Aliens and Strangers "at home"

Strangers. Aliens in a foreign land.

Actually, citizens of this land... born and raised here... should be home, right? Hmmm. Sometimes it feels like home, and sometimes it doesn't.

We don't understand smart phones, smart cars, or smart anything else. We had to step aside and watch/learn how to use the video rental box thing. Same with the photo printing machine - we had to finally ask for help after spending several minutes trying to follow the instructions on the machine, only to be treated like we were complete idiots by the "customer service" girl. Really, a lot of our coming back transition has been very much like our first days after moving to Costa Rica and Peru. We do a lot of watching and trying to learn how things are done. Sometimes we look like fish-out-of-water to everyone around us.

We have spent time with friends and family as we visit and reconnect. Last week, we had the pleasure of spending time and eating lunch in the home of our good friends who were missionaries to South Africa for 8 years... oh, how special that time was! They completely understand our re-entry issues. They were able to really connect with us and speak some sanity into our confused feelings. This weekend, we had coffee (which turned into a 4 hour visit) with another missionary friend and a friend in ministry... again, we found peace and sanity and understanding in people who have also experienced the same issues. So glad that there are other "aliens" and fish-out-of-water that we can lean on!

This re-entry is difficult. If you see us at the store and we look lost, we probably are. If you see us in town and our eyes seem glazed over, we're just a little overwhelmed. If we seem confused or strange or out-of-sorts, just know that it's not you... we aren't sure exactly what it is, but it's probably not you. We can't really put our finger on it or name this feeling yet... we aren't tired, and we aren't depressed, and we aren't crazy... we're just here, trying to figure it all out. Be patient with us.

Pregnant? Old?

So, the other day, Sarah and I are waiting in line to buy groceries. I think everyone in Huancayo had the same idea... to go and buy grocieries at exactly the same time, making about 15 check-out lines with about 25+ people in each one! Billy left us in line in the store while he went off to the bank. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited... We watched other people (a favorite grocery store activity), we chatted with some folks standing around us, and we waited some more... Finally, we arrived at the front of the line. It was finally our turn!

As I began to reach into my cart and put things on the counter, the check-out girl says, "Are you pregnant?" Okay, now I don't have to tell any North American that THAT IS NOT A CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE QUESTION! You don't ask any woman if she is pregnant, no matter how round or tired or frazzled she might be! Then I thought, "Maybe I didn't hear her correctly. Maybe my translation skills are too tired today." So I tried to clarify - "Excuse me? What did you ask?" Again she asks, "Are you pregnant?"

So now I'm feeling pretty pitiful. I mean, come on! I've been watching my intake and I've been doing my Rodney Yee yoga and my Jillian Michaels Shred... how on earth could this woman think that I'm pregnant? On top of that, I'm obviously past normal child-bearing years. I don't love to admit it, but I even have gray hair! I have two college-age sons. Let's get real here!

"No, I'm not pregnant," I say to the teenaged checker. So she replies, "Well, you're not old and you're not pregnant, so you need to leave my line." At this point, I am totally confused and thinking that there is obviously a big communication breakdown. "Pardon me?", I say again. "I don't understand."

So she points to the sign that I hadn't noticed (maybe because I had been standing in lines with hundreds of other shoppers who are also 5 feet tall - maybe that's why we didn't see the sign that hangs about 15-20 feet above our heads!!! - Just saying, it's tough being "altitude-challenged"!) The sign reads that this checkout line is for Pregnant people and Old people. After reading the sign, I looked back at her and said, "Seriously? I didn't see the sign. Do I really have to change lines after waiting all this time?" Yes, she was serious...

When Billy returned to the store to try to find us, he was a bit confused to find us in another line and STILL waiting to check out. He was even more confused when I announced to him that, "I'm not pregnant! Neither am I old!" His face was priceless!

Just another fun day in Peru... :)

Going Away

We are currently in the mad rush to get things finalized, packed, and ready for us to leave Peru for our 4 month "furlough". I really detest the word "furlough" right now... I guess from being raised in a military family where the word evokes images of R&R (rest and relaxation), shore leave, fun, time off, and vacation... it means nothing of the sort for us! In theory, we are supposed to rest and debrief and reflect while in The States -- but we are supposed to do that in between running all over kingdom come doing speaking engagements and dinner appointments and fundraising ventures! Some of our missionary friends are also on their "furlough" in The States right now, except their mission agency has changed the name to Homeland Mission Assignment (HMA) because in truth, we are "home" but still doing ministry and still working and still on assignment. Our friends say a more accurate name would be HMA = Hurridly Moving Around. I'm starting to agree with them... our calendar looks like anything BUT rest or relaxation!

Not that we're complaining. We are very excited to go "home" and see our boys and our families and our friends. We are very excited to be home for Christmas for the first time in several years. We will be home for Thanksgiving dinner. We will ring in the new year with friends. We're pretty excited! But we're pretty worried and stressed, too. Re-entry Shock is rarely pretty or easy and it is a very real issue for people who are out of the country and out of the culture for so long. Thankfully, there are people at home who are aware of this and they are already putting things in motion to ease our re-entry... people who have arranged for our short-term housing, groceries, transportation, etc. We thank God for these good friends!!!

Leaving here (Peru) won't be easy. It has become our home. We love the people we live and work with. We love the ministry work here. We are tightly connected to our students and the community. It will be rough. Friday, the communities of Iscos and Patarcocha combined in an effort to give us a going away party... see the photos for the story.

