Final Note and Request for Prayer

Candice (3/30/11)  This is the final blog from me. Perhaps Mike & Gary can respond with their updates accordingly. We finished our last work day on Friday and Gary was able to let us know how impacting it was to visit Rosa's "house". On Saturday, we loaded up luggage on the top of a van and ventured out on a 5-hour bus ride to Cusco along the winding mountain roads- our last ride of this kind for the trip, which was good news to all with motion sickness. Once in Cusco, we had our own adventures as reservations we thought had been made for our overnight accommodations had not been, so thankfully we were able to stay in a hotel right downtown for $15/person. The afternoon was spent getting our bearings in Cusco and exploring the city. We found a pizza place for supper and got ready for our trip to Manchu Picchu.

Sunday morning, we all boarded a bus in the rain at 7 a.m. and took another 2-hour bus ride to a train station, then a 2-hour train ride to a shuttle bus, then a 20-minute shuttle ride up to the entrance of Manchu Picchu. It was quite an experience to see the beauty around us and the tremendous work of laborers who had originally created this expansive site. Most of the day was cool and rainy, then it was foggy, then windy, then nice and sunny right at the end. Our English-speaking guide was very thorough, but unfortunately had a very strong accent. We took all the same forms of transportation back to Cusco and arrived back at the hotel after 11 p.m. The train rides provided the most team-bonding and comfort of all the transportation methods, as we were able to play cards and talk with one-another.

We left our hotel at 9 a.m. Monday morning and made our way to the airport in Cusco for our flight to Lima. There are lots of stories that were created from our adventures on this final day including no running water in the airport, a delayed flight to Lima, our city tour of Lima, and the connecting flight in Atlanta. God was very good and provided us with many visible blessings and answers to prayer on this day- too many to list, but thanks for your prayers!

We are now home safe and sound (except Mike & Gary, who are staying in Abancay for the presentation of the Jesus Film) and excited to apply our experiences to our daily lives. It is a hard adjustment after having lived in a "bubble" for 2 weeks, and we would all appreciate your prayers as we figure out where to go from here and how to best explain the experience we've had and deal with the life-changing things we've seen and learned. Please continue to pray for us. We look forward to sharing more with you in our church presentation!

On the Road!

The team has landed in Minneapolis and is now on the road heading towards Mountain Lake.  Praise the Lord for safe air travel.

Continue to keep the team in your prayers and they adjust back to their regular work and school routines and as they process all that the Lord did during these past two weeks.  Also keep Mike and Gary in your prayers as they continue on in Peru this next week.  Mike and Gary will be arriving home on April 5.

A Moving Trip

Gary (3/25/11) Dear church family, it has been an excellent growing mission trip with so many moving events to stretch us, especially spiritually and personally.  We visited our cooks home today where she cares for her handicapped son, Alexandry, and her daughter.  She lives in a vacated old hotel while building her home into a hillside she pickaxed out of the hillside.  They do so much with so little!  We also took part in devotions with the AIDIA staff, a very dedicated staff who love the Lord and pray their people will come to love Him too.  Blessings to you all.

Mission Journal #10 - Hang in There!

Today's Scripture focus is from Hebrews 12:1-3 (NASB)

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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What race does God have you to run in life at this time?  What do these verses from Hebrews offer as your best hope for a good race?

Pray . . . Lord God, may I keep my eyes always on Jesus as I make my way through life.  As He gave his life for me, may I live my life for Him.  Amen.

Thursday update- flexibility and the Greatness of God

3.24- Ashton and Annie- yesterday and today have been stretching experiences and good opportunity for us to work on our flexibility. Since we were out of paint we became busy with other jobs like shoveling, pulling weeds, helping with tiles, varnishing, hauling wood, etc. Then Larry found 4 hidden gallons of paint so we were able to finish our fabulous paint job but the we quickly ran out! So we found other jobs to do. After supper we watched an impacting video by Louie Guglio about the greatness of God. We are beginning packing for our long trip home.

Mission Journal #9 - Faith Alive

Today's Scripture focus is from James 2:14-17 (NIV)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

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Has God placed someone or a situation in your life where help is needed?  Seek God and ask Him how He wants you to respond to that need.  Ask Him to give you the heart and strength to make your "Faith Alive".

Pray that God will be with the Mission Team as they express their faith through the remaining days of service.  Pray that He will continue to give them the heart and strength needed for the physical activity and the emotional and spiritual needs around them.

Mission Journal #8 - Good and Evil

Today's Scripture focus is from Romans 12:9-21 (NLT)

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.  Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.  When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.      Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.  Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
     Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
     Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
   “I will take revenge;
      I will pay them back,”
      says the Lord.

