Last Day in Peru—7/7/11

Another Peruvian lunch...with purple corn juice:)

Today was my last day in Peru. I got to help Mike a lot with the work he needs to get done. He is leaving in just a few days to lead a 2 week mission trip in the jungles of Peru, so he had a lot of last minute preparations to do.

We took a break to see the Plaza de Armas, which is apparently the most touristy spot in Arequipa. I did all my shopping there for the trip and enjoyed an authentic monu, which is a cheap lunch consisting of soup and a second dish. Believe it or not, there was too much food for me to finish…that never happens!!

This evening we had a welcome dinner at the office for the Watters. Everyone working in the office with Extreme was there. It was a great time of fellowship, even though I unfortunately don’t know when I’ll even see any of them again.

Plaza de Armas in Arequipa

Then Mike and I did what any good friends would do on their last night in the same country…we played on facebook! It was actually really fun because we were downloading pictures from all of our travels and reminiscing about them! Then we taxied over to the Plaza Real to meet Beth, the 40/40 I hung out with yesterday, and ate at TGIFridays. Beth had been talking about wanting some American food, so we all decided to go for my last night in Peru! We had fun just chatting and hearing about the life of a 40/40 missionary 15 months into her ministry.

Afterwards Mike and I just walked back to my place because it was a beautiful evening, and we had to walk off the brownie desert we’d just eaten. We had a good conversation about missions and the church in Peru, and how Extreme benefits Peruvians and North American missionaries alike.

I travel home tomorrow, and it will only take 33 hours!! Yipee! My flight schedule is Arequipa to Lima, Lima to San Salvador, San Salvador to Houston, Houston to Salt Lake, and Salt Lake to Boise. Wow!

My traveling is done for the summer, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have more adventures in Nampa, and lots of memories from the past month. It’s been quite the exciting summer, and I’m only half-way through it!!

Visiting the 40/40’s—7/6/11

The family I’m staying with needed a babysitter for an hour this morning while they came over to the office for a meeting. I was more than happy to help them out by hanging out with their 4 year old Lexi, and one year old Hailey. They were really good and fun to play with. But my favorite part was reading Bible stories with Lexi and then teaching her songs like Father Abraham!



A beautiful of the Andes from Arequipa!



Mike and I had sandwiches at Mamut’s (Mammoth’s) and then took the bus up to the 40/40 house about 15 minutes away. I was able to meet 4 of the girls who are currently doing ministry there, and I got to go out and do discipleship with one of the girls named Beth. Two other girls came with us who are in language school now but are shadowing the current 40/40’s to get experience. These two girls, Emily and Rayanne, will be going to Paraguay with Mike in January!

The 5 of us traveled outside the city a ways to a very rural community. A month and a half ago they showed the Jesus Film here and 55 people showed up; 25 of them were saved! Since then, Beth has returned to disciple the new believers and hold services on Sunday mornings. The goal of the 40/40 teams is to plant 3 churches and disciple believers to the point where they will take over the leadership of the church. I was told that 28 of the 30 people who came to Sunday’s service had never heard of Jesus or a Bible! Praise the Lord for a ministry that is bringing young people to a place of leading people to Christ and discipling them to leadership roles. It was so exciting for me to see the materials they use, the ease that the North Americans can speak Spanish with, and the excitement of these people to hear the message of Christ!! God’s message is being spread, one community at a time!

Traditional Peruvian Chinese!

After a short break and dinner we walked to the airport to greet a new family arriving to do ministry with Extreme. It is actually Kendra (Loeber) Watters’ parents in law and their three children. The father will be the new director of Extreme Peru. I’m glad that we went to meet them because there were only two other people there. Mike made a sign for them so they would know we were there to pick them up. He wrote on it Los Aguas which is a direct translation for The Watters. The two other ladies who had come from the office had a small truck that barely held all the luggage in the back and was supposed to hold all 7 of them. Fortunately, I am staying in the apartment just above their new home, so we decided to take a taxi there and put a few of them in it!

