Sugoi!

This is a story about my friend Steven. He is an awesome young man of God with a heart for reaching the lost and living passionately for the Lord...and he is autistic. He is a walking testimony to the power of Christ and a blessing to all those fortunate enough to know him. Thanks for inspiring me, Steven!

Autistic child becomes missionary to Japan

Steven Kunkel’s nickname appears at the top of his Facebook page: Sugoisteve. Sugoi(pronounced sue-GOY) means “awesome” in Japanese.

“Sugoi is my catchphrase,” Steven explains, “so sometimes my friends call me ‘Sugoisteve.’”

But from Steven’s perspective, the “sugoi” part isn’t about him. It’s about God.

Singing Praises

Steven Kunkel (left) leads kids in a praise chorus at a Japanese-Paraguayan house church in Asunción, Paraguay. Mari Nowada (center left) and her husband, Koki, the church’s pastor (shown discipling Steven in photo at top of page) have mentored Steven in Japanese language, culture and ministry.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

That attitude shows clearly as Steven stands before worshippers at a Japanese-Paraguayan house church in Asunción, Paraguay. Accompanying himself on the guitar, he sings a favorite song by Casting Crowns, a Christian praise band:

“The voice of Truth says, ‘This is for My glory.’ Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the voice of Truth.”

Listening to Steven sing, his parents — missionaries Tim and Iracema Kunkel — wipe tears from their eyes. More than anyone else in the room besides Steven, they understand what these words mean to him.

Eighteen years ago, Steven was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disorder causing problems in behavior, communication and social interaction. At age 5, Steven couldn’t speak. Today, at 23, he speaks four languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. And he’s learning five more — Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Mandarin Chinese and Tagalog.

Symptoms of autism

From the beginning, doctors said Steven was high functioning. Even so, he displayed all 14 of the most common symptoms of autism.

For example, Steven couldn’t tolerate change. He didn’t like to hug. He preferred being alone. He avoided eye contact, echoed others’ words and laughed at inappropriate times. He also had a habit of spinning himself and objects.

Leaving Home

Shortly before leaving home last year to serve as a missionary in Japan, 23-year-old Steven Kunkel (center) stands with his parents — IMB missionaries Tim and Iracema Kunkel — in the family’s backyard in Asunción, Paraguay.  Eighteen years ago, Steven was diagnosed with the developmental disorder of autism.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

Today, Steven has only one of the 14 symptoms — inappropriate laughter — and it’s hardly noticeable. He taught himself how to manage it through Internet research.

Steven spent years struggling to overcome most of the other symptoms, and God used many people in that process. Steven’s parents created a structured and loving family environment, guiding him through the challenges of autism. His two older siblings — Julia and John Glenn — encouraged him with their love. Many believers prayed. Professionals like speech therapists and physicians provided specialized help.

Strengthened by God and his support team, Steven himself did the hard work of healing.

“Sometimes it was like I was climbing a mountain, facing a lot of difficulties,” he said. “Whenever I felt a difficulty or a weakness come, I fell down. But I managed to get up and keep walking.”

And through God’s power, Steven has climbed to some amazing heights.

‘Born for this’

Today’s worship service marks one of these: Steven is being commissioned to serve as a missionary to Japan.

Circle of Prayer

Worshippers at a Japanese-Paraguayan house church in Asunción, Paraguay, pray for Steven Kunkel (center) as he  is commissioned for mission service in Japan. Standing behind him are his parents, IMB missionaries Tim and Iracema Kunkel.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

“I’ve felt today that so many questions about Steven’s autism have been answered,” says Steven’s mom, Iracema, “like a veil is being lifted from my eyes and I’m seeing things through God’s eyes. I’m thinking, ‘for this day you were born, Steven.’”

Holding his well-marked Japanese Bible, Steven sits with head bowed as fellow believers surround him inside the Japanese-Paraguayan house church. The circle includes church members, visitors and Japanese children Steven has taught at the church. Steven’s parents — IMB missionaries in Asunción — stand behind him.

