Hola World!!!! Wow!!! I'm in Peru!! Woah. This dream is actually being lived out. Praise the Lord!!! We arrived in our city on October 8th, and it has been a trip! Let me tell you more about it.

Y'all, we are living life in Huaraz, Peru right now... and wow, the Lord went all out in this country/city. It's so BEAUTIFUL, it doesn't feel real. What's even better is our ministry. My team are the first World Racers to partner with AWI (AWI's name is an acronym meaning Goodnews). AWI has also partnered with Wycliffe Peru, which is our ministry focus for the month.

So a little history lesson: The primary language in Peru is Spanish, but the second most spoken language is Quechua. Quechua is a people group and a language, hopefully that makes sense! While alot of people speak both Spanish and Quechua in our city, a lot of Quechua villages (Where Quechua people live)  around us are not bilingual, and have only heard the good news in Spanish. A vast majority of the Quechua people have never read the Bible in their language as well. This really creates a gospel gap and lack of understanding. That's because the Quechua translation didn't exist until August 10th, 2019! TWO MONTHS AGO. It took 55 years to translate the Bible into the Quechua language. If I remember correctly there are 5 different dialects of Quechua and 3 were successfully translated. WOW PEOPLE. My team and I will be visiting villages in the mountains of Huaraz and sharing the newly translated Bible. We also spent our first whole day in Peru learning Quechua worship songs and helping translate them! Our ministry host said that when Quechua people hear foreigners singing their language it really surprises them. Our team joyfully learned the songs, and will be singing them in church on Sunday. One of the songs we have been translating/singing is Way Maker. The Lord is truly making way for these people and I'm so honored to be a part of it.  Pioneering the way for the Quechua people to worship God in their own tongue, is a beautiful thing to participate in. Anything that helps the Gospel be known, I'm for it! By the way, the Quechua language is not easy!! I'm seriously so excited and I cannot wait to share more details!!! 

My goal is to write one blog weekly. I'm hoping to share more about the culture, my heart, my team, and what the Lord is doing around me this month. Also fun fact: Huaraz has a pretty chilly climate! Seriously go google this city. It's BEAUTIFUL. 

Please be praying for my team, and the Quechua translation to spread quickly! I love you all and thank you for keeping up with my stories. Thank you endlessly for your constant support!

Maia