The mood was festive as the busses and airplanes began arriving in Arequipa, Peru, with friends from Argentina, Chile, Norway, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, and not least Peru.
In the Andes mountains in southwestern Peru, 2335 meters above sea level, the city of Arquipa is beautifully situated. For the very first time, Brunstad Christian Church is holding a conference here, and I am really excited about it. Not so many people from Peru have the opportunity to travel to the conference centers in Paso Flores in Argentina, or Brunstad in Norway; so it is fantastic for the friends from these countries to come here to us for a conference.
After a long time of preparation, and lots of anticipation, the big day has finally arrived.
There is an extra blessing over the meetings at the conference. At each meeting, the words go straight into people’s hearts. Sverre Riksfjord from Norway says, among other things, something that affects me particularly strongly, “Wake up every day in the name of Jesus Christ, and take up your cross in the same way that Jesus did; He used each day to put to death more of the sinful tendencies in his flesh – and was completely liberated to do what was good. Our calling is to follow in His footsteps. Do that! Then every day will be a blessed day.”
I think about how it is just simple words like this, brought forth by the Holy Spirit, which give us hope and faith that it is completely possible to overcome the sin that dwells in our flesh; bit by bit.
I think about how it is just simple words like this, brought forth by the Holy Spirit, which give us hope and faith that it is completely possible to overcome the sin that dwells in our flesh; bit by bit.
It is also our desire to give our guests a real experience in Peruvian culture while they are here. Therefore, it is especially fun to see their excitement when we perform singing and dancing with authentic Peruvian rhythms and sounds.
We have truly experienced a few indescribably special days together here in Arequipa. I think about how special it has been to be with so many people that are different from us in culture and language, but with whom we nevertheless can experience genuine fellowship in the faith. As we think back on these days with tremendous thankfulness we are already looking forward to next time.
The friends from Waltrop, Germany, who also attended the conference, sent us the following report: