Worship and Goodbyes

Travel Itinerary

Sunday, August 20, 2023 (Micah Blessing)

Hello friends and family! Today we went to church. We split up into groups. One group went to a church called San Jeronimo church which meets at Promesa School and the other went to Huacarpay church. At church I went to Sunday school and at Sunday school we had a lesson about the 10 plagues. Then you must memorize a verse on the board so you can play outside. I played soccer with my friends. My parents said that the sermon was a testimony of a lady becoming a Christian from a life of evil spirits and following idols. After that we went to an outdoor restaurant where I ate fried chicken, rice, french fries, and salad. It was all very delicious. Then we heard testimonies from the Huacarpay pastor and his wife about how they became first generation Christians. We drank lemonade (but everyone had to share cups with other people that were not in your family). Then we went to Francisca’s house, and they gave gifts, and we had our devotion and then went home to pack for tomorrow to go home. GOD IS GOOD!

Sunday, August 20, 2023 (Moses Madavaram)

Some of us woke up with the realization that we’d be leaving Peru to go back to the US.

There was a mix of emotions including grief that this amazing experience would soon be ending. But it was an amazing trip indeed.

Started with an amazing breakfast that consisted of baked oatmeal. You can’t go wrong with oatmeal, but that’s just me.

Then we went off to church in a bus just like the Peruvian way.

The church was amazing with everyone being very welcoming. Almost everyone approached us and gave us a very warm welcome.

During service we were able to introduce ourselves and they gave everyone a round of applause.

After service during some downtime we were able to play the guitar and have some nice conversations.

We went out to lunch and had a very satisfying Peruvian meal.

After that we went back to our homes where the whole group had a debrief to reflect back on the trip we had. We wrote things that we were thankful for from God, the challenges of going back home, and the things that we’ll miss about Peru.

We even chose 2 members to write about what we were thankful for about this trip.

After that we were able to have more amazing conversations and took more memorable group photos.

We all even received gifts from our host family which we were very thankful for. We really appreciated their kindness and generosity and they really made this an unforgettable experience.

After that everyone said their goodbyes and left happily and then we started packing everything to be prepared for our flight the very next morning.

Sunday, August 20, 2023 (Bethany Weaver)

Today was our last full day in Cusco, and we felt the sting of goodbyes to friends new and old. We began our day at church. Pastor Steve and Beth and Josh and Rosemary’s family went to church in San Jerónimo. Meanwhile, Carolyn and her boys, Steve and I and our boys, and Moses and Joel went to Huacarpay, which was my home church while I was living here. I spent most of my weekends in Huacarpay for worship team practice on Saturday evenings and stayed overnight till Sunday for church and hanging out with people in the afternoons. So I formed a lot of good relationships there, and it is always difficult to say goodbye at the end of a trip.

Pastor Celestino’s sermon this morning was on self-discipline, using Paul’s text from 1 Corinthians 9. He talked a lot about different aspects of discipline, focusing a lot on reading the Bible and having a consistent devotional time. That was a challenge to me as I continue to figure out how to teach our boys about Jesus intentionally and consistently and help them to grow in their relationship with Him. We enjoyed the worship time and appreciated the translations of the words to the Quechua songs into Spanish and English. Shaun bravely went into a Sunday school class by himself, where he didn’t understand the language, and then recited the Bible verse with the class at the end of the service.

After church, we spent some time waiting and talking with people at the church, while others were doing discipleship training with some of the youth, using a curriculum implemented by Pastor Steve and Beth many years ago. This was a good time to say goodbye to some of my dear friends. Soon, Pastor Celestino and his wife Ines were ready, and we all piled into cars and went to a nearby town to eat at a restaurant owned by a woman from the church. One of my favorite moments of the day was looking down the table at all the faces around it. I told the members of our group, “This is one big family,” meaning all the members of Pastor Celestino’s family who were there. But then I realized that we were all one big family in Christ. The rest of our team and a few people from the San Jeronimo church joined us later, and the table expanded even farther. Truly, we are all one big family in Christ.

After a hearty and delicious meal, we took time to hear the testimonies of Pastor Celestino and Ines of how they had come to know the Lord. It was encouraging to hear their stories. Throughout the time we have been here, it has been wonderful to see how the church and school are growing and to hear the vision they have for the future. Clearly, God is at work here in Cusco, slowly but surely, building His kingdom.

After hearing testimonies and taking pictures, we said heartfelt goodbyes to all our friends and headed home. After a time of debrief as a team, we got to say goodbye also to Santiago and María Esther, two of the teachers from the school; and Rolando, Francisca, and Christian, the owners of our house. Though our stay here has been brief, there have definitely been relationships forged and love growing in our hearts for each other.

Tomorrow morning we will wake up early to begin our long journey back to Lancaster. Yet, the time we have spent in Cusco has impacted us and changed our hearts. Meeting and reconnecting with our brothers and sisters in Christ from another part of the world and seeing what God is doing here has been an encouragement. Seeing the openness to learning and trying to build relationships on the part of the Landis Valley team has been fun. Personally, seeing my kids and especially my husband becoming more able to hold conversations and building relationships with the people I love has been a wonderful blessing. It is hard to live with your heart in two places, but life is enriched so much more by doing so.


