Mission News
2010 Mission's Trip to Peru
Report to FUMC
Mission Trip to Peru
July 8-17, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
We
arrived safely about 9 pm in Lima. Landing was a bit rough and
several passengers in the back applauded when the captain
brought the plane safely down.
Getting off the plane four days after the Fourth
of July in the U.S., it's like Christmas in July in Peru. Huge
crowds hustle, about people wearing coats and jackets on July
8th! They were observing the curious Americans who walk off the
plane in flip-flops and T-shirts. Temps are in the upper
50s---compared to upper 90s in Dallas.
One of the key features of Lima, Peru is San Martin Square
featuring a large statue of San Martin, the man who freed much
of South America from the Spanish, on horseback. Well, that
Square is right out our front door.
We stayed in a 1920s style hotel, Gran Hotel Bolivar. Still, it
costs less than a typical Motel 6 in the U.S. Looks a little
like the hotel in the Jack Nicholson movie The
Shining. Especially about tonight when some of us were
walking around about 11 pm down a darkened hallway with just a
flashlight to guide us.
Our team of 16 includes the 6 of us from First UMC Irving, our
Go International Guide Randall Morton with whom we traveled to
Monterrey, Mexico last year, Randall's wife Robin, sister,
niece, and college-age daughter and son, plus four other
college-age students. What is great is that this year we have
lots more Spanish speakers on the team. Two of the ladies from
Alabama arranged for their Sunday School class to donate a set
of hand bells which we will be presenting to the ministry in
Chincha Alta.
We meet Pastor Gerardo Guzman the founder of Vina del Rey
at the airport and he arranged for a small bus to take us to the
hotel, hauling our luggage behind in a trailer. He is a
humble, friendly man who God has used in mighty ways the last
twenty years to change lives of families and bring forth the
gospel of Christ to a very impoverished people.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Today we take a three-hour bus ride to Chincha Alta. Riding in a
comfortable coach church ministry bus out of Lima, we see a
cosmopolitan Latin city, seemingly larger than Monterrey, yet
similar. Street vendors selling lots of fruit and tabloids,
shops selling auto parts or offering to fix shoes.
Once out of the city, we see the desert and the
poverty all the more. Shanty town barrios off the highway with
homes put together with scrap board and whatever is available.
Rows and rows of houses. Even though this is a coastal plain,
this part of Peru gets less than two inches of rain per year.
And it shows.
Lunch at the home of Pastor Gerardo and his
lovely wife Persia. All 16 of us will stay there. Randall and
his wife Robin are staying in the main house along with all the
other ladies on our team. The seven remaining men will stay in a
separate building out back, on mattresses on tile floors. There
is a shallow pool and breezeway in between the two structures.
We are not sure if the pool is for swimming in the summer
(January, February and March) or just to allow a cool breeze.
The house is in a very poor neighborhood, surrounded by a large
wall with spikes on top of it. Their sweet dog, Lulu, is the
house dog downstairs who always wishes us well. There are two
guard dogs on the roof of the structure in which we stay. On the
roof of the main house, Pastor Gerardo and Persia raise
chickens.
In the afternoon, Pastor Gerardo takes us on a
tour aboard a much more rustic bus that will haul us and our
construction materials these next several days.
We
first visit Satelite Primavera. It is a ministry led by
Pastor Jose and feeds a meal to abut 50 children on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays. Jose shows us the kitchen and it is
almost out of food—only two cans of evaporated milk, half a
large bag of Avena which we think is grits, and a half
bag of sugar. A church in Pump Springs, Tennessee, sends money
each month and Jose hopes to receive funds soon so he can buy
more food. Satelite Primavera also has a campus encircled
with a concrete wall, soccer field, playground, equipment and
even a computer room. Funds for it came from a Peruvian concrete
company.
Next we go see Shalom Church and George
Washington Williams School—where Pastor Gerardo's son, Pastor
David Guzman, is the Pastor and Principal. We gather and lay
hands on Pastor David Guzman, and David Turner leads a prayer
for him. The sanctuary has a roof, but with big gaps in the top
for air circulation. Rain could get in---but it hardly ever
rains.
We visit outside with one of the teachers, Luis,
who speaks some English, and with Leslie, a friendly,
13-year-old girl who is eager to learn English.
Later, we visit Alta Larran where the ministry
has built a church as well. It is led by Pastor Julio who is a
university-educated teacher at George Washington Carver High
School in the city. His immediate need is for money for windows
for his sanctuary. They are covered with plastic sheets now.
