Peru & Bolivia: Clowns evangelizing the largest market in South America and Teambuilding in Lake Titicaca!

Every Thursday and Sunday will find the largest market in South America in El Alto, La Paz. Everything is available here, from clothing to food to cleaning supplies to cookware. And is it ever crowded; full of people, stalls and cars.

It was to this market we decided to go on a Sunday afternoon and do street evangelism. But not just street evangelism, Berre, Brenda and Liesbeth were fully dressed as clowns on the streets. This was a wonderful way to attract attention, they were then able to do a skit called "The Sin Chair" which is about how we can get stuck to sin. Next Marjan and Stephanie shared about what sin is and about how God can free us from it.

And if you thought this was all...after the clowning acts followed an up beat flash mob to the song Alive (Hillsong) in Spanish, which has a message about us being alive in God. Following with a testimony of Tim about how God can change our lives. We could pray for people right on the street and share about who God really is. It is exciting to share about God in this way in the largest market in South America.

Closure of three special weeks in La Paz

This was our last week in El Alto, La Paz. In one of the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz, we have given joy, celebrated life, brought encouragement and shown more of who God is. The girls, guys and couples at the homes shared with us that it is sometimes very difficult to continue with the rehab program. Sometimes it's much easier to go back to the old and familiar life they have lived in for years. For us, it is sometimes hard to understand what hardships these youth and young adults have had to endure.

The aftermath of a fun painting afternoon at the guys house

During the street evangelism and evenings with the girls, boys and couples we have shown that there is another life in Chirst. We know and believe that God has shown Himself through us, and that is the key to us being here! This week we really celebrated the life and joy that God can bring!

The beautiful way from Bolivia to Peru

Team building in Lake Titicaca!

On Thursday we crossed the border back to Peru, to the city of Puno for a four days of teambuilding. We took a few days to recharge, rebuild our team and encourge each other.
Do you know that game called White Elephant, where you exchange gifts with each other. Well that was one of our team building activities, we all had to give up one of our belongings. Some were really humble and gave up a newly bought Peruvian sweater while others just gave up their used nose spray, carrot, tampons and half eaten chocolate bars. We had a fun time, laughing at each other's gifts and just spending some well needed time as a group.

Max, Arno, Lianne and Alyanne presenting their lunch!

Preparing lunch was another challenging teambuilding activity. We were divided into groups of three and four, each team was given 5 Euros and fifteen minutes to prepare lunch for the team. The winning team being the one with the nicest presentation, food and fastest time. The Peruvians must have thought we were crazy, because we were all running around the streets getting food and disscussing prices trying to be as fast as possible. The tiny kitchen in the hostel was one big mess, with eleven people trying to find the most creative way to prepare and present lunch. It was awesome and delicious!

The winning teams lunch

We spent one day playing tourist taking a tour of Lake Titicaca, saw the floating islands and the beautiful nature of the area. It was refreshing to have a couple days of as a team and spend time together.