Peru Trip 2008

The major theme in my life has been coming to the surface over the last few years. That theme is simply trusting in my Savior. No matter where I go or what I do I am faced with this theme. The trip to Peru has been no different. This Saturday marked a busy day as we finished up the Children’s program in Cusco. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining against the mountains where it is speckled with colorful houses on top of each other. I have still not gotten over the enormous beauty of this city and the mountains that surround it. The city is set in a valley of the mountains at about 11000 ft. It is in this setting that we have had the privilege to proclaim the gospel to a dark city. Cusco is a dark city. It is filled with witchcraft and all sorts of dark cunning. Upon arrival you would not think a city with such beauty would be so dark but once you have been there any amount of time you can sense it. I am only reminded of what God’s word tells us: “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” Simply trust Him.

Working with the kids at this Seminar has pushed me in areas that I have never known before. I have never thought of myself as a story teller but yet that is what I have been doing for the last two weeks. The Lord just keeps telling me to simply trust Him. As I have observed our team it seems that many of us are doing things we would never think we would do or were even cut out to do. Yet, the Lord keeps telling us to simply trust Him. This is what life is all about: trusting Him. We can do nothing in our own strength. Our eyes must always be fixed on the One who does all things. David tells in the Psalms that “my heart is fixed, oh God, my heart is fixed.” We as a team have been constantly challenged to be fixed on the one who does all for His Glory. It is the eternal purpose for which we live for (Eph. 3:1-11).

I have been challenging the team with this concept and yet it seems the Lord keeps telling me that “you’re the one that I want to teach this to.” Saturday, as stated already, had been a busy day as we wrapped up the Seminar with an all day program. In the evening, we were scheduled to visit a youth group at a local church in Cusco. The plan was simple: We were to speak and do a chalk talk and some of the students would give their testimony. Being the one that was going to speak, I had hoped to have some time to prepare for the message that I was to give during the afternoon but it seemed that all I did that day was run around and put out fires and make sure things ran as they were supposed to. Before I knew it, the day was over and it was time to go and do our presentation for the youth group. I was not ready. I had only a little time to run through the story that we had chosen to do as we drove to the church. Christie (one of the team leaders) wrote an outline of the story and ran through it with me. I was to tell the story while she drew a picture with chalk to represent the message. The theme that kept running over and over in my head was “simply trust me.” We arrived and it was time to begin the program. As I stepped up to begin talking I could sense that the Lord was working. The story came with such clarity and I spoke from heart. The young people were listening with great attention. There were tears as I could tell the Lord was speaking directly to the heart of each one. I was overwhelmed at what God was doing at that moment.

The message consisted of telling how my heart should be Christ home. The challenge was directly to the heart. Was your heart in a place where Christ was the guest and did he have complete control? The testimonies from Ben Nicholson and Kailyn Reesman were so amazing. They were from the heart and gave living proof of the concept that had just been painted in their hearts and minds. All we could do was stand amazed at what the Lord had done that evening. Each one of us were exhausted but it only showed that it is all of Christ and none of us in this life of seeking to glorify Him in all that we do. We definitely had driven in our heart the importance of trusting our Lord. We serve an awesome God and He is amazingly good in all things. My prayer is that we as a team will never lose sight of how trustworthy our God is. We have seen on this trip that Jesus is simply who He said He would be.

Daniel, for the Team

The whole team with the youth group to which Daniel spoke in the evening. These are precious young people we will meet around the throne of God someday. One of them, who worked as our translator all week, shared his testimony about how God was calling him to be a pastor. Please pray for these young people. Cusco is a difficult city for Christian teenagers.

Angela leading a game with the kids.

Nate and Ben illustrating anger and yielding rights by exploding a coke bottle with Mentos. The explosion was kind of small, but the skit was hilarious!

Kat and kids watching the Nate and Ben show.

The view from the church where we are running the kids’ program. The picture doesn’t really do it justice. It’s absolutely beautiful.

A parade that went by the church this morning.

Elizabeth with a couple of the kids who were actually being really naughty. Oh well. It made a good picture.

Making the “treasure of my heart” craft.

Angela and Celina singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” with the kids. It’s a great time filler as long as you don’t run out of oxygen.

The Gimme Hands skit

The Musical Chairs Skit

The kids gave a presentation to their parents of the songs and Bible verses they had been learning all week.

These kids will stay in our hearts and our prayers!

