sooooo matthew and i had a killer time in the Rio! he's getting things ready for his flight out tonight and i'll be anxiously awaiting my departure on the 7th. it will be so exciting to see our family and friends and Brothers and Sisters...but it will also be difficult to leave. so please keep us and the people we're leaving in your prayers. thanks for spending so much time on your knees for us in intercession. we couldn't have done this without your partnership in prayer for the Declaration of the Gospel! So...USA --here we come!
in His most Amazing Grace,
jess<><
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
good news!
sooooo Matthew made it off of Tocllaraju and back to Lima safe and sound! He got in around 5am this morning. Sarah was able to get her flight changed to get back to the states- she's on board right now! Matthew and I leave in the morn for Puerto Maldonado and the Amazons! thank you all soooo much for the prayers and encouragement thus far! our time in Lima with the other missionaries has been wonderful...saying goodbye was of course a little sad. we have an incredible bond thru the Spirit of our Lord and Savior. thank you thank you thank you for all you've done. we pray the Lord's blessings upon you all:) I'll try and update you again with our adventures from Las Amazonas when we return before heading out for the old USA! (Matthew flies out on the evening of the 5th and I fly out on the evening of the 7th.) I leave you with this final encouragement/exhortation, it's what we're carrying around in our hearts:
''For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity... devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have...Practice these things, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.'' 1 Tim 4: 16-20
''For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity... devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have...Practice these things, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.'' 1 Tim 4: 16-20
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
we made it:)
ATTENTION: your Corongo team has safely arrived in Lima- well minus Matthew! He is currently summitting a mountain in Huaraz over 6000 meters tall! Say prayers for his ascent... he is to return to us in Lima on the 29th. It´s a four day, three night climb. Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement thus far! I´ll keep you posted.. more pics to come soon.. i´m off to bed!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
if the internet would work... i´d be a happy camper!
An all out update for you, pictures first and then my crazy phrases:
So the posting site for our blog hasn´t been very cooperative in the last.... oh 10 days! I hate to leave you guys uninformed! So here´s some quick updates!
1) America and I in the plaza one night for hangtime with the jovenes (aka youth). She has yet to receive Christ so please continue to pray! 2) Some of the youth girls during hang time- the three of them received Christ later on in the week!! 3) Matthew and some kids with the guitarra...they love that thing! 4) Virginia, the Alcalde´s daughter, who accepted Christ while Markham street was here! She and her brother David! 5) one of the view´s from Sarah´s birthday walk- beautiful Corongo! 6) Soccer time with the Markham Street Team 7) Martin & Virgina (and their youngest baby) getting prepped-- Bobby served as the minister and Daniel translated- We had a Peruvian wedding! Martin became a believer 2 years ago thru MSBC´s ministry in his village and he is already pastoring the evangelical movement in that village, about 3 hours away from Corongo. MSBC team went and picked him up so that he and his wife could have a Christian marriage among the people who led them to Christ- Beautiful! 8) Sarah taking pre-ceremony pics with Marialena in her lap 9) I caught the bouquet!!! Now all my Peruvian family says it means I must return here to get married within the next year! I don´t think that was part of my plan... haha!10) Birthday cake time- we celebrated four birthdays this week! 11) Daniel and the Corongo Team- Saying goodbye to our brothers and sisters who came up with Markham street was tough, we´re gonna miss these guys!
We have seen around 30 people come to Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ over the last 10 days! Glory to God! It was such a help to have 5 more translators here while Markham Street was with us....the entire force of the Gospel was enlarged by these 23 other believers joining in to help us. Props to MSBC:) Thanks so much for all your time and prayers and help....for sending them, for coming, for stocking care packages, feeding us, and loving on us and Corongo!
Please pray for us as we continue to work to finish things up here in the next 4 days before heading out. The task is not finished. We still need adults to step up and lead in a house-church capacity. We still need to disciple the new believers and encourage them before we have to leave them on their own. Of course we know that they are never really on their own... matt 28:20 says ´´He will never leave us.´´ But can you imagine being one of about 50 believers out in the middle of nowhere in a surrounding population of about 2500. It can be so lonely as a believer here- spiritually, mentally, emotionally. We also will be taking a bus out of Corongo instead of riding in a truck with Daniel (who came up with Markham Street). One of their combi´s broke down so they had to shove everyone in the other three vehicles. Please pray for our safety and the arrival of all our luggage that we´re gonna have to travel with on the autobuses.
Hopefully the internet will hold up over the next few days! Gloria a Dios! Love from Peru- jess<><
So the posting site for our blog hasn´t been very cooperative in the last.... oh 10 days! I hate to leave you guys uninformed! So here´s some quick updates!
