19th – 26th April 2008
I went to Puno for the first time in December, and as Trevor put it in a service in my church, I thought I wasn’t “called to the sierra”. The altitude of 3800m was not good for me and I was very glad to be back to sea level within four days. I was also content thinking that I wouldn’t be on the next team going to Puno, as I had gone with one half, while the other half remained in Ite, so it would have been their turn the next time. But that feeling of contentment did not last. The night before half the team was heading off to Puno it was announced that the entire team would be going for the week!
The first few days weren’t great with a sore head and no sleeping bag – it was stolen on the bus up! But by the morning of the second full day there my prayers for not having a sore head were answered. Upon waking up with no pounding headache, I knew that this time I would leave Puno with better memories. We worked alongside the church in doing door–to–door work, open airs, helping in the meetings, and also going to visit a few of the believers. From this work came two of my most encouraging times in Peru. The first was after an open air beside an outdoor basketball court when I had the opportunity to talk with a young man named Moisés (Moses). He was very interested in what I was saying and it was a great blessing to be able to share the gospel with him. The second encouraging time came from visiting the houses of the surrounding area. The work of evangelism has been very different here than I have seen at home, with a lot of Peruvians having a real boldness to speak to everyone wherever they are. In this way it has taught me a lot in doing this type of work with them. But this time in Puno was different as Tom and I (2 “gringos”) were sent out alone without a Peruvian. All went very well, with many people giving us a lot of their time to listen to the gospel – one man even invited us into his house for half an hour to talk with us! This was definitely one of the best times for Tom and me, as we saw clearly how God was using us out here. It showed me, in a fantastic way, how nothing is impossible for Him, and if wants to call someone to some part of His creation to speak of His gospel, a little bit of altitude won’t make a mark in His plans. In this way I experienced how God was turning even a not-so-good experience in December around for good. He gave me a greater appreciation for His control in all that we do and showed me the power of answered prayers for doing His work.
The time in Peru has really spurred me on to share of the faith that I have through God’s grace. It has been an uphill battle the whole time with the language but the Irish side has always seen God strengthening us in it. It has greatly encouraged me to return home with a greater confidence to speak of the glorious gospel of Christ in my own language.
Graham
I went to Puno for the first time in December, and as Trevor put it in a service in my church, I thought I wasn’t “called to the sierra”. The altitude of 3800m was not good for me and I was very glad to be back to sea level within four days. I was also content thinking that I wouldn’t be on the next team going to Puno, as I had gone with one half, while the other half remained in Ite, so it would have been their turn the next time. But that feeling of contentment did not last. The night before half the team was heading off to Puno it was announced that the entire team would be going for the week!
The first few days weren’t great with a sore head and no sleeping bag – it was stolen on the bus up! But by the morning of the second full day there my prayers for not having a sore head were answered. Upon waking up with no pounding headache, I knew that this time I would leave Puno with better memories. We worked alongside the church in doing door–to–door work, open airs, helping in the meetings, and also going to visit a few of the believers. From this work came two of my most encouraging times in Peru. The first was after an open air beside an outdoor basketball court when I had the opportunity to talk with a young man named Moisés (Moses). He was very interested in what I was saying and it was a great blessing to be able to share the gospel with him. The second encouraging time came from visiting the houses of the surrounding area. The work of evangelism has been very different here than I have seen at home, with a lot of Peruvians having a real boldness to speak to everyone wherever they are. In this way it has taught me a lot in doing this type of work with them. But this time in Puno was different as Tom and I (2 “gringos”) were sent out alone without a Peruvian. All went very well, with many people giving us a lot of their time to listen to the gospel – one man even invited us into his house for half an hour to talk with us! This was definitely one of the best times for Tom and me, as we saw clearly how God was using us out here. It showed me, in a fantastic way, how nothing is impossible for Him, and if wants to call someone to some part of His creation to speak of His gospel, a little bit of altitude won’t make a mark in His plans. In this way I experienced how God was turning even a not-so-good experience in December around for good. He gave me a greater appreciation for His control in all that we do and showed me the power of answered prayers for doing His work.
The time in Peru has really spurred me on to share of the faith that I have through God’s grace. It has been an uphill battle the whole time with the language but the Irish side has always seen God strengthening us in it. It has greatly encouraged me to return home with a greater confidence to speak of the glorious gospel of Christ in my own language.
Graham
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