Peru // monday
[positive happenings today]
1 :: hung drywall in the orphanage
2 :: prayer walk through the neighborhood
3 :: got the only Inca Kola at lunch
4 :: spent some great time with one of translators, Fernando, talking about Jesus, ministry, and scripture
5 :: only had one kid at vacation bible school pull hair out of my beard
Peru // sat. am
i’m back. for reasons unknown yet exciting to me, God has chosen to break my heart for this country and its people. the fact that i get to be a part of ongoing ministry here both blesses me and messes me up. we spent the day today in worship, visiting Hannah’s Home & Hannah’s Hope, spending time with dear friends in ministry, and playing ball with orphans. don’t mistake that because Jesus said the poor will always be with us that they can be ignored & we just have to put up with them.
don’t bear trouble, use it. take whatever happens – justice and injustice, pleasure and pain, compliment and criticism – take it up into the purpose of your life and make something out of it. turn it into testimony.
E. Stanley Jones :: American missionary to India
Peru::day six
so while our trip is officially a ChildReach Minsitries trip, this particular trip is also partnered with Compassion International. most of the trip has been a work project with the Hannah’s property, but today was our Compassion day. everyone on our team [except us] also sponsors a child through Compassion here in Peru. i heard last night that there are 43,000 Compassion children here in Peru, and that only 1 in 1000 children ever actually meet their sponsor. what i so appreciated about today was that so often, especially when i’m here, it can be easy to look around and feel like there are so many that need help & wonder if what we’re doing is even making a difference. it’s hard for me to think about how you give hope to thousands & thousands of families and children.
today, though, reminded me that i may not always see a dent made in the whole of things, but i saw a difference made in specific lives. seeing kids and moms meet there sponsors, exchange gifts for each other, kids getting necessities, these groups praying & loving together – it makes a difference.
it’s hard to believe that we’re leaving tomorrow night…
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- el pueblo
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- emily & aden’s compassion child
Peru::day five
it’s been an utterly exhausting week. mix little sleep, lots of manual labor, VBS with lots [lots] of kids, not your trypical american church services…you get tired people. yesterday was probably the longest day of the week so far. the big part of the day for me was working on finishing the roof on the 2nd floor of Hannah’s Home. heights don’t really bother me so much; it’s edges. let’s just say yesterday had its moments of terror.
today we lead a VBS at a local public school. what was awesome was that we got to talk about Jesus to ~800 kids. what ws creepy was the skull in the glass case on the first floor hallway in the school. yes. i said skull. we spent the rest of the afternoon filling in a ditch on the outside of the Hannah’s Home/Hope property wall. there has been a ditch runing the length of the wall on the neighbor’s lot since the hole for the footer was dug. we want to keep good relationships with the neighbors, so we took care of that today. tomorrow we head to Lima to visit with Compassion children. looking forward to turning in a little early tonight.
our work crew
it's done
- working on the roof
Peru::day two
dang. i’m tired. my back hurts. i have blisters. i want to go to bed early. i feel like an old person.
we hit the ground running today; it’s a good thing we had some down time yesterday to rest up from the day of traveling to get here. i got to start with leading worship on the beach this morning – awesome. then it was off to construction projects. Bethany helped dig a ditch, which she did with excellence. good to know in case we need any ditches at home. Aden and i got to do the demo work. 85 linear feet of brick & concrete wall came crashing down. yes, this trip is about breaking down walls. hollar. i kind of wonder if we could have saved ourselves seom work with that whole biblical thing of seven times and trumpets and such.
we also had our first day of vacation bible school with a local neighborhood. 50+ kids, dancing, actually good drama, songs, crafts, and a short message = a great time. we’re also going bacm to the same area tomorrow, which will be great to see those particulat kids again. a few of our groups members also went to a local orphanage to help give TB tests to all the kids. not a popular job, but really important.
there it is. day two. i’m enhausted. bethany is already in bed. i’ve become the point person for organizing the ChildReach blog in addition to my own, so as soon as the folks from our trip are done with their updates, i’m off ot bed, too!
Peru::day one pictures
this morning after church, we picked up about 15 kids from a local orphanage that ChildReach partners with and treated them to lunch. we went to restaurant that sat on a cave/bay/cove connected to the ocean. it was gorgeous. nothing like waves and mud to get kids excited! after that we went over and got our first tour of Hannah’s Hope & Home. it’s pretty amazing to finally see it in person and happening after so many months of planning, drawings, and dreaming.
the cove from our restaurant
some of our kids
Hannah's Hope from Hannah's Home
Peru::day one
we made it; always a plus. Newark NJ to Lime Peru is a long time in a plane – 7.5 hours – but it was ok. why? touch screen panels in the back of every seat. probably about 20 movies, 12 TV shows, music, and a slew of games. and yes, free. continental airlines has become a new favorite. the day was long; it began at 6:15 am, and ended when we finally got to Ola Grande at 2am local time (3am EST). we were literally sung to sleep by the waves of the pacific – awesome. today it’s breakfast, off to church, then lunch with about 20 kids from a local orphanage that ChildReach partners with. pictures to come!
we're here
one day until Peru
and here is where we’re going:
Peru
Chilca, Peru
The site of Hannah's Hope & Home
two days until Peru
i’ve been waiting for this week for about a year now. saturday morning bethany and i get on a plane and eventually end up in Chilca, Peru. we’ll be continuing work on Hannah’s Hope, Hannah’s Home, and other ministry around that community. why am i so pumped about this?
i was baptized in the Pacific on the beaches of Peru in 2003
to see friends i haven’t seen in years
those weeks in 03 & 04 changed everything
Bethany will be with me
Hannah’s Hope (which began at my wedding) is coming true
ChildReach is showing Jesus to people
if everything is as i’m told, we should be able to update what’s happening as the week goes on. this will be the place for the pics & video. pray for us.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
