tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320374692024-03-19T04:28:32.940-04:00Songs of Joy"Those living far away fear Your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades You call forth songs of joy."
Psalms 65:8Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-77647402643459782082011-10-02T17:39:00.000-04:002011-10-02T17:39:38.762-04:00Come with me: A Virtual Prayer HikeI love the new prayer hike that's been set up on the CORASON lands so much that I thought I would share a virtual hike with you all. I'd love it if you could be here to feel the hot sun, see the amazing panoramic views and feel the physical exertion of this prayer hike but hopefully you can get a glimpse of what it's like and can pray these points for your own city! Thanks to Jenny Brown with the Latin Link mission for putting this together.<br />
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The hike starts right above a sports pitch where club CORASON meets on Tuesday afternoon for outdoor games and sports. You can see the ruins right above you. They are covered with a bizarre wooden framing (not sure of the purpose). It'll take you about five minutes to get to them but it's a bit steep so catch your breath.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5HC0PVP52oJLjqA-IsRJ6SETC1V6DwFbRXnHPdibsaH4Vy03FWUoh9qnWyYAc5omFc2tRRBnrSZklrn-9OqsZqOvtYubUpPqnUPEP-mGhqv6uZ6rABKTkJ4evJ7fNuugwyf5vQ/s1600/IMG_3197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5HC0PVP52oJLjqA-IsRJ6SETC1V6DwFbRXnHPdibsaH4Vy03FWUoh9qnWyYAc5omFc2tRRBnrSZklrn-9OqsZqOvtYubUpPqnUPEP-mGhqv6uZ6rABKTkJ4evJ7fNuugwyf5vQ/s320/IMG_3197.JPG" width="240" /></a><b>1. The Ruins</b><br />
We <b><span style="color: red;">C</span>onfess</b> our sin - that we have not loved you as we should, that we have not cared for others or your world as we could have, that we have not fought for justice, that we have been complacent.<br />
<i>The ruins remind us of the judgement of God (eg Isaiah 5). From here we can also see many new buildings being constructed. Think of Jesus' parable of the builders. (Luke 6:46-49)</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01KmiprvKkFZ1tHx93qNTaF7SX9O2NSyhMIg-lNRPWQ8V7Xz_GLZarEKY386gxZpaxI2FOW6_1TEY43fgWLiLYwnNm-4n-YVsy0caFouWKIlrb9DMorYm1rDIeeqW_yZgvzcDTw/s1600/IMG_3198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01KmiprvKkFZ1tHx93qNTaF7SX9O2NSyhMIg-lNRPWQ8V7Xz_GLZarEKY386gxZpaxI2FOW6_1TEY43fgWLiLYwnNm-4n-YVsy0caFouWKIlrb9DMorYm1rDIeeqW_yZgvzcDTw/s320/IMG_3198.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>From here you can see the first summit above you. Here comes the hardest part of the hike with about 20 minutes of upward hiking. Thankfully, there is a pretty well worn path and you can see lots of beautiful flowers along the way.<br />
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We <b><span style="color: red;">O</span>pen</b> our hearts and minds to your forgiveness and love and to the work of your Spirit in our lives. Help us to hear your voice today.<br />
<i>We find many people encountering God on mountain tops - eg Abraham (Genesis 22), Moses (Exodus 24), Peter, John & James with Jesus (Luke 9:28-36; 2 Peter 1:16-18). Pray that you will be open to God as you spend time with Him today. (Isaiah 6:1-8)</i><br />
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Up on the summit you can see an impressive view of Cusco all spread out in the valley beneath you. It's a wonderful place to remember the God who loves Cusco and continues to work His work there. Up here you'll come across various burnt out fire pits where sacrifices to mother earth have been performed, a humbling reminder that we are in a spiritual war against the powers of Satan.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcWBw0e2k2C7LO6IO2GaX8RM1SiJrSOOSzw8whT6JqtFlTtgxFEdaOWCkLIKYFFTfjBQYCdUPooc5yxSE0n8xbRzFtCjcILZ_8HVLgAXSL574Uk2kHcPQDs1bQPY2Pc99lxX_tQ/s1600/IMG_3214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcWBw0e2k2C7LO6IO2GaX8RM1SiJrSOOSzw8whT6JqtFlTtgxFEdaOWCkLIKYFFTfjBQYCdUPooc5yxSE0n8xbRzFtCjcILZ_8HVLgAXSL574Uk2kHcPQDs1bQPY2Pc99lxX_tQ/s320/IMG_3214.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>From this point we'll walk down just a bit to our right in the direction of the next summit. It's a beautiful walk between the two summits and we'll stop at the base of the next summit for our next prayer point.<br />
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<b>3. Fissure in the ground</b><br />
We <b><span style="color: red;">R</span>emember</b> that you call us to unity - heal our divisions and bring unity to your church.<br />
<i>The large cracks in the ground are a reminder of disunity. Cusco was once called "the graveyard of pastors" due to many failed ministries. We thank God that this is no longer the case but we still need to pray for leaders here and unity (John 17:20-25). Pray for many churches to come and pray on this mountain, and for people who are not yet Christians to meet God here too. (Isaiah 19:23-25, Is 40; 66:18)</i><br />
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I'm really not sure what these cracks and big tracks in the ground come from but it's a good reminder to pray for unity. Now it's time to climb up the next summit. Thankfully it's not as taxing as the last and will only take about ten minutes. On the way up you can notice that the vegetation is slightly different and there are lots of shells from snails! Here we are at the top and the view is spectacular!<br />
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<b>4. Summit 2 - Overlooking Cusco</b><br />
We <b><span style="color: red;">A</span>sk</b> that your kingdom of love, joy and peace come to this community, the city and this country, and that you would provide the necessities for those who are struggling.<br />
<i>Right beside the mountain at CORASON we have problems with poverty, alcohol, poor education, poor health and nutrition, dishonesty and corruption. (Is 42:1-9, Is 58) </i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYFB6GOxqLa9fUAww0aUXOtLuckqxK4q-Q_xWH07c9zGxI4xsurZZSjhkI0mSAKFC-uCZPf-jxhR2l-SRlL5iw5b3wdJHNMXNu_YCGklGjG39I-EFujWvhT48TzYkJwP4GfNkaQ/s1600/IMG_3234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYFB6GOxqLa9fUAww0aUXOtLuckqxK4q-Q_xWH07c9zGxI4xsurZZSjhkI0mSAKFC-uCZPf-jxhR2l-SRlL5iw5b3wdJHNMXNu_YCGklGjG39I-EFujWvhT48TzYkJwP4GfNkaQ/s320/IMG_3234.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The view here is even better but sometimes people do irresponsible things like letting fires get out of hand. This mountain top is currently a little burnt out. But there is green growing and life under the burnt plants a testimony to the faithfulness of God's work. There is always hope, always green, and always new life! From here we walk down to the right towards a line of trees.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMm1dMOKaAwMtXPQH_DQpvAvNGjZgM4ZTWO-DKbGQAGikOPxgcHgWNrDe0WEK4ZZU_AC5MFq52m7yWy79BB4fpNvm3uegS8Ooui538K7w3wrDbMNJgTd07G89l3oVE3RapeIvpw/s1600/IMG_3235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMm1dMOKaAwMtXPQH_DQpvAvNGjZgM4ZTWO-DKbGQAGikOPxgcHgWNrDe0WEK4ZZU_AC5MFq52m7yWy79BB4fpNvm3uegS8Ooui538K7w3wrDbMNJgTd07G89l3oVE3RapeIvpw/s320/IMG_3235.JPG" width="240" /></a><b>5. Beside the trees</b><br />
We <b><span style="color: red;">S</span>tand</b> in your spiritual armor against the forces of evil, rooted in your Word - for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the spiritual realm.<br />
In Cusco we see ancient Andean beliefs and superstitions mixed with legalism, religiosity and representations of Mary and many saints made into idols in the Catholic church. Tourists are taken on New Age-type mystical tours. Beside the trees we are standing at the boundary of the CORASON land...spiritually think of standing firm - often we are at a boundary between good and evil. (Ephesians 6:10-18; Isaiah 2; Psalm 1)<br />
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There are actually two lines of trees here. The tall eucalyptis trees overwhelm the scene but in front of them is a line of native prickly pine like trees that make up the CORASON boundary line. These trees were planted by people from different churches several years ago. The story is that the Mennonite church planted the most trees and won a computer! woohoo familia! There's such a peaceful feeling beside these trees it's almost hard to remember the battle that we face in the valley where so many are in search of spiritual things but are so utterly confused or deceived!<br />
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In this line of trees we'll see a line of metal power towers. At the first one we'll want to start our descent off to our right. Here comes the fun, "choose your own adventure" part of the hike. There's no real path, so you just have to go down and to your right while all along avoiding prickles and cactus like plants. You are aiming for a small resevoir of water. You can tell where it is because of the blue tarp around it. Cross over a fissure/ crack at the bottom of this valley and keep to the lowest path that will take you to the small resevoir of water. You'll want to cross that small stream to get to the other side.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67im5gnzBWR2xm4QXOKGfXP6BWWbMDttbf1LR6IgSnHsIRKpJ6HSNr7zuRpflGY0SdNWz5w62gzosDUg3nuNMUahtO32fI2aXEwLHtFe3Ix-uzcGePtdlgnB1_oW57WzvBDroeA/s1600/IMG_3252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67im5gnzBWR2xm4QXOKGfXP6BWWbMDttbf1LR6IgSnHsIRKpJ6HSNr7zuRpflGY0SdNWz5w62gzosDUg3nuNMUahtO32fI2aXEwLHtFe3Ix-uzcGePtdlgnB1_oW57WzvBDroeA/s320/IMG_3252.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0PCBcDHb2DraoAgB4R-VSrTsmDqD313OQ9AXPuJbQY9rHx0ATHqROzcW8zqsTJNFhXn-Nn-hKb_62L1W3Pb_I_NuHQAzgpqw2mAsJcT3btivbzFDe_VHTbwjPRayaBdR0vmbKQ/s1600/IMG_3254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0PCBcDHb2DraoAgB4R-VSrTsmDqD313OQ9AXPuJbQY9rHx0ATHqROzcW8zqsTJNFhXn-Nn-hKb_62L1W3Pb_I_NuHQAzgpqw2mAsJcT3btivbzFDe_VHTbwjPRayaBdR0vmbKQ/s320/IMG_3254.jpg" width="240" /></a><b>6. Beside the stream</b><br />
We <b><span style="color: red;">O</span>ffer</b> our lives to you in worship and service, not conforming to the pattern of the world, but living in overflowing love, by the power of the Holy Spirit, remembering the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the lonely and the foreigner.<br />
<i>Beside the stream we think of the water of life and our empowering by the Holy Spirit to live for God. (Isaiah 58:11, John 4:7-26, 7:37-39)</i><br />
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The story of how the pastor found this water here is truly a miracle from God. He had been bringing up water to the mountain but construction of the center was about to start and they needed water. The pastor went off to pray for a miraculous provision of water and began to dig and dig and dig. And he found water and now CORASON has more than enough water!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PH76IIVTuMiNY4dP-7WyRw2FK5wro0NHelvYW1KBLHc3GxMdBF2VpmGTDgpGsSovDMiOtT7vfq3QfuwWT9xDAFkUNc1-HYx1bIarmA1EvdbrpzcoM2S_GJKdk_HGF8lCwjI6kg/s1600/IMG_3262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PH76IIVTuMiNY4dP-7WyRw2FK5wro0NHelvYW1KBLHc3GxMdBF2VpmGTDgpGsSovDMiOtT7vfq3QfuwWT9xDAFkUNc1-HYx1bIarmA1EvdbrpzcoM2S_GJKdk_HGF8lCwjI6kg/s320/IMG_3262.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>From this resevoir we can find the path up a little on the right side. It's a sheep path so you'll find wool stuck in the plants along the way. Follow this path around the side of the hill. When it seems to suddenly disappear, drop down instead of climbing up and you'll find the path again. Once you come around the second hill you'll see the CORASON buildings beneath you. The descent is a little tricky so keep to the darker colored parts that look like rock but are really packed dirt. Watch out for slippery spots and loose dirt as you go down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLi5fHpzIvQYWWLDXa7Ca320GA1cTpP1bgXRn6zxEMNP9kmJ5rx5J1ZO9ii67C5EPCEO7p3JJmf8gdBLib_XsLZT07FZzzuv0qFcu0L9vj_T6_Xah8Fl6dqjpdcnEq7XKXq22WQ/s1600/IMG_3272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLi5fHpzIvQYWWLDXa7Ca320GA1cTpP1bgXRn6zxEMNP9kmJ5rx5J1ZO9ii67C5EPCEO7p3JJmf8gdBLib_XsLZT07FZzzuv0qFcu0L9vj_T6_Xah8Fl6dqjpdcnEq7XKXq22WQ/s320/IMG_3272.JPG" width="240" /></a><b>7. Walking back down</b><br />
We<span style="color: red;"> </span><b><span style="color: red;">N</span>ame</b> these specific people and situations that need you Father especially right now...<br />
<i>This part is for you to speak to God about your own needs and those of your family, friends, etc. (Isaiah 61; Luke 4:14-21, Isaiah 65:17-25)</i><br />
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By this point you are probably pretty tired but happy for this time with God and walking in His beautiful creation. Certain parts of this hike are hard but it's a rewarding thing to spend that time with Him! In the end we've pretty much hiked the boundaries of the CORASON land! Next time don't forget your hat and some more sunscreen.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo47sGqEbGaf4yD9TrH-PyxY9MOdJLkzLHSSQwzCE8VjZTBtqpJV4VKevenvfbDaO-Z-9ywzf92v0lvBs4B2xDhAsI43CG-JPvQULbTT3E7mlJrBvktHrVPe9QPmRJy15g29K8_A/s1600/IMG_3274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo47sGqEbGaf4yD9TrH-PyxY9MOdJLkzLHSSQwzCE8VjZTBtqpJV4VKevenvfbDaO-Z-9ywzf92v0lvBs4B2xDhAsI43CG-JPvQULbTT3E7mlJrBvktHrVPe9QPmRJy15g29K8_A/s320/IMG_3274.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-51252687849221393102011-08-29T15:04:00.001-04:002011-08-29T22:59:38.872-04:00Practicing and Learning Eucharisteo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftHA5igYF10L9Mrt_g9Kn4QrxbZGPAH4N9-JqZlPl5HvAw-fsSn__9hiWnzANK9XbCsLpvazmp47Yaw9-G1ig6BLTpOmZ0T3eJG9vjUllg87PseEF7rD6iw05z81u8oLJzuyZZw/s1600/IMG_1689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftHA5igYF10L9Mrt_g9Kn4QrxbZGPAH4N9-JqZlPl5HvAw-fsSn__9hiWnzANK9XbCsLpvazmp47Yaw9-G1ig6BLTpOmZ0T3eJG9vjUllg87PseEF7rD6iw05z81u8oLJzuyZZw/s320/IMG_1689.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>I did it! After nearly six months of writing thank you lists I finally reached 1000!! It all started with reading Ann Vonskamp's <i>A Thousand Gifts</i> back in February. She was challenged by a friend to come up with 100 things she was thankful for and she changed it to 1000 and started writing down things she was thankful for. The book is all about her journey and transformation through the process. She talks about eucharisteo which envelopes the idea of grace and thankfulness. The greek word is used in the context of Jesus breaking bread and giving thanks. So part of her journey of thankfulness is about practicing eucharisteo everyday and being thankful in the big, little and everyday sorts of things.<br />
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So I started practicing eucharisteo and writing my list of 1000 things not because it's a magical formula that Ann came up with but because I wanted to learn to see things with the perspective of a grateful heart. There were days that I saw things everywhere that I was thankful for and other days when I tried to be thankful for the hard things. Being grateful in the hard times is the most growing thing of all. But it's the example Jesus showed me because when he was breaking bread he was seeing his own body broken for us. Is THAT something to be thankful for?! Yet he teaches me in His example...all is grace...all is a gift...everything used for my GOOD!<br />
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<i>And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-28145a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208:28&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28145a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28</i><br />
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I'm going to leave you with some selections of my thousand things list. I wouldn't want to bore you with the WHOLE list but maybe this will give you an idea of my journey the last six months.<br />
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#4. The silhouetted hills covered in misty clouds<br />
#9. The sound of Plazoleta San Blas waterfall<br />
#13. The way God has a place for me right beside Him <br />
#20. The way the hippie with the clown nose made giggle inside<br />
#29. Fierce and forceful grass poking through ancient stones<br />
#35. Sixteen little statues of liberty running around<br />
#40. That every time God says He loves me, I respond "I love you too"<br />
#46. A big white guy holding the cord of a small skinny llama<br />
(llama duty so that a kid can go to kids' club)<br />
#58. kindred spirit conversations<br />
#65. A worn used Bible on the taxi dash<br />
#69. The joy and pain of giving up certain dreams for the sake of serving Jesus<br />
#70. Swirls of cinnamon and chocolatey brown as cat and cafe step combine<br />
#87. Carnival: the only day it "snows" in Cusco<br />
#105. The smile of a little country girl when her daddy picked her up<br />
#113. Water coming back on right when I wanted to brush my teeth<br />
#117. "You are always with me and everything I have is yours."<br />
#134. A Quechua lady with a bundle of flowers<br />
#150. The clink of coins in a charanga player pail<br />
#169. For a life saved out of darkness<br />
#183. Sushi color explosion<br />
#194. Fun with mimes in the Plaza de Armas<br />
#213. Little Rocio's "thanks"<br />
#224. Being complemented on eating like a Peruvian: hands on<br />
#238. Ugly beautiful: deep squishy mud on my shoes; a clingy child back at the club; manifestations that demand more when only Christ can satisfy their needs<br />
#253. All those who've linked arms with me to do the work called me to in Cusco<br />
#254. A baby and his song about a button<br />
#278. 60 white eggs<br />
#301. that Jesus doesn't abandon me in the fight but teaches me to stand strong and firm<br />
#310. A prodigal daughter on her way back home<br />
#336. Impromtu child band with plastic bottles<br />
#352. Rejoicing with those who rejoice even though I wish it was me<br />
#385. A gringa in the Peruvian dance off contest<br />
#396. Brightness of the world after rain<br />
#434. A Peruvian grandmother: purple coat and a bunch of wildflowers<br />
#447. Trying a new fruit: mamey - flavor of a purple Flinstone vitamins<br />
#481. Imagining Jesus pointing to himself with a grin when he said that you had to enter through the narrow door<br />
#500. Sparkling diamonds on a lake<br />
#524. A live rabbit in a vegetarian restaurant<br />
#560. Why would you worship something you could touch or see?<br />
#570. the rocking train - "He loves me, He loves me" rocked in His arms to sleep<br />
#590. Silly 80s music videos that make me laugh after a long ghetto bus ride<br />
#637. Bagged roosters doing their jobs in a bus station<br />
#646. grateful for a burst of exercise instead of being mad at a lazy taxi driver<br />
#658. Teaching about God creating the world out on a mountainside<br />
#677. Katerine's comment: "Carrie, I want you to stay forever."<br />