1) America and I in the plaza one night for hangtime with the jovenes (aka youth). She has yet to receive Christ so please continue to pray! 2) Some of the youth girls during hang time- the three of them received Christ later on in the week!! 3) Matthew and some kids with the guitarra...they love that thing! 4) Virginia, the Alcalde´s daughter, who accepted Christ while Markham street was here! She and her brother David! 5) one of the view´s from Sarah´s birthday walk- beautiful Corongo! 6) Soccer time with the Markham Street Team 7) Martin & Virgina (and their youngest baby) getting prepped-- Bobby served as the minister and Daniel translated- We had a Peruvian wedding! Martin became a believer 2 years ago thru MSBC´s ministry in his village and he is already pastoring the evangelical movement in that village, about 3 hours away from Corongo. MSBC team went and picked him up so that he and his wife could have a Christian marriage among the people who led them to Christ- Beautiful! 8) Sarah taking pre-ceremony pics with Marialena in her lap 9) I caught the bouquet!!! Now all my Peruvian family says it means I must return here to get married within the next year! I don´t think that was part of my plan... haha!10) Birthday cake time- we celebrated four birthdays this week! 11) Daniel and the Corongo Team- Saying goodbye to our brothers and sisters who came up with Markham street was tough, we´re gonna miss these guys!
We have seen around 30 people come to Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ over the last 10 days! Glory to God! It was such a help to have 5 more translators here while Markham Street was with us....the entire force of the Gospel was enlarged by these 23 other believers joining in to help us. Props to MSBC:) Thanks so much for all your time and prayers and help....for sending them, for coming, for stocking care packages, feeding us, and loving on us and Corongo!
Please pray for us as we continue to work to finish things up here in the next 4 days before heading out. The task is not finished. We still need adults to step up and lead in a house-church capacity. We still need to disciple the new believers and encourage them before we have to leave them on their own. Of course we know that they are never really on their own... matt 28:20 says ´´He will never leave us.´´ But can you imagine being one of about 50 believers out in the middle of nowhere in a surrounding population of about 2500. It can be so lonely as a believer here- spiritually, mentally, emotionally. We also will be taking a bus out of Corongo instead of riding in a truck with Daniel (who came up with Markham Street). One of their combi´s broke down so they had to shove everyone in the other three vehicles. Please pray for our safety and the arrival of all our luggage that we´re gonna have to travel with on the autobuses.
Hopefully the internet will hold up over the next few days! Gloria a Dios! Love from Peru- jess<><
Monday, July 10, 2006
pictures to pray over:)
Hope you enjoy them!
1) TEAM CORONGO- just chillin with a llama:) in Huaraz 2) The ending of the Festival in Corongo- this is San Pedro being carried thru the streets. 3) Anyone scared besides me?
4) School girls all dressed up in their costumes for the Festival´s Procession 5) teaching in the schools 6) our team with Jenny the English professor 7) the Barnabas team washed our feet- poor people!!! we LOVE them! 8) our team and Tito 9) our bonfire with Tito and his friends 10) Matthew eating ´´cuy picante´´- guinea pig!!!
in the Grace of the One in whose name we have come- jlr<><
1) TEAM CORONGO- just chillin with a llama:) in Huaraz 2) The ending of the Festival in Corongo- this is San Pedro being carried thru the streets. 3) Anyone scared besides me?
4) School girls all dressed up in their costumes for the Festival´s Procession 5) teaching in the schools 6) our team with Jenny the English professor 7) the Barnabas team washed our feet- poor people!!! we LOVE them! 8) our team and Tito 9) our bonfire with Tito and his friends 10) Matthew eating ´´cuy picante´´- guinea pig!!!
in the Grace of the One in whose name we have come- jlr<><
Saturday, July 08, 2006
our Holy Holy God
i´ve tried unsuccessfully to update the blog 5 times now over the past few days... everytime i get the latest happenings typed up(4 days worth now!)... the computer crashes, the internet goes out, or the site stops working! so here is what you need to know: a girl by the name of Clarissy who lives in Miami and visits her grandmother here in Corongo each summer accepted Christ on Wednesday and Sarah is beginning to disciple her. We were able to lead 6 young men in the prayer of salvation Wednesday night. one of them showed up for discipleship today- his name is Eduardo. I dont have the other guys´names with me right now, they´re in Matthew´s journal. Tito is becoming ever closer to receiving Christ. He returns from his weekend trip tomorrow- please continue to pray for him. Also, there´s a 15yr old named America who seems to knock on my door late in the nite quite frequently--in regards to English lesson questions from school! She really wants to be able to speak English and travel, I continually share the gospel with her. She has lots of questions and reservations but is dilligently pursuing a relationship with me that is open and comfortable. please pray for her salvation as well!
