Sharing His Love

The Good ol U S of A

2005-08-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well I made it to New Orleans somewhere around 10:30 yesterday. It was a lot of hassel at the airport in Lima, but I finally made it. Sadly, they lost one of my suitcases, but I had my trunk which was full of souvenirs!!
Anyway, Im having a blast playing with my 2 and a half month old niece and hanging out with my family!!!
It was an amazing summer and I am forever grateful to have been used for His glory this summer!!

Thanks for all of your prayers and support while I was gone!

Back in Lima

2005-08-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well we are all back in Lima and some are leaving today. It has been a good week of eating good American restaurants and debriefing!! I am leaving tomorrow night at midnight and I am looking forward to it!!!
See you all soon!!!!

Last day in Chumpi!!

2005-07-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

So today is our last day in Chumpi.....thats a really sad thought!! We have lived there for just about 2 whole months and tomorrow we will make our journey back to Lima. Everyone has asked us to stay for longer, but there really is no way we can stay. I think the three of us are a little sad to leave behind the people we have grown so close to. Senora Rosa, the elderly lady we live with, asked us to stay, because she is going to be sad and bored when we leave...
:(
Nevertheless, things are going well in Chumpi. We decided to have services every night this weekend. Friday we had Maria, a young girl who has been faithful to coming, and then an older lady named Maria as well. Later, Senora Griselda showed up with 5 of her 7 kids. So it was a good turn out. Last night we didnt have anyone though, so the boys discipled Juan Carlos, our friend in Chumpi. Hopefully though people will show up tonight. Juan Carlos and Daniel have been our prospective leaders in Chumpi, but it seems both are going to Lima. In fact, Daniel already left for Arequipa. Please continue to pray that God will rise up leaders in Chumpi.
Last Sunday, Maria and Juan Carlos were the 2 who showed up for our Bible study. Of course, that was during the festival, so it meant alot that they came. Juan Carlos gave a short sermon on the importance of the church. It was really neat to see him preach, because he is one of the ones we have been discipling this summer.
Well, we are about to head off to church here in Coracora for the last time. Then we are going to get our stuff together and say our farewells with our friends in Chumpi!!
¡¡Adios!!

Festival time!!!

2005-07-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

The festival officially began last tuesday. That basically means that there are about 300 people who are either selling stuff or making food. There are tents set up all around the plaza. It is pretty interesting to watch actually. Every afternoon at 4, a parade of horses and llamas go around the plaza and make their way to the bull arena. There, the men make the horses ¨dance¨ and then they award the best dancer and prettiest llama. Then, a couple stands in the middle and dances for a little while. Around 9 or 10 every night they have a Gran Baile, Big Dance, where they all just dance around til 4 am. Then it all starts again at 5 am with a band marching around the plaza.
We have been invited to several peoples homes to eat some good ol cuy (guinea pig). So needless to say, we have gotten our fair share of cuy this summer. It really has been quite entertaining to watch the festivities unfold. There was a huge wedding and then yesterday they had a HUGE statue of the Virgen de Carmen that they marched around the town. She represents Mary, but each city has its own name for her. Today and tomorrow there is a bull fight. As soon as we leave here and go back to Chumpi we are going to see the bull fight today. Ive never seen one, so that should be an experience!!
Last Sunday we had around 12 or so people show up to our Sunday night Bible study. It should be interesting to see who all comes tonight, because its during the festival. Please continue to pray for those who we are disciplining. Also pray for leaders in Chumpi. We are discipling 2 young guys in particular, but one is probably moving back to Lima. We really think they could be potential leaders in Chumpi. So please pray for them and for the others in Chumpi, seeing as we will only be in Chumpi for one more week.
Also, please pray for my health as well. It seems I have pink eye.....Thankfully, the medicine I got from the hospital is working quite well though!! Praise the Lord.
As always, thanks for your support and prayers!!
¡Dios te bendiga!

