Tough Travels
What a beginning! We arrive at DFW airport, hug our families, and immediately find out there's not enough time for our bags to switch planes in Miami b/c our layover is only 1 hr. and 15 min. long. YIKES! After Mike D. and myself stressed and prayed (the youth were just hanging out), they were able to get us on an earlier flight to Miami... so early we only had about 45 minutes to get through security rather than 2 hours! We got our boarding passes, got through security, and switched terminals (thanks to the flight change), finally making it to our gate. Mike immediately began his ministry of encouragement to us by letting us know God was in control. Mike had been worried about us not making that layover in Miami, but now we didn't have anything to worry about - or so we thought.
Once in Miami, we decided to sit down and eat at one of the few restaurants still open (it was getting late). Hot Dogs or Chicken was the meal choice. All agreed that the fries were good. We then started heading to our gate (which wasn't that far), only to find out we were pretty much the LAST flight out that night and they were already making the "final call" for passengers boarding - so, we ran again. 2 airports down, and about 150 yards of sprints! We made it, and were on our way all night to Lima, Peru.
We get to Lima and discover one of my bags didn't make the flight (so much for DFW getting us on an earlier one). Lucky for me, it wasn't any of my clothes. Unlucky for the SMs (college students who spent the entire summer in Conima), it was all their gifts from home!
While Mike got me some coffee (he should be called Barnabas b/c he's such an encourager), I come to find out at about 6:00 a.m. that NO planes are flying into the airport we have to get to for the last leg of the trip due to coal-miners rioting in Peru. We finally got some e-mails and phone calls through to our good friend John G. who we worked with last year and he helped us out. We get re-directed to Cuzco b/c it was the earliest flight, but it meant about an 8 hour van ride for us rather than a 2 hour ride originally scheduled. (Can you see God increasing our faith and dependence on Him yet?)
After a nice meal for lunch, working out prices, and visiting with our new friend Omar (who happened to be a translator for a church in Aledo on one of their trips to Peru!!!), we were on our way to Conima. Unfortunately, due to bumpy and windy roads, one of our passengers (Annie) experienced what we'll call "a little motion sickness."
We finally made it to Conima at 11:45 p.m. - a mere 12 hours later than expected. Mike, again, encouraged us by telling us all day that God would get us to Conima on Monday - and He did, with 15 minutes to spare. "O WE of little faith!"
Cold in Conima
With a packed house, we all crashed that first night. Each one of us throughout the course of the week had our "coldest" night of sleep. Mine was Tuesday; some of the others claimed one of the other nights. Coming from 100+ degrees in TX to almost freezing in a concrete building at 13,000 ft. elevation with no central heating is quite a shocker to the body. By Wednesday or Thursday we finally had our space heaters working, which helped some. To give you an idea of how cold it is, while y'all were battling the heat, we got to wake up Friday morning to see it SNOWING ... and it kept up with that and sleet almost all day.
McDonald’s at Midnight
Friday was an interesting day. Throughout the week we were in contact with the airline and the airport in Juliaca (the one we were supposed to fly into) trying to find the "lost bag." They kept changing the day that it would "arrive" for us to pick up. The problem was that it finally made it to Lima, but the airport in Juliaca was still closed due to some damaged equipment from the riots. They kept "reassuring" us that it would be open Friday and on the 9:00 a.m. flight. So, Friday, in the snow/freezing-rain, James, Patty, and myself hop on a cumbi (public taxi) and head out to Juliaca. We discovered a barren airport with only a few people working. Due to the weather, my bag wasn't on that flight, nor were any flights coming in that day - and we are supposed to leave THE NEXT DAY! After a couple phone calls to John G., Mike W. (w/ the IMB and REAP South), and Mike D., we decide to switch our flight to leave Arequipa, a town only 5 hrs away, so as not to have the 8 hour ride we had at the beginning of the week.
