Q is for Queen

Disclaimer: this post does not have any silly stories, intelligent words or spiritually uplifting content - just cute pictures

A couple of weeks ago we worked on the letter Q and one of our WORDS OF THE WEEK was QUEEN!! Here are some pictures of the kids from my 5 yr old class with the cute crowns they made. Thanks to Jenny V for sending this project in one of her graciously huge packages!


King Fabricio, Queen Canela and King Alex


Queen Acsa


King Carlos and King Edwin


Queen Alisson and Queen Ivanna

Adventures in High Altitude Cooking: Bagels!

I don't know who invented bagels but they were pretty creative. Think about it... why would create a bread with a hole in the middle? Maybe to make you think you were eating a donut except without all the calories? I'm not sure but when I first heard about how to make bagels I was pretty intrigued and ever since then I've had the urge to try my hand at bagel boiling.

So, here I am in Cusco, Peru where bagels do not really exist. Sure there is a little bagel shop (owned by an Israeli man)downtown on "Gringo Alley" but it's expensive and not conveniently located near to me. There are plenty of different types of fresh breads available at the local bread shops: wheat braided bread, cornmeal bread, cibiatta bread, lengua de suerga (mother-in-law's tongue), french bread, quinoa bread and baguette bread but NO BAGELS.

Thankfully, I'm a brave type who likes baking adventures. The first time I got my recipe online for bagels. They turned out a little flat but made okay bagel pizzas (my original plan for those holey bagels). There is a Wycliffe missionary in town who is a fantastic baker and cooker and I found out that bagels are a regular occurance at her house. Well, I got my next recipe for bagels in an email from her. These turned out much better but I was still confused about how long the had to stay in the boiling water. Well, I think they are getting better everytime. So far I've tried: plain, oatmeal, cinnamon raisin and wheat bagels. I think the plain and raisin have turned out the best. YUMMMM!!!! Here are the step by step pics and instructions.

Making Bagels!!


Step 1: Mix together 1 Tbl. Yeast, 3 Tbl. Sugar, 1 tsp. Salt & 1 cup of warm water. Add 2 1/2 cups of flour to this and knead it for 8-10 min. Leave your ball of dough in warm place to rise for 30-40 min.


Step 2: Form dough into 8 peices and form balls. Stick your thumb in the middle to form holes and let these babies rise for 20 more minutes.


Step 3: Boil water with 1 Tbl. of oil and add 2 or 3 bagels at a time to the water for a few seconds. Next take the sopping wet bagels out carefully and drain them on paper towels (this is the messiest part of the whole process).


Step 4: Bake the bagels on greased and floured cookie sheets at 400 F for 30-35 minutes and the bottoms are nicely browned.


Step 5: Slice and enjoy with some expensive cream cheese or make a delicious egg sandwich!!! yum!!!

Enter into My Rest

I'm HAPPY!

Everyday I go around and ask each of my students: "How are you?" The answers can be: Happy, Sad, Angry, Tired, Sick or Excited. I draw faces for each of the responses and we count "how many happy?" "how many sick?" and etc. It's very fun but each of the classes has taken on their own niche. The four year olds have recently all been ANGRY and they are very good at coming up with their reasons "why" such as "Miguel hit me" or "my mom made me cry." The five year olds on the other hand don't seem to be quite creative with explanations and just stare at you when you ask "why?" They like to collaborate as a table and have the same answer and try to win with the most of a certain face. Recently everyone in the five year old class has been HAPPY (even Alex who has been angry for most of the year). How can a teacher complain when her students are HAPPY??

Now they all are excited to have the chance to ask me: "how are you, Miss Carrie?"

My answer today friends is: I'm Happy!!

I'm happy because I have a weekend without plans. I'm happy because I have time to rest and relax and enjoy time alone!!! I'm excited because the government is having a census tomorrow and we all have to stay in our houses and not go out. Yay!!!! Last night I had such a fun time working on my school stuff, making an elaborate sandwich with chicken and guacamole and watching "Sense and Sensibility." AHHHHHHHHHHHHH....... BIG SIGH....

Sometimes you don't realize that you are emotionally stressed or drained until you stop for a moment. This morning I realized that I have been stressed by some hard things recently and that I REALLY needed to stop and have some time to myself. I think that's why God gives us a Sabbath rest...it's a time to stop and reflect and find new strength in the Lord. Thank you Lord for weekend REST!!!

"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." Matthew 11: 28-30

The Calling of the Missionary (and average Christian)

I have been thinking recently about my calling as a missionary here in Peru. Here I have left behind many things in my culture to come live and serve in this place. I am committed to living, working and serving with the people here. I didn't come to Cusco first, check it out and then decide that it was the best place to serve. I just came because I knew that God was calling me to come. There's a lot of trust in that and also the possibility of your commitment crashing with the reality of the situation.

We are always going to face problems and encounter immature and imperfect people in our path. The problem with being a Christian is that we cannot just write those people off. The even more complicated problem for a missionary is the commitment to serving the church and the people and the culture. What if the person who is in authority over you makes unwise decisions that don't seem to be led by the Spirit? As missionaries here we work with and under the authority of the local church. We live a delicate balance as people who are from the outside but working under the national church. We have an outside perspective and can sometimes see the problems for what they are but we also are not the ultimate authority. The purpose of missions is to raise up a national church that can function and flourish on its own. That's the point and that's what we are trying to get to in Cusco.

