more photos from peru

Cusi: Quechua for Happiness

It is a village built by Scripture Union that includes a school,

a home for abandoned boys, and a camp.

Caitlin and Laura enjoying the beauty of Huascaran, the second highest peak in the Andes.

At the Continental Divide: 16,200 feet

(did anyone bring some 02?)

Our morning wake-up call (aka: the devil bird)

Peru: Days 7-9

Thursday: Back to work! In the morning, we did the HEART DRAMA. Afterwards, the students were split up into groups and each group sent to be with a different grade level. It was exciting seeing the students being responsible for the ministry that was happening. They were teaching the songs, leading the activities, and speaking their Spanish without any help!

While the students were teaching the kids and playing with them, I had the opportunity to spend time with Mrs. Smith and the teachers from the Cusi school. Of the 8 teachers, only one of them was receiving money for his work. The others will continue to work until their one year of service for the Peruvian Government is finished. Even after that, they will get paid very little. Mrs. Smith shared teaching ideas and encouraged them. I had the joy of translating! What a joy it is to help someone else communicate what God has put on their heart! The teachers were so hungry for any ideas to help them reach their children. We will take even more ideas with us when we return in June.

After this, the all of the kids returned to their classrooms from playing with our students and we passed out bookbags to each one. They were very happy and very thankful for the bags they received, and our students to got to learn the joy of giving to others!

The number of bricks grew to over 150 due to the amazing adobe skills of several of the girls and the shoveling/wheelbarrowing skills of Pastor Malloy, Mr. Horton and Mrs. Smith. The boys and some other girls continued the building of the side walk by bringing in more rock from the river.




Around 3:30, we stopped work and took a beautiful mile and a half trek down to the village of Yungay, which was wiped out by a mudslide in 1970. After an earthquake, a piece of the mountain broke off and while sliding down brought mud, rock and water, covering the entire town in less that 3 minutes. The only ones who survived were visiting the cemetery which is raised off the ground (it is the circle shaped area in the left of the before and after photos at wikipedia). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Ancash_earthquake

Friday: Our last day in Cusi! When we got to the school this morning, the children at the school did their Friday routine of marching in and singing their national anthem. They asked us to sing our national anthem to them...OH SAY CAN YOU SEEEEEEEE!

Afterwards, we shared the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE drama with them. This was an especially exciting point of the day! At the last minute, one student, who played a main part in the drama, was not able to go on the Peru trip. However, Ron E. stepped up and learned this part in a matter of probably only 3 hours, and he did an AMAZING job!!!! In fact, he even added some of this own style to it to make it extra good! It was neat to see God take care of the details and Ron provide some skills, especially the Ron-sneak..."get your sneak on" (quote by Lizzie)

Today we played with the kids and then said goodbye. While the students were playing, I talked with some of the teachers. It was such a sweet time of fellowship! We talked about teaching, we talked about the Gospel (some of them are not yet believers), and we talked about Peru. They even taught me some Quechua, which is the language of the Ancient Incans and still one of the three main languages in Peru (Spanish and Aymara are the other two. The only words that I can remember off the top of my head are imanota (hello), ancash (blue) and mishi (cat). The last word stuck because 1) I LOVE CATS and 2) there was this super cute kitten at the school and his name just happened to be MISHI and it also somehow ended up hanging out with me for about 2o minutes....I enjoyed the purring.....I missed my kitty at home! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechua

Friday night was the beginning of the end of our marathon. We drove all night (from 6pm until 3 am the next morning) back to Lima.

Saturday: After breakfast, we took a city tour of Lima, which included the San Francisco Church and its winding and somewhat creepy catacombs. As we came back to Centro Girasoles, we passed the Presidential Palace as they were changing the gaurd, which included a band, some high stepping, and of course, some guards to be changed. We also met up with a rather unusual dog and his not very nice owner. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima,_Peru

Upon our return, we all went upstairs in Girasoles for the presentation of a drama put together by the street boys. It is a three part choreography that tells the story of their lives and how God has rescued them and given them new life! Afterwards, we were able to share our dramas with the boys, which was very exciting for us. All week, the students had looked forward to sharing with the boys!

After that, a whirlwind shopping trip through the indian market, some Italian food in the Miraflores district of Lima, rushing to the airport in Callao, and an all night flight to Houston.....everyone cheered when we hit US soil: flushable toilet paper, drinkable water, and hot showers tonight!

Thank you SOOOO much to everyone who was praying! God kept us safe and lives were changed....both theirs and ours....

