Living Victory

Hey guys! Here in Huancayo, today was the last scheduled day of follow up, new believer ministry. Our day and week culminated tonight in a beautiful victory celebration; we sang, shared testimonies, and prayed with the national pastors and fellow Believers. The best part was the understanding that this was not the end of our ministry. Not only will our ministry continue in Huancayo next year and through the Peruvian locals we worked with, but our ministry will continue in our daily lives at home, work, and everywhere we go. The passion which has been ignited here in Huancayo will be brought with us wherever we find ourselves. I want to encourage you to talk to one of us when we get home so that we can share the same passion with you. Over the course of the last 5 days we shared the gospel with 599 Peruvians and 395 responded with a desire to accept Christ as their Savior. But that is just part of the story...We had 147 attend the beginnings of 8 new cell groups that, Lord willing, will become local churches in their respective areas. We are celebrating tonight, the Great Commission, to Go and Make Disciples not simply Converts! 

Tomorrow we do some sight seeing and then begin the long journey home by bus and plane. Thanks for continuing to pray for our health and safe travels home.

for the team, Nathan 

AM I SECOND?

Yesterday was a mixed day for me for two reasons. Firstly, I had to choose to be second during the SportReach Team ministry.  Anyone who knows me, knows that when it comes to sports and ministry I like to be in the thick of things, but yesterday I had to choose to take on a different role.  I still had fun watching the other team members in action...they are just awesome sharing the word with the kids and surrounding listeners...but I had to watch and play my part in a different way.  Secondly, the experience made me realize that all too often I get caught up in doing things for the "honor and glory of God"...good things, needed things...but I'm still first. So God gave me a little reality check so that I can see what being second really means.  Because I took on a different role, one of the other team members had the opportunity to experience and fulfill what God had for her.  I am second, means that it can never be about me, because it's simply not about me. It's all about Jesus!

Just a quick celebration from today: We ministered to some children during the sports ministry and the gave their life to Christ. We told them about the cell group meeting and they followed us straight from the sports area to the church.  There was not enough room in the church so we took them outside under the street lights to do the first lesson of the discipleship.  They sat in the cold for over 45 minutes to do the Bible study and they wanted to do more! God is awesome...I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. 

for the team, Andrea

We Are Second

Our theme for today was "I am Second", and putting the lives of these people before ours has enriched our lives beyond measure. It's amazing how God had released His Holy Spirit before we arrived here. We have been praying for faceless people for months, but now, after working with them for only two days, we are immersed in their lives. We have spent two days sharing the Gospel, playing football(soccer), volleyball, and duck-duck-goose with the children, answering tough questions in home groups, praying for and counseling with new believers, sharing wonderful Peruvian meals around the table with laughter and deep conversations.  All these experiences have connected us with these wonderful people. We will find it hard to leave them later this week, not because they need us to stay, but because we have fallen in love with them. Friendships like this usually take years to develop in the US, but after only 2 days we feel so close to many of them. 

for the team, Warren

Overcoming Fear

God has been so gracious in my spirit. Last year, I did not enjoy the door to door evangelism, it was and has always been completely out of my comfort zone to just walk up and share the Gospel. Yet, today I was so excited to do exactly that and found that there was not enough time in the day. Our nationals were so excited about the Gospel and sharing the love of God with their neighbors. God was gracious by showing me that he is awesome and can overcome my fear of rejection or my timidity.  Pray for us...For God did not give us a spirit of timidity!  =)

for the team, Jocelyn

We've Been Set Up

Today we worked, worshiped, and prayed with our Peruvian friends, laying the ground work for the upcoming week of ministry. A few of our team members are from Pittsburgh, and their church back home has gone through some challenging times recently. The Peruvian church that they are partnered with this week "just happens" to be going through some similar challenges, but their shared passion for the Gospel is still as strong as ever. Over the course of the day, it became evident that something special was in the mix for a week of mutual encouragement. They prayer-walked through neighborhoods and visited with dozens of youth and families that "just happen" to be on a week of winter vacation the same week while we are here. No doubt about it, we've been set up!

* The pictures are of a sports clinic and evangelistic presentation we did in the afternoon, along with a prayer time and team supper where we shared God-sightings from the day...

for the team, Jim

Touchdown In Peru!

