Berean Bible Church - Peru Trip - Day 7

We arrived in Lima at 5:30 this morning, and were taken to the hotel to drop off our things and get ready for a day of ministry.  The team is tired as most did not sleep well on the bus, but I am confident they will be a blessing to the kids today in spite of their exhaustion.

We had breakfast at the church at 8:30, and then after a short devotional, we headed off to Spiros Zodhiates Childcare Center.  We broke into 3 groups – singing, bible story/drama, and games.  There were about 65 kids ages 3-7, and they were a joy to work with.  It was difficult at times – especially as we ended our “structured” times and moved the group from one station to another.  It was like herding cats, but I am confident the kids had a wonderful time.   

Harold arrived partway through the morning (he is our sponsored child), and we chatted for a while.  He helped me move some wood into the center for the group that is going to build the bookshelf.  I love seeing him – he is growing so big.

Speaking of wood, Jeremiah spent some time hammering nails with a couple of the kids – it was so cool watching him share his trade with the children.  Eventually they will probably finish the bookshelf tomorrow.

After our “mini-VBS” style lesson, we fed the children.  As the young kids began to eat, the older kids began to arrive.  We ushered them into the upstairs room, and had a time of singing as the younger children finished their food and left for school.  Eventually the older kids returned downstairs to eat.

We left and headed over to the Buen Pastor Center for an afternoon of working with about 35 kids.  We taught the story, sang the songs, and played with the kids.  Mostly, we just loved them as Christ would have if He were here.  When we first arrived, I was greeted by Norma – it is always good to see our sponsored children.  I spent much of the next few hours with her as the team interacted with all of the kids.  These kids are so easy to love – they love you back, and it really is a wonderful experience.

After what seemed like a long time, but was really only 2 hours, we headed back to the other center for a woman’s Bible study – where Kelly, Steph and LB shared their testimonies, while the boys played soccer with some of the local kids.  Tomorrow we would like to play them again and share bibles and soccer balls with them.

We eventually made it back to the hotel, went out for a chicken dinner with Pastor Jose and his family, visited Richard’s house, and did our evening wrap up.  The team is tired and ready for bed – and so am I, so that is exactly what I am going to do now.

Good night!

Berean Bible Church - Peru Trip - Day 6

What a wonderful day today was.  Two church services in two different places, and a number of other “special activities” that made today complete.

The day started with devotions in the book of Philippians, followed by breakfast – Lomo Saltado – a delicious Peruvian meal.  Then we headed to the church for the morning service.  While some of the group were listening to Fausto as he preached, others were working with the children (a last minute request from the pastor’s wife).  They shared with the children the story of the woman who washed Christ’s feet with her hair.  Fausto preached from Acts 2.  He used the work of the group as an example of the body serving itself.

After church, packed our stuff and had lunch with Fausto and his family.  The group watched a picture presentation of the wedding that occurred yesterday (Richard took pictures for the family yesterday), and then listened as Fausto shared about his ministry and gave the team things to pray about.

Eventually we packed up and headed to Huaraz with Pastor Andres.  We unloaded our bags at the church and went shopping and sightseeing around Huaraz for a couple hours.  Before the evening service, the team had dinner with Pastor Andres.  It was a wonderful time of relaxing and sharing together as a team. 

After dinner we went to Pastor Andres’ church to hear a 25 year old preach.  He is a product of the AMG childcare center, as he graduated from our program, and is now seeking to serve God full time in ministry.  Before he preached, we sang a number of songs and hymns with the people.  Many of us knew the songs in English, so we sang the words we knew.  As always, it was a great experience worshiping with other believers that do not speak the same language.  Many of the team were moved to tears as the experience was overwhelming.  What a joy it is to listen to the Spanish and English people singing praise to our great God together. We look forward to the day when we will all do it in His presence.

When the service ended, we stayed around the church for an hour or so, and then headed to the bus station for our long ride home.  Tomorrow we will be working at 2 child care centers.  It is my prayer that the team gets some rest as we head back to Lima.

Berean Bible Church - Peru Trip - Day 5

Today is Saturday, and due to Fausto’s son getting married today, we will not be working at the center.  So the leadership met last night and decided to go on a brief hike up the mountain behind the church.  Fausto told us it would take about an hour to arrive at the top, so we figured it would be a 3 hour experience.  However, as I was talking with Richard, I was confident it would take us 5 of 6 hours, as things here in Peru never take as much time as they say it will.

After breakfast, we headed off for the mountain, leaving Richard at the hotel.  The group seemed positive and excited about the trek, but it didn’t take long before the “newness” of the experience wore off.  The funny thing is that we really didn’t know what trail we were going to take, but since the mountain rose over 1,000 feet above us, it was easy to find the top from anywhere.  We followed trails – especially those with cow/donkey poop, as we knew those trails had to be easier to get through. 

