Life: an adventure, a journey with Jesus!
Pachacutec

We don’t know what the Lord will ask us to do next, and it’s hard to put on paper what we do. We know we have come here to come along side the Peruvian Christians in their efforts to share the love of God and to grow their churches. Many times we find ourselves in the middle of doing ‘practical’ ministry and that’s what we are good at! We let the Peruvian pastors and the members of their churches do the ‘pastoral’ ministry. That’s what they are good at! In an earlier Blog I mentioned this area called Pachacutec and promised to share a little more about this location. So, sit back, get a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, and read about another part of our journey here with Jesus!

Leaving home in San Juan de Lurigancho, and travelling about an hour to Callao (a seaport city home to the Lima International Airport) we meet up with Pastor Max. We have developed a relationship with Pastor Max and his wife Lupe, over the years, as our American Team would often visit their church and conduct conferences. We also meet, Fanny Cano, one of the Peruvians who translates for the Americans, and this is the church she attends – Cristo Vive. From Callao, we must travel another hour to reach the area called Pachacutec. It is on the coast and most of the area is made up of sand dunes. Houses, businesses, schools, churches are all free-standing on sand dunes. By free standing I mean that there are very few with any foundations and the walls of the buildings are just wood slats side by side, with a post sunk in the sand every so many feet, to support the walls. The economic status is below poverty level here and there are hundreds of families living in this area.

We arrive at our destination – Cristo Vive Iglesia, Pachacutec! As we approach the church, we can see the building has some structural needs. It appears to lean to one side, needs a paint job, one side “wall” is only plastic sheeting and the “roof” is plastic tarpaulin. Yet, we are soon surrounded by happy children. They may be poor, poorly dressed, under dressed, hungry, dirty, barefoot or in flip flops even in winter, but they are happy. They are happy to see their pastor and his friends! There are a half dozen dogs running around and playing with the children. No mothers seem to be in sight at the present time.

Since the buildings are on sand dunes, and the ocean is not far in the distance, and the air is very damp, it appears that the buildings shift with the change of weather and/or storms. The mist is heavy in the air, and it is quite chilly. As we enter the building, we find the ‘floor’ is a series of cement slabs about 12” by 3’ lying side by side in the sand to give a firm base. The 30 x 40’ church consists of a tarpaulin roof, unstable walls, a couple of fluorescent 3’ lamps in the ceiling and about eight wooden benches. At the front of the room is a curtain wall, a table and podium. Behind the curtained wall, there is an area with no roof top, and it is about 15 x 30 in size. This is where the lady who owns the building does her laundry, it is where the ladies of the church prepare Saturday morning breakfast for the children. It is where the new indoor outhouse is located.

The lady who owns the building lives on one 10 x 40 side of the building with her two elementary school-age daughters. Mom has her own twin bed and the girls share a twin bed, a propane gas stove with two pilots for cooking, and one chest of drawers. The outside ‘wall’ to their home is made from pieces of plastic tarp they have come by. There is a table which is used as a counter as necessary. This is home. There is no kitchen sink, but the use of a plastic tub is sufficient for many in the neighborhood.

Pastor Max has provided this little church congregation with help on Thursday nights for their weekly praise and worship service. Saturday mornings people come from his church (one hour away) to present the gospel to the children, prepare an oatmeal gruel drink and provide sandwiches to all those who come. There are about 65 youngsters who show up every week. This outreach ministry is definitely a ministry of love as the Christians give up their Saturdays every week to reach out and make a difference in the lives of some of the Pachacutec families.

The American team has completed the first of several practical tasks. It is necessary to meet the physical needs of people to show them God’s love, and to win their friendship and confidence. The first goal was to provide them with an indoor outhouse. They had a pit toilet before we arrived, but it had no walls, door, or roof. It was anything but a private place. The team provided the funds for a new hole to be dug, and then constructed the building around the toilet.

The second task was to visit the Mother and daughters who live there and have given the church ¾ of their home for services. During our visit we shared with them some material items to help make their life a little easier. We provided linens, towels, socks, shoes, cup-a-soups, puzzles, stuffed animals, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and jerseys – a whole suitcase full, for their personal use.

The third task for which the Arrow Team is providing the funding, is to remove the ‘curtain’ wall, and build a brick wall at the front of the church. This will enable them to have a focus area to hang a picture, cross, or other items on. The backside of the brick wall will have a new deep well sink which will drain into a dry well in the ground, and counter space as well. Again, a physical need will be met. The lady of the house will have a place to wash dishes and do laundry, and the women of the church will have use of it when they come on Saturdays. This is how we come along side the pastors who are responsible for the church and spur them on in the work they are doing.

While the construction team from the Face to Face Team (Alpharetta,GA) was working there this June, the CrossWave Team (Raleigh, NH) and Arrows Team (Indiana) shared the gospel through drama in the town playground and soccer arena. The children loved seeing the Americans in costume and followed them around the neighborhood as they invited people to come see the show. Playing with the neighborhood children, passing out toys, and taking lots of pictures was an unexpected day of fun for everyone.

A church in Louisiana is praying about replacing the tarpaulin "roof" and has asked Don to help design something that would be suitable. Since the walls cannot support a roof, he has begun a rough draft of an alternate solution to the problem. What an encouragement the Americans are to the people of this little church and to the main church.

Did you finish your coffee or tea? Then before closing down your computer….thank the Lord for the people who He has brought together to minister to the people in Pachacutec. The areas mentioned above include, Callao here in Peru, as well as Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana and Louisiana. Individually we cannot see the big picture, but together He uses us for His purposes and His glory, to grow the Kingdom!

Please pray for Pachacutec!