I have been sitting here staring at a blank screen for the last few minutes because I don’t know how to convey or properly share the beauty of our God.
Our God is the God who leaves the 99 to seek and find the 1 lost.
Our God is the God who loves us so passionately that He submitted to death on the cross.
Our God is the God who calls every nation, tribe, tongue, and people group to Himself.
Our God is the Creator, Sustainer, Author, and Finisher.
As I look back on the mission trip to Peru and all that God has done and all He is teaching me right now, I am literally brought to tears because of His great mercy and grace.
Peru was not what I was expecting; it was dirty and impoverished and in great need of Christ (that, of course, I was expecting). The part of Peru we were in is desert and some of the people live in half finished buildings or even huts. I had this romanticized idea of green rolling hills and llamas and alpacas at every corner but the reality is that one third of the 31,331,228 people who live in Peru live along the desert coastal belt in the west- the area where we were serving (CIA World Factbook- Peru).
Although Peru was not what I expected, the trip was more than I could have imagined.
Calvary Chapel Huacho is such a sweet body and we were privileged to come alongside them, get to know them, and serve the Lord with them.
We started our first few days with a ministry conference to prepare our team and to pour into the church servants. We also went on a few prayer walks to pass out flyers inviting the locals to the events we were hosting throughout the time of our stay. On the second or third night we went to the main plaza to share the gospel and about 3 adults and 3 children came forward to accept Christ! It was such a beautiful night.
The next day we had our Wednesday night service and a volleyball tournament and some of the people who we met at the plaza the night before came! A man who had received Christ the night before came with his wife and she accepted Christ at the volleyball tournament after the gospel presentation! A young Venezuelan man who had been open to the gospel at the plaza outreach, but had not accepted Christ also came and continued with us for the rest of the time we were in Peru.
The day following the volleyball tournament we packed up 60+ people and headed to the beach for our discipleship camp. The young Venezuelan and another young woman who had accepted Christ at the volleyball tournament the night before were part of our group and we got to continue to share the gospel with them for the three days we were at the beach.
Mussels and sea snails that local fishermen caught that morning 
Mussels and sea snails that have been cracked 
Fishing boat and huts of fishermen in background
Many of us know that Latin Americans love fútbol (soccer), but we realized just how much on the last day of our camping trip when we were supposed to be picked up at 11am for our one and a half hour drive back to Huacho. Eleven arrived and passed. No bus. Twelve arrived and passed. No bus and no lunch for our 38 hungry team members. One o’clock. Two o’clock. Three o’clock… It wasn’t until 3:30pm that our bus driver finally came driving down the deserted beach toward us. Why was he late? He had to watch the national fútbol team in their quarter final game of course!
It was actually pretty funny after the fact and by God’s grace I was able to keep my cool in the waiting, even though I was desperate for a shower and clean clothes. Plus it makes for a great story.
Anyway, we got back on Saturday night (a few hours later than anticipated) and showered and changed at the hotel before going back to church for youth group.
The next day was Sunday so we had church and a church BBQ then a soccer tournament that night. At the soccer tournament our Venezuelan friend, Eric, accepted Christ!
The best part of the trip for me was seeing people get saved and then plugged into the church where they are being discipled and fed. The first man who got saved, his wife and Eric are three of those people.
Our tour of 5,000 year old pre-Inca ruins 
Isaac and me at the ruins 
Sundial in foreground
Pyramid built to mirror the mountain in background
Wednesday, July 3rd was our last night with the church and instead of having a normal service we watched the National fútbol team in the semifinal game against Chile because otherwise everyone would have stayed at home to watch. Pastor Craig is well aware of the culture and wisely chose to gather everyone at the church for the game rather than stay rigid and miss an opportunity to fellowship. It was such a great night of fun and fellowship with many laughs, pictures, and good-bye tears.
It was an amazing trip full of God’s grace and provision at every turn even when plans went awry and we had to go with the flow. But that’s just our God.
The God who shows up every single time.
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