MEET Peru

Sorry

2008-06-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to start this blog first of all with apologies from all of us here for the lack of “blogging” over the last few months. We could make all kinds of excuses but I don’t think that will serve for much so if we could all just “forgive and forget” then we’ll be fine. To be honest we have made a number of attempts at updating the blog, different challenges that we had set for ourselves to get it done by a certain time. Those obviously have failed. So now we have a different strategy. We have divided up the work between the four of us so there will be something different from each of us. Obviously at this stage we are nearly home so we could tell you the stories when we get home, but we thought it was better to get something up online before we left. We have tried to give a general story each about some of the things that we have done as a team and also a more personal story or experience that we have been involved in. It has been a time of learning and growing through these last few months and God has really been helping and teaching us through these situations.

Aaron´s Painful Preaching

2008-06-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Each of the Irish/British folk have taken on the task of writing a memory on the Blog of something which meant a lot to us individually or made an impact on us. The first experience that I thought of was our trip to Puno, which made a great impact on me, i.e. falling in love with the church up there, however we are heading back there next week and God willing I will post a bit about it when we get back home as I should have more to say after being there again.

When I started to think about all the memories and experiences I have had here I tried to think of a nice happy one which meant a lot to me that would warm the hearts of the readers. However the God of the Bible does not just use the things that we have learnt during the good times to refine us, I have found and believe that its biblical, that God uses the hard and painful times far more to make us more like His Son than the good times, when we are put through the fire that is when we are refined.

So probably the other biggest experience for me during our time here definitely did not seem like a positive one at the time. It occurred during the second youth camp, I was asked by Javier if I could share with the young people on one of the evenings, I was hesitant at first as I wouldn’t have much time to prepare and it involved a lot of preparation, to write it out for myself in English then try to translate it myself into Spanish, then go through it all with Freddy to put right all the injustices I had done to the Spanish language and then to practice it enough times so I could actually deliver it, and all of this in between helping run a camp. After the initial hesitance I convinced myself that I could do it and agreed. So I went to it and just in time I had my finished copy, in just enough time to practice it a few times before I was due to deliver it.

I remember being a little nervous but not unduly, on reflection I probably wasn’t nervous enough. I read 1 Peter chapter 1 v 24&25 and became even more encouraged.

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls but the word of the Lord remains forever”

I remember feeling like it would be fine, as long as I speak the Word then all would be OK. And so the service began and so it came to me to speak, now to get to the point, after about 10 minutes of speaking I took a turn, hard to describe it, I don’t remember what happened, just that I felt the whole world closing in on me while I was speaking and had an almost out of body experience then the next thing I remember I was in the kitchen being sick over Ingrid!

After visiting the clinic in Ite and having a scan a few weeks later it became apparent that I was medically fine and so I couldn’t blame it on my body! I’ve had to face up to the fact that it was due to nerves and not being able to handle the pressure of the moment. I was extremely disappointed afterward and it hugely damaged my confidence to speak Spanish, especially in public, I haven’t taken on the task of preaching since then. I remember feeling deep down at the time almost like the text in 1 Peter had failed me, like somehow it should have made me superhuman or made my Spanish perfect. However now I realise the complete opposite and those verses are of great comfort. My flesh did fail and wither but that’s what happens to sinful, finite people, God does not use us to exalt ourselves but to humble ourselves* and to give Him the glory. I was focusing in on what man was thinking about me, in essence- my glory, but that is like focusing on a blade of grass over an oak tree! Our glory is nothing when compared to the glory of the Lord and His word; He endures forever, long after all our vanity has disappeared and He will get the glory, always, it’s better to acknowledge that in this life than have to wait until the next see it. Now I feel that I have a better grasp of what it means to share the Word, and, if it is in the will of the Lord, I will continue to endeavour to preach when I get the opportunity, however, for the immediate future, in English!

*After writing this Luz gave a devotion and quoted Luke 14v11
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted”
Adds a bit to what I had written I think.

