Praying for Peru ...

SOOOO ... I probably should have done this earlier, but better late than never.

Friday, I leave with a team of 15 for Peru to do medical missions from June 4-13.  Lots has been going on in the Peru arena in the last few days ... so I am calling in the prayer support NOW!  :0)

Our team is made up of 10 students (pharmacy and med and nursing and vet ...), 2 nurses, 2 dentists, a pediatrician ... and a partridge in a pear tree.  It is a bigger than normal team for my summer teams ... much smaller than my nursing trip teams.    And in about 50 hours we will be landing in Lima (yep, midnight Friday night) and embarking on a high elevation adventure for the next 8 days.

We will be working with John and Sonia Grady, IMB missionaries to the Aymara people.  We will work in the towns of Moho (pronounced Moe) where two of our GA Send Me Now missionaries will be serving all summer.  We will be working with Peruvian healthcare workers in this town ... so the potential for impact extends far beyond just the patients we will see.  This is what John and Sonia say about that area:
Moho is an Aymara district located in the Altiplano of Peru that is in need of the gospel! The district of Moho has over 16,000 people living in it and the town of Moho has about 3,000 people. In the town of Moho, only two evangelical churches exist, one with about 30 members and the other with about 10. Unfortunately, neither of these churches are really growing. To the contrary, one of them is actually dying out. We are praying for a US church to partner with us to reach the town and district of Moho with the gospel of Christ. We are praying that new evangelical churches will be planted throughout this town and district that will not only reach the people in Moho, but will also take the gospel message to other areas as well. Please join with us in praying for the district and town of Moho. Please pray for a partner church that will provide the manpower that we lack to reach this area.

We will also be serving in Patascachi, a town near to the Gradys' home in Huancane.  An open door in Patascachi came earlier in the year when flooding left the town with great needs.  The Gradys were able to help secure grazing land to keep the village afloat.  We will provide medical clinics there the end of the week and our Vet student will provide animal care and teaching as well.  He (and we) are excited about this!

Here are some specific requests:
1. TRAVEL: We arrive in Lima at midnight and have about 1000 pounds of supplies to clear through customs.  We submitted our list of donations to the Peruvian Consulate last week ... but have had some interesting potential complications in that process.  Pray that we breeze through immigration and customs (with ALL of our supplies ... without bribes)  and are able to leisurely make our incountry connection ... which leaves Lima at 4:45 am.  Yep, that means we will be getting NO sleep the first day of our trip.  Travel is by far the MOST stressful part of the trip for me ... we leave ATL at 5 pm on Friday, June 4th and will be flying home overnight on Saturday 6/12 and Sunday 6/13.  Please pray extra on those days.

2. HEALTH: We fly into an elevation of 12,500 ft and will be working in areas of even greater elevation.  Pray for smooth and fast acclimation to the climate, lack of sleep, new culture, food, etc. 

3. TEAM UNITY: Most of you know that out team is made up of students from all over the state who have spent just a new short hours getting to know one another ... this team is also made up of a doctor, 2 dentists, and 2 nurses who don't know each other or the students.  It has always amazed me how God has put just the right people together and I have been so grateful for the opportunity to work with such amazing teams.  It's only because of God's work in that process!!!

4. THE GOSPEL: We do medical missions to meet the needs of the people for the privilege of sharing the gospel.  Our meds do no good without the hope of Christ.  Pray for open doors to share, for the summer missionaries and the Gradys as they follow up, and for people to come to know Christ!  Time is of the essence as the Gradys are being relocated in the fall to another area of Peru.  The work with the Armaya will be left to the believers in this area and to churches who continue to partner in this area.

5. DISCIPLESHIP: For me, one of the greatest blessings of leading these teams are the relationships I form with students ... such a joy!  Pray that God would lead in one on one conversations ... and in group share times, through devotionals, through consulatations with patients, times with the missionaries, van rides, plane rides, etc.  I had lunch with a student from another school who has been on a couple of trips with me ... we shared a significant conversation one morning on a beach ... as we left, she brought up that conversation.  God does amazing, lifechanging work in us as we get away from our distractions and serve Him.

SO thankful for a God who hears and answers.