Jessens on the road in December

Midwest tour

It’s that time of year when we gather with friends and family to celebrate the birth of Jesus, look back at the blessings of the past year and anticipate the year ahead. As you know, this often requires travel. That is no different for us as we will be traveling to spend time with friends, family and many of our ministry partners. Please pray for us as we visit a new supporting church in Minnesota then travel to visit other supporters and potential supporters in Kansas and Missouri. You can pray specifically:

-That the weather will be good or at least we won’t be surprised by it

-That our current ministry partners will be excited about what God did in 2009

-That God would go ahead of us to prepare the way for new partners to join with us in what God is doing through the E3 Sportreach ministry

-That our time with family will be timeless

-That we will not have any vehicle problems

Quick note: e3 Partners is in the process of completely redesigning our web presence. I’ve forwarded our family link to the our new e3 family page. Check it out. http://www.jessenfamily.info/

Thanks for your prayers and Merry Christmas

KJ for the family

Pray for Nepal

Due to the severity of increased security issues in Nepal it unfortunately means I won’t be able to take a team there next month. Two separate Maoists factions are battling over issues that are leading to protests, blockades and the taking over of public transportation. Due to these issues and several others, parents are pulling their kids off the trip. Even though I am still willing to go, I of course understand what the parents are thinking. As you can imagine I am very disappointed as many pastors have already been trained and were waiting for a team to come help them reach villages that have never heard the name of Jesus. God’s plans are bigger than mine and I cannot even begin to understand His ways so I trust He will be glorified through this situation. Please pray for our brothers and sisters there who are willing and trying to reach the lost in their country.

Recounting changes that are eternal

The bags are unpacked, routines reestablished, numbers tallied, memories fading but the lives that were changed will last for an eternity.

Please enjoy this video as we recount what the Lord accomplished this summer.

Closing a chapter

As we pulled into the airport in Lima where our journey together had begun, I don't think anyone could believe it had been a week already. I guess it may be a glimpse of eternity because when you are in the presence of the Lord time passes quickly and there's no other place you'd rather be. So, I (Kelly) would like to close out this trip with some memories from the team and then I'll share the numbers from the week.

I had the same national with me each day. She was from a town called Pilcomayo and her name was Esmerelda. I have never been around a young believer that was so hungry to learn God’s word and he taught to share the Gospel. Each time I used a scripture while sharing the Gospel she would write it down. She was very eager to share the Evangecube and God used her to bring at least 10 people to Christ. My most memorable moment occurred on Wednesday. I was having an off day. while sharing the Gospel there was two occasions that day when I forgot a scripture that I was trying to use. Esmerelda jumped right in and quoted the verses that I had forgotten because she had memorized them. I had much fun sharing the Gospel this week, but my best memory will be the disciple that I was able to make in Esmerelda. We were able to plant a new church in that area and I can’t wait to come again next year and see how Esmerelda and the church have grown. All glory to God.

Jeff T.

I think my most memorable time was after a soccer game when I was able to share the Gospel with a group of guys we were playing with. Some other curious onlookers came over to listen too. I shared with them then I challenged them that it was a big commitment, and that Jesus asks us to do difficult things so don’t make decisions unless they truly meant it. I asked them to be bold in front of their friends. Three guys indicated that they had chosen to follow Christ. It gave me great joy because they seemed to be genuinely authentic. We talked some more and got them connected with the new church.

Josh L.

It was the middle of the week, and I was teamed up with my translator and a national woman, Lina. We were going door to door sharing our testimonies and the Evangecube. We were going past a bar and met a man named Edgar. At first he seemed like he was a little drunk and he was making comments about wanting to marry one of us. We ended up sitting down and talking with him. He wanted to know how to have the hope we had. I shared the Gospel with him and he told us he wanted us to come to his house and share it with his mother. After spending some time with them they shared that he struggled with drinking but wanted to change. They bothe prayed to receive Christ as their Savior and as they prayed both weeping. The national stood over Edgar and continued to pray, her voice raised till she was almost shouting. Each of us was praying over them and they were crying and even thought I had no idea what anyone else was praying, I could just feel the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

Mary K.

My favorite memory on this trip was my follow up visit in Huancayo. I knew ahead of time that I wouldn’t see many of my prior contacts. Most were kids and people off the streets. So I along with my interpreter hit the streets to do more discipleship. While concluding prayer with a young couple a man named Antonio came yelling down the street, “my friend Londa”, it was then that I knew I had made a connection with the people and what I was doing. Gods work touches everyone. Antonio might have been on the street the first day and my chances of finding him were slim. God was accepted into Antonio’s heart and grace brought us back together for an amazing follow up. Thanks be to God.

Laurie J.

On Tuesday evening at the local cell group meeting we encouraged the group to consider that they were the start of a new church. At first they kept saying we need leaders and pastors. Yet after God’s Word was exposed to them and after they did the evangelizing, they began to realize that they could do this. When the light came on in their hearts and they realized they were chosen, what a great joy it was. A new church was born and I was allowed by God to partake of this blessing. May Jesus Christ be praised!

Tim M.

Working with Pastor Louis from one of the new church plants in Huancayo was an amazing and memorable experience! On one of our door-to-door evangelism days Pastor Louis knew exactly where he wanted to go. When we asked the Pastor where we were headed, he boldly expressed that he wanted to go to a specific area to speak to some terrorists! As we walked Pastor Louis informed my translator and me that the areas we were in was once very dangerous. Years ago, he had been a part of a team of 9 missionaries evangelizing in this community. 8 of these team members were killed during the campaign. Pastor Louis was the only survivor from the group. I was in awe to see his passion to return to this area to continue to bring the Good News to the very remnant of a group that murdered his friends.