Aaron

Mejia

2008-06-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

In March Mision Rescate packed up their bags and headed off on holiday. The destination; Mejia, a sunny holiday town, the accomodation; the mission owned house five minutes away from the beach, the catch; we had to paint it. We were to put the term “a change is as good as a break” to the test.

Leaving on the 5th of March we made our way by bus to the sunny coastal town, accopanied by our missionary leader David Murphy, with the mission to relax and unwind for a week while at the same time making a home improvement in the grand old house. We were given the challenge of painting the rooms we had chosen to sleep in and whatever else we could do would be a bonus. The male side of the team had chosen to reside downstairs while the female section stayed upstairs. A battle of the sexes commenced. And as a male I am ashamed to admit that the “chicas” put their hands to the plough, and beat us with it. The male irish trio committed, what can only be described as an atrocity to painting in their room, nightmares of old layers of paint peeling off as we put on a new one will accompany us for a very long time to come. At the end of the week the males had managed to finish their respective rooms (even the Irish) while the females had completed not only their rooms but a lounge and made a start in the kitchen as well.

On the other side of the coin we did manage to relax, the biggest attraction for some was the large library of english books in the house, for other more exciting or purely spanish speaking people there was a beach close by to be enjoyed and time to get some much appreciated sleep. It was also a pleasure to be with David Murphy and get to know him a bit more.

All in all it was a very enjoyable week, frustrating at times, when paint was peeling off all around you, but also funny, we have learned that in times of great frustration there is always a laugh to be had.

Moquegua

2008-06-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Moquegua 20th-24th March.

This week some of the team went up to visit the San Antonio church in Moquegua. We went to help out during the “Santa Semana” which is Easter time. We got to work straight away on the Thursday when we went to a district in Moquegua to show a film on the life of Jesus. The place was called “Costa Verde” which means “Green Coast” but to be honest there wasn’t any coast to be seen and it was most certainly not green. We came up with a better name for it, which was “Brown Desert”; we thought it suited it better. We went round from house to house inviting people to watch this film which we projected onto a big screen that we had put up. A good number of people showed up and we got opportunities to share with people afterwards and to invite them to the church. Because of the Easter weekend, we had meetings on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. During the days we went from house to house inviting people along to the services that were going to be happening. There was a man from Ica who was speaking at some of the services. The team took part in the services as well presenting different dramas and mimes with evangelistic messages. One of which I was involved in was a drama called “The Barber”. Some of you may have heard the story which tells about the barber who doesn’t believe in God. Well I played this barber.
We also had the opportunity to do an open air event at one of the markets there. We presented a mime and Javier shared afterwards. It was another opportunity we had to be able to share with people afterwards and I’m thankful to God for the help he has given me in Spanish, enabling me to share with the people there in a language that isn’t my own.
Part of our work in Moquegua was also with the kids there. We went back to the “Brown Desert” where the church works with some of the kids there on Saturdays. We sang songs, danced along to music, there was even a clown (one of the team dressed up) who brought a message to the kids. A bit strange I know but sure sometimes things are a bit different out here. We also presented a puppet show which went down well and was a bit of fun as well.
We were also involved in the Sunday school in the church the following day, where we did similar sorts of things with the kids, songs, dances and Graham and I got another opportunity to show off our puppet skills again.
We really enjoyed our visit to the San Antonio church there in Moquegua. We got to play football with the youth in the church, which was good fun, even though we had to get up at about 6 o’clock in the morning for it. It really was one of the best church visits for me, we felt really welcomed and loved by the church. Pastor Edgar was really good to us and we certainly won’t be forgetting him too quickly. It just so happened that he was also a very good guitarist. One thing that I won’t forget from that church was on our final night there, we were brought up to the front and then the congregation came up and thanked us personally, Peruvian style, with a handshake or a hug or a kiss or sometimes all three. We really have fond memories of the church there in Moquegua and I’m sure ones that will remain with us for a long time.

