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I had the opportunity to attend a conference here in Arequipa by Reach Global. The topic was community health evangelism BUT it actually didn’t include a lot of information about healthcare. The focus was on how to empower and equip a community to make positive changes and impact the city they live in all while sharing the gospel throughout the process. The structure was amazing and I was able to get so many incredible resources from this conference. I actually attended the weekend conference in Spanish with other Peruvians (one of which is a Pastor in Ayacucho) and then attended the weeklong conference in English.
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It has been somewhat challenging for us living in Arequipa and learning the language for multiple reasons. Obviously, it is challenging to learn another language, but it has also been kind of hard for us not to take on too many responsibilities in the ministries here. We love to serve and love to empower people and equip them to reach the full potential that Christ has for them. We have been able to pray and brainstorm about what opportunities the Lord could give us in Ayacucho but it still requires patience until we actually get there. This conference provided so much encouragement because it actually provided a structure on how we can empower the Peruvians to take ownership of their community and how we can walk alongside (or behind) them. Our prayer for our ministry in Ayacucho is that from day one we can be working with a Peruvian that has a desire to do University ministry, worship, sports ministry, youth ministry, etc. That the Lord would allow us to disciple, encourage, empower, teach, and walk alongside the people of Ayacucho. To this day, we have no idea how long the Lord will have us stay in Ayacucho. Our prayer is that whether it is a year or ten years, the second we leave, the ministry would not miss a beat and would continue with or without us.
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This conference provided incredible education and guidance on how to accomplish this. They encouraged us to have an “exit plan” (a plan of what the goal is) before we even start. Basically, at what point will they be equipped enough to completely run the ministry on their own. All that to say we felt super encouraged to see that the Lord continues to prepare us for the ministry that He has called us to in Ayacucho. Continue to pray that we would be able to clearly hear what the Lord desires to do in Ayacucho and we will FOLLOW HIS LEAD and not try and lead on our own strength and knowledge.