1. cookout

2. Mama Elva gives a going away speech

3. The children and moms danced and sang

4. We played party games

5. We had a "who can design the best outfit out of newspaper and toilet paper" contest

Being a witness in the world

The following are excerpts from my devotional readings this morning. While reading them and trying to discern how to apply them to my life, I was struck with the thought that I needed to post them to my blog. Sometimes God puts ideas in my head that seem a little crazy to me, but I try to comply and follow-through, so here goes:

From the devotional My Heart-Christ's Home Through the Year...
"Jesus' disciples will need to look more saved if I am to believe in their Savior", says Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher. The world is looking for followers of Christ who look like Jesus. The world looks at believers not only for right belief but also for a distinctive Christlike lifestyle, a faith expressed through action. They are saying, "Show me your faith by the way you live and serve in this hurting world." Service exemplifies the way Christianity is supposed to be lived. Believers who visibly and actively serve present Jesus to a watching world.

From the book More Than Conquerors, A Call to Radical Discipleship by Simon Guillebaud...
What happened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianity that turned the world upside down? What happened to the smashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was considered by those in power to be dangerous? -What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear, who spoke the truth no matter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who were willing to follow Jesus wherever he went? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?

I want to play my part in turning the world upside down; I want to be fearless, bold, uncompromising and passionate in reaching out to the lost on behalf of the King of Kings; I never want to get over the grace of God; I want to be prepared to follow Jesus wherever he went; and I invite you to join me in this pursuit. As C.T. Studd declared, "If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him." So may the God of grace help you and me to rediscover this dangerous, revolutionary, earth-transforming message, and translate it into our daily living.

So, do with that what you will. It made a pretty big impact on my devotional time and I'm still "chewing" on it and rolling it around in my head... What would the world look like if Christians were like these two passages? Incredible thought...

Shepherding 101

Shepherds are a DAILY part of my life here. Almost everyone I know is a shepherd... maybe their only animals are not sheep, but they own sheep, too. In fact, it isn't uncommon for many of the people that we are around to own two or three cows, a dozen chickens, a couple of pigs, a donkey, and a handful of sheep. They generally herd them all together in a different kind of "flock" (which is actually a really good description of the community that we work with... they are definitely all different and yet they make up a very different kind of "flock").

When we first came to Peru, I have to say that my entire experience with sheep boiled down to petting some at a petting zoo, and taking pictures of them at the county fair. Other than that, I knew absolutely nothing about sheep. So the descriptions in the Bible and the stories revolving around sheep (more than 700 references!) completely eluded me. I knew the stories of the Good Shepherd, the Lost Sheep, etc... but they really didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. They were just stories. Until I came to Peru...

So now I am learning a lot about sheep and shepherds. And it is beginning to make so much more sense to me! Recently, I was searching for a Bible study for the summer months for the interns to work on while they are here. I literally stumbled upon (okay, we know that there are no coincidences.... God led me to this) a bible study called "Scouting the Divine" by Margaret Feinberg. She looks into the themes of sheep/shepherds, farming, vineyards, and beekeeping in the Bible and connects them with real people from today and the modern practices of these "jobs". She also brings in the history and culture behind these themes. We are learning so much!!! And I'm now connecting so much more with sheep and shepherds in my daily life here - serving the people of Peru.

Just today, we watched a small herd of sheep and their two shepherds... the sheep managed to get away from the shepherds (who were walking behind the sheep) and take off down the mountain, at which point the shepherds began yelling and running after them. A little while later, here they came again, back up the mountain, this time being LED by the shepherds and everyone (the sheep) was following in line and behaving. Hmmmmm..... It was a great illustration of some of the things we had just studied this week about good and bad shepherds and how sheep react to being pushed vs. led.

I highly recommend this Bible study... even if you don't live in Peru or spend time daily with shepherds or farmers! I think you will connect with the Bible a little bit better if you dig deeper into these themes.

A Moment in the life of the Stream

Yesterday, we spent the day with some great Peruvian friends. They happen to have a house that sits "on the stream" that goes through town... literally, their house is not 10 feet from the stream. The good part is that they sit "above" the stream about 10 feet, too, on a little ridge. So, from their backyard I had a really good view of the comings and goings at the stream all day. Now, that might sound all romantic and nice, but reserve your judgement until you read all of what happened at the stream in a matter of 2 or 3 hours...

• I watched two young girls take baths and wash their hair in the pool in the bend of the stream. (no, they weren't naked! They bathed the exposed parts of their bodies while wearing shorts and tank tops.)
• When the girls left, I watched a woman bring the breakfast dishes to the same pool and do dishes.
• About 15 minutes after the dishwasher left, a husband and wife came to the same pool and proceeded to wash mystery meat parts. At one point, they washed intestines by pouring stream water through the intestines MANY times... all the while, the dog sat below them in the stream and caught any stray meat parts that were washed out.
• Upstream from the meat washers about 10 yards (at the same time the meat washers were working) 4 little boys decided to wash all of their muddy toys.
• A few minutes later, a woman came down with a broom. Her pigs have been tied up about 15 feet from the stream all this time. She proceeds to sweep the pig area and tidy up the place by sweeping all of the pig-ness to the stream.

Are you getting the picture? And my friends live toward the bottom end of town, so this stream has already passed through much of the village. No telling what has occurred upstream from my where I was perched... Is it any wonder that we have so many complaints of stomach issues, intestinal parasites, e.coli, etc?????

PS - Did I mention that this town has no public sewage / drainage yet?

camping

We went camping this weekend... You have to understand that our family is of the mindset that unless you backpack for miles and unless it is super primitive and unless you have to suffer greatly for the privlege of being alone in God's wilderness, then it just isn't camping. We raised the boys that way. We have made fun of the "sissies" that camp with air mattresses and pull up in their fancy campers and hook up to the electricity at the campsite and complain because the water in the shower isn't hot enough. That is NOT camping! In the States, we have some friends who actually complained that their microwave broke during their "campout" and that they were so happy that they had a DRYER in their camper! We quickly informed them that they were not campers... they were on a rolling hotel vacation.

