Update on Paraguay's Storm

A major storm hit the country of Paraguay this past week, leaving a whole lot of damage in areas. The campground was hit pretty hard. 27 girls were sleeping in one of the girls' dorms when the roof was blown off. None were injured, thank God, but the roof landed about 45 feet away on top of another dorm building. Both cabins are totally destroyed, with the exception of the metal that can be salvaged from one of the roofs.


Here is a direct quote from Dan on the upside of the storm:

"First, it was one of the most powerful storms to date at the camp property and all of the camp could have been destroyed, but only these two buildings are damaged. We thank God for His blessings.

Second, the children’s home on the property was totally protected as well. We thank God again for His blessings.

Thirdly, the camp was rented at the time and there were 27 girls inside the girl’s cabin that suffered the most damage. They saw the roof begin to bow and all ran to the other side seconds before the wall blew out and collapse onto several of the beds. Not one of them were in their beds at the time. Other than being scared, none of them were hurt.

Praise God for an incredible miracle.

We have already dismantled the roof and cleaned up all that can be salvaged. We will begin on Monday to knock the walls down and prepare to rebuild again. We are also thankful this is the off season and we have the time to rebuild if we can find the resources. We do need help.

Please join us in prayer. Dan"

Real Gentlemen...

This trip was a little different because I went with the knowledge that we'd be living down there soon. So everything this time was viewed through the eyes of how my kids would react to it. Well, I am so excited that my daughters will go through their formative early teen years in South America, because if I've learned anything about the men of South America, it's that they are gentlemen. (BTW, so were the fellas who accompanied me on this trip... I don't know if that's their "normal" behavior or if it's contagious! HAHA!)


I got quite used to men running around to open the doors and redirecting me to the inside of the sidewalk, farthest from the traffic. I appreciated not having to lug my suitcases up and down flights of stairs because the young men were prompt to volunteer. I was able to sleep on the overnight flight from Lima to Florida because an older gentleman from Lima insisted I lean my pillow on his shoulder (and I woke up to find he was holding my head to the back of the seat, to keep me from falling forward.) I loved that when a lady or an elderly person came on a public bus, the men all rose to give her a seat. I was thrilled with how the men were on the ready to assist the older lady on our team, who needed a little extra time or help climbing hills or getting on/off the vans and buses. I can vaguely remember from years past, when I was a child, that a level of respect existed like that here. It's a bit harder to find now, and when you see it, it's enough to make people stare.

I love it, however, and am so glad that Camille and Caroline will be exposed to a society that honors the elderly and still practices chivalry. I don't think it's a bad thing for them to feel like they are precious cargo, needing to be protected and pampered just a tiny bit. Thank God for caballeros!!!!

I'm in the States now!!!

Originally, I titled this post "I'm home now!" but had a hard time with that. I'm back in my own house with my family (whom I missed terribly!!), but it's hard to feel at home. Every time I travel to Peru, I feel like a piece of me remains, and I'm wondering now if more pieces are there than here. I wake up in the night trying to figure out where I am and have to talk myself into remembering that I live here in Greenville and am in my own bed now. Ken says I toss and turn and speak in Spanish throughout the night. He's gotten to be a pro now at saying, "Lie back down, you're in Greenville." It sounds funny, but at 2 AM, it's quite disconcerting.

I am trying to work my way back into normal life, but it takes some adjusting, I guess. When I'm there, every part of my day is focused on reaching out to the people with God's love, either evangelically to the unchurched or encouragingly to our brothers and sisters. The schedule is jam-packed tight (sometimes too tight, as evidenced by our near-misses in travel plans) with things planned for maximum impact. And while I know that everything we do in "normal" life is also for the glory of God, it's hard to transition back into what we all consider normal.

I guess more than anything, this trip has caused me to look forward even more to the day when my whole family is ministering together full-time in South America. Part of the frustration with any trip is trying to remember all the details so I can come home and explain to Ken and the girls what happened. And, as you know, it's impossible to convey the atmosphere and spiritual environment through just telling them a story or showing pictures. So Paraguay, HERE WE COME!

