Las Cataratas

Yesterday was a great day. The team had a great trip to the waterfalls (Las Cataratas) it was incredible. The water was refreshing, it seemed to be warmer than the showers at the hotel. The views were magnificent.

Today we are being guided by Hugo to the ruins of Lamas. It is a town that is approximately 25 km west of town. Hugo is a Church leader. Please pray for him, as a leader, that he will remain strong in his faith and be an example to those around him.

This afternoon we will help at the youth conference. Pray that God will speak through us and he will give us the words to say. Please pray for the meeting between Mike/Delwin and the leader of the evangelical institute here in Peru. Pray for guidance, the meeting starts at 4:00 local time (3:00 pm MST)

A Day of Rest

The conference ended yesterday. It went very well and was received very well. At the end of the conference, one of the leaders of the bible association spoke highly of the conference and was very grateful for the work God has done this week.

The meeting with the leader of the association has been postponed until tomorrow. We ask for prayer for onsite and guidance during the meeting. They are possibly asking us to coordinate the the main annual conference for the entire association, which would include a significant increase in attendance. Pray that the motives are pure. We hope they have become confident/ comfortable with our focus and are now wanting to partner with us to further Gods work here in Peru. Pray the meeting goes well. The meeting is at 3:00pm MST.

This morning we were able to complete several projects around Delwin's house. We completed the some concrete work and moved some dirt. During the week Rob completed some electrical work, replaced the screen, and repaired the tire screen, etc. It has been great to serve such a wonderful family.

Today we have a relaxing day. We are going to rent motorcycles to ride up to the waterfalls for lunch and to swim. Tomorrow Hugo wants to take us on a tour of Lamas, a small tourist town.

Conference Day 3

The third day of the conference is about to begin, yesterday went very well. It is incredible how far people have come to attend the conference. Some have come from 10 hours away and other came from a coastal community because they were told to be here. Continued prayer for the men and women for their passion to learn about Christ and share His truths.

The men have shown a great interest in the counceling sessions. There is a perception here in Peru that pastors need formal training to counceling the people. They are genuinely interested in learning more about the role of
Pastors and biblical counceling. There are more sessions of biblical counceling today. Pray that the teachers have clarity in what they preach and the translators are clear in the translation. Thank you for your continued prayer.

Today we have the hog feed, all preparations have been made and the fire has been lite. There is an excitement within our group to share this meal with the men. Prayer that the soccer game and fellowship brings glory to God.

"La Iglesia Comunidad Biblia"

Last night Travis spoke in the church service.  He had a great message. The Gospel was clearly presented and it will not be returned in Void, (Isaiah 55:10-11) whether we see the fruits or not.  Several attendees had never been to a service at "La Iglesia Comunidad Biblia" and many had not been in a while.

After the service there was good fellowship that lasted into the late evening.  During the service part of the group was also able to reach out and invite others to attend the Conference

Today the focus of the trip will transition from the ministry with the local church to the first day of the Pastors Conference. A lot of preparation has been done, but there is a lot of preparation that needs to be done to setup and clean the conference center. Please pray for the hearts of those that will attend and for the team. As Isaiah 10:15, 16:9, and 29:15-16 we are just tools that want to be used for His glory.  We pray that we will rid ourselves of our human pride, get out of the way and let God receive the glory throughout the Conference.

Sunday Morning

Preparing ourselves for church. There was a family two years ago that accepted Christ, but has had little

Involvement since then. I spoke with them yesterday and they committed to be here today. Please pray that we see them at church today

As we pray for our home churches back in Utah, please keep Mike in your prayers as he preaches to the local church this morning. There are good things happening here, over the past few years there have been 5 youth that have left Tarapoto to attend Bible School to become Pastors and Missionaries.

Day 1

The first day was rather busy. Travis, Chris, Rob and I started the morning with a soccer game with with Delwin's kids and the local teens. We proved to ourself that we need a lot of practice prior to the American vs Peruvian soccer game scheduled for Wednesday at 5:00 pm. In addition, we completed several home improvement projects at Delwin's house, we went to the market to exchange our money and were able to find a location to purchase the pig for the pig feast on Wednesday after the pastors conference. Tomorrow we will be digging the hole at the institute in preparation for the pig feast. Please pray for God'a provision. 

We also had a successful youth talk by Travis Thomsen he gave his testimony and spoke on the power of God reviving the dry bones into life (Ezekiel 37:1-14). He related the dry bones of Israel with the his testimony and encouraged the youth to draw near to God and seek his strength.

Tomorrow we will be attending church at 10:00!in the morning. Mike will be preaching the morning service. Mike has not decided his topic yet but has four topics and will choose based on the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

Travis will be preaching on adoption into the family of Christ. Please keep mike and Travis in your prayers that God will speak through them (and the translators). 

Between the services we will be spending time with the saints to encourage the church. 

Jeremy's daily Ice cream count: 8 (as of 7:30pm)

Touchdown!

The team has made it safely to Tarapoto as of Friday night. Check out the post from Jeremy below.

Team Send Off

Thursday night at 6pm we had our official send off of the team. Please keep them in prayer as they travel to Peru. Attached are some pictures of the send off and our first update from the team via Jeremy's Facebook at about 6am Friday morning.

Peru 2013!

Hey Church Family,

We are so excited to be sending a team to Tarapoto, Peru for the 4th consecutive year. As with previous  missions trips the focus will be on the Pastors Conference (PC). The PC is made up of as many local/remote village pastors that can make it. The tean will take several days and teach these pastors some fundamental doctrines essential to their roles as shepherds of the flock. The team will also be ministering to the local church and surveying some land for a future camp and church building.

