UPDATE
#1
Dear
Friends,
After
a big day of travel, we touched down in Lima, Peru
around 12:15AM, Sunday morning. While waiting in the
custom lines to get into the country, most of us were
ready to lay our heads on a pillow and fall asleep
as soon as possible. However, when we stepped outside
of airport and boarded our bus for the church compound
the adrenaline and excitement of the unknown took
over. The thousands of homes and shops that we passed
on our way to the church reminded us that many people
in the world get along with much less than us Americans.
Our
first night was short and sweet, as breakfast and
church began around 8:30. It was incredible to worship
together with Christian brothers and sisters in another
language and culture. The Peruvian people are a very
warm and accepting people. We had so much fun interacting
with the church family and making new friends. The
language barrier can make it tricky to communicate,
but a willing spirit makes it much easier than you
would think.
After
lunch, we met as a team with Alexis, the program coordinator
at the church, to discuss the upcoming week of family
camp. We have a full week ahead of us with workshops,
sports clinics, drama, testimonies, and much more,
so please remember us in your prayers as you go through
your week back home. We realize that God helped each
one of us make this week of ministry possible, so
thank Him with us for this amazing opportunity to
share the love of Jesus Christ with these wonderful
people.
Pressing
On!
Kris
UPDATE
#2
Dear
Friends and Family,
We
spent our second day in Lima, Peru getting to know
the Peruvian staff that we will be working with the
rest of this week. We talked about what God has been
showing each of us individually as we prepare for
camp. It was a great way for us to get to know one
another and see how God has been working in each of
our lives. The Peru staff also introduced us to a
few new and "crazy" games; we even jousted.yes,
like American Gladiator! We then discussed what we
will be doing with the children during the workshops
(i.e. arts and crafts, songs, and fun games).
Tomorrow
our team will be joining the Peruvian staff to go
out into the community and hold a camp, which includes
playing basketball, volleyball, and soccer. We had
the opportunity to go outside the walls of the compound,
experience parts of Lima, and promote the camp that
we
will be holding tomorrow. We were able to get a glimpse
of how most of the people in Lima live. I think everyone
from our team was very surprised and humbled at the
same time. It definitely made us appreciate what the
Lord has blessed us with in America.
We
ask that you would keep us in your prayers this week
- that the Lord would give us hearts for the lost,
that we would reach all the campers, that He would
watch over our camp, and that He would keep us all
safe.
God
Bless!
SportReach
Peru Team
UPDATE
#3
Dear
Family and Friends,
Tuesday
has been a very eventful day full of blessings. We
started the morning by preparing the grounds for Family
Camp that starts here tomorrow afternoon. We put up
tents, painted props (the theme is Noah's Ark) and
cleaned up the courts. We are now hoping for many
families to attend. It looks like we could get up
to 150 people at the camp.
The
highlight of our day today was going into the nearby
community and presenting both a sports clinic and
also presenting the gospel. We had a very large outdoor
court where we offered basketball, soccer and volleyball.
It was a great experience to interact with the Peruvian
children. We had roughly 250 people attend, many were
children ages 5-12. Their smiles and hugs warmed our
hearts. Two of our team members, Clay and Wade shared
their personal testimonies after the sports clinics.
A the end of our time in the neighborhood, the Peruvian
youth group from the church presented a moving drama
depicting our hearts being empty without trusting
Christ as our personal savior. Many of the children
and parents met with the church staff after the clinic
and thirty-one prayed to receive Christ as Savior!!
This
was a very exciting day for us, thanks for your prayers.
Tomorrow we are off early in the morning to do some
site seeing then return for the opening of family
camp.
Thank
you for your prayers and support!
SportReach
Peru Team
UPDATE
#4
Dear
Friends and Family
Today
went beyond the compound and this neighborhood to
explore "Old Lima". It was about a 45 minute
drive to downtown Lima, the drive there was incredible.
We saw some Inca Ruins that we will explore on Saturday,
A LOT of poverty and stray dogs (over 100), and the
Pacific Ocean. In Lima our first stop was a very old
Catholic cathedral. During our tour we got to go down
into the catacombs. It had a very eerie feeling to
it. There were rows upon rows of bones. Probably the
strangest part was looking into a pit of symmetrically
arranged femur bones and skulls.