So, like all things that are in transitions there's such a thing as growing pains. I've recently had one of those type of growing pain situations - where I clashed with my authority and found him to be an imperfect human functioning in a leader role. What will my response be? I cannot give up on the Mennonite church here because of a bad situation or because people have let me down. I must seek restoration, I must seek redemption and I must press forward in the work with optimism. I am committed to the work and I am sent to serve here.

That seems like a very self-sacrificing missionary minded thing to say but I think it's actually closer to what God calls the "average" Christian to as well. God does not call us as Christians to work under spotlessly perfect situations or authority figures. Sometimes we face situations and people in the church that could discourage us from continuing to work and serve in the body. Those with the character of Christ will continue to press on and love those who've hurt of disappoint them. That is the calling of everyone who calls himself a "Christian" - to look like Christ and to love like Christ.

So my prayer in this situation is to respond in love and humility. I cannot do it in my own strength but with the strength of Christ I can do all things! AMEN!!!

Peruvian Birthday Celebrations

I'm another year older and I've spent my first birthday in Peru! Yay!

Birthday celebrations started on Thursday when the PROMESA teachers got together to celebrate the September birthdays. We had lunch together at the Shultz's and my wonderful cook made a yummy meal of Peruvian chicken and rice and fruit pizza. There were three of us that had September bdays: Me, Ruth & Illari!! As a birthday gift I recieved my very first Peruvian hat!!!



The birthday gals: Me, Illari & Ruth

Another special part of my birthday was a bicycle trip to Ollantaytambo with my friend, Juan Miguel. We rode our bikes from Urubamba (about an hour outside of Cusco in the Sacred Valley) to Ollantaytambo. The Sacred Valley is so beautiful with the river and hills and mountains!!! We took some dirt paths and although our bikes were made for such paths, my body was not. I was so sore and tired by the end. I don't think it's a good idea to take a 3 hr bike ride after not riding one for over a year. By the time we got to Ollantaytambo we were walking our bikes around on the cobblestone roads. The town is so cool with its original stone walls and streets and water system! We also hiked up to view some ruins and enjoyed a yummy lunch. Don't worry, we took the public transportation back instead of riding our bikes. I had a really great day but I can't imagine being able to make it back alive on bike.

Who are these crazy people?

The long and beautiful bike ride.

The beautiful Sacred River in the Sacred Valley!

Me and Juan enjoying a yummy lunch in Ollantaytambo. Either the food was really good or we were _really_ hungry!!

We passed a little girl crying in the street and we cheered her up by taking this photo.

Ollantaytambo and its stones and water system and me!

On Sunday (the actual day of my birthday) we had a small party in my house with friends from church and school. Dawn made an Oreo cheesecake that was delicious and we had all kinds of goodies thanks to my friend's package (ie swedish fish and reeses peices - thanks Jen!!). We played Dutch Blitz and people were in my house from 3 until 8:30pm!! It was a very nice way to celebrate my birthday!!! Yay! thanks to all my new friends who made my birthday special this year!

Integrity Restored

When I first got to Peru I was a little shocked at the abundance of pirated materials. In Cusco there are no Blockbusters or movie theaters but there are plenty of pirated dvds. There are dvds for movies that have not ever been released to disc (true they were copied from the movie theater). I'm not even sure where you can buy the original dvds here in Cusco.

The same is true with music and books. On street corners and in shopping areas are every kind of music and recording that you might be looking for. And copying entire books is a normal thing around here. I remember the first time I received a copy of a photocopied book and thought: how can this be legal?

The sad thing is that these things are even accepted as normal for the Christians here in Cusco. If you are doing a study of a book, then you naturally make copies of the book because it's much cheaper. The Christians buy pirated movies and even pirated Christian music without batting an eyelash.

Enter Carrie into the world of pirated materials.... When I first arrived I was saddened but it didn't take too long to make up excuses and say: "well, that's the culture here..." I didn't want to go out and copy books or buy pirated music but the movies were a different thing. I went out and bought some dvds because I figured that the piraters weren't making too much money and decided that it was more like renting a movie anyway. I wasn't quite sure that I liked the idea but wasn't sure where I could buy "real" movies anyway.

In any case it was all excuses for something that in reality is not pleasing to God. Is it pleasing to God that I become a participant in something that is illegal? Is it right for Christians to join in with what the world does just because it is a cheaper option? If you really sit down and think about it, buying pirated materials is stealing. How can a Christian be blessed by music or books that have been stolen from the original owners? How can we justify things like this? Are we operating with seared consciences just because we don't want to stand for what is right?

Today I was convicted by my sin of giving in to something I knew was wrong all along. I was convicted that God has called me to be a woman of integrity and not give in to the things of the world. I realized that I had been too easily swayed and had allowed excuses to blur something that really was sin.

So, I destroyed all the pirated dvds that I bought.

I didn't really want to do it but the conviction of the Holy Spirit convinced me that it was what I needed to do. I may be living in a culture where pirated things are an every day occasion but I choose from this day forward to stand firm and not give in. What will I do when someone wants me to watch a pirated movie with them or participate in a Bible study with a copied book? I'm not quite sure but I know that I will not willingly buy pirated materials or make complete book copies. God wants me to walk with an integrity of heart where there is nothing keeping me from Him - no sin of any kind that will damage our relationship. I want open lines of communication with my Savior and it's not worth it to make up excuses for sin. May the Lord give me sensitivity to make the right choices that please Him alone!