#699. Crying to see the burden man made for himself and remembering Jesus' words: "come to me all you who are heavy burdened."<br />
#708. A fish wrapped in a banana leaf<br />
#725. Hugging a friend in the midst of her pain<br />
#744. Being able to look deep in my heart and see no joy in another man's trouble even though that man troubled me once<br />
#768. Songs on mountain peaks<br />
#774. espresso + caramel syrup + foamy milk + one spoon of sugar = YUM!!<br />
#776. popcorn at the ballet<br />
#793. sleep - sweet sleep<br />
#805. Being a part of the bigger picture<br />
#820. Patchwork sweater makings<br />
#832. Being forced to see new parts of the city in search of apartments<br />
#842. Baron's Earl Grey tea<br />
#856. God working out His work through broken people<br />
#868. A calm heart - my soul a baby content<br />
#897. Deisy's giggles<br />
#907. Walking into the cafe and feeling like it's home<br />
#929. Grace not Anyi (system of recipricocity)<br />
#947. An oreo on my face<br />
#960. The simplicity of the good news<br />
#995. Kites flying in blue blue sky!<br />
#1000. All the thousands of things to be thankful for in the future.Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-87533971763594009762011-07-31T23:17:00.001-04:002011-07-31T23:29:52.535-04:00God's Big Picture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMF3R6b0aw2yI3Z-ruDwMhHJJjTeFrU9YCMm5Y8npOJZKROspgPRiaKnTU2m2Qzj4xRj-ZCglBuyBeePg42Uc1NCEna7toYh87U55G7NTm4Lgro_BUDainTJqzn6GomjK3xGZ5AA/s1600/puzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMF3R6b0aw2yI3Z-ruDwMhHJJjTeFrU9YCMm5Y8npOJZKROspgPRiaKnTU2m2Qzj4xRj-ZCglBuyBeePg42Uc1NCEna7toYh87U55G7NTm4Lgro_BUDainTJqzn6GomjK3xGZ5AA/s1600/puzzle.jpg" /></a></div>I'm writing this blog entry because I need to remind myself of something. Right now in this moment I need to remember that God is the maker and creator of this thing called The Meeting Place.<br />
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Four years ago I met a couple who came with a vision to start a cafe and a ministry to the English-speaking tourists in Cusco. I heard about their struggles to find the perfect place and had fun helping them create a logo and pick out colors for that perfect place. I was here when they left without seeing their vision fulfilled and here when another couple came to lead a church and start that cafe finally. And last year I came back to help when that second couple left and two new families came to lead the church and head up the cafe.<br />
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I've seen so much change in the years since I orginally heard this crazy vision to reach out to the English-speaking population of Cusco. With each new person involved the vision has shifted and changed but what amazes me is that four years later the vision still exists. There has been three sets of missionaries involved, all involved are imperfect people, conflicts come and stay but God in His sovereignty has kept it all going.<br />
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Maybe I get too focused on the conflicts or imperfections of the day and forget the amazing God who gave the vision in the first place. Because whatever comes from His hand survives all obstacles. He is the God of the big picture and the putter-together of all the peices. He will keep His work going despite all odds and here is the amazing fact: Four years later a cafe exists and an English-speaking church exists. God has used them both to reach a restaurant owner for Christ, to give a Greek tourist a Bible to take home, to help a British friend know that God was real and to help local kids learn more about Jesus.<br />
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People will come and go but God's truth remains and His work remains. If the Meeting Place cafe or church is not His then it WILL FAIL. There is a need for a work among the travelers in and out of Cusco. There are many that need to hear the truth of God and if The Meeting Place is not fulfilling that work, God will raise up something else to fill that need.<br />
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Sometimes, I wonder about my part in this church/cafe thing. When there are conflicts am I stuck in the middle? I came to be a support of a vision that I believe was from God but what about when the human element gets thrown in and things don't look right? How do I respond? Do I give up? I could stress about everything getting messed up all day long but then I need to remember one thing.<br />
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God is the God of the Big Picture...<br />
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What a joy to see the fulfillment of a vision come to life! What an amazing thing to see peices put together in the midst of mess. God's heart is that people come to know Him, may I continue to be faithful to pray and seek Him fulfill that in my corner of the world.Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-55532915034731983042011-04-25T20:11:00.000-04:002011-04-25T20:11:28.730-04:00The Longest Weekend in HistoryHey I'm back! I know that it's been eons since I've written on this blog. There's lots of excuses I could give. The most ironic would be that the moments I was most inspired to write on my blog were when my computer hard drive was on the blitz and I did NOT have a computer...oops...<br />
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Well, I had such a crazy Easter weekend that I thought I'd share it all with you. It's interesting because that first Easter weekend probably did feel like the longest for Jesus' disciples after all that happened and Saturday probably the longest day of the whole thing. It was a weekend that changed the course of human history forever!<br />
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My weekend didn't change history forever but it was jammed packed full of interesting experiences here in Cusco, Peru. I'm sure you'd all love to hear about it! So let me break it down day by day: <br />
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<b>THURSDAY</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3na0WU2AP0NNfITgaiOuwq6GvXR2eh9MZT04hMe0EpjshOlL_vU9zeCpZW4PLKCKVC-wDkVuIDb-EGiCzi9rKoCPPFg_iy3JcpMGh2IW_zNBz_TiIH6NIfqcjZFlt6iv_ZilUw/s1600/IMG_1834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3na0WU2AP0NNfITgaiOuwq6GvXR2eh9MZT04hMe0EpjshOlL_vU9zeCpZW4PLKCKVC-wDkVuIDb-EGiCzi9rKoCPPFg_iy3JcpMGh2IW_zNBz_TiIH6NIfqcjZFlt6iv_ZilUw/s320/IMG_1834.JPG" width="320" /></a>Thursday was a big day for club CORASON as we had two outreach Easter events planned. The Peruvian coordinator Liz and I were in charge of planning these events and let me say it was SO stressful and felt extremely last minute! It even stressed out Liz who is Peruvian and should be used to last minute planning! It was really the first time either of us planned an event like this and trying to work together on it required some grace and patience.<br />
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But in the end it turned out to be a beautiful day. In the morning we went to Huillcapay and with the help of the Presbyterians (team & VW bus) and the Mennonites (sound system) and Nazarenes (puppet stage) we put on an event for this community that CORASON volunteers visit once a week. We did face painting and balloon sculpting and put on a program that included songs, puppets, clown, a large guinea pig and barney and wrapped up with a gospel presentation. We also gave out a snack and had a clothing distribution. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOm2eKjaepUFTPhqHcHBoEWpAN5B8U4b_Q-88ULn8Qe0SFv7l1TJSbXFkRTWSsmsPxUt5K2wOLyDhmnlXMZYEfxJl_7Hz9kCYiy4S8QABDITRJ79RCXGEdnhZg9eDAoGgdkzgCA/s1600/IMG_1824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOm2eKjaepUFTPhqHcHBoEWpAN5B8U4b_Q-88ULn8Qe0SFv7l1TJSbXFkRTWSsmsPxUt5K2wOLyDhmnlXMZYEfxJl_7Hz9kCYiy4S8QABDITRJ79RCXGEdnhZg9eDAoGgdkzgCA/s320/IMG_1824.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Then in the afternoon we did it all over again at club CORASON and invited the kids of the community for a similar program but this time with an egg hunt included. I was afraid that I would never find enough eggs since you can't buy them here. But once again the missionary community came to the rescue and lent me theirs and we were all good. It was a very tiring day especially since I was one of the ones in charge. I think I prefer helping instead of planning but it went well in any case!<br />
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<b>FRIDAY </b><br />
On Good Friday I participated in the Peruvian tradition of the "12 Platos" or the twelve dishes. These dishes are eaten in memory of the twelve disciples and can be eaten either on Thursday night (in memory of the traditional Passover meal) or on Friday. The family that we ate with were friends of friends and even though many don't do all 12 dishes anymore this family had exactly the right amount.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUM3zIQpKj01ECrFdfbSY4b4E30AaiQbmlMIbXukU7KRaZauAcHLAnFcwvidFrTIkFQbJl5MEiXZ0sqm1aSc3RBcjPx4vB6GcK9m6-1CjnpNFCfyOwq3Iv0x_Bd5U3Iy8lw6KQwQ/s1600/IMG_1890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUM3zIQpKj01ECrFdfbSY4b4E30AaiQbmlMIbXukU7KRaZauAcHLAnFcwvidFrTIkFQbJl5MEiXZ0sqm1aSc3RBcjPx4vB6GcK9m6-1CjnpNFCfyOwq3Iv0x_Bd5U3Iy8lw6KQwQ/s320/IMG_1890.JPG" width="320" /></a>Here's the twelve dishes that they served: 1. empenada - a poptart looking sweet pastry with sprinkles 2. a thick bread 3. a sweet bread 4. friday soup (a fishy soup complete with fish eggs and other friends from the sea) 5. rice with seafood 6. fried fish 7. rice and milk dessert 8. wine 9. mazamora - a thick soupy-like pudding dessert, this one made from flour 10. cooked peaches in a syrupy sauce 11. jello 12. chocolate ice cream <br />
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I could only eat nine of them and with that I was very full. Since we were eating with people we didn't really know I felt compelled to eat it all and that was a lot. The funnest part was trying to figure out which food could represent which disciple. Peter surely would be the fried fish, John the rice and milk, Thomas the jello and Judas Iscariot the wine (because if you make him too much your friend he'll betray you). Too bad this doesn't really apply since every family has different traditions as to what 12 dishes they'll eat.<br />
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<b>SATURDAY</b><br />
Saturday was a day of prepping for another big day on Sunday. We prepared chicken, potatoes an salad to give away to 200 people. That meant washing everything, seasoning it and putting it in large buckets for the night. And all without running water since the water went off in the apartment where we were having our prep work.<br />
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We also had kids' club as normal and I did the resurrection egg story. The kids had fun collecting the eggs but I'm not sure how good I did with presenting the gospel! Thankfully, we've got more weeks to share with them in the future.<br />
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Saturday ended with a bunch of the girls who come to the English church watching a movie until midnight in my house. My house guest and I were smart and went to bed with our faithful earplugs! <br />
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<b>SUNDAY </b><br />
It all started bright and early with The Meeting Place church sunrise service. The whole thing was my suggestion and I can't believe that they agreed to it! I love sunrise services on Easter morning. It's just the symbolism of what happened early that Sunday morning long ago that inspires me. We had about 30 people for a service out in the plaza. While the pigeons danced and the sun rose we sang praise to God and celebrated the new day filled with a living hope. At the very end as we were singing "Victory in Jesus" the bells of the San Blas Catholic church started ringing. What beautiful symbolism! Too bad they are not very beautifully sounding bells! After service we had a waffle breakfast with everyone in the cafe. I brought a breakfast casserole and we had fruit and coffee. yum....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-u-8IWkFFhhu2ii6h5Ee7aajVXPUezSNivaYS135B9JNkFQm4NQ81lA84Upnu6E97lvT1nbZ70XIi7H_kkwvXzyLstf9encb6bMvSwYdwtE4E3Nz5BRNDwyydVkYNY_r4732w0g/s1600/IMG_1854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-u-8IWkFFhhu2ii6h5Ee7aajVXPUezSNivaYS135B9JNkFQm4NQ81lA84Upnu6E97lvT1nbZ70XIi7H_kkwvXzyLstf9encb6bMvSwYdwtE4E3Nz5BRNDwyydVkYNY_r4732w0g/s320/IMG_1854.JPG" width="320" /></a>Then I helped take the chicken and potatoes to the community oven. This was a definite cultural experience! We didn't get any pictures so you'll have to imagine it with me. We were in a big back room where the community oven was and had to lay out our chicken and potatoes on black metal trays (very black). Thankfully we put a layer of brown paper between the food and the tray. We also had to season the potatoes on the tray. There was extra seasoning with the chicken and at one point I took up a chicken leg and started basting the potatoes with the extra sauce. We had to leave the room once because of all the smoke but in the end all 12 of our trays were laid out on the ground and ready to be baked. We picked up the chicken and potatoes later, shoved them in sacks and off we went to the cafe.<br />
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At 1:30 pm at the cafe we started to do face painting and balloons and prepare the plates to give away to the people. We had passed out tickets to the families of the kids who come to the club, to street vendors and people whom we always see around the cafe but we still had extra plates. I was of course doing the balloons and it was so warm out in the sun that I got to wear my flip-flops! The pastor (connected to CORASON) came with a group from his church to do background music and preaching. Yes, background preaching...I don't know how else to describe it. Most importantly they passed out invites to their Peruvian church not too far from San Blas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifd9iJQ-uW_IOjUNgNRn4ANYzVL7stPUIvTn8vszlPncOvvwCVU3FDyO9vr6Y2DtD_676T3VWvSaCieZZeK_lb8I-K6E491iq9dtvgD8Ur4vBAOHa4PGeRXRQHr_cEqyPJmsBdMw/s1600/IMG_1888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifd9iJQ-uW_IOjUNgNRn4ANYzVL7stPUIvTn8vszlPncOvvwCVU3FDyO9vr6Y2DtD_676T3VWvSaCieZZeK_lb8I-K6E491iq9dtvgD8Ur4vBAOHa4PGeRXRQHr_cEqyPJmsBdMw/s320/IMG_1888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPev_8EBVP4tEVihJKg8OIjoe7vjNd_OFk679dytM-tMmrvkVpZSbRpOSDV5iSQH0pmHRUxOclXcQMQ_qKnmlbNfytiQ8krWBc87MvpmzbGDqTon0W8Rkk4ZtgFc5A0RMigWqyJw/s1600/IMG_1863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPev_8EBVP4tEVihJKg8OIjoe7vjNd_OFk679dytM-tMmrvkVpZSbRpOSDV5iSQH0pmHRUxOclXcQMQ_qKnmlbNfytiQ8krWBc87MvpmzbGDqTon0W8Rkk4ZtgFc5A0RMigWqyJw/s320/IMG_1863.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>We passed out plates of food to all the people who had tickets and then went to bring more people. Hippies who hang out in the plaza, homeless people and the police who don't do anything were among the blessed that day. A friend who used to own a restaurant above the cafe said that some of those people had NOT eaten anything in a while like the guy who lived on vodka. We gave it away, gave it away and gave it away till pretty much everything was gone.<br />
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What a beautiful way to spend an Easter afternoon! Blessing others on the day that we received the greatest blessing! May God be glorified! I don't think plaza San Blas has every seen so much activity in a long time. I'm so glad that the Meeting Place cafe/church can be a light in this community.<br />
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Sunday ended with a delicious Easter dinner with all the CORASON volunteers. We had roast lamb which was my first time ever making it. The buying of it from the butcher lady and prepping it (including cutting off its tail) was a bit much but it turned out lovely and we all enjoyed every part of our meal. The end was a dutch apple pie (layered applesauce, pears and apples) that a Dutch volunteer taught me how to make. DELICIOUS!!<br />
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What an amazing long weekend! We celebrated God's work and victory by sharing the truth of the gospel and by showing God's love in practical ways. Aren't you tired after reading all that? Ha! I was so tired after doing it!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-42116991083307503792010-09-15T22:33:00.001-04:002010-09-15T22:57:15.403-04:00Working With Children and Animals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>There's one thing that lets you know that you are in the middle of August in Cusco.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuns83l_2wBhyphenhyphenWAiCMrywblpCn-4iC8ahyphenhyphendZ1nEpiYTPFKji4lC-BRxrNCjjdb9GkWLCVEO4EKgnGrBJzG_g5gULgKyJCxad8LohZyxuYsfCmE51nAWdlppytbnASplAbfDN9oQ/s1600/IMG_0386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuns83l_2wBhyphenhyphenWAiCMrywblpCn-4iC8ahyphenhyphendZ1nEpiYTPFKji4lC-BRxrNCjjdb9GkWLCVEO4EKgnGrBJzG_g5gULgKyJCxad8LohZyxuYsfCmE51nAWdlppytbnASplAbfDN9oQ/s320/IMG_0386.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b>KITES!<span id="goog_2038179510"></span><span id="goog_2038179511"></span></b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Kids flying, making, fixing or going on field trips to fly them. It's supposedly the windiest month in Cusco and everyone wants to get a piece of the action. We decided that project CORASON shouldn't be left behind in the kite phenomenon. So we made kites with the kids. The younger kids just did a paper version that I had made with my kindergartners in years past but the older ones got pretty elaborate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0_THQKp_xREqjYbxuv2YKWDmj-UXPC1M5VQfbJ0qlKI2T78q_2zl5G40hM0tNktjTKkzvOJU4-b66ymgSOvtVUDLBHGFGg_id7pCaysUC8Q3v-MEJNm1SznkJWABjO1762_QQA/s1600/IMG_0379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0_THQKp_xREqjYbxuv2YKWDmj-UXPC1M5VQfbJ0qlKI2T78q_2zl5G40hM0tNktjTKkzvOJU4-b66ymgSOvtVUDLBHGFGg_id7pCaysUC8Q3v-MEJNm1SznkJWABjO1762_QQA/s200/IMG_0379.jpg" width="121" /></a>They went searching the mountainside for the perfect sticks, lightweight that grow from a local plant. Then they covered their kites with plastic bags or tissue paper. Some even went to the lengths of decorating the kites with designs and giving them fancy tales. They rolled up mounds of yarn for string (some I think wanted to fly to the moon with the quantity they were taking!). I don't ever remember learning how to make a kite when I was a kid but the kids here just seem to know it instinctively!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0VHxX_CltkoSAMFupGQ7a2wMOPvjyYcDn0YR26z-0LD9S4gF6YxV5BxOV6xVRcGsxtQapLrsyMHf1jfZ5NgdAt8GqmIC5aXvDXYcdSS6T36bhhXb20_bPafjaErG93oboea8KQ/s1600/IMG_0383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0VHxX_CltkoSAMFupGQ7a2wMOPvjyYcDn0YR26z-0LD9S4gF6YxV5BxOV6xVRcGsxtQapLrsyMHf1jfZ5NgdAt8GqmIC5aXvDXYcdSS6T36bhhXb20_bPafjaErG93oboea8KQ/s400/IMG_0383.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Then one day we were off singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (from Mary Poppins - the kids loved singing that song) and climbing a neighboring mountain by the project. The kids were ready with their kites and excited to fly them. The littlest ones starting running around with their small kites and getting some air (while mostly getting exercise!). The problem with our little outing is that the wind did not cooperate with our kite flying plans. Some kids gave up on their paper kites and tried to find plastic bags.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNt-TIkC1SwU8ViAfaMSw3L4PbV37p4SPlKf9v7MxMD-7DcqNKoP7nTAlWyEphBb2cp3AbYX1ITjpBNTzNpRCICZxQF888e6XaaAWojH0AfpGx2GO3mh8YdnvNB0QjXZfbCXcS0Q/s1600/IMG_0390.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNt-TIkC1SwU8ViAfaMSw3L4PbV37p4SPlKf9v7MxMD-7DcqNKoP7nTAlWyEphBb2cp3AbYX1ITjpBNTzNpRCICZxQF888e6XaaAWojH0AfpGx2GO3mh8YdnvNB0QjXZfbCXcS0Q/s400/IMG_0390.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvbJikyOOt4eEv1AX6Hc_EYTy2u61WyihrV-P_bflTA8TNyVqtVbPFkAD7pLC3dWOPxtbJgAEfAqQl-OljvHZ9L12T6U9pXKcAc1Nw3TUQMhegCdQEIXpAs8OjC3NgJwUSOqz0A/s1600/IMG_0419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvbJikyOOt4eEv1AX6Hc_EYTy2u61WyihrV-P_bflTA8TNyVqtVbPFkAD7pLC3dWOPxtbJgAEfAqQl-OljvHZ9L12T6U9pXKcAc1Nw3TUQMhegCdQEIXpAs8OjC3NgJwUSOqz0A/s320/IMG_0419.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>Then someone decided to start picking flowers and gather them in bunches with the tissue paper from the kites. They looked like the ladies from the market who sell their bunches of flowers. The best was little five year old Angela whose bunch started getting bigger and bigger and bigger. She ran out of tissue paper and started using some "peligro" (caution) tape that some child had brought from somewhere (maybe for a kite tail?).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wZGBz5MIrWXU6DmmUY5I2QUZteUqDFcS6GKJxxboFighShXFOStKlx363Ank-GADgaZdXG-ehcoVZRY3EZe6L23xiR5-dfHSJK_mW4TnJVRCkNuvjAAqK1AWgOmjWsRoQXVDOA/s320/IMG_0398.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the opposite mount</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0BEPEeRA62sB4RZvxPogXhuBu67WbSehtJYzWTMyYkRtFv_ejcM-jJnQ2SwtFpU4LtZH2XyFmLuab_Q8n8yXe_kAmgnv7ZXXaHJXV8ew1laj2i-mCYhIoyAjz1iu-xgaequUMg/s1600/IMG_0425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Thus my English roommate shared with me a saying that fit perfectly with the moment:<br />
