Hands On in Peru

In Chaviña

2009-05-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, for the past week and a half or so my team has been working in a village named Chaviña. It has been a little bit of a slow start but God is doing some cool things there. We were asked recently by an elementary school principal to teach during their religion classes, which we began yesterday. Working with the 1st and 2nd graders was a lot of fun and it was good for the teachers in the school to see and hear what we had to say. Most of the work here is about building relationships and making the people comfortable with us, so opportunities to plug into the community are huge, when people see us working along side them as neighbors they feel so much more comfortable with us.
Also, we have two different groups with whom we are doing Bible studies. One group is mainly non-believers, but have been asking a lot of great questions. The other group is believers who are ready to get a church started, and through our studies are beginning to really rely on scripture to find truth.
In Coracora, there are three leaders who are very excited about getting a church planted. They are awesome! They have been meeting nightly to pray for the people of Coracora and the work God is doing here. It is really exciting.
This weekend we will be heading back to Lima. So, please pray for a few different things. The huge work God is doing in Chaviña and Coracora. Church plants in both towns. Safe travel for us returning back to ´´home base.´´ Also, pray for the Summer students who will be serving in southern Peru, they will be flying down soon!

Missionary Cookbook

2009-04-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

OK, big news: I shaved my beard! It was getting a little too crazy.

To the missionary cookbook. My team is working on an out of the ordinary cookbook for Peruvian villages. There are a number of things we have made here which would not be possible without a lot of intuition, teamwork, perserverance, and a little bit of God´s help. Most recently we added grits to the book. Also, it includes such recipes as pizza (baked in a fire/brick oven) dessert pizza, all kinds of oatmeal, stir fry, and many more. Conclusion- American style cooking is possible in the most remote places in the world.

More importantly however, we are back in a village and back to work. We are currently stationed in a town called Coracora. We are working here and in a nearby village called Chaviña. Some really exciting things have been happening lately. In both places there are a few very passionate believers who really want to see churches planted and growing in their towns. So, our goal is to disciple these passionate brothers into church planters. God is so good to us!

Also, it is Easter. Today is a reminder of how great God´s love is for us that he has washed us in his grace. It is also a dark reminder of how lost this world is. Pray for the people here, only God can create a work great enough to reach this nation. 96 out of 100 people are going to die without Christ in Peru. Pray for these people! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!

It´s been a while

2009-03-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

SO, I haven´t had internet for a long time, a lot has happened. We have left Pullo for good. In Pullo, the believers have really understood everything and applied much to their lives. In fact, they have a plan to reach the 11 annexs connected to Pullo, planting a house church in each, it is amazing. They have already started working in one annex called Pinuaha where there is a lot of interest. Since we left Pullo, we traveled to a village named Pararca where Ryan and Steve were working. There are no bathrooms in Pararca, it has been a fun 5 days. There is a lot of interest in Pararca and in a nearby annex called Aulla. The meetings include mainly Catholics but a few believers! God is doing some amazing things here in Ayacucho. Too much to write about! Also, we are making a Chile run soon, then I can go surfing, that will be fun!

Pullo, Ayacucho, Peru

2009-02-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

Ok so here is reality, in the past week I have not showered, I have worn the same pair of jeans, changed my shirt once, eaten a lot of soup and rice and not much meat, attended/led 6 worship/prayer service, and read more than in my whole life. And I loved it! It is amazing to be out here in a small village in Peru, to see how God is working and to see people open hearts! Ok so the trip out here was a little crazy, we travelled for 22 hours from Lima, the first part on a bus and the second on a van/bus thingy with a lot of Peruvians and not much room to move. We left at 1:30 on a Tuesday and after 9:00 that night the rest was all dirt roads, mostly one lane dirt roads.... If you think your house is in the boonies, you have no idea.
The second day we were here we finally met the believers in this village, who are passionate about the Word and excited to see others come to Christ. So we spent most of this first week in prayer and building relationships with the people in the community. Kristen and Mayra hit it off with some of the women in a knitting club (I read during this time). The next few weeks we will endeavor (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to train the believers into disciples, who are able to bring others to Christ and replicate their home church. Anyways, we are having a blast, you can continue to pray for open hearts and minds to the Word here in Pullo, for the believers to grasp the material easily, and for our stomachs! Hope all is well in the States.