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On Friday we woke up very early and were on the bus by 3:45am. This was our off day. We had a full day of traveling ahead of us, but excitement was in the air, despite our sleepiness. We were about to go to Machu Picchu! This ancient Incan city was never conquered by the Spaniards, and remains beautifully intact on top of the mountains. It was only recently discovered in the early part of the twentieth century. The walls are entirely made of granite and slate stones gathered from the surrounding mountains. Machu Picchu is located at about seven thousand feet above sea level.

When we arrived, we felt the air was easier to breath than most of the other places that we have been while in Peru. We had a tour guide for the first part of our exploration. Then we split up and hiked and explored the city ruins for a couple of hours before it was time for lunch. It was raining most of the time, but we still had a spectacular view and a ton of fun. Lunch was eaten in a five-star restaurant/hotel. After eating our lunch buffet-style, we headed back into the Machu Picchu city for another hour of exploring. There seemed to be never ending stairs, walls, windows, and panoramas to gaze at. We couldn’t help but stop and sing “How Great Though Art” at one spot.

Back on the bus, we headed down the mountain for a time of shopping and resting. Following the period of shopping, we returned to the home base at Cusco. On our way there we stopped in a pottery shop that was owned by a family of Christians. We were about to leave when Daniel, the team leader, was grabbed by a monkey. Daniel had been petting the monkey, and was about to leave, however, the monkey had other plans. The monkey grabbed Daniel by the finger as if to say, “Don’t leave me!” We rolled into our hotel about 9:00pm, thoroughly exhausted.

Well, that was a summation of our day of adventure and travel. - Jacob, for the Team

Comments from the Team:

What was your impression of Machu Picchu in one or two sentences?

“I loved seeing the clouds swirl around the mountains. It was majesty worthy of the King of Kings. You felt like you were part of a storybook.” – Christie

“WOW! INCREDIBLE!” - Charlie

“With the sharp mountains, river, and city in the clouds, Machu Picchu is the most beautiful place God made on earth.” – Celina

“Absolutely awe inspiring. I was taken away with the vastness of our God.”- Daniel

“One of the best parts was when a group of us went off the path and explored the ruins. I wouldn’t mind living here for the view of the mountains!—Lacey

“Machu Picchu stole my heart! It was beyond belief. Exploring the ruins in their beauty, that was one of my life desires.” - Nathaniel

“Breathtaking in more than one way” - Katherine

“I’ve always dreamed of actually being where history was made. Machu Picchu is just such a place.” – Ben

“Can’t get enough of it. God’s art at its finest!” – Nate

“It was breathtaking. I loved standing on the mountains and seeing God’s handiwork.” – Angela

“It was absolutely spectacular. It was the trip of a lifetime seeing the magnitude of God’s creative works.” – Amy

“Machu Picchu is one of the places you hear about, but hardly even dare to dream about visiting personally. Wow! What a gift from God to get to make this trip. The ruins were fascinating, but the mountains themselves were where we could see the glory of God. My favorite moment was standing on the steep side of the mountain, looking across at the jagged peaks, singing ‘How Great Thou Art.’” – Elizabeth

And still more pictures - just because we thought this place was so cool that we must have taken hundreds of pictures in one day.

The Ballmanns - Christie and Nate

The ruins from a different angle

Falling off was absolutely forbidden!!

It’s been there for a while, Ben. I don’t think it’s going to fall any time soon.

Does anyone else have a slight sense of vertigo?

Guys have a talent for finding places that are out of the way, up a steep cliff, under a rock, or for some other reason supposed to be off limits. Oh well. Since you’re in there, let’s take a picture.

Don’t jump, Josiah!

Cold, wet, and still cute! (yeah right!)

It was really impressive they way the Incas incorporated the natural rock right into their buildings.

Thanks to Ben, Christie, Amy, Daniel, and Elizabeth for the great pictures in this post.

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After devotions, this morning started off with a trip to a center for poor children. Those of us who were feeling good headed out with balloons while others stayed at the hotel to rest up for the weekend. At the school Lacey, Josiah, and Elizabeth all shared a story from their life with the children. Also Pastor Salazar sang two songs with them in Spanish.

When we finished up at the school it was about time for lunch so we all went out for Mexican food. After three and a half we got some food that was nothing like American Mexican food!!

Finally around four o clock we got out to get group pictures. After a quick shopping trip it was off to the evening kids’ program. Unfortunately, it started to rain just as we arrived, so there was no large group. (Our large group area is outside.) About the time we thought it would stop raining, it started to hail a half an inch!! Creativity was the order of the evening as large group became a mobile affair taking place in the small group rooms. It made for a challenging evening, but it worked.