So, back to the weekend. Yes, we did backpack to our site, although it was not a very long hike in (we are, mind you, backpacking with a 6 year old ballarina princess). And, no, we did not have electricity or water or bathrooms or showers. We did have to cook on our backpack stove, and it was VERY cold at night, and we did not have lanterns or any conveniences. But it was still very mild compared to our past camping experiences. The boys would have said it wasn't good enough, but they are "Indiana Jones/National Geographic/Jeff Corwin" type campers... if you're not muddy and bloody when it's over, it wasn't camping :)

But the point was to get away for a day or two and for Sarah to have a great time in the country, and we accomplished both of those goals. We had a roaring fire (Thank you, Jesus, because I think I would have frozen to death without it). We looked at the stars and planets in a near-perfect sky. We were amazed by owls flying and hunting near us. We managed to surprise several shepherds who obviously are not accustomed to random gringos setting up tents and starting fires in the country. It was a lot of fun!

In the morning, after breakfast and coffee (and after Sarah made friends with a grazing sheep she named Margaret), we decided to hike back in a different direction. We took off over the first hill in the direction of a nearby town. The views as we hiked over the mountains were fabulous! We hiked past shepherds and through fields of wheat and other grains, past a group of farmers harvesting and sorting potatoes, through streams and beautiful valleys of wildflowers... I was so great that when we arrived at the town, we decided that we just weren't finished with hiking yet! So we decided to hike some more and head over the next mountain to the next town. Again, breathtaking views and incredible wildflowers, rock formations, etc.

I can't wait until the next campout...

Animals

My experiences with animals IN ONE DAY...

• During my quiet time, Sarah rocked the rocking chair onto the dog's foot. The screaming and crying and whimpering that followed was WAY less than quiet.
• The cat came running into the house after we found him trapped in Sarah's playhouse. We chased him down to make sure that he went outside for awhile to take care of his morning business. However, he refused to leave the porch because the ground was wet from the rain last night. He just sat at the door and meowed.
• I dodged several piles of animal business taking Sarah to and from her morning lessons.
• The parrot is depressed... don't know if she is sick or cold or what, but she isn't speaking today and won't leave her cage. Great - nothing like having a depressed parrot! Are there parrot counselors?
• On the way to Iscos, we had to change cars and get into a collectivo. Although the animals were not present at the moment, they had obviously been VERY CLOSE to the people who were riding with us!
• Arrived in Iscos and was immediately met on the path by two bulls, a donkey, and a sheep. The donkey and the sheep didn't particularly cause me any alarm, but I'm from Texas and you don't just go walking down the path head-on with two bulls! And, by the way, they both had big horns! I survived and made it into the building to see our students.
• Left the building to walk to the park for recess, only to again meet the donkey in the path. However, this time he was rolling around on his back in the middle of the path and there was no getting around him. So we waited for him to finish his roll. Then we passed him and headed to the park.
• On the way back from the park, with 20 children in tow (ages 3 & 4 years old), TWO MORE BULLS, a cow, two pigs and several sheep turned onto the path directly behind us. The bulls were being pretty vocal about who should have the right of way on the path, and I was agreeing. But have you ever tried to herd 20 preschoolers??? It's like herding cats! We managed to get back to the classroom without being trampled, butted, kicked, or tossed - but we were a little muddier than we wanted to be.
• While we had Kid's Club, the guinea pigs (cuy) sang along with our songs in their high pitched squeeling voices.
• After Kid's Club, we left the building to catch a car back to Chupaca. Guess who was outside the door??? The two bulls, the donkey and the sheep! We did our best to quietly and casually walk by.
• A dog fight ensued while we waited to catch a car. Then one of the losers in the dog fight came toward us and decided to take out his sore-loser complex on Sarah via some ugly barking and threats, but she was saved by her faithful steed (she was riding her stick horse).
• We changed from the car to the combi in Chupaca and headed back to Huancayo. We were detained at one point because a huge passenger bus (think Greyhound or fancy tour bus) was stopped in the road. When we could finally see what was happening, we had to laugh... the entire luggage compartment below the bus was filled with sheep. They were trying to offload the sheep in the middle of the road and herd them toward the market area - tomorrow is animal market day. Amazing! An entire luggage compartment filled with sheep!

All of that before lunch...

Prayers needed

A dear friend sent me this poem last night, and I thought it was perfect for the start of this very difficult day:

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

My morning - goodbye UGA...

4:45 a.m. Look at the clock and silently curse that my body clock has been reset to wake up at the time that the cooks have been arriving each day - except they don't work today, so I'm awake for nothing. Roll back over and try to sleep a little longer.

5:50 a.m. Open my eyes and bolt out of bed. Tell Billy that it is 5:50 - he says that he set his alarm for 6, to which I remind him that we are in charge of breakfast for the team this morning and it is at 6:30. Now he jumps out of bed, too. Both of us run downstairs in our pajamas and scramble to make coffee and get the breakfast buffet (continental breakfast) out in the dining room and make sure all dishes/silverware/glasses, etc are out and ready. Run back upstairs to get dressed and ready.

6:20 a.m. For the first time all week, the Peruvian translators are here EARLY! They have come to say goodbye to the team. They are amazed that they are first today.

6:30 a.m. The team arrives at the front door with all of their luggage in tow, ready for their last breakfast before they board the bus for Lima. Tears flow again as the team sees that the Peruvian translators are here to see them off.

6:35 a.m. The boys on the team break into a spontaneous BackStreet Boys song and serenade the girls. Hysterical! Laughter flows for quite a while afterwards. Sarah wobbles down the stairs in her Hannah Montana jammies and says that the singing woke her up, but she is happy and in a good mood about it.

6:50 a.m. I cannot believe that we have already drained two giant thermos push-pots of coffee! College kids really put away the java!

