Today Claudia was going to the doctor to talk to him about having a second surgery. She called me a few minutes ago to say he was going to do the surgery today. So she will be having surgery around 5pm. Please keep her in your prayers as she is having this surgery and also as she is recovering.


I wanted to ask you guys to please pray for a guy named Miguel who is attending the Bible studies. He comes to almost every single class- three days a week. I don't believe he is a believer, but I think he is really searching. He also attends another Bible study with the Flamingo Road Church on Saturday night which is great. But he is also talking to lots of people who have other beliefs. I'm not sure where he finds these people, but in the middle of class he'll always share some other idea. Yesterday we were talking about why we shouldn't worry. He then shared with the class something a motivator taught him so that he wouldn't worry. And its not that this was some really bad way of doing things...he didn't mention witchcraft or anything...but it was like he was trying to tell everyone they could save themselves. This is challenging, mostly because he says this to the whole class. It is hard to approach it in a good way. I don't want the rest of the class to think this stuff is right, but I have to be careful not to just tell him he's wrong. He has mentioned Buddhist beliefs and Muslim beliefs in the past as well. I believe he really is searching...and I think it is awesome that he is going to at least four Bible studies a week! Please pray for him, that God would reveal Himself to him and that he would realize that He is the only way.

We're getting ready!

Things are starting to get busier here in Lima and I'm loving it!

The other day as I was walking to the bank I saw my first protest. I've heard they have a lot of these here but they're just usually not in my district. But Thursday morning we had one a few blocks away. These were employers of a travel agency or something. I was going to go and stand with them to act like I was protesting too so that the picture would be more exciting, but there were a few too many police officers ready for a riot and I decided against that idea.


After the protest we went furniture shopping! Thanks to Ron and North Lanier for the support for a new bunk bed! So we went and bought a bunk bed and two mattresses for the new missionary coming. Then in the summer we should have two girls staying there. We ended up having to get the bed delivered because it wouldn't fit in our truck. That was no big deal. But when we got it to our apartment we had to be a little more creative to get it in the room. You see, to get in our room we have a tiny spiral staircase to climb. There was no way the bunk bed pieces were going up that, so we ended up using the window. Claudia and Susie stood below the window and tied a rope to each piece. Then I pulled them up and into the room. I was really nervous the knot in the rope would give out and it would fall on someone's head, but thankfully it didn't! So here is a picture of Susie and Claudia getting the bed ready to come up.

So later that day, Arnold and Patrick helped me put it together. And here is the finished product....

Thanks again to North Lanier for the bed!!!!

I went ahead and took a picture of the rest of the room so you could see exactly where I was living. We had to move things around for the new bed, so this is our new setup. Claudia's side is on the left and mine is on the right.


So yesterday I went to spend time with Susie, one of the missionaries on my team. She has a hurt ankle and some crazy stomach bug so she is supposed to rest for a week or so. I ended up eating dinner with them and then spending the night. It was really nice to get to spend time with their family. We ate tacos for dinner. You know, the cheap kind in the yellow box that really don't taste anything like Mexican food. But oh man...this was like gourmet food for us and it seemed like real Mexican food in comparison to the "Mexican" food I've had here. Then they cooked homemade waffles for breakfast! I think I'm going to just join their family and move in with them!

This morning we went to a new church. We cheated a little and went to an English speaking church. However, this church meets in the movie theatre that is very close to where I live. So if I ever don't want to take the bus by myself to the other church, I can just walk here. We all really enjoyed it. It was actually a video of the pastor from the states. What was funny though is that we were the only gringos except for the pastor. I saw lots of people who come to our Bible studies there too. I think I'm going to keep going here because it is probably a good place to meet new people who might be interested in coming to our Bible studies and becoming translators. If you're interested, check out www.flamingoroadchurch.org to see the church in the States and here in Lima. I think all their other locations are in South Florida, so if you're ever traveling in that area I would suggest you check one of these out.