Graham in Puno

2008-06-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

19th – 26th April 2008
I went to Puno for the first time in December, and as Trevor put it in a service in my church, I thought I wasn’t “called to the sierra”. The altitude of 3800m was not good for me and I was very glad to be back to sea level within four days. I was also content thinking that I wouldn’t be on the next team going to Puno, as I had gone with one half, while the other half remained in Ite, so it would have been their turn the next time. But that feeling of contentment did not last. The night before half the team was heading off to Puno it was announced that the entire team would be going for the week!
The first few days weren’t great with a sore head and no sleeping bag – it was stolen on the bus up! But by the morning of the second full day there my prayers for not having a sore head were answered. Upon waking up with no pounding headache, I knew that this time I would leave Puno with better memories. We worked alongside the church in doing door–to–door work, open airs, helping in the meetings, and also going to visit a few of the believers. From this work came two of my most encouraging times in Peru. The first was after an open air beside an outdoor basketball court when I had the opportunity to talk with a young man named Moisés (Moses). He was very interested in what I was saying and it was a great blessing to be able to share the gospel with him. The second encouraging time came from visiting the houses of the surrounding area. The work of evangelism has been very different here than I have seen at home, with a lot of Peruvians having a real boldness to speak to everyone wherever they are. In this way it has taught me a lot in doing this type of work with them. But this time in Puno was different as Tom and I (2 “gringos”) were sent out alone without a Peruvian. All went very well, with many people giving us a lot of their time to listen to the gospel – one man even invited us into his house for half an hour to talk with us! This was definitely one of the best times for Tom and me, as we saw clearly how God was using us out here. It showed me, in a fantastic way, how nothing is impossible for Him, and if wants to call someone to some part of His creation to speak of His gospel, a little bit of altitude won’t make a mark in His plans. In this way I experienced how God was turning even a not-so-good experience in December around for good. He gave me a greater appreciation for His control in all that we do and showed me the power of answered prayers for doing His work.
The time in Peru has really spurred me on to share of the faith that I have through God’s grace. It has been an uphill battle the whole time with the language but the Irish side has always seen God strengthening us in it. It has greatly encouraged me to return home with a greater confidence to speak of the glorious gospel of Christ in my own language.

Graham

Karen Musing on Work

2008-06-12T21:33:00.001-07:00

Throughout the time we have been here, we have had the opportunity to do many different things. We have developed many methods of sharing the gospel with the people we meet. We have been involved in church meetings, in door to door work, open air meetings for adults and children, and in physical work too. I have never liked getting up in front of people and sharing or leading a service but being part of Misión Rescate has given me many opportunities to do these things and become more and more comfortable while doing them. I am grateful that in a way I was forced to take part in meetings, pray, read, lead, take part in mimes and dramas, dancing and many other things. During the month of February we lead holiday Bible clubs in Ite and also in Moquegua. The group split in two to be able to run the two clubs at the same time. This gave us the opportunity to work specifically with children, and allowed us to spend time sharing with them. This is something I have done a bit at home but this experience has made me want to try and become more involved in this area in church. Doing all of these things has made me more confident and has also given me many ideas for working with children and young people. I am now looking forward to getting back to church to be able to continue to use these new gifts and ideas that I have developed and learned here.

Karen

Amazing Journey

2008-06-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Journey 23/05/08
The Amazing Journey is something which you will all probably have heard of as it has been running for a number of years now in Ireland. It has become well known and has been a great method of taking and sharing God’s word with school children. The last time Trevor Morrow was in Ireland, at the beginning of this year, he was able to get hold of the materials needed in order to be able to bring The Amazing Journey (El Viaje Increíble) to Peru. As part of Misión Rescate, we will be involved in the beginning of the project here. Over the last few days a lot of work has been going on here at the campsite. Costumes are being made, Luz has been translating her script (she will be narrating), and each member of Misión Rescate has been learning their lines. As 11 of the team will be participating, as Aaron and Richard will be going to Ilo to share their testimony and experiences with the church there, new roles have been introduced to make the presentation even more dynamic. There will be 3 reporters, who enter at key moments to tell a part of the story; creation, Daniel and the persecution of the church. Aside from the 4 original roles of Goliath, Mary, Noah and the Egyptian princess, Trevor has decided to add a few more characters. Paul, Joseph, the Samaritan woman and Peter will all appear also. Today (Friday) a group of pastors and leaders from various churches will come to spend tonight and tomorrow until lunchtime here in Ite. We will be presenting the first Amazing Journey to this group and their families. We will also be helping to serve meals and welcoming the groups when they arrive. Once all the pastors are involved in the project, the plan is to begin by inviting groups to the centre. After this, hopefully the project will be able to travel and visit churches and eventually schools, although this may be a little more difficult to do here. We are all so excited to have been involved in a small way in the Amazing Journey here. We know that God has used and blessed the work in Ireland and we are sure that He will do the same here. Please continue to pray for this ministry as it is developed here.

