I am officially in my second country of the World Race! In light of the dangerous political unrest in Bolivia, my squad and I ended up working with 2 ministries in Peru for one month each. We flew into Mendoza, Argentina two days ago! We will be working with YWAM Mendoza this month as a whole squad. Before I begin this new month, I wanted to write a week by week of what Peru looked like for me and my team. My time in Peru was very unusual in that we worked with different ministries every week, rather than working with one host for the month. If you have any questions, comment below!
Week 1: Iglesia Macedonia (Church of Macedonia) – Lima
The first week, we worked with a local church with Pastors David and Marita. We did manual labor, deep cleaning of the inside/outside of the church, youth groups, skits, church services, worship, and simply “lived life” with church leadership. Our schedule would vary day by day. My favorite part of this ministry was daily morning devotions with Pastor David. He has so much wisdom and guidance to offer us as young people in ministry. Iglesia Macedonia was a very healthy and thriving church that prioritized the bible and church unity (praise God!).
Week 2: Chuquibambilla
Then, we went to the Missionary Base of Antioch, in the amazon jungle (12 hours from Lima). We were immersed in a completely different cultural experience, and were able to learn more about farming life in the jungle. The people group we were with spoke Spanish and the indigenous language Nomasteguenga. We did art classes, women’s discipleship, church teaching, children’s ministry, and visiting churches in surrounding communities, etc. Aside from our amazing host missionaries Pablo and Belen, there was only one christian in the community, Margarita.
Week 3: Canta
This week, we did evangelism in the marketplace and went door to door, praying for people and visiting members of the new church plant we were partnered with. We saw one woman become a new believing Christian (yay God!) and many people spiritually healed. Our hosts were pastors Jorge and Zenith, who are Venezuelen. I loved seeing the boldness they had in sharing the love of Jesus with everyone they came in contact with.
Week 4: Machu Picchu
We spent this week hiking Machu Picchu, praying for the country of Bolivia, and securing new plans for ministry after the unexpected decision had to be made to change our route. We were also able to spend time as a squad debriefing our month, having hours of worship as a collective church, and continuing our missions training.
Week 5: YWAM- Ventanilla
This week, we partnered with a World Race Semesters team. This trip is 17-21 year olds traveling 3 months to 2 countries. There were 20 girls and 1 boy added to our family for the week! Together, we worked at a ministry called Estacion Esperanza (Hope Station). There, we did manual labor for the community and children’s ministry. We were also able to host a bible study for mothers!
Week 6: Kingdom Table
This ministry was such a blessing. We worked with disabled children for the week. Julia, our host, demonstrated the love of Jesus so beautifully to children who may not understand the gospel in the same way or capacity that others do. There, we sorted medicine, played with the kids, began building standing chairs for children with Cerebral Palsy, learned some sign language, and helped with a fundraiser.
Week 7: 10 Veces Mejor (10 times better)
This week, we worked with the church plant 10 veces mejor. We did an array of things with this church, every day was different, including evangelism, art classes, worship, leadership training, speaking at local schools, etc. We built great relationships with this church family; I am so grateful!
Week 8:
“Ask the Lord” days and travelling to Mendoza!
Thank you for taking the time to read what God has been doing in Peru! If you feel the Lord calling you to prayerfully consider seeding into this mission, please click here. I have $3,390 until I am fully funded!