I know this has been long, but I will close with a few prayer requests... Susie and her health, Claudia who is going to have to have another surgery very soon and the pain she has been having from her problem, Brad and Derek who are traveling back in from their village assignment of 5 weeks (they'll be coming back in on Wednesday), Nick who will be coming on March 7th to work with us for at least a month, Haley as she is still preparing to come down and work with us, the 5 teams coming in March and the beginning of April, and the people attending the Bible studies as well as our English Fellowship event on March 3rd. Thanks for all of your prayers! Miss you guys!

The sweet smell of bread baking in the morning

The other day I was reading Psalm 19 and thinking about nature and God's creation. I found myself longing to go and watch the sunrise. So I decided that I would get up early one morning and walk down to the beach to watch the sun come up. But then I was informed that you can't see the sunrise in Lima. Because of the smog, clouds, fog, or whatever combination of the three there might be in the morning- it is pretty much impossible to see. At this point I began to get a little annoyed. Here I am in this HUGE city filled with pollution and I can't see the sunrise, I definitely can't see the stars, and every once in a while (once since I've been here actually) can you see the sunset. But then God opened my eyes and made me realize that He created all of these people and to Him they are beautiful. So even though I can't see the more obvious beauty in nature, I am living with so many people that He created and He loves, and maybe they don't even know that. Another thing that God showed me is that His word is absolutely beautiful. I hope that when I read it I can get that same feeling as when I watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset. I pray that God will give me the opportunity to share His beautiful Word with all of the beautiful people here in Lima. The beauty of God's creation is all around us, but sometimes I think we have to look a little harder to see it.





On another note... one of my favorite parts about being here for a while is that I get to join in on Peruvian life. I have to go to the store, pay bills, run errands, cook meals, etc. Right across the street from me is a bakery. You can smell the bread baking there everyday. It is a husband and wife who run the bakery- and I honestly don't know when they are ever at home. Most nights they are still there as I am walking to my apartment to go to bed and they are always there when I wake up with some freshly baked bread ready for the many Limeños that are coming to buy bread. So I go a lot of mornings and buy some bread for 15 centimos a piece (which is less than 5 cents) and I get to talk to the husband and wife. At first I was a little scared of them. They are not very friendly at all. But the more I go, the friendlier they get. The other day I went to buy some pinono, a dessert they make there also, and he was very nice to tell me that it was too dry but that he would make a new one if I would come back later. So slowly, this couple is starting to get to know me a little better and be a little more friendly. Just think what it will be like in five more months! Just to show you how amazing this bread is, I took a picture of it to share with you all...

A different kind of culture shock...

Today I went with Sonia to a picnic with an english speaking church here in Lima. I experienced this weird culture shock where it was suddenly weird to be around non-peruvians speaking english. Most of them were living here for fun or working, not many of them were missionaries. It was just very strange. I ended up hanging out with the peruvians all day instead. I just found it weird how I was suddenly uncomfortable being around native english speakers. Most were from the States but there were a few from other places in Europe and such. But it was fun anyways. I finally got to travel outside of Lima. Not far, but technically I have now been outside of the city. We went to this huge house with a pool. So we just ate hamburgers and hotdogs and played games. I enjoyed getting to know Sonia a little more and also getting to meet some new people.

So on the way home we were riding in this bus and all of a sudden some water balloons hit the windows and got us all soaking wet. I've been waiting on this to happen and now it has. But I must say, it felt good to get hit with a water balloon while riding on a hot bus. Praise God no one was hurt, because people have already been injured in Lima by water balloons being thrown at buses.

We have figured out that in March we are going to take the Spring Break Team to a village called Huaytará. But that's really all we know so far. So between now and then we'll be working on all the details.

Another prayer request... we are needing to buy a bunk bed for the new missionary coming in March to live with Claudia and I. I have gone shopping and found that it will be about $250 to buy. Please pray that, God willing, this money will come in. Last we heard, the new missionary was planning on coming mid-March. She is still fundraising but she said that the funds are coming in. Praise God! So hopefully we will see her soon!

Some things never change...

