HOLA!!!

hey everyone!

we have been very busy this week! sorry about the lack of posts :/
let me start by telling you about what i thought this week was going to be like. as you know, i spent 10 weeks this summer here in matucana with andy and josh. i had an idea of what we were going to be doing and i had a few expectations. i was prepared for certain things. God again taught me to expect the unexpected. within the first day we got into matucana we found out that a church group that we left believing they would stay strong, ended up fizzling out within a couple weeks of us being gone. we were able to talk to the leader (elizabeth) and i believe she just became discouraged when some people didnt show up at a couple meetings and then called it quits. a few of us have talked to and tried to tell her that these things happen but the key is not to give up. we are still trying to help her and disciple herwhile we are here.
another surprise (as most of you have heard) Rosa became a Christian the first night we were here! WOOHOO! we´ve been talking to her all summer and she was always "busy" but that night she was open to what God wanted her to hear! she told us that wants to be baptised but not yet. she first wants to understand what it means and read about in the Bible. that is ok with me :).
this morning we were able to talk to the 4 and 5 year olds at their school and the principle told us we could come back anytime!
this afternoon will be our first time ever in the highschool, so please be praying that it goes well and that we will be able to go back next time!
thank you all for your prayers! i can´t wait to tell you all about it when i get home!
chelsea><>

Matucana, Peru Trip September 09

Here it is Monday night. We are already half way through our time here...it is hard to believe. I can tell you all of us here have mentioned many times about feeling the prayers of the people back home...for that Thank you...but keep praying. It was a little crazy driving here, especially driving in Lima. That is quiet the experience. We had a team effort and made it safe and sound. When we arrived it was very apparent from the start that Chelsea and the others who came before made a great impression on the people of Matucana. When they saw Chelsea their faces lit up and so did Chelsea's. Chelsea took Kurt and I to see a lady by the name of Rosa. A very nice lady and she had a nice smile and just a good spirit about her. Chelsea led the conversation but we all played a part and by the end of the conversation she prayed and accepted Jesus in her heart. It was awesome and clearly hearing from Chelsea that was the fruit of alot of people before us talking and sharing the gospel with her. God's timing but our week was off and we were excited more than ever. We have a great team, the people from Alabama are just awesome and it is clear they love Jesus. We all have had divine meetings that God has allowed us to share his word and plant the seed...who knows there may be another Rosa out there. Please keep praying we have some meetings with the schools and some Bible studies scheduled later this week. We have a baptism on Wednesday... we just ask that God's will be done and that He does a work in us and the people here. God Bless.
Allen

Week 9 - Day 62

Hello once again!
First of all, thank you all who read this every week! I know some people *cough, cough* can type about anything and everything and make blog posts a little more than you might want to read. Thank you for continuing to read though and praying for the team and also for the special people here in Matucana.
We have been busy this week. We’re busy with visiting with people (maybe for the last time) and also with finding new people and meeting with them.
Andy has been vigorously working translating an 11 page document for the Matucana municipal office. The document is tourism info for the area and since Matucana wants to also appeal to the gringos, they would need an English version of the information. Andy said he would do it for them as a gift to the city. It’s looking really good and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished document.
Our last English class was on Wednesday night and it was suggested by Jose’ Acosto that the theme of this class should be prayer. WOW. It’s still shocking to me that the government allows us to not only pray, tell a Bible story, but to teach them from the Bible how to pray. That was for the entire length of class! After class was kinda emotional for all of us, they were thanking all of us (even though I just sit through the entire class) for being there and willing to teach them. It was so great. They want us back on this coming Wednesday night to eat chicken and also to “conversate” with them. That will be a nice ending to our last day here I think.
We are continuing to meet with our regular people and things are going well with them.
Independence Day here in Peru is on Tuesday the 28th. This past week everyone has been painting and cleaning the outsides of their homes and businesses. Next week there will be many celebrations with concerts and other activities. We are allowed and are going to participate because they aren’t catholic related festivals! The Creative Ministry Team is coming on Monday and they’ll be able to do a lot of things in the squares and we are hoping to have a game day at the school on Tuesday. Pray that that works out because we haven’t been able to meet with the right people to get that set up.
That’s I have for now. I hope you all are doing well and had a good/ are having a good week! Please continue to pray that are last days here are productive and we get as much done as possible. We’re leaving on Thursday to go to Chosica for debriefing and Sunday night at 11:30pm we’ll be on our way home! I will be posting 1 more blog, then watch for a post from each of us the week of our return. It’ll be a post about our summer from our own perspectives.
See ya’ll in a little bit!
~Chelsea><>