We gathered in their new home and prayed together that God would use them in their area of ministry and that God would be used in Extreme ministries as a whole. Praise the Lord for willing servants in sharing His message around the world!

Arequipa--7/5/11

We made it in 2 hours late because of our delay last night. Though when I think about what happened I think I was totally overreacting. It’s crazy how the darkness can play games with your mind…things just seem so much scarier than they are.

We went straight to the Extreme head office because Mike had to get things done. Really, it has been a pretty down day for me. I want him to get work done which means I have to stay out of his way. So I met people in the office, made a bank run with Mike, and ate rico empanadas (that means delicious pot pies) for lunch. Other than that, I spent the day reading, blogging, facebooking, helping Mike whenever I could, and just kind of having a relaxing down-day.

Kindra, Mike, and I visited the Plaza Real to eat some dinner and see what the modern side of the city looks like. I had my first cambi (bus) experience on my way to church. There was a short prayer service where I met the pastor and a few members of Mike’s congregation. It was fun seeing how committed these people are and how new they are to the church as a result of the ministry that is being done in the community!

I met the family I will be staying with for the next few nights. Becky, Jason, and their two little girls were very inviting and sweet to let me stay with them after not even knowing me. I had a lovely evening and retired early for a good night’s sleep.

Machu Piccu--7/3/11

Wow!!  Best day ever!! Our bus pulled into Cusco after a 6 hour drive. I slept pretty well on it, but let’s just say that even an ipod can’t drown out a snoring Peruvian next to you! We arrived at the Meeting Place Coffee Shop in downtown Cusco at about 5am. Missionaries run the coffee shop and host Spanish classes and Bible studies there. They have a group of Youth With A Mission volunteers coming to help them and the 40/40’s. I love seeing how missionaries all team together, no matter what organization they are with.



I can't believe we're actually here!



Our ride came at about 6:30 to take us to a bus, which took us to a train, which took us three hours into the jungle, which took us to another bus, which took us to Machu Picchu! By the end of the day I had been on 4 buses, 2 trains, and 5 taxies, and 10 different guides, or contacts, for our tour! It’s not exactly easy to get to Machu Picchu!!

We had a lovely train ride where they served us snacks and coffee, just like in a plane. We drove through some of the most beautiful terrain in Peru. There were little quaint villages, wide open green plains, and towering mountains and cliffs. Being that we were in the jungle it was pretty damp the whole time, but certainly not as cold as Puno had been. Mike, Kindra, and I played Monopoly Deal the whole way there and the whole way back. Things got a little competitive at a few points, but in the end Kindra and I tied with 7 wins and Mike had 6. I think he was a little disappointed.

We had gone through a tour agency but the man who was supposed to give us our bus tickets after the train stop wasn’t there. We wandered around for awhile until we found a guy who took us to a guy who went to a guy to get our tickets. Needless to say I was very thankful for Spanish speaking friends so I could just sit back and let them do the work. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been by myself.

The switchback drive up the mountain was amazing. It was a little cloudy, but that made it look mysterious! When we finally made it up we were looking for our next guide. He found us this time by shouting out, “Michelle Kindra, Michelle Kindra.” Apparently Mike is now Michelle and I’m not even a part of the group. But don’t worry, it gets worse later!

After a short hike we came to the all-impressive Machu Picchu!!! I wish the clouds hadn’t hindered our view, but for the most part it was still incredible. We went on a two hour walking tour of the place to see where they made their animal sacrifices, their homes, schools, lamas, and the countless terraces where they planted all of their fruits and vegetables. This city was only in use for about 100 years before they abandoned it and then were killed by the Spaniards in the 1500’s. Surprisingly, this is about how long Herod the Great’s structures lasted in Jerusalem before the Romans overtook them. I assume that these landmark locations were always in use, but things are always changing.

My Chinese friend, and language relief!