7:00 a.m. Billy flags down two taxis and loads all of the luggage. He and Ritchie take the luggage to the bus station to begin the check-in process while the team finishes up breakfast and says their goodbyes. I realize that he left without saying goodbye to us... I know he just forgot, but I'm a little sad. I'll call him later on his cell.

7:15 a.m. I give the "10 minute warning" for last-chance bathroom stops, water, etc. The team starts taking last minute photos with us and gathering their things. Tears begin to flow again. Johana escapes the sadness by doing breakfast dishes in the kitchen for me.

7:25 a.m. Rosa appears with Abel. They are here to say their goodbyes to the team and to pick up empty plastic bottles for recycling. The team begins to file out the door. Lots of hugs and kisses and tears. Aaron and Leah stand at the door and count heads.

7:30 a.m. They're off - walking to the bus station with their Peruvian counterparts. Audra and I begin to straighten the house and picking up breakfast things. Ash and Arthur have a conversation about leadership training and mission things, then they begin to move the tables back to the McEuen's house before running off to a local leadership workshop.

7:45 a.m. Phone rings... Billy realized that he forgot to tell us goodbye. He talks to me, then Sarah. We'll see him again tomorrow morning.

7:50 a.m. Audra and I finish with putting furniture back where it belongs and separating dishes. Mary Alice disappeared into thin air... where on Earth did she go? Maybe she went to help Ash and Arthur???

8:00 a.m. Mostly done... Audra goes home. We assume Ash and Arthur have gone on to the leadership workshop. Never did find Mary Alice again. I piddle around a little more, putting small things away and carrying things back upstairs. Darwin calls to tell us about two meetings Monday - says he'll call again tomorrow when Billy gets home. Rosa sets a meeting for Monday morning with Billy to discuss Kid's Club. Sarah wants to play Candy Land or Barbies or horses or stuffed animals with me when I finish. Charlotte and Oreo (dog and cat) are running around the house like crazed beasts - excited that the furniture is back to normal and they have space to play. They find a SuperBall and begin to bounce it and chase it around the first floor. Jackie (parrot) is yelling that she hasn't been fed yet. All I can think about is the leftover pizza in the fridge, a cup of coffee, and a nap.

It's only 8 a.m. Can I just turn the rest of the world off, or at least on pause, just until tomorrow? Please??? No, I guess I'll just blog for a bit and then go play a riveting game of CandyLand... I'm hoping to draw the double purple card right off the bat :)

Teams, Open Doors, Relational Ministry

Okay, okay, okay... I KNOW it has been over a month since I posted. Honestly - I'm terrible at this! Sometimes I think I have something good to write about, but by the time I actually get home and have time to post it, it just doesn't seem so interesting anymore... at least not interesting enough for other people to read. And then there's my "awesome team members" that keep bringing up the fact that I haven't posted in so long... Thanks, Guys, for being my constant accountability partners and reminding me of how behind I am in the blog world! :)

So, what have we been up to??? Well, we had a couple of awesome teams come to Peru to do some short-term mission work over the past few weeks!

The team from McDonough UMC, Georgia came down and spent a week doing a two-part mission -- they spent their mornings working in a local orphanage leading Kid's Club and loving on the children, and they spent their afternoons working with the pueblo of Cochas leading Kid's Club and helping the town to open 3 new Kid's Clubs of their own. To say that it was an incredible week is a gross understatement! It was beyond incredible and they really opened many doors for us "full timers" who will now follow up on their work and further the ministry via the groundwork they laid.

We also had a team from the University of Georgia - Wesley Foundation. They spent a week doing various ministries... they worked with a local Christian school leading chapel each day and teaching in the English classes, they performed in several concerts during the week, they helped with small groups, and they helped us work with a new ministry to local prostitutes. One of the things that this particular team did that was a real treat and treasure to us was they came with the desire to pray over and speak blessings into the lives of the Peruvian workers that work with us in the ministry, and to encourage and pray for us - the full time missionaries on the field.

Both teams spent time learning culture and working to understand more about the ministries here, the people here, and how God is working in lives here in Peru. Relational ministry is all about building relationships with EVERYONE... with your team, with the missionaries, with the locals, with the cooks and translators and neighbors, etc, etc, etc. As short term team coordinators, we feel that a VITAL part of our job is to facilitate and foster these relationships.

We have had a wonderful few weeks and God has opened many doors for us. Now we say goodbye to short term teams for a while (until mid April) and we work to walk through those doors God has opened and build upon the work that the short-termers did while they were here. It's a full-time job, but we are so happy to have "part time team members" that come in and help us... they round out our team and our lives. Thanks, McDonough UMC and UGA-Wesley!!! We loved hosting you and we truly love what you have given to Peru and to us! Rest assured, we are watering the seeds that you planted! Thank you!!!!!

Too much on my mind...

I keep thinking that I need to blog, but then I get distracted because there is just too much on my mind! There's probably a reason that my devotional readings every day for the past week or so have been about patience, don't worry, focus on Jesus, etc...

What's on my mind?

• Trying to entertain Billy's mom. She has been here for three weeks. One more week and then she will return to the USA. I know she doesn't have to be entertained, but you feel obligated to show people a good time and teach them all about Peru when they fly all this way to see it! So when we are entertaining her, I feel guilty because I'm not working. And when I'm working, I feel guilty because I'm not spending time with her. It's a catch 22.
• The first short term team of 2010 comes in Friday, so we are trying to wrap up all the loose ends and get everything done before their arrival.
• When you have people, you have conflicts. Inner strife and struggles among people who need to work as a team, etc...
• My good friend back home just lost her son in an accident this weekend... feeling so far away and really wanting to be there with my friends right now as they all come together to comfort Terri.
• Sarah is sick - not fun for anyone, especially Sarah.
• The mayor of Iscos is still working to make us move (Kuyay Talpuy school). Not that we really care what he does, but it is a constant daily stress that he is causing. Trying to be Christian and maintain my good values and nice-ness is really starting to wear me down!
• Intently following my friend, Erin, as she serves as a disaster nurse in Haiti right now. She has been working long hours with little equipment or support. She has been stuck twice in one week with dirty needles. She needs a lot of prayers.

