Ministry in Tumpa!

Hello friends and family! We´ve arrived and begun diving into relationships with the locals. Our first full day in Peru was spent in Lima walking around, going to different museums and learning more about Peruvian culture. After an eight hour bus ride to Huarraz and then a 1 hour “combi” or van ride to Musho we finally made it without any problems. We are living in Musho, directly behind the church we are working with and living at 10,000 feet. We are still adjusting to the altitude and breathing a little heavier than te Peruvians. Though we are living in Musho, our main ministry this past week or so has been in a neighboring village called Tumpa.

   We spent all day Saturday in Tumpa inviting people to a church service Sunday night and speaking truth into their lives. We played soccer (gringos vs. Peruvians), began building relationships with the locals and had strong conversations. Later in the day at the plaza, the boys on the team ran into two young men. They began sharing the gospel with them, Jesus grabbed their hearts and they accepted Christ into their lives. It was not until later that we learned that those two men happened to be two gang leaders in Tumpa. Pastor Pedro said that they had been the youth into violence and now they could be leaders towards the kingdom. Praise Him!

 

   Sunday started with a church service in Musho, but we returned to Tumpa at night. The service was supposed to begin at 7 p.m. But at seven, no one was there but the gringos. The team had been pryaing on the walk to Tumpa and continued as we waited. God gave us a peace that who was there needed to be there. At 7:40 the church was packed. We had prepared a drama or drime and performed it. But because there was also such a large number of children, the team improved a skit and a messege about the 99 sheep and the one that was lost. The Spirit was in that church and when we returned to Musho, we just praised Him for all He had done.

 

   The next day, Monday, we returned to Musho and God showed up. Several discussions about idolatry, the saints and God. Because of the strong Catholic influence, many people believe in worshipping the saints and the Virgin Mary. Then also the people of Tumpa are decendents of the Incas and idolatry has a strong hold. Many of our discussions are about how there is one God and we should only worship Him. The heart of compassion was also over the group as a couple team members were able to talk and pray over a woman who was being domestically abused. In the afternoon, a few girls were able to visit a woman, Aida, they had spoke to on Saturday that was full of questions and had been hurt by other churches. They talked with her about the redemption that Jesus gave to us on the cross and again that He is the only one. Aida accepted Christ into her heart! Praise the Lord!

   Monday afternoon we felt led to perform a drama in the plaza. Tons of children showed up and it turned into an on the spot VBS and when the gospel was presented many of the children came to know the Lord! Now we have started a daily VBS and are getting to know these kids and pour into their lives! Praise Him! One more, that night the guys played two rounds of soccer with some locals and their team won!

 

God is moving mightily in Tumpa and in Musho, thank you again for all of your prayers. The mountains are beautiful, the days are warm, and the nights slightly chilly, but God is blessing us. Our Spanish is picking up, but praise the Lord for our translators and the people on the team that speak Spanish. Everyone on the team is healthy and loving the Peruvian food. Yesterday we missed the killing of a chicken, our dinner, but we did get to chase it around and give it one final thrill. Thank you again for all your prayers and everyone sends their love!

 

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