The group lays hands on Steven as Pastor Koki Nowada, his Japanese mentor, leads in prayer. Nowada’s normally soft voice grows louder and more intense as he prays in Japanese for God’s anointing on Steven.

It’s a powerful moment for worshippers. Steven’s dad, Tim, sobs with joy.

He remembers the day doctors diagnosed Steven with autism, not long after the Kunkels moved to Uruguay as new missionaries.

“It was like one child died and another child was born,” recalls Tim. “But God, in his permissive will, allowed this to happen. And God, in His sovereignty, had a plan.”

Puzzle pieces

The Kunkels saw God’s plan unfold as they continued serving in Uruguay. Because few services for autistic children were available there, Iracema studied special education so she could teach Steven herself. In the process, she discovered a gift for working with autistic children. She began sharing that expertise with parents of other autistic children in Uruguay. In turn, God used those connections to open doors for the Kunkels to witness for Christ.

Preparing to Go

IMB missionary Iracema Kunkel (right) checks the size of a new T-shirt for her son, Steven, as he packs a suitcase in his bedroom in Asunción, Paraguay. Steven, who has autism, left Paraguay last year to serve as a missionary in Japan.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

“I’m realizing now that a lot of what God has had us doing on the mission field — first in Uruguay and then after we moved to Paraguay — hasn’t been so much about us as missionaries,” says Iracema. “It was about Steven. It was like God was using us to help put all the pieces of the puzzle in place for Steven, so this autistic child could grow up to be a missionary for God’s glory.”

One important puzzle piece fell into place when Steven accepted Christ at age 8. Later at 15, he got interested in Japan. While visiting some friends in Uruguay’s countryside, Steven fell asleep under a tree. He dreamed a Japanese girl told him she wanted him to learn her language and culture. When Steven woke up, he had a strong desire to learn Japanese and travel to Japan.

“Now, I think it was kind of like the dream Paul had when the Macedonian called him to come over and help,” Steven says.

After the dream, Steven couldn’t stop thinking about Japan. But no Japanese people lived in Salto, the small Uruguayan city where his parents then served. So Steven began learning Japanese on his own.

Sharing a Prayer

At his parents’ home in Paraguay, Steven Kunkel (center) and family friends Pastor Jonathan Yao and Lily Maeda de Martinez thank God for a package that just arrived. The package contained a work permit from the Japanese government, allowing Steven to serve a year as a mission worker in Japan.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

His mom bought him a Japanese phrasebook in her native Brazil, a country with the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Steven taught himself all the phrases. He also got interested in Japanese cartoons called manga and began drawing his own.

Meanwhile, God was putting another puzzle piece in place.

A move to Paraguay

When Steven was 16, IMB officials asked the Kunkels to consider transferring from Uruguay to Paraguay. By then, the Kunkels’ two older children had left home for college.

“Steven wasn’t sure if he wanted to [move to Paraguay],” recalls Tim, who is from California. “And we weren’t sure about the wisdom of moving him to a new country as an older teenager.”

As the family prayed about the decision, Tim took a trip to Paraguay. There he noticed many Asian immigrants; one named Lily Maeda de Martinez waited on him in a store. Tim learned she was Japanese, born in Paraguay to Japanese immigrants. He told her about Steven and asked her to write him a letter in Japanese. Lily agreed.

When Tim returned home with the letter, “Steven was so excited,” Tim remembers. “That sealed it for him on going to Paraguay.”

Artist's Portfolio

At his parents' home in Paraguay, missionary kid Steven Kunkel displays some cartoons he has created, including some with biblical themes.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

With plans in place to move to Paraguay, the Kunkels left Uruguay for stateside assignment.

In the U.S., Steven made some Japanese-American friends and learned more Japanese. He also rededicated his life to Christ at South Ridge Baptist Church, Jefferson City, Mo. It was then God’s call to Japan became clear.

