Peru has been an incredible month filled with so many different adventures! This month we had multiple ministry opportunities. They were all so amazing and God did some really cool things in every moment. Here is a little about what I’ve been doing all month:
VBS
Our first week here we led VBS for the local children. Each team was in charge of a different station. My team and another team partnered up to come up with games that related to the story for the children to play. It was so much fun getting to laugh and play with the kids! They are so full of life and joy and I loved getting to see their smiling faces every day!
Church Services
Each week there are about 3-4 church services throughout the week and one team was assigned to lead the service. We are given freedom to do it in our own way, which was awesome. My team chose to have someone preach and the rest of the team led worship (pretty basic). This experience was intimidating to me at first. I am by no means a talented singer nor do I like being in front of crowds. But it was actually really amazing. I found myself getting lost in just worshiping God. The crowds would fade and it became just like any other time I would worship, just me and God. We even learned some of our worship songs in Spanish so that the congregations would understand what we were singing. I loved learning some of my favorite songs in another language and I loved that it allowed us to better connect to the congregations.
The other incredible part of this experience was getting to pray over people in the congregation. We learned some key words and phrases in Spanish so we could have an idea of what specifically to pray for. Although we still had to pray in English, it was amazing to see that not even a language barrier can stop God from working. I’ve loved being able to witness and be part of people’s spiritual journey, even though we don’t speak the same language.
Street Ministry
Twice we were able to go out and do some street ministry in a dangerous and poor market areas. This consisted mostly of passing out flyers for a big church event and praying for people sometimes. While doing this the first time, an adorable old man named Andres decided to join our group. No one from the church we were with knew who he was or where he came from but he became our guide and protector. He led us around the market, making sure we avoided really sketchy areas and making taxis, carts, and motorcycles come to a stop so we could safely walk. If we started to walk and a member of our group was even a just off to the side, he would make sure we knew and weren’t leaving too quickly. If any men gave the women in my group inappropriate attention, like a whistle or if they just got too close, he instantly stepped between us and shooed them off. To be honest, we were half expecting him to ask for money when we were done, but he didn’t. He truly just wanted to look after us and make sure we stayed safe. It was amazing to see the kindness and love of God shown through a stranger. God had sent us a sweet guardian angel.
High School Ministry
We were able to do high school ministry twice throughout the month. We had dances and a skit prepared that we performed for the youth. We also shared a message about the love of Jesus. It was really cool to watch them get into the dances and skit and to see them really invest in the sermon. Some of the kids said they want to know Christ and accept him into his heart. I pray that God does amazing things in and through them. I pray that they will be a generation that rises up and has an impact on their community through the love of God.
Prison Ministry
This was my favorite ministry of the month! The first time we were outside the men’s prison reaching out to the families going in to see the prisoners. We performed dances and skits and had a sermon prepared for them. My favorite part was when we prayed over people. There were two women who touched my heart. The first one reached out to me and kept hugging and kissing my cheek. She told me that we were all such a blessing. She continuously told me what beautiful hearts we had and kept saying “God bless you”. We prayed together and it was such a cool experience. The joy, peace, and love she carried just flowed out of her. With the second woman it was a very different experience but even more incredible. When I asked her how I could pray for her she simply gave me a name (the man she was visiting in prison). I started praying over her, saying some of the same things I said to others, until God just laid it on my heart and I instantly knew what that man need prayer for. I let God take over my words and they just kept coming. The second I let God take control and speak she started bawling. I was just so amazing to me. She can’t understand a word I’m saying, we don’t speak the same language, but God used me to speak to her heart anyway. Just another example of how God isn’t limited by the things that limit us. It’s so cool to see His power working like that.
The second time we were able to go inside a women’s prison. We again performed dances and skits and had a sermon prepared. They were so into everything we did. It was great watching them! We also were able to pray over them individually, which was amazing. One of the coolest things, however, was when we talked to the director of the prison. We were the first group they’ve ever let inside to do ministry and she loved it! She said we not only impacted the women of the prison but the staff as well and that she wanted more groups to come back and minister to the women. Not only were lives changed today but more will be in the future and we got to be part of opening up that door! SO cool!
Everything we had the opportunity to do this month was a great! I got to experience so many new things and push the boarders of my comfort zone. I love seeing how God moves in everything, it doesn’t matter what it is, He is in it and working.
OH! The reason for my blog title – the church at the compound LOVED this worship song “Yo Soy Libre” (I am Free). They sang it a minimum of 3 times every service. We once sang and danced to it 9 times in a service…no joke. So it kind of became a game with my squad where we would guess how many times we would sing it in a service. Also, stepping into spiritual freedom was a huge theme for me and my squad this month. Isn’t God’s humor so funny?
