Scattering seeds

Our two days in Huancayo have been challenging yet a blessing as well.  The weather has been warm and beautiful both days, even for our trip over the pass where we expected to need winter coats and didn´t even need a jacket.  We women have had long times of just shopping the markets for ourselves and also for ministry supplies, eating good meals and plenty of time for intense replanning.   Then we have worked very hard from 3:30-6pm doing our 2 hour programs with a packed room of women and about 75 children at another location starting a 1/2 hour after the women.

The women were absolutely delighted with their program and packed the room.  They made necklaces both days, making a 2nd one for a friend or finishing their first one on the second day.  They also learned how to make a gift box. They beamed when showing off their handiwork and listened closely to the teaching.  There is a great need for ministry to poor women in this area. 

The children were so so excited they were often a difficult group to control, but loved the singing and participated in the stories and answering questions.  The games and crafts were hard to keep organized with the language difficulties, but they had so much fun anyway.  One little girl asked "Why don't you come more often?"  We had to take 4 little boys back in the van to their mothers at the women's site and they sang all the way back in the car.

It has been hard to adjust to being too busy to work on relationships with the kids and getting only short one-on-one times with the kids.  A lot of the work has felt like flinging the seeds of God´s love around and hoping it takes root.  There is nothing really wrong with flinging seeds since it is better than saying the work is too difficult, the need is too great, and doing nothing.  The seeds that grow will be nurtured by the Peruvians who live and work here and can´t offer what we have done without our help.  We plant, another waters, but it is God that produces the growth.  I am simply to obey and do my best when God calls me to do something.  It is up to God to use what I give however He chooses.

Tomorrow we leave for Tarma and the Vista Hermosa projects where we will be giving out dresses and baseball caps to the poor children and then heading on to La Merced and the jungle.

Thank you for your prayers.  They have helped greatly.
Sally