We headed back down the mountain to catch our train on time; we were exhausted! It was more crowded coming back then going up so we had a fourth person sit with us at our quad with a table in the middle. She was from China so I started speaking Chinese with her!! She was so impressed that she bragged about me to her family across from us. They were all in Peru to study Spanish for a few months. So for the next 3 hours we spoke in Chinese, Spanish, and English while playing Monopoly Deal. I really can’t explain how fun it was to speak in Chinese again and to be able to say almost everything I wanted to almost completely correctly! I thought I had lost a lot, but I was able to pick most of it up again right away. And sometimes she would use words that I had completely forgotten I knew, but remembered once she used them! It was a nice change of pace to be able to speak the language that continually comes to my mind when I’m in a foreign country and to have to be the translator for someone else!!

We said our goodbyes to Shelley and the rest of the Chinese family once we got off our train. We waited around for our next mode of transportation for a half hour, but then met some people from Singapore that we had a lovely conversation with! It’s so fun meeting people from around the world!

We were dropped off at the city plaza where we ate the equivalent to McDonald’s, BamBo’s…Peruvian style. We hurried back to the coffee shop to pick up our stuff and then drove another 25 minutes to the 40/40 house on the outskirts of Cusco. We met everyone there, but I was so tired from all of our traveling that I went straight to bed! It was the first time I’d been in a bed since I’d arrived in Peru!

Cusco--7/4/11

Happy 4^th of July!! I love spending American holidays in another country because it feels so unique and the Americans there always make it a big deal.

Last night was my first night in Peru where I had a bed to sleep in, plenty of blankets, and a shower the next morning. It was so refreshing. I guess I was exhausted because I slept for probably 11 hours! When I finally woke up around 11 and got ready for the day we were served pancakes for breakfast! Normally I would think that’s too American for me to eat when I’m only in Peru for a week, but there was some special Peruvian spread to make my breakfast experience authentic!

I had a fun chat with the Americans. Cailyn and Alex are the North American 40/40’s for Cusco, and Amy and Tyler are the house parents. It’s always fun hanging out with new people and hearing their stories. Amy and Tyler went to NNU around the same time as me so we had lots to talk about, and the others were overly friendly and inviting!

Kindra and me in Cuzco's Plaza

We stuffed 5 of us in a chicito (small) taxi for nearly a ½ hour to get to the plaza in downtown Cusco. We were finally able to hang out at The Meeting Place Coffee Shop that we had visited yesterday. I met the Englund’s who run the ministry and a few NNU students who are there to help out for awhile, Joey and Phil. I was interested to hear how the ministry started and what they are doing with it. What a blessing to hear about so many people intentionally serving the Lord in so many different ways!

After hanging out there for a bit, Cailyn, Kindra, and I went shopping for some cream cheese. Cailyn was making a special American dish for our 4^th of July party! We headed home early to get things ready. We had fried hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, pop, and veggies. This is a very typical meal for any of us, but apparently they had to go to stores all over Cusco to find the things they needed.

My new friend Cailyn and her patriotic cake!

After dinner we went to their backyard to start a bonfire in a barrel and then light off fireworks. It took us awhile to get the fire going because the wood was damp. We had flames for awhile because of all the loose paper, but then it got all smoky and we could hardly breathe. When we were about to give up on it the flames suddenly reappeared and the smoke vanished! We proceeded to light some of our fireworks and ended up throwing a bottle-rocket in the barrel. It popped and took the flame with it. We were disappointed until it suddenly reappeared a minute later. We threw some firecrackers in next but they didn’t make any noise. As Tyler was complaining about how lame they were, they suddenly popped. They were so weak that they sounded like bubble wrap. We continued laughing really hard as the guys would light the Bumble Bee fireworks and then run away as fast as they could to get away, and then all of us would scream as they popped and flew!

We finished our exciting American Party with Funfetti cake and patriotic frosting, with the ice cream as close as we could get to American tasting. Then we went to the back patio and sang the Star Spangled Banner as loud as we could. We may not have sounded that great, but it was ok because the neighbors do this to them at 3 in the morning all the time.



