Eating a Pig in Peru

Intentional

12/12/09

Now that the holidays have come, along with the rainy season (pretty dangerous to travel), we are spending a bit more time in Lima.  There is an ESL (English as a Second Language) program that functions to improve the speaking skills of Peruvians who we hope will go with teams to the villages as translators.  Since arriving back to Lima, I’ve been able to help out at these English Bible studies and have really enjoyed getting to know some of the translators and seeing them grow in their understanding of God’s promise and the fulfillment through Jesus.  This is such a vital ministry for ReapSouth since they are mouthpieces for church teams that come from the States, and it’s a great way to share the Truth with Peruvians who just want to work on their English.  Sneaky…?  While this may seem like an insignificant post, I hope it helps you think of natural ways to take advantage of ministry opportunities.  We may think we have nothing to offer, but God made us to glorify Him, so wouldn’t He know how we could be used… (and wouldn’t He make us usable?  Luke 19:11-27)

The people we meet

10/6/09

Two men recently moved into the hostel where we’re staying and it didn’t take long before we figured out what they were doing in Cabana.  On the outside wall of the building there was a large sign inviting people in to have their palms read or tarot cards read, other types of fortune telling, and healings.  There was one woman Brittne (my partner here) and I met as we walked out the front door one day.  She was reading the sign and asked us about it, to which we replied that only God has all the answers and has given us the Bible for direction.  She was so distracted that she hardly heard what we said, and you could see a crazy desperation in her eyes.  It was a sad, disheartening moment realizing that we had the Truth, have been trying to share it with the people here for several weeks now, and they run to men who tell them lies.  In Acts 8, there is a similar situation about a man named Simon who did these same things.  But, when he saw the power of God demonstrated, he turned and became a Believer.  And then God speaks very clearly to the people who participate in such things in Deuteronomy 18:10-12.  Please pray for these men, that they would recognize the One True and all-powerful God.  We have met them and have planned to talk with them later this week and we would love for that time to be covered in prayer.

What can happen

9/24/09

A few days have gone by here in Cabana and I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed meeting the people here.  The church that has adopted the area has done a great job of establishing relationships with the people who have in turn welcomed us.  Unfortunately, the people we’ve asked to share Bible stories with haven’t wanted to really hear them.  It’s very common to set up a time to meet with people to share a story and then go and find out they are strangely unable to meet.  However, we have gone out in the evenings to meet people hoping to have the opportunity to share and those have actually lead to interesting discussions.  One of these times was in a ‘store’ with a few drunken men propped against a wall.  Despite what you may think, two of these men were very receptive, and another sober gentleman who just happened to pass by came in to talk as well.  That night we were able to share the truth of the One who really fills and comforts and were invited to two men’s homes to continue storying on other nights.  Interesting the moments God uses.  It may not have made sense to us, but it was evident God was doing something inside these men.

Getting There

9/11/09

Well, after many changes, I will be joining a team in a village called Cabana as my roommate (in Lima) is leaving the Cabana team to permanently move to another city to help with logistics, and my other roommate is going with her.  It’s a little sad.  From what I’ve heard, there are no known Believers there, but that the people are warm and friendly, and relatively open.  Not sure if any of you are interested in how we travel from one place to another around here, but this trip is pretty interesting… First, from Lima we take a bus, not a nice bus, but neither is it bad.  However, what’s bad is watching 3 Steven Segal movies back-to-back-to-back…in Spanish.  So you may have deduced that the first leg of the trip is about 5 ½ hours (3 movies, 1.5 hr…).  Then, we immediately buy tickets for the next bus  for 2 ½ more hours through the desert and huge sand dunes (never thought I would think they’re pretty, but they really are, graceful even).  From there, we hop a taxi for a short ride to another place where we just wait for some form of transportation to the next town.  Now, that can either be in the form of a taxi or a big bus (think Greyhound) on its way to some other large city.  Well, as luck would have it, it was a taxi.  Efficiency is key around here (at least that’s what I tell myself) and the taxi driver finds and fills the station wagon up with folks.  I mean one would think two in the front seat and three in the back.  But that’s not how it went down.  There were 3 grown men in the front, 4 grown adults in the back, and a mother, her child and all the bags in the back…for 4 hours up the mountains and around crazy hairpin turns (sorry you had to find out this way, Mom).  And when I said ‘luck’ earlier about a crammed taxi, I meant it.  It seems when you’re unable to move (or breathe) much people are less likely to get motion sickness.  And I think that’s a pretty good trade-off.  But we’re not done yet!  Once I arrived in the 3^rd town, I met up with one of my teammates and we were fortunate enough to get tickets for the last combi to Cabana.  So, what’s a combi?  That would be a cross between a passenger van and a mini-bus. Some are tall enough to stand up in and they have individual seats for about 15 people, but if your sharp, you might have already guessed that they put more a few more people in.  Yep, they fit 20—along with tall bags of grains, vegetables, and sometimes even boxes of chickens.  And then there’s the huge mound of boxes and bags strapped to the top.  And did I mention these particular combi’s are painted up like a Jamaican flag?  Truly a sight to behold!  So, after 16 straight hours of travelling, we made it to Cabana.  Whew.

