From the Buckwalter LIFE Group.

Many lifegroups at LCBC meet all over Lancaster County every week to study God’s Word and connect with each other . This is true of our lifegroup as well, but this summer we took ”doing life together” to a whole new level. This is our story.
One evening our lifegroup was meeting as usual when the discussion came up about summer mission trips. As the discussion continued Kiley & Brandon(one of the couples in our group) shared, they felt led to travel somewhere in South America. Merli quickly became excited, sharing that she had grown up in Peru as an MK and would love to go back to her “home”. This trip would also allow Merli to be baptized in the Amazon, something she had prayed about for well over a year.
 Between uncertain work schedules, and limited finances, several of the rest were interested but still very hesitant. Once the ticket research started, more and more of the group became excited and jumped on board. By the time we were ready to purchase the tickets all but three of our lifegroup members were able to go. God had provided all the money needed, and amazingly enough employers became very understanding. Though three could not join us, we still felt they were part of our team here in the states. Without their prayers and financial support we could not have done this trip. The travelers to Peru included, Brandon and Kiley Ziegler, Merli Moser, Julie Risser, Dustin Musser, Fran Vita, Katie Bernardon, and Melissa Fraver.
Jill Moser(Merli’s mom), and Allison Dillworth(Jill’s granddaughter), were also able to come with us. Jill and her late husband (Paul) were missionaries along the Amazon river for many years. Their last year in Peru God sent them to the city of Lima, where they started a church. Shortly after they had to return to the states due to Paul’s health. This trip was especially meaningful to Jill, to go back to see old friends and the continued growth of the church God had led she and her husband to start. Jill became a valuable asset with her Spanish speaking skills as well, very few of us were able to speak conversational Spanish, so her gift was a blessing.
Through the gracious support of friends and family, we did not go over empty handed. From tooth brushes and shampoo, to coloring books and crayons we left the states with supplies totaling ten suitcases in all. Upon arriving in Iquitios we were met by Rich and Dee Donaldson, one of the oldest missionary couples still serving in Peru today.  The Donaldson’s have been missionaries close to sixty years, working with the people of Peru. Jill and her husband worked along side of the Donaldson’s when they were serving there as well. We were fortunate enough to meet the Donaldson’s here in the states before they went back to the mission field. They were on furlough, and left to go back to Peru a month before our trip started.
God allowed us to stay with a local doctor and his wife, which were friends of Merli and Jill. The doctor and his wife usually board medical students, but we were fortunate enough to stay without cost with this family. God allowed us to live out His love to this family and even share openly what we were doing during our time in Peru.
The missionaries had direct connection with a quickly growing deaf school. This is where our group felt the most compassion. Children with disabilities are considered outcasts in this society. So the deaf school teaches these children and loves them like Jesus would so that they may come to know Christ and also function in daily life. We were able to give a lot of our supplies to the children in this school, seeing their faces light up was priceless. The rest of the time in Iquitos was spent running VBS sometimes twice a day. Usually the amount of children attending seemed small, but once word got out, the total would double or even triple by the end of the program. There were times we worried we would not have enough craft supplies, but each time God provided and no child left empty handed. The VBS programs included song time, a story done with puppets, and then the plan of salvation would be presented, all in Spanish. Key in our communication with the children were the wordless bracelets, and a tract that went with it, written in Spanish.
Our next stop was Cusco, a huge temperature and elevation change. Our time spent there was short, but we were able to do much. One of the highlights of being in Cusco was meeting a missionary from LCBC Shannon, she works with the children as a teacher there. We were able to encourage her over dinner and a give her a taste of home with gifts from the states.
Our last stop on the trip was Lima, a city that is still very in need of God. During this time we were able to handout many tracts and bracelets while touring, and even had opportunity to share the gospel with our tour guides.
What started out as a discussion in lifegroup became a reality when we allowed God to work. He kept us safe through the entire 14 days , all luggage was accounted for at the airport and God allowed us to walk through customs each time with out any conflict. We have become a lot closer as a group and are thankful for the experience we had. It’s crazy where God can take you when you decide to “do life together”.

Posted by Matt Graybill on 02/04 at 09:54 AM