Julie C.

Well, those are just a few of the stories and the rest we will all recount together in Heaven. As for the numbers, which please understand it is just part of the job, not our focus. This week through door-to-door, on the street, in the markets, in cell group meetings, on the courts and on the fields, we shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with 1675 people. Of those people 806 decided to begin following Christ. Now for some other cool numbers, 391 discipleship/follow-up appointments were completed. Also as a way of continueing the work in Huancayo 83 nationals were trained, 7 churches were started and 2 were strengthened. Please continue to pray for this work.

Nine months of work and prayer has gone into this week and the Lord has blessed our efforts by showing off and bringing fame to His name. So what now? So many more need to hear, is the Lord calling you?

Tomorrow we begin our journey home as we close this chapter of our lives. It will be a happy - sad day as we leave our family and friends here to reunite with our family and friends at home.

May God be gloried in all we do as we continually remind people, that anything good you see in us, comes from above. Thank you for everything.

The Jessens

God is moving in Huancayo

Our days are going from 6:30 to 11:30 so we are going to let our team updates provide some insights to what is happening this week. We can't even count the God stories we've been hearing from the team. Here are just a few.

http://sportreach.blogspot.com/

Family Camp

During our time in Peru we have enjoyed reconnecting with our favorite church in Lima. Our brothers and sisters at Roca Eterna Community Church have welcomed us warmly whenever we’ve been in Lima. Last week they invited us to join them for their annual family camp so we gladly accepted. The location for the event was Camp Kawai located on the beach 2 hours south of Lima. I teased Jenni that I was taking her back to the place where we were married (actually we were married on the island of Kauai, HI but they pronounce it the same here). During the 3 days we spent time playing games, worshiping and enjoying Peruvian food. It was a wonderful time being together as a family….but sleeping in separate dorms. The girls on one side of the camp, Mav and I on the other. I also, had the opportunity to teach two workshops on evangelism and the benefits of cell group discipleship.

We are also excited to announce that this church will be sending a short-term mission team to go with us to Huancayo next week. Jenni and I will be training them how to work as an all-national team and partner with a church in Huancayo to help start a new church. This is very exciting as our goal is to train nationals how to establish new churches without North Americans!

Please pray for our family, the North American team and all the Peruvians that will be working together next week to spread the Kingdom of the one true God by making disciples all throughout the valley of Huancayo.

P.S. In case you didn’t see our Facebook post, our feet were in a recent Keen ad. Click here to see it!

And the blind will see

Well, technically she was not completely blind. More in the category of “I can see people like trees walking around.” And even though we are on a mission trip, I am ashamed to say that praying for healing was not anyone’s first impulse. After all, WE were holding a medical clinic.
So anyway, the woman came for glasses. In reality she needed some pretty powerful bi-focals but due to the set-up and what we have to offer, she had to choose. Glasses to see distance or glasses to read and see close up. Without hesitation, she chose reading glasses. She explained, “I am a Christian, but for many years I have not been able to read the Bible. If I have to choose, I choose to read God’s word.” The eye doctor gave her the strongest reading glasses he had, which improved her vision enough that if she was in direct sunlight, and held the Bible very close she could make out the words. She then went to the spiritual counseling area. As the counselor began to talk to her she felt led by the Holy Spirit to pray for the woman’s eyes. Nothing wild or loud or flashy, just a simple quiet prayer for God to be glorified and the woman to be able to read freely the Word of God. When she opened her eyes, she began to cry. She could see clearly. She could see the donkeys at the far end of the field. She could count the children playing in the shade of a tree 100 yards away. And of course, she could read her Bible. She opened it, she held it close and read, she held it at arms distance and read, the counselor took the Bible 10 feet away and still she read. The woman marched promptly back to the eye clinic and handed her glasses back. “I don’t need these anymore. I can see.”

No Longer in Darkness - John 1:1-12

Today was one of those days when you know that if not a single other person was impacted with the gospel of Christ, this ONE was worth the cost, the effort and the challenges of the whole trip. Today we, (Jenni and Scarlet) were working in “suburb” of Chincha, Peru named Alto Laran. By Peruvian standards it is middle class. The homes are built from concrete, dirt floors and several have running water until 3 p.m. In the central park sat a little old man. By appearance I would have guessed him to be at least 75 years old. But the years have worn heavily on him and in reality he is 58. From under a small blue and white ball cap, bushy black and white hair escaped in every direction, including from his ears and eye brows. His skin a rich leathery brown and back bent from hard long years harvesting mandarins in the fields of Peru. One finger of his left hand was lost too many years back to recall. Rolfino prayed to accept Christ today in that central plaza, but really that is only part of the story. He came an hour later to the cell group meeting and eagerly devoured the first discipleship lesson. Learning how to find chapters and verses in the Bible and upon finding them, soaking them into his very soul as if rain quenching parched ground. As he stood to leave a few silent tears began to slip down his cheeks and he began to explain.
“For many years I have lived alone. My house is dark, I have no light. My house is cold, I have no heat. For many years I have been afraid of the dark, afraid of being alone. At one time, I fell and was alone calling for help for three days. A dog came and slept beside me. Every morning at 5 a.m. I get up and leave my house; I go out into the streets because I am afraid to be alone. Every night I go to bed when it gets dark and I cry because I am afraid. I feed the little dog when I can and leave water for her, but I never know when I leave if she will be there when I return. I have been alone for so long.” He wiped the tears from his darkened skin with the four fingers he had on his crippled left hand and began to sob. “Con alegria, con alegria.” He sobbed openly. “With joy, with joy,” he repeated over and over again. For 58 hard lonely years this man has lived in darkness, this evening for the very first time, he found that he is not alone. He is safely in the hand of the God that loves him so passionately that He died for him. That Jesus Christ is Life, Truth and Light. After a lifetime of living in darkness, he stepped into the Light and wept with joy...so did I. Please pray for our brother, Rolfino.

