More Reflections

Now that I have been home for a few days, I have been thinking about the people of Peru quite often. I am so glad that God guided me there for our mission.

The best part of the trip for me was the opportunity to get to know some very special people, Betty, Pepe, Florella, Marilena, Emilia, Chelsea and many more. We were able to share love through God’s guidance even in the midst of a lot of poverty and devastation for many of these families. As I have reflected these past few days, I see their smiling faces and their tears. But most of all, I remember the hope that was in their eyes. The people of Peru are filled with love and my heart ached when I had to say good bye to many new friends.

This is Jason, his brother and him were fascinated with digital cameras. Every time we took a photo, they would rush to see the actual photo! I think they could have done this all day!


Having fun with the families was just as important as sharing God's word and building the homes. I played English School Teacher and taught English to many of the children and they were teaching me Spanish. Florella, was just a wonderful little chatter box who I became so fond of! She was so eager to learn, she is a bright young girl with happy spirits regardless of their situation. This is a hand puppet we just made together, who she just so happened to name, "Colleen."



This is a photo of a young boy named, Jaime. He was a child of some workers nearby. He was a young boy with few words. He was so quiet, he did not respond to any of my questions. I brought over some scrap wood and attempted to build a block building with him. But he just sat there and stared at me. After a minute, I pushed it down and went back to work. After a few minutes, I looked back to Jaime and there he was rebuilding his own block house.



This photo is of me in front of some neighboring homes. You will see how the earthquake just easily brought the adobe bricks down. They have cleaned up this area, but you can see, the ceiling and doors are non-existent.

I want to thank everyone again for participating in this trip with me. We touched many lives thanks to each and every one of you. I am forever grateful as I will cherish the memories I have from Peru, forever.

Ciao y Muchas Gracias, Colleen

Reflections

We arrived home safely yesterday around 4:00am. Weary from another two days of travel, yet filled with love and compassion for the new friends we've made. We represent the first Lakeside Church Impact Peru team to come alongside Shelter Our World in Ica Peru, but we will not be the last. Three more teams will make the long journey this year to continue the work that has begun and further enrich the relationships with so many people we'll all come to know and love as we glorify the name of Jesus in Peru.

As I reflect on the process of the past six months, I've come to understand that the Lord creates opportunities to reveal Himself to all of us all the time; through our everyday and often predictable routines, as well as the extraordinary and totally unexpected events in our lives. While the news of the earthquake that affected this region was presented to the world the evening of August 15th, people throughout the world were provided many alternative methods in which to perceive the effects of that night and the people of Ica Peru. Perhaps each one contained an opportunity to draw closer to God's heart along the way.

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We could tune into CNN, MSNBC or FOX News and view it from our televisions...

We could surf the world wide web and view it through our computers...

We could fly to Lima and ride the bus to Ica and view it from the Pan Americana Highway...

We could ride in the tiny little Tico taxis and view it from the neighborhood streets...

We could walk the neighborhoods and talk with people and play with the children...

We could build a home and view it from the perspective of a grateful family...

We could knock on the doors of strangers and what remains of their homes and go inside...

We could journey far enough inside to the back rooms to find the forgotten generation...

And we could hold hands, hug each other, praise God and pray with one another...

As for today, we the team that God called, Isaiah 6:8, went without knowing what we would find. Now we are the ones that return to our families and friends with an amazing blessing and stories to share. We grew, we stretched, we prayed, we learned about the purpose of our tears (tiny little messengers when words aren't enough) and God revealed himself to us. We discovered His nature, His grace, His heart and so many other wonderful blessings. We thank you all for your love, support and prayers throughout the past two weeks. We would like to share the words of Paul as he was completing his third missionary journey, as they now somehow have become more personal and relevant in our lives too.

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." ACTS 20:24

Blessings,

Marty Listberger

Strong Sense of Community

We´ve spent a week among the beautiful people of Ica and experienced the generosity of the poor. It is amazing how the people live in such difficult situations yet share everything. There are communal kitchens where the government gives small stipends to responsible residents (mostly women) to cook for those in need of food. The concept is that everyone contributes something, even if some can contribute only their hunger. From what we´ve seen in Ica, no one is hungry.

Several days ago when walking through the neighborhood where the first house was constructed, a woman met us to ask for help for an elderly couple next door. The woman was in a wheelchair and her husband had difficulty walking. The only family was a daughter who worked outside the house and they did not welcome visitors. Another neighbor also expressed concern for this couple as their house was destroyed and they are living in rubble. The sense of community caring is deep, and yesterday we returned to visit the couple and offer prayers. We learned that the government doctor was scheduled to visit today. Pepe, our guide and invaluable translator, will be monitoring this family´s situation carefully and helping as much as possible. Also, as we were able to enter their home, so now the woman who runs the community kitchen will be able to visit, monitor and help this family.

The people of this growing agricultural community are poor, mostly immigrants from elsewhere in Peru, but warm and generous. The children are beautiful and loving. I will always remember the sense of community and selflessness inherent to the culture of the people in Ica, Peru, and also the sense of community of the Lakeside team. This has been a truly wonderful experience and for this we are blessed.

We return to Lima today, and to our loved ones in California tomorrow.

Ciao,
Stephanie

Prayers and Love for the Elderly

To my dear family and friends,

It is time to say for our team to say goodbye today as we begin our journey back home. I feel sadness to leave the friends we have made and joy that I will be reuniting with my family and friends that I am missing very much. I have been blessed beyond words by the people of Ica, Peru. I have made friends with the most beautiful people Betty and Pepe and all of our team members that have shown me an abundance of love for helping others and a passionate heart for serving our great and glorious Lord. WOW!!! what an incredible week......

Yesterday was a day that I will never forget and one that I feel my heart must share. Earlier in the week neighbors in the community of Jose´ pleaded with us to help an older couple that was living in the community. We were able to visit them yesterday and meet Juan and Amelia who are about 60 or 70 years old. Words cannot describe the conditions that they are living in. They lost there home in the earthquake and have managed to make a makeshift canopy for the kitchen and a metal tent of some sort for sleeping in(the heat and bugs are very hard for us to deal with let alone these older people that are very weak). Amelia was sitting in a wheelchair and was struggling with a very bad cough and was very crippled and in pain. She had no ability to help herself in anyway. Juan her husband was standing and we could feel the tremendous pain he was feeling. He loves his wife very much but does not have the means or the ability to care for her the way that he would like.......My heart was aching and I know the team felt the same way........We loved and hugged Amelia and Juan and then layed hands on this old woman and prayed and cried out to God!!! Tears flowed......I know that God will move in miraculous ways for this elderly couple, my prayer is that it will be soon.......A woman named Luc that has the community kitchen in the neighborhood and a heart of gold was able to come in with us. She had not been able to see them before and now that she has she will make sure that they get food and help to move Amelia from bed to wheelchair to help with the sores she has developed on her body......Juan and I hugged and cried and it is a moment that I will never forget. He was given hope and love yesterday and that is something that will never be taken away.......Praise God for opening our hearts and the door to these beautiful people!!!

As we depart today for home my prayer is that God will open the eyes and hearts of the people who come to Ica and the people who live in Ica to find the Elders here and embrace, love, touch and take care of these older people. They do not have medical care and retirement homes like we do in the US......It is absolutely heart wrenching to see our elders suffer like this.....The one thing that I did find out is that Shelter Our World takes donations which can be specified for individuals and 100% of the money goes directly to the designee. If this story moves you in anyway and you have the means to help financially I know that this would change the lives of Amelia and Juan in a big way.......

I can hardly wait to share the rest of our journey with everyone. My heart has been forever changed and I am filled with graditude for the abundance I have been given.......

Praising God, Love and Hugs to all, Lynn

Sunday Faces

Dear SOW, Lakeside Church, Share Partners, Families & Friends,

Today we have dedicated ourselves to rest and celebrating God. We attended church services and would like to dedicate this entry to pictures and let the Faces of Ica, Peru tell their stories.

We love you and will see you soon!

Marty Listberger

Finish Strong!

Dear SOW, Lakeside Church, Share Partners, Families & Friends,

We are praying for you and we thank God for your prayers and support. Tomorrow (Saturday) will signal the beginning of the conclusion of our time together here in Ica Peru. It is with great joy and sincere gratitude that we will being saying good-bye to our friend, Lee Jimison, as he begins the long journey back home. Before I share my thoughts about this, let me take a few moments to share some of the events of the past 36 hours.

We arrived at Casa por Marliena (Marliena´s House) about 9:00am this morning. Following a day of rest and refresh time at a beautiful oasis called Huacachina, combined with the experience gathered from building Jose and Rosa´s house, the team began working with great confidence. Lee and Jim layed out the chalk lines, David and Lynn setup the cut station and began cutting posts and studs, while Tory and Colleen assisted with the raising of the corner posts. Within 30-minutes the first wall went up and we were off and running.

It was quickly becoming clear to me that the team was functioning well and that they had succeeded in working me out of a job. The team no longer required a leader...they were clear on their mission and each person knew their role. I really credit this to Jim and Lee´s leadership. As I looked around for bent nails to sweep up or pencils to sharpen, I noticed Marilena leaning against the wall accross the street. A little girl ran to her with a tissue to wipe the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. I invited Colleen to join me and explained that the house can wait, ¨we need to comfort Marliena.¨ Marliena was overcome with emotion, not able to believe that people she had never met woke up, prayed up, showed up and were excited, laughing and happy to rebuild her home. A home that fell one evening last August within minutes in the wake of an earthquake. Struggling through her tears, Marliena explained that she wanted to do us a favor. As we hugged each other we explained that the greatest favor she could do is to accept this house as a gift from God and honor Him by making the name of Jesus great throughout this neighborhood. Marliena looked at us and said, ¨in reality, that is what I already do...you came such a long, long way to help me.¨ The only thing I could say was, ¨then Marliena, it is appropriate that God has selected you. Just as he sent Jesus all the way from Heaven to save all of us, He has sent us to help you. He wants to bless you because you truly love Him.¨ Yes, there were more tears and more hugs...we returned to work and Marliena stood watch all day - I believe she will continue to be used by God...she has many neighbors who are watching too!

You may notice that the picture above does not include the entire team. The hot sun and humidity has taken its toll on many of us throughout the week. While everyone tries diligently to maintain proper rest and water, we´ve experienced more than our fair share of instances of heat exahustion. Either that or were experiencing some sort of stomach ailment that is slowly working it´s way through the group. First David, then Tory, Emily, Colleen and now me. We´ve done well to look after one another and Betty has been incredible at providing tea, nurishment and even soothing cool compresses to reduce fever and provide comfort to those that have needed to power through the 24-hours required to get back on their feet. It is wonderful how God has provided both Betty and Pepe as extended members of our team. They are absolutely His saints and we have been blessed in so many ways.

As we approach the final few days of our time in Peru, we were treated to another example of God´s creation and beauty even in this most desolate place in the middle of the desert. Here most people see dirt, poverty, very little in the form of trees and due to the earthquake piles and piles of bricks and stones...yet, God finds ways to reveal himself and all his Glory. This picture was taken while lying in the sand in front of a dune buggy behind Huacachina. I love how the wind forms wave-like markings in the sand and how the setting sun stars just as it meets the horizon.

So, just as the sun sets behind the dunes we prepare to say good-bye, for now, to our friend, Lee. His gifts for construction have been second only to his kindness, gentle manner and spiritual leadership. We´ve all experienced Christ´s love shining brightly through him this week. ¨Thank you Lee.¨ We pray for his safe travels to Lima, Miami, San Francisco, Sacramento and El Dorado Hills as he anxiously anticipates his reunion with family and friends. We also pray for relief in the storms, high winds and rain that have created difficult circumstances throughout northern California.

Meanwhile, as we continue to experience the culture, wonderful food and music (mostly 80´s Rock from the USA in all the Taxis!) in Peru and share the good news to encourage the people of Ica over the next few days we invite you to continue to pray that we finish strong. Pray that each member of the team can find the time to be completely alone with God. Pray that we recognize what He is seeking in each one of us as we prepare to return home to all of you.


P.S. In case you´re feeling that God is calling you to join one of our Lakeside on Mission Impact Peru teams, we have a seat reserved just for you!

Yahoooooooooooooo!















A special hello to Sandy, Shane and Shannan - I love you!

In His Arms,

Marty Listberger

One Down, One To Go

Hello Lakesiders and Share Partners,

It is Thursday here and it has been a wonderful trip. My fellow team members are just great and we are having a productive yet fun time. Marty keeps us all organized and is doing a great job keeping our focus on the mission and our interaction with each other and the families we are ministering to. He is truly dedicated to the success of this trip!

After a long day on Wednesday we were able to finish Jose and Rosa´s house except for a few small items. It is a very rewarding blessing in having a small part in helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Jose and Rosa know that they have received this blessing from God.

There was much interest by people in the neighborhood as they watched the progress of the house. Our construction methods are different than what they are used to seeing. A wood frame structure and the process in which to construct is far different than the brick and mortar construction they are familiar with. I´m sure they were surprised at the time it took to build and I´m sure will be pleased with the finished product after it is plastered on Saturday.

The kids in the neighborhood are like kids evertwhere, they love to play. It was fun to see Lynn, Colleen, and Tory play and spend time with them and have a blast doing it. Between hammering and nailing they were holding the baby and playing soccer. These kids probably just love the attention of having adults spend time with them doing the most important thing, having fun! Although our trip for the most part is very safe there are a few small hazards to watch out for. While Lynn was in the process of training a new hammer it ended up striking the wrong nail. Ooch! You will notice in this photo Lynn holding up her bandaged index finger.

I´ve enjoyed working with Jimi who speaks my language. Having been to Peru already to help build another home he was a great help in my understanding of building one of these homes. Truly someone who loves to serve.

Everyone on our team compliments each other with their talents to make this trip so fun. It is wonderful to develop new friends and relationships that will remain from now on. It´s encouraging to see young men like Tory and David who at such a young age are experiencing the blessing of ministry. Lynn and Colleen are just fun to be around and keep us laughing all the time.

It is nice to have Emily and Stephany filming and documenting the devastation from the earthquake. My prayer for them is that their hard work and diligence in making a film will make people aware of the need and energize people to help.

Thank you all for sending me here and to receive the life changing experience of bringing God´s love to those less fortunate. I know we receive more blessing than those we´re trying to bless. Although I feel that not being able to communicate with words to the families makes it hard for me, I´m glad for my team members that can. I believe the most important part is the relationships that are built. I´m glad that I´m able to contribute a small part and do what is easy for me and that is to build.

I also want to thank Bill Harggett who was so gracious to open his home to are team and to have Pepe and Betty to help us all week long with everything from cooking to translating for us.

God Bless, Lee