Sportreach Online

Lima, Peru
March 12-17, 2005

UPDATE #1

We have arrived in Lima safely and ready for some much needed rest. Surprisingly, spending 8 hours in an airport with nothing to do but rest is very tiring. People were so nice at the airport and on the plane; they wanted to know all about what we were doing. For the most part, we had a very delightful stay at the Atlanta Airport, although there was one very exciting moment in which some teriyaki sauce went all over everyone's bags.

We arrived in Lima around 12 am and had to wait to claim our luggage, then once through customs we were met by one of the biggest smiles that I have ever seen (Braner). Our group along with Alexis and Braner loaded up onto a bus and headed for the camp. We arrived at the camp around 1:45 am and went to bed around 2:30 am for that rest.

This morning we woke up, took showers, and ate breakfast. Then we got ready for church which is "whenever the people show up" according to Juan. Mike got up and gave his testimony which was then translated by Juan. We all joined Jason and Cooper for a pickup game of soccer which suddenly came to an end when I got blasted in the face with the ball and had to take care of my nose. (see picture below)

Then we got our sunscreen on and split up into 2 groups to go out and promote our camp that is starting tomorrow morning. The people here were very receptive to us and it seems that almost all of the children know the word "Hi" and all of us Americans know the word "Hola". We saw some children playing games with a marble and some were very anxious to follow us around. It is awesome to see how open these people are with their lives.

We are now back at the camp and preparing for the service to start. John Linn is going to share his testimony and we are all going to share in worshiping with our new found companions. Thank you so much for your prayers.

In Christ,
Derek

UPDATE #2

Hello again from Lima! Today we have a few awesome stories from several of the team members (see below). We started at 7:00 am and prepared for the day. Then we went out to our first location named "Los angelas" and we had around 50 children ready to play with us. We instructed them in 3 groups, Soccer, Basketball, and Volleyball. We had 2 sessions, with the gospel being shared in-between each one. Now we are back at the complex and ready to begin a pickup game of soccer. We are all very excited about going back out tomorrow and starting again. Thank you for your continued prayers. Everyone is healthy and ready to continue serving our wonderful God.

Mike says, "We met a man named Edwardo today. Both of His sons attend awana at La Roca on Saturdays. Alexis (La Roca Staff), Dave, Jason, and Mike talked to him about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. They helped him pray the prayer of salvation. This is the entire reason for us coming to Peru!!! It is very exciting to see."

Sally adds "I was hoping to see God work in big ways, and He really came through in just the first day of camp! It astounds me how easy it is to connect with these young Peruvians. After the volleyball instructions at the second camp, I was immediatly surrounded by ten girls all trying to hug me and hold my hand. These children long to connect with others. After the gospel presentation these girls raised their hands to accept Christ after the Good News was given. We all prayed together and they were all repeating me in English. Then they asked me to teach them a song about Jesus. These little girls first song was "Jesus Loves Me!!!" It was truly amazing to see them sing a song in English and do the actions!!!

This is all for today. Thank you so much for everything!

In Christ,
The Team

UPDATE #3

What an awesome day God has made!!! We have all learned so much from our experiences already. These kid's heart are so open to Christ it almost puts us to shame. Please be in prayer for Dave Bishop. He had a little bit of a rough night last night, but He is now feeling a lot better and is feeling almost 100% after being looked at by two missionary doctors at 4:00am. Other than Dave our team is doing very well and is in good health (besides SUNBURN!!!)!!!

Today's pictures say a thousand words. Anywhere from Jason assisting a young peruvian to make a basket through Dan Huffman sharing His passion for Christ to the locals. We also show good ol' John Linn chasing lots and lots (mucho) of basketballs. Then to finish up we have Miss Amy showing us her intense love for these young children. I am sure that this is no surprise to anyone!!!

Each person shared that today and the past few days have been completely unexplainable. All of us have so many personal stories and stories from the group that it is almost impossible to pick just one, so please just know that the experience here is just completely beyond words. Your prayers continually show us how God is intending to use us here and after we are gone.

Tonight a small group of us went into the market to buy some supplies. This in itself was a huge blessing in that it showed us the complete difference between the children that we are working with and the higher society people that shop in the city. This city has a very diverse population and we were blessed to have such a wonderful driver (Annibol) to get us there and back safetly. He said to us: "His mission to God is to keep us Americans safe and to send us back in the same condition in which we came".

In Christ,
The Team

UPDATE #4

Hello again from Lima. Today has been such a wonderful day again straight from God!!! We decided to spend the morning at the complex and help out with the construction of their new preschool here at La Roca. The workers here were very grateful for the extra help lifting, moving, cleaning, and building walls. Then this afternoon we took a few hours away and went swimming at the ocean. It was the first time being at an ocean for many of our group.

After returning we ate lunch quickly and loaded up to go back to the part of town called "Nineteenth of July" there were many people already waiting for us to come. One awesome thing that our leader (Mike Cooper) said was that "There has continually been more and more adults attending with their children and accepting Christ as their Savior." This is very important in that it helps us to know that these children will have a better home life as well as have guidance from their parents in their walk with the Lord.

Two of our group members (Amy & Dan) along with the renowned "MAX" (a recently saved Peruvian) went back to the small part of town called "Las Angelos". This is one of the first times in which our group members did not have the privilege of having an interpreter. They said that "Even through the language barrier, God allowed us to understand one another". There was only around 15 children at this park, but they felt that they needed to return and invite them to the "Super Match" on Thursday afternoon. They stayed with the children for 2 hours and taught them how to braid bracelets.

Tomorrow our group is planning on going out to a new part of Lima and find more children to invite them to the "Super Match" Each of us is looking forward to meeting these new children in order to form close bonds with them and share their love for Christ with them. Until tomorrow I will say "Chau" for now.

In Christ,
The Team

UPDATE #5

Hello once again from Peru. Sadly, this will be the last email that we will be sending out for our trip. I have enjoyed sharing our experiences so much with all who are reading and praying for us. Without your prayer support we as a team would be lost, so Thank You! By tomorrow at 10:00 pm we will be traveling to the airport and loading a plane to fly back to a country where everything is abundant and in English. None of us are looking forward to the coldness of Nebraska, but are very eager to share our stories from the week in this humbling atmosphere.

Today was the highlight of our week with the "Super Match". It is what we have been inviting all of the children to attend. We started out by playing some Duck, Duck, Goose and then moved onto the volleyball courts. When the evening was in full swing we played many games including: pushing a 6ft ball back and forth, playing tug a war with an inner tube, racing through tunnels made of sacks, climbing over a rope wall, and jumping through a bungee box. We agree that every one of these activities would be very illegal in the U.S. :-). Ingleia La Roca's youth prestented a seriously convicting drama that caught the attention of all who were attending. Many of these people raised their hand to accept Christ, when Alexis presented the invitation.

Tonight we found it very difficult to say goodbye to these children and to the workers that we have been so closely working beside. The hardest question to answer is "Are you coming back?" these few words can bring tears to our entire teams eyes. The love that we have received from these people in return for our mere presents is out of this world. We pray that we will see them again whether it be in Lima or in Heaven. This experience has changed our lives and our hearts forever.

See you soon, back in the U.S.

In Christ,
The Team

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