My upper respiratory infection is ALMOST gone (four weeks now haha!) but Matthew´s is in the full-blown stage. Pray for his healing. Also, we both got a little yucky stomach thing earlier today- pray for protection over all of us.
We have our FIRST house church tomorrow morning! At 10am we will be gathering together and singing praises to our Father, learning from the Word in a bible study-like set-up and teaching what it means to be in a LIVING RELATIONSHIP with Christ instead of being bound by dead religion. Everyone that we´ve invited has liked the idea of an intimate gathering where you can ask questions and truly learn. So far, there´s all sorts of people coming: some already evangelical christians, some ´´catholics,´´ and some lost friends seeking the Truth! Pray dilligently!
i hope to put up some pics of us soon... got lots of pics of new believers and people to pray for in regards to salvation! you never got to see our travel pics- sorry! Let´s just say corongo´s internet has been less than appetizing lately and that they almost lost a few computers due to my throwing stones!
i´ll try again later to update with the pics- thank you for the time you spend on your knees! we love you ALL:)
Gracias a Dios! Gloria a Dios! Que Dios les bendiga!- jlr<><
My upper respiratory infection is ALMOST gone (four weeks now haha!) but Matthew´s is in the full-blown stage. Pray for his healing. Also, we both got a little yucky stomach thing earlier today- pray for protection over all of us.
We have our FIRST house church tomorrow morning! At 10am we will be gathering together and singing praises to our Father, learning from the Word in a bible study-like set-up and teaching what it means to be in a LIVING RELATIONSHIP with Christ instead of being bound by dead religion. Everyone that we´ve invited has liked the idea of an intimate gathering where you can ask questions and truly learn. So far, there´s all sorts of people coming: some already evangelical christians, some ´´catholics,´´ and some lost friends seeking the Truth! Pray dilligently!
i hope to put up some pics of us soon... got lots of pics of new believers and people to pray for in regards to salvation! you never got to see our travel pics- sorry! Let´s just say corongo´s internet has been less than appetizing lately and that they almost lost a few computers due to my throwing stones!
i´ll try again later to update with the pics- thank you for the time you spend on your knees! we love you ALL:)
Gracias a Dios! Gloria a Dios! Que Dios les bendiga!- jlr<><
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
WOW!!! ADDING TO THE KINGDOM:)
The Barnabas Team of ReapSouth arrived in our village yesterday. These people are AMAZING. They travel to all the villages encouraging the IMB summer missionary teams of ReapSouth which are spread out all thru Peru. They were a total surprise because we weren´t expecting them til late tonight (the 4th)or tomorrow (5th)! Well last night we actually had our first ESL lesson of the mens/womens group in over two weeks and this was OUTSTANDING because the fiesta is still going on and everyone is so taken by it that we figured no one would come. SInce Tito specifically told us on the bus ride that he wanted to meet with us, we prayed dilligently and walked to the lawyers´office where we meet. Sooo... i gave my little english lesson on indefinite pronouns and people descriptions and since we´d talked with Tito on the bus ride about wanting to share the Word with them in our ESL lessons...we pressed on!
As we finished the ESL lesson...the lights went out. ALL of Corongo was pitch black. SO we stepped outside into the moonlight and matthew began trying to share, but the music from outside was filtering up over the roof and it was getting hard to hear....Tito led us to the back of the building where the moon was shining even brighter and the noise was far less abnoxious...This man really wanted to hear what Matthew wanted to share with him. Matthew, by the way, has an incredibly testimony that these people NEED to hear.. a testimony of the incredible grace of God and His ability to love us, forgive us, receive us just as we are, and change us to be more like Him. These men who are constantly drunk, who cheat on their wives, abuse and neglect their children...they need to hear of our mistakes. And so Matthew shared....the Barnabas team was in the ´´hallway´´ next to us praying dilligently. Matthew spoke of his salvation experience, and the Holy SPirit gave me the words for everything in Spanish. Tito is very enthusiastic about learning more. He told us he doesn´t go to mass here because ´´due to the facts of life like Matthew´s´´, he feels like he ´´just cant.´´ We are praying for the Lord to wash Tito with His grace and bathe him in the Blood of Christ- the only thing which can save us! HE is so warm, so receptive....he could very easily be our Peter or Paul of Corongo. He is so influential as the head-lawyer here in Corongo, a natural born leader, very charismatic, very warm, and a very useful vessel! PRAY FOR TITO!
