Viaje a la sierra

Well we have arrived back safely from our week long mission trip to Huaytará. It was an amazing trip and our team could really see God's hand in everything that was happening. We ended up being four girls total. All the other three girls ended up with stomach problems, leaving me the only one not sick. But none of them complained at all, they all kept going the whole time. Here is a picture of our team...


Huaytará

We headed south from Lima along then coast by bus and then caught a taxi that took us into the Andean town of Huaytará. We stayed here the first two nights and got to talk to a few people. We found two Christians and we tried to encourage them to share their faith. I was talking to the man who worked at our hostal and he told me that there was an Evangelical church that had about 4 people who attended and that less than 10 people attended the Catholic church. This was in a town of 400-500 people. Even though there is a church there and a few believers, they do not have any desire to share the love of Christ with anyone else in the town. We began to see God's hand at work in so many ways. We were eating dinner one night when a teacher came in. It just so happened that he was driving a van full of teachers to one of the towns we were supposed to visit and he also rented rooms there. We had originally planned to go to this town last, but it seemed that God had different plans. So at 2am the teacher yelled for us and told us he would wait 4 minutes for us to get completely packed and in the van. We managed to accomplish this somehow and we were on our way.

Cusicancha

We arrived in Cusicancha around 4am and were given a very cold and dirty room with one bunk bed for four people. The bathroom was also quite scary. But we sucked it up and tried to get some sleep. It was so cold that it was actually nice to have 2 people in a twin bed, praise God that the top bunk didn't cave in. We woke up the next morning and explored. We found a few stores that didn't have a lot to offer and no restaurants. At this point all the other girls were sick and not really hungry. We went to the primary school to see if we could talk in any of the classes. They told us to come back at noon and then we could talk to the kids during their break. So then we tried to go to the secondary school, but for some reason there was a giant lock on the door. We weren't really sure how the students got in, and we could not figure out how we could get in. So we went back to the primary school. We began by teaching English. We basically taught only four vocabulary words: mother, father, brother, and sister. Then we began talking about the family of God. The two girls from Auburn took turns teaching and I translated. It was very challenging to translate for them, but I was thankful to finally have the opportunity to practice my spanish. We encouraged all the children to read their Bibles because a lot of them said they did have them in their homes.

In this town there are no churches. There are four pentecostal brothers who meet in a house twice a week, however. We ended up hanging out a lot in a couple of stores and talked with the owners a lot. It ended up raining every afternoon and this made it pretty difficult to do any ministry. One afternoon, all the other girls were napping since they had fevers. Since I was not sick, I decided to hang out at the store below our hostal. I had a great time talking with a woman and her children. They even made me a free cup of tea, which was amazing since it was freezing outside and the rain was pouring down. Later that night we were also able to move to a different hostal that was slightly warmer and at least had two twin beds instead of a bunkbed. I was really missing central heating, or I guess any kind of heat while we were in the mountains.

Quisar Pampa

The next morning we hiked to an even smaller town about 6 kilometers up the mountain from Cusicancha. Here we were able to do a lot of ministry in the schools. We met the principal right away and he let us talk in each class. We again talked about the family of God and did a few songs and games with the younger kids. We were also able to talk to several women in the plaza and read the Bible with them a little bit. We left a Bible with them and encouraged them to read it together. They all said they attended the Catholic church in town, but it was only open once or twice a year. We wanted to stay around and do more ministry but we still had to hike the 6 kilometers back to Cusicancha before the afternoon rains came.

After arriving back in Cusicancha we were pretty tired after hiking a total of 12 kilometers in the cold and with little oxygen. We were somewhere over 10,000 feet and the oxygen was very thin making breathing very difficult. We started looking into the information we had on the next town we were going to. It turned out that the next town had no place to stay and no running water. We were all worried about this because of three girls being sick. Also we were having a hard time finding transportation from there back to Huaytará. We began to feel like God wanted us to go straight back to Huaytará and do more ministry there. So that was our plan for the next day. That night we were all getting pretty hungry. We hadn't had anything more than crackers and water to eat for the past few days. We started asking people if anyone would sell us some boiled corn. It was already dark at this point and kind of raining, so everyone told us we would have to wait until the next day because all of the corn was in the field. So we went back to our room to try and sleep. About an hour later there was a knock on our door. Two boys had gone to the fields and picked us some corn. It was raw corn though and so I asked if they knew someone who could cook it for us. A little girl said her mom would cook it for us and wouldn't even charge us to do it. Wow! Isn't God amazing? So about thirty minutes later this little mountain woman knocked on our door with a plate full of corn. I must say, this was just about the most amazing thing I have ever tasted.

