All of a sudden we all lurched to the right and the bus came to a stop. We had been looking out the window at the beautiful mountains across the valley when we abruptly found ourselves sitting at an angle with the right half of the bus in the ditch. Thankfully, no one was hurt. We all climbed out the driver’s door and watched from the other side of the road as they worked to get the bus out of the ditch. In just a short time, we were back on the road.
“All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Psalm 25:10
Over these past couple months, I’ve been challenged to remember God’s great love for us. It is perfect, constant, and so much beyond what I can comprehend. Because of this great love, when life throws us in the ditch, we can trust that He will see us out of the ditch and has our best interests in mind in the process. I take comfort in this when I have occasional moments of missing people and as I continue on in this journey of following where God leads.
My first week in Peru was very busy with the Storytellers Abroad group. This was the same program that I went to Nicaragua and the Balkans with in previous years. It is an intense training on how to use multimedia to tell stories for furthering God’s Kingdom. My role this time was administrative support. Some of the team members were also on the Nicaragua trip, and it was fun to catch up with them all. The team worked really well together and produced great stories. You can see them on the Storytellers Abroad Vimeo page here. If you are interested in going on one of these trips, check out storytellersabroad.com, and feel free to talk with me about it!
During one week in January, I had the opportunity to participate in field team meetings. This is where all of the ABWE missionaries in Peru gather together to give ministry updates, share prayer requests, go over some business items, and spend time together. It was great to be able to meet everyone, hear what God is doing around Peru, and learn how to better pray for them.
One of the ministries here in Lima is Centro Prenatal Vida Nueva (New Life Prenatal Center). It is strategically located close to 2 universities and staffed by all volunteers. They provide biblical counseling and resources for a variety of needs including crisis pregnancies, post-abortion trauma, abuse, and building families and marriages. In addition they provide medical care for mothers and children as well as education for churches and young people about abortion and purity. Earlier this month they celebrated 20 years of ministry! They have seen hundreds of people come to know the Lord over the years! Three of the videos the storytellers team did were on the various aspects of this ministry: My List, A New Creation, and Every Good Gift. If you would like to get involved with this ministry, contact Evelyn at evelyn@centroprenatal.org.
For their 20th anniversary, the center put on a day-long convention challenging believers to fight for the right to life and to get involved with the cause. Most of my time has been spent preparing media for this convention. I worked on tweaking the storytellers’ videos for a Spanish audience as well as prepared four other videos. This kept me very busy!
After the anniversary celebration, my parents came to visit. It was good to see them, and to have Mom cook for me. 🙂 We had the opportunity to do some sight-seeing and travel to Cusco and Machu Picchu. We crammed a lot in just a few days. It was gorgeous!
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Prayer requests:
- I’ll be traveling to Arequipa (another city in Peru) to produce a story. Pray for the travel (I didn’t realize I booked my flight with an airline that’s known to have delays and/or cancel their flights.) and clarity and wisdom in telling the story well.
- I fly to Santiago, Chile March 4th and will be there for about 3 months. Pray that I’d finish well in Peru and get adjusted to Chile.
Gloria Images 