Eating a Pig in Peru

At this point our team has implemented a strategy in both villages (Huarochiri & Ayaviri) and are now seeing the results.  And all has not gone according to plan.  The people in these mountain villages have little education and limited exposure to new technologies.  We’ve found that even when they see the projects we present, see the benefits, and agree that it is better, it doesn’t correspond to a change in what they will choose to use, i.e. their habits.

We’re all creatures of habit, huh?  And if we’re honest with ourselves, we worship comfort. We fight for it, get frustrated, and even become irritable when there’s a change in our routine or when our boss changes a process at work or when people won’t just let us do things our own way…  After seeing the peoples’ reluctance to change—not just a change for change’s sake, but a change that will keep them from getting sick or give them more food and more money, I am understanding that pride and stubbornness are truly harmful to our well-being (Proverbs 3:5-8) and keep us from living abundant life (John 10:10).  Why don’t we trust God?  Why in the world do we choose a mediocre life?!  Why can’t we realize we’re made for His glory and not our comfort? Were did we lose our passion for Christ and our fear of the LORD?  Maybe somewhere between our recliner in front of the TV and the fridge…?  Guilty.  Such ‘innocent’ and deceitful distractions.

Despite setbacks, introduction of the projects have been positive. We are now realizing and understanding that the manner in which they are implemented within the communities needs to change for people to truly capture and use them.  Thanks for your prayers and for fighting in this battle with us!

The evidence of God’s continuing work in Ayaviri was met in the man everyone calls ‘Lolo’.  This man is seriously related to everyone in the community, but lives in a different village about 1.5 hours walk away.  And at least once each month, this 78-year-old man makes that walk to share Jesus with the people and to help the struggling church.  Not only does he walk to Ayaviri, but also to 6 to 8 other villages in the area—and most are a little bit further than 1.5 hours away.  When Lolo shared with us how he became a missionary to the people in this area, he told us about reading verses that told followers of Jesus to go and share the good news with others—so he did.  And he’s continued doing it for the past couple of decades.

When we first met him, we were taken with his energy and joy, but wanted to know what he actually believed.  It’s very common for many people here to fuse several different doctrines (syncretism), and not be grounded in the singular truth of the Bible.  And we found that to be somewhat true with Lolo.  Christian sects that have combined works philosophies of both Catholicism and the Adventists have influenced this area, and people passing through had apparently taught him some of these things.  During our time together, we were able to teach him what the Bible says about who God is, what qualifies as salvation and what the Christian life looks like in comparison to the common sects and cults in Peru. (Titus 2:1)  What an incredible, God-planned encounter with a man seeking God’s plan for his life, and who is teaching others what God has taught him! (2 Timothy 2:2)  (See also Colossians 1:15-20 and Ephesians 2:8-9 as they provide foundational distinction from religions.)

Well, it was our 1^st week to Ayaviri, and I must say, it kinda made my mouth hang open in that not-so-feminine kind of way.  Why?  Because never before have I spent time in a cold-climate mountain village, among an agriculturally based community, that was so open to the Gospel and friendly to us outsiders.  Explanation: the harvest is plentiful—we’ve all just got to get past ourselves, open our mouths, and tell them the truth!

Since this was our 1^st visit, we followed the cultural norms and shared our purpose with the local authorities—in this case, a mayor and his council, and a president of the community, and to ask their permission to work in Ayaviri.  Honestly, I don’t think we were quite prepared for their overwhelming response.  We were invited back the next day to do a demonstration for the Commissioners, then given permission to hold a demonstration in the town plaza the next day. Just over 60 people came.  Wow. That’s really quite good for such a small place.  Then, immediately following the demonstration, we were asked if we could help some of them build a ‘Rocket Stove’ in the ‘kitchen’ they use for the milk program for the kids (The milk program is a government program that helps provide supplementary nutrition for children of poorer families).  The municipality provided the materials and labor, and the women that assist the program did an incredible job thinking through the entire process!  The funny thing is that in order to keep the proportions correct for the stove to function properly (thereby eliminating the black smoke), the stove can become pretty high—and Peruvians are generally reeeally short.  So, they had to also build a platform and stairs so that the women could actually use it!