A Day of Revelation

Travel Itinerary

(note: this morning a second journal entry was added to Friday's blog)

Saturday, August 19, 2023 (Steve Gibbs)
Our trip to Palqoyo today began at 4:30 am and finished when we returned home at 4:30 pm. One way it’s a three hour bus ride with about one hour and 45 minutes on rough, winding, bumpy dirt roads so multiply that by two and that was our travel time. 

Yet it was so worth it to see three “rainbow mountains”, the glacier on Mt. Ausangate (at 20,945 ft. highest in the Cusco region) and some very impressive jagged, natural rock formations called “the enchanted forest”. We started our journey leaving our homes, boarding the bus at 10,100 ft. riding up to 15,652 ft., where we were dropped off in the parking lot and then hiking up to 16,250 ft. The hike took your breath away! Any pictures that you see could never compare with what you see when you are there. 

Even though the hike, which was about 2.5 miles altogether, was a bit grueling, it was a tremendous opportunity to experience the beauty of creation. As Psalm 19, which was our devotional Scripture today, says, “The heavens declare the glory of God. . . “ Something of God’s majesty, power and purity (holiness) was being revealed to our team and to all who were making this climb today, including our 2 tour guides and the tour promoter, who accompanied us. 

Since Beth and I are the slowest hikers in the group, we brought up the tail end of our team. Of course, one guide goes ahead leading the group and the other guide stays with the last members of the group. As such Beth was able to engage that guide, Samuel, in conversation. Eventually the topic of faith came up. Our guide, Samuel, told of his belief in the “Pachamama” (mother earth) and of the energy that she gives to him. Beth told of Jesus being the God above all gods and the one true God over all creation. Then the topic moved on to other things. 

Somehow over the course of the day, something moved the guide, Samuel, to ask if he could attend a church service. Someone in the group said, “Certainly”. Then he wanted to know the specific location of the church and as we got dropped off at the end of the day, we told him all of the particulars and invited him to come to church tomorrow. 

We will see what happens. We are praying that we will see him when we go to church tomorrow. Please join us in that prayer. 

As glorious as the revelation of God is in creation, God through his Holy Spirit uses us, his people, to reveal Christ to those around us through our words and our actions. I think that all of those from the tour agency who accompanied us on the hike as well as the bus driver, saw that we were not an ordinary group of tourists. For one thing, our group wasn’t just folks from the US but there were 5 Peruvians in it as well. And 4 children! With two of the children from the US speaking Spanish so well that our tour guides were amazed, the tour promoter asked me very early in the trip, how were we all related? I explained that we were not a family but rather all from the same church. 

May we individually and as a body of believers reflect Jesus in whatever we do and in so doing reveal him to those around us!

Promesa School Day #3

Travel Itinerary

Friday, August 18, 2023 (Carolyn Rhinier)

Cusco is up and running when I go to bed and wake up in the morning.  You can hear the vehicles on the busy road, driving and honking, as well as the bus stopping right outside our window.  Bryan often is looking out to see what all is going on.  You can also hear the people passing by, an occasional dog barking, bird singing, or plane flying.  My boys and I are sharing a room with two beds that were made by our host family (who are fine woodworkers).  Much of the house is a testament to their skills.  We are staying on the second floor with the Weaver family.  I have enjoyed spending more time with our church family and seeing our children bond. 

Every day brings something new, and today is no exception.  We spent our final morning at the school Promesa.  As soon as we arrived, Josh joined Joelyn and Bryan’s class who were on their way to gym.  I spent more time with the 4th grade of secondary (tenth grade in the US) who I have been getting to know.  They are in their second to last year at Promesa and said they are 15 and 16 years old.  I learned all of their names, some interests and got to practice my Spanish while they practiced their English in our many conversations.   All of the grades seemed to have a fiesta (party) today because it will be “Dia del Niño” this Sunday (a day to celebrate children, much like Mothers’/Fathers’ Day).  The students in my class brought paper crafts over to the 4th grade of primary school and helped them cut them out and glue them together.  Beth joined me in their English class and we were able to help with suggestions, pronunciations, and explanations. 

I really enjoyed being invited to play volleyball during recess by a few of the students.  They play every recess in teams of 4 and rotate after one team wins 3 points.  It was a lot of fun.  We came to bless the school, but we were also blessed in return.  The principal Damaris gave each member of our group a small gift and treated us to lunch yesterday, where a lot of our team was adventurous and tried some food we have never had before. 

We have spent a lot of time together in Pastor Roberto’s combi (van).  He and his wife Valeria had us all over for lunch at their house, which happened to be the same meal we had at our fundraiser, ají de gallina.  Both of our host families have been so welcoming and it has been a pleasure to get to know them.  After lunch today, we went on another adventure, which was the road to the new Promesa building location.  Pastor Steve and Beth say the road has improved!  It was very bumpy and we almost got stuck in one spot, but we have an excellent driver.😊 There are big plans for this mountainous land and it is exciting to hear and see them in the making. Our team helped plant some ground cover with Pastor Roberto and his brother Arturo. Arturo has been working hard and putting many hours in preparing the land for the next phase of building and caring for the native plants that have been planted to help prevent erosion and landslides. 

We finished the day with some hair cuts from César, a local barber who is the husband of Bethany’s friend.  Bryan and Shaun can now say they have received their first professional haircut in San Jeronimo, Cusco, Peru. 

Thank you for your prayers and making this trip possible.  It has been a once in a lifetime experience.  Everywhere you look here seems to be picture perfect, from the majestic mountains to the rich history to the colorfully dressed people.  One of my many highlights has been connecting with two couples during our 2 hour train ride both ways.  Even though there was a language barrier (which I had been sad about at first), it was life-giving to connect and hear about their travels and also share who we are and why our group has traveled all this long way to Peru.

Friday, August 18, 2023 (Joel Madavaram)
Today we went to Promesa. There were some differences in the school system. The school consisted of kindergarten all the way through high school. And it only went up to eleventh grade. Me and Moses spent the day with the highschoolers. There was a student in the class who spoke English so he would translate for us which I desperately needed because I wasn't following much. They were in a history class and learned about U.S history. The structure of the school system is different from my experience in high school.The students were surprised when we told them the quantity of classes that were available to us and that you could choose classes that you were interested in. A few of them were into coding and said they would teach themselves because there weren't any programming classes. I was surprised by how familiar they were with American pop culture. A lot of them listened to the same music that we listen to as well as movies, TV shows and games. It was a fascinating experience and was interesting to see how a school in another country operates and the hobbies of school-aged children.

Promesa School Day #2

Travel Itinerary

Thursday, August 17, 2023 (Josh Blessing)

Today was our second day volunteering at the Promesa school in San Jeronimo, Cusco, Peru. The previous day I had spent the time at Promesa attending several chapels for the various grades and observing the 3rd grade of secondary school with Rosemary; this grade is equivalent to 11th grade in the US. Today was different though as I volunteered with the 4th grade class by myself and got to really participate and engage more directly with the students and teachers. I realized quickly that this class would have been the kindergarten class when we last visited Peru and Promesa in 2019 and I had sat in on those classes back then with my son, Micah, who would just be entering kindergarten back home. There was one boy in particular, Mateo, who I remembered from back then as he had sat next to Micah.

The first class that we had was a gym class where we left the Promesa campus and walked about 2 blocks up the road to an outdoor turf field/playground which had a large “roof” that shielded us from the sun. Mister Pablo was the gym teacher there as well as in 2019 and was also the gym teacher when Bethany taught there….so he’s been there many years. The class played soccer and Mister Pablo had me do some passing drills with some of the students. Initially I practiced with the girls because they were the ones who had the most interest in interacting with me at first and engaging in conversation. I’ve heard that girls and women often tend to be more gifted with language than boys and men and a main part of that I think is because they, in general, enjoy conversation more and practice more. While I was practicing and talking with the girls, the boys were pounding away to see who could score goals and kick the ball the hardest.

After practicing some passing drills, some of the boys did come up to me and ask if I wanted to play a game with them. I’ve done this before in 2019 and remembered how quickly you get tired when running and playing sports at an altitude of 11,000 ft where we were. I quickly learned that some of these boys were quite good even at 4th grade. I managed to score a couple goals but I believe the other team scored more and sadly, one of my passes hit a child in the face and caused a bloody nose. I was very embarrassed and said “lo siento” (“I’m sorry”) many times, but the students and Mister Pablo said this was a common thing for this specific boy and for the children in general. I confirmed this with Bethany as being a very dry season and being at such a high altitude makes it very easy to get a bloody nose. The boy was fine thankfully and was able to return to the game.

After gym class, I was able to assist the 4th graders with their English lessons, helping to pronounce the English words for several emotions and safari animals. I think it was helpful to have a native speaker assist. These children are learning English, as well as Quechua, which is impressive. I’ve been fortunate to have my own children attend Lancaster Mennonite’s Spanish immersion program. We’ve been using both Joelyn and Micah a lot on this trip to help with translations and I am very proud of them. And these children at Promesa are learning other languages from the earliest ages which will really help them in the future. I regret that I’m not conversational in any language other than English despite my 1,200 day streak on the Duolingo language app. But I will keep trying and work towards learning Spanish and perhaps some other languages too.

After volunteering at the school, we had lunch at a nice restaurant with principal Damaris and Pastor David from the San Jeronimo church. My son, Micah, ordered cuy (guinea pig). It was good to hear from principal Damaris and learn more about her own story and her passion for Promesa. I have come away impressed from visiting Promesa. I’m seeing the children really worshiping God and praying, and a lot of this comes from the leadership of the school. Principal Damaris has a prayer meeting every morning at 7am with teachers and parents can participate as well over Zoom. She also has a WhatsApp group of all the parents where she can communicate promptly and even share videos such as our chapel presentation yesterday with our kids singing. Covid-19 negatively impacted almost every industry but especially the arts and education. And while we watched the battles take place in the USA over how to best respond and teach our children, it was even more difficult in other places like Peru. Promesa lost many students and staff during the pandemic, but it seems to be thriving. Please continue to pray for the school where at least 60% of the students come from Christian homes and many of those from the Mennonite churches.



