Blessed month

I have a lot to catch you guys up on as it has been a pretty busy month. I spent a few weeks living in the village of Huarochiri followed by a research trip. I won't be able to cover it all but what I can tell you for sure is that it has been a amazingly blessed few weeks.

So... Huarochiri was without a doubt one of the richest experiences I have had in a village. It began with uncertainty and days without much to do. However, the plans of the Lord became clear in time. We spent time with a couple of local believers on a regular basis. One of them was an old man, named Nisefero, and he wanted to meet every day... so we did! It was wonderful to see both Nisefero and Rayda (the other believer we met with) growing in the word of the Lord and trusting in Him more each day. Something amazing happened toward then end of our time. A lady came to Rayda to ask about us because she has the desire to read the Bible. We got to know her and spend time with her and she also was a believer! By the end of our time we got together with all three of them and they did a Bible study on their own. Hallelujah! We are praying that their time together will continue and that the Spirit will give them more and more understanding of the word.

An opportunity I was originally not too pumped about, but, which turned out to be one of the coolest was spending time with the children in the primary school. We visited one or two classes each day and taught Bible stories and english. It was unbelievable how they received us and the way they participated, picking up the stories and english quickly and with excitement. Our prayer is that those stories and the lessons about what God did will continue to stick with them... that the truth that they heard will not be forgotten. We pray that their little ears would be closed to any untruth that may come from a variety of sources. We got so close to one of the classes that they through us a party before we left and made us cards and flowers to take with us as a memory. Their gratitude to us was something I had never seen in any other place... I was truly humbled.

If you would like to check out some of the pictures you can see them here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=233281&id=638611248&ref=mf

I had to switch gears and get into research mode. The research trip went well but because of difficultly of public transportation in the area we were only able to get information from half of the villages on our original list. It was a real bummer leaving and feeling like we weren't able to accomplish all that we had hoped. I resigned myself to the fact that God knows best. We spent our last night as a team (Arturo, Michelle, and I) praying over the places we had been visited and those that we weren't able to visit. There was little gospel presence in the villages and we hope this will change soon if it's in His plan.

I am now enjoying a little time in Lima. I will be heading out for a few days on a mini-vacation to visit some places in the north. My team mostly covers southern Peru so it's time to get a little taste of the north. I will update you at least once more before this journey ends... which is only a little over three weeks away! I have completely mixed feelings at this point. All I know is that God is good. I am soaking up Peru in these last few weeks and am eager to see all of your faces very soon.

MAD LOVE

Been reading through some of the Old Testament books that are little and at the end. It has been awesome. And I wanted to share a verse.

"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!"

- Joel 2:21

Momma's visit and Huarochiri (try pronouncing that one)

Friends, the time has come to head out on another trip. But, before I talk about that I just wanted to mention a little bit about the time I spent with my mom when she visited August 2-9. I cannot explain how cool it was to see her come out at the arrival gate in Lima and give her a huge hug. We had the chance over the course of the week to spend time talking and sharing more about what has been going on here and back in the states, to see some of the sights in Lima (some of which I hadn't yet had the chance to see), to eat LOTS of amazing food, to travel to an area about 5 hours away and experience the desert and the sea, to enlighten my mom a little more about the reality of Peru, and what was most significant to me was that we got to love on each other and praise God for how wonderful he has been, is, and will be.

You can check out pictures here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199040&id=638611248

So... my next adventure begins tomorrow. I will be part of a team of three serving in a village about 7 hours from Lima called Huarochiri. This was not our original destination, but as is often the case, things changed. My team is made up of Arturo, Ginny, and I. We have had the opportunity to talk with members of the church that comes from the states several times a year to work in this village. They were able to give us many names and specific information on some of the people who are believers, some who are interested in the Word, and others with whom they have had contact but not lots of interest yet. We are excited to see what the Lord has for us there. A Bible study was supposed to have began there a few weeks ago after a team from the church left but we are unsure if that happened. This will be something we will seek to find out and either encourage them to keep it up or try and encourage them to start the study. we will have approximately three weeks in this village before returning to Lima. I would ask for your prayers for this village and my team. We are expecting to be used in big ways and to seek the Lord as we make relationships and share.

This verse always comes to mind when I am preparing myself to head out to a village. I claim this. I pray this. I believe this it true.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." -Ephesians 3:20-21

Mad love

I'll be in touch in a few weeks if not before then.

Farewells

Dear friends it has been some time now and I have much to tell you. It's been a busy couple of months. The Lord continues to shine through all of it and show himself faithful. This hasn't been the easiest season of my time in Peru or of my life for that matter. But I am confident that He has purpose in everything.

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

-Proverbs 19:21

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven"

-Ecclesiastes 3:1

I am gonna go all the way back to late June and pick up there. As you may remember, I was traveling with a couple of college students doing research in some different regions. We had a rough time in the early parts of June and were pretty tired by the time we reached mid-summer and at this time we were able to have a big reunion with all of the summer volunteers and with my close friends that I work with here. The timing of this was perfect and the Lord granted his grace to us with some good rest and time to fellowship with brothers and sisters. We had a time to share stores from the month of June. We had a wildly fun talent show. I did a dance with some friends and some peruvian animal impression. I hope to get a link up of the video so you guys can see it as well.

