An Awakening has begun!!

So we have lived in our village since the end of April..about 4 months and I fully expected the first 4-6 months to be pure relationship development.  After-all, we are gringos(foreigners)  living amongst them, and I knew there would be some chattering going on once they realized we were staying.  So I knew we'd need to build trust with the community first. Little did I realize just how much God had been preparing their hearts to receive us and our message of hope. At the end of July..a great awakening began.

It all started when I felt the holy spirit nudging me to go and speak with one of the ladies in the village. I knew I was going to walk to her house to chat, but I had let a few days go by and was preoccupied by other things. Then it happened.  There was a knock on my door and it was the same lady the Lord had told me about earlier.  She had a bible in her hand and asked if I would read the bible with her and teach her God's word.....uumm of course I would love that!!!  At that moment, I wasn't able to meet with her, but promised that I would come to her house in 3 days and we could read...and we did.

I went to her house and she invited 2 neighbors to join us.  We met outside and talked for a while. I wanted to just listen at first so I could understand some of their worldview.  This is important for us here because their worldview is different than ours, and it influences their understandings and beliefs about God and the world around them.  This also helps us to know which bible stories to share with them. After chatting for 2 hours and reading God's word, I prayed with them and then another great thing happened. They asked if they could come back to my house at night and sing...and we did!!!
They all came over...with their babies strapped to their backs...even in the midst of a power outage. We sang and talked for 2 hours again and it was beautiful.  I learned their hymns of praise and sang with them to the mountain music rhythms of their village.

After this first encounter...there have been several like it.  Men have been asking Chris many questions about life and God etc... Women have been approaching me asking why we have moved to their village.  I've been trying to clear up any fears or rumors that people have been saying about us and now there is a new form of trust building between our family and the community.  Women are feeling more comfortable talking to me and asking questions about faith and our purpose in the village.

There are probably 2 or 3 young believers in our village that we are aware of, but many are confused and seem hungry for answers. One lady told me of a dream she had before we arrived. It was of Jesus' face in the clouds crying over the village. The lady said she began to cry in her dream and then cried when she woke up.  She told me she began praying for God to send someone to help the people in the village know truth.  She told me that she feels we are the people she has been praying for God to send.

God is definitely at work in Ayaviri. An awakening has begun and we are excited to be able to participate in what God is doing in Peru!