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Saturday, 28 June 2008
Faint Not, Fight On, Tomorrow Comes the Song.
Opening Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the many
opportunities that you have provided us this day. We
pray that our activities of this day were pleasing in
your sight and that the people of Gallito saw you
through our witness just as we know that the people of
the village witnessed to us with their smiles and
helping hands. We get tired, hot, and need rest, but
we know that you give us strength to sustain us as we
continue to do your work. We ask that you would be with
us and guide us this week so we can complete our planned
work in Peru and provide us with your travel mercies as
we return home.
Scriptures: Matthew 28:19 ...Therefore go and
make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into
the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and then
teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I
have given you, and be sure of this—that I am with you
always, even to the end of the world. And...
Acts 1:8 ...when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you
will receive power to testify about me with great
effort, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death
and resurrection.
These are our marching orders! The Great Commission.
We have been provided an opportunity. We all witness
each day whether we are aware of it or not and we are
also witnessed to daily. Think of one person that you
interfaced with today... Do you remember their smile?
Did you see the face of Christ in that person? Did
anyone see the face of Christ in your witness today? ...
I really miss not being with the Peru Crew this year. I
have four photos in my music folder in choir and each
Sunday I look at each of them and think about the people
in the pictures. The children have grown considerably I
know. Do the adults know Christ? Are they healthy? Do
they remember our visits of former years? What do they
remember? Were their lives changed in any positive ways
by our visits?
We become weary. The load is heavy. Much work remains
to be done. Are we making progress? I am reminded of
one of my favorite poems...” Be Strong” written by
Maltbie Davenport Babcock...
Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift,
We have hard work to do and loads to lift,
Shun not the struggle, face it; ‘tis God’s gift.
Be strong!
Say not, “The days are evil. Who’s to blame?”
And fold the hands and acquiesce...oh shame!
Be strong!
It matters not how entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day how long;
Faint Not—fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.
Make your few days in Peru memorable for you and the
people you meet. I have been visiting Peru since 1997
and have made visits to other countries as well during
this period and these visits have made more of an impact
on my life than any other experiences over the same
period of time. I talk more about the mission trips
than any other single subject. Why? ...It is
contagious! Once bitten by the mission “bug” and having
the opportunity to share your faith, wherever it may be,
you just can’t get enough of it. Just think how many of
the Peru Crew have made visits before and can not wait
to do it again. The same spirit moves us when we are
back home to participate in Work Camps, Charlie’s Boys,
Cabwaylingo Chapel, Women’s Work, International House,
Logos, etc. ... We just can’t get enough of the Holy
Spirit working in and through us. Keep us charging
ahead in the name of Christ as we are commanded in the
above scriptures.
Closing Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, give us
rest, rejuvenate us, and send us out again tomorrow to
do your work.
—Bill Mankins
May 17, 2008
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Suit up Peru Crew! Put on your full armor of God. God
has called you his FPC apostles to be lead by the
Spirit. The Spirit is and has equipped you with the
tools in order to boldly follow Christ. You are on this
mission for Christ. By being filled with the Holy
Spirit you as an apostle can tell others through your
works and words the good news of salvation in Jesus
Christ. We pray for the Lord’s blessing of the Holy
Spirit in your lives …may you boldly follow Christ this
week!
Love,
Wes and Martha Richardson
Monday, 30 June 2008
When Bill Miller asked me
if I would do a devotional for Peru I was extremely
honored. Then the reality set in. I have never written
a devotional before! Having been to Peru myself I know
how God reveals himself in so many ways along your
journey there. Like the amazing people of Peru, the
spectacular sunrise and sunset everyday. The street
children of Iquitos who steal your heart with their
strong will to survive each day. There is so much love
and unity of the villages along the Amazon. I have so
many wonderful memories of Peru. But there is one that
will always be in my heart. While we were in Iquitos we
were able to worship together at the church that FPC
played a big part in. It was so beautiful and I felt
God’s love so strong there. Although there was a
language barrier, and the service was in Spanish, it did
not hinder us from all worshiping together, God is there
with you and you can feel his spirit in any language. I
loved how several of the street children followed us
into the sanctuary and worshiped with us. I wondered
that day if this would be the day they accepted Jesus as
their Lord and Savior. I prayed that prayer that day.
I often think about those beautiful children of Iquitos
and hope God is still in their hearts.
Our women’s bible study
just finished studying Max Lucado, 3:16, The Numbers of
Hope. This word hope is what I feel our mission is to
the people of Peru. John 3:16 says that God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life
Whoever believes, not just whoever speaks a certain
language, looks a certain way. It’s pretty simple, he
loves, he gave, we believe, we live. This study
reminded me of my time in Peru. How welcoming everyone
was. How they loved us. Their lifestyles so simple,
yet how happy they all are. My thoughts were: They have
it all right and our culture has it all wrong! God’s
plan is so simple, yet we try to make it more
complicated than it needs to be. Whoever believes will
have eternal life. Wow, how can something so simple be
so complicated? This scripture gives us hope and a
promise! How do we bring hope to Peru? We come as
disciples of John 3:16. Max Lucado writes: “Timeless
and powerful, these words proclaim a message of love, a
source of hope, and a promise of life. One sentence,
softly spoken nearly two thousand years ago, is just as
relevant today as when Jesus first uttered it.” Spread
this wonderful message while you are in Peru. You will
change hearts and trust me your heart will never be the
same!
To God be the glory,
Diana Curry
May 22, 2008
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Please read Matthew 14:13-21.
As I write this devotion, our elementary Sunday school
children are in the middle of a unit of study of this
wonderful illustration of Jesus’ sufficiency. When I
introduced this unit a couple of weeks ago, I told the
children my favorite “Peru” story from my own experience
there in 2004. You’ll see why…..
