Saturday, June 4th:
I ended yesterday with: “Saturday begins early, 8:00 AM with more sites to see here in Istanbul then a 3:00 flight to Izmir – old Smyrna of the Book of Revelation where we will attend Church on Sunday and tour the old city on Monday.” Guess what? Incorrect!
Here is the correct information: “Saturday begins early, 8:00 AM with more sites to see here in Istanbul then a 3:00 flight to Ankara.”
But we did get started early and the morning was filled with a visit to the Mosque: Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia means “Holy Wisdom”. It was first a Church and then was converted to a Mosque and is now a museum. It is amazing the amount of space it contains, the type of construction used with the pillars inside, and the gold in the murals and some of the fixtures in the front. And to think that it was burned two times by riots caused by believers because of suggested usage of non-Christian concepts, purposes, etc.
From there we went to the Grand Bazar. If you wanted it! “IT” was there! Jewelry, leather, trinkets, clothing, and on and on. I stood with three others for about 15 minutes talking just inside and decided to walk out and find a place to rest and eat dinner. It was the best decision. O, don’t worry! I will buy something, but it is too soon to do it now and then have to carry it around on the next two in-country air flights and from hotel to hotel. Besides, I do have at least one weakness: Leather!
From here we headed to the airport to take our flight to Ankara, the capital city. And would you know it! Matt Bennett signaled me and said lets go to Starbucks and get on-line with our iPads. WHAT? NO ONE TOLD ME STARBUCKS WAS IN THE AIRPORT. So we headed that way only to hear the announcement: “Flight to Ankara is now ready for boarding.” What a sad sound it was! I did not have time to get my “fix” and get back to join the others for boarding, so I walked away with only an “eyesight satisfaction.”
Now do not get excited. This trip isn’t all historical, non-biblical sightseeing! We will be touring the seven cities of Asia Minor and we will go to Church. So “un-lax” my friends, the history of the country is all entwined with the Biblical, secular and “religious.” One cannot be fully understood without the other. And I am getting a lot of pictures, film and recordings of the guide’s sharing about each place, as well as purchasing some written information.
Anyway we are now in Ankara which is named after the Angora goats. Supper is finished and we have the rest of the evening to relax. Tomorrow we attend the IPHC Church here in Ankara and have lunch with the pastor and his family. Then we head to the Ankara Castle and finally board a flight to Ismir – ancient Smyrna.
Just think: There are only about 3-4,000 believers in the whole country of 71 million Muslims. And this was at one time the “hot-bed” of Christianity.
So that ends the information for today. Thanks for reading. Thanks for your prayers.
Dr D
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Peru 2011 - Marilyn & LTI students - Blog #3
(This Blog was written before Blog #4 but we didn’t have a way to send it – so obviously, this precedes yesterday’s Blog.)
This is Marilyn and it is Tuesday and we have no idea when we will post but we will keep writing until the time we can get on the Internet.
We spent the day in Lima yesterday. Our first stop was at Pastor Augustin and Jessica’s. Augustin is famous for his coffee drinks and is affectionately known as “Auggiebucks”. He made us all coffee.
The kids were able to see the “other side” of Lima as they are in a more affluent area. Their Church is just under four years old and David and I were walking with them during the process of starting and they look to us for counsel. Yesterday Augustin wanted to spend some time asking some advice on how to proceed with instituting new and higher level leadership within the Church. It was decided that when David and I are here in August we will lay hands on one of the young men who graduated from David Wilkerson’s Institute (in the States) so that he will be recognized by the body for this new position.
We then went to the Inca Market so the kids could do some shopping. From there we proceeded to the Mall so we could eat a late lunch/early dinner at Chilli’s. This is a very modern and affluent Mall. On a Monday night it was crowded with people and the kids walked around a bit and then went to Starbucks. That is where we were able to post our Blogs and pick up e-mails from home.
Peru’s economy is growing at a rate that is second to only one other Country in South America. It is evident and reflected in ALL the prices whether it be at McDonalds where a Happy Meal is $4.36 or the grocery store where prices are 1 ½ to 2 times what they were a year or so ago. Prices have skyrocketed. David and Ceci have stopped shopping at the grocery store as they CANNOT afford it and Ceci’s sister goes to a market in a very dangerous area to buy all the groceries, not just for our team, but for David and Ceci’s every day consumption. Without her help in this area - David and Ceci could not survive.
Ceci, Debie and I stayed at the house today while the team went to minister at a Christian School in Lima. David and Ceci had a work team here just one week before we came. Because of all that was involved - she is behind on their own needs, laundry and Homeschooling. I am helping her with laundry today and Debie is here getting some rest and trying to get over whatever “bug” has attacked her. We leave tomorrow for an overnight trip to Chincha so we want her healthy and rested so we can make that trip. It was very difficult for her to make the decision to stay - but both Saturday and Sunday she worked very hard (when she probably should have been in bed) because she did not want to let the team down.
I cannot begin to describe the hard work that the student, David and Ceci and I did for our three “work days.” An incredible amount of work was accomplished and it was a huge help for David and Ceci. Thankfully, it was all done for the Glory of God!!!!
Missions blog
-Debie Phillips
There is nothing worse than being sick in a foreign country. For the past four days I have been fighting some kind of stomach bug. At first it seemed almost like a flu, nausea, chills, fever (I think....thermometer was dead) headache and aches all over my body. But as the days progressed, it was mostly just stomach pain and intestinal issues. Even though I felt very bad, I tried to fight through and participate with the rest of the team. Sunday we worked from like 9am to 3pm digging holes, spreading gravel and sorting through junk to be thrown out then got cleaned up for Sunday service at 5:30 pm. The service was awesome! We had a great time of worship led by Julie and Carlos. Julie-master of the tambourine, and Carlos- the great guitarist. Lol. Then I sang the song “healer” in Spanish and Jason and I both spoke on suffering for the cause of Christ. After we spoke, Pastor David gave an alter call and many, if not all, responded.
I wish I could’ve participated in the ministry more but I felt horrible :-( the work from the day, singing and preaching was all my body could handle so I sat and worshiped on the front row.
Yesterday, (Monday) was very eventful! We drove I think around 2 or 3 hours into the city. Im not sure how long it took exactly because time really seemed to fly when we were on the road. I was enjoying looking out the window and seeing everything. I’ve been to many different countries, in fact I was even born in a foreign country(Costa Rica) but I was too young to really see things the way I see them now. I just looked out the window and couldn’t help but say “thank you God!!”. I sat there trying to imagine what kind of lives these people have and I wondered what kind of dreams and aspirations these people could possible have in such a poor place. They definitely don’t have the same opportunities that we have and that is something I think works to their advantage at least here at David’s church. The people have such a clear revelation of their need for God. They truly know that without God they have nothing...literally. I believe we, as Americans, have lost sight of that. So many times our “stuff” whether we realize it or not, fills some of the void that only Christ can fill. But anyways, I wasn’t planning on writing all of that, it just came lol.
Soo we stopped at the “Inca Market” I believe is the name and shopped for about 2 hours I think. Its been very strange not to be able to really keep track of time, I should’ve brought a watch. We never know what time it is! Lol. After the Inca Market which sells traditional Peruvian souvenirs and such, we went to a reallyyyy nice mall. Our first stop in the mall was “chillies”.......HALLELUJAH!!!! It was so nice to have some American food!! But what was even better, was having a drink....with ICE!!! I guess for some reason Americans are the only ones who put ice in their drinks. Sooo all of our drinks have been like room temperature and I have been cravinggg an ice cold refreshing drink! So that was nice ;-). After lunch, we walked around the mall and got Starbucks. At this point my stomach was killing me and all I wanted to do was go home :-( Mrs. Marylin let me read my email from Cedric and that made me smile despite how I was feeling.
Once we got home Mrs. Marylin said that if I still wasn’t feeling good, I could stay home the next day. She said that she was proud of me for pushing through with my sickness the past couple days and that the decision to stay home tomorrow was mine. I really wanted to go to the school with the rest of the team but I knew it would probably be wise to stay home and fully recover so that I could continue strong through the rest of the week. Soo I stayed home today. It was nice to be able to sleep in and in fact, I slept on and off most of the day which just goes to show how sick I was because at home, I can never take naps or sleep during the day unless im about to die or something. So apparently I needed the rest. Im feeling much better today than I have for the past few days praise God.
I hope I am fully recovered by tomorrow(Wednesday) because we are traveling to “Chincha” (not sure if thats how it’s spelled) and staying there overnight to minister at 2 different churches. Apparently, its very conservative. So I can only have one earing in each ear. Also, Pastor David said we should probably wear skirts but none of us knew to bring any soo this should be interesting. Lol.
Well, I think thats all...I miss everyone back home. I’m enjoying it here very much (except for being sick) but I’m looking forward to being home with my family and friends.
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and reading our blogs. Pray for my stomach :-( please. I just want this pain to go away.
God bless!!!
-Debie
This is Marilyn and it is Tuesday and we have no idea when we will post but we will keep writing until the time we can get on the Internet.
We spent the day in Lima yesterday. Our first stop was at Pastor Augustin and Jessica’s. Augustin is famous for his coffee drinks and is affectionately known as “Auggiebucks”. He made us all coffee.
The kids were able to see the “other side” of Lima as they are in a more affluent area. Their Church is just under four years old and David and I were walking with them during the process of starting and they look to us for counsel. Yesterday Augustin wanted to spend some time asking some advice on how to proceed with instituting new and higher level leadership within the Church. It was decided that when David and I are here in August we will lay hands on one of the young men who graduated from David Wilkerson’s Institute (in the States) so that he will be recognized by the body for this new position.
We then went to the Inca Market so the kids could do some shopping. From there we proceeded to the Mall so we could eat a late lunch/early dinner at Chilli’s. This is a very modern and affluent Mall. On a Monday night it was crowded with people and the kids walked around a bit and then went to Starbucks. That is where we were able to post our Blogs and pick up e-mails from home.
Peru’s economy is growing at a rate that is second to only one other Country in South America. It is evident and reflected in ALL the prices whether it be at McDonalds where a Happy Meal is $4.36 or the grocery store where prices are 1 ½ to 2 times what they were a year or so ago. Prices have skyrocketed. David and Ceci have stopped shopping at the grocery store as they CANNOT afford it and Ceci’s sister goes to a market in a very dangerous area to buy all the groceries, not just for our team, but for David and Ceci’s every day consumption. Without her help in this area - David and Ceci could not survive.
Ceci, Debie and I stayed at the house today while the team went to minister at a Christian School in Lima. David and Ceci had a work team here just one week before we came. Because of all that was involved - she is behind on their own needs, laundry and Homeschooling. I am helping her with laundry today and Debie is here getting some rest and trying to get over whatever “bug” has attacked her. We leave tomorrow for an overnight trip to Chincha so we want her healthy and rested so we can make that trip. It was very difficult for her to make the decision to stay - but both Saturday and Sunday she worked very hard (when she probably should have been in bed) because she did not want to let the team down.
I cannot begin to describe the hard work that the student, David and Ceci and I did for our three “work days.” An incredible amount of work was accomplished and it was a huge help for David and Ceci. Thankfully, it was all done for the Glory of God!!!!
