(View near General Cepeda where I opened my letter)
While in Mexico, I received my envelope from Family Missions Company informing me where I was going on missions for the next year. At FMC, the directors discern the Holy Spirit and with their experience with missions choose where we are placed the first year. This is a big task because FMC now has about 200 missionaries world wide and there are 38 from our intake training alone. I had been hoping to go to Peru and even praying for it in the beginning of intake training. Through talking to other missionaries, I took their advice and started praying for holy indifference. To me this means to be indifferent to what happens in a situation or to my life knowing that when I freely give my will over to God’s will, it will be the best and bring me the most joy and peace. Psalm 85:9–10 says, “I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.” I believe God wanted me to just trust him and that wherever I was sent was His will. Once I began praying for holy indifference, a peace came over me. Then one morning after waking I felt like I knew where I was going. You know that feeling you get in the morning after sleeping; the one where you cannot tell if it was a dream or just a feeling. Regardless, I knew it was from God. This happened about 3 weeks before I opened my letter. Later, after discussing it with Joseph, one of the directors or FMC, he informed me that originally him and his wife had not been feeling the Holy Spirit leading them to place me in Peru. It was about 3 weeks before receiving my letter and at the same time that I felt the call to Peru that they felt it. To me this confirms that it was from God. I don’t believe in coincidences because God has a purpose for everything. I have learned to listen to Him more and to strive to ask him about every decision throughout the day. It can be as small as which route do I take when driving to a major decision such as choosing to give my life to missions. To help me hear Him, I seek confession/repentance weekly. When I am in grace after confession, I am closer to Him. Sin cuts a person off from God. It is not that God leaves us during this time, but when we sin, we choose sin over God. We choose to be more distant from God. I do my best to stay in God’s graces to hear what He wants me to do for Him, to hear his direction and most importantly to let Him guide me in helping others and bringing them closer to Christ. As a baptized Christians, we are called to be a missionary and to help bring others closer to Christ. In Mission of the Redeemer, St. John Paul II says, “Today all Christians, the particular churches and the universal church, are called to have the same courage that inspired the missionaries of the past, and the same readiness to listen to the voice of the Spirit.” Our Church is modeled after Jesus and His apostles who were missionaries to the world. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” So we are called ourselves to witness to the world as Christians in our own ways as God calls us to do.
I want to paint a picture for you of where I will be stationed for the next year or more. Catholics compose an estimated 85%-90% of Peru’s population. Peru has produced two famous saints of the “new world”: St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres (wikipedia.com). They tombs are located in Lima at the convent of Santo Domingo.
(St. Rosa of Lima)
Picota, the closest town to my mission post and the place I have been traveling to for the last 3 medical missions, is at 900 ft. elevation. My team of 3 other guys (Jeremy, Luke and Noah) and myself will be living in Tresunidos, Peru which is about an hour from Picota.
(Peru Team photo except Noah and the Schmidt family)
The approximate average temperature is 84 degrees Fahrenheit for the high and 62 degrees Fahrenheit for the low. It is smaller than Picota which has 7,000 people and from satellite view Tresunidos looks like it has only dirt roads. The road from Picota to Tresunidos is dirt and may take about an hour or more to travel. The priest who is over us is excited to have us in that area since it has been an area that has not had a consistent religious presence before. There are two priests serving Picota and the surrounding 120 villages, so it makes it hard for them to reach everyone. We are happy to be there to serve and help the priests in the areas we can as lay missionaries. We will be leaving in January to go to Lima for language school. Language school for me will be the intensive 4-6 hours of class and/or tutoring. We will start on our official mission after school which will probably be February.
We welcome to Peru any friends, families, churches, youth groups or other groups who would want to come and spend time with us for missions. Short term mission trips can be set up by emailing James Franke missiontrips@fmcmissions.com.
As always, prayers are the most appreciated. Please pray for the people of Peru to have open hearts for Jesus and pray for unity of our team. Also, pray for all the intentions of our benefactors. If you feel called to give financially you can give at www.russgunter.fmcmissions.com or www.gofundme.com/russguntermissions. Mission of the Reedemer states “…missionary activity, which is carried out in a wide variety of ways, is the task of all the Christian faithful. It is clear that from the very origins of Christianity, the laity – as individuals, families, and entire communities – shared in spreading the faith.” Please consider being a misison partner through prayer commitments or through support. “Some Give by Going , Others Go by Giving” –Mother Teresa
In Christ’s Love,
Russ Gunter, DPT, MTC
Full Time Missionary @ FMC
russ@gunterphysicaltherapy.com
russgunter 