" Restore hope and love to Piura "
2017 Short Term Mission Trip 1
RESTORE AND
Storms and waist-high floods devastate the whole city of Piura . Houses were left roofless and with walls caved sideways . Mattresses , personal belongings , and litter cover the street under feet of mud and dust . Roads were lost underneath the debris . But amidst the sorrow and anxiety , was Pastor Jean Carlos who saw his church crumble and rot from the stagnant waters . But much like Nehemiah and Ezra , God had assembled His people , the short term mission team to Peru , to rebuild the New Life church and restore the lost hope and love to Piura .
" Restore hope and love to Piura "
That was the mission statement of June ’ s mission trip to Piura . The missionaries were not quite certain what to expect but they knew God was calling them . They boarded the plane in Lima and in less than two hours , they landed in Piura .
With all the stagnant water and dust , it was difficult for the missionaries to adapt the first night as crickets had overrun the town and the heat made it unbearable . The mission team consisted of ten members from the United States and five Riverside Tree students from Peru . The first morning , the team loaded onto the van and headed to the direction of Pastor Jean Carlos ’ church .
When they arrived , they saw what remained of the church . Pillars and that was it . The walls had been torn down and the roof was nowhere to be seen . Pastor Jean Carlos had a team of construction workers build a three-feet high concrete perimeter around the church .
The cost of labor in Piura was higher than normal due to inflation so Pastor Carlos was unable to recruit the construction team for any longer after the missionary team arrived . The mission team started framing and setting in the supports for the roof . Over the next three days , part of the team worked tirelessly hammering , nailing , measuring and cutting plywood ; drywalling and constructing the roof . Through the many days and numerous hours , they were tired but joyful . The other half of the mission team tended to the medical needs of the