Pictures and Thoughts

I have now officially been back from Peru for one week. I am very much thankful to be spending time with my family and friends and sharing the things God has done in Peru, but I do miss being there. Just the other day I was sharing with someone about my trip and I started by saying something like "God worked in so many ways and taught me alot." Right away this lady said to me, "He's always working." She didn't say it in a rude way at all, but it was the exact reminder I needed. It's so easy to come back from a great experience - such as a mission trip or camp - and focus all on how God worked there while forgetting that He is still God and is still working here.
For me it's easy to adjust my focus either to the past or to the future instead of dwelling in the present and learning and living how God wants me to obey Him today. As a Christian, my focus should always be on Christ and not on anything else - even if that 'anything else' is a way He worked. Right now I'm back in the States and, yes, God did work in amazing ways in Peru and I will share that with others, but I will also see how He is working today and praise Him for that.
Give thanks to God for all He has done, is doing, and will continue to do!
Shirley Anne

P.S. I hope you enjoy these pictures. :)

A typical village house



Our boat (on the right)

A man sifting through the rice

Me separating the chaff from the rice

A village boy with soda

One of the little girls from a village

Typical "rush hour" in Iquitos

Overhead view of the Andes Mountain Range

Fishing boats outside of Lima

God Answers Prayer

I am officially back in the United States. I arrived home early Wednesday afternoon after travelling for many, many hours. Anyway, the trip itself went by very smoothly, and I have one story I'd like to share with you.
On Tuesday morning after flying from Iquitos to Lima, Miss Carol (the wife in my host family) asked if we could pray before she had to leave back to Iquitos and I to the States. After she left, I had another 8.5 hours layover before my flight. With this in mind, we prayed and she specifically prayed that God would bring a Christian or group of Christians I could spend my time with.
God answered this prayer more completely than anyone ever expected. As I was in line to check my bags Tuesday evening, I started talking with the people behind me. It turns out that they were just returning from a mission trip as well. As we talked more, one of the women just said to me, "If you'd like you can tag along with our group until we arrive in Miami in the morning." Our flight was the same, so I took them up on this offer. As we continued to talk and pass time, one of the ladies said after awhile, "I'm so thankful you came along with our group. If it were my daughter I'd want her to be with someone as well." At that point I shared with her that their group was actually an answer to our prayers. She told this to the whole group and we all praised God for how good He is all the time.
One more thing, God already had answered our prayer completely, but He is a God who works beyond what we can plan and expect. We were sitting waiting to board our plane and I started talking with one of the team members whom hadn't really met yet. I was telling her about my trip and about all God had done when she asked me if I knew what mission organization my host family was with. I told her and she told me that it was the same organization her daughter was with as a missionary in Ecuador. Through talking some more we realized that we knew some of the same people.
I spent over 14 hours with these people whom God provided. We were able to have some really great conversations about how God works and it was great to spend my time with some Godly brothers and sisters. I stand in awe of how God provides and answers prayer!

I'll upload some pictures and more updates soon, but for now please take some time and thank God for always being God. He takes care of us in more ways than we even know. He never abandons or leaves us. Thank and praise Him for His wisdom and grace.
Shirley Anne

River Trip

I just arrived home from a day on the river. It was awesome, so I thought I'd share some highlights. This morning we got on board a boat and headed out to visit two river villages. We went to both of the villlages with the purpose of seeing if there are any Believers living there and to offer encouragement to those who are Believers.
In the first village we met a young man who was a Christian but did not own his own Bible. We gave him a New Testament and were able to talk with him during our entire time at this village. It's hard to imagine not owning your own Bible in the U.S. - most Christians probably own more than one, but in other areas of the world, this isn't the case.  Anyway, every time I see something like this, it reminds me just how precious the Word of God is and how we should be daily living by His Word alone.
In the second village we visited, there was a man right outside the village harvesting some rice crop. He explained the process to us and let us sift through the shaft and the real kernels. It reminded all of us how Jesus talks about separating the kernel from the shaft; it was neat to see. Once we arrived in the village, some children immediately came up to us and we were able to give them some Gospel books and chalk. We spent more time at this village and got to play volleyball with some of the children for awhile.

