In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells how he will separate the people when he comes in his glory and sits on his throne.  He will put the righteous on his right and they will receive their inheritance, the kingdom that was prepared for them since the creation of the world.   The unrighteous will be placed on his left and will go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  Of the righteous, he said, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Jesus speaks of giving the hungry something to eat and the thirsty something to drink and clothes for those who need them.  He spoke of sharing their home with those in need, taking care of the sick and visiting those in prison. 

As I read this passage this morning, I thought that Duane Counts would be a good example of someone who cared for "the least of these brothers of mine". 

Last October AIM scheduled 4 Earthquake Relief Mission Trips to Chincha.  Duane was on the 3^rd one.  While he removed rubble from properties in Los Jardines,… " he bent over a wheelbarrow and breathed in some dust that burned his lungs (his daughter, Kim, wrote 3 days later). He began to loose all of the feeling in his hands all the way up to his elbows and in his feet also; he couldn't even hold a cup of water. A local pastor (Pastor Nestor) prayed over him and while he ran to get anointing oil, the translator asked why he was praying about the angel of death. While the pastor anointed my dad, all of his feeling began to return. The next day my dad found out that the pastor had seen a vision of the angel of death before my dad got to Peru. He realized the angel of death was coming for my dad. Basically the prayers of the pastor saved my dad's life.

 My dad came back to the US on Thursday and was admitted to the

hospital. They found out he had a heart attack (losing 40% of his heart function, how much of this he will recover we do not know), and he had 3 stints put in Friday morning. He also caught pneumonia at some point before coming in the hospital (caused by what he inhaled on Monday). Last night they also discovered he had a stroke sometime after the heart attack (blood clots formed in his heart after the heart attack and later dislodged and went to his brain) which is what is causing his migraines and unbalance."

Duane himself wrote: "I got out of the hospital yesterday.  Before I was released, I heard  the same statement from two medical professionals (an RN and a Neurologist) that I have heard from numerous doctors and nurses over the last week: "I'm looking at your chart and your test results.  You have had a very serious stroke, heart attack and chemical attack on your lungs.  The person I am looking at cannot be the same person. You cannot be doing the things you are doing.  It's just not possible."  I've told these people they don't know the power of our Lord nor the faith the people in Chincha have!  After Pastor Nestor's prayers, I have never doubted my full recovery. Nestor walks closer to the spirit than anyone else I have known.  In addition to healing prayers, he also gave me some insights on other  parts of my life in which I have been seeking God's guidance.  He knew things about me he through the Spirit that he would not know as a man. What a gift he is to me and the people of Chincha."

At Thanksgiving, a little over a month later, Duane wrote: "Since returning home, I have been sharing my testimony with anyone willing to hear the message.  My Church recorded my testimony and put I it on "my space"  http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=26356918.  I have tried to think of an eloquent way of saying this but I just can't get there.  I'll just say simply that I don't think I would be alive nor be as spiritually strong if I had not made the trip to Peru.  Thank God.  God willing and with my wife's understanding I hope to return someday." 

Well Duane has come back twice now since his recovery.  The first time he helped women in Chincha learn to make jewelry to sell and earn a living.  He is in Peru this week seeking out other crafts that the people in Chincha can make to sell.  He has begun a website to help make a difference in the earthquake ravished cities in Peru.  You can see it at: http://web.mac.com/dacounts/PSM.  He states that his purppose is to "Increase God's Kingdom in Peru through: Conducting mission trips, funding of local Church projects and missionaries, support rebuilding efforts, and prayer."

I am pleased to have been a tool used by God to introduce Duane to Peru through AIM where he can draw more Peruvian to the Lord Jesus!

My second Mother's Day in Peru was really very wonderful.  It started off a bit strange, though.  I went out our apartment door to wait for Ricky, Kelsey and Sammy who were bringing me to church.  Before heading down the four flights of stairs, I noticed that my fern plant had a frond on the floor and dirt beside it.  This was unusual so I looked closer to see what could have happened.  In peering through the foliage, I notice a small brown furry animal had found refuge from the cold by burrowing itself deep into the dirt of my plant.  I went back into our living room and said, "Heh, Robert, there's an animal in my plant!"  He came to investigate along with Pastor David who was visiting from the jungle.  Pastor David asked, "Una rata?"  I said, "I don't think so".  It seemed to be too small and brown to be a rat and I couldn't imagine there would be a rat in my plant.  Pastor David came out and looked into the plant and poked the animal.  It didn't budge.  I began to think, if it is a rat I'd better close my apartment door.  Soon Pastor David had the animal on the move and it was scurrying down the stairs but Pastor David cornered it and I hear the animal squeak.  He asked for something to kill it and Robert brought his hammer.  Pastor David made short work of it and I brought him paper towels and a plastic bag to dispose of it.  He said, "Una rata!."  Pastor David became my hero from that time on.  (We invited him over on Wednesday for a spaghetti meal with Ricky, Kelsey & Sammy, Jason and his two friends and David a young gringo ministering in the jungle.)  We all went together to church for a wonderful time of praise and a great sermon by a young professional woman.  When we got back to the apartment, I was so relieved to see the bag sitting in the same place at the top of the stairs that we'd placed it.  It hadn't revived and taken off so I'd have to worry about it showing up again.  Robert brought it down to the garbage truck that evening.  It is actually the first rat I've seen here in Lima....thankfully!

