Aquí Estoy

My friend Teresa

Nilton and Sarah

Hillsong United...I <3 the colors!

Aquí estoy, con manos alzadas vengo

Pues tú todo lo diste por mí.

Aquí estoy, mi alma a ti entrego,

Tuyo soy, Señor.

Last night Hillsong United held a concert-worship service in the soccer stadium here in Lima. A group of 6 of us went together, and we had a blast. We had tickets, but as we were in a standing section it was important to arrive early to get a great view. My friend Nilton arrived at 2 or 3 to wait in line, while the rest of us arrived around 5 after a long day of work. Doors opened at 5:30ish, we ran to get prime spots, and then we waited some more. The concert itself began about 8:15 with about 45 minute introductions and missions/video promotions before.

I enjoyed the people watching beforehand. The culture here is quite interesting. I found one family very clever as they unfolded the newspapers handed out on the street outside the concert and sat down. Who needs a blanket when you have free newspapers to sit on? Unlike a North American concert, Peruvians aren't known to cause a scene or argue. The line waiting to get in was quite calm, and once you had your spot to stand no one tried to shove you around. Of course we were packed in like sardines, so there was very little room to move, but people seemed a lot more Christian and friendly than some North American Christian concerts I've been to.

I very much enjoyed worshipping with the very diverse group of 10,000 (estimated)people..."brothers" as Nilton would say. Hillsong United does have a Spanish album, but as most of these songs are translations of the English version, the entire concert was bilingual. On the screen they put words both in Spanish and English for everyone to sing along. A few times everyone was singing English which was fun with the Peruvian accent, but I must admit, I really enjoyed the songs sung in Spanish and tried to sing in Spanish as much as possible.

God is at work in Perú, and I´m so excited that He has allowed me to be a part of it for this season of my life. Now the only question I have is...God how long will this season last? 5 weeks? Another year? An answer would be much appreciated as would your prayers!