It was hot, the climb was long, the trail was not always easy, and we took a number of stops along the trail.  On one stop, we took time to listen to Kelly and Carl share their testimonies.  It was a great break, and it was awesome to hear their stories.  Eventually though, we had to continue on to the top.

After nearly 3 hours of climbing, we arrived at our stopping point.  The view was beautiful – overwhelmingly so.  Across the valley from where we were standing at 11,000 feet were a number of other mountains, one reaching over 20,000 feet above sea level.  The snow capped mountains were a beautiful sight, and we took time to be amazed at the power of our God who created it all.

We took time for some videos and pictures, and then headed down the mountain after a time of prayer.  The trip down was much easier than the trip up.  The kids were thankful as we took the road down and enjoyed walking through small villages as we worked our way to the bottom.  The total time of the round trip was just under 7 hours.

When we returned, we took some time for cleaning up, resting and then had dinner.  After dinner we did our daily wrap up.  I love hearing the kids talk about the things they learn, the ways they experienced God, and rehearsing the experiences they had.  It truly is my favorite part of the trip.

Tomorrow we will be going to church in Yungar and Huaraz, and then will be taking the night bus home.  It’ll be a long night, but I pray that the team will be able to rest and be ready for Monday.

Thought for the day:  On the way up the mountain, some of the kids found themselves complaining about the difficulty of the trail we were taking.  I fully understood, because the elevation, the steepness of the climb, the many sticker bushes, etc.  made the trip very difficult, .  However, this evening we spent some time talking about the fact that we eventually made it because we all pushed through the difficulties that we had encountered and eventually reached the top and were able to see the glory of God in a way that we never could without the difficulties we encountered.

My thought was, how many times in life do we miss out on the wonder and amazement of seeing God in an unusual way because instead of pushing through the hard things we take the easy way out.  We quit too early.  We are satisfied with the simpler, less satisfying things, and we miss out on the greater experience of God.

God help me push through the tough times, knowing that you will never give me more than I can handle, and that you will use the hard things of this life to shape me into being more like Your Son.  Help me settle for nothing less than seeing You on the mountain tops, and desiring more than just the easy things of this life.

Berean Bible Church - Peru Trip - Day 4

Another beautiful morning here in Yungar, the sun came up and again displayed God’s glory. 

We began today with devotions in Philippians.  We talked about Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, and were challenged in the way we pray for each other.  After a time of prayer together, we broke for breakfast.

We left for the 15 minute walk to the church, and arrived around 9:00 ready to get to work.  Our objectives today – finish the painting in the sanctuary, the front of the building, the bathrooms, and the entrance of the building; finish the roof and clean up for the wedding day tomorrow.  

By the time the kids had arrived, most of the work was finished.  Some were left painting and working on the roof.  However, enough of the roof was finished for the kids to have their food and craft time in the classroom.  Praise the Lord!  While they were eating, Jordan brought some of the books that her and her father had brought for the kids.  They were English books, and it gave the team the opportunity to look through them and teach the kids some English words.  It also allowed the kids to teach the team some Spanish words.  This was awesome – very effective – and since Carl and Jordan brought the books to be left here, they will be a blessing and a help with the kids learning English in the future.

The team taught the story of the “good Samaritan” by reading the story in Spanish and then doing a drama.  The kids seemed to really enjoy it.  Jeff took some time (with Ana’s help) to challenge the kids and explain why Jesus told this story.  He clearly presented the gospel, and with the help of Richard (the AMG Missionary), I believe the kids understood what they were sharing.

During Jeff’s part of the program, some of the kids (one by one) were leaving to go to the “baño”.  After a number of them left for the bathroom, I decided to follow one…  Only to find that the whole group of kids that needed to go to the bathroom were outside playing with some of our roofing/painting crews.  I couldn’t help but laugh at them.  These kids are just like kids back home.  They had already sung, they had heard the story, and as they saw others of their friends disappearing, they had to find out what was going on.  And what little kid doesn’t like to play! 

After the older kids (who didn’t leave) broke from the devotional time, we had craft time for all of them.  The kids made “canastas”, little baskets to hold some candy and pencils that the team gave them.  They really enjoyed working with the kids.

As all of this was happening, we could hear thunder in the distance, and, since we are so high up in the mountains, we were able to see the rain all around us.  We knew our time was short, but we still had work to do.  We had to clean up our mess and help prepare the area for the outdoor wedding tomorrow.  We created an assembly line – including the children of the center – and moved a bunch of roofing material from the base of the property to a room inside the building.  The team and children alike had a blast as we worked together to accomplish the task.

We returned back to the hotel and after taking time to rest, shower and clean up, we gathered to view some of the pictures from the week so far.  Easton Baptist Church had provided me with a projector and this was the first time I was able to use it for a trip.  What a blessing it was for us all to rehearse the great things that God has done so far, and prepare for the rest of the trip.

