Author: mbsamperu

If I had to choose one word to sum up our school year, the first to come to my mind would be BUSY! Already through our first quarter with report cards sent home, our school year is well past starting even though it seems like we just opened our doors. As I sit and listen to the blessed rain upon our roof and thank God for the start of rainy season and, prayerfully, the end to our viciously hot months, another word comes to mind though: JOYOUS. All schools have their share of groans and moans: teachers exhausted, students whining over homework, everyone wishing it was Friday…or Christmas Break…or May! We definitely have our fair share of the normal school-induced complaining, but I can honestly say there really is a spirit of joy saturating our school grounds this year. This joy can be seen in the smiles given as we pass each other on the sidewalks, the laughs shared as someone keeps renaming the Art Room “BART” on the door outside, and the lifted voices filling our comedor every Monday during chapel. As we continue this school year, I pray this joy penetrates and pours out of everything we do!

Around school:

Our Middle School Bible Class wrapped up studying the life of Jesus by reenacting Jesus’s birth…with some Peruvian-flare.

Our Highschoolers have been in full-on ministry mode this quarter. They visited Refugio de Esperanza, a school behind ours with a focus on education for those with disabilities. They also led out in small groups in the English classes at Colegio Hosanna during their English week. Today the highschoolers begin meeting with the youth group at Iglesia Misionera Evangelico de Pucallpa to practice together in preparation for a joint mission trip the two groups will be taking on the river in January. Please pray these teenagers may continue to build strong relationships together and unite in a mighty way to serve well as the Body of Christ during this upcoming trip.

This year we are trying to stretch our students’ reading habits and get them into new and different reading genres through a book challenge. If they read 10 of the 15 book categories in the semester they can throw a pie at Mr. Bill, the principal! Many students are well on their way! To celebrate the students’ reading, our Student Council held a Book Character Parade. Check out some of our amazing book characters!

And just for fun to end out our Newsletter: Mike and I have started trying to capture “Things You just Might Not See Anywhere Else.” From Alligator legs being sold and grilled in the market, to our first try of suri, a local delicacy, enjoy some of our experiences around Pucallpa!

We are back-to-school and ready for the amazing things God is going to do in and through SAM Academy this school year! We are excited to welcome back 26 students with 5 more on the way this semester. Monday we will be joined by 3 new students from the Swiss Mission. We are thankful to help provide middle school classes for them this year as their mission is short on teachers. We have a very eclectic Middle school this year with kids from the US, Peru, Costa Rica, Switzerland and Germany! Though our numbers may seem small, the heart of our school is huge and we are so grateful to be blessed with another year of serving the amazing missionary families of this area.

We’d like to invite all of you to join us in covering the upcoming school year in prayer. We are designating the first full week in September as our Week of Prayer for the school. You can use the attached prayer guide to help you in covering all aspects of our school in the Lord’s blessing and protection.

…and for those of you not signed up to receive our mailed newsletter twice a year, here’s a copy you can take a look at. Please email us with your mailing address if you would like to receive one it the future.

Just a quick update as we busily prepare our lesson plans and handle all the last minute to-do’s that crop up! Thank you so much for starting another great school year with us!

It always surprises me when we come to the end of another May and just like that another school year is in the books! As we wrap up the 2022-2023 school year, however, I can proudly say it was an amazing year. When asked to sum up the school year in one phrase, the teachers said, “A well oiled machine.” This shows just how beautifully God can orchestrate all things as we sat in this spot exactly a year ago wondering how on earth we would get the next school year to come together. How thankful I am His plan is always bigger and better! As I battle my traditional end-of-year cold, I don’t have much of a voice for talking, so I will let the pictures of our last few events speak for themselves. Haha, ok, my fingers aren’t sick, but you would probably rather see the pictures than read my words anyway! Here’s a little recap…

May the 4th Be With You

A Base “Visitor”

Found hiding out under one of our trees, this “little” guy paid us a visit before being transported off campus and back out into the jungle where he belongs.

Field Day

This year even saw many of our homeschool families joining us for a day of sports and competition.

ACSI Leadership Conference

Mike and I were incredibly blessed to represent SAM Academy as one of numerous international schools from 34 different countries at an Association of Christian Schools International Leadership conference. We weren’t the smallest represented but we were close! We were encouraged and filled however, realizing the challenges and obstacles we face as a small school, many larger, more prominent international, Christian schools face as well. We left with many good resources to help us “school” better in the future!