Shortly after this reunion my team and I headed back to Lima with some of my close friends so that we could wish Ryan, another Journeyman and one of my best friends, farewell. It was a blessing to be with all my dear friends that I have been working with since the beginning of this journey and to celebrate and praise the Lord for how He has used Ryan in Peru and in each of our lives.

Once my team and I worked out a tentative plan for part 2 of the summer we headed back out to Ayacucho to finish up research that we were unable to complete during the first half of the summer due to sickness. The Lord blessed that trip although we were constantly tired from the long travel and started getting sick again. During this time I met a dentist from the states who was visiting Peru and doing some volunteer work in the area. She and I became friends and I helped her out with figuring out some places where she might be able to use her abilities to help the people. Some of you may remember me talking about Domingo and Berta in some previous entries. Domingo is a pastor and Berta is his wife. She also teaches for kindergarten aged children. My dentist friends, Mariana, came to the school where Berta teaches to check out the children's teeth and show them how to properly brush. I was sort of her assistant for the day. It was so cool for me to help out in that way and tough at the same time to see the how bad some of the children's teeth were but to be able to teach them something important was neat. The Lord continues to reveal to me the passion I have in helping people out in a physical, tangible way. Serving them by meeting some of their needs.

The rest of the summer brought more travel and a nearly constant with sickness and fatigue. In our weariness, I petitioned the Lord for energy and strength. He provided. We had to commit ourselves to the work but also to taking rest when we needed it. I'll share with you about one specific village we visited and it was there that we really saw God open some doors. We were in the town of Congalla doing research in mid-July. We had gotten most of our information and it was evening so we walked around town trying to find something to eat. Some young kids approached us and wanted to know if we would like to do an interview of sorts. We complied and spent about an hour talking with them and answering all kinds of different questions. We tried to sing the National Anthem but it didn't go so well, cause we were unaware of how incredibly HIGH it is, hahaha! During the conversation told them about the purpose of our visit. At the end, the Lord gave us the opportunity to pray for them. Hallelujah! My teammate, Sarah, prayed in English and then I translated her prayer and prayed in Spanish. Just one example of how we saw God's faithfulness in our travels.

We made it back to Lima around the 25th of July in order to take all of our information and put it into documents that will be taken to churches in the states with the hope of stirring up interest to adopt these places and come down in order to share with the people in these towns. Towns where there are many lost and confused people who are in desperate need of truth and the word. After finishing all the computer work we reunited once again with all the summer volunteers and had a few days of sharing about the month of July. It was a time of listening, prayer, and fellowship. Most of them left shortly after this time. It was refreshing and inspiring to hear their hearts and see their obedience in spending two moths here and carrying out the purpose that the Lord has set before them.

The last couple of weeks have been crazy including sending off a couple more of my dear Journeyman friends and a week visit from my mom. I hope to write again soon and tell more about the time with my mom and some specific things that the Lord has been teaching me.

Mad Love

One more things... my team and I went through some of Psalms in our time together and the Lord revealed to me how weak I am when it comes to my knowledge of the word. I am working on putting scripture to memory and the Psalm below is where I began. I hope he will continue to challenge me in this way and that I will be obedient to guard the word in my heart.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.

A few bumps in the road

After writing this title I realize that this not only holds figurative meaning as we have come across a few obstacles since our research journeys began but it holds a quite literal meaning as it is a rare occasion to travel on a paved road while traveling in Peru. The majority of our trips are quite literally bumpy the entire way.

Greeting to you all from Ayacucho City. We are back here after a research trip that was cut a little short because one of my teammates came down with a pretty wicked rash. In our time out God showed himself faithful. We saw his constant provision as we were visiting town to town getting information. In the first place we visited after walking around for only a short time the Lord placed a believer in our path who helped us with information on the community, introduced us to other locals, took us to visit the school and share about our mission, and fed us an amazing peruvian meal. Our journey has been marked with divine meetings just like this.

We are so thankful for the people of peace that he continues to put in our paths. We were blessed to have a short visit by a couple of guys from the states. We laughed, traveled, prayed, and even struggled a little with our brothers. It was such a joy to share some with them and to be encouraged by them. We will most likely be heading out again tomorrow for out next destination. Please pray for my teammate who is beginning to get better from his rash and also for me as my body has been a little weak and with some stomach issues in the last day or so. We pray especially for endurance as the travel can be a little grueling. Our little issues do not compare to all our Saviour has done for us so we press on. Hallelujah!

I long to have an earnest desire for the Lord and his word. I long to grow in wisdom and understanding that comes from above. I have found myself struggling in this area. This truly troubles me. I see how this affects me negatively in every aspect of my life. I am taking this request to God in my prayers. I ask that you would also join me in prayer. Pray that I would not neglect my time nor be distracted when I am in the word.