Baby Shower

You would think that baby showers were a truly North American tradition. After all, no on registers here in Peru and why would you include a tradition of buying gifts in these supposedly "poorer" countries? Surprisingly baby showers do exist in Peru and they are called just the same "baby shower." I don't know why there isn't a Spanish name for this event but there you have it.

I was able to experience my first cross-cultural baby shower last week. This baby shower was for a couple from the San Jeronimo church who are having their first child in a couple of months. It was at their house which was not so easy to find. About five of us got in a taxi with an address and an idea. Unfortunately it was not a very clear idea and we drove to about 3 different places before we found the 3 story house with the balloons. The taxi driver was very patient and we even tried to follow some helpful people's (on the side of the street) suggestions. (side note about asking for directions in Peru: most people will want to be helpful whether they really know the answer or not. You never know if you are getting correct directions.)

The shower followed some standard North American patterns: games, gifts & food. Our game was to do things that a baby would do (some people were better at this than others!). The gifts were not the registered type and there were a lot of blankets with bears. The missionary ladies went in together to buy a walker which looked strangely like a body bag when I tried to wrap it up! The food was snackey stuff like cookies, cheese curls and soda but we also had cake and aji de gallina (a typical dish made with yellow peppers and chicken that is eaten over potatoes, hard boiled eggs and lettuce). The aji was a definite Peruvian touch to the baby shower.

Here are some pictures from the event:

When God Plans Your Friday Night (ie better than karaoke)

I was out for a night on the town with a friend last night when God did something unexpected and amazing! We were walking along the main street downtown (Avenida Sol) and joking around about finding a karaoke place when suddenly we heard a bunch of commotion up ahead. My friend asked a passerby what was going on and we were informed that some drunk lady was making a scene. My friend surprised me by turning to me and saying: "Let's go see if we can help. Usually people in these situations need a lot of prayer."

Now, I may claim to want to be used by God in whatever situation but I normally avoid drunk people. So, with lots of questions I followed my friend to where the woman was standing in the street. She was yelling: "I just want to die!! I just want to die!!!" She had been trying to throw herself in front of oncoming taxis. My friend pulled her from the street and made her sit down. He took a hold of her arms and kept telling her to calm down and that she did not need to end her life. Her husband and small child were there too. It was a great fight to break through this woman's drunk yelling but my friend patiently talked to her and then prayed with her. I just crouched there and started to sing a song of peace over this woman because you could tell that this desire to die was a spiritual oppression. Finally the woman stopped yelling and prayed a prayer with my friend giving Jesus control over her death and life. Afterwards she just kept going on about how she had wanted to die. The husband shared about their sorrows - how close people around them were dying, their close neighbors and family and you could just see the grief as he sat there and cried. I cried with them and we prayed for both of them and they repeated a prayer with my friend surrendering their lives to God!!! What touched me most was that the woman took my hand as we prayed and I could just feel their pain!!

Today we are planning on visiting this couple in their home. My prayer is that God will use the seeds that were planted last night. That He will completely free them from the oppression of death and that from this point onward they will have NEW LIFE!!! Death is swallowed up in victory!!!! AMEN

So the Lord taught me an important lesson last night and I saw Jesus in my friend. He was not afraid to face a difficult situation because he knew that what these people really needed was God's presence. God really used this unexpected event to shake some things up in my heart and make me see my fear. Why should I be afraid when He really wants to use my life to touch others?? Why should I let fear block the work of the Spirit?? Oh Lord, break open my heart that I would love others not just with an idea but practically with tears, prayers and in the middle of where they are at!!!

Camping in Urubamba

On Friday I went on a camping trip in Urubamba. Isn't that an exciting name? It's a town 2 hours west of Cusco in what is known as the Sacred Valley. Urubamba is smaller town with an artsy flavor. It's at the foot of the Chicon Glacier and the view is gorgeous!!!

The camping trip was organized by some of the "Cusco" youth (what was the Cusco church is now integrated with San Jeronimo). There were about 10 of us and we set up tents in the back yard of a church. Our connection with the church was the cousin of Pamela (my fellow PROMESA teacher). There was an event going on in the plaza to raise money for the victims of the earthquake so we stopped to watch the clown and musical groups. We also went out to eat pizza at a cool place with ecletic furniture, artwork and a pool table. Another part of our weekend was singing with one of the cousins in the church. We were being silly and singing all sorts of praise and worship songs. God was faithful to even meet us in that time and minister to several of the people in the group (I love it when He "shows" up in worship!).

There was not much sleeping with 7 silly girls in one tent and noisy chickens in the back yard! Besides, you are always tossing and turning when you are in a sleeping bag on the ground. The funniest thing was that in the morning one of the girls thought that the chicken noises was me goofing around. Okay, so I'm known for my animal noises already!