Fireworks in a barrel



I was actually sad to leave because we had so much fun laughing and talking and hanging out all day. I felt like I could fit in so well with them even after the short time I knew them. We hopped in a taxi and went to the bus station. We were headed back to Arequipa for Kindra and Mike to be at work on Tuesday. This was our 3^rd out of 4 nights to sleep on a Cama Bus overnight. This would be our longest trip yet, 10 hours. Since we started at 8:30 pm they gave us an airplane style dinner and A Night at the Museum 2 to watch in Spanish! Perfect!



About 2 ½ hours into our very pleasant drive, I had one of the most terrifying experiences that I can remember! Mike and I were chatting shortly after the movie ended when the bus suddenly slammed on the brakes and veered off to the side of the road. We stopped and saw dark figures running behind the bus from the street. Then dark figures walked by us up to the front of the bus. The sudden stop had startled me, but I was still in good spirits. I asked Mike what all the possibilities were, which was definitely a mistake. Without trying to scare me and just being honest he said that we could have hit someone, almost hit something, or it could be bad people who made the bus stop. My imagination went wild with the last one because we had just been talking earlier today about people being robbed on a bus. Silouettes continued to walk by, a fight started right outside our window, and then people from our bus started getting off. By now I was horrified that these were modern day stage coach thieves that could possibly be violent. I uncontrollably prayed in a whisper, “God help us. Lord Jesus help us. God help us…” over and over again. There was talking I didn’t understand, people still filing off the top level of the bus while our bottom level sat quietly in a closed off section, and lots of dark movement outside. My prayers continued as my breathing became heavier and faster.

After being parked for probably 15 minutes we were told that the driver had hit a drunk man crossing the road. At first I was completely relieved, but then I remembered the man who was hit, those he was close to, and the driver. My prayers were redirected into thanksgiving and petitions for others.

We finally started the bus, and turned it around. We guessed that we may be going back to Cusco for something, or heading to the city police station for a formal report of the incident. The latter was correct. We sat outside the police station for an hour and a half just waiting for the report to be made. By 1am we were back on our way with only a 2 hour delay!

I thank the Lord that nothing serious happened to the innocent people on the bus, but how many times all over the world does that happen to people? Especially Christians are threatened or kidnapped or hurt for their faith. I know that I cannot really feel their fear and hurt, but I think I may have a better understanding after tonight. Pause and pray with me for those who are in danger or scared all over the world.

The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca--7/2/11

We slept on the living room couches for a few hours this morning before waking up to a really cold house and a really warm breakfast. Puno was probably 45-50 degrees and there’s no heat indoors, so we just sat around with blankets on and froze. The last time I felt this cold was in China in the winter. No matter where we went people were bundled up in their coats and hats, indoors and out. There’s just no way to get warm. I’ve decided that I can’t live in place like this, so I’ll have to move to a southern city in China where it’s warm year round. I’m sure God agrees with my idea!



Boating on Lake Titicaca



We took a boat out on Lake Titicaca to take us to the Floating Islands. Did you know that Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world? I guess that’s pretty impressive information for some people out there.  Our tour boat had the engine of a diesel truck so it wasn’t really cut out for water use. 2 minutes into the water and they had to stop and pull the seaweeds out of it. Oh well, that’s Peru for you. There are 40 islands and each one inhabits about 25 people. They survive off of fishing and tourism. As we floated by the islands everyone stood waving on the edge of theirs in their brightly colored clothing, waiting to see if we would stop at their island. We landed at one where we heard about how the islands were made and the history behind them. It was so fun to walk across it because there are just thick reeds stacked on top of each other, which allowed for my feet to sink a bit after every step. The islands were only about 100 feet in diameter and only had about 5 huts on each one. But I was surprised to find that they had TV’s and solar powered electricity out there. Crazy!

