Peru Day Eight- Cusco

Today was the last orphanage, a boys home for ages 8-15. We played, laughed, fitted with shoes, face painted, sang and generally enjoyed each others company regardless of fatigue and language barriers. 

I feel so blessed that I went on this trip, because I had to put complete trust in knowing that I was in His hands.

Fortunately, that was what the VBS story centered around at the homes we visited, so I felt especially sincere in the message we were sending to the kids. We were there to not only provide the children with the material, but also the emotional support, never letting them forget about God's love for them. This trip was so beautiful, but it's hard to express in words the things I experienced this week; How I couldn't have asked for a more loving, supportive, and genuine group of people found in our Peruvian staff. How the simple act of painting a young girl's nails brought such joy in being attended to. How the tighter squeeze in holding hands or receiving a hug spoke louder than words. How saying goodbye to each child at each home slowly broke apart your heart. How such unimaginable poverty did not crush the spirit of its inhabitants or how some ancient buildings in the Andes could literally steal your breath away. I quickly understood the intense magnitude of God's love for his creation, and how much He wants us to love Him in return.

All of God's creation deserves compassion, and I pray that the children we served will not forget that the love we showed them was not our own but glorified through God. There's beauty in freedom even if one doesn't have it in a physical sense. We are free to love God and to find joy even in the worst of situations, and I will always remember the beauty of so many kids yearning to experience it. I pray in their darkest nights and loneliest hours that they will think of the proof that love is real, that it can be found through Him, that they too can look upon God's giving hands, in a shoe print. I will never forget the children I met, Peruvian staff, or the group of fellow Buckner team members who will all be leaving Peru with their hearts in the hands of 800 kids, their stories forever in our thoughts.

I'd like to close with a quote I heard during the week, "Hope is the unlikely, even the impossible, becoming absolute" (Patsy Clermont). I pray that if the kids I met got anything from our time spent with them besides a new pair of shoes, that it was the hope that comes from living in the hands of God.

Peru Day Seven- Machu Picchu

5:45 is when we left the hotel but it didn't matter to me, here was the day the history buff in me had been waiting for this entire trip Machu Picchu.
It felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong, people overslept, got sick in the van ride to the train making us almost miss it all together. It was clearly the enemy attacking, but after prayer and faith and patience we made it to the station. I felt like I was at Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter, but my train was blue and taking me something just as magical as Hogwarts.

It was a breathtaking ride through the Andes mountains, alongside a rushing river, switch-backing it across mountain sides and drawing nearer and nearer to snow capes and greener vines dangling from mountain sides. The ruins are hidden at the top of the mountain so that all you see is this town sitting at the base of a mountain that rises before you like a scene from Jurassic Park.

We took a bus up a one lane road to the top of the mountain and Machu Picchu was before us, we had to hike up to the highest point but it was completely worth it. I was amazed at God breathtaking beauty and his gift that he gave us in the landscapes around us.

We toured the ruins with an native Incan guide who was passionate about what she was telling us, conveying her emotions in her hand gestures and facial expressions.

I was blessed to see this place, to stand in God's creation, witness the power of man to alter that landscape for our own purposes.

Peru Day Six- Cusco

This morning we flew to Cusco. It is the largest population living at the highest elevation in the world. It is at 12,000 feet above sea level. They warned us all week to be aware of altitude sickness and to hydrate in order to prevent it. I used my inhaler regularly to open my lungs to the fullest capacity but the moment that I stepped off the pressurized cabin of sea level to 12,000 feet, I felt dizzy, light headed and could not catch a deep breathe. In the airport I almost fainted flat out but lucky maid to to the hotel with out embarrassing myself. There a little old peruvian man wheeled out an old oxygen tank and provided me with a clean mask to aid in my breathing.
Cusco was like a dream after the gloomy sky of Lima in winter, here the air was crisp, the sky brilliantly blue with fluffy clouds.

