Meet my friend Hope

1.       One story of impact per team member (what is the story you tell most often as you share about your trip, what was the person or event that really impacted you the most on this trip).

To nail down a moment to share with you I feel like would give you a picture of my experiences but you would miss out on the slide show. So, instead of focusing on a point of time that was impactful (of which there were many), I want to focus on a younger brother I have in Santa Rita, Peru.

This is Hope. He is the older son of Javier and is 17 years old. He is very athletic, likes playing Volleyball (which is one of the main sports in Peru), is good at swimming, enjoys singing worships songs, helps out his home and is still in school. He was very hospitable and he hung out with us a lot while we were in the Jungle. Even though he didn’t know English, he would spend time with us and help us where he could.

We would laugh together, swim in the amazon, wrestle, he would tell me more about his life in Peru and I would tell him life in the states, he would sing worship songs and I would join in the chorus, he would point at a word in English and I would give him the meaning in Spanish and he would do the same for me. Needless to say, in a few days we became fast friends and I see him as a brother and still miss him. Actually, I got a call from him on Tuesday (11-19-13) and he told me that things were well with him and his family in Peru. Praise God.

The night where Javier was not feeling well as some of the others have already relayed to you, I had many emotions going on at one time to where it was overwhelming. One aspect of the emotional moment was the reality of the implication of Javier’s sickness for his family and specifically for Hope. That night after the team had finished praying and crying, I had the opportunity to talk with Hope and hear his fears with his Fathers condition. I prayed for God to give me words to speak … nothing came to mind. I told Hope I don’t know the outcome of his father’s condition, I don’t have the answer, but God is good and His is ultimately our Father so lets talk to Him. He prayed in Spanish then I prayed in English as brothers to our Father.

Right after that, the rest of the team prayed for Hope and it was a special time to encourage and support the family we had come to know as family.

Hope (back left), Javier (back middle), Nanita (back right), Karen (middle left), Cesi (middle right), Solomon (front left), Absolom (front right)