Since we are in Lima for approximately five weeks, one of our goals was to work with an existing church to help plant a church in a village called Llomo de Corvina. It is a poor village, which has only been in existence for approximately three years. It is located on the edge of a sand dune. What I have gathered is that many of the people that live there have migrated to Lima from the mountains in hopes of finding better jobs and prosperity. Many have realized that jobs are hard to come by. When we first went to Llomo de Corvina, I was with a group that went to the northside of the village. I met some women there and was excited to build relationships with them. Except our ministry in Llomo began to take on a different role where we focused on the southern side of the village and worked with the kids. In my desire to build relationships and want to touch the women that “our group” was not touching, I decided I wanted to “adopt” two streets where I went those first days.
So, I asked Annie and Candice if they wanted to join me. We snagged up Mary, one of the translators, and off we went. On Thursday, we walked through our two streets meeting the women, explaining what we’re doing and that we wanted to meet with them the next day. Many of the women appeared grateful that we were interested in them and wanted to get to know them. We showed up the next day and reminded the women of the meeting. Many said they would come, but only 3 showed up. It was perfect though. We had purchased oranges and crackers to share. So, we sat in the dirt, ate oranges and crackers, and just talked with the women. We talked about their families, their homes, what they do on normal days, etc. It wasn’t long before they were tired of small talk. Ilyda told us she had some questions and was confused about things like the difference between Catholicism and Christianity, what things Christians should do and what things Christians shouldn’t, why some churches do some things and why others don’t, and many more. I’m finding that many people down here are confused and distracted by the differing views, ways, and external actions of Christians and Churches. We tried to focus on the Bible and what we know to be the truth instead of focusing on the outward actions of people. These women were eager. One of them owns a Bible. We offered to help get Bibles for the other women. Two of the women said they would love to learn more about the Bible and God, but they cannot read and do not have anyone that can read to them. None of the women accepted the Lord that day, but I am confident that they were encouraged. We encouraged them in their questioning and encouraged them to continue to seek the truth. We planned to meet with them again on Saturday, but due to some illness and change in plans, we couldn’t meet. We will meet with them again this week and I am excited to listen to their questions and thier struggles, and share more with them.
One of our “adopted” streets.