<i>"They say in England that you should never work with children or animals because you never know exactly what they are going to do!"</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjlK_2SmDoTA5gfsLzWJ_HzvOjCEkvTAk1q3dcICMoyohsQ762LASgXWlGjZW_NPZcEK5Azsu6GNDE8yuTO3jEAX5tqtNBgB08NBJmFKqU7kwJxvnIc1IXmScEiLzQyX1wXkfdQ/s1600/IMG_0418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjlK_2SmDoTA5gfsLzWJ_HzvOjCEkvTAk1q3dcICMoyohsQ762LASgXWlGjZW_NPZcEK5Azsu6GNDE8yuTO3jEAX5tqtNBgB08NBJmFKqU7kwJxvnIc1IXmScEiLzQyX1wXkfdQ/s400/IMG_0418.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Ha! That's exactly why I like to work with children... They are unpredictable but they are delightful and I think they express a little more of the joy and spontaneity Jesus wants us to always have in our lives. Our kite flying field trip may have not been exactly as planned but the kids and volunteers had a blast out in God's beauteous creation.Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-24301669110703588042010-08-07T23:12:00.003-04:002010-08-08T19:26:06.574-04:00I Heart Cusco!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcKDSchFoGila9_nkGgV_VUttUZiH4Z6SVnJgJzcLfkr4LZ93PDLxvZumEHlxqVzzkIc6-PDtVFeCyo6Y7wg0kg8S8KQl3OJNaaWsyahDDZWVgvWKQzVTuhmXg1eLdz_i2MOCCg/s1600/IMG_0129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcKDSchFoGila9_nkGgV_VUttUZiH4Z6SVnJgJzcLfkr4LZ93PDLxvZumEHlxqVzzkIc6-PDtVFeCyo6Y7wg0kg8S8KQl3OJNaaWsyahDDZWVgvWKQzVTuhmXg1eLdz_i2MOCCg/s400/IMG_0129.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>So, here I am back in Cusco. It's strange to come back to a city that I've lived in for 3 years. It's like coming home in many ways. I have a clearer perspective of what I'm getting myself into and what this city is like. I'm living in a place where I have history and that makes it feel comfortable and familiar. Yet, I'm living in a different part of town and doing something totally different than the last three years! It's like a new adventure in a familiar place...<br />
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As I've been back, I laugh or groan at the familiar things I encounter every day in this crazy city. For me, everything seems new again and yet so familiar. There are good things and then there are the not so nice things about this city. I have been thinking what my response should be to these things. I think that I can respond two different ways.<br />
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1. I can recognize the positives and dwell on the negatives<br />
2. I can recognize the negative and dwell on the positives<br />
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It could be rather easy to focus on the negatives of this city like the dirtiness and pollution in the river and lack of proper trash service in certain parts of the city or the backwards way of a people stuck in often inefficient ways. Maybe I could complain about the men that pee in the street or the crazy taxi drivers who honk their horns and use arms instead of turn signals. Maybe I could grumble about having to put the t.p. in the trash can or being cold without heat in my apartment. Maybe I could get upset about how the laundry people did something to the zipper on my pants or about how the taxi drivers are always hitting on me. Or I could get annoyed by the kids in the plaza who shove finger puppets in your face or the guys who flash their artwork at you randomly in the street just because you look like a tourist. I could be frustrated by how the contamination in Cusco stays in the valley and might possibly be what gives me congestion or how I'm always out of breath walking up steps. Ha! I'm sure that I could come up with a million other negative things to focus on every day.<br />
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Instead, I feel too excited to be back to feel negative about it. Maybe it's that "honeymoon" period again? I think I recognize the negatives but they are kind of like the bad habits of a relative that you love. You might not like their bad habits but you love the person so even their bad habits feel familiar. If I choose to dwell on the negatives of this city, I would be a pretty grumpy missionary. God's calling on my life is to love the people here despite the "bad habits" and to see God do a transforming work in their lives for His glory. So, here's me focusing on some positives about Cusco. This would be why "I heart Cusco!"<br />
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I love the view of the city from my apartment window and the crazy windy stone roads downtown. I love the orange roofs and slopping hills of this valley. I love the little girl named Angela at the CORASON project who hugged my legs excitedly when I said that I was going to be around for a while. I love the way everyone is "mamita" or "papi" and how the lady with the taxi service called me "preciosa" (precious). I love the group of tourists taking pictures of some llamas corralled and left at the end of my street while their owners are too far away to ask for "propinas" (tips). I love dancing at Peruvian weddings and eating large pieces of meat with my fingers. I love meeting friends in the street and visiting the school I used to teach at. I love the Meeting Place cafe where I'm learning how to hand pour coffee and baking pastries. I love that the plaza San Blas can contain an alpaca, hippies selling jewelry, tourists wandering around, ladies vending their wares and Peruvian kids playing soccer all in one moment on one afternoon.<br />
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I love passionate Hispanic worship and singing "Dancing Generation" in Spanish. I love the black and white dog that hangs out in the street that I walk from my apartment to the cafe. I love the little kids who smile at you and say "hola!" just because you are a gringo. I love Jack's cafe and the lady named Dora who sells chullos (Peruvian knit hats) in front of the restaurant and gives excellent directions to lost gringas. I love being able to walk to most every place I need to go and being able to see interesting sights every day. I love my landlady's father who collects the mail at the corner hardware store where he works. I love playing monkey in the middle with Armando and Ronaldo at CORASON. I love drinking out of "Lanky Llama" mugs on Sunday nights at church. I love group hugs from former PROMESA students. I love that my roommate is British and we hang out with a gal from Australia whose roommate is from New Zealand.<br />
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I love seeing the Mennonite church members and feeling like an old friend. I love being able to knit on the public transportation and having random ladies teach you how to cast on stitches the harder way. I love how a hippie was practicing her unicycle on a rope tied to two posts at the end of my street! I love talking only in Spanish to my former gringa roommate and having people stare at us in befuddlement. I love being able to bargain on almost anything and being able to chat with kids working in the plaza (either selling or dressing up in typical costume for tips) about how their day is going. <br />
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But most of all, I love that God has called me back to this city and privileged me with the opportunity to be His servant and shine His light here!!!<br />
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(Hey, if I ever get discouraged, I'll just come back and remember why I heart Cusco, so!)Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-53087120701721065812010-07-23T17:00:00.000-04:002010-07-23T17:00:16.197-04:00Confessions of an "Overweight Baggage" CarrierI like stuff! I have to admit it, I really do. I like to collect stuff, keep stuff and especially lug stuff around. Lately it’s been from one end of the Americas to the other. I’m not as bad as hoarders who stash piles and piles of things and then are featured on reality TV shows. My belongings are fairly reduced since I took to the missionary lifestyle. Everything that doesn’t go with me fits in a small corner of my friend (and like family) Starr’s attic. That’s great but I have a confession:<br />
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<b>I like to over pack!</b><br />
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It’s true and having overweight baggage is the standard instead of the exception. How does one pack two and a half suitcases and a computer bag for life in another country? With as much as she can!!! So, my carry-on exceeds the weight limit because it carries the books I want to read this year and can’t get in Cusco. My other carry on, the computer bag carries not only my computer but books and various papers (it must have surprised the guy at customs today ‘cause he asked if I was a teacher). My two large checked bags carry clothing, art supplies, yarn, gifts and things that I can’t get or are expensive where I live. Every time I travel, I drag around my stuffed carry ons and create callouses on my hands wishing I could have packed lighter.<br />
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Even with the best of intentions to only take what I need, I still over pack. My creative mind thinks: this will be useful or I NEED this! How can I not pack the yarn that I bought in Cusco to do a project that I didn’t finish while I was in the states? Why shouldn’t I take that pair of pants that Mandy gave me (after all corduroys are the best for Cusco weather!)? What do you mean it’s not necessary to take a big and small bookbag with me? Didn’t I buy it in Cusco before because I needed it?<br />
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Yet with all this excessive baggage people still have mercy on me. They are like the lady at the counter today for my flight to Cusco. Carry ons are only supposed to be 8 kg (17pds) and mine was 19!!! (can you figure out why?) But instead of checking it in for me and charging me for extra baggage she told me just to have them check it in at the gate and avoid charges. Sure, there’s times where I had to pull out stuff and leave them behind. Or times when I had to pay fees. But a lot of times people have had mercy on me or let me slip through!<br />
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I pray that with every overweight baggage experience that I’m learning something about living more simply. It’s really all just stuff. The most important things to God are people. Me, the person carrying all that stuff and the people that I will come in contact with here in the beautiful city of Cusco.Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-76747127858461024842010-07-05T12:27:00.001-04:002010-07-05T12:29:25.278-04:00Overwhelmed By God's Goodness!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlXYHcH3MLa5kvUyQZ6SJU54CIDuKWUu4PN-qNfVKWAgwBatf0LXJNjrQdLFGSeCKlAOoRP2DHLClXy4gJ6NgG7_IJ8kXheLFk-QIc68onb4Gxd7Up6zrSktdRdtiZJCGnlJbbg/s1600/exclamation-point-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlXYHcH3MLa5kvUyQZ6SJU54CIDuKWUu4PN-qNfVKWAgwBatf0LXJNjrQdLFGSeCKlAOoRP2DHLClXy4gJ6NgG7_IJ8kXheLFk-QIc68onb4Gxd7Up6zrSktdRdtiZJCGnlJbbg/s320/exclamation-point-1.jpg" /></a></div>I think I use too many exclamation points in my writing! I don't know but maybe I'm just so excited about so many things that I can't resist throwing them in there. And when you write such a title for this post, an exclamation point is so apropos. It would be wrong to not include such punctuation when talking about God's goodness.<br />
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God's goodness has been so evident to me in these past couple weeks. I took a leap of faith and announced a date and believed that God would provide all my funds by a certain date. God would still be good even if all the money didn't come in but I've been overwhelmed by His goodness because it ALL came in right when I needed it and God has continued to provide! On June 25th, I not only had 76% of my support but a free plane ticket to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Perú</span> on the exact day that I needed to get back into the country!!!! (that sentence really needed more than one exclamation point)<br />
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Not only did God do all that but He continues to provide. I am confident that I will go back to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Cusco</span> with all that I need. Isn't God good? He would be good even if He just loved me and asked me to stick around here a little longer but He's overwhelmingly good because He backed me up when I took a step of faith to believe that He would provide in time. <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Yay</span>!!!<br />
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So, on July 18th I will be getting on a plane and flying back to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Perú</span> once more! I'm excited about serving Him once more in the beautiful city of <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Cusco</span>. It will be a very different experience from the last three years but the change is good. God has good things prepared for me to do and new things to teach me that I'm eager to learn. Bring it on, good God, bring it on!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-47381301903331669782010-06-04T14:12:00.000-04:002010-06-04T14:12:01.755-04:00Yokes and Llama PantsI'm not quite sure why picking a date for leaving for Perú felt like such leap of faith. Maybe it's because I don't want to be wrong or put a date on God's timing. I wanted to go back to Cusco as soon as I could but I remembered three years ago when I was so eager to go and support raising took four months longer than I originally planned. But I eventually got all my funds in and was able to leave - Praise God!<br />
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But in my May newsletter I took a leap and announced that I had a time frame. I do have a good reason for having a time frame. If I stay out of the country for more than 183 days I will lose my Peruvian residency card. That residency card allows me to be in the country legally with a religious non-catholic visa. It does cost a good amount for those cards and not something that I want to lose. So, July 19th will be 183 days!<br />
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Can I make it back in time? Will I have the 75% support by the end of the month so that I can buy my plane ticket? Will my church support me? Will I get enough other supporters to fill in the gap? There are a lot of questions that could fill me with worry and fear. But I won't allow myself to go down that path.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1vbncftCu0GDZEze9-QfVARY5Y27bE__A9ey6pyc1fIsnwt2jLHuwjr8pczZd7J4aIHmi5MCKuG6BPqLHgVicj2_fcQVU8mk5b0TS7dfMWr1QFTUdUUkfIn8TVQLbHWMxuaDsw/s1600/yoke+of+oxen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1vbncftCu0GDZEze9-QfVARY5Y27bE__A9ey6pyc1fIsnwt2jLHuwjr8pczZd7J4aIHmi5MCKuG6BPqLHgVicj2_fcQVU8mk5b0TS7dfMWr1QFTUdUUkfIn8TVQLbHWMxuaDsw/s320/yoke+of+oxen.jpg" /></a></div>If this was just about me carrying the burden of support raising myself, I could get pretty depressed. Instead I remember who is carrying the burden with me: Jesus! He's teaching me and leading me as I trust Him and walk with Him. He says:<br />
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<i>Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.</i> Matthew 11:28-30<br />
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I grew up hearing this verse but never really realized until this weekend that Jesus is inviting me to walk under the yoke with Him! He's not going to remove my burden but instead He will teach me how to walk under it with Him. It's wonderful to know that rest comes in walking beside Him.<br />