     Instead,
   “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
      If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap
      burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

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I thought it was good to read what the commentary in my NLT Bible says this for verses 17-21

"These verses summarize the core of Christian living.  If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive.  If we have experienced God's grace, we will want to pass it on to others.  And remember, grace is undeserved favor.  By giving an enemy a drink, we're not excusing his misdeeds.  We're recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins - just as Christ did for us."

Pray that the team will be able to take each encounter they have and show God's love.  Whether these encounters are easy or are challenging, pray that they will be able to do what it says in verse 9 and 10, "Really love them." and "Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other".

Tuesday Update- Good work and barking dogs

3.22- Steve- seemed like it rained all night, along with many times I woke up during the night with the choir of dogs barking there latest tune.  Breakfast at 7 with Gary making eggs along with the traditional cereal.   Found out that Austin was sick today with stomach were hoping and  praying it will be a one day like Jessica on Monday. Devotions at 8 were Gary and Jessica giving devotions. For me this is one of my favorite parts of the trip, as we are also sharing our personal testimonies or growth  journeys. It is really cool how each testimony shows how big God really is.

       A short 2 1/2 block walk to the translation headquarters gives the usual sights of 8-10 new never-before-seen dogs roaming the streets, along with 5 or so "buenos dias" greetings to friendly Peruvians . Today for work the team continued to paint, varnish, and we had a struggle to figure out the system or roles to pour cement,  as the Peruvian employee and Larry had different ideas of how us "gringoes" should shovel and mix cement. After about 3 different ways, we got the system down and we had a big day with 1500 # of Portland 45 wheel barrow of rock and gravel all mixed by hand. From 9am to 4 pm mixing rotating guys yielded 50 feet of sidewalk and 15 feet of a cement bench.

      Walking back to the motel were ten different dogs, along with a daily event at 5:15. A small truck with about a 500 gallon stainless steel tank full of bulk milk delivered milk to about seven families with over 20 kids total. One mom had about a 10 gallon stainless pot which the milk truck fills daily. She then uses a ladle to fill the other families containers,  One little girl was not afraid to walk up to me and give me a hug. Makes me miss my family . 

         As we took showers at 5:30 the dog took a stroll on our new sidewalk, so Mike Nelson made a homemade leash; we teased Larry at supper if it mattered that the dogs feet weren't touching the ground.

      Meat loaf, baked potatoes and green beans made by Rosa and Candice, a part of the team decided to shop up town for the rest of the evening. As I'm signing off the choir of night barking has begun from the dogs in the street.

Mission Journal #7 - We are Family!

Today's Scripture focus is from Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT)

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

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Family - the Mission Team is with the family of God in Peru.  They are working alongside with, serving with and fellowshipping with family.  Praise the Lord that they have this opportunity and that they can more fully understand "how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is."

Pray . . .Lord God, I'm learning this week to appreciate your larger family, all of the people of the world that You love.  Teach me to be like Jesus in the way I love the people of the world.  Help me to set aside my prejudices.  I want to see other people as you see them, with the eyes of love. Amen.

Greetings from Mike on Monday

3.21- Greetings church family!  Today we were back to our normal schedule, where we were up by 6:30, having breakfast by 7:00, devotions at 8:00, and working by 9:00.  It was a day filled with either "grande" cement work or "mucho" painting.  :-)  We are enjoying our adventure here in Peru, and are growing in our love for Christ and each other.  Every day has brought new experiences and stretching challenges.  The scenery is beautiful and the people are very warm and accommodating ~ even to this large group of "gringos"! :-)

A verse that came to mind today, that reminded me of the beauty surrounding us is:

Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man's behalf!

Psalm 66:5

Thanks for checking in on us, and for praying so diligently for us. 

God is good all the time!

In Him,

Mike

PS  I love and miss you Kelly!  :-)

Mission Journal #6 - Attitude is everything

Today's Scripture focus is from Matthew 5:1-16 (NIV)

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,  and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
 Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
 Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
 Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

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Pray . . . Lord free my heart from hatred, free my mind from worry.  Teach me to live more simply, to give more and expect less.  Give me the attitude and mind of Jesus today.  Amen.

What is your attitude like?  Does it glorify God?  Do you need to make an attitude adjustment so that you can bring honor to God?

Praise God for Christ's love and offer your life and your attitudes to be used by God as you serve and love others.

