HGBC Peru Mission Trip: Finding Opportunities for the Gospel

Pedregal is a frontier town. It was only established in the 1970s. It is on a desert plateau that is irrigated with water from reservoirs that collect water from melting snow caps in nearby mountains. Pedregal is surrounded by rectangular green fields because the only place anything grows is where water is applied. Fields of alfalfa, and corn grow to be fed to dairy cattle, and artichokes, for export.

The city is sprawling; we ministered in five Baptist Churches, there may have been more. These are the churches we served; their names, pastors and what we called them: 1. Irrigacion B3, Pastor David Bedregal, we call it Pastor David's Church. 2. Irrigacion B2, we call it the Balloon Church because we first used the balloon animals there. 3. Iglesia Pedregal Sur, Pastor Gustavo Alatrista (cook: Gilmer), we call this the Dinner Church because Gilmer made us lunch and supper each day we were in Pedregal, and it was good (yum-yum). 4. Iglesia Central, Pedregal, Pastor Apolinario Bedregal (Pastor David's father), we call this one the Breakfast Church because we ate here each morning. It is in the middle of the market area of town, and near the city square. 5. El Alto.

Our first clinic was in Pastor David's Church on Sunday morning. Sheets hanging from wires strung the length and width of the small building made partitions for the doctors on one side with a waiting area on the other. Patients sat in pews along a wall. It was very crowded and we couldn't figure a way to address the crowd. Some of us, who were not medical personnel, found our way behind the church to a shaded area set up on a concrete slab. Soon children started coming back there to wait for their parents. When the number rose to 8 or 9 Jose said, "We should do something with these children." I responded, "I have something." From the bus I got the five colored papers to make the wordless Ninja star. Gaby translated while I talked and folded. She lead the children in an invitation to trust Christ and a prayer. Three or four of them trusted Christ for the first time. Then Gaby, Jose and the kids played games and sang songs with the children, the Buddies, April, and Dawn helped out too.

We had lunch at the Dinner Church.

The Balloon Church was also a small building with a similar set up for the clinic to Pastor David's Church. We set up clinic there on Sunday afternoon. To the side of the church was a small courtyard where we made balloon animals for the children. I'm not aware of any opportunities to share the gospel during that clinic, that would happen on Tuesday.

We went back to the Dinner Church for supper, but the tables were not set up in the sanctuary/fellowship hall as they usually were for meals, because they were about to have evening church. We set up the tables in a Sunday School room, it was like being in a restaurant. After we ate we joined the worship service.