In Lima...

We all made it! Getting on a Combi at 2 in the morning affords a team many opportunities for excitement. We are very tired but very thankful that God has brought us safely back to Lima.

One more request...

We will leave Cabana at 2 in the morning. We will take a combi to Puquio (3 1/2 hours) and then ride on three different buses in order to arrive in Lima tomorrow night. Please, please pray that our team members do not get sick and that we are able to rest through the night. We are grateful for all that God has done on this trip and for your partnership in this journey.

Our last night in Cabana

We had a great day today continuing to build relationships here in Cabana. As we began the day with our group devotion we were greeted by our friend Manuel. On our previous trip we had shared the Gospel with him and left him with a Bible. We invited him this morning to study with us and we then spent about 45 minutes talking through The Scriptures and attempting to answer any questions. Manuel has been reading his Bible so we were very encouraged to see God working in his life.

Some of the ladies in our group spent most of the morning with a lady named Nancy. She continues to show interest in the Bible. Please pray for her.

Another part of our group took a quick trip to Sondondo to check on our friend Zocima. We found out that she is still in Lima so we got her contact information and will attempt to talk with her this weekend. She accepted Christ as her savior over the summer.

Tonight we will meet with Wilder. We are all hopeful that God has continued to work in his life.

Our last meal here in Cabana will be at the expense of some guinea pigs. We appreciate their sacrifice. You would be surprised that some of our team members actually helped the guinea pigs take the first step towards our dinner plates. J

Rainy afternoon

It is raining now in Cabana - which really makes it difficult to interact with the people since they are all bundled up in their homes. When it rains... it gets colder, too.

We have had a good day and will finish up in Cabana tomorrow by meeting with Wilder the banker. Please pray for us during this time - he has been reading the Bible that we left with him on the previous trip.

What a work day...

Just in case you are wondering… the Peruvians are very hard workers - Attempting to work alongside them while still adjusting to this high elevation proved to be a great challenge for our team. One of the great compliments of the day came when a Peruvian lady said that we work like Peruvians. Well, only for one day! David Ripple said that if he had to wake up every morning know that was what he had to do every day – he would just cry. When I moved to get out of bed this morning I almost cried, too.

We really were not sure if we would be able to complete the entire work day. The Peruvians were wondering, too. They did not know that people from the United States did any physical labor but instead believed we only sat behind desks and worked with our heads. Movies that they watch don’t always help our cause here.

We were able to share with the work group why we were volunteering to help. It was a privilege to share with them again our purpose for being in Cabana. One lady named Gladys was very curious about why we were working with them. After Mandy (one of the IMB missionaries with the Journeyman program) told her why we were helping, Gladys asked if we had Bibles (which we do) and if she could come by to talk about the Bible.

Part of our team also had a great day sharing with some of the ladies in the village. Please pray for a young, single mom named Jackie. Please pray that God softens her heart towards the Gospel. Please also pray for Irene and her family. All of our teams have had great interaction with this family and over time we have built a strong relationship with them. However, we have not had a good opportunity to share the Gospel clearly. Please pray that God gives us that opportunity.

Continue to pray for the mayor, Octavio. We have met with him once and will be meeting with him again soon. Please pray that God gives us wisdom as we interact with him.

Everyone on the team is doing great. We thank you for your prayers and for the great comments that you are leaving. We are sharing those with everyone during our time in the morning.

Oops! Accidentally rejected some comments

Two comments were rejected in error this morning. If you don't see your comments, please send them again. I pressed the wrong button!!! So very sorry.

Mucho Monday

Mucho happening on Monday

What a day… We woke up on Monday morning to learn that David Jacola and Je’sus (our translator) went out to find something to eat later on Sunday evening and instead found the mayor in a meeting. They sat in on the remainder of the meeting and then setup a meeting with the mayor for 9AM Monday morning.

One of our goals for this trip was to find a way to serve the community. On our first trips we learned that the mayor did not believe that the existing church did not have any impact on the community. We were going to ask the mayor to help us identify someone or some way that we could help in the community.

