Tengo miedo de pájaros.

The English Fellowship tonight went really well. We had a good number show up and even a couple of new people. In my class we talked about grace, one of my absolute most favorite things to talk about. After we read some scripture and talked about grace for a while, I asked the class to then give me a list of some ideas about what grace is. I wish I had copied the stuff they came up with down so I could share it with you! I could not believe it! One guy, who I'm pretty sure isn't a Christian, had such a good understanding of it by the end of the class. It was really awesome.

Also, I was talking with Sonia and we are going to start meeting every week to hang out and talk. So we are meeting this Thursday at 5. Please keep her in your prayers, God is working in her life for sure, but she I think needs some guidance. I'm really excited to have this opportunity to spend time with her outside of class. So far she has been to all of the classes. However, her level is very basic and she has a hard time in my advanced classes...but she still comes anyways, just so she can practice listening. Isn't that awesome??

This morning I was getting ready to go to church when I just started feeling like I needed to spend some time with God and really get into His word. I love the church I go to here, but I have to work pretty hard to understand it, so I don't get as much out of it as I would like to. So I downloaded a couple of podcasts from Revolution's bible studies and walked down to the beach to listen to them. It was a beautiful clear day. After I spent some time listening to Jay speak, I walked and walked and walked. Here are a few pictures from the day...



Surfing anyone?


Way into the walk I got to a place where I could see a lady standing near a huge group of birds. All of a sudden they came flying towards me. I wanted to die at that moment, but I knew that I had to stay somewhat calm considering I was by myself in another country and in public. So I just closed my eyes and covered my head. That still made me look a little funny I guess because when I looked up, the lady was laughing at me. So I figured I had to explain to her that I was afraid of birds. Then she went on to tell me that she made them fly away just by making some little noise as if she were trying to talk to them. Evidently they didn't like it. It was kind of funny- well now that I'm not in that situation and I'm looking back on it. (For those of you who don't know...I'm terrified of birds. I'll take snakes, rats, bugs, anything else...just not birds!)

On a more serious note, I have a prayer request: Susie Arnold, the mom of the missionary family I'm working with, is in the hospital right now. She went on a short trip to the jungle with a group and came back feeling sick. At first she thought it was something from the trip, but now it is looking like kidney problems. So, please keep her and her family in your prayers.

The second official english fellowship class went well. We had two of the same people come to that class, but the other 7 were new. I think Sunday will be the biggest class though. I couldn't believe the knowledge some people had of the Bible! I am just praying that this will not end up leaving those that don't have that knowledge behind. I will just have to find some middle ground I guess.

We also went to the Galatians class last night. It was really good. Although, when the teacher put us in groups of four to answer some questions I'm pretty sure my heart stopped momentarily. I honestly just wanted to be invisible in there. But my group was very nice and I was surprised that I was able to somewhat answer the questions.

Before I came, I knew it was summer here. However, when checking the weather online, they cannot explain to you that the amount of humidity makes it seem much hotter. So yesterday I went shopping for some t-shirts. This was quite an experience. We went to a place called "La Quinta". This is evidently where Old Navy, Abercrombie, American Eagle, etc. sends all their clothes they don't want for whatever reason. In this store there are piles and piles and piles of clothes. You have to dig through to find what you want. Even if you find a shirt you like, it may be impossible to then find the size you need. But after searching for a while I managed to walk away with four shirts for only $7!

All of the REAPSouth team has offcially left to go to their work sites now. It is kind of weird being the only missionary here now (with the exception of the Austin's). I haven't heard from one of the groups about the last leg of their trip. They had made it over halfway but still had a 6 hour bus ride on the dirt roads. It seems it takes people about 24 hours to travel anywhere here by bus. I guess one day soon I will figure this out!

I think the english fellowship went well last night. I couldn't believe how well a couple of them knew the bible! We did some get to know each other kind of games and studied a little in Galatians. There were two girls who came that are actually in the basic class. They had asked if they could come because they wanted to practice listening. I think Claudia and I are going to try and hang out with them some and maybe disciple them. Well, I think one is a Christian- but is not really growing, and the other I don't think is a Christian. So if you could please pray for these two- their names are Ana Lucia and Sonia. Also, there is one guy that came name Moises. He seems very smart, but has some strange views on religion, the Bible, etc. He said he has tried a church in all denominations but they are all wrong. So please pray for him also, and for me and the other teachers, that God will give us the right words to share with him. He really is smart, and that is what I think makes it more difficult.

So I learned a little cultural thing today about Peru that has me quite scared...in February, which is the hottest month here, the people throw water balloons, buckets full of water, balloons filled with water and paint, and any other form of water on people all over the city. This means that if I am walking anywhere, there is a good chance I could get hit. Especially because I'm a gringa. I guess I'm bonus points and an even bigger target. So at times this will be fun... but I am a little scared to go anywhere. People do this mostly on Sundays, which makes going to church a little difficult. Oh well, I guess I'll see when January comes to an end...

God really is good!

Wow, three posts in one day! But today has been an awesome day and so I wanted to post this new stuff....