This afternoon we visited the Buen Pastor Home for 55 girls ages 6-17. Winded from walking from the bus to the meeting area, no one was really ready to be enthusiastic with these girls. We were tired, sick and missed our Lima translators so much that I for one was having a hard time bonded with anyone else. What were definitely not ready for the was the vitality that shone in these girls spirit. They opened their welcoming with traditional Incan and Peruvian dances. 

I worked as the memory verse leader for a person who opted not to go on the Cusco portion of the trip. I had so much fun reciting the verse alongside the girls, we were learning together both foreign to this particular verse in memory and language.
Fitting them was a breeze, they loved to play sports the the plainer the shoe the more they like them :) Who new volleyball was so popular in Peru?
We spent more time at this home, since it was the only one we visited it that day and despite our physical health and mental weariness, my connection to the girls was deep.

That night we ate a traditional Peruvian meal and there was a band and performance dancing, it seemed that everywhere we went some one was sing to us or dancing for us. It reminded me of two verses, Psalm 149:3 "Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp." and Psalm 30:11 "You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sack cloth and clothed my with Joy.". Here were people living in a world filled with injustice, orphans with out anything and yet they were dancing with God's joy.

Peru Day Four :)

My day today was very exciting because I got to hold babies. First we visited the Reyna de la Paz home, a home where very young mothers and their children live. The girls were teenagers and many were victoms of sexual abuse from family members or random strangers. When we first arrived there, it was like a community, all the girls friends with each other joining together in their pain to bring joy to their new lives. When we greeted the girls our first thought was shock. Here were these girls, who were younger then me (one little girl was 12!) living a completely different life. You could see God working through these mother's hearts however, because despite the situation they were in, they had smiles on their faces and greeted us with open arms. One of the girls told us her story. She got pregnant at 16 years old. After her baby was born, she lived with the father of the baby who was in his thirties. He would beat her and that was when she came to live at the Reyna de la Paz home. Hearing this, I felt so much compassion towards her. I couldn't even imagine what she is going through but I pray that God will show her his amazing love and heal her brokenness. I spent most of my time in the newborn room, helping the two ladies in charge of 6 babies, care and feed for them. In broken english I asked how many children were there, what were the mom's daily routines, etc.

Half through the morning one mom came in to feed here baby, after she was done she sat down to pump some milk for later, being the american that I am I assumed that she would use a breast pump, I didn't expect the newest model but instead she sat there and pump her breast by hand letting it drip in to the bottle. I was shocked! Im normally very comfortable around breast feeding and pumping and typical mom behaviors but seeing this mother who was younger then me sit there and take a painstaking long time to pump a small amount of milk for her child while she was gone broke my heart. I asked the head lady if they had mechanical breast pumps and the answer was no. Immediately I wanted to go buy them one, or two or enough for mother. But was it a custom thing that they didn't have them or money or both? I was so touched by this that I am hoping to buy or collect several pumps to send down to the home for these young mothers. Right now I am praying for understanding if it's a custom difference, clarity if its not to see the next step of action.

The second home was amazing. It was another government run home. The children run up to you the moment they see you and cling to you so tight, it's hard to breathe. It makes you feel special in a way because you are sharing that moment with these orphans who will never forget it. The most important thing to these children is to feel loved and accepted and hopefully we achieved that today through teaching the word of God. We asked them if they knew they were in God's hands and they all replied in unison, "si." We were grateful that the kids knew God has the whole world in his loving hands and they are not forgotten.

It was a blessing to be able to share God with these children and seeing their compassion for him. As we continure to pray for them we hope they continue to grow in theeir relationship with Christ. It was a great experience that I will never forget.

Peru Day Three

I slept horrible last night I couldn't regulate my temperature at all. Never the less this morning we loaded up and went to an orphanage named San Antonio, where we would fit 75 boys and girls with new shoes.
Before the kids arrived in we all danced and just relaxed before the chaos would ensue. The kids here were so loving and immediately hugged us and held our hands.