It's Blog Time...

2008-01-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Ok hello everyone, sorry this hasn't been updated in a while...we've been out in Ite for the last while where it is much harder to get to the internet.

obviously a lot has happened since the last time this has been updated but due to time constraints i´m going to try and keep it brief...

Our work in Tacna with 2 different churches there went very well. We were involved again in door to door work, working with kids, youth, and being involved in the church meetings. We also held some open air evangelistic events which went very well. The first week in Tacna however revealed a few basic problems that the team has been having and those needed to be dealt with before we could continue on. Things like orginisation, communication, and attitudes of team members are things that you can always be praying for and thanks to God, those things are improving as we go along. We are learning as we go along.
The second week, there was a switch over where the 4 from Ite came to Tacna and 5 from Tacna went back. This second week was similarly and perhaps even more so succesful. There were few problems and a lot of the work this week was orientated around kids. Using puppets etc.

We were all then back at the campsite in Ite where we were preparing for the Christmas event, Una Noche Inolvidable (An Unforgettable Night), to which all of the town of Ite were invited to.
This went very well and I think around 300 people attended it. There was a competition for families and then the team ran a Nativity drama aswell as singing some carols. It was a very encouraging and successful night. We can give thanks to God for this.

The next time we spent in Ite was time to take a break over Chirstmas in which we got a few days to relax. Christmas Day was VERY hot here, and quite different but it was good to experience.

Ok I'm now running out of time but the one major thing I want to make you all aware of is that the camps are starting this Saturday 5th January. It is a youth camp. There are then 2 Family camps, another youth camp and a conference for pastors and leaders to follow.

-Please remember these camps in your prayers as we will need God's help through these
-Please pray for the team as we work at these camps, that God will help us through these camps and that they would be really effective in glorifying Him.
-Please also pray for Trevor & Christine Morrow and family & Luz and Natali who will be travelling to Ireland soon. That God will keep them safe and bless them as they take various meetings in Ireland.

Thanks for all your support.
Hopefully we can update this again soon,

In Christ,

El Perú Cinco.

The work here in Ilo.

2007-11-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. This is an entry to tell you all about the work that has been going on here in Ilo with the church "Ebenezer" here.

As I said in the last entry, the first week here was focused on outreach and evangelism. We went from "casa a casa" in the mornings and held meetings in the evenings, where different Pastors came to speak each night. We saw many people show an interest when we talked to them and we saw new people coming to the church. It has been great to get to know different families from the church. For lunch here we have been going to houses of some families in the church here. We have been going in smaller groups (sometimes even on our own) so it has been a good way to speak more Spanish, get to know the families better and to get to know different team members better at the same time. We have been treated really well and felt very welcomed by the families and people that we have met.

The second week was a bit less busy but still involved working with the more normal runnings of the church here. We again went from house to house, talking to local people, and inviting them to the regular church meetings. One of the days this week, the team went down to the lower part of Ilo to perform a mime and to speak to people passing by. This was good to be involved in as it was something a bit different from what we might have done before but God's Word was proclaimed all the same. Again we went to local houses for our lunch.

On the Saturdays, we have been involved in running Bible Clubs for the kids around the area. The Team split into 2 and held 2 meetings in 2 different places. Today, we also helped out the Youth of the church as they had prepared food to sell near a small market to raise money.

