Our highly unusual eventful day

God has blessed us with uneventful days while here the past 4 weeks until today. Today we experienced some things we have never faced before.
We woke up to a trembling shake… a 5.3 earthquake on the scale. When you grow up used to the blasts of a close by combine… a earthquake is a total different story. Its quite the alarm in the morning. You wake up to your bed shaking, parrots squawking, dishes moving around in the cabinets, and people screaming. Not the thing I would like to experience everyday. But everyone here just seen it as a normal event. They told us that we are expected one next week… so be aware!! Great!! Another possible morning of waking up to shaking.
Today we got invited to Italo’s house for lunch and that was amazing. We rode a bus for about an hour and then a taxi for about another 20 minutes. On the bus… we were all crowded in the back. Some 4 in a seat. When we got off to wait for a taxi, Otto told us a story of what he saw while watching out the bus window. A guy on the bus jumped out at a stop and ran up to a car stopped at a red light. He put his hand in the open window and grabbed the guys phone and took off running. Right in the middle of the street. Things like this happen regularly. Rule #1 while riding a taxi or bus… never open the window more then half way. Rule #2... Always lock the doors. Rule #3... Never flash things of great value. We finally arrived at Italo’s and shared our story with them. They all laughed at the events that go on in their streets. We ate turkey, rice, sweet potatoes, salad, gravy, and pineapple cake for dessert. Some good Peruvian home cookin’ food!!
While we were waiting to eat… Jano got a phone call and it wasn’t the best of news. It was about the church in Trujillo. We where all shocked and kind of at amaze. We are planning on visiting that church in 4 weeks.
On our way home from our lunch, I was in a taxi with papi, mama, Ali, and Anni… and as we came to a traffic jam, we saw a man out of his vehicle beating on a taxi driver. The poor driver just sat in his car and took the beating. Some guys rushed to the attacker and grabbed him and pushed him back into his car. I was startled at what I had just witnessed. The rage of some of the drivers amaze me. The driving here is outrageous. I would never attempt to ever drive in it. People cutting off people, more honking in a minute then you would hear in the whole day in the town of Montgomery, cars not watching out for pedestrians, and roads without stop signs. But the funny thing is that you hardly see accidents. I think we saw our first ambulance today since we’ve been here. How is it that in our towns, we have so many rules and yet so many accidents… and here, no rules and no accidents?! Something isn’t right.
Tonight for youth Jano had us TREKers dress up in all black. He talked on the death and resurrection of Lazarus. How we need to die to Christ. So dead that we stink. We need to die so we can be risen, we need to be hurt so we can forgive, we need to feel pain so we can heal. We need to really die. We then put a paper with our names on it and through it in the fire. Then he shared how when we raise for the dead… be bring color into our lives. Us TREKers then took off our black shirts and exposed a brightly colored t-shirt. It touched many people. It touched me. I had never thought of it that way. That when we die to Christ… really die the death and be made new.
After our lesson we headed to the market place where they had a special dance presentation going on for free. There was Polish, Peruvian, and some other dancing we had never seen before. It was so exciting and new for us. There were so many people there. Chairs set up filled with people and the circling area was overwhelmed with sightseers.
So for the most part… today has been the most eventful day of our 4 weeks here. We are starting to see the reality of life and how serious things can get. How fast situations can turn to the worst. We are starting to see the seriousness of togetherness and protection. And we are starting to see God work in the lives of the church member and also in some un helping neighbors. We are starting to see the devil working against the work we are starting to do. Please keep us, the church here and also in Trujillo, and the hearts of these Peruvian people in your prayers!!

