Buenas Tardes from Peru!

After 40 plus hours of travel we are safe, sound and healthy here in Aplao, Peru. Having arrived in Lima at about 4PM on Monday we took our 15 drive, by bus, into Aplao, Peru. For those of us who were here last year in Peru it brings back memories, including a suprise visit from some of our translators from last year, who met us in the bus station and for the new ones on this trip, they have already begun to make memories, like trying to cross the streets of Peru. (If youve been to Peru before you would know what I mean.)Praise God that we were all able to make it onto the same bus. We were unsure if we would up till the moment until we tried to purchase our tickets and discovered we could all be on one bus. Our first clear indication that God is working, providing and being faithful already.

We have found ourselves staying in the Majes River Lodge about 15 minutes from the town of Aplao. Our host Julio, please prayer for him as we are not sure of his reationship with Chist, has been wonderful offering himself to us for a few days to give us a tour of Aploa and introduce us to everyone that he knows. Julio is a very popular man. Thanks to Julio we spent much of today traveling around and meeting several people. We plan to meet with them all over the next couple of days. Please be in prayer for these meetings that we will be lead truly by the Spirit and that God would bless our time with them and allow the Word of God to penetrate their hearts. There are many people here for us to engage with, we would certainly need more than three weeks to reach all of them. Pray that God guides our hearts to the ones that we would be used by God to have the most impact. It´s for the glory of God that we are here, not ourselves.

We have begun to already make contacts with the mayor of both Aploa and Onecarque and are looking forward to time in both of the town squares performing dramas, skits, music and testimonies. Please be in prayer that God would draw the local Peruvians to these acivities. Also please be in prayer for the schools here as the teachers are on strike making it difficult for us to get into the schools. We hope that it will only be for this week, we covet your prayers in this matter.

As for the team, we are all doing well. All of us are filled with excitement, joy and a great passion to engage everyone we meet and bring the love and hope of the gospel through Jesus Christ. We had a wonderful time of worship and sharing last night. If time allows and the Lord wills we hope to have these as often as every night. These are great oppurtunities for us as a team to be united together through encouragement and uplifting words. We desire to be unified as one team as we share the power of Christ. Thinking that it would make the trip "pefect" to have Jesus travelin with us telling us where to go and showing us who to talk to. However, i found myself in John 16¨:7 only to find that from the words of Christ himself, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."
So from the mouth of Christ Himself we see that to our advatage it´s better to have the Holy Spirit, the Helper, come to us all the way here in Aplao, Peru rather than, if it were possible, Jesus Christ Himself. We covet your prayers as we seek the Holy Spirit´s guiding in all that we do. Also, we love the scenery and mountains here. Im sure many of you will see pictures once we return.

I do apologize for any grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes in these blogs. It´s hard to type on this keyboard.

Until you hear from us again...while you pray for us, know that we pray for you as well. God Bless and much love from us all.