Mission Trip to Genesis Church in peru
On September 25th, a group of five women braved the trip to Iquitos, Peru, where they spent time serving with the ministry team at Genesis Church. Most flew out of Des Moines, one out of Detroit, but they all met up in Atlanta, where they patiently waited to see if Hurricane Helene’s approach (expected Sept 26th) would leave them stranded there or stuck turning back.
Despite the coming storm, they were able to fly safely and landed in Lima as scheduled, where they met up with missionary Katie Tofte de Pereira and her husband, David.
The team joined the Entre Nosotras (women’s ministry) team as they held their first ever women’s conference at Genesis Church. It was a huge milestone! These women have been working on this for 10 months, studying the book of 1 Peter and learning from the Lord and each other to lead this event to help other women in the community of Iquitos.
The conference was called “Made Like Gold” (Como el Oro) and was a two day event. They challenged themselves to pray for 200 women to sign up a week ahead of time. The week of the deadline, they only had 50 people signed up. As a church, they are very male dominated; as a culture, people rarely commit ahead of time and just show up at the door the day of the event. But despite both of these challenges, they had their 200 signups by the deadline!!!
The conference contained six speakers, including guest speakers, one of whom was Joy Fopma, coming from the states to share her story and speak to these women. Her message was so powerful and moving for this community! She illustrated beautifully how God makes us like gold, sharing parts of her life, from the start to where it is now, that demonstrate Him filling in the cracks we have with gold so we’re broken no more. Joy recently released her first book and sent one to Bethany, who had read it and shared pieces with the Entre Nosotras team. They were so excited to have Joy there! You can find her book on Amazon here.
After the six sessions, the women were given time to change into a dress and spend time on their hair, makeup, and nails, before coming in to find the worship area transformed into a Gala Banquet for them. This is something a lot of these women have never had the opportunity to do, and the hope was that each of them would feel beautiful in the way that God makes us beautiful.
Some other activities on the mission trip included visiting with several of the team leaders there, gathering around the table, and hearing their testimonies. These were such powerful moments! It was incredible to hear how God had worked in the lives of missionaries, pastors, and faithful servers of the church. Each story gave a glimpse into the culture and lives that exist in Iquitos, giving a better understanding and common ground in our humanity.
Yurimaguas
“It was a thrill to be able to travel to Yurimaguas with a team of women from Iquitos and bring an abbreviated version of the women’s conference to the Genesis church plant. The 3 hour trip by mini bus through mountain hairpin turns was daunting, but the rewards of bonding with the people made it worth the trip. We were able to spend a consecrated time pouring into the women leaders and hearing their hearts.” ~~ Sandy Berven, Peru Director
How to get involved?
We would love to have a conversation about how you can get involved with the ministry of Genesis Church in Peru! Join the hundreds of brave volunteers that have served alongside the team to deliver hope. PRAY for the ministry team and for God to continue softening the hearts in Iquitos. GO on a mission trip to see firsthand the work God is doing and allow it to impact you in a personal way. GIVE financially to support the ongoing ministry so the work can continue.