A rumble on the field in Sullana, Peru

Violence, theft and destruction weigh heavily on communities in bondage to gangs. Fear hangs over the people like a cloud over a rain forest. As if life wasn’t hard enough, this was the case south of Sullana, Peru. The night before SportReach was to come to a particular area, the local pastor wanted to speak with me, (Kelly). As we sat down, he began telling me of the gang influence in the area and how he had been praying for them for over a year. He continued telling me a story that had happened the day before. He said the e3 team member assigned to that area for the week was training the local church members how to use the evangecube so he wanted to give them a live example. He stepped outside to grab the first person he saw. He invited a middle-aged man who looked pretty rough to come inside and he proceeded to tell him the story of Jesus. At the end the man didn’t respond but pulled the e3 campaigner aside and said, “I want you to come to my house this afternoon and tell my mother this story. I think this is the most important decision in my life.” That afternoon the man, the local “god-father” figure of the gang and his mother became new believers in Christ. Now, of course, I was moved by this story and I appreciated the pastor sharing it with me but I still didn’t see how it applied to my team coming the next day, so he continued. The leader of the gang wanted everyone in his group to have the opportunity to hear about Jesus so he had arranged a soccer match with my team and his gang. The pastor had offered to pay to use a camp that had a nice grass soccer field. After we played, they wanted me to share the Gospel with them. Many, many things ran through my mind on how this whole thing could go down but how could you pass up an opportunity like this.
The next morning our team met for breakfast and then a time of prayer. We prayed for strength, humility, good sportsmanship and the opportunity to serve and share our Lord. We headed to the field with spirits high, cautious joking and with a little wonder of what was to come. As we were warming up the gang members began to arrive, most of them ranging from 16 to 23. Playing on grass was a rarity so they too took the field to warm up. The clouds cleared quickly and the temperature rose as the game began and quickly things looked bad. They scored three goals right off the bat. Heads hanging low our team reached deep in order to represent our Lord well. By the time the game ended on this 90 degree “winter” day we had made a comeback. There was no celebration over our 5-4 win as we shook hands and walked over to the shaded benches. Chugging down water we confirmed with the gang leader that now was the time. “Give me the words, oh Lord,” I prayed.
How do you break through the hardness? How do you break through the pride of self? How do you open someone up to hear the truth? I don’t, but God’s word can. Romans 7:7 says “…Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet.”” Galatians 3:24 says “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” I began by asking them if they were a good person. Blank stares came back as if to say, “Are you serious?” Well, let me ask you a few questions to find out. Have you ever told a lie? Few hands came up, then I told them I sure had. Smiles broke out and everyone raised their hands. Have you ever stolen anything? Hands shot up in the air with one guy commenting that it was his job. Have you ever hated any one? Jesus says in Matthew 5:22 “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” Last one, has anyone here ever lusted after a woman? Oops was the response as hands raised and eyes darted. Then I told them that Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Hands slowly came down, smiles faded and seriousness fell over the young men. If God was to judge you based on the laws you just admitted that you broke, would you be found guilty or innocent. “Guilty” was the response. If He finds you guilty, do you think you’d be sent to Heaven or hell? “Hell” was the response. Now, the moment of truth, are they ready? You see, if they continue to justify themselves and their sins then they are not ready to hear the Good News. “Does that concern you?” I asked. Heads nodded. So I continued on to share the Good News with them that there was an answer to the problem of sin. Jesus paid the penalty for their sins, for the times they lied, stole or hated. At the end I gave them an opportunity to make a decision to follow Christ and start a new life. Heads were bowed and eyes were closed. Hearts were changed and I pray, so was a community.
Over the next hour and a half we played more soccer, chatted, laughed and just hung out. Every one of the members individually, quietly asked for a Bible. I had a great talk with the “god-father” about being a lifelong learning and follower to Christ and continuing to encourage the guys. The local pastor assured me he would continue to pray for these guys and disciple them in their homes whenever they wanted. As we closed our time together my team took off their shirts and gave them to the gang so there would always be a remembrance of what God did that day.

(For more information of this method of evangelism see http://www.wayofthemaster.com/)

The Book of Acts comes alive in Sullana, Peru

The church we were working with on Monday morning wanted to start a new work in an outlying village. The week before, the pastors had identified the biggest and nicest home in the area and prayed to be able to use it for the cell group meetings even though the family living there were all unbelievers. This home was about 1,000 square feet and built out of concrete block instead of grass mats. In it lived 8 adult family members and all of their subsequent children. When we arrived we were warmly greeted and welcomed by the family. We needed to wait for the rest of the team to arrive before we could really start the day, but not wanting to waste the time just staring at one another, we prayerfully proceeded. One of our team members shared a testimony and the gospel with the family and we watched breathlessly as all 8 adults surrendered their lives to Christ. Hamilton, the head of this family, immediately became our biggest asset. He helped set up our sports equipment, carried and poured dirt of a different color to mark out lines on the dirt field, paid a local to watch over our equipment and belongings while we worked and arranged for the SportReach event to be announced over the community loud speaker system. He then advocated and arranged a soccer match with the local men so that they too would come and hear the gospel. How did the soccer match go? Well, we humbly lost a soccer ball but we had a great turn out, over 40 adults heard the gospel in this location and 14 of them came to Hamilton’s house that night to begin being discipled in the word of God.
P.S. Wednesday morning when we went to work in a neighboring village, Hamilton had already told the men, “If the Americans come to your village go play against them, you will win a ball!” Not knowing this in advance, we were stunned to find a group of adult men, in their matching jerseys waiting for us when we arrived. Praise the Lord we did get to keep our ball from this match with a 7-4 victory, but even better, another 11 men heard the gospel.