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So, as I walk under this burden of support raising with Jesus, I'm trusting Him and His provision. He's already being so faithful! When I sent out my newsletter last week I only had 27% and now I'm up to 45% of my support! Woohoo! God is faithful. Thank you for praying for God to come through this wonderful month of June. Here's my llama and his pants!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eaDSrly2IEyuqVReX48KQM1UiBvmqBtBo0S3ndoG7nhfN14xa1nzKcLSo3OtxiucIVbaM_4R34ubMzTUxp0LP5Wi7D_pJaYgkhCtMTxQYBDS6ajgC3JUWqzyzmNpb2PfGyZUQA/s1600/current+llama+stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eaDSrly2IEyuqVReX48KQM1UiBvmqBtBo0S3ndoG7nhfN14xa1nzKcLSo3OtxiucIVbaM_4R34ubMzTUxp0LP5Wi7D_pJaYgkhCtMTxQYBDS6ajgC3JUWqzyzmNpb2PfGyZUQA/s320/current+llama+stats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-73894604221629810342010-05-20T19:30:00.005-04:002010-05-20T19:55:31.108-04:00God's Forever Kind of Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFnMzSkvgCSxyvmy1Dgx3h9wItvTEjFLRc_B3a34tN4yOMKlKfb96fOJtLbd7jsxql7EqNIgDMrm0G7D4dhdNYNVFwsoRpKbXz5VV0BdfWzsme8JJCXYuxINHqGhFoaBB0p14gQ/s1600/DSC02305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFnMzSkvgCSxyvmy1Dgx3h9wItvTEjFLRc_B3a34tN4yOMKlKfb96fOJtLbd7jsxql7EqNIgDMrm0G7D4dhdNYNVFwsoRpKbXz5VV0BdfWzsme8JJCXYuxINHqGhFoaBB0p14gQ/s320/DSC02305.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When my family was split up fourteen years ago because of the separation and divorce of my parents you can imagine the devastation I went through. It's not like life at home was the best. I specifically chose a college farther away so that I could be away from my parents fighting and the depressing atmosphere of my home. Still everyone longs to belong to a family and my heart was no different.<br />
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As I look back over the years I see that instead of shrinking my family that my parents' separation has actually grown it. You may wonder how that's possible but God who is author of the impossible was in charge. Even though my family was split and scattered He started to fill in the gaps.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>God bought moms and dads and sisters and brothers around to fill in those gaps. Friends from college took me home with them over the weekend. God brought great friends into my life who were like sisters to me. Other friends let me live with them. My small church felt like family. Even to this day God continues to send more people who become like family to me!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZarVekuEiGgxu49QRK8-mSnwlolnEdHw7ZYfxjTRorXJPA81A6cLAAArypcTBn7W27af3AHN_yrvlm5E-i1OkNvKvVIlKXbCghX6EaeP4A3wynH5k7x9OauXzratJxYCatR4L5w/s1600/DSC02267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZarVekuEiGgxu49QRK8-mSnwlolnEdHw7ZYfxjTRorXJPA81A6cLAAArypcTBn7W27af3AHN_yrvlm5E-i1OkNvKvVIlKXbCghX6EaeP4A3wynH5k7x9OauXzratJxYCatR4L5w/s320/DSC02267.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienVEMqs5D4T-hZ9KW2JAqPM8jUujBu4_bt-tYlYKwR7TtCVHICV6W5lm0_K5ypei74Yb34Q3e9k3DLb2hbXHx9i5UQ84JG3nfD6j4J2xEg00bg1vI71uDQSQhnu682TAbAxx8jA/s1600/DSC02250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienVEMqs5D4T-hZ9KW2JAqPM8jUujBu4_bt-tYlYKwR7TtCVHICV6W5lm0_K5ypei74Yb34Q3e9k3DLb2hbXHx9i5UQ84JG3nfD6j4J2xEg00bg1vI71uDQSQhnu682TAbAxx8jA/s320/DSC02250.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>Sometimes I get a little depressed when I think about the state of my actual nuclear family. I haven't seen my oldest brother for eight years and my youngest brother has grown up like an only child. The part of my family that I do see seems very small. But when I think about all those people God sent to fill in the gap I am amazed. How could end up with such a large family after all? <br />
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Do you know why I think that they are like family? My place with them is secure because we are all a part of the family of God. There may not be that connection with everyone in the body of Christ but God puts certain people in our path that stick. The years may go by and circumstances may change but you feel safe with each other and love each other even with the passing of the years. You support each other through the ups and downs and when you are together sometimes it's just as if the years hadn't passed by at all.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OAQ47J14Berip8FjUjH2pAdRfkPsGKkzl6KohwFKdQewtiODMCic0hJ5HXtMl_7K09aGvZ01iXI81MIOhLgYRure8gdkNdsFB5pRQ7r13a23VO8o9_0hl_Kq5VDCrHtAB_0u3g/s1600/DSC02286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OAQ47J14Berip8FjUjH2pAdRfkPsGKkzl6KohwFKdQewtiODMCic0hJ5HXtMl_7K09aGvZ01iXI81MIOhLgYRure8gdkNdsFB5pRQ7r13a23VO8o9_0hl_Kq5VDCrHtAB_0u3g/s320/DSC02286.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I just spent nearly two weeks visiting some of my "family" in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. I wish I had pictures of all those sweet people! They are people that God brought into my life just when I needed them. People who still love me and believe in me despite the distance and time that had passed. Brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers...all a part of God's family. And do you know the best part of being a part of the family of God? It's a forever kind of family!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPunoerGtcZhnMd2MHgiojn8tZ2pIJOpGQHJCdYSA4hvIZhKy7otLcw-KRLIkm8r3Xg_DrRvNyZXMRznI-lyZ5aVqDntXwZEAp417sgZQfNGKjl4w4PpIvg-UZYIAGky_EdNBj5A/s1600/DSC02328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPunoerGtcZhnMd2MHgiojn8tZ2pIJOpGQHJCdYSA4hvIZhKy7otLcw-KRLIkm8r3Xg_DrRvNyZXMRznI-lyZ5aVqDntXwZEAp417sgZQfNGKjl4w4PpIvg-UZYIAGky_EdNBj5A/s320/DSC02328.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-8618116129025571022010-05-08T22:48:00.000-04:002010-05-08T22:48:49.248-04:00All Wound Up and Waiting...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVKrbh9z0XGiCgKbJAWl-AXS8kmTtKuVm-IwMnT-r2NsmeVaIbwEFD4hKPJi6PmV4NYslAp-M32hwWrTpdLTjd3A1XlHDTKmOzIRQdMiLRN_eNTfr9s_UeslRuOUmSHQnaLPymw/s1600/madeinpt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVKrbh9z0XGiCgKbJAWl-AXS8kmTtKuVm-IwMnT-r2NsmeVaIbwEFD4hKPJi6PmV4NYslAp-M32hwWrTpdLTjd3A1XlHDTKmOzIRQdMiLRN_eNTfr9s_UeslRuOUmSHQnaLPymw/s320/madeinpt1.jpg" /></a></div>Have you ever seen one of those old-fashioned wooden tops? They are wound up with string and then tossed to set them spinning.<br />
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The kids in Perú love those tops. If you walk down the streets of Cusco, you can see kids somewhere playing with them. Winding them round and round and round with the string and let them go with a flick of the wrist. Some of my little 5 yr. old students were really good at tossing those tops and making them "dance" (as they called it).<br />
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I've been thinking about how I feel a lot like one of those tops. I'm all wound up with excitement and a passion for what God is calling me to do back in Cusco. I'm the top and the vision that God has given me to reach kids through the CORASON project and to be a light to the people in Cusco is the cord that wraps round and round and round my heart.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19k6m1zH6ZxanMIwcIus2TrHaNjUCCR2_nbjLE8_3eXx0tEM2zXIItwVVI6YQhqpe_qXRFGPQO7GucD8aK58VS07_MkjyJjsswVMbYjaH0n7XZuAGh6D3USafPHCh47eeJ-6QjA/s1600/DSC_0485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19k6m1zH6ZxanMIwcIus2TrHaNjUCCR2_nbjLE8_3eXx0tEM2zXIItwVVI6YQhqpe_qXRFGPQO7GucD8aK58VS07_MkjyJjsswVMbYjaH0n7XZuAGh6D3USafPHCh47eeJ-6QjA/s400/DSC_0485.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Someone said to me once that maybe God brought me back to the states for a time so that He could increase my passion for what He wants me to do back in Perú. I think he was right! The longer I stay here in the states the more that I want to go back to Cusco, Perú and the more excited I get about all that God is calling me to do. It's like the cord is getting wound and wound tighter and tighter.<br />
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I'm ready to go!!! I'm ready to fling free and start doing my crazy top dance. I'm ready to get back to Cusco and do the work God is calling me to do!!!<br />
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But here I sit all wound up and waiting...waiting...waiting... I can't fling myself out and I can't do this alone. I need someone to take a hold of my string, pick me up and with a flick of their wrist fling me out. I need a team of people who will pray for me, support me financially and send me out. Just like a top can't start dancing without a hand to fling it out, I can't get back to Cusco to serve God without the funds necessary.<br />
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So, are you interested in helping to fling me back to Perú? Pray for me! But also support me financially because together we can see how all the passion God is putting in me for the people in Cusco can become a dance where He gets all the glory and His light shines brightly!!<br />
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Please pray about partnering with God's work in Cusco, Perú and supporting me monthly at $100, $50 or $25 a month. Thank you!<br />
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You can send donations to:<br />
Commission To Every Nation <br />
P.O. Box 291307, Kerrville, TX 78029<br />
800-872-5404<br />
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or donate online at:<br />
<a href="http://www.cten.org/giving">www.cten.org/giving</a>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-49018377824400310082010-03-30T17:25:00.004-04:002010-04-15T17:00:39.392-04:00Time for a CRASH Landing!Transition is ummm....awkward...(insert awkward pause for extra emphasis).<br /><br />I should know since TRANSITION defines my life since I coming back from 3 years of serving as a missionary in Perú. I finally landed back on my home planet. It sorta feels like I've been gone to a different planet these last three years. A book that I read about reverse culture shock referred to it as re-entry. RE-ENTRY is the term for the stress and strain the space shuttle faces when going back down into the earth's atmosphere.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFy75JQNt4yhsTgjOPzeW2LeOCEInyppFfDmYhJCZ1FyE1jBXl-1qzRAoFgq-z5B5jm2p0pNrVA7PadkOLwkmkUuhpEZO24NUBHvn8h5pNuWOMmh99A5B5eleBJQW8JtcRWe4eg/s1600/se_spaceshuttle_reentry_600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFy75JQNt4yhsTgjOPzeW2LeOCEInyppFfDmYhJCZ1FyE1jBXl-1qzRAoFgq-z5B5jm2p0pNrVA7PadkOLwkmkUuhpEZO24NUBHvn8h5pNuWOMmh99A5B5eleBJQW8JtcRWe4eg/s400/se_spaceshuttle_reentry_600.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460468323952011330" /></a><br /><br />Why so much fire? Why can't the descent be easy? This country has been all that I've known for thirty years prior to living in Perú. How can three years lived in a different country make you feel so DIFFERENT? There haven't been too many extreme changes since I've been gone (maybe a new president and problems in the economy). The people look the same, the language and culture is the same, and everything is very familiar. So why do I feel so strange here??<br /><br />I think it is the disconnect that happens when you live somewhere different and return to where you used to live. You may have changed a lot but things seem the same back on the "ranch." You've slowly been getting used to life lived differently with a different culture, climate and people. It may be a very subtle change that you can't see on the outside but living in another country really affects who you are and maybe even how you act and think.<br /><br />This whole experience has felt like a crash landing. Have you ever seen the cartoon Duck Tales? It used to be one of my favorites! It has a character names Launchpad McQuack who just can't seem to land a plane right. He usually ends up crashing it. Here's a typical conversation between him and his boss Scrooge McDuck.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Scrooge McDuck:</span> Launchpad, is this a stunt you learned in flight school?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Launchpad:</span> Flight school?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Scrooge McDuck:</span> You mean you *never* took flying lessons?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Launchpad:</span> [lunkishly] Well, I took a crash course.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Scrooge McDuck:</span> Now he tells me. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYs1zL0sANzOSX4eQrT77kFvdNHxIBTAroczYqWeRxzlS04rzxQ2jMaJJcQJrXIm6I30G3nx2LwxMmvhbaPkrFYLuMENqaaGCYxeKXm0QZ6OrdeAxP4sdGi72PPikWJlmKdbXUzg/s1600/387_TV_Prod_--_Launchpad.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 383px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYs1zL0sANzOSX4eQrT77kFvdNHxIBTAroczYqWeRxzlS04rzxQ2jMaJJcQJrXIm6I30G3nx2LwxMmvhbaPkrFYLuMENqaaGCYxeKXm0QZ6OrdeAxP4sdGi72PPikWJlmKdbXUzg/s400/387_TV_Prod_--_Launchpad.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460468602847993330" /></a><br /><br />Somehow, when coming back to the states I felt like I climbed on Launchpad's plane and had no choice but to crash land. I felt emotionally overwhelmed and it was hard even to define why. Sure there were a lot more choices at the grocery store and there was snow and I was driving a car again. Maybe I did miss living in Cusco, the beauty of the mountains and the culture/people I had grown to love. But I think for me it had more to do with disconnect - coming back and not having a place in society. I had no personal home to go to, no job, no car and felt disconnected from my church, friends and acquaintances. That feeling of disconnect isn't one bit lovely.<br /><br />Thankfully after my crash landing, I had friends around to help brush me off. Friends who took me in to live with them, who lent me their car and happily listened to my stories of Perú. Friends who love and encourage me, who worry about how I'm doing and tell me to come over when I'm feeling lonely. But most of all, I have a God who does not change and is with me wherever I go. I have a God who gives my life meaning no matter how disconnected I am from the world around me, who crashes with me and helps me to crawl out of the plane and keep on going!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-27878172361548398592009-08-27T18:36:00.005-04:002010-04-09T09:24:41.095-04:00Transportation Lessons 101Transportation...<br /><br />What would we do without transportation? We couldn't get anywhere without it! During our mid-year school break in July, within a 48 hour time period I learned some important lessons on transportation. Here they are!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transportation Rule #1<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">If the head of one the major taxi companies in your town is organizing a strike day, you had better not try to get anywhere that day no matter what hour.</span></span><br /><br />Before heading off to the states for a couple of weeks, I decided that at least one Peruvian trip was in order. So, I made plans to head off to Santa Teresa for a couple of days with my friend Luz and fellow missionaries, the Shultz family. We heard that there was a transportation strike planned for Tuesday so we planned for an early train ride (5:30 am). Usually the strikes don't start until a little bit later and we knew that we would have to leave Cusco at 3:30 am in order to get to the train station in Ollantaytambo in time. All seven of us got into the last possible station wagon taxi heading off to Ollantaytambo. Our taxi driver was speeding out of Cusco and seemingly making excellent time, passing all the other collective taxis leaving at that hour. <br /><br />Everything was going fine that is until we got to a small town called Chincheros right outside of Cusco where we reached a roadblock. The striking picketers were out at 4am!! Our driver pulled over and got out. A bunch of men came over yelling at him and slashed three of the tires of the taxi. Then they proceeded to move their protest to another place and leave us stranded. For the first time in my life a strike day was not working to my favor (they usually are what we call "Peruvian snow days" - an opportunity to miss school). We were stuck there for 4 hours trying to find a tire place that was open early enough and trying to keep warm. We wrapped ourselves with our beach towels and were offered coca tea by a lady in town. By the time the sun was out two things were clear: 1) we had missed our train! 2) it was still safer to go forward than to go back to Cusco that was experiencing an apparently serious transportation strike<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transportaion Rule #2<br />Local trains for residents are really slow because they operate basically as the only form of transportation for some people.<br /></span><br /><br />The tires were somewhat repaired and even though we had to stop at every available air source, we made it to Ollantaytambo without any further trouble. At the train station we were not refunded our tickets but were told we would be allowed to ride on the 9:00 local train which usually only carried local residents. We didn't complain too much since we really only lost 3 dollars for our tickets but it didn't quite seem fair. The train ride to Aguas Calientes and then to the end of the line (where we were going) took a long time. Why? because the train had to stop every once in a while to pick up people along the way. I realized that the train was functioning like a bus because it was the only way some people who lived in the countryside could get anywhere. It would be like me having to go to school every morning in a train!! Can you imagine? But there are people who do it every day around the world!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transportation Rule #3<br />Sometimes the destination is worth the transportation headaches.<br /></span><br /><br />After arriving at the train stop and jumping in on a tourist van ride we finally made it to Santa Teresa! After lunch at one of the few selections in the small town we settled into a small hotel (they were all small). Then we headed down to the famed hot springs. They were really the best hot springs I'd been to at that point with beautiful rocky walls surrounding and nicely landscaped grounds. There were pools of varying heats and even a cold pool where you could dip in and then jump back into the hot ones (the kids loved doing that). Despite some biting flies it was a relaxing end to a crazy day!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transportation Rule #4<br />Once in a while when man-made transportation fails, you have to rely on the form of transportation that God gave all man, your legs!</span><br /><br />The next morning we awoke groggily after a noisy night. We chose a hotel right across from the only disco bar in town and I'd say that our walls were pretty much made of cardboard. oops. At about 7:30am Ron Shultz brought us quickly to our senses by saying that we either had to leave on the train at 8am or 4:30pm and if we left later that meant we would get into Cusco at 1:00 am. A quick decision brought us to the conclusion that we were eager for the earlier option! Ron ran off to get the tickets and we quickly packed up. We he got back we jumped in a taxi and made the dash for the train stop (about a 20 min. drive). The taxi driver drove as fast as he could and we prayed that we would make it in time. We were almost there when we came across a truck trying to make a turn to get on the bridge we needed to cross. He was backing up and going forward and backing up and going forward!! What to do?! We grabbed the bags and took the form of transportation God gave us, our legs! We ran and ran and Ron made it to the train first begging them to hold it. We all tumbled into the train car seriously out of breath but we made it!