Okay - so I'm not whining, just saying that THERE IS A LOT ON MY MIND! Lot's of good things are happening, too, thank goodness!

• Got to Skype with Navasota High School today and see lots of my old students (now freshmen and sophmores) and teach lessons on Peruvian culture and geography, etc. That was cool!
• We have a great doctor and clinic around the corner... we took Sarah in on an emergency visit with severe stomach cramps, chills, and a high fever. We saw the doctor, received our meds, and were back home within 30 minutes! And it only cost us $20 total. That ROCKS!!!
• Finally finalized the team of translators, cooks, workers, etc for the upcoming team.
• Talked to my best friend in the States today on the phone.

It's all gonna work out in the end. As Billy says, "It's all good."

Organized

We're trying to get organized... okay, truth be known, I'M trying to get organized. Anyone who knows us well knows that I (laurie) am the one who cares about organization and Billy is happy with however things fall, literally. So I have taken advantage of the past couple of days (Billy has been gone to Lima) and I have cleaned and reorganized the mission office. It feels AWESOME! I am not so naive as to think that it will stay this way... in fact, I am pretty sure that by bedtime tonight, it will be a disaster again. But at least it feels really good right now.

My reason for working so hard to try to get organized is that we have A LOT on our plate right now and we can't afford to not be organized. We have several short-term teams coming this year and we have to be completely on-the-ball to pull this off. The first team of the year will arrive in four weeks and we are in the final stages of getting them here. While they are here, we will have a visitor arrive from the States for several days to work (yes, their travel plans overlap). Two weeks after the first team departs, the next team arrives. And so it will go until mid-August... teams coming, teams going, visitors coming and going, interns arriving to work for a few months, etc. And not much time in between. Therefore, we have to be prepared and organized:

• reservations at hotels must be made anywhere from 30-60 days in advance and a deposit must be paid when the reservations are made (in person, of course) which means a trip to Lima to pay up.
• transportation must be arranged (charter busses or tickets on bus lines, local transportation, etc). Again, deposits must be paid.
• food - cooks need to be contracted, menus prepared, shopping at the market, reserves of gas ordered, etc.
• translators must be contracted
• ministry initiatives must be finalized and a Peruvian team must be assembled to work alongside the North Americans
• Schedules must be finalized and ministry initiatives programmed
• Water needs to be purchased in bulk, water filters need to be changed...
• Who is going to Lima to pick up the team and accompany them? (that means at least 2 days of travel for that person) Who is leading devotionals and worship time? Who is responsible for the training and accountability?

And these are only some of the things on the checklist for a "regular" short-term ministry team. If it is a medical mission, you can add about 50 more things to the list!!!

In other words, organization is not a luxury - it is a MUST! And we still have on-going ministries that don't stop while short-term teams are here. For this reason, we always have Peruvian counterparts who we train and work with daily so that the ministries are Peruvian-run and will continue in our absence.

So I gave Billy a bad rap in the first paragraph... in reality, he likes the organization and he will be happy to see the office when he gets home today. He just isn't the one who LIVES for organization. Billy is happy with however things are. I, on the other hand, would be really excited if I get to heaven and find out that The Container Store has recently redecorated God's throne room! Or if Tupperware has a special section in heaven... wow! Just imagine it!!! That would be perfect!

New Start

Okay - don't pass out! I know it has been a LONG time since I last posted a blog. Honestly, I just plain ol' got tired. I know that isn't a good excuse, but it's the truth. But recently I was guilted in to trying to give it a go again... a new start for the new year. So, I'll try to be better at posting regularly. I'm not promising that the posts will always be exciting or adventurous, because life just isn't always exciting or adventurous. But I will try to keep you updated a little better...

We just returned from taking Laurie's mom and both boys back to Lima to catch their planes for the USA. They spent 3 weeks here with us to celebrate Christmas. Of course, each person had a different flight on a different day, so this meant spending an entire week in Lima going back and forth to the airport, sleeping in a hotel, and finding ways to stay occupied during the day. Because the bus ride from our home in Huancayo to Lima is 7+ hours one-way, going home in between flights just wasn't an option. Needless to say, we know lots more about Lima now than before, as we have walked the streets and visited every possible museum or ruin imaginable!

Back in Huancayo now, we are getting back to work and starting the year in a whirlwind. We spent the beginning of this week redesigning the newsletter. This being the beginning of the 5th year for the newsletter (not our 5th year in Peru, but the 5th year since our acceptance of the call to Peru), we were getting a little tired of the "old look" and wanting to spice it up a little. We won't be doing that again any time soon.... what a stress! However, it is now done with a new look and feel and we have a new start for the newsletter now. The website and blog will come next, but don't hold your breath... they are pretty far down the priority list!

The rest of our time right now is being taken up by planning for the short-term teams that are coming to serve in Peru in 2010. The first team will arrive in a month, so we are in the finalizing stages of getting their registrations, reservations, bus tickets, food prep and menus, ministry activities, supplies, etc... lots to do to get ready for just one week of service with a short-term team! Less than two weeks after that team leaves, another one comes in - so we have to be ahead of the plans on everyone. And the existing ministries can't fall behind... we still have to keep the Kuyay Talpuy school running and the disciple meetings going and the Kid's Club moving... Thank goodness we have good Peruvian workers who can pretty much do everything without us!

