teamperu07's Xanga

Argentina!

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:38:42 GMT

Next upcoming Global Encounters trip: Argentina! We have an incredible schedule planned with kids' programs, teens programs, outreach in the shantytowns, a prayer conference, family ministry... it's going to be great! Take a look at www.globalencounter.net/argentina-trip for details. Dates: June 5-25. Application deadline: April 24.

Pictures from Peru!

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:35:34 GMT

These are pictures from the latest Global Encounters mission trip to Peru. I love that country!

We worked with about 220 kids in Callao, a poor area near Lima.

We put on a week-long kids' program with songs, stories, games, and crafts to teach the kids about the Bible and how to apply God's principles to their lives in practical ways. This is a group of us leading a song. I had laryngitis that week (bad illness for the song leader to get), so Amy helped me out with a voice. Good thing she already knew the songs!

Some of the cute kids. We used different colored bandannas to separate the kids into teams. It worked great and looked fun and colorful at the same time.

These girls helped the team with a bunch of projects! We became good friends in spite of the language barrier.

Singing the Armor of God song with Daniel as a live illustration. No wonder the kids loved him!

Large groups were outdoors. It was a good thing most of our teaching time was after the sun had gone down or we all would have been burnt to a crisp. It was summer time south of the equator.

During the day we put on a kids' program for about 500-600 kids in the shantytown of Ventanilla. It was a kind of wild and crazy, but I love those kids out there and hope we communicated something of Jesus' love to them. This picture is from the lunch line where we handed out sandwiches and soda to the kids. On the last day we had more kids than expected. I was praying the Lord would multiply the food like loaves and fishes because it didn't look like we had nearly enough. I ended up handing the very last roll to the very last child in line! God was so good to take care of little details like stretching the sandwiches to feed all the kids!

Some of the team members organized donations of toothbrushes, wash cloths, hair brushes, etc. for the kids. Here's a picture of trying to teach them how to brush their teeth. I love the looks of concentration!

I wasn't sure how it was going to work to wash their hair, but they loved it! (And none of us got lice, thank goodness!)

So sometimes we felt a bit mobbed...

Friends who helped us with organizing the lunches.

Handing out tracts from the bus.

Some really cool fountains in Lima.

The whole team plus friends packed into one little fishing boat for a tour of the bay.

After a week in Lima we flew out to Cusco, a city 11,000 ft above sea level in the Andes Mountains. It used to be the capital of the Inca Empire.

You can often find people still dressed in native costume.

With Christie in the downtown square of Cusco.

This is really a beautiful city, though the spiritual darkness is intense.

Well, not everything was beautiful!

The children were definitely beautiful, though!

A chalk talk for a group of teens. Some of them were in tears by the end!

Telling a story to the kids.

More crazy moments of story telling.

We had about 70 kids at this week-long kids' program.

I love this place!

After four trips to Peru, I finally made it out to Machu Picchu!

It was definitely the most impressive sightseeing trip I have ever made!

Very cool ruins and absolutely amazing scenery in the surrounding mountains.

It was amazing how they built the city right into the rocks of the mountain.

Good friends to travel with!

I'm grateful for each person God brought to be a part of this team. They worked hard and gave of themselves to show God's love and truth to the people of Peru.

Another Trip to Peru

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:14:03 GMT

I just got back from another mission trip to Peru! This time we worked in the poor areas around Lima and in Cusco - a city 11,000 ft above sea level in the Andes Mountains. Whew! Not much oxygen up there! It was a great trip. I'll try to post some pictures soon. In the mean time, check out our team blog at http://www.globalencounter.net/blog

More Upcoming Trips

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:23:43 GMT

There are two more upcoming trips to Peru! Take a look at the destinations page of the Global Encounters website (www.globalencounter.net) for the details. (Note: the CollegePlus trip is not limited to CollegePlus students. Others are welcome. Application deadline: Sept. 20.) Also, some preliminary details about the Chiapas and Argentina trips are posted.

