John

Last night while we were exercising, John pinched a nerve in his neck pretty severely. He didn't sleep much and was in a load of pain this morning. He went to the pharmacy to get a muscle relaxer around 6:30 a.m. - this from the man who never takes any medicine, so I know the pain must be pretty intense. Anyway, he is attending the Central and South America Young Leader's Conference that is being hosted here in Peru all this week. The meetings start bright and early and go until the late afternoon or into the evening. He is learning a lot about his leadership style and some holes that he needs to work on. It is an honor for him to be able to partake in this. I am just praying that the pain and the meds don't interfere with his day or week. Poor guy!

We are having a crazy situation in Oasis. A young man who used to be the worship leader of the church plant stopped coming about 4 months ago. He just stopped showing up for no reason. When John talks to him he says he is going to go and then never shows up. He has told John at least 5 times or more that he will be there. Well, a neighborhood in Oasis gave John a piece of land to build a church. Now there are all kinds of problems in this neighborhood and the young man who quit coming to church wants John to give him the land or for John to plant a church on it and he will take care of the land. When I say land, think like the size of your living room kind of land. Anyway, I am not doing this story justice at all. The original plan was that the guy and his family were going to help start a church on this land and would have part of it be their house. They are living in the smallest room (like 10 x 10) right now. There current room is going to be torn down by the community because of community politics. So this family will have no place to live. Well, now they are calling John and wanting the land or to help start a church so they can live on the land, but they still don't come to church. Even last Sunday John spent the afternoon with the guy and he said he would be at church when it started. He never showed up AGAIN!!!! Well, last night this guy's mom, who John doesn't know, calls BEGGING John to give the land to her son and to intervene and talk to the leader's of Oasis. It's NOT our land. It is land that belongs to the community. It's so hard because we don't want to see the people without a home, but would we give the land to someone who never attends church to be a caretaker of the church? Plus, John isn't going to start a church there anymore so he says the community can just have the land back (he doesn't feel like it is his) and do what they please with it. But this family thinks it is our responsibility to go to the leadership of the community and beg them to give "our" land to them. Mama MIA!!!! All I can say is PRAY!!!! John is confused and torn and quite irritated as well. He really doesn't want to be in the middle of ANY of this drama.

Baby is crying. More later.