Finishing the first Week.

We just finished our fourth day here in Pisco. All has gone as smoothly as possible, except for some foolish drunkards, mangy dogs, and getting shocked while I was trying to change a light bulb. There has been no sickness, accidents, or any real problems. We have spent the mornings studying Spanish and important topics in missions. Ryan and George are making progress on Spanish. Even though I am helping teach Spanish, I am still learning as well. Spending all my time with Jairo, (a Peruvian friend) who is on the team. We have been eating at small diners, walking through the market, and spending time with the people which really helped our language learning. Continue to pray for progress in language learning.

I have greatly enjoyed the fresh squeeze orange juice, newly baked bread, fried potatoes with hot sauce, and a plethora of Peruvian dishes that I learned to love and become accustomed too. . . and yes, a lot of rice. Besides food, the walking, the transportation, the markets, the people, basically their whole way of life fascinates me. I am really enjoying my time here learning their culture. My year in a poor city close to Lima has greatly aided in safety, direction, and understanding. I want to always be learning.

We go out every afternoon passing out tracts inviting and witnessing to the people. Yesterday we went out on a pier that stretched out a quarter mile into the Pacific Ocean. While out on the pier, I was able to learn how the men fish. These men are accustomed to waiting patiently for fish; so we took the opportunity to share with them a little about Christ and invited them to the baby church we are working in. These fishermen as well as hundreds more have received tracts and invitations to the church. Be in prayer as we have over 3000 tracts and are continuously passing them out to people here in Pisco.

Please pray for the kids club we are starting this Saturday morning. We will be leading the games and songs, and I will bring them a gospel lesson. Also, pray for the men as we go out street evangelizing, and for the teen group meetings.

I don’t understand why people think becoming a missionary is such a great sacrifice. J.R. Tolking once said, “He who cannot leave behind a treasure at will is in fetters still.”

First Day in Lima

Words cannot express the emotions I am experiencing. I completed my first day here in Peru. We got in around 2am last night, slept, and then made our rounds.

I was able to surprise my old Peruvian family that I lived with during my one year internship. We then went to meet Jesus, my old friend downtown that would exchange dollars to Peruvian currency, called soles. In English it is considered disrespectful to name a person Jesus, but in Latino culture it is very common to name your child Jesus, Mary, Joseph, or any other saint of your choice. From there, we went to the city of Manchay (the dusty sandbox) where I interned for a year. I was able to visit old friends and brothers from the church. After Manchay, we ate lunch with my former Peruvian family catching up from old times. With the help of Jim Carlton, Jairo and I then prepared for the language school by making prints of vocabulary words, grammar, and lessons. We then went downtown to buy Bibles. Once again I was able to experience the crazy traffic and busses of downtown. I didn’t remember how much I actually missed the public transportation of Peru. To end the night, we went to one of my favorite restaurants here in Lima called “The Baskets.” We crammed 8 of us into a compact station wagon taxi to get there. Once there, we ate a wonderful meal. For just under $5 we ate tender juicy cow heart steaks on skewers served up with fried potatoes with garlic and different spicy dressings.

Tomorrow morning we hop a bus 4 hours south to Pisco, where we will live, study, and serve for the next five weeks. Please pray for the Spirit’s presence, power, protection and provision. We want to please God by glorifying Christ!

32 Days and Counting

I finished another semester at Maranatha. That leaves me with only one more semester to finish my undergraduate. Praise the LORD I will be finished by this Christmas. This summer, I am working full time and staying here in Watertown, WI until I fly out of Chicago to go back to Peru.

Plans are coming along for the trip. The Lord recruited two guys (George Tagli and Ryan Balding) from Maranatha to come with me on this rigorous adventure. We bought record-cheap tickets for June 20 to August 4. We will fly into Lima, the capitol, pick up my national friend Jairo, then hop on a bus to go down to the province of Ica to the city called Pisco.

Continue to be in prayer as we make plans for the language school, ministry schedule, room and board, travel insurance, shots, and many other miscellaneous details.

Please be in prayer for Ryan, George and I that we would be students of the language and culture, but also of how we can effectively reach these people for Christ. Pray that we are an encouragement to the pastor and brothers in the church, and also that we will be a light to all we come in contact with. A city with so many people and so little gospel light, we will never run out of people to shine Christ upon.

“May we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurdle head-long into a Christless night. May we shed tears of repentance for those we have failed to bring out of darkness.”
Jim Elliot’s Journal

Back to Peru

It has been awhile since I have posted a blog update. I have finished another semester at Maranatha Baptist Bible College and have two more to graduate. I am writing to inform you that I am planning a trip to go back to Peru this summer.

Many of you remember an earthquake that struck Peru while I was there on my one-year internship last year. Although the earthquake shook the whole country, a city called Pisco four hours south of my home was shook the most. Roughly 80% of the buildings were destroyed, over 500 people died, and the injury count was innumerable. As I visited the city I was moved with compassion because at that point there were no gospel-preaching churches. Since then a national pastor has planted a church that is now roughly two years old.

My plan is to bring one or two friends from Maranatha and meet up with a national friend in Lima, Peru. The four of us will travel down to the city of Pisco where we will work with this baby church and national pastor. In the mornings my national friend, who is a language teacher, will teach me and the new guys Spanish. In the afternoons we will do kids clubs, witnessing, discipleship, Bible studies, and more. We will be involved in anything that will encourage and edify this church.

Pray for:

1. God’s help as I make all the rigorous plans to lead this mission team
2. God to provide the needed finances for me and the rest of the team

3. God to prepare us mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritual