So Far, So Amazing

As this soldier for the Lord reports back to the 'front' I must say that these first few days have been God given. The Bible College has been quiet as there only four students ready for next semester on campus (don't worry there's more to come like twenty-six more), so silence in a Bible College campus at this one at least is very rare, so needless to say to have your own devotions without hearing gossip is very hard to come by. Yes, gossip is common because we get on each other's nerves very easily due to small living quarters. I personally wouldn't have it any other way I rather enjoy my brothers and sisters in the Lord close to me because I'm typically a shy guy so breaking out of my shell will be and has been rather easy. I've found myself many times 'off to the side' of things. The other students go off and do their own thing, which is great and I'm usually the only person on campus unless I leave for something important like grocery shopping for dinner (the cook is not around before or after a semester, so time to fend for ourselves of the exception for lunch.), going off to ministries like Parque Kennedy which was just this Friday and my favorite ministry of all; San Juan de Lurigancho.

Both of these ministries I have been committed to since my first semester here despite the difficulty with being a 'baby sitter' at San Juan in the VBS/Youth group or realizing I may have interrupted a couple like many couples in Lima either having a silent, yet aggressive fight or Publicly Displaying their love for one another in a rather 'outspoken' manner. But both ministries are rather fun and enjoyable and I tend to come back (At least this Friday and Saturday) at about 11pm, although; when the semester starts I'll be expected to come back much sooner than that. The San Juan ministry has truly grown since I left Peru in the Spring semester of '09. We would have an average of about 10 or more leaders, last night we had 3 come from the Bible College the pastor who is about 21 or so or younger, Oscar Sifuentes; then Ivy Garibay, a missionary from the States who is bilingual in Spanish and English and is a regular leader at this ministry and myself. The other leaders at the moment are just getting back from a trip to Pisco (a city south of Lima, which is in a 'red zone' when earthquakes hit), though this semester I have a feeling no matter if we have a team of 10 or less that are made up of CCBC students we have TONS of help.

Now we have a whole round table, so to speak of natives who have been lead to the Lord and are being discipled or have been discipled. Let's just say that this was a prayer that we've been waiting so long for it to be answered MORE LEADERS, but first we had to have more faith and dependency on the Lord. I had a great time from 1pm-9 or 10pm on Saturday, played soccer with the guys and younger boys and I ended up kicking a soccer ball over my shoulder for it to go towards the opposing side which is pretty fun and unexpected. Mind you, we're running on concrete with a ball that's going flat. At the moment I don't have pictures I did bring my camera with me, but I reconsidered because I felt it would be better to spend time establishing and re-establishing relationships with the leaders and youth rather than be a National Geographic photographer. A lot of attention would go to me, but there's enough attention at me as it is seeing I'm from the States. So this is where the cultural bridge construction begins meaning.....become a chameleon not in the sense of picking up a bottle of a cerveza and 'relate' to a Peruvian on the street who maybe drunk or relate to someone by compromising our faith, but to the Greek I am a Greek (speak Greek, as Paul did since he knew philosophy and the language), to the Jew I am a Jew (Paul knew the Mosaic Law and Old Testament). I hope all of this is not misunderstood. So for right now, I'm going to hold off to the pictures for a bit I don't know how long, but when I can I will, mind you San Juan is one of the largest districts in Lima and one of the most dangerous in Peru. Just being there I've grown to enjoy which even for me I find surprising, but I would like first to communicate with people and then deliver photos of them and what God is doing with them and through all of us.

God has been working immensely with me including a rather strange attack from a bird flying into my room, a lark I believe it to be. Flew into my shoulder and tumbled on the ground as I was sitting on my bottom bunk of my bunk bed and I had to chase him and eventually trap him to properly release him so he wouldn't fly into any more walls or people. Though it's funny I was trying to help him and he was scared for how large I was, I don't blame him. We're accountable to a rather large God who holds the universe between His thumb and pinky. I just think of the times that God has been pursuing after my heart just to help me and minister to me these past few days and I realize the fear in that bird towards me is not so different than myself towards God when it comes to peeling another nasty 'onion layer'. At one point I did think of leaving the bird in the room next door where nobody was in at the time, but I thought 'Why must I leave a problem for someone else to worry about it and be perfectly content with that?' This dude of a bird could be a chick not just a baby, but a chick, una chica! A girl could be ready to have kids and then the problem gets worse because it wasn't tended to. It makes me think of bad habits or sin in our lives or in my case God's calling for me to just listen to Him and not be so concerned with surrounding myself with other people like a social butterfly in this mass amount of free time I have, but that if we leave those things unattended or we fail to remove them, or even decide to not pay them any mind what so ever they will build nests.