The Floating Islands



We came back and spent the rest of the day hanging out at the 40/40 house. This is a ministry that Extreme Peru has where 40 North Americans team up with 40 Peruvians to minister to 3 communities each and then ultimately build a church in each one. All the 40/40 missionaries of an area live in one house where they have house parents. Their job is to help out with the young missionaries’ finances, spiritual growth, and counseling when necessary. The house parents in Puno are Chad and Amanda, and their two little kids are Ella and Thomas; I spent a lot of time with them! They showed us a cute place for lunch and then took us up to the Condor lookout. Incan tradition says that the condor, puma, and snake are the holy and respected animals.

We came home after our cold wet walk to try to rest and warm up. We had coca tea which is what cocaine is made of (though I didn’t know it at the time). I showed the kids all my pictures from the Holy Land and told them the Bible stories to go with each one. They were so well behaved and intrigued the whole way through it!! And we played some Rook before enjoying a hot soup dinner and some conversation with the 40/40’s when they got home from their ministries for the day.



Hanging out with the kids in the plaza



We had to leave again for another overnight drive to Cusco. I was a little sad to leave because I felt like everyone was so nice and we were just getting to know each other. We said our goodbyes and our thanks and then went to the bus station for our 9:30 bus. The trip was uneventful, though a little less restful than the night before. I struggled for the last half hour or so because the guy next to me started snoring very loudly, and then they turned up some extremely loud Spanish talk radio. But other than that it was great!

Going to Peru--7/1/11

Mike and I said goodbye to the rest of the team at the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave a half hour before theirs so we left them at the ticket counter. Though we had had an amazing time together it was easy to leave them because of the fun I was looking forward to!

We flew from Managua to San Salvador where our flight was delayed by 2 ½ hours. We wandered around the airport, which was really just one hallway. Mike found some manikins with heads full of hair. He tried to blend in with them but I wasn’t convinced. When we went back to our gate they had coffee and breakfast for us! So we spent the rest of our layover eating comfortably and playing on Facebook. Random fact: El Salvador uses US dollars for its currency—strange.

The flight to Lima was great, and my first view of mountainous Peru was beautiful! Mike seamlessly maneuvered us through the airport as he proudly introduced me to his country of residence. It actually worked out nicely that we had a longer layover in San Salvador because we ended up not having internet in Lima. So instead, we played Monopoly Deal. Mike had never played it so I took advantage for the first few games. He came back strong though. By the end of our flight to Ariquipa we were tied at 5 to 5. The tournament will continue!

Ariquipa has to be the smallest international airport I’ve ever flown into. There are 4 gates, but they only use 3, and there’s only one luggage belt. That’s surprising because this is the 2^nd largest city in Peru with 1 million people. And boy was I shocked when I got off that plane! Mike had warned me that it is winter down here so I should bring warm clothes, but I forgot about this when I was packing for the heat of Nicaragua. I only have 3 thin sweatshirts and a thin blanket. I walked into the middle of winter, completely unprepared! I was reminded of the Jamaican bobsled team in Cool Runnings as they stepped out of the airport into a Canadian blizzard! Being that I’m “afraid” of being cold, I tried to run through any possible solutions in my mind. The place we’re headed tonight was heard to have had snow earlier this week. Boo!

We had 2 hours before our bus to Puno was scheduled to leave so we went to Extreme Nazarene’s Headquarters, which is Mike’s place of work, and hung out for a bit while he ran home to get repacked for our weekend adventure. We met one of his coworkers, Kindra, at the bus station and the 3 of us loaded a Cama (bed) Bus. The chairs are spacious, comfortable, and recline far back. They are intended for the overnight drives around this vast country. For $8 we slept on the bus for nearly 6 hours. The perk is that you save on hotel!

We arrived in Puno at 5am, 26 hours after our day started in Nicaragua! We took a taxi to the missionary home in the city and crashed on their couches for a few hours of sleep before an exciting day of tourism and fellowship.

Leaving Jinotega--6/30/11

I love Nicaraguan coffee!!