I was sitting here doing some work when all of a sudden some Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door. I never would have guessed I'd get to talk to a Jehovah's Witness in Peru. He was telling me all about some book of the Bible called Hop or something like that. Evidently Moses wrote about the world being round before the explorers discovered that. It was kind of funny. But I told him about how I was here working as a missionary and that I loved the church I am attending here in Lima. Later he offered to have his Australian friends who run the church come and talk to me about my faith. I just found it funny that even here, you never know when the Jehovah's witnesses are going to come knocking on your door.

Claudia and I have decided to make a blog for our English Fellowship. We are going to use this so that the people who attend the Bible studies can ask questions, etc. We will also post some pictures on it and make announcements. I thought I would share the address with you guys in case you wanted to check it out. We haven't shared this info with the students yet so it might take a while to get it up and going. For future reference the site is englishfellowship.blogspot.com. I will post a link on my site as well.

So I have a few prayer requests:
1.) The Church I am attending, Alianza de Miraflores, has asked me to lead a Bible study in English there. This will be one more Bible study per week and could help recruit more translators for future mission trips. We are trying to work out a schedule and other final details on this. Please pray that we will seek God's guidance in this and that a lot of people will be interested.
2.) Claudia and I are in charge of a spring break mission group of three girls coming in. We are trying to figure out if we should travel into a village or stay in Lima and do ministry. We need to figure this out soon so we can begin making final plans.
3.) I have had more opportunities to spend time with people from the Bible studies. Please keep these people in your prayers as I am getting to know them more and having more chances to talk to them about Christ.
4.) We have 4 Spring Break teams coming in March (including the one I will be working with). Most will be traveling out into villages to do ministry. Keep these people in your prayers as well as the people they will come into contact with.

Thanks for praying!

A picture from the museum trip today:

Good morning!

This morning I woke up at 6am and rode a bike for a couple of miles while Claudia ran along side me. It was great to get out and do that. I could not believe how many Limeños were out running! So now I'm waiting around until 10 when we go to the museum. I'm hoping a few people from class will come.

Last night for "Friendship Day" we had class and then ate some desserts. I made a strawberry cobbler and mississippi mud. We just hung out and talked for a while. I am having a hard time with one guy in class that I have mentioned before. Others are having some trouble too. It seems that he wants to be right all the time. Last night in the middle of class he told me that no other translation but the King James Version of the Bible was right. This makes the class a little awkward. It is hard to discuss things with him because he wants to have the last word and be right. If he were asking a question or wanting to know something, it would be totally different. But it seems that he is saying it just to say it. Please pray for him and for me as I'm sure I will have many more conversations with him. This is the same guy that said he visited all the different denominations of churches and they were all wrong.

I hope that you all have a great day! And if you have any extra time, please email me at heather@reapsouth.org and let me know how things are going in the States. I'd love to hear what all is local ministry is going on too! Thanks!

An exciting night...

It was about midnight last night and I was just falling asleep. All of a sudden I heard what I thought were fireworks. I was annoyed, but started to go back to sleep. Then I heard more...and realized it wasn't fireworks but I had heard gunshots! Then I could smell the smoke from the shots in my room! So, because I am smart and cautious, I ran to the window to see what was going on. Other neighbors were starting to look out their windows too. Then more than 15 police trucks and motorcyles went speeding down the street my window looks out on. This street is a one way street and the police were going the wrong way. You could see a few cars trying to get out of the way. At this point more people were looking outside and people started to go out into the streets. So I decided that I wanted to see what was going on too and should go outside like everyone else. Now my window looks out onto one street, but the entrance to my apartment is on another street. As soon as I walked out and looked down the street I could see a HUGE group of cops and people standing at the corner. I wanted to go closer, but I finally decided I shouldn't be completely stupid. So I went over to the office because Claudia and her sister were sleeping there. Claudia said she thought she had heard gunshots but wasn't sure. The office was much more quiet than my apartment was. She went back to sleep and I went back outside. I started talking to a few of the neighbors but no one knew exactly what had happened. Things started to calm down and get less exciting so people started going back inside. I decided to go back and try to get some sleep. This morning I learned that four guys had tried to break into a restaurant or something and it had resulted in a police chase right outside my window. So last night was a pretty exciting night here at Calle Chalcatana.

I'm armed and ready!