Celina, for the team

Jacob sharing a story with the kids

Just playing with the kids and practicing our Spanish on them was lots of fun.

It was an interesting market we visited

Daniel with Pastor Mario and Pastor Abraham. We really enjoyed getting to know these men. They have such a heart for people. It was a pleasure to serve the Lord alongside them.

The team girls. Top row: Celina, Gloriel, Angela, Christie. Bottom row: Kailyn, Elizabeth, Lacey, Katherine, Amy.

The team guys. From left to right: Josiah, Nate, Daniel, Ben, Nathaniel, Jake, Charlie.

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Wednesday was started with a delicious Terra Andina Hotel breakfast before the team headed out for a day of ministry. We climbed greatfully onto the bus glad to be out of the rain. As we drove away we could hear the horns of the impatient taxi’s in line behind us. Riding through the crowed streets I was reminded of how blessed we are in America.

When we arrived at a nearby school the children crowed out in the main court yard to meet us. We began talking them in are limited vocabulary right away. While we set up the chalk board the children milled about eager to see what was coming next. Amy began the drawing as other members of the team helped settle the kids down. The chalk art was an amazing drawing of some sheep and the good Shepard. While Amy completed the draw Ben shared some interesting facts and a story.We then made a bunch of dog and sword balloons to pass out to the school children. They were very delighted with these and the only problem was that Daniel and I had to keep remaking the balloons that “ came undone.” But it was a lot of fun and we headed back to the hotel with a feeling of satisfaction. Once back at the hotel most of the team enjoyed a much needed nap before stepping out to minister again.

As the bus pulled up to the church we hopped out, grabbed the suit cases, and bounded up the long flight of stairs. At the top we sat down and tried to catch our breath before moving on. When the kids started arriving several of us team guys played soccer to keep them occupied. The team members calmed down the children and the program began. Daniel, Ben, Lacy, and Gloriel acted out the parts of the Hockenstock play while Elizabeth was the teacher. The kids really enjoyed it and seemed to understand the meaning. After the children had all completed the round through the crafts, story, and game teams we fed them a snack and then did large group again.

I have really liked the Peruvian culture so far except for the waiting part. It is very different here and Cusco is so much more beautiful than Lima. There are blue looking mountains all around and even a few snow capped ones in view. The people are so open to the gospel and Charlie has been handing out a lot of tracks. God is teaching me new ways to trust him and there is always more around the next corner.

Josiah, for the Team

Josiah serving the snacks

The Hockenstock Story

Celina teaching the kids in her group

Nathaniel playing with the kids at school

Amy and Ben doing the chalk talk

Jacob handing out balloons to the kids

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This is Gloriel Taylor reporting on another day in Cusco!!!!! It is really cold here and not just only at night. Today we had devotions at 9:30 then went to tour some of the city and do some SHOPPPING!! We went and visited a school at which we might do a program tomorrow. We also saw a hotel which used to be a monastery which I can’t remember the name of but cost’s $2500 a night!!! (Apparently Mel Gibson stays there when he comes through Peru.) Then we got on a tour bus and it showed us around Cusco for a hour. It was soooo pretty but we must have been up at like 13,000 feet because the air was really thin. A few people got really muddy (myself included) from running around at one place where the bus stopped. All in all it was fun. After we went back to the hotel some people got ready for tonight, other people slept, and some just sat around and talked. I think most of us are still trying to get ourselves off Lima time.

Well we went to the church to do the kids’ program and, except for some slight confusion about translators at the beginning and a rain storm, it went rather smoothly. I think the kids are having fun and learning a lot! Near the end though while Daniel and Elizabeth were doing the skit they both started to black out and had to sit down! But they feel better now. Ok that’s it for now!!!! (HI!! HI!! HI!! to all of Celina and Gloriel’s friends and family!!)

Gloriel, for the Team

People reading tracts handed out by some of the team members while we were out sightseeing

Charlie with a couple of young girls dressed in traditional garb for this part of the country

On the bus for a tour of Cusco

Overlooking the city of Cusco

Christie witnessing to a couple of people in the central square

The skydiving skit by Daniel and Elizabeth

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We kicked off Sunday with a true early bird start at 3:30 am! After a night of packing and repacking, the team energetically (?) loaded onto the bus and headed for the airport, where, after getting checked in, some of the group strayed in search of agua, banos, etc.. After rounding us all up again, our fabulous team leaders herded us through security to the proper terminal, where, again, the group got separated when a bus came to shuttle us to the plane. Fear not! All boarded the aircraft safely.