Sarah has begun her "vacaciones utiles" (Useful Vacation) classes. Pretty much that just equates to "summer enrichment programs" in the USA. She is taking a package of classes that is offered at an art institute close to our house... piano, art, dance, and theatre - each class is one hour. She goes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for January and February. This is only offered during summer vacation here. Most Peruvian children do not take extracurricular activities during the school year, only during vacation time. However, Sarah will continue with the piano lessons when the school year starts in March. During the regular school year, piano is 5 days a week/1 hour each day. She is loving her classes. As I type this, she is upstairs practicing "Happy Birthday" on the piano (electric keyboard) so she will be ready for class tomorrow.

Laurie is about to start planning for Sarah's homeschool curriculum that will begin again in March. Because of the teams that are coming and the demanding time schedule that we will soon have, she needs to get the plans set and materials purchased so all will go smoothly when March arrives. Billy's mother is coming next week to spend a month with us and she is playing "pack mule" to 50 pounds of school books for Sarah's lessons! And another visitor in February is trying to bring in some science materials that we are hoping for.

Okay - enough for now. We are sharing a computer right now (hard drive crash on the desktop computer) and Billy is waiting to get back on here and get back to work on the team preparations. I promise to do better on the blogging... ~Laurie

Going to church

We went to church with a friend yesterday and it was really great! To back up a little and give you some history on our experiences with going to church here in Huancayo...

• it is REALLY boring
• it is at least 2 painful hours long
• the train-of-thought in the sermon usually cannot be followed, by us or the Peruvians
• if you can follow the sermon, the doctrine / theology is "off" and sometimes not even Biblical
• the music is less-than-pleasant and it seems that no one knows the words (there are no hymnals or bulletins in most churches)
• we are almost always asked to stand up and speak about ourselves since we are gringos
• we are almost always recruited to be the new pastors / teachers /volunteers etc. or are asked to support something financially because "gringos have money"

So, to make a long story short, we don't get really excited about attending the Peruvian churches. We LOVE to attend the church in Chilca (Casa de Oracion - Quechua) and help with their children's worship service at least once each month. And we have met some very nice "church people" here. And we have seen the absolute best VBS program we have ever seen in the USA or Peru in a church here in Huancayo. And we help in churches as far as teaching occasionally (Laurie is going to teach at a church women's group next week on nutrition and a Bible Study over what the Bible says about food / taking care of our bodies). But, alas, the general Sunday worship experience is less-than pleasant and there just isn't much going on... the worship seems less than worshipful... just obligatory. The people come because they have to, they don't enjoy it or participate in it, and there isn't really much for them to learn. And on top of all of that, you have the in-fighting and the legalism that really sends people for a loop.

So when Ivan asked us to go to church with him, we said yes, but we were skeptical. Boy, were we wrong!!! Hallelujah - I think we finally found a church!

First of all, they started 5 minutes EARLY!!! Unheard of in Peruvian culture!!! We sang 3 very upbeat praise songs, then broke up for Sunday School (children, youth, and adults). The Sunday School teacher was well prepared and everyone in the class participated. After Sunday School (which ended exactly on time), we all came back together for worship service. Service began with each class going to the front of the church and telling about what they studied in Sunday School. Sarah's class was taught by the pastor and they told the Bible verse for the day and acted it out with hand motions - very cute. The youth (about 15 of them) told their study verse and theme for the day, and the adults (us included) said our memory verse and theme for the day. Then the service turned to a prayer and several praise songs. By the way, we knew all of the praise band members... they are the "kids" from our Friday night praise band ministry and from our disciple groups. The music was AWESOME and all of the congregation (even the 80+ year olds) danced and clapped and sang LOUDLY. The pastor's sermon was excellent - well thought-out with a main question and an outline with supporting details... amazing for this culture! Then more singing, an offering, and communion. This is the first time we have taken communion in over a year!!! When it was all said and done, everyone hugged and kissed and said goodbye to each other, see you tomorrow. And they will, because there is something going on in this church every day of the week!

My favorite part was when the praise band made a boo-boo and the music got off and the singing was "messed up"... they started to laugh, and the congregation all laughed with them... not laughing AT them, but really laughing with them. It was very light and understanding and sweet. Ivan says it is normal... that this day was more formal and stiff than most, maybe because we showed up and everyone was nervous to have the gringo visitors - he says there is usually more laughing and more family atmosphere. I can't imagine - I thought it was perfect!

And when it was all over, no one asked us to preach or teach or lead anything (not that we aren't open to that, but we also need to just worship sometimes - not always lead). We look forward to returning and worshiping with this congregation again... and laughing with them much more in our future together. Because I'm positive that God is smiling and laughing, too.

Looking up...

Things are looking up a bit in the village of Iscos. You may remember that our last post was an urgent plea for prayer after our Kid's Club was attacked and our presence in the town was under persecution. A couple of weeks later, the mayor and the city council members (I use these terms very loosely... it IS NOT the same as in the USA) had a meeting regarding the oppression that we were feeling and the harassment from the local school personnel. The city officials decided to call a meeting of all involved parties - the mayor, city council members, local school director, local school teachers, directors of surrounding schools, our staff, and our lawyer.

During the meeting, our lawyer had a formal reading of the agreement/contract that we have with the city. Each point in the agreement was discussed with the committee - this was not news to them, as they all had to read it and sign off on it before we began work in the village. He also explained our goals and purposes for being in the community and working with the children of Iscos. He was very upfront in stating that our #1 purpose is to teach the word of God and share the love of Christ with the community, and our #2 purpose is to educate the children who do not have an opportunity to attend school.

In the end, the city council voted in our favor and the mayor spoke on our behalf. The mayor also said, "This town NEEDS more love and we NEED someone to teach the word of God here. We are glad that you are here." This was a huge victory!!!

