I´m sitting in the hotel with a few hours to kill before we head to the airport. Neither Pete or I want to wander too far from the loo, so I thought a few words of reflection were in order.
I particularly want to log the various different ways that God has revealed himself on this trip. To the skeptic, as long as you are happy to explain away clear healings by referring to autosuggestion then all of the things I am about to mention can be dismissed as coincidence and positive thinking. However, I think that they all add up to a clear picture of the Kingdom of God being present throughout the week.
Firstly our prayers for protection and safety were answered - thank you for praying. No injuries, disasters or illness to get in the way of what we were supposed to do. Paul gave us horror stories on the first night about Peru being the 2nd worst country for getting food-related illness, and talked about risk of mugging. Sure we have ´bicyles´ now but we were pretty good during the business end of the trip. Our journey to and from Huancayo could have been tricky with the rain too. While we were up there the pass (Ticulo) was blocked for 18 hours overnight - no going forward or back, with sub-zero temperatures and a youngster died as a result. We had no such problems.
Then the weather - the morning of HOTS in San Jeronimo it poured down and the whole thing would have been a disaster. While we waited for people to turn up (again Peru time) it cleared and by the time we knelt down the ground was dry. This turned out to be one of the most significant times of the trip in many ways, and God created the space for it to happen - it tipped down the whole afternoon once we got home.
When we walked to the conference in Lima on the Saturday morning we were filled with the Holy Spirit - a random collection of dogs followed us all the way (20 mins walk) and even that felt like they were drawn by the presence of God (La Presencia). When we arrived I told them to go home because we were about to have breakfast and without hesitation they turned and trotted off. You can be skeptical at this point but to me it felt like the Kingdom.
And the healings. Malena with chronic kidney pain healed instantly. Knee pain going. The lady with headaches who felt cold rushing into her head when I prayed (my hand felt like it was burning) and the pain going. The man bent double with back pain who shot up and trotted off after prayer - all symptoms gone. Countless unsubstantiated healings and the peace of God making people cry and feel His touch. The couple who admitted to ´sickness of the heart´ who patched things up, gave their lives to Christ and made a fresh start. Pete has noted down more- this is just a flavour.
And the words of prophecy that we both gave which seemed quite accurate and unlocked people´s hearts, leading to ministry, tears and then joy. I remember one morning in particular at Guillermo´s church where it all got quite wild and I was seeing the Holy Spirit on individuals, praying for them and seeing God do stuff.
But this wasn´t about the gringos with their magic anointing. Many of the healings mentioned above where not at our hands but at the hands of the local people who had just been taught how to pray and went for it with gusto. Their faith is now built up and they feel that they can continue without us standing over them telling them to open their eyes and stop praying religious prayer. They were learning a simple method of inviting God´s presence and then commanding healing.
Wherever you go in the world God is the same God and people are pretty similar too - good bits and bad bits. Life is a lot harder out here, and Peru is not very high up the league table of wealth. The sad thing is that it has everything it needs to be a thriving nation but the West has ripped it off and taken advantage of the corruption of those in power to screw them and walk of with the natural mineral resources. A familiar tale but one no less palatable for it.
The Vineyard is well placed between the religious catholic church (into which the Spanish drew many of the indigenous superstitions at the outset in an attempt to persuade people to join in) and the equally religious Pentecostal movement with its emphasis on law, effort and keeping separate from the evil world who are sure to burn in hell. It doesn´t have the ready certainties and haranguing of the Pentecostal churches (attractive to this people who are used to being oppressed and doing what they´re told) or the homely comforts of relying on religion, icons, the Virgin Mary and mysticism of the Catholic Church. However, if it can hold its nerve and avoid leaning in to one extreme of another I think that the future is bright.
Seguir la presencia.
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