Unfortunately, many members of the Peruvian Assemblies of God have never experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or even heard teaching on it. One of our Peruvian pastor friends strongly encouraged Bill at the beginning of this year to preach on the Baptism wherever he goes.  Bill has taken that challenge seriously, and we have seen many people receive this year.  The Peruvian culture considers public embarrassment or exposure of weakness something to be avoided at all costs, so helping people get to the point of receiving and trusting can be a huge challenge. But, many Peruvians are also serious prayer warriors and lovers of God. It is a great pleasure to help people who have yearned for this for so many years to finally receive. 

 

Bill and Hannah help lead worship at Quechua speaking adobe church.

10)   Bill and Lena are honored by having two Peruvian babies named for them. I (Lena) have always wanted someone to name a baby after me.  I just thought it would be fun.  I gave up after leaving lots of little unsuccessful hints to our XA alums.  Pastor Walter Carranza and his wife, Sonia, wanted to name their baby after a missionary and surprised me with this honor. Sonia assures me that little Lina (preserving the pronunciation over the spelling) is a remarkably peaceful baby, always cheerful, and only complains when she is hungry (we definitely have that in common!). Another couple in the church (Gerardo and Maria, who are incredibly humble servants) were pregnant at the same time. What a surprise when, one week later, little Billy was born! Now there’s a Lina and a Billy growing up in the same church.  Maybe they will grow up and fall in love!

The Shraders doing some very serious ministry at the beach

Hannah dances the Marinera

This from Bill: 

I've been going through our blog and found some articles that we never posted. I'm not sure why this one never got published, since I'm the one who wrote it and I love the subject; that is, the beautiful dance "the Marinera," and pictures of one of my favorite people in the world--my daughter Hannah!

One of the beautiful cultural traditions of Peru is the Marinera--where a couple dance to marching band music, waving a handkerchief. The dance is a little flirty and involves hiding a fake kiss. These pictures are a few years old and are of Hannah and her friends doing the "girls only" part of the dance. Hannah goes to a Christian school, so there's not even the hint of a fake kiss on this stage. As the parents of a lovely teen-ager, we're fine with that decision.

Turning the Last Pages

This from Lena:

Back when getting lost in a novel for days at a time was a normal practice for me (I was an avid reader as a young girl), I had the feeling often. I would lose myself in the characters and their private struggles, and as I would near the ending, I dreaded it. Sometimes, I admit it, I peeked at the end. The better the book, the stronger the regret as I flipped the last few pages, dreading the moment when I had to leave the little space in my mind that I had created to hold my hero and all their defeats and joys.

What I am feeling now feels a lot like that, but the hero of the story is my oldest daughter, Hannah. For those of you who have already launched some babies, I guess I have to plead a little patience. It is just that I have been forced to realize recently---through the onslaught of college applications, talk of financial aid, and the rest---that I am in the last pages of this book of daily-present parenting.

I am among the most fortunate of parents. The hardest things ever got with my girl were just totally normal things—practically rites of passage. We did our best to train her. We held her in our laps, we worshiped with her, we brought her to so many ministry events that she started to believe (and act!) like she was already a minister of the gospel! I remember chuckling that it was probably a good thing we were taking Hannah to the mission field when she was 12, because she often had something to add to her dad's teachings to the college students, and I didn't relish having to ask her to hold back a bit.

So the thing that I am feeling right now doesn't have much to do with worrying about her being able to cope (although I have all the normal concerns). It is mostly that I will lose the dailiness of our relationship. I will lose the moments when she feels like talking and sidles up next to me on the couch, signaling me that it is time to chat. I won't know as often if she had a good or bad day, or know the personalities of her friends so that the stories of her day take on that novel-like space in my mind, so that I can delve into the story with her.

And very selfishly, I will lose all the pride that fills my heart when I feel the Holy Spirit rip through an auditorium or a little shack-of-a-church in the countryside when she opens her mouth to lead in worship. I will SO miss that. I vividly remember the first time I realized the gift that was on her. We were at our home church in Cincinnati, and she had a song to sing in Spanish---she was only 12, and she barely knew what she was singing at the time, but the gift was evident, and I was embarrassed by the flush of pleasure that raced through me. I had had my suspicions—but that day they were confirmed. What a gift. What a special gift!

A dear friend of ours had a dream about Hannah that she shared with us yesterday. In the dream, Bill had been training her to do a special dance for church that involved her dancing over a map. She was still learning the dance. At one point, Bill could no longer see her doing the dance, but she could, and Hannah was touching people and walls and prophesying to them, as she danced all over the map. She wanted to tell Bill that yes, she was doing the dance and it was beautiful, even though he couldn't see it. She learned the dance.

Tears streamed down my face as she finished telling me the dream. The part that hurts is the not seeing. We are so blessed that our pain is that of missing victories, of skipping chapters that we would have liked to savor. It could have been tears of disappointment or fear that her life would be fraught with consequences of poor decisions, but she is so grounded that I highly doubt it. No—much more likely that we will simply miss out seeing the dance.