Ricky invited us to his sister's for their family's Mother's Day fiesta.  There was a large gathering of family members, a Peruvian meal, music and dancing.  It was an enjoyable time.  Then when we came home I talked with Julia then Jennifer then my mother.  It was a perfect day spent with all my family. 

Another different aspect to this Mother's Day was that I participated in two school Mother's Day events.  One was at the Hogar de Ninos' in Chilca and the other at a school in a San Juan Lurigancho, a poorer area in Lima, where I've been helping in their English classes.  There were a lot of decorations and flowers to honor the mothers and a long program of poems, dramas, & songs from the different classes of children.  They ended both programs by giving the moms a meal.  I felt very honored to be a part of their Mother's Day event.  I love working with the children and meeting their families. 

Robert came home from Chincha, a city hit the worse by the earthquake last August, and told me about a beautiful little girl named Carol.  He said that something was wrong with her, she couldn't walk or talk though she is 2 1/2 years old.  He was struck by her beauty and wanted to help out the family who lost their home, belongings and even their land in the earthquake.  He had gone to Tamba de Mora to ferret out stories of the people who were still suffering from the earthquake.  The World Race Team was coming soon and they were doing a documentary on the earthquake and how the government has done little to help the victims of it.  When you see the devastation to the buildings you are struck with the force of the earthquake but it isn't until you speak with the people and hear their stories that you see the real extent of the effect of the disaster.  The World Racers came and have reached out to this family.  The mom told Robert that others have come and said they would do something to help them, but they never return.  When Robert returned with 27 World Racers, he told her "I came back".  The team has ministered to this family for 4 weeks now, praying for baby Carol (though she is 2 1/2 years old, she is at the level of a little baby and it is used as an endearing term) and the rest of the family and they have raised $1250 to get her to the doctors to see what is wrong with her and how she can be helped.  Last Friday, I had the priviledge of going to the hospital with baby Carol, her aunt, 2 sisters, 3 World Racers and an interpreter.  A brain scan was done and a blood test to see if a virus was causing the problem.  Later we returned to hear the analisis by the doctor.  It turns out that her brain was injured when she was around 8 weeks in the womb.  The damage is permanent and the medical community say there is nothing that can be done for her, that she will always be like she is.  She lays limp in her aunts arms but Jenn, a World Racer, was able to raise the biggest smile from her.  It just melts my heart to see it.  The family had such hope.  The doctor gave Jessica, the aunt and main caregiver, perscriptions.  Today, almost a week later, I was able to go with the mom and have those perscriptions filled.  The doctor says a wheelchair could help and well as physical therapy.  She'll need medication for convulsions at some point, too.  The World Racers want to do more.  They've found a doctor who will try to get a specialist in the states to look at the report and get another opinion.  I was able to scan that tonight and send it to Caroline, the World Racer, who will send it to her doctor friend.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Lord would choose to heal this little girl when everything else says recovery is not possible.  Whatever he chooses to do, I know that he has already given her a family who loves her dearly and an incredible beauty that causes many others to want to reach out and help.  Please pray for baby Carol. 

We just finished an incredible week of ministry in Chincha.  We cleaned up rubble in Pastor Desi's church and Compassion project compound from his house and classrooms.  Then we went to a baby church from this church's pastor's home and did a bunch of tearing down walls, saving adobe bricks, and removing mountains of rubble.  Some neighbors came and helped, also.  After we finished with Pastor Nestor's home, we helped his neighbors on either side of him and then the group went out into the neighborhood doing some evangelism.  Several people responded positively to the gospel and several relationships were started.  The next day the team went to one of the neighbor's home that helped with Pastor Nestor's and did the same kind of thing there.  Afterwards the team went out to visit the same people they met the first day they went into the neighborhood and then afterwards they played volleyball with folks in the neighborhood.  The people laughed, played hard, had fun and wanted to play game after game.  After dinner that night, we came back for a church service.  It was the second service we'd attended there in a neighbor's home.  The place had over twice as many people as the first day.  Working on the homes, talking with the people and buying bibles and blankets for them really made a difference with their willingness to listen and check out the church.  The church had only met 3 times before.  Robert preached at both the services we attended there and at both services at Pastor Desi's on the two Sundays we were there.  Each time he knew about preaching about 5 minutes before hand except the last time when he heard about it when the preacher invited him to come up during the service. 