Missions blog
-Debie Phillips
There is nothing worse than being sick in a foreign country. For the past four days I have been fighting some kind of stomach bug. At first it seemed almost like a flu, nausea, chills, fever (I think....thermometer was dead) headache and aches all over my body. But as the days progressed, it was mostly just stomach pain and intestinal issues. Even though I felt very bad, I tried to fight through and participate with the rest of the team. Sunday we worked from like 9am to 3pm digging holes, spreading gravel and sorting through junk to be thrown out then got cleaned up for Sunday service at 5:30 pm. The service was awesome! We had a great time of worship led by Julie and Carlos. Julie-master of the tambourine, and Carlos- the great guitarist. Lol. Then I sang the song “healer” in Spanish and Jason and I both spoke on suffering for the cause of Christ. After we spoke, Pastor David gave an alter call and many, if not all, responded.
I wish I could’ve participated in the ministry more but I felt horrible :-( the work from the day, singing and preaching was all my body could handle so I sat and worshiped on the front row.
Yesterday, (Monday) was very eventful! We drove I think around 2 or 3 hours into the city. Im not sure how long it took exactly because time really seemed to fly when we were on the road. I was enjoying looking out the window and seeing everything. I’ve been to many different countries, in fact I was even born in a foreign country(Costa Rica) but I was too young to really see things the way I see them now. I just looked out the window and couldn’t help but say “thank you God!!”. I sat there trying to imagine what kind of lives these people have and I wondered what kind of dreams and aspirations these people could possible have in such a poor place. They definitely don’t have the same opportunities that we have and that is something I think works to their advantage at least here at David’s church. The people have such a clear revelation of their need for God. They truly know that without God they have nothing...literally. I believe we, as Americans, have lost sight of that. So many times our “stuff” whether we realize it or not, fills some of the void that only Christ can fill. But anyways, I wasn’t planning on writing all of that, it just came lol.
Soo we stopped at the “Inca Market” I believe is the name and shopped for about 2 hours I think. Its been very strange not to be able to really keep track of time, I should’ve brought a watch. We never know what time it is! Lol. After the Inca Market which sells traditional Peruvian souvenirs and such, we went to a reallyyyy nice mall. Our first stop in the mall was “chillies”.......HALLELUJAH!!!! It was so nice to have some American food!! But what was even better, was having a drink....with ICE!!! I guess for some reason Americans are the only ones who put ice in their drinks. Sooo all of our drinks have been like room temperature and I have been cravinggg an ice cold refreshing drink! So that was nice ;-). After lunch, we walked around the mall and got Starbucks. At this point my stomach was killing me and all I wanted to do was go home :-( Mrs. Marylin let me read my email from Cedric and that made me smile despite how I was feeling.
Once we got home Mrs. Marylin said that if I still wasn’t feeling good, I could stay home the next day. She said that she was proud of me for pushing through with my sickness the past couple days and that the decision to stay home tomorrow was mine. I really wanted to go to the school with the rest of the team but I knew it would probably be wise to stay home and fully recover so that I could continue strong through the rest of the week. Soo I stayed home today. It was nice to be able to sleep in and in fact, I slept on and off most of the day which just goes to show how sick I was because at home, I can never take naps or sleep during the day unless im about to die or something. So apparently I needed the rest. Im feeling much better today than I have for the past few days praise God.
I hope I am fully recovered by tomorrow(Wednesday) because we are traveling to “Chincha” (not sure if thats how it’s spelled) and staying there overnight to minister at 2 different churches. Apparently, its very conservative. So I can only have one earing in each ear. Also, Pastor David said we should probably wear skirts but none of us knew to bring any soo this should be interesting. Lol.
Well, I think thats all...I miss everyone back home. I’m enjoying it here very much (except for being sick) but I’m looking forward to being home with my family and friends.
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and reading our blogs. Pray for my stomach :-( please. I just want this pain to go away.
God bless!!!
-Debie
FROM ISTANBUL TURKEY
Friday, June 3rd
This was a FULL DAY! From 8:30 am - 10:00 PM we moved through historic Istanbul. So much of history was impacted by this area and the peoples who controlled it, fought to take it and who lived or now live here. Much of the world’s religious philosophy had it roots in this city as well as the surrounding country.
Today we visited Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Blue Mosque; the site of the Hippodrome adjacent to the Blue Mosque; Topkapi Palace, the imperial residence of the Sultan, his court and Harem and also the center of the state administration. On the grounds of the Sultan’s residence is found the Byzantine Church of Hagia Eirene (Holy Peace) where the second major Church Council was held in the early part of the fourth century.
There are four major courtyards involved in this Palace and so it takes time to see it all and we tired but still missed some of it. But while there we had dinner overlooking the Marmara Sea and could view both continents from there – Europe on our left and Asia to the right. This was a major political site during the Ottoman Period.
We visited the Spice Market and saw unbelievable mounds and mounds of spices beautifully displayed along with some of the most delicious Turkish candies. NO! I only had a taste of ONE! My resistance level was high today, but pray for it to remain high the rest of the time here.
The evening found us on the Marmara Sea on a boat for one and one-half hours gazing at the sights along both the European side and the Asian side. The extreme amount of wealth in the homes along the Bosporus Straits is staggering.
And my night concluded with a very tasty meal at a Turkish restaurant with a sampling of their appetizers and their first course concluding with a sampling of all their meats but topped off with a great Turkish desert of your choice.
Saturday begins early, 8:00 AM with more sites to see here in Istanbul then a 3:00 flight to Izmir – old Smyrna of the Book of Revelation where we will attend Church of Sunday and tour the old city on Monday.
God bless – thanks for your support,
Dr D
This was a FULL DAY! From 8:30 am - 10:00 PM we moved through historic Istanbul. So much of history was impacted by this area and the peoples who controlled it, fought to take it and who lived or now live here. Much of the world’s religious philosophy had it roots in this city as well as the surrounding country.
Today we visited Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Blue Mosque; the site of the Hippodrome adjacent to the Blue Mosque; Topkapi Palace, the imperial residence of the Sultan, his court and Harem and also the center of the state administration. On the grounds of the Sultan’s residence is found the Byzantine Church of Hagia Eirene (Holy Peace) where the second major Church Council was held in the early part of the fourth century.
There are four major courtyards involved in this Palace and so it takes time to see it all and we tired but still missed some of it. But while there we had dinner overlooking the Marmara Sea and could view both continents from there – Europe on our left and Asia to the right. This was a major political site during the Ottoman Period.
We visited the Spice Market and saw unbelievable mounds and mounds of spices beautifully displayed along with some of the most delicious Turkish candies. NO! I only had a taste of ONE! My resistance level was high today, but pray for it to remain high the rest of the time here.
The evening found us on the Marmara Sea on a boat for one and one-half hours gazing at the sights along both the European side and the Asian side. The extreme amount of wealth in the homes along the Bosporus Straits is staggering.
And my night concluded with a very tasty meal at a Turkish restaurant with a sampling of their appetizers and their first course concluding with a sampling of all their meats but topped off with a great Turkish desert of your choice.
Saturday begins early, 8:00 AM with more sites to see here in Istanbul then a 3:00 flight to Izmir – old Smyrna of the Book of Revelation where we will attend Church of Sunday and tour the old city on Monday.
God bless – thanks for your support,
Dr D
Peru 2011 - Marilyn & LTI students - Blog #4
There is a blog that precedes this, but the computer that it was written on was left in Jicamarca and we are now in Chincha.
Jason
Monday
Hi, I found my deodorant. Thanks for praying for me if you did, if not, oh well. Monday was a free day. We first went to Pastor Augustines house, they were very hospitable to us. They served us cappuccino and clementines. Very delicious. Afterward we went to the inca market. I looked around with Dylon and Marco as the girls went their own way. We found some very…interesting items there. I helped Dylon get a 20 soles item for only 14 soles using my master negotiating techniques. Dylon and Marco were making fun of my negotiating techniques, I told em don’t hate the player, hate the game. After the market we went to Chili’s. It tasted just like the Chili’s at home in Fort Myyyyyers. After Chili’s we hung out at the mall. The mall was very nice. Then we got home at night and Dylon Pastor and I were in the kitchen and its almost pitch black on his property. Pastor was telling us a story about demonic activity that he’s encountered while in Peru. In the middle of a sentence his face turns to stone, he looks behind where Dylon and I were standing and he says “what was that?” my heart almost stopped because I thought he saw a demon or something. I turn around to see what he was looking at…IT WAS A MOUSE. Good grief. It turns out that I am more afraid of mice than I would be of a dumb demon. I actually already knew that but this wat evaaa. So Pastor comes up with this master plan of how we were going to catch this mouse. His master plan consisted of Dylon moving the bucket that he suspected the mouse was behind, then I would step on it with my shoe. I said absolutely not. I was not going to step on an ugly mouse with my shoe. Na son. Long story short, Dylon moved the bucket and there was no mouse. The end.
Tuesday
Today was marvelous!!! We went to minister at a school that is 9 miles away from Pastor David’s house, but it took us 1.5 hours to arrive there. Going through the mountains took up a nice portion of the time. We were supposed to have 3 sessions, but the principal only had us do two, im not complaining. I was going to do my story about Jesus feeding 5,000 people acting as the apostle Andrew. The group that was taken out was a group of 25 kids from age 3-5. While the story is fun to do, it is very exhausting because you have to be very animated and energetic with the kids or else they will find you very boring. And after having done the story 5 times in one day on Friday I don’t have much desire to do the story for a long time. So the 1st session we had was about 120 kids age 6-11. This session was good, but before the 2nd session I felt something in my spirit that made me want to explode. I was so excited to share the gospel message with these teens. The 2nd session was about 90 kids ages 12-15. We started with a drum line that they enjoyed very much. Debie stayed home to recover from sickness, and Jovanna (Pastor David’s niece and one of our translators) was willing to learn Debie’s part in the drum line. It worked out fantastic. After Drum line Emily shared her testimony with the group. After the testimony Dylon and I did a skit. The teens enjoyed this very much as well. It starts out being funny then has a dramatic twist as the skit goes from the natural to the spiritual. After the skit Dylon presented the gospel message to the teens, and taught about growing in relationship with Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit. After Dylon taught, I shared a few words with them and invited people to receive Christ as their savior. Very many people responded to the invitation to Christ. Afterwards Dylon invited the ones who are already believers and wanted to grow in relationship or receive the Holy Spirit. After this invitation almost every student was at the front. We prayed with those who received forgiveness of sins and salvation, then we began to pray with people to receive the Holy Spirit of God. What happened next rocked my world. First we made sure that we laid hands on every person at least once. The Holy Spirit at this time was ministering to a few people. Dylon, Emily, Jovanna Pastor David and I then began to really press into the Spirit of God. I began to make a demand on the Spirit of God to fall upon all those who desired Him. When we were calling upon the Spirit of God He answered. It became more and more evident that the Spirit was ministering to more people as we began to make a demand for Him. At first I was nervous. I thought how could I minister to someone if we don’t even speak the same language? At Iglesia Vida, when we went to minister to someone we had a translator that could speak to the person with us because there would be about 20-30 people who we would be ministering to with 3 translators. There were almost 90 kids and no translators because our two translators were doing Gods work and ministering to the teens as well. I knew that if I was going to minister to any of these students it was only me, the student and the Holy Spirit. I went up to one boy who was about 15 years old. I laid hands on Him and immediately as I did so he began shaking from the power of the Holy Spirit. I went close to his ear as though I were going to speak him and I began to speak in the spirit to him. The more I spoke in the spirit, the more the spirit ministered to Him. When I realized this, I began to speak to the student even more strongly in the Spirit. I have ministered to people many times with words before but never have I ministered to someone’s spirit by the Holy Spirit. While I was speaking to this student in the Spirit language it was as though he understood what I was saying to him. I honestly was so shocked by what I was privileged to be a part of. You read things in the word of God but it goes to a totally different level when you can actually be a part of it. So I continue to speak to this boy in the Spirit and my spirit is ministering directly to his spirit, then suddenly like wildfire he breaks out speaking in tongues. Glory to God in the highest! I mean the boy wouldn’t stop, you could see the joy of the Lord written all over his face. I moved on to pray with another boy. I could tell that the Spirit was already ministering to him. I went and laid hands on him. I got very close to his ear and said one word in the Spirit and the boys reaction was as though he understood what I said. I began to speak to Him more in the Spirit and he began to weep. I then begin to speak to the boy even more strongly in the Spirit and he is still weeping as though he is understanding what I was saying. We were communicating spirit to spirit. Insane! I took both my hands off and continued to speak to him very strongly in the spirit. Then I touched the boy and he fell out in the power of the spirit. He actually fell onto the concrete, he fell right on his butt bone. Ouch :X we should have had a Life Church usher there, he wouldn’t have had such a fun time falling on his backside lol. When he was on the floor the joy of the Lord too entered his heart and he had the brightest smile on his face. Praise be to God for an outpouring of His Spirit. You know the portion of scripture in Acts that says that all the people in various villages and cities brought people to be healed and receive ministry from Peter? Well that’s what happened here. We were ministering to so many students and the Holy Spirit fell upon so many of them that the teachers started to bring each student to us to be ministered to. There was one boy that one of the teachers brought up from the back to ministered to, I could tell he did not want to receive ministry but I began to pray for him anyways. I began to pray in the spirit for this young boy and the spirit told me to say “leave him alone” I ignore what the spirit told me to do to see if it was just my mind or if it was the Spirit. I was praying for the boy in the Spirit and it was not having the same effect on this boy as it did the others. The thought arose again, the Spirit told me to say “leave him alone” this time I knew it was the Spirit. So I said what the Spirit told me to say and as soon as I did the boy dropped his head lower. The Spirit revealed to me that this boy had a demon. I began to declare to the demon that the boy belongs to the Lord and He does not share. Declaring freedom in the name of Jesus and the more I spoke to this demon this boy began to cry stronger and drop his body down lower. This is when I knew for sure he had a demon because while I was praying in the Spirit the boy had no reaction at all, but when I began to speak to the demon he began to respond. Pastor David came over and declared freedom from the demon in the name of Jesus as well. The demon left the boy. I have never experienced anything like this. Before the sessions started we were jokingly saying that revival would be nice. Little did we know what the Lord was planning to do. Today greatly increased my faith. Now I have absolutely no doubt in the power of the Spirit. Not that I had doubt before, I guess I just say that because I have never operated in the power of the Spirit in such a fashion as today. pray that those who responded for salvation don’t fall back into the things of this world and pray for those who desired more of God and those who received the Spirit to continue to grow in Him. Keep us in your prayers for safe travels to be used by God in the way He wants to use us and for us to have patience with one another. Some of us need more patience than others :P haha. Bethany, I love you J If your fam is not reading this tell them I say hello. Family if you are reading this, hello lol. Thank you all for keeping up with the blog and for your prayers.
