Hey all,
First off, HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!
Second, this is going to be our last blog for a little bit. Reason being is we are heading into the jungle early tomorrow morning, and since it is the jungle, there is not much electricity, hence communications will be sparse, if any. If there is an opportunity to call or blog, we will definitely take that opportunity, but there most likely will not be. We will leave bright and early tomorrow morning at 7 am on a barge and travel for most of the day until we arrive at the village we are going to. We will most likely spend a few days at that village, travel to another village, and then after spending a day or two there, head back. We will be coming back on next sunday, so look for a blog next sunday night or monday.
The main purpose of this trip was to create a VBS program that the Peruvians could then replicate and add onto. So, the first week we did the VBS, explained to them what and why we were doing it, and had them help. This past week we split off and went to two different churches, and we split the VBS program. They were responsible for half of it, and we did the other half. This week is the final stage. It is going to be like the first week except reverse. The Peruvians are going to be running things and we are going to be the ones standing back and helping them. This is a great opportunity for them and us, and we are very excited to see how it is going to go. Not only that, but we get to go into the jungle too!!
I want to tell you 3 awesome stories about what God did yesterday.
We did some door to door evangelism, but first we started off with an ATL– for those of you who dont know, that is AIM lingo for Ask the Lord. For an ATL, you ask the Lord what He wants you to do, for say, the next 3 hours, and then you wait and listen until you ´´get´´ something. Some people get words, others get a picture, and so on and so forth. So our team did one of those yesterday morning. Lindsay then had each team member meet with her, and she wrote down what he or she got, and then divided us into groups. After that we, all prayed and asked for clarity on what these things meant, and then we set off into an area we thought we should go. The teams were this:
Team 1: Lakin, Megan, Chris and Sarah
Team 2: Kelly, Carlos, Sophia, Ryan, and Shosh
Team 3: Ben, Lindsay, Crystal, Chloe, Ashley
During her ATL, Lakin got a picture of a really old woman who was very fragile and has cloudy eyes. A lot of the houses around here have ¨¨Á¨¨ painted on them for a political party, and Megan kept seeing those as well as a girl that goes to our VBS. So we set off to look for this woman and girl. We came to the area that we were doing VBS that week, and we couldn´t find the girl, but were did share the Gospel with the dad of one of the boys that we did VBS with. After that, we started walking again. We walked a really long time, and we made it into town. We were waiting for the Spirit to give us a sign where to go, so we just kept walking around. We had about 45 minutes left, and I was in the middle of saying ´¨Maybe we just need to make our own opportunity and see if God shows up.¨¨ becuase I was thinking maybe He was testing us and seeing if we would just step out in faith. This is where the story gets really cool! I was in the middle of saying that when we met a very very old man. We started talking with him, and come to find out, he was in pain. He has a hernia that he doesnt have the money to get fixed. We asked to pray for him, but he said he had to get the water he had back to his house, so we went with him. Juan (thats his name) led us to his house. I rounded the corner into the house and saw a very old woman in a rocking chair. I turned to Lakin as we were walking in and asked if that was her, and guess what! Lakin said that was the woman she had a picture of! So we prayed for them and for Juan and his pain, that it would be healed. And then we left. It was really cool to see God show up and come through in a very realy way.
Team 2 decided to go look for Carlos´s father–Carlos is one of our translators. He is not a believer, and they were going to go witness to him. They got there and couldnt find him, but they did find one of Carlos´s friends. So they went to her house and shared the Gospel with her and her mother. What is cool is that Indra (Carlos´s friend) was praying to God that He would send someone to her and her family to talk to them about God. And that is exactly what God did. They shared the Gospel with her and her family.
Team 3: During his ATL, Ben kept seeing an image of a soccer field that is down the road from where we are living. So that is where they went. They saw a family, a mother and two kids, and started talking to them and sharing the Gospel with them. The kids were both ones that went to the VBS we had held last week. The team presented the Gospel to them, and started asking the kids about VBS the prior week and the salvation message we shared with them then. The kids had not accepted Christ that week, but when Crystal asked the kids and the mom if Christ is someone they would want to have a relationship with, they all said yes!! And now there are three more in God´s kingdom.
I hope that these three storries have encouraged you and shown you something new about God. He is so awesome.
Last night we went to church after VBS. We did the drime once more. And Lakin and Ryan sahred their testimonies. They both did a fantastic job. Today we got up, ate, went to church, and had an american meal of macaroni and cheese and starburst. We also gave them the letters that we had the parents write to their kids, and they all loved them. Thank you all for doing that!. WE have free time for the rest of the day, and we are getting ready to leave tomorrow.
That the Peruvians would take the VBS and make it their own, and that they would continue it after we left.
It is of strong belief in this region that it is possible to lose your salvation. Pastors here even preach this message, and there is only one guy that we know that does not believe this. Please pray against this lie, and please pray for Gustavo, that he would not be afraid to preach the truth of the scriptures.
Pray for safety in the jungle.
Thank you all for your prayers. Talk to you next Sunday!
For His Glory
Team Peru
