Saturday, May 17

Hello dear friends and family!

Today had many adventures: Time with the kids from the orphanage in the morning, a baptism in the afternoon and a young adults group in the evening.

We had the opportunity to join the kids from the orphanage Hogar de Esperanza (Home of Hope) on their fun outing at a nearby recreational facility. We enjoyed swings, games, fútbol, swimming in the pools and hunting for fresh pecans under the pecan trees. These kids have been through so much difficulty at such young ages, and yet they so intentionally attended to us, offering us the best pecans and most beautiful pebbles and flowers they could find. God has provided a home for them where they can be safe and cared for, giving them space to relearn how to be a child when the pain of the world forced them to grow up and survive before their age. I was deeply encouraged by their excitement and joy.

The youthful energy of these children stood in stark contrast to the three women whose baptisms I witnessed today. They waded in the water with much caution and difficulty – pain, even. Without arms to catch them, their efforts would have been disastrous. Yet they persisted for Christ, and we celebrated their new life together in the beauty of an oasis located directly next to a cemetery.

This evening, Dan had the opportunity to share a message connected to his testimony with the youth. As I looked around the room – the next generation of leaders in the church – and listened to Dan’s story, I was reminded of the beautiful and weighty responsibility God had given us as the body of Christ. I know churches in the States and Peru that are full of incredible brothers and sisters in Christ nearing 80 or 90 years old. I praise God for their faithful witness! Yet I also see that, unless we’re willing to step out of our comfort zone and use our giftings to disciple those new to the faith, the church will fade out. I’m so proud of Dan and everyone on this team who has died to self to make Christ known beyond their comfort zones. And yet even this task of raising up leaders and pouring into the Church is not something we accomplish but rather something Christ does through us.

Life is a fragile thing. Children don’t choose to grow up in circumstances that crush their wonder and innocence. Youths, for all their strength and energy, cannot postpone the day that their bones will become brittle and they’ll rely on others to provide and care for them. I was reminded of this today. And yet in all of these circumstances, I witnessed God’s provision. In house moms, youth leaders and church elders, I’ve seen the same strong arms ready to steady and guide faltering steps. I am encouraged at this reminder that God will not forget His children, and He will complete the work He’s begun.

We cannot hold back from allowing God to accomplish His will in and through our lives. The lives of those around us are too precious, the cost is too steep for us to indulge in simple comforts that lead to death.

As we wrap up our time in Peru, please continue praying that God would…

• Empower us to stay present and make the most of the time we have left (especially with the school on Monday morning!)
• Help us to process, grieve, and transition well as we leave Peru and seek to apply all we’ve learned to our “normal” lives in the States
• Continue to work among the brothers in Callanayacu and Trujillo, especially among the ministries we’ve interacted with (the orphanage, school, young adults group, and church plants)

Thank you for your partnership in prayer. God is doing incredibly beautiful things, and I’m so thankful we’re invited to be part of His work. Thank you for being our family.

In Christ,

– Liana M.

Friday, May 16

We begin each day with a devotional, and today was no different. It’s important to us as disciples of Christ to place God at the center of our thoughts. This is the lesson expressed in the book of Numbers with the central placement of the tabernacle among the tribes of Israel. This morning, we discussed the meaning and importance of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. We then received our daily bread as one united family in the Lord.

As a team, the landscape of the orphanage was slowly refreshed by our hands as we reworked the arid soil with pickaxes and shovels throughout the day. The orphanage presents itself as a bastion of hope and light, alone in a desert sea of darkness. This is the only area orphanage that actively works to keep family groups together while also instilling the foundation of Christianity in the youths.

Over lunch, we all shared in fellowship as the orphanage director and staff selflessly provided our provisions in the Christ-like fashion of hospitality. This time was bittersweet, as the thought that this was our last day within the orphanage walls worked its way through our minds. Although, we ended our time joyfully by sharing in songs and snacks! God has a tendency to bring things full circle; He sent me to Peru to preach on Psalm 1 this past Sunday, and today, the children sang that same Psalm to us in Spanish. It’s beautiful how He orchestrates our lives.

Only those who witness the lives of these children can truly begin to imagine their struggles and joys. If you feel led to donate toward a ministry, I pray it be this one. I have included a donation link to “The Home of Hope.”

– Dan F. 

Thursday, May 15

The world is so big. On my phone, I know that it says that we’re 5,000 miles away from home but the sky looks the same. The people look different, but they’re still people – a million experiences underneath whatever they use to cover themselves up with.

Our day as a team started with a devotion from John 8. Jesus is radical, unflinching … holy. Reading His words is so often an instant gut-check: “Am I living a life that really, really, matches the name of Christ? The man who’d tell others to their face that they couldn’t accept His words because they were of Satan, that He was His own witness along with God the Father?”