Promesa School and Gratitude

Travel Itinerary

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 (Micah Blessing)
Hello friends and family. Today we went to Promesa school at 7:45 a.m. First Joelyn, Bryan, Shaun and I practiced our song that we were going to sing for middle and high school students and teachers. We had learned a bilingual song in English and Spanish with Sue at church. After practice was chapel. During chapel they sang two songs and welcomed us. Then we sang our song (nada nada no no no hay nada) and they clapped and smiled for us. We also gave them the gifts we bought from our children's offerings at church. Then Joelyn, Bryan, Shaun and I went to fifth grade class. Some of our classes were math, elementary chapel, recess, and writing. Some of the differences from my school are that the students wear uniforms, they go home to eat lunch after school at 3:00 p.m., each student brings their own toilet paper, and Joelyn and I were the only kids with blond hair. They bring snacks to school for the morning. Some similarities to my school are that it is a Christian school and they learn about God, the students like to play soccer, and they have the same classes. After being in Peruvian school today I felt good. Tonight we had a prayer meeting at our host home with people from Tipon church. Jesus is good!

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 (Bethany Weaver)
In our team devotions today, many of us mentioned that we have a lot to be grateful for. Here are some of mine.

Today was our first day at PROMESA. PROMESA is a Christian school begun in 2005 by the Mennonite churches of Peru, in collaboration with Eastern Mennonite Missions. The church had the vision to begin the school as a ministry to their children, who were often marginalized in public schools because of their religion and minority ethnic status. Today the school serves over 200 students from both Christian and non-Christian backgrounds. The school has gained status as a quality educational option. They are also passionate about keeping the tuition affordable for all students and routinely help families who need financial assistance. I had the privilege of teaching at PROMESA for 7 years, from 2008-2015.

Being back at the school to help for a few days feels good, but different, for me personally. When teaching, I knew what my job was. Now, as a mom and also trying to help, I wasn’t entirely sure. The day actually started with Luke, my two-year-old, begging for water. Since we hadn’t brought any with us, I decided to go get some, which meant a three-minute walk up the street to the corner store. The store is right next to my good friend Marga, who sells breakfasts. She knows how much Daniel loves her quinua drink, so she poured me a cup to take back to the school for him. After purchasing our water, I returned to the school and met several members of the graduating class, who fell in love with Luke instantly. He is quite the celebrity here with his blond hair and blue eyes. They tried to make friends with him by using a turtle finger puppet, which we ended up inheriting. As I was heading into the church for chapel, I ran into the mother of a former student. I asked about her son and found out he is studying tourism and involved in a local church. She thanked me for the influence I had on her son. It was an encouraging conversation. I was grateful as I realized that I not only returned to school with water, but also the evidence of many connections and relationships.

We also had the opportunity to sit in on the chapel times for the whole school. The middle/high school chapel was first. A chorus of students had prepared some special music in English to share with us. Bryan, Joelyn, Micah, and Shaun, were also able to share a bilingual song with the students, which they had learned in church. Miss Damaris, the principal of the school, is a very strong woman of God, who is determined to raise a generation of worshipers. It was encouraging to see the students participating in chapel services and worshiping God.

After high school chapel, we all went to different classes, to meet students, see how a school day at PROMESA flows, and to help out as we could. It was tempting to feel like we weren’t doing a whole lot, but at the end of the day, in some small way, relationships were still built. Daniel visited the preschool and kindergarten classes, and Joelyn, Micah, Bryan, and Shaun all spent the morning in 5th grade in a challenging math class. They also all got to enjoy recess time and interacting with some of the other students. The rest of the team split up into a variety of classes. We finished out the day at PROMESA with Josh and Carolyn jumping into a volleyball game with the secondary students during recess.

Today was also my husband Steve’s birthday. I am so grateful for him and the gift he is to our family. The family who owns the house where we are staying had wanted to prepare a special meal for us, so we thought today would be a good opportunity. We enjoyed some delicious food and excellent company with both of our host families attending. There was even a bit of dancing together after lunch.

I finished off the day with a quick visit to my host mom from my time in YES, over 20 years ago. Last week, before the team arrived, I visited her and was able to pray with her to accept Jesus into her heart, which was a huge answer to many prayers. That is my biggest gratitude from the whole trip. She has been having some health issues, and we were able to pray twice together for healing for her. I pray our visits together have been an encouragement to her.

Machu Picchu

Travel Itinerary

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 (Joelyn Blessing)
An experience that stretched me on this trip was going to Sunday School at Huacarpay church, because it was a different church, and my parents weren’t in Sunday School with me. We sang Spanish songs with motions (and danced), we played a game together, and then we split into age groups and started our Bible story. I was in the middle-aged group, and we talked about Jesus telling his twelve disciples to go out to the world without worrying about taking food, water, or extra clothes and to tell people that the kingdom of God is near. We all took turns reading from the book (that had the Bible story in it) in Spanish, and then we colored in the picture of the Bible story. After that, we memorized a short Bible verse which was: A Jehovah nuestro Dios serviremos y a su voz obedecermos Josue 24:24. (We will serve the Lord our God and obey Him. Joshua 24:24). 