The flight to Cusco, up in the clean air of the mountains was only 1 hour. Cusco will be our center for ministry for the next week. Compared with the smog, dust, and crowds of Lima, Cusco is fresh. After reaching the hotel, the team leaders sent many to bed, taking a few brave sleep deprived and altitude sick souls with themselves to church. It ended up being an eventful church service – one of our team members fainted! After reviving Angela the sleeping beauty, the group returned to the hotel for sleep, sleep, and more sleep, which nobody protested. It was a quiet afternoon.

Later in the afternoon, those of the group who were awake headed out to the town square for a late lunch of soup with pineapple juice (pineapple juice is a common dinner drink). With our tummies full, we headed outside for some sightseeing!

Cusco is an amazing old city, with a mixture of Inca and Spanish architecture. Everything is so quaint. It was chilly, but we delighted in our picturesque surroundings and spending some quality time with each other. We took so many pictures!

When our dripping noses were sufficiently blue and our camera clicking fingers tired we headed back to the hotel. The team immediately went into a war council to prepare a party for the birthday boy and girls.

When all the preparation was complete, the three with birthdays (Elizabeth, Nate, and me) were called in, and thoroughly doused with silly string! After a few laughs and a lot of cleaning up, the trio was presented with personalized birthday balloon crowns designed and styled by Ben.

We topped the night off with a delectable chocolate cake and a crazy game of picture telephone which kept everyone laughing. We actually had a fairly early bedtime - about 10 pm. This horrid lung congestion that has affected most of the team is slowly improving, but still you can still tell which rooms our team occupies by the coughs echoing down the hallway.

Katherine, for the team

Sightseeing in the central square of Cusco

The architecture of this city is completely different from Lima.

One of the beautiful old cathedrals in Cusco.

Tres Amigos in Cusco

Even though it is cold here, this is actually their warm season and flowers are in bloom all over the city.

Christie and Elizabeth

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Some days just have a fast paced halo about them. Saturday was one of those. Early or late to rise didn’t seem to matter, we were on the go. Heat pounded Lima, and our bus sped through the busy streets. In spite of the high speed, traffic detained our bus. So when we arrived at Callao, hordes of wild noisy children were awaiting us. The staff ran to the stage as the rest of us gathered supplies and scrambled to our teaching stations. Squadrons of restless children marched into the teaching rooms. Much work was invested in keeping children quiet so they would not miss major points, and the teachers did a wonderful job presenting the Message.

After the hyper children had gone through all the classes, they returned to the big group; and many of us retreated to the supply room to recuperate. When the big group was over and Elizabeth went to get us food, many masses of children marched over to the supply room window. They were shouting, asking questions, and trying to talk to us in Spanish. In order to entertain the many for a few minutes, Jacob and I went to stand by the window. After saying “hola” to the kids for a few moments, we entertained the kids with some balloon tricks. The spectating kids smiled and laughed.

Time had come for the classes to start, and Elizabeth was not back. The group rushed to their post, and taught, with much heart, the lessons. Once Elizabeth returned, she sent food to us while the children switched class rooms. Upon finishing the small classes, the masses of children returned to big group. We were hot and exhausted. Mobs of children desired our autographs. One kid gave all of the leaders a thank you note so sweet it could melt a stubborn llama. A few of the team members asked translators to read it to them. Unfortunately, most of the team knew very little or no Spanish, so they could not understand the note. When the program was done, we loaded the bus, and for now gave our last wave to Callao.

Nathaniel, for the team

Nate, Ben, and Christie acting out the musical chairs skit

Amy teaching the lesson on loyalty

The sock puppets were the favorite craft of the week. This is Lacey playing with the kids on her craft team.

Ben getting slightly overwhelmed by the love

Elizabeth with our wonderful Peruvian helpers. We could not have survived the 220 energetic kids without their help.

Saying goodbye to the kids.

