La Glorieta, Chancay, Peru

  Castillo de Chancay, Peru

When we left the Mission Training school we traveled to Chancay, Peru. We did outreach in some of the poorest neighborhoods. This city to me seemed to be at odds with what it should be. Let me explain, you look out and see the Pacific Ocean and how beautiful it is. Then you turn around and see the slums crowing around the oceanfront. This visual blew my mind, especially when I come from a society that Oceanfront property is considered prime real estate. It was hard to wrap your mind around this. Now not all of Chancay is poor the downtown area is beautiful with it's gazebo in the plaza. There is a walkway only next to it full of shops and restaurant's. There is a castle there too but I did not get to see it I only saw a picture of it on a postcard.

La Glorieta, Chancay, Peru

In this city we went to an area so poor it rivaled Lima and the children were so happy to see us. We did a children’s program for them and I dressed up as Bubbles the clown again. I didn’t have a clown suit but I had a great time and the kids loved it. Bubbles had candy and beaded bracelets to give away and I thought I had enough for everyone but I was swamped when I started to give them away and there were a few children that didn’t get anything but candy. I had one little girl who cried like her heart was broken and I found something in my bag to give her when everyone was gone. I could not stand to see her weep so.

These were some of the better homes I saw...

Our group stayed with a lady from the church. She graciously opened her home to us and was such a wonderful hostess during our stay. When we first got there it was late at night and when she opened the door to all of us I think she was a little shocked! Especially when we just kept coming in. I think she thought we would never stop! She was so sweet and her three children were so well behaved. Her daughter spent quite a bit of time with us she is so sweet and beautiful. She wanted us to help her with her English. So we spoke to her as much as we could in English. She took me shopping one day as I had run out of clean clothes. That was fun! Not knowing my size in Peru was a challenge as well but as usual I made it an adventure and got some new clothes that at least had not been wore for 2 or 3 days in a row! Plus I must say I got everything at a steal! Things are soooo cheap there.

One last fun thing… The ladies of the church always cooked for us and found it to be an honor to do so. This one lady asked us to pray for her son to start going to church with their family again as he hadn’t been in over 10 years. Our group prayed for her then later that day I met her son he seemed like a nice man. I asked him to go to church with me and he said no. OK, no problem I thought at least I asked. Well the next day the Pastor asked me if I had invited him to church and I said yes. He then asked me if I would go back and ask him again. I said sure and his sister in law and niece were waiting for me when I came out of the apartment to take me to him. When I got there I talked with him and asked him again to go to church with me. He then asked if his family had put me up to this and I answered truthfully no. That it had been my ideal the first time I asked and no one else’s. He smiled and then agreed to go to church with me (he spoke English very well by the way). I had a very pleasant time at church with him and his family was ecstatic to see us. His name was Jesus… How many people get to say they went to church with Jesus? The funny thing about this whole thing is he wanted to talk to me after church to discuss my faith and because of the Peruvian culture I could not be alone with him as I was unmarried. So his family and one of the missionaries went with us to eat dinner after church and talk. It was the sweetest thing BUT I felt like I was a young girl on a date . The family is really a nice group of people and I’m happy to report Jesus is still going to church.

Jesus and Me

Our Mission Team

My Mission Team 2011

The Mission Training school was a preeminent experience for me. One I shall not soon forget…



Let me first tell you about my trip up the mountain… Did you ever see Romancing the Stone? If you did do you remember the bus ride Joan Wilder takes the one where she bounces awake?

The only thing missing on our bus ride was the pig and chickens! Well for those of you who saw the movie you know what I’m talking about but to those of you that didn’t well… We go up the mountain and there are drop offs so close to the VERY bumpy DIRT road that one wrong slip and it looks like you will slid right off the side. And when I say bumpy I do mean bumpy one gentleman got so sick we had to stop and let him throw up twice! I laughed out loud from the joy and said “what a ride!” I told everyone I felt like Joan Wilder and Karen Whitley said “That is why I love this girl no matter what we do she finds joy in it!”


There are thousands of Peruvians hungry to hear the word of God. They do not have enough trained pastors for the existing Churches much less the new churches they plant. That is why this Mission Training school is so important. They are training the Pastors and Missionaries of the future for Peru. There are still many places in the jungle that have not heard the gospel spoken. One Pastor was taking a group 16 hours up the Amazon River and then a 4 hour road trip to a native group. I saw him at the airport when I was leaving and he told me they had baptized 47 people while they were there. I told him that was a trip I would love to make some day.

I came here last year so broken hearted and yet God used me to help fulfill his plan. He gave me great teachers, Pastor Paul and Karen Whitley, Pastor Hector Del Carpio, Pastor Juan, Pastor Miguel and Suzan Cartagena and the many dedicated young people of Peru. This trip showed me how much he had used me last year and the difference I made. We are all just one person working for God but each and everyone of us matters. If we are not there in that moment working for God then who will be? If we do not speak God’s word then who will not hear it? We must all be Warriors for Christ and tell our story so others will learn and follow the one true God. Everyone has a story to tell. Maybe you think your story has no value but if your story touches one person and brings them to Christ and then they touch one person and they touch one person and so on it has a giant ripple effect and many people end up being saved just because of you shared your story. We should not be afraid to tell our story, we must all learn to be bold for God.

This Mission trip was a joyful homecoming to me and it was also a chance to plant more of God’s word. I can’t wait to return next year to see the fruits of this trips labor. It was an incredible thing to see real, lasting change coming from my last trip and I know that is what I did this time too.

Hard at work

On the streets of Chancay, Peru

Mission Training School Peru

My view every morning...

Matthew 5:16Let your light so shine before men , that they may see your good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.

