Riverside Tree - Benichelo Orosco (Satipo, Peru)
He
“ Renewed
me ”
W
hen I was nine years old, I
met a group of missionaries
from the Children of Jesus ministry.
They visited our small humble church
in Satipo for only a few days but
the memories they left behind were
unforgettable.
The praise, worship, and games we
did with the missionaries were the
happiest days of my life. From that
moment, I started to pray to our
Heavenly Father that He would allow
me to join COJ on a mission trip. I
wanted to share that happiness and
joy with other children of Peru.
My prayers were not answered
immediately, but I remained faithful
that God heard them. They were
finally answered in 2017 when I was
invited to be a part of the mission
team to Piura to help the victims of
the El Niño flooding. I would join a
team of missionaries from the United
States and Lima to reconstruct Pastor
Jean Carlos Albuquerque’s Nueva
Vida (New Life) church and provide
medical care for those in need. I was
excited for God to work through me
on this missionary trip!
Before the mission trip, I was facing
many spiritual attacks and challenges.
There were many parts of myself
I needed to correct, but I decided
to obey God’s calling for me to go
to Piura. The first day was riveting.
The whole team arrived at the empty
church lot and prayed for God to
direct their work and protect them.
It was uplifting to know that what
we were doing was for the glory of
God. The team immediately started
to work. Some of the team laid the
frames in place while others carried
over the construction supplies from
the warehouse. Although we all had
sweat dripping from our heads, our
hearts to serve strengthened us.
Even at night, when everyone felt
sore and body aches, the praise and
prayer we had as a team rejuvenated
us. As a team, we felt the presence
of God, but personally, I felt my
heart being surrendered to God.
Throughout the mission trip, I was
able to share the Word of God
with the children and youth of the
neighborhood. When they received
Jesus into their hearts, I felt so
blessed that God was using me.
“The praise and
prayer through the
night, with soring
and aching body,
renewed my heart
and spirit.”
God showed me the importance
of serving our neighbors, whether
they know God or not. Our acts of
obedient service can break the most
hardened of hearts and bring others
to know Christ. We are called to
serve just as Christ Jesus did. It was a
message that spoke right to my heart.
Although it has been a few months
since our mission trip, I miss those
moments and the mission team. I
look fondly at what God did through
our team in Piura but I look more
eagerly towards what God will have in
store all of us. I know God is blessing
their lives. I serve God today in
complete obedience because He was
shown me during this trip that He is
good. I am a renewed son of God!
www.coj.org
13