This month has been a rare experience. A place has only ever been so hard to leave one other time on the race for me. I have come to find home here in Lima, Peru and it really caught me unaware.
We have spent this month working with a huge church called Camino de Vida. By all standards, this is a mega-church and they’re even affiliated with Hillsong. They have six campuses throughout the city of Lima and host a minimum of 24 services per week. In the past I have been critical of mega-churches… and here I have found home in one. I see you, Jesus. Often when I think of mega-churches I expect shallow sermons and superficial community. What I don’t expect is for a church of over 1,000 people to know my name. I don’t expect them to serve selflessly always. I don’t expect the Lord to show up everyday. I definitely don’t expect it to be home.
But then there was Camino de Vida.
The vision of CDV is that it is ALWAYS better to give then to receive. No exceptions. And I’ve seen this church live that out in so many ways. God’s presence is abundant and powerful within this body because of their great faith. Here’s a list of ways that I engaged in CDV’s ministry this month (keep in mind that there are still even more ministries that I didn’t get a chance to experience):
- Free Wheelchair Mission-Distributing wheelchairs all over Peru to those who are disabled and unable to afford adequate care and equipment.
- Sorting Clothing/Toy/Shoe Donations-The church runs a boutique that is completely free for those who are recommended or receive a voucher. These clothes are all nice (or brand new!) clothes that are interview ready for those who can’t afford businesswear to secure and keep a job. The clothes that don’t quite make the cut are bagged and stockpiled so that they can be donated in mass amounts in the event of a natural disaster or other major issue.
- Kid’s Club-This month we lived at the La Victoria campus of the church which is in one of the tougher parts of Lima. Every Saturday we would walk to the market and invite kids (in Spanish) to come play games and learn about Jesus at the church. This ministry is a great way to keep kids off the street, even if it is only a few hours once a week.
- San Padre Marthino Oprhanage-After kids club we would go to an orphanage for children with special needs. Some had cerebral palsy, some had autism, and others had more profound physical disabilities that left them bed-ridden and unable to communicate verbally. There are consistently volunteers from the church there to spend time with the kids!
- Painting-The church regularly goes out into the community to beautify and care for the neighborhood by panting homes, buildings, etc. This may seem small, but you would be surprised how often these small actions can bring someone to talk about the Lord!
- Pangoa- The church goes to a jungle village in Peru called Pangoa at least twice a month. Each time they bring two mobile kitchens in order to provide food for approximately 1,000 people each day they’re there, they plan daily kid’s shows, games and face paint, more free wheelchairs, street evangelism, and essentially any other things that the community may need. We had the opportunity to spend five days there this past week serving, and we didn’t have to pay anything to go.
And like I said, these are ONLY the ministries that I had an opportunity to be a part of.
Throughout the six campuses there are only a handful of paid staff (think 10 or less). Every other person that we’ve worked with day in and day out here at Camino de Vida are simply volunteers. There are many volunteers who work at the church up to 30hrs a week. They trust that when they choose to give for His glory, that the Lord will take care of them (and SPOILER ALERT… He does). Some of the sacrifice sleep so that they might be able to work AND volunteer. The church relies on donations in order to function and they’re obviously quite successful considering all of the different ministries they offer. Then there is the fact that most of the food prepared in the jungle (remember, 1,000 people/day) was made with donated ingredients. Yup. That’s right.
If all of that doesn’t convince you of the Lord’s hand on this church then let me tell you about all of my friends. Over the course of this month I’ve met at least 10 people that have become true friends. Aside from my new friends, there are so many more who have embraced us with open arms and counted us a part of the family. I’ve felt more love from this church this month than probably any other ministry on the race. That kind of love is a supernatural gift from God for sure.
There aren’t enough churches in America (or the rest of the world) who think as selflessly as Camino de Vida. Be sure that this church has its struggles and weaknesses just like any other church, but because they serve the Lord with such faith they have much that other churches lack. I’ve learned so much about what the Body of Christ is meant to look like this month and it is so hard to leave. This is the life that the Father desires for his people!
Be encouraged, the abundant life that God has planned for you is within your grasp if you just trust him enough to live more selflessly.
Gracias, Camino de Vida por todo. Te quiero mucho.