Scarlet´s 12th Birthday

What a delight to be able to celebrate the 12th birthday of our beautiful girl in a beautiful place. If you have ever seen pictures of Machu Pichu, Peru, you will see the ruins nestled in the crook of two mountains. A smaller one on the left and a higher one on the right. Knowing us, as you all do, we could not resist the challenge of climbing the bigger of the two. The trail is limited to 400 hikers per day, so to be one of the lucky ones, we had to get up at 4:30 in the morning and be at the bus station by 5.

The day started early and a little ¨iffy¨ when Maverek complained of a tummy ache and wouldn´t eat breakfast. My initial professional assessment was that he was just not awake yet. He quickly disproved this theory by promptly throwing up on the 25 minute bus ride to the ruins. Yep, ON the bus, as in ON himself...in the aisle, while other passengers dodged vehemently. After sufficiently purging for the time being, he recovered a bit and laughed at what a memorable trip he had to Machu Pichu. As we waited in line, to be some of the chosen few to climb the Peruvian equivalent of the ´Manitou Incline´he continued to deteriorate. But it was Scarlet´s birthday afterall, and how could we come all this way and NOT climb THE mountain in every photo of the 7th wonder of the world? We made the cut and were numbers 166, 167, 168, and 169 of 400. So while we awaited our privileged ascent, I made a quick run back to the medical clinic on site (1/2 mile) where the doctor proceeded to give me enough dramamine to knock out a horse. I confirmed that I could give my 60 lb. son THIS much, really? The doctor assured me it was good, it is fine. So Maverek dutiful swallowed the pill and tried to muster a smile for his worried sissy. He then climbed feebly onto KJ´s back for a piggy back ride up the mountain of Waynapichu. Yep, you Colorado hikers out there, imagine doing the Incline with an extra 60 pounds of dead weight on your back. By God´s grace and I think KJ would attest through God´s strength, together Daddy and boy made the ascent. Only stopping once for Maverek to throw up the prescribed dramamine. Scarlet led all the way to the top, with me bringing up the rear...struggling under a 15 lb. backpack of water and snacks. We made it to the top in one hour, where KJ invited all the other hikers there to join in singing happy birthday to the Princess. There on top of Waynapichu, she heard ¨Happy Birthday¨sung in four languages which took a little of the sting out of her disappointment and worry about her baby brother. Maverek on the other hand laid on the ground, only sitting up to smile weakly for pictures. KJ and Scarlet explored the peak overlooking the ruins while Mav napped in my lap, then after an hour of rest we began our descent. Again, KJ had to carry his little guy the entire way down a trail that many grown men were descending by scooting on their bottoms. After making it to the bottom, KJ took Maverek to the clinic and Scarlet and I took the guided tour of the ruins.

We learned many interesting things about the Quechuan people and the 14 Inca kings that ruled over them during the 400 year Incan Empire. Two redemptive analogies struck me in their religious beliefs. One, they believed sin had to be atoned for with blood and they, not knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ, tragically tried to accomplish this through human sacrifice. Two, they believed they had to be born again to have eternal life, and for this reason were mummified in the fetal position. It astounds me to know and see how God has revealed himself in one way or another through every culture and time and place. We spent 2 hours on our tour, where I photographed Scarlet in every location putting on a fake smile trying to hide her worry and disappointment.

At the end of our tour we found KJ waiting patiently outside the one room medical clinic. Food poisoning was diagnosed after Maverek hurled all over the clinic and the doctor´s shoes...twice. He couldn´t take any liquids or medicines by mouth so they started his first I.V. It took three hours to give him enough fluid and meds to stabalize him and send him home, to which he now thinks is really ¨COOOOOL!¨ Two days out now he is continuing to recover and gain strength. This morning he ate his first solid food, about 1/2 of a scrambled egg, and it has stayed down for 2 whole hours. Praise the Lord.

There is currently a country wide strike affecting transportation. We are scheduled to fly to Lima out of Cusco tomorrow, Thursday and then on to Sullana on Friday for a week of working. Pray for travel, safety, health and continued recovery for the little guy.

