Not enough words to describe....

Here are some pictures from this year's teacher trip to Peru! We had an incredible time and saw God's faithfulness throughout our entire trip as we traveled, shared the Gospel in two orphanages and several public schools, and spent time with and were mutually encouraged by Scripture Union's school workers and volunteers.

This year's team included: Susan Smith, Jose and Iva Bas, Elizabeth Smit, Christy Seifert, Aimee Powell, and Trish Jackson (me!).

The pictures are not in order, and there is no way to capture all that we saw and all that God did, but we hope that they encourage you to continue to pray for the work that God is doing in the hearts of children in Peru.

This is Alan, the school's worker in Chincha, Peru. He is opening a gift from SLCA that included a bookbag filled with goodies and a picture of the class that prays for him. We got to eat lunch with each of the Lima area workers and their volunteers.

Jose talks with some children during our first school's presentation. Over the course of the week we visited several schools and were able to share the Gospel with the children that we met.

These boys are pretty excited after doing
the "Baile del Pollito"....aka The Chicken Dance!

In between schools and eating, crazy things sometimes happen :)

A typical peruvian meal: chicken, rice, and potatoes.
We were NOT sad to get home to our own food.

Happy to find a little taste of home!

Riding dune buggies in Ica, Peru, just south of Lima.

Here we are sharing our favorite song "Soy Honesto" (I am honest) with the children at the INABIF in Lima. INABIF is a state run orphanage that SU is involved with.

Jose is teaching about Bloom's taxonomy. He did an incredible job of explaining and giving examples of how to get students to use their higher order thinking skills!!!

These children participated in one of our
workshops called "How to tell stories creatively"

Trish teaching!

yay! candy!

Christy, Aimee, and Susan did a skit about honesty in our school's presentation.

On Sunday we got to join the Lima workers for church at Camino de Vida.

One night we went to a show called Las Brisas de Titicaca
We saw many typical dances of Peru and got to do some of our own at the end!

After presenting at this particular school, the "Directora" and her teachers invited us to a snack and we enjoyed a good time of fellowship and sharing. They were very encouraged by the presentation and hopeful to gain more ideas from the weekend's training session.

We got to spend our very last day in Peru at Kawai,
our favorite boy's home, located south of Lima. We worshipped with the boys, Elizabeth and Iva shared the gospel with the boys, and Jose encouraged the older boys to "sigue adelante"- keep moving forward- and to put their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Iva and some of the boys at Kawai

Not so they know us, but that they might know HIM!

Pray for Peru:
- For the workers and volunteers who share the a values curriculum in the public schools
- for the summer camps where these same children hear the Gospel
- for the street boys who live in the 5 SU homes
- for the very difficult task that the house parents have of raising these boys

Our theme for the week:
¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-2

Peru, again :)

Hello all!!

We made it safely to Peru! I have decided that these next 10 days will be a great opportunity to take a break from the internet, so I am writing to ask for prayer for the rest of our trip....Apart from Him, we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5)....we really covet your prayers.....that our time here would be fruitful and that God´s kingdom would come and His will be done in Lima, Peru! Also that we would be an encouragement to the volunteers who give their time to teach Bible in the schools here.

Our two main goals: Share the Gospel, help equip volunteers to teach the Bible effectively in the public schools.

June 13- Gospel presentation at INABIF Lima (a state run orphanage)
June 14- Church in the AM, and then lunch with UB (union biblica) workers
June 15- AM/PM Gospel presentations in two local schools, lunch and dinner with UB volunteers
June 16- AM/PM Gospel presentations in two local schools, lunch and dinner with UB volunteers
June 17- Professional development workshop for INABIF workers
June 18- AM/PM Two teacher workshops for UB schools volunteers
June 19- Bus to Chincha, Gospel presenation at INABIF Chincha, Bus to Ica
June 20 (my birthday!) - Training with UB volunteers in Ica
June 21- Lead Chapel service at UB boys home in Kawai, return to Lima
June 22- return home

Beauty in the Desert

At the beginning of our trip to Peru we journeyed south to Ica, a town located in the desert. It is a very dry place with areas of extreme poverty. A little over year and a half ago, an earthquake struck the area creating even more problems...people without homes, children without parents....