Huaytará...again
The next morning we caught a bus ride back to Huaytará. We were really praying about this, trying to make sure we were not going back to the bigger town for selfish reasons. But soon after arriving we realized that this was exactly where God wanted us. We went and invited people to a Bible study we were going to have in the plaza and one man asked if he could talk to us. He then began to tell us about this one time that he experienced God. He had tears pouring down his face as he told us about how he didn't have the money for his children to go to school. His wife told him it was his duty to provide for the children and the children were all angry with him for not having the money. He said that for three months they had been fighting and there was not a single day of peace in his house. Then one day he left the house because he was so angry. He started walking and went to the catholic church. He really wanted to enter but the church was closed. So he kept walking and eventually he came upon an evangelical church. He looked at it but said he couldn't go in because he was catholic. Then he saw the words "Jesus Christ" on the wall of the church and so he entered. A man (I'm guessing a pastor) saw him and asked him what he was looking for. The man began to tell him his problem and the pastor prayed for him. He left feeling calm but also as if he had sinned because he went into a non-catholic church. He said he went back home and his family was calm as well. No one was fighting. The next day friends and family came over and they loaned him the money his children needed for school. We were all holding back tears as this man poured his heart out to us. It was so obvious that God was really working in his life, but he was so caught up in being Catholic that he wouldn't accept it. We shared a lot of the gospel with him, but he just wasn't ready to make a decision at this time. We told him that God was listening whenever he was ready. Please pray for this man. His name is Willy and it is so clear that God is trying to reach him. Please pray that he will realize that it isn't about religion, but it is about a relationship. After leaving Willy, we were positive that God had wanted us to come back to this town.

We were also able to read the Bible with some more people in the town. We met some more with the people that were already Christians. It was hard because they really have no desire to reach out to anyone else in the town. We encouraged one lady who owned a store to share with people. She really has an awesome opportunity because so many people are coming into her store all day long. This town is so lost and the people there have no hope. They really need God in their lives.

We left Huaytará wishing we could do more. But I know that God has plans for these people and mission teams will be going back. These people seem to be stuck in one town for their whole lives. They usually cannot get the money to leave and try to have any different kind of life. They have no hope to make it anywhere in life, but they do not seem to want to accept the hope they have in Jesus Christ. Please remember to pray for the people in this area, that they will realize how much they need God in their lives.


Well, I know this post was long and I wish I could tell you all every little thing that happened, but I will close for now. We are back safely in Lima. I am thankful to be back in the warm weather and to a place that has food. Thanks for all of your prayers during this trip. It really was an amazing one.

Oasis

The Friday before we left for the mountains we were able to do some ministry in a really poor part of the city. It was really heartbreaking to see the way these people live. They live literally in the middle of the desert in mat houses. They have no running water or anything. We split up and one group had a Bible study with the adults while I worked with a few other people with the children. They were so sweet and just wanted to be loved. We colored a picture and talked a little bit about the Bible story that went with the picture and then we played games.

Update

Well the group that was in Huarochiri has returned safely to Lima. We found some mission opportunities for the two from the States here in Lima. So tomorrow they will start doing some ministry in the poor parts of the city. They also taught the Bible study tonight for the English Fellowship and I think everyone really enjoyed it.

This will probably be my last post before I leave for my week long trip to the mountains. Please keep us in your prayers. We don't think it will be raining as heavily there, so that shouldn't be a problem. But my achille's tendon has been getting kind of sore after I walk a lot, so I'm a little bit nervous about that because we might have to hike some. The two missionaries from Alabama will arrive tomorrow night and Friday we will be off.

Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer Request

Please pray for the spring break group in Huarochiri right now. Claudia just called and told me that the rain is really bad. She said they are all soaking wet because it rains most of the day. And these are not just like rainy days back home, but the kinds that flood and wash roads away. She said their ministry is being heavily affected by this because no one is coming to their Bible studies due to the rain. We are trying to figure out if there is another area nearby they could go to. Please pray for their safety and that the bad weather will not keep them from doing God's work. The missionaries in the area right now are Claudia, Shaila, Ana, Kyle, and Nick.

