Monday & Tuesday

We've been BUSY!! Here's an update from the past two days.

Monday:
We headed up the mountain to Lachaqui early in the morning. It was a clear, beautiful day and the view was amazing. We met the new director of the Lachaqui schools and then headed over to the primary building. My friend, Dulia, is back at the primary school now - what an awesome surprise! We were able to share the story of the crucifixion and a craft with all of the primary students. After lunch by the river, we headed to Carhua. We weren't able to see the children this day because they were deep in their lessons, but we set up a time to return on Tuesday. We took some time to walk into Canta and shop at Mercedes' shop (a local Christian sister) and to find Pastor Miguel. The rest of the evening was restful - skyping our families and planning for the rest of the week.

Tuesday:
There was rain on Monday, and the roads were ROUGH. Tucker and Miguel actually had to get out of the van and build the road back with large rocks where it had washed away. We had a great time with the children of Carhua - Bible stories and crafts. I also managed to set up the use of a very large room at the school for our trip in August. (I'm on the lookout for a doctor... spread the word) In Lachaqui, we had more time with the primary school, but the secondary school proved more challenging. Please pray that they will be more open to our presence. This has been a problem in the past, and we are still trying to build those relationships, particularly with school leadership now that Dulia isn't the director. We had lunch at our Christian sister, Elizabeth's, restaurant... Caroline got a chicken foot in her soup. Lucky! :)  We went into Canta to meet Pastor Raphael. He is taking over the church in Canta as Miguel moves to Huamantanga to evangelize. He invited Tucker to preach at their church service that night. We faced some obvious spiritual warfare before the service. The rain began to POUR, the van wouldn't start, and the gate out of the hotel was locked... but the devil isn't going to win the battle, and he didn't win last night! The service was wonderful - singing praises in Spanish, prayers and fellowship with Peruvian brothers and sisters, and Tucker opened the floor for questions. This led to the opportunity for all of us to share our testimonies. It was very special!!

We are headed back up today for our last day on the mountain. Pray that we will be allowed to work with the children in Lachaqui today.

TO THE MOUNTAIN!!

Day One

HERE WE ARE!!!!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We were able to attend services with two of our IMB missionaries, Brian and Jenn Pennington, and their lovely family. We loaded the van, had a yummy lunch of Peruvian chicken at Norky's, and grocery shopped at Wong. This put us going out of Lima a little later than normal, so we ended up making the trip up the mountain in the dark. That was a new adventure, let me tell you! Add on to that the fact that there is construction the entire distance... so no paved roadway at all. We were all very relieved to arrive at the hotel in Canta!  The weather is wonderful - warm and sunny!! We were expecting typical April chill and clouds, so this is a lovely surprise. The picture above is one section of the view from my bedroom window.

We are getting ready to head even farther up the mountain now for our first day of ministry in Lachaqui and Carhua. We aren't sure what to expect, but are prepared for several different possibilities. Pray that the folks we meet have open hearts to what we come to say. Also, pray that we will follow God's lead and meet up with everyone that He intends!!  We welcome prayers for continued health, too - we are all feeling better than we were that first departure day, and I pray that the altitude has no ill effects on anyone!!

More later! Vamos Lachaqui!!

On the Ground

Just a quick post this morning to say that the team is in Lima and ready to begin our project. We had a great day of travel yesterday. Security at the airports was smooth and stress free, all of our flights were on time, and the long leg to Lima was so open that we had space to spread out and relax a little. Not that satan didn't TRY to mess us up... Out of the four of us, three didn't feel well when we started out. We had everything from a head cold to vomiting. Actually, the vomiting was me... results of a head cold of my own. And those of you who really know me will understand how pleasant that was for me! :(  But we recognized it for what it was - the devil would rather us depart as sick, depressed, worried people that aren't as effective in our work for the Lord. Well, GET BEHIND ME, SATAN! We prayed a bit, had some saltine crackers, and pressed forward with smiles on our faces!!

Seriously, folks, the devil is at work while all of us are on these projects. He knows that when unreached people begin to hear the good news of Jesus, his time on this earth is drawing shorter. With every person who accepts the gift of eternal life, satan draws closer to the day that Jesus returns and banishes him to the pits forever. Pray for us! Pray for all the teams that are out right now. Actually, pray for ALL the missionaries (long and short term) that go and tell - the devil is on their tails and it is so easy to let a little doubt or discomfort derail things.

More tonight from the mountain! Happy Easter, everyone! HE IS RISEN!!!

Here We Go Again!

In 48 hours, I'll be back in Peru again!

 I don't think I ever got around to blogging about the July 2012 trip. Oops... I'll get to that eventually. Good stuff happened - I promise! But it is cah-ray-zee how life flies by when you are busy living it!

Every trip is a new adventure. I travel with different team members, meet new people, and try out new activities. This time, I am traveling with the Gladiator again (aka Tucker) and two members of his church, Teresa & Caroline. We have two of our favorite Peruvian friends, Carmen and Juan, going up the mountain with us, too.  We will be spending the week in the two villages we partner with, Lachaqui and Carhua. We are ready to tell stories, do crafts, and play games in the schools and in the plazas. We are hoping that the weather will permit us to host some drop-ins and simple church in the evenings. But most of all, we are going in to this completely open to let the Lord lead us to what He has planned for us. At the end of the week, we will also be spending a day in the orphanage that has gripped so many of our hearts.

