God is working

What a week it has been! The short-ter, team arrived on Tuesday, and we began Bible school on Wednesday. Bible school went wonderfully! On Wednesday we arrived at 1:30pm to set up, and the school was locked up. After sitting outside the school for half an hour, a teacher walked up with key in hand. Flexibility was key in setting up & dividing the kids into classes. The first day of Bible school there were 30 kids so we divided them into 3 groups - 5-7 yr olds, 8-10 yr olds, & 11-12 yr olds. We learned about the story of Joseph, made a coloring page of Joseph´s coat with colorful yarn glued on, ate fruit snacks, and did games & songs. Music was at the end with all the kids together. Heather & I taught them I´m in the Lord´s Army, I´ve Got Joy Down in my Heart, and Father Abraham obviously all in spanish. The second day there were 37 kids. That day we learned about Zaccheus, did another coloring sheet with sticks & green tissue paper glued on the tree, ate animal crackers, and played more games. During music at the end we sang all the songs from Wednesday and taught them Whose the King of the Jungle. The third day was the last day. We learned about the Feeding of the 5000, ate goldfish, decorated foam bookmarks with stickers, and played more games like Gringo Grande Gringo, Rojo Verde, & Hombre/Mono/Platano. For music time we sang the 4 songs they already knew and taught them Singing in the Rain. Overall I would say Bible school was very successful. At the very end we gave each kid a goody bag, and their faces lit up with excitement as they looked through all the candy, stickers, & little toys.

As for the storying this week, it seemed that the community storying was beginning to go downhill with less adults & more kids that just wanted to run around and be a distraction. So we prayed even more strongly against the enemy asking that God would do a mighty work in this town. And Friday night it seems we saw God answering our prayers. That night a young man named Paul told the story. After the story on Tuesday he had expressed interest in telling a story. Then on Wednesday we brought him a copy of the story of Elijah & the Prophets of Baal to be told Friday. The group still hadn´t returned from the storying session by 9:15pm, and usually they were back around 9pm. Dave said that must be a sign that things went really well so we continued to pray for them as we all waited gathered in the living room to hear how the story went. Finally at 9:30 Jeremy Stanley returned, but the rest of the group didn´t follow behind him. Then about ten minutes later we hear Alison, Jeremy Lou, Jonathan, Molly, & Cory stomping up the stairs. I asked how it went and sat eagerly as I listened to each of them share parts of the evening. There were 19 people, over 10 were adults. None of the kids were distracting or misbehaved. Paul did a great job telling the story, and since he speaks softly everyone had to play extra close attention to what was being said. After the story Paul had even com eup with some questions to ask the group. Everyone seemed to participate in the discussion very well. Then Paul turned to Jeremy and asked, ¨Why don´t we sacrifice anymore like in the story?¨ When I heard them tell me that part of the evening my first thought was ¨Because of Jesus!!! Because Jesus died to for!!!¨ Needless to say I´m excited for the next story when they will hear of the life of Jesus Christ and His love of each of them. Anyway, Jeremy answered the question with eagerness. Oh, how great it will be to tell the people of the Good News of Jesus Christ next time! Jonathan then asked the people a few questions. ¨In Aymaran history, did the people worship false gods like in the story?¨ A man answered, ¨Alot of people here STILL worship false gods today.¨ Jonathan questioned the man specifically, ¨Do you worship false gods?¨ The man responded, ¨I believe the Bible is true, but in this community & culture it is hard.¨ Then Jonathan assured the man that it is hard in the United States too, that many people claim Christianity but go on living in the ways of the world. That seemed to give the man some reassurance and comfort. After that Jeremy asked the people if they had any questions, and discussion continued on for almost another hour talking about God & Satan, the Trinity, omnipresence, and other topics. The people seem to be growing in their interest of the Bible. Praise be to God! What a blessing it is to be a vessel of the Lord and witness God work in the lives of these people.

On the other hand, my time with the Lord was interrupted on Thursday morning by the sound of drums & wind pipes. I looked over the balocony ledge to see the plaza filled with traditionally-dressed Aymaran men & women. A man began speaking over the PA system. ¨Representatives from every town in the area have come here to Conima for the Fiesta of the Potato Harvest.¨ Then I saw the big red plastic cases come out. Unfortunately, I have come to see those all too often here. Some of the men began passing out the beer to all who were gathered. More people and even more beer continued to fill the plaza as everyone began the tradition of drinking themselves into a drunken stupor. What a stronghold Satan has built in those wretched fiestas. As we stood on the balcony watching things unfold below, we began to cry out to God for the salvation of these people, even just a few people who may continue the work of His gospel when we leave in a week.

Saturday morning I woke up at 6am like always to spend precious time with the Lord. As I sat at the kitchen table eating a banana and warming my hands with my cup of tea, the wond howled outside beating the rain against the window pane. Yes, I said rain. That was the first glimpse of rain we´ve seen in Peru all summer. So our group hiking trip was postponed and eventually called off due to inclimate weather. Morning worship was a wonderful encouragement to our team. This coming week is our last 7 days in Conima. It is going to be even busier and ahrder than before. Everyone is gone now except the 5 of us. We are going to have to push our hardest and give our all. Satan has been at work battling while we´ve been here, and with us trying to get through the rest of the 8 stories & the potential of seeing some come to Christ I only see it getting harder. but as Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-13, ¨A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God´s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers & authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against the evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God´s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.¨ So we will press forward clad in the armor of God. None of Satan´s fiery arrows will hold us back or strike us down because the Lord is our strength & our shield in whom we take refuge.

Side note: My digestive problems have gotten worse as of late, and it is becoming more of a hinderance than before. There are some nights that I have to miss out so that I can stay close to a bathroom. I´m just so tired of this, and it´s starting to hurt more & more. I wish I knew what was causing it. But God continues to keep me in good spirits. Instead of praying that God would take this away from me, I have begun to pray that my physical hardships would not discourage me and hold me back from the work we have to do here. God is working, and I will not let anything keep me from being a part of it!