What happened in Peru...can not stay in Peru!
10 days after landing in Peru and two things are incredibly clear. Firstly, outreach is the best part of our job. Secondly, God has no rival, He is second to none, and He will receive his glory.
We are still left absolutely speechless just thinking about the countless miracles, signs, and wonders that we saw God do in Peru. Every single day, He surpassed our expectations and understanding. Even though we could not possibly write all the stories and testimonies here, we hope to give you a glimpse of what happened.
From the beginning, we had to learn to be flexible and ready to change plans at a moment’s notice. Although God works with schedules, we certainly saw Him interrupt ours so that He could receive His reward. This started on the first day when our team's bus did not show up, but instead of complaining, we instantly set the standard for the week by reaching out to those around the hotel. Some of you might have seen Ashley’s video update on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacoandashley/) of a man receiving healing in his blind eye and moments later receiving Christ. This was just the tip of the iceberg, with 4 decisions for Christ and 3 healings following in the next 30 minutes.
This interruption set the stage for the rest of our week. Hardly ever did things go according to our original plan, but God always had better plans. We had the amazing privilege of partnering with a local pastor who had been sowing seeds and plowing up in the slums and mountains of Lima East for over 18 years. Lima East is considered as unreached as many parts of the Middle East. However, this week we got to see just a small part of what God has in store for this region. Here are some of our favorite testimonies from the week:
Alex’s story:
One of my personal favorite stories that I got to be part of, happened when we were stationed at a medical campaign for the 3rd day. We were nearing the end of our ministry time and everyone was winding down and striking up conversations with some of the volunteers. Ashley and I were on our way to meet the Pastor when a desperate mother came over and begged us to come and pray for her son Alex.
Alex was 20 years old and had chronic back and neck pain for over 3 years unable to sit upright or to perform any physical activity at all without excruciating pain running down his spine. His mother explained to me that they had tried going to doctor after doctor yet, no one could help her son. My Translator John Carlos and I proceeded to pray for Alex’s back, we told him to be completely honest and test out his back, we did not need him to help us feel good. With a big smile on his face (which is rare for Peruvians), he exclaimed that there was no more pain in his back and only a little bit left in his neck. John Carlos prayed once more as we both laid hands and seconds later Alex was bending back and forth trying things that he had not been able to do in over three years without pain.
Both John Carlos and I felt that God wanted to do more than just heal a physical body and we asked if the family had a relationship with Jesus. They explained that although they had known about God, they could not confidently say that they knew Jesus on a personal level. We got to share with them the beauty of the greatest miracle of all, Jesus’ death and resurrection and how He is after our hearts and not just our sacrifice. Alex, his mother, and three other family members emphatically said that the needed to be 100% in and invited Jesus into their hearts to be Lord of all. Not only did Jesus come and heal this young man’s physical body, but exchanged the old for the new. This story reminded me so much of the story in Matthew 15 when Jesus healed a young girl because of a mother’s desperation and a mother’s faith. For all you mothers and fathers, keep praying for your children. There is something of the glory of God that is released when we come to Him with hungry, humble and surrendered hearts. You can see the breakthrough you are contending for, just keep pressing in.
The local church:
One night we got to attend one of the 3 National Spiritual Leaders Conferences for all of the pastors of Peru. The guest speakers included John and Lisa Bevere and Craig Groeschel. Throughout the whole week, our team was amazed at the way the local church of Peru was coming behind the event, sending volunteers, and joining us in our ministry. Several of our translators showed up with papers and pens ready to record the phone number or address of anyone who accepted Christ so that they could connect them with and bring them into a church family nearby.
This conference will forever be one of the most powerful moments we have ever witnessed. As John Bevere was speaking he made an altar call to all of the pastors asking them to stand up if they knew they needed to repent for not having the Fear of the Lord or having reverence for God’s presence and Word. Nearly every pastor in the entire Colosseum, (yes, it was held in an old bullfighting colosseum, so cool) nearly everyone there stood to their feet in repentance. A spirit of intercession broke out in that place that we will never forget as every pastor and spiritual leader of the nation cried out to God for the church of Peru to become marked with His presence, reverence for the Word, and the Fear of the Lord. The unity of the church and that war cry of intercession we saw that day gives us confidence that Peru is not only about to see an unprecedented revival but that it will last and lead to true kingdom transformation. When we set the first thing first and we keep Him and His word at the center of it all, nothing can hinder our God from receiving His glory.
Marissa’s follow up story:
Marissa was a woman that I had met earlier in the week. I got to see God take away all of her leg pain from a broken femur and she came back to the campaign walking without her cane and without pain. If you want to know the full story please go look at our Instagram/Facebook page (@jacoandashley). However, the story I want to tell here is what I saw happen in the next few days. It is the story of someone who got a touch from God and it totally changed everything. A touch from God is enough to activate, equip, and encourage someone that was walking with pain to then step out with authority.
