Luling teen takes the road to Tingo Maria

When Taylor Tregre arrived at Tingo Maria in Peru, it was immediate culture shock that became the experience that changed her life.

“It was really an eye opening experience,” the Hahnville High School graduate said of her seven-day missionary trip. “I was really having a hard time with the water situation. We couldn’t drink water or brush our teeth to make sure we didn’t get any of the water from the faucet into our mouths.”

Visitors were carefully scrutinized to ensure they drank bottled water, not local water, she said. They ate daily at an affordable restaurant called El Carbon that catered to Americans in food and water use.

“If it wasn’t sealed or ‘peelable’ we couldn’t have it,” Taylor said.

Taylor also mused, “They drive crazier than we do.”

There are a limited number of vehicles there, but she said they use a smaller one routinely that more resembles a four-wheeler because they were more affordable to use. They also were used as taxis, which Taylor said they rode in.

“They had a lot more people walking around up there because everything is so close,” she added.

There were also a lot of stray dogs all over the place, she said.

The 18-year-old was among 10 people with the Bayou Blue Assembly of God in Houma who went on a seven-day missionary trip guided by a group called Mathew 25 International. Two Paradis residents also were in the group.

Tingo Maria is the capital of Leoncio Prado Province in central Peru. It has a population of around 55,000 people.

Nicknamed “the Door of the Amazonia,” the area was considered unreachable until 1936 when the Montana Road reached the settlement. Today, it has an airport, a well-paved road and serves as a regional and national hub.

Tregre said everyday there began with them going to orphanages built by Mathew 24 International. They held a vacation Bible school with about 20 children.

“We went to a local church on the outskirts of Tingo Maria and did a Bible school with them,” she said. “And we did it everyday with them and did a different topic everyday.”

The Vacation Bible School averaged 60 people where they sang songs, danced and played games, she said. They provided small lessons on subjects including salvation, children accepting Jesus, the Holy Spirit and its power to them, and how can God use them for good. On the fourth day, there was a big celebration and recap of the lessons.

By then, Tregre, who lives with her parents who are separated in Luling and Bayou Gauche, saw the Peruvians differently.

“Even though they have less than us, they were more welcoming and open to what we were bringing them even though we were different than them,” she said. “God changed lives there, and moved through each and every service … even in night services many of the younger and older people were healed. I preached one of the nights and many people were healed by God.”

Tregre said it made her more grateful for what she had at home.

“I’m really in awe of how God took over the whole situation,” she said. “And they rely on God for all their struggles and for him to take care of them.”

But the missionary group also helped by donating clothing, underwear, toothpaste and toothbrushes to the orphanages. Of the 16 suitcases brought on the trip, they used six of them to carry these items.

 She said she’d gone the trip intending to help the poor – and the group did help – but their kindness changed her.

When Tregre returned from Peru on Aug. 8, her life had changed.

When she returned home, she decided to attend the Southern University of Ministry in Houma to get a degree in children’s ministry and youth pastoral instead of becoming a dental hygienist.

“I just felt God was calling me to go to Bible college to further my education and be a part of ministry,” Tregre said. “So I said, ‘Yes.’”

 

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