Amazing time in Camana, Peru

56 hours in 4 days is a lot to expect of anyone, much more so of little people. Nevertheless, that is what was required of Scarlet and Maverek this week, as they are our children and have to go where ever Kelly and I go. Our days began with breakfast at 7 a.m. and ended with dinner being served at 9:00 p.m. We found it amazing what all could be crammed into that span of time.
One highlight this week came when we got to see the coordination of two lives saved. A man in his late twenties came to the park where we were holding our sports clinics on Monday afternoon. He held in his arms a small trembling dog with golden shaggy hair. Both dog and man seemed cloaked in sadness. His name was John and we began to talk. I took the dog into my arms as he began to explain that his grandmother could no longer care for the dog, so sent him out to kill it. In the midst of the conversation, Maverek’s keen animal awareness led him into our circle. Taking the dog into his arms, Maverek calmed her immediately. I, attempting to hide my wavering doubt, assured both John and Maverek that we would find a home for the dog. Knowing that God cares for every sparrow that falls and seeing that Maverek had already affectionately named the dog “Chicha,” what else could I do? Maverek carried Chicha the rest of the afternoon, until she was adopted by a family involved in the clinics. I, with the help of a national church leader, proceeded to have an hour long conversation with John about his search for truth amidst a life of struggle and tragedy. His quest for ended as he chose to surrender his life to Christ. That evening, Chicha began her new life as a family pet, and John began his journey walking with Jesus by coming to the first cell group meeting and learning how to study the Bible for himself.
The second highlight was Wednesday working in an area more impoverished than we had ever seen. The houses are made of grass mats, there is no running water, no bathrooms, no refrigeration, electricity is highjacked and sporadic, clothespins are a luxury. Impoverished. The only thing abundant was the number of kisses the children showered us with before we left. This area was very skeptical and stand-offish at first, not accustomed to seeing “white” people in the area because, in reality, no one comes here on purpose. After a couple of hours playing however, doubts were cast off and new friendships forged. The work to plant a new church in this area began on Monday morning and by Monday night they had constructed the new church building. You will see some photos of the black tarp roofs and cane pole rafters. You might see two light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, but those only work if and when the electricity does, rarely. So, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening, 11 hours into our 3rd day of work, we came to the cell group meeting to serve in whatever way was needed. We were surprised to see Scripture come to life right before our very eyes.
14"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
On this particular day, there was no electricity and the sunset at 5:30, by 6:00 it was plain dark! Our family got to be the light on a stand, giving light to all in the house. For one and a half hours, Scarlet and Maverek on tired feet with patience straight from heaven, stood still and without complaint, holding candles with Kelly and I to light the evening service. It is amazing how creative God is and how he chooses to use us. We tend to think, “Well, I am not a preacher, so I can’t minister to anyone.” But tonight we learned, through experience, that God uses the little acts of obedience, those small sacrifices of our own will and comfort, to bring His light into the darkness. What a privilege!
For you number people out there, Wednesday we saw 64 people engaged in our sports clinics and hearing the gospel in small groups, while the newly trained nationals built relationships and shared the gospel with 23 other bystanders.

Our daily bread

Bread is a huge part of daily life in Peru. Most meals, especially breakfast and dinner, include bread of some sort. Now, my family is perfectly fine with this. We all love bread of many kids. Even outside of meals we’ll snack on cinnamon or chocolate bread. One major difference is the timing of the purchase of the bread, it’s daily…sometimes even by the meal. This is fresh in my mind as I walked one mile round trip both before breakfast and before dinner to buy the bread for the meal. So during my evening walk I began thinking about the implications of this…am I wasting time? Shouldn’t I just buy enough bread to last for a couple days? It would be much easier. I’d save time, we’d have bread when we wanted it, I wouldn’t have to walk so much. Oh, but then it wouldn’t be as fresh, I’d miss out on walking with my son who thinks going for the bread is an awesome event. I’d miss the opportunity to thank the Lord for this day’s bread. So in pondering my daily walks to the bread store, I think in many ways they’ve got it right here in Peru. We often get too busy, and in our prosperity we often overlook the Lord’s daily provision of our needs. Many times when we really want something, we ask where is the Lord? Did you have a meal today, how about yesterday? Then the Lord was there and you may or may not have acknowledged Him as providing for your daily needs. Hmm. So I’ll walk for bread, as many times as my family needs. I’ll hold my son’s hand as we play “Frogger” crossing the busy streets. And I’ll get the ‘fresh’ bread. Can’t you smell it? Don’t you love fresh bread, isn’t God cool in wanting that for us, everyday.

KJ

Another Thursday...

Friends,

We have been busy this past week, by God's grace, encouraging and equipping our Peruvian friends. We had the opportunity to visit Pastor Tony and his church, Roca Eterna, where we have enjoyed a growing partnership over the past 3 years. We attended 2 cell group meetings and equipped 8 others with evangecubes for reaching their communities. KJ was priviliged to meet with, and be encouraged by, another brother whose ambition to plant churches in Peru is inspiring and humbling.

I have been working in the manner of Titus 2:3-5, instructing the younger women to love their husbands and families by teaching tips on preserving food, cooking, the discipline of children and of course, knitting! I am having a ball doing what I do best, talking, teaching and hanging out with the girls...except here it is ALL in spanish!

We experienced our first earthquake of this visit, although, in all fairness, I can't overdramatize it. KJ, Scarlet and Maverek all slept through it! Also, we are watching closely the growing violence in the Andahualays region. The riots are expanding, and while they are some distance from where we are, they currently have completely shut down access to one of the areas where we are going in 2 weeks.

Current prayer requests: 1) wisdom, safety as we travel 2) today is the 5th day of Scarlet having a head ache 3) I, Jenni, have some on going tummy issues (3+ weeks) that despite high powered Peruvian antibiotics, still are not completely resolved.

Check out the following video clip of Scarlet and Maverek (all throughout the background) at a laser/water show we saw last night! They are having a grand adventure.