Peru: Days 5-6

Hola!!!

Wow, what an amazing two days! Yesterday we began our work in Kusi at the foot of Huascaran, the second highest peak in the Andes, and the highest in Peru!

We were warmly welcomed to the school in Kusi with a special ceremony. The kids marched out, all military like, and filed into ranks. Then they raised the Peruvian flag and sang their national anthem followed by their town´s anthem. The kids were so cute as they marched out! Afterwards, each grade came and sang a song or did a choreography. Some students recited poems. And now for the best part: They taught us all how to dance a-la-Peru....starting with all of our boys! It was so much fun!



Next we shared our dramas, The Champion and the Chair and taught them two songs. Then, out to play! We went over to a small little soccer field. The boys wore themselves out carrying the children around on their backs like horses, while the girls played duck duck goose. We all played with the kids for over an hour.

While the students were sharing their drama, a little boy, probably only 4, came over to me. He stood a few feet away and just looked at me...I invited him over to sit in my lap....he hestitated, but then came over. HE WAS SOOOOO CUTE!! He didn´t say anything. He just sat in my there and stole my heart.

Following lunch: TIME FOR WORK! The boys carried rocks to build a pathway for Kusi, while the girls began making adobe! Some mixed the mud and straw with their feet, others carried the mud in wheelbarrows, and others made the bricks under the supervision of an expert adobe maker, Filipe. Our first few bricks didn´t quite make the grade, but after that, we were practically ready to build our own houses out of adobe. Score for the day: 5 bad bricks and 50 good ones. Laura E. was especially adept a making bricks and gets the MVP award for the day.

Today was amazing! We began our day with a walk through the Yungay market, where the people from the mountains bring down their things to sell on Wednesdays and Sundays. There were blankets, fruits and vegetables, a meat market, and lots of interesting sights and smells. The end of our tour through the market was a little sad, as Laura E. and Chris picked out two, super cute, squeaky guinea pigs to eat with breakfast. They named the unfortunate pair Carlos and Guillermo.

After breakfast in a little restaurant, we began our ascent up to the Continental Divide. Two hours later, we were standing looking at snow capped mountains and the crazily windy road that we had come up on. God´s creation is so amazing....there are no words to describe it. On the way down, we stopped at Llanganuco, a glacier lake, and had a picnic lunch. Some of us took a boat out into the icy water....brrrrr.....

Tonight, we had a great time of worship lead by Dave F. and Jeffery Davis. Then Billy Clark shared with us about what it is that we are doing here and about the street boys who´s lives we are participating in. It is such a blessing to a part of what God is doing! There is nothing else more satisfying.

QUOTES OF THEY DAY
-Is anyone else singing circle of life right now? (Sidney, while driving through the mountains)
-Look at the lake! How did they do that? (Remick, referring to Lake Llanganuco and its very green color)
- I´ve gotta give that man a hug...and my tuna sandwich. (David B., referring to the bus driver after making it safely to the top of the Continental Divide)
- My toilet paper is blowing away. (Rach; due to the fact there were no toilets at 16,200 feet)


I still have to download pics from today, but they are coming.

photos from peru

Halfway through our 9 hour trip through the Andes

The old grandpa sea lion

Me in the boat!

Laura and Rachel with two of the boys at Kawai

more pictures to follow

Peru: Days 1-4

hola a todos!!

We have had such an amazing trip so far! We left the Charlotte airport at 1130 and flew to Newark, NJ, and from there to Lima, Peru. We arrived around 10pm, and after making some claims for lost luggage (oops), we drove 2 hours south to to Kawai, one of Scripture Union´s 4 homes for street boys. It was already 1am by the time we got there, so we all crashed.

Saturday: We were off to a VERY EARLY start..up at 530 (ugh)....and then on our way to the Paracas Islands and the Sand Dunes of Ica. We took a boat out to the Paracas Islands in the PACIFIC OCEAN (this was only my third time being on the Pacific...the first time was 2 years ago when I visited Peru with our first group of seniors to visit Peru). I have been to the Islands before (twice), but it was so fun hearing the students...."awwwww.....a penguin....miss jackson, how do you say penguin in spanish? awww look PENGÜINOS" We saw sea lions and little pups. They were so cute playing in the water. We saw lots of GUANAI (some interesting birds that make lots of GUANO.....ick). We saw live starfish, crabs, and anemones.There was one funny looking sea lion. I think he was really old! He was really furry and fat....probably the grandpa! =)

Then, we drove to the sand dunes of Ica for some dune buggying! The students had SOOOO much fun! Our driver was the bravest of of them all! We did some pretty crazy stunts. Up the side of a hill, then a quick turn to take us back down. We sandboarded on our bellies down HUGE HILLS...this time I wasnt as chicken so I didn´t go last.
Saturday night we hung out with the boys at Kawai. There were about 20 of them. They were so excited to see us. We played foosball with them, sang songs, and taught them how to do the chicken dance. They were so receptive to the whole group!