Although things here in Ilo have been a bit more basic, we have enjoyed it all the same. We have had to adapt to sleeping on the floor and not always having running water but like one of the comments said:
"Sleeping on the floor is bound to be good training for something - it will make you grateful for the bunk beds back at the camp site."
This is very true and we are looking forward to getting back to Ite.

Our next "venture" is going to be in Tacna. There will be the similar set up where 10 go to Tacna and 4 will stay in Ite, where we will be working with the churches there. Freddy, Richard, Fany, Ceci, Ingrid, Aarón, Raúl, Rakel, Graham and Tom will be going to Tacna, while Javier, Sam, Karen and Merly will be staying in Ite.

Some prayer points before I finish up. Please:

-pray for all the people that we have spoken to and shared the Gospel with here in Ilo, that God will really work in their lives and challenge them.

-pray for the church here, that they would be encouraged by this time, that they will grow stronger as a church, in faith as well as in numbers.

-pray for the team Misión Rescate. As we are going to be split again that God will work through all of these things for His glory. For both the members in Ite and in Tacna. Pray for each member of the team, especially for those who are finding it hard at times, that God will really be close to them and will help them to serve Him.

-pray for the work that's going to happen in Tacna. That the hearts and minds of the people we are going to share with will be prepared for what we have to say. Also pray for our Spanish, in particular the 3 guys who will be going to Tacna who aren't going to have Karen there with them to help them along. Pray that although the understanding may not always be there, that we will serve and glorify God in all that we do.

Thanks to everyone who reads this and to those who leave comments. It's nice to know we have people back home thinking and praying for us. We really appreciate all your support.

Thanks again,
God Bless,

El Perú Cinco.

After the Opening/The team in Ilo

2007-11-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

This is an update to let you al know how the opening went and to let you know a little bit about the work we're doing at the moment in Ilo.

Well firstly, we can thank God for answered prayer in that the opening went very well and it was a very good day. It was good to see some of our fellow Irish friends when they came out to visit and it was especially good to see Graham again. It is great to have Graham with us now, we really did miss him before and it's good the team of 14 is together at last. The following week the team had a bit of a break after the hard work that went on. Then on the following Friday and Saturday there were the Ladies and Youth conferences happening. Both were very succesful and encouraging.

So at the moment, 10 of the team are in Ilo, working with the "La Pampa" church here. This week we are doing an outreach mission, which means we are going from house to house in the mornings talking to the local people and then running meetings in the evenings. The next week will involve follow up with some of those people and i'm sure other work with the church.
We are staying in the church in Ilo and just sleeping on matressess on the floor. A bit more basic but it's fine all the same. We are being provided with lunch from families in the church which has been really good so far. It's good to get to know some of the people in the church better.

Just a few prayer points before I go, please:

-Pray for all the work going on here, specifically in Ilo as we're here, for the outreach, that people will be saved.
-Pray for the 4 team members, Freddy, Fany, Richard and Ceci, who are back at the site for these 2 weeks.
-Pray for the team, that we would continue to develop better relationships with each other and that we would be effective in glorifying God.
-Pray for members of the team, who are having difficulties, that God will really draw close to them and give them His peace.
-Pray again for our Spanish, we are all improving but it is still hard to understand. Pray that we would have patience as we learn and communicate.
-Thank God for all His goodness to us and how He looks after us and answers prayer.

Thanks once again for all your prayers and support,
God bless,

El Perú Cinco.

Before the Opening

2007-11-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
This is just a quick update before the opening tomorrow.
For the past while we've been busy doing work on the site, cleaning, getting things ready etc for the opening. We've also still been involved with the meetings in the church in Ite, and now all of the Irish guys have spoken in the church there. Tom spoke last Sunday from James 1 v 2-18. We seem to be settling in more and more and the understanding of Spanish is slowly taking shape. The team's next venture will be to Ilo to work with the church there. The team will be split for those so as to maintain a presence in Ite. But at the moment it's all go for the opening. Nearly everything is ready for what is needed for the opening but could you all please pray for the service and the whole day tomorrow as it's going to be a busy day.

