Peru: Day 2

The following day was the Sunday church service.  Attendance started out low and we attributed it to being Peru's National Independence Weekend celebration.  However, by the time we began worshiping practically every seat was filled.  Our team got to lead the congregation in two songs en Espanol and then Janice and Ashlyn both shared their testimonies.  Some technical difficulties turned what was originally meant to be a flute and piano duet into a flute solo featuring myself and I was beyond blessed and humbled to get that opportunity.  Dick gave an incredible message on our DNA and how we each have a physical DNA that gives us our unique characteristics but, we have a spiritual DNA as well, that makes us all brothers and sisters in Christ and heirs to the kingdom of Heaven.  Following the service some ladies from the church made a delicious lunch for us consisting of lots of chicken and rice and, fellowship with one another.  We ended the day by touring the city's local water park which features an array of masterfully designed fountains inside a luscious park. 

God saw fit to begin and end our first two days by demonstrating the timing which only He has.  As we were standing around the park exit trying to decide whether to wait another 40 minutes for the taxi we had negotiated with after dropping us off, to come pick us up, an Uber big enough to fit our entire team pulled up right in front of us.  The driver was familiar with the street we were trying to get to and was happy to give us a lift. 

Peru: Day 1

Greetings from Peru! God blessed us with a mostly uneventful trip both to Miami and Lima as well as with a very swift baggage claim in Lima... praise God!  We came with 8 duffel bags full of gifts for the locals and supplies for ministry and all 8 were already waiting for us when we made it to baggage claim. Some members of the church were waiting to welcome us when we arrived in Lima - with handmade signs and all - and the excitement on their faces was precious. 

After a night's rest in our beautiful guest house, we hit the town for some breakfast at a local McDonald's and then some grocery shopping at Lima's, equivalent to WalMart, which is known as Wong's.  God showed His provisions, yet again, during that outing as we were blessed by an English-speaking local in front of us in line at McDonald's who helped us make our orders.

The church sent a van to pick us up from the guest house at 3:00 and took us to the church for a night of games and bible study with the children and youth.  There were about 30 children in all and we were able to give each one of them a “Game On” t-shirt from this year's VBS, which they all loved.  The youth had a much lower turnout but that ended up making things more intimate which I think we all enjoyed.  Then three teenage boys all prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior that night thanks to the counsel and coaching of Chris and Dick and their interpreter Eloy.

Alaska: Day 5

What a day! The team went to the new facility for Kingdom Air Corp in Palmer. Kingdom Air Corp trains those that are called to the mission field to fly into the remote areas to spread the Gospel. They train them to fly and fix mechanical problems with their planes. The new hanger will help to keep the planes warm in the freezing, Alaska winters. Kingdom Air Corp also created and runs Brook Range Bible Camp. They fly in to 11 villages to pick up children that want to attend the camp. What a great ministry.

 

Alaska: Day 4

Happy 4th of July from Whittier, Alaska! Today we helped serve the town of Whittier and their Chamber of Commerce by prepping lunch, setting up tables and a bounce house and face painting for the kids. We then helped serve lunch to around 350 people. We did a little site seeing in the way back to Anchorage and actually got to see a new iceberg that showed up just for us!

 

Alaska: Day 3

Tuesday the team went to a small soup kitchen in Anchorage to prep meals and serve breakfast at Bean's Cafe with Chef Aaron. We then delivered more soccer camp invites before heading to Girdwood. We helped True North Girdwood host a Burger Burn at the employer housing for those that will be working on the 4th of July. The turn-out was small but we had some great conversations.

 

Alaska: Day 2

Greetings from Anchorage! Today the team went out into some of the neighborhoods around Fairview to pass out invites to a soccer camp that True North and the team next week will be doing with the families. After lunch, the Norfolk team divided into 3 teams and with a few of the summer interns, went to 3 laundry mats. We paid to wash and dry their laundry, had some engaging conversations and outreach, and prayed with some. The team is excited to be heading to Bean's Cafe early Tuesday morning before another busy day. More tomorrow.

 

Alaska-Day 1

Today was the first day of work and worship here in Alaska with our True North Anchorage and Girdwood families. We went to Clark Middle School Sunday morning for service. Jason Lankford delivered a wonderful message on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 on present renewal (v16), future glory (v17) and eternal perspective (v18). The team was then invited to the Aja and Ian Johannes' house for some moose chili and orientation. Following our time of fellowship, the team loaded up and headed to Girdwood a little early so we could see some sights along the way. The Girdwood campus meets at Girdwood Elementary and Pastor Brian delivered a message on Daniel 1. The church then had dinner (beef and/or halibut tacos) and a time of fellowship. We headed back to Anchorage and stopped at Potters Marsh where we were lucky to see 1 bull moose and what we think was a momma and 2 baby moose!  Well, off to bed for day 2. More to come!