Mazaray River Trip

Our high schoolers traveled the river to Mazaray. We have been building a relationship with the community there. The students taught English classes, painted and held an impromptu mud-soccer game with the community kids. Bathing in the river and sleeping in cramped tents also made the trip a little more interesting.

TEC Cultural Exchange

Our high schoolers were also invited to participate in a cultural exchange with a local university this month. We are so proud of our upper classmen and the example of Christ they are carrying into the community around us!

And La Crème de la Crème: Graduation!!

Graduation is always a really special night for our school as we celebrate our amazing kids that we have watched grow-up. They are family to us, like our own kids, and now they are setting out on their own path. We pray they leave us rooted in their foundation of faith, with their eyes set on the Father and their hearts set on the leading of the Spirit ahead.

Sometimes I feel like I could put our newsletter on repeat, telling about the same activities and events, again and again. But as I sat graduation night looking at the faces of each of our students, and the little brothers and sisters who will join us soon, I am reminded each year is a new year…a fresh opportunity to make the love of Christ real in the hearts of these extraordinary kids. As we send out two amazing young men, and already begin preparations for the 2023-2024 school year, and the seven new faces that will join our student body, I thank you for each school year you see us through!

Now to heal this cold and get back to work!

Hello dear friends! We are keeping busy as our school year seems to be marching by us!

February saw an elementary-only week at SAM Academy while the majority of our high schoolers and middle schoolers participated in a teen camp led by La Iglesisa Evangelio Misionera, our church. The teens spent five days camping out and doing team building activities, while hearing and participating in God’s Word.

Ella and Liam both attended the camp, as well, with Liam being a first time camper. We are all rejoicing that after that week, Liam, who has been working through his faith, made the decision to accept Christ as his Savior!

Three of the four Browns helped out with the church’s VBS held over the past five Sundays. I think my favorite part of all the lessons happened while teaching the plan of salvation using beaded bracelets. When I asked one little girl which color was next she said, “White, like you!” It was really special to work with the children of our church and community!

Once a month the teachers of SAM Academy have been hosting a special lunch for the students. Last month we had an Asian theme and, to make things more interesting, taught the kids the concept of a Chinese fire drill. Every five minutes, the bell rang, sending each grade to a different classroom. The 1st and 2nd graders learned about Romeo and Juliet while the high schoolers got to hear the Three Little Ninja Pigs. It was super fun to mix things up a little bit!

This is just a small look at all that is going on at SAM Academy! Please join us in surrounding our school, students and staff in prayer! Here are some things you can lift up for us:

-The months ahead look to be busy, busy. Please pray with us that the school year would end well and we would accomplish all God has for us in that time!

-Things in Peru have calmed for the most part with some unrest still in southern Peru. We pray the people of Peru can be at peace.

-Pray our two seniors, Nathan and Elijah, will end their school year well and have really special family moments as they look to end their time here in Peru. One is headed to William Carey and the other will be doing Torchbearers International before going to LeTourneau.

-Many of our students are involved in ministry and service groups outside of the school. Pray for these groups and the impact they have on our community! Two of our high schoolers began a Cubing for Christ group and even participated in a competition in Lima while sharing their love of the gospel through their hobby. Others, including Ella, take part in Impacto, a ministry specifically for the elderly of Pucallpa.

-In just a few weeks Mike and I will be traveling to be part of an ACSI International Administrators Conference. We are excited for the chance to connect with other Christian schools similar to our own.

-Pray with us for next school year as Mike has already begun the difficult tasks of getting all the supplies we need and making sure we have sufficient teachers to cover all of our classes. We also lost two work teams due to the unrest in Peru. Pray that we can complete all the work that needs done around the base this summer–summer time is construction time!

We love you dear friends and pray that God stops you in the midst of your “busy-ness” as well to remind you how much you are loved and cherished!

We pray this newsletter finds you renewed after a beautiful season of celebrating our wonderful Savior’s birth and looking towards new beginnings in the start of a new year!

It is a joy for me to write and share some of the blessings God has granted us. Sometimes, especially during times that should be full of joy, we can be overwhelmed by the sorrow and brokenness of the world around us. It can be encouraging to be reminded that God’s Goodness prevails.

Our November ended with our “Fall Ball,” a time of celebration for our high-schoolers. While it was an evening to dress up and have fun, it was also a reminder to Mike and I of the amazing group of young adults we have at SAM Academy. We have watched most of the these young men and women “grow-up” and have been witness to their spiritual journeys. We are so proud of each of them and are excited to see the paths God will lead them on. Please pray with us, that as these students leave SAM Academy when they reach their senior years, that their faith will be cemented and their love for the Lord will be firm and unshakeable.