Life in Chumpi

2005-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

The few days we had before the team got here were pretty routine. We held a service last Sunday night and praise the Lord there were 12 people who came. Jonathan shared his testimony with the people and Elias and Juan Carlos both shared a short sermon. It is so amazing to see God working in the lives of the people in Chumpi.
Jessica and I moved into our new home above the Expreso Wari bus station and then we all prepared for the team from the states to come.
Well, the third team from Old Fort left this morning. They will be the final team to come down, because we are leaving in 2 weeks to head back to Lima. The past week of ministry was a lot of serving and relationship building. Every afternoon we had all the kids in the plaza playing games and such. The team brought a lot of toys and candy, so it was fun passing all of that out. Wednesday night we had a service and we had around 9 Peruvians who came. Anyway, Wed. night the power didnt come on in Chumpi, but we still held the service. We also had decided to do the Lord´s supper. So we broke some bread and had Crystal light raspberry ice as our drink. It was one of the most amazing Lord´s suppers that I have ever been a part of.
The festival begins tomorrow, so please continue to pray for us as we continue on sharing the Word. There are about 300 people who have arrived in Chumpi over the past 2 days.
Sorry I dont have much time to write today. We need to head on off to church!!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!!

Headed home....Chumpi that is!

2005-06-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

So the other 2 teams headed back down to Pausa with Vic this morning. Stacy stayed, because there wasnt any room left in the car. She originally thought that she was riding the bus back with us, but just found out that our bus doesnt go to Pausa. So she and Jonathan are taking another bus back that leaves in about 15 minutes. Jessica and I are riding back with the Nasca boys. Juan Carlos´s sister is also coming back with us for a week. So, anyway, Jess and I are sitting here using the internet for a little while until we leave. The rest and relaxation was definitely a nice break. As we were discussing earlier, we really only have like 3 more weeks until we head back to Lima. That is so crazy to me!
Our 3rd and final team is coming from the states from Old Fort Baptist on Tuesday. It will be nice to have them again to help with our ministry. After they leave, Jess and I are moving out of the hostel and into the room we are renting above the Wari bus station. Then the fun begins!! hehehe The festival in Chumpi technically begins on the 12th of July and goes until the 20th or 21st. We arent quite certain what our ministry will entail then, but we are going to try our hardest to continue our small groups. Please continue to pray for that!! After the festival we basically have around 5 or 6 days until we leave for good. We are leaving Chumpi on July 26, in order to get a cheaper bus ticket back to Lima. July 28 is the Peruvian independence day and we have been told that prices go up during then. So anyway, please pray for our ministry, as we really only have a good week and a half before the festival begins!
Nasca has been good to us, but I am actually looking forward to seeing my good ol Chumpi again! Thank you for all of your prayers and support!!

Everyone needs a little r and r......

2005-06-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hey again!
So we made it to Nasca yesterday afternoon for our ¨rest and relaxation¨. We (Jonathan, Jessica and our 2 Nasca boys) decided to take some combis (larger taxis) to get here instead of the buses. Elias and Juan Carlos wanted to get back in time so they could go to church last night, because it was the 25th anniversary of their church. So, we started our journey early yesterday morning and got here somewhere around 5ish. Unfortunately, I got a little altitude sickness on the way down the mountains.....but nevertheless, I am fine now!! It made for a long journey down the mountain though! Anyway, so we are here and the other 2 teams made it safely last night as well! It was SO wonderful to take a shower last night!! It was the first real shower I have had since I left Lima and that was a month ago almost! So I´m praising the Lord for hot water!! hehehe........Nasca is really nice and the food here is definitely a welcomed change!! It´s nice to be back in civilization for a little while!!
Okay, so an update on Chumpi.....We had our first collective Bible study on Friday night. Praise the Lord!! We had 6 adults come and one little girl. We had promoted it to be an adult Bible study, because the following day we had a kids thing in the plaza...which was also quite a success!! I entertained the little girl, Jenny, who came to the adult Bible study while the others discipled the adults! It really was a blessing to see that many people come though! At 7, we only had one little old lady and we were really thinking that she was all that was coming! But nevertheless, people showed up!! Then on Saturday, we played games in the plaza with the kids. We had a really good turn out! I would say around 40ish kids came, but we definitely had a big crowd watching us! We are hoping to have a collective adult Bible study every Sunday night and a kids study on Saturdays! Please continue to pray for the people of Chumpi!! It is rather difficult to get people to actually come to things collectively, but praise God that they came this past week!!
That was our main focus last week in Chumpi. We really promoted the Bible studies and continued our daily one on one discipleship teams. Other than that, things were pretty routine in Chumpi. Praise God for the faithful who are in Chumpi and who genuinely are willing to take time to learn more about the Bible!
Okay, now I´m off to go to the grocery store!! Thanks for all of your prayers!!
Dios te bendiga!!!

