Friday, October 28, 2011

Peru - Part Three

Before I type this post, I want to ask for prayer for RC...He has had a fever since Sunday and they are not quite sure what is going on with him.  He has been tested for strep and had some blood work done to determine if he picked up something while we were in Peru or just what may be going on.  His throat is very swollen and the doctors are very concerned about that...he will require a CT scan if it is not feeling better tomorrow after a shot, some antibiotics and steroids.  He's feeling pretty yucky and I'm feeling pretty helpless and can't be around him and I absolutely hate it!  Thanks for lifting him up! S <3

Monday was our first day at the mission site, Bellavista.  On our way into the neighborhood, we stopped alongside the road, got out of our mototaxis and shook hands with a group of men and were introduced by Pastor Farfan.  I didn't know until we got back into the mototaxi that they were the gang leaders who 'run' that neighborhood and we were stopping to ask their permission to be in 'their' neighborhood.  Whew...talk about culture shock!  Our God is SO big though that one of these men actually brought his kids on the last meeting night...how COOL is that?!?!?!

The first set of pictures are from the neighborhood where we started our campaign and then from Oscar's house, our chef and host for the week.  The top left picture is the bathroom at our host house - it was something else....It did have a commode in it, but it was just covering a hole in the ground, no running water in it and the shower was in there too, which was buckets of water to rinse with.  I just can't describe the smell.  So I won't...I'll just move on!  Oscar and his family share this home with his wife Esmerelda's sister and her family and their mother, but are building a very nice home that I'll show in a later post.  They 'have' a cat...it doesn't have a name, nor is it really like a pet...but it 'lives' at their house, according to Oscar. 

Lunchtime was a long event, since there is a meal and then a siesta time everyday...and as you can see, Omar took great advantage of that down time :)


Monday also brought our first nightly meeting for the people we had made contact with that day.  They could come to learn more about God, interact with other new believers and those from the church as well as bring their kids to learn and have some fun!  Hearing these precious children singing Jesus Loves Me in spanish and singing songs I didn't know that my translator Noemi taught them...oh my it just makes your heart melt!!  They were a great group of kids and we had a lot of fun coloring, singing and talking about the creation story!


Thursday, October 27, 2011

Peru...Part Two

Sunday brought a wonderful day of baptism, church attending and fellowshipping with the nationals we would be working with throughout the week.  We took a looooong drive in a crowded taxi to the Chira River to do the baptism, however, I misunderstood that we weren't going to church that morning first and wore a knit dress that came to my ankles, not knowing I'd be wading out to waist deep in the river...yikes....not a good combination when a long knit dress gets wet and you have to walk along the river bank in the hottest sand I've ever set foot on....equatorial sun is no joke...I've never felt heat like that!!! 

The baptism was a joyous event...so exciting to watch these new believers be baptized, professing their faith publicly and rejoicing in the Lord together!  My team leader, Ivan, assisted Pastor Farfan with the baptism and we all prayed together in the middle of the river...not too many chances in life to experience such a moving moment!

This first set of pictures show the church members carry plastic chairs across the river for the service, and the pastor and Ivan haring before the group waded into the river.   This was my first time to speak to the group and I was very nervous, but just shared that I was so happy to be there and be able to share in this wonderful event with them.  I love the picture of the whole group praying before the baptisms began...just touches my heart!!!



After the baptism, we had a time of fellowship and enjoyed some Peruvian food, well the ones I could eat that is...two salads were offered that looked REALLY good, but I wasn't allowed to have fresh veggies because they are washed in the water we can't drink...I was SO happy to have salad and veggies when I got home.  Got to taste some purple corn juice that was interesting, similar to grape juice is the closest thing I can compare it to, but the flavor was just different...I don't really know how to describe it.  We also celebrated a birthday of one of the young mean by praying and singing for him and then having birthday cake...YUM!  Enjoyed some bubble blowing with some of the younger kids and even entertained a stray dog...lol.  It was a wonderful afternoon!  It was such a blessing to begin to get to know some of the sweet folks from the church and interact with their families!!!


Later in the day on Sunday we went to Pastor Farfan's church to have their church service and I was aked to help lead their praise and worship time with "How Great Thou Art" and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"...Thankfully I knew them both!  I sang with the Pastor and we alternated singing the verses in our native tongues and then singing the choruses together...it was an experience I'll never forget to look out into that congregation and see them worshipping the Lord no matter the language barrier!  I was so impressed with the keyboardist for the church and got to serve with him at the mission site later in the week...what a great man of faith he was!  I didn't know any of the other songs they sang, but hummed along and clapped the best I could...it was just amazing to be able to worship 3000 miles from home and feel the presence of the Lord!!!  We also had a baby dedication for two sweet babies...what a blessing to see these young parents promising to raise their children in a Christian home!



This last picture is taken from the middle of the Chira River, waist deep in water...just taking a moment to realize that God had placed me 3000 miles form home, in a river, taking pictures of a baptism of ten people I'd never met before, who speak a language I don't know and I was so humbled to be there, tears running down my face, in awe of God's creation and His faithfulness in my life...our God is SO big and knows just how to remind us that HE is in control and when we follow His prompting, we will be blessed...sometimes in simple ways, sometimes in big ways...but no matter what - God wants us to know that He is alive and working through His people...we just need to step out in faith and be willing to be used!



