Monday & Tuesday

We've been BUSY!! Here's an update from the past two days.

Monday:
We headed up the mountain to Lachaqui early in the morning. It was a clear, beautiful day and the view was amazing. We met the new director of the Lachaqui schools and then headed over to the primary building. My friend, Dulia, is back at the primary school now - what an awesome surprise! We were able to share the story of the crucifixion and a craft with all of the primary students. After lunch by the river, we headed to Carhua. We weren't able to see the children this day because they were deep in their lessons, but we set up a time to return on Tuesday. We took some time to walk into Canta and shop at Mercedes' shop (a local Christian sister) and to find Pastor Miguel. The rest of the evening was restful - skyping our families and planning for the rest of the week.

Tuesday:
There was rain on Monday, and the roads were ROUGH. Tucker and Miguel actually had to get out of the van and build the road back with large rocks where it had washed away. We had a great time with the children of Carhua - Bible stories and crafts. I also managed to set up the use of a very large room at the school for our trip in August. (I'm on the lookout for a doctor... spread the word) In Lachaqui, we had more time with the primary school, but the secondary school proved more challenging. Please pray that they will be more open to our presence. This has been a problem in the past, and we are still trying to build those relationships, particularly with school leadership now that Dulia isn't the director. We had lunch at our Christian sister, Elizabeth's, restaurant... Caroline got a chicken foot in her soup. Lucky! :)  We went into Canta to meet Pastor Raphael. He is taking over the church in Canta as Miguel moves to Huamantanga to evangelize. He invited Tucker to preach at their church service that night. We faced some obvious spiritual warfare before the service. The rain began to POUR, the van wouldn't start, and the gate out of the hotel was locked... but the devil isn't going to win the battle, and he didn't win last night! The service was wonderful - singing praises in Spanish, prayers and fellowship with Peruvian brothers and sisters, and Tucker opened the floor for questions. This led to the opportunity for all of us to share our testimonies. It was very special!!

We are headed back up today for our last day on the mountain. Pray that we will be allowed to work with the children in Lachaqui today.

TO THE MOUNTAIN!!

Day One

HERE WE ARE!!!!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We were able to attend services with two of our IMB missionaries, Brian and Jenn Pennington, and their lovely family. We loaded the van, had a yummy lunch of Peruvian chicken at Norky's, and grocery shopped at Wong. This put us going out of Lima a little later than normal, so we ended up making the trip up the mountain in the dark. That was a new adventure, let me tell you! Add on to that the fact that there is construction the entire distance... so no paved roadway at all. We were all very relieved to arrive at the hotel in Canta!  The weather is wonderful - warm and sunny!! We were expecting typical April chill and clouds, so this is a lovely surprise. The picture above is one section of the view from my bedroom window.

We are getting ready to head even farther up the mountain now for our first day of ministry in Lachaqui and Carhua. We aren't sure what to expect, but are prepared for several different possibilities. Pray that the folks we meet have open hearts to what we come to say. Also, pray that we will follow God's lead and meet up with everyone that He intends!!  We welcome prayers for continued health, too - we are all feeling better than we were that first departure day, and I pray that the altitude has no ill effects on anyone!!

More later! Vamos Lachaqui!!