I sat with three little boys around 4/5 years old, so sweet. We all sang God is so big and danced together before they split in to color groups. One of the little boys was so upset about me want to follow him to the group that he latched on kicking any who tried to take him away. It broke my heart.
Fitting the kids was easy, my spanish is improving and expanding so that I was able to ask if they like them and that god loves them and that these shoes are for them. It was amazing to communicate with them and to join in their excitement to receive shoes like their friend or ones that light up.

We played monkey in the middle, soccer, keep away and simple chase all filled with laughter and pure joy. They simply giggled with you and smiled when you caught them in a hug. That kind of love ad joy is infectious, there is no way to not be affected making goodbyes that much harder when they reach in for a hug, tears and smiles and say "Ciao".
After the last kid was fitted. All returned to the big room and put on an authentic Peruvian dance for us, half way through the dancers grabbed people from the crowds to join in.

New Shoes!!!

A little girl grabbed me and I danced with out thoughts of what anyone thought because in that moment that was my worship to God for blessing the kids and myself.  

The next place was the Cima home for boys it was an hour ride outside Lima literally over the mountain and over a barren river bed. It was nestled in the mountains and bathed in the first sunlight that I had seen since arriving here. The boys are from 8 to 18 years old and are runaways, broken homes, drug addicts or throwaways. It was an open home so everyone there wanted to be there.We crowded into their music room and they played for us on traditional Peruvian flute pipes and sang with drums and guitars.

I stayed behind the lines at the shoes station and didn't fit a single boy but witnessing their joy with their fitters was awesome. I reflected on my brothers and their attitudes and how grateful I am for my mom and how hard she works for us to live how we do. Some of them were asked what bad things in their lives that God has used for good? And one boy mentioned drugs and overcoming them and it reminded me of my cousin and how grateful I am that he is who he is but I also thought about my dad and how did not survive that struggle. 

Everyone returned and we all sang and danced together. The couple of the boys stood up and thanked us for coming. I wept. They are so grateful and loving and accepting.
It was hard to leave. But we left with prayers in our hearts and know that Gods plans for them are just starting.

Peru Day Two- Lima

Morning came way to soon. But it was an immediate start to head out to an all boys orphanage that is government run. It was an hour long drive that started in Lima but quickly regressed to humble shacks and rubble filled poverty clumps that hug the mountains that themselves look like giant sand piles left over from a giant kid making a sandcastle.
I thought Pamplona was one area, huge but singular in it's level of depravity but apparently outside of the city limits property is common.
Huge oil pipes and natural gas factories are nestled in the base of the mountains and the roar of the pacific can be heard over the rumble of the old bus on broken concrete and dirt roads.

The orphanage is encased by a green concrete wall and locked shut. It's right on the beach, closer than any beach front home in the states. Eventually the wooded gate is opened by a uniform guard and we ride in to a deserted courtyard.
We are locked in.

We are led to a dinning room that looks like a school cafeteria. Picnic tables and bare florescent lights complete the look. The kids come in, in four straight lines smiling broadly asking if the boxes are full of zapatoes. About 15 of the kids have mental disabilities.

The boys were so easy to fit because they really didn't care what the shoe looked like but that they were new and clean.





After everyone is fit, I venture out and play a game of futbol with them, let's just say that they are fast competitive little boys but I held my own.


We had a box lunch and were led to this wooded gate with a simple solid door in that when opened is right on to the beach. Imagine these boys are surrounded by cornet but right on the other side is God's glorious creation.

This beach was trashed, rubble everywhere. We sat alongside a stone wall and I looked out onto a ocean that I had never seen before and Gods vastness washed over me.

The next stop was a community center in a rural poverty rich area in Acnon. Here were boys and girls, baby to elementary age. I stepped away from the shoes station to participate in the bible study with the preschool kids. Looking into their faces I was remind of my children back home, all kids are the same they seek the same things. Their God is the same who shines in my preschool class room and He is so big and mighty and strong. I met a little girl named Sophia. She was the first kid to answer my questions in spanish when I asked them. She is 4 yrs old lives with her mom and little brother. I was able to find her pink shoes which is her favorite color.

