Christmas in July?

I'm not a big fan of Christmas. And the idea of celebrating it in July has always struck me as stupid.

But this week, we have been with the Quechua people in the Andes Mountains of Peru. We have set out to teach over 4 days the Life of Christ. That started yesterday when we shared the birth story of Jesus. I couldn't help but think of the irony later. We are, in essence, celebrating Christmas in July. We are celebrating the Word-become-flesh (John 1:14), who came to live our obedience, die our punishment, and redeem some from every tribe (Revelation 5:9), including the Quechua.

I have taught the adults the past two days, and have covered significant events of Christ's birth and life on earth. Tomorrow, we will be explaining the crucifixion and resurrection and what that means. And my heart aches for these people. I pray that God will give them eyes to see and ears to hear. I pray that I will be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus. I pray that they would believe on Christ and be saved.

I celebrate the "Christmas in July" with a heavy heart and a burden for people to turn to Jesus. Pray with me that God will save these people. That he will take the blinders off so that they can see Christ as glorious (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). Pray that they will see, know, and believe the Gospel. Pray that by the Holy Spirit they will come to God. Let's make in this July a Christmas worth celebrating!

Going Back to Peru

Last year, I went with my church to Hauraz, Peru, for a weeklong trip to work with the Quechua people of the Andes mountains. The Quechua people are "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). Our mission was to share the Good News of the Good Shepherd with them. God moved me deeply for these people. I felt gut-wrenching sorrow for these people and found myself wanting to scream out "Believe in Christ!" I hated to leave, but I rejoice that God is giving me the opportunity to go back.

We are returning to Peru on July 15-24 of this year. Our team will be doing some VBS activities with children in a village, as well as some teaching with the adults as well. Also, we are going to be helping our host family, the Rockwells, with some repairs and work needed around the Center (where they live and work from). We are also planning a conference for pastors, to help them better learn how to shepherd.

God has been incredibly good in providing this opportunity for me again. I look forward to all he will do in and through our team this year. I hope that you will join us on your knees for this trip. Here's how you can pray for us:

UNITY - There will be 12 people going on this trip, from teenagers to senior saints. There will be planning issues, personality differences, and various other trials that will test our strength. Pray that God would cause us to love one another so that we will demonstrate Christ well to the Quechua people (see John 13:34-35)

SALVATION - The Quechua need to believe in Jesus, and so be saved. Pray that the Quechua will be thirsty and look to Christ for drink (John 7:37). Pray that the Holy Spirit would cause many of them to be born again (John 3:3-8).

PROVISION - The cost of this trip will be about $2100 for each person. This money is coming entirely from donations. Pray that God will supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19).

If God is leading you to give, you can make checks payable to WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. For the memo line, write Peru: Charles R. Higham. Checks can be mailed to 230 Alice Dr., Sumter, SC 29150. No gift is too small to give.

Thank you in advance or your partnership with us as we seek to take the gospel to the Quechua!

The Best Birthday Ever

Today was our final day of ministry with the Rockwells among the Quechua of Peru. It has been an intense week physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Along with it being our last day, it was also my birthday.

We went to a national park this morning, where Danial partook of as many climbing activities as possible, including his desire to scale mid-way up the canyon walls (he did not do this though). We had a picnic lunch in a windy, glorious canyon that brought huge refreshing to my soul. I still don't get how anyone can look at something like this and say there's no God. After lunch, we went to our final village of the week.

Everything went normally, except that we had a group of adults that were sitting across from the children who also made gospel bracelets. I explained the meaning of the beads as Larry translated into Quechua. Afterwards, some more dialogue went on, and I stood by and prayed that God would open these people's eyes. One of our drivers, who's a believer, shared his testimony and further challenged these adults to trust in Christ alone. Larry told me after we had prayed that it was a very good thing, and that God was doing great things. As we were sharing the gospel, it seemed that several of the ladies were being pricked to the heart. I don't know yet what the final outcome was, but I could tell that the Holy Spirit was moving on them.