Exploring Huancayo

This update comes written from a pillow covered seat, where I sit quite gingerly after a three hour horse ride yesterday afternoon. We decided to remain in the Huancayo valley this week and what an adventure we are having! We have used our time to explore further opportunities for our team coming in August, relax and even play before our summer shifts into high gear. Yesterday was a bit of all three...as we explored, we hiked up a mountain where we could see snow covered peaks. We learned about a pre-Incan civilization as we walked through ruins from 1200 A.D. learning more about the synchronistic traditions of the descended Quechua people. And yes, we spent three wonderful, exhilarating hours on strong-willed horses that had agendas of their own. Some highlights include one of our guides having to dismount and chase Maverek and his horse on foot, when they apparently had collectively decided to conquer a narrow and steep mountain trail. The horse objected strongly and Maverek laughed and hooted vigorously at having to be led back down the precipitous trail by hand. Another highlight was when the horses, tired from carrying their burdens, decided to race through the cobblestone streets of the village back to camp. Seriously… hang-on-for-dear-life, hair flying in the wind, galloping…no exaggeration here, we have the bruised bottoms to show for it, not that we will show you such embarrassing proof. Of course, Maverek won the race, KJ was a close 2nd, Scarlet 3rd, and I, clinging with white knuckles, brought up the rear, if there was any doubt in your minds.

Tomorrow morning, Friday June 12th, we will board a bus for the precarious, curvy, six hour ride back down to Lima. I will miss the views from the highest mountain pass at 16,000 feet because I will be in a Dramamine induced coma, but I am sure the family can fill you in on the details. Thank you for your love and prayers we are anxiously waiting to see Him glorified in our work here this summer.

With Love,
Jenni for the family

Huancayo LDC wraps up

We had a great finish to our Leadership Development Conference here in Huancayo. We had some great comments from the pastors including, "This is going to change the way we do ministry", "Hopefully this will begin the process of unifying the denominations to focus on reaching the lost and planting new churches". They are also very excited about our team that will be coming to work with them in August. We'll remain here for a week or so continuing to work with the pastors to prepare for the campaign. I'll also be sharing at two churches tomorrow.

Now here are some updates from the kids:

Helados is icecream. How about that gum?

LDC starts in Huancayo! PTL!

Today began our very first Leadership Development Conference (LDC). We were astounded and nearly speechless when 55 people showed up to be trained. Speechless is not a good thing when you are the one teaching! We did catch our breath and dove into an amazing day. KJ shared the E3 vision and I taught about methods, purposes and priorities of prayer. Today’s training also included evangelism and making disciples taught by two of our Peruvian brothers, Alexis and Danny. Scarlet and Maverek had the opportunity to be servants and practice their Spanish as the pastor’s wife, who speaks only Spanish, gave them various jobs helping to prepare lunch for all in attendance. Earning a well deserved break after their morning of service, Scarlet and Maverek vegged out watching cartoons in Spanish arguing if the story was about Lazarus or a leper. (Their Spanish still has a way to go.) After naps and showers we are headed out to a late dinner in the main square.

Family reunion in Lima, Peru

The little people and I left home at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3rd. After 19 hours of flying, lay-over’s and driving we found KJ anxiously waiting and beds lovingly prepared for us in Lima, Peru. What a beautiful thing family is; and beds, how easily we take them for granted. We had 6 very short but wonderful hours to sleep before beginning the next leg of travel. 8 ½ hours later we found our exhausted but happy selves coming to a stop in the Huancayo Valley in the Andes Mountains of Peru. We all had sore bottoms, tired necks and shoulders, hungry, motion-sick tummies and could all, without question or doubt say that the trip was entirely worth it! What a beautiful place that God has carved out of the Andes Mountains and what a love He has carved into our hearts for this place. It felt like we were coming home, and on some levels wished in fact it were our home. Don’t panic Grannies, we are NOT moving! We are just loving the place God has allowed us to be.
Pastor Augusto and his wife served us grilled chicken breasts and white rice for dinner, we walked to a little tienda for helados (ice cream) and were in bed by 7:30 p.m. Just in case you were wondering, 7:30 was none too soon.

Lord, where would you have us go!

Today we surveyed two different areas for future church planting work. One area was in the Sacred Valley in the town of Urubama. There are 8 pastors there that would like to reach outside their town into the surrounding villages to start new churches. The other will require a more extreme attitude as a team will hike in and then camp on the other side of the mountain from Cusco. I’ll actually go take a closer look at that village in July.

It would be a great place for future work but we probably won’t rehire our driver who thinks he is a descendent of the Petty family. Check out how fast we were going on this one-way road with a 200 foot drop off on the right. But you know when you are where God wants you to be there’s really not much to worry about, so we just sat back and enjoyed the theme park like ride.

LDC in Cusco

Ok, Cusco is pretty nice. I’ve always had some idea that it was a big, busy, tourist place and that is true to some extent, but it still has that Andes’ mountain feel. Our time here is short so there won’t be doing any sightseeing but from what I’ve seen it’s pretty cool. They’d call it winter now but it feels like a nice Colorado day to me.
All day today was our LDC here and we had a pretty good showing for this town. 30 pastors and leaders showed up and we had a good conference. I taught prayer, making disciples and multiplying churches. What I’ve learned from the LDC’s in Sullana and Cusco will allow Jenni and me to hold our first one ourselves this Friday and Saturday in Huancayo. More on that later.

First Leadership Development Conference

It was a great privilege to be a part of my first Leadership Development Conference (LDC) last night and this morning where we had 70 people attend. These conferences are where we teach pastors and people from their congregations about prayer, evangelism, discipleship, gathering, developing leaders. After the conference they have the tools needed to prepare for when our North American teams come down to work this them so they will be ready to plant a new church. I taught evangelism and leadership develop while another church planter, Dan, and the e3 National Director, Danny, taught the other portions. I have been studying these materials for the past several months so it was great to see the conference in action and how excited our national brothers are to receive the training.

Heading for the border, Peru border that is.