We had planned to be a part of the first Rehab Program service this morning after they brought the men in off the street. Unfortunately, we just found out that the police station decided that they wanted to start it on Friday morning instead and they were not willing to bend on the date. Because they are the ones providing the location, we have to play by their rules. What a miracle though, we were able to be given 10 acres (or manzanas as they would say in Spanish) by the government to build our own rehab center. We will have that land in another month and then we can do things on our own timelines. Our team was sad about not really getting to see much of the ministry at all, but know that it isn’t about us getting to see what amazing things they’re doing, but just about us leaving their work in God’s hands and our prayers!



The whole group outside the church!



We visited Pastor’s favorite coffee shop and then all headed over to the jail to drop off a few supplies. As we were doing so we were able to show off the baby mice in box that still sat in the trash can outside the jail. Now everyone could share in our mouse story!

We drove back down to Managua, met up with Julian Jr. and Samuel, and then drove to the dump. This is a huge area where a whole community of people live all their lives. There’s a small school for the children, and the trade of all the adults is to collect plastics or other trash items to try to get money for. There were probably 100 people that we saw digging through the literal mountains of trash. What kind of a future do they have to look forward to? Because of the fumes in the area, most people die by the age of 50. The government has decided to come in and build homes for them, but this doesn’t seem to be the solution to the problem. After discussing it as a group later, I came to the conclusion that a church in the community would be the best solution. It isn’t practical to have everyone move to a better part of town, especially if that work really needs to be done, but it is practical to give the people hope of a better eternal future. As we left I was speechless, but I knew that at that point, prayer was most important thing I could do for those people!



Sweet girls from the church: Jamie Melissa and Joelia

As we were leaving the dump we drove by some new cookie cutter houses. Last year we saw a community of people camped outside governmental buildings because their homes had been destroyed and they had no other place to live. They were primarily made of cardboard boxes and black trash bags. The houses that we drove by were the new houses built for the people by the government! Wow! What a miracle to see the government taking such an interest in the people and their well-being! There are certainly deeper issues to be addressed, but it sounds like they are trying to start to improve the economy of Nicaragua. There is an election coming up in November which will determine if improvements like these will continue or not. We all need to pray that God will lead the people to vote for the man who will do the best for their country.

We did a little bit of shopping and then went back to the hotel for dinner and a closing meeting. Kenton wasn’t feeling well so Bobby got to drive in the dark through rush hour traffic with Zac as his navigator. Nicaraguan traffic is seriously ridiculous, but he did an awesome job!

After our final debriefing meeting we had some time to swim in the hotel pool. I know I say this a lot, but I laughed so hard as we were trying to play Marco Polo and then have diving competitions. We had a lot of fun together on this trip and created many memories that I won’t forget—with the help of this blog;).

The Rehab Program--6/29/11

We had Corn Flakes for breakfast this morning, but I made a special request for beans and rice which is what the locals were eating. Yum!

We were taping the plastic on the mattresses when Teresa arrived with her two children Blanca and Daniel. Our team, which today was Andrew, Nikki, Jamie, and myself, walked across town to the jail to clean up the room that they are providing for our ministry. It was fun to see some of the same areas we worked in last year. We even recognized one of the guys we had seen in and out of the jail last year!



Cleaning up the jail, and trying to avoid mice!

As we were walking through a back entrance behind the cells we noticed an officer burning papers that looked pretty official to me. Now I’m not saying there’s anything corrupt going on there, it just would have looked pretty sketchy had it been done in the states!

Food and supplies were stacked up in the room they would be using. It had been there since December because they’ve been saving up for a one-month rehab program with the same guys rather than just doing one week here and there. We started to move boxes to mop the floor when Andrew mentioned that he saw a mouse in the stack of stuff. We proceeded with caution until one jumped right over his foot and scurried across the floor. I was in the hall at the time but I could see Nikki, Jamie, and Blanca dance around and scream like scared little girls. I’m sure I would have done the same but since I wasn’t in there I just laughed really hard at their reactions! A man from the jail was in there with us so he lured the mouse out of its hiding place and smashed it with a broom. This happened two more times, along with more screams, jumps, and laughter!



Working and practicing Spanish with Blanca!