Dylon
It’s Thursday afternoon and I am on a bed in a hotel in Chincha. I’m not really sure where to begin and quite frankly I don’t feel like writing very much right now. I want to thank everyone for your prayers so far and encourage you to finish out strong as we do the same. I can assure you that your prayers are working and are helping to minister to all of us as well as those we touch. So a big THANK YOU. I can feel your support more than ever.
Tuesday we went to a school on the opposite side of the mountain that Pastor David lives on. The journey was interesting literally traveling through a level of clouds. We had no idea what else was around us. We arrived and they weren’t expecting us for another two days, but they were flexible in fitting us into their schedule. This was a place where the administration was very willing to allow us to flow and truly minister and the result was definitely a product of this. The older kids came into their prayer room where we were preparing. We immediately all felt something in the atmosphere change. At first we were sensing a spirit of rebellion as they entered, but then the Spirit began to stir in us and we felt the opportunity for us to speak strongly and specifically. Our program went better than ever and the time following at the altar was phenomenal. I have a feeling Jason went into great detail about this experience, but many received salvation in a very real way showing signs of true repentance. This included many potential gang members who Pastor David has been trying to reach through his previous ministry at the school.
Then the Holy Spirit came as those who were willing stood to experience His power. I was very firm in announcing to all of them that if they were not serious about receiving the power of the Holy Spirit that they needed to sit down because they were about to experience something very real in tears, laughter, peace and joy. My words were strong, but the Holy Spirit was there in a very strong way and I knew it would come. Many began to “break” as we laid hands on them and spoke to them. No, we didn’t speak in English, but we spoke spiritually and somehow, in God’s awesome way, it was received. We all were more satisfied in the end with the ministry of the outreach than ever before because it wasn’t just what we could do, but what God lead us to do helped to prepare the school’s heart for what HE could do. He proved His word with signs and wonders!
Yesterday was mostly travel to Chincha. We had a great lunch at a local restaurant and then prepared for ministry at a small church here. This was the same church we traveled to last year, but it was unrecognizable. Marco, our guide, even got confused about what street it was on because of how different everything looked. Jason and I taught on discipleship, in a slightly different way of course, to impart growth to a young congregation in Christ.
We had breakfast this morning and went to the local basket market and bought gifts for people at home. Jason exercised his terrible negotiation skills and it didn’t work out for him… again. But he’s trying. I’m more accepting of the prices here and I usually pay what they ask. (It’s cheap, either way.) I’m ready to go home, not in a sad way because I truly do love to be here, but I miss the people that surround me. I appreciate and love all of you. See you soon.
Jason
Monday
Hi, I found my deodorant. Thanks for praying for me if you did, if not, oh well. Monday was a free day. We first went to Pastor Augustines house, they were very hospitable to us. They served us cappuccino and clementines. Very delicious. Afterward we went to the inca market. I looked around with Dylon and Marco as the girls went their own way. We found some very…interesting items there. I helped Dylon get a 20 soles item for only 14 soles using my master negotiating techniques. Dylon and Marco were making fun of my negotiating techniques, I told em don’t hate the player, hate the game. After the market we went to Chili’s. It tasted just like the Chili’s at home in Fort Myyyyyers. After Chili’s we hung out at the mall. The mall was very nice. Then we got home at night and Dylon Pastor and I were in the kitchen and its almost pitch black on his property. Pastor was telling us a story about demonic activity that he’s encountered while in Peru. In the middle of a sentence his face turns to stone, he looks behind where Dylon and I were standing and he says “what was that?” my heart almost stopped because I thought he saw a demon or something. I turn around to see what he was looking at…IT WAS A MOUSE. Good grief. It turns out that I am more afraid of mice than I would be of a dumb demon. I actually already knew that but this wat evaaa. So Pastor comes up with this master plan of how we were going to catch this mouse. His master plan consisted of Dylon moving the bucket that he suspected the mouse was behind, then I would step on it with my shoe. I said absolutely not. I was not going to step on an ugly mouse with my shoe. Na son. Long story short, Dylon moved the bucket and there was no mouse. The end.
Tuesday
Today was marvelous!!! We went to minister at a school that is 9 miles away from Pastor David’s house, but it took us 1.5 hours to arrive there. Going through the mountains took up a nice portion of the time. We were supposed to have 3 sessions, but the principal only had us do two, im not complaining. I was going to do my story about Jesus feeding 5,000 people acting as the apostle Andrew. The group that was taken out was a group of 25 kids from age 3-5. While the story is fun to do, it is very exhausting because you have to be very animated and energetic with the kids or else they will find you very boring. And after having done the story 5 times in one day on Friday I don’t have much desire to do the story for a long time. So the 1st session we had was about 120 kids age 6-11. This session was good, but before the 2nd session I felt something in my spirit that made me want to explode. I was so excited to share the gospel message with these teens. The 2nd session was about 90 kids ages 12-15. We started with a drum line that they enjoyed very much. Debie stayed home to recover from sickness, and Jovanna (Pastor David’s niece and one of our translators) was willing to learn Debie’s part in the drum line. It worked out fantastic. After Drum line Emily shared her testimony with the group. After the testimony Dylon and I did a skit. The teens enjoyed this very much as well. It starts out being funny then has a dramatic twist as the skit goes from the natural to the spiritual. After the skit Dylon presented the gospel message to the teens, and taught about growing in relationship with Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit. After Dylon taught, I shared a few words with them and invited people to receive Christ as their savior. Very many people responded to the invitation to Christ. Afterwards Dylon invited the ones who are already believers and wanted to grow in relationship or receive the Holy Spirit. After this invitation almost every student was at the front. We prayed with those who received forgiveness of sins and salvation, then we began to pray with people to receive the Holy Spirit of God. What happened next rocked my world. First we made sure that we laid hands on every person at least once. The Holy Spirit at this time was ministering to a few people. Dylon, Emily, Jovanna Pastor David and I then began to really press into the Spirit of God. I began to make a demand on the Spirit of God to fall upon all those who desired Him. When we were calling upon the Spirit of God He answered. It became more and more evident that the Spirit was ministering to more people as we began to make a demand for Him. At first I was nervous. I thought how could I minister to someone if we don’t even speak the same language? At Iglesia Vida, when we went to minister to someone we had a translator that could speak to the person with us because there would be about 20-30 people who we would be ministering to with 3 translators. There were almost 90 kids and no translators because our two translators were doing Gods work and ministering to the teens as well. I knew that if I was going to minister to any of these students it was only me, the student and the Holy Spirit. I went up to one boy who was about 15 years old. I laid hands on Him and immediately as I did so he began shaking from the power of the Holy Spirit. I went close to his ear as though I were going to speak him and I began to speak in the spirit to him. The more I spoke in the spirit, the more the spirit ministered to Him. When I realized this, I began to speak to the student even more strongly in the Spirit. I have ministered to people many times with words before but never have I ministered to someone’s spirit by the Holy Spirit. While I was speaking to this student in the Spirit language it was as though he understood what I was saying to him. I honestly was so shocked by what I was privileged to be a part of. You read things in the word of God but it goes to a totally different level when you can actually be a part of it. So I continue to speak to this boy in the Spirit and my spirit is ministering directly to his spirit, then suddenly like wildfire he breaks out speaking in tongues. Glory to God in the highest! I mean the boy wouldn’t stop, you could see the joy of the Lord written all over his face. I moved on to pray with another boy. I could tell that the Spirit was already ministering to him. I went and laid hands on him. I got very close to his ear and said one word in the Spirit and the boys reaction was as though he understood what I said. I began to speak to Him more in the Spirit and he began to weep. I then begin to speak to the boy even more strongly in the Spirit and he is still weeping as though he is understanding what I was saying. We were communicating spirit to spirit. Insane! I took both my hands off and continued to speak to him very strongly in the spirit. Then I touched the boy and he fell out in the power of the spirit. He actually fell onto the concrete, he fell right on his butt bone. Ouch :X we should have had a Life Church usher there, he wouldn’t have had such a fun time falling on his backside lol. When he was on the floor the joy of the Lord too entered his heart and he had the brightest smile on his face. Praise be to God for an outpouring of His Spirit. You know the portion of scripture in Acts that says that all the people in various villages and cities brought people to be healed and receive ministry from Peter? Well that’s what happened here. We were ministering to so many students and the Holy Spirit fell upon so many of them that the teachers started to bring each student to us to be ministered to. There was one boy that one of the teachers brought up from the back to ministered to, I could tell he did not want to receive ministry but I began to pray for him anyways. I began to pray in the spirit for this young boy and the spirit told me to say “leave him alone” I ignore what the spirit told me to do to see if it was just my mind or if it was the Spirit. I was praying for the boy in the Spirit and it was not having the same effect on this boy as it did the others. The thought arose again, the Spirit told me to say “leave him alone” this time I knew it was the Spirit. So I said what the Spirit told me to say and as soon as I did the boy dropped his head lower. The Spirit revealed to me that this boy had a demon. I began to declare to the demon that the boy belongs to the Lord and He does not share. Declaring freedom in the name of Jesus and the more I spoke to this demon this boy began to cry stronger and drop his body down lower. This is when I knew for sure he had a demon because while I was praying in the Spirit the boy had no reaction at all, but when I began to speak to the demon he began to respond. Pastor David came over and declared freedom from the demon in the name of Jesus as well. The demon left the boy. I have never experienced anything like this. Before the sessions started we were jokingly saying that revival would be nice. Little did we know what the Lord was planning to do. Today greatly increased my faith. Now I have absolutely no doubt in the power of the Spirit. Not that I had doubt before, I guess I just say that because I have never operated in the power of the Spirit in such a fashion as today. pray that those who responded for salvation don’t fall back into the things of this world and pray for those who desired more of God and those who received the Spirit to continue to grow in Him. Keep us in your prayers for safe travels to be used by God in the way He wants to use us and for us to have patience with one another. Some of us need more patience than others :P haha. Bethany, I love you J If your fam is not reading this tell them I say hello. Family if you are reading this, hello lol. Thank you all for keeping up with the blog and for your prayers.