Now for today... we went to the schools and taught ESL... we actually had about 30 min alone with one of the classes while the teachers were having a meeting. So we took this oppurtunity to play SImon Says and have some fun with them:) Then all my Mexico mission trip experience came in handy and I taught them Father Abraham in Spanish! So after we had about a 20 min ESL lesson upon the teacher´s return, it was time to head out for the day and we announced to the kids that we´re having a youth night on friday in the plaza...lets just say i lost some hearing in all the excitement! How wonderful! Pray for their hearts, their receptiveness to the Gospel, their freedom from religion and tradition and idolatry, their courage to come forthe with questions and decisions! Pray for us as we try and minister to who knows how many kids of how many ever ages!
Soo... this afternoon we went prayer walking thru the village with the Barnabas team and it was an incredibly experience as to how we could feel the SPirit moving to answer us, comfort us, encourage us. Sarah, Michelle and I went up to the top of the road and looked down over the village, begging for the hearts of Corongo to be given over to us... calling out scripture and callign forth the Promises of God in His Word. Afterwards, we drove over to Aco- a village on the other side of the mountain.We´d been wanting to go because there´s a ´´growing evangelical house church there´´...With Withrow (of Markham Street, our adoptive church) took us up to meet one of the members before the Markham Street guys left us here for the summer. Soooo.. we went up with Michelle and Todd and Jared since they had a vehicle. (Praise the Lord) We wanted to go and encourage the believers there because we´d promised to do our best in getting there at some point this summer. The boys decided to hike up the hillside to try and find the house of the elder and find out what time the church service started. We girls stayed behind in town, talking with some villagers, discussing the work of the Lord, and searching for a place to eat. We met a couple in the plaza and I asked where we might find some food for dinner. They led us to a ´´random house´´ where a woman cooks ´´pensions´´ for people coming thru. So we asked about some dinner...she told us it´d be ready around 7. The boys were off hiking to find the brother´s house. They got back about 640.. earlier than expected. We girls were expecting to eat alone...so I ran down to the house and asked if she could possibly make three more plates. She offered us rice and fried eggs and papas fritas ´cause there wasn´t enough meat to go around. Soooo.... we immediately felt the hospitality and kindness of this family-- its the first dad that i´ve seen sitting in a home and playing with his children while his wife cooked their meals. They had chickens, guinea pigs, and dogs running amuck in the kitchen with us! And then a seeminly out of place TV with a DVD player?! So the oldest daughter (Liset, age 10) asked us if we´d like to watch Titanic in english... we agreed as to appreciate their hospitality! But it was such a beautiful thing, after dinner we asked if we could share a story from the bible and they were very enthusiastic-- hungry for the word of God. So Todd began to share his testimony and I translated-- I dont really remember the words that were coming out of my mouth which is pretty phenomenal, can we say Holy Spirit?! After reading a parable to them and incorporation TOdd´s testimony, we asked if they would like to have this eternal life, this salvation, this relationship with Christ that todd spoke of and they said emphatically YES. We explained to them the trials that may come up, the persecution that may arise in their village, AND the ´´PEACE that transcends all understanding´´ through our love relationship with JESUS CHRIST! It was PRECIOUS... all 6 of us haven´t been able to stop praising the Lord. Sonya and Wilmer both prayed to recieve Christ as their Savior tonight and they are now our new Brothers and Sisters!
Tomorrow is our meeting with the Alcalde... he´s taking us to see the lagoons- please pray for more oppurtunities and deeper receptiveness of the Gospel! Thank you praying saints, this would be impossible without you!!!
Revival is coming to Corongo... please claim that promise in your prayers!
Gloria a Dios, Gracias a Dios! Que Dios les bendiga!!!
-jess<><
pic: my amazing team, here we are in Huaraz! First bathing experience in over a week- still no ´´real´´showers!...
okay, so the internet is slowing down so more pictures of travel experiences and the past few days ASAP!