I held a baby and put stickers all over little kids who laughed with glee as I tickled them. We all sang Jesus loves me and danced. Gods movement is evident he is powerful and provides such hope for these people. I am simple blessed to witness it and humble by gratitude.

Dinner was located in one of the Buckner transitional homes for girls. These girls are in college and once they obtain jobs they will move out. It was like a sorority house. They are proud of their studies and so grateful to be able to attend school that it reminded me to be thankful too.

Peru Day One!

Hola!
Currently we are in the Miraflores district in Lima, Peru. All of the people in our group arrived safe and sound despite delays everywhere. I came on this trip not knowing anyone at all, no face to put with a name and having absolutly no idea how this program actually ran. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, totally embracing people to form a wonderful group.
This is my first time on a mission trip as well as my first time to South America. You know what to expect, you see the photos and vidoes of slums and ghettos where children run free and hopelessness is overflowing. But to actually ride in to the place, to mentally compare your life to what you are seeing is unexplainable. Today we visted Pamplona, a slum in Lima. Riding in an older van we started out from our nice hotel in a nice beach area towards the hills that surround Lima. As we drove closer you can start to distinguish that along the hillside are piles and piles of rubble; bricks, trash, and rocks.

Alongside the narrow streets are gated store fronts, run down houses, boarded up windows and we continune to climb till the houses are interspersed with piles of rubble, half the roofs missing or whole layers gutted and standing barren against the hillside.
People are everywhere, old ladies seeling homemade sweets from thier front stoops or children chasing stray dogs down winding decaying steps. Here and there you can spot an attempt at bettering their enviorment; a small garden or a vivid green field for futbol. It's a narrow dirt road to the top that weaves through the buildings till you reach a barren top. This was our destination.

Here you can stand to your right you can see a beautiful skyline of sprawling Lima, a vast booming city spreading all the way to the Pacific. On your left the slums hugging the hillside winding around and around in to a pit of poverty. The juxtabosition of the two was almost too much to handle. How could they only be seperated by a hill? How could either be contatined in such a way that they never broach each other?
I stood confused at this precipice. Here I was, first day here, haven't met a single child yet and already my heart and mind are overwhelmed for this city that has such polar opposites that I wonder how they will ever equal out.
We were welcomed in to this area with open hearts, the children cheered when I carried in a box of shoes and sang for us with much joy.

The shoe station was a hectic mess that totally went against all of my OCD tendencies but the all ecompassing feeling was joy, love and humble gratitude that God is so great the He will provide for everyone from those on the right and left side of the hills in Lima because He is a just and loving God.

P.S. The buckner blog is itsmymission4kids.blogspot.com

Now is the time!

Today is finally here! After waiting 3+ months for this day to happen, now that it is here I can't believe it. I don't think it has hit home yet that tonight I will be in Peru which is in a different hemisphere. My faith has grown so much from the experience of working towards this trip that if I was to not go today my life would still be positively impacted from this experience.

I will try to keep everyone (whoever you are?) updated on this blog as much as possible while away. So check here for information or Facebook or Twitter.

Please continue to pray for this trip. Know that I am so thankful for your prayers and thoughts.
Pray that today goes smoothly for everyone flying from various states, that we all make it down there on time and with as little hassle as possible.
Please pray for our ground team, which is already in place, that they are ready for us and are already sharing the love of Christ.
Please pray for the hearts of the people that we will meet whither its in transit or the children in the orphanages that we will fit with shoes, let us be a shinning light of love for them.

Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement. I know that with out you, telling me this will be good and assuring me that God is faithful in my times of doubt that this trip would have never become a reality. Thank you!

Alright here I go... Peru here I come :)

Pure Joy

As of today July 27th, the trip to Peru is paid for in full :) Whew, let me take a minute and breathe about that.