They meet on a mud floor. A donkey and a giant hog are out back
in a pen.
Looking around, the living conditions are even
more Third World than we experienced in Monterrey, Mexico. Many
are living in bamboo shacks with dirt floors, no electricity, no
running water. Some of us have never seen such poverty.
Friday night, we start to see how God is working
through all this. With poverty, bamboo homes, bleak futures, the
families with nothing come Friday night to church to hold on to
what they do have: a contagious faith in God.
Pastor David Turner preaches with Randall Morton translating on
the topic: “Brother, are you saved?” (Hermano eres salvo?)
Various groups from the
outlying churches sing. We Americans sing and introduce
ourselves and it all becomes clear: Jesus Christ reigns. We are
His hands, His feet, His body.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
We
awake early to the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking –
this is Latin America. This town of 200,000 is
about the size of Irving, Texas, but the similarities end there.
There are no high-rise glass buildings, eight-lane highways,
shopping malls or huge car dealerships.
Most
buildings are one or two floors, made by hand out of bricks,
concrete and frequently bamboo. Many are crumbled or in various
states of repair following the 2007 earthquake that damaged 60%
of the homes. There are a few asphalt roads, but most are dirt
roads—at least it does not rain hardly at all, so they are not
muddy and won't wash away. This is a flat city on a plateau 10
miles east of the Pacific Ocean and 20 miles west of the Andes
Mountains—which are obscured even on sunny days like today by
the dusty, overcast sky.
Our hosts bring the sunlight to the city. Vina
del Rey (The King's Vineyard) is just that: growing, loving,
reaching people throughout the city—even those who don't or
can't make it to church.
We divide into two teams: the first one we drop
off at George Washington Carver School, next to Vina Del
Rey's main church on Begonia Street. They sand down the
walls of an open-air pre-K classroom and a hallway smooth as
silk and then paint the upper areas of the room with a soft
cream color.
The
rest of us head out to Satelite Primavera with word that
we are going to build a “lean-to with bamboo.” That is an
understatement.
It is not just a lean-to. It is a new church. In
the desert. Surrounded by bamboo shacks, we build a bamboo
sanctuary, and we do it in just two days. God is good. All the
time. Next weekend, while we are back in Irving, a Satelite
congregation will have had
services in its first building, a church with the name
Senor de los Milagres,
fittingly, “Lord of the Miracles.”
After lunch and a brief siesta, we bus to the
main church. Robin Morton prays for us and we venture off to 11
separate locations: five churches and six home cell groups.
Pastor Dave plays soccer with his group. Sharon
Phares goes out to a distant farming community where 12 families
come out of the mountains to hear her testimony and learn about
Jesus. Pete goes to an impoverished community in the shadow of a
fruit processing plant. Children are left by themselves all day,
even on Saturdays. The cell group gives them a Sunday School of
sorts on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
We
sleep in until 7:30 am today. Sabbath. Day of rest from
construction work—but not in terms of church work. Three
separate events.
Escuela Domincal – (Sunday School) – We help teach Sunday School
at the main church.
After lunch at Shalom, the church on the campus of George
Washington Williams School) we head home for the World Cup
Championship. Most are for Espana (Spain) but Pastor Gerardo's
youngest son, Leo, is for The Netherlands, because he thinks
Spain should have lost to Germany. Spain ends up winning in
extra time, 1-0.
A
group of us heads by bus to Alta Larran where Pastor Julio and
his wife, Persia, daughter of Gerardo, are pastoring. We are a
little early so we go into the walled courtyard of the church
and practice futbol (soccer) with the boys, mainly 8 to
10-year-olds, and some volleyball with the girls.
Inside, we practice singing, then help out with their afternoon
Sunday School classes. Later, Pastor Dave preaches and Michelle
translates on the fields being white with harvest. They are in
Peru, both the cotton field and the spiritual field. We dine on
pizza and ask Julio about the windows and the struggles and joys
of building his church. He came, he says, when there were just
five families. He started preaching on tithing, and the number
dropped to one family! Pastor Dave says he
can relate! Thankfully, the church has strengthened. There are
about 25 children and 20 adults there tonight. I gave out snacks
like cookies and gave each child and adult a blessing in Espanol
as I went—sort of like serving communion.
We think we are going home, but we head to the
main church---for one final service. This one is led by Pablo
(Randall Morton) with some of us Americanos singing, My
Jesus, My Savior. Others, including Pastor Dave, go to
Shalom where Pastor Dave preaches.
