Today, I was walking back to the YWAM base that we’re currently staying in and I couldn’t help but to smile at The Lord’s goodness and how sweet of a journey this past year and a half has been. This is everything that eight-year-old Jordan had dreamed of and more. I remember writing out bucket lists and holding onto little prayers asking God to “send me out into the world so I can help people”. Little me didn’t realize the impact that that prayer would have on my life and I couldn’t thank her enough for opening her heart up to such a wonderful calling of bringing the Gospel to the nations.
Last year, I was staying in this very same YWAM base in Lima, Peru with a group of 15 people who were beginning month three of eleven to travel from South America to Europe to SE Asia to share the name of Jesus. Now, I am team leading a group of 15 people who are beginning week three of four who are fervently chasing the Kingdom and seeking out new opportunities to share the gospel in Peru.
I am currently on the way to Machu Picchu with half of the team and we are so excited to see what all The Lord has for these next few days! I went with my WR Squad last year and prayed that The Lord would send me back again so I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity to experience this with my Semesters team. Our schedule has been pretty busy since we got here so I thought I’d share with you guys some of what we’ve been doing and how The Lord has been expanding His Kingdom in Peru.
Iglesia Misionera: “Jehova es my Pastor”
We partnered with this church in the Red District of Lima for the first two days of ministry. They have been running for 11 years and their mission is to share the gospel with the community and to serve the families. They also focus a lot of attention on serving people with disabilities and the pastor runs a special needs school. We really loved partnering with this ministry and it was so amazing to see the team be so bold in their faith and so eager to pray for people. They were thriving!! We helped lead the church services and went into different homes in the area to pray for sick people in the community. We were able to pray for a woman that attended the church who was three months pregnant and was very sick. She was so worried for her baby’s health and was afraid of having a miscarriage. We prayed over her and she said she felt her baby’s hand on her stomach. I truly believe that a miracle happened that day. It was beautiful to see everyone on the team operate in their own gifts and allow them to collide as a body. This ministry really brought the team together and everyone was thrown forward and started to become comfortable in the unique ways that the Lord created them.
Comunidad Cristiana Nueva Vida
This is the second ministry that we partnered with on a huge mountain in Ventanilla. It is a newer church that focuses on discipleship and blessing the children in the community. Most of the people, including the pastor, are from the jungle. We started off working around people’s houses on the mountain, leveling dirt and moving it where needed. It was nice to be able to bless them in a more tangible way. We also led church services at Nueva Vida and passed out food to the community. This ministry has probably been the hardest for most of the team to leave because we developed such close-knit relationships in just a week’s time. The ministry was an hour and a half away from the base so each day we would take a bus to Ventanilla and that was also missed by the team because we had such great opportunities for both ministry and to be intentional in getting to know one another. I’ve loved seeing everyone constantly have their eyes open for open doors to share the gospel and being ministry minded at all times rather than just during ministry hours. They reflect Jesus so beautifully!
Mesa Del Reina
This is a ministry that focuses on people with special needs. We’ve partnered with them this past week and the team was able to paint a mural on their wall, build games, and go out and do outreach within the community. They ministered through skits, sports, sermons, and English conversation clubs. A lot of people on the team have been sick so Sam and I have been taking turns staying back and I’ve enjoyed getting to serve individuals on the team and though it’s tough that they have to stay back from ministry- it’s been nice having more one-on-one time with them. Everyone is feeling much better now, thankfully!
Time Flies
We just have a week until we leave for our final debrief in Atlanta, GA and lemme tell ya, everything in me wishes this were a long-term team! They are everything I prayed for and more. It’s crazy to think that one month ago, I didn’t know any of these incredible people and I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I said “yes” to leading this lovely group of people alongside Sam. There have been so many times where we’ve looked at each other in awe of how amazing they are! I have loved it so much and I’ve been so impressed with them. They’ve made the absolute most of the time that they’ve been given and have been so eager to grow as individuals and as a team, from the start. I’m so excited for this last week in Peru with them and I can’t wait to see what all The Lord has in store!
Bendiciones,
Jordan