Bugs

9/8/09

Things have been pretty uneventful for a few weeks.  It has finally come, sickness, in the form of parasites…as in 3(!).  It’s bound to happen to all of us, but I’ve been hanging out at home in Lima for much too long.  But of course there is no wasted time with God and He’s showing me how He’s pursuing me and is teaching me more about Him and myself.  At this point, the team waiting in Lima is reviewing villages and deciding where to go as soon as we can…

The Summer Months…

7/24/09

In attempts to reach the school children here in Ancahuasi, Jared, Hannah, and I have gone to visit nearby schools hoping for class time to teach Engilish and the Bible.  After one door closing, another opened in a great little school nearby.  We decided to organize our remaining time here with the kids by sharing three separate Bible stories and reinforcing the stories and the lessons with songs, art projects and English.  The first story would be from Matthew 5: The Two Foundations.  However, after just two days in the school, the principle told us that all schools were closing early for vacation due to Swine Flu!  Seriously?  Well, we were invited to a meeting with the parents to present our idea to them: let us meet with your kids outside of school…and they agreed!  Actually, some were requesting that we do two classes in different places so that we could teach more kids.  Well, okay.  So we were able to start the next day and finish the first story, then the story of Zacheus and then finally the last story, David and Goliath.  We had so much fun with the kids and sharing God’s purpose with them.  And we would sometimes catch them singing the songs as they walked down the road!  Pray that God’s Word would remain in their hearts and they would personally know our Awesome God.  (picture of art projects)

 

7/6/09

So this past week we had the soccer team come to our village.  Like the Creative Ministry Team that travels to the mission teams in various villages, the soccer team also travels to play against teams in our areas and then to share the Gospel with the players and onlookers afterwards.  They were able to play with three local teams here.  One game was with the city workers on the pavement in front of the municipal building.  We knew they were taking it seriously when a huge truck pulled up that Saturday morning with two regulation-sized goals!  After the game was over we had scheduled a kids soccer clinic with games and drills that the kids seemed to really enjoy!  It was great to see how sports build relationships and seem to earn the privilege to share God’s truth with others.  I love seeing how God can use anything for His glory!

 

7/4/09  4 de julio 2009

Was great!  A couple of teams in the area came together to celebrate our nation’s independence—and to share our traditions of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, music and even fireworks with some of our Peruvian friends.  It was absolutely wonderful to share something so American with our friends that have been so great to share themselves and their lives with us.  They even asked us to sing the National Anthem—twice.  God is so good!

 

The Struggles in Peru…

Alcoholism, family violence, family molestation, particularly in the more remote villages.  Please pray that God will be known in these areas and that they would be freed from this spiritual bondage they are living in.