The other day I was sharing with a friend that I would rather take Peruvian transportation hands-down over traveling in a personal vehicle.  And here’s why: flat tire—in the middle of nowhere.  Sure, just put on the spare! But, what happens when your spare busts, too?  Well, of course, that’s when you cut up rubber, make a glue from spit and use a pair of knitting needles doctor it up.  Actually, yes, I’m kidding—kind of. Recently on a trip to Huarochiri, the leaf springs (strips of metal clamped together that, in this case, hold the bus up above the tires–like shocks) broke. That meant that the bus kinda came down onto the tire, and messed it up, too.  The solution? Just tie on some wood under the leaf springs and pull the spare tire down off the top of the bus.  But, the best repair job so far was when the drive shaft (the really big, long piece of steel that allows the power from the engine to move the tires) broke in two pieces. Well, this one took a bit more time, but from what I understood, the guys from the bus used pieces of metal (like screwdrivers and nails) and hard, dense objects (um, wood?), jammed them in the space, and then used some rope to ‘tie it off’.  And it actually worked—for a little while. Um, yeah, it’s a really smooth ride, that trip to Huarochiri…

We’re leaving today for Huarochiri and are excited to get started!  During our time there, we will be spending time with people to better understand what their perceived needs are and making assessments of our own.  The tricky part: asking them about their lives and the changes they desire without them thinking we’re going to give them something.  Yep, you guessed it–avoiding dependency and making it all reproducible.  Please pray (God to move and His direction), and I’ll update y’all on the trip when we come back!

In order to form an appropriate resource for ministry partners (ie US churches) to use in initiating relationships with the people of their adopted villages, we have wanted to focus and work in just two villages.  For three months we have been praying and traveling around the REAPSouth area to determine need and workability. These two villages that we’ll be working in are Huarochiri and Ayaviri (both of them are villages I’ve written about in previous blogs).  If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you’ve seen the word ‘reproducible’ and the phrase ‘without creating dependence’, and now I’m adding ‘appropriate’—as in appropriate technology, the use of locally obtained resources for practical purposes, machinery or equipment.  So that’s exactly what we’re planning to form: reproducible projects that churches can introduce in a way that does not create dependence while using appropriate technology. If you truly want to pray for the ministry I’m specifically involved in, please pray for God to move in the people of these two villages, and that God would give us wisdom and discernment to follow Him in these places He’s led us.

I feel like all I’m sharing are other’s experiences from our quick visits to all the villages. I hope I’m not boring you all with the details of this Barnabas ministry over these two months!  So, for a nice reprieve, I wanted to share a bit of what really is normal here, but hopefully kinda fun to read about!  First discussion: food. And Peruvians are proud of their food (as they should be).  As much as I freely mock the overabundance of potatoes (2,800 varieties—no kidding), rice, corn and bread, they definitely have legit combinations to add to said starches.  I’ve taken time to reflect on such gastronomic pleasures, realizing the uniqueness found in this country is evidence of a culture not mixed together like our ‘melting pot’ in the States.  I’ve listed a few plates below, and please know that I would love to share a meal together anytime if you’re interested in trying them!

• Lomo Saltadoà a plate to which I am unashamedly biased.  It can be pretty much be summarized as a steak (or chicken) stir-fry (but I almost feel like that irresponsibly simplifies its amazingness) with tomatoes, spicy peppers, onions, and french fries in a juicy sauce all atop a bed of rice. (yes, count it, rice and potatoes together)
• Pachamancaà this one’s from the mountains and is actually cooked in the ground by hot rocks and covered in dirt for a couple of hours—no lie. There’s a meat (beef, chicken, lamb, etc.) combined with a regular potato (or 2), sweet potato, abbas (kind of like a lima bean, but better tasting) and a green sauce for which I have no words. The best I ever had was from a school fundraiser in a tiny village and they used alpaca for the meat. We each paid about $2.50 for the plate.
• Cevicheà please hear me out…  Ceviche is a dish made of raw fish and found mostly on the coast.  They thinly slice the fish, and depending where you are, serve it with onions, sweet potatoes and some form of corn (either on the cob or in a crunchy form called canchita). Its ‘cooked’ with a lime juice mixture called leche de tigre, or tiger’s milk. De-licious.
• Aji de gallinaà this one is pulled chicken mixed with a sauce made from a whole sleeve of soda crackers, a semi-spicy pepper, onions, cheese and milk. Then, that is placed over boiled, sliced potatoes and a side of rice. (yep, rice AND potatoes…)

If anyone is interested, there’s a website where you can find recipes for all these Peruvian dishes: www.yanuq.com  And no worries, there’s an English flag in the top right-hand corner of the page where you can convert the page into English.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