From there, we had a fantastic breakfast and went to the orphanage. The kids are wonderful and kind and the staff is the same way. Today we continued on with the cleaning that we’ve been doing throughout the week: cleaning, weeding and talking to the students from the orphanage as they go to and fro. We made it through one of our last chapels, sharing a testimony of God’s goodness, singing our songs and then the finale, a staple of each day we’ve had at the orphanage — soccer!

As I write this, we have returned from our prayer meeting and finished our debrief for the day. This has been an incredible trip with incredible people. We serve an incredible God.

– Micah J.

Wednesday, May 14

Dear friends and family, we end the day as it began: with prayer. Today’s team devotional time was a time of reflection and prayer over the names and places of every person we’ve encountered and place we have stayed during our time in Peru. We ask that you pray alongside us for the people and ministries we are involved with. If you want to hear some more updates on our day and how the team is doing, please check out the pictures and videos we posted on LBC’s Instagram account for our takeover today!

We will include below the prayer requests of several ministry leaders that we had the honor of eating dinner with in Trujillo, as well as some personal requests.

Please pray with us for:

• Discernment from the Lord as these leaders (serving Christian school, orphanage, young adult groups, local church and spiritual formation conferences) guide others to know the Lord and equip them to serve Him.
• The Christian school to find Christian teachers with hearts to share the gospel with the students.
• 15 able and faithful teachers to lead Bible and theology courses at the national biblical training conference taking place in January (the program occurs annually in Trujillo).
• The local church to find two more elders (for a total of at least four) to help lead the congregation.
• The children of the orphanage to know the Lord and find their home in Him amidst the many trials and spiritual warfare they face.
• The Cenepo-Torres family (our hosts!) as they work alongside various ministry efforts in Trujillo, the U.S. and across Perú.
• Strength and unity in the team as we are very tired and continue with our labors and lead various activities this weekend even as we process our own emotions and what the Lord is speaking to us during this trip.
• Dan and Micah as they share the word this week in various settings.
• Paris, Yin, Abi Grace and Liana as they prepare activities and lead times with the kids at the orphanage.

We genuinely feel your prayers. Thank you.

We echo the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 1:  “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Tuesday, May 13

Today marks our third day in Trujillo. Our morning began with team devotions, when Liana guided us through 2 Corinthians 5:10-21. The shared reflection on Scripture, with everyone’s unique perspectives on God’s work in our lives, was deeply meaningful. The passage’s reminder that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” resonates powerfully as we consider our irreplaceable identity in Christ.

The Cenopo-Torres missionary family treated us to tamales – traditional corn dough filled with chicken, egg and pepper; all wrapped in corn husks. We also had the joy of celebrating Abi Grace’s birthday, my friend and co-leader. The celebration included their family tradition of a candle-lit hard-boiled egg, making it a memorable moment! She gave me her egg!

At the orphanage, we continued the maintenance work, pulling weeds, even extending beyond our assigned area! After lunch, we enjoyed meaningful fellowship with the children, caregivers and staff. The afternoon was filled with worship, Liana’s testimony and various activities. We had another mini fútbol game. Micah dominated our soccer game, partly due to my less-than-stellar goalkeeping. Meanwhile, Paris and Selah led a ballet session with some of the girls. Despite the language barrier, the children’s smiles and laughter spoke volumes.

We ended our day with enriching Bible studies at the missionary house. Dan shared his testimony, followed by Micah’s compelling study of Hosea 5, which deepened our understanding of God’s prophetic work. The evening became even more special as we gathered with Abi Grace’s family and church members to continue celebrating her birthday.

Let’s pray for:

• Justice: For continued support of the orphanage by the church community and God’s protection. The facility faces challenges with organizational leadership and land ownership as they advocate for the children’s rights and maintain their God-centered mission.
• Salvation: That God empowers us to share the gospel effectively and clearly with everyone we meet.
• Strength: For sustained energy as we adapt to our new environment. We’re thankful that everyone remains healthy and confident in trying local foods!
• Mission: For God’s guidance as we serve His purpose in Trujillo, that our actions and words would reflect His love, and that we would be sensitive to His leading in every opportunity to minister to those we meet.

If you’re still following the updates, THANK YOU!

– Yin H.

Monday, May 12

Hello everyone! Safe + sound after our landing on Saturday / first Shabbat in Trujillo with Abi-Grace’s familia, Journey Team PERU started the week at our next hub of service: Hogar de Esperanza orphanage. We have the privilege of doing a little ground-keeping every morning/afternoon till the kiddos come home from school, followed by lunch, then sharing some songs and testimonies for a bit, and finally playing outside before it’s time for the team to head home. Today’s mission was raking leaves, which we found to be slightly challenging with the sandy ground, but we travailed nonetheless! This crew works so so hard, and we honestly had a blast joking/singing as we raked!

