Peru Mission Trip
Peruvian nationals Neptali and Deysi worked with us in Peru as missionaries for four years until they moved with the team to Ecuador and served another two years, training to become leaders. Five months ago they moved back to Peru to lead the team in Trujillo. They are doing an incredible job, and we are proud of them. Recently teams from Stonebridge Christian Church, Omaha, NE, and Prescott Christian Church, Prescott, AZ, visited Peru for our Rendezvous mission trip. We want to thank you for all you did! You all were such a blessing to the people in Trujillo! |
|
Missionary team. |
|
Here are some feedback notes about their experiences here:
From Neptali and Deysi:
“We are grateful to the US missionaries who came to show us the love of our Lord Jesus. It really was a very nice experience, working together for one purpose, demonstrating the way of thinking which is ‘what’s mine is yours.’ Thanks to God for touching the hearts of our missionary friends as they share their testimonies with us on their experiences; only God can transform lives. Even though we come from different backgrounds, we shared one thing in common and that is the love of Jesus. We worked hard together socially, physically and emotionally – from doing programs for kids, women and elderly, painting, fixing a street so a woman in a wheelchair can get to church easier, building a place so the youth can meet, and knocking on doors to get to know our neighbors more. We ate, played, laughed, sang, cried and worshiped Christ together. This was a special time for us and we were all blessed, thanks to our North American friends who we call family!” |
|
Farm. |
Planting a garden. |
|
Kindergarten school. |
|
From Ken May, Outreach and Elementary Pastor, Prescott Christian Church:
“This trip was an eye-opener on how to do missions correctly.
It was immediately apparent that it would be impossible to donate the people of the barrio out of poverty; they do not need stuff given to them repeatedly. What is needed (and what I saw being given) is:
1. Hope (as in Jesus)
2. Opportunity (for work)
3. Skills (to do the work)
It was good to see the locals doing the work of the mission, and that all but one of the locals who put on the children’s fair were converted by the mission; that speaks to effectiveness.
I was surprised by how much of an encouragement we were to the church, especially considering that I was quite skeptical about our impact or the effectiveness of spending roughly $2,000 per person to go. Couldn’t that money be used more effectively? But how do you measure encouragement?
It is no wonder Paul’s writings are filled with his desire to see others and his requests to have others sent to him. We need one another.
I look forward to returning, with the goal of establishing annual trips from Prescott Christian to Peru and/or Ecuador. I want this to be long-term commitment.” |
|
Adopt a block. |
|
House church. |
|
From Lindsay Nielson:
“I went to Peru on a mission trip through Project New Hope. I had been on a mission trip to Mexico in the past, through a different organization, so I was unsure what to expect from this experience. I know it sounds cliché, but it was one of the best experiences of my life. Since I have been back, people have been asking me how it was and everything I say seems inadequate to describe my experience there. I loved the culture of the Peruvian people and how open, loving, and welcoming they were. I loved getting to work alongside the Peruvian leaders of the church in the barrio. Their dedication to spreading God’s Word and growing believers to His kingdom was such an inspiration to me and an example I likely will not forget anytime soon. The staff of Project New Hope International were amazing to work with and they were always there to get dirty, translate stories, and to do whatever they could to help us have the best experience possible (such as going to get ice cream with us after dinner, which I know was a HUGE sacrifice for them!). I have learned so much through this experience and it has changed me. I have been able to keep in contact with people from the trip (both Peruvian and American) via Facebook and it has been so great to continue to grow those relationships. I will continue to pray for the leaders of their church and for the staff of Project New Hope International who do the hard work on a daily basis.” |
|
Carnival with the community. |
Women’s group. |
|
From Park Blaine:
“I had a wonderful time in Peru. The experience left me tired, feeling useful and fulfilled. Everything was arranged well, from the hotel to the eating places to the transportation and the helpful good hand we got from the Peruvians in building their building. I will forever remember the worthwhile experience I had while we were there.” |
|
Construction. |
|
From Christy Carrier:
“1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.
My experience on this mission trip with my church and Project New Hope could be summed up in one word: Love. I experienced an abundance of love while in Peru. Dani, Mike, Iliana and all of the Peruvians were outstanding! From the minute we arrived to our last minute there, we were treated like family. Even though I could not speak the same language as many of them, we shared common ground. We were all there for a purpose and that was to show God’s love and to be God’s hands and feet. The friendships we made, the work that was done, the singing, the laughter (oh, the laughter!) was all from Jesus Christ. I was certain the entire time that I was in Peru that it was God’s plan for me. I came home with so much more than I went with! Jesus blessed my heart greater than I could’ve ever imagined.” |
|
Elderly group. |
|
Ecuador
Our church is no different from other churches where people are on fire for the Lord and then when problems and temptations arise in their lives they shy away from church and stop participating in activities. Our church is going through this right now. We just finished a four-month study on dragon slayers, which is identifying and killing the sins you have in your life. Through this several people decided that it was too difficult to kill their “dragons” and started giving up. As a church we believe that God wants us to persevere and keep encouraging them to continue their personal relationship with Jesus. By our obedience to Christ we know He will give us opportunities to do this. We would love if you would join us in prayer to have Jesus send us people who want to become disciples of Him.
Although we have problems, we have successes also. Here is one success story:
We have a lady in the church who came to everything, but because of personal reasons she didn’t feel worthy to come anymore. The Holy Spirit was showing her sin to her and she didn’t know how to get out of it. We kept visiting her, even though she wouldn’t let us in her house. She even had her kids lie and say she wasn’t home when we knew she clearly was. Sometimes we got discouraged but we kept praying and knocking on her door until finally she invited us in. After several visits she is now back in the church with her family and she even opened up her home to host a house church.
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” Acts: 5:42
We all know that slow and steady wins the race, but sometimes we need a little extra encouragement to keep us going. What better way to be encouraged than by studying the scriptures. |
|
Praises:
- Successful mission trip in Peru.
- We bought a farm and are receiving a lot of professional advice on how to proceed.
- Neptali and Deysi are doing a great job in leading the Peru team.
|
|
Prayer Requests
- Making disciples in Peru and Ecuador.
- That the conflict with former employees in Trujillo be resolved and obstacles removed so that the churches in Trujillo can move forward.
- That the documents for the two properties we have in Peru will be finalized.
- That our teams in Peru and Ecuador will continue to persevere in sharing the Gospel with others.
- Skylar begins her college career in August at Colorado Christian University! We are very proud of both of our daughters.
|
|
|
| Thank you for all the prayers and support!
Mike, Danell, Skylar and Nicole Butka
Team Expansion missionaries to Peru and Ecuador |
|
Project New Hope + CMF
CMF and Project New Hope have forged an exciting new partnership with Team Expansion missionaries Mike and Dani Bukta and their work in Peru and Ecuador. Through this partnership we will work together toward holistic mission, where disciples are made, individual lives are transformed and nationals are empowered to lead. U.S. churches will be challenged to actively partner in this ministry with the goal of creating dynamic Christ-centered communities (churches) that can transform the world. |
|
|
|