Since the meeting, the local school director has greeted our director with handshakes and kind words in the mornings. The verbal abuse has stopped and things seem to be going well. No, we are not so naive as to believe that everyone has come to love us overnight, but we do believe that God can do ALL things and use ALL things for good. So, we are moving forward in Iscos and continue to work with our students and teach the love of Christ and hold Kid's Club on Fridays.

Thank you for your prayers!!! We do believe in the power of prayer and we do believe that your intercession on behalf of the children made a difference. Thank you. To God be the Glory!

Urgent Plea for Prayer!

Dear Family, Friends, Brother & Sisters in Christ, Supporters, Church

family:

It is with such a mixture of emotions that we write to you tonight with

this urgent plea for prayers. God never said that this job would be

easy. In fact, the Bible promises us that it will be difficult - that there

will be trials and troubles and that the road will be rough. Today, we

have truly come face to face with The Enemy and this has surely been

the toughest day that we have faced so far. We write to you today

because we are in need of URGENT PRAYERS.

Some background… At the beginning of this month, we began the Kuyay

Talpuy school in the pueblo of San Juan de Iscos. We have the

blessing of the municipality, the mayor, the city council, etc. We have a

contract with the city that states what our goals and objectives are.

The city even blessed us with a classroom within the city hall. We have

reached out to children in the community who cannot afford to attend

the local school because they cannot afford the uniform, school supplies,

or even food. Our goal has always been to get them into a school

setting and provide for them all that is needed to succeed. We are

preparing them to enter the local school system and we have sponsors

from the USA who provide their school supplies, uniforms, teacher

salary, and a hot, balanced lunch each day.

Since the first week of school, we have been under attack (quite literally)

from the local school officials. They have tried to undermine our

efforts by spreading rumors in the community that we are trying to

steal children and send them to the USA, that we are poisoning their

food, that we are giving drugs to the children of the community, that we

are undermining the community morals through reggae music and false

teachings, etc. They succeeded in cutting our student attendance in

half . We went from serving 30 children (and a waiting list) to only

having 17 students. The local school told the parents of our students

that our school was illegal and if they attended, they would not be allowed

to enroll in the local school when the time comes. They even

called the Ministry of Education and tried to have us closed down…

which didn’t work because we are completely legal and have all of our

contracts, permissions, and papers, plus all of our teachers are certified

and licensed, as are we. We do not charge money for our services and

we do not take students away from the local school, therefore, the

Ministry of Education had no cause to disturb us and walked away from

the issue.

During our first week of Kid’s Club (a weekly children’s bible study/

fiesta, much like Vacation Bible School in the USA), we had 80+ children

in attendance. The next week, we had less than half of that

number and we realized that the local school did not allow children to

leave through the front gate as usual (the front gate faces the park

where we hold Kid’s Club). We also realized that there were several

teachers and the director standing at the gate watching Kid’s Club.

When Club began, the teacher’s stepped out and most of the local

school children screamed, grabbed their backpacks and ran away. A

couple said, “Hurry! Run! Teacher is watching!” We began to get a

glimpse of what was occurring in the school. However, we continued

with Club as usual and refused to be discouraged.

This week, we learned that the director of the local school held a

meeting with the teachers and the parents. She told the audience that

the children were prohibited to attend the Kid’s Club because we are

evangelicals, we are plotting to give drugs to their children, we are

actually the devil in disguise, we are teaching bad morals, and we bribe

children with crafts and candy and prizes.

Today, in Kid’s Club, once again, children from the local school did not

exit through the front gate. But they still came to Club (in smaller

numbers, but they came). When Club began and we started the singing

and the music, the director stepped out of the gate and watched

while a teacher stormed across the park swinging a leather belt and

screaming at the children to go home and leave Club. She swung the

belt at children and attacked the Club while the director looked on.

Almost every child ran into the hills. We were left with about 10

children and a handful of parents.

I must say that I am VERY proud of our team. They did not succumb

to their knee-jerk reactions to fight with the woman. We did not

allow her to actually make contact with children, but we did not fight

with her either. We continued to lead Club, telling the Bible story for

the day, teaching the lesson, and loving the kids who remained. We

will NOT back down in the face of persecution. We WILL stand up

for the name of Christ and continue to proclaim it in the pueblo of

Iscos.

Brothers and Sisters, we will face more trials. This is not over. We

were literally attacked today, both physically and spiritually. Our

hearts are broken for the children. We literally broke down and cried

at the end of club today. Together as a team, we prayed over this persecution. We prayed for the local school and for the director and the teachers. We prayed for the children of Iscos, for their families, and for the city officials. We prayed right there in the middle of the park, where

we were attacked during Club today. We know that this is not over, and that it is likely to get worse before it gets better.

So we write to you tonight to ask for prayers for this situation. We ask for prayers for our team, for our family, and for the children we serve.

We ask for prayers of safety. We ask for you to pray for our courage to stand firm in the face of persecution. We ask for your support as we continue to teach the Bible and share the love of Christ. We ask for you to pray for protection. But most of all, we ask for you to intercede on

behalf of the children… to ask God to do mighty works in Iscos and to command The Enemy to stand down!

We have but two responses to every situation… fear or faith. We can fear that we will be overcome, we can fear for our safety, we can fear that the children will not hear the Word of God or will not feel the love of Christ… or, we can have faith that God can do all things! We can have

faith that He is bigger and stronger and more powerful than anything that can be brought against us. We can have faith in His plan and in His promises. We can have faith in the Bible and in the Word and in all that we know to be Truth in Him.

One of our team told us today, “You are in Jonah’s shoes and this is your Nineveh. You can’t back down. You have to tell them about Christ’s love.” We have been studying Paul and his journeys… he met with many obstacles, with much persecution, and with much suffering. And yet, my favorite Bible verses come from these times - from Paul’s writings on perseverance. A very dear friend pointed out to me many years ago that the root word in “persevere” is “severe”. This road is hard, Friends. We need your prayers.

