Have you ever been to Egypt? I haven’t had the opportunity but it’s definitely on my long list of places that I want to visit. The reason I bring it up actually is because of Vitor, Peru.
(this is the main highway that runs through Vitor, Peru the village where we are living this month, it is extremely dry and desert-like)
Our team made is safely to Arequipa, Peru and are staying with our amazing hosts Cindy and Guido Lopez during the weekends in the city but during the week we are out in the small village of Vitor. When I say we’re in the desert, picture lots of it, as in miles and miles of rock and sand. We are even extra careful of our water use because it runs out. However, there is water. Out of this desert is a single river that flows through and gives life to the community of Vitor. We have drinking water because of it, farmers are able to grow crops because of it, and a whole community has sprung up in the middle of a desert because of the life giving water. As I look at the beautiful scenery, all I can think of is “Hope”. In the middle of this crazy desert that looks a lot like a very dry construction site, is a community not only surviving but thriving. Cindy and Guido have planted 7 churches but Vitor was their first and is the healthiest of all 7. There is no such thing as a “Lost Cause” or soil that won’t bear fruit with a little water.
(Vitor is almost like a mirage, a valley full of greenery, crops, and life because of the river that flows through it. This is also where our drinking water comes from so we are extremely thankful for water filters)
I think of Maxwell in Puerto Rico, a teen who decided to spend the last week of his winter vacation away from his friends and instead spent the week working alongside our teams Salmo 45:11 and Firestarters. Everyone raved about his brother Jeremy, for good reason because he’s awesome too, but Maxwell wasn’t sure where his life was going but now wants to do missions full time. I think of Blanco, Jose, and David who were all disappointed at the beginning of month 2 to discover that our squad only had 7 guys but 38 girls because they feared none of their projects were going to get done. I’m happy to report they quickly changed their minds and not only bonded with us but we were able to minister to them, especially Blanco and Jose who are new Christians. Then I think of Edson, Lizeth, Ivan and Shela who were in the couple’s home the whole month we were there, fighting every day to give God more of themselves, fighting to change and be renewed. Especially Ivan who, 3 years ago, spent 3 days in a drug induced coma and now has speech impediments because of it but never stumbles when he is praying or talking about Jesus. I think of Doris and Lucio, an older couple that joined the couple’s house at the end and had left their 6 and 8 year old sons with family so they can focus on getting better. They talked about how they had never tried working out their problems before, how they would fight and Lucio would often hit Doris and Doris would drink to escape but now they want to model their lives after Christ.
(we took some time as a team to go and explore the river)
All of the ministries where we have been for the last 4 months have been very different yet I see one thing that is the same. We have brought hope to each place and if not at the time, we are now getting to see the life changing results a little “water” can bring to the desert.
A small month 4 update for everyone. I am currently 94% funded, I am still short $825 of the total amount for my fundraising. Would you join me in praying for this final amount to come in so I will be fully funded?
(I love me some team Salmo 45:11! We planned on grilling our dinner so we picked up sticks on the way back from the river and got some very weird looks but also lots of smiles as we walked back to the church where we’re staying….don’t worry, the chicken ended up in the oven. 🙂 But we’re blaming the wind, not the lack of sticks. Adventure.)
