Well, to continue the fun adventures here in the Andes, we decided to have Christmas in June. Remember being in GAs and sending things to the missionaries for Christmas in August? Well, we couldn´t wait that long. So we had a mini Christmas last night.
Saturdays are our rest days here, so we had planned to take yesterday and go visit Suasi Island out in the lake. We heard it is really pretty. There is a huge resort there where it is $350 per night, per person. We just wanted to ride the boat over there and explore. Turns out you can´t go over there without staying there. The lady was very nice and told us it was only $350 to stay... We declined. So, long story short, the Jeremys and Alison and Kelsey went hiking in the morning to gather firewood. Then we all had lunch together. Then the same group went out hiking again. Emily, Sara and I stayed at the house. I was able to spend a lot of time journaling and reading, which was really nice. At 3pm Jeremy and Alison had promised some kids we would play soccer with them. At 3pm the hiking group wasn´t back so Emily and I went out in search of some kids we had never seen and didn´t know where to meet. After a while, we finally found them and they led us to the cool hidden makeshift soccer field on a hill in a backyard. They had goals made out of big sticks stuck in the ground with one across the top to make a pretty legit goal. We definitely learned that soccer will take everything out of you. After just a few minutes of playing on a small field Emily and I were both sucking air and needing to sit down. Soon Jeremy and Alison joined us and we played a bigger game. Luckily the ball went rolling down the hill quite often, so we had a good number of chances to catch our breath. Alison and the Peruvian boys ended up beating the rest of us by 1 pt. After that we headed back so supper could get started. We had chicken burritos-fajitas with guacamole. It´s definitely my favorite meal here. Jeremy and I made almost the same thing, just without the guacamole, a week ago. It´s so good. We´re hoping to get tortilla chips from John and Sonia courtesy of their special shopping trip. You can´t find them most places here. Anyway, while dinner was cooking, Kelsey made no-bake cookies and Jeremy made apple cider. So, after dinner we all went upstairs, started a fire, and ate cookies and drank cider. Then Jeremy L. got out the guitar and played some songs, which soon turned into Christmas songs, because it just felt like that kind of night. It was so much fun. We even sang Feliz Navidad, a family favorite. It was a great relaxing night. I felt like we were missionaries stuck in Peru for Christmas, unable to make it home, so we were all celebrating together. Kelsey wasn´t initially crazy about the Christmas-ness, but she said she would be on board if we went all out. So, the last Saturday we are here, July 24th, we are planning on having a full out Christmas party, complete with reading the Christmas story. It´s nice having fun group things to do together to relax.
Today is cleaning day, so we spent the morning sweeping, mopping and cleaning bathrooms. It didn´t take much time at all. All that is left is any personal laundry we want to do. We have found that Sophia´s store has pretty much everything we need, so we don´t have to do much market shopping like we had thought. Jeremy L., Sara and Kelsey went to the medical clinic to help out for part of the day. Hopefully they are having a good time and are useful to the medical staff. Kelsey is a nursing student and Sara will be starting medical school in the fall.
Friday night we all got together after dinner and shared our stories with each other. It is impressive the memory capacity some of us have for memorizing stories in a foreign language. Jeremy L. was also there to share his story. I have still been struggling with memorizing my story. I have the first page down, but it is the longest so there are 2.5 left. I am actually thinking and praying about switching to the next story in line, the 10 Commandments. Emily and Jeremy L. have both also memorized the Creation Story, so hopefully they will be able to cover it. I just don´t want to waste the next 3 weeks trying to struggle with this one story. The 10 Commandments is shorter and I think I could memorize it faster than I could finish Creation. We will see whether that´s what I end up doing. Pray my memory ability expands! Also pray for the stories that will be shared this week.
I think that´s all the exciting news for now. We have been having really good worship times together in the mornings. We are going through Philippians and sharing about what God has been teaching us. Overall health has been pretty good lately. Trash day is tomorrow, hallelujah! We missed last week because we didn´t know when the truck came, so we have a collection of bags in our garage. In other good news, people seemed to have sobered up after the fiesta this week. I think that is all the good news to share for now. Thanks for your interest and prayers!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Dancing and Drinking
Hola amigos! You missed an interesting day in Conima yesterday. We had been hearing since we arrived about a dance performance all the school kids were putting on June 24th. We heard them practicing, and like I think I said last post, all the restaurants were closed in preparation. So, yesterday was the big day. We asked Frannie, who works at the store around the corner, what time the dance was. She told us it was from 10am to 2pm. So, being good Americans we left at 9:45am and were at the school where it was being held at 9:55am. There were other people heading down there so we figured it was at least around the right time. So, we got there and found a place to sit on the concrete stairs. We sat for quite a while waiting for it to start because, being good South Americans, the performance didn´t start until 12:30pm... So, before it even started Alison and I had to take a bathroom break back to the house. Once it finally started it was really cool to watch. All the kids were dressed up in very colorful outfits and performed different dances. Most were telling a story, which we didn´t totally get because of the language and not knowing the cultural history very well. There were kids of all ages, from around 3 yrs old to seniors in high school or older. We saw a lot of the kids we have been playing with in the plaza. I took lots of pictures, so you will get to see them when I get back. We finally left around 2:45 because our behinds were numb from sitting on the hard ground. I think there were only a few more groups left, if any. I also think the announcer was getting drunk, so he would talk forever between groups!