¡verde!

Wow, this past week has been very busy! We've had two spring break missions teams come in and leave. It seems that both had great trips. Then we had another team get here the other night and they just left today for Huarochiri. Please keep them in your prayers this week as they are traveling. When Claudia went to get the bus tickets, the guy at the bus station asked her why would she ever think about going to Huarochiri this time of the year. Evidently the rains have been heavy and the roads are not great. So please pray for travel mercies. They are traveling there today and will be returning to Lima Friday morning.

So last night we had a St. Patrick's Day party with the English Fellowship. It was a lot of fun! We got to share a little bit of our culture and also explain what the holiday meant to us (basically just that you wear green to avoid being pinched) and that we were not celebrating the saint...which also lead to more opportunities with some about our beliefs on the saints. We were quite surprised that everyone showed up in green with the exception of one guy. I had been encouraging everyone to dress as crazy as they could. I honestly thought most wouldn't even wear green, but they proved me wrong! We also had a scavenger hunt around the area. We came up with a list of things they had to go and do. Each team had a missionary with a digital camera as they went around looking for specific things and then taking pictures with them. One task was to find the two new missionaries, Kyle and Shaila. No one had met them and so they weren't sure who they were looking for. We told them they would be near the beach, but then they had to walk around looking for them. Junior, a guy in one of the groups actually interrupted a couple making out to ask if they were Kyle and Shaila! I couldn't believe he did that, but I'm glad to say that they were not the hidden missionaries. No one that came had ever heard of a scavenger hunt but they all seemed to really enjoy it. I think we'll have to plan some more in the future.

Here is most of the group all in our green. Claudia even taught me how to knit, so I made a green scarf for the occasion.

Planning

We are busy planning many exciting things for the next few weeks. The last week in March I will be traveling on a week long mission trip to Huaytará. This is in the south of Huancavelica. We will be based in Huaytará but will travel from there to smaller villages doing discipleship and evangelism. Some of the villages we will hike to because there is no other way to get there.

On April 5th we will begin our journey to Cusco. We will take a bus for something like 22 hours to get there. During this time though we will travel with three of the translators. I'm excited about getting to spend more time with them. Please pray for Noemi. This will be her first mission trip and her first time translating. We have been working with her and practicing translating. She is doing good but is very shy. She has become a very good friend of mine and I'm so excited about what God will do in and through her on this trip. Once we arrive in Cusco, the translators will meet up with their group from the States and head south.

The rest of us will remain in Cusco. Cusco is located at about 11,500 feet. From here we will travel to Machu Picchu by train. Holy Week is a huge deal in Cusco and so this should be a great experience. Then, after going to Machu Picchu we will take a train from Cusco to Puno and Lake Titicaca. Puno is about 12,600 feet above sea level and Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake. From here we will travel into Bolivia. At this point, my visa will be running out and I'll need to get my passport restamped. Then we'll hop back on a bus and go down to Arequipa before heading back to Lima. The new missionary, Haley, will arrive in Peru on the 2nd of April, just in time to travel with us. Right after we get back from our trip we will have our first team retreat, complete with everyone, because Mike and Kathy will be back in Peru!

Peanut Butter

I just spent 30 minutes cleaning out my peanut jar as best as I could. I couldn't let any little bit go to waste. And I'm pretty sure that if the jar had been bigger, I might have had my entire head down in there. I just find it funny that peanut butter is such a luxury here. I think a peanut butter sandwich could be served at the fancy restaurant down on the pier even. When I went to Thailand and especially New Zealand, I got absolutely sick of peanut butter. On those mission trips every missionary brings a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly. Then we would eat a PBJ sandwich every day. Now I would love to have the option to eat a PBJ everyday... but unless I want to spend like $10 a jar...its not going to happen. This was a random post, but I just wanted to tell you all... don't take your peanut butter for granted!