Nearby
the cathedral we saw the governmental buildings. The
White House seems small in comparison to the Presidential
Palace. There were even guards standing outside the
gates almost exactly like the ones outside of Buckingham
Palace. Also, because tomorrow is Peru's independence
day, there was a tank outside of one the gates of
the Presidential Palace. After that we got to eat
outside of the compound for the first time. Dessert
was amazing. After lunch, we headed back to the compound
where campers were arriving and excited for the family
camp to begin!
At
night there was a drama and message about God's free
gift of salvation through Jesus. SportReach performed
a skit and the people seemed to like it. Following
the skit was a message and the presentation of the
gospel. Five people accepted Christ for the first
time. It was an exciting time. God has a lot planned
for the rest of the week and the whole team can't
wait to see what happens. Please be praying that the
people respond to the gospel message and that we all
stay healthy and alert.
God
Bless
The SportReach Team
UPDATE
#5
Hola
Friends,
Que Pasa?!? The Peruvian family camp is going great!
The day consisted of testimonies, sport clinics, crafts,
Bible study, and a great deal of fellowship with the
campers. We are finding the
Peruvians to be very precious and joyful people. Their
smiles light up the dinner table as they continue
to make fun of our lack of Espanol. However we are
learning and becoming quite "fluent" in
Spanish
small-talk. Each member of the team has established
a number of relationships among the staff and members
of this community. We are realizing our time is short
and the departure will be tough to handle.
Tonight the La Roca people assembled a Noah's Arc
play that culminated from months of preparation. We
were all very impressed from their actions on stage
though we weren't very sure of anything the
characters said :) A few people from the team made
a small cameo in the play with many laughs following
their lines. The Peruvians have been eager to include
members of SportReach in all of their plays and presentations.
To
cap the night off the team met for the traditional
devotional and it included the study of The Great
Commission and a little worship, in English thankfully!
We have all been enjoying ourselves immensely and
staying healthy, Praise God!
We
appreciate your prayers and we send Blessings from
Peru.
The
SportReach Team
UPDATE
#6
Dear
Friends and Family
The
third day of family camp started early and didn't
stop until late. After breakfast and chapel the campers
went to their workshops. The children made Salvation
bracelets, the teenagers learned about physical purity
and the parents learned about communicating as husband
and wife. With over 100 here at camp, the SportReach
team was hard at work. Sports clinics came next and
you could hear the sounds games and laughter all through
out the camp. Several on the team shared their testimonies
with the campers during a break and then the gospel
was shared at the "Soul" talk.
After
lunch it was time for "Crazy Games"! Games
ranging from tug-of-war with an inner tube, obstacle
courses, popping balloons while hugging, and volleyball
with an 8 feet wide ball had Americans and Peruvians
alike enjoying the afternoon of fellowship together.
The
camp ended in the evening with a Family Banquet which
included singing, a camp video and 3 Peruvian couples
renewing their vows. Children were loved, teenagers
were encouraged and families were strengthened at
the first ever family camp here at the church. Please
take a minute to thank God with us and pray that the
lessons learned and decisions made will solidify the
family of Christ here in Peru.
Tomorrow
we will spend the day sightseeing.
With
Hearts Full of Praise!
The
SportReach Team
UPDATE
#6
Dear
Friends and Family
We
made it to back to the good ol' USA today. What an
incredible 10 days!! The church family in Lima, Iglesia
Cristiana La Roca, expressed their appreciation to
the SportReach team Sunday morning during the morning
service. Realizing that we were a great encouragement
and support to the work of the ministry there lifted
our spirits as well. The first family camp for the
church was a huge success with 137 in attendance,
going far beyond the pastor's expectations. Twenty-three
campers, of all seasons of life, made decisions to
invite Jesus into their lives as Savior before weeks
end! The staff at the church estimated that at least
half of the families in attendance came because
of our team's involvement during the week of camp
outreach. As the team left the camp and departed for
the airport Sunday afternoon, there were a great deal
of tears shed while saying goodbye to many new friends
and loved ones. Thank you for the support many of
you had for this team, whether it was through your
prayers and/or financial support.
We
serve a Great God!
Sincerely,
The July 2005 SportReach Peru Team