A lot of beer was hauled out to the school by store owners to sell. We didn´t see too much drinking before we left, but we have seen the effects today. A group of men was sitting in the street playing cards and drinking even today on our way to lunch. The plaza itself smells like beer. We don´t feel in danger or anything, we are always together and everything is in the open here. But it´s disappointing to see all these people spending so much time and money on drinking. One big part of the culture here is having fiestas where everyone dresses up in fancy clothes and celebrates and gets drunk. All under the guise of religion and culture. We have yet to see a really big fiesta, just this one. Pray that the people would realize the problem with these fiestas and realize it is not something God supports.
Last night Jeremy and Sara got a cool opportunity to play basketball with some teenagers. Sara decided to use basketball to get them to respect her :) They started off making fun of the gringos but ended up respecting them. So, that´s cool that those relationships were started.
Today is another day devoted to story memorizing. We are supposed to be sharing our stories with each other tonight. I don´t know how I can finish mine. I still have a ton left. Hopefully by Monday though. We have plans to story with people next week. Please be praying for them:
Frannie: She is 22 and works at the store around the corner from our house. She giggles a lot. We think she was drunk the other day when we were talking with her. She has a 6 year old son. Sara has talked to her about sharing a story with her this coming Wednesday.
Gumericinda & Her Husband: The team from Willow Park that came in May got to share condensed stories from Genesis to Jesus with this couple. They own the restaurant to try to visit a few times a week. They have read some in a Bible John gave them and want to hear more stories. The husband has been in Juliaca, so we are hoping he will be here this week. John is going to drive out and share with them more.
Sophia: Sophia owns the store next door to our house and her uncle owns our house. She has been a huge help to us. She sits out in the plaza almost every afternoon and crochets. Emily wants to share a story with her.
Hopefully we will also be able to share with the teenagers from last night. Please pray that we can get these stories down and that the people would be receptive and can understand despite our poor pronunciation.
Healthwise, Sara has a rash that will hopefully go away soon. Also, a virus our group might have brought to Peru is hitting the missionary family and the girls in Huancane. Overall I think stomach sicknesses have been less frequent within the group. Pray we can all be healthy!
Until next time...
A lot of beer was hauled out to the school by store owners to sell. We didn´t see too much drinking before we left, but we have seen the effects today. A group of men was sitting in the street playing cards and drinking even today on our way to lunch. The plaza itself smells like beer. We don´t feel in danger or anything, we are always together and everything is in the open here. But it´s disappointing to see all these people spending so much time and money on drinking. One big part of the culture here is having fiestas where everyone dresses up in fancy clothes and celebrates and gets drunk. All under the guise of religion and culture. We have yet to see a really big fiesta, just this one. Pray that the people would realize the problem with these fiestas and realize it is not something God supports.
Last night Jeremy and Sara got a cool opportunity to play basketball with some teenagers. Sara decided to use basketball to get them to respect her :) They started off making fun of the gringos but ended up respecting them. So, that´s cool that those relationships were started.
Today is another day devoted to story memorizing. We are supposed to be sharing our stories with each other tonight. I don´t know how I can finish mine. I still have a ton left. Hopefully by Monday though. We have plans to story with people next week. Please be praying for them:
Frannie: She is 22 and works at the store around the corner from our house. She giggles a lot. We think she was drunk the other day when we were talking with her. She has a 6 year old son. Sara has talked to her about sharing a story with her this coming Wednesday.
Gumericinda & Her Husband: The team from Willow Park that came in May got to share condensed stories from Genesis to Jesus with this couple. They own the restaurant to try to visit a few times a week. They have read some in a Bible John gave them and want to hear more stories. The husband has been in Juliaca, so we are hoping he will be here this week. John is going to drive out and share with them more.
Sophia: Sophia owns the store next door to our house and her uncle owns our house. She has been a huge help to us. She sits out in the plaza almost every afternoon and crochets. Emily wants to share a story with her.