Dylon
It’s Thursday afternoon and I am on a bed in a hotel in Chincha. I’m not really sure where to begin and quite frankly I don’t feel like writing very much right now. I want to thank everyone for your prayers so far and encourage you to finish out strong as we do the same. I can assure you that your prayers are working and are helping to minister to all of us as well as those we touch. So a big THANK YOU. I can feel your support more than ever.
Tuesday we went to a school on the opposite side of the mountain that Pastor David lives on. The journey was interesting literally traveling through a level of clouds. We had no idea what else was around us. We arrived and they weren’t expecting us for another two days, but they were flexible in fitting us into their schedule. This was a place where the administration was very willing to allow us to flow and truly minister and the result was definitely a product of this. The older kids came into their prayer room where we were preparing. We immediately all felt something in the atmosphere change. At first we were sensing a spirit of rebellion as they entered, but then the Spirit began to stir in us and we felt the opportunity for us to speak strongly and specifically. Our program went better than ever and the time following at the altar was phenomenal. I have a feeling Jason went into great detail about this experience, but many received salvation in a very real way showing signs of true repentance. This included many potential gang members who Pastor David has been trying to reach through his previous ministry at the school.
Then the Holy Spirit came as those who were willing stood to experience His power. I was very firm in announcing to all of them that if they were not serious about receiving the power of the Holy Spirit that they needed to sit down because they were about to experience something very real in tears, laughter, peace and joy. My words were strong, but the Holy Spirit was there in a very strong way and I knew it would come. Many began to “break” as we laid hands on them and spoke to them. No, we didn’t speak in English, but we spoke spiritually and somehow, in God’s awesome way, it was received. We all were more satisfied in the end with the ministry of the outreach than ever before because it wasn’t just what we could do, but what God lead us to do helped to prepare the school’s heart for what HE could do. He proved His word with signs and wonders!
Yesterday was mostly travel to Chincha. We had a great lunch at a local restaurant and then prepared for ministry at a small church here. This was the same church we traveled to last year, but it was unrecognizable. Marco, our guide, even got confused about what street it was on because of how different everything looked. Jason and I taught on discipleship, in a slightly different way of course, to impart growth to a young congregation in Christ.
We had breakfast this morning and went to the local basket market and bought gifts for people at home. Jason exercised his terrible negotiation skills and it didn’t work out for him… again. But he’s trying. I’m more accepting of the prices here and I usually pay what they ask. (It’s cheap, either way.) I’m ready to go home, not in a sad way because I truly do love to be here, but I miss the people that surround me. I appreciate and love all of you. See you soon.
Monday, May 30, 2011
PRESENCE IN UKRAINE ENDS, BUT MINISTRY CONTINUES
Saturday, May 28th:
Key Leadership in Word of Life and I met for over four hours to discuss their present situation and pressing problems. But as is their “tradition” it had to begin with something to eat. So we had ice-cream smothered in fresh strawberries, with fresh banana slices and ground chocolate to sprinkle on the top. Maybe it is their way of getting everyone into a “sweet” frame of mind. I am not sure but it was worth the try – at least we had no difficulties.
It was evident from the conversation of those who attended the Crimea Pastors/Leaders Retreat an impact had been made that was working deeply into their spirits. So I picked up the subject and spent the first hour sharing about the need for leaders to be physicians to bring not only physical health to the spirit of the people, but the great need to by physicians of the soul. And of course physicians of the body to bring health by praying for the sick.
The Church has developed to the place where it is time to clarify the structure, establish some key ministries and present their vision to the people. That was the topic of conversation for the greater part of the meeting and I believe we were able to set the stage for them to move forward in this area.
The meeting finally concluded about 7:30 PM but then it was supper time and I had the opportunity to spend the rest of the evening speaking directly to the pastor and his wife about their role as shepherds of the body.
Sunday, May 29th:
Off to the worship service at 9:40 on foot for about one mile. Summer is here, school ended on Friday and for the Ukrainians it also means it is time to go to the villages and see relatives and begin vacation. The vacation for many may only be weekend trips to the villages where they were raised or where key relatives live. And therefore the crowd is down. And that was the case today. Even the presence of the preacher from Southwest Florida does not guarantee they will all be here as was the case today, but we still had a decent gathering and were able to minister the Word to an appreciative audience.
Then it was time to hike back home, eat a light lunch, take a nap and then rise again to take a journey with my hosts – Tolik and Oksana Smertina; and another couple from the Church, Slavic and Alena. The journey took us by car to a picnic in my honor where the pastor and another family were waiting. Ukrainian picnics are always an event in more ways than one for those from the United States. You always head into a wooded area, find some trees to sit under on blankets, though in this case someone had gathered three boards about six feet long and 4 chunks of wood and made a “u-shaped” bench with a table in the middle. The height of this picnic table was about twelve inches.
Then some of the guys always build a fire and we wait for the wood to become coals. They coals are then scraped back and potatoes are placed in the coals (without foil). After the coals are placed back on top, then the meat is carefully placed on the shiskabob rods. While this is taking place the ladies cut fresh vegetables, in this case, cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes. Then everyone watches to see what and how the “American” eats. The spotlight is on! So you eat what they eat! You laugh and have fun with them and all the while ignore what we “US picnicers” would frown at – the potential unsanitary table, cleaning of the vegetables, etc.
I just quote my favorite Bible verse for traveling: “And if you eat any deadly thing it will not harm you.” Then I dig in and enjoy the time.
Monday, May 30th:
It all began at 12:30! Would you believe? A second picnic! YES! That is right! But this one was with the children from the orphanage the ladies of the Church have been ministering to over the past 3-4 years or longer. I am the guest of the youth who will be there. They wanted the privilege of asking me questions. And they did! About America; about Christians in America; about my family; about the Church; about politics in America; and on and on. But I did get the answers to roll over to Jesus! I challenged them to think of David, whom many scholars say he was an unwanted sibling because he had a Moabite mother and of Jesus and the possibility of what other kids said about him because of the pregnancy of his mother before she married Joseph – you know all the cruel things that some kids will say because they did not understand the facts – some He understood some of their struggles.
I will wrapped up the day and the public ministry in the evening at the Cell Group which meets here at the flat (apartment for you Americans). It is an event that always happens and I am honored and consider it a privilege to share with God’s people anywhere, at anytime.
Tuesday, May 31st - Thursday, June 2nd:
I depart Chernivtsi at noon on Tuesday by car to meet my train to Kiev in Khmelnitsky. It departs about 4:30 and arrives in Kiev about 9:30 PM. I have two appointments in Kiev on Wednesday, then on Thursday I fly from Kiev to Istanbul to meet a team of missionaries and pastors. We will tour the Seven Cities of Asia Minor as listed in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Our purpose is to work with a Pastor in Turkey to establish a Church in five of these cities. He has already started two.
So this will probably be my last Blog until I return to the United States because of the intense schedule I face. But I will do a blog on that trip upon my return.
God bless and thanks for your prayers.
Dr D
PS: You can read the blog here from Peru about the LTI students, Marilyn and their ministry developments.
Key Leadership in Word of Life and I met for over four hours to discuss their present situation and pressing problems. But as is their “tradition” it had to begin with something to eat. So we had ice-cream smothered in fresh strawberries, with fresh banana slices and ground chocolate to sprinkle on the top. Maybe it is their way of getting everyone into a “sweet” frame of mind. I am not sure but it was worth the try – at least we had no difficulties.
It was evident from the conversation of those who attended the Crimea Pastors/Leaders Retreat an impact had been made that was working deeply into their spirits. So I picked up the subject and spent the first hour sharing about the need for leaders to be physicians to bring not only physical health to the spirit of the people, but the great need to by physicians of the soul. And of course physicians of the body to bring health by praying for the sick.
The Church has developed to the place where it is time to clarify the structure, establish some key ministries and present their vision to the people. That was the topic of conversation for the greater part of the meeting and I believe we were able to set the stage for them to move forward in this area.
The meeting finally concluded about 7:30 PM but then it was supper time and I had the opportunity to spend the rest of the evening speaking directly to the pastor and his wife about their role as shepherds of the body.
Sunday, May 29th:
Off to the worship service at 9:40 on foot for about one mile. Summer is here, school ended on Friday and for the Ukrainians it also means it is time to go to the villages and see relatives and begin vacation. The vacation for many may only be weekend trips to the villages where they were raised or where key relatives live. And therefore the crowd is down. And that was the case today. Even the presence of the preacher from Southwest Florida does not guarantee they will all be here as was the case today, but we still had a decent gathering and were able to minister the Word to an appreciative audience.
Then it was time to hike back home, eat a light lunch, take a nap and then rise again to take a journey with my hosts – Tolik and Oksana Smertina; and another couple from the Church, Slavic and Alena. The journey took us by car to a picnic in my honor where the pastor and another family were waiting. Ukrainian picnics are always an event in more ways than one for those from the United States. You always head into a wooded area, find some trees to sit under on blankets, though in this case someone had gathered three boards about six feet long and 4 chunks of wood and made a “u-shaped” bench with a table in the middle. The height of this picnic table was about twelve inches.
Then some of the guys always build a fire and we wait for the wood to become coals. They coals are then scraped back and potatoes are placed in the coals (without foil). After the coals are placed back on top, then the meat is carefully placed on the shiskabob rods. While this is taking place the ladies cut fresh vegetables, in this case, cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes. Then everyone watches to see what and how the “American” eats. The spotlight is on! So you eat what they eat! You laugh and have fun with them and all the while ignore what we “US picnicers” would frown at – the potential unsanitary table, cleaning of the vegetables, etc.
I just quote my favorite Bible verse for traveling: “And if you eat any deadly thing it will not harm you.” Then I dig in and enjoy the time.
Monday, May 30th:
It all began at 12:30! Would you believe? A second picnic! YES! That is right! But this one was with the children from the orphanage the ladies of the Church have been ministering to over the past 3-4 years or longer. I am the guest of the youth who will be there. They wanted the privilege of asking me questions. And they did! About America; about Christians in America; about my family; about the Church; about politics in America; and on and on. But I did get the answers to roll over to Jesus! I challenged them to think of David, whom many scholars say he was an unwanted sibling because he had a Moabite mother and of Jesus and the possibility of what other kids said about him because of the pregnancy of his mother before she married Joseph – you know all the cruel things that some kids will say because they did not understand the facts – some He understood some of their struggles.