Claudia's mom brought us some water balloons! So today I filled some up so that I could be ready for an attack. I thought about asking questions in class tonight and throwing them at people who got the answers wrong, but then i figured that would make people leave. hehe. So whatever carnaval brings, I'm ready for. I've dodged balloons flying at me from apartment windows and even walked through groups of boys holding them along with buckets of water. But now I'm ready!


Tonight I think we had a very good class. We talked about how we cannot save ourselves and that the only way to have eternal life is through Jesus Christ. Then we talked about how doing "good" isn't good enough. Somehow that ended up with us talking about war and all the violence in the world. We were talking about how awesome it would be if everyone would accept Christ as the King of the world and how there would be peace. And, wow, it would be amazing....

I went shopping for some furniture with the Austins the other day. It was nice to get outside of the few districts I'm in all the time. And I was reminded how nice the place I'm living in is compared to the rest of Lima. I finally got to ride on the Pan-American highway. I tried to talk Arnold and Susie into a trip south to Arequipa or into Chile even, but they decided it was a little too far. Oh well.

So I'm still working on plans for a group of three girls coming down for a spring break mission trip. I've never had quite this much responsibility and I'm a little bit nervous. I've got to find different ministry opportunities for the week they'll be here and make sure they've got a place to stay, etc. It's going to be fun though! I'm also working on plans for more English Fellowship activities. This Thursday we are all going to a museum. I think I'm going to do something for Valentine's Day too because we have class that night. Here is is sometimes called "Friendship Day" and I think I like that better than what it has become in the States. I'm also going to a party that some other missionaries here in Lima are throwing for their english ministry. Then on Saturday Sonia and I are going with an english speaking church here on a picnic. I'm not sure what that is going to be like, but it'll be fun hanging out with Sonia anyways. So things are picking up a little more and I'm finally learning better what to do here. I've discovered how much freedom I have in the events I plan and so now I'm going to just start having all sorts of things going on for people to go to. The more they come, the more chances I have to talk with them and get to know them, and the more chances I have to share the love of Christ with them!

Trusting God

I am learning how to really trust God. It is important to trust Him in every situation- good or bad. Yesterday was a little tough for me as my granny was taken to the hospital. The first thing I had heard was that she might have had a heart attack. This was incredibly difficult at first. I really wanted to hop on a plane and come home so I could be with my family. But God told me to wait. And pray. Being so far away, that was all I could do. And so I prayed and waited to hear news. Praise God it was not her heart and she is doing better now. In those few hours (that seemed like days), I learned to really trust God. I mean, He knows what He is doing. He knew I would be here when that happened. And He is teaching me to trust Him in all situations. It is important to go to Him with everything, not just in bad situations.

So lately God has been putting the people in Alaska on my heart. I'm not really sure what this means. Maybe He just wants me to pray for them. Or maybe He is calling me back there. Before I came to Peru, I wasn't sure how long God wanted me here. I was praying about returning home at the end of May or the beginning of August. I felt like God wanted me to stay here until August, but I have still been praying about it. And now I feel like God is putting Alaska on my heart. Is He calling me back earlier to go there? There is also a small problem with the ESL position here in Lima for the summer. A group of three signed up to work in Lima with ESL. This left me without my position because having four is just too many. We may be able to work our way around this too, but now I am wondering if God is calling me elsewhere for the summer. Please, I could really use some prayers on this. I want to be obedient to God and do exactly what He wants me to do. If any of you have any thoughts on this too, I could definitely use some guidance.

¡Gracias a Dios!

My roommate, Claudia, has been working on getting a visa to go to the U.S. She was invited by a church that has a partnership here to go and work with them for a few weeks. She also wants to go to her friend's wedding. So the church told her they would pay for her flight and all her expenses while in the U.S. We could just see God opening doors. So today she had an interview with the U.S. embassy at 7:30am to try and get a visa. Most Peruvians apply for this and get turned down, which also means they lose $120. And it was kind of funny because I woke up at 7:29 this morning. So I just started praying for her. I think God woke me up early for that reason. And she got back a little while ago....and she was given the visa! So now she will get to go on her first mission trip to the U.S. after being heavily involved in missions here in Peru! Isn't God amazing?!