We passed out water in an neighborhood that only receives a water truck once a week. Not everyone gets their share of water. One woman said that she had not had water in almost a month. She had two children and her husband was sick.

Many of the people came up to the truck with any kind of bucket they could find.

The water truck told the truth: El agua es vida.....water is life. But, perhaps Jesus says it even better: Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14

"Water s life"

Any bucket they could find

Students helped carry the water back to the people's houses.

Something else stood out in this community: even though there was extreme poverty, the people still took the time to plant flowers and enjoy their beauty.

I love this quote from Hinds Feet on High Places.

On the last morning she was walking near the tents and huts of the desert dwellers, when in a lonely corner behind a wall she came upon a little golden-yellow flower, growing all alone. An old pipe was one tiny hole through which came an occasional drop of water. Where the drops fell one by one, there grew the little golden flower, though where the seed had come from, Much-Afraid could not imagine, for there were no birds anywhere and no other growing things [in this great desert].

She stopped over the lonely, lovely little golden face, lifted up so hopefully and so bravely to the feeble drip, and cried out softly, “What is your name, little flower, for I never saw one like you before.”

The tiny plant answered at once in a tone as golden as itself, “Behold me! My name is Acceptance-with-Joy.”

Much-Afraid thought of the things which she had seen in the pyramid: the threshing floor and the whirring wheel and the fiery furnace. Somehow the answer of the little golden flower which grew all alone in the waste of the desert stole into her heart and echoed there faintly but sweetly, filling her with comfort. She said to herself, “He has brought me here when I did not want to come for his own purpose. I, too, will look up into his face and say, ‘Behold me! I am thy little handmaiden Acceptance-with-Joy.’”

A home in the desert.

Yet, there is still beauty.....a promise of things to come and the hope and longing for something better, things as they should be, a world lost, but soon to come again

Isaiah 35: 1-2, 4-7, 10

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus,

² it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.

⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

¹⁰ and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Peru 2009

SouthLake is taking its 6th group of Seniors to Peru! Please pray for our 25 students and 6 chaperones, that God would be at work in us and through us to bring the good news to Peru! For more info about our trip and past trips go to http://slcamissions.blogspot.com/

Plumbing 101

My toilet was leaking. A friend suggested that maybe it would be possible to fix it on my own. So I went to Lowe's and got the part....only $2.87. Only, we couldn't get the old part off the put on the new one (the screw was corroded....see below for our creative attempt at uncorroding). So now I may have to pay a plumber to fix it. Sad!

Toilet fixing tools: screw driver (check!),
wrench (check!), flashlight (check!)....cotton balls?
Coca-Cola? Paint scraper?

Plumber Josh, sporting his www.ilikeandy.com shirt.
I don't know that Mr. Osenga would appreciate this type of publicity!
Or would that be "plumbicity"?

Moral of the story, if you can't fix a toilet, at least come up with creative ways to TRY to fix it so you can make a mess, take pictures, and have a funny story later!

PS: you may perhaps want to bring a nose plug!

the grass is greener, the food sweeter

My cat taught me a (another) little object lesson yesterday. He was hungry, prancing around my feet, "mrow"....so I filled up his bowl. He ate one bite and then went into the kitchen and starting trying to open one of the cabinets. "Weird!" Somehow he managed to get the door open. I went over to extract him from the cabinet, and I found the extra bag of cat food torn open and almost gone. The exact same kind of food that was in his bowl...

The question(s): Why do we always want the thing now that is intended for later? Hasn't God already given me exactly what I need today? Is it not enough? Why am I not content? Why do I always think that what I don't have is better than what I do have?

My cat made me think of Israel wandering in the desert. When they didn't have food, they grumbled to God, "Are you going to let us die here?" God provided manna. Later on, they grumbled again "But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

"It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at the moment, we expected some other good." C.S. Lewis

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.-- Psalm 16:5-6

He is enough!

Snow Peas

Last Tuesday I planted
some little seeds in some peat pots.

Today the first snow peas peaked through!

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

Housewarming

My mom gave me the best housewarming gift!
A shovel and a gift card to Lowe's to pick out a tree.