I will wrapped up the day and the public ministry in the evening at the Cell Group which meets here at the flat (apartment for you Americans). It is an event that always happens and I am honored and consider it a privilege to share with God’s people anywhere, at anytime.
Tuesday, May 31st - Thursday, June 2nd:
I depart Chernivtsi at noon on Tuesday by car to meet my train to Kiev in Khmelnitsky. It departs about 4:30 and arrives in Kiev about 9:30 PM. I have two appointments in Kiev on Wednesday, then on Thursday I fly from Kiev to Istanbul to meet a team of missionaries and pastors. We will tour the Seven Cities of Asia Minor as listed in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Our purpose is to work with a Pastor in Turkey to establish a Church in five of these cities. He has already started two.
So this will probably be my last Blog until I return to the United States because of the intense schedule I face. But I will do a blog on that trip upon my return.
God bless and thanks for your prayers.
Dr D
PS: You can read the blog here from Peru about the LTI students, Marilyn and their ministry developments.
Peru 2011 - Marilyn & LTI students - Blog #2
Debie Phillips!
soo...where to begin...well Tuesday was spent traveling, I think we spent like close to 10 hours traveling! Everything went smoothly overall, other than on the flight from Panama to Peru...there were like 6 guys standing in the middle of the isles on the plane, talking and laughing quite loudly. So Emily asked them politely to move in Spanish and they didn’t, so I asked the flight attendant if she could ask them to move because I didn’t like the man’s behind in my face....but apparently I used an improper word in Spanish for “behind” lol the lady laughed at me and proceeded to tell the men to sit down.
We arrived late and just went to bed, we were all so exhausted!
Wednesday, we woke up early and pretty much worked all day long. Emily and I spent most of the day painting several rooms in the church.
Then on Thursday, we cleaned out the entire church. The boys moved stuff into storage while us girls....dusted...lol it may seem strange that we would spend almost an entire day dusting but this place is like one huge giant dust ball lol we are surrounded by little mountains of dirt and rocks, there isn’t any grass really and plants are few and far in between. So EVERYTHING gets soo dusty so fast and even more so in the church since they just finished doing a lot of work with dry wall. We wiped down all the chairs in the church that were covered by layers of dust. Then we spent the afternoon cleaning the floors.....it seemed like a never ending job to be honest. They don’t really have traditional American mops here and even if they did, I think an American mop would cry at the thought of cleaning these floors. So we poured water and soap on the floor and scrubbed it with old brooms...then collected all of the excess muddy water with a small dustpan.
Thursday night was our first service at Iglesia Vida Peru. The children of the church led us in a few songs then jason and dillon spoke about being a true disciple of Christ. It was an awesome service. The people here are so hungry and ready to receive. I was supposed to share my testimony but somehow there was a mis-communication and I didn’t get to.
Friday we woke up early and walked down the hill to a nearby public school. This school was huge and very nice for this area of Peru. We spoke to about five groups of elementary kids, each group having like 30 kids in it. We performed our drumline, which they absolutely loved and we gave out salvation braclets along with a salvation message. I really enjoyed being there! Next Friday we will be going there again to speak to the older kids, Im looking forward to that, David Hodges told us that many of them are involved in gangs so im excited to bring the light of God’s word to them!
After we returned from the school, we had a couple hours of preparation for the kids retreat that evening. We started out having about 60 kids there, but as it got later, many of them left because they had to walk all the way up the mountain to get home. We had a campfire and smores with the kids after dark, it was such a great time. Most of them had never had smores before and we just sat, laughed and sang worship songs. After the campfire, we had a time of prayer and worship with the children. This was sooo awesome! Just to see these kids crying and worshiping the Lord, was so touching. We laid hands on them and washed their feet as they cried out for the salvation of their parents and friends. It was such a sweet time in the presence of God!
Today(Friday) , we got to sleep in! Yayy!! We woke up just in time to take the kids to Mcdonalds in the city. I must say, it was very interesting traveling in the dirty city, on public transportation, with 15 kids! But This was a huge treat as only a couple of them had ever been to mcdonalds. As soon as we walked in, every single one of them RAN to the playground and went crazy. They absolutely loved it! They all had happy meals and ice cream cones thanks to the kids from Life Church Ft. Myers for raising the money for them to have this experience!
Anyways....I’m really enjoying it here a lot, although yesterday I started missing home a bit. It brings such fulfilment to know that youre sharing the love of God with people who need it badly. I’m so glad to be a blessing here and to be apart of what the Lord is doing here. We are told that this area is growing fast and I know the Lord has huge plans for this church. Its awesome to even be a small part of that process!
Well I think thats all thats going on here....I miss everybody at home!
I love you mom and dad! Give Eli a hug for me!....and email me!
ANNA- I read your email today, i’m so glad youre having a good time in Louisiana! Miss you!!
CEDRIC!! I also read your email, so glad your doing well! I miss you soo much :-( love youuuuu!!! <3
thanks for reading!!! God bless!! :-)
Emily
OK Sooo I don’t remember where I left and I have Jason and Dylon rapping behind me which does not help. Lol at the moment the question as been raised about what rhymes with McDonalds... suggestions are welcome.
Starting with Friday we had a day that was packed from morning to night. We were able to go down to the school that is at the bottom of the mountain and speak to over 4 groups of kids, different age groups about what the living Word of God says...Amazing opportunity. Iglesia Vida Peru is taking territory just like Life Church Ft. Myers! That’s exciting. We were supposed to get back in time to have a couple hours to rest but as we were all well aware of...plans change. Our first part of the kids outreach at David and Ceci’s was supposed to start at 3 and we arrived back to the house at 2:45. FUN! We quickly had a campfire meeting and started to get things ready for the Kids.
After the first part of the program we had a dinner break and which then led into a campfire where we were all able to sit and have SMORES! The kids here have never had it and they couldn’t get over how good they were. It’s the little things like that I will remember most! We were able to sit and talk and worship god with a bunch of great kids who understand the meaning of worship and are not afraid to express that. We were also able to get some free classes from Pastor David Hodges on How To Roast A Marshmallow 101 &102. It was truly life changing and Dylon and Jason have now mastered both!
Once we were done with the campfire we headed back inside where we were able to shared some stories from the bible of who and how certain people knew Jesus. We then we went right into a worship and praying and we did foot washing with the kids. WOW... How exciting. The things that we were able to see. God was truly being glorified. These kids know all about crying out to God. Really crying out. They could teach most adult back home how to really pray and cry out to Lord! Just to be able and available for God to use each one of us to be able to speak life into the lives of these kids has truly been a blessing!
Yesterday Dylon and I were able to share a message with the youth out Romans 12:1 & 2. It was great to be able to both share on something that God had placed on both of our hearts. I actually had something totally different planned to share but the Holy Spirit had different plans. To be completely honest I freaked out a little about having to come up with another sermon in less than 24 hours but God help me get through it. Praise God! Today was great day full of the hardest physical labor I have probably ever done. Ever. It felt great to get so much accomplished. The boys finished up in the enclosed garden as Debie and I cleaned up the court yard and make a new pathway leading up to the latrine (outside bathroom) hopefully I spelled it correctly. Dinner was amazing and full of carbs!
Well I’m done for now. I’ll be back soon. I love all of you and appreciate all the prayers. Mom, Jose, Sherelyn love you guys. Cant wait to see you and tell you all the details. Give my girls a kiss for me and tell them Titi loves them!!!
Jason
Saturday we took the kids to McDonalds. The children enjoyed it very much. There was a homeless girl that was outside, Marco gave her an ice cream cone. We took a very crowded bus to McDonalds, it made me feel like I was in New York again, but on a much smaller bus. That night we had a youth service. The youth span from age 3-45, yes you read that correctly, age 3-45. Service was great, we did our cool drum line, I shared my testimony of how I came to know the Lord and Dylon and Emily tag team preached about giving yourself fully to God. Afterward an altar call was given and most people responded. The Holy Spirit was moving heavily. One girl even said that she felt as though she was being lifted up by her hands into the sky. Praise God. Today was a great day.
Sunday started off great, because it started off with pancakes. After pancakes, Pastor David put Dylon and I to some hard slave labor. I liked it, I was smashing rocks and throwing dirt all over the place. So much fun. We got a lot accomplished, the courtyard looks great. We laid some gravel down and finished some work we started a couple days ago. Lunch was tasty. Tonight we had service at 5:30. Debie and I tag team preached about suffering. It was great. I went long, but that probably was because I used almost every verse in the bible that talks about suffering -_-. Afterward people were invited to the altar by Pastor David, many responded. These people really know how to press into the presence of God. I prayed with a man who had been heavy laden with life, work, etc. I hugged him for about 20 minutes while he wept as the Lord ministered to him. Glory to God. Keep us in your prayers. Debie is feeling sick and I am feeling sick as well. I cant find my deodorant, pray that I can find it. Im not even kidding by the way. I really cant find my deodorant and I really want you to pray that I will find it. I really miss my beautiful fiancee Bethany Wolff (soon to be Bethany Edouard). P Nasty, wat up homie! Hi Wolffpac I hope your air condition is back in order again, shocking... If you are reading this, thank you for keeping up with the blog, and thank you for your prayers. Asta lavista baby
Dylon
I was supposed to write this blog last night but I fell asleep as Jason was typing. It is Monday morning and it is our off day. Breakfast is being prepared before we head into the city to visit with Pastor Augustine (know to Dr.D as AuggieBucks,) have lunch and do some exploring at a location unbeknownst to me.
I didn’t tell you about day 3 in my last journal which I consider to be the most impact time of ministry thus far. I shared the morning devotion on the importance of our satisfaction in Christ from Phillipians 4. Verse 13 is continually used in the church as a means that anything accomplished, but in context this verse really has nothing to do with our achirevement, but everything to do with having Christ as our portion who will do things according to His will through us. I guess that was a side note. We headed to a secular school that is just down the mountain from Pastor David and Ceci’s. I don’t think anyone could have dreamed this school would be built so quickly. Eliel attends two days a week. Our goal here was to share the story of Jesus and the salvation story in an applicable way to younger kids. We thought we would be doing this through 4 programs with kids from the grades of 1st through 10th. Did you catch that? We THOUGHT wrong.
When we first arrived they attempted to have us go from classroom to classroom. Thanks to David this got changed to putting us in our own classroom and having about two classes at a time come to us. At the end of it, we went through our plan about 5 different times with Jason dressed up as an apostle to share the story of feeding 5k and wrapping it up with the gift of a salvation bracelet after all the “colors” of salvation were explained. One more time isn’t that big of a deal, but the excitement of the message lead to Jason and David temporarily losing their voices. Also, we will be returning on Friday to do grades 7-10! We are working on adapting a program more suitable to them.
We returned much later than anticipated from the school and, after lunch, had to immediately begin preparing for the arrival of many kids for an all night program. This was supposed to begin at 3, but to our advantage the culture runs about an hour behind schedule. We had games, bible stories, smores around a campfire and a great time of prayer and with everyone. These kids know how to cry out to God. They are taught that to be on their face before God is the best place to be in public prayer-- I’d have to say I agree.
