This month I have had the privilege of working with Camino de Vida, a church in Lima, Peru. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of their wheelchair distribution through Free Wheelchair Project, sort through clothing donations, help paint houses around the neighborhood, visit an orphanage for children with special needs, participate in a kids club for kids in the market next door, and travel on an outreach trip with 50 volunteers from the church.
Camino de Vida reminds me a lot of my church at home. Red Rocks Church. It has multiple campuses all over the city offering over 20 services each weekend. But what inspires me the most about Camino de Vida is Casa Alcance, the place where all outreach takes place and is facilitated. The four story building has a sanctuary for Sunday services on the first floor, a kitchen and offices on the second floor, clothing donations and a kids room on the third floor, and our apartment on the fourth floor. Nearly 50 outreach trips all around Peru are facilitated through this building, each trip feeding thousands of people and distributing wheelchairs while volunteers share the love of Christ. Each week children from the streets get to come here about the Gospel and play games in this building. Facilitators who work in this building distribute 7,000 wheelchairs each year to people in need. Volunteers who work here are fed lunch each day thanks to a few women who offer to cook. The list goes on and the outreach never seems to end.
All of this is done through donations and volunteers.
There are 4 people on staff at Casa Alcance, but nearly 200 volunteer here each week.
The phrase I have heard countless times this month sums it all up: it is better to give than receive.
This month I have seen generosity like I never have before. I have witnessed over 1,000 people being fed breakfast simply to share the love of Christ. I have watched people work through the night at their jobs only to show up in the morning all day to volunteer before returning to work at night. I have worked with missionaries that left a life in the States and in Europe behind to serve here. I have met great friends who have faced hardships, addictions, homelessness and heartbreak find Jesus and dedicate their lives to serving the church.
What this church is doing is so clearly divinely appointed. There is simply no way that they could obtain the amount of resources they have without something supernatural happening. To me, it seems pretty clear why.
It’s better to give than receive. Acts 20:35 says, “And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Here is why this ministry has so many resources for outreach, they have obeyed God’s command to give, and He has blessed them for it.
As Christians we have a responsibility to be image-bearers of God. We have the task of showing people God’s character through what we do. Through the generosity of this church, people all over Peru are a witness to God’s great gifts, the way He provides for His people, and the incredible beauty that comes from generosity.
I have been inspired by the generosity of this church and the way they put the needs of other above their own. I have been inspired by the way they sacrifice their time to serve the Church. They don’t volunteer once a year. Their volunteering is part of their lifestyle. This is what it means to live a life on mission. I will forever be grateful to the people at Camino de Vida for showing me what generosity and service for Christ really looks like and I hope they might inspire you too.