This past Sunday at church someone from our congregation spoke about his recent mission trip to the Dominican Republic with a basketball program through GO Ministries. He talked about the Joy of the children and of their passion to play the game but over shadowing all of that was their Passion for God. At prayer time multiple children would readily volunteer to pray or lead, the kids in my church have to be almost forced to offer up prayer in a large group setting, but he said here was little kids desiring to pray in front of groups around 150 children. Seeing a fellow church member so expressive and changed by his week in the DR, my hope for my trip shot through the roof.

The key thing that my friend in the DR noticed was that no matter what everything was done in God's time. It didn't matter how much planning we do or push for a certain agenda, God will always take a road not seen and that His way will always be better than ours.

This week I received in the mail a check for the funds that my friend had left over from his funding for the DR trip. This check was for the perfect amount for my trip. It put me flush with all that was needed. God provided through their trip for mine all in HIS time. It's doesn't matter that the money arrived past my deadline, or that all of the meticulous planning I had done for budgets was to no avail. This was HIS timing and it was PERFECT.

July already!?!?!?!

I can't believe that is it already the middle of July. I feel like this month only just started out! Here is a peak at my calendar from this month that might explain why I have neglected this blog :)

As the trip date looms near my heart flutters in anticipation and nervousness. How will I ever feel prepared to do something that is so huge and godly? This trip is not long, or extreme or radical but for me this is my everest. Going down there and sharing my faith so openly, having confidence to show others Christ is nerve wracking for me.

Trying to prepare for this 9 day adventure is all consuming. The details of everything I need to collect, to pack, to do is a long list that I feel will never end. And at the bottom is my budget which is so out of balance with my needs that I'm reaching a constant state of worry about funds that it is starting to distract me from what this is all about... the kids in Peru who are desperately seeking to be loved, to be shown God's unending love for THEM.

Emptying all my banks accounts here is an update on funding=
$145 still needed to pay Buckner for trip/airfare.
Estimated $100 for required VBS supplies to take with me.
Estimated $100 for medical vaccines.
$100 travel expenses.



I know the Lord will provide, its a deep comfort to my mind and heart that in the end He will deliver.

Please continue to pray for this opportunity!
Much Love :)

VBS Plan!

“We are not Alone,

God Has a Plan!”

Shoes for Orphan Souls Peru Mission Trip

VBS Ministry Plan 

Focus:            God’s plan is for our good.

Theme:            The things that others do to hurt us, God can use for good.

Passage:         “You intended it to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is being done now, the saving of many lives.”  Genesis 50:20

Goal:            To encourage the children and let them know that Christ uses the bad things in our lives for our good and for His glory.

Daily Agenda:

PRAY PRAY PRAY as a team before you ever enter the orphanage.  We usually do this before we load the vans and head to the orphanage in our devotional time.  Pray specifically.

Upon arrival:

Meet the children!!!!

Color Groups: Divide children into smaller groups. Make a nametag for each child, remember to use your colored name tag.  This may happen before/during/ or after large group assembly.

Nametags/Games: *This may happen before you meet as a large group. Make nametags.  MEET EVERY CHILD IN YOUR GROUP!  HUG ‘EM!

As time permits, play the Who’s Missing Game to help you begin memorizing names and help children bond with your group and your interpreter.

Large Group Assembly Time: sing songs, welcome, introductions, explain rotation schedule.

After LARGE GROUP, we dismiss color groups to their locations.  You will stay in your location for all of your activities except during your time for shoes.

BEGIN YOUR ACTIVITIES.  ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE ABOUT 25-30 MINUTES LONG.

  

1. Bible Story

2. Memory Verse

Help the kids to memorize John 3:16. 

¹⁶ Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.

3. Games

4. Craft

5. SHOE STATION

Shoe “Store” 

The shoe station will be setup so that the shoes are organized by size and by gender.  You may have a predetermined list of sizes for the kids, or you may have to take one of the shoes from the child and size it yourself to determine which size you will need.  You will put on a new pair of socks and shoes on all of the kids in your group.  All of your group will assist with the shoes along with the Buckner Trip leaders and Peru staff. 

