Home...

We made it into Ocala about 3:15PM today. Thanks to Howard Lawson for picking up us this afternoon. Thanks also to each of you who prayed for us and left comments during the trip. You made a difference. Please continue to pray for Chris, Erica, Juan and Miranda as they spend the next 8 weeks in Cabana.

DELTA...

Well... Delta continues to use their flight plan abilities to help us become more flexible! Our flight here in Lima is delayed an hour which will cause us to miss our connection in Atlanta. We will now leave at 1:20AM but at this point it just does not matter - it is way past our bedtime.

God has been very faithful to us in allowing us to be on this trip and we will adjust - not like we have any other options!

We made it to Lima!

We left Cabana at 2AM and made the long journey back to Lima. We got to our hotel around 5PM after riding in a Combi (combination bus/van), a very fast drivng station wagon, three buses and finally a taxi.

Every mission trip is great and every one is different in what you see God doing. The tendencey is to compare but that is really an fruitless effort. Each trip to Peru has built on the previous trip. The fruit that is beginning to grow in Cabana is a result of the previous 6 teams and the 2009 summer missionaries faithful obedience to Christ. (Yes, I know this sentence needed apostophes but this keyboard is a spanish keyboard and I can not make that key work!)

In the book of Acts you will read about the early church finding favor with the people. We are beginning to see that happen in Cabana as the people of the village are realizing that we really do care about them with a genuine love. Yesterday we were walking back to the hostal when some folks that we do not know yelled "amigos" and then gave us a bag of potatoes. A few moments later another lady gave us a bag of fruit. They call us "missionaries" and seem to be pleased with what they have witnessed and experienced.

We all know that only God can get the glory for such a testimony. Only he can work in the hearts of people who do not easily trust in such a way that they begin reaching out in friendship to strangers. Most of the time our communication is without words unless we have a translator with us.

We had our second Bible study last night with Manuel and Louisa. It was encouraging to see how they recalled the earlier lesson and even asked questions that showed they are processing what has been shared with them.

What a blessing to see how the summer missionaries have jumped right into the village and immediately made an impact. It was a blessing to see how David Jacola and Kelly Pajar (from the 2009 Summer Missionary Team)encouraged the 2010 team to have a sense of urgency. Their insight added with the relaationships they have in Cabana have propelled the 2010 team right into action.

Please continue to pray for our friends in Cabana. My heart is encouraged by what we witnessed in these recent days. God is at work.

Our plane leaves at midnight tomorrow so please pray that we continue to have a trip without any problems. We have travelled very far in a short amount of time and this guy is really feeling it... See you soon.

Kevin and Jacob Kite and David Jacola

We gave all we had today...

I am not sure how you say exhausted in Spanish but I think our body language communicates that we are whipped. We got up early this morning and had our quiet times up on the mountain. We got back expecting to meet Sixto so that we could help him in his field.

During our trips to Peru we have learned never to have expectations about the day but rather to be very flexible. When we got ready to leave to hostel for Sixto’s house his daughter Marina arrived to let us know that the plans had changed. The community was having a work day up on the mountain building some type of wall. Instead of building a relationship with Sixto we instead built relationships with about 50 different people as we served alongside them throughout the day.

We worked helping them build a wall that serves as a boundary between Cabana and Andamarca – the neighboring village. We had wondered in the past about how long it must have taken them to construct the thousands of similar walls that separate the fields. We now have a better understanding of how hard these people work. We built a 3 to 4 foot fence that is composed of all sized rocks and boulders. We carried, rolled and pushed rocks all day long. The fence we worked on is at least one-quarter of a mile long. It was amazing to see how everyone works together.

We are grateful that God gave us such an opportunity. We left the hostel at 8AM and returned around 5PM. We decided to walk home so that we could all be together and there would be a chance to catch a ride with a van. We saw such a van whose driver said that they would return so we went ahead and started walking. And we walked. And we walked so more. About 5 miles later we were back at the hostel. But, as always, God had a reason. About 2 ½ miles from Cabana we caught up with a Quechua woman who was carrying a load of sticks and another load of potatoes. She was also walking with a small cane. Our summer missionaries carried her bags for the remainder of her trip home. We could not have a conversation with her other than learning her name is Modista. She only speaks Quechua. However, David Jacola summed up the experience with the following, “you know we can’t even talk to her but through our actions we are showing her the love of Jesus. She knows we are missionaries. Now she knows that we care.” One day we will be able to talk to her through someone who can speak Quechua and Spanish.

Tomorrow is our last day in Cabana. We will be leaving the summer missionaries late tomorrow night. Please pray that God gives us wisdom to help them – they are a special team. Did I mention that we are tired? It is 7:15 PM here and we are all ready for bed!  I will try to post more in the morning. Thanks for all of the encouragement you have sent our way.

To the fields!

We are leaving this morning to help Sixto in his field. We are not sure what type of work we will be doing but we are praying that God helps us to build a relationship with Sixto. We will have a long walk up the mountain so please join us in praying that God gives us strength. I asked one of our summer missionaries last night if she was going to let a 60 or 70 year old man beat her up the mountain. In all reality – he will beat us all!

It is colder this morning. 54 degrees in our room and 42 outside. My fingers are getting numb trying to type!

We had a great breakthrough last night – our first Bible Study with a small group. Our small group is two but we will all meet again on Wednesday night in Manuel’s house. This is amazing! Manuel is not a believer – yet – but he has come a long, long way since our first visit in 2008. Louisa is the lady that was baptized during our trip in September 2009. They have some friends that they will be inviting. Please pray for them to have courage!

Here is a picture of Chris helping Manuel rebuild a hut here in the hostel. Manuel even invited Chris to his house to eat lunch. These summer missionaries are doing an incredible job of jumping right in – God is going to use them in some awesome ways this summer.

Thank you for all of your prayers and comments. We appreciate you joining us on this journey to Peru.