As we finished the ESL lesson...the lights went out. ALL of Corongo was pitch black. SO we stepped outside into the moonlight and matthew began trying to share, but the music from outside was filtering up over the roof and it was getting hard to hear....Tito led us to the back of the building where the moon was shining even brighter and the noise was far less abnoxious...This man really wanted to hear what Matthew wanted to share with him. Matthew, by the way, has an incredibly testimony that these people NEED to hear.. a testimony of the incredible grace of God and His ability to love us, forgive us, receive us just as we are, and change us to be more like Him. These men who are constantly drunk, who cheat on their wives, abuse and neglect their children...they need to hear of our mistakes. And so Matthew shared....the Barnabas team was in the ´´hallway´´ next to us praying dilligently. Matthew spoke of his salvation experience, and the Holy SPirit gave me the words for everything in Spanish. Tito is very enthusiastic about learning more. He told us he doesn´t go to mass here because ´´due to the facts of life like Matthew´s´´, he feels like he ´´just cant.´´ We are praying for the Lord to wash Tito with His grace and bathe him in the Blood of Christ- the only thing which can save us! HE is so warm, so receptive....he could very easily be our Peter or Paul of Corongo. He is so influential as the head-lawyer here in Corongo, a natural born leader, very charismatic, very warm, and a very useful vessel! PRAY FOR TITO!
Now for today... we went to the schools and taught ESL... we actually had about 30 min alone with one of the classes while the teachers were having a meeting. So we took this oppurtunity to play SImon Says and have some fun with them:) Then all my Mexico mission trip experience came in handy and I taught them Father Abraham in Spanish! So after we had about a 20 min ESL lesson upon the teacher´s return, it was time to head out for the day and we announced to the kids that we´re having a youth night on friday in the plaza...lets just say i lost some hearing in all the excitement! How wonderful! Pray for their hearts, their receptiveness to the Gospel, their freedom from religion and tradition and idolatry, their courage to come forthe with questions and decisions! Pray for us as we try and minister to who knows how many kids of how many ever ages!
Soo... this afternoon we went prayer walking thru the village with the Barnabas team and it was an incredibly experience as to how we could feel the SPirit moving to answer us, comfort us, encourage us. Sarah, Michelle and I went up to the top of the road and looked down over the village, begging for the hearts of Corongo to be given over to us... calling out scripture and callign forth the Promises of God in His Word. Afterwards, we drove over to Aco- a village on the other side of the mountain.We´d been wanting to go because there´s a ´´growing evangelical house church there´´...With Withrow (of Markham Street, our adoptive church) took us up to meet one of the members before the Markham Street guys left us here for the summer. Soooo.. we went up with Michelle and Todd and Jared since they had a vehicle. (Praise the Lord) We wanted to go and encourage the believers there because we´d promised to do our best in getting there at some point this summer. The boys decided to hike up the hillside to try and find the house of the elder and find out what time the church service started. We girls stayed behind in town, talking with some villagers, discussing the work of the Lord, and searching for a place to eat. We met a couple in the plaza and I asked where we might find some food for dinner. They led us to a ´´random house´´ where a woman cooks ´´pensions´´ for people coming thru. So we asked about some dinner...she told us it´d be ready around 7. The boys were off hiking to find the brother´s house. They got back about 640.. earlier than expected. We girls were expecting to eat alone...so I ran down to the house and asked if she could possibly make three more plates. She offered us rice and fried eggs and papas fritas ´cause there wasn´t enough meat to go around. Soooo.... we immediately felt the hospitality and kindness of this family-- its the first dad that i´ve seen sitting in a home and playing with his children while his wife cooked their meals. They had chickens, guinea pigs, and dogs running amuck in the kitchen with us! And then a seeminly out of place TV with a DVD player?! So the oldest daughter (Liset, age 10) asked us if we´d like to watch Titanic in english... we agreed as to appreciate their hospitality! But it was such a beautiful thing, after dinner we asked if we could share a story from the bible and they were very enthusiastic-- hungry for the word of God. So Todd began to share his testimony and I translated-- I dont really remember the words that were coming out of my mouth which is pretty phenomenal, can we say Holy Spirit?! After reading a parable to them and incorporation TOdd´s testimony, we asked if they would like to have this eternal life, this salvation, this relationship with Christ that todd spoke of and they said emphatically YES. We explained to them the trials that may come up, the persecution that may arise in their village, AND the ´´PEACE that transcends all understanding´´ through our love relationship with JESUS CHRIST! It was PRECIOUS... all 6 of us haven´t been able to stop praising the Lord. Sonya and Wilmer both prayed to recieve Christ as their Savior tonight and they are now our new Brothers and Sisters!
Tomorrow is our meeting with the Alcalde... he´s taking us to see the lagoons- please pray for more oppurtunities and deeper receptiveness of the Gospel! Thank you praying saints, this would be impossible without you!!!
Revival is coming to Corongo... please claim that promise in your prayers!
Gloria a Dios, Gracias a Dios! Que Dios les bendiga!!!
-jess<><
pic: my amazing team, here we are in Huaraz! First bathing experience in over a week- still no ´´real´´showers!...
okay, so the internet is slowing down so more pictures of travel experiences and the past few days ASAP!
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