Hopefully we will also be able to share with the teenagers from last night. Please pray that we can get these stories down and that the people would be receptive and can understand despite our poor pronunciation.
Healthwise, Sara has a rash that will hopefully go away soon. Also, a virus our group might have brought to Peru is hitting the missionary family and the girls in Huancane. Overall I think stomach sicknesses have been less frequent within the group. Pray we can all be healthy!
Until next time...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Quick Update
I´ve been in the internet cabina looking up guitar chords to songs to play for our morning group worship time, so I thought I would post a quick blog.
This morning we got up and had morning worship as usual. We have been reading through the book of Philippians together and discussing it. This morning, as kind of a tangent from the verses we read, we were talking about true Christian community and what the church should be like. As part of our orientation we read a lot about the early church and how they met together to study the apostle´s teaching, to break bread, to fellowship and to pray. We also talked about how they had everything in common (see Acts 2:42). Once we began thinking about it, we realized that is exactly what we are doing this summer. We are living together, eating together, studying the Bible and worshipping. We even have all our money in common. We are also sharing with others and hopefully ¨thousands will be added to our number daily those who are being saved.¨ I look forward to see how our group develops more into a loving Christian community.
Just before lunch we went to deliver more pictures. The directions to the store owned by the family in the pictures were not very clear, so we walked all up and down the main road looking for the ¨grey store across from the blue building with a lawyer´s name on it.¨ Not being able to find it, we went to the restaurant for lunch. The door was padlocked so we figured it must be closed for some reason. So, we walked a little ways to the other restaurant we had seen. We walked in and an elderly lady told us it was a restaurant, but they didn´t have any food cooked today. She mentioned something about the dance. (Tomorrow all of the children in the schools are having a dance competition that is apparently a really big deal. It goes from 10am- 2pm. All of the children have been practicing a lot.) Then she began asking us about the medical team that was here a few weeks ago. She was very hard to understand. After telling her we would come back another day, we went back to the plaza. We then heard about another restaurant, which we walked to, but it was also closed. So we went back to the house and all made our own lunches.
Not too long after we were all working on our stories or doing other various things and we got a phone call from John (the missionary). He said he was knocking on our front door. So we got a surprise visit from John and the Huancane girls, Kayla and Andrea. We showed the girls the house and talked with John about what we´ve been doing. Then he took us to the store we could not find that morning. Then we came back to the house, said good-bye to our visitors and I came here to use the computer!
Keep praying for our stories!
This morning we got up and had morning worship as usual. We have been reading through the book of Philippians together and discussing it. This morning, as kind of a tangent from the verses we read, we were talking about true Christian community and what the church should be like. As part of our orientation we read a lot about the early church and how they met together to study the apostle´s teaching, to break bread, to fellowship and to pray. We also talked about how they had everything in common (see Acts 2:42). Once we began thinking about it, we realized that is exactly what we are doing this summer. We are living together, eating together, studying the Bible and worshipping. We even have all our money in common. We are also sharing with others and hopefully ¨thousands will be added to our number daily those who are being saved.¨ I look forward to see how our group develops more into a loving Christian community.
Just before lunch we went to deliver more pictures. The directions to the store owned by the family in the pictures were not very clear, so we walked all up and down the main road looking for the ¨grey store across from the blue building with a lawyer´s name on it.¨ Not being able to find it, we went to the restaurant for lunch. The door was padlocked so we figured it must be closed for some reason. So, we walked a little ways to the other restaurant we had seen. We walked in and an elderly lady told us it was a restaurant, but they didn´t have any food cooked today. She mentioned something about the dance. (Tomorrow all of the children in the schools are having a dance competition that is apparently a really big deal. It goes from 10am- 2pm. All of the children have been practicing a lot.) Then she began asking us about the medical team that was here a few weeks ago. She was very hard to understand. After telling her we would come back another day, we went back to the plaza. We then heard about another restaurant, which we walked to, but it was also closed. So we went back to the house and all made our own lunches.
Not too long after we were all working on our stories or doing other various things and we got a phone call from John (the missionary). He said he was knocking on our front door. So we got a surprise visit from John and the Huancane girls, Kayla and Andrea. We showed the girls the house and talked with John about what we´ve been doing. Then he took us to the store we could not find that morning. Then we came back to the house, said good-bye to our visitors and I came here to use the computer!
Keep praying for our stories!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Random!
So, the past few days have just been kind of random with unexpected things happening. First, Sunday we met a French couple, Thomas and Jane, who are backpacking across Peru and Bolivia. We had dinner with them and heard all kinds of crazy stories about their adventures walking through the countryside.