The Lord is walking my through Hosea and Hebrews and I came across this tonight. Praise Him for this truth. I wanted to share it in the language in which I am currently living, Spanish, as well as in my own heart language.

"Ciertamente, la palabra de Dios es viva y poderosa, y más cortante que cualquier espada de dos filos. Penetra hasta lo más profundo del alma y del espíritu, hasta la médula de los huesos, y juzga los pensamientos y las intenciones del corazón. Ninguna cosa creada escapa a la vista de Dios. Todo está al descubierto, expuesto a los ojos de aquel a quien hemos de rendir cuentas."

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

-Hebrews 4:12-13

Be in touch again soon.
Mad love

ayacucho... let the research begin

Hello to all you folks who are keeping up with my travels. Hope this finds you doing very well. It´s pretty late here in Ayacucho City in the Andes and the stars are shining bright. When I am this close to the sky I stand outside and say to myself, ¨stop... stop right there, look what your Creator made¨, I cannot tell you of the wonders that I have seen in my time here. I am continually amazed.

My team for the summer is made up of a couple of college students, Eric and Sara. Eric is a student at UNC Charlotte and Sara is at University of West Florida. I think we are going to have a lot of fun together. We laugh a whole lot. I am eager to grow with them, to encourage and be encouraged as we travel and seek after the Lord. We aks for your prayers as we start a pretty rigorous schedule of travel early in the morning.

I doubt that I will have the chance to update a lot in the following months but I can´t wait to catch up again in late July.

Mad love to all

I am clinging to this verse tonight as I am already a little tired and the traveling has hardly begun. You who are weary, find rest in Him.

¨In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.¨
-Psalm 4:8

Good reads

One of my most earnest desires is to learn from Scripture and have a true passion for God's Word. So I pray this for myself. I would ask you also to pray that I would be grounded in the Word before all else.

Apart from this I am interested in reading about the lives of others and the experiences people all over the world have had. Books have the ability to do just this. They can take you into a whole different world and allow you to view something from a completely different perspective.

I wanted to share with you guys a goal that I made for myself in late February. The goal is to read at least one book per month for the rest of the year.

Here are a couple of books I have read up to this point and wanted to tell you about:

1. Open - the autobiography of Andre Agassi. As you may know I love the sport of tennis. Not just playing, which I rarely get to do at this juncture of life, but watching as well. The life of this tennis icon is most interesting. A life filled with experiences that someone like me can hardly imagine. A huge part of his life involved pain... not just the physical kind because of injuries but the kind in your heart because of things that you go through. Now this is not just a downer of a book, I laughed and smiled a lot too.

2. A Million Miles in a Thousand - the newest book by Donald Miller. This book is about story. What it looks like to live a better story and to be a person of character. I can't tell you how many chapters I read and my mouth just dropped open. Such an applicable book to us as believers.

Lambrama and Alis

During the early parts of May I spent a week in a village called Lambrama and later in the month a week in the village of Alis. I dealt with some sickness in the middle of these trips which made the time spent in each place a little shorter than I had hoped. But I the Lord was moving.

It was in Lambrama that I saw some of the most amazing things I have yet seen in Peru. Set between and surrounded by enormous mountains this place reminded me of the beauty of His creation and we were in awe of his majesty each and every day just by opening our door to see outside. After only a short time there we recognized God working. A young woman named Celia came to the Lord... Praise God for using us to share the gospel with her and to begin the process of discipleship. We made a solid relationship with a man named Dino and encouraged him in his walk with the Lord, we recognized in him a potential for a leader and strong christian male presence which is key to seeing the Church rise up. Through him we met a lady named Josefa who was over 100 years old. We helped in giving her a bath, cleaning the blankets that she slept on, and tidying the small room she inhabits. It was life-giving for me to have the chance to help Josefa in such a tangible way. She truly needs our prayers because she sometimes goes without food or care for days when Dino is not in town. He is the only person who is committed in aiding her and making meals to take to her home. Josefa is so desperate and in a given day mostly thinks about her desire for death to come quickly. We told her of the gospel and that there is a hope for the hopeless. We shared out of obedience not knowing if she would understand. For we trust that the Word does not return void. For all that happened there I am so very thankful. Please say a pray for these people and this village.

My time in Alis was also a blessing in several ways and I'd like to share a couple of those ways. The first is a blessing that reoccurs in most any place I go but I long to never take it for granted. The Lord's creation is in a word, marvelous. I have never seen a place as beautiful as this place in my entire existence. Yet again I was overwhelmed with the beauty I saw in the mountains, trees, rivers, birds, flowers. Thank you Creator. The second is the beauty that I saw in His people. The believers who lead a group in the town are named Juan and Delia. These people are the most solid believers I have met in Peru. Individuals earnestly seeking the will of the Lord. Looking to scripture to receive wisdom and understanding on what the life a follower should look like. These folks challenge and encourage me in my own walk. And though we are from starkly different backgrounds I found myself talking to them about the same issues that I often deal with in my own life. Again, I can only be thankful for a chance to have spent time in places like this with people like that.

Mad love