And personally, I am beat!!! After a long weekend mission trip with a 6th grade class, I must confess, it was a bit difficult to rise and shine this morning. I am so grateful that I did not have to go to class today like the whole rest of the group did, so for this I am so thankful.
We had a wonderful weekend despite my tired and weary body. We arrived in Chincha after a little over a 3 hour trip. I was o
nce again reminded at how cool of an experience that my children are living. We drove for hours along a coastal desert, having the gorgeous ocean on one side and a fantastic desert on the other. After arriving in Chincha, we unloaded the bus and got situated in our rooms. The girls slept in one classroom and the guys in another. Everyone brought sleeping bags to sleep on the hard, cold concrete floor. (but me being a city girl, I brought my blow up air mattress that everyone made fun of and then wanted to sleep with me when it came time to go to bed)
That evening we were taught by 3 new Peruvian friends, some dramas, songs and dances. Now remember, I came as chaperone, but was
soon included in the fun. I have since joked that I must have lost 10 pounds as I participated in the "Peruvian aerobics" as I like to call our presentation. We danced, shaked, rattled, rolled and wiggled all over the place. I have not had that much fun in such a long time. (I even had a couple of dads join in the fun with us...nothing like humbling yourself)We finally got in bed and as soon as I closed my eyes, it felt like it was morning and time to get up and go.
We arrived at our first stop in this poor community that had been devastated by the earthquake. Kids just ran to see us. Mothers too. I am sure they hoped we had some supplies or something to give them, but we had something even better to share with them and that was the message of salvation. All day Saturday, we went from camp to camp presenting the same song and dance. It looked like the same place each time, just different people. All of them filthy dirty, all of them interested at the sight of a bunch of young Americans, all of them stopping for a moment to just enjoy what we were there to present to them.
I remember one stop, I was in front dancing and fumbling around...as I looked out, I saw a group of mothers just giggling. They were laughing at me! Well, that doesn't sound like a compliment, but it encouraged me to make them laugh even more.( The reason, these ladies are many times single moms, most of them have more than 3 children and live in some of the worst conditions you could ever imagine. )As I looked out at several pregnant women, wondering how on earth they would be able to have a safe delivery in this place and as I saw women who looked too worn out to even stand any more, and as I imagined what worries must be on the tip of each of these womens thoughts, I realized, they were laughing and smiling and for a moment, at the expense of my embarrassment, at the expense of me stepping out of my comfort zone and shaking it till I break it, at the expense of me sleeping on my cushy little air mattress, I had given them a brief moment of pure happiness. They weren't thinking about their illness, their bills due, how they would buy their next bottle of milk for their babies, they were totally focused on the fun and in that fun, they HEARD!!! They heard that our God is the God who loves them, a God who protects them and provides for them a God who saves them! They heard through the precious voices of a group of 6th graders and a bumbling mom. How cool is our God!
I had the opportunity to love on these ladies and pray with these ladies and it was such a special thing for me, but I want you to know that there were 8 6th graders and 5 highschool students that were the hands and feet of Jesus this weekend in Chincha as they loved on kids, held them, played with them, got to know them and explained about the love of our heavenly father.
It is so sad, but the name father here is almost a dirty word sometimes. I say this because many times, the father will abandon his wife and children, or be a drunk and abusive, so when we
explain how God is our Father, we have to explain that He is a good Father, one who loves, protects, provides and is always with us and will never leave us.
It was a great trip.In the course of the weekend, I believe that we all experienced God in new personal ways. I know that in my case, as I looked into the sea of faces as they watched us perform, the Lord reminded me that those faces are the faces of His children and He desires to be a father to every one of them. Please pray for the city of Chincha, that the light of the Lord will shine bright.
We've all seen the game show Jeopardy, although it is not a favorite of mine, Arnold and I have a hand held game that has kept our minds occupied and growing for many years now.
as blackmail in some fashion or another.