When you expect an 8 hour bus ride and it turns into 12…well that just a long time on a bus. But it was nice and I did arrive safely, after many encouraging word from my Ecuadorian friends like, "Are you going alone?" or "That is very dangerous." Thanks alot!

The Panama America Highway uses the term highway very loosely let me tell ya. I live on a dirt road and most of the time it was better that this. Anyway, it allowed for lot’s of study and prayer time. More soon.

May 27 - What road will he travel?

Back at sports, back out in the heat, back with rowdy kids. Oh, my goodness we had 150 very active kids. Both girls and boys were so excited we were there they just couldn’t contain themselves. One boy in particular was Julio. I could tell other coaches were having troubles with him as well and making matters worse. At 13 he was setting the tone and example for the rest of the kids. He was bouncing between sports, cutting in line, shouting and not listening. When he came to my sport I watched him very closely and could tell the others looked up to him. He had natural leadership skills even at the age of 13. When it came time to teach the kids about Jesus, my translator and I pulled Julio aside to share with him individually. We talked about his behavior which led into other discussions about sin and how we’ve all done it. Continuing to talk with him we related the story of Jesus paying the penalty of our sin, about what repentance was and how the Bible was God’s letter to us and how he wanted us to live. He was still, he was attentive, he was sorry. Then the Lord prompted him and Julio quietly, far from the other kids prayed to be friend of Jesus. Afterwards we snuck him in to the medical clinic through a side door so the doctors could look at the sty in his eye. We gathered his home information and introduced him to one of the men at the church. Lastly, I sat him and gave him the gift of God’s Word. I told him the natural leadership skills God had given him could be used to lead people down a good or bad road. I asked him do you know what you class needs, do you know what your country needs, do you know what this world needs more of?... Good men. If he reads God’s word it would it would instruct him how to be like Christ and how to lead people down the good and narrow path. He tucked the Bible in his backpack, we high-fived, he walked home. I know I won’t see him again till Heaven but I expect to hear good things from him when we meet again.

May 26 - sandels instead of tennis shoes

Laying our sports equipment down today, the sports team headed out into the field to focus on sharing Christ in homes. Along with my interpreter and me we were joined by the pastor of the church (Richard) and another church member (Javier). Javier had been a believer for some time but had never shared his faith. In the morning we went to several homes and I shared my testimony and used the Evangecube to relate the story of Jesus. Javier watched closely and after lunch he was ready to go. We had time to go to two homes where we was able to lead 2 men to Christ. He was excited. Later during a session on how to disciple new believers, Javier spoke out. He said, “As I am here today I feel that by this training (in Evangelism and Discipleship) God is raising me up (and he stood) to go out and share more about Jesus Christ”. Wow, that’s it! We have to be training our national brother and sisters to do the work year around.

CONVICTION ALERT! Several of the houses that I spoke in seemed to have a common issue with taking the step to put their faith in Jesus and it wasn’t what you’d think. It was us, Christians. Many people said they had known people who said they were Christians but they lived no different than anyone else so what should they bother to become a Christians if that is the way Christians live. Ouch! As believers we need to be very careful of our witness and take Jesus’ word to heart when he said it is better to be hot or cold than to be luke warm.

May 25 - Working in Babahoya

The drive to the mission point wasn’t too long this morning as we travelled along the river, passing by homes build to iffy looking stilts out over the water. Again we were in a school facility and we were a bit relieved when we saw there wasn’t a giant line waiting. Little did we know however that the parents were inside and there were over 500 kids in the school. Taking it in stride we laid out a plan were all the kids would get to enjoy a time of sports and then go through a small group time of learning about the story of Jesus Christ.

May 24 - First day of minstry in Ecuador!

After leaving our home base of Babahoya and driving through miles and miles and miles of banana fields, we arrived at our first mission point in Vinces. Two new national church planters had been trained a couple months earlier and were ready for our sports and medical teams to help them start their new churches. We were working inside a school facility and when our bus arrived there was a line extending around the block. Both teams quickly began setting up equipment. Our sports team was able to minister to the children while their parents stood in the long lines and waited for hours. Throughout the day we had 100 come through the sports clinic and when it was time to share the Gospel, 65 kids heard the Good News around 49 made decisions to follow Christ.

After lunch I was able to sit down with 10 younger boys and begin to teach them the importance as new followers of Christ to pray, read God’s word and attend the new church in their area. I was also able to teach them the importance of sharing their new faith as well as how to do it. It was a sweet time of discipleship.

Working on the mainland in the city of Guayaquil

After spending over a week working in the tourist area of the Galapagos, it took a few moments this morning as we adjusted to the way most of this country lives. Today we partnered with an existing church in a very poor part of town. As we arrived at this small church we were greeted by 9 national church members! It was great to see them so excited. Since none of them had ever used the Evangecube, we spent the first hour training them how to use the cube. They were very attentive and learned fast. After many questions and some practice rounds we were off into the streets. I had four nationals with me and after a couple times watching me and another American share, they were ready to give it a try. They did great as all four shared their faith to their community.

After lunch we closed off both sides of the street (well, it was gravel) in front of the church and had a time of playing soccer. Actually I call it tetanus soccer because of all the rusty bars on the windows, sheet metal fences and debris lying around. The game attracted many kids and youth and we were able to share with them.

It was a hot but good day. We equipped a church with tools, trained 9 nationals in evangelism, shared the Good News with 82 people and 44 prayed to receive Christ. As I was leaving I challenged the pastor and his church to continue the work they started today by doing more evangelism. Just as a hammer lying on the floor won’t build a building, evangelism tools won’t save people if they are sitting on a shelf. They need to pray against the misleading teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness’ that are in the area. They will need to also follow up with the new believers and shepherd them in their new walk with Christ.