Our December threatened to be overshadowed by a heated political climate as Peru’s president attempted unsuccessfully to lead a coup. The aftermath, however, has led to protests and violence around the country. Though Pucallpa remained quiet, road blockages on the main highway limited supplies coming into the city, leading to gas and food shortages. While worry could have prevailed, it was actually a good reminder at Christmas that Christ really is all we need! Thankfully a Christmas truce brought relief for families and stores are restocked. We pray when protests begin again later this week, they are peaceful and people are able to continue with daily life unhindered.

Experimenting to make snow in the jungle!

During this time of uncertainty, one of the special things that carried us through was the results of our Christmas Outreach. The first weekend in December, our school joined with the Iglesia Esmirna in the community of Manantay just outside of Pucallpa to share Christmas with the youth of their church. Many of these children come to church from the community without family members and almost none of these children have their own Bible in their possession. Our high school students presented the Life of Christ through a musical drama while our middle schoolers shared His Birth through a fun song and dance and our elementary students sang Jesus es Navidad, a song that shows Jesus is the reason for Christmas. It was a super fun morning of interacting with the kids. After sharing hot chocolate and panetón, our students presented each child a special gift purchased especially for them. Even more, thanks to a donation from Renovation Church in Rome, GA, every one of the 50 children received their very own Bible. Though Satan likes to use conflicts in the world and sadness to darken our Christmas joy, how GOOD it is that God’s Light shines through!

Make sure to click the slide show above and check out the video below for the middle schoolers’ performance.  They interrupt singing a fun song, to instead tell the story of Jesus’s birth. I know the quality isn’t super and of course it is in Spanish but I love how the kids in the crowd interact with them…oh, and Liam is half of the donkey which was a crowd favorite.  

Our own family Christmas was small and quiet, just what we needed this year. As we look toward the New Year, we pray that our own hearts, as well as yours, are rejuvenated and strengthened with the joy of Christ and filled that we may all pour out on those around us! May your year ahead be blessed and full of opportunities to share Christ’s amazing love!

Feliz Año Nuevo from your friends in Pucallpa, Peru!

Orange pumpkins, falling leaves, a cool nip in the year…unless you are in Pucallpa! Our October feels a little different, though in a way it is just as glorious. Rainy season brings welcome occasional respites from the heat. Mangoes fall instead of leaves and though mosquitoes gather in abundance instead of pumpkins, there is still plenty going on around school to distract us from their buzzing.

If we can’t experience autumn in North America, then why not bring it to Pucallpa? Last week, SAM Academy held a Fall Festival for the mission community. Line dancing, doughnut eating contests, fair food and game booths made the evening super fun. God’s blessing of a cool, rainy Friday made it even more wonderful.

We followed Fall Festival with Spirit Week at school, a crazy week for teachers, but definitely a week the kids love. From Teacher Tuesday to Throwback Thursday, we experienced all kinds of different costumes and dress throughout the week. The week culminated with SOUP-er Friday: The students dressed as super heroes and the teachers served up soup for lunch. Again, God blessed us with a cool Friday which made it a perfect soup day. I’m loving these rainy Fridays! (Note in the pictures my crazy family on Super Hero Day: Mike is Chicken Soup, Liam is a SOUP-er Soldier, and Ella is her super hero, her dad!)

Our two seniors participated in a local school’s English Week. They shared during the chapel time with the students at Colegio Hosanna and visited with them to help the students practice their English. We are thankful to continue the good relationship we have with this Peruvian school.

Our Spanish classes are eagerly practicing for our Christmas Outreach which will take place the first weekend of December. This year we are planning on partnering with a church to minister to the children in the church’s community. We will hold a program for the children and share a chocolatada (a common Christmas traditional snack of hot chocolate and paneton, a sweet bread), as well as give out gifts. Our SAM Academy students will shop and choose special gifts for the children, but we would also love to provide a bible or other biblical literature to the children if we are able. If you would like to help us with donation towards this event, please contact us by email: mmbrown@southamericamission.org. We would greatly appreciate helping in blessing these children in our local community! We love this event each year as it gets our kids out and interacting with Peruvian children. This is a very special part of our school year!