A story that I remember from Pastor Steve and Beth is when they baptized the first group of believers here. Some people saw the baptism and started throwing stones at them in the river and they needed to stop the baptism. On the way home from our meal after church we saw where all that happened. So that was pretty cool to see. 

Today we woke up in Aguas Calientes and got on a bus to Machu Picchu! The bus went up the mountain and, on the way up, you could see a big drop to the ground. At Machu Picchu, we had a tour guide who was very good at explaining everything. Then after some talking, and learning a lot more about Machu Picchu from our tour guide, we went on a little path that led to a bridge that the Incas destroyed so others could not get into their territory. This path pretty much the whole time was very narrow and you could also see a big drop to the ground. Then once we left Machu Picchu, we got on a train to go to Ollentaytambo, and from there we got on a bus to get to Cusco (where our host homes are) and we went to bed from a very busy day! Tomorrow we will volunteer at Promesa School.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 (Steve Weaver)

Today started in a hotel after a good night of sleep. The sleep was refreshing after a not so smooth day yesterday for our family. You may notice our family missing from many of yesterday’s pictures. Our children reached a point of frustration, and many of the circumstances that had contributed to that frustration were going to happen again today (sun, lots of walking, and young children), so my mind was not at ease. However, God was merciful, and the day went far better than expected!

At 9 am we met our tour guide, Jjoseph, outside our hotel. Jjoseph is the husband of a good friend of Bethany’s, Rosa, who was also there with their 2 children Samin and Benjamin. Rosa’s family is from the church in Huacarpay and as a child was Beth’s Sunday school student. Now she lives and works as a guide in Machu Picchu with her family. From the town, we took a bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. Someone counted 13 switchbacks on the way up, with no guardrails. Once inside, Jjoseph took us on a 4 hour tour explaining a lot of what is known of the ruins as we went. There were many uneven rock stairs and narrow paths overlooking long drops (often without any kind of guardrail). It was good to have a guide! After much beauty, wonder, and scenery, we got on a bus to go back down. From there, being a bit behind schedule, we split up to gather our luggage from the hotel and grab some food to eat on the train we needed to catch. We did catch the train and Carolyn once again made quick friends with the Argentinian couple she was sitting across from. After the train, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Cusco, and then, the ever helpful Pastor Roberto picked us up in his van and took us to our homes. It was a long, but good day.

We saw God workmanship in the beautiful scenery, the mountains that reached the clouds, the trees, and the rushing river. We also saw God work in keeping us safe through dangerous walkways, giving the kids amazing stamina (Daniel walked the entire time!), the friendship from our tour guide and his family, who made sure we were on the right track even outside of Machu Picchu, and random encounters like a lady who sat next to me on the bus, and, after some small talk, became very interested in the differences between Mennonites and other “Evangelical” Christians (which to her basically means other Protestant churches.)

I am very appreciative of God’s mercy today, helping the kids with seemingly superhuman stamina and attitudes and the help of others in the group who also helped the kids get through and stay safe. I’m also excited about tomorrow where we’ll help out at Promesa. I’m not sure what they’ll assign us to, but it’ll be good to get to catch up with some of the kids and get to know others. God is good!

Reflections and Hiking

Travel Itinerary

Monday, August 14, 2023 (Steve Gibbs)
August 14, 2023. The Peruvian Mennonite Church started a long time ago, 1990. People came to Jesus and were baptized in the river in the town of Lucre, 25 km south of Cusco. On Sunday as half our group went to Lucre and half went 2.5 km further away to the church in Huacarpay,it was a day of much reflection as I was there when the first baptism occurred. As I worshiped in Huacarpay I was reminded of the first generation of believers in the Huacarpay church, especially those who have passed away. I could sense that this “cloud of witnesses” was worshiping along with us in heaven as we worshiped Jesus here on earth. As they had been faithful unto death so should we be.

Looking around the congregation as we worshiped, I looked at specific members of the congregation and thought about who these people are and how I had known them over the years. I saw hermano Miguel and recalled that he and his wife, Maria, were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and that I had performed their wedding ceremony. I also remembered that Miguel was now a grandfather as his daughter, Karen, who was married a year ago had had a baby recently. When Beth and I visited in February, we met her husband and  saw that she was expecting. On Sunday we congratulated them after church and Beth held the baby. What joy filled my heart as I took their picture! 

When I greeted the congregation along with the rest of the group, I asked the question, “How far does the blessing of God extend?” As I shared with the congregation that through Miguel and Maria’s family and other families in the church as well as all of their spiritual children and grandchildren, those who have come to faith through their faithful witness, there is now a third generation of believers in Huacarpay. The blessing of God and the Good News of salvation in Jesus is from generation to generation. 

All of this is in stark contrast to the way of life that was in Perú before the Gospel came (and still pretty much exists in the lives of those who have not yet received Jesus as their Lord). Pastor Roberto and his wife, Valeria, who was one of the believers baptized in that first group of believers in 1990, shared their testimonies with our entire group on Sunday night. Pastor Roberto shared that his father was an alcoholic and his mother was an alcoholic so what could he be but an alcoholic? Happily God had other plans and instead of becoming an alcoholic, he came to Christ and was transformed. The generational curse was broken and his children, now adults are following Jesus as well. Their family now transmits the blessing of the Gospel rather than the curse of sin and self-righteousness. This is the miracle of God’s love that I have witnessed here in southern Perú.

