Keep Sending Them, Lord
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
–Luke 10:2
And He did.
Soon I will be completing 5 years in the San Martin region of Peru. Most of this time, mission has felt like a slow, upward battle without respite. Miguel and I moved to Picota, where we currently live, after we got married in 2019. There was slow, hard work to be done. Most of the people we encountered were very indifferent and would often agree with us or say, “I believe in God,” just to get us to stop talking.
We had dreams to start a discipleship Bible study, a large group prayer service, and an outreach into nearby neighborhoods. When the pandemic hit we were unable to leave our home and had to ask special permission to be able to deliver food bags to our poorest neighbors and a neighborhood a little further away called Primavera. This felt like the least fulfilling thing, especially for an extrovert like me who desires heart-to-heart conversations. But little did I know at the time, the Holy Spirit was using it to till the soil.
Last year our dreams for ministry started to take root, but it was hard. We began a “large” group prayer service on Saturdays (that was only about six people) and would invite people over afterwards to have dinner together and play games. We invited our friends Jorge and Cleo into a discipleship Bible study that we felt called to keep between us.
We taught English to the young women discerning with the Salesian sisters. We went to neighboring towns to visit widows and sick people we met through previous experiences. These visits resulted in multiple medical alms opportunities that took up a lot of our time and finances. We loved these ministries but felt tired, unable to reach more than our little circle. We really needed more laborers in Picota.
This year, we fully expected to be stateside in January as a whole new wave of missionaries were being sent to our region. We were sad at the thought of leaving but felt comforted knowing more people would come. Our expectations were changed when we realized that our wait for my husband Miguel’s U.S. residency would be delayed a year.
Before the new missionaries arrived, we were living 45 minutes to an hour from another missionary family and men’s team. We did not do ministries together as they were a separate team in a different town and it was difficult to see one another.
With the arrival of the new missionaries in February we found ourselves working together in what we now call “Team Picota” with the Peña family—Emmanuel, Kree and their five children. There is something really refreshing about meeting people you can connect with immediately, especially in a vocation like missions where you are always saying goodbye and starting over in relationships. The Peña family has been that refreshment for us! Only God knows how much!
As we shared with them what our mission had looked like before they arrived, our mutual agreement in the Spirit has led to beautiful growth in existing ministries and new ones that God was tilling over two years ago. We each bring different gifts that amplify and complement one another.
The Peña family brings charisma, freshness, and community into a ministry life where we felt so lonely and overwhelmed just a year ago. Our large group prayer service on Saturdays has grown to between 15-20 people. The people we walked with all last year are inviting more people, being missionaries in their own lives.
We were also asked by our priest to invest in a neighborhood called Primavera (where we delivered food bags a little over two years ago). We have seen the people open up and receive us with gladness. And have begun doing a similar large group prayer service, consisting of kids songs, a biblical sharing, praise and worship, and opportunities to be prayed over.
More than all that, we feel God is answering our prayer for more laborers—not only with the arrival of the Peña family but with people we walked with last year. For example, our friend Andres accompanies us for every ministry, a girl we taught English to wants to be a full time missionary, Miguel’s brother Willy and his friend Ítalo in Ecuador are leaving next week to come and serve here.
Additionally, our friends Cleo and Jorge accompany us in other ministries or help with construction when they are able, as well as nearby freelance community builders, Maite and Daniel, who have become dear friends. They are having deeper conversions and want to help us in our ministries and begin a men’s/women’s group. Overall, I see God softening hearts and awakening a missionary zeal for Picota.
KEEP SENDING THEM LORD!!
Picota, Peru
Angela Alvarado Petrongelli
Mission Page: alvaradofamily.familymissionscompany.comBlog: madelittleinlove.wordpress.com
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