It was day 3 of our time at the medical campaign, and we had just completed a time of ministry. We were going through the crowds praying for healing and salvation when an older woman approached me asking for prayer for her children. At that same moment, I saw Marissa walking towards me with the biggest smile as she was fully walking without pain or a cane. She came over and introduced herself to the lady that I was ministering to and asked what the situation was. Minutes later Marissa without any prompt started sharing her testimony with this lady and even preached the gospel to her calling her into a relationship with Jesus. Marissa not only shared the news of Jesus but also invited her to weekly prayer meetings that Marissa and her friends were starting up. Once again physical healing, followed by emotional healing and then gaining family/community.
This moment showed me that the hope of Peru really is Jesus working in and through the Peruvians. Over and over again during this week, we saw the power that broke out when locals realized they had permission and authority and were activated into stepping out. There is hope for our nations and we are the ones that can carry that hope. There is hope for your nation and you are the one that is carrying it.
We were completely blown away at God’s goodness and continued to see this throughout the week. Just from our team of 13, over 280 decisions were made for relationship with Christ and over 140 people received healings or miracles. You may ask why we celebrate the numbers? We don’t, we celebrate the individual that went from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light. We celebrate the fact that the little boy who had never walked before in his life not only took his first few steps but was also brought into family and friendship. This is our way of following God’s commands to remember His goodness and remember what only He can do.
We were awestruck at the impact of the supernatural and the divine. All the teams in our region and across the nation started seeing God open blind eyes and deaf ears after we shared that testimony the first day. God is on the move and He is looking for those that are willing and ready to say yes to his still small voice.
More than ever, we are convinced that it does not just happen out in the nations. We have this confidence because half of our team were locals who were seeing the same miracles happen as they prayed for their own communities and neighbors. Our translators and the local Peruvians that joined our team for the week were evangelizing to their peers, in their marketplaces, schools, and more. We were so honored to be doing this 2-part ministry of getting to do ministry ourselves and at the same time raise up the local Peruvians that were with us to keep going once we were gone. The signs, wonders, and salvations we got to see in Peru were all incredible, but our favorite thing we saw was our local team members growing fully confident and being trained up to preach the gospel on their own, pray for the sick, and follow the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. They are the legacy and the key to Peru being truly revived and reformed and they are the ones who will make a lasting impact on their own nation.
If you have ever dreamed about making an impact for the kingdom in your own nation, neighborhood, school, or workplace, we want to challenge you today to GO FOR IT! Seek out the training and equipping you need to step out in confidence, ask for the boldness of the Holy Spirit to fill you, and step out and release the kingdom everywhere you go. (One of our favorite training resources is https://thesuitcase.org/)
One of our translators, Luigi, gave his life to the Lord on Monday and by Saturday had seen many miracles, healings, salvations, and was fully confident and able to step out and share the good news of Jesus with strangers and friends. He told our team how thankful he was for us introducing him to the wild adventure that an active relationship with Jesus could be.
Today, we want to make sure you know there is an invitation for you as well. The resources and training are at your fingertips and the courage and boldness needed are just a prayer away, and you will never be doing it alone. Jesus cares far more about His kingdom being released and souls being saved then you ever could and He is moving through and searching the earth to find the sons and daughters of His who long to partner with Him and help Him receive His glory.
There are still so many more testimonies that we want to share with you, but we realize this update is already far too long (bear with us as we learn to write together). We are now back in Kona for just a few days before launching back out to the nations together. For the month of July, we will be traveling to England and South Africa so that Ashley can meet all of my family, friends, and supporters as well as speaking together at some church services about lifestyle missions and what God is doing in the nations. We will then be in Oklahoma for the 6 weeks before the wedding and getting married September 14th! Stay tuned for our next post about the faithfulness, favor, and provision of the Lord we’ve seen in our wedding planning shenanigans.
We hope you feel encouraged, inspired, and activated with faith today after reading about all God did in Peru because we know God wants to use you to release the kingdom in your neighborhoods and your nations too. Sending blessings and love from us both!
So that the Lamb may receive the reward of His suffering,
Jaco (and edited by Ashley)
Hands in the air as all of the pastors of Peru cried out in repentance and intercession for their nation. Alex and his family! Fully healed, Jesus wins again! Jaco celebrating with Marissa when she was healed. Did you know we teach swing dance? Its a great way to draw a crowd in for the Gospel! What a squad! Our translator Luigi became a close friend this week. Minutes after he gave his life to the Lord, he got to see a blind man see and help lead him and many others to Jesus too! Here's to the first of many adventures in the nations with you Walking away with their canes in the air! WOW! How does this get to be our job? Our incredible team These precious girls gave their lives to Jesus and taught us what it means to have true childlike faith.
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