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 Marilena (Marilena´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 Marilena.¨ Marilena 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, Marilena 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. Marilena 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 Marilena, 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 Marilena 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
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