We actually got work done after the threat of mice was gone. We had to clean the floor and then go through all the boxes of food and products to make sure they weren’t eaten into by the mice. Unfortunately a lot had to be thrown away. As Nikki and Jamie were doing some shopping for plastic storage containers to replace the cardboard boxes, Andrew, Blanca, and I found another mouse scurry out of the room. Blanca, being a brave Nicaraguan teenager, battled the little mouse herself! Later, as we were cleaning through the food boxes, we found that one of the boxes had been made into a type of nest for baby mice!! There were at least 6 mice that had just been born within the past few days. They were only about an inch long, bald, pink, and unable to even move independently. Needless to say, we had to dump that entire box of food.



The Rehab Team--Mike, where are you??



After an enjoyable lunch of tostados, we finished taping the mattresses and then just hung out around the church until Nikki and Teresa got back with some clothes for the men. We enjoyed some mangos from the backyard and mamones from the market! I also had an opportunity to practice my Spanish with Blanca. She was incredibly patient with me as I stumbled embarrassingly through broken Spanish. At one point I explained to her that my Spanish was so poor because I kept thinking of words in Chinese first and then had to translate it into a 3^rd language that I am far more limited in. She, of course, was impressed so she asked me how to say, “What is your name” in Chinese. I was about to respond when the words didn’t come out. I had forgotten how to say it!!! I couldn’t believe it! I kept thinking of it in Spanish, and when I tried to say I had forgotten it I could only think of it in Chinese! My word! I can’t believe she stuck with me for an hour and a half!! But I am so thankful she did. I was having so much fun that I even continued speaking Spanish to my team for awhile after Blanca left. It’s mentally exhausting, but necessary in learning a new language.

Our evening service started a half hour late; there’s a much more relaxed sense of time here. It was our going away service, though it feels like we just had our welcome to Jinotega service. We were able to recognize each of the project teams and the church members who are going to take them over. The prayed for us, gave us some empanadas, and lots of hugs and good wishes for us. It was fun hanging out with them, but a little bitter sweet because it was sad to be leaving them so soon.

Panorama--6/28/11

 We were planning to go back to the 2^nd Church of the Nazarene today to help finish plastering the wall, but after looking at how much Paulo finished yesterday there really wasn’t much for four of us to do. So we had a change of plans and ended up going with another group to Panorama, which is a community of physically disabled people. We were expecting to do some kind of music presentation and then watch something that they had prepared…I guess that’s kind of how it went.

Praying with the new believers at Panorama



The meeting was at Edward’s house, but there were 9 of us going, so Pastor decided to drive his son’s car and take a taxi for the rest of the group. But he doesn’t know how to drive stick. The only one in our group who knew how to drive stick and was willing to drive in the chaos was Brian. We loaded the car pretty heavy with a bunch of food in the trunk and 5 in the car, and it already rode low when empty. So after our first turn leaving the church and entering the market Brian ran right over a huge manhole and high centered the car. Pastor was pretty nervous. We should have taken that as a hint enough to park the car and hop in a taxi, but we didn’t. We struggled for the next few miles through the rough and bumpy roads. We were scraping the bottom of the car constantly, which made us in the back almost as nervous as Pastor in the front. We finally got to a point where we walked because it became too painful to just sit. After what seemed like forever we finally got there.



The 9 of us piled into their small living room, and then following us came 10, 20, 30, even 40 people! They couldn’t all fit in the living room so they overflowed out the doors. We sang songs with them and for them, some spiritual and some silly (because I think we were unclear about the purpose of this gathering). Then the pastor preached and invited them to accept Christ. Several of them did! We were asked to go pray for them and I loved being able to pray for this man, his faith, his commitment, and the others there as they helped encourage him in his decision. Mike shared his testimony, and then it was their turn for a presentation.



