Mission Peru

by Amber Kernaghan, West London Alliance Church

Hola! My name is Amber Kernaghan and I’m here with the Mission Peru team from West London Alliance. Over the last several days many of us have been pushed to our limits, relaxed in the joy of community, and have come to better know the hope that is found in God.

Today we woke up extremely early so that we could begin our journey up the mountain before the sun got to hot (which would make our already painful sunburns much worse).  As we were walking closer to the base of the mountain the task of travelling to the top began to seem daunting to me.  If I had just started sprinting I would not have been able to make it to the top. But we took this journey step by step, and every couple minutes we would stop to get some water and catch our breath.  After a while, we arrived at the summit and were rewarded with a spectacular view, and spent some time worshipping and reflecting on the past week in Peru.

Through this journey I have seen the importance of pressing into the Lord.  A couple of days ago we were split up into group to go out door to door and evangelize.  I have to admit I was anxious.  We were supposed to learn a phrase in Spanish and say it to everyone who opened their door, essentially saying “Hi, we’re from Canada and we are here to tell you that God loves you.” Adding to the difficulty of our lack of Spanish, Dave and I were paired with two locals named  Franklin and Julio. They were really nice guys but they couldn’t speak any English.  I was beginning to think, “how are we helping, by just saying this one short phrase?”  Just then Dave turned around and said, “let’s pray that God would use us in some small way- that someone would be changed.” God is faithful.  He did immeasurably more than I could have imagined at that moment. At one of the houses, an older lady invited us into her home.  The Peruvians with us began to talk to her about the gospel and the women began to cry telling us of the loss she had experienced in her life and started asking questions about getting involved at their church. Even though we couldn’t fully understand the verbal dialogue, God broke down the spiritual and emotional barrier separating us. It was a beautiful moment I won’t soon forget.

The name of the of children’s care centre in which we stayed and worked is called “Pasitos de Fe” which means “Little Steps of Faith.” If there is one truth that I witnessed both metaphorically in our journey up the mountain, and practically in the faithfulness and obedience of the Peruvian ministry leaders, it is this:  When we rely on the Lord and let him fill our spirit with living water, and let him provide the breath that sustains us he will provide.  So when face a “mountain” that seems insurmountable, every problem, every obstacle, every hard relationship, every goal, every fear seems so insignificant because I know that the power of the Holy Spirit is with me. And this is a truth that I hope to never forget for the rest of my life.