Youth retreat filled with tons of energy

What a week!! The past 3 days have been filled with the youth group here. There were 26 of us total. So without us TREKers, the leaders, and staff… there were about 15 youth. Not bad for the community here. They all seemed to have a good time. Its just hard to know for sure though sometimes. Sometimes they just show up to see us and to have something to do. But this week retreat, it was focused on God and connecting with people in your area.
They arrived on Wednesday night at about 10. We just hung out and got everyone ready for bed. We had 14 girls ( 12 mattress ) in a small room… and 9 guys ( 6 mattress ) in another small room. It was hard getting some of them to bed on time. They love to giggle and just stay up. For some of them, this was their first ‘slumber party’!! Yea, that may be hard to believe, but its true. Yesterday morning we had breakfast on a long table. Felt like a big family. We had bread buns and soupy oatmeal. We sat and just chatted like we hadn’t talked to one another in weeks. After breakfast we played some games. We were on two teams and we played some true and false games. Talk about something challenging to have a person reading off the questions who speaks no English at all. He finally gave in and had Lydia give off some questions in English for us TREKers. The one question was pretty funny. She asked who the prime minister of Canada is. On my team it was: Laura ( American ), me ( American ), and Roxy ( Canadian but has a hearing problem )! So… if you didn’t figure it out yet… we last that one!! They had a pretty good laugh on that one. Another question I was eliminated from. Lydia yelled out… Lisa and Jake have been dating 7 months now!!! It was a fight to sit in the ‘True’ seat!! Everyone here knows I’m dating Jake and they ask everyday how he is doing! Makes me feel good and it helps me see how much I miss him.
After our games, Jano had devotions and it was a tear jerker. He talked about how much God did for us on the cross. He talked about how when they nailed him to the cross, they had to pull his arms out of their sockets and they were pulled out about 10 cm more then a normal arm. So for him to breathe, he would’ve had to push up on his nail feet to open up his lungs enough to take a breath!! OUCH!! He showed us 2 different clips from the ‘Passion of the Christ’! One of Jesus getting whipped and tortured, one of him being nailed to the cross, and one of the things that could’ve ran through Jesus’ mind while on the cross. It really touched my heart and made we wince at the sight. I had to turn away. I’ve seen that movie before and I’ve watched it all, but for some reason, I couldn’t this time. After the devotion was over, we were to get up and hug everyone. We saw some crying, watched their facial expressions change while getting hugged, and some just happy to be living.
After the hugs, we went out on a prayer walk. We split up and just walked around the neighborhood and prayed for each house, each person we saw, and just the whole Peruvian country. It wasn’t something I’ve ever done, and I found it relaxing, touching, and just amazing. After about a half an hour, Otto was walking beside me and he was explaining some things to me about the different streets and the houses. Some I found shocking, some I found amazing, and others were just the usual. We had some good talks and discussed the differences and similarities between Abbotsford Canada, Lima Peru, and Cannelburg Indiana.
Later we watched a movie. It felt so much like home. We were all spread out on the floor, mattress, and on chairs. We laughed and cried. We had the movie in Spanish and subtitles in English. It was so much fun how we can actually relate to each other. Just because we have a language barrier, we find ways to connect and to get through to each other. We watched a touching movie called ‘Pay it Forward’. Amazing movie!!
This morning we woke up and had another breakfast and then we headed to the beach. We were there about 5 hours!! Talk about a lot of sun!! We did a lot of body surfing, laying out, and hiding in the shade of the umbrellas! Beaches here are so amazing to just sit back and watch. There are ice cream carts being pushed around you every 2 minutes and just tons of kids running around. One thing I noticed though… their ocean has a stronger salt taste then Florida beaches do! We all did a lot of system cleaning while body surfing! But even through that, it was a lot of fun.
After 3 days hanging out with their youth, I can honestly say that I am wore out! They have a lot more energy then Americans or Canadians and they love to use it up in one throw! Its hard to keep up but it’s a lot of fun. I love it here and cant image being anywhere else at this moment. God is good and God is amazing!! He will never let you down.
Oh and we got Poncho ( the parrot ) to say ‘Party On’!!! Talk about some happy TREKers!! We were pretty excited!

Day as a tourist

Looking at Peru through the eyes of a tourist, someone you seldom are, you see the real beauty of the city. We got to do things and experience things we normally couldn't do. We experienced the reality of losing the only person you know who you understand for 5 minutes and being in the heart of a huge city, we experienced walking through a mall and hearing, and for a moment speaking to, a english speaking person without a peruvian accent. That was one of the best sounds I've heard in 2 weeks. Yes, we see and talk to Otto, Lydia, and Kevin, but hearing a native english speaker hit home more then I thought it ever would. We experienced Starbucks for the first time in 2 weeks. Now that is home!!! Drinking something you see at home really brought back some memories of both homes, Canada and Indiana. The best part of Starbucks was that they had a special Frap... one from their very home here in Peru... Manjar Blanco!!! A delicious caramel spread for just about anything you can think of! Bananas, apples, buns, grilled cheese, and yes... even pizza!! Try that in a Frap and you think you are in heaven!
The beach is amazing. Standing on the rail of the mall, having the wind blowing through my hair, and smelling the ocean, I realized how lucky I am. I am on a mission for God in the heart of Lima Peru with a Frap in my hand! What more can you ask for? How could it get any better? Having family here with me maybe, but the position I'm in now... it cant get any better!!