Our program went well, just had to continually be adapted because of the schedule we were up against. The kids, all being well under the age of 12, needed to be in bed by midnight. We began to conclude about an hour before this by leading them in worship. I explained a few of the teaching of Christ and that as the greatest person to walk this earth He taught us to love and serve one another. I began to select some of the boys and wash their feet. I don’t really know how to explain it, but if you have never experienced a foot washing, it is a very emotional and intimate time. It was a lot of tears and a very bonding experience. By the time we were done everything, we all were exhausted and ready for bed.
Now for a fast forward... Saturday night was their youth service and Emily and I taught on commitment. During my times of ministering, I have been flowing more than I ever have before. My notes have not been a very good guide, as the Holy Spirit has spoken numerous things to me even during worship with instructions to take my teaching a different route. I am so glad He has given me the ability to flexible and operate with the word He is speaking to me. It is more important to me that I speak something specific and direct to the needs of the people than indulge in my own comfort. I finished with an altar call for the youth who wanted to display a greater commitment to Christ and as Paul said, “spend themselves.” The time of ministry at this time was very impactful and the Holy Spirit definitely ministered in the way He diesred. I have been told this reaction was not always the norm and I am glad that God used me as a means to accomplish His work.
Sunday was not a typical one for us. Jason and I were acutally reflecting about when service was taking place back home since our service here wasn’t until 5:30 PM. In the morning, Jason and I finished the tilling and irigation of the garden as well as prepared large holes with the proper soil and fertilizer for trees to be planted. (That explanation doesn’t give the work justice.) Jason and Debie taught on suffering for the Gospel and together they had a great synergy with their approach to what the Word says. I fell asleep very early after the conclusion of service and am feeling fantastic today.
The food has been awesome, the service excellent, the ministry powerful and life change permanent. I miss everyone at home. Love you Mom, Dad and Gma. I miss my pastors and time spent at the church. All is more than well here and I look forward to all the time we still have left.
PS- Pastor Jeremiah make sure the you know whats are ready for Wednesday night when I get back. :)
Pastor Marilyn
Thanks everyone for your continued prayers. Debie has been fighting a stomach issue - flu like. She has kept going but hasn’t felt well.
The kids have been working hard and ministering effectively. All of them have had an opportunity to speak and they have done a good job. They have labored hard. Yesterday, I helped with some of the work for the walkway to the dry latrine and did laundry - a necessary job for the team.
The team has spent three days of very hard labor and I am proud to be able to say that each one worked hard. Although we didn’t know there would be such intensive work to be done - it has been a huge blessing to the Church and to David and Ceci.
This morning Jason said he felt the hardest part was behind us and I would have to agree. They have all had experience working with an interpreter, they have worked together as a team and they have completed the hard labor. Although we have a busy week ahead there is more confidence on the part of the team as to how it will all play out.
I am not sure when we will be able to update the Blog. Things haven’t been like I thought they might but we will do our best although it could be several days before we post anything.
Love to all our family and friends.
soo...where to begin...well Tuesday was spent traveling, I think we spent like close to 10 hours traveling! Everything went smoothly overall, other than on the flight from Panama to Peru...there were like 6 guys standing in the middle of the isles on the plane, talking and laughing quite loudly. So Emily asked them politely to move in Spanish and they didn’t, so I asked the flight attendant if she could ask them to move because I didn’t like the man’s behind in my face....but apparently I used an improper word in Spanish for “behind” lol the lady laughed at me and proceeded to tell the men to sit down.
We arrived late and just went to bed, we were all so exhausted!
Wednesday, we woke up early and pretty much worked all day long. Emily and I spent most of the day painting several rooms in the church.
Then on Thursday, we cleaned out the entire church. The boys moved stuff into storage while us girls....dusted...lol it may seem strange that we would spend almost an entire day dusting but this place is like one huge giant dust ball lol we are surrounded by little mountains of dirt and rocks, there isn’t any grass really and plants are few and far in between. So EVERYTHING gets soo dusty so fast and even more so in the church since they just finished doing a lot of work with dry wall. We wiped down all the chairs in the church that were covered by layers of dust. Then we spent the afternoon cleaning the floors.....it seemed like a never ending job to be honest. They don’t really have traditional American mops here and even if they did, I think an American mop would cry at the thought of cleaning these floors. So we poured water and soap on the floor and scrubbed it with old brooms...then collected all of the excess muddy water with a small dustpan.
Thursday night was our first service at Iglesia Vida Peru. The children of the church led us in a few songs then jason and dillon spoke about being a true disciple of Christ. It was an awesome service. The people here are so hungry and ready to receive. I was supposed to share my testimony but somehow there was a mis-communication and I didn’t get to.
Friday we woke up early and walked down the hill to a nearby public school. This school was huge and very nice for this area of Peru. We spoke to about five groups of elementary kids, each group having like 30 kids in it. We performed our drumline, which they absolutely loved and we gave out salvation braclets along with a salvation message. I really enjoyed being there! Next Friday we will be going there again to speak to the older kids, Im looking forward to that, David Hodges told us that many of them are involved in gangs so im excited to bring the light of God’s word to them!
After we returned from the school, we had a couple hours of preparation for the kids retreat that evening. We started out having about 60 kids there, but as it got later, many of them left because they had to walk all the way up the mountain to get home. We had a campfire and smores with the kids after dark, it was such a great time. Most of them had never had smores before and we just sat, laughed and sang worship songs. After the campfire, we had a time of prayer and worship with the children. This was sooo awesome! Just to see these kids crying and worshiping the Lord, was so touching. We laid hands on them and washed their feet as they cried out for the salvation of their parents and friends. It was such a sweet time in the presence of God!
Today(Friday) , we got to sleep in! Yayy!! We woke up just in time to take the kids to Mcdonalds in the city. I must say, it was very interesting traveling in the dirty city, on public transportation, with 15 kids! But This was a huge treat as only a couple of them had ever been to mcdonalds. As soon as we walked in, every single one of them RAN to the playground and went crazy. They absolutely loved it! They all had happy meals and ice cream cones thanks to the kids from Life Church Ft. Myers for raising the money for them to have this experience!
Anyways....I’m really enjoying it here a lot, although yesterday I started missing home a bit. It brings such fulfilment to know that youre sharing the love of God with people who need it badly. I’m so glad to be a blessing here and to be apart of what the Lord is doing here. We are told that this area is growing fast and I know the Lord has huge plans for this church. Its awesome to even be a small part of that process!
Well I think thats all thats going on here....I miss everybody at home!
I love you mom and dad! Give Eli a hug for me!....and email me!
ANNA- I read your email today, i’m so glad youre having a good time in Louisiana! Miss you!!
CEDRIC!! I also read your email, so glad your doing well! I miss you soo much :-( love youuuuu!!! <3
thanks for reading!!! God bless!! :-)
Emily
OK Sooo I don’t remember where I left and I have Jason and Dylon rapping behind me which does not help. Lol at the moment the question as been raised about what rhymes with McDonalds... suggestions are welcome.
Starting with Friday we had a day that was packed from morning to night. We were able to go down to the school that is at the bottom of the mountain and speak to over 4 groups of kids, different age groups about what the living Word of God says...Amazing opportunity. Iglesia Vida Peru is taking territory just like Life Church Ft. Myers! That’s exciting. We were supposed to get back in time to have a couple hours to rest but as we were all well aware of...plans change. Our first part of the kids outreach at David and Ceci’s was supposed to start at 3 and we arrived back to the house at 2:45. FUN! We quickly had a campfire meeting and started to get things ready for the Kids.
After the first part of the program we had a dinner break and which then led into a campfire where we were all able to sit and have SMORES! The kids here have never had it and they couldn’t get over how good they were. It’s the little things like that I will remember most! We were able to sit and talk and worship god with a bunch of great kids who understand the meaning of worship and are not afraid to express that. We were also able to get some free classes from Pastor David Hodges on How To Roast A Marshmallow 101 &102. It was truly life changing and Dylon and Jason have now mastered both!
Once we were done with the campfire we headed back inside where we were able to shared some stories from the bible of who and how certain people knew Jesus. We then we went right into a worship and praying and we did foot washing with the kids. WOW... How exciting. The things that we were able to see. God was truly being glorified. These kids know all about crying out to God. Really crying out. They could teach most adult back home how to really pray and cry out to Lord! Just to be able and available for God to use each one of us to be able to speak life into the lives of these kids has truly been a blessing!
Yesterday Dylon and I were able to share a message with the youth out Romans 12:1 & 2. It was great to be able to both share on something that God had placed on both of our hearts. I actually had something totally different planned to share but the Holy Spirit had different plans. To be completely honest I freaked out a little about having to come up with another sermon in less than 24 hours but God help me get through it. Praise God! Today was great day full of the hardest physical labor I have probably ever done. Ever. It felt great to get so much accomplished. The boys finished up in the enclosed garden as Debie and I cleaned up the court yard and make a new pathway leading up to the latrine (outside bathroom) hopefully I spelled it correctly. Dinner was amazing and full of carbs!
Well I’m done for now. I’ll be back soon. I love all of you and appreciate all the prayers. Mom, Jose, Sherelyn love you guys. Cant wait to see you and tell you all the details. Give my girls a kiss for me and tell them Titi loves them!!!
Jason
Saturday we took the kids to McDonalds. The children enjoyed it very much. There was a homeless girl that was outside, Marco gave her an ice cream cone. We took a very crowded bus to McDonalds, it made me feel like I was in New York again, but on a much smaller bus. That night we had a youth service. The youth span from age 3-45, yes you read that correctly, age 3-45. Service was great, we did our cool drum line, I shared my testimony of how I came to know the Lord and Dylon and Emily tag team preached about giving yourself fully to God. Afterward an altar call was given and most people responded. The Holy Spirit was moving heavily. One girl even said that she felt as though she was being lifted up by her hands into the sky. Praise God. Today was a great day.
Sunday started off great, because it started off with pancakes. After pancakes, Pastor David put Dylon and I to some hard slave labor. I liked it, I was smashing rocks and throwing dirt all over the place. So much fun. We got a lot accomplished, the courtyard looks great. We laid some gravel down and finished some work we started a couple days ago. Lunch was tasty. Tonight we had service at 5:30. Debie and I tag team preached about suffering. It was great. I went long, but that probably was because I used almost every verse in the bible that talks about suffering -_-. Afterward people were invited to the altar by Pastor David, many responded. These people really know how to press into the presence of God. I prayed with a man who had been heavy laden with life, work, etc. I hugged him for about 20 minutes while he wept as the Lord ministered to him. Glory to God. Keep us in your prayers. Debie is feeling sick and I am feeling sick as well. I cant find my deodorant, pray that I can find it. Im not even kidding by the way. I really cant find my deodorant and I really want you to pray that I will find it. I really miss my beautiful fiancee Bethany Wolff (soon to be Bethany Edouard). P Nasty, wat up homie! Hi Wolffpac I hope your air condition is back in order again, shocking... If you are reading this, thank you for keeping up with the blog, and thank you for your prayers. Asta lavista baby
Dylon
I was supposed to write this blog last night but I fell asleep as Jason was typing. It is Monday morning and it is our off day. Breakfast is being prepared before we head into the city to visit with Pastor Augustine (know to Dr.D as AuggieBucks,) have lunch and do some exploring at a location unbeknownst to me.
I didn’t tell you about day 3 in my last journal which I consider to be the most impact time of ministry thus far. I shared the morning devotion on the importance of our satisfaction in Christ from Phillipians 4. Verse 13 is continually used in the church as a means that anything accomplished, but in context this verse really has nothing to do with our achirevement, but everything to do with having Christ as our portion who will do things according to His will through us. I guess that was a side note. We headed to a secular school that is just down the mountain from Pastor David and Ceci’s. I don’t think anyone could have dreamed this school would be built so quickly. Eliel attends two days a week. Our goal here was to share the story of Jesus and the salvation story in an applicable way to younger kids. We thought we would be doing this through 4 programs with kids from the grades of 1st through 10th. Did you catch that? We THOUGHT wrong.