After dinner we had our evening wrap up.  My favorite part of the day!  Hearing the teens wrestle with the day, with the things that God is teaching them, with the hard things, the fun times, the ways they were stretched, etc.  Some talked about their gifts and how God showed them they could be used.  Others talked about lessons God taught them.  I love knowing that God will use these lessons and experiences to shape the future of these teens.

After a brief leaders meeting we returned to our room only to find people in it – yeah, the kids were having a party in our room because we have the snacks and water in our room. For the next hour and a half kids stopped by the room to talk, get water, get snacks, etc.  I love interacting with these kids.  I am honored to be on another Berean Bible trip.  This group is a blessing to me.

Thought for the day:  As we were reviewing the pictures, some of the pictures were of the large mountains and beautiful views, while others of the pictures were close-ups of flowers with the minute details and beauty of the petals and the various parts of the flowers.  We have some amazing pictures, and although they cannot capture the full experience, they help remind us of our God.

The thought today is in reference to the verse in Psalms 8 where the psalmist talks about the “heavens, the work of your fingers,” and the thought that if the heavens were the detailed work of His fingers, what would the flowers be?   I mean when you think about the “work of your fingers” you think of the items of the greatest detail. For instance, you might shape clay with your hands, but when it comes to the finer details of completing the project, you change to your fingers and then to even more delicate tools.

Our God gave us a beautiful planet for His glory.  He showed us his creative abilities from the largest items we can view to the finest, smallest things we can find.  There is order, beauty, creativity, design… in all of it.  It screams that there is a God and He is amazing.

God help us take time to reflect on your glory in the creation around us, and especially in the creation you value most – the humans around us.  Help us to realize their value and worth because of their Creator.  Help us point them to your glory as we share with them the work of creation and the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary.

Berean Bible Church - Peru Trip - Day 3

“From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.  The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.”  Psalm 113:3-4

As we awoke this morning, you couldn’t help but lift your eyes and think of the glory and majesty of our God.  We arrived after the sun set last night, so the magnitude and splendor of our surroundings was hidden by the dark of night.  As the sun began to rise, the mountains came into view and their grand magnificence made us worship the creator who spoke them into existence. The mountains behind the hotel were mostly dirt with some small vegetation, but they soared thousands of feet above the 10,000 feet that we were already above sea level.  As we looked around, we were able to see the snow capped mountains that seemed almost to merge with the sky.  The sight is difficult to describe in words, and impossible to share without seeing it yourself.  God is majestic, powerful and amazing – the firmament showed us His handiwork.

We headed in for breakfast and the spent some time in God’s word.  We talked about the book of Philippians and laid the ground work for the devotionals for the rest of the week.  Then we prepared to leave and headed off to the church and childcare center at Yungar.

We arrived close to 9:00 and we jumped right to action.  The team split into 4 groups.  Three were painting and 1 was working on tearing off the roof above the kitchen and classroom.  They worked well, and much was accomplished.  They worked on painting the front and outside of the buildings, the bathrooms.  It was awesome to see the entire team engaged in working on the various projects and working together.

About 1:00 the kids showed up and we fed them lunch.  The team surrounded them and began interacting right away.  They were trying to speak Spanish, and in return, many of the kids were trying out their English.  The group sang songs with the kids, they did a skit and the kids seemed to love it.  They did a craft with the children which allowed for a bunch of interaction, and the kids loved that too.

At 4:00, we went to the soccer field and played some soccer with the kids.  10 on 10 at nearly 10,00 feet above sea level.  It was difficult to breathe as we ran, but it seemed like they had a great time.  We played for about an hour and a half, and then told the kids we would play again tomorrow.  I think they will be inviting some of their friends to come – we really had a great time.

The day ended with dinner and our wrap up/worship session.  I love to hear these kids sing and pray.  I love to hear them process their day.  I love to challenge them to make the patterns they develop here permanent in their lives.  Only God knows what impact this week is going to have on these kids.

Tomorrow is another day of the same – well, maybe – you never really know…

Thought for the day: During the evening wrap up, one of the kids said, “YOLO”.  And I thought about their culture and the idea that “You Only Live Once” is a mantra that encourages them to get the most out of life.  Yet it seems that the idea is that since you only live once, do whatever crazy things you can imagine doing.

I heard a poem one time that basically states a similar idea, but it goes like this…

Only one life ‘twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Yes, I will only pass this way once.  I will die at the end of my life, and there isn’t a second chance to do it all over again.  As a matter of fact, the day that has just been spent cannot be reclaimed – it is gone forever. 

So do I want to YOLO and get as much for me out of the day that I can, or do I want to make sure I give the most for God today.

Lord, help me keep my frailty and temporary existence ever before me, and may it challenge me to give everything I have for you and for your glory.  May the fruit of my daily life be eternal fruit, and not just the things that satisfy me today.