Breanne and I were standing facing the ocean and the amazing sunset and we talked about how when you put your heart and mind to something, you will eventually end up doing it. No matter if it happens how you wanted, if it takes many years, or just a few days, weeks or months, you will get there if you are determained enough. If you ask God, seek it out with your heart, and just look and watch for chances to do your dream, you will be surprised.

It doesn't seem like long ago that I first felt the desire to go on missions. I remember working hard to find something that worked and that fit my plans. But when you decide you want to follow God with something like this, he will find a way to get you there. Even thought I was thinking more like Jamaica, but Peru will do!! My heart is still on Jamica, and I trust God that I will one day step into the orphanage on the small island of Jamaica. But until that day, I will relax and have fun here where God has placed me.

One day in the life a tourist is fun and new... but I really enjoy the real purpose I'm here! I'm here to learn and serve!! Learn about the culture, the language, and serve God and the people here. That is my purpose here!! Learn and Serve!!

Embrace him

When God answers prayers, he goes extreme! He doesn’t just give you what you asked for in a small answer with no energy, he gives it with a ball of fire that turns heads of those around us. In many more ways then one. It puts a smile on your face and you feel like you have just been hugged and that you are loved. Just that he would take the time to answer a small prayer that you had and do it with so much love has enough to do wonders on its own.
Its sad how sometimes when we pray for something, we don’t really expect it right then or even ever. How awful are we to even think that God doesn’t care about our small wants and needs?! God loves us and cares about us so much.
We were sitting around talking to Otto this afternoon and he shared how God has answered a big pray that they have prayed for some time now. But never dreamed that it would be like this. Yes, he believed God would take care of things, but like this? Wow! When he was talking about what God did, tears came to my eyes. We serve an amazing God and for me to know that I am here as a child of his and I’m here serving him and spending time with him gives me chills. We serve an amazing God.
After Otto shared, I went to check my email and got an amazing email. An answer to one of my prayers I had just prayed yesterday. One that make tears once again rise in my eyes. So quickly had God answered my prayers. It wasn’t one that was that big… but God took the time to answer it anyway. The thing that is the most astonishing is that I hadn’t even mentioned my prayer to this person. Only God could have prompted them to write that email and encourage me through that. Only God could have spoken to their heart. Only my God could do that.
I’m learning so much being away from home and in a different country. God stretches you in new ways everyday and makes you fall more in love with him in small things he does. He is with us no matter where we go and when we do his will, there will be blessings beyond our imagination. Just trust him and embrace the things he does for us!!!

Pictures of my first week here...

Standing infront of the 'White House'

Statue of Liberty in Peru Roxy, me, Sarah, Bre, Laura, and Dave at the beach

Peruvian hearts and time

We’ve been here one week now and there is so much to tell already!! It’s been great getting to learn about their culture and just to hang around these people and to see how they live and how they spend their time.
Their greetings are a fun way to make first impressions. Its practically a kiss on the cheek. When you walk into a house or a group of people, the first thing you do is make your rounds and put your right cheek to their right cheek and kiss the air. Girls greet everyone this way, but guys only do it to girls, not guys. This was hard and fun to get used to. It was a bit awkward at first, kissing a stranger, but after you get used to it, you cherish the old greetings I’m used to at home. Just an old fashion hand shake.
The youth and church members here are great. They are so loving and so kind and take to heart every minute you spend with them.
Saturday we started our day with a breakfast at the church with anyone who wanted to come. It consisted of bread, ham, and cheese served with coffee, milk, or water. People came as they pleased and they stayed as long as they please. After breakfast we had a devotion with Jackie. They guys went off and had one on their own. It was some what difficult sitting through it when all you understand is a word here and there. But it was amazing.
After… a lady in the church, makes a living on making jewelry and she brought stuff and helped us make earrings and a bracelet. It was so much fun to work with little kids and to see how she makes her living.
That whole afternoon the youth hung around here. They just grabbed chairs and set and talked. They didn’t have anything else to do besides to sit and chat with us. It was an experience. Never did I see more people who just want to hang around and time didn’t matter. Their time doesn’t have a hold on them. They will sit around for hours and just talk to you and get to know you. They live to love.
At 7, us TREKers were in charge of games with the youth and to help plan things. Coming up with games we could explain to non English speaking people was a number 1 drawback. But with the help of Otto, Lydia, and Kevin, things were done. We played: 4 on the couch, up set the fruit basket, and Dutch Blitz and spoons! They seemed have fun and we enjoyed it as much as they did. We just played each game until things got out of control!! Chairs were flying, bodies were flying, and we just decided to start something else.
Yesterday we had our first church service. As on Saturday, we didn’t understand much of the message but Otto did a good job to talk slow for us and he told us about it later. Rule #1: if you say to be somewhere at a certain time… it won’t happen! Church started at 10... People didn’t really start showing up until 10:30 or 11. There is no such thing as being late! This has been a challenge for me already. I love to have set schedules about how the day is going to happen and what time we will do this. That’s how it was at the MARK Centre in Canada and that’s not how it is here. We never know what is going to happen. We have to be flexible with each and every day. There is NO set plans for the day.
Rule #2: on Sundays, if you don’t go our for lunch after church, people will stick around all day if you don’t leave. It’s kind of a unspoken rule around here. So we went out and got some Chifa ( Chinese )!! It was so good. I hadn’t had Chinese in over 2 months and it was high time!! The Jano, Angita, Angita’s mother, and Jackie went along with us. They are so much fun!! We have so many good laughs and we don’t understand a word they say!! Its still so much fun to hang out with them.
I love our family here and I am enjoying every minute we have here.
Oh and just a note: we have a pet monkey now!!! That’s right!!!!… a pet monkey!!! Its amazing!!!