Please join us in prayer. Please share this prayer request with as many as you can. We have friends all around the world… please help us literally circle the world with prayer for the children of Iscos. Please take this plea to work with you, to Sunday school, read it in worship on Sunday,

email it to friends and family… we need as many people praying for this situation as possible. We believe in the power of prayer and that our God is Greater than All Things… he is Todopodoroso! (All-Powerful)

Thank you! Blessings in His Name,

Laurie & Billy

Busy, busy

Sorry!!! I realize it has been almost a month since my last blog entry! So, what's been going on? Well...

• The Kuyay Talpuy school is finally open. We opened on August 10th in San Juan de Iscos. For info on the school and to see photos, go to www.kuyayperu.org
• Today, Billy is in Iscos helping the little school move into it's permanent home. Yes, we spent three weeks in a temporary classroom awaiting the repairs and final construction of our "real" classroom.
• We went to Lima to pick up our new missionary team members at the airport. The McEuen family arrived here after spending a year in Costa Rica in language school. We are SOOOO happy that they have finally arrived!!!
• We began our homeschool curriculum with Sarah and have now completed 6 weeks. We are having a lot of fun with it and she is learning so much and so quickly!
• Billy has been working long-distance with Ron Phillips to get the kinks out of our medical database in the computer. The system is really awesome! When patients come to receive medical/dental/optical care, they put their finger on a fingerprint scanner and the computer finds them, enters their data, and they are tracked through the system of services. After the first medical campaign in July, we have beefed up the computer memory and worked on refining the system. As of today, we are ready to test-drive it again on the next medical campaign - beginning Saturday!
• Laurie has been studying and taking an online course through the Institute for International Medicine (INMED) to help further prepare for the medical missions. Medicine and Health practices are VERY different in other cultures and it is crucial to understand the culture and the language and the underlying ideas when dealing with medical issues in another country/culture.
• We have been preparing for the next two medical campaigns. One begins this weekend in Puerto Bermudez (jungle). The next will be in mid-September to Iscosazin (jungle). These will be very different from the last medical mission to the mountains in that they are in the jungle (different diseases, illnesses, climate, etc.) and that they are in completely different cultural groups (jungle cultures are NOT like mountain cultures).

So we have been busy! Sorry to have neglected the blog site... maybe I'll do better in September...

I promise not to...

This week has been a practice in patience and a lesson in trust. We have been working to enroll children in the new Kuyay Talpuy education center that will open on August 10th. The purpose of the Kuyay Talpuy school is to make education available to children who do not have the economic resources to attend school in Peru, to get them off the streets and out of the fields, and to witness to their families by loving their children. There are LOTS of these children out there (over 25% of children in Peru are in this situation - the percentage is higher in our area). In trying to meet the families and find these children, we have been met with distrust and fears that we didn't expect:

• People who don't trust us to feed their children lunch each day because we might put chemicals in their food and poison them.
• People who are afraid that we are part of a child smuggling scheme and we are just trying to steal their children and send them to other countries.
• People who are afraid that we are just trying to gain entrance into their lives so we can steal their livestock.
• People who are illiterate themselves, and so are very afraid of the forms that they are signing.
• People who are afraid that we are from the government and are trying to find out what they might be doing wrong.

And so we have had to be very patient. And we have had to literally promise not to poison their children, steal their livestock, sell their children, etc. Slowly, step by step, we are gaining some confidence. At first, we only signed up 2 children in one day. Then 2 more on another day. It seemed that we would never fill the classroom! But then we enrolled 7 one day, and 10 the next! And we realized that the children are our focus, but we will also be ministering to their families through the LOVE that we show to them and to their children... step by step, they will see that we are trustworthy and that we aren't to be feared and that we were sent by Christ to love them.

Ridiculous things that we wish we had...

We don't miss a lot of foods from the USA, but there are a few things that we have missed over the past couple of years and we are slowly finding ways to bring them into our lives in Peru (okay, I am perfectly aware that this is a ridiculous list of items, but it's the truth):

• Ranch dressing... there's no such animal here. One day I found a bottle of liquidy stuff that was labeled as ranch dressing, but wasn't even close to what my mouth had in mind. THANK YOU JESUS for allowing someone to come up with the idea of Ranch dressing in packets/envelopes! I bought some dry mix while we were in the States in June and it is so wonderful to have real ranch dressing for dipping my veggies now!!!
• Kool-Aid... again, no such thing here. I, myself, am not such a giant fan of Kool-Aid, but Sarah and Billy are. And I have to admit, there is just something about drinking a glass of Tropical Punch or Cherry Kool-Aid that really feels very American and homey.
• Any drink mixes... I know, Kool-Aid is a drink mix so this is a little redundant. But a recent short-term mission team left us with two containers of powdered Gatorade and I will be eternally grateful. They also gifted me with several left-over mixes of those little single-serving mixes you dump in a water bottle... don't know what they are technically called, since they arrived on the scene post-Drums-in-Texas a couple of years ago. Yummy!!! I really love the Lipton Green Tea on the Go!!! And the lemonade flavor really made me realize how much I miss Country Time lemonade (not as good a fresh lemonade from our own lemon trees in Costa Rica, but really yummy still.)
• Tacos... we have found one place that has something they call tacos, but they aren't, really. And that restaurant is 10 hours from Huancayo, so we won't be making it a habit to eat there. We did bring back a few taco seasoning packets, which is better than nothing.
• Blue Bell... enough said!
• I really wish I could figure out how to make something similar to a Cherry Limeade or a Cherry Lime Slush or a Lemon Berry Slush from Sonic... que rico!

Maybe I'm just hungry...