Mad Dash

Alright, so here's a quick attempt to hit the high-spots before the internet inevitably dies. Trust me... it will.

OK, so, we never went to the volcanoe because of a culmination of events and different news.
Which is good, because we resumed meeting with Catya, yet only as bible studies over John in her home. Which was really awesome because her housekeeper, Nellie, came to know the Lord, and we got to see another person added to the Kingdom. God is awesome.

We also ended up getting invited to go to a bull fight for free in the local town of Chumpi. Over the course of three different days, we ended up as part of a parade, saw two bullfights, and on the third day became celebrities who even the matadors were all trying to get a picture with. So, after giving some discombobulated Spanish interviews, we came back to Coracora with renewed mind and spirit.

Once back, we filled our days by visiting the orphanage, holding multiple bible studies with Flor, Andreas, Catya, and a few random others.

This past week, however, has been spent saying goodbye to all of our new friends and trying to make sure we hit all of the good hot spots before we head out tomorrow. Andreas, of his own accord has expressed his intentions to continue bible studies throughout the City and to also try and meet with other believers here in Coracora. Cesar also showed up last night at a Bible study, and he is another local that knows quite a bit of the Bible and seems to have a relatively good hold on the true Christian doctrine. He also expressed to us that he was a believer.

This is by no means all that has happened, or even a good majority of the awesome things that have happened since last post, but they are all that stick out for now. Anywho, pray for us as we prepare to make the nineteen hour ride to Lima tomorrow. Also pray for all of the other teams in Peru who will be traveling in the next few days, as there are people with longer and more dangerous routes to return by. God Bless!

Creative Chronicles

Alright, so here´s a little run-down of the stuff we got to do and experience this past week.

Saturday night started us off with the arrival of our friends from the Grove back in good old Cookevegas. Then Sunday morning when the CMT rolled into town, things really started to take off. After a jam-packed morning Bible study and some time for the wearied traveling team of artistic gospel spreaders to grab some shut-eye, the whole crew of gringos set out for the orphanage to spread some good news to our good friends on the other side of town. These kids not only soaked up the message spread like a dry sponge in the ocean, but there were even a few who when invitation was made, raised their hands saying they wanted to accept the free gift that God had offered them through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. Which gave us a great oppurtunity to see people coming with "faith like a child." Plus even for those who may not have understood what exactly was going on, seeds were planted that now just need some time to water, and some love to fertilize. Plus, after we had a chance to share the gospel, all of us just kind of hung out with the kids and gave them some good old fashioned loving. I mean, if you can make someones day just by holding their hand, or giving them a hug, or holding them for a little while, do it. Take my word for it. There's no reward like seeing the smile on a kids face when you just let them ride around on your shoulders for a few minutes, or let them sit in your lap and just be close to you. Even if they may not smell good, or you may get snot all over you. The end product is better than any silver or gold you can ever get. OK, enough of that.

Now on Monday, we had some good College time, an arrival, and some departures. At 8 o'clock in the morning, we were invited to come to the local Technological college and present the gospel to the students during one of their in-between class breaks. After we introduced ourselves and made our presence even more known, the CMT presented the gospel through song, the LifeHouse skit, and also through some direct sharing from Tommy Leach, a Spanish teacher from Cleveland, TN. Several of the young adults there accepted the offer made to them during the invitation, and we even got the chance to invite several of them to a Bible study with us. After a short time of just hanging out with the few students who either didn't have class or didn't go to class as is most likely, we headed back to town to grab some grub. Then, due to news floating around that there were going to be local and nation-wide strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, we had to say goodbye to our good friends Walt, Tammy, Greg, and Edinson from the grove and also to Beth and Elsa from the CMT a little earlier than we had hoped. However, we were surprised that afternoon by the arrival of a straggling CMTer, Derek, who had visited the nearby village of MarcoBamba where he had served two years ago. During his original stay in MarcoBamba, Derek helped their struggling football(soccer) team to actually win the regional championship. However, this time, he was only able to stay for a few days, and then, since the local strike had already started and all of the public transportation was down in the area, Derek made his trek to Coracora by faith by walking, riding a motorcycle and a donkey, hitching a ride in a mining truck, acting as a tarp over a truck full of firewood, doing favors, and even saving a motorcycle driver who had driven off of a cliff.