Yesterday morning we saw Thomas and Jane off as they headed toward the border to Bolivia. We prayed for them and I gave them some Hot Hands hand and body warmers to hopefully help on the nights they sleep in a tent in a field during the next 2 months in the dead of winter.
In the afternoon we had told the kids we would play with them at 3pm. They knocked on our door all day one day so we decided to tell them we will play at 3pm every day so they are not always knocking and asking. Usually a few kids come and they all just want to play on Jeremy´s longboard that he brought. But yesterday we all went out to play and we ended up with probably 12-15 kids and we put up the ¨patineta¨ and played a game with them instead. At first we played ¨Duck, Duck, Goose¨ because we didn´t know the Spanish words for them. Then we changed it to ¨Pollo, Pollo, Pavo¨ (Chicken, Chicken, Turkey). We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed it. There were also a lot of adults sitting around watching and laughing at the fun we were having with the kids. Hopefully playing with the kids will help us build relationships with some of the adults so we can begin storying with them.
So far we have talked to at least 3 people who said they would like to hear stories. Currently we are all still working trying to memorize our stories. Pray that we will be able to memorize them quickly! It is hard memorizing in a different language, but it is helpful to know we have people to share them with when we are ready.
Today we went to visit the medical clinic here in Conima to give them some hats and blankets Willow Park sent for them to give to newborn babies. We also were hoping to set up a time for Sara and Kelsey to help out in the clinic since they are medical and nursing students respectively. Once we settled all that they asked if we wanted to go somewhere with them in the ambulance for the whole morning. Since it was 9:30/10am already and we didn´t have anywhere we had to be this morning, we agreed. So, all 6 of us piled in the back of the tiny bus ambulance and took off out of Conima with the doctor and 2 nurses. About 15 minutes later we stopped at what turned out to be another clinic in a nearby town. The doctor told us we could look around while he and the nurses met with the staff there. So we looked around the small clinic and read all the posters with messages about Yellow Fever, Pnuemonia, HIV, and Malaria. They had a pretty long meeting and finished up around 11am. So, we thought we would have plenty of time to get back to Conima and have lunch and get on with our day. Then they told us we were going to ¨un otro puesto.¨ So we piled back in the small ambulance. 3 of us sitting on the stretcher, and headed further out of town. We pulled over in another town and had to hike up a hill to another clinic because the ambulance couldn´t make it up the hill with all of us in it. There was another long meeting with the doctors and nurses. So, we sat outside with a man who had come to the clinic and was complaining of vision loss and pain but had been told to wait. We gave him some water and sat with him. While there we also met a boy named Louis and a girl named Veronica, I believe. Veronica was 11 and she said Louis was 2, but he seemed more like a 4 year old. Louis was quite entertaining. After a really long time, the doctor and nurses came out of that meeting and said we were going on to Tilali before going back to Conima. So, we hiked down the other side of the hill and waited by the road for the ambulance to come down. Then we drove close to the Bolivia border to Tilali where there was a larger, nicer clinic. Luckily this meeting was shorter because we were getting hungry. Finally we headed back about 1:30pm. Overall it was a good trip. It showed us the nearby towns, the medical clinics and we got to talk to that man and Veronia and Louis, it just wasn´t what we were expecting for the morning! After getting back to Conima we ate a lunch of leftovers and macaroni. This afternoon we have been taking showers, catching up on blogs and cleaning up after lunch. Emily and I are about to start making dinner.
I think we are all starting to settle in as a group to being here. Time is starting to go by a little faster - the first week took forever! Little things can start to wear on us, like almost always being cold, focusing so hard on speaking in Spanish, having no shower pressure, missing home, etc. but overall we are learning to deal with it and can keep a good attitude. We have been able to develop a loose routine of morning worship, lunch, playing with kids, dinner and a group meeting each day. The sun goes down so early here we have been getting plenty of sleep. Last night was one of the earliest nights with most of us going to bed around 8:30 or 9pm.
For the next few days our focus is going to be on memorizing our stories and continuing to build relationships with people. Pray we can do that and all stay energized and healthy. Health has been an issue for different members of our group all week. Emily threw up in the street and Sara´s tongue turned black, so things are always interesting healthwise. Just pray we can continue doing our work and don´t get sidelined by health concerns. (Emily and Sara are both fine now)
My story as of today:
En el comienzo de todo, Dios creó el cielo y la tierra. La tierra no tenía entonces ninguna forma. Todo era un mar profundo cubierto de oscuridad y el espíritu de Dios se movía sobre el agua.
Entonces Dios dijo, ¨Que haya luz!¨ y hubo luz. Al vez Dios que la luz era buena, la separó de la oscuridad y la llamó ¨dia¨ y a la oscuridad la llamó ¨noche.¨ De este modo se completó el primer dia.
