2018 Christ Church Katy- Peru Mission Team

Day 1 (plus)

This report comes at the end of a very long day; hence the title: Day 1 plus. We left Houston at 4:30 Friday afternoon, landed in Lima at 11:00 pm. Spend the night lounging in the Lima airport until our early morning flight to Arequipa. We landed in Arequipa as the sun was rising and beautifully illuminating the stark, snow-capped peaks of Mt. Misty and the Chachani Mountians. The brisk, dry morning air of the high desert was invigorating to us despite the night with little sleep. We sailed through customs with no issues and were warmly greeted by our hosts, Nathaniel Gutierrez and Nate Bonham. We loaded our many bags and were whisked off to our hotel. There, we were given a guided tour of the breakfast buffet by Nathaniel who cautioned us on what to avoid so that we might maintain optimal health during our stay here. We ate a hearty breakfast and then were able to rest for a couple of hours before our time of introductions and orientation. Our lunch was at the Gutierrez home where we met Alicia, Nathaniel’s wife and their delightful children.

After lunch, we went to a neighborhood in Arequipa and met a family who are members of the church here. While they lived in a quite poor area of the city, they had a beautiful testimony of love and concern for their neighbors and a desire to see the gospel reach the hearts and lives of those around them. After a nice visit with them, we spend some time walking in their neighborhood and praying for them and their neighborhood. It was such a blessing to meet these Christian brothers and sisters who have a heart for their neighborhood and work so hard to survive in the place that God has them.

Tomorrow we look forward to worshipping with the saints here in Arequipa. I plan to preach on Mark 1:16-20 on Christ’s call of discipleship. We miss the saints of Christ Church, but are eager to know more about the work of the gospel among the people of Peru. Thank you for your prayers for us. Please continue to pray that we will be a blessing to the church here, that we will have a thorough understanding of the work, and that we will have a renewed sense of gospel urgency because of this trip.