Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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The last couple weeks of ministry here in Peru have been very similar to the first. We wake up at 7am to work out and shower (always freezing cold water but a least we have one). At 8am we have breakfast followed by team devotions at 9am. What we do the rest of the day depends on what Pastor Juan has us scheduled to do. In the last couple of weeks we have painted the walls of the church, visited the houses of church members, organized half-day Vacation Bible Schools, taught Sunday school, and passed out tracts to people in town. On our off days we have enjoyed time at the nearby beach. The beach isn’t your typical tropical paradise (way too cold!) but it still is a beautiful sight!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                   VBS
 
We have also had a lot more down time than last month. Our team has struggled with this, and we are still trying to figure things out. Last month we were so busy all the time that we yearned for some time to chill. I was challenged in almost every way last month (my OCD tendencies, public speaking, translating, living with five other people, having the lack of freedom to leave the church without a group of people because of how dangerous the city was, food, and other things). All of this caused me to fully depend on God and God alone. And through that, I became closer to God and scripture became more real than ever before.  

This month is different. I have not been stretched nearly as much and it has left me feeling useless at times. All the free time we have makes us feel like we could be doing more. We struggled with that and still do at times. However, we have peace that we are where God wants us to be and doing what He wants us to do. We realize that every month is going to be different and that God has a different timing and purpose for us in every nation. Some scripture that has helped me be at peace with this is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. It is well known scripture and I have always known about it, however, this month it has really hit home and become more real to me. It states:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

 

So even with all of the down time God we needed to realize that He can still use us in awesome ways. We just need to learn that we don’t have to be going full speed in “ministry” activities all day long to bring glory to God’s kingdom. Our life is a ministry. It can be the little things and daily interactions with people that can make a difference.  It is a lesson we are still learning and are working through.

A quick example of how our free time turned into a blessing occurred about a week ago. Cory and I decided to play some pool by nearby park. As we were finishing our last game we noticed three young boys watching us. They asked where we were from and when they found out we were Americans they became super excited. One of the boys gave me 20 cents in soles (Peruvian money) and said it was a gift. Humbling? Yes. We talked with them for a little longer until their grandpa came and made them go back across the street the park. Cory and I finished our last game and as we were about to leave the boys came back across the street and asked us if we wanted to skateboard with them. Cory and I looked at each other and then told them that we would love to try it out (neither of us have ever done it before so we were a little concerned about looking foolish, lol). To make a long story short, we were able to spend about an hour just hanging out with these boys in the park. We talked about church, our mission’s trip and invited them to the half-day VBS we were having the next day. They never did show up to VBS, but the time we were able to spend with them was priceless. The little, unplanned interactions in life can make a difference.

As I mentioned before, we are still learning and we are thankful every day for what God is teaching us. There is a time and purpose for everything. We just need to learn to embrace it. God knows best.         

On Monday we will be traveling to Trujillo, Peru and staying with two other teams for our final week in Peru. We will be helping build a children’s home.
 
Last but not least,   GO BUCKS!! BEAT AKRON!!