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Today was a day that was very much so looked forward to by the whole team. Our day off!! Not wanting to sleep the day away, we met for devotions around 9:30am on the rooftop. Daniel expounded on the passage of John 15. Abiding continually in Christ has been something I have been learning myself lately. Not just knowing Christ but having the intimate relationship with Him. God delights in spending time with us. Does that not make us long to spend time with Him?! If we are not in His word, learning about the ways of God, how do we expect fruit to come out of our lives? Okay, onto our day…

Our 1^st stop was a boat ride on the ocean. Once we arrived at our destination and got off the bus, we almost immediately saw the boat driver Jose. He had no idea we were going to be there but as he said, “God always makes our paths cross!” (Elizabeth has taken other teams on this same ride with the same driver in the past.) He was a very energetic guy. Loved to laugh! He took us out to sea and we rode the waves. It was good to breath air that wasn’t full of dust, exhaust, and dirt! Jose also let a few of the guys be the captain for a few minutes. Luckily we made it back to land alive!

Back on land, we stopped for a few minutes to look at a small stand of jewelry. Some got some really good deals! On the way to browse the fresh fish market, we saw a sea lion on shore basking in some sun! At the market, they definitely had some interesting sea creatures! And of course, it smelled like…fish!

We then headed out for lunch at Café Café in the same shopping plaza we had ate ice cream at earlier on in the week. We have really been eating good food here. That is a blessing.

Our stomachs were full, we were happy, and off we went to the Inka Market to bargain for some Peruvian souvenirs! Elizabeth gave us a few tips on how to bargain…which helped a lot! One thing we did have to keep in mind is that these Peruvians have to make a living too so we couldn’t bargain them down too much. After a while of shopping we gathered our belongings and headed back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and a few feeble people. We also picked up Cristy and Pastor Salazar.

The biggest attraction we went to today was the Circuito Magico del Agua. Here they call it the Water Park. It is a park of 13 different water fountains of different sizes and shapes! One of the ones we liked the best was one fountain that played along with a medley of songs. They even had pictures inside the water! The person who thought of that had to be a genius! After walking and walking and walking some more, we finally found the exit and got on the bus to eat.

Finding something to eat that was fast and easy wasn’t the easiest thing to do. We went to 3 or 4 different places before we settle for take out pizza @ Domino’s. We had to walk a ways to get there but it was a blessing in disguise because we were able to witness to 2 little kids while waiting for our pizza. There was a little boy whose name was Juan who did a juggling show for us for some sol’s. He made a lot of money that night from our team. Cristy asked Pastor if he could translate for us so we could witness to him. Of course Pastor was happy to. He thrives talking to children. He told us that you need to be direct with the people here. We don’t need to beat around the bush! The kids here are so open. They are also hungry for attention and affection. A little while into talking with Juan, his cousin Wendy joined us. By the end of our time at Domino’s, we were able to pray for these two kids. Pray that we were able to touch the lives of these kids. I don’t think they will forget their time with us. Please continue to pray for the rest of our team; some are still sick and lacking energy. Tomorrow is our last day in Callao…praying all goes well!

Lacey, for the team

Our energetic boat driver. (Note to Jacob Matchak - he’s still asking when you’re coming back!)

Elizabeth and the Taylor girls

Katherine and Kailyn with our boat driver

Ben and Nate

Elizabeth with a couple of Peruvian friends who came along to help translate for the team and escort us around Lima while Pastor Salazar rested.

On the dock after our ride

This was one of the clearest, most beautiful days we have seen in Lima.

One of the amazing fountains

Nathaniel, Daniel, Katherine, Lacey, Christie, and Charley - the cool spray of the fountains was so refreshing after a hot day!

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Today has been a rather exhausting day: the unexpected and unplanned were the norm. In fact, sometimes things seemed pretty much out of control, but through it all we could see God’s hand leading and using us. Even though we sometimes felt pretty overwhelmed, God made his strength perfect in out weakness!

We got up bright and early to leave for Ventanilla. Unfortunately, our bus driver didn’t! After we had sat around in the lobby of our hotel for a couple hours, he finally arrived and we finally departed. On the way we stopped by a supermarket and bought out their supply of bread, meat, and cheese for the Ventanilla kids’ lunch. As we arrived at the outskirts of Ventanilla we threw candy out our window to the street kids and waved.

When we got the community center, our jaws dropped. We’d had a lot of kids Monday, but today, there weren’t just a lot of kids, there were TONS! So after multiple flare prayers we charged into the fray. After we finally divided the crowd into groups we took them to the different locations and began our activities. To try to get everyone’s attention one of the local Spanish helpers would bang on a wooden table with a bamboo cane. Her success was very limited. Luckily, Pastor Salazaar was my translator, and together we were finally able to settle things down. Gloriel and I were the story telling crew. We told them the story of Jonah and used it to illustrate how like Jonah we should all ask forgiveness of God and others when we do them wrong. The children were very enthusiastic and responsive to our message.

