Winding Down and Revving Up

Tomorrow, it is hard to believe, is our last Spanish tutoring session. Time has gone by so quickly. I have learned so much in the last five months, yet there is so much still to learn. I thank God for our language helpers. Not only were they there to always correct us and encourage us in speaking Spanish, but they were there to encourage us spiritually. Hardly a session went by without some type of spiritual application or some conversation about the church or the work of the Lord. What a blessing to have such wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ who through their patience and love helped us through the first few months in being in Peru. The family of God is a wonderful thing. Upon finishing our language sessions, we will be taking our Spanish final exam this Thursday and Friday. Please keep all five of us in prayer as this will test us over all that we have gone over.
Finishing up with our classes, we will be leaving for Chinchil, a small mountain village, this Saturday. While there, we will be doing a kids club and helping a missionary there. We will be coming back to Lima after about a week, and then leaving again two days later for Cusco. Caleb will be staying there to help some missionaries until April, but the other girls and I will come back to Lima. Rochelle and Janae, a few days later will leave for Chimbote to minister until April, and Tessha and I will remain in Lima working with our pastor in our local church.
Many new experiences and opportunities lie before us. Please be in prayer as we will be transitioning into our internship part of the trip. Pray for new ministry opportunities and strength on our parts to continue ministering even when things get very busy. Throughout this whole time, God has been good and will continue to be faithful. Praise Him for His daily strength and grace that He richly gives to each one of His children!

The Guidance of the Lord

Following our time in Trujillo, we began our last class, Personal Evangelism. Each morning we traveled out to the Whipple's house (a Baptist Mid-Missions couple that has served in Peru for twenty-five years). We had our normal two hours in Spanish with our tutors, but then continued the day in Spanish. Mr. WHipple taught in Spanish to better acquint us with vocabulary and to prepare us for the afternoon. The afternoons were spent sharing the Gospel with people in different areas around their house. To be honest I dreaded the first couple of days having to go out and talk to people because I didn't feel confident and it was much easier just to hand out tracts, but God got my attention one day that sparked an excitement to tell others of the Good News. Wednesday of the first week, I was having a rough time. I did not feel like talking to popele, but Ana (a language helper) was with me and she made me have to say something.
We talked with two teenege girls for a time, and after they had gone, Ana and I sat down on a bench to talk over some things. As we were talking, a teenage guy crouched down in front of us and aksed, "So, what are you talking about." We were shocked, what an open door to share the Gospel!" At first, we were a little hesitant to talk to him, because we normally only talk with ladies, but his questions persisted. "You have Bibles, what does it say? Do you believe in the Bible? What do you believe?" At that moment we opened our Bible and with God's help I was able to share with him the Gospel. After Ana explained some things more in depth and asked him some questions. Jorge Luis said that he knew he was a sinner, blieved that Jesus took his place on the cross and wanted to accept the gift of salvation. After he prayed, we realized how God had been working. Jorge Luis works at a mechanic shop as an intern on Monday, Wednesday and Friay and studies th other days. He had seen us talking to the girls and since there was not work, he crossed the main highway and the railroad tracks and came over to the bench where we were sitting. God works in wonerous ways. He had everything planned out. With Mr. Whipple and Caleb checking up on him for discipleship, Jorge Luis was so excited to be reading the Bible and learned from it. God opened a door for us to share the Gospel and also enabled me to share it even if at first I did not have a desire to do it. Please keep Jorge Luis in your prayers as Mr. Whipple continues to meet with him, along with other people that made decisions during those two weeks. Also, remember the ARRIBA team as now with more understanding and practicing in Spanihs, we have more of a responsibility to share the Good News with the Peruvians we come in contact with each day. As Luke 12:48b says, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required."

Trujillo- Land of Eternal Spring

Time has gone by all to quickly and here I am trying to play catch up. Forgive me for not keeping you all better informed. September found the group and I in Trujillo, a city about eight hours north of Lima, for ten days. While there, we stayed in the dorms of the Baptist Seminary. We were able to attend classes each day which proved to be a stretching experience since it was all in Spanish. We were able to get to know the students there and be encouraged by their testimonies. Having only two programs to study, theology and music, many of the students were studying to be able to go back to their peple to be better prepared to minister. It was a wonderful, encouraging time that refreshed us all and motivated us to take the spirit from the seminary to our churches to encourage the young people to delight in our great God. In talkign with poeple at the seminary or at the churches we visited in Trujillo, the people demonstrated the joy of the Lord and were ready to talk about Him whenever there was a chance. I remember specifically one young man working at the camp who always had some example or illustration from the Bible that applied to our topics of conversation. I thank God for the time at the seminary where I was rejuvenated with a desire to take the joy of the Lord to the people at my church in Lima.