Our group (minus Juan and Oliver): LtoR and top to bottom - Pamela, Gloria, Juan Carlos, Marysol, Alicia, Me, Mariella & Illari

The next day we hiked towards the glacier with the goal to get back by one p.m. It was such a gorgeous walk even if it was work. We walked up and up - past small villages, people working in their fields and all sorts of beautiful outdoor sights. The funniest part was when we tried to cross a stream. The cousin (Juan) was trying to help us all across on rocks but the rocks were sooo slippery!! I was the first one across and by the end one of my shoes was soaked. It got worse as we went along and Juan started purposefully getting his cousins wet. It was so funny and we were all a bit wet by the end.
Cousins: Pamela & Juan

A church along the way.





Don't worry we had quite a bit more of our hike left so we dried out by the top. At one point we stopped and tried a non-acoholic version of chicha in a señora's backyard. It was kind of sour but after Juan dumped a cup of sugar in it some of us decided it was worth drinking. So there we sat in her backyard with her ducks, piglets and kitten... it was quite a sight! We continued our walk until we got to a children's home at the top where several of our group knew the directors. Then it was time to turn around and walk down and down and down. The second trip across the stream was uneventful but Illari and Pamela refused their cousin's help (hmmm... wonder why??). Of course the trip down was much easier but as you can imagine we were all exhausted when we got back to the church!





Trying to get a photo with the sheep (it didn't want to cooperate but I think the person with my camera got what they wanted!).



The view from the top!

What a great weekend! A wonderful combination of fun, exercise, fellowship and meeting with the Lord. Yay!

A Home to Call my Own!

Hey friends! Here's another "sad pictureless post" (sounds like something Suzanne would say). Well, I guess the last post was all about photos so it doesn't really matter that I'm not posting any pics. Oh, why am I continuing to write when I'm just blabbering??!!

Anywhoo the purpose of my post is to announce: I FINALLY HAVE A CHURCH HOME!!!!! wooohooo!! I've been waiting since January to find out this information and I must say that I've been feeling a bit impatient in the process. I guess always before the missionaries have been given 3 months freedom before being assigned to one of the Mennonite churches here. Considering that there are only 3 churches and only one is in the city, I've been visiting the Cusco (ie San Jeronimo) church the most. But I was never sure of my place, never sure if I should be at council meetings or could get involved. I was waiting for the pastor to tell me: "this or this church will be your home."

So three months passed and I was still waiting. I asked the other missionaries how long I should wait and they said: "just wait and enjoy your freedom." I tried to enjoy it but after 4 months, I was tired of not being involved. After all, it had been since the previous summer that I was really involved in my church back home. Some theories were that the pastor was waiting until the other missionaries got back from furlough. I wondered if I should do anything at all or if I would be left in la-la land forever!

Well, tonight I got my answer in a round-a-bout sort of way. There is a council meeting tomorrow at the San Jeronimo church and my roommate asked the guy who called if I was supposed to be there or not. Well, he called the pastor about some other stuff and asked that question. The answer: "Of course she needs to be there, she's a member of the San Jeronimo church."

There you go... I wonder how long I've actually belonged and didn't know it?

I'm not sure that I'm fond of the way I had to find out this information but I'm just so glad to have it settled. So glad to be able to settle into a place and start to get involved. My very first responsibility as a member of the San Jeronimo church will most likely be: washing lettuce! Well, I'm on the lettuce washing committee (yes, it's a Mennonite church) for our big fundraiser next week (we're having a Chicken BBQ and bazaar). Other things that I'm looking forward to doing in San Jeronimo are helping to design the decorations for the sanctuary, visiting a childrens' cell group (and getting involved or starting one myself in the future), helping with the kids' ministry in general and maybe when the Lord wills, starting a dance ministry. Yay! there's so much to look forward to! Can't wait to see what God's got planned at my new home church!!

Vacation Photos: FINALLY!!

Hey everybody! I know I have no excuse for the delay but my vacation photos are finally up and available for viewing! Just click on the title of this entry or copy and paste the address below in your web browser.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11159163@N03/1065296688/in/set-72157601329738146/

Take a look and feel free to make comments. My vacation was from July 28th - August 5 and I was in Ica for a week and in Arequipa for three days with two fellow PROMESA teachers, Luz & Ruth. We saw many beautiful sights and enjoyed the fellowship of a 6 year old and her family in Ica. I'm so thankful that I was able to see these things before the earthquake devasted the coast of Peru last week. I hope that you enjoy these photos!! This really was a great vacation - the perfect combination of rest, recreation and journey.

I think all vacations should be some sort of journey where God teaches you something. On this trip the two biggest themes were that God is Creator and Ancient of Days (see post below) and my need for dependence on Him. I had a wonderful conversation with Ruth's cousin in Arequipa that really helped to break down pride in my heart and put my focus once again where it needs to be in regards to teaching.

Yes, it was a beautiful way to spend nine days! Thank you God for that blessing.

Anciano de Dias/Ancient of Days

By now you've heard that the quake that sent only slight tremours to Cusco has devasted several coastal towns south of Lima. The city that I went to visit on vacation, Ica has been without electricity and water for days and the doctor (and family) that I stayed with I'm sure is very busy in an overcrowded hospital/clinic. I guess I should be grateful that Cusco was not touched. I should be grateful that I missed being in the quake zone by two weeks. I should be grateful that this powerful earthquake did not take as many lives as did previous quakes in India which claimed thousands and thousands of lives.

Regardless, I'm sad...

I'm sad for the vineyard owners that we went to visit in Ica whose granddaughter gave us a tour on her birthday and whose home was made of adobe.

