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Huancayo,
Peru
March 7- 15
Update 6
After a wonderful day of celebration with
our Peruvian brothers and sisters we began the long
trip home. Each person still replaying the amazing things
they saw and processing how their life would be different
after they return home. Our language, or any language
for that matter, can not do justice to describe how
great our Lord is. How involved He is in our lives.
How He lead this team.
This week the team:
Worked in 11 schools, 3 neighborhoods and on the street
Gave around 200 chiropractic adjustments to teachers
and other adults
Gave away 1000 Spanish New Testaments
Gave away 110 soccer balls and 1000 tracts
Trained nationals on evangelism and follow up
Shared the Gospel with 2828 people
And met an estimated 2071 new believers they'll one
day meet again in Heaven
Thank you for your prayers, they were heard.
Kelly and Jenni for the team
Update 5
The day began in the small rural town
of Juanja. This town is located one hour north of Huancayo.
The plan was to share with an elementary school. We
arrived an hour early, and Kelly being who he is, decided
to visit the local town square to allow opportunities
for street evangelism. What a decision this turned out
to be. We were allowed thirty minutes to go out and
share the Gospel with as many people possible. At least
35 decisions were made over this period of time by over
17 groups of Missionary teams. What a great use of some
unexpected extra time!
We then returned to the school and held soccer, basketball,
and volleyball clinics over a two hour period. Each
team was able to share both their testimony and the
Gospel of Christ and many children made first time decisions
to follow Christ.
The team traveled north across town to another school
with both elementary and high school aged students.
Prior to leaving the buses, Kelly instructed us to begin
sharing the Gospel with the students as closely to 12:55pm
as possible. Shortly thereafter, a light rain began
to fall as we were conducting our clinics causing us
to vacate the courts and seek cover under the covered
walkways. We used this time to share testimonies with
the children and at precisely 12:55pm, the rain stopped
falling allowing us to share the Gospel at the planned
time.
Following this exciting time of sharing, we were warned
by our fearless leader, Kelly, that if we wanted to
eat we needed to be on the bus at exactly 1:30pm. Lunch
was great! Yes, we were successful in meeting this deadline.
Next, we returned to the school we had been at earlier
in the day to conduct a second clinic with the high
school girls. We had no more begun our clinics when
the skies opened up and the rains again began to fall.
This rain was so heavy that it caused us to move inside
briefly and changed our plans. Team members showed off
their talents by juggling basketballs, Hacky Sacks,
and juggling pins in front of the children. By God's
grace, this school is one of only a few in the area
that has a room like this to accommodate a group of
our size. After the "show," we got back to
the business of saving souls. Two testimonies and a
theatrical presentation of the Gospel lead to a tremendous
response from the girls. Right on cue, as soon as the
Gospel presentation was complete, the rain subsided
allowing us to return to the games. After the clinic
time was finished the school's championship volleyball
and soccer teams challenged the Gringo's (the Sportreach
team members) to a match of each soccer and volleyball.
Because of the number of Peruvian Sportreach members
the soccer team was successful in being victorious.
The great talent on the volleyball team also captured
a win.
The day ended with a fun bus ride back to huancayo
and a delicious meal prepared for us by the staff at
the camp. The day was again a great success with 743
people hearing about the love of our Savior and there
where 580 of these making a first time decision to give
their lives to Christ.
May God richly bless you and we truly appreciate all
of your prayers that have helped to make this such a
bountiful harvest.
John, Brad and Kathy
For Your Peruvian Team
Update 4
The day started bright and early at 6:30am
with many of us still having cold showers. But hearts
were filled with the warmth of a wonderful breakfast
and the excitement for the day. Today we were mostly
at schools in the outskirts of Huancayo, and it was
amazing to be graced by the beautiful mountains that
surrounded the areas. And once again, throughout the
day, God held back the rain and smiled upon us with
His sunlight until the right time when we were done
for the day and on our way back to the camp.
We showed up to the first school a little bit late because
of taking a detour to a Peruvian clinic to have 2 of
our fearless leaders checked up on: Kelly and Alexis.
Kelly received care for his broken toe and Alexis was
diagnosed with Malaria and Typhoid Fever from a previous
trip he took to the Jungle with his wife. Needless to
say there was much prayer going on for the both of them.
As we left for our first school, Kelly was more concerned
about Alexis, as were we all. So the day was filled
with prayer, knowing that the Healer was well at work.
