Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
Hey everyone!
Today has been completely CRAZY! we started off with an interesting breakfast(i remember it was interesting, but forgot what it was exactly), cleaning up trash all over on of the church's and enjoying life changing experiences!
There are so many stories from today, yet I'm just going to share the VBS today and how it change many lives. Group 2 shared about Creation and Tony shared a great testimony. As the kids settled down to color in a picture of North and South America, I realized an older teenage boy sitting on the wall. I got some paper and a bunch of crayons and went over to talk with him. he was ecstatic that i wanted to spend time with him when he was just, a poor, mentally challenged man who had nothing to do. In my attempt to talk with him, Peter walked up and helped me talk with him. He began to color with this man. He did not know how to speak( his is somehow disabled) so he kept screaming in excitement which gave us all shivers of joy! It became very emotional as we all started crying because of how amazing God is! its incredible! Pete and i sat with his man for at least 30 minutes until we all had to leave. The excitement that we brought to this man, the thought that this man can possibly become saved due to the love we expressed towards him today, was incredible! I completely found my purpose for this trip, and even though i could only say a few thing to him in Spanish, this man understood that Jesus Christ died for him! Towards the end, we found out that his nombe(name) is Martin. the fact that we found that out brought even more joy towards him, which brought more tears to the crowd of our group.
So, needless to day, today was amazing!
I wish i could share more, but i am being called and am so excited about Christ that i cant even say anything then... GOD IS GOOD! All the Time GOD IS GOOD!
love,
Alli
(PS: Check back over the last few days for more blogs and pix..Bruce.)
Hola,
What an amazing day we have all had today! Our team grows a bit closer each day as we are drawing on God´s strength for wisdom and endurance.
Today we went to a village named "Manuel Correro." Mathew broke us up into to teams to collect garbage and one team stays at the school to do work. My team stayed at the school and it was amazing how much we got done in three hours. We have a new saying now, "What happens in Peru stays in Peru!" The students are working so hard and there is no complaining or lack of desire to serve the people from Peru. There is an older man that works for the church named Alejandro. He is fierce with the hedge clippers and even wilder with his weed whacker! Joy, Laura, Keith and I did a lot of work with him and it was quite difficult to keep up with him. At the end of our time he cut his finger and was very touched as Gina G. and I bandaged his hand. The groups that collected garbage had wonderful glimpses into the grateful hearts of the Peruvian people.
VBS was incredible. "Team two" taught their lesson on creation with the emphasis of where we live, where they live, and that we have one God that created it all! The students totally absorbed the lesson and the concept. They were excited to take their colored pictures of the globe home. Many of us connected with children that we met yesterday. My blessing came in the shape of a six year old boy named Carlos Alberto. He captured my heart yesterday and sealed it today. He is made up of 80% dirt and 20% boy and all together is an absolute sweet heart with no teeth! I have truly discovered my purpose of being here with this awesome group of 41 other individuals who are anxious to discover their own purpose of serving God´s people in Peru.
Thank you all for your prayers. Your children are truly amazing and it is a pleasure to serve with them. Blessings and we will see you in a week!
Serving Him,
Jan Shortall
(PS: Check back over the last few days for more blogs and pix..Bruce.)