***Remember that many of the older kids can be very picky about what the shoes look like.  Don’t focus on satisfying their need for looking good.  The focus is getting each kid a pair of shoes.  You will need to focus and get all of your kids shoes so the other groups can also get shoes!

This is a wonderful time to watch the kids as they receive their shoes!!!  Enjoy the experience, and remember to pray for the child who gets the shoe!

Orientation Packet

I received my trip orientation folder in the mail about 2 weeks ago. I immediately poured over trying to absorb it's contents and come to grasp that this trip is indeed real and going to happen.

Inside the folder are 3 different packets: Trip Details, Peru Travel Guide and Peruvian Culture Language and Orphan Culture guide.

The Trip details was for me the most exciting because it told me who I was rooming with, where we would be staying in Peru and which orphanages we would be visiting there.

We will be staying at Miraflores Colon Hotel in Lima and Royal Inka II Hotel in Cusco. I will be sharing a room with another lady by the name of Megan whom I've never had the pleasure of meeting...hopefully there will be minimal awkwardness since I've never met ANYONE going on this trip before.

The orphanages that we will be working with are:

• Pamplona Community Center (130 kids from 1-16 years)
• Nino Jesus de Praga Home (Boys 13 to 17 years)
• San Francisco de Asis Community Center (118 kids from 2 to 18 years)
• Reyna de La Praz Home and DOMI home ( 20 single moms, 21 babies)
• San Ricardo Home (90 kids from 3 to 17 years)
• San Antonio Home
• CIMA home (Boys 8 to 17 years)
• Santa Rosa Home ( 45 Girls from 13 to 17 years)
• Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia Home 
• Buen Pastor Home (55 Girls from 6 to 17 years)
• Jesus Mu Luz (40 Boys from 8 to 15 years) 

They typical day is-

7:00am Breakfast

7:30am Devotional

8:00am Depart for Orphanage 1

12:00pm Lunch (Either boxed or at the orphanage) 

12:30pm Depart for Orphanage 2

5:30pm Return to Hotel

7:00pm Dinner

May the Lord bless our time there, with these children that we will meet and love on. Let him guide us in our interaction with not only the kids but the staff at the orphanages, restaurants, hotels and anyone we encounter.

I am so excited to be going on this adventure that at times I can't grasp the magnitude of what will occur in August. I will be apart of something so much larger than myself by simply giving shoes and running VBS. 

Trip Cost Outline and Update

My grand total for this trip is $3,791.84.

Here is a break down of the cost-

• Land Cost= $1375 all-inclusive: meals, lodging, in-country transportation, insurance, interpreters, bottled water, etc.
• Cusco Portion= $850 3 days and 2 nights in Cusco area orphanages and a day trip to Machu Picchu.
• Airfare= $1566.84 It was cheapest to go through Buckner for airfare and this was the best deal leaving from my area that was arriving in Lima during the timeframe.

As of today (June 24th)- My amount paid is $3,300.00 

Here is a breakdown of where that money came from-

• Support Letters= $1,310.00
• Yard Sale= $800.00
• Babysitting Jobs= $1,190.00 

This gives me a balance of $491.84 that is due by July 5th. 

That means that 87% of my trip is paid for! Yayayaya! That is cause for celebration and praise. Our God is a faithful God! 

Just a little line about the Yard Sale :)

So first I apologize for not updating since MAY! Time has just flown by while trying to get everything together and in order for this trip.
The fundraising Yard sale was a complete success! We ended up making $800 profit to go towards the mission trip, which far exceeded my expectations.
Thank you so much for all who helped through donations, showing support and stopping by that day.

Yard Sale Time!

Yard Sale is this Saturday, May 28th!!!

Thank you to all who donated items to be sold!
My wonderful mother has been a MAJOR helper in this endeavor and truly a blessing, so this is my cyber shout out to you!

Please pray for good weather, and that this event goes off with out a hitch. Pray that this event is very successful, surpassing our estimations to help cover the remains cost of the trip.