Red Tan

Last night we taught our English classes and we had new experiences. We were split up in to different groups to help with certain classes. I helped Otto with the beginners class, Roxy and Breanne helped Lydia with the Elementary 1 class, Dave and Sarah helped with Elementary 2, and Laura helped Kevin with advanced. It varied from class to class about how many were in each. My class had 5, some had up to about 8 or 9, and the one had only 1!
The class I helped with had very little experience with English. We started off by Otto reading a paragraph from a story he had printed off and then letting them repeat him and we corrected them when they made a mistake in the pronunciations. After each read and we did another paragraph… my turn to teach!! Scary eh?! I had to write words on the board and pronounce them and each repeated. They were the difference between the letters ‘v’ and ‘b’. These letters are very hard for Spanish speakers to tell apart. I didn’t realize how hard it was to teach them. I loved it though. Later Otto told me that the students had commented about how it was hard to get used to my voice when they were used to Otto’s Spanish accent. I totally understood. I know what its like. Its just like us trying to speak Spanish. Hard!!! I had fun and that’s what I’ll be doing every Tuesday and Thursday for the time I’m here!!
After class, we had cookies and drinks set out for the students. We sat around and chatted with them. They love talking and they love asking questions. I have a notebook where some guys wanted to teach me things. The wrote things and talked in Spanish/English and tried to make us understand. It was tough and I do have notes to prove it!! I was given a website and was told to study and study!!! That’s my homework!! We had a lot of fun. We are learning so much and we have only been here 3 days!! Lots more to learn!!
One thing we have figured out here is that... it DOESN'T rain!! After being in Canada you would think that we would be ready for a break from rain and have sunshine... but I think my thoughts are beginning to change. I'm not a fan of rain all the time... but sometimes, I love to just see how God waters the earth and it gives you an excuse to relax inside and keep from going out into it. Here, its not that case. There is no rain and you don't have an excuse to sit inside.
Today we hit the beach for the first time and we enjoyed it. We packed our lunch and we headed out. We used so much sunscreen but it didn't seem to help or work for most of us. We all got a 'red tan', as we call it. We walked about an hour down to the beach and just hung out there... taking pictures, practicing our Spanish with some students of our English class, and just having fun by the water! Lunch here is the major meal so we always eat later then normal. Lunch is between 1 and 3 here… and then you just snack for supper. So when lunch time rolled around… we walked about another hour and a half to ‘Parque de amor’ which in English is ‘Park of Love’. It was breathtaking!! And as the name describes it… there was a lot of love in this park. We set under shade trees and watched others expressing love to each other.
We sat and ate and decided to head home. We were tired, hot, and out of energy. We had walked about 2 miles in the sun and we were exhausted! Thank God for water and cold showers!!

Becoming at home

Another beautiful day in Lima Peru. We woke up refreshed and ready for another wonderful day.
Last night, our team gathered with the church family and some others and we sang songs of worship. They gave us the words in Spanish and we tried to follow along and laughed when we couldn’t get the words out. We sang each song in Spanish and then they gave us the opportunity to sing it in English and they loved it. We clapped, sang, and enjoyed the welcome feeling we felt when we were with them. It was amazing and its so awesome how much they welcome us and put effort in making us feel at home. The pastor and his wife gave us permission to call them mama and papa!! How can you feel more at home then that?!
We are getting used to something’s around here like cold showers ( besides this morning when the water wasn’t working in the showers ), the sun, and trying to live with 5 girls in a small room where we have to live out of our suitcases. But besides that… I think we are getting hooked to living in Peru!!
Day 2 in Peru is half over and I can honestly say that we haven’t done much. We are so grateful for the fact that this first week… we are allowed to chill and get the hang of things. Next week we are getting thrown into the schedule. We are diving head first into it!! With God by our side!!