While we were walking back to Pastor Nestor's house to play volleyball, people were asking us to help them.  One woman's son's glasses broke in the earthquake.  She said he would go blind if he didn't get some help.  Robert and our translator Dana went with the mom and son to a local optometrist.  He indeed had eyes in very bad shape.  It'll take 3 different sets of glasses to get his eyes to the strength he needs his glasses.  The doctor said he would have lost his sight totally.  It was good to be able to help and there's a good chance we'll be involved with the other 2 sets of glasses, too.  Other people came up and asked us to pray for them.  Two older daughters asked us to come with them to pray for their father who looks like he was paralyzed on one side of his body.  He was maybe in his late 30s or 40s and was working at a recycling (Peruvian style) area.  One of the men on the team prayed for him as he and I laid hands on him.  It was beautiful to see the daughter's hope and faith that they'd bring us all the way to pray for him.  The folks in the area said that we brought hope and light to the neighborhood.  What a wonderful privilege!!!!!!!

We visited another area that was hit even harder than the area we were in.  It was closer to the sea and the homes literally sank about 3-4 feet into the ground.  The government won't let the people rebuild there.  We visited folks and heard their stories.  One 82 year old woman comes there every day to sit and look at where her house is just a big pile of rubble.  She says she misses her home.  Thankfully she's able to stay with her son about 15 minutes away.  We asked how we could help and she said that many of her family have moved in with her son and they need more blankets.  We got the address and brought back 3 heavy llama wool blankets and some rice.  Another man talked about how dark warm water started coming up from under the ground before the earthquake started.  People were bailing water out of their homes.  Suddenly the earthquake happened and they all ran out of their community.  A jail was close by and a wall fell down and all 400 inmates escaped.  The man we were talking to said he was running with a baby in each arm and an inmate grabbed a baby and helped them get to a safer area.  We asked more people how we could help and they said they could use food most.  We bought four 110 pound bags of rice and brought them back to the area.  Enroute, we poured the rice into smaller bags so we could hand it out to more people.  After we handed out most of it in one area, we were leaving and folks were running along side asking for rice. We handed out the last of the bags as our driver was leaving.  It was all an amazing experience to us.  There's nothing so dramatic as being there to actually see it and incredible to talk to the people who lived through it all.

On the way home, after a 3 hour bus trip, as Robert was getting ready to get off the bus, he discovered someone stole his camera.  His expensive camera he bought right before we came to Peru.  He was bummed as were the rest of us.  He walked the several long blocks home with a couple others on the team while the rest of us took a taxi with all the baggage.  When he got home he said that it didn't hurt as much as when he lost his little camera in 2004 in the Andean highlands and that God was really teaching him about holding our stuff lightly.  He said that God had his good purpose in all of it and knew God would provide him another camera if he wanted him to have one.  Kelsey and Ricky looked at each other amazed and I was very proud of him and pleased how the Lord's worked in his life. 

As our ministry team walked around Santa Domingo with members of the church, we knocked on doors and talked to folks we came in contact with.   We approached an old man standing on the street to share Christ's love with him.  He pulled out his small worn Bible and told us of his faith in the Lord Jesus.   The young people chatted with him and shared their testimony then left a New Testament with him.  

We continued on our way to talk with more people and the gardener walked over to pick up his tools at the security guard's shed.   He told the guard about us and showed the guard his new Bible.   As we walked on, the security guard asked us, "Can I have a Bible, too?"    Encouraged and excited, we turned around to give him a Bible and the youth shared with him the love of the Lord Jesus.   As they talked about his need for salvation, the guard asked how he could ask Jesus into his life.   Amazed and overjoyed, they guided him into the Kingdom.   As we knocked on doors nearby, I looked back and saw the guard reading his Bible as though he couldn't take his eyes off it a moment to let cars through the gated area.     The youth we amazed at how many people asked Jesus into their lives that day and how ripe the harvest is in Peru.  