Despues Dios dijo, ¨Que haya una bovéda que separe las aguas para que estas queden separamos.¨
Look for another blog in a few days!
Yesterday morning we saw Thomas and Jane off as they headed toward the border to Bolivia. We prayed for them and I gave them some Hot Hands hand and body warmers to hopefully help on the nights they sleep in a tent in a field during the next 2 months in the dead of winter.
In the afternoon we had told the kids we would play with them at 3pm. They knocked on our door all day one day so we decided to tell them we will play at 3pm every day so they are not always knocking and asking. Usually a few kids come and they all just want to play on Jeremy´s longboard that he brought. But yesterday we all went out to play and we ended up with probably 12-15 kids and we put up the ¨patineta¨ and played a game with them instead. At first we played ¨Duck, Duck, Goose¨ because we didn´t know the Spanish words for them. Then we changed it to ¨Pollo, Pollo, Pavo¨ (Chicken, Chicken, Turkey). We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed it. There were also a lot of adults sitting around watching and laughing at the fun we were having with the kids. Hopefully playing with the kids will help us build relationships with some of the adults so we can begin storying with them.
So far we have talked to at least 3 people who said they would like to hear stories. Currently we are all still working trying to memorize our stories. Pray that we will be able to memorize them quickly! It is hard memorizing in a different language, but it is helpful to know we have people to share them with when we are ready.
Today we went to visit the medical clinic here in Conima to give them some hats and blankets Willow Park sent for them to give to newborn babies. We also were hoping to set up a time for Sara and Kelsey to help out in the clinic since they are medical and nursing students respectively. Once we settled all that they asked if we wanted to go somewhere with them in the ambulance for the whole morning. Since it was 9:30/10am already and we didn´t have anywhere we had to be this morning, we agreed. So, all 6 of us piled in the back of the tiny bus ambulance and took off out of Conima with the doctor and 2 nurses. About 15 minutes later we stopped at what turned out to be another clinic in a nearby town. The doctor told us we could look around while he and the nurses met with the staff there. So we looked around the small clinic and read all the posters with messages about Yellow Fever, Pnuemonia, HIV, and Malaria. They had a pretty long meeting and finished up around 11am. So, we thought we would have plenty of time to get back to Conima and have lunch and get on with our day. Then they told us we were going to ¨un otro puesto.¨ So we piled back in the small ambulance. 3 of us sitting on the stretcher, and headed further out of town. We pulled over in another town and had to hike up a hill to another clinic because the ambulance couldn´t make it up the hill with all of us in it. There was another long meeting with the doctors and nurses. So, we sat outside with a man who had come to the clinic and was complaining of vision loss and pain but had been told to wait. We gave him some water and sat with him. While there we also met a boy named Louis and a girl named Veronica, I believe. Veronica was 11 and she said Louis was 2, but he seemed more like a 4 year old. Louis was quite entertaining. After a really long time, the doctor and nurses came out of that meeting and said we were going on to Tilali before going back to Conima. So, we hiked down the other side of the hill and waited by the road for the ambulance to come down. Then we drove close to the Bolivia border to Tilali where there was a larger, nicer clinic. Luckily this meeting was shorter because we were getting hungry. Finally we headed back about 1:30pm. Overall it was a good trip. It showed us the nearby towns, the medical clinics and we got to talk to that man and Veronia and Louis, it just wasn´t what we were expecting for the morning! After getting back to Conima we ate a lunch of leftovers and macaroni. This afternoon we have been taking showers, catching up on blogs and cleaning up after lunch. Emily and I are about to start making dinner.
I think we are all starting to settle in as a group to being here. Time is starting to go by a little faster - the first week took forever! Little things can start to wear on us, like almost always being cold, focusing so hard on speaking in Spanish, having no shower pressure, missing home, etc. but overall we are learning to deal with it and can keep a good attitude. We have been able to develop a loose routine of morning worship, lunch, playing with kids, dinner and a group meeting each day. The sun goes down so early here we have been getting plenty of sleep. Last night was one of the earliest nights with most of us going to bed around 8:30 or 9pm.
For the next few days our focus is going to be on memorizing our stories and continuing to build relationships with people. Pray we can do that and all stay energized and healthy. Health has been an issue for different members of our group all week. Emily threw up in the street and Sara´s tongue turned black, so things are always interesting healthwise. Just pray we can continue doing our work and don´t get sidelined by health concerns. (Emily and Sara are both fine now)
My story as of today:
En el comienzo de todo, Dios creó el cielo y la tierra. La tierra no tenía entonces ninguna forma. Todo era un mar profundo cubierto de oscuridad y el espíritu de Dios se movía sobre el agua.
