Week One in Peru!

Last Monday we boarded Delta flight 151 in Atlanta and took the 7 hour journey to Peru, praying that God would show us what to do when we got here. Scanning through the gospels, I read again and again how the disciples had followed Jesus. They had loved Him. They had trusted Him. They had doubted Him at times. And He had still proven Himself time and time again, performing miracles and changing their stubborn hearts. His book reminded me once again that He was once a man and that He desires to share in every moment, every emotion, every beat of my heart. I was sure of it then, that he would show us the way. He would provide as He always has. Three thousand miles from home, we landed in Lima and went throught immigration at the airport. A dear friend was waiting for us at the gate and she took us to the home of our missionary friends in San Juan de Lurigancho, where we spent our first night.

We awoke to fresh juice and scrambled eggs and sweet new friends as missionaries from Atlanta and a Pastor from Peru came to eat breakfast with us. We broke bread and made introductions and shared in the knowledge of the goodness of God. Beautiful moments. Beautiful friends.

The Peruvian Pastor is Luis. He is a passionate man of God and he is our friend. We met him 3 years ago and the Lord has grown our relationship with him into a precious friendship. He told us of a hostal within walking distance to most of the places we would need to go in San Juan de Lurigancho and told us that we could spend our first two weeks there. Then, he opened his home to us for the entire last month of our stay in Peru. We are now eagerly awaiting the end of this week when we will be moving in with Pastor Luis and his sweet wife and we will be staying with them for the rest of our time here. The provison of the Lord abounded to us that first morning in Peru. When night came, we watched as the lights began to flicker and shine from the houses on the mountain. Our friend told us that each light represents a family and is a nightly reminder for them to pray for the people here. To me the lights looked like fireflies- thousands of them, covering the expanse of the city up into the mountain.

JeanPool & Nahely

Our first week in Peru has been an amazing blessing from our Father. Pastor Luis took us around the city and showed us where to go to buy things that we will need. We got advice from our missionary friends about how to take the buses and where to eat. We spent our third day in Peru walking around the city and praying. We called upon the King to come and to provide for these people. We declared life in a place that looks so full of death. Poverty is rampant here. You can see it in desperate eyes and clenched fists.

While walking down the street, some of our precious kids found us and ran up to us for big hugs and excited hellos! They took our hands and led us back to their house and invited us in to meet their mama. We meet JeanPool and Nahely on our first mission trip three years ago and have remained in contact with them ever since. They are sweet, precious children who love the Lord and love us so much. Their mother was so kind and invited us back to eat supper with them one night. One of the most common meats to eat here in this area of Peru is called “cuy” and it is skinned, cooked guinea pig! The children showed us their “Cuy” farm in the back of their home and we now have plans to return and have dinner in the very near future. I have been told that cuy tastes like chicken. We will let you know! The children showed us around their neighborhood and showed us how to get to one of the churches that Crosspoint works with in Peru.

The church is called “El Renuevo” and we have been there twice and met with the Pastor this week. We now have a list of young people who are interested in being a part of the drama team in Peru and we will be going to teach dramas this weekend. We also had the wonderful oppotunity to visit the orphanage in the mountains and spend time with the sweet girls there. Right now there are only 7 girls there, all of whom do not receive any visitors. While there, we were told that the relatives of these sweet girls live in other areas or are simply not interested in seeing them. All between 14 and 16 years old, they are precious to me and they are even more precious to the Lord. We were so honored to spend the day with them and have the chance to share God’s sweet love with them. The orphange is called “Casa Esperanza” which translates into English as “Hope House.” A wonderful name for a home on a hill and a refuge for these beautiful girls.

We have spent many hours in prayer over this city, over these people, for these sweet children. There is so much poverty here. So much hunger and so much pain. We have already witnessed people urinating into the same trash on the streets that children and dogs plunder through at night, looking for food. We have already seen violence between a mother and son. We have been invited into the homes of our sweet friends, only to see that they do not have enough food to eat and that their family of 14 lives in a home that is no more than a shanty. I keep thinking that there are 8 million people in this city, most of which are far, far below the poverty level.

We have a dream to change this place with the love of Jesus. We have a dream to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, to clothe the poor. There is so much need. I keep hearing the Lord say that with man this may be impossible, but with God all things are possible. We hold strong to this scripture and we remember that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. It is He who lives within us and it is He who gives us this deep love for these people. God Himself loves them with an everlasting love. We are encouraged daily by his love and by His promises. We know that He is going to do an amazing thing in this city. His love never fails.

Because of your prayers, lives are being changed forever in Peru.

We love you,

Chris & Ellyn