This probably will actually be my last update before arriving in the states early next week. I just had to share how God is working - even in little village towns out in the middle of Peru's jungle. The host family I'm staying with wants to restart a river ministry among the villages to encourage Believers and strengthen churches. I am glad that I was able to go along on this primary trip. Be praying that God will continue to open opportunities along the river and that Christians there will continue to grow. There is a lot of discouragement among Christians in this area because they feel left all alone and have no one to encourage them.Thank you for your prayers regarding this.
I can't wait to share with you some more of my experiences in person soon! We serve an awesome Father!
Shirley Anne

Finish Strong

This is my last week in Peru. In five days I'll be boarding a plane back to the United States; it's so hard for me to believe that two months have passed already.
In saying this, let me give you at least one more update before I leave Peru. Tuesday was my last day to work at the deaf school, so we had a delicious fish lunch and played games of volleyball and hide & seek. It was a bittersweet day - I absolutely loved spending more time with the kids, but I also knew I had to say "goodbye" at the end. Right before everyone had to go home, I had the opportunity to give out Bibles I had for everyone. Let me share a quick story of how God worked  through this.
On Tuesday morning right before I left to go to Efata, I grabbed the bag of Bibles I had for everyone and realized I had one extra. I stuck the extra Bible in my bag and headed out the door. Near the end of the day, the sister of one of the littlest girls came by to pick her up. She'd come on a field trip with her sister before so I knew her a little bit. Immediately, I knew that I could give the extra Bible to this girl, so I gave the Bible to her and a Bible storybook to her little sister. Both of them were very grateful and kept saying "thank you" over and over. I know God provided the Bible exactly for that reason. I am so amazed at how God works and how He provides exactly what we need - even at times when we don't realize what that is. Please be praying for all of the children who received a Bible. Pray for God to give understanding.
Tomorrow we'll be going on a river trip for the morning. Plans did not work out for a longer, over-night trip, but I am thankful that I'll at least be able to do this. As we visit a couple villages, pray that we'll be witnesses of Christ in everything we say and do.
My two months here in Peru have been incredible; God has given me awesome opportunities, taught me things that I really needed to be  taught, and stretched my obedience and love for Him. This last week will go by very quickly, so please pray that I will finish strong. Pray that my focus will be on Christ alone and that my every word and action will be in obedience to my Father. Pray that I will see the opportunities He gives me to make His love known and that I will be bold in obeying Him. I'll update you when I'm back in the states (if not before).
Finish this week by growing in the love and grace of God!
Shirley Anne

Mas Fotos! (More Pictures!)

Eating mangos at Efata



Miss Patsy (the wife of the director) and I at Efata




Lis and Ivo - Efata




Getting in our excercise during P.E. - Efata




Mike, Myself, and Dick - Efata

It's hard to believe that I have less than two weeks left here in Peru. This past week has gone by with amazing speed and awesome memories! Last Sunday I was able to help out with the 1-4 year old Sunday School class at our church. We learned about Abraham obeying God. After our lesson we did coloring pages, sang songs, and memorized our memory verse. I really enjoyed helping out and interacting with the kids as they learned from God's Word.
Monday and Tuesday were holidays in Peru, so not much happened. However, on Monday night I was able to go to a chapel meeting at the Bible Institute. It was a great time of worship and studying Scripture (we studied Proverbs 4).
Lastly, Wed. - Fri. Allison and I helped out at the deaf school (Efata). This has to be one of my favorite things to do each morning! We have been helping with math lessons, teaching the ABC's, playing P.E. games, coloring pages, and learning Bible lessons.  Thursday we learned about Daniel in the lions' den and sang worship songs in Sign Language. I am so amazed at how God can still hear their praise just as much as He can hear our words - worship truly does come from our hearts and not from our mouths.
Yesterday morning we sat around after studying and ate fresh mangos from our backyard tree. Yummy! We also were able to teach the children some games like "Duck, Duck, Goose" and "Red Rover".
Next Tuesday will probably be my last day helping at Efata, because we'll spend the remaining part of the week hopefully visiting some villages on the river. Since this will be my last day, I will be giving New Testament Bibles to each of the children as a gift. Please be praying that God will give them understanding of what they read and of His love for them. In Isaiah 55:10-11 it says,
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Pray that I will trust God to work according to His plan and know that He will accomplish what He wants. It's easy for me to worry and wonder how these children will use the Bibles or if they will even understand what they read, but I need to always remember that God knows what He is doing - He gives understanding, not me - and He is beyond capable of giving it to them.

Thank God for all the ways He has worked and taught me this last month and a half. Continue to pray that I will learn and obey what He wants me to do with my remaining time here. I look forward to sharing it in person with you when I return.

Chau! (pronounced Chow - Goodbye)
Shirley Anne