As many of you know, Browncroft has a partner church, Alianza Cristiana de Miraflores (ACM), in Lima, Peru. This July, a team of twelve– five adults and seven students– traveled to Lima to join forces with the Miraflores Youth Group for work and outreach projects at the Westfalia Orphanage in Cieneguilla. Our goal was to bring a Flower City Work Camp-style ministry to the orphanage, and it was truly inspiring to see God’s hand at work through this partnership.

We spent the first day preparing for our mission, followed by three full days of serving together. It was an amazing opportunity to unite with our Peruvian brothers and sisters in Christ and witness the beautiful work being done in their community.

To give you a glimpse into our experience and the impact it had, we’ve asked some of our incredible students to share their testimonies. Here is what they had to say:

Hannah Iamaio – I could not have asked for a better missions trip to be a part of this year than Peru. I first want to thank God always for giving us all we need and more to make these things possible; we take for granted that we have generous givers who not only put their finances, but their prayers, towards us. We stayed at an orphanage alongside our partner church for three days, and we actually felt like the work we were doing there could make an impact for years to come. This work included painting, weeding, building, and spending time with the wonderful children. The week was over just as quickly as it had begun, and soon enough we were reflecting on what the Lord had shown us– and yes, it is way more than what I can put into a short paragraph. Across language barriers, we were able to build friendships with kids and young adults alike. I saw sides to my friends that I had never seen before. Their care when playing, dancing, or doing their best to communicate with the kids (most of whom were elementary school age) was astonishing. The kids reciprocated the love they were receiving, getting excited to see us even if we had only met the day before. I remember making friends with one of the girls from the Miraflores church who was around 20 years old on the hour long bus ride to the orphanage. After that conversation, I remember feeling in my heart that God was going to bless our entire time in Peru. From the service described above to singing worship songs in Spanish around a bonfire, I can truly say that Jesus lives and is working miracles through passionate teams such as ours. 

Leah Warr – My week in Peru was better than I could have ever imagined. I had a blast weeding in a field, which I never thought I would say, but being surrounded by such amazing people made any job so fun. I had lots of great conversations with members of the team from Browncroft as well as the other teens from Miraflores who came to help. I was also a part of the kids program at the orphanage. I thought this was going to be just like the kids program that I help with at Browncroft on Sundays– little did I know that it would be very different. For example, on the last day, all the children got Bibles, and each one was specifically chosen for their age group. The children got called up one by one to receive their Bible, and, boy, were they excited! They immediately looked at all the pictures inside. They were very excited for someone to write their name on the inside cover since that meant the Bible was all theirs. The kids were divided into groups for the duration of the program so that they could go around and participate in activities, all based around a verse in the Bible. However, during these sessions, I was hanging out with the kids who would rather wander around, so I went on short walks with them. They loved to point at things around us and teach me more Spanish words. We were invited into houses around the orphanage for breakfast and lunch. The food was so good, and it was very cool to eat among the kids who stayed in the house along with the other teens from Peru who came to help. 

Reese Eisenhart – One of the most meaningful parts of the entire trip for me was a skit about Creation, falling into temptation, and ultimately Jesus’ sacrifice to save us from our sins. It is such an important story and we got to perform it for the teens at Alpha (a group program introducing teens to Christ). I was amazed just thinking about how this could be the first time these teens had ever even heard of Jesus’ story. After that we got to watch the Alpha program give the teens their own Bibles! Overall, it was amazing to see Jesus planting seeds in their hearts through us. 

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Hearing these testimonies, it’s clear that God is doing incredible things in and through our team and our students, as well as through our partner church in Peru. The connections we’ve built and the work we’ve accomplished together are a testament to His faithfulness and love. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve alongside our brothers and sisters in Lima and to see firsthand all of the remarkable ways God is moving in their community. Let’s continue to pray for our partner church and the ongoing ministry in Peru, trusting that God will continue to use this partnership to further His Kingdom.