We are the Body of Christ......

Life: a journey with Jesus.
We are the Body of Christ

You’ve read this paragraph before. We want to share some everyday life activities with you that have recently been ours to experience and to enjoy. Let me remind you that there is a time laps between the time we journal our experiences and we send them out.

Remember the song Jeff Joyner taught us few years back at Bridgeway, “We are the body?” Well, if you weren’t around Bridgeway during that time, let me quote it for you.

“Together we stand.
Together we praise You
United in purpose our hearts beat as one.
Called from diversity to dwell in Your Light
We are the body, the body of Christ”

This song has come back to my mind several times recently, although I did have to write Jeff to get the correct words as I was unable to recall them all. But, as we have met other believers here at ABC Espanol Institute and church on Sundays we see just how the body of Christ is at work. We have met folks from all over the world with one focus and that is telling their story. Pastor Douglas Turner has been reminding the Bridgeway family for the past 4 months that we all have a story to tell and that story is of Jesus. Are you telling your story? We have heard many students and new friends tell their story to us as to why they are here in Peru.

There is Sondra’s husband formerly from Wisconsin, Massachusetts and California who shares with the youngsters at church. They follow him around excited to be in his presence. We had the privileged of talking to him in English, but he speaks Spanish all the time now and reads, prays and worships in his new language. He is sharing his story with those who he meets reglularly and coaches basket all at a local Christian school. We met Sandy & Gloria a couple from Montana, former school teachers, here to learn the language but also to work in a church school for handicapped children They are also excited about participating in Patricia’s Project – a ministry in memory of a young girl who died early in life. Her parents have a foundation which provides wheelchairs to children in 3rd world countries who cannot afford them and the wheelchairs are uniquely designed to grow with the child. There is a family from Connecticut and one from Delaware, both with young children who are now speaking Spanish in preparation of the work God has called them to do in the jungle. There is Doug, from the Montana Southern Baptist Convention, who will soon be leading teams in Ecquador.. The couple from North Carolina, Dad is a pilot, they have a 4 month baby, Christie from Oregon and the IMB, and two girls from Switzerland, Esther and Alina, Nathan from New Zealand, Ruth from Ireland, and a couple from Norway who are also teachers working in a school for teaching missionaries’ children. Learning the language is of course one common thread among us, but loving Jesus and serving Him is the other. It’s amazing that all the Christians speak of their work here as a passion given to them by the Lord. It doesn’t matter what denomination they are from, we are all in the same position of being obedient to His call, seeking His will, leaving family, friends and the comforts of home behind.

Today the Lord blessed us with bringing a Peruvian friend we have known for about four years into our presence. It was such a joy to see Jhonatan, from San Juan de Lurigancho, in church in Arequipa! He was there with a Columbia Missions Team of which he is a member for a few months. They travel about sharing their story through skits. Jhonathan recognized us and we him, and it was such a bright moment for us both. First of all, he knew we planned on coming to his country to assist in the work of the churches in San Juan de Lurigancho, but seeing us made him realize we were not just talking about coming, but we were here! We put our feet where our mouths had been he said. Seeing him shepherding a small team telling their stories, reminded us that the call to missions is for each and every one of us in different ways. He left San Juan de Lurigancho last year and went to Brazil to work in missions there for 5 months, then to Columiba to join this team. He has been travelling throughout South America with one purpose – to be obedient to the Lord, to fulfill what he believes he is called to do, to tell his story.

What are you doing? Where are you called to be? Are you telling your story? What has Jesus done for you? What has He done in you? Have you told someone? Are you telling others in and out of your church, school, office, neighborhood, gym, aerobics class? There is so much to tell. Be sure you do! That is what He has called all of us to do – to tell our story.

We have been so encouraged by Christians from home and around the world. We have felt the prayers of others. We have enjoyed the friendship and love extended us. The warm hospitality of Heather, Blanca and the family at Pat’s Place, and of Bridgett and the children at Hope House is love in action. What love, when they really don’t know us? It’s the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Benveuttos, Julio & Miriam, Pedro & Ceclia, Sondra, Lula and Juan Carlos have reached out to help us through the transition period. Why? They are the hands and feet of Jesus. The staff at the institute here in Arequipa is so willing to lend us a hand, or share with us how to accomplish a simple task that is quite overwhelming to us at this point in time. Even meeting Pastor Moreno & his wife Dora left us knowing that they, too, are available to us and want to nuture our friendship. Thank you to Pastor Jerry Alcorta for these new friends. What is the common thread? They all belong to the body of Christ!

“Together we stand. Together we praise You
United in purpose our hearts beat as one.
Called from diversity to dwell in Your Light
We are the body, the body of Christ”