Week 3 of ministry: COMPLETE!
NEXT UP: Heading to debrief in Lima, Peru tomorrow!!
Our third week of ministry was really wonderful. The first 2 days we worked with an Inca Link staff member named Brenda who took us to 2 communities where we performed skits, sang songs and played games with the children in the area. The presence of God was so tangible in those places, it was remarkable.
We walked to one community on the outskirts of the desert that reminded me a lot of the garbage dump community. The living conditions were pretty horrendous and in most ways they are a forgotten community… but the Lord says, “No, I have not forgotten them nor will I ever leave them.” The smiles on the children’s faces were priceless as we performed skits about the parable of the lost sheep and played games with them. I am so thankful the Lord has led Inca Link to minister to this community—pray for the Word and love of God to soak in and for leaders of faith to rise up in this place. God is here.
The rest of the week we went to a nearby daycare that is supported by Inca Link. The children that come to the daycare are sponsored by donors (one of them could be you!) and the funds provide meals and biblical teaching in the afternoons for these kids. It was humbling to watch these children come to the daycare each day in the same tattered, dirty clothes I saw them in the day before. We poured love over them as we served them lunch, performed skits and songs, did activities with them, taught them English and played with them at the park…praying that the love and light of Christ would break through the darkness in their lives. It broke my heart as so many of these children clung to me, desperate for attention and love. Many of them had trouble engaging or playing games and it was easy to see the pain in their eyes.
One child in particular really bonded with me and touched my heart. His name is Jordan (sounds more like Yordan in Spanish) and he is one of the few children I met there who had light and hope in his eyes. He was very motivated to learn and especially loved sitting with me as I pointed to things and told him the English word for them. He is very smart and would assist us in explaining tasks or directions to the other kids more accurately than we could in our elementary Spanish. On Friday, we did a teaching on Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In an activity we planned for them afterwards we had them write or draw a representation of what they wanted the Lord to help them with and we encouraged them to dream big, outside of their circumstances, and think of all the things they could do through the Lord’s strength. It saddened me when most of the children wrote things such as, “I need God to help me eat because I have no money,” or “I can’t go to school because I have no money.” For these children, dreaming outside of their physical and immediate needs is not a privilege they have.
It made me smile to read Jordan’s paper which said, “I want God to help me to learn English.” I sat him down that day and had a private English lesson with him, teaching him pronunciation and writing words and phrases down for him to practice at home. It was precious to see how excited he was and how motivated he was to truly learn. It made me smile and laugh as he would randomly say “Jesus!!” in a sweet Spanish-English accent at random times throughout the rest of the afternoon 🙂
On our last day there I wrote him a note in English and had a friend translate it in Spanish on the same sheet of paper. I encouraged him in his faith and simply reminded him of Jesus’ unconditional love for him. I prayed blessings over him and his life. He was so excited, and after having me read it aloud to him multiple times in English and Spanish, he touched his heart, smiled at me and said, “Thank you” in English. I am thankful the Lord allowed such a sweet relationship with this 11 year old boy to develop in just 3 days. He probably said goodbye to me that last day about 10 times (in Spanish and English!), and although I was super sad to leave, I could smile knowing the Lord has great plans for his life and that the people of Inca Link will continue to pour into his life daily.
The mission of Inca Link is to reach the 300 million children in Latin America for Christ. It has been amazing to be a part of the tangible ways they are reaching the youth for the Lord here in Peru. The main goal this year for Inca Link Peru is to raise the $150,000 the government requires them to have before they are allowed to accept children into the orphanage. They already have 1 orphanage house completed that could house 42 children right now. They are still constructing 2 more buildings in order to eventually house 75 children total here in at the compound.
After being here for almost a month, I have been captivated by this ministry. They have such a strong heart to see this community changed with the love of Christ.
To hear more about Inca Link Peru and their needs, please visit their website and watch the video on the home page
To be a part of helping them raise the $150,000 they need and open their doors to the children of Trujillo this year, you can donate online at the site above! Click on Donate, then Ministries, and choose Pasitos de Fe (meaning “little steps of faith”). Also under the Ministries tab you can sponsor a child to attend the Day Care Center!
Thank you for being a part of and supporting this journey. It’s changing lives in each country and definitely changing mine.
