peru
hola amigos
I was recently in Peru and WOW it has been a whirlwind. We have been on mission, diving into the word in our classes and trying to navigate a new culture and language.
But even before coming to Peru, God did a lot of working in my heart over break and through the end of last semester. It was so beautiful to be able to visit home and to see my family after a year away. This was a time when God revived in me a personal faith and desire for intimacy with Him. I was able to find rest and encouragement as I made new memories with my siblings and was able to pour back into them from what I had learned in the previous year. I really was able to understand love, patience, and trust on a new level. Coming back to my childhood home and family was a great time to reflect on the healing that had taken place and walk it out with those closest to me. I was able to take some time to prepare myself for the following semester.
And now here I am in the second semester. INTERNATIONAL MISSION! WOW, God’s plan is so crazy, so wild. It has been so cool to get involved in serving and living in the new culture. To any of you that have ever learned a new language through immersion, props to you! Life at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Cajamarca, Peru was great, slow and steady, but fun. We had two weeks at a time at the College and then we would spend about a week out doing missions. While we were at the college our daily life consisted of classes, maintenance chores around the bible college, and meals.
Our meals were always some sort of protein on a mountain of carbs. At the Bible College, we ate lots of chicken and some beef, and maybe every second week we would try some of the gigantic rabbits from the small farm they have on campus. Outside of campus, we ate similar food but had way more rice and potatoes, I have also tried ceviche (seafood cooked by soaking it in lemon/lime juice) and ate more bread than I ever thought possible.
Our classes at the college were great. My favorite was definitely the biblical leadership class. We talked about what is most important for being a leader as God calls us to be. Humility, brokenness, dependency on Christ, an inter-relationship between integrity and trust, and developing and communicating an effective vision are all essential to Christ-like leadership. I am still so thankful for the timing of each class and the ways that God used each teacher to walk us through different stages of our faith and help us grow in knowledge and understanding of the Word.
As for the mission, I have been so overwhelmed by the way the Spirit has been moving in the times that we have visited other ministries and done ministry of our own. At the moment we have had 4 different mission trips: Cusco, Cajabamba, Trujillo, and our joint trip of two towns Iquitos and Pucallpa.
a brief summary of our trips:
Cusco
Cusco was our first trip together. We worked mainly with the Calvary Chapel there called “La Semilla” which means ‘The Seed’ in English. La Semilla is closely connected with E4 Life’s home church ‘Rocky Mountain Calvary’ in Colorado Springs and so it was cool to support a church that I had heard of and was aware of their ministry. We helped host both a youth and pastors conference which was so cool to see ministry come alive through a range of ages. We also were able to street evangelize in the city which was so cool. We led some worship and shared testimonies and the gospel. I was able to share the gospel through a translator and it was so cool to see how God works counter-culturally and that His love reaches all people no matter age or race. While we were in Cusco we also were able to travel to a mountain village called Chinchero, where we worked with the children and widows of the area. Also, such a beautiful move of the Spirit through the way God’s joy is not held by a set of words or a few worship songs. These kids and widows were touched by the generosity, and smiles, even our reception of their hospitality loved them more than anything we could do. We also were able to visit some ancient ruins and understand some more history of the Incan influence on the area. Overall, Cusco was a blast, cold and beautiful.
Cajabamba
Cajabamba was just a weekend trip but it was packed full of ministry. We visited a church there that was led by the sweetest most ‘out there’ Peruvian family I have met. They were so hospitable and the joy and love of the Lord radiated throughout all they did. While we were there we helped with their youth group, visited another small village where we led worship and a couple of other students shared their testimonies and the gospel message. My heart was so touched as we shared this message with them and spent time with their families and kids. What an awesome ministry. The same day we visited a rest home where we celebrated an elderly man's birthday and danced with them to some worship songs. We served them by doing some groundskeeping and maintenance work. What a privilege to serve these lonely people and remind them they are loved. We also worked with their church on Sunday for their worship services. Aliah (another E4 student) and I led the kids' ministry (alongside Lynnie and Zoe) where I shared about God's faithfulness to keep His promises through the story of Abraham and Isaac. We also danced to ‘Padre Abraham’ which is ‘Father Abraham’ in Espanol and as Aliah and I found out if you do it properly is full-body cardio. As part of our time in Cajabamba, we were able to visit the ‘Refuge of Hope’ that the church is building which will be a refuge for abused or traumatized women and children. In Cajabamba, I was blessed to be reminded of the simple joys of serving and having a heart of love while doing so.