Entonces Dios dijo, ¨Que haya luz!¨ y hubo luz. Al vez Dios que la luz era buena, la separó de la oscuridad y la llamó ¨dia¨ y a la oscuridad la llamó ¨noche.¨ De este modo se completó el primer dia.
Despues Dios dijo, ¨Que haya una bovéda que separe las aguas para que estas queden separamos.¨
Look for another blog in a few days!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Conima!
We are in Conima and finally have internet access! We got here Thursday and the power, phone and internet were out. The power and cell service came back that night, but internet just returned today. I am squeezed into the corner of the tiny internet bodega in Conima. I have been listening to ¨Por fin!¨ over and over as the kid beside me was playing video games on the computer. Today is a day of rest for the people so we have chosen it as a day of rest for ourselves as well. Unfortunately this morning was spent waiting as a man tried to get into Jeremy´s room. The door was locked and the key would not work. He spent last night on the couch in the living room. Finally after 3 hours of work, he was able to get into his room. We were able to play with some kids in the plaza while waiting for him to finish. After that we took a picnic out to the shore of the lake. We ate lunch, layed in the sun, played with 2 boys who sneakily followed us out there, skipped rocks and just had a nice relaxing time. After coming back we did some kitchen work and dinner preparation. Then we went prayer walking around the city. Now, finally, we are catching up on our emails and blogging. Jeremy and Alison are probably preparing our spaghetti for supper. We´re all excited. We have had so much chicken and not much beef. Tomorrow is market day so we will be able to stock up on a larger variety of vegetables and fruits.
Our house is incredible. It has 4 floors. In the kitchen and even most of the house you would never know you were in Peru, it´s very similar to an American house. Except for the fact your fingers are numb from the cold =) There isn´t any heat in the house. But we do have a space heater in the living room on the 4th floor and at night we turn it on and sit up there. We also have tons of blankets on our beds and warm sleeping bags if we need them. The house is usually colder than outside. Outside it is around 50 degrees but with the sun it feels like 80 or so. You just have to put on sunscreen before going out.
We are working on memorizing the stories we are going to share with people. Emily and I are learning the creation story. ´´In el comiendo de todo, Dios creo el cielo y el tierra. El tierra no tenia entonces ninguna forma...'' That´s as far as I have gotten and can remember right now. Still a lot of work to go!
Well, I should probably go outside and warm up. Thanks for your prayers!
Our house is incredible. It has 4 floors. In the kitchen and even most of the house you would never know you were in Peru, it´s very similar to an American house. Except for the fact your fingers are numb from the cold =) There isn´t any heat in the house. But we do have a space heater in the living room on the 4th floor and at night we turn it on and sit up there. We also have tons of blankets on our beds and warm sleeping bags if we need them. The house is usually colder than outside. Outside it is around 50 degrees but with the sun it feels like 80 or so. You just have to put on sunscreen before going out.
We are working on memorizing the stories we are going to share with people. Emily and I are learning the creation story. ´´In el comiendo de todo, Dios creo el cielo y el tierra. El tierra no tenia entonces ninguna forma...'' That´s as far as I have gotten and can remember right now. Still a lot of work to go!
Well, I should probably go outside and warm up. Thanks for your prayers!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Cooking and Other Skills
Since all of you might think we've been starving missionaries eating only rice and beans, I'll let you know that that has not been the case at all! Almost everything I've eaten here so far has been delicious. And besides there being lots of chicken, we've had a lot of variety.
The first night here I was sick, so I did not go with the team to dinner. They went to a restaurant nearby and had rotisserie chicken and soup. The most notable part of the soup was the chicken feet floating in the middle. While I think most everyone was a little disturbed, they said the soup itself was delicious.
The next day for lunch we went to a nearby restaurant and got either a dish with beef and onions over french fries with rice, or fried chicken with french fries. I had the fried chicken. It was better than some of the fried chicken I have had in the states. The french fries were really good too.
That night for dinner we decided to make it at our house. We made macaroni and cheese and crepes/pancakes. Nice combination, right? Jeremy L. mixed up the pancakes and they were delicious. We will definitely be making more of those this summer.
Yesterday for lunch we learned how to make vegetable soup. We had bought all the vegetables at the market on Sunday. We chopped up potatoes, celery, tomatoes, carrots, and I'm sure other stuff I've forgotten. We also shelled peas. The soup was incredibly good. We ate it with the really good bread we have here.
