Discovering the mystery is taking time to step back and see Christ working in us, through us and around us, this is the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Today was another incredible day of experiencing God´s love in our Peruvian neighbors. We traveled out to the village of Isolina to be part of Kokí and Elisabeth´s Sunday School class, which they serve over 80 students out of their home, this would be known in the USA as a satalite sunday school class. In the village homes are not big, nor is their property, I have a picture of this incredible class, that happens every single week. This class is what you expect, meet together for songs, prayer, and celebrating birthdays, then dividing by age for Bible study in their classrooms.
You could sense the joy and desire they have to learn more about Jesus and who he is in their lives. I saw Bibles of teenagers that were actually falling apart because they were so well loved and used. The energy and desire to praise God was a joyous blessing to be part of--we also distrubed t'shirts, Bibles, and toothbrushes to the students and other children in the community.
Spending time with the Luz Divina church celebrating their 30th anniversary brought a new meaning to community, not only were they celebrating, but they celebrated in the streets, which brought the community together for games, conversation, and dancing--un perfecto! I was surprised to see my new amiga Jessi there--she came down from the village of New Jersalem to be there, she said she wanted see me once again, her husband was working so her and her son came down from the village for the celebration, I don´t believe the attend Luz Divina, but was fun to see her at the celebration.
Playing Bingo at the celebration, I needed help because I know most numbers in Spanish, but I was not quick enough to play bingo alone, so I asked this lady who was sitting beside me to help me out--with a smile, she said, si (yes). The second game, we won--she was so excited and so was I! Another person won, so we shared the prize, a 50 lb bag of rice, the two people who won, divided the bag of rice into containers and then I helped mi amiga carry the rice to her casa--with our translator Fernando by my side, we walked up to the third floor, and their house was a 10 by 12 foot room, for 3 adults and 1 child. Through our translator I discover how grateful they all were and that she was going to get a bingo card earlier and then discovered they were 2 soli, which she was not able to afford, she was so blessed when I asked her to play bingo with me and we won. She asked when I would be back as she wanted to give me a gift. This again reaffirms something I have gained from here is a new perspective on scarcity and abundance. From the American perspective we see them living in scarcity, but the reality is, the live in abundance and give because the desire to, they feel like they have enough and want to give because they are so grateful--whereas most Americans tend to always want more, or something else, or the newest this or the best that. We can all learn from my new amigos in Peru, to live in abundace and share the blessings instead of seeking more or something else. Fernando just reminded me what a huge help win rice was for this family.
There is more from today, but that is all for now. We leave Lima late tomorrow night--we will visit the Inca Market tomorrow and then back to Luz Divina and to say goodbye to all our Peruvian amigos.
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