This month my team and I have been given the task of finding new contacts in Peru for the World Race and Adventures in Missions to send teams to in the future. This task, also called Unsung Heroes month, takes us on a journey to three different cities in Peru: Arequipa, Puno, and Cusco.
When we first got into Lima, we took a day to pray into where God wanted us to go first. In the end, we felt called to go to Arequipa first.
After arriving on Saturday afternoon, our research began. We looked up different churches to go to in the morning and afternoon the next day.
The next day we headed out, expectant for God to work. The churches we went to were wonderful, welcoming, and excited to hear about the World Race.
One of the churches I was most excited about was called Mar Adentro in the neighborhood Miraflores. My teammates Kate, Jordan, and I went to their evening service. As soon as we went in, we were greeted by two young adults, Yuan Carlo and Cynthia, who were as eager to practice their English as Kate and I were to practice our Spanish. Cynthia sat with us, and while we waited for the service to start, she told us about an exciting project the church was starting: teaching people in the church English through the bible!
The service was really enjoyable, the music was great and lively, and the message was interesting and funny. Afterward, our new acquaintances introduced us to the pastor of the church, Pastor Jorge Flores. He was excited and enthusiastic about meeting with us. He even wanted to know when a team could be sent!
Later in the week, we met with Pastor Jorge to talk about the logistics of having a team with his church in the future. We met him at the school the church had built, where the pastor is also a teacher, and we had the pleasure of hearing the vision for Mar Adentro. Their heart is to share the gospel with the city of Arequipa. They have many different ways they go about that goal, from evangelizing, building another school for young children, livestreaming their services online, camps for youth, to English classes.
I can’t wait until teams get the chance to service with Pastor Jorge and Mar Adentro!