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transportation Rule #5<br />No matter how hard you try, sometimes transportation delays can't be avoided.</span><br /><br />The train moved on to the next town which is Aguas Calientes (the town at the base of Machupicchu) and we got in line at the station to buy early train tickets to our next destination Ollyantantambo. First the man said there were no tickets for the 10:30 train and then he said there might be standing tickets for the 2:30 train. But when he went to buy them they were gone!! Gone!!! No tickets for the early trains!! All our running for naught! <br /><br />Now we were stuck in Aguas Calientes until 9:30 pm. Thankfully, Luz had a connection with a local pastor who let us leave our luggage at his church. Then we headed off to take a hike up a local mountain called Putucusi which overlooks Machupicchu. We did consider going up to Machupicchu but the only one who had never seen it was Luz and only on Sundays is the entrance free for Peruvians. We took on Putucusi instead and what a hike it was! The first part was in the shade but included several series of ladders which were slightly unnerving. The youngest Shultz kids were pumped and raring to go for the first part but then we hit the non-shaded areas out in the hot sun. The rest of us pushed on and made it to the gorgeous views of the area and Machupicchu. It was a tiring hike and we felt like victorious explorers finally reaching our destination! The rest of the day was spent playing on the rocks, eating at restaurants and meeting up with another teacher who happened to be in town.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Transportation Rule #8<br />The best kind of transportation is the kind that brings you home again!<br /></span><br />We jumped on the 9:30 train and made it into Ollantaytambo at 11:30 pm. Of course there were no buses running at that hour and we tried to find a collective taxi. All the taxis were either taken or wanting to charge an arm and a leg to get to Cusco. We didn't know what to do so we walked to the plaza and waited with a bunch of people who were in the same situation as us. Finally a van pulled up and we all pushed our way on (I mean literally, Peruvian really are good at pushing and you just go along with it when you are desperate for a ride). Half of us were standing and half sitting but we made it back to Cusco around 1:00 am.<br /><br />We got out of the van and looked around for a taxi to take us back to our respective homes. We got one and do you know who it was? Our taxi driver from the early hours the day before! The same guy with the slashed tires! So, we greeted him like an old friend and asked how the rest of his day had gone and shared our adventures and finally left him with a nice tip.<br /><br />And do you know what the best part of our trip was? The taxi ride that brought us home! Hallelujah!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-75445520188089823392009-05-20T10:35:00.006-04:002009-05-20T11:55:46.806-04:00We Are Family!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKgrjjg6yeDfLKqn07KQZPhR2pIwbpCe6o46H8rf8ad7wrPZ9kDrGrG7Zwv_ZfPULUvVgwPd_iwqQc8gayf3-qyEH_5lV-h9pBSg-Gq2O0VoXrY8WW4bkbVjh0lSFrdIfJ-WPtA/s1600-h/IMG_6950.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKgrjjg6yeDfLKqn07KQZPhR2pIwbpCe6o46H8rf8ad7wrPZ9kDrGrG7Zwv_ZfPULUvVgwPd_iwqQc8gayf3-qyEH_5lV-h9pBSg-Gq2O0VoXrY8WW4bkbVjh0lSFrdIfJ-WPtA/s400/IMG_6950.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337929212538540306" /></a><br /><br />For the past two years since I've been here teaching at PROMESA, we have done a Mother's Day program at school in May. Mother's Day is a big day here! There are signs all over the place in stores and in streets: "Felíz Dia Mami" they say with red and pink hearts. You had better remember your mama here in Peru because she's a very, very, VERY important person. Every school does a special program with dances, singing and more. Every year PROMESA has done the same thing until this year. This year the teachers got it into their heads to make the focus more on family and less on just the mama. One of the problems here in society is the lack of strong father figures. Many are not around or drunk or not responsible. Unfortunately many have mistresses and affairs and do not represent a good face in their families. This is an extremely sad fact of Peruvian society but it doesn't mean we need to ignore the fathers altogether!!! PROMESA wants to model something different: a family where every part is important! We decided to include fathers in our program this year.<br /><br />So, our program this year was called the Family Day program and the focus of the special numbers was the family. Instead of singing "Thank you God for my mother" it was "Thank you God for my parents." There were special dances, poems, dramas and songs. In between each number a Bible verse about the family was shared. My 4 year old kids did a dance to the song "We are Family." You know that Sister Sledge number... "We are family...I got all my sisters with me"... This was a Dora version with "I got all my amigos with me" and was very fun. (did you know that even Pat Boone sang a version of this song!!) The moves were simple and we incorporated signs that said "I love my mother", "I love my Father" and "I love my family". I was very nervous about how it would all turn out because you never know with four year old what's gonna happen. I had a horrible experience with a devotional that my 4 year olds prepared last year. We practiced and practiced but when it came time to perform in front of their classmates something unhinged. They went crazy, ran all over the front, threw themselves on the stage and created general disorder right up there in front of the rest of the school....Augh!!!!! horrible memory!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6S6Vq8peHYd8GKRAH90uMoOl10zjeBCC0e2A3ANieoInnQzTMJPkauQLvLJH_bJ66GzdSLdKw16Otj0CPmeJyq-o_cBjtiNU82TXABmlTenWXSBupD9CF-3izCX6QjAvRoMCPGg/s1600-h/IMG_6959.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6S6Vq8peHYd8GKRAH90uMoOl10zjeBCC0e2A3ANieoInnQzTMJPkauQLvLJH_bJ66GzdSLdKw16Otj0CPmeJyq-o_cBjtiNU82TXABmlTenWXSBupD9CF-3izCX6QjAvRoMCPGg/s400/IMG_6959.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337935033224956082" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Here are some of the culprits from last year's fiasco just making themselves at home on the steps of the stage in the middle of the program!!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleIJ1AVjJdv5_C33AJpXtTYLbwOwY6iqFkeyB8BE_UiHG0_aeXZ28X2Aljk8Q2nlsebqZ2XHbtrzV1zF-cd7g_8IKtOEGSjtsTjfeL-hstpGVbF8oidtkZu48xLpCgFkbqiQ32w/s1600-h/IMG_1485.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleIJ1AVjJdv5_C33AJpXtTYLbwOwY6iqFkeyB8BE_UiHG0_aeXZ28X2Aljk8Q2nlsebqZ2XHbtrzV1zF-cd7g_8IKtOEGSjtsTjfeL-hstpGVbF8oidtkZu48xLpCgFkbqiQ32w/s400/IMG_1485.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337934703552848098" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Three of my 4 yr. olds ready to do their dance: Neomi, Josue and Natali</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzbJM9gnRLgOvJTqLcd8LJVfqLA4_qV9b1YWHwhCU1clwgDK54c1ZpkJViM_6dxwAlcZGkBxWUXQQXeqS8dJHTarwR4NsJq4ZIQEBn008WkCVe5D9SEYy49uPnDe2xUeqdp_Jdw/s1600-h/IMG_6915.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzbJM9gnRLgOvJTqLcd8LJVfqLA4_qV9b1YWHwhCU1clwgDK54c1ZpkJViM_6dxwAlcZGkBxWUXQQXeqS8dJHTarwR4NsJq4ZIQEBn008WkCVe5D9SEYy49uPnDe2xUeqdp_Jdw/s400/IMG_6915.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337929211422166674" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">The four yr. old dance: "We are Family"</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAyp_7773frLaBmSX7CRKk7ue74_eKPYMC7SLQerWUbg6OHJvpRp03yeXILJ9OidLPadw85CFSzgRsiw_Dct359QUUVU1NTtNUQq_XI780-P23axK_nogP5XISp2CIJyl1F-8AA/s1600-h/IMG_1512.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAyp_7773frLaBmSX7CRKk7ue74_eKPYMC7SLQerWUbg6OHJvpRp03yeXILJ9OidLPadw85CFSzgRsiw_Dct359QUUVU1NTtNUQq_XI780-P23axK_nogP5XISp2CIJyl1F-8AA/s400/IMG_1512.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337929216185118818" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">The five year old class presented a typical "huaino" dance</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9G-_JGWnC0XZerEvp0u25x533fc1kVJHRQOoxwUaV-5vj6KMpR6SXwTHveZs3-m28m8LFxongYP4J3pitHmrpDod-vwq2fNr480hFAmbjMSIVY01G6ni2236ULrmiwOG7aT6tQ/s1600-h/IMG_6920.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9G-_JGWnC0XZerEvp0u25x533fc1kVJHRQOoxwUaV-5vj6KMpR6SXwTHveZs3-m28m8LFxongYP4J3pitHmrpDod-vwq2fNr480hFAmbjMSIVY01G6ni2236ULrmiwOG7aT6tQ/s400/IMG_6920.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337929223764490370" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Here are the girls! Aren't they precious?</span><br /><br />Thankfully, that was not repeated for this program! My kids did a wonderful job and held up their signs and got applauses from their parents and it was incredibly adorable!!! Yay! I didn't get to see too much of the rest of the program because I was making candy cars in the classroom and eating them with my 4 year old class but I think history was made. We stepped out and did something different as a school and it was successful. Yes, the mother is important in the culture here but God calls us to family standards that are different then whatever culture we are in. It was time to stand up and create a new standard. Bravo, PROMESA! "We really are a family!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVA5g5-bA5mHiyN1qFpiUaxzE_G_I0vvJFRc9oCYQoEFY2wxIHaktgq9z6R5RBMmTdS6gwyNdA7rqbqcCG1Mi8ONxhHDeRg_MOFawJSyAfzw3ghXZTlmKdfJUvkgUT89kjOLxGfg/s1600-h/IMG_6940.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVA5g5-bA5mHiyN1qFpiUaxzE_G_I0vvJFRc9oCYQoEFY2wxIHaktgq9z6R5RBMmTdS6gwyNdA7rqbqcCG1Mi8ONxhHDeRg_MOFawJSyAfzw3ghXZTlmKdfJUvkgUT89kjOLxGfg/s400/IMG_6940.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337932687380814866" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">First grade presented a typical "saylla" dance</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyd7P8QJ-Ri4zxu-pLBV1ET6_9UmxDX1KcxnFQHRyX7rbFcLyOwn-npvvBFu0hkp_Z1c4xW6W4-ydns1G10dDhTfvUjLDhUec-IRTUFdUYTKofUhTLX2E64VcNKmLHZcH-2xZJRg/s1600-h/IMG_6961.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyd7P8QJ-Ri4zxu-pLBV1ET6_9UmxDX1KcxnFQHRyX7rbFcLyOwn-npvvBFu0hkp_Z1c4xW6W4-ydns1G10dDhTfvUjLDhUec-IRTUFdUYTKofUhTLX2E64VcNKmLHZcH-2xZJRg/s400/IMG_6961.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337932688700389682" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Fifth grade did a hip-hop dance to Kirk Franklin's song Revolution</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgIoqr3X64MjFnbPWfYBq61g1K6UnrKkAyyL1jeXc3b4maQ3WkqwJeLso7qOluAp_65sajoheFRS6_J0j5yK7LpAOd3TjIQ5XgmM9OD6Gq36VIkoywojTz0CC9fA4nqnMEOlgSQ/s1600-h/IMG_1545.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgIoqr3X64MjFnbPWfYBq61g1K6UnrKkAyyL1jeXc3b4maQ3WkqwJeLso7qOluAp_65sajoheFRS6_J0j5yK7LpAOd3TjIQ5XgmM9OD6Gq36VIkoywojTz0CC9fA4nqnMEOlgSQ/s400/IMG_1545.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337932683837225042" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Second grade presented a Jewish style dance</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiof-31dPDDnSvq3BgCxgoRzebVoO-epuV49550hiMP9HFbGdscRE3nFhJ58GVNQglsB1KKAkAB3e2us7cOS3VVmF2w9w2gAaICkCt_iZ1-iDX3lvEH6ZjfriF9bJxk7w56KA2G4A/s1600-h/IMG_6979.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiof-31dPDDnSvq3BgCxgoRzebVoO-epuV49550hiMP9HFbGdscRE3nFhJ58GVNQglsB1KKAkAB3e2us7cOS3VVmF2w9w2gAaICkCt_iZ1-iDX3lvEH6ZjfriF9bJxk7w56KA2G4A/s400/IMG_6979.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337929226238218658" /></a>A<span style="font-style:italic;">t the end of the program, everyone sang "He's got the whole world in His hands" together</span>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-46324473802451304732009-04-13T15:20:00.009-04:002009-04-13T17:40:24.553-04:00Necessary Footwear and Calm Serene WatersIf someone tells you that rubber boots are a good idea to take with you on a trek in the jungle during rainy season, believe them. Do more than believe them: FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE AND TAKE RUBBER BOOTS!!! Of course, I figured rainy season was getting over and surely it can't be that bad. Why would I go out and buy rubber boots when I'll probably not use them and I'll not need them ever again.<br /><br />I was burned once by unnecessary boots. I went to the Cornerstone Music Festival one year and it rained and poured and produced massive amounts of mud. It was nasty, smelly and my friend Heidi and I vowed to never again experience that. So the next year we went out to Wal-Mart and bought rubber boots which we lugged from Pennsylvania to Illinois. It didn't rain that year. Not one drop... not one little bit of rain. Those boots sat in garages for several years after that...never used and just functioning as the home of several spiders. <br /><br />So, why was I going to risk buying rubber boots in Peru? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUcFiITEZq0Qwir5dI_YUzJ4Wh-LPPk0RJYGJo1NXmB7DBBbxAWWDJ0AC1ue1V6_Vb6bUotPX76UIGuhU1nrZMwd-Xg7d2mXttmDrdd3DgJLv7-cnnYz22y5ckVfQfqGcIEQX6g/s1600-h/Muddy+Boots+01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUcFiITEZq0Qwir5dI_YUzJ4Wh-LPPk0RJYGJo1NXmB7DBBbxAWWDJ0AC1ue1V6_Vb6bUotPX76UIGuhU1nrZMwd-Xg7d2mXttmDrdd3DgJLv7-cnnYz22y5ckVfQfqGcIEQX6g/s400/Muddy+Boots+01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324283616326874594" /></a><br /><br />Well, a five kilometer walk in thick mud is a good reason why. I didn't realize that until we got off our canoe and started walking on the jungle path towards the lake. Everyone who was coming out of the jungle and back towards the river had on rubber boots. I was wearing my roommate's hiking boots and when some girl saw them she said "that girl is not wearing rubber boots! she should be wearing boots!" ooooohhh, bad sign. So, let's just say I wish I had those rubber boots. We spent the next two hours traipsing through the rain and on very thick and nasty mud. Most of the time with stayed along the edges of the path with walking sticks trying desperately to not slip into the mudiness. I scratched myself on branches and tried not to grab onto spiny palm trees and trying not to think about large ants or spiders that may have been calmly sitting on those branches right when I wanted to steady myself. You can imagine how tired we were to finally get to the lake!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e-JxHOiRFz0xRjjklP2kBxrcNYKoVLjsP4n7xRSqi0NI9BHN_A3ji-hF4Al2OcIbeZWqtBTg2hvyr5acSXyTBv-XQmUFvno6lz0j-PdD46ub5kXm-JsFzIhJWq-EP1fnSNXj8w/s1600-h/IMG_6545.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e-JxHOiRFz0xRjjklP2kBxrcNYKoVLjsP4n7xRSqi0NI9BHN_A3ji-hF4Al2OcIbeZWqtBTg2hvyr5acSXyTBv-XQmUFvno6lz0j-PdD46ub5kXm-JsFzIhJWq-EP1fnSNXj8w/s400/IMG_6545.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324288589183764706" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Getting ready to hike to the lake. Look who the smart people are in our group!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQV_F2jjWd8wNRmMVWwTvFsBGMk9R9PqI34BXGMxhVWlrGhccMMQ93Z_gYIQJQmlvM1qdvIP_aD9ZnhAL4maUPWv4zJ9U4GCQiZQ_RkZDUkj9u0d7WCW5MmT_1oZgaae1tm9dxw/s1600-h/IMG_6548.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQV_F2jjWd8wNRmMVWwTvFsBGMk9R9PqI34BXGMxhVWlrGhccMMQ93Z_gYIQJQmlvM1qdvIP_aD9ZnhAL4maUPWv4zJ9U4GCQiZQ_RkZDUkj9u0d7WCW5MmT_1oZgaae1tm9dxw/s400/IMG_6548.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324288594931267522" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">The muddy path!</span><br /><br />After our struggle through the mudiness of the jungle path (that had been tred by too many tourists in rubber boots), we were met by the smooth, calm, sereness of Lake Sandoval. A large undisturbed jungle lake cut off from general civilization is a thing of beauty. There was such a calmness and peacefulness there. No motor boats, no factories or sounds of people around the lake. Just us in a canoe gliding along the water looking at the ducks with the needle/snake necks or the crazy brown and orange birds that sound like they have asthma or looking for cayman alligators in the water and monkeys in the trees. We were amazed by God's beautiful creation all around.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNc61tEXGnE2FxkNTkd0re0y3rFfoEmqiWwDFji3yD9jwqXVIT5FuxYe3yV2jWRxoLBJnz7lGN0Lxtfzy3ziw0MNlB41gn95FhaEqXnoheZ54pyCaub9wMNIWcatCeVhyphenhyphenX_3MQA/s1600-h/IMG_6611.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNc61tEXGnE2FxkNTkd0re0y3rFfoEmqiWwDFji3yD9jwqXVIT5FuxYe3yV2jWRxoLBJnz7lGN0Lxtfzy3ziw0MNlB41gn95FhaEqXnoheZ54pyCaub9wMNIWcatCeVhyphenhyphenX_3MQA/s400/IMG_6611.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324290020208983138" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmp8DXIIZzvSr5Ij3-qrxroTV2sJgx4-AiCQq7ZEtRTq9P2WvkzTkhmzQo4wbw8yDKkzUYRfXcZnK9Pc-jTLaXns0mp9no_JDWTdtb8VUBxXZEQGHwb-rc_zASc95GR89-l0USw/s1600-h/IMG_6599.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmp8DXIIZzvSr5Ij3-qrxroTV2sJgx4-AiCQq7ZEtRTq9P2WvkzTkhmzQo4wbw8yDKkzUYRfXcZnK9Pc-jTLaXns0mp9no_JDWTdtb8VUBxXZEQGHwb-rc_zASc95GR89-l0USw/s400/IMG_6599.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324290019441779538" /></a><br /><br />Every once in a while our boat guide would stop the boat to look at interesting plants in the jungle ("monte" is what they called it in spanish...well, really in Quechua because monte in Spanish is mountain!). We saw a HUGE old tree with big vines growing up it. It was at least 500 years old! Can you imagine??? We saw "walking trees" which are trees with huge roots and skinny trunks that look for the sunlight and lean towards it. Their roots then grow in that direction. We saw lots of beautiful butterflies and flowers too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANSIYeAb-UnKjg3A8a4LPQjblPqYM9R3v5VPMjtX1Q9RoWbMXy3yQ3ZbK5UVCtOkBQ1EyEX3mzINMFOelS0rgKUMYN-t6vNWA6DuOE1ppvgQAUwCLp2Ru_lnbCbKA3TybM3peKw/s1600-h/IMG_6587.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANSIYeAb-UnKjg3A8a4LPQjblPqYM9R3v5VPMjtX1Q9RoWbMXy3yQ3ZbK5UVCtOkBQ1EyEX3mzINMFOelS0rgKUMYN-t6vNWA6DuOE1ppvgQAUwCLp2Ru_lnbCbKA3TybM3peKw/s400/IMG_6587.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324290024392781890" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">I think the hibiscus is one of my favorite kinds of flowers. It always reminds me of Puerto Rico.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF4TSZe6ccz0CiEy88cNrTv0JcaoJpf8UnHdaOTsV-4LnH8R1IBz4HCyD_a6pNqJAij-64QxvCXd_ucL_9rEpw1i8YDslgGjeuDB7sxzZ3vlyUuG9Y39qDScNCu7GK8r0HekOfw/s1600-h/IMG_6618.