We are back!

Peru was incredible. Prayers were answered! So many people heard the gospel, the kids did amazing and enjoyed the trip so much, everyone stayed healthy most of the time (besides Andrew's run of strep throat) and we made it back safe!

Here are some details. We had incredible favor in the city with people, administration, schools, police (to the point of them escorting us at times) and saw Jesus move in so many ways. Beyond just going around and meeting people and sharing with them and praying for healing, we had several creative outreaches that were an awesome success.

The Tournament
Five teams competed in this heated soccer tournament, and let me just say that South Americans know their futbol! Whew! Our team of blancos (with Andrew on it) didn't stand a chance. Before the championship game, we performed a drama of the gospel, which our team learned two days before, and 29 people gave their life to Jesus!! That night, several team members went to the hospital to pray for a woman's friend who was terminally ill with cancer. She was encouraged and looked visibly better the next day. By the way, Aaron and Sydney were spoiled with all the attention they got everywhere they went. Everyone wanted to touch them, kiss them and take pictures with them. God used them both in powerful ways! Many salvation conversations started with peoples interest in Aaron and Sydney.



School
We were invited to a school and around 230 middle and high school students gathered for our performance. Gustavo shared about values, we presented the drama and Casey and Pastor Ysrael shared the gospel. After the drama, a mob of 75 people came forward to give their lives to Jesus. Almost 30 of those students stayed for more than 20 minutes to receive prayer. One girl was so touched by the presence of God that she wept right there in front of her peers. We decided, to be conservative, to count 40 of those in the mob as salvations. A couple of them just wanted our autograph!



The Quechuan Woman
Later that day, we were in the plaza and Jesus told Davin (one of our leaders) to go pray for a woman sitting on a nearby bench. As she approached her, she realized she was Quechuan because she couldn't understand Spanish. The Quechuan tribe lives in the villages outside the city and are one of the most unreached people groups in this hemisphere. Her daughter, who was about 30, was there, so she asked her to translate. Davin spoke English, Melissa (the translator) translated it to Spanish, the daughter translated it to Quechuan and finally the woman responded... so the cycle began. Davin asked if she had pain and she said she suffered from years of back pain. They prayed and the first time she felt heat. They prayed again and it felt a little better. Davin felt like Jesus said to go ahead and share the gospel so she did. Though the woman could not understand her, she would answer with the correct answers to her questions before it was even translated. It was as if her spirit completely knew what she was saying. She gave her life to Jesus. Then, they prayed for her back again and it was fully healed! Now, she can take the message back to her village! Praise Jesus!

A God Story
One day Andrew and I were out sharing with another teammate and our translator Melissa. I started talking with a parking garage attendant. She was not that friendly at first but soon she opened up and I was able to share Jesus love with her. We talked about knowing Jesus as a friend and she was interested. After a long conversation she made a decision to follow Jesus! Shortly after, she said that she wished her husband was able to hear what we were saying. She shared that he was an alcoholic and her family was suffering because of it. We asked if we could meet him and share with him too. She said that she wished we could be he never came to the store, he was a lawyer and very busy. Not even a minute later the phone rang and it was him. She got off the phone with wide-eyes and said, "he's coming here, right now". Five minutes later he showed up and we were able to share with him and Andrew shared his own testimony. He too after many questions give his life to Jesus. Our last day in Arequipa we were able to follow-up with the couple and answer more questions about Jesus. Their hunger was unmatched from what we had seen from many others and he even said, "something has changed in me since that day you prayed with me!" Thank you Jesus!

Passport Miracle
Joshua (our administrator of funds during our trip) passport, among many other things, was stolen and the U.S. State Dept. told us it would take 2 weeks for him to get another. That was bad news because we were leaving in three days! He and Mark (another team member) flew to Lima to the closest Embassy consulate to apply for a new one. That day, while Joshua was talking to his mom, his four-year-old niece prayed and asked Jesus where his passport was. She said, "Jesus has uncle Joshua's passport and He's going to give it to him today." She was right! By 4 p.m., Joshua had a passport and he and Mark flew back to surprise the team! Yay God!



Art Outreach & the Police
Our last night, we took huge pieces of paper that displayed two questions to the plaza. "What is freedom?" and "What is truth?" People then came and painted their answers and we engaged them in conversation. Since Arequipa is known for protests, the police were sure we were there to cause trouble. When I told him we loved Jesus and were just asking people to paint, he was thrilled! Later, when we asked if we could also do the drama, he said, "Of course. Anything you want." Yes! So, we did, and 43 people gave their lives to Jesus!

**There's so much more, but this is getting long! Overall, 176 people gave their life to Jesus, 16 people were healed and 756 people heard the gospel! Yes, there were challenges (Andrew getting Strep throat and long plane rides with the kids), but it was all worth it!