Mi Dios, grande es

Tonight we went to the Saturday service at Alianza. The church was absolutely packed. There were no seats downstairs or upstairs and people were standing in the back. As we were worshiping we began to sing the Spanish version of "How Great is Our God" and during that time people were getting baptized behind the band. I was excited to get to see the baptism, and people just kept coming. Person after person after person came up to get baptized. I lost count of how many people got baptized tonight. But WOW.. our God is great! The band stopped playing and the whole church was filled with the voices of the people singing "Mi Dios, grande es" as people were still coming to get baptized and it was amazing.

Before this we held our very first English Bible study at Alianza. We met some really awesome people and one of the guys really encouraged me personally. He shared with us how two days ago some guys robbed his house. He said they took everything from him that was worth any value. But this guy did not look like someone had just robbed him of everything he had. He said he knew that God had a plan and that He was in control. He said that because of it he has already been able to share with people at his work about God. They were amazed at his attitude with the whole situation and were eager to hear about why he wasn't worried. This guy really made me think.... if I were to get robbed, could I have this attitude? I know that God is in control of everything and there is a reason for everything that happens, but how easy would it be to forget this when put in that kind of situation? I pray that I can have an attitude like this guy about everything that happens in my life. Even the small things. I know that God is in control. He has a plan. He will take care of us. If we are willing and available, He may use us in odd ways like this to have the opportunity to tell others about Him.

Spring Break

Just a little while ago our first spring break group left for their mission trip. Throughout this month we will have several teams coming from the States to travel into other parts of Peru for a short term mission trip. Please pray for safety as all are traveling by bus to their sites and that they would be able to share the love of Christ with the people there. Also pray that God will move in the lives of the people who are coming down here. It is so great that these people want to come to Peru to share God's Word and they give up a fun trip to the beach to do so!

We had our game night last Saturday and I think it went very well. We played the game "Apples to Apples". That night and the next night at our Bible study we for some reason had A LOT of new people show up. It is amazing that these people somehow are hearing about our Bible studies and they all want to come to improve their english. Please keep all these people in your prayers as we will be getting to know them in the future. We also will be starting a new Bible study this Saturday at Alianza, one of the churches I have been attending. This will mostly be lead by Nick, who just arrived here today from studying Spanish in Cusco.

Here is a picture from game night...


So today I went to my first physical therapy appointment. It was really difficult and I was so thankful that I had Claudia to help me with the language. I guess I'm going to have to study up on my physical therapy vocabulary. Before going I had already decided I was going to try really hard not to go to all of my appointments. I just felt like they were going to be a waste of time and money, but then God changed my attitude about it. First of all, all of the stuff they are doing is stuff I cannot do on my own at home. Also, my physical therapist asked me why I was here. So then I got to talk to him about what I am doing here. In the middle of that, a lady who was in the area next to me (there was a curtain between us) pulled the curtain back a little bit to ask about the Bible studies. Before she left she got all the information about the classes. So even though going to physical therapy in Peru seems strange, I think God has me doing it for a reason. And also my ankle is already feeling much better! Claudia does have to kind of force me to put the ice on it though because it is just too cold for me. So I am supposed to have nine more visits in the next three weeks.

We went on Tuesday to check out a camp for the summer students. This is a place for about 100 of us to gather and debrief from our mission trips. So if you are looking at my photos online, all the photos labeled Mahanaim are of the camp, just in case you were wondering what they were. The people there were so nice too! And so we were able to go ahead and make reservations for the summer debriefing!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I have finally added some pictures to my flickr site! You can check them out here.

Ouch!

Well, go figure, I had to go to the doctor today. I hurt my ankle somehow... my achilles tendon to be exact. It has been getting harder and harder to walk, which is difficult here because I pretty much walk everywhere. So I get to experience physical therapy here in Peru. They want me to go ten times in the next three weeks, which seems a little extreme. But this should get me back to walking well right in time for our trip to Huaytará. I'm a little nervous about this because going to the doctor today made me feel like I didn't know spanish. A lot of the doctor kind of vocabulary they used just went right over my head. I mean, sometimes it still does when I'm in the States! So this will be interesting, but praise God it wasn't more serious! I saw a guy with a huge cast on and it made me realize how blessed I am that something worse didn't happen. Well I just wanted to let you guys know what is going on. Things will be kind of quiet for the next few days. I don't start physical therapy until Wednesday and before then I'm just supposed to rest. So if you feel like sending me any long interesting e-mails, this would be a great time! :)