I'm sad for the little Assemblies of God church that we visited -- how many of those people have lost their homes or even friends or family members?

I'm sad for the magnificant church downtown which was a work of art (especially all light up at night) but now is rubble.

I'm sad for that gorgeous rock formation in Paracas National Park that now longer exists.

I'm sad for all the residents of Ica who instead of worrying about standing in line to buy their favorite cookies at Velazco now have to wait in line for water or food.

I'm sad that so many of the sights that I saw will no longer be enjoyed by future visitors.

When we took our boat trip out to the Islas Ballestas and looked at all the wonderful rock formations, I couldn't help but think about my God - the Ancient of Days, the great Creator. When we snapped tons of pictures in front of the Cathedral rock formation and the gorgeous Pacific Ocean, I had a song of praise running through my heart for all that God had made. As I thought about ancient mysteries of ancient grafitti (like the Nazca lines), I realized that my God was the ANCIENT of DAYS. He's the One that was before all and created all. People may marvel at rock formations and mysterious mile long grafitti but God knows all mysteries and was before them all!

As I think about the aftermath of the earthquake and how many things were destroyed, my faith is not shaken in my Lord. He truly is greater than all and is SomeOne that CANNOT BE SHAKEN! What an encouragement to know that my Lord and God is the Ancient of Days and that He will always be. If great, seemingly immobile objects can be broken and changed, whom or what can I possibly trust in but the Creator of All, the unCreated One who has always existed and will always be? AMEN!


Our guide who graciously gave us a tour of her family's vineyard on her birthday. (Ica, Peru)


A beautiful church in Ica that now longer stands.


The Catedral, Paracas National Park

Shake it Up Baby!

Well, tonight I was calmly sitting at my computer when I started to feel a little dizzy. Wait? Was I dizzy or was the room actually moving? Dawn came in my room to tell me that it must just be the wind moving my curtains but then she saw my door moving and felt the floor. Then she believed me!! It went on for a few minutes and it kinda felt like we were in a boat. We heard someone calling our names so we went outside to find all sorts of people standing in the street. Our landlady and her empleada were out in the back yard calling us to come down! :0)

Yes, I experienced my first tremour! The funny thing is that at our team meeting this afternoon we were talking about the construction methods here and how if there were an earthquake that we would just have to run out of the buildings for safety sake. We also talked about how often a big earthquake hits and John said: "oh about every 25 years or so" My question was: "When was the last big earthquake?" "Well, 1986...hmmm...well then we're just about due one!"

ughhhhh......

Thankfully it was just a tremour! I think I still feel dizzy though...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I just found out that there was a 7.5 earthquake in Lima. It was out in the Pacific and very deep but it shook up Lima. Thankfully, it seems that the buildings are still standing and that there weren't any casualties. Isn't it crazy that we could feel it all the way over here inland in Cusco?? whew... right now the coast is on alert in case of tsunami, etc.

well Peru was due an earthquake today I guess! I'm just thankful that it wasn't worse!

Inka Blitz

Here's something of note that I keep forgetting to write a blog entry about! At the end of June, the youth of the Mennonite churches had an event called Cafe Kairos. It was a coffeehouse type event with games and a talent showcase. I was originally supposed to go to Macchu Picchu that weekend but since things didn't work out I was around in order to join in the fun.

Part of the fun was decorating and getting ready for the night. Dawn had a great idea to make giant Dutch Blitz cards to play with. Well, it was a great idea but it turned into a very last minute project. Since I was around, I decided to help by designing a set of "Inka Blitz" cards. The cards were the size of an A4 sheet of paper and we printed and copied them so that there were 4 sets as in the normal blitz cards. Then we proceeded to tape each front and back to a peice of thin cardboard. The next step was painting each set in red, blue, yellow and green. The paper crinkled a bit but then our plan was to cover each card with contact paper to preserve them. It turned into a very time consuming project!!! Thankfully Dawn and I had Wendy and Uri over helping us but it really wasn't enough time. We headed off to the church to decorate and set up and continue to cover cards with contact paper.

In the end we only got three sets completely covered with contact paper. We played with them anyway and had tons of fun running around flipping cards and shouting "Blitz!!" The night turned out rather well with about 50 youth in attendance. I love how tables and candles really transformed the atmosphere in the sanctuary. We served popcorn, cake and coffee and despite the last minute card covering, the lack of gas for the stove and some concerns about coffee making, we had a wonderful evening!

Maybe we'll have to market our Inka Blitz cards. hee hee... I think we'd have to invest in a laminator.

The Transformation of Grace

I'd like to introduce you to one of my students (5 yr old class), Acsa* Fernanda who turned 5 a couple weeks ago. Acsa is not exactly what you would call a girly girl. She often wears unmatched clothing and her hair looks like it needs to be washed or brushed at least. She has a pretty strong personality as well (one of the many strong leader type girls in my 5 year old class) and the unfortunate habit of not getting to the bathroom in time (which really is the after affects difficult family situations).

I had the opportunity to be invited to Acsa's birthday party a couple weekends ago. When I and Wendy (the other kindergarten teacher- and the sister of Urias*) showed up at the restaurant where the party was held we found an Acsa TRANSFORMED. She was beautifully dressed in a pink frilly dress (with matching purse mind you) and her hair was nicely done. Her demeanor was different as well. Sure she still had that strong personality but in that moment she was a princess. She graciously greeted her guests and pranced all over in her pink frillyness - a child who knew that all the attention was focused on her and who became alive because of it. She was delightful and you couldn't help but be delighted in her!