At the end of this entry I must report that even at a place like San Juan where I went to minister to the children and youth of that district the teaching for the youth was a huge reminder for me to just listen to His voice more than accompanying my ears with other things during this time to have some silence and solitude with the Lord.

Here's a map of Lima's districts:  

Location of the Bible College: Magdalena del Mar is a very small district towards the bottom left of the map.

San Juan de Lurigancho is not too hard to find-->Top right.

Parque Kennedy-->Miraflores.

Chaclacayo-->Is where we have our Orphanage for CC Lima being established and has been a prolonged project due to robbery, need for help, rights with the law to be official, etc.

Cieneguilla-->Another district I've been to before that has an orphanage that I helped out at and I have communications there as well.

I will say that it is very hard to get across town, it's one hour by bus from Magdalena to San Juan de Lurigancho.

There is much to do in Peru a lot of work awaits for anyone who wishes to serve here for the Lord, but the opportunities are endless. Though as a reminder or enlightening comment God has been performing amazing things here for a long time. This map is JUST the metro or general area of Lima the city, NOT the province itself. The province is much larger than the capital city itself. God bless you all! Dios te bendiga! Chaufa! Bye!

Shippin' Out

It's funny the last few weeks I've had sometime to reflect on a lot of things. First, my disgusting and unorganized closet; which I am very proud to say is cleaner than before and far more presentable now, than....anyother time in my life. During my 'Spanish Inquisition-like' filtering process of memories,books,notes and such in my closet I found somethings that mean a lot to me, my High School Diploma for starters,tons of Christian literature that have been MIA(Missing In Action) for a long time now, but now I can say are found and very much preserved. One 'treasure' I stumbled upon was my NJROTC ribbons,decorations, and medals I was awarded in High School. I remember every word that was spoken to me when I was awarded those ribbons,how I received them,and who saw me receive it. It's funny where I found them though, I found them in a cigar box(I never smoked before,nor do I now, or ever will) tucked away with Way Fest tickets from my past prior to accepting the Lord and even after.

I remembered something that one of my NJROTC instructors said to my graduating class our senior year and it was this, "This program, that uniform you're wearing today, this Military Ball coming up, you all will NEVER FORGET this and this probably will be the last time you guys wear a military uniform unless, ya'll join the Armed Forces". Yes, today I will say that I do agree with this mentor from my past who pushed me passed where I would give up (Yes, he was a Marine. To me, the best one I've ever met.) I can recall my Physical Training days with this gentleman and there was a time in my time in NJROTC where I had the privilege to lead cadences that would bellow from my diaphram and all of my school heard myself and my platoon(class)talk about some 'Jody Boy'.Haha.We would jog in formation to our designated area to stretch,do calisthenics rooting from Marine and Navy SEAL workouts and then do whatever our Instructor wanted us to do. Senior year I can recall after a long session of stretching,calisthenics and what not in the April sun on a Friday afternoon; my whole class (yes, guys and gals) we were soaked from sweating like mad dogs. We all could look at eachother as we heaved and panted and that would be enough non-verbal communication to say in our expressions that said, "This guy is really NUTS!Let's march back to the classroom, NOT double-time it." He had one last trick up his sleeve, as seniors he was much more lenient to us, so we could say things to him what freshman couldn't say and get away with.

One of my friends, said "Master Sergeant! This is WEAK! Let's run!" And everybody exclaimed, "Dude, you're an IDIOT!" Others said worse comments than that and resulted in their arms burning from doing way too many push-ups as a means to correct their 'language'. Our instructor exclaimed, "Ok, fine! Let's go for a little run." Trust me it was anything but little since our bodies were destroyed. One of my friends said, "Hey Master Sergeant! How many laps we doing? 5?" He replied "Nope!" Another cadet I knew said, "Oh man, how about 2?" Another cadet said, "Hey Master Sergeant! How about we do none at all?" My Master Sergeant replied, "How about you do some push-ups in the wet grass." Finally, one friend of mine said, "Alright, Master Sergeant. How many laps do you want us to do?" He replied "Until I tell you to stop."