When we met with the mayor yesterday we shared that desire and he immediately got excited and told us about a group working up on the mountain. We walked up the trail to the job site and realized that we were not going to be helping farmers but rather helping a group that is building a new water treatment plant for the community. Several of us will spend all day today working with cement, rocks and dirt. Please pray for us to have lots of energy. We feel a little pressure since the mayor introduced us all to the group last night and told them that they needed to come observe us working. J It will really be a tough day since we are not yet fully acclimated to this altitude.

We also met with some of the people from previous trips and have set up meeting times to continue sharing God’s Word with them. Even as we had our devotional time in the city plaza a lady came up and asked us what we were doing. She then joined in our Bible study and then we shared a Bible story with her. It was awesome.

Please pray for us today – that we are “on task” and that we do not experience the distractions that are so common here. It is difficult at times to know which people are really interested and which ones are just taking our time. We only have a short amount of time here so we are asking God to order our steps throughout each day.

Our team members are doing wonderful. Last night we had some great worship time as David used a Peruvian’s antique guitar to lead.

Your prayers are critical – they are making a huge difference. To experience so much on our first full day in the village is not normal. Thanks again for your comments – they help us to keep moving, too.

Here in Cabana it is cold...

We are here. We are tired. We are ready!

We made it to Cabana early this afternoon. Wow – what a trip. Our entire team did great on the trip. We had one team member struggle a little with motion sickness but everyone is doing great tonight.

We will begin reconnecting with our friends in the morning. Please pray for us to be bold and for them to be open to talking with us about spiritual things. These conversations will then lead us into God’s Word and His plan to redeem their lives through the sacrifice of Jesus.

I am sure we will all rest well tonight… Thanks for joining us this week in Cabana.

Getting ready for the big yellow bus...

We just got our tickets for the Big Yellow Dog that will leave at 7PM tonight. We are leaving now for lunch and then a meeting with Mike Weaver will take place here at the hotel. We then begin the long bus ride to Cabana. Thanks for praying for our entire team to stay healthy during the trip. We will now be joined by one translator and 3 International Mission Board missionaries who serve through the Journeyman program.

We will post again as soon as we get to Cabana. Much love to all of our friends and families. Thanks for leaving comments, too. These get shared every morning with our team as we begin our days with devotions. Your encouragement means more than you know!!!

Made it to Grand Hotel Betsy

We just arrived in Lima and are about to settle down for the night. We had a good travel day which means we did not experience any problems. It has been a long day but our bus will not leave until tomorrow evening so we are hoping to be rested by the time 7PM rolls around! Thanks for your prayers and comments!

Specific Prayers

We do have some specific prayer requests:

Please pray for us as we travel. Tomorrow night we will get on public transportation and go all the way to the village - this is a first for any of our teams. Please pray that God keeps us all from getting sick - motion sickness can make a very long trip seem much, much longer.

Please pray for our families that remain in the states. Pray that God places a hedge of protection around them.

Please pray for the mayor of Cabana - Octavio Alegrio Leon. Here is a picture of him. We are praying for his salvation.

Out-bound from Orlando

Once again a missions team from FBC Ocala has made it through the exciting and sometimes difficult process of checking in and getting through security. We now sit at the gate ready to load a plane that we are hopeful will safely carry us to the Great State of Texas and from there to Lima.

We are thankful for the many prayer partners that will join us on this trip. We also thank God for all of the efforts that have been made to help this trip happen.

Please pray for us as we travel - in only 48 hours we should be getting close to our adopted village of Cabana! :)

Here are some photos of the happy travelers in the Orlando airport. I also wanted to show you the tub of supplies that we are taking - we are allowed 50 pounds so please notice the weight on the display.

Away They Go!

The November Peru Mission Team is on their way to our friends in Peru.

Please be praying for them over the next week as they explore public transportation to the villages and follow up with many of the contacts made on previous trips. Please also be praying for God to work in the life and heart of the Mayor of Cabana.