If you would, please pray for the following things:

1) Pray for the team as we travel. This includes safe and timely flights, avoiding any possible illnesses, and for us to stay strong in the face of any spiritual warfare we may come up against.

2) Pray for the people we are going to interact with. Pray that their hearts will be open and that relationships will be built.

3) Pray that we will get out of the way and let God work. It's hard for an OCD planner-type person to do that. Pray that we (I) don't get caught up in how we (I) think it should go, but instead let God lead the way.

4) Pray for our families at home. We are all so grateful that they love us enough to allow us to go - pray that they have an easy week with no stress or sickness.

I'll be keeping you updated as often as possible on this trip. I'm actually taking a computer that works this time! Thanks if advance for all your prayers!!

Vamos a Perú!!!

Slightly Behind the Eight Ball

I've been sitting here tonight trying to write something about missions for another purpose, and it dawned on me that I didn't blog any of our experiences from the July trip. We had very limited internet access this time, and I decided to leave the bulky laptop at home and only take an iPad... to my forever aggravation. Without flash player, there was no uploading pictures to facebook or the blog anyway. So as soon as I actually wrap my mind around this other written piece, I'll just "flashback" the July trip. It was amazing, and the stories need to be told. God was evident in big ways.

Stay tuned, friends - better late than never!!

And We're Off - Take Two!

All things work together for good to those who serve the Lord!!

We make plans. God laughs. So yesterday, we drove from Richmond to Reagan National in D.C., at the crack of dawn, to head out on the mission project. When we got there, we were told that all the flights to and from Newark were cancelled. No flights through other hubs. No flights on other airlines. We had to face the reality that we were going to lose a day of the trip. We reload all the luggage...and yes, the plexiglass...and go back to Richmond. We were disappointed. I was a bit frantic. But God is good all the time. I am surrounded by wonderful people. Derek reassured me and prayed. That was the best thing. One of our missionaries, Mindy, got busy rearranging hotel reservations, transportation, translators...everything. I have a fabulous travel agent, Sherry, that started dealing with the airline to make sure that we were well represented. (can you say complimentary economy plus seats for a lot of the journey?) If you want to take a group somewhere, I'll give you her number!

Now here we are! All of the plexiglass was checked onto the flights with absolutely NO issues. The first leg to Chicago was wonderful, and we are looking forward to passing through Houston on our way to Lima. If you would, pray that our entry through Peruvian security goes well. Do you remember the game show where everyone yelled, "No Whammies"? Well, we're praying for "NO RED LIGHT"!!!!

Much love to all of you! We appreciate your interest and support!!
Mo

And We're Off!

After a three month hiatus, P3 rides again! In a few short hours, another team from Parkway will make their way to Lima, Peru for a nine day mission project. This time, my entire household is going (woot!) as well as a wonderful and talented man from the church, Jack. Our focus for this trip is to construct plexiglass and wire cases for the Carhua mummies that I have talked about before. We spent two hours tonight packing 150 pounds of plexiglass into homemade cardboard boxes - and one suitcase!! We also plan to visit our orphanage, host several evening fellowships, and visit with the schoolkids I have grown to love. Truly, God has plans for this week that we haven't even begun to imagine.

Prayer points:
1) Pray for safe and uneventful travel. The weather forecast for the east coast calls for thunderstorms. Ugh. Please pray for flights to go as planned.

2) Pray for the health and welfare of the team. All of the Sheppards have been there before, and ALL have suffered from the altitude in one way or another. This will all be brand new to Jack, so pray that his body adjusts well, also. We don't want anything to hinder the ministry, so feeling good is very important.

3) Pray for the plexiglass. Seriously. It could get lost, damaged, and (most scary...) held up by customs. It is oversize and overweight. Someone is going to question it. Pray that we will be able to get the needed materials into the country with the least amount of trouble possible.

4) Pray for the people. We will be encountering so many people this week - in the airports, in the stores, in the villages. Pray for their hearts to be open to hear about the greatness of our God. Pray for divine appointments - and that we don't overlook them as we try to "get it all done".

5) Pray for family back home. We are all leaving people behind for a week. Pray that our loved ones have an easy time caring for our families, our pets, their lives.

Jon said something interesting yesterday as we discussed our departure time (5:30 am... in 5 hours...). He said, "Well, our part will be quick since we won't have any goodbyes." That made perfect sense. Everyone I live with is going with me. I have already said goodbye to parents and friends. But then I started to think about how awesome those words are going to be someday. There is a day that is coming when we will all be together - all of us - with ALL of our loved ones that EVER lived. And there will be NO. GOODBYES.  EVER. Wow. And to top it all off... we'll be worshiping our Heavenly Father, talking with our Savior, walking with the apostles. Does it get any better than that???

I'll post a team picture as soon as we take one. =/  It's been a busy few weeks and pictures weren't a priority. If you feel led, shoot us a comment or a facebook message. It does our spirits good!

I'll end with a quote I love that sums up how I feel about going back to my second "home":

"The place God calls us to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." ~Frederick Beuchner

Benediciones!
Mo