Stay tuned here by becoming a follower. We will update this blog as the team sends updates. Most importantly, keep praying for the team. They head out on Thursday night for approx. 10 days. Pray for safety in their travels and for God to continue to prepare them. Pray that God would continue to prepare the Peruvian pastors and teachers and for safe travels from their own local churches to the PC.

By The Way...

The team is home!

They made it back on Tuesday around 2:00 pm (Utah Members)

Layover Accommodations

Here is a picture taken of the team in Lima as they made there way home.

Friday In Peru

The past few days have been very busy, but so much fun. Wednesday we had some great sessions and we played soccer. We decided to take it easy on them... they beat us twice. In our defense the games were very close. I'm not sure if they enjoyed playing soccer or watching us play soccer more. They found us very comical. After the game we bought Inca Cola (a kind of soda) for everyone.

Yesterday was packed with sessions. Mike spoke on sermon preparation. Chris spoke on pastoral counseling. Dave N. Spoke on the Holy Spirit and we had a question and answer session in the evening. Our brains were pretty fried...so of course we had to cool them down with a little ice cream last night.

Today we will be finishing up with some leadership lessions and then we'll have a graduation ceremony where we'll give out the resource books.

We have received some great feed back from this conference. Several have said that the information they're receiving is very helpful. Others told us that some of the things we taught them they had never heard before. They seem incredibly eager to learn. We've been blessed by their desire to grow and learn. The conference was a complete success to the Glory of God.

Thanks so much for your prayers! Please continue to pray as we prepare for the Sunday services. Also keep Mike in your prayers, his back is very sore from the soccer game. Chris's knee is a bit sore as well. Rod also needs prayer as he recovers from sickness.

God has given us some amazing opportunities to serve! And we serve an amazing God!

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Chris, for the Peru team.

Wednesday Update

Today we'll be playing some soccer! Hard core. We have 2 sessions this morning and one this afternoon. Then we'll be playing in the big game. Should be a lot of fun.

Yesterday was a great day! All of the sessions went very well and pastors seemed to really appreciate them. Last night Paul, Dave, and Louise went to a village about an hour away to be with one of the peruvian pastors. Paul shared at their service and said that the service there went very well. Praise the Lord for opening these unexpected doors.

Please pray for us today as we continue to teach and preach. Pray for safety as we play soccer. And continue to pray for Delwin's voice...it has held up well so far, thanks for praying.

Praise God for this incredible oppertunity!

Chris, for the Peru team.

Monday In Peru

Hola,

Today is the big day! We start the conference this afternoon. This morning we will be printing a few more materials and finish up any last minute preparations. Mike will kick things off with an introduction and then Paul Warner will be sharing for the last 2 sessions of the day. Please keep these men in your prayers as they share what God has laid on their heart. Also please pray for Delwin, he lost his voice Sunday morning. He's getting better, but still needs your prayers. He is one of our two translators so he def. needs prayer.

Yesterday we were able to experience a church service here and a wedding. Both went great. Mike did a great job delivering the spiritual food Sunday morning and we all managed to get the physical food to the tables on Sunday night at the wedding.

It's raining today which has added a little dificulty to our travels (mud etc.) but still it's a beautiful thing. I'm reminded even as the rains bring life to the palnts the Word of God brings us life...abundant life. And today we begin to share with men who will then go and share with other men...taking the Word of Life to Peru. Praise God for such an opportunity!

Thanks for all your prayers!

Fillled with Joy, Chris, for the peru team

Touchdown In Peru

Dear Church Family,

We arrived in Tarapoto Saturday around 11:00am. We had no problems with our flights and all of our bags made it! Praise the Lord! After being here for a few hours I think I have a better understanding of how the builders of the tower of babel would have felt. It's a lot of fun to experience this different culture and be able to minister in it, even if the locals laugh at us when we try to communicate. On Sunday Mike will be preaching and then we will be helping serve at a wedding tomorrow afternoon. Please pray that all goes well tomorrow and we will be praying for all of you as you meet to worship our amazingly awesome God.

Serving Christ, Chris

Peru 2012 Here We Come!

Once again we are returning to Tarapoto, Peru for another missions trip. Tune in here for updates from the team and continually pray for all aspects of this trip.

-Steve

''Shine Your Light And Let The Whole World See...''

During devotion and breakfast there has been a girl that works at the hotel that has been serving our breakfast. Her name is Madelyn. She approached one of the team members that speaks Spanish and has asked why we are here and what we are doing. She wants to learn more and has agreed to come to church tonight. Please pray that we will be a testimony and she will see God through us.

Spreading the Good News

Frank and I went to minister to the parents of a 13 year old boy named Marco. He wants to be baptized during Easter weekend but his parents oppose. Frank had a chance to share his testimony which was powerful. He shared Gods love and mans imperfection. The father left the door open to return tonight. Please pray for Gods words to say as we return tonight.

-Jeremy

Wednesday Night Church

The Wednesday night church service went well. Travis presented a powerful and clear message. Typically there are about 10 people that attend the Wednesday night service, but following the pastors conference there were more than 60 in attendance. Towards the end it was standing room only.

Pastors Conference Update

The pastors conference has finished and there is an excited energy about what God has done. The president of the evangelical institute told us not to expect many people to attend the conference. He said that there would be no more than 50 people attending. God brought 125 people, what a blessing. We are now transitioning to a focus on evangelizing. Play keep us in your prayers.