Outreach in Pacifico

Since making the changes to Sundays and meeting in our house instead of Pacifico, we decided we still wanted to be in Pacifico regularly, and so one of the ways we are doing this (aside from the large small group meeting on a Wednesday) is having a mission Sunday every four to six weeks in Pacifico. 

The first time we did this was mid November when we met in the lower bus stop, prayed together and then split into 3 groups. We visited those people who have not been around church very much in the last few months, as well as seeing which other people God had us to meet.

Joel, Valeria, Karen, Ronald, Rosa, and Arthur

Our teams set off together into three different areas of Pacifico, and I felt that God was telling our group to do the forgotten area, those people up furthest on the hills of Pacifico. (You have to scramble, literally, up rubble to get to their houses so it is hard to 'drop -in' easily on these people).  Our team was made up of some of our young adults, who all found the time really inspiring, fulfilling, as well as seeing God work in many amazing ways.

Lili and Sheyla praying for 2 different women from Pacifico

We were greeted by everyone with open arms, and invited into every house we went to. (This is not the norm here in Lima, where distrust is high, and it is not unusual to have a thirty-minute conversation on the doorstep).

It was a real honour to lead the team that I did, as well as seeing some of the young guys praying for other people for the first time. 

Angela with her daughter Zoe

Four weeks later we did our Christmas outreach in Pacifico. Our plan was to provide the traditional Peruvian hot chocolate and Paneton with a catch.

The Panetone and Chocolate team

The catch was that we were planning to pray for each person before they received their paneton and chocolate. Everything was planned well, we had Steve in charge of the queue to begin the process, Nancy and her team ready to pray, and Rosa and Llilda ready to serve the paneton and the hot chocolate they had risen early to prepare.

Zoe and Daphne

Well His plans are not ours, and his thoughts are not our thoughts. None of the fighting to be served happened, none of the panicking, ‘what do we do with all these people’. Instead we found that people were at first a little suspicious to receive the paneton for free, but generally were very blessed with the prayer.

Daniel makes a friend

The main highlight has to be however our assault evangelism as we stopped every bus passing, asked them if they wanted free paneton and hot chocolate, and then being able to pray for them, and bless them. 

It was a really wonderful time to see people in our church serving others, especially those from Pacifico, serving their own people. Missionaries in their own back yard you could say.