Month: July 2013

This morning after breakfast we loaded the bus and headed to town to do our souvenir shopping. After 2 hours we went to the mall where everyone was able to buy lunch. Most ate Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds. Some of us leaders enjoyed two Peruvian favorites … sebiche and anticuchos (beef heart). Both were absolutely delicious! The only thing we missed was the Guinea pig, but we can get that at home. lol! The kids had lots of fun. We have just returned to the church and are wrapping up packing and cleaning the facilities. At 7pm we will be heading to the airport, checking in, eating dinner, then going through security to our gate. Please pray everything goes smoothly and that all flights and connections are on time.

See all the pics here.

This morning we had a few more students not feeling well – Chris, Noah, and Naomi F. By this writing they all seem to be doing better, praise God. We had breakfast at 8am followed by a time of some very deep and I believe healing sharing. This really set the tone for the day, and it was an honor to see the team really focussed and united in ministry, on this, our final day of formal ministry here in Peru. We led the church service here at the church we have been staying at. Adriana led, and Peter, Nathaniel, Claudia and I played music. We then did a couple of our dramas, and Natalie, Ben, Aaron, Vivian, Althea, Claudia, and Dane all shared their testimonies. I preached, and at the end we had a beautiful time of prayer. At lunch we took time to celebrate Mr. Bradley Spicher’s 15th birthday! This is one birthday I’m sure he’ll never forget. We ordered some delicious cakes and an apple pie from a local bakery, which, Matt Fraher has made his second home, always finding a good reason we need a bakery run. lol! After lunch we loaded the bus and drove 2 hours up the coast to minister at a small church that is just 3 months old. The people had set up on a basketball court adjacent to the church. We were so blessed as they ran a cable about 50 yards from someone’s home, and a guy spliced the cable and ran a lightbulb up through the hoop and dangled it over the podium so we could see. The team was superb tonight! We did all of our skits and dramas, and Peter, Elaine, Victoria, Taylor, Naomi M., Irene, Jacqueline, Kevin, Claire, and Steven all shared their testimonies. I preached, and then we were invited to the church where we were served sandwiches and coffee for dinner. I am so proud of these students! They have risen to the occasion and embraced the challenge. It hasn’t always been easy, but I can already see growth in them. Tomorrow we have our free day and will head downtown to do the tourist thing and go souvenir shopping. Then we will return, clean the church, load up, and head to the airport for our overnight flight home. Thank you for your continued prayers!

See all the pics! Album 1 click here. Album 2 click here.

See all the trip pics here.

P.S. Many of you have inquired about my back. It is sore, but the pain is muscular and is lessening each day. I had back surgery a few years ago and was initially concerned, hoping I didn’t mess anything up. As far as I can tell I just have some deep bruising.

This morning we had breakfast at 7am, followed by devotions, then at 8am we loaded the bus and drove an hour along the scenic route through Lima, along the coast, to the Pachacamac Ruins. We had a neat tour and climbed to the top of one of the pyramid temples. Unfortunately Steven Benz responded badly to the pizza last night and was throwing up and unable to join us. We have a wonderful American missionary named Cheryl here who mothered him while we were out. As of this writing he is feeling much better and has stopped vomiting, thank God. We drove back to the church, had lunch, then took our team out on the street to do ministry. We made balloon animals, did our dances and dramas, and handed out flyers inviting people to the church. We then went to a park, made more balloon animals, did face painting, and played soccer with the kids. After a while we called a timeout and invited everyone to come over and we did our dances and dramas. Some teenagers were in the park break dancing, so we invited them to come over and dance to some of our music, which they did along with Ren Jainarine from our team. I closed by sharing a simple gospel message, and a man from the church invited them to come on Sunday with their families. Got home about 6pm. Ate dinner and read the blog comments and messages to the team. About to have our group devotions. Thanks for your continued prayers. Other than a few people getting minimally sick, everyone is in good spirits.

See all the trip pics here.