The next morning broke to an eerie silence as the strike was in full-blown action. The stores, restaraunts and businesses were all closed and the streets were mostly deserted except for the occasional parade of strikers chanting their demands to the Peruvian President, Alan Garcia. Even after some ominous advice to stay inside due to possible danger, we decided to go ahead with our pre-arranged plans of letting the CMT present the gospel in the two biggest plazas in town. Which turned out to be a great decision since there was no school and most people were out of work, meaning they were all able to stay and listen to the message that we had to offer them. Which, of course lead to multiple people of nearly every age group making decisions for the Lord. We were even able to invite our good friend, Catya and a friend who we had talked to on one of our first days in Coracora, Reuben to our nightly John Bible studies that we have been having.

Wednesday woke to another quiet day of striking, which rendered the CMT unable to meet their desired departure date. So, with a free day, everyone from the CMT except for Nick, who was suffering from the bicicleta, decided to make the short hike over to the Hot Springs for a nice chance to get some fresh air and some exercise. Since I was then nursing a soar throat, I decided to hang back with Nick who didn't exactly know where anything was in the city. Then, after an hour or so Kat and Jodi showed back up at the hostal all smiles after holding some "baby pterodactyls" , as Kat claimed, which were really just some chicks of some large bird of prey like some kind of falcon or hawk. Then, after another few hours, the rest of the crew meandered back into town and after a little while of rest, we all headed back to the orphanage for some more kid-loving time. Then, as we were heading out we received news from a bus driver we passed that all of the obstructions and danger eminating from the strike would pass that night at midnight.

Thus, Thursday was spent saying goodbye to the rest of our visiting friends. After a morning of fending for ourselves and segregated male and female lunches, we meandered around the city for a little while enjoying the last few hours we would have with these friends until End of Summer Debrief. Then at 3 pm we got our hugs, prayed for a safe journey, and waved good-bye as the CMT made their way to the next village on their schedule. We then spent the afternoon falling back into our regular old Coracora schedule and praying for one another to keep pace with the race we had set before us. I hope you will pray for us, too, as we spend our final two weeks in service here in the heart of the Andes. Pray that we will not grow lazy, but instead work harder than ever to spread the gospel to the people here in this wonderful town.

Itchy noses

Wow, God definitely blessed us with some rest and reenergizing both physically and spiritually in Nazca. I can´t begin to describe how encouraging it is to reunite with people with the same goal and focus as you. As far as physical comforts, though, we did get to eat some chinese food and get some real coffee. . . espresso even. We didn´t see the Nazca lines, but I don´t think there are any hard feelings among us about that as we did get a much needed reprieve from the mountain climate.

I did leave Nazca feeling more like a hippy though as we got to have an impromptu jam session in a bus station and then caught a few hours of sleep in another bus station and as for me I even caught a few z´s in the trunk of a station wagon turned taxi using a guitar case for a pillow. Which, my face still hurts from all of the bumps on the road btw. After about a day and a half with about 2-3 hours of interrupted and unrestful sleep, though, our planned trip to Cilcatta and Pausa seemed highly daunting; especially with the added task of making preperations for our friends who are coming tomorrow from both Poplar Grove and the Creative Ministry Team. So, needless to say we postponed our trip and also made a few changes.

First, we're not leaving for Cilcutta until next Thursday. This postponing allowed our friend Yulber to go ahead of us this week and begin to make preperations for us to share the gospel with his friends there. Also, we are taking one of the local Technical College students who is orignially from Cilcutta and he is going to take us on a tour of the nearby SaraSara volcano. That's right, we're not only getting to share the gospel but God has provided us the chance to see Peru's youngest western volcano. We're going to climb up on donkeys to the snow-capped crater. . . or at least that's the plan, but I'm not sure how us low-altitude loving gringos are going to handle the 18,000 feet summit. Then, we are going to stop about half way down the mountain and make camp and spend a night under the stars wrapped up like mummies in sleeping bags and jackets.