Funny it's memories like those and many more that leads me to look forward to the many places I will be in the future and ministries I will be part of that I know will be challenging and I'm sure I will think, "Lord, seriously? How many more laps?" Eventually, I say, "Ok God, I'll run until YOU tell me to stop." It brings me back to 1st Corinthians 9:24-27, I must say I've never been big into running and I especially hated it in NJROTC because that was the one thing that lowered my score on my Physical Training tests....endurance.Something I have a feeling will be a huge lesson for me this coming semester, but we shall see. I know that everytime I'm in Peru, I see God wanting to teach me how to endure more than I did the day before or my last semester in Lima. I must say this, everytime I'm in Peru right where the Lord wants me to be; I tend to see more of the spiritual warfare that Paul speaks of in the New Testament than I feel most choose to see,haven't seen, or been exposed to for whatever that reason is. For example, When I was in Iquitos, Peru aka 'Da Jungle' the attacks from the enemy were so intense that I almost felt trapped in the 'mind-set' from one of the most emotion stirring war-films that I've seen based on 'Nam that is 'Apocalypse Now'. Which I must say the 1st and Last time I saw it was years before getting saved.

That mindset in Iquitos was like pollution, but the missionaries who are there in Iquitos in my eyes are like the Marines, but the Lord's Marines when it comes to spreading The Gospel behind 'Enemy Lines' such as places like Iquitos. Few are willing to do it and at this moment there are at least that I know of four brave pastors along with their families that minister to this region.

I must say I've been AWOL(Absent Without Leave) from the missions field and Bible College education for a few months, but that hasn't stopped God from teaching me one on one and reinstructing this soldier to go back to 'the front'. So, tomorrow I will be heading back to the front and continuing my education there at Bible College in Lima,Peru. It has felt like forever since I was there, but I have every confidence in the Lord that I will smoothly fit right in with my classes and a few of my friends that are still there and the new ones I will make. I have no idea what sort of 'Gettysburg-like' battles await me or even 'Battle of the Bulge' stand-offs are under-construction, but I do know that God is for me and God is for those who follow Him. I am reminded this very moment that His Grace is so much greater than any other endurance building workout. So, in closing this soldier will no longer be State-side tomorrow night, but Peru-side. Thanks for all of you who have been reading and keeping up with me and I pray you continue to do so.

-Danielito

Charity

This morning was an interesting morning. I started my day at roughly 4:30 in the morning, not very typical for this young buck to do and then as I found my mother making her way out the door to pull a few hours at another hospital she helped me improvise for breakfast which turned out to be pancakes, but instead of milk we used half and half cream mixed with water. Yes, 'Eww' or 'Ohh...Ok' is quite right, don't worry I ate the pancakes and so did my brother. Funny though, if my mom didn't suggest to me to make my brother some pancakes as I finished the pancake mix I probably would've fell right back to sleep. Yes, comfortably in my cozy bed and I probably would've brought my aging Jack Russell and childhood friend, Sprite to my room to let him sleep at the foot of my bed.

Instead, I stood and made my brother's pancakes which wasn't all too bad minus the thought of what he would've thought of my 'improvised breakfast' that resulted in the use of creamer used for pancakes. But I still continued making my bro's pancakes with little or no concentration, but plenty of 'sleep crust' in my eyes (Thought to self, 'Really hope they didn't fall in my brother's pancakes.Ugh,that would be bad). Anyway, in the midst of this prep, I had some thoughts concerning 'charity'. I thought of Haiti and the devastating tragedy that occured there followed by the world's desperate attempt to pour out anything they have to this nation in the Caribbean. Which led me to the very word, 'Charity' found in 1st Corinthians 13, starting in verse 4 in the old King James Version of the Bible. Which now we see this word replaced in the new translations of the Bible by, 'Love'. Which that very word pointed me to the Greek translation of the word 'Love' (Greek the very language that 1st Corinthians was written in originally anyway.); Agape. Agape in Greek refers to a kind of love that Christ so perfectly demonstrated and that was on the Cross. What kind of love is that? A selfless one; here's some way(s) I think may help basically->Pouring out love towards others WITHOUT expecting anything in return. This very thought inevitably led me to the Cross, what Christ did there and understanding that charity is not just a means to meet others needs with the 'hand me down clothes' we have in our closests (I'll be the first to say I'm guilty of such things like that), but reciprocating that charity or love that God showed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, though this time unto others.

How does this tie into Peru, you may ask? Well, if you weren't thinking that, umm, cool? Haha. When I go to Peru I'm sure like many times in the past when I've shared the Gospel those Peruvians probably walked away with the Gospel spoken to them or they received Christ into their hearts. In reality some of those people would end their day accepting The Lord and probably not eating until the next day. It's reminding me of one thing: "Seek first the Kingdom of God(Matthew 6:33)and then Proclaim the Kingdom of God(Luke 9:60)." Today is probably one of few days that have been back to back to back that have involved the Lord pouring into me verses and simple words of encouragement and wisdom to remember and jot down as the time here in the States draws to a close and the next Act or Chapter begins for me titled 'Semester III at Bible College'. That's it for now, next blog post will probably be when I'm in Peru or a couple of days before I fly back.

-Danielito