How could the disheveled little girl with a difficult history be so transformed? It was the attention that was given her -- she was treated like a princess and she became one. I saw in that little girl transformed a picture of myself with Christ. He took me in the degradation and filthiness of sin and transformed me into a princess. He wipes away past hurts and pains and he brings joy and delight in our lives. It's not a self-centered sort of focus (which was more of I'm sure what Acsa was experiencing) but it's a joy because the king has turned his eyes to us and declared: "You are mine! You are my princess!"

The knowledge of the king's focus and declaration is really what turns us into princes/princesses. He chooses to delight himself in us and what a delight to be called his princess! We don't need a cake, a party and the everyone's attention in order to be transformed. We just need the transforming gaze of Grace from the eyes of a King who delights in us.

The following Monday, Acsa was back to her normal disheveled self but there was something that lingered when I looked at her. Perhaps it was the gaze of grace that looked at her beyond what she was in that moment but to how Jesus saw her. I know that He is the one able to truly heal her heart and make her to be his beautiful princess. Amen! Let it be Lord Jesus, let it be.

*Side Note: Acsa/Acsah is an uncommon name from the Bible. She was the daughter of Caleb and her story is found in Joshua 15. I also have a friend here with another uncommon Biblical name - Urias/Uriah. Now that man had the unfortunate fate to be married to a woman that like to take baths in view of the palace roof.

Alisson, Wendy and Acsa celebrating their birthdays at the school with the signature balloon birthday hat!

Just a Nibble

Well friends, did you think that I was carried off by mad llamas?? Don't be silly! I simply have been involved in an art/decorating project of humungous proportions... Yes, my life has recently been consumed with many hours of painting, painting and more painting. Besides that I have been climbing cactusy paths in search of ancient Incan tunnels, giving tests to grumpy kindergartners and bearing the general craziness of children getting ready for a big program right before vacations.

All of these make for excellent blog entries that I have had no time to write (oh, and of course I have exciting pictures to go along with these entries). The happy news is that the program is over and vacation has officially started. Yay God for DESCANSO (REST)!!! I'm so excited about having two weeks off from PROMESA (especially after the past week!!!) The unfortunate news for you dear reader is that I perhaps will have no time for the next 9 days to write about these recent exciting experiences. Instead I will be off on the coast of Peru (Ica) with two of the other teachers creating more blog entries and even more photos to be shared. Don't worry, I won't forget to share them with you all.

It's back to packing for me but before I go, here is something of note: six months ago tonight I was on a plane on my way here! Isn't it amazing to think that I've been here for 6 months?! Praise God for a great experience so far! I know that He's got great things ahead as well.

Adventures in High Altitude Cooking: Chocolate Torte

For the birthday party this past weekend (see post below) I wanted to make a special cake. So, I asked my dear former Landis' baker friend, Renée for a recipe for a spectacular chocolate cake that I remember stashed away in my memories of yummy layered cakes.

My first challenge was to find the chocolate that the recipe called for. There is nothing here that is specifically called baker's chocolate and I also had to secure some German chocolate bars. So, I headed off to my local grocery store (I must say a store with an impressive amount of interesting foods only appealing to extranjeros (foreigners)) in search of chocolate. I found a huge bar of milk chocolate that would do for my German chocolate. Then I looked at the bars of pure Cacao and wondered: is this really what I want? The store clerk said that you could use it for baking but often people here just try to tell you what you want to hear and not really the truth (that happens for sure when you are asking for directions). So, I ended up with a 400gr bar of Cacao and a 400 gr bar of milk chocolate.

I was a little afraid of high-altitude issues, so I went online in search of answers. I found a useful site that told me how to convert regular recipes to high-altitude. Apparently part of the problem with high altitudes is that the cakes rise too quickly. So I had add more flour and water and reduce the baking powder.

I adjusted my recipe (including transferring ounces to grams) and prepared my batter when I discovered one little problem: we had no round cake pans!! Oops! Thankfully we have multitudes of pie pans. I used three pie pans instead of two cake pans, stuck them in the oven and hoped for the best. The cakes came out a little more spongy looking than I expected and I'm not sure if I should have reduced the baking soda as well. They also had uneven sides from the wax paper and the pie plate shapes.

The next step was to prepare the chocolate and cream for the layers. The original recipe called for the cutting of the layers but my layers were thinner as it was so I just made use of what I had. I used cream between the first two layers and then put all the chocolate and nuts in between the next layers and covered the entire cake with cream (which hid uneven sides nicely). I decorated with chocolate shavings and strawberries and I was rather excited at how it looked in the end. As I was decorating it I kept saying: "ooh, this looks so great!!"



The problem came when we tried to cut the cake! The chocolate layer had cooled to form a thick chocolate bar like layer and when you cut into the cake you hit the solid center and the whole thing squished together!! Oops! This problem came from my three layers instead of two and putting all the chocolate in one place! The cake itself was moist and not too dry even though it had looked too spongy. The combo of the cream with the rich chocolate was so delightful! Yum... I think I'll have to try this cake again.

