I n t he m ids t of the beautiful scenery and exciting culture of Peru, a group of Harding students set aside the idea of a relaxing vacation for something much more important. "The purpose of our summer campaign to Peru was missions,'' Spanish professor Alyssa Hepburn said. "Although everyone who went was also a Spanish student and hoped to improve his or her proficiency in the language, the main purpose was to spread the gospel." The Church in Lima, PE)ru, asked the group to come down for four weeks during the summer of 2010 to encourage the current members and reach out to the surrounding areas, spreading the gospel to the non-Christian locals. The mission team, which consisted of 11 students and faculty, spent the previous semester writing Bible studies in Spanish and practicing their language skills daily in preparation for the summer. After their arrival in Peru, the team immediately began strengthening and building up the current members, simultaneously teaching them to evangelize and clarifying issues of biblical doctrine. "I don't think they were used to [evangelizing] or ready for that," senior Molly Brooks said. The team said they loved experiencing Peruvian culture and bonding with members of the church.They accompanied the youth of the congregation on a visit to Parque De La Reserva,or Park of the Fountains, home to the largest fountain in the world. "It was a great bonding experience with the kids, and the light show in the fountains was really beautiful,'' Hepburn said. In addition to sightseeing, the team visited one of the poorer districts of the city. "We loved worshipping with them and hearing them sing in Spanish," senior Amanda Favazza said. Brooks agreed that the experience was a moving one. "Seeing the joy on their faces and the fact they had such passion in a much less fortunate situation was inspiring," Brooks said. Of course, watching their new friends being baptized was definitely the most exciting experience forthe group, the team said. In addition to adding three converts, the team planted the seeds of Christ in the hearts of several other natives and changed the church's mind set toward evangelistic ministry, motivating them not to rely so dependently on visiting missionaries for outreach ministries. "We really learned a lot," Favazza said. "We got a better grasp of the languaw,.learned more about the practicalities of being foreign missionaries and learned to be more flexible and to have more pa.t,iS@ce." The team's const~t prayer was that Christ would use the seeds they had planted to change many hearts, just as the people of Peru had changed theirs. Nicole Guilla summer campaigns 1 9
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