I have finally been able to stop and process the whirlwind of travelling and meeting of the last week-and-a-half.  Despite all of the moving and changing of teams and travelling and crazy bus rides and changing of plans and teams and destinations, one theme has come up over and over: distractions.  Today I was invited to celebrate a marriage and wedding of two friends, and actually was reunited with a friend from college! She made a simple comment during conversation questioning why we wasted so much time in college with distractions instead of doing what God has called us to and sharing what He has done for us.  And it just struck me.  For those who don’t know, part of my job for the months of June and July is to check on teams of short-term volunteers (mostly college students) in various villages here in Peru.  For most, this is the first time they’ve been partnered with someone they did not choose to live with and they are living communally (as in 24/7, sharing rooms and/or bathrooms, meals, work, and everything in between—no personal space) for two months.  So, not only does adjusting to another culture bring its own challenges in daily tasks and in relating to the nationals and trying to communicate, but also interpersonal challenges with teammates and within oneself in trying to adjust and cope with all the changes. While I’ve used a lot of words and a lot of space to try to describe the situation, what I’ve seen is that life is full of things to do, unexpected events, people we don’t understand (ie people you don’t always agree with), issues that threaten our peace, thoughts and feelings that unsettle our minds, health, inconveniences…  And they’re all distractions.  Funny how we are promised these things (“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33, and Ephesians 6:12: “This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world.”) yet they seem so unexpected and take us by surprise. Why?  Right now I’m thinking about Paul when he listed out all the crazy things that had happened to him, which included a couple shipwrecks and a few beatings (much worse than 15 hours of traveling to a village, hosting another friendly parasite, getting ripped off because you look like a tourist, or when you burn dinner or you have a headache or you can’t…).  And yet he didn’t stop, didn’t lose focus, but saw it as another situation in which to glorify God (we were made by Him and for Him—Colossians 1).  There are teams out in the villages that are having a tough time.  Some because of team conflict, others because there aren’t many people in their village interested in the Truth, and still others are just having to get over themselves so that ministry can be done, walking in obedience to live out a perspective bigger than our shortsighted view.  I’ve been reading through Corinthians, and in 2 Corinthians 4 Paul tells us to not give up (which can mean fighting back against the devil’s attacks and not stopping when we’re ______), and reminding us that what God calls us to is bigger than what we see with human eyes in the circumstances of right now.  No matter who we are or where we are, we will have distractions, but don’t let them distract you. (Cheesy line, but true, right?)

I’m so excited to share these pictures with you!  The first ones are from Puno around Lake Titicaca. These below are from a church service, and on the blanket are potatoes the women bring to share at the end for fellowship. What a privilege to worship our God with them.

This next picture is of a woman preparing something called chunllo.  Typically, the potatoes are kneaded with the feet on the ground, then they are soaked for one to two weeks, and finally laid out to dry. Yes, I’m serious. Yes, I also wonder who first thought up this idea. And yes, I have tasted–and its not too bad. The next picture is of Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world (or, so I’ve been told…).

It is becoming clearer how time will be spent here in Peru and I wanted to give you all a bit more detail. I shared with most of you that I would be returning to Peru to work in the areas of economic and community development within the context of church planting.  So, what exactly does that mean? And, how will we go about doing that?  Economic development encompasses the economic/financial aspects of community improvement. Community development refers to the conditions that affect health and the quality of life of a community. Both seek to empower its citizens to address their needs. Sorry for the formal-ish definitions, but it comes down to addressing quality of life issues—without creating dependence.  So first, another couple and I will travel to several villages during June and July to gather information and create a resource for US partner churches to use as they build relationships towards church planting. The information gathered will be compiled and used to find existing resources addressing those particular areas (resources found either in Peru or outside of the country), as well as creating some type of model for helping nationals discover their own resources and work to address issues within their own community. While we (Chuck & Mary Firestone and myself) see how God uses service in these areas to open people’s hearts to the gospel, a big concern is that churches would use this as an end instead of a means to sharing the gospel and planting reproducing churches. To try to prevent that, we will match stories from the Bible to the various community issues that may exist so that the truth of God’s healing and love will always be shared alongside acts of service. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)  Below are pictures of a clean burning rocket stove that can be built with materials found in the village and can prevent black lung resulting from inhaling black smoke.

Please pray for us as we prepare this resource, that we would trust Him, not lean on our own understanding, and that He would give us wisdom (Proverbs 3:5-8, James 3:17). Through this process we are faced with the challenge of cultural issues and creating a bridge between both the Peruvian and American mindsets.