Marcabamba

Well, I'm not feeling super well right now, so this will be short (you lucky kids!)

Marcabamba was laid back, yet very exciting! The first day we were there the highlight was taking a walk... without looking at my journal, that's all I can remember. :-/

The second day we performed at two of the three schools in the village, but couldn't perform at the third (and had some opposition to the second one) because the ENTIRE nation of Peru is on an education strike- that's right- for an undetermined amount of time EVERY school and EVERY teacher in Peru is on strike. Isn't that crazy?!? But the Lord took care of our needs and got us into the schools we needed to get to. He's pretty cool like that- que mostro! That afternoon Lindsay and I had a Bible study with 9 elementary school girls (of about 8-12 years of age.) They had asked us if we could read the Bible with them, so Lindsay let me lead completely. AHH! My dream! She was there to help me with words I couldn't remember, but I totally led a Bible study in Spanish and people understood it! It was so awesome! Correction- God is so awesome!

The third day we woke up at 6:30 to climb these steps- 1,037 to be exact- up to the top of a mountain. It was so flipping cool! Then, once we got up there, we walked flat ground (PTL) to a beautiful waterfall. The boys climbed up into the waterfall, and then up the mountain some more, but I stayed down and had like a 45 minute convo with God, which was so peaceful (at the foot of a waterfall and the top of an Andean mountain range) and exactly what I needed at the time. :-) Even more exciting, though, was that afternoon at Bible study. We talked about Abraham and God's promises for our life (because we had taught them the song Father Abraham), and it got into Jesus and salvation. The girls (6 this day) knew every answer to every question we asked them, but when we asked them if they had a relationship with Christ, they said no. We thoroughly explained to them the decision and the importance of it being personal, and then asked them if they wanted to do it, and they all raised their hands. One of them did it out of peer pressure, but the other 5 I really believe were genuine. I WAS SO EXCITED! Glory to God! Then, that night, we did a presentation for the whole village in the comedor (community building). It was just children at first, but so many people came in- there ended up being like 70-something people there, which is HUGE for a village in Peru! We clearly presented the gospel, and feel like God was working there.
The next day, the team we were with (Jacob and Derek) had planned to go to a hot springs "paradise" with a man, named James, who is SO inquisitive, but mildly refusing Christ's salvation. Pray for him! It was a fun time to just relax and hang out. We went in the hot pools (Lindsay and I with our man-hairy legs that we're not shaving this summer) and it was so fun! Also, LISTEN UP!!! I ate cuy... what's that, you ask?? Um, guinea pig, a delicacy in Peru. Yummy... it wasn't anything special, but now I definitely have bragging rights. :-D That night we had a Bible study with the girls again, and Roy, Alexandra's brother. One of the girls who became a Christian didn't have a Bible, so we had given her one the night before. She came to Bible study and said that she looked for Juan like I told her, but that her Bible didn't have that book. I told her it did, showed her where it was, and she was SO excited! It was so cute! So, we decided to teach them how to read the Bible. It was so great. It was hard to say goodbye to those girls, but I know they are in God's hand, and hopefully they'll get plugged into the small evangelical church there. :-)

We're stuck in between cities right now, trying to travel to VERY FREEZING Pomacanchi. (Pray for me in the cold, which I despise!) But, we're "stuck" at Cindy's house. She's a missionary here, and she makes really good pancakes! :-)

I am so excited for Marcabamba and what is going on there! Pray for those new sister's in Christ, as well as for James and his questions of salvation. The guys are going back to visit him (he lives in another village) again next week, so hopefully he is more confident in Christ after that!

Thank you guys and girls for your continued ministry in Peru by praying for and encouraging me and my team!