 

6/22/09  the realities of life as a missionary

As much as I love sharing what is most important to me (God and the freedom He’s given me) and living in Peru and sharing life with the people here, the reality is that this life is also filled with spiritual dryness at times and loneliness and lots of humbling moments.  It has been months since I was in church listening to and singing in English and actually understanding what’s going on.  And then I also miss laughing and talking with close friends who both know and understand each other.  But, God knows and He brings together events and circumstances that totally lift up my spirits!  That just happened as the team travelled to a nearby town for research.  A US church is hoping to do work in another place and needed information, so we went to find out about the town, the churches and the people.  We were introduced to a pastor there and his family, who warmly welcomed us into their home to share several meals, No Bake cookies, a place to sleep and lots of laughter!  I cannot tell you how filling it was to share this time together with other believers, even though communication was difficult. I saw how faithful God was to bless us with fellowship when our spirits are low.  But I also saw how vital missions are, especially the sending out of missionaries from other countries who can reach people that people with white skin and an American passport can’t.  Please pray for workers for the harvest, but if you do, make sure you’re willing to support those from other countries that don’t have the financial resources that we have…

 

6/19/09  El Paro

That means strike in Spanish.  Um, yeah, we definitely now have a good understanding of what that means here in Peru.  The government recently changed some of the laws governing international investment of areas containing natural resources and the national police had killed protesting farmers in the north.  The news of these two events spurred a collective transportation strike that was strongly felt in the two southern departments of Cusco and Puno where we were located.  For a transportation strike, the locals come together and put large rocks/boulders in piles in the road and do whatever they can to prevent cars and buses from passing through an area.  In our case, we were travelling to visit another team to see how ministry was going in their village and to encourage them.  Well, we were about 30 minutes away and we began to see piles of rocks in the road.  We didn’t have a clue what that meant—yet.  Then we saw a loooong line of cars and tractor-trailers just sitting in the road.  And then our bus stops…and everyone gets out.  What’s going on?!  We have NO idea where we are or where to go or even what’s going on.  We ask, but we don’t have a clue what they’re saying because we don’t know the words for ‘strike’.  Well, we start walking…and walking, and then we get to a bridge that is both covered with and surrounded by people.  We at least know we’re supposed to go across the bridge, but not sure if we can because there were lots of angry people shouting and standing in front of the cars that were trying to cross.  We tried to blend in (yeah, three white folks with big ol’ packs on their backs) and sneak past all the commotion.  Whew!  So, we find a taxi driver waiting on the other side who takes us the rest of the way into the town where the team was.  During our day-and-a-half there we heard more about the strike going on—and that it was going to get worse BY THE NEXT DAY! Apparently, in less than 12 hours the people were going to dismantle the bridge that we had crossed—we had to leave or be stuck!  AND, the team in the village was supposed to leave to go back to the US, so they needed help to pack up a month’s worth of stuff!  The next morning came really early as we loaded onto a bus in an attempt to leave.  The other team would leave a few hours later so that they could say good-bye to friends.  Well, by the time we made it to that same bridge, a whole section of the bridge was missing and only two small planks were in place so that people could cross!  Four hours later when the other team came, the people had set the bridge on fire!  The other team had to cross the bridge while it was burning with all of their stuff on those two small beams that hadn’t yet burned!  Crazy!  (Pics of the bridge)

6/11/09  Ever wonder..?

…how people take care of hygiene out here?  Well, to brush our teeth we each go outside to the water hose that’s rigged over a post and a hole surrounded by rocks.  (Actually, this would be a great water feature in someone’s backyard in the States that would probably cost quite a bit, but here…)  For washing our faces, it’s either here (balancing over the rocks and hole) or filling a bowl with water.  Unfortunately, because it’s winter here the water is FREEZING!  But, no complaints since we have an incredible view of the mountains in the morning and then a sky bright with more stars than I thought possible!  However, I was just introduced to how ‘showers’ go around here.  Jared had just taken one and said it really was pretty amazing…but not sure if I really believed him.  Little did I know, I had no choice—the family was heating water up in the kitchen at that moment!  The water I would use was coming to a boil on the mud brick stove and would later be mixed with the colder water for a perfect temperature.  The plastic tub of water was then taken to the bathroom—a small space consisting of three sides of adobe bricks and a dirt and rock floor.  There are two window holes on two of the sides and then the ‘door’ is a shower curtain that blows in the wind.  (Getting a picture of privacy?)  The toilet is similar to those we’re all used to, but without a seat or the back part that allows you to flush.  (If you’re wondering, there’s a valve you can turn to flood the toilet with water.)  So, where would one put that bucket of water?  On the floor?  Nope, it would spill since it’s so uneven.  How about on the toilet?  Perfect!  So, I stick my head down into the bucket to wash my hair, and with the smell, I feel as though I’m sticking it all the way down into the actual toilet!  Then, to bathe everyone just uses a cup to dip into the water.  Despite how cool it was outside, it actually did feel pretty good, especially feeling somewhat clean after so many days of not showering!  (Yeah, you really don’t want to know how many days…)

