Volume 2 ! Issue 4 ! Anthony.Diliberto@lcms.org

Peru is a country filled with contrasts. Where else do you find centuries-old ancient ruins next door to modern-day shopping malls (Huaca Pucllana is a huge adobe pyramid left behind by the “Lima” culture just blocks from Larco Mar, a modern day mall carved into a cliff)? Where else do you find illicit drug activity in the midst of the world’s most beautiful landscapes (some areas of the gorgeous Andes Mountains are just as dangerous as they are breathtaking, where drug cartels do big business exploiting indigenous coca farmers)? Where else do you find underdeveloped shantytowns butted up against modern urban centers (asentamientos humanos are impoverished neighborhoods found on the outskirts of Lima, where entire communities of squatters live in some of the most unimaginable living conditions)? Living and working in a country characterized by such stark contrasts has caused me to realize the contradictions that are within me as well. It has caused me to realize the huge pyramid of sin left behind by the “Old Adam” (the term the Apostle Paul used to describe our old sinful selves) not next door, but in the very same lot as the new creation God has made me in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). It has caused me to realize that there’s plenty of illicit activity taking place, even amongst Christ’s representatives on earth, the Church. It has caused me to realize our frailty as human beings, where we too

as Christians live in our earthly tent on the outskirts of our “eternal house in heaven.” (2 Cor. 5:1). Martin Luther was very sensitive to the type of contradictions I’m describing here. Not only did he use a very helpful Latin phrase to describe the struggle that takes its toll on all of us (simul iustus et peccator, often rendered “simultaneously saint and sinner”), but also encourages us in the Small Catechism to “daily drown” the old self and that daily a new person is to come forth and rise up to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” May the contrasts surrounding you too, be a constant reminder of the contradictions within all of us. And may we daily “drown our old selves”, as we become what God declared us to be in our Baptisms (holy and precious in His sight!).

Mission Update Short-Term Missions A team of short-term missionaries came down from Faith Lutheran Church in St. Louis (Oakville) the second week of January. This group of humble servants played a vital role in promoting the expansion of Katie’s EFL classes through an English Camp with fun games, crafts, songs and Bible stories in a community called San Jeronimo. I’m excited to see God at work through our continued partnership in mission with Faith Lutheran, Oakville!

The Stark Contrasts Within Us

Anthony DiLiberto El Cuy Times Globally Engaged in Outreach Missionary, Perú

1 800 433 3954 www.lcmsworldmission.org Anthony.DiLiberto@lcms.org

Pastor Mark Eisold and family join the Peru Mission Team!

Short-Term Mission team from Faith, Oakville in action. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

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Eisold Family Arrives!

January 22, 2011 was an incredibly significant day for LCMS mission efforts in Peru. On that day, years of prayers were answered with the arrival of Pastor Mark Eisold and his family. Pastor Mark, his wife Sandi, and their two children Erik and Annalise will spend the next couple of months in intensive language/culture learning before they begin full-time church-planting ministry. Keep your eyes peeled for a more indepth profile on the newest additions to the Peru Mission Team in the next edition of El Cuy Times. Please pray for the Eisolds as they start their new lives here in Peru!

Please Pray…

for wisdom and discernment for the Peru Mission Team as we plan the rest of our Short-Term Missions schedule for 2011. that God would bless my support-raising efforts for my third year of service as a GEO Missionary in Peru. for Pastor Mark Eisold and his family as they transition into their new surroundings. for the Community Bible study group that is beginning to meet every other Wednesday in Condoray. that the Lord would bless Katie Lane with relationships at the newest EFL site in San Jeronimo.

In one day the LCMS mission force in Peru more than doubled! Here’s the team enjoying our first Chifa (Peruvian/Chinese fusion) together. Visit www.whereintheworldisbear.blogspot.com to learn more about Pastor Eisold and his family.

Support Time didn’t allow me to visit the amount of congregations I hoped to while in California to give updates and raise more support in person. There’s absolutely no way I can continue to serve without the support of mission-minded Lutherans like you! Please prayerfully consider partnering with me in mission. To support my work financially, you may send a tax-deductible gift to: LCMS World Mission, 1333 S. Kirkwood Rd., St. Louis, MO 63122-7295. Make checks payable to LCMS World Mission. Mark checks “Support of Anthony DiLiberto.” Gifts can also be given securely online through the LCMS World Mission web site on my project page: www.lcms.org?13583 or www.lcmsworldmission.org www.lcmsworldmission.org/prayercards