The Quechua people are a people without the hope of the gospel. They are without Christ and cut off from the God who created the world in which they live. As we were driving down the mountain back to the center here, I could hardly keep from crying. My heart breaks as I consider these people - and all of those who don't have Christ. And as my heart breaks for them and my desire to see them saved grows, the only cry of my heart is "Here am I! Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). Please pray for me as God leads me to wherever he would have me spread the glory of his name!

Day 3 with the Quechua

Sorry for last night's silence; the internet wasn't working here.

Yesterday went well - we went to one village in the afternoon and did our VBS program. There were over 20 children there, and we made the gospel bracelets and I explained the gospel to them. Larry and I had some good conversation about the Quechua and what they believe, and I found it interesting that they don't really have a concept of life after death. Coming down the mountain, as we drove by soem of the people, I found my heart breaking for them, for their hopeless situation, and for their need to know Christ, the greatest treasure and hope-giver in the universe.

It sounds like the missions bug may be biting another member of our team...Danial has expressed great interest in coming back and possibly making it longer term. Praise God for his work!

Today will be our last day with the Rockwells, as we take an overnight bus back to Lima. I will hopefully get in a final post before we leave, but if not, I will give a final update on returning to the States.

Please pray for us, that we would be faithful to finish the work that God has for us here. Pray for traveling mercies tonight and that we would all be able to rest. We will be touring Lima a little tomorrow and then taking an overnight flight back to the States. So pray that God would protect us and more importantly that he would give us a chance to lift up his name!

Harvesting Wheat and Planting Seeds of the Gospel

We helped harvest wheat today. That's something I never thought I'd be doing. We hauled wheat from two fields to a threshing area which seemed like a pretty good hike, given the geography - including wheat on some pretty steep slopes. It was a grand experience to see life in a simpler time. The Quechua are not accustomed to machines that do the work or make it easier. No, everything is done by hand. We all thought of the story of Ruth and how the people then were to leave some behind for strangers. It helps the story to come alive a little more to do firsthand what they were doing back then. Our labors have created in-roads to the village for Larry to be able to follow up on, which no doubt will lead to future opportunities for the gospel.

After that, we went to another village, where we were also granted great success. We played soccer with the locals and then performed our skit about the story of the Prodigal Son to them. Larry gave some explanation for them, as well as reading the Bible story in the Quechua language. We then did our craft, and I was given the opportunity to explain the craft, thus sharing the Gospel. It was an incredible experience to be able to tell the Quechua of a God who created them and tell them how they can be in right relationship with him. More games followed, and as we left the village, Larry told us that they had been invited back to show the villagers a film series on Genesis.

All in all, today was a great day. God is really using our team to enhance the Rockwell's ministry, and he's growing all of us to rely on him more and to be bold with the message of the Gospel.

We have two more days left here, and it's easy to do a couple of things.

One, we can focus on the end in sight and lose sight of the things that God has us here to do. We can easily become distracted by thoughts of sleeping in our own beds or being somewhere that we know the language. In doing so, we will not be so willing to pour ourselves out now while God has us here. So pray that we would not look at coming home and let our own desire for the many comforts we enjoy to distract us from our work.

The other danger, especially after a day that went as well as today, is that we could think we have things down. We can begin to rely on ourselves and our own agenda, and not look to God as the source of the strength that we need to persevere. So pray that we wouldn't get complacent but still look to God to equip us for this good work.

The Best Laid Plans

I've often said that plans look good on paper. They'll work just as we have foreseen and envisioned them to happen. That is, until you add the human element.

I've learned over the years though that just because plans don't go the way we want them doesn't mean that we have failed. In fact, often God causes us to rely on him instead of our own abilities.

I would say that today was a lesson in reliance. We've planned out how we think the VBS program should go in the Quechua villages. We've divided into teams and each been assigned our roles. We've planned our respective parts so that we can be effective in the ministry that God has us here for.

