Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Day One

Day 1 of our Peruvian adventures:
     Since we ended our day Tuesday at 2:30AM this morning, our fearless (and tired) leader let us sleep in for a while.  If our internal alarms went off, most just enjoyed the first glimpse of the Andes Mountains out of the window and a little Peruvian coffee.  Terry and Danielle ventured up the mountain for a better view of the area.  The group gathered for a devotion which Pastor Rob led on Acts 16 and how Paul and Timothy wanted to go into different areas of Asia than God allowed.  Sometimes our plans are not God's so we needed to be flexible.  Well that is exactly what happened today.  Because of the Peruvian Independence Day being celebrated yesterday and today many businesses were closed.  So, instead of exchanging money, we went to Plaza Vea and did some shopping for a "holding tank" which we wanted to visit later today.  A holding tank is a place where abandoned children are placed before they may be taken to orphanages or other facilities.  We bought a blender and a rice cooker along with many pounds of rice, beans, and sugar.  This will allow them to eat for a few days, as these holding tanks only run on the donation of groups like ours.
      While there, Terry shared her testimony to several young ladies who prayed to receive their forever home in heaven.  This is always exciting to be a part of because so many have no hope.  Even the ladies that work there heard the gospel.  In such a hopeless place, despair is very prevalent.  One worker shared with Maricela and Peggy about her struggles.  While several of us worked on our volleyball skills with some of the girls, others held little ones and tried to communicate in our broken Spanglish (Spanish/English); Kelsey even learned the Peruvian National anthem and sang it with a group of young ladies.  Oh, what laughter was heard in those walls today, but as time came for us to leave the tears began to flow.  Most likely, we will never see them again, but our prayer is that they saw in us the love of our Lord Jesus and will desire to have that in their lives as well.  We left them with a snack and a booklet of John and Romans.
    On our way back to the home we made a detour to Manchay, which is a true Peruvian village outside of Lima where the shanty homes line the hillside.  Finding a park filled with families, we stopped the bus and followed the Holy Spirit's leading to share His word.  We had only one box of John and Roman booklets with us which we did not want to take back to the home. With hands full, we ventured amongst the multitude and handed out what Bibles and tracks we had with us.  It was so exciting to back track and see many sitting and reading what we had given them.  One asked where the church was.  Fortunately I recognized one word - Donde- and knew he wanted to know where the church was.  We are relying on the fact that Jesus promised that His Word would not return void.
     So this evening please join us in praying for the young girls at the holding tank, the worker who need hope, and all the Bibles and tracks that went out today.  At this moment all members of the team are well and adapting well.  We covet your prayers as we continue to be flexible and go where God leads!

Anne Edwards

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