Mission Peru

by Joanna Wilkins
West London Alliance Church

I am so thankful for Mission Peru. I’m thankful I’ve had the opportunity to see glimpses of God’s purposes as He has been preparing our hearts for what we would see and experience in Peru. I’m thankful for the unity of the church as they have sent us here with such overwhelming support and also the unity on our team as we have worked together here on the ground in Peru.  I’m thankful to get to see the beautiful smiling faces of the wonderful Peruvian people, to get to hear the laughter of the children and see light and hope in their eyes. It is so encouraging to see how God is at work in Peru through the Inca Link ministries.

For me personally, Mission Peru has provided many opportunities to trust the Lord in new ways. As I’ve been preparing with our team to come here, I’ve also been walking with my family through my Dad’s journey with cancer. As we were nearing the time of departure for Peru, I knew that my Dad would be having serious surgery on his liver. Time and time again whenever worries crept in I felt a deep sense of peace that God would take care of the details. I know that God was leading me to dig deeper in my faith, to fix my eyes on him, to trust Him more and to surrender any control that I think I might have over to the One who holds my life securely in His hands.  It has been so encouraging seeing God in the details of the timing of the surgery and the freedom in my schedule to be available to be with my parents before leaving for Peru. It was such a gift from the Lord to know that as I left on this trip my Dad was recovering well from his surgery and that I could be more at peace with leaving.  Yesterday Jeff shared the good news with me that my Dad was discharged home from the hospital! I am so thankful for God’s goodness. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for my family. Your prayers are such an encouragement! 

The promises that God is my rock, my strength, my provider and my helper have taken on new meanings in this season of my life. As I held a sweet five year old girl yesterday at the day care and felt her hug me tight I was reminded that we all have a purpose in being here. God is using each one of us to share His love and to experience His love in new ways through each other and the people we are meeting. It is incredible to be experiencing this with our team, to see how we are all growing in our faith and taking steps to dig deeper in our walk with Him. 

I want to give a quick shout out to my parents, and say thank you for your examples of trust in our great God and for encouraging me as I’ve prepared to come here. I also would like to say how incredibly impressed I am by the students on this team. They have demonstrated amazing attitudes and eagerness to help and serve no matter what they’ve been asked to do. Thank you parents for the investment you make into your children and especially for allowing them to participate in this year’s Mission Peru trip. I can assure you that we are all learning from one another - it feels like we have become family, altogether children of our heavenly Father.

I am looking forward to the many more opportunities we will all have to dig deeper in our faith and trust in Him as we learn and grow together day by day here in Peru and beyond.