We have been talking to a possible summer missionary. She shared her testimony with us and it was really awesome. Then she put in there that she is not in school, so really she can come whenever and stay until whenever. She helps to lead worship at her church which is an area where we could really use someone. We would like to have a worship time at the beginning of every english class, but right now we are doing that through the computer. So, we are asking her to pray about coming soon. Claudia and I are going to go shopping and see how cheap we can find bunk beds. If we can get bunk beds in the room where we are now, we will have more places for missionaries to stay. We can see God really working in all of this and it is amazing. Please pray for this situtation- that this girl will seek God's will in all of this and that we will be able to find the bunk beds cheap and figure out where to get the funds to buy them. Also, if you're thinking about it tonight, please pray for the English class tonight. I will try and update tomorrow to let you know how it goes!

I finally have my address here in Peru. I sent out an email, but I know I am missing a lot of email addresses. SO, if you would like me to send you the email- email me at heather@reapsouth.org and I will make sure to send it to you.

Also, if you would like me to try and send you something from Peru, please email me your address.

Yesterday was our first day of English Fellowship. I think it went really well. We had thirty or so people show up- and hardly had room for everyone. We sang some songs and played some games. We played telephone- but this time if someone told you in english you had to translate it to spanish and the next person to english and so on. It was hard, but fun! And my team managed to get it the same all the way around! So tonight will be my first official class. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I am excited about it.

Last night we ate at this street market type place and had some cow heart kabobs. Not too bad though really.


Also after church we decided to walk back. It is probably close to an hour walk, so we passed a lot of stuff. Including.... a store with DR PEPPER!!! They even had some cold cans by the register. They were about 90 cents for one can though, so I won't be getting those often. But it was very refreshing and tasted wonderful!

¡Necesito hablar mas castellano!

Last night I was talking with another missionary about how little spanish we are actually speaking here. One of the translators and another missionary were going to play basketball near the beach. So I tagged along to watch, because I figured watching a gringo play basketball with a bunch of Peruvians was sure to be entertaining. However, we got to the courts to find they had been replaced with a tennis club. So instead we just walked and walked and walked all the way down the beach into another district. We kept passing these expensive restaurants- so we would go and ask to see a menu to see if we could afford it. Even though we were gringos (well 2 gringos and a Peruvian) we were not dressed nice enough for these places. It was a very fun night though! Oh also, this was probably the first time since I've been here that I could see the sunset. Normally the fog/clouds/etc. are taking over the sky and you can't actually see it- but last night it was absolutely beautiful!



Here we are at one of the fancy restaurants right on the water:


So tomorrow at 5pm we have our first English Fellowship event. We have decided on the schedule and right now I am going to start out teaching 3 classes a week. It is summer here, so we're not really sure if that means we will get more students or less. Please keep us in your prayers as we are kicking this off. We are praying that we will have a good crowd come and that we will have some new faces. I am working with the Austin's on this, and we are all completely new to everything. I'm a little nervous because all of the students are usually quite advanced. This will be quite a challenge for me and the Austin's no matter what happens, but we are excited and ready for what God has planned for this ministry!

¡Que chevere!

I've finally taken some pictures of some of the everyday places I'm at. I'll take some of my actual apartment soon but its a mess right now. We've had some extra people staying there and storing their stuff there so its not quite ready for the pictures.

Here is the street I live and work on (this photo is actually taken from the office and you can see my apartment in it- it is nice to be so close to work!):


This is the outside of the office and this is where the English Fellowship will be:


This is the building my apartment is in:


This is the downstairs of the office and the place where the English classes are held:


I talked to Mike today and he mentioned that he might send Claudia and I out to Cusco with a group in April!!! I really hope this works out! I've been praying about it and I feel like God is wanting me to do some traveling...so we'll see what happens. But the thing about Cusco is top secret because Mike doesn't want to tell Claudia about it yet.

Well I better get back to work! I'm trying to get some stuff organized for the mission groups coming in!

So my sunburn is finally getting better! It's almost completely back to my normal pale gringa skin.

Today I was thinking about how easy it is back in the States to jump in my car and run to a fast food restaurant- never getting out of my car except for at home. Here, if I want food or want to run to the store it is going to take me 15-20 minutes or so to walk there. We've been hanging out with one translator a good bit who is a new Christian. He just moved from the jungle in the north of Peru to Lima less than a year ago. He was telling us about how when people here go to McDonald's, it is a big deal. Taking the family there is a nice meal- like when we 'go out to eat'. It is crazy how different those things can be. I've heard the food tastes the same- but for those of you who know me...you know I'm not going near that McDonald's unless I have to. I'd rather eat the guinea pig!

As far as my class at church yesterday... it wasn't the greatest. Claudia and I are probably not going to continue going to it. The approach the teacher took was a little strange. But the church is going to have the Galatians class for sure (well at least I think) this week, so we're going to give that another try. As far as the church service goes...I really love it! The music is my favorite part for sure. All the people at the church seem nice. And it is a lot bigger than I had imagined. They have four services total. The 8am service is the traditional service with hymns... sounds familiar, eh?

