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.