6/11/09  Let them hear…and they heard

During this summer season, we have over 100 students that have come in to volunteer two months to serve here in Peru.  Teams are spread out over the southern half of the country and are working with the local churches and sharing Bible stories in their respective communities.  One team has a bit of a different focus and will be travelling around as the Creative Ministry Team to do skits, sing songs and put on puppet shows for the town and schools.  The first day they were in our village was a perfect day for a visit.  It was a Sunday, which is the day for the big market, and crowds of people from Ancahuasi and surrounding villages come to buy and sell produce and other goods.  We all helped in the setup in the middle of the plaza near where the people were gathered.  It doesn’t take much to get attention when you have 9 Gringos (the name for white people) in a small village playing music.  People gathered around as the CMT did their thing:  worship songs in Spanish, a puppet show and skits.  Once they finished the pastor preached in both Spanish and Quechua (the prominent local language) and shared with the people how they could have salvation—and three older men became Believers! 

 

6/7/09  ALTITUDE IS A BEAST!

Yep, we arrived into the thin air of Cusco and while I did not feel the effects right away, all it took was a hike up to our hostel to make me feel like a 20-year veteran chain smoker.  My lungs and my legs were suffering, to say the least.  Jared, Hannah and I had finally arrived after days of training and were ready to head into the village of Ancahuasi (An cA wasi) to help out the church there, build relationships with the people and share stories from the Bible.  But…we wouldn’t be going in just yet.  Apparently, there was no water so we would remain in Cusco one more day.  With the break we were able to take in the awesomeness of the area—the pointed snow-capped mountains in the distance and the old Spanish colonial architecture that filled the city.  It really was beautiful.  The next day we were able to go into the village and found out we would be staying with the pastor and his family.  The pastor is Walter, a 28-year-old Peruvian who had taken over the leadership of the church just 6 months ago.  We had been told that the previous pastor had entered into a relationship that caused much division in the church and only 7 members of the original 100+ remain—a heavy load for anyone to carry.  Please be in prayer for this church, the body of believers in this area, and for leadership within the church.

Summertime!

Yeah, it’s finally here and along with it students from all over (the States) have come down to do summer missions projects for the months of June and July.  Last week, the ReapSouth team welcomed 100 summer missionaries (mostly college students), and they are spreading out across villages in southern Peru to live among the people and share stories from the Bible.  What a huge impact this can have!  Jared and Hannah are the other members of the team I’m on.  While we will spend focused time in one village (Ancuhuasi) helping the church, we will also travel to surrounding annexes to find other possible places to share God’s Truth and amazing gift.  Additionally, we will travel to visit and check in with other summer mission teams in

 surrounding villages for encouragement.  That’s a lot to fit into 8 weeks, but I can’t tell you how excited I am to go!  I’m hoping I can ask you all to pray for the teams this summer and the people we will meet and share with.  Please pray that God would open the hearts of these people to hear and understand and receive this Truth in their lives; 2. That each individual on the teams sent out would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and obedient as they walk out their lives in these towns; 3. Discernment in regards to the culture, religious traditions and the people; 4. language, language, language!  (My team is definitely lacking the language skills area…) Again, most of the ones sent out are 18 to 21 and they really do need prayer! It’s a bit intimidating to go out in a group of 3 or 4 in the backwoods of a country where you aren’t even fluent in the language!

Long Time Comin’….