Sorry so long!!!

2005-06-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last update!! We came to Coracora one day, but there wasnt any electricity. The other time we came, we didn´t have that long so I didnt get a chance to update! Anyway, things are going well in Chumpi. It is the 3 of us with 2 guys from Nasca. Praise the Lord we found a room to stay in during the festival! We werent having much luck at first, but God provided! Jonathan and the Nasca boys actually moved into one of the rooms yesterday. Jessica and I are still at the hostel, but we will move on July 10.
After the last team left for the states, we were left with about 95 contact cards of people who had prayed to receive Christ at either the Jesus film or the medical clinic. So we spent a few days going to find the people or more successfully their houses. Most everyone is in the fields for the better part of the day. We have gone out to the fields with a few people. Yesterday in fact we went to milk some cows with Charro. She also let us ride her mule in the middle of the road! It was fun.
We have about 5 or 6 Bible studies going on daily. Most are individuals, but Jessica and I have had 2 or 3 ladies´ Bible studies. So things are going well. We have located basically where all the 95 live and have talked to as many as we can find. Some people live out in the fields with their animals during the week, so it is a little difficult to find them. Plus there was a festival in Pullo ( 2 hours south of Chumpi, i think!) last week, so a lot of people were gone to that as well. We are forming good relationships with the store owners and the others who stay in Chumpi during the day time. We have also visited the schools, especially the special needs school. The teacher there is very open to us and allows us to go whenever we want.
The last team left some childrens´ books in spanish that tell the story about Christmas, Easter and then just some other Christian books. They have been very helpful for me, because I am able to use it to talk to the kids about their true meanings. They have been a good tool for the kids.
Our days are pretty much filled with visitation in the mornings and then jam packed with Bible studies from 3 to 6. That is the time when most people have time to sit down and study. So things are going well and we are praising God for the faithful who are coming regularly to Bible study. We are going to try to hold a service in the other room we are renting where the boys live. Please pray that people will come, because we are having a harder time getting people to come to a corporate setting.
Thank you all for your continued prayers!! We are all healthy and praising God for allowing us to be used by Him in Chumpi!!
I love you all!

Week 2 in Chumpi

2005-06-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

The other team from the states left this morning. They were a medical team, but all of their medicines were kept in customs. They arrived in Chumpi a day late, but we still had the clinic. They came to Coracora and bought some meds, so we were able to have the clinic and give out at least some meds. In total they saw around a 150 people in Chumpi. We also went to an outlying city, Bellavista, yesterday afternoon to help the doctor there. There were a good many people there as well. Also on our way to Bellavista, we stopped at the aguas calientes, hot springs, which were basically 2 ceramic swimming pools in the side of a mountain!! The water was hot and it smelled just like sulphur!! It reminded me of summer missions in Orlando! The neat thing about that though was that Jonathan baptized Daniel, a new believer who is very eager to learn about the Bible. Also, Rosanna, a translator and nurse with the team from the states was also baptized. It was really beautiful to watch!! Then Jessica and Jonathan went swimming in the pool. Then we went to Bellavista for the clinic. We had it set up so that after they saw the doctor, they went to spiritual counseling, and then to the pharmacy. Therefore, everyone who came at least heard the Gospel. Many prayed and accepted Christ. It was really a neat week in Chumpi!! At first we all wondered what to do without meds, but then by the end we had a full medical clinic and people came from towns VERY far away!! God definitely provided a plan for us, because at first there really wasn´t a clear one!! So that was basically what we did from when we got up til we went to bed last week! Last night there was a huge festival in Chumpi, because it was the anniversary of Chumpi. I cant remember how old it is, but Jonathan says it was 174 years. There were little kids all dressed up who sang songs and they all marched around the plaza. The whole town was there, so it was really neat to watch!! Also, since the festival was going on, we had electricity until 11!!! Anyway, thats about all the time I have right now! We have to be back in Chumpi for a delicious lunch of guinea pig!!!! Love you all!!!

God is AMAZING!!!!!!!!