In case anyone is wondering about me personally, I'm living in California again. (Hooray!) Running Global Encounters takes up most of my time, but I'm enjoying being back with my family.

The Peru trip this summer was incredible - great team, good ministry. You can read all the details on our blog, including about the night that 8.0 earthquake hit Peru. Yes, we were there for it! The ground was moving so much it kind of felt like surfing... on land. Damage was minimal in Lima (which was 90 miles north of the epicenter) and we were all unhurt (praise the Lord). Although we weren't able to go to the earthquake-damaged areas ourselves, we were able to help with some of the disaster relief efforts by packing up supplies in Lima for transport to the destroyed villages.

Here are a couple of my personal favorite pictures from the trip:

My sister Ruth went with me this time. I loved having her on the team!

A sister moment at the Chan-Chan ruins.

This was an exercise in "let's see how many people we can cram into one picture!" The team was putting on a children's program in a slum area outside Trujillo, the largest city in northern Peru.

Dancing with one of the little girls in the slums. They loved it when we would dance with them to Dena's fiddle music.

Yep, that's me with the pigtails! Andy and I were doing the skydiving skit. It's amazing how much those rickety ladders can wobble by the time you get to the top rungs!

Shopping in Peru - if you like bargaining and an absolutely overwhelming array of stuff, this is the place to shop!

Packing up disaster supplies with Dena.

The team leaders for this year's team - Andy Warner, Dena Conzatti, and me. We had a blast working together and both Andy and Dena did such a good job!

The team! They were an incredible group!

Global Encounters Website

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:41:53 GMT

Global Encounters now has it's own website! Check it out at http://www.globalencounter.net. Team blogs for future Peru trips will be posted there and you can even register for trips online. Also, for those of you who have an interest in South America, we are planning a team for Argentina in the spring of '08. More details will be posted on the website soon.

Next Trip on the Schedule

Wed, 09 May 2007 17:00:25 GMT

Dates are set for the next Peru mission trip: August 2-23, 2007! Sign up deadline: June 28. Email me at elizabeth@globalencounter.net for more info.

Team Picture

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:08:16 GMT

Hey, Team! Thank you for all your hard work, desire to serve, boldness for Christ, and willingness to learn while in Peru. You guys were a great team! May the Lord refresh you, give you rest, remind you of all the incredible memories of Peru, and continue to draw you ever closer to Himself. May the lessons that you learned in Peru, and especially, the reality of Christ's presence in your life, stick with you forever. I love you guys!

- Elizabeth

Sunday and Monday, March 11-12 - Report from Heather - End of the Trip

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:04:32 GMT

On Sunday we visited two Christian Missionary Alliance churches in Callao, and participated in three services. When we arrived at the first church at 9:00, the ladies of the church had breakfast prepared for us. Some of us agreed that the meal made up for having to get up so early (that pure milk was especially good, wasn’t it?). We joined the church service partway through, and the team sang and played several songs. Jacob preached about our need to have our “feet” washed by Christ daily. Nine people came forward to pray for salvation after that sermon!

The second church we visited was the one which we had helped to paint earlier in the week. It is about a year-and-a-half old, and is an offshoot of the first church we visited that day. Again, we provided special music for the service. Michelle and James also shared with the church some lessons that they learned during the trip. Four more people were saved at that service. Pastor Rojas lead the church in praying for our team, and asked us to remember to pray for the people of this “baby church,” telling us that this was our church home in Peru.

We went back to the first church for another service. While Jacob preached, the rest of us enjoyed a time of meditation and prayer (we hadn’t slept much the night before J). Actually, I think we all managed to stay awake, but it was a struggle (sorry Jacob—you weren’t boring!). By now we were quite skilled at giving Peruvian greetings, so someone lined up our entire team to receive kisses, “bendiciones” and “Dios te bendiga’s” from almost every member of the church. We were very loved J. I did feel a unity of spirit with the people of those two churches. We were truly brothers and sisters, with a shared a love for Christ and vision to restore people to Him.

