Sunday - Kids, Tires, & Cuy

This one is going to be quick. We are up on Monday and getting prepared to head up the mountain. 

Yesterday was definitely interesting! When we arrived in Carhua, the president of the village was sitting in the plaza waiting for us. He not only allowed us to use the community center for our VBS... he gave us the key for the week!! This is a major thing as far as trust and relationships. We had 12-14 kids (we kind of lost count), a few youth, and a couple of adults. We told the story of creation, played games, and did a craft! 

Lachaqui was a bit different. We were expecting fewer people there because Sunday is typically a day for the fields. Basically, no one showed up. It's okay. We are fluid... we go with the flow. When we arrived in the plaza, we realized that we had a flat tire. The roads here are brutal! New experience - changing a tire at 12,500 feet! It was Devon's 22nd birthday - this will be one he WON'T forget!!

 At dinner, Mary was a brave soul and ordered cuy. For those of you who don't know, this is guinea pig. It is a delicacy here. They are raised only for food - not pets. Many of us have had this in the past, and she cleaned it up! It basically tastes like greasy dark meat chicken. And yes - it is served whole... head, feet, teeth, etc. :)  Welcome to Peru!

We attended the local church service in Canta with Pastor Rafael and Sister Mercedes. Even with the language barrier, it was fantastic! Pastor made the point that some day we will all be together in heaven speaking the same language, just as we all worship the same God right now! Good stuff!!

Pray for people to come today. Pray for NO MORE FLAT TIRES!! Pray for health and strength as we begin to tire from our schedule.

Love to all!!

Saturday - Visits, Donkeys, & Shopping

To all who are praying - THANK YOU!! This trip is so different than the last one! Today we went up to our two villages and prayer walked. As we went, we spoke to everyone we met, inviting them to our VBS and an adult Bible study. We met so many wonderful people and had the opportunity to pray with them.  There were people who we recognized (and who recognized us!) and there were new faces. We met a lovely lady who is eighty-eight years young and still full of fire. We also got to pray with Señora Susanna about her health and the health of her sister, Sylvia. Her picture is below. Please keep this family in your prayers. 

We had some adventures this afternoon as well. We had lunch at a favorite landmark of ours… we call it the "big rock".   

The young ladies on our team had a new experience, also. They got to ride a donkey! :)

After we returned to Canta, we walked a few blocks to the shop of a sister in Christ, Mercedes. We worked out some details regarding church services this week, as well as shopped 'til we dropped. No pictures - don't want to ruin any gift surprises. I even have an appointment with her tomorrow afternoon to learn a new crochet technique. EXCITED!!

Well, dinner is headed to the table! Keep praying! Specifically, lift up the residents of our villages, Lachaqui & Carhua - that they will come to the various activities we are providing and that their hearts will be open to hearing the Gospel.

Friday - Reunions, Babies, & Detours

If you can stick with me through this one, I'll break today's update into three distinct categories!

Reunions: This morning, we got to meet up with two of the missionaries that we work with here, Jenn Pennington and Jim Gilstrap. The awesome thing about these trips is working with them and the worst part is really never having enough time to spend with them. We also increased our crew by three "regulars"- Juan, Carmen, and Eva. Carmen, Eva, and I have a history of sleeping little and talking/giggling much on these trips. The three musketeers ride again!!

Jenn P. & Me

EVA!!

Babies: After a quick trip to the grocery store for supplies, we drove out to Ventanilla to spend the afternoon with the babies at Sagrada Familia orphanage. If this is your first time hearing about it, you can learn more here. We got there just in time to help feed them lunch and then play a little before nap time. I've included a few pictures. The little ones just flocked to our youngest team members - as you can see!

Rubi!!

And here is my RUBI!! Look at how big and healthy and beautiful she is!! She smiled and giggled and played with me. Then she tore my heart up in a whole new way. More than once, as she tried to get my attention, she called me "Mami". Oh. My. Goodness. Now I realize that this is probably what they say to all adult women when seeking care, but when you have loved on and dreamed about and prayed for and DESIRED to be a particular child's mommy for two years… and then you hear the word from their mouth directed toward YOU. Took my breath away. We are going back on Thursday to love on them some more.

