"Pot-luck" lunch Peruvian style

Today we returned to the village where God had done miracles and several community members had accepted the Lord the previous day. Again, we were allowed to speak to the school children. This time, we did a drama about how sins become burdens in your life and weigh you down and how Christ comes and wants to take our burdens from us. All we have to do is give them to Him and He will throw them as far as the east is from the west. After this drama, we again shared the gospel message and asked the kids if there were any of them that wanted give their life and their burdens to God. At this invitation, 18 kids came forward and we were able to pray for them! We then gave all the school children, teachers and some parents New Testaments. Again, people from the community came for prayer. Women were healed from body pains, sickness of their whole body and chest pain. More people came to know Christ and more people came from their homes for prayer!  Again, God was faithful and showed His glory to those people!

    After praying for the people, we were invited to join them for lunch. But, it was not just any lunch,

it was a lunch they had one a year after they came together as a community to work together to clean out the canal system of the community. After the work was done, all the people gathered on the grass. The women were dressed in their large, stiff sombrero hats, with multicolored handkerchiefs over their heads to protect them from the wind. They each had on their patchwork blouses of bright colors with their backs draped with brightly colored woven blankets and ribbons. The community was divided. The men sat in one area all together and the women in another. On the grass, the women sat with unfolded blankets that contained varieties of food to be shared. Potatoes, cheese, beans, corn, peas, wheat, tortillas, and Guinea Pig were part of the feast to be had. Has the eating commenced, the people began sharing their food. They took things from their blanket and placed it one the blankets of others. Some took buckets of cheese and meat and handed portions to each individual. As guests, we were asked to come and walk among the people and take whatever we wanted from each person’s blanket. As I partook of food from the blankets, I could see that the women were pleased to have the opportunity to share with me and to share with others within the community. The people ate in near silence, but you could feel the peacefulness, and the contentness of the Peruvian “pot-luck” dinner they were having.  At the end of the feast, the men brought the remaining food from their area and presented it to their wives. Although I could not understand anything the people were saying, I saw that some people were graciously giving food to members of community that had less than them.

It was truly an amazing day! The cultural experience of the feast was like a little golden nugget that God provided for us. I think He knew we would get so much joy from experiencing that. God is so good! Not only did we get be a part of something so special as a feast, but God healed people, saved people and changed people’s lives forever and I got to see that. God is good!