Yesterday we went out to a village beyond Cuzco where a church plant will be. Before our group arrived there, the medical team set up a free clinic for the local Peruvians. The area we were in is very resistant to God's message. Almost everyone follows the ancient Inca religion or a warped form of Catholicism that combines idol worship and pagan ideas with "christianity." In fact, one of our 40/40's was even told by a local. "Nobody wants you here. We are Incans or Catholics and we will still be when you leave."
We stopped in the plaza at the center of town, ate a quick lunch and began playing with a parachute- the kind kids play with in gym class. Slowly at first, then much quicker, th plaza began to fill with children. We made balloon animals, painted faces, played games like Pato, Pato, Gonzo. (5 soles to the first non-Spanish-speaker to email me with the English name of that game.) While we played, another group visited a pre-school and handed out 70 balloons to 70 kids. They shared briefly and were invited to return. After all the play time, after all the loving on this children and these families, we put on a puppet show in Spanish and Katie, a Peruvian 40/40 spoke with the crowd and asked the kids questions about the puppet show. Today, we sowed seeds of God's love, and we pray that the 40/40's will be able to water those seeds and that God will help them grow. We are determined to give the 40/40's a jump-start to work with, and we are undaunted by the fact that this city is the rockiest soil in all of Peru. Cuzco has nearly as many tourists as Peruvians and is flooded with pagan beliefs. In fact, today is the climax of their biggest festival of the year. Pray for Extreme as we reach out to these lost communities.
-Chad
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