Grace

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

December here in Peru was a very full month. The holiday season is just as rushed as it is in America. Although it is summer here in South America the stores are packed with Christmas trees, reindeers and Santas. They have very different Christmas traditions that I am used to.

I had the pleasure of being invited to spend Christmas with a Peruvian family from the church that I have become very close to. The tradition here is that they wait until midnight and open all the presents and have their huge meal with Turkey, potatoes, hot chocolate and panetone(a fruitcake bread, that absolutely everyone has for Christmas) During all of this there are so many fireworks going off that it sounded as if I was in the middle of a war zone. Even though everything was so different I was so thankful to experience this special time with them. For New Year’s Eve we had a big potluck at the Bible College Campus.

There were over 60 people and it was a great celebration we prayed and sang worship songs to bring in the new year. I have to tell you that I was a little sad even though there was celebration going on all around me. Almost all of the American Missionaries had left to go back home for the States so I was practically alone for the holidays and I missed my family very much. But I want to say thank you so much for your prayers and e-mails as they were a huge encouragement and the Christmas cards that you sent really blessed my heart. Thank you!

During the second half of December and all of the month of January the cook for the Bible College is on vacation. I love to cook and was given the opportunity to cook all of the meals for the 10-15 people that are on the campus everyday. I have learned so much. As there aren’t very many things that are packaged here mostly everything is fresh and you have to make it from scratch. So if you have any good recipes that you would like to share with me that would be awesome  I will be cooking all the meals until the end of January and then when the students come I will only be cooking breakfast.

Also the English classes just started this last week. There are about 90 students enrolled in the classes. Many more non-believers are coming so please pray that the Holy Spirit will minister to their hearts. Every class begins and ends with prayer and there are memory verses every week. I am not only having them memorize them but study them, as so many times we can repeat a verse by heart, but if someone were to ask you what does that verse mean, or how can I apply that to my life, we wouldn’t know how to respond. Something new that has started is a Conversation Club which is on Friday afternoons for 2 hours. This is an incredible platform for the students to use their English and practice how to share the gospel.

I have also moved off the Bible College campus. One of my students had an apartment that is right next to hers and was having it completely remodeled. She was asking the same price that I was paying to stay at the Bible College and it is fully furnished and only a 15 minute walk from the Bible College. I love it! I have been here for a week. I really enjoyed living at the Bible College, but there was always constant activity and at some points I felt as if I wasn’t even in Peru as there were always so many Americans around. But now I am living out in the community and have the opportunity to talk to and get to know the Peruvians here in my neighborhood. Please continue to pray for divine appointments.

Lastly this last weekend I went on the outreach to the park where we street witness to people and I met an older man named Peppy. He didn’t have a bible of his own but he wanted to know more about God and his heart was so open to the Gospel! I shared with him the truth of God’s love and gave him the bilingual bible that I had. I invited him to come to church and he came and even brought a friend. Please pray that he will continue to come and that the Lord will speak to his heart.

There is so much more that I could share with you about what the Lord is doing here... Your prayers are being answered. May God bless you and keep you…thank you for your support. En Cristo (In Christ) Grace