Why Peru?

I've been asked quite a few times this week if I'm from Lima. I guess that means, I know Peru and speak Spanish well enough, but look foreign, so I must be from the capital city. My friends have even begun calling me a "Peruana" which means I'm blending in more and more.

Today, Cassandra and I went shopping at the artisan market here in Mancora. We encountered a man whom we'd talked with on Tuesday, and he began asking me questions. We struck up an immediate friendship after he showed me pipes he makes from a large seed. (I forget what kind of plant it was from.) As he was describing to me the technique of this handcraft, I expressed my interest by saying the Spanish word, "asu" which simply means awesome, cool, or neat. After that comment, he asked, "are you from Lima?" To which I responded with no, and then explained that I had lived in Lima previously and now had returned to visit.

This topic always brings me back to my original reason for coming to Peru. This man (I never did get his name) asked me why Peru, so I started from the beginning and told him I'd originally come twice with my church before moving here to teach. That was all he needed to know to strike up an intense conversation about revelation and the end times. You see, this man isn't a Christian, but he sure does know a lot about the Bible "stories" and the prophecy of the end times. We talked about the natural disasters going on in the world as well as the fighting amongst humanity. I asked him if these things scared him or made him question his eternity, and he said that he's thought about that many times. He told me about his family and their Catholic religion, and he expressed his disliking to this form of religion. He said he liked the Bible, he enjoyed reading it, but he just wasn't sure Christ and salvation are real. I shared with him bits of my own personal testimony and the grace God has poured out upon me. I encouraged him to read the book of John, and by the end of the conversation, this man asked me if I would be able to get him a Spanish Bible to read because he no longer had his. (I believe his family forced him to get rid of it from the way it sounded.)

Being in a small, tourist, party town, there aren't bookstores to just go and buy Bibles. Actually, a full version of the Bible is often hard to come by here in Peru. They exist, but the stores that sell them are few and far between. I told the man I would talk with a friend coming up on Saturday and see what I could do. I immediately called Nilton to see if he could bring one, but he is traveling and wasn't sure he'd have a chance to get to a store with Bibles before he arrives.

I went out today as normal, looking for souvenirs and ready for a day at the beach. Not once this morning did I think, "Today I want to share my testimony." However, God had other plans in store for my day. I spent a lot more time at the market than planned, and we barely made it to the beach before the clouds rolled in. Yet, I wouldn't trade the conversation I had with this man for anything. I would ask that you would pray for him (sorry, I don't know his name). Pray for clarity and understanding of the scripture. Pray for him to have faith in Christ and accept his gift of salvation before it's too late.

Tonight, as I prepare for bed, I am asking God to please give me more precious opportunities such as this. I love random, spiritual conversations, and if they plant seeds and lead others to Christ, it's even better.

One man's life may be changed forever simply because he asked, "Why Peru?" Who would have thought that question could be so powerful!