God’s plan is so big that it goes beyond just individuals but it also includes families and generations of families. Ultimately the goal of the Gospel is that all families of the earth will be blessed through God’s family. May the message of the love of Jesus not stop with me but be spread to my family and to others and their families! 2 Timothy 2:2 May we be found faithful!

Monday, August 14, 2023 (Rosemary Blessing)
On Sunday our hearts were full, encouraged, and blessed from church services, afternoon lunch conversations with church folks, and evening connections with pastor Roberto and Valeria. We experienced the impact of missions from many years ago; it was a reminder of the significance of missions, both local and abroad, and that our faithfulness in following Jesus in the day to day is what allows His bigger story to be written.    

Today, Monday, was a day of experiencing culture through exploring and hiking 5.8 miles of Sacred Valley’s Incan ruins (ancient stone temple ruins, plazas, temple of the Sun). The highest point of our hike was 11,500 feet; our hike ended in the town of Pisac at 9,300 feet. We climbed up and down treacherous old stone steps, walked switchbacks along the mountain, navigated narrow stone tunnels, and experienced terrain changes. It was not for the faint of heart (pastor Steve and Beth are absolutely amazing!). The photos on today’s blog give a glimpse of the Andes Mountains, the history of Peru, and the rugged terrain of rural life. Our team members each shared a description of the morning: stunning and intense, breathtaking, magnificent, ancient and slow, incredibly beautiful, priceless views, awe inspiring, magnificent and once in a lifetime, too long, very elegant, fun and exciting, stone stairs, and tiring and fun.

While hiking, I appreciated hearing Beth share that a common trait of impactful mission work (whether home or abroad) is intentional interest into understanding and experiencing the culture and history of a people. She shared that Peruvians are proud of their culture and that seeing others show interest in learning about who they are is significant in building trust and relationships. I appreciate Steve and Beth modeling this trait of curiosity to our team and for planning the trip through this lens; a beautiful modeling of Jesus’ care for people. 

After a 2:30 p.m. lunch we said goodbye to pastor Roberto and Valeria. They dropped us off at the Ollantaytambo train station and we took a 1.5-hour train station to the town of Aguas Calientes (at the base of Machu Picchu, which we’ll see on Tuesday).

On Sunday night, when pastor Roberto and Valeria’s shared their testimonies, one of them commented that spending time with our intergenerational team, where all ages are represented, is blessing them; that it gives an idea of what their churches might be able do as they look to be missional in the remote regions of Cusco where there are not yet churches. A significant component of this trip is this mutual encouragement with Peruvian believers in faithfully following Jesus and sharing the Gospel with those who have not yet heard it. It’s been an encouraging, humbling, and inspiring week! Thank you for your ongoing prayers.

Worship

Travel Itinerary

Sunday, August 13, 2023 (Beth Gibbs)
Another amazing day here in Cusco, Peru!

Our group divided in two and we visited the Huacarpay and Lucre Churches. Steve and I, Josh, Rosemary, Joelyn, Micah, and Francisca (host mom for the others) went to Huacarpay. Pastor Roberto, Valeria, Carolyn, Bryan, Shawn, Steve, Bethany, Daniel, Luke, Moses, and Joel went to Lucre.

For us, being with Pastor Celestino and Ines and so many of our friends there is always a special gift. Tonight, as I write this, I am reminded of the beginnings of this church in a small, rented room with basically one family. Today we were with a church full of people who love Jesus and together we could worship our Father and Savior! Pastor Celestino preached on Jeremiah 17 and the blessing of trusting in the Lord (vs.7)!

I am particularly proud of Joelyn and Micah who bravely went to Sunday School with the other children during the sermon time. They stepped out of their comfort zone which is the beginning of cross-cultural ministry! Both are doing so well in Spanish! As church ended the children’s classes came in and shared a verse they had just learned. Joelyn and Micah recited the verse right along with the rest of the children.

Pastor Celestino and Ines with two of their adult children invited us out to lunch. We drove into Lucre and had a delicious lunch and time of sharing. As we were leaving, we met up with Pastor Roberto and the others in the church van, and we all headed back to San Jeronimo stopping on the way for a little store that cells home made ice cream with many flavors from the fruits available here.

We all packed up and headed to Pisac in the Sacred Valley as tomorrow we will go up to the ruins here and then take the train to Machu Picchu.

After arriving this evening, we gathered in the lobby for our devotions and daily debrief. Pastor Roberto and Valeria joined us. I was so encouraged as each one in the circle shared how they have seen God at work today.

Then, came the best part of the day for me! We invited Pastor Roberto and Valeria to share their testimonies. What holy moments! All they shared is more than I can write in the blog here. I have heard their testimonies before. Steve and I have lived with them through a lot of it and hearing them share how God lifted them from homes of violence and abuse and called them and transformed them was just precious! We serve a God who never gives up on us, who loves us and cares for us. I was especially encouraged that they could both say that they don’t regret the homes they grew up in or resent God for the many struggles. Instead, they are grateful that they can now minister to others because of all that God has done in them. And they are praying about what’s next for them in ministry and where God may be sending them!