When we first arrived they attempted to have us go from classroom to classroom. Thanks to David this got changed to putting us in our own classroom and having about two classes at a time come to us. At the end of it, we went through our plan about 5 different times with Jason dressed up as an apostle to share the story of feeding 5k and wrapping it up with the gift of a salvation bracelet after all the “colors” of salvation were explained. One more time isn’t that big of a deal, but the excitement of the message lead to Jason and David temporarily losing their voices. Also, we will be returning on Friday to do grades 7-10! We are working on adapting a program more suitable to them.
We returned much later than anticipated from the school and, after lunch, had to immediately begin preparing for the arrival of many kids for an all night program. This was supposed to begin at 3, but to our advantage the culture runs about an hour behind schedule. We had games, bible stories, smores around a campfire and a great time of prayer and with everyone. These kids know how to cry out to God. They are taught that to be on their face before God is the best place to be in public prayer-- I’d have to say I agree.
Our program went well, just had to continually be adapted because of the schedule we were up against. The kids, all being well under the age of 12, needed to be in bed by midnight. We began to conclude about an hour before this by leading them in worship. I explained a few of the teaching of Christ and that as the greatest person to walk this earth He taught us to love and serve one another. I began to select some of the boys and wash their feet. I don’t really know how to explain it, but if you have never experienced a foot washing, it is a very emotional and intimate time. It was a lot of tears and a very bonding experience. By the time we were done everything, we all were exhausted and ready for bed.
Now for a fast forward... Saturday night was their youth service and Emily and I taught on commitment. During my times of ministering, I have been flowing more than I ever have before. My notes have not been a very good guide, as the Holy Spirit has spoken numerous things to me even during worship with instructions to take my teaching a different route. I am so glad He has given me the ability to flexible and operate with the word He is speaking to me. It is more important to me that I speak something specific and direct to the needs of the people than indulge in my own comfort. I finished with an altar call for the youth who wanted to display a greater commitment to Christ and as Paul said, “spend themselves.” The time of ministry at this time was very impactful and the Holy Spirit definitely ministered in the way He diesred. I have been told this reaction was not always the norm and I am glad that God used me as a means to accomplish His work.
Sunday was not a typical one for us. Jason and I were acutally reflecting about when service was taking place back home since our service here wasn’t until 5:30 PM. In the morning, Jason and I finished the tilling and irigation of the garden as well as prepared large holes with the proper soil and fertilizer for trees to be planted. (That explanation doesn’t give the work justice.) Jason and Debie taught on suffering for the Gospel and together they had a great synergy with their approach to what the Word says. I fell asleep very early after the conclusion of service and am feeling fantastic today.
The food has been awesome, the service excellent, the ministry powerful and life change permanent. I miss everyone at home. Love you Mom, Dad and Gma. I miss my pastors and time spent at the church. All is more than well here and I look forward to all the time we still have left.
PS- Pastor Jeremiah make sure the you know whats are ready for Wednesday night when I get back. :)
Pastor Marilyn
Thanks everyone for your continued prayers. Debie has been fighting a stomach issue - flu like. She has kept going but hasn’t felt well.
The kids have been working hard and ministering effectively. All of them have had an opportunity to speak and they have done a good job. They have labored hard. Yesterday, I helped with some of the work for the walkway to the dry latrine and did laundry - a necessary job for the team.
The team has spent three days of very hard labor and I am proud to be able to say that each one worked hard. Although we didn’t know there would be such intensive work to be done - it has been a huge blessing to the Church and to David and Ceci.
This morning Jason said he felt the hardest part was behind us and I would have to agree. They have all had experience working with an interpreter, they have worked together as a team and they have completed the hard labor. Although we have a busy week ahead there is more confidence on the part of the team as to how it will all play out.
I am not sure when we will be able to update the Blog. Things haven’t been like I thought they might but we will do our best although it could be several days before we post anything.
Love to all our family and friends.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Peru 2011 - Marilyn & LTI Students - Blog #1
It is Friday morning and the students are preparing for Ministry at a local school. This has been the FIRST opportunity we have had to write a blog and no one has been on the Internet as the only way we can do that is to have David or Ceci help us on their computer. So I am hoping that we can get this out today.
We arrived without big problems. David’s dad had made him Beef Jerky - and because the student that was carrying it got a “red light” going through customs and her bag was x-rayed, they investigated her bag and especially the jerky. By rights, she could have confiscated it as it was not labeled. After questioning, she allowed it to go through but next time we will have to re-think how it can be sent.
We arrived at the Hogdes just after mid-night, unloaded all the bags and made preparations for bed. There are four dogs and they were barking and they were the “alarm” that woke Jason and Dylon up at 7:00am although they could have slept later. We ate breakfast at nine and started working.
Elevation Church from Ft. Myers was here two weeks ago to complete some work in the Chruch Building. They built the platform area, two offices/study rooms and a nursery with dry wall, dry wall mud and sanding. The people of the Church had sanded and painted last week BUT the clean-up had not taken place so that was our job to accomplish. This was not a simple task as things had NOT been covered and not a lot of care was taken to keep things clean. It was obvious that the task to complete everything and get it done in a short amount of time was the primary concern.
With the three rooms that were built also came much needed attic/storage space. It had been decided what would go in each area and the we moved things to the right areas and the boys put everything in the attics. It seemed a monumental amount of “stuff” to be stored. It is hard to believe that just three years ago - only a shell of a house was here and David and Ceci didn’t even have furniture - to now, where there are three attic rooms of things that have to be stored and a fully equipped and furnished house, Church kitchen, class rooms and Church. God’s blessing is evident not only in the physical buildings that have been established but in the growth of the Church and the people as well (more about that later). To God be the glory!!
All of this has happened through relationships and teams that have come to help. In addition to Elevation Church, Honoring the Father Ministries from Ocala brought the Church building in a shipping container and erected it as well as bring school furnishing, tables and chairs and a multitude of other things. Teams from Life Church and others have also been a part of the process.
We didn’t finish working until 9:00pm (and the work wasn’t completed) and we were all ready for our beds and a good night’s rest. Up and at breakfast at 8:30 and started another long day. The gals working on the cleaning and the guys using pick axes to turn the dirt and dig trenches for an irrigation system in the courtyard which still has to be completed.
The gals mopped and remopped - washed chairs and rewashed chairs and arranged everything for service last night. Although I had decided everyone would quit working at 5:00 to have a little time before service - there was much to do and it just didn’t happen so they used what little time they to get cleaned up and ready for service.
Service - what an awesome time. First to see the Children of the Church leading in worship, praying and welcoming us as well as sharing what they have learned from God’s Word. One big change I saw was the majority of the people were here on time. What a change from the beginning when NO ONE would be here at starting time but the Hodges and their extended family. The people entered in, were receptive engaged. It was beautiful!
Emily shared in worship and prayer and Jason and Dylon did a “tag-team preaching” on being a Disciple. They all did a great job. Debie was on the schedule to share her testimony but somehow in the shuffle of things - it didn’t happen.
After service we shared with the people, had a snack and made preparations for today. I think all of us fell into bed well after 11:00. Maybe you have an idea why we haven’t had time to write and let me add - David and Ceci have worked right along with us and they haven’t been on the Internet either.
Saturday Morning -
As you can see - we did not have an opportunity to get on the Internet yesterday. There is no way to adequately explain the busyness of our days. We left for ministry in a school yesterday morning at 9:00 and were gone until after one. That gave the students just enough time to prepare for the Children’s Retreat that started yesterday afternoon. They boys didn’t get into bed until midnight and it was later for the girls. We have been busy and I am going to let the students tell you about their experiences.
Hi, my name is Jason Edouard. Fort Myers... um where do I start? I embarrassed myself at the airport, several times. Dylon almost left behind a carry on bag in Miami airport, the lady working there pretty much insulted his intelligence for doing so. Copa airlines is much better than spirit. I guess I abused my privileges because one flight attendant told another not to serve us anymore :( Can you blame me for being hungry? And thirsty? We reached Peru finally and encountered international resistance...not really, I guess the lady just had never seen beef jerky before because she searched the bag because of that. We arrived at David and Cecis and met the biggest dog in the history of doghood. His name is Big John. He eats stray dogs for lunch and dinner. He prefers a vegetarian breakfast though. Good thing Katie Galante did not travel with us this year lol. Ministry has been great. The children appreciate us they, they even sang a song to us in English. “Thank you brother for giving to the Lord” it was tight. The church looks great, the food is amazing. Im going to eat breakfast now. Hi Bethany Wolff, I miss you :)
Dylon here reporting from Peru. It has been a fantastic first four days and I hope all that has happened already is a sign of things to come on the rest of the trip. Obviously, and I’m sure as others have told you, we arrived safely, on time and went through customs smoothly. The bus ride from the airport to Jicamarca was just as exciting as last year with a tint of cold in the air.
Day one began with much work to be done in the church. A team was here just before us adding offices and a nursery to the already existing church. There were many finishing touches to be added including sanding, painting, organizing and eliminating the thick layer of dust that had accumulated from plaster and the beast of the air in Jicamarca- dust. Day two continued with labor as we served Pastor David and Sessi in the garden and la iglesia. I got to use a pickaxe for the very first time, outside of a video game, and it was an exciting job at first. Putting your back into it has a whole new level of meaning for me. The dirt in Jicamarca is... dry to say the least. Tilling the top layer and working through the tough rocks was a job in itself. Pastor David takes great pride in the health and color of his plants that requires much hard work. Jason and I were glad to offer ourselves in assistance to him.
We worked until about 5 on day two and then began to prepare for dinner and a mid-week service to be held on that evening at 7:30. Well, that’s the time we thought it would start. It was at this point we realized that every clock around the house and on our mobile devices was completely incorrect. I’ve read about experiments that have been done involving people living in a completely closed off area with no sunlight or clocks for them to use as a guide and observing their habits. Let me just say this- even with the sun shining brightly I have no idea what time it is. I’m always ready to eat though it may be hours before an appropriate time and I’m exhausted for bed by 9:30, which I could swear is really 1 in the morning.
Jason and I preached that evening on the topic of discipleship. I told Jason before the service that I felt like this trip would really be a time for me to flow and the service was a reflection of that. While I had notes, I really only used these for my scriptures and I spoke more from heart than I ever have before. Thank God he put many thoughts for me to address. While I do not want to use a congregation’s agreement with me as a measure of my success, this was the case and Pastor David said it was a very in-season word for the church as they continued to grow and finally had an “official” church building. I was glad for the confirmation of the Word that God had given to me.
Currently, I am sitting in a McDonald’s hogging the computer from both Debie and Emily who need to add to this, so I will have to write about Day 3 tomorrow. We took about 16 of the kids from Iglesia Vida on a special trip into the city for a treat. They got here and immediately jumped straight to the playground. They are currently enjoying the toys and hamburgers that came in their happy meals and this has been a great win for just loving on them and letting them know that we care and there is a church where we come from who also cares. I should also note, that the money to pay for this trip was donated by God’s Army who has been raising money for several months (they gave us over $300!) So a great thanks to them, Marcy Shaw, and the parents at home who teach their kids the importance of giving and the necessity of hard work through the means of allowance.