I won’t lie, it felt like a gut punch for all of us when we first arrived. Even with the sweet illustrations and vibrant colors covering the buildings and outside walls, even though these children have “Tudor mothers” and other staff caring so well for them every day of the week, how is it, with the body of Christ so expansive as it is, that these kids do not have homes?? Why is the paint on the playground starting to fade? It’s simultaneously amazing to see followers of Christ coming together to protect and care for these kids and heartbreaking (especially seeing the older kids watch over the little ones) to know that all of these kids don’t have parents or a place of their own to call home. Some of them never will. Please keep these precious kiddos in your prayers – that they would deeply know the love of God, or come to know Him through the incredible community at HDE, and whatever small way our team can support, encourage and show Christ’s love and joy while we’re here.

Sunday, May 11

Hello dear friends and family,

I’m happy to say that we made it to Trujillo! Here’s a brief recap of the last week and some of our hopes for the rest of our time in Peru.

As Yin mentioned in the previous post, our journey to Peru was quite bumpy! Our 27 hours of travel turned into 70 hours. Our baggage was sent to the wrong places, and Dan’s didn’t arrive in time for our journey into the jungle. In the jungle city of Tarapoto, we joined Abi Grace’s father, Pablo, and sister, Hannah, and five other men (Eder, Uziel, Victor, Felipe, and Pool) who came from various regions of Peru to help. In the chaos, God enabled us to be joyful.

We arrived in the jungle village of Callanayacu at lunch time on Tuesday. Every day, the men worked morning to evening to dig out and build the foundation of a new church – difficult, exhausting work in the heat, chipping their way through huge rocks to pour the foundation. The women engaged with the children and women in the village with Bible lessons, songs, games and intentional conversations. In the evenings, our team led an open-air service with worship, testimonies, skits and a message. Meals were a wonderful time of fellowship and rest as the sisters in Callanayacu served us with great generosity and hospitality. On Friday, we saw a waterfall in the jungle and wrapped up the construction work before traveling back to Tarapoto.

Saturday evening, we were welcomed to Trujillo by Pablo and Abi Grace’s family. This morning, we had the honor of attending the first official church service in a church plant where Dan shared a message. Today has been a day of rest and preparation for the week ahead.

This week, we will be serving in an orphanage to finish some work projects, run gospel-focused programs and spend time with the kids. In the evenings, we will also be engaging in what the church in Trujillo is already doing – Bible studies, prayer time, youth night and more. On Wednesday, we’ll be visiting the beach and an archeological site. This Sunday, Micah will be sharing a message at a different church in Trujillo. The following Monday, we’ll be sharing our testimonies at a school before embarking on the journey home again.

Here are some things you can keep in mind as you pray for us during this busy week:

• Spanish comprehension. It’s more common to speak English in Trujillo than in Callanayacu, but Spanish is still the majority language. It can be quite taxing to communicate and translate around the language barrier all day!
• Allergies. The geography of Peru is such that the mountains block the rain from making it to the west side. This means that the coast is a desert – dry, dusty and unfriendly to those with allergies.
• Communication. Pray that the gospel would be clearly communicated through our team’s service, programs, casual conversations, and testimonies during our time in Trujillo!

One last thought: A theme that has stood out to me on this trip is how incredible the family of God is. This team has been loved so well by our brothers and sisters in Christ! You have prayed for, financially supported and encouraged us. Our family in Miami gave us a place to stay when our flights were rescheduled. Our family in Callanayacu shared their food, shelter, children, stories and beautiful land with us. Now, our family in Trujillo gives us another place to rest and the opportunity to work alongside them in what God is doing in this place. I’ve been moved to tears to think of how precious this family is – and this is SUCH a small sliver of our worldwide family in Christ. It’s intimidating to step out of our comfort zone into a new context where our weaknesses and insecurities become more evident, but God has provided family for us in this journey. We are not alone. No matter how far the Lord may lead us from our homes, we will have this family forever – no one can take it from us. What an incredible joy.

Thank you for following along on this trip with us! Your prayers, encouragement, and support have meant the world to us in this journey. We can’t wait to share all that God does in and through us during the rest of our time in Peru. Until our next update, take care!

In Christ,

– Liana M.

P.S. For those of you who have Instagram, we will be taking over LBC’s Instagram account on Wednesday. Don’t forget to tune in to see a bit of what it’s like here in Peru!

Monday, May 5

The 2025 Peru Journey Team is ready for this incredible experience!

It is 7:41 a.m., and we are supposed to be in the Peru jungle. However, we’re now in Miami. Due to weather conditions, we’ve encountered flight cancellations, delays and rescheduling. I (Yin H.) am with my fellow teammates on our way to Lima. I’m proud to say that despite all the unexpected challenges we’ve faced, everyone is graciously persevering. Through God’s provision, some team members’ family and friends have been flexible and opened their homes to host us. It is encouraging to see the team, despite all the logistical challenges, keeping each other company and remaining accountable in Christ while sharing the Gospel and our purpose of travel throughout the way!