Thats enough though of things that aren't even for certain. The really good stuff though starts tomorrow when the CMT and the Grove teams show up for a week full of fun. The CMT will be performing skits and worship services in Spanish at several of the local schools and even in the two most popular plazas here in Coracora. We're hoping that this mass spread of "Drive-by gospel" will ignite a thirst for the truth in the hearts of the locals and that God will use this team to brighten the spirits of both the locals as well as us. Also, tonight, we are starting a nightly Bible Study with some of the local believers as part of a plan to disciple them as we go through the book of John. Pray that this Bible study will continue and also remain in prayer for our other Bible study with the pastor that it will keep going and that it will also keep growing. Thanks for all of your prayers so far and I hope to have another post up sometime within the next few days telling of the progress of the CMT.

Sorry for the lack of details with this post, but I don´t have much time for this post as we have a busy morning ahead of us today. I tried to put up a full post on Wednesday, but wacky internet and computers that delete all saved documents when they are restarted left me high and dry. And, there just wasn´t any internet yesterday. So, here´s a quick skim of things that have happened:

We found Yulber(Juber) and his friend Wilber who is the young man who we got to see savedour first week here.

Exploding attendance at Bible Study.

Jon from Barnabas team met with us and got to attend a bible lesson at a local private catholic high school as well as a parade.

Got invited at the parade for a chance to teach English at two different schools which both led to an invite back to teach the gospel.

Teaching English to a local lady in the afternoons. Hopefully will lead to teaching her the gospel.

Got to play basketball and video games with local kids. Also got invited to play volleyball with some of the local young adults. Didn´t pan out, but had good time of fellowship at youth volleyball and soccer games.

Had an impromptu rooftop worship session in which we got to share the gospel with several children and young adults.

Also, prayer request: We have had our first doctrinal run-in with the Pastor who we have been having our Bible study with. He mentioned that he believes it´s not appropriate to play instruments when praising God and that Baptists try to mingle the Old Covenant with the New. I pray that we will be able to resolve this, that it was simply a misunderstanding, or that we will be able to find a new house to have bible studies in.
Also pray that we will have a safe trip to Nasca, and also that next week we will have a safe trip to Cilcatta and Pausa. We will be sharing the gospel in Cilcatta which is apparently devoid of gospel presence and also visiting Yulber´s work in Pausa. Thanks for all of the prayers.

After a hard half-day of teaching and reviewing English lessons with Romi´s classes on Monday,we decided to grab some lunch and do the thing any teacher wants to do after a day of teaching. We took a nap.So, after an hour or so of being lazy we decided it was time for some internet action to catch up with what had been going on with our friends abroad in Peru. However, as we were walking down the street we realized that the power was out, and as all of you computer buffs out there know, computers don´t work well without electricity. So, we decided we would walk around the city and see what we could find that was worthy of us wastin our time. Then, as we got to a part of the city we had already been to and knew there wasn´t much up there, we turned around and noticed some local kids playing soccer in the street on their way home from school. As one of the stray kicks came our way, Jodi politely returned the ball and thus ensued a game of keep the ball away from the gringos. This was pretty fun for a while, until traffic started to be to frequent for the game to be much fun and the kids decided instead that talking to the gringos would be more fun. They asked us how to say a plethura of words and made fun of our inability to speak or understand Quetchua. Then, as a couple of adults lingered into the crowd, one of the children noticed Allen´s evangelism bracelette and asked him what it was. Hallelujah. In that instant, God had turned a wasted afternoon into a witnessing oppurtunity to about ten or twelve kids and a few adults. As we explained the colors not all of the kids were paying attention, but that was to be expected. However, there was one lady with a baby in haul that seemed to be thoroughly hanging on every word we said as we explained the importance of the different colors. No decisions were publicly made, but a seed was definitely planted. Mountain-top indeed.

