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.