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF4TSZe6ccz0CiEy88cNrTv0JcaoJpf8UnHdaOTsV-4LnH8R1IBz4HCyD_a6pNqJAij-64QxvCXd_ucL_9rEpw1i8YDslgGjeuDB7sxzZ3vlyUuG9Y39qDScNCu7GK8r0HekOfw/s400/IMG_6618.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324292099266640834" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">The walking tree....Don't walk away with me under you!!!</span><br /><br />But nothing compared to the beauty of that lake. Serene, calm and peaceful. I want my life to be filled with a peace like that. Calm, resting and surrendered to the sovereignty of my Creator. My God is a God of Peace and He has given me the prince of peace to rule in my heart. How often do I feel like I'm struggling through a muddy trek in my life...wondering if I'll ever arrive at peace. Will it always be a struggle and a fight? Will I reach that peace? But our muddy road eventually led us to the lake...that peaceful, beautiful and serene lake. <br /><br />The next day we made our way back on the muddy path. This time we rented some rubber boots. The path was worse and you had to keep moving or you might loose one of your boots in the mud!! Once when we were in the worst part of the path we passed a family who were coming in. One little girl was getting a ride on the guide's shoulders but her sister was having a worse time trying to make it through the mud. She had this look on her face that said "this is the worst experience of my life!!!" We greeted the family and encouraged them saying that it didn't get any worse along the path. And I said: "keep going, it's worth it! The lake is gorgeous!!!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIKzS6HcccsOuTYTW5YtMQF735WCVKzo2DLuB1k2jEWOS1A9HNYcYUmroK0xH2HmwmTfJctcDpRDJTECfS30FRTX_Vi1TwAFOVHqv2Pe-Rz3DPze9noZvJBPriSUbYoVHW3dAeA/s1600-h/IMG_6648.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIKzS6HcccsOuTYTW5YtMQF735WCVKzo2DLuB1k2jEWOS1A9HNYcYUmroK0xH2HmwmTfJctcDpRDJTECfS30FRTX_Vi1TwAFOVHqv2Pe-Rz3DPze9noZvJBPriSUbYoVHW3dAeA/s400/IMG_6648.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324292102689424450" /></a><br /><br />How often do I feel like I'm struggling like the little girl thinking "this is the worst experience of my life"? But I need someone to come along who has experienced the hard stuff to say: "keep going! It's worth it! What awaits you is amazing!" God's peace is there for me. It's wide, it's clear, it's amazingly deep... <br /><br />Thank you Jesus for muddy walks that get me somewhere. Thank you that they come to an end and what awaits on the other side is worth it. Thank you for your amazing creation and thank you most most MOST of all for your peace.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilU_WJM-SkygAZKOK-MxcyMp5J5Qiy1bFfmUrBqsMnEvIyKJg4R1Q8M8mNpgIJgwe6MXS9y57LZZId24rELgUTAaaIXjE1uUhz5a-FKt0-znaD9ENFq9Txt_O0kM5mLvef-uRFJw/s1600-h/IMG_6644.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilU_WJM-SkygAZKOK-MxcyMp5J5Qiy1bFfmUrBqsMnEvIyKJg4R1Q8M8mNpgIJgwe6MXS9y57LZZId24rELgUTAaaIXjE1uUhz5a-FKt0-znaD9ENFq9Txt_O0kM5mLvef-uRFJw/s400/IMG_6644.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324292102951494994" /></a>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-29890933664626979422009-03-17T18:08:00.004-04:002009-03-17T18:50:43.596-04:00Rifts that Reveal Beauty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0DJbd960jmj7laPOWQCfZcbpei3ksI1qsiz2QeA8ZqI_-FvHRGmKU0_s-F2mzwvMLDPU2UddprGk0Pfq1PzKMYrGo-DYr1zpQatAcmRBLi0OR4Y4jrreew6kw_n-eJw823_aKw/s1600-h/CanyonFlowers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0DJbd960jmj7laPOWQCfZcbpei3ksI1qsiz2QeA8ZqI_-FvHRGmKU0_s-F2mzwvMLDPU2UddprGk0Pfq1PzKMYrGo-DYr1zpQatAcmRBLi0OR4Y4jrreew6kw_n-eJw823_aKw/s400/CanyonFlowers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314292399023948274" /></a><br /><br />I read something beautiful in the book "Streams in the Desert" (L.B. Cowman) this past week. It's the parable of a prairie and I thought I'd share it with you all.<br /><br />"At first there were no canyons but only the vast, open prairie. One day the Master of the prairie, walking across His great grasslands, asked the prairie, 'Where are your flowers?' The prairie responded, 'Master, I have no flower seeds.'<br /><br />The Master then spoke to the birds and they brought seeds of every kind of flower, scattering them far and wide. Soon the prairie bloomed with crocuses, roses, yellow buttercups, wild sunflowers and red lilies all summer long. When the Master saw the flowers, he was pleased. But He failed to see his favorites and asked the prairie, 'Where are the clematis, columbine, violets, wildflowers, ferns and flowering shrubs?' So once again he spoke to the birds, and again they brought all the seeds and spread them far and wide. But when the Master arrived, He still could not find the flowers he loved the most, and asked, 'Where are my sweetest flowers?' The prairie cried sorrowfully, 'O Master, I cannot keep the flowers. The wind sweeps fiercely across me, and the sun beats down upon my breast, and they simply wither up and blow away.'<br /><br />Then the Master spoke to the lightning, and with one swift bolt, the lightning split the prairie through its heart. The prairie reeled and groaned in agony and for many days bitterly complained about its dark, jagged, and gaping wound. But the river poured its water through the chasm, bringing rich, dark soil with it.<br /><br />Once again the birds brought seeds and scattered them in the canyon. After a long time the rough rocks were adorned with soft mosses and trailing vines, and all the secluded cliffs were draped with clematis and columbine. Giant elms raised their huge limbs high into the sunlight, while at their feet small cedars and balsam enhair ferns grew and bloomed, until the canyon became the Master's favorite place for rest, peace and joy."<br /><br />I feel like that prairie. My prairie looked lovely on the outside...nice and flat...with rolling grasslands and wildflowers. But it was nicely laid out with expectations I had built up, with things I was sure would happen and with the plans that I had. I even justified my expectations thinking that they were God's plan for me or making them seem like they were something I deserved for living a pure and right life. But the Master of my prairie needed to send his lightning into my life in order to disrupt those expectations. <br /><br />The rift hurts like a gaping wound and my smooth flat world is disrupted. But the Master of my life knows what He is doing. He wants me to build up my expectations based on who He is and what He's done for me. It has nothing to do with something I'm doing right or not right. It has nothing to do with my efforts and everything to do with Him. <br /><br />So, he has created a rift in my life but that rift will fill with life and become a beautiful canyon where the flowers of patience, kindness and gentleness can grow in my life. The Master can have His way in that canyon and the pain and sorrow will become a source of joy.<br /><br />So, thank you Master of my prairie and maker of my canyon. Thank you for removing that which is not of You and creating something beautiful with my life. I know that even your lightning bolts bring life to me.Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-91814797416349517642009-02-11T19:50:00.003-05:002009-02-11T20:45:34.926-05:00Living in the Land of Foggy Foggy Dew<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguq5foIRA1Sj5bIerZb1c8mr9WjQTmGqvTmRI6-uRP6CWTrictR1ZybjpHCCOz7WOt_THCSR0h9GjksUHfwlDpz2lfzE6H8f9g7OCpFXaqhqakTm4OsOlLfLR1bP1jhrxa9PHCDg/s1600-h/IMG_6171.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguq5foIRA1Sj5bIerZb1c8mr9WjQTmGqvTmRI6-uRP6CWTrictR1ZybjpHCCOz7WOt_THCSR0h9GjksUHfwlDpz2lfzE6H8f9g7OCpFXaqhqakTm4OsOlLfLR1bP1jhrxa9PHCDg/s400/IMG_6171.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301719656825742546" /></a><br /><br />Once when I was a biddy (okay I was in college...not too much of a biddy) made up a little song (a diddy really). Here's my diddy as a biddy. Okay, okay no further silly introductions! The song went like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">When you're living in the <br />land of foggy foggy dew<br />Then you haven't a clue<br />Haven't a clue...<br />Haven't a clue<br />what to do do do do!!!!<br />Oh you haven't a clue <br />what to do!<br /></span><br /><br />It's really rather a silly and repetitive song but I never claimed to be a great composer and I know that God didn't necessarily bless me with great musical talent. It was a fun little song birthed from my indecisive tendencies and the fogginess that often descended over the Grace College campus. It's stuck with me through the years and I've always intended to record it on my first cd called "Carrie-oke" but unfortunately my singing career never got off. Bummer... Recently it all came back to me in a fog...errr....on a clear day or something like that.<br /><br />My missionary team here in Peru was off on wild adventures in the southern part of Peru (really it was just a team retreat) and several of us decided to stay longer and do touristy things. One of the touristy things was visiting the Colca Canyon which is supposed to be the deepest in the world. You can imagine our excitement as we piled into the car one morning in order to go to the canyon look-outs to see the condors swooping by our heads.<br /><br />There was one little problem: fog.<br /><br />It was actually a very large problem as a hugmungous quantity of fog filled the canyon. It was really thick like the type they say you can eat with a soup like pea soup (which in my opinion is a very silly saying because fog like pea soup would be green! and it's not green now is it?). Anywho, we passed buses and carloads of disappointed tourists returning from the lookouts who declared: "Nothing to see...nothing to see!!" Ah yes the land was surely the land of foggy foggy dew that day.<br /><br />We braved on and made it to the lookout where all we could see over the edge was.... dum...dum...dum! FOG!!! Yes you guessed it dear reader (you are so smart! I knew you'd figure it out). We tried going to several of the lookout spots and staring intensely into the misty white and having curiosity burn in our hearts. What was down there? What did the canyon look like? Would the clouds clear?? We had no way of knowing what would happen with the fog but there it was and there it stayed as we hoped for holes and glimpses of what was below. <br /><br />With sad hearts we climbed back in the car knowing that our nearly 2 hour car ride had been wasted. We were on our way back when someone chanced to look back. Could it be???!!!! Was that a clear spot over there? Were the clouds lifting??? Sure enough the thick fog was being rolled back like a curtain and the canyon we had so wanted to see was being exposed like the first act of a majestic play! Woohoo! We climbed down the hill to the lookout area while others drove back to the parking lot. And as I was climbing the hill to where the others were we saw it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFoqa2WKqnRHkhJmclMTUHqS5_NUSETJ00YpXfROCQW-iJ4PfzwqPPLEgPYwRAXBt8bLrhCb_RCvVsnRvsllE1WvxcehSCOGhWlEEnSdDE9DARVc7WdP3l84kCOBxxdHWj2pdwg/s1600-h/IMG_6175.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFoqa2WKqnRHkhJmclMTUHqS5_NUSETJ00YpXfROCQW-iJ4PfzwqPPLEgPYwRAXBt8bLrhCb_RCvVsnRvsllE1WvxcehSCOGhWlEEnSdDE9DARVc7WdP3l84kCOBxxdHWj2pdwg/s400/IMG_6175.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301719662070153602" /></a><br /><br />A condor swooping around...soaring in the area and coming so close that we could see it's black and white wings and the royal collar around its neck. It was majestic! It was amazing! And it wasn't the last that we saw. Before we left that day we saw several of those huge birds swooping near. We stared down into the deep canyon with such excitement, exclaming over every rock. It was maybe not that impressive if you've seen the Grand Canyon or other wider and bigger canyons but to us who nearly missed seeing it at all, it was such a gorgeous sight.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDjLnRrhATUEfPqXY_av24zz-nQT484W3kslvhTMM3Kfci-f4dE05i76U_1jhdJh3qjI_ozmVLWV6uYIRQMLlTSHHHaw7W095NkE9ykvMzKJhjyzG0jBQqgty9o9cnpchv8kAMA/s1600-h/IMG_6179.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDjLnRrhATUEfPqXY_av24zz-nQT484W3kslvhTMM3Kfci-f4dE05i76U_1jhdJh3qjI_ozmVLWV6uYIRQMLlTSHHHaw7W095NkE9ykvMzKJhjyzG0jBQqgty9o9cnpchv8kAMA/s400/IMG_6179.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301719668530910882" /></a><br /><br />I think I've been living in somewhat a season of fogginess where I've been tossed and confused by many things. I didn't understand what was the best and where things were going. I felt farther from God than I wanted to be and I seemed to just be sitting in that fog. But I believe that God is bringing me out of a foggy season into a season of majestic beauty. He wants me to sweep and soar like those condors and delight in His creation. I don't want to live in the land of foggy foggy dew any longer. I want to have a clue! I want to know what His whispers are and what He wants me to do. <br /><br />Even if we staring into something that just looks foggy and white and we can't see anything beyond that, it's good to remember that yes the beautiful canyon is down there. It's beyond the fog and it's not moving. God's love, goodness and faithfulness are like that. Always there under the surface...steady and solid and not going anywhere. I don't want to just be convinced that the fog is all there is. The fog will clear and the faithfulness of the Lord will remain. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Amen Lord! Show us your beauty beneath the fog!!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnrND9nxwvJdD6G7ayHfoCaUgS4tIBxECKeczjz4963-sL9TxW6plvPz_X7hCuoD6U8BljeR4ZKRVSuZYDYfkDMIT5zVlUU-4-z62uWy_GN0Iu2uemV2R6LWIdH3it_BwF9vYjw/s1600-h/IMG_6182.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnrND9nxwvJdD6G7ayHfoCaUgS4tIBxECKeczjz4963-sL9TxW6plvPz_X7hCuoD6U8BljeR4ZKRVSuZYDYfkDMIT5zVlUU-4-z62uWy_GN0Iu2uemV2R6LWIdH3it_BwF9vYjw/s400/IMG_6182.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301719669034082834" /></a>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-7744782477159084112008-06-24T20:14:00.003-04:002008-06-24T21:05:02.992-04:00The People Walking in DarknessWithin the past week I have come face to face with the very real animistic roots of Peru. You would probably guess that Peru is well enough catholic and evangelical that there wouldn't be much left of the animistic stuff. Yet, it's one of the layers of this culture that is very real in the countryside and even integrated in the lives of those in the city who are supposedly more educated and modern. <br /><br />First of all I went to go see a play called Chaska this past week. It was a very impressive performance with exciting costumes and dancing and acrobats on wires suspended from the ceiling. But it was dark because the main story was about a village that has no rain and a young girl who gives up her life in sacrifice so that the god of the harvest can bless the town. The story was filled with the history of several of the gods of Peru who have demanded sacrifice. It was very eye-opening to me because it brought me face to face with the darkness of these beliefs. I left the show that night very grateful to be a believer.<br /><br />Secondly, this week has been one of celebrating with parades and dances and festivities. It all cumulated today with the celebration of Inti Raymi (the Sun Festival). I decided to see what Inti Raymi was all about so I went downtown with my friend Luz and her family. The first place we went to was Korikancha (which is now a museum but supposedly was the old Incan palace that was converted into a church). At Korikancha, there was a presentation on the steps. People dressed up like the Inca, his authorities, the priest, musicians, his wife and cocubines (the virgins who worked in the temple of the Sun) came out and danced and played music. Later armies from the 4 Inca Empire sections marched out on the field. The Inca sang a song to the sun and called the sun: Father! He talked in Quechua the whole time but I bought a little booklet with the translation into Spanish. We weren't close enough to see very well but it was interesting.<br /><br />Later we all crowded into the Plaza de Armas where the Inca and all his people marched in grand revelry. In the plaza I could see the soldiers closer up. The Inca came in seated on a gold throne that was carried by about 15-20 men and there were people going before him sweeping the street with tree branches and woman throwing flowers on the ground. In the plaza the priest and Inca did some ceremony with coca leaves to see if the main ceremony would be favorable. It was all very pagan and even though the bright sunshine and daylight made it seem less dark there was still lots of darkness hiding under the surface. I really wonder how many people actually believe in the sun as a god and how many just see Inti Raymi as a cultural recreation of times past. I wondered this as the actors sang a song of worship to the sun and when the woman next to me commented that the sun always seems to shine during the ceremony no matter how dark the day starts out.<br /><br />The main ceremony was at Sacsayhuaman which is located above Cusco and is an archeological site with ruins that they believe were a military fortress once upon a time. We walk about 30 minutes up, up and up amongst the very crowded pathway. When we got to Sacsayhuaman we had to find a place on a neighboring hill to sit and watch the goings ons. There were so many people all over the hills. They looked like ants covering an ant hill. Unfortunately, even though we had a view we still could not see very well. I think only people who paid $50 some dollars could sit in the temporary stadium that was set up. There was no one allowed on the closest hill because it had ruins on it. It had been used in previous years and you could tell people had a bad attitude about it being prohibited this year. In fact they kept trying to sneak onto the hill while people on the other hills cheered them on. At one point the police gave up and then everyone rushed to the other hill. It was crazy! That meant that we couldn't see or hear very well what was going on. I just know from my booklet that a llama is sacrificed and etc. It was very colorful but I think I enjoyed my food and the adventure more than the ceremony. In the end the Inca gave a very modern sounding message (my friend Luz translated from Quechua for me) in the middle of an ancient ritual and ceremony. He asked the people to care for "Mother Earth" and help each other and get along. It was a very interesting.<br /><br />Then we all walked down the hill and once when we stopped to wait for some of Luz's family to catch up, I started looking at all the faces walking by. I wondered how many believed in the Sun as their God and how many believed in Jesus. I prayed for them that the people walking in darkness would see a great light! I prayed for them to come to know their Creater God as their Father and Lord.