Here in Lima!

2009-02-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

Here in Lima, we speak Spanish, not English. We use Neuva Soles, not Dollars. We take taxis and combis, not our own cars. We bring drugs because we plan on getting sick, not wait to see a doctor. We wear two pairs of pants for two months, not two pairs in a day. We stay in hostels, on roofs, or at camps, not in a dorm or house. We drink yogurt, instead of eating it. We stand out as the Gringos, instead of fitting in as the majority. And most importantly, we plant churches, instead of church shopping!
But really, my team leaves for the village we will be working in tomorrow! It should take about 22 hours riding buses and combis to get there. The village is at about 12,000 ft in elevation. It is called Pullo, Ayacucho, Peru... Pray for Pullo! Pray for our safety. Pray for our stomachs! Pray for the REAPSouth family working among all the indigenous people here in Peru. Pray that God would provide partner churches in the States for villages here! I am so excited and so is everyone here at REAPSouth headquarters. We have 6 teams going out for 2 months! I think thats all for now, except for one thing. I think I have to change my name because no Peruvian can pronounce "CL" so I am usually know as "Keiton."

Broadcasting from Calacali

2009-01-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

For just over a week now I have been in South America and I have stories for a lifetime. First, I was delayed in Panama for 8 hours on my lay over and got to tour the city of Panama, which is beautiful with it´s banana, mango, and pineapple trees lining the side of the highway and a great skyline. Finally, I got to Quito, Ecuador to meet the other 16 Hands On students ministering in South America. It is a diverse group, but I have grown to love them all. We are training at a retreat camp called El Refugio near Calacali, Ecuador. The camp is at about 9,000 feet above sea level and sits at the base of a mountain that rises to about 11,500 ft. I have summited that twice with the guys, the view is amazing.
In my journal I wrote that this place is awemazing, precious, and real (I´ll explain). The place reminds me of how great, big, and diverse God´s creation is. Very few times in life will I get to do what I am able to do here, take a deep breath of mountain air, relax, and rest in the presence of God away from distraction. Third, the relationships being built here are based on a very real desire to build the Kingdom of God, so that we are unnaturally close to one another. I wish you could all be part of the things God is up to here.
The most important thing I will take out of this and I hope all of you will take to heart is this... Pray in expectation and scripture will never return void.
To those at OBU, I miss you and pray for you continually.
To all, please pray for the millions of lost people in South America in need of our Saviour.

I think I'll go to South America tomorrow

2009-01-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, its starting to sink in that in less than 24 hours I will be in a country where they do not speak English! Too bad I don't really speak Spanish either... But I am excited, I've been listening to my "rush hour spanish" and "spanish for idiots" CDs. Pray for my spanish skills?
Anyways, for a few days now, everytime I do something I think, "thats the last time I will ____ for six months," which is pretty weird to think about. Everyonce in a while I will make a mistake and think "well, thats the last time i will eat for six months" and have to correct myself.
Did I mention that I am excited? Oh, well I am excited.
I talked to Daniel, he made it to Prague, and Jake and Sarah should be in the Frankfurt airport.
I think that is all for now... I wont write again until I am in SA!

Before I leave

2009-01-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

OK friends,
I am departing for Peru in less than a week, and I know that some of you have asked to be updated on what is going on or what you can pray for, soo here it is...
Whats going on- I leave for Ecuador next Thursday very early in the morning (about the time most of you will be going to bed!), there we will be training for two weeks...
What can you pray for- 1st, pray for the Quechua people of Andean Peru, pray that God would soften their hearts to the gospel message and prepare leaders among them, pray that God would begin working in their lives even before we arrive there!2nd, pray for the missionaries already working in the South American Region, pray for their leadership and guidance in South America, that God would continue and renew their vision among the people there, and pray that they would be effective in teaching us3rd, pray for me and the people I will be working with, that God would keep us healthy and make us effective with the peopleLast- pray for Jake and Sarah as they make their way to Uganda and Daniel as he heads off to the Czech Republic, pray for their health, the people they minister to, their leader, and their teams
More updates to come