So off we were with no time to waste. At the first school
things were done a little bit different because we were
so pressed for time. So instead of doing the normal
sports clinics, we played the Eagle game where the kids
had to run from one side of the courtyard to the other
without getting tagged. If they were tagged they themselves
became eagles and had to tag others. After the games,
Kelly shared the Gospel using the big soccer ball. Many
lives were changed and decisions made to follow Christ.
The second school we went to was a military/students
with parents in law enforcement school, where discipline
and order were their primary means of doing things.
But our intentions were not to be harsh like a drill
instructor at boot camp, but to loosen them up and let
them have a good time. As big as this school was, there
was definitely much chaos and disorder, but fun and
excitement at the same time. It was like giving kids
tons of sugar and then keeping them locked up in a room
all day, then letting them finally get out with all
the energy and rush of adrenaline bursting out of them.
So games were played and connections made with all of
these crazy but awesome kids. After the clinics, John
Basile and Brandon Rodriguez gave their testimonies.
This time they weren't just about how they came to know
Christ, but their experiences of serving Him through
being cops themselves. This was something that they
could use to relate to the kids but never could have
planned. What a site it was to see 1000 kids standing
at attention listening to words of truth and watching
many of them take those words to heart. Also knowing
in our own hearts that God was adding numbers of troops
to His Army by bringing them to have a relationship
with Christ. Though we saw numbers of kids, God saw
faces.
After a delicious, nutritious lunch at Pastor Agusto's
church, we worked with two new cell groups from Florida
Baptist church that were getting started in two different
areas. In both of those areas the kids and their families
were welcomed by going through the neighborhoods and
bringing them to the area we had set up our clinics
in. In both groups it was awesome to see so many kids
and parents in the same area playing sports with us.
It was a very different set up from the one's we normally
have at the schools, but nonetheless, God worked in
us and through us. Now, this group does have its share
of clowns and comedians, and that was apparent today
with the juggling of pins. Nessa Marchetti captured
the attention of many little kids by bringing out her
juggling pins and showing off her talent. That gave
the kids a stir and was very entertaining to them. It
was awesome to see our team (both Americans and Peruivans)
partnering with the members of the cell groups to teach
them how to share the Gospel with the adults that were
sitting around watching the events.
God is so great. At the end of the day, we were tired,
we were worn out, we were beaten up by hundreds of kids,
but through God's grace and the sustaining of our strength
and energy, we got through another amazing day. All
together there were 1282 souls who heard the Gospel
and 940 decisions to have a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. Now its not all about numbers when it
comes to leading people to Christ, but its an everlasting
impression that is left on our hearts to see how awesome
God is when He works in the lives of non-believers,
changing their hearts and giving them a new hope in
life.
Brandon and Nessa
P.S. What 3 things do American Bathrooms have that
Peru Bath Rooms do not?
1. Toilet Paper
2. Bathroom Door
3. Toilet Seat ;)
Update 3
Today started out to be a very early morning
at about 6:00a.m. After an amazing breakfast, we prayed
for 3 members of our team, 2 that were sick, and 1 that
had a broken toe. God has been answering our prayers
daily, such as the weather for the past few days has
been perfect and we couldn't ask for anything more.
Prayer has been huge in our group and is what is making
the things that are happening happen. Our group has
been bonding amazingly through just these past few days
and every person has contributed there own unique God
given gifts.
We divided into two big groups of SportReach members
and the translators. There was 50 members altogether.
We traveled on two different busses and we went to 5
schools by the end of the day. The things that happened
at the schools were…it's so difficult to put into words
but it was God. The first school we went to had about
30 people and so it was great for breaking into small
groups and sharing our personal testimonies with the
kids and even the school staff. Many said they accepted
Christ into their life. The next school we went to had
the same results but the number of students jumped to
about 300 or so. We continued to another school that
had about the same amount of students as the second
school we went to but the students there were much older,
the average age was 14. Instead of telling our personal
testimonies, we used the evange-a-ball (and or the ball
of many colors). That had a great impact on the students
and many said they made the decision to accept Christ
as there savior. Our final school we went to, there
were over 600 students. It was an all girl school. Imagine
400 girls running at you and dragging you down to the
ground! It was still a great time. At one point the
soccer coaches were hanging from the goal post to let
the girls shoot at us. There were 6 girls shooting and
they shot hard! Some of the team is still feeling the
effects. God did great things at that school and after
that we counted and figured that we had talked to over
1100 people and about762 said they accepted him into
there lives. It was a great day and God did amazing
things and we can't wait to see what the rest of the
week has in store for us.
In the evening we had a great time of sharing and looking
into God's word while Kelly taught local pastors and
church leaders how to follow up with new belivers.
Zach, John
Update 2
We began our day by going to Pastor Augusto's Church.
