Hello friends and fam!Tomorrow at noon, I will be leaving for the Andean mountain villages of southern Peru for two months to live and breathe the Quechua way. My partner Steve Reams (or "Remus") and I will be traveling about 23 hours to the Ayacucho region to work in villages around the town of Pausa.
Steve and I have been given the task of focusing our efforts for the next two months in the tiny "pueblo" of Aulla (population 125). The mayor of that town, Victor, is the leader of the group, so we will be evaluating the health of the church, teaching Victor and other leadership there, and encouraging them like Paul did with many of the New Testament churches. Our goal will be to have the church in Aulla start another indigenous church in the village of Pararca. Please pray for discernment for both Remus and I over the next two months as we evaluate our plan of action based on the circumstances that we find there.
Village life is going to be challenging, but it is one that I am looking forward to meeting. One motivation for taking this task over others was the opportunity it provided to be stretched in new directions, to be tested in new ways, to be put out of my comfort zone, to become consistently conscious of the people that we share this world with, and to grow in dependence upon the Lord. From the inevitable stomach issues to altitude sickness (we will be working anywhere from 8,000 to 12,000 feet), this is a new type of adventure that will continue throughout the next year and a half I will be in South America.
I will have internet access maybe once every two weeks, so check the blog every so often as I will send out prayer requests for the work the Lord is doing here!
I thank you for your prayers during this time as they are needed now more than ever.
Ryan