Soon God showed Steven something more: some of the Japanese manga he’d been reading had evil overtones.

“When I realized that, I tore up the bad manga with my bare hands,” Steven recalls.

From then on, Steven used biblical themes in cartoons he drew himself. Later he began composing sacred piano music.

“The Lord showed me He had given me gifts He wanted to use in Japan,” Steven says.

Preparing for Japan

But Steven needed Paraguay to get ready to go. And there God had people in place to help with that preparation.

Two of them: Japanese pastor Koki Nowada and his Japanese-Paraguayan wife, Mari. They mentored Steven in Japanese language, culture and ministry for nearly seven years while he served in their congregation.

Spiritual Victory

After being commissioned as a missionary to Japan, Steven Kunkel sheds tears of joy as he gets a hug of congratulations from Japanese-Paraguayan Mari Nowada, his pastor's wife.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

“We’re just a small house church, but we are a missionary church,” Koki Nowada says. “For the Japanese children [here], seeing Steven go to Japan as a missionary has been a wonderful opportunity to learn [about] the cost of discipleship.”

During Steven’s commissioning service, visiting preacher Jonathan Yao reminds those children — and their parents — that God wants to use them, too.

“If you say, ‘Lord, here I am,’ God will use you,” says Yao, a Chinese-Filipino pastor and a Kunkel family friend. “Don’t limit what God can do.”

Later, Tim tells how God used Yao to open the door for Steven to serve in Japan.

“The missing piece in this whole puzzle was how Steven was going to get there,” Tim says. “That was a piece I just couldn’t figure out.”

‘A grace from God’

In 2011 God provided that piece when Yao took Steven on a survey trip to Japan. Yao knew no Japanese pastors, but before the trip he made a connection with a Filipino congregation in the small city of Shiojiri, Japan. He and Steven visited the church. 

Studying God’s Word

At his missionary parents’ home in Paraguay, Steven Kunkel points out a Scripture he is studying in his Japanese Bible. Steven, who has autism, speaks four languages and is learning five more.

Photo © 2013 IMB / Rebecca Springer

Steven made a strong impression on the congregation, who’d been praying for more workers. To help them expand their outreach to the Japanese, the church needed a Japanese translator, someone to teach Japanese to Filipino church members and a worker to teach English to Japanese children. The congregation also needed help in music and outreach to Brazilian immigrants.

As church leaders got to know Steven, they realized his skills matched everything in their prayers — all in one person.

“Steven is a miracle, a grace from God,” the pastor told Yao. “Where God’s grace is, His favor is.”

The congregation then invited Steven to “come over and help them.” He said “yes.”

That was seven years after Steven dreamed about Japan as a teenager in Uruguay.

“Since that dream, there have been lots of struggles and tests. But my faith has stayed strong,” Steven says.

“Today, I’m sure Japan is the land God has been preparing me for.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Last year Steven Kunkel began serving as a missionary at Jesus the Gospel Church in Shiojiri, Japan. The above story is the first in a series about Steven to be published on AmericasStories during April, Autism Awareness Month. 

April 2 is the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, kicking off a month-long, global emphasis on a developmental brain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Autism causes significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. In the U.S., one in 88 children are affected by some form of autism, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Where I Belong

In case you missed the memo, on January 24th I boarded a plane in Lima, Peru at 1:30 in the morning, walking through security waving goodbye to my supervisors and another friend who had been sweet enough to accompany me to the airport in the middle of the night. Two flights, and twelve hours later I walked off the plane in Daytona Beach, FL and out through security to a surprise welcoming committee of family and friends waving hello. It's been more than a week and in many ways I feel like I'm still in transit, stuck somewhere between Peru and the US. 