As you may have seen mentioned in the previous message, we were scheduled to have lunch with Methuselah. Well, it turns out, I don´t have my Spanish days down pat because I told you that it was supposed to be on Monday, but it turns out that it was yesterday. Anyways, the menu was outstanding and as always filled us to the brim. For starters, he served some fresh corn with chunks of a cheese wheel that was made by one of the people who live across the street. This was the freshest cheese that I had ever eaten in my life and it was delicious. For the second course, he served a vegetable stew with some sticky rice that was rich and hearty beyond belief. This stuff was so good that even the food skeptic Jodi was heralding its flavor. Then, as a finish, we had some souplike rice in milk cooked with cinamon, clove, and grapes. It was a mildly sweet and arromatic dish that really hit the spot after such a hearty meal. Then, as always with Methuselah, we finished with some food for the soul as he further drove home the Christ-centricity of the Bible and the uniqueness of Christ as our savior. Both topics which will surely be part of our next Bible study at his house this Thursday night.

After lunch, since most of us were halfway into a pleasure coma already, we decided once again to sleep off the effects of a heavy meal for about 20 or 30 minutes and then resume our afternoon. After a good time of laying around lazy and listening to music, it was time to prepare for the bible study we had planned with Danté that night. So, after a couple of hours planning a lesson on the warrior of God and searching through english to spanish dictionaries for all of the crazy epic words I had used in my notes, we headed out into the hallway to wait for Danté to show. And, who did we meet there other than the traveling English teacher, Andrés. Perfect timing. We promptly invited him to join us just as we heard Dantés motorcycle pull up outside. He agreed and quickly ran back to his hostal to grab the Bible we had given him when we had first met him. Then, as we were preparing the lobby on the third floor, Marivel showed up and helped us round up more chairs and we also invited her to join us. After explaining the different commandments and pieces of armor that Paul mentions in the last Chapter of Ephesians starting in the 10th verse, both Andrés and Danté had excellent questions that allowed the perfect oppurtunity to explain the need of discipleship in all believer´s lives. So, after a few goodbyes and informing everyone of Thursday night´s study, we decided that it was time to get dinner and Pizza was sounding like the choice of the night.

As we turned the corner to start walking toward the Pizza place, we noticed that the doors were all locked shut and the lights outside were not on. But, this didn´t stop a hungry group of 4 college kids and their guest teacher. No, instead, we decided to go into Pollo a la Brasa which was conveniently right next to where we were standing trying to figure out where we were going to eat. Though reluctant after the last meal there had been a common link between the incapacitation of both Allen and I, we decided that we would try it again and either we would be fine, or would know for sure that Pollo a la Brasa was the cause of our last ailment. After we had ordered, Andrés went to talk to one of the men running the restaraunt, who was apparently the head hauncho. After a few minutes, he returned and we were served our chicken. The meal was delicious and the fellowship was sweet. Then, as we were leaving, the owner stopped Andrés and talked to him for a little whie longer as we waited outside the front gate. Within a few minutes, the owner and Andrés came over together and began to talk with us. Apparently the man was also either a teacher or administrator of one of the larger private Catholic High-schools in Coracora. He had approached Andrés to ask him if we would possibly want to lead a bible class this saturday at the school. Pouncing on the oppurtunity we were all confident in saying "Si." We then told him that after some prayer and studying, we would return tonight to inform him of our topic. Which, unless the Spirit changes, will be the story of David´s great sin. So, in finishing, pray that the will of God will be done and that He will give us the words to speak to these 8-14 year-old children. This is an oppurtunity that came about just like all of the others as a way of sheer Godly intervention. Thank you for your prayers and your support. I assure you that they are being heard and that God is working.

Pan de Vida

Sad news. We haven´t heard from our good friend Juber in several days. He broke two appointments to have dinner together and I´m not sure why. However, the last time we saw him, he said something about his son being sick. Of course, this was the first mention any of us had ever heard of a son, or even of a family for that matter. I´m not sure what´s going on with him, but please pray for him that whatever he´s going through that he might be strong enough to do what God would have him do.

Happy news. None of us are laid up in bed anymore. We´ve actually had two days in a row now that we were all able to walk around the city and be present at planned functions. Yesterday we started the day by seperating up and going on a prayer walk around the entire city. We got the chance to walk by the bull ring, see parts of the city we didn´t know existed, found a new plaza, and also talked with several construction workers as we were walking back to our hostal. The two groups then met back up after lunch and chilled out for a little while until we went to the orphanage to hang out with some of the kids. We had planned on telling a bible story to them, but never really could calm them down or get them together enough to tell them a story, so we decided to stick with just singing some songs with them and spend some good bonding time with our good friends, Christian and Reuben. FOr some reason, God has drawn these two young men to us and we´re really excited about that. Hopefully, we will be able to use them as an in-road to start a Bible study with some of the older kids at the Orphanage. So, please pray about this.