May 14, 2009

            The meeting on family violence with the parents was well received!  Because many of the people were out selling their crops and dairy products in another town, there were fewer adults there, but they were still receptive.  Honestly, I was nervous about this discussion.  I was elected to talk specifically on family violence, and as you know, I’m not only female, but I’m a WHITE female from the States and neither am I married nor do I have children.  Safe to say, I didn’t carry many experiences into the room that night.  But, I did have an incredible book that spoke the Truth!  The guy in our group started by sharing salvation that comes from Jesus, then I followed with a discussion about love from John 15—to love one another as Christ loves us, along with the chapter on what love looks like from 1 Corinthians 13.  Then, for an example of doing things our way, I shared the stellar family history of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the adults in the room were incredulous at the mistakes of these great Biblical men.  You know, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  Before it started I was really kind of nervous because, well, who am I to speak on family violence.  And, it’s a very common (even expected) way of life.  But God spoke through us.  The women were obviously listening, but I think I was most surprised with the response from the men—nodding in agreement.  Please pray for these people that they would come to know the truth and the freedom of salvation!

 

May 9, 2009

            To help us adjust to the culture and become more aware of our new surroundings, local customs and traditions of the people, we have a workbook filled with different assignments to complete.  One of them requires us to visit different events, gatherings and places.  So on Saturday, after hearing so much about nearby Inca ruins our group headed up the mountain on a

1.5-hour hike.  The ruins had been looted long ago, but of course they left most of the bones alone in the burial chamber (creepy!).  After climbing back down from the ruins (through the cactus and big thorn bushes, one of the guys thought it would be great to climb to the very top of the mountain, and why ever not?!  We were halfway there anyway, right?  Again, we set off toward the top (which was supposedly a 2 hour hike—but that’s Peruvian speed!).  We assumed we’d be back down in time for a late lunch, so why would we have needed to pack one?  Well, maybe we should have reconsidered that…  After hiking for 4 hours (and not really reaching the top-top… hey, I saw the top of every other mountain around us), we waited for the other guy to come—but he didn’t.  We seemed to have lost him on some random mountain in Peru!  Since we waited until dark, we enjoyed a night hike on the way down.  Praise God the other girl happened to pack 2 headlamps!  (Who would have thought we would have needed them when we left at 7:30 that morning?!)  And of course I didn’t want to think too much about whether we would find the right trails back down…  Along the way we happened to meet a family also going to San Damian.  The woman was very friendly and asked us questions, which eventually lead to Jesus and salvation.  While sharing with her, guess who showed up?  Yep, the ‘lost’ guy.  So maybe we waited so long so that we could share Christ with this

 woman.  I’m hoping we can go back to visit her and her family to share more. She invited us to her home several times and was very open to hearing more.  Please pray for this woman and her family and for 2 of her children who have moved to the jungle to find work.  Oh, and we were up so high on the mountain that day that we could see for forever, even a nearby range covered in snow.  Hope you enjoy the view too!

 

 

 

May 8, 2009

            Who knew that Mother’s Day became a holiday in Peru?  Eating dinner on night, 3 kids came to the hostel where we were staying and invited us to their Mother’s Day Celebration at school.  How sweet!  The school was an hour’s hike DOWN the mountain and we weren’t even sure that the teachers or administration knew we were invited (they didn’t).  But, despite the surprise, we became the honored guests and were asked to participate in the event and were given seats up front—as in, in front of EVERYONE.  The kids were so cute singing and doing dances for their mothers who came.  And then there was the raffle for baskets of food assortments (rice, dried pasta, cheese).  All of the kids’ names were put in a can and the process worked like this:  1^st drawing-(reading the slip of paper) ‘Luis! Luis’ mother…so sorry, but you did NOT win!’  2^nd- ‘Maria! Maria’s mother!  Oh, so sorry, but you didn’t win either!’  3^rd- ‘Juan! Juan’s mother, come up front and get your basket!  You won!’  It seemed SO cruel! (They do it this way to prove all names are entered.)  Afterwards, we were invited to eat with the principle of the school.  He was a very sharp man that truly had a passion for teaching the children and helping the community.  We eventually came to discuss religion and even prayer to the saints (a very common practice here) and we shared that that wasn’t exactly in the Bible (well, except for the part in the 10 commandments about no other idols or putting anything ahead of God…).  He was very open to what we were sharing from the Bible, so he asked us if we would come and share this with the community and also share what the Bible says about family violence.  After all, ‘these people need to know what the Bible says about this,’ he told us—and he’s not even a Christian.  Needless to say, we were a bit taken aback by this invitation!  So, we’re going back the night before we leave this area.  Please pray for these people that they would come to know and live in Truth and healing that only comes from our Creator God and not a saint.

