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The team got an early start this morning, meeting to get on the bus at 6:30. We drove to Paracus, on the coast, for a boat tour. The tour was to some of the small islands where “guano” is harvested. Guano is bird droppings that are collected and used for fertilizer. The islands are home to numerous forms of wildlife – especially birds! We saw pelicans, cormorants, turkey vultures, sea gulls, and penguins!

 

 

 

 

The birds are so thick, they look like sand or rocks from a distance.

 

 

 

 

 

There are also sea lions living on the islands.

 

 

 

One of the rock formations looks like Christ is looking down at the water:

 

 

 

 

The scenery in the port and seen from the boat was spectacular, including the hieroglyphics in the sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After sightseeing and lunch, we headed over to the church to set up for the next two days. Some of the team members are feeling sick, so we were not able to be there. Pray that they will all be feeling better tomorrow. After working for about three hours, things were shaping up.

 

 

 

 

Looking forward to see what God will accomplish through us tomorrow!

 

Another amazing day. God was at work at the first church. The volunteers were all amazing.

Some of the highlights of the day:

Meet Francisco. He and his wife had 14 children. 3 died as children, and another one has since passed away. With 10 children still living, he has 50 grandchildren and around 24 great-grandchildren.

Francisco’s next-youngest son brought him for a wheelchair. His youngest son was a church volunteer and his grandson was also at the outreach!

Francisco’s wife has been gone for 13 years, but their legacy lives on. All his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are all believers and attend church!

We also fitted a little girl named Lucerito for a wheelchair. She is 11 years old and recently lost her mother. She was accompanied by two of her older sisters who, along with two more sisters and two brothers, care for her. She was a really cheerful child – always smiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we finished for the day, we packed everything up to be transported to the church where we will do the second half of our outreach.

The church prepared a celebration – food, drink, and little gifts. We have been so impressed with how organized and helpful all of the church volunteers have been. The spirit has clearly been moving! Praise God!

What an incredible day. The volunteers at the church were cheerful and helpful. We saw almost 60 people today.

As usual, we saw God at work. From the wheelchair recipient who heard the gospel while Elizabeth was training the evangelists, to the man who wanted a forearm crutch (there was ONE – and only one – among all our mobility aids), to the teenage girl  who wants to play basketball and received a sports chair, we all experienced God’s awesome presence.

 

 

 

 

 

As usual, there were also heartbreaking stories.

There were the parents who were there for chairs for two daughters…

 

 

 

… or the widowed grandmother caring for her grandson:

Despite the difficult lives experienced by some of the people, what shines through is their love and dedication for those in their care.

Please continue to pray that we can shine the light of Jesus to those who come to the outreach. We are continually amazed and humbled by the work God is doing!

 

Yesterday (no internet last night, so a little late!) we attended church in the morning. This is the site of the first two days of our outreach. Elizabeth (from Corazones Unidos) and Reid both spoke to the congregation.

 

 

 

 

We had lunch and a brief sightseeing  tour to Huachachina. It is a beautiful oasis in the middle of desert.

 

We then headed back to the church to set up. This is what it looked like before

 

…and then afterwards.

To close, a picture of our hotel.

 

Please pray for strength and wisdom today. We have lots of people coming for chairs and we want to minister wisely to each one. Thank you for your support!

 

By the wee hours of the morning, the entire team had arrived in Peru. In the morning, we had breakfast at our hotel, followed by a team meeting. 

We then began a long bus trip to Ica, stopping along the way for lunch.

We ate at a roadside cafe. The ride and lunch gave us time to further get to know the team. Singing, sleeping, chatting on the bus = team building!

 

The scenery along the way was mostly desert, although portions of the road ran along the coast. 

Finally we arrived in Ica. The hotel had prepared a lovely dinner. We discussed tomorrow’s schedule and headed to our rooms. Rest tonight. Two church services tomorrow and a little sightseeing in the afternoon.

Today is a travel day. Team members are converging in Lima from all over the United States – and some are joining us from a week in Trujillo. We so appreciate those of you have support our ministry. Please pray that our team will gel, that we will serve joyfully and faithfully, and that we will bring God’s love and hope to those to whom we minister.

At this point, all flights should have landed on U. S. soil. We are tired, but awed by all that we have experienced this past week. Words are inadequate to describe the emotions: humbling, awesome, touching, miraculous, buffet of blessings, stretching, graceful. We have seen the body of Christ working together, living together, laughing, praying, and struggling together. Each part of the body is needed – the team from the U. S., the Peruvian volunteers, those who supported us financially and in prayer.

Blessings to you all! Dios te bendiga!

The group has made it through the first leg of our flight – from Tacna to Lima. We are now waiting for our flights to the states. It is bittersweet. We want to get on that plane and go home (flights range from 11:30 pm to 2:05 am!) but it is hard to leave our friends. The team has really bonded this past week.

We have a couple of people not feeling really well (on the last flight, of course), so please pray that they have the energy to make it through.

We are so grateful for all your prayers. We felt God’s presence in all that we did this week.

Reflecting on the last day, the word that comes to mind is “humbling”. What we could never do in our own strength is accomplished by the power of God working in and through us. We started off the day down two mechanics and a therapist and yet the work moved forward as volunteers and others stepped in to help. Fortunately, the morning brought mostly simple adaptations and we were able to serve the people who were waiting fairly quickly.

We have been overwhelmed by how gracious our hosts have been. The people of the church have worked alongside of us and provided food, translation, guides for the patients, evangelism, and so much more.

The evening ended with a celebration of what God has done this week. One of the highlights was a traditional Peruvian dance performed by a church member (who has worked alongside our mechanics all week) and his wife.

We have come to love the people of the church and will miss them.

Today we will be doing some shopping in Tacna before beginning the LONG travel home. A flight from Tacna to Lima, a wait in the Lima airport, followed by flights to the U. S. and, for most of us, connecting flights home. Pray that none of us succumb to this illness that has spread through our group – it would be miserable to be this sick while traveling.

Thank you all for your prayers. If internet connection allows, I will add pictures later.

Thursday began our outreach at Church 2. We were warmly welcomed and had many eager and able volunteers. We began the day short one mechanic (due to illness) and lost two more along the way. But God provided a Peruvian auto mechanic, who ably stepped in to help. Our other mechanics worked extra hard to fill in the slack.

Here is a glimpse of the process that people go through when they come to the outreach. The person enters at the registration table and is given a number. They then move to the waiting room where they are greeted by a smiling Roxy and other volunteers.

When there turn comes up, they are brought by Roxy and a “guide” to the seating station. The therapist, mechanic, support person, and translator (for those of us who don’t speak Spanish well) introduce themselves to the patient and any family member present. After discussing the person’s needs and praying, the search for a chair begins.

After choosing a chair, adaptations are made to the chair. A cushion is made if necessary. Most people are given gifts sent from some of you lovely people in the states: bags for the back of the wheelchair, blankets, hats, fingerless gloves, etc.

When the chair looks good and the patient and family members have been instructed in its use, the team prays again, thanking God for the chair and the gift of mobility. The guide then brings the patient and family to the evangelism station where the gospel is presented and they are given a Bible and a Joni book.

Just to give you a feel for the process of adapting a chair, here are some pictures of a chair we adapted for a three-year old little girl. Due to internet issues, the pictures will have to be posted later in the day!