Trujillo
Trujillo was HOT. A desert bordering the ocean was something I had never experienced before and I was loving it. For the first couple of days, we visited and did some outreach with the Calvary Chapel Bible College. It was so refreshing to meet other young people who had a heart for the Lord and were excited to share how the Lord was working in their lives. We were close to the beach here and we spent time walking the waterfront sharing the gospel with people, another uncomfortable but fruitful experience. The other days that we spent in Trujillo were spent working with ministry teams that were partnered with the overarching ministry, Inca Link. Through Inca Link ministries we supported three different programs, Elim, Mana, and Amijai. Each of these programs was a children's ministry in which we would play a whole lot of games, give a message, dance, sing and just have fun with these Peruvian kids. I loved the fascination that they had with us being white or as they would say ‘gringos’. They loved my wavy blonde hair, Elisha’s long dark curls, and our eyes, or how tall some of us were. And they always were ready to have fun with us or laugh at our bad Spanish. We could also sandboard on the mountain/sand dunes, spend a day roaming the beachfront, and spend a couple of hours out on surfboards. What a fun trip! Really saw the Lord move in simple ways as I learned more about myself. This time in Trujillo really rekindled a passion for wanting to fall in love with the Lord again.
Iquitos & Pucallpa
This was our most recent mission excursion and 100% my favorite one so far. We started our trip by flying into the river town of Iquitos. Here we spent only one full day and two half days in which we partnered with their church to support their youth and worship services. I loved Iquitos, the heat and surrounding nature made it feel as though we were only two minutes from the beach, the bustle and hustle of the town felt alive and we were able to bring real life to this place through sharing Jesus. I was able to lead worship ‘solo en Espanol (only in Spanish) and it was such an awesome experience. My favorite part of Iquitos tho was just enjoying the kids' ministry. After the games and messages were shared we just played with these kids. We would swing them around, and teach them hand games like tic tac toe and patty cake, all while they clung to our legs and rode around on our shoulders. Moments like those reminded me of God’s heart for the young, God’s desire for people to feel the beauty of simple love and to be filled by the Holy Spirit by the outpouring in fellowship with others on fire for God. After Iquitos, we boarded a boat that would take us up the Amazon River to the town of Pucallpa. We spent three days on this boat where we organized and held three kids' programs a day. We gathered the kids and danced with them, played some games, shared a Bible story with them, and did lots of coloring. On the boat, we viewed the villages and jungle which surrounded us, such a cool perspective to see the life on the famous Amazon River and experience the reality of ‘floating over all the scary piranhas’ that I once dreamed of as a 7-year-old. The time on the boat felt long and tiring but it was worth it after building friendships and teaching Jesus to the open ears of both kids and adults. Arriving in Pucallpa we were all very tired but through leaning into the Spirit, God moved so powerfully. We were involved in a lot of youth and kids ministries where we continued in experiencing the beauty of simple love and joy. The family whose church we were serving with was so kind to us and they were very hospitable. It was so refreshing to be encouraged by them and to pour out into them too. My favorite part of this trip was the first night that I was able to lead worship in Pucallpa. We sang in Spanish and the Spirit moved so powerfully, there was such beauty in hearing us all, both English and Spanish speakers united in praise to the King. God revived a Spirit of joy within me that night and I was overjoyed to be praising God and thanking Him for His personal love. Iquitos and Pucallpa were such beautiful places with beautiful people. GOD IS GOOD.
Currently with my team of 5 people doing a month of mission in Costa Rica and Mexico working as support for churches and other Christian organizations. We will then be heading back to the United States for our debrief and the program ending which is mid-June.
I am so thankful for what the Lord has done and what He is continuing to do. Please continue to pray that God gives me peace and continues to restore my joy and satisfaction in Him. I am so thankful for each of you who donated to me and for all of you who keep me in your prayers. God is good all the time!
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