Eskimos at the Equator
Thursday, August 9
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. As it is written, ‘He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor, His righteousness remaineth forever. Now may He that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruit of your righteousness). Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the wants of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. While by the experiment of this administration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your general distribution unto them, and unto all men. And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!!!” (2 Corinthians 9:8-15)
Wow! What a ride it has been! It has been so awesome coming back to Peru! As I rode the bus home from the airport that first morning, and stuck my head out the window, my heart and my face just about exploded from grinning so huge—it was like I was coming home again. God has done such amazing miracles in my heart and life, to bring me here the first time to start with, and then to so graciously bring me back!
Thursday was, as Andy and Elizabeth so graciously allowed us, a day of rest. And we all sure needed it. After a week of going hard and strong and furious and fast, my body was crashing. Sleep felt so good. I had intended to get up and go take pictures of them playing soccer at 10:30, but after I woke up at 11, that didn’t really work. I felt like a slacker of a photographer, but I really wanted that sleep :-) Lunch was good in the hotel restaurant—chicken and rice. Afterwards, we all gorged on Dena’s trail mix for something sweet.
Team devotions were interesting that day—it was positively FREEZING in the hotel, so we all huddled up together in the hallway under coats and blankets, because it was the only room big enough that we could all fit in. Andy encouraged us to rest that day. He also went back to Colossians. The main thing I remember him saying was to hold fast to God’s commandments. He gave a beautiful picture of what it means to KEEP God’s commandments. It doesn’t mean to keep them in front of you and look at them occasionally. To me, it’s like keeping Darby (my camera). When I’m watching him, I don’t just put him on the table in front of me and look up every now and then to make sure he’s still there. I grip him in my hands with everything I’ve got and hold him as close as I can, so that nobody can take him away from me. That’s what it’s like to keep God’s commandments—to hold onto them with all we’ve got. Pastor Salazar shared a personal testimony of how important it was to take time to rest while we were doing God’s work.
After team devotions, eight of us headed off to the market to buy a jacket for poor Andy, who was feeling pretty badly and freezing. Since the bus drivers had vanished, Pastor Salazar hailed two taxis, and we all hopped in excitedly. The markets were cool—I hate bartering, but it’s fun to look at everything. We got quite a few jackets—most of us were not prepared for it to be this cold here.
We raced back from the market, then it was off to the church for the CI. Teaching the CI this time around has been so much fun! Normally I’m not a CI person, but God has blessed me with the opportunity to work with some great kids! Our team fluctuated from 8-11 kids throughout the week. Danny and I had a lot of older kids. I will never forget Naomi, Josue, or Grecia. Our translator was very good—all I had to do was give her the concept, and she would run with it. Large group was strange without Andy there—Tim and Elizabeth told stories, and Drew played the guitar. It sounded really good with the Armor of God song.
It’s actually Sunday now as I write this, and the details of Thursday have fled my mind. All I can say is that God is so faithful. So faithful to bring me here. So faithful to bring me back—so faithful to bring me back to Himself. God is using my time here to refresh me—to wash me spiritually. To renew my passion for Him, and to take my focus off of myself, and my life. My life is not my own—it’s His, and I want to use it to glorify Him so badly
One of my chief joys of this trip has been firing. Darby and I are continually a team—so may precious memories that have been captured. I feel that my photography is a little “off” for some reason, but I still love capturing the memories. I could so totally go pro with photography—but I really feel that God wants me to use it for ministry—and capturing what He is doing in other countries and bringing that back to the US is incredible. God’s given me an incredible passion for capturing HIS vision on film, and it’s my joy to do so.
Well—about all I have time to write for now—my thoughts are still so scattered, but alas, places to go, things to do, and people to see!!
Ciao!
Dios te bendiga—
Michelle Eng
Daniel teaching a lesson - without a translator! Go, Daniel! He is filling in a lot when we are short on translators.
Drew and Elizabeth leading the songs.
Tim telling the whale story. He did a great job filling in as the story teller for the night, especially considering he only had about an hour's warning.
We are not short on actors with plenty of personality :-)