What I am doing here

Today I woke up and realized that I have now spent my first full month living in Peru. And I began to think about the things I have done in this past month and what I will be doing for the next six months. Then I was wondering if I had ever fully explained to you all exactly what I'm doing here. So I will explain....

Every week I am teaching three English classes. Before coming here I did this by actually teaching English vocabulary, grammar, etc. But now I am doing this by holding three weekly Bible studies. The students come and are able to practice listening, reading, and speaking. I am teaching the advanced class- and without these people REAPSouth would not work the way it does. What we are preparing them to do by holding these Bible studies is to be translators. Then, when we have missionaries coming in and traveling into the jungle or mountains, these translators get to go and be a part of that.

REAPSouth is based in Lima. Here we are training people to be translators. Then we are sending them into parts of Peru that may have never heard the Word of God before. A group went into the jungle a couple of weeks ago and most people in the jungle had never seen a gringo. They stared at them and even asked them why their skin was so pale. But because of the amazing things REAP has been doing here, these people got the opportunity to hear. This was on a "vision trip" where a group comes from the States and is prayerfully considering "adopting" this area and people group. Then they will start to take regular mission trips down to their area. They will start churches, Bible studies, schools, etc. The possibilities are endless and you never know what God is going to do for the people.

So as I am here in Lima, I am working with the translators. Aside from the Bible studies, my main goal is to build relationships with these people. It sounds simple, but I am trying to just spend time with them, hang out with them, go get icecream, etc. The longest mission trip I had been on before this was two months. Even then we were rushing around to get things done before we leave. And I believe that God has truly blessed me by giving me the opportunity to spend more time here. I am already getting so close to these people that I cannot imagine what it will be like in six months when it is time for me to go home.

I will also be involved in many short term mission trips into the jungle and mountains. I am going to help lead groups from the States. We are working daily on planning where to go and what to do with mission groups. I am really getting to understand what goes into planning a mission trip and I can see how difficult it can really be. (Thanks Ron for all your planning!) However, I do enjoy this kind of stuff. I love being involved in the organization of different activities. February is really slow around here as far as groups coming in, but starting in March we will have spring break trips. Claudia and I have been put in charge of 2 different groups. We are praying about where to take these two. Right now we are feeling that we should take one into the mountains and the other will stay in Lima.

Just because we don't have any groups coming in during February doesn't mean it is a truly slow month. This month is Carnaval. That is why people are throwing water balloons all over the city. And basically here in Lima it means that people party for a month. Most of this happens on Sundays here because that day is like Saturday for us. People stay in bed all day and then eventually get up and that's when they start throwing water balloons and buckets of water. So, even though we have no mission groups coming in this month, I think that I will be kept pretty busy around here.

Ok, so I know that this was a pretty long entry, but I hope that you now can better grasp what is going on here in Peru. Please pray for the people all over the country as well as the translators I am working with. Please pray for the churches in the states that have adopted areas here and also for those who are considering it. Churches have adopted many areas around and if they keep coming in, one day all of the people in Peru will have had the chance to hear the Word and that will be an amazing day!

Please pray for the 28 million people living in Peru and the 10 million of those living here in Lima.

Super bowl, here we come...or maybe not...

Well after English Fellowship last night we tried to go and watch the super bowl. After a long walk to the american sports bar, we couldn't get in. The place was packed with gringos. And evidently they had been there since 4pm waiting on the game. So instead we just hung out, ate some icecream, and talked. Peruvians are addicted to icecream. I think icecream is a pretty good addiction in this case!

Here is the group walking to see the super bowl! We all decided we wanted Chicago to win because they have a Peruvian on their team. (I know absolutely nothing about American football...so when I decide to watch, I always randomly pick a team I want to win)


Here's some of us with our icecream


Then we went to the arcade to act like kids. (From left back is Sonia, Ana Lucia, Ana Maria, and Aldo)


So even though we didn't get to watch the super bowl, we had a fun night!

"Hey people looking out the window at the city below..."