Monday, July 12, 2010
A
new church is born! Senor de los Milagres or Lord of the
Miracles. First we stopped at “Bamboo Depot,” This time, it's
mainly just Pastor Dave, Rick, David Anderson, Nathan and Pete,
along with one local church member, Eleazor, who is the brains
of the operation but he does not speak any English.
The new church is a big deal. When we return
later that afternoon, there is music playing on a boom box
powered by electricity installed that very day. Luis is outside
on a microphone, inviting people to come.
Perhaps 40 children come. The boys play with the
new soccer balls we brought from the U.S. The girls play with
the Frisbees. There is much joy. The children learn new songs.
They delight in playing with our college-age students.
Afterward, we feed the people snacks and head
back to the bamboo sanctuary for a prayer dedicating the new
church building. Before we do so, a mother with a sick child
rushes in and brings her son, saying, 'Pray for him.” He had
been to the hospital and was not better. Robin Morton, Randall's
wife, prays for him in Spanish.
Pastor Gerardo shares his story with us tonight. We gather
around the big table downstairs. He is like a Grandfather,
speaking to his children and grandchildren. Randall translates.
It is a story of hope, risk, trust and great reward.
A university professor, he heard God call him to
become a pastor three times while standing knee-deep in mud near
the Amazon River. When he got home, he thought his wife, Persia,
would steer him otherwise. But she said, “If God is calling you,
who am I to stand in His way?”
It soon became a family affair with Persia, their
three sons and two daughters taking active roles. They started
by feeding and caring for children with a street ministry called
Vaso con Leche or Cup of Milk. It has since grown to two
schools, a Bible Institute, five (make that six after today)
churches and five weekly cell groups, each with 30 or more
attendees each Saturday afternoon in outlying areas of Chincha.
We are touched an moved by his obedience---and
the Spirit of his wife and children to obey, follow and trust
God.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The
bamboo church complete, we start a new project today, panting
two classrooms a breezeway and a wall facing the basketball
courts at George Washington Carver School.
We use a very bright mustard color with oil base
paint so it will be easier to clean. We learn this trip is more
about God than about us. And how He wants to use us as His
instruments in big and small ways.
We
play basketball: old guys vs. young guys. The old guys win.
Imagine that! Will miracles never cease! The old guys are just
glad the game ended with no heart attacks. We go home to
siestas.
In
the late afternoon, we go further than we had ever gone before,
to an agricultural community many miles from a paved road, the
community of Juncal. In fact, it is many miles from a smooth
road of any kind. We pass cotton fields that are literally
“white with harvest” and so is this community spiritually.
Melinda Dorrell from my church in Irving, who served with our
team last year in Monterrey, plays a game with the children with
balloons with answers to questions written on them. She and the
other young people also play Frisbee and color with the
children, truly engaging them.
After singing and coloring with the children,
many in our groups are playing Frisbee. Sharon Phares, who has
just given a wonderful testimony to the adults about her life,
spots some young men, perhaps in their early 20s, standing on
the periphery near a small patch of sugar cane, the huge cotton
crop next and the Andes Mountains in the distance. Sharon says
to me, “They need to hear this.”
They seem sort of sarcastic, cautious, skeptical,
yet curious.
Michelle, a Texas girl and recent Baylor grad with a degree in
Spanish, speaks to them. She presents the Gospel of Christ in
fluent Spanish with clarity and completeness. Finally, she asks
each one individually if they would ask Jesus to be Lord of
their lives. The first, Luis, says “Si.” Then the second, the
third, the fourth, and finally Juan. Si. Si. Si. Si. Si.
Michelle turns to Anthony, a humble and holy young man of God
and says, “Go get Pastor Julio.” He does and Pastor Julio comes
out and leads these five young men in the sinner's prayer. What
a glorious moment it is!
We
congratulate each one and Anthony goes to get his Spanish Bible.
He gives it to Luis and takes him aside, pointing out the Gospel
of John, encouraging him to read that first. Luis asks how old
Anthony is. Turns out he is 23 and Luis turns 23 later this
year. They talk for quite awhile.
The
Heavens are filled with the Glory of the Lord! And we saw a
piece of it today at the edge of a cotton field that was truly
white with harvest.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
More
painting today at George Washington Carver and then a treat for
the children: Peruvian Teachers vs. American Missionaries in
volleyball. Our hosts have been very gracious and merciful---up
to this point! But on the volleyball court, they show no mercy.
After two lopsided games, they decide to integrate the teams to
half Peruvians and half Americans, and then we actually have a
contest.
