Who am I?

The more I walk through the barrio here in the 4^th zone of Collique, the more I ask myself, “Who am I?” You might think of the song of the Casting Crowns with that same question as title, but that song has nothing to do with economic situations. My main question is: who am I, that I was born in the Netherlands in an average income family?

I asked myself the same question when I was living in working in Cameroon for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Part of my job there was maintaining the houses and apartments of the other missionaries. There I repaired things which the neighbors couldn’t dream of. Yes, it changed me. When I returned to the Netherlands, it took me a bit to adapt back. Partly, because of another culture shock I got shortly after my return, because two weeks later I flew to the USA to meet Elizabett for the first time.

I missed my connection in Chicago, so I got to spend some more time on O’Hare Airport. There I was, for the first time on US soil, excited to meet Elizabett for the first time in a couple of hours, but also overwhelmed by all. It was September 2006, and for the first time I saw a guy walking and talking aloud with nobody close to him and without cell phone. It was after the third person, that my eye caught the little black “ear cover.” Little did I know…. In these first hours in the US, there was so much more “for the first time.” Yes meeting Elizabett, but that’s not what I am talking about here.

Who am I, that I have a nice apartment on the third floor of the OSA-house here in Collique? Okay, this apartment has room for a family, like the family that lived here before us with their two little boys. But still. Back in September last year, we returned from our first visit of a family in the community. The house of the family of five is about one third of our apartment. I asked Elizabett, did you ever dream to live in a penthouse? Well, here we are in penthouse Collique. Out of our living room window we oversee the first four zones of Collique and now during the summer months we can even see the Pacific. We have running water and a boiler, washing machine en dryer, etc. Compared to so many around us, we are living in wealth.

How easy it is for a human being to complain? I can tell you, easy. If it is not the heat, it is the dust, or the cold (because we don’t have central heating), or the dogs, or the music, or problems with the water system, etc. It’s easy to forget the circumstances in which the people around us live.

One day, we visited a family, who at that time where reconstructing the house because of property issues. The master bed stood in the living room, which was also the dining room, television room, play room for the children, and whatever other room we can think of in the western world. When we asked where the two children were going to sleep, the mother said on a mattress on the floor. There was hardly room for the mattress, so we offered the children our guestroom. That night, each one slept in a bed (instead of together in a single-persons) in our guestroom, which was bigger than their house at that moment.

These weeks, we are preparing for the group that will be here in the last week of April. We are planning on helping four families with the construction team. When family’s is in a really bad shape, so we offered to construct a new. The family of five lives in a house of 16’ by 16’. That’s the size of our living room! Who am I?

At the moment, I am reading a book, which I had for several years without touching it. It is called “Revolution in World Missions” Why I didn’t pick it up before? I think that I was not ready for it. But today I am. In this book, Dr. K.P. Yohannan is teaching me what I already was thinking. It confirms that everything I do needs to go hand in hand with the Gospel. He encourages me to work harder on my Spanish to better communicate the Good News with all people. If you haven’t read it, you can order a free copy online. Or download a pdf version of the book here.

The struggle with the difference in the economic situation in which we live will continue, but I know who I am in Christ. This is the most important thing I have to share, so that soon I can sing the song of the Casting Crowns together with my neighbors!

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

 

Not because of who I am

But because of what You’ve done

Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who You are

 

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I’m calling
Lord, You catch me when I’m falling
And You’ve told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

 

 

Our first summer in Collique

The people here have been talking about it since we live here. And as the months went by it came closer and closer. Three weeks in The Netherlands didn’t help in preparation, because when we came back we had a twenty degree Celsius gap to overcome. And now, almost at the end of it, I can say that they didn’t say too much… summer in Collique.

