This Worship Life

Peru Day 3 – 4

Day three was very exciting at both the VBS sites. The children who have been attending have really worked their way into our hearts and our youth have built some great relationships with them. This day of VBS was devoted to continuing the story of creation, our sin and God’s gift. What a blessing for our youth to lead MANY of the children through the plan of salvation.

There is something about a mission trip that changes the missionary sometimes more than the ones we are sent to. Our youth have really stepped up in leadership and witnessing.

Day three was split so that each VBS team went to their site in the morning, returned down the mountain for lunch and then went back later in the afternoon. We did this to accommodate the schedule of the villagers. Theirs is very much an agricultural lifestyle. Saturday and even Sunday aren’t much different from the rest of the week. Cows still have to be milked every day! In the late afternoon and as the sun went down, we shared the story of Christ with dozens of children and engaged some of their parents in conversation. An adult study group led by Scott Kolle was held in Huacos. This is the same town where Jay White is leading the construction crew in the building of a church. The area is prepped to begin holding worship services as soon as the church is complete!

We all made it down the mountain late, shared a later supper, and then …. Well instead of going to bed, we were entertained by a very loud wedding reception party held on the grounds of the hotel. Peruvians apparently have loud and LONG wedding parties. They started at about 4 pm and stopped at 2 AM. There no insulation in our buildings (you can almost see under the door, which is a lovely glass mosaic) so it sounded like the band was playing in our room. Of course, we all still had to rise for breakfast at 7 am and more than one of us adults wanted to beat a drum at 6:30 to let the entire hotel know we were up!

Day Four was spent in a new town, Huaros, where they have an existing church building and congregation.

We taught the children a lesson for Sunday School and then returned for a two hour worship service that night. About an hour or more was just in singing! Our group rallied around and sang many songs from our American culture for the Peruvian church (some bits and chorus we sang in Spanish) and they sang many songs for us in Spanish. This church has a pastor, Senor Jaime, who has suffered much tribulation at the hands of the local Catholic Church in his town. Unfortunately the people are in bondage to a perverted version of the church in which crosses and shrines are used as idols against evil spirits. Blessing of cattle by the local priest is common, but can only be attained by paying for them. From time to time, they have a parade, which we witnessed, in which a band marches up and down the city streets, crisscrossing the town with a symbol or statue of a saint to bless the town, it’s crops and people.

Pastor Jaime has suffered beatings at the hands of townspeople who have been incited by other leaders. The process to purchase the property where the church stands was very complex and needlessly complicated. It involved getting lawyers from Lima for various reasons. After a long wait, Pastor Jaime was on his way back to Huaros on foot, and was ambushed and the contract was burnt. The process had to begin again, this time successfully. The protestant work was known as being from evil outsiders. Then a World Changers project came through two years ago. They replaced roofs on two widow’s homes. Since then, the evangelical work is known as the good people who replace roofs!

We had five youth to share testimonies: John Dodds, Megan Gammill, Nicole Ball, John Michael Robinson and Haley Jenkins. They were well spoken and although speaking with a translator isn’t easy, they did an awesome job. The church was so happy to have us there – we were used of God to encourage these people in the journey and were stretched in our own worship.

The worship was wonderful, the testimonies were inspirational and the people of Huaros prayed for our safe return and the continuing work of showing the world the love of Christ.