As
part of our lunch that day, Pastor Gerardo's daughter Persia,
who is the Principal at George Washington Carver, invites us to
the fifth-grade classroom where the students have been
celebrating Peruvian culture this week. They have each brought a
dish from home, prepared by their Moms, and want the
Americanos to sample them.
After siesta, we travel by bus to Salto la Lesa,
a one-year-old church building near the highway. A huge crowd of
children—62 in all—rushes up to greet us, hug us, invite us to
sit by them. Dancing, singing, puppet show with Rocky the
Ratonito, coloring books. This will be our final night in
Chincha with the many people with whom we have ministered these
last days.
Salto la Lesa is also a very poor neighborhood,
but one where last year Randall and Go International built a
concrete cistern on the church grounds. It holds thousands of
gallons of water and has really changed the community.
Closing service is led by Pastor Gerardo, this
grandfather is full of energy, jumping and dancing and
proclaiming the Word of God. It is standing-room-only in there.
We ring the bells that Cathy has brought from Alabama. And then
Randall presents the bells to Pastor Gerardo as a gift.
Then the Peruvians turn the tables on us,
bringing us to the front one at a time with great introductions
by Pastor Gerardo. Children come and present us with gifts.
Each Peruvian comes forward and hugs us and
blesses us. It is very emotional. We may have ministered to
them. But they have done so much more for us.
Our
lives will never be the same.
Thursday, July 14, 2010
Packing day. Cleaning up. Heading out on a travel bus to Lima.
We get to downtown Lima about 1:30 pm after literally squeezing
through the very crowded streets of Lima. Population is 8
million and we must have seen 7.9 million on the way to our
hotel. We get to San Martin Square and the Hotel Gran Bolivar.
We go to lunch at Norky's on the Boulevard.
Unfortunately, while at the restaurant, Robin Morton's pink bag
is stolen. It contains $600 cash, credit cards, her passport and
her son Caleb's passport. Randall calls the police. We search
the restrooms in trash cans, but cannot find it. We have gone
from the trusting simple country life to the big city and the
problems that come with it.
Friday, July 15, 2010
We
play tourist in Lima today. Randall has arranged with the Hotel
for us to have late check-out, all the way until 7 pm. Our
flight out is at 10:50 pm to Miami. Randall, Robin and their
kids go to the U.S. Embassy to work on getting new passports for
Robin and their son, Caleb.
A travel agent affiliated with Go International,
Eunicia (like Eunice), takes us on a tour bus to lunch at
Vivaldi's, a very upscale restaurant in Lima. One thing that was
very good was the cabrito (goat). Also the tomatoes
stuffed with ground beef.
Eunicia then takes us site-seeing to the Pacific Ocean and the
neighborhood called Miraflores. High-rise condos make you think
you are at Miami in the winter. Very trendy, very upscale. We
pass a park called “Lovers Park” and we see that the Peruvians
are not bashful when showing public displays of affection.
We
then go the Inca Market where we make our contributions to the
local economy. Pastor Dave has bought a Peruvian shirt, poncho
and leather hat. But in the big city of Lima, he looks a little
out of place. So our Peruvian hosts just explain to everyone
that “he's from the South.”
While we are shopping, the Morton's are getting special
treatment at the U.S. Embassy. A police captain who happens to
be a Christian and a friend of Go International, rushes through
a police report stating that Robin and Caleb's passports had
been stolen. He actually hand-delivered the police report to us
in the hotel lobby. The Morton's showed that to the U.S. Embassy
and were able to get temporary passports for Robin and Caleb so
they could get home.
Next, it's off on a harrowing 90-minute bus drive through Friday
night rush-hour traffic in Lima. We arrive in plenty of time,
clear Customs and get ready to fly to Miami.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks to everyone for your support with
this year’s Missions Conference. It was a wonderful event
and continues our church’s legacy of supporting those in the
Missions field who work to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was both inspiring and encouraging to see the many ways that
God uses the talents and gifts of all those willing to go into
the field. Many have come from our own church and we are
blessed to be their partners.
This summer we
will be sending a small group from our church for a short term
mission trip to Chincha, Peru, to work on light construction and
repairs at a school in this earth-quake damaged city. Our
group will also be helping children with English and working in
the surrounding community each afternoon to share the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Later in the
summer or early in the fall, we are also planning a trip to the
Methodist Missions Home in San Antonio. We are currently
working with them to plan the project work and the dates. This
will be a wonderful opportunity for anyone in the church to be
involved with a hands-on mission. Your help is needed with both
of these projects.
