Coming “Home?” The Joy, The Challenge

A letter from Sara Armstrong in the U.S., on Interpretation Assignment from Peru

October 2016

People will occasionally say to me, ¨Wow, Sara, you have sacrificed so much to live and work in Peru!” But I don’t feel that way. I enjoy the variety of my life in Peru; travel to visit partners, lots of guests, work with U.S. and Peruvian teams, good friends and wonderful food. Our work requires that we spend two months a year (or six months every three years) in the U.S. so we can share our work with the churches that support us and invite people into partnerships with our partners in Peru.

Coming back to the U.S. means adapting to a lifestyle that you think you know, but it is different from what you remember.
• Friends and family are older and their lives have gone on without us.
• Businesses have changed or closed.
• Here in the U.S. drivers use their turn signals and courteously stop for pedestrians, which for us is a pleasant surprise.
• The diversity of products in the grocery stores is at first overwhelming, then enchanting for a while, although the prices are shocking!
• Some U.S. food makes me queasy, but I love the ice cream!
• Seeing family and friends is wonderful, and yet we have no idea about the TV shows they discuss, or about local politics.
• I got my first smart phone last month. I don’t really need one in Peru but here in the U.S. I am finding it invaluable. It is quite a learning curve!

Sometimes when I don’t understand a situation I have to decide if it is because of a cultural change over the eight years we have been away, or just a misunderstanding. As time in the U.S. passes we are gradually adjusting.

We are visiting churches in seven states this fall. I really appreciate being in churches because we get to see what is new—such as the 1001 New Worshiping Communities. We also better understand the division in the church and in our national political life. We learn who motivates and makes possible the church teams that serve in Peru. We have been present for celebrations, retirement parties, and funerals. But one of the best parts so far has been attending a meeting of my home presbytery.

There were two other moving things about attending the SFP fall meeting. The cottonwood trees were turning and that weekend was the peak of the color. I believe that these trees turning to gold against a blue sky with the colored buttes and mesas in the background are a shout of glory to God. I wandered the trails awed by the beauty, praising God for all of creation.

The other joy was the closing worship service. The (new to me) chapel faces out on a gorgeous view. The choir sang a magnificent a cappella piece as part of the service. The names of the elders and pastors who passed away last year were reverently read. Many were friends in years past. And best of all, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper. The familiar words resonated in me as I moved forward, with the saints who helped to form me in my faith and witness over the years, to commune with my Lord.

Our church is large compared to the church I work with in Peru, but it is deeply connectional in ways I had not remembered in my absence. Our travels throughout the U.S. reveal changes, yet the faithful men and women who serve Jesus Christ in the U.S. and in Peru remain true.

With my husband, Rusty, we thank God for all of you, for your witness, for your reception of us as we travel, for your support of PC(USA) mission co-workers, and for your rising to the challenge of underwriting our work. We are still in need of financial support for our sending and support costs for this year. We ask you to give as you are able. Here is a link: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/donate/E200530. This year, as in recent years, a group of committed Presbyterians has pledged to match all gifts sent for mission personnel support, up to $56,000, before the end of the calendar year.

May God bless each one of you as you have been a blessing to us, to our church and to our Lord.

Many thanks from Sara and Rusty

Please read this important message from Tony De La Rosa, Interim Executive Director, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:1b-2, NRSV)

Dear Friend of the Presbyterian Mission Agency:

Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support of Sara and Rusty this year, and any previous year. We hear from our mission co-workers how much your prayerful financial support has meant to them. Please know that you are a vital part of ministries throughout Peru.

Even as I thank you, I want to let you know that this is a critical time for our congregations and all people of faith to commit themselves to support mission co-workers like Sara and Rusty. Our global church partners greatly value their service, and you well know how important this ministry is in building connections between the body of Christ in the U.S. and Peru.

We have historically relied on endowment interest and the general offering from congregations to sustain the vital work of all of our mission workers. Those sources of funding have greatly diminished. It is only through the gifts of individuals and congregations that we are able to keep Rusty and Sara doing the life-giving work God called them to do. A year ago, in May 2015, we had to recall some mission workers due to a lack of funding. World Mission communicated the challenge to you, and you responded decisively and generously. Through your response, we heard the Spirit remind us, “Fear not!”

Today, I’m asking you to consider an additional gift for this year, and to increase the gift you may consider for 2017. Sending and support costs include not only salary but also health insurance and retirement contributions, orientation, language training, housing, travel to the country of service, children’s education, emergency evacuation costs, and visa/passport costs.

My heartfelt thanks for your prayers and support of our Presbyterian mission co-workers. In the coming season, we will celebrate God’s sending of the Christ child, the source of the good news we share. May you experience anew the hope, peace, joy, and love that are ours because “perfect love casts out fear” (I John 4:18).

Thank you for saying “yes” to love.

With you in Christ,

Tony De La Rosa
Interim Executive Director, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)