For those of you who prayed for our new elementary teacher, thank you for helping bring such a blessing in our wonderful new teacher, Cristy! Cristy grew up in Brazil as a MK and then served there with her husband. She is an amazing teacher and has been an incredible blessing to our 1st and 2nd graders. I am so thankful for her and, as a mom, I am very excited Liam finally has two boys to hang out with now that their family lives here on base with us. God is so good!

We are so thankful for the great start to our school year, and that after all the struggles we faced and prayed over last school year, God has opened our doors again and allowed us to serve our missionary community for another school year. Even as we have fun at school with Fall Festival and Spirit Weeks, we are well aware of the struggles our missionary families face each day. As many have faced difficulties in ministry and spiritual warfare in their families these past months, we ask you to pray, not just that God will allow our school to continue providing a safe space for the children of these families, but that God will surround these families with His protection and peace so that the work of the kingdom can continue in Peru!

Dear friends, we send this update to you with all our love and thanks. As you enjoy the coolness in the air and the fun fall events, know we hold you close in our hearts and pray thanks for you. Take care!

The past few weeks have flown by as we wrapped up furlough and headed back to Pucallpa! After six days of unpacking our house, setting up classrooms, having teacher meetings and reacclimating to the heat, we dove in to our first day of school and now have our first week of classes on the record books. To say I am glad for a Saturday to take a breath is an understatement!

What an amazing furlough we had! We are so thankful for the time, though brief, that we were able to spend with our friends, family, supporters and churches. We left feeling encouraged and reconnected, but saddened as well to say good-bye to so many special people that we love so much. One of the biggest struggles for me about this life is living with my heart in two places, and now as my kids are older, they feel that pull as well.

Being home in Pucallpa, we were quickly excited again to dive into the wonderful ministry God brought us to and continues to see us through. We were immensely encouraged by the amazing staff here at SAM Academy who worked through the summer doing much needed repairs. We were also overjoyed to meet our new co-workers that God brought to the field in impeccable timing! The VanOosten family moved onto the base this summer and it has lifted my heart working alongside Cristy, our new elementary teacher.

The first day of school our school principal asked all the kids who had had Ms. Marcy as a teacher to stand up. My heart leaped watching elementary, middle school and high school students stand up, kids I have loved and cherished over our seven years here at SAM Academy. Each year brings its own unique challenges: pandemics to manage, student needs to attend to, teacher holes to fill…and floor holes to patch. But each challenge is worth it being here for these amazing kids and supporting their families’ ministries through the attention we are able to give their kids.

So will you pray with me for this school year?

Pray for the teachers–for health, creativity, patience and especially wisdom as they teach and disciple.

Pray for our students–for minds that grow and stretch, for healthy bodies that fight off sickness and deal well with the heat, and for hearts that latch on to Jesus and anchor in Him.

Pray for our school families and the works that they are doing–that God’s Word may shine brightly in the darkest reaches and truth defeat the lies of the enemies.

Pray for all of us–that whatever Satan throws our way this school year, we stand firm, anchored in the Truth and love of the Lord.

2022-2023, here we come!

I am sitting at my parents’ picnic table, drinking a cup of coffee and typing between stealing glances at the countryside all around me. I can’t believe we are actually here and all that we have done already in such a short time. It has taken me a few Home Ministry Assignments to embrace that we have several places we call home. Right now it is really nice to be in our Pennsylvania “home.” I thought about writing about all the craziness we went through to end a school year, pack up our house, and immediately turn around and travel Stateside, all the while saying emotional good-byes to several of our wonderful friends and colleagues who will not be returning to Peru for the next school year. But honestly, it is just good to be here and I think I want to rest in that.

We arrived in Pennsylvania on the 1st and after a quick restock of Wal-Mart essentials and clothing that actually fit the kids (Can they please stop growing!), we left for Yellowstone and Grand Teton with my (Marcy’s) family. It was the trip of a lifetime! What a beautiful, beautiful place. Even my animal-lover Ella was tired of “Bison jams” by the end, and both kids nearly froze in the subarctic 70 degree weather (haha!), but it was absolutely amazing and so good to have my kids together with their cousins. I am so thankful God allowed us to get our trip in before all the rain!!

Upon our return, we dove into activities for the kids. Ella took up horse riding again and spent a few days at 4H Horse Camp. Liam has been at VBS this week and both will do church camp in July. Our July looks to be very full and already we are at a different church all but I think maybe two Sundays. Our time here is shorter, ending in early September, so we are trying to cram in as much as possible while also trying to re-energize for the busy year we know will be ahead.

