Strong. Dedicated. Faithful. Meet Joel and Maria Savage.
They pour out every single day into multiple ministries that love on the Peruvians in Trujillo. Maria runs a school that is free for the children in the neighborhood to attend. Otherwise, these children may not get an education. Joel and Maria lead a church in Trujillo called Vida Abundante. They selflessly prepare messages, teach, invite, share the gospel with, and love on each and every person who walks through those doors. They invite anyone and everyone they come in contact with. They also provide a free English class three days a week which actually brings people to the church. God is blessing their ministry in countless ways. Joel and Maria are inscribed on the 1st piece of my heart left in Peru.
Gentle. Protective. Proud. Meet Francisco
He was our taxi driver…also our proud uncle or father, and our security guard. We felt safe when we were with Francisco the entire month in Peru. He definitely spoiled us. Joel taught us the difference in “sketchy” or “gang” taxi’s and “normal” taxi’s from day one. Francisco was the safest person we could take so we called him frequently. He attends Vida Abundante and wanted to learn English. Every time I would sit in the front seat with him, we would have conversations about everything in both Spanish, for my practice, and English, for his practice. One night I was teaching at the church, Cielos Abiertos, and Francisco was going to take Joel home. They both walked over to listen to me for a minute, and they both ended up staying the whole time and Francisco took pictures like a proud dad and posted them on facebook! Francisco is etched into the 2nd piece of my heart left in Peru.
Loving. Caring. Empowering. Meet Pastora
She is the pastor of Cielos Abiertos. You can tell how much she loves the people in the neighborhood just by seeing their smiles when they see her and how the youth respect her and listen to her. One night before leaving, she prayed for each of us. She prayed for me and said, “God has anointed your mouth. Don’t be afraid to speak the words He has given you. He will use you to speak truth to the nations. You are going to do something new for the Lord.” Right before that service, I was nervous about speaking and didn’t have confidence that anything I had to say would mean anything to anyone. I am not confident in my ability to speak to people, but God gave me the words and He spoke through me. That is not all! Just the night before, my squad leader, Cali, told me that God gave her a word for me, “Pioneer.” God is working through each of these people in my life to encourage me and spur me on to do the work of the Lord. I will never forget Pastora. Pastora is written on the 3rd piece of my heart left in Peru.
Available. Hungry. Willing. Meet the Jovenes.
The youth of Cielos Abiertos blew me away. They were in the church worshipping the Lord almost every night of the week. They would stay for hours just praising the Lord together. I have never seen such godly youth who hunger and thirst for the Lord so much. Every Saturday, they street witness around their neighborhood. My first conversation with them lasted for three hours in Spanish one afternoon while I was painting. (My head was spinning by the end of it, but I learned more Spanish in that conversation than 1 year of Spanish class in school!) I took a break to talk to them and showed them my book from home. They started calling me “Teffy” and I looked forward to seeing them every day. One day they traded off being my “security guards” in the neighborhood as I painted into the dark trying to finish the outside mural in a not so safe neighborhood. God used them to keep me safe. The Jovenes are forever stamped onto the 4th piece of my heart left in Peru.
Sweet. Lovely. Vulnerable. Meet Silvia.
Silvia works for Joel and Maria. She works with the neighborhood kids as part of the school. She helped serve us our meals. She helps at Vida Abundante and prepares games for the youth. She is a single mother who provides for her son. I got to know Silvia and I fell in love with her. I brought a coloring book called the “Time Chamber” to color in each country. It has a picture of a girl on every page in a different environment. I chose Silvia as the first person I would color a page for. “For me?!?!” was her response as I showed her the book and let her know what I wanted to do. “Yes. I want to make something specifically for you. Would you like the girl to look like you?” I asked her. She thought for a minute and then she said, “No, I want her to look like you so I can always remember you!” So, that is what I did. I gave Silvia part of my heart when I left Peru. Silvia is engraved on the 5th piece of my heart left in Peru.
Beautiful. Curious. Talented. Meet Mili.
Mili is a new believer at Vida Abundante. She is married with an absolutely adorable little 3 year-old boy named Dyron. He was not sure what to think about us at first, but after a few days he warmed up to us and stole my heart. Mili’s husband would come to church occasionally, but was hesitant to give his life to the Lord. Right before we left, he told Joel that he wanted to talk to him about possibly giving his life to Christ. In one month, we saw a difference in him. Be praying for his salvation. When we left, I gave a page of my book and a piece of my heart to Mili. It was a page that had pictures of me with lots of different people that mean the world to me. I was told later that in the car ride home, Dyron was looking at the page and saying, “It’s Tiffany! Tiffany, Tiffany!” He was saying my name every time he saw my picture on the page. Mili gave each of us a hand made swan basket with a heart before we left. She gave us part of her heart when we left by spending hours hand making these gifts for us. Mili is imprinted on the 6th piece of my heart left in Peru.
Young. Innocent. Giving. Meet Diana.
Diana was walking down the street while we were inviting people to English class at Vida Abundante. Diana talked to us and then came to English class. I sat with her during her first class. She was so hungry for knowledge. She had so many questions. We invited her to stay for church and she did. She started coming to the church and loves it there now. Our last day with the people from the church was a Sunday and we had a baptism at the beach. Afterward, everyone played in the ocean. Diana and I held onto each other as the waves crashed around us. We stood together and at the end of the day when it was time to say goodbye, Diana gave me her favorite bracelet. She wore it every day. It has red, blue, and yellow flowers on it. I think it is ironic that these are the new colors I learned to love while in Peru. Diana is embedded into the 7th and last piece of my heart that was left in Peru.
Seven pieces of my heart broke off forever. The more I love with the Father’s love, the more love I have to give. God is filling up those spaces so I can love and leave more of my heart in Ecuador, then Colombia, Greece, Montenegro, Albania, Nepal, India, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand. God has infinite love to give. I’m glad my love comes from Him. If I was doing this on my own, I would have no more love to give. I would be a useless empty broken vessel. Good thing I have His infinite love. 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day. God loves you SOOOOO much. You have no idea…and neither do I.
