Sunday, April 27, 2008

Back from the mission trip


We just got back from our mission trip to Iquitos Saturday evening. It was soooo amazing that we did not want to leave. I pray that we can go back there someday.
The first day there we spent with the church. They were having their 4 year anniversary celebration in the park near the church. All the children came and we played and swam with them in the pool. They were so loving and would come up to you, hug, and love on you.
We spent a lot of our time ministering to the kids that live and or work on the streets. All of us fell in love with them. They were so sweet. You can tell they are starving for human love and affection because they come up and hug and love on you. A lot of these kids come from a poor community where the houses are made to float on water during the rainy season. These kids grow up with different sicknesses because they live in very unsanitary conditions. The families use the restroom, bathe, drink, swim, and cook in the water their houses float on.
On the boulevard we performed dramas, sang children's songs, told bible stories, played and colored with the kids. It was such a blessing because these kids have to work all the time and it was a time where they could just be kids. I can't believe the reality of these kids lives. It is one thing to hear that there are children all over the world who live on the streets but to actually see, touch, and play with them is another thing. My heart is broken for these precious children but there is such hope in knowing that God has a plan for them too and that all they need is Jesus in their hearts.
Jeremiah shared at the church in El Terminal on Sunday and again in the jungle on Thursday. He did a really nice job and was not even affected by the breaks in his message from using a translator. Praise the Lord!
On Thursday morning we left for Panguana. We traveled by boat for 3 hours on the Amazon River, then walked 20 minutes into the jungle in order to reach the village. It was amazing to see how these people still live. They live in huts with palm leaves for roofs and boards as their walls. They use the same water for restroom, bathing, drinking, and eating. So a lot of the children grow up sick here too. The church here is wanting to eventually put in a well so they can have clean drinking water. Jeremiah and the other guys helped with putting up a fence around their new church so they can keep out the animals. It was incredibly hot there so we had to make sure and stay hydrated.
That night we slept on the floor on thin mats with mosquito nets around us. As I was getting in my net a bat comes flying right toward my head. It was so scary, I thought it was going to bite me. Then all night we could hear rats and bats moving around. My friend Beth woke me up in the night to go to the bathroom with her and when we got back to our beds she had a cockroach in her bed. I felt so bad for her. She finally killed it with her shoe. It was an adventure that is for sure.
One night while we were doing children's ministry on the boulevard Jeremiah met a gentleman named Kiki who spoke English. They were talking for a long time. Jeremiah was telling him how empty his heart was before he accepted the Lord and this guy said, "So if I don't even have a heart does that mean I can still have Jesus." Kiki made a decision to accept Christ into his heart. Praise the Lord! That same night, Laura, one of our team members, was talking to a boy named John about Jesus and he also prayed to accept Jesus into his heart. Our second to last night there, Sandra ran into the sister-in-law of a guy that goes to the bible college with us....she accepted the Lord also. Praise the Lord.
The last day there we went to the zoo and that was a lot of fun. We have pics.
This trip was one that I pray I will never forget. There are many needs in Iquitos but God is able to provide and do a great work there.
Our last night in Iquitos, we took the street kids out for ice cream and said our good-byes. There were two boys that I totally fell in love with, Golbit and Brandon. I said bye to Golbit a couple of days before but Brandon was there on the last night. He gave me a wooden ring and said "for you" and told me he loved me. It was so heartbreaking to leave them. They knew we were there to help and love them so it was hard to just leave them. They are in the Lord's hands.
Then when we got to the airport all the street kids that we took to get ice cream were there to say good-bye to all of us. We were so surprised. They used their own money and time they could be working and earning money to take a bus to the airport and say good-bye. It was heartbreaking....we were all crying. Pray God would send more workers to Iquitos. There is so many needs but not many bodies to do the work.
Our pics are updated on our shutterfly account. Just go to adventureswithjesus.shutterfly.com We will be adding more in the next couple of days. There are lots of good ones.
We love you all......and are so thankful for the prayers:)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

D-Day



Today we leave the bible college campus at 4 p.m. to catch a plane to Iquitos, Peru. Our plane leaves at 7:20 p.m. The plane ride will be about an hour and a half long. We have been preparing for the trip and the ministries we will be assisting with for the past couple of weeks. There are 8 of us that are going to Iquitos together and we will all be staying in the home of 2 missionaries that live there. Iquitos is a large city surrounded by the jungle and is located at the mouth of the Amazon River.
As I said before we will be doing various outreaches in the city of Iquitos through dramas and evangelism. We will also be doing an evening outreach to the children that live on the streets. I (Serah) will be sharing on the second Saturday (actually the day we leave to return to the bible college) at a women's study. I plan to share how I came to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Also, I plan to talk about how much God loves us and wants to fellowship with us...I plan to share from 1 John and Psalms. If I come to your mind, please pray God would place His words in my mouth.
We will also be going to Belen....a floating city on the river and will probably do some children's ministry there. Then for one night and one day we will actually be going into the jungle to minister to the people in a small village there. This is where we may actually have to walk through some parts of the Amazon river due to the river being high (it is currently rainy season). Jeremiah will be sharing this Sunday morning at church and will also be sharing with the village in the jungle. Remember him in your prayers also.
I hope everyone back at home is doing well. We miss our families and our church family lots and are excited to see everyone. I know many of you that read this have been praying for us (we so appreciate it) so if you guys have any prayer requests we would love to pray for you as well. Feel free to e-mail us with any prayer concerns and we can pray for ya'll too.
Some things ya'll could pray for us are:
- Unity within our group going to Iquitos and that God would move and touch lives there
-God's protection and good health for us and our team during our time in Iquitos
- That God would continue to grow us and our willingness to obey Him in these last four weeks here
- For God to line everything up for our return to Indiana (only 4 more weeks)
We will be returning from Iquitos on April 26 so I will write another update shortly after we return. We will probably have lots of pictures too.
The pics taken above are taken at Larcomar, a huge mall that is built into the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. I don't like to think about earthquakes when we are there.
Much love,
Ser & Jer
P.S. I just read that ya'll experienced an earthquake this morning.....it's a great way to wake up, huh!