The Last Day of a LONG Wait.

Well folks tomorrow morning Christie lands in Atlanta. She returns after an 18 day adventure in Peru. As you can see God is truly moving in Peru among HIS people. Now for the ones of us at home-YaY!

The one pitfall to these short-term mission trips is that we have had to go seperately. Soon however that will be a thing of the past. I am truly excited at the prospect of ministering together in the mission field the way we have here in the U.S. When we enter into the marriage vow with Him God takes two individuals and fuses them together to create a new being. It would have been just as traumatic for me if I had sent a Lung or an Arm to Peru and much more tramatic for the Peruvians.haha Thank you for your continued prayer for us in our efforts to follow His call. Christie has benefited from your blessings and our family has as well. Now we are looking forward to our departure in November. We will leave for Paraguay on November 6th. Until then we are scheduling groups to do presentations for and "liquidating" our belongings. All to HIM.

Tingo Maria

We landed in Huanuco (the smallest airport on the face of the earth, for sure) in a little plane that wasn't big enough to stand upright in. We came in sideways, which was quite fun. Huanuco is a little valley town in the mountains east of Lima. We hopped taxis to Tingo Maria, a 2 to 3-hour drive through the hills into the high jungle.

Tingo was quite beautiful, all the beauty of mountains mixed with jungle temperatures and vegetation. We visited the bat cave (quite an experience, if you enjoy walking on bat poo) and several spectacular waterfalls.

Tingo Maria is known for being an area heavy in marijuana and especially cocaine. There were no other Americans in the town but us, and we were told that when Americans come, the locals are a bit afraid of them because they are usually there for drug trafficking. Needless to say, it was tough to start random conversations on the street.

We visited an orphanage there and played ball with the kids, handed out little toys, and shared the story of Jesus' love with them. We returned the next day with some supplies they needed, including a machine that plays an audio Bible, either by electrical power, by solar energy, or by cranking the arm on the side of the box. We were all eaten alive by sand fleas at this place, which didn't dampen how much we enjoyed spending time with these kids. One of the girls asked me if I could adopt her. That was a tough one.

Later, we joined with several area churches on top of a mountain overlooking the town. There was a huge cross on this peak, lit up each night. We had a service and took communion, praying over their land and against the witchcraft and curses that are common there. We were happy to avoid the area where the sacrifices are still rumored to take place.

The next day, we hosted a huge fiesta/carnival for the town's children. A stage was set up in the street, several of our team members and church brothers there dressed in costumes (clowns, Minnie Mouse, Shrek, etc.) and danced around to kids's songs to draw them in. Then the team acted out the story of the Three Trees, explaining a bit of Jesus' life story. Mateo broke down and danced for the kids, but he lost his Lion King head and had to cut it short this time. There were HUNDREDS of kids, not to mention the local taxis, police, and market workers who heard about God's love through the fiesta that day.

Travel in Peru

Okay, I mentioned a storm in my last post. Here goes. Travel in Peru is often times a little if-fy, but today took the cake. Before leaving the hotel, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Bethany and had prayer for traveling mercies. We started bright and early (but not early enough) catching taxis from the hotel to the bus station, for our three-hour bus back into Lima. The third and final taxi took a good bit longer to get to the station, which was only a few blocks from the hotel.

By the time the last taxi arrived and we got our tickets bought and our luggage checked, we had missed the bus we needed. So it´s already looking if-fy for making our flight. David and I began making calls and sending texts like crazy, seeing if we could get the plane delayed long enough to make it. After a lot of trying, we got a "No" from the airlines and the news that if we didn't make that flight, we'd have to take the bus instead, as all the remaining flights were already filled. The bus wasn't really an option because Sister Wilda has only been out of the hospital for a few weeks, and the bus is a difficult trip through very high altitudes.

So after a whole lot of nail-biting and praying, we drove into the Lima area and a whole lot of traffic. Lima always has a lot of traffic, but this was way heavier than usual. We inched toward the bus station, unloaded very quickly, and grabbed the first taxi we could find.