<br /><br />The Lord is bigger than the darkness that hides in the layers of the Peruvian culture. He can bring freedom to people who carry around so many superstitions. He can set them free from the darkness and redeem the creative and colorful things from their culture. Because there is so much color! There is so much creativity! Let it be used to bring glory and praise to the GREAT CREATOR OF THE SUN AND THE MOON!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; <br />on those living in the land of the shadow of death [a] <br />a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2</span>Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-68640517098982993672008-05-11T16:43:00.005-04:002008-11-13T02:53:20.739-05:00Adventures in High Altitude Cooking: Greenhouse Root BeerI'm pretty sure root beer is a North American thing and I'm convinced that homemade rootbeer is something the Amish make quite regularly.<br /><br />Well, I'm not Amish and I'm not even in North America right now where root beer is available. Fortunately, I'm an adventurous soul who is not swayed by the unavailability of things. If you are lacking root beer, just make some. Here's the story of my root beer making adventure.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 1</span>: Pull out that bottle of root beer extract that has been sitting in your cupboard for (most likely) years and years. In the past, some Pennsylvanian missionary brought that extract over carefully packaged in their belongings with the hope of making their favorite carbonated beverage some day on foreign soil. Unfortunately they never got the chance and you have inherited their precious botttle of root beer exhilir.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8r0N7WHihkMGn4J9dRChV9gvLpfaIkla0gbL9DikQJksNnp9oohioUTshinB7y6TKRri_SPEHNsaovsTin3lmqgQHFbzCffX91ney1rdIPzEION3PnBB3E8gHCKkIGaLRBMKWtA/s1600-h/IMG_4597.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8r0N7WHihkMGn4J9dRChV9gvLpfaIkla0gbL9DikQJksNnp9oohioUTshinB7y6TKRri_SPEHNsaovsTin3lmqgQHFbzCffX91ney1rdIPzEION3PnBB3E8gHCKkIGaLRBMKWtA/s400/IMG_4597.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204016017061558354" /></a>The special root beer extract.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 2</span>: Use your handy dandy spigoted water container (normally used to hold spare water in the bathroom in case you ever have a water crisis) to mix together 9 cups of sugar, 5 gallons of water and one bottle of root beer extract.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOYUFnYjelVGSTkQfEg8ySIdkqLjAJePc82CfOhzVPVG-3G4hbCfQwZuHrBw6_cdxoD3GhzSdMYst7Z6OmKSSHqicfg7mgFwHxHgyYQ075HGQrfF_UhUXSWfeoINvhH4sD1O04g/s1600-h/IMG_4600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOYUFnYjelVGSTkQfEg8ySIdkqLjAJePc82CfOhzVPVG-3G4hbCfQwZuHrBw6_cdxoD3GhzSdMYst7Z6OmKSSHqicfg7mgFwHxHgyYQ075HGQrfF_UhUXSWfeoINvhH4sD1O04g/s400/IMG_4600.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204016025651492962" /></a>Mix, mix, mix!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 3:</span> Dissolve 1/2 tsp of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and mix with the container of very obviously root beer smelling mixture. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 4: </span>Bottle and contain the root beer mixture. Unfortunately, we did not have lots of available bottles so we decided to borrow the buckets we were storing our rice and sugar in. We filled up 2 buckets, two liter bottles and four small water bottles with our root beer mixture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MG8hhDQTqA0tIJt8A8bt96tyWtUif38CCNcF1n5VgfhXqekd7BT7CXNX576ZrianoRq3_zXkVP4OIE5s6EpZWySj1h_dK_iuswEzf_sFOjeE-ODEvoxz_Ca81iEXAEDMgRhgWw/s1600-h/IMG_4601.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MG8hhDQTqA0tIJt8A8bt96tyWtUif38CCNcF1n5VgfhXqekd7BT7CXNX576ZrianoRq3_zXkVP4OIE5s6EpZWySj1h_dK_iuswEzf_sFOjeE-ODEvoxz_Ca81iEXAEDMgRhgWw/s400/IMG_4601.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204016034241427570" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 5:</span> Find a warm place to store the root beer. There's no heat in Peru and it's starting to get cold so what could we do for a warm spot. Thankfully we had just had a small greenhouse built in our backyard. So, in with the lettuce, tomato and broccoli went our root beer mixture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeyih1Cy7wpc_QItewQ660xs1HAsOHT_39J1k-9wAUUhxOnANwOKo2P4bNNVg-KWo5nKMMRO7AqIMF2BEj7mUp1HC9xW791sClUfwT3ZMnRplOvfnKWoDZD-Te0yBo7ccl57ZJg/s1600-h/IMG_4605.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeyih1Cy7wpc_QItewQ660xs1HAsOHT_39J1k-9wAUUhxOnANwOKo2P4bNNVg-KWo5nKMMRO7AqIMF2BEj7mUp1HC9xW791sClUfwT3ZMnRplOvfnKWoDZD-Te0yBo7ccl57ZJg/s400/IMG_4605.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204016038536394882" /></a> Our root beer!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 6:</span> Wait. You have to let the root beer sit for at least 6 days. (we were trying to make the root beer for a missionary birthday celebration and had exactly 6 days!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUWjkTjnbX-PgswGUl50vADRNKIuCKf0V9RCgqRMeCJjnkCYo2L-l7h6uwkloLQki6tlu9CtVbk4uctS74FRiETV71F5m5KHwoQOHrqsRMzauuMPCNTL_303K6Tc7wbM-vn0neA/s1600-h/IMG_4607.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUWjkTjnbX-PgswGUl50vADRNKIuCKf0V9RCgqRMeCJjnkCYo2L-l7h6uwkloLQki6tlu9CtVbk4uctS74FRiETV71F5m5KHwoQOHrqsRMzauuMPCNTL_303K6Tc7wbM-vn0neA/s400/IMG_4607.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204016047126329490" /></a>Bethany observes the strange root beer distillery!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Step 7</span>: On Day 6 you take your root beer out and try it! You realize that despite 9 cups of sugar, it is not sweet enough. But it's too late to add sugar, so you take it to the party hoping that most people will have floats that incorporate sugary ice cream.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Setp 8:</span> Enjoy your root beer float!!! Ahhhhh.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG3wxNK3nBUPrP8qQyeQstjtnf-6xibNbd1nw7VNnYNxGl7DWe2IfjF_46CDEXjXIzLOcL7mHnO9ugBXFTrLiZm2WGrbZ2lQtaL9x2y3hAYDd2jkiZ6FJhBI7dXPpmDzqlqK9rQ/s1600-h/n35903082_31895482_1323.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG3wxNK3nBUPrP8qQyeQstjtnf-6xibNbd1nw7VNnYNxGl7DWe2IfjF_46CDEXjXIzLOcL7mHnO9ugBXFTrLiZm2WGrbZ2lQtaL9x2y3hAYDd2jkiZ6FJhBI7dXPpmDzqlqK9rQ/s400/n35903082_31895482_1323.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204019440150493346" /></a><br /><br />end note: the root beer experiment certainly has not ended yet. After several weeks, I decided to try again with the root beer. I added more sugar and yeast and transferred from buckets (that are not really airtight) to bottles with twisty tops. We'll see how this round turns out!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-60597687600542252452008-05-02T23:22:00.000-04:002008-05-03T09:20:12.291-04:00Why working with kids keeps me laughing!Here are some of the funny quotes and things that my kids at school have been up to:<br /><br />One day I was wearing a plaid jacket and red beret combo and one of the little girls in my class asked me why I was dressed like that. Reynaldo promptly replied,<span style="font-style:italic;"> "it's because she's from Argentina!"</span> I don't know where the Argentinian thing came from but he still insists upon it sometimes.<br /><br />We were learning "O" words and one of them was the word, OTTER. Since otters are more of a North American animal most of the kids had never heard of them. So, of course I had to tell them the name in Spanish which is NUTRIA. Once during the course of our class one little boy asked: "what is this animal called in Spanish?" "Nutria" I said. "And in Quechua?" he asked. I was very dubious as to whether there actually was a word for otter in Quechua but sure enough a few days later my roommate said that she was with some friends looking at a book and there was a picture of an otter with its name in Quechua: Qoa!! Who would have thunk it?<br /><br />One little boy, Jared was out of school for several days and finally showed up at school. That day he was very cuddly and gave me all sorts of hugs and rubbed himself up against me. I asked him what he was doing and he said: <span style="font-style:italic;">"I'm trying to give you my fever!"</span> Thanks a lot!<br /><br />We were "cooking" (really just mixing) up oatmeal cookies in my 5 year old class and I had no desire to get flour all over my jacket. So I took it off so that I could simply be in my t-shirt. Something about me taking off my jacket caused quite a reaction with my kids. Maybe it was my blindly white bare arms or just the fact that they hardly see anyone in short sleeves. Ana Sofia exclamed:<span style="font-style:italic;"> "Without shame! And in front of her students!!"</span> <br /><br />Finally, another little glimpse into to the character of Reynaldo. One day, I was bending over trying to fix the pencil sharpener (a constant problem because the kids come with already sharp pencils and jam them into the sharpener, leaving their point behind). The next thing I know Reynaldo is rubbing his face on my shirt. Do you know what he was doing? Using me as his human Kleenex!! Ugh….<br /><br />That's me teacher/human kleenex!!!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-23234123155473385862008-04-12T19:08:00.003-04:002008-11-13T02:53:22.110-05:00An Eggcellent PASCUAEaster is not a big thing in Peru. <br /><br />There are no great Easter Sunday celebrations. No children enjoying Easter egg hunts. No giant chocolate bunnies for sale. No Easter bonnets and Sunday best. There are no plastic eggs and Easter grass and definitely no Peeps. <br /><br />Bummer...<br /><br />It's the week leading up to Easter that is more celebrated here. It's called Holy Week (Semana Santa). There's a special meal that is served on Friday but not even the Evangelical churches do much on Easter Sunday. We had two days off school but nothing much was planned for Sunday. <br /><br />You might think that all this would be a recipe for a pretty miserable celebration of Easter but you are forgetting one thing!! That missionaries can create their own celebrations. Thus begins the tale of my Easter celebrating.<br /><br />It started with "E" week at school. Conveniently, Miss Carrie could celebrate "Eggs" and "Easter" with her kids!! So, we dyed Easter eggs at school (despite the fact that I couldn't find food dye anywhere when it normally is available). Ella (my North American student) was the envy of her fellow students with her brightly colored eggs. You see, she was the only one who brought white eggs! I didn't even think about asking my kids to bring white eggs. They are available here but not as common as brown eggs and brown eggs are what most people use. I also did the "resurrection eggs" with my kids. I talked too much in Spanish during that but I think it's better for them to understand the Easter story more than hearing English.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXBemg5hRzjRE46oGPKqgTNwWyaY1LulOq2JagyM1qHH3WteQLdmvT5FH_7Tm4uEAhDh20pfjvcEzOATz2ofvvAMLvOcHyurwpHI_Eb_rJ3w30CRE5g8EnNg1F9AiIj903ppesg/s1600-h/IMG_4495.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXBemg5hRzjRE46oGPKqgTNwWyaY1LulOq2JagyM1qHH3WteQLdmvT5FH_7Tm4uEAhDh20pfjvcEzOATz2ofvvAMLvOcHyurwpHI_Eb_rJ3w30CRE5g8EnNg1F9AiIj903ppesg/s400/IMG_4495.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194796048607407794" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Josué and the boys' eggs!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3wOGwgn-2EE_DyB6qC7IHry2Uwx1oq3qeSQBcoT2Jt9N36CyVgHbSw8r4AoSOPjqKlY9uS1GpgGEmyDP4v_0OWWwNAzkFknc6daQbv74Ht2fGs1oqjjowhKPKtn3eZdyQLBDng/s1600-h/IMG_4493.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3wOGwgn-2EE_DyB6qC7IHry2Uwx1oq3qeSQBcoT2Jt9N36CyVgHbSw8r4AoSOPjqKlY9uS1GpgGEmyDP4v_0OWWwNAzkFknc6daQbv74Ht2fGs1oqjjowhKPKtn3eZdyQLBDng/s400/IMG_4493.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194796052902375106" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Ella and Ester color while waiting for their eggs to dye.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBaxHbq6wbVKOBnLguFqTFMC1wOI0dqf0G0cS8HeYfbe3tUJnUtTVt111-d8wdkOtwOYZ_MwSCOtUIgn1fpYaoh2JngaisLwP_sWbw4MW5-mA8ASwWHtgMoCHWUkytM9zlddKlg/s1600-h/IMG_4496.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBaxHbq6wbVKOBnLguFqTFMC1wOI0dqf0G0cS8HeYfbe3tUJnUtTVt111-d8wdkOtwOYZ_MwSCOtUIgn1fpYaoh2JngaisLwP_sWbw4MW5-mA8ASwWHtgMoCHWUkytM9zlddKlg/s400/IMG_4496.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194796061492309714" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">"Eeeeeehhhhhh!!! EASTER!!" <span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Another egg dyeing event happened with my friend Luz on Friday. It was her first time dyeing eggs and I think she really enjoyed herself but she had a question: "What do you do with the eggs afterwards?" My answer suddenly felt very silly: "well, you eat them, of course!" We also made Calzones which was very fun and funny because you know the word for underwear in Spanish is spelt just the same way. So, we had fun trying to think of a different way to say the word.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TIg7CnilJhPfdq9Y73_bUOjDaNrIp5zkR3ofkQEicm3ocN4J0EBkiMmB2KfwDTcGeqBj8wTgfjhBFhWnrFFQPSTJGt7bXtAhb9xdr3q4e_MP-CPECTyKLMhgpHlTxVXQC8xNSA/s1600-h/DSCN3340.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TIg7CnilJhPfdq9Y73_bUOjDaNrIp5zkR3ofkQEicm3ocN4J0EBkiMmB2KfwDTcGeqBj8wTgfjhBFhWnrFFQPSTJGt7bXtAhb9xdr3q4e_MP-CPECTyKLMhgpHlTxVXQC8xNSA/s400/DSCN3340.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194796065787277026" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Dyeing eggs with Luz and Bethany (I didn't use my camera - I'm really not trying to be vain).</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQxcnn1YSmvKd4X3ga9dZgxbxzpAMUku2QL24wk0yAQasXwJEML_kAz-XyNEAGCW8u6_pcuFqhIuYC0kbOCoynL1O2uSjWNOZRuE3hZerkSZAmWm857c0ebexHUU0bWXBw_5HlA/s1600-h/DSCN3342.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQxcnn1YSmvKd4X3ga9dZgxbxzpAMUku2QL24wk0yAQasXwJEML_kAz-XyNEAGCW8u6_pcuFqhIuYC0kbOCoynL1O2uSjWNOZRuE3hZerkSZAmWm857c0ebexHUU0bWXBw_5HlA/s400/DSCN3342.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194797912623214322" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Luz laughs about making "calzones."</span><br /><br />Friday afternoon there was a Seder meal at the Shultz's house and just about all the people on our team participated. It was very fun because every person even the kids had their parts to read during the whole meal. One of the best moments was washing each others' hands. The littlest people at the table (Abby and Ella) had to be helped but it really was a special time. It's amazing how the Seder meal is filled with so much meaning. Unfortunately, I think too many of our "evangelical" traditions are not filled with enough meaning! Anyway, after drinking about 8 glasses of grape juice, dipping matza in vinegar, eating radish, apple salad and eggs we ended the time with a spontaneous romp around the table to some Jewishy sounding praise song.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhy6Q94gk2nXn8sul68rwAwekYx3Ikmtbzv7sTRbokanOnxsb792kh_apDMGCnNn-2tferKC5DcxqKq1FchjbaAU3XTEgHJHNPqEvp1dD15lJYH4ZeKGfF9edjhs4_OzuDZotp1g/s1600-h/IMG_4502.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhy6Q94gk2nXn8sul68rwAwekYx3Ikmtbzv7sTRbokanOnxsb792kh_apDMGCnNn-2tferKC5DcxqKq1FchjbaAU3XTEgHJHNPqEvp1dD15lJYH4ZeKGfF9edjhs4_OzuDZotp1g/s400/IMG_4502.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194797934098050850" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Ella finds all the hidden leaven bread hidden in the Shultz's house during the Seder meal.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YZcQubMi4MKWn1PISj_Ai-90ORZNzsUENJ-UQlGTEMJvHKwWV5JCjdyherrvc_hH2mtAiEuN1aml63HyvbrSvFaUYWzjBIAhgYTjbkKCLD4ZTj8QH1ED4U5BVcLT_KWSdM73qw/s1600-h/IMG_4507.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YZcQubMi4MKWn1PISj_Ai-90ORZNzsUENJ-UQlGTEMJvHKwWV5JCjdyherrvc_hH2mtAiEuN1aml63HyvbrSvFaUYWzjBIAhgYTjbkKCLD4ZTj8QH1ED4U5BVcLT_KWSdM73qw/s400/IMG_4507.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194797916918181634" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Ron and Regina read about the significance of the lamb bone.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9jcNhS4hWL4H5LGVwk1ce9-uZ56fCbHBo4fe5ihHqMWFAtiLqj_aawxMLXAWpeMF_1TOFmi0a__CifF2kiozlq3Hlcm_kDxChG3d4NzrD78Gq3rnDt7O6oXamEMPZahmulqUSQ/s1600-h/IMG_4515.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9jcNhS4hWL4H5LGVwk1ce9-uZ56fCbHBo4fe5ihHqMWFAtiLqj_aawxMLXAWpeMF_1TOFmi0a__CifF2kiozlq3Hlcm_kDxChG3d4NzrD78Gq3rnDt7O6oXamEMPZahmulqUSQ/s400/IMG_4515.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194797925508116242" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">As part of the Seder, everyone dips their egg in vinegar before eating.</span><br /><br /><br />On Sunday I taught the youngest class for Sunday school. We had a celebration party for Jesus and I handed out twisty balloons in the shapes of crosses. It was so much fun to be able to celebrate with the kids! After church the missionaries got together for a yummy meal at the Kreiders' house. Dulce Refugio brought deviled eggs, carrot jello salad (some of the kids who looked at it in disdain at first did end up liking it!), strawberry pie and peanut butter eggs. Oh, I forgot, making peanut butter eggs was another part of the whole Easter celebration. Mmmmm.... they sure were yummy!<br /><br />After our delicious meal we had an egg hunt in the Kreiders' backyard. I had fun helping to hide the eggs... my favorite spot was in the rubber gloves hanging on the line. hee hee... So the kids: ages 2.5 - 16 had their egg hunt and eventually found all the candy filled eggs. They even shared with us poor candy-less adults. We played an egg cracking contest with each other and sang some Easter songs. It really was a wonderful afternoon and maybe more fun than my normal quiet Easter afternoons with my small family back home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWFGQ6NvnsGqxOmie3dtBlJngtqI0k-X3T1wm2Chm749ZQpbVwYsJsApsqHbqmbj7xc1nOtNLEXkX7Sj1FsPBSg9svCl0E6bdbRDidQE3Ry4TEWPTIMnljkMsJHNpbe4BbFpg4FQ/s1600-h/IMG_4544.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWFGQ6NvnsGqxOmie3dtBlJngtqI0k-X3T1wm2Chm749ZQpbVwYsJsApsqHbqmbj7xc1nOtNLEXkX7Sj1FsPBSg9svCl0E6bdbRDidQE3Ry4TEWPTIMnljkMsJHNpbe4BbFpg4FQ/s400/IMG_4544.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194806687241400114" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeiixJfhVd5DQFMfsWKM7EWcRI3vEFh8Byz1UTU-TONO3mrogqnolpFJwwHKB-wSgftpdAuZAmVmfOkQ3tX13awIAaWGIN5eJUtuUbL4BNtmePbHQgUYnaBVqAgsBmuNRuT1KRw/s1600-h/DSCN3423.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeiixJfhVd5DQFMfsWKM7EWcRI3vEFh8Byz1UTU-TONO3mrogqnolpFJwwHKB-wSgftpdAuZAmVmfOkQ3tX13awIAaWGIN5eJUtuUbL4BNtmePbHQgUYnaBVqAgsBmuNRuT1KRw/s400/DSCN3423.