For dinner last night we got together with 3 girls who are missionaries here in Huancane this summer. We bought 1.5 rotisserie chickens which came with fries and soup and we made rice. The soup was the same chicken foot soup from the first night. Since I didn't get any the first night, they put all the chicken feet in mine... I ate a few spoonfuls of soup, but was already full, so that was the extent of my chicken foot experience. Kelsey, on the other hand, was talked into actually eating the meat off of one of the chicken feet. I believe I heard it just tasted like regular chicken, but she probably wouldn't be eating it again.
For lunch today we learned how to debone a chicken! We got whole chicken breasts, bone and all. We learned how to cut through the bones at the joints and cut the breast meat off so it looks just like the chicken breasts you buy in a store. Pretty sweet skill to learn! We then breaded it in flour, egg and crushed up crackers with seasoning. After frying it up in the frying pan, it was delicious! We had it with a vegetable salad and rice.
For breakfast most of us have been eating bread with peanut butter. I have made some packets of oatmeal or grits.
So, all of you parents who were worrying that your kids aren't eating enough should be happy to know that we are eating very well. We might even bring home some cooking skills, if you can convince us to use them after cooking our own meals all summer!
Today we also learned how to wash our clothes by hand. Pastor Ruben, a local pastor who was teaching us, was a lot better at it than we were! He went back after us a few times and rewashed things. We were washing them in buckets of water out on the roof. The water was freezing! After a while your fingers kind of go numb. We got lots of things washed though and know how to do it. We also have the option of paying someone to wash our clothes. A typical price would be 1 sole for 3 pieces of clothing. That's like 10 cents each. Since they will probably do a better job than we will anyway, we will most likely be paying for our clothes to be washed.
This afternoon we are going to be talking about ministry ideas for the upcoming weeks and also really getting into how storying works and how we are going to learn and use this method of sharing with people. Tomorrow we go to the market in Juliaca and Thursday we hike a mountain and then leave for Conima!
The first night here I was sick, so I did not go with the team to dinner. They went to a restaurant nearby and had rotisserie chicken and soup. The most notable part of the soup was the chicken feet floating in the middle. While I think most everyone was a little disturbed, they said the soup itself was delicious.
The next day for lunch we went to a nearby restaurant and got either a dish with beef and onions over french fries with rice, or fried chicken with french fries. I had the fried chicken. It was better than some of the fried chicken I have had in the states. The french fries were really good too.
That night for dinner we decided to make it at our house. We made macaroni and cheese and crepes/pancakes. Nice combination, right? Jeremy L. mixed up the pancakes and they were delicious. We will definitely be making more of those this summer.
Yesterday for lunch we learned how to make vegetable soup. We had bought all the vegetables at the market on Sunday. We chopped up potatoes, celery, tomatoes, carrots, and I'm sure other stuff I've forgotten. We also shelled peas. The soup was incredibly good. We ate it with the really good bread we have here.
For dinner last night we got together with 3 girls who are missionaries here in Huancane this summer. We bought 1.5 rotisserie chickens which came with fries and soup and we made rice. The soup was the same chicken foot soup from the first night. Since I didn't get any the first night, they put all the chicken feet in mine... I ate a few spoonfuls of soup, but was already full, so that was the extent of my chicken foot experience. Kelsey, on the other hand, was talked into actually eating the meat off of one of the chicken feet. I believe I heard it just tasted like regular chicken, but she probably wouldn't be eating it again.
For lunch today we learned how to debone a chicken! We got whole chicken breasts, bone and all. We learned how to cut through the bones at the joints and cut the breast meat off so it looks just like the chicken breasts you buy in a store. Pretty sweet skill to learn! We then breaded it in flour, egg and crushed up crackers with seasoning. After frying it up in the frying pan, it was delicious! We had it with a vegetable salad and rice.
For breakfast most of us have been eating bread with peanut butter. I have made some packets of oatmeal or grits.
So, all of you parents who were worrying that your kids aren't eating enough should be happy to know that we are eating very well. We might even bring home some cooking skills, if you can convince us to use them after cooking our own meals all summer!
Today we also learned how to wash our clothes by hand. Pastor Ruben, a local pastor who was teaching us, was a lot better at it than we were! He went back after us a few times and rewashed things. We were washing them in buckets of water out on the roof. The water was freezing! After a while your fingers kind of go numb. We got lots of things washed though and know how to do it. We also have the option of paying someone to wash our clothes. A typical price would be 1 sole for 3 pieces of clothing. That's like 10 cents each. Since they will probably do a better job than we will anyway, we will most likely be paying for our clothes to be washed.
This afternoon we are going to be talking about ministry ideas for the upcoming weeks and also really getting into how storying works and how we are going to learn and use this method of sharing with people. Tomorrow we go to the market in Juliaca and Thursday we hike a mountain and then leave for Conima!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Finally Here!
