Life here in Peru
has been a drastic change from Guatemala,
and honestly I’m having a hard time adjusting. I miss Guatemala a
lot. Things here are good, just very different. For example, all 4 teams (plus
media team) are in the same place working together, we are living with 20
people in one house, not just our YETI family of 6, our ministry here was set
up before we got here, and all of our time is being very specifically scheduled
for us…nothing at all like our last month. I think I miss the environment as
well. Everything here is really hot, dry, sandy, brown, and did I mention HOT??
compared to the lush green mountains, beautiful blue lake, and mild weather of Guatemala.
It’s wearing me out really fast. I realize that every month is going to be
different and I have to be flexible and learn to adapt to whatever situation we
find ourselves in…it’s just a bit overwhelming for me right now. So if you
could please pray for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Our first few days here have been jam packed with all sorts
of stuff. Squad A was asked to lead the entire service Sunday night at the
church. It was so much fun watching everything fall into place and seeing
everyone use their different gifts. We put together a worship band (Spano,
Jimmy, Joy, Chris Y, Megan, Ginger, and myself) using all the church’s
equipment, Becca, Ryan, and Katie gave testimonies, and Jon preached. Praise
God everything went well! We’ve also enjoyed having Jake and Mary (from squad
B) around with us for a few days. They were still trying to get caught up with
the rest of their group after spending a week away getting Mary’s new passport.
Jake did an awesome job translating, and they’ve both just jumped right into
ministry with us. They left tonight for the mountains. I’m sure their team will
be glad to have them back, but I’m glad we got to share them for a few days!
Monday and today were filled to the brim with ministry in
the community. Monday morning we walked to the City Hall to pray for the city’s
officials. All the way there (about a 45 min. walk) we passed out flyers
inviting people to church, and got to talk more in depth to several people
along the way. Then Monday afternoon we went to Lomo de Corvina for the first
time to see the land where the church is going to be built and to get to know
the community a little better. We split up and just went door to door, talking
and sharing, for a couple hours. I think the area is going to be very receptive
to having new church built there…most people seemed really excited about it.
This morning we had the opportunity to go into 2 public
schools and share the gospel with hundreds of children. It was amazing that the
principles were so welcoming to us coming to talk to the kids…something that
would NEVER happen back home. We prepared a 30 min. program that included a
little ice breaker game, a drime/drama/skit, and the gospel presentation.
Morgan did an amazing job of sharing the gospel, and there were several
children who prayed to accept Jesus at the end. It was awesome! After lunch
we went back to Lomo de Corvina and continued
to get to know the people there. We played with a lot of kids today which was a
lot of fun too. And I’ll admit it was really nice that these kids weren’t just
trying to sell me something!
They
just wanted to play and be loved on. I’m excited to go back on Thursday. After
dinner our team (just YETI) attended two different in-home Bible study groups.
We shared our testimonies and I really enjoyed getting to know a few people
from the church on a more personal level. The owner of one of the homes we were
in tonight has a tumor in his brain. They did a biopsy on it and he is going to
be finding out on Friday if it is cancerous or not. We prayed over him before
we left, and will hopefully be able to follow up after he talks with the
doctors. I don’t remember his name, but please pray for him and his family.
So tomorrow is our day off, and I’m so excited to finally be
posting a blog again…I’m sorry it’s taken so long! I probably won’t be posting
very often here since our schedule is so busy, but I’ll do my best. Thanks
again for all your continued prayer and support, I honestly couldn’t be doing
this without you. Much Love!