If you live in the Louisville area and want to find some treasures stop by on Saturday between 8-?????

In Christ,
Caitlyn

31 Party

To order online go to:

http://www.mythirtyone.com/shop/catalog.aspx?eventId=E659740&from=DIRECTLINK

It's Spring Cleaning Time!

Clean out your closets and help fund Caitlyn’s Shoes for Orphan Souls Mission Trip to Peru! 

ALL donations are greatly appreciated!

Please donate your gently used items for us to sell at our May 28th yard sale fundraiser by May 22nd!
Drop off donations at:
10503 Hite Creek Road Louisville KY 40241
OR call Caitlyn at 502-641-0031 to arrange a pick up time

Any questions call Caitlyn at 502-641-0031
OR email at caitlynworkman@gmail.com

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10: 24

Fundraising!

Now that I have decided to listen to God and go on this trip my next BIG hurtle is funding it. The total trip cost is somewhere around $3,200 but the fuel cost is making it more. Having never done with before I asked my friend Tish how to being this task. She suggested sending out support letters to my friends/family asking for financial and prayerful help. So together we wrote a letter, I collected addresses and went to the post office and sent out 81 letters.
THIS is the hardest part of the trip. Trusting that God will provide the funds necessary is hard. I am a planner, I love to know all the details of something before I act, God is teaching me to wholly rely on Him for everything starting with this trip.

As of today, 1/3 of my total cost is paid for!

But the worrier in me is already freaking about how to raise the rest of the funds in the event that I stop receiving support from the letters. Praying for opportunities I have acquired a summer Nanny job through a referral at work and several baby-sitting gigs on the weekends.
Any ideas on how to raise more funds?
My mom has suggested a yard-sale; ask for people to donate items for the sale and combine it with own stuff with all the proceeds going toward the trip. What do you think of that idea?

Please pray for the funds for this trip, that they come swiftly and in God's will. Pray for me to wholly lay this in the hands of Jesus, to not worry about it unnecessarily. Pray for the others involved with this trip trying to get their funding together. And pray for the children in Peru that will be forever changed by this opportunity.

Why Peru?

In July of 2010 I traveled to Germany as a youth exchange student. This trip had nothing to do with ministering to Germans but was simply an exchange with local youth to experience a different culture and broaden our experiences. I went with no expectations to discuss my religion in depth with anyone; I was simply an American visiting Germany staying in a German house soaking of the culture and history.

The first night at my home stay, the father of the family I was going to be with for a little over a week, turns to me and starts asking all of things that I had been told NOT to discuss in polite company (i.e. politics, religion, money etc.). Not only did his great English startle me but I was nervous about my answers. I was representing so much. I am a student, my generation, my family, my friends, my country and my God. Taking a deep fortifying breath I answers all his questions honestly and to the best of my knowledge, they ranged from my view of former President Bush to abortion to the right to carry arms to Lady Gaga back to my view of President Obama. I went to bed not knowing what this new family thought of me.

During the rest of my stay with this family I gradually asked them about their view on Christianity and was able to share with them my faith. This was not some huge production where I read to them from the bible, but in little moments, like when we toured a church and discussed why some people lift their hands when they sing to explaining who Jesus is to me. At the end of my stay no one indicated that my life story had dramatically altered their spiritual walk, but I left knowing that no matter how I represented my country, my family or my generation I represented my God to the best of my ability.

Little did I know this would be the start of a wonderful experience with people so warm and open and caring that I still miss them to this day. Not only was this experience a jump off point for my desire to share my faith with others, it was my own personal eye opener to the idea international missions.

With this desire in my heart, I prayed. I prayed for an opportunity, for wisdom to know His will, for knowledge to share. In January 2011 I attended Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Here I knew that I would "find" my mission, they have this campaign called Do Something Now, that is all about being an active Christian and living faithfully to help others. Wondering around the booths one night with a friend, we signed up with Right Now Missions to receive further information about being placed in a mission opportunity. I went back to my room feeling disappointed. That was all. Sign up for information; I could have done that through Google. Where was my divine intervention that revealed MY trip.