Sorry the computer in Lima didn't work out for me to make a real post. Hopefully this one can catch you all up. I met up with the rest of the team in the Lima airport. We had a pretty long layover there and then flew to Juliaca. I didn't sleep much on the long Miami to Lima flight, so Lima to Juliaca I was out like a light. I was awake to enjoy some of the scenery though. The mountains are beautiful. We could see some snow capped mountains out the plane window. We landed in Juliaca, which is where we met John, the missionary we are working with. We then had an hour long bus ride to Huancane where he lives and where we have training until Thursday.
Like I think I explained before, I found out before coming that I was allergic to the altitude sickness pills they recommended we take. So I took Ginko to try to help and tried to drink a lot of water. But last night I ended up sick from the altitude, nausea and vomiting which I'm sure you don't want to hear details about! So I took some medicine and went to bed. Today I feel a lot better. We all still get winded walking around the town, but that is just adjusting to the altitude.
This morning we got up, had breakfast and devotions, then group worship and a short training session. Then we went and walked around Huancane. Sundays are market days, so there are vendors set up up and down all the streets. We bought vegetables for our lunch tomorrow and just looked at all they had to offer. For lunch today we went to a restaurant near the square and I had fried chicken and really good french fries! Now we are back at the house where we are staying. Our next training session starts in 2 minutes, so I have to go! Thanks for your prayers!
Like I think I explained before, I found out before coming that I was allergic to the altitude sickness pills they recommended we take. So I took Ginko to try to help and tried to drink a lot of water. But last night I ended up sick from the altitude, nausea and vomiting which I'm sure you don't want to hear details about! So I took some medicine and went to bed. Today I feel a lot better. We all still get winded walking around the town, but that is just adjusting to the altitude.
This morning we got up, had breakfast and devotions, then group worship and a short training session. Then we went and walked around Huancane. Sundays are market days, so there are vendors set up up and down all the streets. We bought vegetables for our lunch tomorrow and just looked at all they had to offer. For lunch today we went to a restaurant near the square and I had fried chicken and really good french fries! Now we are back at the house where we are staying. Our next training session starts in 2 minutes, so I have to go! Thanks for your prayers!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Leaving!
I am about to pack the last few things and leave the house! Pray for our whole team while we are flying tonight and tomorrow. Speaking of the team, here is our group of college student summer missionaries:
Me
Emily
Alison
Sara
Kelsey
Jeremy
Thanks for your prayers! The next post will be from Peru!
Me
Emily
Alison
Sara
Kelsey
Jeremy
Thanks for your prayers! The next post will be from Peru!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Almost Ready!
Well, it's about 31 hours before I fly out. After that, it's Peru for 7 weeks! It has been amazing to see how all the money I have needed has come in so quickly. Thank you so much to all of you who have prayed and donated! Once again, it has been so cool to see who God has used to make this possible!
I'm pretty close to being ready to go. Yesterday I put almost everything I'm taking into my camping backpack that I'm using as my luggage just to be sure it would all fit and wouldn't make me fall over. The good news is it all fit and actually wasn't too heavy! Hopefully the last few things I have to add won't bust any seams.
It still doesn't quite seem like I'm leaving. Things have been really chill around here, so I haven't felt the last minute rush. I still have a fair amount of miscellaneous stuff to get done today though. Here is my cryptic to-do/to-pack list for the day:
watch battery
fingernail clippers
pasta
book
jacket
charge ipod
download pics
print form and mail form and check
underwear and socks
thank you notes
blog
phone calls
At least now I can check "blog" off the list! All prayers are appreciated as I prepare to fly out tomorrow! Also, my recurring back pain has decided to flair up again, so I would also appreciate prayers that it would go away for the rest of the summer.
We'll see if I can get in another post before tomorrow. Adios!
-Heather
I'm pretty close to being ready to go. Yesterday I put almost everything I'm taking into my camping backpack that I'm using as my luggage just to be sure it would all fit and wouldn't make me fall over. The good news is it all fit and actually wasn't too heavy! Hopefully the last few things I have to add won't bust any seams.
It still doesn't quite seem like I'm leaving. Things have been really chill around here, so I haven't felt the last minute rush. I still have a fair amount of miscellaneous stuff to get done today though. Here is my cryptic to-do/to-pack list for the day:
watch battery
fingernail clippers
pasta
book
jacket
charge ipod
download pics
print form and mail form and check
underwear and socks
thank you notes
blog
phone calls
At least now I can check "blog" off the list! All prayers are appreciated as I prepare to fly out tomorrow! Also, my recurring back pain has decided to flair up again, so I would also appreciate prayers that it would go away for the rest of the summer.
We'll see if I can get in another post before tomorrow. Adios!
-Heather
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)