Half-an-hour later, we bolted into the airport with luggage in tow, running to the desk to beg for mercy. The attendant checked our bags reluctantly, got a wheelchair for Sister Wilda, and shooed us toward the gate. We RAN (I've always felt bad for those people who have to run through an airport) through security, paid our departure tax, and took off for the gate. Arriving just as they were making the last call, we breathed for the first time since getting on the bus that morning. Phwew.

Chincha Alta, south of Lima

Everyone refers to the town of Chincha Alta as the earthquake region, because it´s the area hardest hit by the big quake last fall. It was my first visit there, so I couldn´t make a comparison to how things used to be, but the buildings in the main square had some very severe cracks running top to bottom down their walls. We had a super time with the kids here, though.

The pastor here, Sister Flor, is just phenomenal. She is a single woman, probably in her 30´s or early 40´s, who obviously has a heart for her people. She is taking classes to better herself, in English and theology, I think. She has a strong children´s program in place in a community that is quite sad.

When we arrived for the service, they cranked up the music on the sound system inside the church and started calling on the microphone for kids to come. Just like the pied piper, they responded and came pouring in from all directions. They sang and danced and listened to Mitchell´s presentation of the three Hebrew children. Such beautiful children.

We got a quick tour of their facility before leaving. It was small and simple, but very clean and well-maintained, and very welcoming to the children. Lots of colorful pictures and signs of encouragement.

It was the calm before the storm.....

Piura Youth Camp

It was very, very difficult to leave Piura. We had a wonderful youth camp, and I really love the people of this town. We had over 100 youth attend the weekend camp. The way they worship unhindered and surrender in the altar is so inspiring.

I know we call America ¨the land of the free,¨ but there is a freedom here that we don´t often experience, and when we do, it´s in small doses. Here, the Spirit moves and they respond immediately. In fact, I think the Spirit moves because they are ALREADY responding to the fact that God is in their lives. They have joy and don´t mind expressing it. I can´t tell you how many times I answered questions to the effect of ¨Why do Americans seem kinda sad?¨

I am envious of the attitude the youth have. If there is anything like peer pressure, it´s definitely working in the opposite direction in the youth of Piura. It´s not the norm to see a kid being non-participatory, or even timid, with worship.

Something I really liked was that at the camp, the guys sat on one side of the auditorium and the girls on the other. I don´t know if this was announced beforehand as the way it would go, or if that´s just the way they do it here, but it really helped with the distractions teenagers usually face during a service. There were times that the two sides (girls/guys) all flooded the altar areas for worship. Even then, they were appropriate and separated and focused on praise. Very refreshing.

A few of us were able to sleep at the campground, against dear Brother Vera´s protests that it was too primitive for us Americans. I ate wonderful food cooked over a fire, took a ¨shower¨ in a bucket, and loved every minute of it. They still pampered us way more than was necessary, but the time we were able to spend with the young people was priceless.

I played my first game of soccer, and despite the fact that one of the best players there (Edgar) was guarding me, I scored a goal. It was quite an occasion and all celebrated with me. The guys were kind to let me in on their boys-only game (thanks, Adin!), and they were, as always, perfect gentlemen. I came away with no bruises or scrapes even though I kicked several people and knocked a couple down, accidentally, of course.

Because we were sleeping there, we had a staff fiesta each night after the service, once the kids were in bed. It was a good time to talk about how camp was going and just life in general. We gringas brought in some snacks and drinks and everyone sat around chatting, playing games, singing, doing stunts, and getting to know each other. I learned a lot about them and now have a thousand more reasons why I love Peruvians.

We attended a service tonight and some of the camp staff showed up, and my chicas brought me an absolutely gorgeous bouquet of long-stem pink roses. These girls know how to make it hard to leave, for sure. I hope I´ll be returning to Piura soon.

Trujillo

Today was a very busy day. We started early and ran all day. First stop was the ladies´ prison in Trujillo, with 12 ladies getting saved and many of them taking our free Bibles. We left there and had lunch at the beach called Huanchaco. It was very beautiful, and I even got to sit on the horse of a real-live Peruvian cowboy!