Our team of 32 touched down in Peru late last night! We have 4 Berean Churches represented from Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. Kelly Jessen met us at the airport after just returning from India with Mark Carlton and team; pray for Kelly's endurance this week. After a short night in a hotel in Lima, we boarded an eight hour bus ride this morning to Huancayo (read a little about this region of Peru @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huancayo). The elevation of Huancayo is above 10,000 ft, so you can imagine we had some elevation sickness along the way and when we arrived. Pray for the teams health and adjustment. This evening we gathered with representatives and leadership from six area churches that have a desire to plant cell-based churches in outlining areas where there is no local church presence. We sang, prayed, and got acquainted with one another and our translators. Tomorrow morning we break down into 6 different teams and worship together with the churches across Huancayo, as well as make preparations for door to door and street evangelism, discipleship, cell group training, and sports outreach. Here we go!

For the team, Kris

Stories from the field in Iquitos, Peru

After a long cold winter heading to the jungle of Peru was a breath of fresh air. Okay, maybe fresh is an exaggeration... more like 90 degree 100% humidity air. Our sports team of 10 joined a medical team to work with four mother churches to help each begin a new church. The four areas were in squatter villages where living conditions were very poor but the people were friendly and welcoming.

A typical day was to go home to home in the mornings sharing Christ alongside a local church member. For many people the news of Jesus Christ was new as they had never heard the whole story before and for those who had heard of Christ had a desire to know more and more about Him. Many times our team would spend and hour or more talking with and discipling families. After lunch our team would set up for a time of sports which drew people of all ages. In the evenings we would have an evening service or training time.

One of my favorite moments on the trip was our second location, where during our time of sports, a massive downpour started. That didn't stop the young men playing soccer which turned out to be a hilarious slip fest. However due to the large amount of rain the roads were flooded and that meant only the faithful showed up to the evening service. The delight was that the 12 that were there were hungry to learn how to use the Evangecube so I had the precious privilege of teaching how to do evangelism. After the end of the time the very humble pastor asked the group to stay later to begin to strategize how to use their new evangelism tools to reach their neighborhood during the upcoming Holy week.

As a leader of many short-term mission trips I always like to say that the trip is usually just as much about the people that go as the people we reach. It was very cool to see a mom and two teenage sons be stretched into obedience and by the end of the week serving boldly. Or the young married couple on their first mission trip who wanted to serve together. Or the young man who is pursuing a career in missions. God is always at work in each of us so that ultimately He'll be glorified. Here are some of their stories:

“Many experiences during my week in Iquitos impacted me and are stories I will share for a long time to come. There are stories of salvation, answered prayers, and lots of joy. It’s the joy in Iquitos that stood out, especially on our last ministry day. I was able to meet a young man named Michael on that day who had already accepted Christ and was clearly living his life with passion of Jesus. His excitement over a small group of Americans sharing the Bible was incredible. He said that he had been praying for his village and that someone would come to share the Gospel with everyone there. Michael became even more excited by the new church being planted there and thanked us for coming. God showed me two huge truths through Michael. The first was that God uses simple people to answer prayers even if its in another part of the world. The other is that God will us passionate people like Michael to spread the Word long after the mission team leaves. My meeting with Michael served as an exclamation point at the end of the week saying ‘Yes, I will use you for My Will!’”

“…she had so many questions as she pulled out many books and her Bible. I did by best to answer all of her questions and we talked of many things; children, life in the community, church, faith, God, the Bible, and family problems…our surrounding bodies may have looked different but we were very much alike.”

“…the most memorable experience was being given the opportunity to share the Gospel to a primary school. To walk in and ask the director and 5 minutes later speaking to all those precious children was and amazing privilege. I’m humbled and grateful to our gracious father for letting me be a part.”

In the end our sports team did 361 in home visits where 145 people gave their lives to Christ. We also had a great time building relationships, sharing Christ and beginning discipleship in our sports clinics with 510 people in attendance. With the Holy Spirit guiding us we were privileged to see Jesus build four new churches that are now well on their way to making disciples and reaching their neighborhoods.

Kelly for the team
e3 Church Planter