One of my assigned tasks as a member of the “Peru Crew”
was to plan a two-day “Bible School” for the children in
the village of Tamshiyacu. Neurotic planner that I am,
I devised a step-by-step lesson plan complete with Bible
verse sign language, coloring sheets, and simple “make
and take” crafts. I planned for 50 children- based on
what others had experienced on previous trips.
DAY 1: Bible School went right according to plans- We
had about 50 kids, just enough supplies, and plenty of
smiles. It was an all around success! (I proudly
patted myself on the back and thought “Job well done,
Martha!”)
Little did I know that there was a very active
“grapevine” in Tamshiyacu and I was about to be humbled!
DAY 2: An hour and a half before our scheduled Bible
school, a line formed outside of the church- and grew
and grew and grew. We stopped counting after 200! I
started panicking and acting like one of Jesus’
disciples saying “What are we going to do? We can’t
have all of these children today! We don’t have enough
supplies!” Meanwhile, Pastor Ricardo’s wife, Lupe,
walked through the village to get the generators turned
on for electricity so that we could move to the Police
Station in order to accommodate the larger crowd.
“Okay- we now have space- but what will we do
with all those kids?” Martha thinks to
herself….but decides to say a little prayer and hope for
the best.
Despite my doubts and fears, God provided what was
needed- maybe not to fit my agenda – but to fit His
agenda for that day. Once again, Lupe stepped up. She
divided the children into small groups, gave each group
one of my coloring pages and a few crayons. The
children were thrilled and proceeded to work together –
coloring their beautiful “group projects.”
God blessed my measly coloring pages and crayons- and
even my lack of trust in Him- and gave us all an
unforgettable experience of provision. At the end of
the day, our baskets of “leftover” blessings were
overflowing. God is so good!
So, I guess the moral to this story is…..if you feel
overwhelmed and inadequate this week—just give whatever
you have to God – ask him to bless it and use it
according to His perfect will- and you will be surprised
how it will miraculously satisfy.
God bless you and everything you offer in the name of
Jesus – this week and every week. Love to all – Close in
prayer
Martha O’Dell
May 2008
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Proverbs 3: 5-6: Trust in the Lord with all
your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in
all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your
paths straight.
It was a Sunday afternoon after church when the Harkless
and Justice families sat down to talk with E.T. about
Skye and Sarah Beth (seventeen and fifteen years old)
going together on a mission trip to the Amazon of Peru.
After several questions from the mothers and Ernest
asking me when I was going to let Skye loose from me, I
had one last question. I am sure that Skye and Sarah
Beth just wanted to be anywhere else or crawl under
E.T.’s desk as I asked: ”Who is going to take care of
our children if they get sick or hurt?” The next day a
message was on our home answering machine in response to
that question. Barry and Susan Jenkins, the trip leaders
from the Orangeburg, SC Presbyterian Church would be
more than happy to watch over our teenagers and guide
them on their first journey to the Peruvian Amazon.
“Trust in the Lord….”
And that is to me what mission work is all about,
trusting in the Lord. The Peru Crew, over the decade
that FPC has been involved in mission work in the
Peruvian Amazon, has trusted that God would show us and
guide us to complete many mission projects. We also
trusted that God would guide our congregation in
supporting this challenging mission ministry. The team
members learned how to build a church in Santo Tomas,
dig a well that would provide water for our friends on
the island of Gallito build a much needed clinic for
our Peruvian friends, make repairs to a school, clear
land for a minister’s home, construct a playground for
disabled children in Iquitos, dig a foundation for a
church at Tamshiyacu , construct a ramp in the village
of Nauta, support the building of the first Presbyterian
Church in the Amazon located in Iquitos, work on
projects in El Jardin, and the list continues to grow as
the Peru ministry flourishes. Some of our group taught
Bible School, some played games with the children and
acted out Bible stories. Hugs were always handed out and
received. “Trust in the Lord…”
Think about the trust the medical team placed in God’s
hands when they treated their Peruvian brothers and
sisters in need. The language barrier was always
challenging, the supplies limited, the conditions hot
and tiring, the number of patients always growing, and
there was never enough time. Yet the medical team worked
together and treated hundreds of ailing patients, gave
out eye glasses, provided vitamins and other medications
for adults and children, treated diseases that were
caused by unclean water and poor sanitary conditions,
provided mattresses for patients at an AIDS clinic,
supported the hospital in Iquitos with much needed
medical supplies, and provided medication and treatment
for individuals with acute medical problems. Problems
did arise but we trusted that God would help us work
them out. “”Trust in the Lord…”
We trusted God and in doing so we gained the trust of
our Peruvian friends and were able to help with many of
their physical, spiritual, and emotional needs. Through
helping them we strengthened our faith and used our
hands and feet to further God’s kingdom on Earth.
Furthermore, we grew in faith as we helped our Peruvian
friends and gained so much more than we gave. And isn’t
that what faith is all about, trusting in
God?
Prayer: Thank you Lord for entrusting us with your work
to be done, whether it is at home or in the Amazon of
Peru. Lord, make our paths straight and help us to
listen to your will that we may faithfully follow your
plan for each of us here in Peru and at home. Amen
Patty Justice
June 2008
Thursday, 3 July 2008
We give thanks to you, Lord, for you are good. Your
love endures forever. We give thanks to you, O God, for
making this mission trip possible. We ask you to help
us reach out to those we encounter and share our faith
with them. We know that you alone con do great
wonders. Help us to do special works in your name for
we give you all the praise and glory. Keep us safe with
your loving arms around us and return us back to
Huntington having completed that which is pleasing in
your sight. We give thanks to you O Lord for you are
good.
Love in Christ,
Jessie McClain
April 2008
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