During our “last supper” at a seafood restaurant next to the church, Pastor Rojas’ youngest son entertained us (and everyone else in the restaurant) with an amazing Pavarotti imitation. He has a great lung capacity J.

Back at the hotel, Jessica, the hotel employee who was saved last week, had a special presentation for the team. She had put together a short slide show of her memories from our trip, and a farewell message from the hotel staff. She gave each of us a personalized leather bookmark, and a small pin.

In the afternoon, we had a couple of hours to rest and pack. Some went out for a final trip to the grocery store, and ice cream from Sarcletti’s, along with Pastor Miguel’s children Andrea and Andres.

Around 7:30 we finished loading our luggage onto the bus, and began the twenty-two-hour process of traveling home. We said goodbye to Katherine, who is staying in Peru for a few more weeks (we miss you!). Several of the pastors and their wives were at the hotel to see us off; some of them came with us to the airport, along with Stephan, one of our Christian Peruvian friends. In the bus, Karen, Dr. McCray, and Shawn presented gifts from the group to Elizabeth, Pastor Salazar, and Jacob. We learned so much from them during our trip—knowing each of them has changed my life, and I’m sure the rest of the team would say the same. Mauricio, our faithful, smiling bus driver drove us one last time. Pastor Salazar cried out to God for Mauricio’s salvation—we don’t know if he ever trusted Christ, but continue to pray that “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto” him.

Our trip back home went well. There were small tribulations—the usual lines, a couple of bloody noses, a touch of illness, a few ankles swollen from cellulitis from bug bites, and several bottles of yogurt and pop lost to the security guards (oops—can’t take those on board), but we enjoyed the adventure together and are grateful that the flights went well. We made our connecting flight without having to run through the airport, and all the baggage made it safely back home.

We miss Peru already—not just the great French fries and Inca Cola, the beach or the shopping. We miss the dedicated pastors, the Christian families and young people we met, the openness of the country to the gospel, the challenges and opportunities that kept us on our toes. Now that our trip is over, we pray that we will carry the lessons we learned in Peru for the rest of our lives. Pray for the nation of Peru. Pray for us, that we will be satisfied with Christ, and that our lives will give the world a hunger and thirst for Him.

Adios!

Go with God,

Heather

The Inca Cola Club

Saturday, March 10 - Report from Kristina - Orphanage and Youth Meeting

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 21:36:26 GMT

Today we went to a Christian orphanage for children ages 3-16. As we took a tour of the facilities, we could tell that the kids were well cared for and were being taught the Word of God. We met the children, then went outside to sing some fun songs in English and Spanish and reenact the story of David and Goliath. Afterwards we got to know the kids better by playing soccer, jumping rope, blowing bubbles, and making balloon animals with them. They were good kids, not “clingy,” but freely giving love to us as we gave it to them. They were SO sweet! We didn’t want to leave. As we climbed into the bus, they serenaded us with a song, then waved and yelled goodbye until we were out of sight. I loved that place and wish we could have stayed longer.

At night we went to a young adults meeting at the church we had painted in Callao. Two church youth groups were represented by about 70 jovenes (young people). They were older than most American youth groups, though, between 17 and 30 for the most part, with a few kids there as well. After praise and worship time, our group sang and played for them, Alex and I shared testimonies, and Jonathan Frahm preached a short sermon on going all the way for God. When the meeting officially ended, we hung out and got to meet them. Many of them are serving the Lord in one way or another, as youth leaders, Sunday School teachers, etc. and it was a big encouragement to them to see other young people serving the Lord.