We walked several blocks (Peruvian blocks!!) to a cathedral on a big hill overlooking the town and with a great view of the ocean. I got in a little trouble for touching a book that was on the table just inside the entrance. No one was in the building but us, and the book was just lying there, begging me to open it and look inside. It was full of small paragraphs with dates beside them, but before I was able to read any of it, a lady reprimanded me for touching it and shooed me away from the little table. I told her I thought it was a guestbook. Good thing I didn´t sign my name! Turns out it was the book wherein they record baptisms. Oops. They were happy to see us leave.

From there, we went to the mission church of Los Lomos. The people were very receptive and made us these cute little cards with a poem inside. We left there as soon as service was over and arrived late to services at the Santa Dominguita church in town. We found out when we got there that we were to testify, sing, and preach. We thought we were just dropping in announced, but someone (no names, please) let the cat out of the bag. Martin was really in trouble.

Tomorrow we visit another church in the morning, and then a few of us take the bus for 6 hours to Piura to begin preparation for youth camp. Prayers are appreciated!

THANK YOU, GOD!

Thank you God that the van we rode through the sandy mountains never encountered oncoming traffic as the driver passed on sharp curves, except that one time. Thank you God that the one time, our driver was able to get back over into our proper lane RIGHT before the 18-wheeler hit us head-on.

Thank you God that I got to smell the sugar cane being cooked as we drove through the Lareta region near Trujillo, and think about when my Granddad used to cook it over an open flame until it was syrup.

Thank you God that people were saved and healed in our service tonight at the little church on the beautiful mountain in Poroto. Thank you God that the people from the town heard there were gringos and stood outside the church doors peeking in, even if they were videoing us constantly on their cell phones.

Thank you God for the hospitable ladies of the church who took us on a tour of their fruit groves, picked pineapples and oranges, sugar cane and lemon-oranges for us, and cut them open for us to eat immediately.

Thank you God that the lady of the home was so proud of her house that she invited us inside to see her kitchen, with the little guinea pigs running around all over the floor. Thank you God that the one I petted was not the same one that I ate tonight after church. (And especially, thank you God for that dog that hung out under the table at my feet all night.....)

Iquitos

Finally. Phwew. This was one trip that someone obviously didn´t want me taking. I left my house for the airport Wednesday before noon. I planned to arrive in Iquitos, Peru on Thursday morning, around 6 AM. I actually touched down here about 7 AM FRIDAY morning. After late flights, cancelled flights, a few hours in a hotel, a lot of hours in four different airports, misplaced luggage, hours on the phone with customer service, a whole lot of confusion in person at several ticket counters and corporate offices, and the joy of having to pay for a new ticket after being told I wouldn´t have to, I´m HERE! I won´t even get into the fun that happened on several of my flights....

Iquitos ranks right up there in my favorite places to be, and this trip sure reminded me why (as if I needed a reminder!) I´ve seen my buddies, Manuel and Maribel, and their beautiful little girl Catherine. I´ve gotten several pitchers of the famous camu camu juice I´m always raving about. I´ve met new people and reconnected with old friends.

The campground was gotta be close to what the Garden of Eden looked like, with beautiful tropical trees and plants and grasses and flowers and.... oh, it was just really lush and beautiful. We had over 70 kids plus staff at the first ever Iquitos Campamento Juvenil. My goddaughter Glendys was one of the campers. What a privilege to be able to spend time with her there! Amber Smith was also there, one of the youth from our church. How proud I was of her on this trip!!!! She was a great help in teaching new words to the locals. ;)

The staff worked very hard and did a super job, and now they are trained to be able to put on the camp without us gringos. The kids had a great time playing soccer, learning through classes, singing, dancing, worshiping, listening to the Word, and being together. It was great to recognize some of them from my past visits and know they are still active in the church. I leave tonight for Lima, where I´ll spend the night and take a bus the next morning to Trujillo, 8 hours away. More later....