Physical life in the States is gradually starting to feel less awkward (It no longer takes me 6 tries to figure out how to flip a light switch, and my stomach is handling American food better.) but being back here still feels a little like, to use a family expression from a colleague in Peru, socks on a rooster. It doesn't quite fit right, and is a bit unnatural. Feeling out of place is a hard thing to process when so much is the same as when you left it. It's difficult to explain to yourself, and next to impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't been through it themselves. This leads to a lot of really awkward conversations where someone asks the question that everyone asks: "How does it feel to be home?" -or- "Are you excited to be back?" Apparently a blank stare and muttering isn't a sufficient answer for most people!  

Having returned from living overseas twice before, I knew what questions to expect. "How was Peru?" "What was your favorite thing about Peru?" "What do you miss most?" "How was the food?" "What was Peru like?" "Did you like it?" "So you must speak really good spanish now?" "Did you get homesick?" "What was the coolest thing you saw?" "Do you have any Peruvian friends?"  "What are you most excited about now that you're home?" and the most dreaded of all... "What are you going to do now?" "Do you have any plans?" 

My last weeks in Peru I even tried to sit down and prepare succinct answers to all of the typical questions so that I would be able to answer easily. But it didn't really happen. Some are easy to answer, but most are asking you to sum up two years of life in a different culture with a few words, or maybe a funny anecdote, and that's not easy at all. 

But none are as difficult as the "how are you feeling" vein of questions. And the best I can do right now is say, "I don't know." Yes, I am happy to see my family and friends. Yes, it's nice to be able to drive, go to the beach, and not have to think through the vocabulary for every conversation before I go do something. Yes, it is fun to eat favorite foods and wear different clothes. Yes, there are many things that are nice and enjoyable about being back in the US. 

But... 

There is always a melancholy that comes with change, always something that you are giving up in the transaction, a chapter in your life for which you are trying to write the last sentence. And it is rarely easy and tidy. When we are confronted with others who genuinely care about us, and want to know about our experience, we can feel a pressure to neatly wrap up our life and put a bow on it. To make something orderly and presentable out of years of work, and growth, and experiences, and relationships, and learning, and changing, and emotions. Years of life. But as we all know, life isn't orderly and presentable. It's messy. We as people are messy. And trying to share a complicated season of your life is a bit like trying to gift-wrap a live octopus. 

So, no, I don't have the answers. No, I can't sum up two years in two sentences. And no, I can't even fully tell you how I feel about being back. And I think that's okay right now. 

My first Sunday back at my church was much anticipated and it was great to see friends after so long. But it was also profoundly difficult. Several times during Sunday School and the worship service I got so overwhelmed that I almost had to leave. And for the life of me I couldn't pinpoint why. And then the praise team sang a familiar song by Building 429: 

"Sometimes it feels like I'm watching from the outside, Sometimes it feels like I'm breathing but am I alive? I won't keep searching for answers that aren't here to find. All I know is I'm not home yet, This is not where I belong, Take this world and give me Jesus, This is not where I belong." 

Never had that song hit home (pardon the pun) so much before! I think that has come closer than anything to explaining my feelings right now. People keep asking about how I feel now that I am "home", and how I feel is that I'm not. I'm not home. Not yet. And that is a comforting thought, because if heaven is the home I'm headed to, then it's okay that Daytona Beach doesn't quite feel like home right now. As C.S. Lewis put it, "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” 

What a home that will be! And what a great hope that is! It is a main comfort of the transient M life, that while we say farewell in this world, we have the promise of eternity with Jesus worshipping with believers from every tribe and nation. I hope that you have placed your faith in Christ and will spend eternity with the Lord, and if you do, I hope that one day I can introduce you to some of the incredibly faithful believers that I have had the privilege to meet and work with across Latin America for the last 2 years, and they can meet the people who prayed for and supported them from the US. 

I'm sure I'll eventually get comfortable again once the culture shock wears off, and the feelings of being strangely far from home will dim. But, I hope that I will carry with me the awareness that I'm still not home yet. This is not where I belong. 

If you haven't heard "Where I Belong" by Building 429 you can check out the video here! (If you are reading in email you'll have to follow the link to my blog site to watch.)

How can I keep from singing?

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?

What tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

What tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it;

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am his—

How can I keep from singing?