After that trip the idea of a going on a mission trip got put on the back burner as I mourned and went to school and worked. I decide that If God truly wanted me to go somewhere than He was going to have to show me.

Hindsight is 20/20, looking back I see the clues that lead me to where I am. Through out January and the beginning of February something would remind me of missions at least once or twice a week. This slowly stopped to where it just completely left my mind. A brief glimpse of a possible trip happened when a new friend invited me to join her old church in Arkansas on a trip to...Peru. This fell through so quickly that it didn't even process enough to excite me back to searching.

Then one Sunday, I was having lunch with three of my good friends after church when one of them mentions that a mutual friend is going to Africa on a mission trip this summer and that the deadline for applications passed the previous week. We continued to talk about how cool it would be to go on a mission trip and how testing for our faith it would be. That Tuesday at work, my co-teacher randomly brings up that she was thinking about whether I have found a mission trip to serve on or if I was still looking. That evening Right Now Missions from Passion called me to have me answer questions so that they could send out my information to potential trips. The very next day (Wednesday), the first email I receive is from Buckner International about their August to trip to... Peru! At this point I felt the Spirit telling me to wake up! pay attention! I prayed about it and I discussed it with a trusted Christian friend who encouraged me to peruse it but I truly doubt if this exact opportunity was for me. That next Sunday, one full week after first discussing mission trips, I was visiting a friend's church in Ohio and guess what the sermon was about!?! Mission trips, serving others, going when God calls you to GO! At this point I knew that this mission opportunity with Buckner in Peru was the right one, it was getting over myself enough to apply that was the next step. This was easily accomplished when I opened my mail box on Monday morning to see that the cover of that month's Nation Geographic was Machu Picchu in... PERU!!!

That week I applied to go on the Shoe's for Orphan Souls trip to Peru in August 2011. Getting here was long, but now another test beings as I work toward trusting that the Lord will provide that funding necessary for this trip to become a reality.

A little information for you to ponder...

Every year, Buckner sends thousands of individuals and church groups on short-term mission trips to minister to orphans and at-risk children and families in the United States and more than eight countries around the world.
Mission trip participants take part in daily devotionals, pass out humanitarian aid, lead Vacation Bible Schools or sports camps and deliver the Gospel message to many children and families who long for the hope and healing offered through Jesus Christ. Buckner handles all the overseas travel details and works with participants to coordinate group travel within the United States. Trip participants are responsible for raising their own support.


Buckner in Perú:
In 2005, the Peruvian government sought out Buckner to help establish a foster care and transitional services program. The ministries and programs include:
Christian Foster Care - Buckner has a two-year contract with the government to help implement a pilot foster care program. The Perú foster care program served 10 children at the end of 2007 and is projected to serve 60 children by the end of 2008, as an average daily census.
Transition Ministry - Buckner is beginning a transition ministry to serve young people who are 16 years and older to help prepare them for independent living. Each transition home will provide the children with a private bedroom and special educational and counseling support. Buckner house parents will live with the children in each home.
Government Orphanages - Buckner currently serves 17 government orphanages and four private orphanages, through mission trips with volunteers, follow-up evangelical program visits and/or humanitarian aid.
Church and Community Ministries - Buckner collaborates with Operation San Andres (OAS) to provide a community development social worker who works in Collique. The social worker helps with the after-school program and the clinic in Collique and also helps in the local public schools.

Introduction

I believe God speaks to us in various ways. Sometimes he uses music, speakers, experiences and even conversations with friends. I have always been passionate about being the hands and feet of Christ and serving others. I love the idea of international mission but honestly questioned if I was being called to serve that way. Recently God has shown me an opportunity that I believe I am being led to pursue.

This is a blog of my journey. I have signed up to go with Buckner International to Peru in August 2011. Here I will share my experiences, dreams, fears and inspirations as I trust in the Lord and seek to be a servant to those in need.