What examples of humble, servant leaders! We are privileged to count them as our friends!

More Exploring

Travel Itinerary

Saturday, August 12, 2023 (Beth Gibbs)
Today is a special day to Steve and me as we celebrate 45 years of marriage together! And we still love one another–a lot! And I am very thankful for my loving husband! This year we get to celebrate with a wonderful team from Landis Valley. The 15 of us are a great and fun group together!

As the primary person planning this trip, I have been worried about everything going smoothly–too worried really. The other day I read:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, 
in quietness and trust is your strength…
blessed are all who wait for him…
whether you turn to the right or to the left, 
your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 
This is the way; walk in it.”

So I have been learning to trust, to wait for Jesus and to listen to His voice and just walk! The Lord has been with us–lost things have been found, the six children traveling with us have been amazing, and I think we are all getting used to the high altitude. 

Today we left with our host families to travel about two hours to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. Ollantaytambo was an Incan Temple and fortress where Pachacuti (the Inca leader) retreated to when the Spaniards attacked Cusco, and Ollantaytambo is the one place where the Spaniards lost a battle. We climbed up, up, up, and even young Daniel and Luke made it to the top! 

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. Here the main meal of the day is midday, and of course we did some shopping! 

Next on our itinerary was the Salineras de Maras (Salt mines) which are fascinating. Warm salt water flows out of the mountain to thousands of very shallow pools where the water goes and then evaporates leaving behind Salt! Local families own the pools and they are passed down from one generation to the next. The trip here was our most “interesting” drive as we went down, down through many switchbacks where we saw many drop offs. I prefer not to look :). 

We wanted to visit a few other places, but the sun was setting, and it was time to head home. As we drove, we all talked and shared and then began singing together! Most of our worship leaders are here on this trip, so I must say it was beautiful and brought joy to my soul. We sang in Spanish and English and Telugu–hymns and choruses and just some beautiful music. It was a wonderful way to finish our trip today! 

Saturday, August 12, 2023 (Moses Madavaram)
Today we embarked on another journey. It started with greeting our host family and having an amazing breakfast.

However it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine since earlier a lot of us weren’t feeling well. Getting the cold, sore throat, upset stomach, car sickness, and well you name it. 

But there’s always that voice in our head with God saying, “it’s going to be alright.” And it sure was indeed. 

Greeted by our generous Pastor Roberto he drove us to Ollantaytambo. Going up these large steps to make it to the top, we found amazing scenery to take pictures of beautiful landscapes and animals as well. A good way to make memories indeed. 

After tiring ourselves by hiking up and down we stopped by for lunch, even though we got a sweet deal, the quality of food was so good it felt like a bargain. Ranging from spaghetti, grilled chicken, fish, rice, and even french fries, we were able to energize ourselves for our next journey. 

We then went to the salt mines and although it started to get chilly, we still found many opportunities to take nice pictures and to buy gifts from the local market. 

We then drove back home from the setting sun to settle down and call it a day.

Exploring

Travel Itinerary

Friday, August 11, 2023 (Bryan Rhinier)

Today we went to some ruins. There were caves and buildings that were made by the Incas!
It is so amazing that people actually built it. The stones were 3x a person's height, they were massive. The places we went to were tambomachay, puka pukara, q'enqo, saqsaywaman.
They were all so cool a verse that ties in with this day is Matthew 19:26 - “But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
This trip to Peru is amazing. Thanks for reading it.
Blessings, Bryan J. Rhinier


Friday, August 11, 2023 (Rosemary Blessing)

We spent today visiting and exploring Inca ruins (fortresses and places of worship) built in the 1500’s. We continue to adjust to the high altitude and are grateful for Ibuprofen in warding off headaches caused by the altitude adjustment. Pastor Roberto and Valeria generously joined and drove us today to the Tambomachay, Puka Pukara, Qenqo, and Sacsayhuamán ruins. We climbed many old steps, walked through dark caves, slid down stone slides, stood in awe of ancient history, were surrounded by mountains, and developed a greater appreciation of the history of Peru. Learning history gives insight into understanding and appreciating a culture and its people. Appreciating a culture and its people raises appreciation for the grandeur and beauty of God’s wonderful world where all people, regardless of culture and way of life, are made in the wonderful image of God. Our own culture and way of doing life is only one very small piece of God’s wonderful creation!

A highlight of the day was spending time together as a team. Our group of 15 ranges in age from approximately age 2 to age 70 which brings beautiful diversity in gifts and contributions. We start each day with devotions in our respective homes, spend full and rich days together, and end with group debriefing and prayer. Spending time with pastor Steve and Beth here is a highlight of the trip. The passion we see from them at LVCF for the churches in Peru is as strong as the respect and love the Peruvian churches and pastors have for Steve and Beth. Steve and Beth’s deep understanding of the culture, language fluency, and love for the people has allowed for deep and trusting relationships. Their gift of shepherding shines in their interaction with church folks here as well as their leading of our team on this trip. 

