Ok, I've been meaning to get to this story for a while. It's about wood and huts.

And, for any of you pastors out there (especially two of you who know who you are) who might be reading this, I would like to ask you to not use any of this story during any of your building campaigns, etc. It's just too dangerous to us vulnerable layfolks.

You'll need to look at the two pictures above to better appreciate the following. Recently, we attended the Wichenzao church. In the top picture, you'll see some very nice wooden benches. I noticed that the benches seemed a bit "out of place" and somehow struck up a conversation about them after the service. I assumed that Peru Mission had funded them but was surprised to find that the members of the church paid for them- at a cost of about $2,000. And, it's worth noting that $2,000 goes a long way here (for example a movie ticket costs $2).

This might not seem like much to you and me, but now take another look at the second picture. This picture contains 5 huts made mostly of straw, lacking a roof, with nothing but a dirt floor. Yes, 5 homes- I would guess about ten feet by ten feet in size. We drove and walked through this area after the service. The people were very welcoming, and as many as 8 people came out of one home to greet us.

These are some of the people who attend this church, located a long "stone's throw" away (the others live in a slightly "move up" block adjoining the church). And, this is what makes the $2,000 so interesting to me. Over a period of time, these believers saved their very precious and scarce money to buy benches to worship the living God.

This story isn't meant to be put a guilt trip on "us Americans". I just found it very encouraging to find a people across the world who so passionately worship the same risen Savior we worship at home. The circumstances couldn't be more different, but our God is the same.

Loveyoubye,

Jeff