I will work on the next day soon...until then, blessings to you and your family!  S :)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Welcoming a New Pumpkin to the Patch

While I am working on my second post about Peru...I took a break and worked on some photos from a baby shower that my sister hosted this past weekend for a dear friend of ours, Deven.  I already care for her two other children, Peyton and Haila and we've know Deven for years.  I am so thankful for the Lord's hand in Deven's life, for the work He has done in beginning to restore her marriage and the blessing this new baby will be to all of us.  Little Kendyl Grace will be welcomed to the world in early December and I pray that God will continue to work in and through Deven and Erik to be wonderful parents to this child!  God can take the messiest of messes, the biggest bad decisions and the simply stupid things we do and use them for His purpose to do His will, and I am fully trusting that He will be able to do that in their lives!

My sister LOVES to host a party, to decorate and to cook yummy food...and this event was no exception.  Here's a sampling of the  decoration and food we had...


Here's a shot of the mom to be...looking great for only having a few weeks left!!!


Everyone had a great time, enjoyed the yummy food and wonderful fellowship!



My favorite gifts of the day included some personalized items that my sister got for little Kendyl and a super cute pair of bear slippers from Kendyl's grandmother....lots of cute clothes and some necessities too!
   

Peru...Part One

As most of you know I traveled to Peru for my first mission trip two weeks ago...It's really hard to believe that I've been home for a week already.  So much happened while I was there....watching God move in those sweet people's lives was simply amazing.  Stepping out of my comfort zone and knocking on doors and sharing about Jesus was a blessing...and one I'll not take lightly from now on.  We ARE called to share the good news - even if it makes us uncomfortable, especially if it does.  You don't have to go to Peru to do that of course!  Your neighbor, your co-workers, your family...do they see Christ in you?  Are you being a witness for Him?  I know I haven't been...and I am praying that God will use me and my experiences in 37 years to show others how BIG our God is and how much He loves them!!!

Here's a couple of collages of random pics from the first 2 days....

Our travels began in Charlotte on Friday and we arrived in Lima, Peru on Saturday morning and rode a 'bus', which was actually a really, really old Toyota van, to  Sullana...The other pictures are of our hotel and rooms...it was all very nice. 


These pictures are my first impressions of Peru...dry, dusty and unlike anything I've ever seen before...


One of the pastors that the teams had worked with before got married the Saturday we arrived and we attended the wedding.  Below are pictures of Randy and I (isn't he just too handsome all dressed up? ok...so I'm biased...I can't help it, but he does clean up quite well!) The group of girls are, from left, Katie (translator, originally from Indiana, but now lives in Peru), Noemi (translator for my team leader, Ivan and my helper/translator at the evening meetings with the kids), Edith (translator), Sarah (from NRCC - super sweet student and served on Randy's team), Jenna (another great student from NRCC - very quiet, but Randy said she did a great job at the mission site!) and then me, of course

The men from left are Carlos (translator), Randy, Ivan (my team leader), Chuck (NRCC keyboardist, photographer and new friend) Omar (my translator - bless his heart...he had to put up with a lot!) Dan (Pastor at NRCC and our group leader) and Danny (Dan's translator)

The newlyweds are in the bottom right and check out that multiple layered cake they had...it was something else!


I will share more later today hopefully...trying to get caught up and still take care of the kiddos!!! Blessings, S

Monday, October 3, 2011

Monday Moments

RC and I are spending a great amount of time praying, planning and preparing for the mission trip we are a part of that leaves this Friday for 8 days as well as our quickly approaching wedding day and I am constantly being reminded that God is so involved with our lives that it's just SO humbling. Yesterday morning at church we spent some time in special prayer for our trip and my church family laid hands on me and prayed for me and encouraged so much just by being committed to praying for us while we are gone, for the lives of the people we will meet and for our travels, safety and health.

I just don't even have the words to explain what is going on in my mind and heart these days. The simple fact that I am going into another country to share about Jesus with people who may or may not ever have heard the name God...just is overwhelming! God has my back and I'm completely NOT concerned that He is big enough to take little ol' me and do GREAT things in Peru. Not at all. Even with faith as small as that little mustard seed...what a wondrous thing takes place when it's cultivated and grown in faith, grace and love! I am very much looking forward to working with the children at the nightly meetings where I can interact, color, sing and just hang out and get to know them...I think it's going to be amazing to see the language barrier, the skin color, the culture shock for me, just melt away and God uses us for HIS purpose to go and tell others about Him. I'd be lying if I didn't share that the questions have floated through my mind..."who am I" to think I can go anywhwere and share about Jesus? I feel like such a novice and I've been in church my whole life. But I am trusting in the Lord to take that fear and concern and doubt away as he prepares my mouth to say and the people of Peru's ears to listen as I share the story of our Savior!

We were out and about in SC yesterday looking at wedding sites and just spending time together and I took this shot of the sunset over Lake Wylie.   We are scouting out places for an outdoor wedding in December, which sounds crazy, but we are having a simple ceremony and would love to have it by the lake...How could you not with a view like this???