It was quite a wonderful experience to share our Sunday
with the Peruvian Congregation. It was an exciting experience
being able to listen to them sing, and speak in Spanish.
When they started to sing a familiar song, we couldn't
help but join in by singing How Great Thou Art in English.
It was exciting to have the team participate in the
service by having Tim share his testimony, and Alex
played Showers of Blessings on the keyboard, and a young
Quechua woman sang a song in her native language. Kelly
presented the message today with Alexis interpreting
in Spanish. The service ended by the team being commissioned
by people from Augusto's congregation, people from the
La Roca Church, and some of our team members.
We had lunch at the church afterwards, which consisted
of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, chips and cookies,
and orange pop. Corey really loved the pj sandwiches,
and this was the first time Shelly has ever eaten a
whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and Shelly went
nuts over the orange pop they served.
We have enjoyed the restroom experiences. No toilet
seats to sit on, no toilet paper, and no soap. We always
have a good laugh about this, but we now realize that
we have taken bathrooms for granted.
We had a bus breakdown after lunch when we were heading
out to do a sports clinic at
Columobia but God answered our prayers and we were soon
up and running again. We all cheered and praised God!
When we arrived we broke into our sports groups to begin
our clinic. Corey, Alex and Shelly had the wonderful
opportunity to interact and play with the younger children
ages 2 to 5 years old. These young children enjoyed
correcting our attempt at speaking Spanish. They were
very attentive to our every word. It was quite an amazing
thing for us. Shelly had the opportunity to speak to
one of the mothers, with the help of one of the interpreters.
She excepted Christ as her Savior 2 days prior, but
did not understand everything fully. She was very excited
to understand more and to receive a Bible to read to
continue her growth in Christ
While Alex and Corey were walking around, Alex felt
she was being prompted to share Christ with someone,
and we turned a around and saw a girl on a swing, so
we went over to talk to her. Alex initiated the conversation
with her in Spanish, and we soon found out she was deaf,
plus our Spanish was limited. So with the help of an
interpreter I (Corey) shared my testimony and shared
the soccer ball with her. At first she had a hard understanding,
but we stopped to pray that God would open her eyes.
After a long time of talking to her, she eventually
understood and accepted Christ as her Savior. I also
gave her my Bible, so she could grow in Christ. Praise
be to God!! Words cannot express how thrilled we both
were. This is one of many stories the team members experienced
today.
. The day ended by having the opportunity to speak to
at least 167 children and adults. We had 102 children
and adults accept Christ as their personal Savior at
today's clinic. It was such an awesome experience to
see God at work!!!!
There are so many other stories both powerful and funny.
Make sure you ask Zack, Andrew and Heidi about how their
sharing the Good News impacted entire families.
We did not have any water at camp yesterday, so when
we returned to camp after the clinic, we were all excited
to take showers. As team members were quickly jumping
into the showers, much to our dismay, we found out that
they were showers from the Antarctica. I am still shivering
as I am writing this e-mail. We anxiously wait to see
God at work at tomorrow's sports clinics!
Corey and Shelly for the team
Update 1
Here we are in Huancayo, Peru, at the
camp ready for action. It is Sunday morning and we
are going to our local partner church to worship and
share, and then do a celebration clinic on the streets.
A little scary, maybe, however, what an opportunity
to see God's hand at work. But first, how did we get
here.
Our travels began on the 7th from Denver, CO, to
Atlanta, GE, and then a long flight to Lima , Peru.
Try being a long tall guy, then imagine being folded
into an accordion, then restretched. That's how it
felt, physically. But why would we do all that? Because,
it is not about me, it is about the Love of Christ
for the lost people everywhere. Well, after arriving
in Lima, we went to a local hotel, slept two hours,
then we boarded a bus, to catch a bus to Huancayo.
Imagine 8 hours on a bus with no stops. However, imagine
8 hours of captive audience. At least one couple,
from Huancayo, accepted Christ and will be worshipping
this morning with us. Praise God.
The scenery was mixed, from the cosmopolitan, to
squaller, to majestic Andes. And here in Huancayo,
the beauty is immense. Then there is the beauty of
the people. Even though many are lost without Christ,
God sees them as beautiful, so much so, that he died
for them, His creation. What are we willing to do?????
Pray for a mighty work of God in preparing the hearts
of the people as well as the messengers. Pray for
our physical and spiritual well being. Pray that God's
word will come alive in all the people here so that
a spiritual awakening sweeps this area, and will not
stop there. Greater is He that is in us, than he that
is in the World.
Tim for the team
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