What’s a summer in Collique like? Sun and dust! Well, almost every day sun. If you want to look for the sun at noon, turn your head ninety degrees backwards and you’ll look it in the face. Did I say dust? Well, let me first mention the breeze that blows between the mountain ridges in between which Collique lies. It takes a fairly nice breeze from the Pacific—which we can see out of our window this time of the year—all the way up to the fourth zone of Collique, where we live and work. BUT this breeze is not plain air, no it seems to collect dust from the first, second, and third zone before it blows through our mosquito screens. Every day a swipe of my finger on the dining table shows me the evidence. Anyway, we are here to serve God, the Creator of the sun and the dust. The other day I read 1 Thes. 5:18. That’s what I do, thanking God for the breeze and don’t bother too much about the sun and dust.

While we were missing air conditioning in the first weeks of the summer, these last weeks, our bodies seem to adjust to the circumstances.

Well, enough about the summer in Collique. What’s been going on under Collique’s sun?

Since January 9, OSA is running it’s after school program. This year, we have a group of second graders and a group of first and second grade middle school students. While the schools in Peru still had their summer break, the children were eager to come. The children are not all going to the same school; some have classes in the morning and others in the afternoon. For this reason, the group of middle school students is split in half. Since February 13, we have nine in the morning and eleven in the afternoon. This year, Elizabett is teaching Bible and Microsoft Office to the group of middle school students.

The first weeks it was hard to get all the laptops up and running. Since we have two sessions, I created user accounts for the students on the best eleven laptops we have and hope they will last the whole year.

This year, Elizabett and I are also in charge of the monthly Bible study for the mothers of the oldest group of students. Every Thursday, the social worker gives workshops about health, nutrition, lifestyle, etc. One the first Thursday of the month we do the Bible study. This year, the children and mothers all study the book of John. Every week, the mothers have the possibility to write their name on a list if they would like a study in their home. So far every week, we visited an OSA family and some weeks two. We are filled with joy now we realize the hunger there is for God’s Word. Several of the mothers requested these studies more frequently. At the moment, we are planning on a bi-weekly study at OSA. Please, pray with us that we may take the best decision.

At the end of January and the end of February we took the middle school students on a trip. The first trip took us to the Inca Kola company, and two museums in downtown Lima. The second trip took us to two museums in Callao. For photos of the first trip click here, and click here for photos of the second trip.

Another activity I want to mention is the VBS in the second week of February. It was all decided and prepared at the last moment, but God blessed it abundantly. Each day we had over forty children from the community. The theme was “Build your life.” The last day of the VBS we as team thanked God for even building our lives as we worked together, sharing the good news of Jesus with these children. It was such a joy to walk through the community the days after the VBS and hear children calling my name. Some came to me for a hug. Click here for photos of the VBS.

This is just a little bit of what happened during our first summer in Collique, where the Son shines his light in the darkest corners of hearts. Witnessing these moments make me forget the hot sun and dust; a cool breeze is what I feel…

What a week!

During my time in Peru, I didn’t expect to have a wonderful week with International Crusades in Lima. In 1998, God permitted me to participate in International Crusades in Miami. It was amazing to meet brothers and sisters in Christ from different countries. We are a big family of God. Working in missions is a blessing, however, to work in your own country and neighborhood is not the same.

The last week of July, 18 churches from Lima received 47 people from the USA, 24 from Ecuador, 2 from Chile, 2 from Argentina, and 6 from Brazil. It was wonderful to share the Gospel with brothers and sisters from these countries. I think this kind of ministry helps the local believers to lose their timidity.

Eight Americans made up the team at Evangelical Baptist Church Ebenezer in Miraflores, Lima. This is my home church and we attend here at the moment. I helped the team as interpreter. During the first sermon on Sunday morning, God spoke to my heart and showed me the importance of sharing the gospel in my own neighborhood. For me, to share the gospel in other places is easier than in my own neighborhood, because people know me and I know them. So, to feel embarrassed is easy in this circumstance. However, God calls us to share the gospel first in Jerusalem, which is in our own family, neighborhood, and city. This International Crusades taught me to do so.