They encouraged us as well! Rebekah and I talked to a girl named Denise who knew some English and was glad to practice speaking the language. We exchanged email addresses, got to know her a bit, and talked about when she had truly come to have a relationship with the Lord. Hannah Bisson and Jonelle joined us, and she gave us gifts: she gave a pair of earrings to me, a silver hair clip to Rebekah, her favorite kind of perfume to Hannah, and to Jonelle a page of stickers. She said she was sorry she hadn’t known we were coming that night or she would have brought gifts especially for us, rather than simply giving away what she had at the moment! It was so special to me to see her generous, loving spirit; I felt so humbled and selfish, knowing that the thought of giving away things so precious to me would never even cross my mind.

At 10:30 we went to the mall at Miraflores on the coast for “dinner.” It was late, but we all wanted to enjoy our last night together. We ate at Pardo’s Chicken where they gave the girls balloons and the guys paper hats… it was fun. J

Well, it’s 2am, and I’d better get some sleep! We’ve got an early morning ahead of us.

Hey, one more thing: Thank you all SOOOO much for your prayers. We can really tell that we have amazing prayer support and God is doing great things here. May God bless you all!!!

~ Kristina

Dinner at Pardo's Chicken.

The kids love Hannah's violin playing. She's very generous to let them try it out.

A very competitive soccer game of Peruvians vs. Americans.

These really are some of the most adorable children in the world!

They were so much fun to play with - soccer, swings, balloons, volleyball - they loved all of it.

It was very hard to say goodbye.

Friday, March 9, 2007 - Report from Laura - Prison and Inca Market

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 20:34:51 GMT

Our third Friday in Peru began as usual with devotions at 8:30. By 9:30 we were loaded on the bus and headed for a men’s prison in Callao. What an experience! It was definitely not what I was expecting. Just before we arrived at the prison, the guards/police made an unannounced search and found a weapon. After waiting for them to complete the search, we proceeded to get our arms stamped which would allow us to leave the prison after we were finished. We then received a security pat down (us girls by a female guard, thank the Lord).

We entered through the cell block hallway which was lined on either side with inmates milling about. Wow! I had never been surrounded by so many criminals before. We were taken to the outside yard where chairs were set up for a chapel service. This particular cell blocked housed inmates from some 64 countries. It was an international prison experience. The group was directed to the front and stood waiting for what would happen next. Jacob (who was loving every minute of it) encouraged us to start singing which would then encourage the guys to sit down and listen. The yard was filled with activity as the inmates were eating, washing their clothes, smoking, and playing cards. As we started singing it wasn’t long until all the seats were filled and inmates stood around the chairs listening intently. We sang a couple of songs and then Jacob began to preach. As he spoke about the Son’s desire to set people free to live for the glory of God, we could see which inmates were actually free in Christ in spite of their incarceration in a prison. Pastor Salazar gave his testimony and challenged the inmates to cry out for Jesus Christ to make them alive to the things of God and dead to the things of the world. As we sang Great is Thy Faithfulness, there were tears running down the faces of a couple of the inmates. The yard pastor, an inmate himself, spoke and said that he wanted everyone to, “jump on the plane going to heaven!” He lead the inmates in a prayer, asking God to bless us and keep us for Himself.

We ended up staying an extra hour because we could not leave until security finished feeding another yard. As we waited, we spent time talking to the inmates, hearing their stories and encouraging them to seek the Lord. While the inmates were very respectful, I was grateful for the guys on the team staying close to us as we talked with them. We finally left after our nearly 2 ½ hours of incarceration. What an experience. The inmates said they would pray that we’d return…

After leaving the prison we had a long leisurely lunch at Hikari. We finished off the day by using our mad bargaining skills at an Incan market and experiencing again Peruvian ice cream, the best in the world!

I am so grateful for your prayers and look forward to coming back and sharing more about what God has done here in Peru and also in my own life.

Buenas noches,

Laura

Katherine talking with Pastor Jose and some ladies we met at the prison. These three Godly Christians have on ongoing ministry to the men in this prison. The older lady has been working at the prison for over twenty years and considers the inmates to be her sons.

This little girl with Kristina is quite the accomplished salesman. She speaks English very well and helped several of the team decide that they wanted wares from her booth.