This is me trying to get the tree home. :)

A dad who was walking by told his son:
"look there is a tree growing out of her car!"
( Yoshino Cherry)

Mia in the shade of the new tree :)

Are you serious??

One of my students brought this into class today!
Yes, it is a poptart!

Los Santos Vienen Ya!

avocados, beware!

I had a gift card to Williams-Sonoma. Good thing! Among their highly specific kitchen tools, over priced everything (a pepper grinder for $70?!?!), and very enthusiastic staff, I found the answer to all my guacamole dreams. A beam of light shone from heaven upon this magical piece of human ingenuity. Behold-The Avocado Pitter/Slicer!

two wolves

My stepmom forwarded this to me...

Two wolves...

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two ' wolves ' inside us all.

One is Evil. - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed".

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." Galatians 6:7-8

Father

"Dia, What are you doing? Dia! Look at me, look at me. What are you doing? You are Dia Vendy, of the proud Mende tribe. You are a good boy who loves soccer and school. Your mother loves you so much. She waits by the fire making plantains, and red palm oil stew with your sister N'Yanda and the new baby. The cows wait for you. And Babu, the wild dog who minds no one but you. I know they made you do bad things, but you are not a bad boy. I am your father who loves you. And you will come home with me and be my son again"

Isaiah 43: 1
But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Ezekial 36:26-28
²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Jeremiah 31:1,3 "At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people."³ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:"I have loved you with an everlasting love; have drawn you with loving-kindness."

First Softball Game

The two coolest coaches ever! Oh wait, that is Meg and I, and yes, we are cool! Especially with our new official coaches' shirts!

Who could not love coaching these beautiful, sweet, middle school girls? Even after a loss, they are still smiley and excited! Megs and I decided that our score (29-11) was really a sign from God. Jeremiah 29:11...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Perhaps this applies to softball!!?!?!?

Moved in

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since I moved! There are still boxes to be unpacked and painting has not yet happened, but it is already beginning to feel like home.

Mia and Riley are getting along well. I was trying to get Mia to catch a frisbee....it worked...... until Riley charged Mia to steal the frisbee.

Hmmm...perhaps Riley does not realize that he is- a) a cat, b) a lot smaller than Mia, c) not the kind of animal that catches frisbees.

This is Mia's watchdog face to keep away all the neighborhood thugs.

The tail wag is an indicator that she is getting ready to attack. BEWARE!

Riley is helping pick out paint colors. He decided on "amaretto" (a burnt orange) for the kitchen and "sweet annie" (an olive green) for the master bedroom. Good choices! I couldn't have done it without him.

there's no place like home?

I was supposed to close on house back in December, but everything fell through because of a bad appraisal. BUT, God has definitely taken care of the details! Everything that didn't work out with the other house seems to be going smoothly with this one. SOOO, hopefully I will be able to close mid-February! AND, there is even room for the doggie some very sweet friends are giving me :)

Thank you, Lord, for all the "no"s along the way!

New Fav

Toasted 15 grain bread
Humus
Freshly sliced tomatoes
YUM!

Thanksgiving at Gramma's House

The cousins!

Yum! Dinner! Thanks grammom!

Aunt Keri did NOT have anything to do with any spilled drinks,
no matter what any other people might insinuate (uncle steve)

Uncle Bob, Uncle Steve, Mom, Grammom

Trish and Nicole

Tortellini Soup

Tortellini Soup:
3 Chicken Breasts
1 TB butter or olive oil
3 cans chicken broth (also use the broth from the chicken when you boil it)
1 (9oz) package of refrigerated 3-cheese tortellini
1 (10oz) package of frozen spinach (thawed and dried)
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Boil the chicken in salted water for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Saute garlic in butter or olive oil. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add tortelliniand cook 6-7 minutes or until tender. Stir in spinach and tomatoes. Shred chicken and add to soup. Simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and serve. Alternatively you can leave out the chicken and make it super easy and quick.

muffin + pumpkin = muffkin?

It is fall. It is time for pumpkin muffins.

1 8oz can of pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix

Mix ingredients.
Put in muffin tin.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Follow box directions for time/temp.
Bake and eat!