"Jesus Loves You." This is a phrase that is used often in our culture. Many of our little ones are accustomed to singing songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and may even do so on a weekly basis. In our culture, even the skeptics who might question the claims of Christianity understand this phrase, even if it is dismissed as sappy sentimentalism. Silly though these words might seem to some, the challenge of the gospel in our context does not usually come down to the meaning of these three simple words. We generally hear them in similar ways, regardless of how readily we accept them.

Now imagine with me a different cultural context... one that understands these words differently than we do in ours. In this situation,

      When you hear the name "Jesus" all that comes to mind is 
"Dead man on a stick"...

     The word "love" is always associated with an act that is perverse, sexual in nature and abusive...

     And what about "you"? The phrase that dominates your conception of your own identity is humana basura... human garbage.

This is the situation for thousands of young boys living on the streets of Peru. Now imagine how they hear the simple phrase "Jesus loves you."

Their conception of Jesus is often shaped by the image of a bloody, broken man hanging on a cross. Their idea of love is associated with terrible abuse that they will go to great lengths to erase from their memories. Their understanding of themselves is that they are completely worthless, the worst of the worst.

For the gospel to be heard and understood in this context, great work is needed. Rescue, deliverance and redemption are not academic theoretical terms but much needed physical realities. These words have to be given new meaning through strong, intentional, consistent and gracious deeds.

I first heard this explanation of how difficult it was to relate the simple message of the gospel to the street children of Peru 10 years ago. I was 29 years old and had been given the opportunity to travel with about 40 college students from RUF @ TCU to Iquitos Peru. Lead by Dustin Salter, we went on a journey that would significantly alter our understanding of the blessings of our own personal situations, the global nature of God's Kingdom, the importance of missions and the beauty of mercy ministry.

Between the Scripture Union center in Iquitos and the boy's home of Puerto Alegria, which is a small village about a 1 ½ hours boat ride up the Amazon River, we had the opportunity to engage in significant ministry to young boys who had been saved from an appalling existence on the streets of Peru. Through the direction of Paul Clark and the folks at Scripture Union Peru, we were able to do considerable work in the short time we were there, both from a hands on construction standpoint and though our daily interaction with the boys.

But there is really only so much one can do in a few days, right? Did what we accomplish justify the time and money used to get there? Certainly we all felt like our efforts were important, but much of what made that trip so amazing was not simply what God did through us, but in us.

I still remember the stories Paul Clark would tell on the daily boat rides between Puerto Alegria and Iquitos. And the stories the boys told in the evening were often heart wrenching, but the grace and redemption of God was always the ultimate theme.

God did things in my own heart and the hearts of students that would alter us forever. This change was not necessarily what you might envision... to my knowledge none of us returned to Iquitos to become full-time missionaries. But the majority of those involved did gain a new perspective on the global nature of God's Kingdom and better understanding of the importance of missions. And for some of us it altered the direction of our lives significantly. 

The over-all effect on our team was also noteworthy. Our shared experience drew that particular group of students together in a profound way. I recently got together with a handful of guys that were on that trip and much of our conversation centered around this special event.

One final aspect of the trip that was so awesome was simply the love and enjoyment we shared with the boys of Puerto Alegria. Three brief examples:

1.     One night after dinner the little guys were so excited to share one of their favorite delicacies with us... Suri. For those of you who do not know what Suri is, envision the fattest, juiciest grub you can imagine cooked to a crispy, golden brown. The boys love them, but their desire to share them with us outweighed their desire to have them themselves. It was so endearing we actually ate them!

Yummy Suri!

2.     Each day after working extremely hard we would go down to the river to swim with the boys and "bathe". One night the boys had a special surprise to share with us. Someone had donated a huge emergency life raft to the boys to enjoy. As I recall they waited several weeks to open it just to share the moment with us. They knew we were coming and thought it would be fun. And it was! Now, having five children of my own and two boys who are 10 and 8, and knowing how many times I hear "Are we there yet?" on a typical family road trip.... I know better the sacrifice it took for forty 8-12 year-old-boys to wait to pull the cord on that thing. But they did, just to share it with us!

S.S.Puerto Alegria

3.     The final example was the incredible game that was played with the boys one afternoon. I cannot remember the rules. What I do remember was that as it began to pour rain the game turned into the most marvelous mud-fest I've ever experienced.

And I could go on and on recounting the many things I learned... the properties and dangers of mixing concrete and treating the terrible injuries incurred in the process (yes, J?) and the wonderful songs that were penned "Sus zappatos son grande..."

Many things have changed over the last ten years for those of us who went on that trip. But something that hasn't is the need for the words "Jesus Loves You" to be incarnated for young boys in Peru. And I am excited to tell you that I am headed back!

Texas Tech RUF is teaming up with RUF at SMU to go love and serve the children of Peru. Exactly ten years after my first trip there, I will now be the campus minister leading a group of RUF students working toward the same goals. We desire to bless young boys who have been saved from a terrible existence on the streets, while growing in our own understanding of God's love for our neighbor and the expansion of his Kingdom to every corner of creation.

Would you please pray for this trip? We are hoping to take a team of at least a dozen students from Texas Tech and another 20 from SMU. Our team is partnering with the same organization and doing ministry similar to what we did ten years ago; however, we will be swapping the Amazonian jungle location of Puerto Alegria for the mountain climate of Kusi. There is more information about this on our site under the Missions heading.

Finally if any of you would like to join our effort by supporting the students going on this trip, please go to RUF Peru 2012 Missions Support Team or contact me directly and I can give you details on how to contribute to this specific endeavor. For those of us who went ten years ago, there were so many individuals who generously gave to make it possible for us to make that trip. I have students that I hope will have the same experience you had, and they could use your support as well. Thanks, and I'll let you know how it goes...

Jesus loves you.

Steve