Being back in Peru was the first place I have been this summer that wasn’t completely new. It was refreshing in a this is familiar and more like home kind of way. I came back to Peru with such amazing expectation for what God wanted to do in this city and in this church. I have been praying that these three weeks we will see a harvest come forth from all the seeds that have been planted. Since being here I have had an unexplainable boldness come over me to see people healed and set free. Its bee quite a rush actually God is moving in my heart for the lost and the hurting like i’ve never known.
I want to share a few highlights from this week with you.
I’ve already had the opportunity to preach 6 times since being here for 6 days and God showed up in some incredible ways! On Tuesday and Wednesday I got the opportunity to preach to two different groups of leaders in the church. Both groups head up small groups in the church from different age groups. The church has almost 350 small groups with two leaders per group. They were very encouraged by the worship time and the testimonies of living your faith with boldness.
Thursday was truly as special day. We started off at the Juvenile reformatory, basically a prison for young men under 18. This was my first time doing this kind of ministry but I knew the Holy Spirit was leading it from the beginning. I was asked to lead worship for this group of guys probably about 60 in all. I could only remember one song in Spanish because my brain was still thinking (and singing) in Portuguese. I was really relying on the Holy Spirit to guide me. I just began to sing out words that I knew in Spanish and made my own simple song to the Lord that people could follow. From there I was led to share a part of my testimony with these guys before we went into the next song. I encouraged them to close their eyes and picture Jesus’ face as we sang. It was amazing, God started touching many of them with his love and forgiveness. When we concluded worship the message was giving and it was a powerful message about grace and love. At the end more than 25 guys received Christ into their lives and we were able to pray and lay hands on even more than that.
Later that day we were walking near the mall and we saw that there was a car accident and one man ha been thrown from his vehicle, killing him. He was a taxi driver, a young guy. I felt a boldness come over me to pray for him, this was shocking me and my friends because we had no idea how long he had been dead. There was a crowd of people gathering and I know God wanted to demonstrate his power in front of those people. However, the police wouldn’t let us get near him to pray and we were almost detained ourselves for continually trying. I walked away from that situation a bit discouraged until we got in our very own taxi. Juan was talking in Spanish with our driver about the situation and about how we didn’t know if that knew the Lord or not. The taxi driver really related with the experience and he said that he wasn’t sure where he would go if he died today. Juan and I prayed with him to receive the Lord and we introduced him to Jesus! It was beautiful to see how God can take a situation of death and from that death he can bring life, eternal life. God is cool!
On Saturday I was asked to preach to a small group of deaf people that have a community in the church. It was one of the most amazing experiences i’ve had this summer. They were so full of joy and life. I was incredibly encouraged and honored to share a message with them about abiding in Christ. The Holy Spirit fell in the house and we really connected with them it was a beautiful time of fellowship and encouragement for everyone. Afterwards I was able to connect with one of the guys who told me that his desire it to be a sign language pastor. He has been deaf his whole life and is also trying to learn to speak in spanish and english. He said that he had been wondering about the very topic I shared recently and thanked me for obeying what the Holy Spirit told me to share.
Now me and Juan are off to Machu Pitchu to see one of the wonders of the world! Quick testimony from that is that we were on the train headed to Machu Pitchu and we were sitting in those quad like chairs. We started conversation with this family and friend group and God really put on my heart to speak life over them. I listened on the inside of me and asked the Holy Spirit what he wanted to say to each of them. I spoke directly to who they were and Gods heart for them and then prayed over each of them. After many tears and hugs and confirmations of the things that I said ALL 6 of them gave their lives to Christ! 4 of them for the first time and 2 of them returned back to God! We are ALWAYS on mission because we have resurrection power living on the inside of us, its the most valuable thing and God wants it for all people.
Love you all! Thinking of you and missing you! Thank you for all your prayers and support! I have 16 days left here then I will be headed home!
- Zach