Last night a guy showed up at the office for a Bible study....however, we don't have Bible studies on Friday nights and I was the only one here at the time. So I talked to him for a while and it turned out he has actually been to Atlanta. It was pretty cool to see what he thought of it. His experiences were mostly downtown (aside from where he worked at a camp) and they made me laugh. He said it reminded him of a rap video...and well, if you're ever on Peachtree Street on a Friday or Saturday night, that's exactly what it is like. He was saying how he rode a bus to travel somewhere and the people on the bus weren't very nice to him. He said he didn't really speak english at the time and the guys on the bus kept trying to fight with him. He said he just ignored them and pretended to sleep. But then as it became dark, it also grew colder on the bus. He said all of a sudden the "tough" guys were shivering by the window in their t-shirts. He had come prepared with a sweater on and so he offered to switch seats with one of the guys so he wouldn't have to be by the window. He said the guy was very thankful and from that point on the guys were nice to him. And I just thought this story was amazing because this guy was in an uncomfortable situation in a country where he didn't speak the language and yet he still found a way to show Christ's love to this guy. I mean, it was something so simple...but it completely changed the attitude those guys had towards him. I really enjoyed talking to this guy and even though I felt bad he had taken two buses to come to the office, I was glad I had the chance to talk with him.

We were talking to some people at Alianza (this is the church I'm going to here) about the possibility of leading some sort of class in english there. We're not sure about this yet and we don't know if I will do it or someone else. It could either be another Bible study or just be a conversation time. We may wait to do this until Haley gets here. Haley is the girl who is probably going to come early to work with the English Fellowship and lead worship. It looks like she will be able to come by March. So anyways, we may wait to add this to the stuff we're doing when she gets here. I'm excited about her coming and especially about having someone to lead worship. I got out the guitar today and tried to play. And well, I'm just no good. I'm more of a bass girl. I just can't do the chord thing.

I'm trying to plan some stuff for the English Fellowship. I'm trying to find some activities to add to my advanced classes that are fun, but still go along with the Bible studies. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them!

So is anyone planning on making a trip down to Peru to visit??? It'd be a good way to escape the cold weather for a while!

It is definitely summertime in Lima!

Well, it is only the second day of February and I can tell it is getting hotter. The days have been clearer lately too. I wouldn't mind getting some of that winter weather you guys are having up there! Or I honestly wouldn't mind getting hit with a water balloon!

So I hung out with Sonia for a little while on Thursday night. We had a good time just talking and hanging out. She was telling me about how she lives alone here in Lima. And she is in her 30's I believe, but even so, that is really unusual for Peruvians. Most seem to live with their parents or at least some family member until they are married. We were talking though and she said she knows that God will keep her safe. I think it is pretty cool how she does that. Her pastor has evidently been trying to get her to move in with her brothers or sister because he doesn't like her living alone. So we're going to start hanging out more. I'm excited about the opportunity to spend more time with her.

We are having Peruvian cooking days and American cooking days here. So we'll have several people come over and teach each other how to make different dishes. I decided to make a strawberry cobbler, but when I went to get the strawberries, they were out. So I decided to experiment and make a mango cobbler. And I must say it was one of the best cobblers ever! I love mango but unfortunately it just doesn't taste as good back home. I'm still trying to find some good recipes to make here with pretty basic ingredients, so if anyone has anything please let me know!

Today I met a guy named Armando when I was walking home. We talked for a little while and had some good conversation about stuff. He gave me a card for this store where he works and makes stuff so I think I am going to go there and talk to him some more. It's funny how if you ask a Catholic person if they go to church somewhere, they don't respond with the name of a church...they just say, "I'm catholic." I guess that means they don't go to church?

Last night when I went to church for the Galatians class there was some sort of concert going on. It turned out that there was a group from Nashville there. It was kind of funny because the singers didn't speak spanish but had memorized songs in spanish. They also had a speaker who spoke in english and then someone translated it. It was refreshing to me to hear a message in english. So I ended up missing the class because of the concert. I tried to go, but the music was so loud that I couldn't hear the speaker. The concert had a good turn out though and a lot of people had come from outside of Lima.