If there is one thing I have learned about Peru over the years, that would be it is a culture that loves celebration, and Sunday was most definitely a celebration, or three. It was Father’s Day, and the celebration began even before church. One of the things that touched me significantly 10 years ago when I was here was how the children at NLCH celebrate Father’s Day…BIG! These children are orphans or abandoned, living together, in hopes of one day finding their forever family. Maybe 30 minutes before church they all gather just outside the dorms with instruments cards and gifts, head up to the Kennedy’s apartment and serenade Mike Kennedy with songs, gifts, and a large group hug because of that role that he has taken in their lives, and the desire in him to keep NLCH alive. When even a child with no father to call his own, can be joyous on Father’s day, not bitter over the fact that he has no father, but celebrating the people God has put in his life it makes you stop and think about how you respond in a multitude of scenarios.
After this first celebration we walked a street over to New Life Baptist Church in Cieneguilla with Pastor David. We were told that several members of the church were gone that morning, travelling for Father’s Day, and yet before the children were dismissed for their classes and with our group sitting in the pews there were very few open seats available.
In the midst of a church service I am continually reminded of the task before me of learning the language. While I have studied Spanish in the past, and have started working on it again, when I hear it spoken or sang it reminds me how far I have to go. Learning Spanish I have my own speed at which I speak, and then there is the speed which everyone else speaks (much faster) and the fact that in Spanish during speaking and singing, to my ears, many of the words seem slurred together. It’s overwhelming the task before me and at some moments I don’t even want to begin to imagine it, but I do know God is gracious, and He will help me to learn.
Back to the service. It truly was a celebration of Father’s Day. Our youth Pastor, Mark Simpson preached a message encouraging fathers, and everyone, to view our roles and live our lives in the perspective of the cross, allowing it to change our responses toward each other and our responsibilities to each other. Maybe there was more to it, but that’s where my heart focused. As Mike Kennedy stepped up to give the invitation that morning, there were 3 hands that went up for salvation, but again the scenario was very descriptive of the culture. There was a man, but then a mother, and the third hand was her raising her 7-9 year old son’s hand. While I wouldn’t actually say this young man knew what was going on, I am learning that in Peru it is very frequent parents might say, “you are this religion because I say you are,” or as young Christians parents might think they can make that decision for their entire family, and then tell the kids, “yes, of course you are saved.”
When Mike gave the people that raised their hands a chance to stand and then accept Christ as their Savior, the older gentleman did. While the woman and her son did not, I watched her mouth moving the whole time. Whether she was talking with her son or talking to God, I will never know, but I will continue to pray for her and CELEBRATE over this gentleman getting his eternity settled.
After the service the church continued to meet in a large celebration of Father’s Day. 2 Children’s classes sang songs, 1 did a skit which we didn’t totally understand but was hilarious anyway, and then a group of adults did a skit celebrating fathers. Videos of children throughout the church and at the children’s home wishing their fathers a happy father’s day were shown and then the resident professional photographer with our group (we love you!) took pictures for each of the families that she will get down to them.
That afternoon we headed out to Pachacutec, a village about 1.5 hours away which was celebrating its 9th anniversary. At about 4:10 a group of 26-27 of us hit the market with tracts and tootsie rolls with 20 minutes to get out as many as we could. The group scattered and as Jeff said, in the States, 1 in 50 people will take a tract but in Peru 1 in 50 will reject it. 20 minutes became closer to 45 as Josh Kennedy, the missionary’s son who just graduated high school, got the chance to share the gospel with someone at the market. As we were getting ready to leave he and Mike were pulled over to talk with a woman who had just received a tract and was very curious. Mike says it is the first time this has ever happened, but she found out we were on our way to church and wanted to get right on the bus with us and go! So that’s where she and her daughter found themselves.
That night, the church at Pachacutec was celebrating not only their 9th Anniversary, but also Father’s day. Several members from our group got the chance to get up in the service and share a testimony. Mine was not a testimony of salvation, but about how the church there, Calvary Baptist, is such a representation of God’s work in Peru. 10 years ago I was with a group in Pachacutec on the evening of Father’s Day as we interspersed through the market to pass out tracts in a very similar fashion to this Father’s Day. 10 years ago we stopped at a soccer field, interrupted their game and Mark began to preach with Mike interpreting. We started with 10 gathered around, ended up with 50, 10 of whom had accepted Christ as their Savior. On the bus that night, Mike expressed his desire to one day start a church there, and then said that one day I should come and work with them in Peru… My answer was “Not Yet.”
There were several skits and drawings and other activities to celebrate the 9th anniversary and Father’s day, and then Mark Simpson was left to preach in the service while many of us took the kids back to do a program for the children. One of the interns Julia presented her testimony, Larissa Fifer presented the gospel using picture cards we brought with us and then I did again using a demonstration with 3 colored ropes I had learned years ago at CoBeAc. That night we were told at least 22 people got saved through the preaching, including the woman who had asked if she and her daughter could come on the bus to church with us. PRAISE GOD. Today was most definitely a day to celebrate all around.