Heyya, Folks!
A lot has taken place since my last blog and I apologize for not keeping y’all updated on all things Peru. The last two months have been a whole lot. When I left Chile back in December I was sure that the amount of growth I had during those months would not be matched by any other two on my race. Well, who am I to predict the plans of God?
January and February were intense. The first month was spent in something on the race we call, “Manistry.” During this time we were in Cusco and all the fellas in my squad split off to do ministry totally separate from the women. It was a really sweet month of community as we dug into the simplicity of the Gospel and what Early church Fellowship would have looked like. Our main ministry during those weeks was encouraging our hosts, who were an awesome missionary family from the states. They poured into us so much and our time with them left us refreshed and ready to tackle the last half of the race. During that time, the Father taught me a lot about prayer , meditation, leadership, and what it looks like to rely on the Sovereign as I would a friend. In a constant way that encompasses the idea of God as my Daily Bread giver. A lesson I would surely need in my next month.
In the beginning of February we travelled north from Cusco to a small ocean City called Pacasmayo. That month was another all-Squad location, so all 37 of us got used to being all up in each other’s business once again. We were about a fifteen minute walk from the beach, which rocked! It was a good month, but a hard one. The Father walked me through some really Exciting stuff at a really strange time which seemed to contradict what He was teaching me in the months prior to, “Manistry.” I walked that road and the Spirit was constantly with me, but even looking back at it I can’t help but be confused by what He said, “Do,” and, “Don’t do.” Well, aside from that, those of us who were point people for our teams were switched up to team leaders, which basically just gives us some more responsibility with our hosts and freedom in leading our teams. Exciting stuff! Ministry that month looked like doing some odd jobs for the church as well as street evangelism, VBS programs, and hosting English classes. About halfway through the month we got the news that we were having team changes. That was pretty hard because of the way our team had become so tight knit. I grieved that change more than anything on the race up to that point, but knew that their was/is such a huge potential for God to work through the change. The last two weeks of February came to a screechoing hault as we packed up and headed out of Peru to India!
Our first stop was in Quito, Ecuador where we met With two other squads for a conference. We spent three days there being poured into by one another. Unfortunately, I was sick as a dog those few days, so I did not get a lot of time with the kind folks from the other groups; however, I got to spend the majority of that time completely alone, which is a dream come true for one as introverted as I on a thing called the World Race.
The conference wrapped up and our next stop was a twenty-six hour layover in the land of the free! We got to spend one day in the great city of Chicago, wherein I ate much American food and bought a pair of Blue Jeans. Just ’Merican stuff. From there we headed into India and oh what a time it has been in this great country! We landed two weeks ago and things started with a bang as two guys from my squad and I were able to lead an employee at the Calcutta airport to Christ! His name was Phill and it started off with him just wanting to listen to us play music as we had pur guitars out. Slowly the conversation went deep and we begin to hit on the way he desired freedom from his past more than anything. It was there that the Spirit took over and Phill met Jesus! Pray for him as there is little community for him to thrive in where he is at. We still text and encourage him as we can, but the fact remains that we are not with him. Pray that he thrives in the freedom of the Spirit!
Well, since we arrived at our hosts place we have been pretty busy here in the north-eastern state of Manipur. Last week we hosted a medical clinic alongside an organization called, “Project Cure.” Our time here has been busy but so life giving! Right now the whole squad is together and we rotate between serving at the schools and at a rehab clinic. Pray for us as the Kingdom of Christ forcefully advances here!
I love you all dearly! Pray for me and that I finish this race well now when things are getting harder.
Through His Grace,
Colby