Well I will update again soon with more pictures...I promise! We will be dog sitting until Wednesday and then head back to our apartment. Oh, and if you guys could keep Cindy and Sandy in your prayers- they are trying to make it out to Pausa to do ministry where Cindy has been living for a couple of years. First the bus was full and now there is a bus strike. So just pray that they will be able to go if that is where God wants them and if not that He will show them where he wants them to be for now.

Chaufa!

When I said my skin didn't like the sun here...I wasn't kidding! I think I've either got sun poisoning or second degree burns. Not sure...but I'm all swollen. So my pharmacy skills are going to be great before long. I'm just praying that I won't have to practice my hospital skills. The good thing is that I can get just about anything in the pharmacy here without a prescription. For now I'm just resting and hoping it gets better. Resting at the Weaver's apartment is nice because I get to watch tv. So right now I'm watching a soccer game between Peru and Chile to pass the time.

I just wanted to say hello to the 20's class! Thanks for all your comments. I miss you guys! Tomorrow I start my new class at church and I know it won't be the same. Especially since I probably won't understand most of it. And I kind of doubt they have breakfast there either!

So my skin does not like being this close to the equator. I am quite red and I've hardly even seen the sun since I've been here. I made it down to the beach today- which was 400 or so steps down and then 400 back up. There is no sand but only rocks and lots of surfers.

Right now Claudia and I are staying at the Weaver's apartment to watch their dog. We'll have a week of staying in a nice apartment before we head back to our place. We are also going to take a Bible class at the church. We went tonight to take a class on Galatians, but it has been postponed. So, I think we're going to take a class on James on Sundays. This scares me a lot because I don't feel like my spanish is that good. But then tonight Claudia tells me that Mike will probably send me out into the jungle or Andes as a translator- which is even scarier! I'm trying to learn... but a lot of people also want to practice their english with us.

Tomorrow we have a couple of translators who are new believers coming to do part of our immersion. I'm not really sure what we're doing though. One of the things they would like me to do here is to kind of disciple a girl or two who might be new believers. Please pray for me that God will lead me to someone- or lead them to me. I haven't been able to meet a lot of the translators but once the english classes start I should meet more.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me and the people of Peru!

Chaufa!

Soy una gringa en una ciudad MUY GRANDE!

So for right now my job is to immerse myself into the Peruvian culture. I have a list of things I am supposed to do- por ejemplo: learn how to take a taxi and a bus; find my way to the atm, the store, and the post office; eating at Peruvian restaurants; and also a major assignment of going to a language institute and talking to the english students and try and get them to come to our english bible studies and be translators on mission trips. I also cannot start teaching english right now because there is an IMB conference for all career missionaries. So a lot of the people we're working with are going to that starting tomorrow. So once they get back we will actually kick off the english fellowship.

For immersion today- one of the translators took another missionary and myself to Plaza Mayor- the center of Lima. This is where the president's house is and stuff like that. He showed us how to use a bus to get there, which was a little scary. Then we took a bus to the top of this hill that overlooked all of Lima. And WOW, Lima is HUGE! I thought New York was big...but this just seemed so much bigger. The populations of the two are about the same though. Every direction you looked you could see Lima. Also, the higher up on the hill you got, the poorer it was. We had to close our windows on the bus at one point to be safe. It made me realize how nice the area where I'm living is too. Miraflores, where I live is a much safer area. I am able to walk about five minutes to the coast. Yesterday I sat on a bench reading my bible and looking out at the Pacific. It was amazing I must say.

Here are some pictures:

This is where I had my quiet time-


A cathedral in the center of Lima.


This is the hill we went up/ San Cristobal.


Here is one view of part of Lima. This includes the part where I am living. And you can't really tell in the picture but the Pacific is behind the city.

So far I haven't been very good about taking pictures. I guess I'm afraid if I pull out my camera I will forget where I'm at or where I am going. Yesterday Claudia and Cindy took me to the grocery store here to get some food. Claudia made guacamole last night and I'd just like to say that I think I'm going to eat guacamole every day here!

We also went down to the coast last night. We would have seen the sunset except that here in Lima it is very overcast- or maybe it was pollution too- but whatever it was, you couldn't see much in the sky. It looks like it is going to pour down rain any second, but that is pretty rare I guess.

I am in Peru now! Thanks so much for all of your prayers for my travels. I got in a little after 11 last night and even though I had to wait in a long line at immigration, I got all my bags and left the airport without having to stop! So I made it to my new apartment a little before 2am. My roommate is really nice and is helping me figure Lima out. We went to an awesome church this morning and got to take the Lord's Supper, which I think was an awesome way to start out the trip. That's about all that has happened so far. I've been meeting all of the team and everyone seems really nice. So for the next few days or so I'll be getting to know Lima. It's a little intimidating, so please pray for me that I will remember where everything is and not get lost trying to find my way around.

Thanks again for all of your prayers! You guys are great!