This morning we had student-led group devotions at 7:15am, breakfast at 8am, then at 8:30am half of the team went to another school across the street from the church. Some of the kids painted a small wall while the others went to classrooms and interacted with the elementary students in the classrooms. They also made balloon animals and played with the kids during recess. The other half of the team stayed at the church and finish painting the outside doors and handrails of the church and painted a gate for the community. After lunch they cleaned their rooms, the bathrooms, all the chairs of the church, and the floors and entire stairwell. To celebrate the 4th of July we had Domino’s Pizza and played some fun group games. We then ran through all of our skits and dramas then had our group devotions. Tomorrow morning we are getting up early to go and visit the ruins of Pachacamac. After lunch we will be going around to several parks near the church to do street ministry.

A few prayer points. Aaron woke up with a fever this morning. We took him to the doctor and he received some antibiotics. He spent the day resting and is feeling much better, praise God. Adriana also felt a bit warm this evening, so pray that it does not turn into anything. Finally, today at the school I was playing basketball with the kids. The cement outdoor court was wet from rain, and when I went up for a layup, my feet came out from under me and I landed smack on my lower back very hard. I had back surgery down there a few years ago. Please pray nothing was damaged. Right now I am very sore, but it feels like deep muscular pain. Thanks for praying for us all!

Celebrating the 4th of July

To see all the pics from the trip, click here.

This morning we were up early and to student-led devotions at 7:15am. At 8am we had breakfast, then at 8:30am 2 groups headed to a school 10 blocks away, and the other 2 groups stayed at the church. The groups that went to the school painted a schoolyard wall, and some of the team members went to classrooms and conversed with the elementary students, answering questions about America and helping them practice their English. During recess everyone went to play with the children. Basketball, soccer, parachute, balloon animals … We found ourselves surrounded by seas of children, all desperate to get a balloon or just touch us. Seriously. Next they all came running up to our team with notebooks asking for — you’re not going to believe it — autographs! lol! It was complete pandaemonium. The groups that remained at the church also did painting and Jimmy and Aaron worked on re-tiling the baptismal.

Everyone ate lunch at the church, then the school groups returned to do more painting and classroom interaction with the middle- and high-school students. Unfortunately, the vice-principal of the school decided to go on a power trip and stopped our students mid-class from conversing with the students, in spite of the wonderful interaction that was taking place and the pleas of the teachers. This kind of thing is rather typical in developing countries. Despite prior clearance from the administration, this fellow decided to flex his muscle for whatever reason. We have our speculations. In any event, some of the students helped with the painting, and some others returned to the church to do other things. After dinner we had a little free time then had a church prayer service at 7:30pm. Only a few folks from the church showed up, but we had a powerful time of prayer for the people in attendance, Pastor Jorge, the church, and those outside the church who need to know Christ. After the service we had a nice treat of some local pastries then our small groups and a team debrief.

The boys finally fell asleep just after midnight. I’ve been waiting for the pictures on this post to upload for over an hour-and-a-half. Finally done. Off to bed. 🙂

Praying for the people outside the walls of the church who need Jesus.

This afternoon we sorted out our team supplies – toys, tools, children’s ministry curriculum, clothes, and school supplies. We then put together ziplock baggies of toys which we will distribute to children throughout the week. After that we practiced our dances and dramas, then went for a walk and enjoyed some ice cream. For dinner we had a delicious typical Peruvian dinner. After dinner we had a team meeting, then had about an hour of prayer and worship followed by small group gatherings. We’re off to bed now. Up early in the morning to begin our ministry.

The gift each of us was blessed with when we arrived … drinks, snacks, and a bag from Peru.

Boys’ room

Girls’ Room

Well, last night we loaded our plane fine in New York. We didn’t get in the air until an hour after we were supposed to depart, so that made our Mexico City connection a fun race through Immigration, Customs, rechecking our bags, going through security, and straight to boarding our flight to Peru. It was an adventure, but everyone did a great job sticking together and we made our connection. The flight to Lima consisted of everyone sleeping. We arrived early, everyone got all their luggage, and we got through the airport fine. Jonathon Edwards and the pastor met us and we loaded the bus and enjoyed very much the traffic on the way to the church. New York City traffic is nothing! lol!

We are now settling into our rooms, sorting team supplies, and getting money exchanged. Everyone is in good spirits. Thanks for your prayers!

Mexico City

All luggage received in Peru!

Jonathon Edwards

The church we’re staying at and working with.

So we are now at our gate at JFK. Everyone made it to the airport and through security – mostly uneventfully. We’re flying through Mexico City and will arrive in Lima, Peru, Lord willing about 6am