New Year, New FormatThank you to all who faithfully read our updates and stay connected to our ministry through partnership and prayer. As we continue to reflect on the role God has given us, we have come to realize that He has given us a front row seat to a number of incredible stories. Many are inspiring, as we stand in awe of what God is doing in our region and around the world. Others are sad, as we realize how much we all still need him. Still others are yet unfinished, just as the work of God is ongoing. We'd like to take the chance in the coming months to share some of these stories with you: the good, the bad, and the in-process. Partnering with Peru: Floods, Snakes, and Broken Suspension“We’re all underwater,” the message read. “We’re up on the second floor.” It was a busy Thursday afternoon as I (Abby) sat and glared at the gray clouds and drops of water falling from the sky. February and March are the driest months of the year in our part of Costa Rica, but it was raining, and I was annoyed. I checked my phone and was surprised to see a flood of messages from Pastor Lenin Pinchi, the national leader of Peru, messages with photos and videos of an actual flood. Suddenly our little drizzle came into proper perspective. In his messages, Pastor Lenin shared updates from brothers and sisters from two congregations in the eastern region of his country that had been affected when heavy rains flooded the Pachitea River. We offered words of encouragement and prayer and then immediately reached out to Michaela Urban, the projects and disaster relief specialist at the Church of God Ministries office. We are incredibly grateful for her leadership and the way she and others have developed a system to be able to respond quickly to natural disasters. We were also incredibly grateful to generous donors who make it possible to send help. Over the next few hours and days, we facilitated communication between Peru and our office to make sure we understood the scope of the need and had up-to-date banking information for the international transfer. Pastor Lenin sent along more and more photos and videos that the leader of the eastern region and the local pastors had sent him of the flooding and its aftermath, including a video of a second boa constrictor that had found its way into a family’s home. He reported that they had already dispatched the first one with a firearm. By Monday, funds were already on the ground and ready to be put into use. We were also pleased to hear that the regional and national churches in Peru were responding and had already started sending help. We have worked with the Peruvian church on previous occasions and know them to be efficient and well-organized, and we felt confident that the Lord was going to work through this joint effort in the midst of a difficult situation. Over the past few days, we have received reports of how the funds were used, as well as photos and videos of the fourteen grateful families who received assistance. In addition to distributing food, water, clothing and articles for personal hygiene, the leaders also bought mosquito nets and medication, anticipating that the rising waters would also lead to an increased risk of illness caused by mosquitos and waterborne contaminants. We were glad to see the photos and hear of the families’ gratitude, but something else struck us in the reports, stories, and images that we received. We learned that regional leader Pastor Carlos Ramírez and his family had purchased the supplies and then hired a vehicle to take them to the affected area. The process was not easy. The water levels were still high, and the roads were muddy and filled with potholes, but they persisted. The humble vehicle was stuck several times in the mud, and it ultimately had to be towed to Pastor Robinson’s house. They spent a few hours welding to repair the broken control arm for their suspension and then continued on their way to meet with affected brothers and sisters from both congregations, as well as the local pastors, who have themselves lost crops, battled snakes and other vermin, and continued to live with the threat of rising water. Yet they continue to serve the Lord’s people in the midst of their own personal devastation. The letter that came with the report from Peru thanked us for our help, but as we thought about what we had just read and seen, we just wanted to thank our pastors and leaders for THEIR efforts. Our role as regional connectors primarily involved sending some well-timed messages to get things mobilized, merely a few keystrokes’ worth of effort. The true heroes, we felt, were the pastors who slog through the mud to show up for people in need. At Global Strategy, we talk about our mission to walk alongside the local church globally. For us, that’s more than a tagline. It’s the humble privilege we have to partner with our brothers and sisters around the world and to watch in awe as God works in and through them. Some days are challenging, and we wonder what the Lord is doing and when we will see results. Other times, like this week, we see a beautiful picture of collaboration, the way God allows financial partners and logistical partners to walk alongside those who literally trudge through the mud to be His hands and feet on the ground. On days like this, I feel like a mere toenail in the body of Christ, but I am incredibly grateful to be a part. Thank you to all who support disaster relief, global ministries, and the Church of God around the world. Let’s keep building the Kingdom together. To partner with disaster relief in places like Peru and be a part of equipping the church to respond quickly in times of crisis, click here. Click here for a look at the boa constrictor that ate a family's chickens during the flooding. What's Happening and How to Pray
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