Thank you for your prayers for our team in Peru! Experiences such as these plant seeds in each participant in different ways. We have the assurance that God will water and grow the seeds planted in each participant, from the youngest to the oldest.

Travel and Arrival

Travel Itinerary

Wednesday, August 9 and Thursday, August 10 (Josh Blessing)

Hola friends and church family! Our group arrived safely to Cusco, Peru this morning. Steve & Bethany and boys arrived a week ago and the rest of our team (Steve & Beth, Josh & Rosemary and children, Carolyn and boys, Moses and Joel Madavaram) had an uneventful travel from Lancaster to JFK airport,New York to Lima, Peru, and then to Cusco, Peru. It was nice to only have 2 flights to Cusco rather than the 3 flights we took back in 2019 for LVCF’s first trip to Peru.  

A fun God story is how we found a driver for our trip to the airport. There was much discussion over options to get to JFK airport, which is at least a 3.5-hour drive from Lancaster. The team reserved a 15-passenger van in the hopes we could find a driver. Only a few days prior to our flight, we reached out to Galen Sauder who is a schoolteacher at Lancaster Mennonite and an experienced coach and school bus driver. He responded quickly that he believed he could take us even though we later found out that he and his wife had an early flight the next morning. We are thankful for Galen who got us there safely; he had gone with a group to Cusco, Peru many years ago to do work on the Promesa school so that was a neat connection as well. 

Our group met pastor Steve & Beth (who are staying longer and needed to drive separately) at JFK airport in plenty of time and we got through security quickly. It helps to have younger children in your group as airport staff often intentionally try to shepherd you through lines quicker. 😊 We made it to our gate and the children played games and colored until we boarded and departed at 12:05 a.m. The first flight went smoothly and was the first flight for some of the children in our group. They handled it very well. We had 2 meals on the 8-hour flight to Lima (dinner at 1 a.m. and breakfast at 6 a.m.). Some got several hours of sleep on this overnight flight and some did not. We hurried to get through customs and barely made our connecting 1.5 hour flight to Cusco. 

Pastor Roberto, who shared at LVCF in 2015 when in PA for Mennonite World Conference, picked us up at the airport. He drove us to the 2 homes where we are staying in San Jeronimo where we reunited with Steve & Bethany. It takes time to adjust to the altitude in Cusco which is 10,000 – 11,000 ft above sea level. Most of us had a mild headache once we landed. We did our best to stay hydrated, which helps, and then our hosts gave us plenty of Coca tea which also helps adjust to the high altitude. It is a blessing that half of our group can stay with Pastor Roberto & Valeria and half with Francisca & Rolando. We are experiencing incredibly generous hospitality and, after resting for a few hours and getting settled, enjoyed a delicious lunch of homemade soup with chicken and vegetables.  

After our late lunch, Pastor Roberto drove us to the city of Cusco where we needed to get local SIM cards for our phones, exchange money, and get tourist tickets for visiting sites in the area. Finally, we walked to the plaza in the middle of Cusco where there was traditional, albeit Mexican dancing taking place. We walked a bit further to a pizzeria where we had dinner, debriefed together, and then headed home by bus. There are many new things that we are experiencing, especially the children. This includes the presence of street dogs, crowded public transportation, and some pretty noisy areas but I’ll let the children write more about that in the upcoming entries 😊 We have had a good first day and are very thankful for the safe travels and generosity of our hosts. Thank you for your prayers!

Travel Itinerary

Thursday, August 10 - Travel

JKF (12:05 a.m.) to Lima (7:00 a.m.)
Lima (8:45 a.m.) to Cusco (10:05 a.m.) 
Rest, explore Cusco, traditional dance concert, evening debrief and prayer

Friday, August 11 

Visit ruins around and above the city (Sacsayhuaman, Coricancha, and others) with church folks and teachers
Dinner with church family, evening debrief and prayer

Saturday, August 12

Visit ruins (Ollantaytambo, Maras, Moray, and Chincheros)
Dinner with church family, evening debrief and prayer

Sunday, August 13  

Visit churches and lunch with church folks
Late afternoon travel to Sacred Valley
Overnight in Pisac, evening debrief and prayer

Monday, August 14

Sacred Valley
Train from Ollantaytambo to Agua Calientes
Overnight in Machu Picchu, evening debrief and prayer

Tuesday, August 15

Tour Machu Picchu
Late afternoon train to Cusco
Evening debrief and prayer

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, August 16, 17, 18

Volunteer at Promesa School (7:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.)
Afternoons visit Medical Clinic in San Jeronimo, Andahuaylillas village (old church), Tipon and Pikillaqta ruins, fish farm
Evenings participating in church small groups, game night with youth

Saturday, August 19

Trip to Palcoyo Mountains 

Sunday, August 20

Visit churches and lunch with church folks
Evening debrief and prayer

Monday, August 21 - Travel

Cusco (8:05 a.m.) to Lima (9:30 a.m.)
Lima (12 p.m.) to JFK (9:05 p.m.)

*Steve and Beth will stay until the end of the month

Join us Sunday mornings:

Coffee and fellowship: 9:00am
Worship service: 9:30am
Sunday School: 10:50am