A day of rest or should I say tourism. Today our mission team took a step away from ministry and into the history of Peru. We were treated to a day of visiting ruins and listening to guides explain the culture and people from 2 different sites that date back to 100 a.d. The human sacrifice stands out as such a harsh belief of these ancient people. Parallels of today's ISIS come to mind. What fear they must have had to sacrifice another to keep the rest of the community safe from the extreme rains. It occurs to me that even though our choices don't have the same deadly consequences, we have fears and practices that are damaging to each other.
Our election process is upon us in the United State and here in Peru it was just decided last Sunday who would be their Presidente. Through our personal beliefs and past experiences each of us is convinced that we have the correct position in this process. This ultimately means that about 50% of other people are on the wrong side. How often are we like the people who took a life believing with every fiber of their being that this was the right thing. Like them we get caught up in the fear and the process to stop, take a breath and really see the whole picture.
I didn't at all mean to write of politics this morning. Instead let me share the joys of the incredible people that God has brought together for these 2 weeks to reach out to Peruvian people. In less than a week we can each feel the changes to our hearts just by touching and being touched by these loving people. Sharing our testimony, hearing their stories is more heart moving than anything we could read or experience in our daily routine back home. It is especially touching to see Sean, our 16 year old, get out of his comfort zone to sing, dance, pray and reach out to these people.
Yesterday at ChanChan, an archeological site there was a group of school teens. They crowded around our pink haired Natalie and all wanted their picture with her. She was the celebrity of the moment for sure. Although life is extremely difficult in the poverty here, there are also aspects that we would be blessed to have in the US. Hardly anyone smokes here because it is just too expensive. You don't see the dyed hair or tattoos that are so common in our culture. The focus is on survival. Children here can't attend school without a uniform but it is required by the government that they attend school. Seems a simple fix for the government to then provide a uniform to those who simply can't afford it. That is not what happens. They have to hide the fact that their children are not attending.
Crazy where this blog went. Thanks for reading along and understanding that sometimes writing from the heart is a meandering process.
In Him,
Joyful
6-10-16
Everyone in my church who goes on a mission trip always says they were very blessed to do it. I see you are being blessed too.
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