Sunday: What an amazing day! We led the chapel for the street boys. We did all of our dramas, we led them in worship, and we learned God´s word together. Then afterwards we played futbol (soccer) for over an hour until lunch. Of course, the Peruvians are much better soccer players than us Gringos, but it sure was fun.

We had a yummy lunch of Sopa de Zapallo and then beef and rice. Then we spent some more time with the boys. Just playing with them and loving them.

One of the things that the street boys do to earn money is make bracelets. The house father - whose name escapes me right now- had all of the boys lay out their bracelets. They then sat in a line and watched us as we picked them out. Their faces were so cute as they watched to see if we would choose the one that they made.

Sunday night, we returned to Lima to spend time with the boys at Casa Girasoles. They just captured our hearts! We played soccer (again) and duck duck goose (gato gato raton for us) and red rover.

It has been so neat to spend time with these boys. Most of them were abandoned by their parents at a very young age and forced to live on the street..due to poverty and inability to feed so many children....or just neglect. They survive by either stealing or by selling themselves. Most people call them Piranhas. The police have been known to torture them. They have no hope. It is such a blessing to be involved with a ministry that brings these boys into a home, gives them a place to live and eat, people who love them, a school to go to, and most importantly, teach them about the love of Christ and the hope there is in Him.

God is a God of relationship. He could have used anything to tell us about Him, but He sent His son, to live among us. He is Emmanuel, GOD with us, and through Christ, we can be restored into that relationship. And God continues to work through relationships....as we spend time with these boys, playing and worshipping and sharing the love of Christ. We have relationship with them and have the priveledge of pointing them to the the relationship that will give them a hope and future! God is so merciful and good!

Monday: We drove about 9 hours into the mountains and tomorrow will begin our work at Cusi! More updates to follow...

not in shape!

So, I have decided to run a half-marathon on Labor Day weekend at Virginia Beach. My first question is: Can I quit already?? he he eh.....so I went online today at the suggestion of my friend Jess to set up a training program for myself. Day 1: run 2 miles....waaaaaaaaa....who was I kidding! I ran a mile and a half and my legs were already screaming to stop the insanity. And this day was considered an easy day!

So, maybe I should set a goal because 13 miles is looking pretty impossible. Goal 1: complete 2 miles on wednesday! I think I can do it!

Well, atleast I still have 17 weeks to go before the race. Perhaps I will make it. I hope so ;)

runner quote of the day: The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare. - Juma Ikangaa
http://www.rnrhalf.com/home.html
http://www.runnersworld.com

vamos a peru!!!!

Well, it is almost time to leave for the Senior's trip to Peru! I can't believe it is here all ready. I will spend the rest of this week getting my kids ready for their exams and the Seniors ready with dramas, songs, and puppers, and then Friday morning we are off!!!
As in the past, we will be working with a ministry called Scripture Union that has an outreach to abandoned boys in Lima and in other parts of Peru. The Seniors will have the privelege of serving alongside of this ministry by sharing the Gospel through drama, songs, and puppets, to the boys and to children in the public schools. They will also be helping to build a school near Caraz, Peru in state of Ancash.
This morning we sang two spanish songs and did the dramas for chapel. Overall it went pretty well. I am so proud of the students and all of the hard work that they have done!!! "The Chair" drama was really fun! There is chair in the middle of the room with a sign that says "Don't Touch"....then enters a boy who sees the chair and is, of course, tempted to touch it. He and a series of others get stuck to their chair until someone show them the other side of the sign that says "sin" and then prays with them to get unstuck. It is all set to the tune of the Pink Panther. So it is very comical, but very powerful. Sin is sneaky...we think it offers us what we want, but it really only enslaves us. The other dramas, The Heart, The Champion, and Mission Impossible also went well! YEAH!!!
Our Seniors are really excited. This will be the biggest group to go to Peru so far. Please pray for us as you think about us!!

favorite CS Lewis Quotes

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far to easily pleased.
Weight of Glory

The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning." And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of the all the stories, and we can most truely say they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
The Last Battle

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
Mere Christianity