I am learning the love of Christ more and more every day and that is only increased by my time spent in Peru. Pastor David is a great example to me and the people here are so accepting of what we have to offer them. I love you all back home and am praying for you as you pray for me. Hey Mom, WHERE’S MY EMAIL?!
Emily
Hi everyone... WE’RE IN PERU! I just had to get that out. I guess it’s time to recap on everything that has happened and I apologize in advance if I leave anything out. Heading out of Ft. Myers I had a great idea of arriving early to make sure everything was done with enough time and of course I was the last one to arrive. (No bueno!) Heading to Miami I began to setting to mood with a little singing which quickly stop when the question was brought up by Jason if I was going to do that the whole way. HA LOL. I love that kid. Once we arrived to Miami we checked in and had lunch. Thanks Kelle (mom) for lunch it was good. D got a little upset though because I got Doritos and he didn’t. We won’t tell him it’s because you love me more :). Before we went through security we were given about 7 packs a travel size pringles because “they weren’t allowed through” we had no problem and we had snacks the whole ride to Peru. In between Florida and Peru, Jason made a friend who was 14 if I’m not mistaken who he spoke with most of the time. When we arrived to Peru, Jason Deb and I all got pulled aside and our bags checked because of the beef Jerky that David Hodges mom I guess packed for him.( It only took about 30 mins of our time away from getting to the house... but it’s OK) :) It was great to be back here. I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I did. God is good! There are so many things that have changed since the last time I was here. There are more buildings, more lights, Iglesia Vida is beautiful!!!! God has truly opened the windows of heaven and poured out his blessing over Jicamarca.
The our first two days here we were able to serve in the church by cleaning up and finishing up the things that needed to be done so that we would be able to hold service in the church with it actually picked up and put together. The room where the courses for CLU are taken if complete with tables, chairs, tv and a computer. David’s office is also done. The food has been amazing and we have been blessed with having our meals prepared by sister Maria which is Ceci’s sister.
Jason and Dylon shared an amazing message that seemed to be the perfect word for where the people of Iglesia Vida are. They spoke on being disciples of God and what all of that entails.
At the moment we are at Mcdonalds. I’m not done so this will be continued but we really just wanted to be able to post something to keep you guys updated. Debie and I will be adding more details about everything that has happened on the blog that will be posted on Monday. We love and miss everyone one back home. Thank you for all the prayers!!!
We arrived without big problems. David’s dad had made him Beef Jerky - and because the student that was carrying it got a “red light” going through customs and her bag was x-rayed, they investigated her bag and especially the jerky. By rights, she could have confiscated it as it was not labeled. After questioning, she allowed it to go through but next time we will have to re-think how it can be sent.
We arrived at the Hogdes just after mid-night, unloaded all the bags and made preparations for bed. There are four dogs and they were barking and they were the “alarm” that woke Jason and Dylon up at 7:00am although they could have slept later. We ate breakfast at nine and started working.
Elevation Church from Ft. Myers was here two weeks ago to complete some work in the Chruch Building. They built the platform area, two offices/study rooms and a nursery with dry wall, dry wall mud and sanding. The people of the Church had sanded and painted last week BUT the clean-up had not taken place so that was our job to accomplish. This was not a simple task as things had NOT been covered and not a lot of care was taken to keep things clean. It was obvious that the task to complete everything and get it done in a short amount of time was the primary concern.
With the three rooms that were built also came much needed attic/storage space. It had been decided what would go in each area and the we moved things to the right areas and the boys put everything in the attics. It seemed a monumental amount of “stuff” to be stored. It is hard to believe that just three years ago - only a shell of a house was here and David and Ceci didn’t even have furniture - to now, where there are three attic rooms of things that have to be stored and a fully equipped and furnished house, Church kitchen, class rooms and Church. God’s blessing is evident not only in the physical buildings that have been established but in the growth of the Church and the people as well (more about that later). To God be the glory!!
All of this has happened through relationships and teams that have come to help. In addition to Elevation Church, Honoring the Father Ministries from Ocala brought the Church building in a shipping container and erected it as well as bring school furnishing, tables and chairs and a multitude of other things. Teams from Life Church and others have also been a part of the process.
We didn’t finish working until 9:00pm (and the work wasn’t completed) and we were all ready for our beds and a good night’s rest. Up and at breakfast at 8:30 and started another long day. The gals working on the cleaning and the guys using pick axes to turn the dirt and dig trenches for an irrigation system in the courtyard which still has to be completed.
The gals mopped and remopped - washed chairs and rewashed chairs and arranged everything for service last night. Although I had decided everyone would quit working at 5:00 to have a little time before service - there was much to do and it just didn’t happen so they used what little time they to get cleaned up and ready for service.
Service - what an awesome time. First to see the Children of the Church leading in worship, praying and welcoming us as well as sharing what they have learned from God’s Word. One big change I saw was the majority of the people were here on time. What a change from the beginning when NO ONE would be here at starting time but the Hodges and their extended family. The people entered in, were receptive engaged. It was beautiful!
Emily shared in worship and prayer and Jason and Dylon did a “tag-team preaching” on being a Disciple. They all did a great job. Debie was on the schedule to share her testimony but somehow in the shuffle of things - it didn’t happen.
After service we shared with the people, had a snack and made preparations for today. I think all of us fell into bed well after 11:00. Maybe you have an idea why we haven’t had time to write and let me add - David and Ceci have worked right along with us and they haven’t been on the Internet either.
Saturday Morning -
As you can see - we did not have an opportunity to get on the Internet yesterday. There is no way to adequately explain the busyness of our days. We left for ministry in a school yesterday morning at 9:00 and were gone until after one. That gave the students just enough time to prepare for the Children’s Retreat that started yesterday afternoon. They boys didn’t get into bed until midnight and it was later for the girls. We have been busy and I am going to let the students tell you about their experiences.
Hi, my name is Jason Edouard. Fort Myers... um where do I start? I embarrassed myself at the airport, several times. Dylon almost left behind a carry on bag in Miami airport, the lady working there pretty much insulted his intelligence for doing so. Copa airlines is much better than spirit. I guess I abused my privileges because one flight attendant told another not to serve us anymore :( Can you blame me for being hungry? And thirsty? We reached Peru finally and encountered international resistance...not really, I guess the lady just had never seen beef jerky before because she searched the bag because of that. We arrived at David and Cecis and met the biggest dog in the history of doghood. His name is Big John. He eats stray dogs for lunch and dinner. He prefers a vegetarian breakfast though. Good thing Katie Galante did not travel with us this year lol. Ministry has been great. The children appreciate us they, they even sang a song to us in English. “Thank you brother for giving to the Lord” it was tight. The church looks great, the food is amazing. Im going to eat breakfast now. Hi Bethany Wolff, I miss you :)
Dylon here reporting from Peru. It has been a fantastic first four days and I hope all that has happened already is a sign of things to come on the rest of the trip. Obviously, and I’m sure as others have told you, we arrived safely, on time and went through customs smoothly. The bus ride from the airport to Jicamarca was just as exciting as last year with a tint of cold in the air.
Day one began with much work to be done in the church. A team was here just before us adding offices and a nursery to the already existing church. There were many finishing touches to be added including sanding, painting, organizing and eliminating the thick layer of dust that had accumulated from plaster and the beast of the air in Jicamarca- dust. Day two continued with labor as we served Pastor David and Sessi in the garden and la iglesia. I got to use a pickaxe for the very first time, outside of a video game, and it was an exciting job at first. Putting your back into it has a whole new level of meaning for me. The dirt in Jicamarca is... dry to say the least. Tilling the top layer and working through the tough rocks was a job in itself. Pastor David takes great pride in the health and color of his plants that requires much hard work. Jason and I were glad to offer ourselves in assistance to him.
We worked until about 5 on day two and then began to prepare for dinner and a mid-week service to be held on that evening at 7:30. Well, that’s the time we thought it would start. It was at this point we realized that every clock around the house and on our mobile devices was completely incorrect. I’ve read about experiments that have been done involving people living in a completely closed off area with no sunlight or clocks for them to use as a guide and observing their habits. Let me just say this- even with the sun shining brightly I have no idea what time it is. I’m always ready to eat though it may be hours before an appropriate time and I’m exhausted for bed by 9:30, which I could swear is really 1 in the morning.
Jason and I preached that evening on the topic of discipleship. I told Jason before the service that I felt like this trip would really be a time for me to flow and the service was a reflection of that. While I had notes, I really only used these for my scriptures and I spoke more from heart than I ever have before. Thank God he put many thoughts for me to address. While I do not want to use a congregation’s agreement with me as a measure of my success, this was the case and Pastor David said it was a very in-season word for the church as they continued to grow and finally had an “official” church building. I was glad for the confirmation of the Word that God had given to me.
Currently, I am sitting in a McDonald’s hogging the computer from both Debie and Emily who need to add to this, so I will have to write about Day 3 tomorrow. We took about 16 of the kids from Iglesia Vida on a special trip into the city for a treat. They got here and immediately jumped straight to the playground. They are currently enjoying the toys and hamburgers that came in their happy meals and this has been a great win for just loving on them and letting them know that we care and there is a church where we come from who also cares. I should also note, that the money to pay for this trip was donated by God’s Army who has been raising money for several months (they gave us over $300!) So a great thanks to them, Marcy Shaw, and the parents at home who teach their kids the importance of giving and the necessity of hard work through the means of allowance.
I am learning the love of Christ more and more every day and that is only increased by my time spent in Peru. Pastor David is a great example to me and the people here are so accepting of what we have to offer them. I love you all back home and am praying for you as you pray for me. Hey Mom, WHERE’S MY EMAIL?!
Emily
Hi everyone... WE’RE IN PERU! I just had to get that out. I guess it’s time to recap on everything that has happened and I apologize in advance if I leave anything out. Heading out of Ft. Myers I had a great idea of arriving early to make sure everything was done with enough time and of course I was the last one to arrive. (No bueno!) Heading to Miami I began to setting to mood with a little singing which quickly stop when the question was brought up by Jason if I was going to do that the whole way. HA LOL. I love that kid. Once we arrived to Miami we checked in and had lunch. Thanks Kelle (mom) for lunch it was good. D got a little upset though because I got Doritos and he didn’t. We won’t tell him it’s because you love me more :). Before we went through security we were given about 7 packs a travel size pringles because “they weren’t allowed through” we had no problem and we had snacks the whole ride to Peru. In between Florida and Peru, Jason made a friend who was 14 if I’m not mistaken who he spoke with most of the time. When we arrived to Peru, Jason Deb and I all got pulled aside and our bags checked because of the beef Jerky that David Hodges mom I guess packed for him.( It only took about 30 mins of our time away from getting to the house... but it’s OK) :) It was great to be back here. I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I did. God is good! There are so many things that have changed since the last time I was here. There are more buildings, more lights, Iglesia Vida is beautiful!!!! God has truly opened the windows of heaven and poured out his blessing over Jicamarca.
The our first two days here we were able to serve in the church by cleaning up and finishing up the things that needed to be done so that we would be able to hold service in the church with it actually picked up and put together. The room where the courses for CLU are taken if complete with tables, chairs, tv and a computer. David’s office is also done. The food has been amazing and we have been blessed with having our meals prepared by sister Maria which is Ceci’s sister.
Jason and Dylon shared an amazing message that seemed to be the perfect word for where the people of Iglesia Vida are. They spoke on being disciples of God and what all of that entails.
At the moment we are at Mcdonalds. I’m not done so this will be continued but we really just wanted to be able to post something to keep you guys updated. Debie and I will be adding more details about everything that has happened on the blog that will be posted on Monday. We love and miss everyone one back home. Thank you for all the prayers!!!
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