Mission Peru

By Justine Stehouwer
Bolton Alliance Church

I’m sitting in the multipurpose room of Pasitos de Fe right now, looking out at the mountains, and it is surreal. To be here after so much anticipation and prayer and expectation is amazing, especially having heard of it for five years from Jeff and our two Bolton teams. It’s great how many of the things I was worried about are working out fine, the bus ride was lovely and I had a fantastic sleep, the food is delicious and so lovingly prepared – and we are all just so hungry from working that a hot meal is amazing! We eat all of our meals here at Pasitos de Fe, our guest cabin is just outside its gate, and we are spending our free time visiting with each other and the lovely local children and people. I did not expect volleyball to be so popular but it is taken very seriously, and we usually laugh so much during the game that our play is delayed a lot. The people who live and work here are so welcoming and friendly, and it has been so beautiful to get to know them as we discover ways to get around the language barriers. Most of my Spanish language knowledge now pertains to volleyball terms and counting bricks as we throw them down a human chain. It’s incredible to learn that these somewhat odd tasks (to us) have really meaningful purpose. We use machetes to hack at thorn bushes and weeds, and in doing so we cleared a huge section of usable land, and created a natural fence to provide better security to the entire site. We toss and stack bricks so that workers can lay them and actually build the front gates at the property. We wheelbarrow and sledgehammer rocks and they become part of a more functional road than the existing sand one. It is really hard work, but we sing and laugh and try to get to know our Peruvian brothers and sisters in the process and somehow we get through another hard day. It’s also quite amazing the things God whispers as we work, I was hacking away at a thorn bush and getting stabbed frequently, when I suddenly had a vivid image of Jesus’ crown of thorns. I never gave that aspect of his suffering much thought, perhaps because I’ve had little exposure to thorns in my comfortable life with a sister who loved gardening more than I did and a dad who works so hard to keep our property lovely. But as the three-inch thorns poke you when you simply brush past them, it’s pretty jarring to imagine them being forced on Jesus’ head. God has been surprising me a lot through these long days. I have been fighting a cold which is 95% gone (HALLELUJAH) and yet I was able to lead worship with Paul and still be a valuable member of the work teams, and I could hear God reminding me of that as I struggled and coughed my way through the days. It’s such a huge blessing to be surrounded by a team all the time, being encouraged and prayed for by our teammates and the Peruvian people who walk by and thank us for what we are doing. It is humbling and awesome to be part of something important and bigger than ourselves. I am so proud of our team, they are working so hard. I love our debrief time in the evenings so much because we get to laugh and connect and challenge each other. My absolute favourite thing is seeing our kids with the other groups and with the locals, and especially hearing their responses gradually deepen and become more personal as the days pass. Please continue to pray for us, the internet frustrations are really hard for Jeff and our awesome tech Steven, and continue to pray for everyone’s health, and that the Spirit would work and do amazing things each day and challenge us further as we begin to settle into being here. Thank you so much for your support and prayers thus far, we know that we are held up by our communities at home and it means so much. God bless and see you soon!