Day one of our new adventure... Lima Peru

We are in Peru!!! Finally!!! It was a great trip and God blessed our team with traveling mercies!! The flights, the luggage, the customs agents, and just meeting everyone went great. The Lord came through once again.
We left Abbotsford at midnight on yesterday morning and arrived in Lima Peru at about 2 am this morning and we hit the bed at 3 am and we were out! We slept good and we were ready to wake up this morning and start the day out in Lima Peru.
The sun was shining and the day was gorgeous! We took a tour of our home, meet some great people, and I even got a sun burn! I didn’t even care that I got burnt, it felt so good to get out in the sun!! We took a walk around the city and bought some fruits and looked at the amazing view of this city. This is a city of God…and its beautiful!!
We got our schedules today and we don’t seem to be as busy as I thought. We are doing a lot with kids as I thought and I cant wait to meet them and do some stuff with them. We are supposed to be preparing to give our testimonies one by one on Sundays for the next 6 weeks and we are supposed to write them out and then try to read them out in Spanish. That’s going to be funny. Trying to speak a language that we haven’t even started to study. We are going to have Spanish classes 5 days a week every week. That is a blessing in its self. I took Spanish in high school but I never dreamed that I would have to use it. I can honestly say that I wish I would’ve paid more attention in class.
I thank God for every minute that he has blessed me here in Peru and for every minute that he has blessed me with this team. God is good and he will always will be with me in everything that goes on. He has gotten us here and he will be with us until the day we leave. This place is amazing and I love that the Lord has chosen me to work in this place. The Lord is good.

Only God

Its about time!! 24 hours to go and we are off. Heading to Peru!! Its amazing how time flies. Its amazing to see how God can move in your life in ways you would never expect!! We serve an amazing God!!
Last night we had team time and it was one of the best by far. As a team, we went shopping for our last minute things and scratched our brains for the things that we may need. We were told to pack our carry-on’s as if we will lose our luggage and have to live out of our carry-on for 3-10 days. Now if that isn’t a load on your mind… I don’t know what is. After we talked, sang, and prayed, the Japan team brought us downstairs to chat. The thoughts on our mind were filled with a little of worry, and a little bit of things we didn’t quite recognize as feelings. We sat around the Great Room as Brianna spoke. Some of the girls had been having nightmares and just sleeping roughly through the night, so the Japan team thought we should pray over the rooms and over the property.
We started off with Joanna playing guitar and we sang worship songs. The words that we sang were rich with the presence of God. I can honestly say that, while singing, God felt so much more real then ever in my life. The words were so rich and it felt as if God had his arms around us and were whispering to us how much he loves us. The feeling was so unreal. So rich and full… so powerful… so breath-taking!! Truly the most precious moment of this experience. Words cant describe it!! We sang with authority and with the power of God. Each verse, each word grew stronger every time they were spoken. We ended the song and it was silent! Tears trickled off my cheeks for the passion I felt for my Lord. The passion that filled the room. It had the power to move a mountain. The thing that amazed me the most was that we did this on our own! We did this because we felt that we needed prayer. We felt that our team needed prayer for their sleep. We weren’t told to do it, but we did what we felt was the need. We did what we felt needed to be done for the team. We did this on our own!! It showed just how close this team is. Just how bonded together this team of Christians really are. I truly feel, after last nit, we are READY for our assignments!

Today we experienced an amazing site of someone being baptized into the kingdom of God. Today, the angels rejoiced! Today is a mark of new birth for a young girl. We baptized Breanne McDaniel today in the hot tub and it truly was a sight. We sang some songs and then Breanne gave her testimony. And as she was lowered into the water, tears once again trickled down my cheeks. That girl being given to God was one of my sisters. She was a team member of mine and a true friend. To see her being given to the Lord in this way was profound. It was amazing. Her sister gave her words of wisdom and a small cross necklace as a gift of new life. The love and bond between them was truly a gift of God. They hold something special and they are a true show of the love of God.

These past 2 days have been remarkable. There aren’t really words to describe them. On being here and experiencing them for yourselves. Only God can move in ways like he has. Only God could make a life feel like this. ONLY God could make a day feel so away from home be the best day of our lives. Only God!!!