Adoption

A friend shared this video a few months back and I wanted to pass it on, but forgot in all the craziness of the holidays and traveling and preparing to move! I hope you'll take a minute to check out this remarkable family and pray for the millions of children around the world that need loving homes, and then maybe pray about how you can help meet that need, either by fostering or adopting yourself, or by financially and prayerfully supporting other families going through the process. I have been blessed to watch many dear friends go through the process of bringing children to their forever homes and I praise the Lord for the willingness of so many to take that leap.


New Film Premiere - I Like Adoption. from ILikeGiving.com on Vimeo.

Good news!

There is good news today! As you've probably noticed the Mayan calendar was wrong, no apocalypse occurred and the earth is still spinning merrily on its axis. Not a great shock to most of us, since as some have pointed out, if the Mayans could predict the future...there would still be Mayans. Yes, yesterday passed much the same as each day has for millenia, since man first walked the planet. In some ways that's very good news... but in others not so much.

Early on, man disobeyed God, brought sin into the equation and the perfect world that God created was cursed. Henceforth we have lived in a fallen world with sin, death, destruction, and sorrow as ever present reminders. If nothing had changed, the earth continuing on in such a state today would be somewhat depressing. Fortunately for us, some 2000+ years ago, the ultimate Good News was delivered:

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord."- Luke 2:10-11

Check out this great video:




Joy to the world, the Lord is come! We have can have hope and a future because Jesus came to pay the debt we owed on the cross. Christ's mercy and His victory over sin is the best news there could be! What are you going to do with this Good News?

It's about the Cross!

There's a lot going on these days, and plenty of things coming up that could make me a little sad. Friends leaving (and soon me leaving friends), holiday traditions missed, and loved ones 3000 miles away. I think I've said it before, I never realized how many Christmas songs are kind of depressing until I spent my first Christmas far far from home! Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, I'll be home for Christmas, Christmas Just ain't Christmas, Where are you Christmas?, etc. There are plenty that can get you a little melancholy when you start thinking of those you're not with for the holidays (or ever!). 

But, thankfully, there are some just excellent Christmas songs that leave me pumped up every time I hear them! They help me keep things in perspective and remind me of the reason for the season and the beautiful plan of salvation that Jesus's birth played a part in. In light of Eternity, whatever temporary sorrows I face cannot compare. I though I'd share a few favorites this year so here's one: It's About the Cross- by Go Fish, is wonderful! And if you like a cappella music at all, I highly recommend their entire Christmas album. Enjoy this song here (Note: for those of you viewing by email, you may have to navigate to my blog page to watch the video):

It's not just about the manger
Where the baby lay
It's not all about the angels
Who sang for him that day

It's not just about the shepherds
Or the bright and shining star
It's not all about the wisemen
Who travelled from afar

It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again
It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
It's about the cross
It's about the cross

It's not just about the presents
Underneath the tree
It's not all about the feeling
That the season brings to me

It's not just about coming home
To be with those you love
It's not all about the beauty
In the snow I'm dreaming of

The beginning of the story is wonderful and great
But it's the ending that can save you and that's why we celebrate

It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again
It's about God's love
Nailed to a tree
It's about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me
It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
So that you and I could have real life someday
It's about the cross

It's about the cross!

As great as the story of Christmas was, like the song says, it's not ultimately the most important part. As you celebrate Christmas this holiday season, remember that the pure and innocent Lamb of God, given life in a manger, would go on to give His life on a cross in payment for our sins. Glory to God in the highest! It's about the cross!

Holiday Spirit

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure how it came to be December. How are we just a couple of weeks away from Christmas?! It doesn't seem possible. With the days flying off the calendar, a mountain of work in front of me, and frequent thoughts about January and all that is coming, I'm having a hard time feeling festive just yet. The one thing that I have been enjoying though: CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!! I love it. I get so excited for my favorite songs and carols every year. So many incredible songs with powerful truth baked right in! Nothing makes me cheerier than some beautiful Christmas music. So if you are in need of a little Christmas spirit yourself, check out this awesome caroling flash mob. Watch all the way to the end; you won't be disappointed!

oBEdient

Check out this video that focuses on the work in North Africa and the Middle East 

and please commit to pray for and support those serving around the world. And maybe ask the Lord what He is calling you to be obedient in? 