2005-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

We are in Coracora right now. This is a city about 45 minutes away from Chumpi. The first team from the US left this morning and we headed down here to check our email before the next team comes on tomorrow. God did amazing things while they were here!! We shared the Gospel with so many people, especially the kids. Two guys from Nazca came down and are helping us! They are such and encouragement!! 2 nights ago we showed half of the Jesus film to about 200 pple in Chumpi. That was a miracle from God bc we weren´t sure if it would work. We get electricity for about 2 hours a night. Last night the room was so packed full of people that I dont think another person could have fit!! It was so amazing to watch!! I went to visit some farms yesterday. One I wasn´t able to make though, because it was further than we thought and it was STRAIGHT down a mountain!! It is so amazing to be here in Chumpi. The people here are so friendly and welcoming to us. It was a long 20 hour bus ride to get here from Lima, but it was definitely worth every minute of it! Since most everyone is gone to the fields during the day, we have gotten to know the store owners and others who stay in Chumpi very well. It gets VERY cold here at night, but it is very warm during the day. It is so amazing at night when there is no electricity and you can just look up at the millions of stars in the sky!! Chumpi is amid dozens of beautiful mountains and as you look out, you can see the tons of farms and fields. We went to the high school the other day during their recess time and the kids just loved it! Elias, one of the Nazca boys as we call them, shared the Gospel with the kids right there during recess!! He and Juan Carlos are amazing men of God!! There is so much to tell and I´m trying to remember it all right now! We will come here to Coracora once a week to update our blogs and check our emails. The team that is coming this week is a medical team. We passed out flyers all of chumpi and the surrounding cities. Pray that people will come not only for the medical clinic but also that we will have opportunities to share Christ with them!! I am running out of time here, so I will update again next week!! I pray all is well and I love you all!!

Leaving for Chumpi

2005-05-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning at 7, I leave to make the journey to the bus stop. We leave for our 20 hour bus ride through the mountains to Chumpi!! It should be exciting!!! I will get to update my blog at least once a week while I am there, but probably not much more than that!! I hope all is well with yall back home!! I ask for your prayers as we begin our ministry in Chumpi and the surrounding areas! Now I have to go pack my trunk up so I will be ready in the morning!!

Touring Lima

2005-05-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

So this morning I went off to get my visa fixed, but after a while I left with nothing. I am going to have to pay a $1 a day fine for the rest of the summer. This kinda stinks, but as long as things are okay, that is fine with me! So then the 5 of us who are here went touring around Lima. We went to la iglesia de San Francisco and saw the catacombs....that was interesting!! Then we ate lunch at a nice restaurant. We all ate cerviche (raw fish soaked in lime juice) along with some other seafood. I will just say that I am going to be very skinny come August because that was not that appetizing!! Then we went to some art musuems and such. Tomorrow we start our 3 day orientation and we all leave for our separate cities on Saturday! I am headed down south to Chumpi! It is quite chilly here at night. It was a fairly pretty day , but it started getting cold as soon as the sun went down. I am interested to see where we eat dinner tonight!!! Well hasta luego mis amigos en los estados unidos!!

I made it to Lima!!

2005-05-24T22:38:00.000-07:00

Well I am officially in Lima, Peru now. The flight wasnt too terribly bad and I made it safely!! I did however get the wrong tourist visa, mine is only good for 30 days!! It wasnt my fault and I told him I needed one for 90 days, but oh well now! I have to pay a lot to get it fixed, but I guess that will be okay as long as I am okay to stay here!! I am at a hostel somewhere in Lima!! I am with 5 other people, so thats good!!
Its getting late and I am exhausted from all the flying and such!! I will try to update again tomorrow!!

Love you all!!!!

2 more days in the States....

2005-05-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

I am packing up and getting ready to go down to Lima in 2 days. I fly out on Tuesday morning from New Orleans. I just found out I will be staying in Chumpi (southern Peru) for the entire summer. It is a remote village about 6 hours from Nazca. My teammates are Jessica and Jonathan and we are working with Old Fort Baptist Church. I am not sure how often I will be able to update this since we will not be in a real city. We might be able to go to CoraCora, which is 2 hours away, and they have an Internet cafe. We shall see!! Back to packing up my Contico trunk!!!

Almost there.....

2005-05-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I leave exactly one week from today for Lima, Peru! I am getting very excited and cannot wait to see what exciting things this summer has in store for me! Please continue to pray for me as I travel down to Peru and meet the people I will be working with all summer!!