First and
foremost, we ask for your prayers for all of those that will be
traveling and working away from home as they travel to Peru.
Please pray for their safety in travel and work and pray that
God would put them in just the right place to best use each of
them for His will. Pray that the families they leave behind
will be safe. Secondly, we need your help as each of those going
to Peru raise their own money for the trip. Please prayerfully
consider helping with their support in any way that you can.
We’ll have several fundraisers to help support them (including a
bake sale for Father’s Day) but your gift of $25 or more would
help make this work possible. Please designate ‘Peru trip’ with
your gift. Thank you again for all that you do to support our
church in fulfilling our legacy of missions and as we go about
“to make disciples of all nations.”
Mathew. 28:19)
Taking it to the streets,
Monterrey, Mexico August 2009
2009 Mission Trip to Monterey, Mexico
Our 2009 Mission Team
Who are these people? They are Monterrey
Mission trip 2009 team members!
| David Anderson |
Jessica Anderson |
| Melinda Dorrell |
Michael Gaines |
| Rick Gaines |
Richard Mahan |
| Austin McNabb |
Peter McNabb |
| Glenn Mullen |
Sharon Phares |
| David Turner |
Steve Wolfe |
| Jeff Voss |
Sally Voss |
Pete McNabb, Lay Leader of FUMC Irving, writes of his
experience interacting with the people of Monterey, the mission
trips to Mexico and how the Holy Spirit has touched his heart,
and given him a new set of eyes to see the world by.
Mexico After All by Pete McNabb
Slideshow of Selected Photos from Our Mission Team's July
Work Tour of Service to Refugio de Paz
Courtesy Señor
Pedro McNabb
Couple reunited and accepted Christ Grafitti painted over at Ref. de Paz Install an evaporative cooler Youth from IrvingFirst UMC Michael Gaines of FUMCi joins in the celebration The two pastors share watermelon
A joyful young couple who are making a difference at Refugio de Paz. Note the colorful bracelet on the young lady's wrist. Each bead represents a part o the salvation story. The bracelets were made by the Missions Work Area of First UMC Irving and delivered by our team. Pastor Dave preached on the significance of each bead on Sunday morning. Separated and on the brink of divorce a year ago, this couple was reunited after being invited to church at Refugio de Paz and accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour and foundation of their marriage. They are now among the most active members in the young church.
Before we came, the building was covered with graffiti. Note the new paint job and sign at Refugio de Paz. Jessica Anderson from our church designed the sign and members of FUMC painted it on the building. Antonio, a new Christian and active layperson at Refugio de Paz Methodist Church, teaches Austin McNabb how to twist steel for columns for their new church building. Members of First UMC team up with members of Refugio de Paz to install an evaporative cooler for the sanctuary. Steve Wolfe from First UMC cuts steel wire with Antonio, a layperson from Refugio de Paz. Youth from IrvingFirst UMC mixed well with youth from Refugio de Paz on the eight-day mission trip. Michael Gaines of Irving First UMC joins in the celebration at a dance after a traditional Mexican wedding in which the church members from the United States were honored guests. First UMC Team led by Pastor Dave and Rev. Randall Morton from Go International pose in front of the newly painted Refugio de Paz. Looking over the lights of Monterrey from our barrio high up the mountain just before daybreak. Each light represents a family who needs to know the Good News of Jesus Christ. It wasn't all work. On Saturday night we were the special guests at an outdoor Mexican wedding of a young couple from Refugio de Paz who tied the lasso. Rev. David Turner preached on Sunday morning to a packed house at Refugio de Paz in Monterrey, Mexico.
Rev. Jose Padilla from Refugio de Paz Metodista and Rev. David Turner from Irving First UMC, enjoy watermelon and fellowship on a Sunday afternoon in August in Monterrey, Mexico.
A joyful young couple who are making a difference at Refugio de Paz. Note the colorful bracelet on the young lady's wrist. Each bead represents a part o the salvation story. The bracelets were made by the Missions Work Area of First UMC Irving and delivered by our team. Pastor Dave preached on the significance of each bead on Sunday morning.
YouTube Videos from Refugio de Paz
Johnny sent me these YouTube videos of recent music at
Refugio de Paz. Looks like there is a translate button you
can push to get the titles of the videos.
Pete
Pedro me gustaria miraras estos videos algunos
relacionados con eventos de refugio de paz saludos pedro
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jdddddd1&search_type=&aq=f
|
First United Methodist Church, Irving,
Texas |