Where am I?

I'll be honest, when I was originally offered the position in Latin America, I didn't have the most thrilling of opinions about the region. I loved the job, but the location was...well, at least there are llamas! Part of it stemmed from wishing I could learn a new language other than Spanish, part was because the culture seemed largely homogenous to an outsider, and part was because there are so many other intriguing cultures around the world that I wanted to explore! 

My opinions have changed since moving to Lima and seeing lots of Latin America. While there are some similarities, there really is so much variety from country to country and city to city! There are a myriad of languages, cultures, and landscapes, and it's all pretty cool. And the region is home to eight cities that we classify as mega cities: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Bogota, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Caracas, and, of course, Lima! Around the continent and within these cities you can find pockets of immigrant cultures that are anything but Latin, and there are workers focused specifically on reaching these groups with the Good News. 

When I moved to Lima, Peru, I never expected that I'd have to work in Chinese, but that's what I found myself doing a few weeks ago as I edited prayer cards and videos for individuals here ministering to the Chinese community (which is the largest in Latin America). It was a delightful change of pace- although I'm glad I don't have to work with Chinese script often! I've never been so happy that I only had to learn Spanish to do my job!

While I'm still an outsider in Lima, I speak Spanish and get along quite nicely, but in one cab ride from my apartment I was quickly immersed in a sub-culture where I didn't understand the language or the customs, and everyone was trying to feed me despite my protests! I had a giant plate full of shrimp dumplings at 11am served by an elderly buddhist woman who insisted on bagging up what I didn't eat to send with me. I had fried wontons in a chifa (Chinese restaurant) while my friend discipled a young believer after the lunch rush. And then I had soup, egg rolls, and sticky bean pudding at two in the morning at a closed chifa during a Chinese Bible study on the outskirts of town. It was a whole new experience, a bit like traveling to a new country without ever leaving my city. There were definitely moments where I found myself asking, "Where am I?!"  

Anyway, I highly enjoyed getting an insider's view of the Chinese immigrant community here, and I am always impressed with the diligent work and long hours that our staff puts in to build relationships and share the Gospel. They are faithful laborers! Below is a short video promo of the work with the Chinese community in Lima. Check it out if you have time, and then don't forget to do what you can to support the work, not only with the Chinese of Lima, but with people everywhere! Pray, Give, Go! 

What will your legacy be?

A friend shared this video recently and I think it is great! It's the follow up to a story from decades ago and shows such a clear picture of the impact the Gospel can have on a person, a community, a people, and the world. How remarkable to be able to return years later and see the legacy of faith that remains where one faithful family shared the Gospel in word and deed. I don't know about you, but I want to leave that kind of legacy!

What do you want your legacy to be?

I think that's a good thing to keep in mind as you make decisions and plans. It should help you focus upon that which you spend you time, money, and energy. Because, as Beth Moore say, "The legacy you leave tomorrow is dependent upon the choices you make today."

If you have 15 minutes, check out this great story:


Never the Same from Pioneers-USA on Vimeo.

And I love Nicole Nordeman's song aptly titled- Legacy:

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me 

And I enjoy an accolade like the rest 

You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery 

Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best 

At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights 

We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl' 

But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides 

The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy 

How will they remember me? 

Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough 

To make a mark on things? 

I want to leave an offering 

A child of mercy and grace who

blessed your name unapologetically 

And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile 

To make a lengthly list of all that I enjoy 

It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile 

Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred 

Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...

Pray for Peru

Join us in praying for Peru.

 Pray that Peruvian believers will be mobilized to take the 

Gospel to their countrymen and around the world.