Peru Journey Review Day 2

Our primary objective on Thursday and Friday was to make contact with as many local pastors as possible.  We wanted to invite them to participate in a training conference on Saturday.  In San Roque we found this pastor who seemed to be fairly open to participating in the session.

 

 

 

This pastor also seemed to be interested in what we were planning to do.  What we are learning is that there are several small struggling Evangelical churches in the area.  Some are Pentecostal, others call themselves an Apocalyptic Church, others are a part of the Peruvian Church. 

The pastor in the picture above was also taking care of their little girl who continued to playfully hang on to her father's leg while we talked.

Pastor Rolando de la Cruz has been pastor of the Pentecostal church in Usibamba.  He has a powerful testimony and has worked closely with our teams whenever possible.

When we arrived to talk with Rolando he and a friend were busy working on an expansion to his home using the adobe brick construction that is common in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our plan was to invite as many pastors in the area as possible to participate in a training conference scheduled for Saturday.  We knew it would be a challenge, simply because there tends to be some tension or perhaps competition between pastors.  We did our best to break down the barriers as much as possible but we knew it would be an uphill battle.

 

In visiting with these men I have become convinced that they love the Lord but they struggle with the lack of training.  I often feel that since our theologies are often different, we spend time fighting each other and not focusing on the mission that God has given us.  My thinking this week has been if God's name is glorified in the ministry of these men and we can strengthen them then we are all doing what God has called us to do. That is when I try to remember what Jesus prayed  the night before he was crucified.

John 17

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of^[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.