After such an unusual Christmas experience in Peru, I kept asking people how they celebrate Easter here.   I mostly got blank faces.    A peruana from the Villa El Salvador church said that those who don't know Jesus drink or go camping because it is a long weekend.   Families take time to get together which they do often.   Since Catholicism is the official religion in Peru the banks were closed on Thursday and Friday.  Everything seemed to be back to normal for Saturday and Sunday.    Friday night Kelsey called me over to our front window to show me the procession heading down our street.   The people in the crowd were holding candles and there was a casket carried in the middle of the group with an image on top of it.   Ricky said that it was people from the local Catholic church here in Villa Jardin, San Luis.    I am told that Catholics visit 7 churches on Easter to view the images.   Going to the service evidently isn't necessary.   For all I can tell, Easter Sunday is celebrated like any other Sunday at the evangelical churches.

I was grateful that the CMA church we attend had an Easter song and read the Easter story during the English service.   Fourteen of the World Racers attended the service to support Jon who was the guest preacher.   At the end of the service all fourteen went to the front to share about their work here in Peru and beyond.  

Easter is a very important day in my faith and my family.   It is incredible that God humbled himself and became a baby which we celebrate on Christmas.   Jesus' death in our place is the best event of forever.    But his resurrection…that is our hope and our joy.   There is nothing like it.   That is something that should be celebrated to the fullest in my book.   I enjoyed the lack of commercialism that surrounds Christmas, but Easter should have as much attention in the church, I would think.

We'll since there was going to be little help to celebrate Easter from my peruano amigos, I sought out other ways to celebrate.    I asked the entire Squad A World Racer's to come to our CMA church service and then over to our apartment for lunch.   I was told 7 World Racers would be coming for lunch  so prepared Aji de Gallina and a chocolate cake the night before.   Easter morning I watched Bethany Church's live service online from my daughter's church in New Hampshire.    Robert headed out to do street evangelism with some of the World Racers and then to help with a service in the same area at 3:00.   You can read how one woman and 3 boys came to the Lord through that outreach at Emilie's blog:  http://emiliejanson.theworldrace.org/index.asp?filename=a-different-easter

Kelsey and I went to the CMA church at noon and learned that fourteen World Racers were coming to lunch.    After the service I stopped at the local store for a few more groceries and then we all headed for our apartment.  

The team streamed into our fourth floor apartment exclaiming how nice the place was and quickly set up their computers and used our two as well.   Thank the good Lord for a wireless connection to share.   Kelsey introduced them to our Vonage phone and they began calling their parents at home in the US.   Amalia, a World Race interpreter and member of the CMA church, started to help me prepare lunch.   Immediately Talia offered to help and then Jon joined us and soon Aaron was helping in the kitchen, too.   Others pitched in as well and we prepared a large salad, garlic bread, Alfredo with spaghetti noodles, rice and warmed up the Aji de Gallina.   The racers enjoyed their lunch and time in a "normal apartment" and were off to prepare for the evening service at Villa El Salvador.   

We arrived at church in time to enjoy the evening service.   The World Race Team prepared a dramatization of a song about Jesus being the Lamb of God.   There was a guest preacher who preached an awesome sermon about the church's purpose and around 15 people of all ages came forward to ask Jesus into their lives.   The evening ended with the worship team playing worship music to dance by after the service was all done.   About 100 people came up to dance with joy—including americanos from both the World Race and ChildReach Ministries.

We did not get to enjoy the family meal with our daughters, their husbands, our new granddaughter and our extended family at Bob & Gale Morse's home or the Easter service at our church, but God provided a day that blessed us immensely.    Sharing with others with the gifts the Lord has given us and watching many new brothers and sisters stepping into His kingdom.  Awesome!  Thank you to all our supporters for making it possible for us to spend our first Easter in Peru!

Sunday Robert and I returned to the Christian Missionary Alliance church about 4 blocks from our apartment.  An elderly couple share the pupit, in the English speaking service, once a month.  I missed their previous sermon.  Antonio spoke on the first few words of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd."  He did an excellent teaching contrasting the images of  Lord and Shepherd.  Then Betty took his place and continued the sermon.  She talked about how the last time they spoke, a month ago, it was on suffering.  The very next day she had gone to the doctors for a checkup.  After a number of tests and consultations, they learned she has breast cancer.  She talked about how her husband was suffering most due to his great love for her.  The tears started trickling down my checks.  It was one of those times when there's nothing I could do to stop them.  They continued through the last song.  I don't know why I have such a strong emotional response.  I think part of it was the fact that our dear friend, Rena Bitzer, was within the last hours of her life after several years of battling cancer.  Robert reached over and gave me a gentle hug.  As we left church he said, "That's why I love you."  It wasn't until later that evening we learned that the good Lord had taken her home to heaven Sunday at about 1:30.  We hurt for her husband, Rich and their precious daughters, Ali and Carley.  They could use all our prayers.