We praise God for the provision of a new teacher and her family who are settling in Pucallpa in August! Our teaching staff is still thin, but this is a huge answer to prayer. I ask that you keep the Van Oosten’s and their acclimation to Peru in your prayers. I would also ask for prayer for all the projects happening while we are gone. A much needed new roof is going on to the main school building and lots of essential upkeep is being done all over the grounds. We pray for the staff and volunteers who are overseeing all that work!

I lay down to sleep at night with my head spinning, just running through the list of all the people we want to see and things we want to do. We very much pray we can spend time with each of you, catching up and seeing how you are. In the meantime, I can’t tell you how good it is to run into people at VBS pick-up, hear familiar voices on the phone, and sit and have meals and conversations with our loved ones.

Our schedule is still in progress, but here is a look at our summer plans so far:

June 26: First Church-Altoona, PA

June 29: Faith Assembly-Uniontown, PA

July 3: Indian Creek Baptist-Indian Creek, PA

July 19-26: Southern Road Trip

July 19: Home Office-Fort Mill, SC

July 20, 24: First Christian Church-Covington, VA

July 31: Mt. Moriah Baptist Church-Smithfield, PA

August 21: New Geneva Baptist Church-New Geneva, PA

August 24: Emmanuel Baptist Church-Parkersburg, WV

September 7: Depart for Peru

Mike and I both have new cell phones. Feel free to email or text/call us anytime.

Mike 724-963-9786

Marcy 724-963-9846

mmbrown@southamericamission.org

We look forward to catching up soon!

Hello friends!

We are super excited to be spending this summer in the States on Home Ministry Assignment! Already we are scheduling visits with our churches so we can see as many of you as possible. As we schedule and plan, we find ourselves with a bit of a need. God has always richly blessed us with transportation and housing during our time in the States. It seems He is looking to bless us in unexpected ways this time around as we have yet to find a possible vehicle to get around with. We are hoping maybe He will work through one of you! We are looking for a used, but reliable car to borrow, rent or cheaply buy for use during the months of June through September. An automatic with seating for four would be a wonderful blessing to us! If you have an leads or a possible vehicle for us, we would very much appreciate you get in touch. Thanks for keeping us in mind, and please pray with us that God will provide the perfect vehicle for us to use!

Hello dear friends! SAM Academy is breathing a sigh of relief as we have made it to spring break! As we all look to taking a collective rest from schoolwork and duties, a few things are on our hearts that we would ask you to pray for.

This morning Mike left with a team of over 70 people on a trip upriver to minister to the medical needs of people in the communities there. Mike and others from Pucallpa will be translating for the 43 doctors who came in from the States. It is a large group of people with the opportunity to do a great deal of good and we pray for their safety and health as they travel over the next five days aboard our church’s mission boat. May they meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people along their route.

We started off our spring break in celebration of our very own SAM Academy newlyweds. Robert, one of our middle school teachers, and Alison, our elementary Spanish teacher, tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony on Friday. We are so thankful for both of them and the impact they have on the youth of our school and also our church. We pray for their new life together, that it may be blessed and full and that they may walk closely with the Lord as they go forward as a new couple.

Our staff list for next year has become official. At this time, I (Marcy) am the only confirmed elementary teacher though we have a student list that includes 1st-5th grade. There is the prospect of an elementary teacher coming which we pray eagerly for. This would still only allow us to cover 2nd-5th grade. We pray for this prospective teacher, and one more gracious soul who could help us cover all the needs of our elementary.

For now, we have all of our middle and high school positions covered, but the staffing is tight with no room for extra coverage. Both Mike and Bill, our administration, will be handling full class loads along with their other duties. We do have a major need of a Spanish teacher as we are losing one of our staff who helped cover this position and Spanish is a vital class at every grade level.

God has been so good to our school. We know He is in control and will bring together exactly the staff we need for next year and that is exactly what we ask you to pray for.

Though not a ministry request, I would also share my heart and ask you to pray with us for the country of Ukraine. Some of you know that we hosted a dear student, Dasha, from Ukraine just a few short years before coming to Peru. We love her dearly and our hearts cry out for her country. Though she is currently safe, we know her world is being destroyed around her so we lift up Ukraine and pray our mighty God will bring an end to this horrible war. One of her fears is the world will begin to forget them. May we always lift up those around the world suffering and in pain.

Thank you for praying with us! We commit our needs and concerns to our awesome God even as we thank Him for His immense blessings. Take care dear friends!