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Volume 2 ! Issue 5 ! [email protected] The small, rural farming villages that line the Canete River 180 KM south of Peru’s capital city came alive two weekends ago, as they celebrated the area’s annual Grape Harvest Festival. Lunahuana’s normally quiet townsquare was bustling with visitors and townspeople alike, all enjoying the festivities. There was entertainment of all kinds, including the crowning of the Grape, Rafting, and Wine queen, a live band, dancing, and fireworks. All of these activities, of course, took place in order to celebrate the harvest of the small fruit that keeps the entire valley alive and kicking, the grape. As I sat there with my Pisco Sour in hand, enjoying the live Musica Criolla coming from the stage, I couldn’t help but think of the amount of backbreaking hard work that preceded the festivites that night for the majority of the people surrounding me. The campesinos (country folk) we minister to in the district of Lunahuana understand the meaning of hard labor. For these rural farmers, grape cultivation requires months of hard work underneath the grueling desert sun. The process seems simple, but each step is just as demanding as the last, from plowing the soil (without modern-day farming equipment) to planting the seeds, watering the plants, and curing the vines. And there I was, doing what I do best…enjoying the fruits of somebody elses’ labor. The mission Christ has given His Church is just the same. Every aspect of the Christian life begins with God’s initiative. His Holy Spirit plows the soil of our hearts with His Law (Rom. 3:20; Deut. 27:26). He plants the seed of faith through the proclamation of of the Gospel (Rom. 10:14; Luke 8:11-15). He cures us of all impurities through the waters of Baptism (Titus 3:5) and gives us the nourishment necessary to grow into the likeness of His son as we receive His body and blood at the Lord’s Supper (John 6:49-51). All this He does, and then asks us to enjoy the fruits of His labor. He invites us to come along for the ride as He sends us out to His harvest fields. There we have the privelage to invite others to enjoy the fruits of Jesus’ labor on the cross at the banquet of our Lord (Luke 14:12-24). Mission Update DCE Program Director Visit The Peru Mission Team and I were recently blessed with the opportunity to host Dr. Christine Ross (DCE Program Director, Concordia University, Irvine). The main purpose of her visit was to complete a mid-term evaluation for my DCE Internship, but she ended up being a true encouragement to the entire team and a blessing to have here with us. I praise God for her guidance and encouragement as I work toward Enjoying the Fruit of Someone Elses’ Labor Anthony DiLiberto El Cuy Times Globally Engaged in Outreach Missionary, Perú 1 800 433 3954 www.lcmsworldmission.org [email protected] Crowning Lunahuana’s Grape, Rafting, and Wine Queen. Dr. Christine Ross and I at the River Canete. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:37b-38