On Monday, I visited my neighborhood with two of the Americans. Some of my neighbors were not at home, others were not ready for the Gospel, others didn’t want to change their religion although we didn’t preach about religion, just the message of Jesus; but God permitted that three persons in my neighborhood accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. It was amazing!

The next days in the morning and afternoon, I was in different locations visiting families, homes, and the prison with part of the team. From Monday through Friday we also had evening services. At the end of the week, Ebenezer counted around 100 new believers and all the 18 churches in Lima together got over 1600 professions of faith. Saturday, we had a closing service with all the churches and missionaries. It was a wonderful experience to sing songs with people from other languages and cultures. It made me think of how it will be in the presence of God with people from different nations united by One Lord and Savior. Only God, our Creator can do this!

The team with some church members

Sunday morning we had to say good-bye to our new friends, which was not easy but they had to go back home, family and friends are waiting for them. We hope to see them again someday. The world is getting smaller with all the technology and new ways of communication, and maybe we can have another time sharing the Gospel together. The harvest was good and the discipleship got started. This experience is unforgettable; God blessed me that I was able to share His message of love with the people close to my home, and in my city. I believe every Christian ought to do it, although the prophet is not appreciated in his/her own region, however, God send us to do it and to share the Gospel with others. I felt very blessed, I think it was not a coincidence, God wanted to teach me that someday He will ask me for the people around me that I didn’t share the message of salvation. It is a big responsibility and we need to do it. May God help us to share His message everywhere.

One month further…

The first weeks of this month we prayed and talked a lot about the place God has for us. We felt that God guided us to an organization and are talking about some details with this organization. Both, the organization and we, have expectations and it’s good to know if we are talking about the same ones. As soon as we know more we will post it here.

At the moment, Elizabett is one of the interpreters for missionaries from the USA who are here for an international crusade. Since last Friday, there are many missionaries from the USA, Guatemala, Ecuador, Chili, Argentina, and Brazil in Lima for this crusade. Last Saturday, there was the starting service of this campaign in the church of Elizabett. I noticed that the average age of this group is at least above 40. After the service the missionaries were put in small groups and left to about ten different churches all over Lima.

In our church there are eight missionaries; six from a church from Dallas, one from Kansas, and one from Oklahoma. One man from Dallas is 84 years old. It shows that you are never too old for missions. Monday night I spoke with him. He was cold that day not out of the ordinary if you know that the last two weeks in Dallas it was above 100° F. and in Lima it’s around 60° F. They offered him to stay in the hotel the other day, but he said: “I am here to work; soon the day will come when I can rest forever.” These words still resound in my mind. Yes, these 86 years on this earth are nothing compared to eternity.

From Monday through Friday, there missionaries go two by two with an interpreter and sometimes a church member and visit families and friends of church members, prisons, hospitals and go door by door. In the weeks before the crusade church members had the opportunity to give information about family and friends to the committee. During the Sunday morning service, Elizabett knew God was calling her to visit the people in her street and neighborhood. Praise the Lord for three people who accepted Christ as their Lord, Savior, and Master; and two others made a recommitment.

One of the missionaries told the church in the Monday night revival service that she recognized the hunger for the Gospel in Lima. Halfway through the week many sinners prayers have been send up to heaven and joy before the angels. But also here… the harvest is truly great, but the workers are few!

Yesterday, we heard another amazing testimony of how God works unexpectedly. One group was going to an address by taxi. They were planning the visit and possibly talked about the great things they already had experienced without talking with the taxi driver, which is normal here in Lima. When they arrived on their destination and were getting ready to leave the taxi, the driver asked if they could tell him more about Jesus. After they explained the plan of salvation the driver prayed and accepted the free gift of salvation. He drove off with the greatest joy he ever had.

Tomorrow, 28 July, is Independence Day in Peru. This year it is also the inauguration of the new president, Ollanta Humala. Please, pray for a good day for Peru, that the festivities may without problems. Also, pray for the new president as he starts his five year term.