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

Day 6 (part 2), Day 7 & Home!

After leaving the orphanage, we went to our Lima hotel. We were looking forward to a hot shower and air conditioning. I find that one of the hardest things about a mission project is reintegrating yourself into the life that you usually live. That doesn't mean that you aren't changed by your experience, but no matter how great the needs are, you still have to go home. It is really hard to leave an emotionally draining experience like those beautiful children, get cleaned up, and then eat a really nice dinner. On the other hand, this is our chance to treat our Peruvian teammates and say "THANK YOU" for all the work they do with  us.

We grabbed a quick HOT shower, changed into fresh clothes (my jeans could almost walk home... nasty), and went to dinner at LarcoMar - an open air mall overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We decided to eat at Mango's, which is a wonderful restaurant. We laughed, ate, decompressed, ate, teased each other, ate, celebrated my birthday (last week), ate... you get the picture. Just in case you don't - here are a few fun ones!

The next day was Sunday, and we were able to go to a church service with our missionary, Jim, some of our translator friends, and our FANTASTIC van driver Juan and his wife, Mali. The message was fantastic! Very encouraging! After service, we headed out for a day of adventure. We went to Rustica, my favorite Peruvian buffet restaurant, shopped at the Inka Market, Polvos Azules, and Minka. All are markets with many different stands and products. We finally grabbed dinner at Pardo's, which is Derek's favorite Peruvian place, and headed to the airport. Serious tears. It is so hard to leave, even when you know you are coming back soon.

God blessed us with easy flights, short layovers, and the best customs/security experience I have ever had. Most of us were able to sleep at least a little on the overnight flight, and all of our luggage made it home intact. I think it is safe to say that we were thrilled to be back with our families. I even came home to a surprise! My guys had been busy building one of my dreams for our yard - a fire pit. We still have some mulch to spread, some weeds to kill, and some decorating to do (think "flowers"), but how AWESOME was it to come in and swing in a hammock under the trees?!?!?! LOVE MY GUYS!!

I hope you will all keep reading as the blog continues. I will be leading a team back to Peru in July to do some construction and (hopefully) a VBS. We might do some Bible studies, too. I'm going to keep posting as new things come along. If you feel that God is speaking to you about joining us in His work in Peru, please contact me. I can tell you more - LOTS MORE - and get you started with the application process. Most important - I hope that you continue to PRAY. We go for a short time and plant seeds. It is the prayers of the believers that support the growth of those seeds.

Now... I'm going to bed!!! :)

Day 6 (part 1) - The Orphanage

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." ~John 14:18

"No los voy a dejar huérfanos; volveré a ustedes." ~Juan 14:18

We left Canta early Saturday morning headed back to Lima. It was really hard to leave the mountain. We went straight to an orphanage in Ventanilla - one of the outlying districts of Lima. This is one of the largest (if not THE largest) orphanage in a city of almost 10 million people. The facility houses around 850 children, ages 2 weeks to 18 years. The children live there, are schooled there, and work there helping to keep everything going. Most of them can't be adopted because their parents still live in the "slum" areas around them, can't afford to feed them, and know that the orphanage will. 

In the baby/toddler room, there are 42 children ages 2 weeks-2 years, and two ladies who care for them daily. Yes, I said TWO. Just stop for a minute and imagine that. The diaper changes, the feeding, the cleaning, the cooking, the entertaining... They couldn't even remember all the names of the children. And all this in a tiny building with no heat/air conditioning, no window screens/glass, no washing machine (yet), no dishwasher.  As soon as we walked in there, children came running with their arms out to be picked up. For the next three hours we held babies, played with toddlers, changed diapers, rocked sleepers, fed infants, cried, smiled, and LOVED ON those children. There aren't enough words to describe everything there. I'm just going to post some pictures. Even these don't do justice to what it is like there. Some pics are very sweet, and some are heartbreaking. We will be going back. Over and over and over again. Even if they can't be adopted, we will do everything in our power to improve the life they do have. Every. Single. One.

Every. Single. One.