Peru ~ Final Reflections

We've been home 11 days and I am still processing all the Lord did in Peru...

After 11 days I still can not find the words or pictures that seem to accurately reflect my changed heart. My new spirit of submission to the Lord or my desire to follow the Him wherever and whenever He leads.

A mission trip for a believer (at least for me) is very similar to the fresh new life feeling a New Believer feels when he accepts Christ as His Personal Lord and Savior.

Its a revival for the soul. An awakening in your Spirit.

As I reflect on Peru and struggle to share my heart these verses come to my mind:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:10)

Blessed is he who is kind to the needy. (Proverbs 14:21)

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Mathew 28:19)

Something the Lord continued to show me in Peru was that there are missions fields everywhere. There are people all around us (even PSL) that do not know Jesus. People that don't know that the Lord is alive and active still today. People that don't know He IS coming back. And He will claim those that are His.

In the States, the mention of God has become Taboo. We (me) have become accustom to keeping our faith private to not offend anyone or to avoid being "weird".

We (me) have put ourselves in a safe bubble where things don't get too uncomfortable. We (me) are not stretched. There's no growth. Just a safe comfortable lukewarm ride. But you what the Bible says about being lukewarm? "so then, because you are lukewarm and not hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth" (Rev 3:16)"

We (I) need be alert and active in our (my) walk.

I need pop my protective bubble, step out in faith and boldly seek first Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

My heart, my desire is to serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind knowing He searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts and believing when I seek Him, He will be found. (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Peru Video

Please please take a few minutes and watch this AMAZING video that our friend Les made to capture these very precious memories of our time in Peru.

**remember to pause my music before hitting play**

Calvary Chapel Port Saint Lucie - Lima, Peru Mission 2009 from Les Lanphere on Vimeo.

Peru ~ Central Lima, Site Seeing

On the day we were leaving Peru, Rick took us site seeing in Central Lima.

One of the place he took us to was the Museum of the Inquistion.

Located on the Plaza Bolívar, which is also home to the Peruvian Congress building, the Inquisition Museum is one of Lima’s most popular and often visited museums. Housed in the building that was home to the Inquisition from 1570 to 1820, the museum has exhibits which explain the impact and importance of the Inquisition in Peru’s history.Imported from Spain in the late 16th century, the Inquisition was responsible for eliminating heresy and blasphemy in the New World. Some of their targets included Spanish Jews and their descendents, who were often accused of maintaining their practices in secret. In this museum, you can visit the lightless dungeon cells where those accused awaited judgement or punishment. It was also from this location that the public burning of heretics was ordered.

These little girls *worked* outside of the muceum selling pieces of candy for 10 cents. They were stinking cute and the candy was good so we bought a bag of 100.

After the Mueseum Rick took us to the San Francisco Catherdral & Catacombs.

This Franciscan church and monastery is one of the most haunting (almost literally) and memorable sites in all of Lima. Originally constructed in 1546, it is one of the oldest churches in South America. It also served as the first official Catholic cemetery in Lima, at a time when the dead were laid to rest in catacombs beneath the church, itself an echo of an old Roman custom. You will get to visit the catacombs and view the hundreds of centuries-old bones and scores of skulls as part of the guided tour. The church also has one of the oldest and most historically significant libraries in the Americas and dramatic collections of religious and secular art, including renaissance-era tiles imported from Spain.

Peru ~ Food Glorious Food

So below you will see just some of the many dishes we feasted on in Peru. Some were AMAZING and some were...well...NOT so amazing.

Take a look:

This dish was YUMMY!!!

SO YUMMY that we ate it twice

This one was not so yummy. It was beets and ham. I graciously shared mine with a friend.

This one was ok. Not bad. But not quite as AMAZING as the first dish.

This is BOOGER FRUIT! Yep, that's right booger fruit.

I *heard* it was good.

But the jury is still out...

Squid anyone?

Tiffany strictly posed for this picture - there was NO squid eating going on at our table.

Ms. Alex on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed her crab soup.

And Gaby braved the blood.

The food is Peru was definitely nothing as I expected. Some things were a little funky but most things were extremely flavorful and filling.

Peru ~ Other Random Sightings

We saw some pretty random things in Peru...Certainly more than I was able to photograph but I trust you will enjoy these nonetheless...

Roosters ~ just hanging out. Not really sure why or if they belong to anyone. They're just out and about.

Dogs. EVERYWHERE we went there were dogs.

And this just might be my favorite...The bathrooms in Peru look like this?! Needless to say we "held it" a lot!

Peru~ Random Crosses

Whenever we were driving throughout Peru we would come across these beautiful crosses high up on the mountain tops.

All of us on the team would point them out to one another and we'd all snap a few photos.

On our last day in Peru we learned that the Incan Indians who settled high up in the mountains were being visited regularly by Christians.

In an effort to stop the Christians from hiking the mountain and interrupting their tribal ceremonies they planted these crosses.

Pretty clever plan I must say.

Christians passing through see the crosses and assume the village up on high are already believers and they keep on going.

So if you are ever in Peru and your purpose is to spread the Gospel - go to the crosses FIRST!

Peru - Pachacutec Locals

Check out these cuties...

All these kids wanted to do

was to snuggle

I was really really missing my kids by this time and loving on these precious children

was just what we all needed ~

Love. Genuine love is so so good for the soul!

Peru ~ Calvary Chapel Pachacutec

We also did some work at the Calvary Chapel in Pachacutec.

Put some barbed wire around the roof

Installed some ceiling lights

Painted a Noah's Ark mural

And painted Calvary's Logo

outside the front door of the church

Peru - Orphanage in Pachacutec

While in Pachacutec we visited an Orphanage that had been closed temporarily due to a Swine Flu breakout. The entire place needed to bleached from floor to ceiling.

So a small team of us headed over to the orphanage to do just that.

Inside one of the class rooms

we repaired wobbly chairs

scoured the floors

disinfected all the books, puzzles and toys

and prayed that no little ones would be infected upon their return

Just some random shots around the orphanage

All but these 4 precious children were evacuated from the orphanage due to the Swine Flu. My heart beat for missions is orphans so spending time with these children will forever be a treasured blessing.