Hardts2serve

Today people all over the Cusco region are celebrating “Yusna”. The tree you see pictured above was not there until yesterday.  It was cut down and planted (again) just so it can be cut down (again).  Yusna is a tradition where couples will play traditional Peruvian music (waino) and they will dance around the tree.  Each couple gets to hack away at the tree with an axe.  While the couples hack away at the tree the kids fight for the “gifts” that fall out of it. (The tree above has different size bowls in it).  The couple that finally topples the tree gets the honor of getting the tree next year!

We had a good weekend of ministry.  The Lord blessed us with 28 in kid’s club (1 visitor) and 4 in youth group (1 visitor)!  We are having a competition in kids club which wraps up next weekend.  The kids are earning points for various things like Bible memory, saying books of the Bible, bringing their Bibles, and bringing visitors.  We had good services this morning. Our attendance is still very low on Sundays so please be in prayer for that.

On Tuesday morning I was able to go with a fellow Baptist missionary to the small town of Yucay (it’s right outside of Urubamba in the Sacred Valley).  His mission and church have been helping about 320 people living in tents in this little town.  Driving through the town everything on the left side looks normal; you wouldn’t even know there was a problem, but look at the right side of the town and you’ll see piles of rubble where houses use to be.  It is really astonishing to see the affects of the flooding throughout the Sacred Valley and the rest of the Cusco region. Please continue to pray for everyone affected.

The Lord blessed us with a great weekend of ministry and church!  We had 21 come to kids club and 4 come to our youth group.  We are working with the youth on developing their spiritual lives through Bible reading and prayer.  This morning at church we were blessed with 1 visitor and 1 returning visitor!  Here’s the story behind our visitor:

She is an elderly lady that lives next to the church.  Last Monday I was using a weedeater to cut the church grass and she came over to ask me if I could do her yard.  I told her that I don’t do it as a business and she left it at that.  Then later she came out and asked me again. So, I told her  that I didn’t have much gas left but that I would do as much as I could until the gas ran out.  I just about had her yard finished and then ran out of gas.  She brought me a glass of coke and thanked me profusely for doing as much as I could.  She then started talking to me about our church and I answered the questions she had. After that, she said “Can I come?”  I responded with a resounding “Yes!” and told her that she’s welcome anytime.  This morning she came out her door and walked to church right on time!  Praise the Lord!

Here are some pictures of some of the flood damage.  The situation is still not good for thousands of people.  The rain has stopped but many people lost their houses and more than likely don’t have any money or resources  to rebuild with.  There have been 10 reported deaths and over 23,ooo people have been left homeless also.  Please continue to pray for the region of Cusco!

It’s been raining almost non-stop here in Cusco (up until today).  Cusco has declared a state of emergency. The situation is not too bad here in the city. There’s mud all over the streets and no water, but in the Sacred Valley things are not good. There have been landslides, homes and lives have been lost.

In Pisac the bridge has collapsed and Tambo de Gozo (Bro. Rudy Johnson’s camp) has been flooded. The walls have fallen. I was told that most all of the buildings are flooded except for Daniel and Laura Dukes house.  Daniel is in Argentina and Laura and the kids are in the states for a brief visit.  Please be praying for them!

The following is what the U.S. Embassy in Lima sent out:

This warden message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens residing and traveling in and around Cusco, Peru of travel difficulties due to bad weather.  Heavy rains since January 22, 2010 have caused landslides throughout the Sacred Valley, blocking routes into and out of Cusco.  Travelers should consider postponing visits to Cusco and Machu Picchu until the weather clears and the roads and train are re-opened.

We have received reports of the following:
?    The airport in Cusco is closed;
?    The train to/from Cusco and Machu Picchu has been cancelled since January 23 due to landslides;
?    The roads into and out of Machu Picchu are currently closed;
?    The Pisac bridge has collapsed;
?    The Huallabamba bridge is under water; and
?    There was a landslide in Oropesa en route to Puno, travel is limited.

Peruvian authorities are working to open a route out of Machu Picchu. The U.S. Embassy will continue to monitor this situation.  Travelers to this region should consider postponing until the weather clears and the roads are open. U.S. citizens may wish to monitor local media sources for new developments and exercise extreme caution if travel to this region is unavoidable.