So, Methuselah was kind enough to invite us to his house Friday morning for a traditional peruvian breakfast that consisted of some cheese tamales that were rediculously tasty yet, crazy dry. But, that was ok, because he also fixed us a drink that was like a thick, cinamon hot chocolate with oatmeal in it. Crazy good, though I don´t think anyone else liked the entire meal as much as I did. I ate five of the tamales (Allen was runner up with two) and I drank my whole cup of drink. Albee beat me at the drink as she drank two whole mugs, but I think she regretted it within the hour as she became a little bit sickly. So, I don´t think she´s as excited about our lunch date with him tomorrow as I am. In all actuality though, pray for us that we will be able to stomach what he has so graciously offered us.

Speaking of sickness and the girls, Romi has offered to let them live with her free of charge, however, since we´ve already payed for our hostal through the end of June, they won´t be able to move in until after midsummer. However, this will be perfect because Romi is one of the like two people in Coracora with a heated house. This means the cold that has been plaguing Jodi may actually have a chance to heal. Also this will provide a good solid relationship with Romi as well as her daughter that could have a good chance of starting a new or strengthened relationship with Christ for all parties involved.

I would also like to report a praise as we had a new attender at the house church we´ve been going to this morning. We got to teach about The Lord´s supper and baptism, the prophecies leading up to these, and the imagery and position of Christ in all of these throughout all of the scriptures. It was an amazing service and touched on many of the key topics of the Christian faith. And yes, it was a three hour meeting. Hopefully the truths sank into those that were there and provided a solid spiritual meal for all present. I know I got a good filling. with that said, pray for us as we continue to try and get this and possibly more home-churches and bible studies started with a firm basis in God´s word.

As for an update with personal contacts, we are making good friends with one of the locals named Dante. He has started hanging out with us more often and has attended several bible studies so far. Also, he and Allen are meeting tonight they are going to practice speaking German. God has a ton planned for this inteligent young Engineer and I know that he will be a valuable contact in this small town. Pray for him that he might continue firmly in his walk.

Side message- I now have MSN messenger. My screenname is Benjavajammin@live.com if you ever catch me while I´m online, feel free to drop a message.

God bless.

Those Who Wait

Not much has happened in the last couple of days. First off, we met for another awesome prayer session/bible study with Methuselah on Sunday. Then, on Tuesday, all of us except for our sick translator, Allen, met with Romi, one of the local school teachers who teaches English, and helped her with her classes. We first met her as she was teaching two 6th grade classes and helped explain the use of plurals and various other vocabulary such as the seasons and weather words. Then followed her to another school and helped out with a second grade class, expaling colors, shapes, and various things such as windows, doors, walls, etc. In all three classes, we were asked to end off with a song. We obliged the request by singing our unofficial themesong, "Sing to the King." The kids loved it, and got to experience praise in another language, whether they realized it or not.

Other than that, we've been kind of hanging out in internet cafes and resting as plans have been either canceled or forgotten. However, I don't look at these closed doors as bad omens or even as time wasted, but rather as waiting for God's timing. One instance of a forgotten/cancelled/plan gone awry turning into a positive twist was when a failed bible study ended in us meeting a Peruvian Geologist who spoke a good bit of English. Also, for me at least, a decent amount of the downtime has been spent in reading, prayer, and even some meditation. It has tremendously helped to take my mind off of simply being in a new city and helped me focus on sincerely wanting and craving to do the work of God. Which, as we read in John, is to "Believe in the one whom He sent."
Through all of this as well as some reading about the early church, I've found that God requires a period of waiting that builds in us patience and also transforms our hearts to want what is in His will for us. After all, I have no clue what God is doing or what He wants done here, except for that His name and His promise might be presented to these people. In the meantime, we wait for the opened door and also for our "Wings like Eagles." We appreciate your prayers and your thoughts as we await the wonders God has prepared for Coracora, and also for us.