-Please pray for the team Misión Rescate, for the little issues that may arise, that the team will be united in working for God.
-Please pray fo the rest of the work that has to go on today, and that what needs to be done will get done in time, for the opening.
-Please also pray for the Irish people who are travelling out at the moment. For safety in travel and that they won't be too tired for all the activities tomorrow.
-Especially please pray for Graham as he will be finally joining, and completing the team, Misión Rescate.
-Just to give the names of our Peruvian counterparts so you can be praying for them as well......Freddy, Raul, Javier, Richard, Ingrid, Cecilia, Fany, Rakel and Merly. I apologise for the lack of surnames as I can't remember all of them.

I will post a more detailed entry after the opening to let you all now how it went, and over the next few entries to try and let you know a bit more about the Peruvians.

Thanks for all your support,

El Perú Cinco.

Team update.

2007-10-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

I would just like to take this oppurtunity to apologise for the spelling mistakes in the last post. But I'm sure you all understood it anyway.

Anyway....back to team business. As of now, we have finished the work that has been going on in Ite, regarding the distribution of letters and tracts etc. We are still involved in the church and the meetings that are going on there.

As well as continuing with our Spanish classes, we have been doing some work on the site, most recently, lifting big rocks and digging holes for water pipes. It's hard work but it's been good. We are getting to know the rest of the team better and the integration (not maths) is going well.

The weather has been, as the peruvians might say, "so so". The nicest sunshine we've had was today, but apart from that, it's been cloudy and chilly at times beacuse of the wind. Although the sun isn't always out, it still manages to be VERY bright.

We're also adjusting to the large quantities of rice being eaten. None of us seem to have any real trouble with the food, apart from a few funny Peruvian drinks and a chicken foot or two in the soup. Karen and Tom are due to be on "cooking" with Freddy this coming week and there has been talk of an attempt at a sheperd's pie. Mmmmm.

Just a few prayer points, please pray:

-again for the team as a whole (Irish and Peruvian) as we meet cultural differences. That these won't become problems.
-For the language, as we study and practice with the Peruvians. Conversations are slowly becoming more gramatically correct.
-For the other Irish guys who will be speaking in the church in Ite.
-For the town of Ite, that the people there would be affected by the work going on.
-For the centre, that the building work will keep going, and for the opening on November 3rd.
-Please continue to pray for Graham as he's not with us. We miss him, but he's coming out soon.

That's about it for now, thanks for all your support,

Chau chau (apparently that's how the Peruvians spell it),

El Perú Cinco.

The first mission

2007-10-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

This week has been the start of our first mission. Malagros, the first Pruvian missionary has been taking us around the village of Ite. she has been here for a long time, and is away from her family in Ilo. (about 1/2 and hours drive away).

After showing us around, the team was given the task of crating a letter to give to people in the village in a 'door-to-door' fasion. the Peruvians handled this, as they know more of what to say to people then we did!

so on came Wednesday when we started. the team split into about 4groups (each with their very own 'gringo') and went out into the outermost parts of the village to share with the people there. on Thursday we went to the main village and did the same thing.

the most encouraging thing is to see that people are willing to at least hear us out. We havent heard of any people having doors slammed in faces!

the benifits of this have already been seen at the ladies meeting. Some ladies who had not been going for a while returned, and said it was the leaflets that reminded them to come! Praise God for this in your prayers.

Aside from this, we have started our Spanish lessons. These are going well, and we are picking up a lot of useful words!

Also, the work on the site has consisted on Karen picing up more stones, while the 'men' have been battering the life out of a bench that was concreted into the wrong place! It still needs to be moved to the right place, but that will come sooner rather than later.

Sunday sees the begining of the guys in the team preachng! Sam will commence, with Trevor translating, and the followong sundays Tom and Aaron will preah also.

Please pray for;
-Malagros at the Ite church. she is on her own and can sometime face discouragement from the other people in the town, and for her work in the current mission
-The Mission itself, that the tracts and letters handed out will sow seeds in peoples hearts that will grow and bear fruit for the Lord
-The spanish lessons, that they continue to be a usefull asset
-the team, that we continue to bond and unify for God

Thnaks again for all your Prayers and support.