What the peices looked like after trying to cut the cake!

seven.seven.seven

I don't know if anyone realized it but Saturday was a pretty sacred day. It was 07.07.07!!! Since seven is such a sacred number in the Bible, Saturday certainly must have been a special sort of day.

hee hee...

I'm not sure about the sacred part but I really did have a great day on Saturday. Since every day with the Lord really is sacred, I guess you could say that it was a sacred Saturday as well!

7.1

My Saturday started with a trip to an outside racquetball court in a little park. The park was a 15 minute walk from my apartment in Magisterio and I went on the invitation of Luz. Luz is our directora at PROMESA and my Wednesday morning prayer partner. She and her friends from La Vid (her church) have started playing racquetball on Saturday mornings. Jessica and Alisha also came with us on this outing. It was a beautiful sunny day and I did something extremely silly (besides my manner of playing racquetball-we'll talk about that in a moment)-I forgot to put on sunscreen. Oops.. now I have a lovely sunglass shaped sunburn on my face and left ear.

The last time that I had played racquetball was something like ten years ago during a college phys ed elective. Oh dear, that sentence makes me sound horribly old - I really do try to forget my age and I succeed most often until I make statements like that! Anyway, as those of you who know my sport skills can imagine, racquetball and I were not an instant match. Oh I had so much fun playing but it was more about survival than skill. I even succeeded in getting some points but like most of my sports achievements(?) it was pure luck. I can't recall how many times I saw the ball whizzing toward me, how I jumped and swung and how many times I missed the ball. It was ridiculous really!! When I was a teenager, I had a complex about sports. I was afraid of balls flying towards me. Volleyball was about fear of having to do something and when the ball did come towards me: defense. I really did not like my non-sportyness (especially when youth group thrived on volleyball) and I felt bad. I know that had a lot to do with a general bad self-image but it was really tough to get over.

Thankfully, the Lord does not leave us in our awkward teenager stage too long. Along came college and God's transforming work in my life. I began to appreciate whom God created me to be and I grew up. Thank you Jesus! I'm no longer under the burden of not liking my non-sportyness. Now, I can laugh at myself without it stinging. I thoroughly enjoyed myself on that racquetball court even though I probably looked excessively silly. hee hee..

Our dear friend Jessica was the reigning champeon. She beat the other six players and I think she would have just kept winning if she hadn't turned in her racquet to someone else!! I learned some new words in Spanish like: cheer - hacer barra, good try - buen intento and score - la puntaje. My body was not so cheerful about the racquetball the next day... Boy did I feel old on Sunday!

7.2

The second exciting event of my seven.seven.seven day was lunch at a Cebicheria. That's an exciting name for a seafood restuarant. I went with Luz and her friends to have a first time experience of Ceviche. Ceviche is a typical Peruvian dish - lemon marinated fish. It's not cooked - just marinated. We first had a yummy fishy cilantro soup with rice and lemon and then a pile of Ceviche. The flavor was great although it was spicy! The restaurant had live music and one of the musicians dedicated a song to the people in the restaurant including the blue-eyed visitor (ummm... would that be me?). Ceviche is supposed to be really good in Lima and on the coast. I guess that makes sense: coast - fish....

7.3

The third part of the day was a birthday party at Dawn and my apartment. Two of the PROMESA teachers were having birthdays surrounding the weekend. We had all nine of the teachers over for pizza (which we made) and cake. Wendy and I even tried to make cheese fondue out of a tin of cheese (a gift from the Swiss government! It was given to my housekeeper's son to help him gain weight....yummy). We had to add milk and butter to make it dippable but I think that it worked.

We all sat around in our badly-lit kitchen eating and chatting. We ate a lot of pizza and talked and talked... I think we all determined not to talk about our students the entire time. Marisol was the conversation moderator - once in a while she would say: "new topic!". We talked about politics...we talked about movies...we talked about jokes that people did or didn't remember...we talked about the future and people's dreams. I tried to ask the deep birthday questions in Spanish (what was your favorite memory fromt the last year; what did God teach you; what are your dreams for the next year?) but I think those questions really require more thinking time.

By the time the cake (see an alternate post for cake story) came out people were a little full. I think us North Americans gobbled down our peices the fastest. Some of the girls just looked at their peices! But never fear, I happily employed a common Peruvian practice: doggy bags! Yes, whenever you are at a special event/meal you must remember your bag to take home your leftovers! It's so funny to see people whip out bags at weddings (the last wedding I was at actually handed out bags). So, several of the girls took their cake home in bags that I handed out.

Thus ended my lovely seven.seven.seven day!!! Next year we'll have an eight.eight.eight day... hmmm... what shall I do?


(L to R) Pamela, Luz, Dawn, Wendy & Jessica


Alisha, Marysol, Hilda, Ruth & Pamela


Wendy proudly shows off a birthday card from Jessica and Alisha.

Crowded Places & Squishy Spaces

Last weekend I had two experiences that would have been the stuff of a claustrophobic nightmare! The first was a trip to the fireworks last Friday in Plaza de Armas. I went with a few of the PROMESA teachers to the VERY packed square. Before the fireworks there was a concert going on that had drawn out more than the usual amount of firework gazers. These fireworks were to celebrate Cusco Day. I'm not sure if they were connected to Inti Raymi* which was celebrated on Sunday. Anyway, we couldn't get anywhere near to the stage and it was quite a chore to make it around the square. Jessica and Alisha wanted cotton candy (dulce algodon) but it was like we were swimming in an ocean of human bodies. The actual firework display was pretty good and was set to music. I'm sure I've seen better 4th of July displays (like Sam's famous Magnet Works display...hee hee) but the best part was the reaction of the crowd. I don't know if we had kids behind us but there were tons of enthusiastic "oohs and ahhhs" all around. It was great!!!