I will be heading back to the USA tomorrow and arrive back in Colorado Monday morning. Thank you to everyone who battled for this team in prayer.

Santa Cruz

It was a smooth ride as we headed back from San Cristobal to the main island of Santa Cruz. Since it was so nice we were able to briefly pull into a bay on one of the uninhabited islands. The bay was clam and crystal clear. As we stood on the bow of the boat looking down we saw many colorful fish, sea lions, birds call Blue boobies because of their bright blue feet, and also a shark cruising the bottom. It was an amazing site and a location I’m sure God hangs out frequently.

After we arrived on the island we quickly got back to work. The church on this island is the mother church of all the work that we’ve been doing. They are the ones sending and supporting the pastors on the other islands. After a couple hours of door-to-door evangelism, we gathered for a sports outreach at a brand new Astroturf soccer field. Many people were interested in playing on the field so we had a large group with a wide age range. The 50 people there were from 5 to 50. It was a neat sight. After two separate soccer matches, depending on age, we found a shaded spot on the field and I shared what Christ did on the cross for us. The response was very positive and 34 gave their life to Christ. Afterwards the pastor was very grateful that we helped to strengthen his church and looked forward to continuing to disciple the new believers.

The Cruise to San Cristobel

After a mildly later start we hopped on the boat, of yahtish flavor, and set out on a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour. Wait, that didn’t end well for them. (This was a joking reference to all of those who do not remember Gilligan’s island reruns.) Anyway, San Cristobel has around 4000 people living on the island and we are going to strengthen a church that was started two years ago.

Sunday in the main town on San Cristobal can look a little deserted. We found that most people like to head up to the only other town that is located in the mountains to hang out and play soccer. So after the morning sports session, where we only meet six kids, we headed up the mountain to find the people. There was a local soccer tournament taking place so we just set up shop right there. We invited kids to come play and before you know it we had about 20 kids playing. After a time of sports we shared the Good News with them and they were excited to hear the whole story of Jesus Christ. Afterwards we played another game on the big field and used that time to disciple the older kids in good sportsmanship.

The ride back down the hill was interesting to say the least. Our team of 12 was unable to find any taxi’s because the town folks had taken them, so we were left standing there. Finally a farmer came driving by and we stopped him and told him we would pay him if he took us down the hill. He agreed. So the 12 of us hopped in the truck which was personally given to this man by Henry Ford (it was very old) and we shared a team bonding experience.

One of the favorite memories on this island was the opportunity to disciple four of the teenage boys we had met the day before. I invited them to join me for a Coke in the afternoon time. Since they had only accepted Christ the day before I led them through step one in our discipleship program which guides them through what it means to be saved. Having seen a Bible but never reading one, we had a good time explaining how to get around in the Bible and find books, chapters and verses. They were very eager to please in rapidly finding the verses we were discussing. They had many good questions and enjoyed answering the questions about the verses. In closing, I prayed for them and challenged them to get involved in the young church there and learn everything they can from the pastor as they continue to grow in Christ.

Found the man of peace

Our team sailed for one and a half hours through early morning of February 28th, as the brilliant and vivid sunrise shouted God’s glory. Waking before dawn is not one of my strong suits, but watching light break into darkness as God gently coaxed the sun over the black horizon of the South Pacific left me speechless and made the effort worthwhile. It was a quiet, wind swept time to pray and meditate, preparing ourselves and our hearts for what only God could accomplish on the Galapagos Island of Floreanna. The journey, and His display of grandeur left no doubt in my mind that His light would break forth as powerfully on this previously unchurched island as it had that morning.

Floreanna has two hundred residents who live within a governmentally protected national park. People are not allowed to move onto the island without special permission and as such it is fairly isolated. Soon after we dispersed into the community and began sharing the gospel, we met the president of the island. This man, after hearing the gospel, became our “man of peace.” Through the power and persuasion of the Holy Spirit, this leader in the community provided us free transportation, approved the request for a pastor from the mother church of Santa Cruz to relocate with his family to the island, and gave permission for an existing building to be used for future church services. We know that the angels in heaven rejoice over each new believer. That day in heaven must have been glorious as we had the privilege of welcoming 36 new brothers and sisters into the family of God and from that body of believers a new church was born.

Heading back to Santa Cruz against the current was a mighty bumpy ride but was made bearable when the Lord blessed us this a school, pack, herd, whatever…of dolphins swimming and jumping alongside our boat. It was fantastic.

Made it!

Two flights to LA, a red eye to Panama, another flight to the mainland of Ecuador. The next day the final flight to the islands. A bus ride, then a canal crossing by ferry, then another even longer bus ride till we finally made it our base for the first two nights. Wow, God must really love these people to get this team all the way out here. Thank you for praying for our safe travel.

Heading to Ecuador!

This is a new approach to keeping our friends and family updated while we are on the field. We'll see how it goes and make changes as needed. So here were go...

The Galapagos Islands is an island chain that gave birth to Darwin’s theory of evolution. There are 14 islands, 4 of which are inhabited with 40,000 people. From February 24th to March 9, I (Kelly) will be working on the islands to plant new churches. One of the main goals of this trip is to work with a mother church from Santa Cruz to start a new church on a small island that currently does not have a church. We will be doing door-to-door evangelism as means of sharing the Gospel with the adults as well as I’ll be leading sporting events to help reach out to the children. We’d appreciate your prayers during this time.

Hopefully I'll be able to provide more timely updates while I'm on the field so hang on and keep checking back.

Until all the nets are full,

KJ