Misión Rescate!
(el Perú cnco!)

We're still here!!

2007-10-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

¡Hola!

We've got the bags! Woohoo! God is great. We had no trouble getting them back from the company in Ilo, it all went well. We can now have some clean clothes to wear. Yay!!

We are now settling in and adjusting to Peruvian lifestyle of getting up at "cinco hora" (5a.m.), having cold showers and eating Peruvian food. We are really enjoying our time of getting to know the team and have so far gotten on very well with them. It is a bit hard at times to understand everything, but with a little bit of patience we can usually get the jist of what's going on. In fact, we are even managing to string some sentences together. The Peruvians are also keen to learn some English.
We have done some manual work (moving some stones) and the team has also been preparing for the opening in November, but for now it's a sort of "settling in" time for us.
We got our much awaited tracksuits yesterday and it turns out that they are pretty awesome. We even got matching hats!!

We were at the local church in Ite today, where Freddy (from the team) spoke from Romans 5.

We are due to start into our Spanish classes tomorrow at the site. So could you please pray that they will go well and that we would all benefit from them.

Please continue to pray:
-for language
-for team integration and bonding
-that this team will really be effective in working for the local churches and ultimately for God.
-for Graham as it looks as if he won't be with us again until November and that we will all be able to see God working through this.

Thanks for all your support,
Ciao ciao,

El Perú Cinco.

We're here!

2007-10-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Peru!!
After leaving Ireland over 30 hours ago, we are now in Ilo, at Trevor and Christine's house, and we most likely will be going over to the site in Ite later on today.

The journey went well, apart from a hiccup at the end when our bags didn't turn up! So now we are going to have to wait for our bags to be delivered down to us.
Could you really pray for this, that we will get our stuff back as soon as possible and that we will get by for the time that we don't have our things!
Pray aswell for a speedy recovery, after the long travel we are all quite drained, that we would be back to full health as soon as possible.
Finally pray that we will quickly integrate with our Peruvian counterparts to the team.

We are thankful to God for bringing us all here safely, without many problems, and we will continue to rely on him in the times ahead.

Thanks for your support.

El Perú Cinco.

News on Graham and Team Travel

2007-10-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hello again,

This is a post to let you all know that Graham has recently been quite ill and has been told he is unfit to travel. So he won't be coming with us tomorrow. We're not sure what's going to happen but God does so we need to have faith through all of this.

Could you please pray for this situation that it will be worked out, that Graham will make a quick recovery, that he will make it out to Peru as soon as he can, and that through this God will get all the glory through all of this.

Also could you please pray for the team as we do travel out tomorrow morning, that we will have a safe journey, that all will go smoothly and that we will keep trusting in God even through situations when we don't really know God's big picture.

Keep praying,

El Perú Cinco.

After Zero9

2007-10-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is just a post to give an update after the weekend we spent at Zero9 (Baptist Youth Weekend) in Ballintoy.

We spent the weekend up there getting to know the youth at the weekend and we also got a chance to share with them about who we are and what we're going to be doing. Jason Post was the speaker for the weekend and the emphasis on the weekend was all about mission and that mission isn't about where we are but about how we live.
It was a very encouraging time to be able to get to know the youth and share with them.

Please continue to pray for the team and aswell for the Youth that were at that weekend.

Thanks for your support,

El Perú Cinco.

After Lisburn Mid-Week

2007-09-26T16:28:00.001-07:00

Just a report to say how the Wednesday mid-week meeting at Lisburn Baptist church went.
Sam was the "MC" of the service for the night, introducing the team etc.
Karen and Graham gave the presentation about the work in Peru.
Aaron gave his testimony. Tom gave a message to the church from 1 Peter on "Suffering for Doing Good" and if you'd like to know more about that then you can contact him.

The church there were very encouraging and we appreciate all their support.

Our next "venture" is to go to th Baptist Youth Weekend, Zero9, this coming weekend. There we will hopefully get a chance to talk to and encourage the young people there.