Saturday's Highlights

Here is a missed trip highlight from Burton for Saturday's events.  The emails do not seem to come in in a normal manner - sometimes they are sent twice or sometimes they come in after the newer email was sent. 
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Burton (3/19/11)- We are seeing some wonderful examples of Gods creation. We went to visit a village where AIDIA is training church leaders and members God's design for the family.  The name of the church was Quillcaccasa.  It was a three hour trip up into the mountains, the scenery on the way was very beautiful. The air is quite thin at 13,500 feet, it's a bit tough on our bodies with the curvy roads and high altitudes.  We are hoping and praying for non eventful trip home.  Thank you for all your prayers.

Karin- Annie and I spent our day in Abancai because we were not feeling real chipper and did not think we could handle the three hour trek up to the village.  So we had our own adventure in Abancai.  We walked downtown and did some exploring and people watching, hoping we would remember how to get home! 

We even got brave enough to take a taxi back to the motel with our very limited Spanish.

As we were waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we got invited to play volleyball with some kids in the street.  That was a lot of fun, but I don't think they were that impressed with our skills.  It was kind of a bummer when you missed the ball because it rolled all the way down the hill!

That night we had some really good chicken at the restaurant and then we watched a festival downtown.  This festival involved cutting down a tree that was right in the middle of the street.  The tree is filled with gifts such as laundry baskets.  People in traditional costumes dance around the tree, and they take turns taking a chop with an axe.  Finally the tree falls and whoever fells the tree gets to take all the presents home, but next year he has to provide the tree and the gifts! After that entertainment, we provided entertainment for the Peruvians as we attempted to buy stuff on the street and bargain.  If you have never seen Mike strike a bargain with his own brand of Spanish, you are truly missing an event.  At one point, we had gathered quite a crowd and the gringos were providing quite the entertainment. We have thoroughly enjoyed the people here and feel blessed to be a part of it all.

Sunday Highlights

3.20- Candice- Buenos Dias! This morning, we got to sleep in. Breakfast was at 8:15 instead of the usual 7. We had devos at 8, and then headed to the market around 9. Imagine the vendors at Pow Wow, but much much bigger. There were areas for children's toys, alpaca blankets, fresh fruits and vegetables, and of course fresh meat. The entire city shows up for this once a week occasion and vendors are only set up for the day. We ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant and watched a parade go by. None of the locals really knew what the occasion was, but parades are very frequent, so no one thought anything of it. Our five course meal was only 10 solis, which is about $3.50 in American dollars. Lunch took nearly 3 hours, and we were the only ones there!

After lunch, we took a very bumpy acombi ride to the abandoned children's home. Some call it and orphanage, but many of these children have parents, but were not being taken care of or were living on the street. It would be understandable if these children did not trust adults or did not want to play with other children, but they have been the highlight of our trip. There are 10 children living there, ranging from age 7 to 16 and all of them just exude love. At any given time there was a hug or kiss or hand being held with a member in our group. The youth in our group distributed the school supplies and blankets to the mom at the orphanage and she was so grateful. She told us that supplies are so expensive here that she can only afford to give the children one pencil at a time and they do not lose or use it unnecessarily. This was a very meaningful gift to her and she wanted to express her gratitude to our church family.

We played volleyball with them for a couple of hours. They are very good, but ultimately it was the height of the US team that prevailed, so we combined teams and played again. Even the littlest girls are not afraid of the ball. Most of the boys were disinterested and played soccer with Austin and Tyler instead. After we were all finished with the games, the children led us on a walk up a hill by their neighborhood. We saw old women on the side of the road and men digging drainage ditches in the road to clear the water while younger women used the water to wash clothes. Most of these children have never gone beyond this town. They loved meeting visitors and trying to figure out the family connections of those who had come on the trip. While the children were getting cleaned up for church, the mother at the house told us about her only son, David, who was born with cerebral palsy and has been having convulsions and has not been able to break a high fever. We went up to his room to pray for him. Our hearts ached for this little boy who was ill.

At the church service, there was lots of music and actions. We did our best to follow along and the children appreciated our effort. The Spirit was alive and we were grateful for the experience, knowing God is very much with these children and the people at the church. Hugs and kisses good-bye were hard on everyone as the children clung to us and told us how much they loved us. It was the best experience for many of us so far.

Prayer requests:

David- that his fever will break and his convulsions will cease

The children- that they will continue to be well taken care of and know Christ personally

Health- many in the group are feeling some minor stomach pains

Mission Journal #5 - Love is a Verb!

Today's Scripture focus is from 1 John 3:16-24 (NLT)

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.  Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.  Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.  And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.  Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

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A prayer . . .Help me, dear Lord, to act when I see someone who needs me.  I want to do for others what I would hope they would do for me if I were in their shoes.  Amen

What were the results of your loving actions when you acted in love and yielded yourself to God?  Is there a person around you today that you may find hard to love?  How can you act in love towards them today?  If need be, seek God's help.