The first day in Peru, June 18th, was designated a “rest day.” And in some ways, yes it was, but when I go back to try and list all we have accomplished, and take into account how sore I am there are other words I might use to describe it. Sure, it wasn’t as busy as Sunday or Monday will be, but we didn’t lay around and recover from our adventurous trip. Our day didn’t start until 10:30am that morning so we got to sleep in, but keep in mind, we went to bed at 4am.
Part of taking it easy this first morning was to spend time playing with the children at NLCH (New Life Children’s Home.) One young lady with us was on the trip last year and had made friends with a young boy Pietro. He spied her through the window during breakfast and lit up. All day he stuck close to her side, and in the moments she was in town or working on ministry preparations, he walked around asking everyone where Rissa was. I got to spend much of my morning singing and playing instruments with Abel, a 14 year old boy I met 10 years ago at the home, playing dodgeball with the entire group, and learning a game similar to pogs that the young kids play here. A 7-8 year old boy named Adam took an hour and great, great patience teaching me to play with him. They laughed as I was clumsy at the game at first, but the time was precious.
A good portion of the day was spent preparing for the ministries we will be involved with over the rest of the week. Did you know that among 13 people we can come up with at least 5 different ways to make wordless book bracelets? Everyone has learned, seen or heard it differently, so we settled on a way and have begun to construct hundreds of these that we will use in different venues of ministry.
A lot of time has also gone into writing out testimonies, both salvation testimonies and testimonies of how God has worked. Toward the beginning of the trip, Amy mentioned to the group to utilize me as a help when learning how to present the gospel or a testimony to kids. While working with people, teaching them how to teach children is a part of the ministry I will be taking up in Peru, I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. At first I was slightly nervous, but from the moment the first person handed me their written out testimony, asking for help with it, I was in my element. It is such a joy, not only to work with children, but to teach others how to as well. Among our group we have several who have never worked with children before, and a few who have never given their testimony before. Teaching them how to express what God has done in them, that their story doesn’t have to be like every one else’s, and that God has given them their particular testimony for a reason is fulfilling.
To most people, ministry on a missions trip is sharing the gospel, or construction to help the missionaries but oftentimes ministry can look different. In the midst of Paul’s travels and sharing the gospel, he spoke of Stephanas who had addicted himself to the ministry of the saints. To spend 30 minutes with someone not sure if God can use their gut-wrenching story, and giving them confidence that it is God’s story and He can’t use it when no one knows about it – to me that’s ministry, and it is just as fulfilling as presenting the gospel to a group of 500 kids. I won’t share this person’s story with them, but maybe they will!
Throughout the rest of the day we hiked, walked and drove to different markets, explored the ruins and then went to PlazaVea (Similar to Walmart.) I don’t know what the rest of the group did there, but this was a chance for me to prepare for moving to Peru. Amy, Chelene Kennedy (one of the missionaries I will be working with) and I went and priced out several items I will need, from toiletries to printers and a small bit of furniture (more to come), to see what needs to be brought from the States and what I can buy in Peru. While I am so thrilled that Peru seems to carry most of the brands of items I use, the biggest blessing came when we hit the pharmacy. There is one medication I take on a daily basis which is prescribed for me in the US. My health insurance at my job covered it, but my new health insurance won’t cover it all, and the generic version will cost me approximately $50 a month. Praise God we found the generic medication down here for approximately $2.50 a month and I do not need a prescription. Please be praying as I try this generic medication out for a few months to see if it will work as well as what I have been obtaining in the States.
A lot happened today, and it doesn’t all seem like a big deal, but for a young woman moving to the mission field with a passion for teaching others to minister, today can only be described as joy. If you are reading this, please continue to pray for our group as we will be headed into a full day of service for Sunday and then minister in schools and shanty towns, sharing the gospel throughout the rest of the week.