So if you want specifics to pray for, then this weekend could you please pray for the work at Zero9, that we would challenge the young people there and that it would be a weekend of learning, encouragement and growth, in our relationships with God, for all involved.

Thanks for your support,

El Perú Cinco.

Contacting the Team

2007-09-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hello again,

The team have got some new emails if you'd like to contact us individually about anything.

Karen McCoy - karen.peru5@gmail.com
Tom Campbell - tom.peru5@gmail.com
Graham McCracken - graham.peru5@gmail.com
Sam Colville - sam.peru5@gmail.com
Aaron Williamson - aaronw.peru5@gmail.com

Thanks guys,

El Perú Cinco.

Team update

2007-09-23T16:07:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

Just an update on the team. We were in Carrickfergus Baptist Church (technically yesterday) taking part in the Sunday Morning Service. Karen introduced us, then Sam and Tom gave the presentation, then Graham asked the other lads some questions. Then Aaron gave a message on the "S-ence of Salvation", speaking from Judges. I'm sure he'll tell you more about it if you contact him.

We then introduced ourselves to the Carrick Youth Fellowship and had a time for them to ask us some quesions about what we're doing.

We really appreciate all the support, encouragement and prayer that we've recevied going round to the different Churches.

We'll be in Lisburn Baptist Church this coming Wednesday (26th Sept) for the mid-week meeting.

Please continue to pray for the Team, as we're now preparing for our soon departure for Peru.

Thanks to all who are thinking and praying for us.

El Perú Cinco.

Post from the 6th of September

2007-09-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hey this is Aaron W from the team. Just a wee report on how our first speaking dates went. On Sunday 2nd me and Sam went to my home chuch, Gortmerron in the morning. There was a lovely soup lunch afterward and Sam gave a powerpoint presesntation which went down very well. That evening we went up to Kilkeel baptist where Graham and Karen gave their testimonies and me and Sam shared the presentation we were well recieved and got a lovely supper afterward! On Wed 5th we went to take Armagh Baptists prayer meeting were Graham and Karen gave the presentation, Sam gave a testimony and I finished with a Word. Again we got a great reception and a lovely supper! A big thank you to all three churches for allowing us come and invade their services!Future dates are Carrigaline on the 9th (in Cork!)for the morning service, Ballycrochan the following week for the evening service. Tuesday the 18th we are at Stonepark for the prayer meeting.Sunday the 23rd we are at Carrickfergus for the morning service. We are also taking Lisburn's prayer meeting on the 26th.Finally we will be giving a few messages at 09 on the last weekend in September.All these plans are made subject to God's Sovereign Will. Prayer would be appreciated for these meetings as we give presentations and messages.

2007-07-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

MEET (Mission Exposure & Experience Team) Peru is a team, run by Baptist Missions, of five young people from different churches throughout Ireland.
We are currently planning our missions trip to Peru which will take place from the 1st Ocober 2007 until June 2008.

So far we have:
-Karen McCoy (Carrcikfergus Baptist Church)
-Sam Colville (Lisburn Baptist)
-Graham McCracken (Carrcikfergus Baptist)
-Aaron Williamson (Gortmerron Baptist)
-Tom Campbell (Carrigaline Baptist Church)

During the month of September we will be visiting various churches, which have invited us to talk at their prayer meetings or Sunday services. This will provide us with a great opportunity to raise awareness about our work in Peru and how we can be supported through prayer. We will also be attedning a series of lectures at the Irish Baptist College in Moira which will better equip us fro the work we will do when we arrive in Peru.
Upon arriving in Peru we will begin 4 weeks of language study taking place in the Baptist Camp site in Ite. At present, the campsite is to be officially opened in November and during this time we will have the chance to organise the summer camps for the Peruvian young people. These camps will run from December until February. After this time, each team member will have the opportunity to work alongside churches in South Peru or to remain in Ite in order to continue work there.

Prayer
-Please pray that our motives for going would remain right and that through all we do God would continue to be glorified as we seek to do His will.
-Pray for strengthening of the team as we plan everything throughout the next few months.
-Pray that everything which happens to fundraise or promote the team would go well.