It
thought I was going to leave Peru without falling in love with it. Then we
ended up in a tiny mountain community, Patacocha, 7 hours east of Lima and that
changed altogether. It was one of the hardest places I’ve had to say goodbye to
in the past 2 years.
It was such a huge difference from the sandy,
desert-like area of Trujillo. Nestled in the mountains, surrounded by Lord of
the Rings-type scenery, Patacocha is a village of 200 or so people who work
hard in the land they own. Until recently, no one there knew of Jesus. Only in
the past couple years- even months have a handful of children, families and
elderly learned of their Savior and entered His family. I was blessed with the
privilege of visiting and ministering to one of the handful a couple of days
before we left.
Two
girls from my squad (Alli and Char), 2 Peruvian Christian gals and myself
trekked up the mountainside to a home of a beautiful elderly woman just before
lunch. As we approached I noticed the
typical variety of livestock/foul/sheep grazing and clucking in the grass, the
usual sheep skin/hide hanging on a rope to dry in the sun, and the smell of an
outhouse. But as we came further along the path, the trees opened up and we saw
a panorama of the mountains and surrounding valley, basking in the warm morning
sunshine. I wish I had a photo that even remotely captured the beauty, but I just don’t.
All
of us Ladies sat on the grassy slope in front yard of her home admiring the
valley and chatting about life while the sweetest breeze blew gently around us.
At 78 years old, she came to know Jesus. She is 78 now. And as she talked about
all the things the Lord has been doing in her life, her eyes ran over with
tears of gratitude. I felt the presence of God so heavily during our conversation;
it hit me like a waterfall. At that moment I had a sort of out-of-body
experience, taking it all in. There were so many thoughts and so many emotions
but mostly I remember realizing, this is what its all about.
Its
about one elderly woman (whose name I don’t even know, but God does) in a tiny
mountain town in Peru, coming to know the God who loves her more than His very
life after 78 years of not. We didn’t
see thousands of people weeping at a crusade, we didn’t watch 50 Africans in
one day say the prayer repentance, but we did witness a precious child of God
coming back to the heart of her Father. This is what life is all about! This is what Jesus was/is all about. The one.
No matter how young or old or “nameless” or quiet or far away- these are the children
of God and these are the ones He died for.
It’s
all so obvious and so simple I know, but as the revelation hit me I really understood its importance to
God, maybe for the first time ever. And as I did, I became overwhelmed with
what a privilege the last year and a half of my life has been.
There
have been lots of moments of impatience, discomfort, sickness and brokenness in
my journey and a handful of discouragements too. Yet the moments that matter
are the ones like this one. Sitting on a mountainside, in a jungle home, in an
African field, a shack in Romania, on a stool in a Thai bar or in a restaurant
in Turkey with the one God sent me for. One who has lived their
lives without knowing the truth about who they are and whom they belong to.
This is why the Lord sends us to the nations.
I
have 26 more days on this World Race journey I’ve been on for the last year and
a half. Of course in this too there are so many thoughts and emotions. But as
the end of this season draws near I’m truly recognizing what a Holy honor it
has been to be a part of all these moments. It is no small thing to see what I
have seen. To go where I have gone. I am so in awe and I am so humbled.