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194806695831334722" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Singing Easter "carols" together.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiBJfnQK_IoQjnnaifRKsoJpehjBiek635RLkcSgS4WmFPJLDQw51M7V9N-VUdGRlE6GbW-wOKk56DmArm0U80G6hSOZ8jEz6cgEQSixRlVjVml7rzOBngUNNZDhajN8qKRWGig/s1600-h/IMG_4545.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiBJfnQK_IoQjnnaifRKsoJpehjBiek635RLkcSgS4WmFPJLDQw51M7V9N-VUdGRlE6GbW-wOKk56DmArm0U80G6hSOZ8jEz6cgEQSixRlVjVml7rzOBngUNNZDhajN8qKRWGig/s400/IMG_4545.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194806700126302034" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Bethany and Jen try to see whose egg will crack in our egg cracking contest.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tuqg31q9nwp4jfc8M3O9ZljkFmZZRrwF6MwzjRNvnKlHeyqaZi9_xeLg5FSVrcf9OtyuEqBpgze4fAVpeF3OKv8JFm7JF43qX7Rf7EXC2Ca-xL084dO-AuWK9TxsWbcCfT28tA/s1600-h/DSCN3377.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tuqg31q9nwp4jfc8M3O9ZljkFmZZRrwF6MwzjRNvnKlHeyqaZi9_xeLg5FSVrcf9OtyuEqBpgze4fAVpeF3OKv8JFm7JF43qX7Rf7EXC2Ca-xL084dO-AuWK9TxsWbcCfT28tA/s400/DSCN3377.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194806704421269346" /></a><br /><br />So, despite living in a country that doesn't really celebrate Easter, we ended up having a fantastic Easter after all. It was filled with fun and meaningful traditions and even some of our Peruvian friends got to join in with our festivities.<br /><br />YEAH!!!<br /><br />JESUS IS ALIVE!!!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-20328561151239253272008-04-12T18:26:00.003-04:002008-11-13T02:53:23.449-05:00Grand Adventures in the Great Outdoors<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjblbyUpH2AGY0ag5EwnNgfvIzXadohDBGSp_hvge-a-5FX3ny6PQgoBcVQ-PhdSNLmJJ_odl96Qg_4Ttrkwon6AzhI2qVO2i8qIWCSKcEzCYrINIMEgoLOaY9UNuaXbahiV-cw/s1600-h/IMG_4456.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjblbyUpH2AGY0ag5EwnNgfvIzXadohDBGSp_hvge-a-5FX3ny6PQgoBcVQ-PhdSNLmJJ_odl96Qg_4Ttrkwon6AzhI2qVO2i8qIWCSKcEzCYrINIMEgoLOaY9UNuaXbahiV-cw/s400/IMG_4456.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194813494764564418" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1p25AnBX05blXdk5uUZzZzhCxkeu3ZNns8HtAO93z92BiY3MW0al5w_4z6XINgTFOp8OldzaJ-lHWLU4EuxSPnPl8RqfgdcyqFUZkk6ME-3dAYsIF9rtx5lV3pOBJ5rzvI9YMw/s1600-h/IMG_0768.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1p25AnBX05blXdk5uUZzZzhCxkeu3ZNns8HtAO93z92BiY3MW0al5w_4z6XINgTFOp8OldzaJ-lHWLU4EuxSPnPl8RqfgdcyqFUZkk6ME-3dAYsIF9rtx5lV3pOBJ5rzvI9YMw/s400/IMG_0768.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194809728078245810" /></a><br /><br />One Saturday in March, the gals of Dulce Refugio went out for a paseo. "What is a <span style="font-style:italic;">paseo</span>?" you say? Well, my dear friend it is an outing most often in the country or somewhere where there is a patch of green grass. You could possibly have a paseo in somebody's backyard if you wanted. The main point is to get out in the great outdoors and enjoy some fresh air. <br /><br />This particular paseo was a trip out to Lucre with some of the youth from the Huacarpay Mennonite Church. The plan was to go fishing and cook out in the open countryside. Well, it started with several delays. First we had to find some other sort of meat option (in case there were no trout), then we had to track down some choclo (corn) and then when we were already on our way, someone had to go find some matches. Oops! Well, we walked for about 45 minutes from the small pueblo of Lucre out into the beautiful countryside. It wasn't too long of a trip but felt longer for the pots, pans, meat, fruit and choclo that we were lugging along with us!! <br /><br />The trip ended by crossing the river twice. We had to take off our shoes and hang on desperately to each other as we crossed with the water rushing around us!! woohoo!! On the way we saw some people washing their sheep in the river. Poor sheep! Scrub-a-dub baa baaa!! We found a patch of grass were we put our stuff down. While the boys went fishing we set up our "stove" out of rocks and collected firewood to start cooking chicken and choclo. There was also a trip to find some capuli trees. Capuli is a type of small cherry like fruit. It's kind of bitter but our paseo buddies were very excited about picking and eating them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlzcxAmmEs9usskvSkZN0kOMCYABW3dvU-0cPF3irPm1u9Iro5E6I4u8__KQ5fKnoI4ZpjwnudQ-4TzyisaKdSnJ46PWG8zLgIFtadZ1TuxsAjI1lqhRyPxt9ARycnsr5mXz6VQ/s1600-h/IMG_0755.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlzcxAmmEs9usskvSkZN0kOMCYABW3dvU-0cPF3irPm1u9Iro5E6I4u8__KQ5fKnoI4ZpjwnudQ-4TzyisaKdSnJ46PWG8zLgIFtadZ1TuxsAjI1lqhRyPxt9ARycnsr5mXz6VQ/s400/IMG_0755.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194809710898376594" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Crossing the stream!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YCEKddyaK2Vfh_O5PmBvqc7fV0MmmVTyJy7E5hqv7YMoCURCuMZO5F9kU0DIIvMkeYEkD5XzWRRvJDmOBbLEdCFnUpK9ycTBB8eWzpb2gULxiZrPpckFwUbuQeUOXmBowbJRuQ/s1600-h/IMG_0734.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YCEKddyaK2Vfh_O5PmBvqc7fV0MmmVTyJy7E5hqv7YMoCURCuMZO5F9kU0DIIvMkeYEkD5XzWRRvJDmOBbLEdCFnUpK9ycTBB8eWzpb2gULxiZrPpckFwUbuQeUOXmBowbJRuQ/s400/IMG_0734.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194809702308441986" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Rosa picks some capuli.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdxloRwoAPWcXFdpRIx_UmVs_mxw1NGTTqZM0JN4P_atF_-6kR8Qw-A3ZS1Bxk7MoJP-sOyNPp7cJs48c9koVIiev45itUkreQtDfLT9BJh5I-akDJQ0jTDQ5N1YWNJQ5CjHWYA/s1600-h/IMG_4471.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdxloRwoAPWcXFdpRIx_UmVs_mxw1NGTTqZM0JN4P_atF_-6kR8Qw-A3ZS1Bxk7MoJP-sOyNPp7cJs48c9koVIiev45itUkreQtDfLT9BJh5I-akDJQ0jTDQ5N1YWNJQ5CjHWYA/s400/IMG_4471.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194813503354499026" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Bethany and Juana clean the chicken before cooking.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPx1xH0ohiltc-vzgX-dR2VFFQkEfHtgt2FtBLPBhc2rvA6F8ytuRQYnwdK7aS7dCBBUUg1cUAzDz4-fPSGBFeJuKP8KHSZvP2IwjwSTux0FE3c9r3dZfqvLyxbRHVdFAMrVo9FQ/s1600-h/IMG_4472.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPx1xH0ohiltc-vzgX-dR2VFFQkEfHtgt2FtBLPBhc2rvA6F8ytuRQYnwdK7aS7dCBBUUg1cUAzDz4-fPSGBFeJuKP8KHSZvP2IwjwSTux0FE3c9r3dZfqvLyxbRHVdFAMrVo9FQ/s400/IMG_4472.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194813507649466338" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Wilma starts a fire with leaves and sticks.</span><br /><br />It was a very good thing we brought chicken because in the end there was no trout. The chicken, choclo and cheese was very yummy and I don't think anyone went hungry! We ended up leaving very quickly because the sky started to look very stormy. We went back to Lucre on a fun skinny path above the river (trying to avoid any more crossing). Along the way the sky cleared up and we stopped by some capuli trees (which were once again the attention of the group). Most of the people climbed the trees to pick the fruit. We played "sticks" there under the capuli trees. I say "sticks" because we had no spoons to play "spoons" with!! Then the sky started to look dark and stormy again so we headed back to Lucre.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfLEkAI98FeVr4Qd2Kwo7dbrbedruhMtsksPqFP_x3UPEXU9q4HFroLtCfrVzPh-GCH4KBxHjf_16ZBpx9T8rQcQx5BQBLVpRHEfKMl0BiXQNP2WIQHeVJhQuRONpw8Rconsa9w/s1600-h/IMG_0766.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfLEkAI98FeVr4Qd2Kwo7dbrbedruhMtsksPqFP_x3UPEXU9q4HFroLtCfrVzPh-GCH4KBxHjf_16ZBpx9T8rQcQx5BQBLVpRHEfKMl0BiXQNP2WIQHeVJhQuRONpw8Rconsa9w/s400/IMG_0766.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194809715193343906" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Eating our yummy <br />lunch!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC1GsP8k7-SRZ1RGSjoDBi277h4cnqSkBzusL4lttshCZ7Dyph70PzLec6dc866JRgS7UurggbXzcg4s6iu4F5Et7YCzohsCsqb1gGC0aA9gUAB4zWEuXITpcw80HnkphyphenhyphenuJsmA/s1600-h/IMG_4486.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC1GsP8k7-SRZ1RGSjoDBi277h4cnqSkBzusL4lttshCZ7Dyph70PzLec6dc866JRgS7UurggbXzcg4s6iu4F5Et7YCzohsCsqb1gGC0aA9gUAB4zWEuXITpcw80HnkphyphenhyphenuJsmA/s400/IMG_4486.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194813511944433650" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Trying to pet the clean sheep.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYV75gChy6lCsdjtPvYi9cUxUD3Pm0Tq4NOZyO8LsxURqP3-NH_lHS9Y9ArOIMCPfM36XrwFrUHLoKSzbTEjjQssigShp00eQ2ueN7fJVE8bBDSZuXi8zxCSe8zKapMFR29F5f3w/s1600-h/DSCN3321.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYV75gChy6lCsdjtPvYi9cUxUD3Pm0Tq4NOZyO8LsxURqP3-NH_lHS9Y9ArOIMCPfM36XrwFrUHLoKSzbTEjjQssigShp00eQ2ueN7fJVE8bBDSZuXi8zxCSe8zKapMFR29F5f3w/s400/DSCN3321.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194809698013474674" /></a><br /><br />It was a wonderful end to a wonderful day out in the Great Outdoors!!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-70366072528831838752008-04-12T18:11:00.002-04:002008-04-12T18:20:19.908-04:00WAIT (a poem)This is a poem that my mom sent me recently. She got it from a lady who is an inmate in the prison where my mom works with a prison ministry. I think you would have to know a lot about waiting if you were in a prison. Even though I'm not in a prison, this poem still spoke to me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WAIT</span><br />by Russell Kelfer<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried; <br />Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied. <br />I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . . <br />And the Master so gently said, "Wait." <br /><br />"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply. <br />"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!<br />Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?<br />By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word. <br />"My future and all to which I relate <br />Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait? <br />I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign, <br />Or even a 'no' to which I can resign. <br />"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, <br />We need but to ask, and we shall receive. <br />And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:<br />I'm weary of asking! I need a reply." <br />Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, <br />As my Master replied again, "Wait." <br />So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, <br />And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?" <br />He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . . <br />and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign. <br />I could shake the heavens and darken the sun. <br />I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.<br />"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be. <br />You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me. <br />You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint. <br />You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.<br />"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;<br />You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.<br />You'd not know the joy of resting in Me<br />When darkness and silence are all you can see.<br />"You'd never experience the fullness of love<br />When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.<br />You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,<br />But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.<br />"The glow of my comfort late into the night,<br />The faith that I give when you walk without sight.<br />The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask<br />From an infinite God who makes what you have last.<br />"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,<br />What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.<br />Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,<br />But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.<br />"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see<br />That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.<br />And though oft My answers seem terribly late,<br />My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."</span><br /><br />© 1980 Russell Kelfer. All rights reservedCakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-28481657644097512872008-03-06T16:41:00.003-05:002008-11-13T02:53:23.645-05:00My Little Police Lady<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHrkRIw-aUm0m0oQhSr5pd0WZbRsvlH4D88vt6PnyQNuIFx-FOioJgN4DjO8XYabcn2gMlDNciEZn09IpuYDPGZmN_h1XpP9YxkzYDRwfsPW-8nbn0WzBFPisqBtekIt1InaQNw/s1600-h/IMG_4521.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHrkRIw-aUm0m0oQhSr5pd0WZbRsvlH4D88vt6PnyQNuIFx-FOioJgN4DjO8XYabcn2gMlDNciEZn09IpuYDPGZmN_h1XpP9YxkzYDRwfsPW-8nbn0WzBFPisqBtekIt1InaQNw/s400/IMG_4521.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188488392813098978" /></a><br /><br />My biggest problem with teaching English is compassion. I'm too compassionate. If I see a poor little face staring up at me that understands absolutely nothing I have said then I feel bad for the poor little one. So I start talking in Spanish....<br /><br />Talking in Spanish is just not a good idea if you are trying to teach English to children who probably won't hear it anywhere but in your classroom!! Oh dear... what should I do about my compassion problem?? <br /><br />Let's introduce my little police lady! Her name is Ella and she is my neighbor and the 4 yr old daughter of the newest members of my missionary team. Her parents are both doctors who are going to be developing health programs with the Mennonite church here. Ella is in my 5 yr old kindergarten class at PROMESA and she is fluent in English (though not yet in Spanish). What does one do with such a little person in their English class?<br /><br />Daaaaaaa Dummmmmmmmm...... Presenting the English Police! <br /><br />Yes, Ella is my English police lady. Her job is to watch to see if Miss Carrie is speaking too much in Spanish during her English class. Ella is very strict with this and had to tell me yesterday three times that I was talking too much in Spanish. She is my accountability and for fear of Ella, I have started talking much more in English. Today, I did practically my whole English class in English with only a few Spanish words thrown in!! The good thing about kindergarten is that the lesson is usually pretty simple so it's not like I have to explain complicated things in English that they wouldn't understand. <br /><br />So, thanks to my little police lady, compassion is taking a back seat and English is in the driver's seat. It's great that Ella has an important job to do that will keep her from being bored in my class. I hope she doesn't stop anytime soon because it really is helping. I wish she would come visit my four year old class!Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32037469.post-51051573406426546402008-02-24T19:42:00.004-05:002008-11-13T02:53:24.411-05:00Green Gables Meets Dulce Refugio<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEP3tnF_bugXHsOc4cWbdcNmLbg6tipn98-3dne66S_Litj1ayGJ3vEILzND4UUgdl6VzzbiFnA_GTverFRAmgsSITBZwQUS5ZmGywu9Ll9QWJ0lOISCdnRFva6eZSYocZ7wfOg/s1600-h/IMG_0398.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEP3tnF_bugXHsOc4cWbdcNmLbg6tipn98-3dne66S_Litj1ayGJ3vEILzND4UUgdl6VzzbiFnA_GTverFRAmgsSITBZwQUS5ZmGywu9Ll9QWJ0lOISCdnRFva6eZSYocZ7wfOg/s400/IMG_0398.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171389111019587650" /></a><br /><br />It all started because Dulce Refugio houses the only VCR in the Mennonite missionary community. Destiny and Hannah (two of the teenage missionary daughters) really wanted to watch the Anne of Green Gables videos that they had inherited from the previous inhabitants of our house. So I said: "let's have a sleepover and watch them!" Then Carletta (our Wycliffe missionary friend from up the hill) wanted to see them too. Then Hannah and Destiny's younger sisters wanted to be a part and so did Hannah's mom (Regina), our neighbor Jen and her two little girls. Before we knew it a simple using of the VCR turned into an all out:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ANNE OF GREEN GABLES PARTY</span><br /><br />So, what does one do at such a party? Well, obviously you watch Anne of Green Gables! We decided to stylize our party with various foods that Anne would have eaten. Regina made a delicious plum pudding and caramel sauce (without any dead mice) and a raspberry tart. Dulce Refugio provided chocolate chip cookies shaped like teapots and raspberry cordial (the non-alcoholic kind). Well, I didn't have any raspberries but I did have a Lady Hannah berry tea (thank you Cheryl and the Spice Smuggler) that made a very yummy cold drink that was very berry-like. We also ate rice crispie treats, popcorn balls, oatmeal cookies, small chicken salad sandwiches and regular popcorn. Tea was available for anyone interested. I brought down all my hats and we all got to wear them during our fun movie watching experience.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel-m_RQCuIGKNtK1CEBvdKxdd_Sb5ES8JCtOxO21gTCqdV4Fzqw4_jJ-qpHLE-jxwpH0MwH3lvtoymTop986MLmnoUIJ9haN9DgUMIFadQ91V5Kp94yyv2r53WzXmgg-tCKi48A/s1600-h/DSCN3198_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel-m_RQCuIGKNtK1CEBvdKxdd_Sb5ES8JCtOxO21gTCqdV4Fzqw4_jJ-qpHLE-jxwpH0MwH3lvtoymTop986MLmnoUIJ9haN9DgUMIFadQ91V5Kp94yyv2r53WzXmgg-tCKi48A/s400/DSCN3198_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170751054973061122" /></a><br /><br />After the first video, the younger girls and moms all left and the rest of us watched the other video. Anne of Green Gables truly is a wonderful classic and it's lovely to watch it anytime. Our party (however) really made movie watching a super special and important occasion.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_lwIsNunZlfMpH2WOD1w5mVLUVe_CMYT-pcuEDr4ZWydWxdzna6WLm-UWGzfaY14U6Nh0PSdrOKyIInzqcV5yac5_PkLlUoKIIzl2qK6245Yca_JAS8xxMcs55SHhc1Ow3ha6A/s1600-h/IMG_0395.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_lwIsNunZlfMpH2WOD1w5mVLUVe_CMYT-pcuEDr4ZWydWxdzna6WLm-UWGzfaY14U6Nh0PSdrOKyIInzqcV5yac5_PkLlUoKIIzl2qK6245Yca_JAS8xxMcs55SHhc1Ow3ha6A/s400/IMG_0395.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171389102429653042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-2vJB90IblB8XT8wJAlf__Yb4vyWy9bJ5mj8p28Ro8Q-qD8Uij2nObvwF-3XQcKo8KiACQDMPPn7cT4As6HQXWsI0vjAYh7veLdAIbuccAHvPj1qxTGLGY3L2WrS1M0pCbw24Q/s1600-h/IMG_0402.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-2vJB90IblB8XT8wJAlf__Yb4vyWy9bJ5mj8p28Ro8Q-qD8Uij2nObvwF-3XQcKo8KiACQDMPPn7cT4As6HQXWsI0vjAYh7veLdAIbuccAHvPj1qxTGLGY3L2WrS1M0pCbw24Q/s400/IMG_0402.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171389119609522258" /></a><br /><br />We have two more videos to watch. I guess the question then should be: When is our Anne of Avonlea Party???Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13382957132748188990noreply@blogger.com4