I am slowing down a little in these last pages, taking it all in. I am being a little more selfish with my time with her, savoring the words as I deliberately turn the page instead of hurrying on to the finish. All too soon, she will be a continent away. We bought the expensive leatherette coat for her birthday-- I didn't even care that it wasn't on sale. We look for holes in the schedule where we can separate family time. We are thinking about what we will regret not having done in two years that we can do something about now. Family vacation? How many more opportunities will there be for the six of us to be all together? Pages are turning, and I can feel the weight of the spine shifting to the front with each turn.

The sequel is going to be good, I can tell. I probably am going to have to content myself with reading the reviews, but that doesn't make the book any less a good read—it just means I won't know first-hand. Regardless, I will always be thankful for this one that I have enjoyed thoroughly, drinking in the characters and crying and laughing out loud through it all.

Pictured above:  Hannah (15)preparing to dance the Marinera (a traditional Peruvian or Chilean dance, depending on which you happen to be) for a school event.

Bakersfield First Assembly Missions Team

A missions team from Bakersfield First Assembly came down and worked in the Catacaos, Piura, heat to raise the walls of a new high school and bring healing to sick families. Thanks to all of them for joining us in the mission of spreading the good news of Jesus to Peru and blessing the poor through Latin America ChildCare.

Please click the link to see photos of the team: Bakersfield First Assembly Missions team

Bill and Colton's Ayacucho trip - Part 2

Bill and Colton travel back to Lima from Ayacucho, Peru. This video shows lovely shots of the Andes Mountains, with a soundtrack from the Movie RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) dubbed into Spanish.

Top 10 of 2011

The Shrader Family’s 

Top 10 of 2011

Greetings Friends & Family!

Dr. Bill & his lovely bride

Each year it is Lena’s practice to put together a Top 10 list of the year.   As we say goodbye to 2011, we have much to celebrate:

10.  Bill graduated with his doctorate in Leadership and celebrated his 50^th birthday with a rollicking, crazy, bigger-than-our-wedding party.  Our dear friends and long-term supporters, the Wolfs, hosted it all, and made several runs for more food.  Many friends came from far away, and it was such a touching moment in our lives.  We will never forget it.

9.  The Shrader Family made it back to Peru on time and by the moving of God’s hand in our favor.  Though our missions support was below our projections, God spoke that we were to trust Him to get back on time and by a miracle.  We did and He did—using our circumstances to put His “amen” on our return.  I am so thankful for a God who takes us to the rollercoaster edge of faith and then comes through.  Thanks, also, to all who have partnered with us!

Bill with LACC kids in Peru

8.  We were home through all of the crucial moments in my dad’s illness and in his consequent home going.  It is hard to explain to anyone who has not lived overseas how excruciating it is to think that important family moments are clicking by without you, and that you are missing your own history.  Of course, God is in control and brought us home at just the right time.  I was with my dad, Sam Bellitto, when he went to meet the Lord.  His last words to me were on his birthday, February 17^th.  I had plopped myself on his bed in a funny way to try to lighten up the situation, and he responded with a fuzzy, “Hi, Honey!”—the way he always did.  Never, ever, ever have I questioned my dad’s pleasure in my presence.  Now I know what a gift that is.

7.  Bill and I celebrated 20 wonderful years together. Our marriage, like our calling, has been a blessed adventure.

Colton & Hannah

6.  Hannah continues to soar musically.  Hannah continues to grow musically and makes us very proud with her accomplishments.  We love to hear her lead worship—she ushers in the Presence of the Lord in an amazing way—displaying an anointing that goes beyond talent.  I think of the days when I twirled her around during worship because I wanted her to love experiencing God, and my heart overflows with thanksgiving.

5.  Colton becomes a handsome young man, but “keeps his head on straight.”  Colton has grown into an enviable adolescence.  He got a lot of attention from girls in the States, but kept his eyes on the Lord and had a great testimony in our public school system.  He is a wise young man and uses his gifts to influence others for the Lord.  He’s also passed the requirements for the President’s physical fitness award.

Will

4.  Will survives two school transitions and displays great rhythm.  Will enjoys riding his brother’s skateboard and displays natural rhythm playing the bongos. He loves to read (especially super hero stories and Calvin and Hobbes). Previously he struggled to speak Spanish, but he has good comprehension—surprising us when we heard him translating a Spanish children’s book for his little sister.

Abigail

3.  Abi holds her ground and re-enters Spanish world.  Abi was the best Spanish speaker in the family when we left Peru for the States, but she suffered the most upon our return—having forgotten most of it.  Our first Sunday back in Peru, she had tears streaming down her face and said, “I don’t understand what they’re saying!” She has been a trooper and is regaining much of the Spanish she lost. Nothing touches me like when one of our kids does something brave. 

2.  The Shrader family got to enjoy being home—including snow, blueberries, and American food—but mostly FRIENDS AND FAMILY! 

1. The Shrader family got to return to Peru—including sand, llamas, and Peruvian food—but mostly the blessed adventure of walking with Christ! We’re excited about what God is doing as we preach, teach and direct Latin America ChildCare in Peru. Thanks to LACC and the Wonderful Ohio Women (WOW) of the Assemblies of God for raising funds to build a new High School in Catacaos. Thanks also to the many teams who are coming down to join us in the blessed adventure that is shaping up for 2012!

With much love in Christ,

Lena & Bill Shrader