The meal team (in charge of feeding lunch to all the children) had a fish and loaves experience. They actually gave the very last loaf to the very last kid! It was amazing how God stretched the food out even though we had many more kids than we expected.

Since today was our last day in Ventanilla, everyone wanted to get our email address and have their picture taken with us. Sometimes we were swarmed (by now not a new experience) as they each struggled to get to us. All the kids wanted their pictures taken with us. Back at the bus we reassessed the state of the team and checked for casualties. Christie had heat exhaustion, Katherine was recovering from an asthma attack, I had been feeling pretty rotten all morning and had a full-fledged fever, and everyone had sunburns with varying degrees of severity.

As we left we passed out the very last of the hygiene packs to the kids. Back at the hotel the wounded were dropped off and the rest went to the Callao to teach the kids about the principle of suffering.

(By the way Mom, there have been a whole bunch of girls kissing me!)(Also Mom, I’m pretty much over whatever I had.)

Ben, for the Team

(Note of explanation from the moderator: cheek kisses are the standard form of greeting in Peru.)

Lima traffic - the reason why it takes so long to go anywhere.

A boy from Ventanilla

Celina washing a boys’ hair. She and Amy washed a lot of heads today! The kids loved it!

Clean and happy!

All the kids wanted us to sign their book, paper, shirts, or whatever else was handy. This is Gloriel with a couple of the kids.

Kailyn working with the kids on her team at the children’s program in Callao that we are doing in the evenings.

A crazy game from Nate and Charlie’s game team.

Nate talking with one of the guys in his group.

Elizabeth with kids at the Callao program.

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Wow, this was one exciting day! We all woke with the sunrise to prepare for our second day out at Ventanilla. Children ran eagerly from all directions when the bus carrying sixteen sunburned gringos drove through the streets. Soon all the children were sorted out into three classes and the kid’s program was once again under way. Things ran surprisingly smoothly for the first rotation, as the sounds of Bible stories, verses, lunch preparation, and tooth brushing instructions rang through the air. That was all to change in only a short time…

It wasn’t long before news of “regales” from the Americans spread throughout the streets, and suddenly more kids than anyone would know existed in that part of Ventanilla started running in. Unfortunately the gate was left unlocked and unattended, and pretty soon an official mob started forming around the clean team area. Organized lesson time turned into mass chaos, as cries of “mi, mi” became the only audible sounds. 500 hygiene kits brought by Amy and Ben were gone all too soon, and it was heartbreaking having to say “no tenemos mas regales” to at least another hundred kids that hadn’t gotten anything. The needs of these precious people, both physical and spiritual, are beyond imagination. Only Jesus is the true answer, and we were blessed with several opportunities to clearly share the Gospel with the children. Rope tricks, verses, and Bible stories were the methods of planting seeds today, and we pray that a great eternal harvest will result.

The afternoon consisted of a quick stop to drop off some dirty laundry to be washed (yea!), celebrate three birthdays at a restaurant called “Pardo’s”, and clean up for the kid’s program in Callao. The theme of the night was responsibility, with the specific application of maintaining a clear conscience. The evening was highlighted by a hilarious rendition of the Hockenstock story, performed by five very talented actors. Elizabeth, Lacey, Ben, Christie, and Daniel kept us all laughing with their creative jokes, costumes, and stunts, and the kids received an excellent visual of the necessity for telling the truth.

We are so blessed with the opportunity to be here, and are having an absolutely amazing time. So many different needs, yet one answer for them all – Jesus Christo. Please continue to pray that we will serve the Lord effectively during our time here, make the most of every opportunity, and glorify God through our actions and words. As we drive through the city, we see so many needy, hurt, and lonely souls watching at us, showing even through their eyes a longing for something more. We continue to labor for the Lord, praying for lasting fruit in the lives of many for the glory of God.

Amy, for the Team

A small taste of the enormity of Ventanilla. Even this doesn’t come close to doing it justice.

Ben teaching the Story Team.

Preparing lunch for 600 kids - Elizabeth, Nate, and Jacob working together with a bunch of Peruvian ladies to put together sandwiches and pour drinks.

Charlie trying very hard to pass out tracts and getting mobbed. Wouldn’t you love to be mobbed when you are trying to share the Gospel?

Click here for more reports from this team…

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