Detours: (for those of you still reading)


After leaving the orphanage, and a brief stop for lunch at our finalbathroom/gas station, we headed up the mountain to Canta. Did I mention that they are doing construction on the road to Canta? Let me tell you about it. What is normally a bumpy 3-4 hour drive is now a bone-jarring 5-6 hour ride. Unlike the States, where we tear up and repair one patch at a time, here they tear up the entire length of the road and repair a patch here and a patch there. Smooth pavement - dirt and rocks - packed dirt - smart car sized potholes. Then there are the detours. These forays include long stretches on what was always a donkey path…until now. Switchback curves with no visibility. Sheer drop-offs. Yeah… Advil is my friend. This is only a little problem, so I'm not really complaining. Well, a little… but it's just because the bumpiness is one of the few things that wears on my nerves. Ask prior team members. They know me! (Jon, Brian, Tucker, Teresa, Derek) When (if) it ever gets finished, it is going to become a VERY smooth and beautiful 2-3 hour drive, with TWO WHOLE LANES, drainage, and retaining walls.

Dinner at the new hotel tonight and then some much needed sleep. Tomorrow will begin our trek to the top of the mountain, as prepare to hold VBS in two villages. Pray for safe travels, health of our team members in this altitude, and relationships to be built with the villagers.

Thursday - Planes, Vans, & Old Friends

The team made it safely to Lima on Thursday. Leaving was hectic and fun and blessed. Packing and repacking bags at the church allowed us to not only fit in the mission supplies that we really NEEDED to bring, but also everything extra that I really WANTED to bring. Family and friends gathered around us to pray for safety, wisdom, and that God's plan would be executed. (Thanks to ALL of you who prayed no matter where you were!) Flights were on time, smooth, and uneventful, and all of the luggage showed up undamaged. God showed Himself in the neatest way in the Lima airport! We had cleared the first checkpoint (sorry - I always get customs and immigration mixed up!) and were headed over to baggage claim when a voice said, "BRIAN!!" Lo and behold, it was a friend of ours, Miguel, who served as a translator on the very first IWC trip to Peru. We hadn't seen him since, but he recognized Brian! He is working nights at the airport and was just getting off work. As he chatted with us about Brian's son, Kevin, (aka Bunky) and our current mission project, he led us through the baggage scan area to a short, quick line. What a blessing! Not much to tell about the rest of that day - we hit the hotel and crashed!!

Some Days Are Harder Than Others

So I dropped the ball again on blogging from the mountain. And from home...

This last trip was very challenging. I alluded to some of our experiences with spiritual warfare in my last post, and it continued for the rest of the time we were there. The new director of the secondary school worked against us each day, not even allowing us access to the children the last day we were there. The van continued to have battery problems, some of the team was hit with stomach issues - even the orphanage was strange, as the baby/toddler room was mostly empty while the kids were at "preschool". My precious Rubi wouldn't let anyone touch her...but BOY does she have a diva attitude. She would still fit into my family perfectly!! :)

When I returned home, everyone wanted to know how the trip went. My report wasn't like the other Parkway trips that week (we had folks in four locations total) and I didn't want to be "debbie downer". As I heard everyone else talk about the groups they had reached, the declarations of salvation, the baptisms, the devil continued to attack through depression and lack of confidence in what we were doing. I couldn't bring myself to write about it here either. Then I prayed. And prayed. And prayed. God led me to see that not sharing the truth of the mission field - that not every trip has the visible, immediate success - that sometimes it is HARD and SLOW and SAD - not sharing that is also what satan was after. So I started talking about the real deal. As I talked about the obstacles and the hardships, I also begged for prayer warriors. I was reminded of Hebrews 11 - all those heroes of the faith that didn't live to see the fruits of their labor. God strengthened my resolve to just KEEP GOING BACK. Again. Again. Again. If they welcome us - fantastic. If not - we'll keep praying and going and praying and going... well, you get it.

Speaking of going back... the next P3 team will be leaving on Thursday, August 8 for ten days on the mountain. We will be hosting VBS for the students of both villages during the day, and holding simple church in a different village each night. Well, that's the plan anyway - God will show us what to do! We're heading back to the orphanage to love on some babies. We shall see if my Rubi lets me get near her this time!!

I ask that you pray for our team, our in-country staff, the Peruvians we will encounter and that the devil will have no foothold in our trip this time. Thank you, prayer warriors, from the bottom of our hearts! I'll try my best to do better at keeping the blog updated. We're at a new hotel, though, so I don't know yet about wi-fi access. Pray. Pray! PRAY!! 

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!!