 

May 7, 2009

            Its been about a week-and-a-half since coming to San Damian.  Sorry I haven’t described this place to you yet.  Amazingly gorgeous would be an appropriate phrase, I think.  The town is pretty quiet and situated on the side of a large mountain (approx. at 10,000 ft) and surrounded by larger mountains!  There’s a small town plaza in the center with rose bushes, a couple of trees, and benches, all open to the bright, warm sun—which is great since it gets pretty cold here!  Somehow the people seem a bit more difficult to meet, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Maybe they’re just busy getting ready for the upcoming planting season.  In praying for God to open these people to His truth, I’ve been amazed in certain situations how individuals will just ask us to share stories from the Bible with them!  No one has received Christ since we’ve arrived, but it is still apparent that God is working on increasing His harvest. 

 

May 4, 2009

            Well, we decided we would go to the canals and try to story with people since that seems to be where a majority of the people are right now.  When we asked where the canals were one man said, ‘Oh, not very far down that road’.  Along the way we stopped to story with a family.  We asked again and then we were told it was 20 kilometers down that road.  Um, conversion on that one is a solid 12 miles.(!)  So, we’re not quite able to go that far due to afternoon meetings, but we have gotten to meet several people who have been working in their farms and fields.  Please continue to pray for these people that they would become more open to hearing the Truth.

 

 

May 3, 2009

            So, how many days can a girl go without a shower or washing her hair?  I don’t know either, but today is day #5. The reason?  Well, part of the group was asked to go to another town that’s a bit smaller and a bit higher up, and let’s just say the water’s a bit cold (understatement!).  The town is San Damian and a church group from Florida who adopted this town just left

 from one of their visits.  Over the past 2 years they have been building relationships with the people through building relationships with the people through building simple water filters and brick stoves to deal with the problem of clean water and black lungs.  Then, they share Bible stories with the people.  While here they’ve had the opportunity of seeing 11 people become believers.  Since our group has been here, we’ve gotten to teach the house church leaders and meet and share stories with several individuals and families.  However, we found out that these 2 weeks are designated for the yearly cleaning of the irrigation canals, so many of the people here have gone up the mountain to fulfill their mandatory cleaning time.  Still trying to figure out the best way to meet the people… 

 

 

April 28, 2009

            Have you ever cared to see the under carriage of a semi truck?  Yeah, neither have I, but last night I was given the opportunity to see one in all its grit and glory!  We (me, another teammate and our translator) were riding in the back of a tuk-tuk (aka Moto taxi: think 4-door tricycle with a roof) while our driver (17 yr old kid named Carlos) and his friend shared the front seat (that was really just for one…tiiight!) and drove like he was invincible.  This was the start of our evening.  Our team, due to schedule changes, divided up last night to go and make arrangements for stateside teams coming next week.  The group I was with was going back to a small village 45 min/1 hr up the mountain.  Previously the road had been closed due to a mudslide, so

instead of hiking, we decided for an alternate mode of transportation.  Everything started off well as we headed toward Collana—our little tricycle in the midst of semi’s.  The roads are pretty curvy here as they have to wind through the mountains, so some drive more slowly and cautiously.  Us? Nope.  Our fearless driver wanted to get us up the mountain quickly so he sped passed the semi’s and squeezed in between them (um, seriously, tricycle-semi sandwich)…  Eventually, we found the right dirt path up the mountain and only had to exit the vehicle twice to walk (too much weight + incline = nighttime hike!).  Thirty-five minutes later, we were out and in search of the people we had met on a previous visit.  Things didn’t look quite the way we remembered, and there was a reason for that…um, yeah, that dirt path we took lead to the other side of the big mountain.(!)  So, when our translator mentions we’re not in the right town, our driver says, ‘Yeah, sometimes I get the two towns confused’.  So back down the mountain…on a very low tank of gas, and did I mention that not only is it dark, the road we’re driving on is narrow and rocky and the edge of the road leads straight down a cliff? Well, the kid said he couldn’t take us anymore so we paid him (something that would never fly in the States!) and we found another guy to drive us to the other town. Good times! (really, it was fun and the stars were so bright and the moon lit up the mountains…and a pretty funny experience!)