What was not great was getting out of the plaza!! Everyone seemed to have the same idea about getting out quickly in order to get public transportation because again the human sea ensued. It was worse because people were pressing in from all around and you had to keep walking because people behind you were pushing you along. It was so scary! The whole time I was praying: "Lord, please don't let anyone get trampled!" I couldn't imagine having a child in that place. I could just picture how horrible that amount of people would be in the case of an emergency. Augh... it was horrible and then we were out and safe. Yay God!

My other claustrophobic situation was made worse by the addition of 3 dozen eggs. I was coming home from church in San Jeronimo and I got on the "city tour" bus (we call it that because it goes all over the city). Someone had given eggs as part of their offering and they were being sold to raise money for the church. So I was taking home 3 dozen eggs. I made the wrong choice to sit in the back of the bus. Well, the bus seats were all filled up and by the time we got to Magisterio (where I live), the aisle was blocked up with people standing. It was a busy day for public transportation because many people were heading out for the Inti Raymi* festivities. Well, I had to push my way through all those people on the moving bus with my three dozen eggs in order to finally get off. It was quite a feat and thankfully I didn't lose any eggs! phew! I also had my bible and two packages of coffee shoved into my purse (thankfully it fit). There are sometimes when a taxi really is the best option!!! :0)

*A note about Inti Raymi
Inti Raymi is the ancient Incan festival during winter to invoke the sun to shine more and warm everything up. It seriously is a very pagan festival based on Sun worship! Still, it is a point of contention amongst the evangelicals here. Can they participate in it and just simply view it as a cultural thing? Many also have the added problem of having to pay fees if they don't participate in city holidays by marching or whatever. Many of the university students are forced to march regardless of whether they want to or not. An evangelical here has to be pretty convinced in their convictions in order to trust God to provide the fees that they'll have to pay for not participating in a holiday. North Americans don't have that added pressure. They can be wishy-washy about the so-called pagan holidays and it doesn't cost them anything either way. Pastor Ruben was calling the people of the church to stand up and to refuse to be a part of the festivities. That's not an easy request! May God give the evangelical person here in Cusco the courage to do what is right and to trust that God will take care of them financially!

Sweeping the Lawn & Washing Away the Old Life

When you think about Father's Day you don't usually imagine a trip out to the country for a baptism. This past Father's Day, the San Jeronimo church decided to celebrate a special day - not just for fathers but to honor our heavenly Father, to give thanks for all His blessings and to have some baptisms. We went out to a place a little outside of San Jeronimo called Pata Pata.

When we arrived at the field a sore sight met our eyes. There was trash all over the grass!! I don't know what the people who had been there before thought would happen with their trash. It was disgusting and disappointing!! Never fear!! We were determined to clean up the space and many branches became makeshift brooms. I had to join in with all the sweeping so I went and found a euclyptis branch. I don't know how well my broom worked but with many of us all sweeping the field at once we made a pretty good dent in the trash on the field. It was a frustrating thing to have to clean up someone else's mess but it felt good to be doing something like that. Besides, it's not every day that you get to sweep a field of trash with a branch! (could I help but enjoy myself?)



We had a service out on our swept field. Dawn and some of the other gals of the worship team played guitar and sang. We all sat in a circle in the sun and shade. You could have your choice and with the chillier weather that we've been having, I was loving the warmth of the sun. Pastor Ruben talked about honoring God with our tithes and offerings and I was struck by how the passage in Malachi talks of how God will pour out blessings in abundance. What a beautiful promise!! At the end of the service a blanket was laid out in the middle of our circle and many people came and laid offerings of money and products. My favorite was a lady who came an poured out corn from the blanket that she had been carrying. It was so beautiful to see!



After the service we all took a walk to the stream for the baptism. They tried to find the deepest spot and set to work creating a little pool with some tarps. It was a little hard to find that deep of a spot in the middle of dry season but they made it work! We all sat around on rocks and Pastor Ruben and David baptized about ten people with a gorgeous mountainous vista behind us. The mother of one of my students (Gersón) was baptized along with her mother and two of her brothers. One of her brothers is a paraplyegic and it was so neat to see him lowered into to water for baptism. Little Gersón was a little worried about his mom and when she came out the water he asked: "Mom, are you okay?"





After the baptism we came back to the lawn that was already filled with lots of other people (not with the church) playing volleyball, soccer, grilling and eating. We all sat down and ate our lunches. Dawn and I brought the typical North American lunch: sandwiches, fruit and fresh raw veggies. I'm sure the Peruvians wondered _what_ kind of lunch we were having but they sure loved our Ranch dressing. Many of them brought big meals of potatoes and chicken and etc. I don't know how they do it but kudos to them for the effort. Dawn and I slaved reaaaaaaalllyyy long on our lunch after all!!! hee hee....

Anyway, it was a beautiful day to celebrate the Lord's goodness, to honor him with our gifts and to perform an act of public acknowledgement of faith in a frigid mountain stream!!!