The Basics...

The times that I can recall about my previous two semesters at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Lima,Peru were more than just memorable, but God given. Since, my return to the United States it's been difficult to transition back to a culture that is very different in many ways compared to the culture and lifestyle in Peru. But to accurately paint a picture of this nation and what it's like to live there I need to pull out the many masterpieces that I call memories that have been created there and that I still carry with me and that are truly a work of art from God compared to the priceless 'market artwork' I bought with pocket change in my travels in Peru.

Peru, that is when it was not called Peru, but the nation of the Incas was a rising empire. One that grew from the valley of Cuzco which is embedded in the spine of the Andes Mountains that runs from Chile all the way to the northern region of South America. Its empire stretched into many present-day South American nations and then at some point the ever adventerous and curious Spaniards conquered the Incans and has strived to be a nation on its own and then after one victorious war for independence to many disappointing wars between other South American nations, Chile in particular. This very nation sits on a tectonic plate and its very safe to say that Peru's history and present has been painted with struggle and disaster in addtion to terrorism, violence, famine, as well as the very common and contagious act of drug production and distrubtion as it can be seen in many struggling nations in South America and Central America amongst drug lords and gangs. So,one could find it hard to believe that when you tell a Peruvian that Jesus loves them or in Spanish- Jesús te ama that it is very common to see a Peruvian very open to the Gospel and most likely will accept the Lord right then and there given the circumstance presents itself for a time to share the Gospel. But that simple phrase is so easy to say for any native English speaker and is very easy to bring a Peruvian to their knees to want to know more about the Lord.

My memories and experiences in Peru can stretch from going to an interesting neighborhood called San Juan de Lurigancho. Where every Saturday night I had the opportunity to minister to a VBS ministry and develop a relationship with the children and help out in any way I could as they would learn stories from Scripture through their activities. While some stayed with me, others went off to go reach out to others in the neighborhood further up 'The Hill' where the poverty was much more evident and the hunger to know the Lord in the hearts of these people was unavoidable. From such a ministry as that, I was able to venture to the jungles of the northeastern region of the nation known as; Iquitos. Where it seems like a completely different world compared to the city life of the burrows and districts of Lima. This mototaxi filled city was also filled with a huge conglomerate of heresy,blasphemy,and witchcraft in exchange for the level of materialism and commericialism that can be found in Lima. It's a common sight to see old ladies roam the street to sell witchcraft 'charms' with the mixture of signs in certain areas that state such phrases like: "No child prostitution". Needless to say, the prayer for those missionaries in Iquitos like Jeremy Swan and Alberto Smith need our prayers as they are representing their churches from other reaches of the world as they minister to this hurting region, but also where the enemy has a stronghold in this city. Needless to say, just spending a week in a place like that challenges every bit of yourself even if you're not preaching in the streets of Iquitos, just the fact that you have Christ in your heart is enough for the enemy to attack you in anyway shape or form. I can recall nightmares to be much more frequent, I can recall times where if I woke up in cold sweat in the middle of the night I found it so hard to pray for myself, but I found that praying for others in my missions group that their dreams were so much more pleasant than mine seemed to be a better idea or an easier task, before I would reluctantly go back to sleep. That was an idea of 'sleep' for a week in Iquitos, Peru and as I recall that experience for a week I can only feel for those missionaries I met in Iquitos and pray that they would be stronger and continue in their ministry to want to bring more people in 'The Floating City' to the Lord. Hence it's name during its rainy season.

I wish I could share so much more in this first blog entry, but this is just the beginning and I pray that this blog entry would be the very thing to spark something in you to pray for this ministry or to support this mission that the Lord has placed in front of me. I thank you for taking the time to read this blog and God bless you all.