I really don't know where to begin with this blog? Which is so not like me... I always have something to say and a unique way to say it but this trip was powerful and moved me in a way that is hard to define.God spoke to me on this trip and what he said make me think about many things I had not considered before. So, I will share some of my personal moments in Peru. These made an impact on me and my desire is for it to make one on you as well.

The first thing God told me was to stop trying to figure everything out myself. Next he told me to give up my will to him.To fall in line with his plans. To lose the many "selves" of myself. I understood what he was saying I have to die to my many "selves" or MY wants. We all have things we want in this life, a home, car, husband or wife, great job, or travel. What God said to me was to listen to his voice and wants for my life and to stop thinking about what I want to do for him and let him lead me to what he wants from me and where he wants me to go. Does anyone understand what I'm trying to say here? I know this Mission trip was where he wanted me because I once again felt at total peace and only that comes from God and following his path.

Sometimes I try so hard to listen to God or direct my life in the way that I think he wants me to go that I forget that I'm getting ahead of him and his desires for my life. This Mission School in Peru was so far removed from civilization that I was forced to rely on God's will for my life. I had so many quite hours with God. I wrote everyday and want to share some of that writing with you. I was at one with our creator and felt so blessed to be in that beautiful part of the country. Everyday we had different teachers and different subjects to learn. We had some very well traveled Missionaries to teach us about this world of God's and what to expect if we choose this life.

  And every evening...

One Pastor moved me almost to tears but delivered an astonishing revelation... He spoke about us and used a bucket of water as an example. He stuck his hand in the water and then removed it. He said you could not tell where his hand had been but when it was there you could see it quite clearly and we were all like that, a light in the darkness for others to see. When we are gone who will take our place and become the light of God? He also said when God first called him to do Mission work the first place he sent him was to Mexico and he reveled that he had hated the Mexican people which his honesty shocked me! He said he cried everyday and asked God not to send him there but being obedient to God meant he must go and when he stepped off the plane and looked into the eyes of the Mexican people he still felt hatred but God spoke to him and said look into their eyes and he did and then God said if I loved them enough to die for them can you not love them enough to minister to them for me? He wept like a baby then and said yes he could...  I was shocked by his honesty and humbled. I was guilty of the same. Sometimes there are people that are just too hard to love. I learned that there are horrible people in this world and we may never understand them or the choices they make but I also know when I look into their eyes I now see God and If he loved them enough to die for them, then I can Minister to them. I do not look at anyone the same since he preached those words.

That moved me to tears and I felt a change sweep over me. Now, every time I look into the eyes of someone I don't like or who makes me angry I remember and hear his words again and then I really look and that person. God didn't just die for me or my family, he died for us all even those who scorn him, mock him and don't believe in him. He died for us all and even though I knew this I don't think I had ever thought about it in quite this way. That was so powerful to me... Stop right now and turn to someone you don't know and look into their eyes and see that God loves them too and see if that doesn't change your perspective for just a minute. Or think about someone who maybe hurt you profoundly, or hurt someone you love deeply. Maybe they hate you just because you believe in God? When you look at them through the eyes of God you see something very different and I will never forget that message as long as I live.

Psalm 27:13 ~ I would have lost heart,unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living...

Lima, Peru and My Mission Trip

Today I read something it was a quote by David Wilkerson~ God brings imperfect people together to perform his work on earth. He does not send angels. Angels weep over the world, but God does not use angels to accomplish his purposes. He uses burdened, broken, weeping men and women. When I read this I thought how true this was… I came here last year so broken in spirit and yet God used me to help fulfill his purpose and his plan. He used my sorrow to build bridges of love. That love I gave to the people of Peru. They saw me as a shining light for God and even in my worst moment I was an inspiration to them. They saw God’s spirit in me and they responded to that.

My “JOY” has returned and my heart is overflowing with God’s love… There are times when I wonder in my life what I have done to behold God’s love in the eyes of the Peruvian people. I’m so blessed and I have a grateful heart. The women of this place were overjoyed to see me and we cried many tears of joy. They have been waiting for me to return.

Cecilia and me

When Cecilia opened the door and told me she was fine I knew my prayers had been answered. She held her sweet baby boy in her arms. I had worried about her because she had a lump in her breast and was pregnant and that was so similar to me and my cancer during my pregnancy. She said every time a group from America came she would go and look for me. Because she remembered that I said I would come back to see her. I gave her my bracelet the one I had worn for over a year that said “With God all things are possible” Mark 10:27. I kept that on my wrist to remind me of how great our God is and I told her the story when I gave it to her, she wept and hugged me.

Then there was Maria my earth angel’s mother. When she opened the door and saw me standing there she broke down and grabbed me. She was overcome with joy. I did not realize that I had made such an impact on her and was very surprised. She told me about the kids going the Happy Hearts and how she was still attending church. I guess my lesson was every life you touch can leave a heart print or a crack in their heart. We must tread carefully so we only leave heart prints and not cracks.

Maria and her children

We went to a place so spiritually poor that it hurt your heart just to see them. Now they have a Happy Heart club for the children, they started going to church regularly and the gangs fights have stopped. The place has the feel of God about it… I helped build something lasting in this place… Not just a home to keep the children from sleeping on the dirt floor but lasting eternal change in this place for God and I’m so thankful he allowed me to come back and witness the change. God does not want us to keep our faith to ourselves. We must be a Missionary to everyone, everywhere. Go and be a blessing. Make a change in this world for God.

I want to thank Paul and Karen Whitley for all the hard work and dedication to the people of Peru. The Mission work they do is so important and I know God smiles upon them and all the work they do there. I feel blessed to have been apart of this not once but twice and hopefully many more times to come as well.

My Peruvian Angel

Paul and Karen Whitley