But today, we did not follow those plans. And it was frustrating at times - at least for me. I've learned to generally go with the flow over the years, and so I was able to cope with the necessary adjustments. But, you see, I had this plan. We were going to come in, engage the kids, share the gospel via translation, and they were supposed to get saved. Whole villages of children were supposed to come to Christ. It was supposed to look a lot like the book of Acts.

God, however, had other plans. One part of his plan was to remind me that, while I am here to help spread the gospel, our ultimate aim is to assist the Rockwells in the ministry that God has for them. And Larry was encouraged by what happened today.

We went to two villages, and we did our craft in each one. The craft was the gospel bracelets with colored beads for each part of the gospel. Gold reminds us of heaven, where God is. Black reminds us of the sin that keeps us from God. Red is Christ's blood shed for us. White is the purity that we have when we believe in Jesus and he takes away our sin. And green reminds us to grow in Christ-likeness. So we were able to share the basics of the gospel message with many children today - and even some of their parents. But more importantly, we've helped Larry and Sandy make connections that they will be able to follow up on and continue to show Christ to.

I am humbled and gladdened by God's change of plans. We have had a very effective day today, in spite of our plans not "working." God's plans are far greater anyway, and he knows better than we what to do.

As we approach tomorrow, I have no idea what to expect. But I will be leaning a little more on God to guide us and equip us to serve the Rockwells as they seek to reach the Quechua of Peru.

Please continue to lift us up. We are daily in need of God's grace to accomplish the good works that HE has for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Two Travel Days and a Day of Rest

Friday was spent in travel from the States to Lima, Peru. Then, we spent Saturday riding a bus from Lima to Huaraz. We arrived late, tired from the days' travels and hungry. The Rockwells fed us and then sent us to bed.

Today, we attended a Peruvian church, where our team leader Phil spoke on John 13:34-35, charging us to love one another. The Rockwells then treated us to lunch - I had some authentic chicken fajitas.

The weather and the scenery here are fantastic. I hope to post some pictures later.

The afternoon was pretty relaxed. Danial and Phil decided to hike up a mountain, and Taylor and I had the chance to ride up with Larry Rockwell into the village where Larry was hoping to share the gospel with a woman in one of the Quechua villages. We ended up going to someone else's house, where Larry showed a video on creation, read the story of Christ's birth and then read John 3:16-21 from the Quechua New Testament. It was an incredible experience to be a part of, to see firsthand some of Larry's work.

After dinner we met to discuss our team devotional, today's topic focusing on why we are here. It was settled in all our minds that we are here, that the goal of this missions trip and all others, is that God would receive glory from the nations (see Psalm 67:3-5). We then each shared why it was important for us to be on this mission trip. It was a delight to see how God had led the seven of us to come to Huaraz, Peru.

Tomorrow will mark our first day of work. We'll be going up to one of the villages and will have an afternoon VBS. Our craft is making gospel bracelets with colored beads to represent the different parts of the gospel message. We will also be teaching (I'll be covering the Story of the Bible, and Phil will be teaching on Luke 15). we'll also be playing games and performing a skit.

Please pray for us:

• that we would be well-rested and healthy. The altitude has affected me and probably to some extent all of us. So far no other health problems have arisen.
• that we would be faithful to what God has called us to do. We will be serving people of another culture and will be well outside of our comfort zones. We need to be able to pour ourselves into this work and pour ourselves out to the Quechua people.
• that the Lord would bring many to know him. Pray for souls to be saved and lives to be transformed. The gospel is powerful and able to save (Romans 1:16). Pray that by God's Spirit The Quechua will put their trust in Jesus and turn from their idols and spirit-worship to serve the living God (see 1 Thessalonians 1:9)

Thank you for your prayers, and may God use them to bless the Quechua of Peru. Hope to report tomorrow night on how our first day went.