At this point, though God had proven faithful, we were still wavering in our faith. My main concern as the Team Leader was "get us all home!" Mike's was the same. Mike and the others also had some other concerns. Since I took Patty, our translator, with me to get travel details worked out, the students, SMs, and Mike were on their own doing the last day of the Bible school at the Elementary School. We had written out what Annie needed to say for questions after her story. Annie's Spanish pronunciation is "top notch" according to Patty. However, the kids were nuts! They were misbehaving, one got bit (either this day, or the day before), one threw a tantrum, and it was sleeting! Satan was trying to discourage us on all sides.
After returning that night and I shared our day, Mike shared the teams', and Mike led us in a time of sweet prayer to get all our minds back on Christ (again, Barnabas - SO thankful for a man of God like Mike to have been with us). We prayed, got the SMs finances in order, packed, and slept.
We woke up early Saturday to find out if Rueben (local pastor 1 1/2 hours away) had found us a van to take us to Juliaca where we would hop on a bus for our 5 hr ride to Arequipa. Thankfully, HE DID! I took the coldest shower known to man - finally experiencing what the others had experienced on Friday (yes, we only showered once that week), we said our goodbyes and were on our way!
We ate "lunch" consisting of Pringles, M&M's, and Powerade. It was great. Then started the scariest charter bus ride ever. Winding mountain roads and a long drop off (ask Mike, Allison, Josh, Jake, and Annie their opinion of it). We likely got the only TWO taxis working in Arequipa b/c there was apparently a taxi strike there, but got to the airport OK (after a little separation), got our boarding passes, and were on our way.
We land in Lima, realize that we were waiting in the wrong line for our flight (which was a good thing, b/c we would have been late. Luckily we were able to find out which line to be in! Our itinerary was confusing). We got our boarding passes to Mexico and they tell us we have an extra 45 minutes since the flight was delayed. This meant WE GOT TO EAT DINNER!!!! So, what did we decide to eat after a week of rice, potatoes, and some chicken? MCDONALD'S!!! (not my first choice, but the kids wanted it). We enjoyed our fries, nuggets and burgers. Then, we headed through security only to hear "last call for flight to Mexico" - so, we ran! Running after having just eaten McDonald's is NOT the greatest idea! We fly all night, get to Mexico, make it through customs, and after a "brisk walk" and a pit-stop so Allison could "realize why we don't eat McDonald's all the time," we made it to our gate and on our flight home.
Finally, we were home, greeted by family and friends (with a banner), and sweating like crazy b/c it's HOT in TX in July!!! A nice meal, nice shower, and sleep is what we all needed, and enjoyed!
Glimmers of Gospel Hope
So, hearing about all of this craziness of traveling, how cold it is in Conima, etc. ... WHY GO? We got to experience God like never before, and see Him move and prove His sovereignty in mighty ways!
First, we met Omar, the translator, in Cuzco. He knew people from Aledo, and we were so encouraged by him.
Next, are what I call, "glimmers of Gospel hope." Throughout the week at the Bible school, the community storying, and even on our hike down to the lake (Lake Titicaca), we saw these glimmers of Gospel hope. Yasmani showed up (a kid I met last year) and hung out with us at the lake. He also came to the evening stories to hear God's Word - and was engaged with us while we shared the stories! He's one that God is working on. There's also Katy (KAH-tee), Gabi (GAH-bee), Jaquelin, and Jose. These are children that we could see God raising up as a new generation that leaves their old ways and the idolatry of their people and follow God. They were so intrigued by the Gospel during the Bible school. They are strong personalities that could be faithful followers of Christ. However, if there's not adults there to disciple these young ones, they'll likely fall into the same sins, idolatry, and drunkenness of their parents. Please pray for these, and all the people in Conima - that God would save many and raise up a generation of believers. That a church would be planted in that town. Our church (FBC Willow Park) only has a little over a year left in our initial commitment to this ministry. We hope to see a church planted there, but I believe it will take longer than 3 years.
Will you pray for these children?
Will you pray and ask God if He wants you to "go and make disciples?"
Will you join us for lunch to hear more stories from the 4 SMs and 4 Youth who went to Conima this summer on Sunday, September 25 @ 12:00 p.m.? We need your help and support and prayers so we can see new believers and a new church in the town of Conima, Peru. Join us on this mission as we work with God to advance His kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment