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