Enjoying "guava" from the street market



They were very official and elaborate in what they had to share. They had official governmental documents approving their “club” of physically disabled people, called Panorama. They had a president, secretary, and treasurer who presented information and testimonials. Several others shared about their ailments, healings, and purpose of this group. After standing in this crowded room for another hour and a half listening to only Spanish, we organized the people to come up and get snacks. That took another hour, because by then the numbers had grown to 85! We left by early afternoon, walking instead of driving, not really knowing what to do to help the people. Do we give them money? Do we leave it up to Pastor? Do we provide some kind of support that does not include monetary giving? Some choices don’t have an easy answer, or necessarily a right one.



We had an enjoyable lunch laughing with Pastor, and then our afternoon was delayed by a huge downpour, but at around 4 we headed out to pray with a woman named Victoria. Her husband and children are not Christians so we went to encourage her and pray for them. Afterwards, we went to Pastor’s daughter’s house to meet the family!

The evening was pretty laid back because the days have been so hard for the building group. We had a long dinner, lots of chatting with Pastor’s family, and then a trip into town for ice cream! They had a cute little shop with superb prices. There was a little boy begging for our ice cream as we received it. Kenton gave him something more substantial, but he just kept begging. Where was his family? How could we help him other than giving him a sandwich and a little joy? Poverty is tough to know how to help.

Jinotega 2nd Church of the Nazarene--6/27/11

Plans changed for our 3 ministry projects. Initially, we were supposed to have one group build a church an hour away from Jinotega, my group was supposed to help with a week-long rehab program for alcoholics that we would take into the prison to care for, and the third group was going to work with a community of physically sick people. The building group stayed the same, but our rehab program actually isn’t going to start until Thursday which means we really have very little to prepare until Wednesday, and the sick community also had far less for us to do than expected. All that to say, my group went to the 2^nd Church of the Nazarene in Jinotega to help plaster the walls.

Making plaster for the 2nd Church of the Nazarene

We walked across town to get there and found that it was primarily our money that they needed us for. That was fine with me, almost even better. What we do not want to do on mission trips is barge in and do a job and then just walk away without there being any follow-up by the locals. This one was great because they had people from the church willing to do it; they just needed some extra funds to get it done. Mike and the Pastor went to buy the materials while we stayed at the church and chatted. We had some time with the members of their church and time to hear a little bit of our own testimonies. I love how missions brings us together with the Church, both with those from overseas and those from our own churches.

We did a few odd jobs here and there before walking back to Jinotega’s First Church for lunch. We met up with the leader of the rehab group, Teresa, to go shopping for mattresses for the men in the program to use. We had a lot of fun walking around town and then carrying a total of 16 foam mattresses on our heads through the narrow market streets. We got more stares than usual.

We didn't stand out at all!!

We went back to the 2^nd church to hand out flyers and candy to the community letting them know about the Jesus Film being shown there that night. We split up into small groups to make our way around the whole neighborhood. The Nicaraguan woman I was with did all the talking; I just smiled and passed out the invites. I noticed that they have a powerful ministry there among their small community because this woman knew almost everyone. Knowing the people has to be the first step in ministry.

The whole group joined us that evening for the Jesus Film. We were able to show off the little bit of work we did and introduce our new friends. At least 50 people attended the Film, with a majority of them being children. The pastor set up a huge speaker system outside the church so that everyone within 100 meters could hear the story of Jesus. Though this would not be ok in the United States, it’s completely acceptable in Central America.

Showing the Jesus Film

I watched the film especially intently because I had just been to many of the places shown in it! Many of the places were similar to what I had seen or imagined. The Sea of Galilee and the feeding of the 5,000 were accurate. The Jordan River was wider than what I saw, though we aren’t sure where exactly on the river Jesus was baptized. The temple and temple courts were close to what I had imagined, but it was just exciting to see what others have imagined these places looking like.

After the film, the pastor invited all the children to the front to repeat a salvation prayer. He also called a few people out who he knew were not Christians. Again, this is probably a cultural difference, but one that I find interesting anyway. I wonder about what kind of discipleship follow-up they provide, and if we could learn to be a little more bold with our invitations to Christ.

Services at the Church--6/26/11

Sunday morning service

During breakfast this morning we gave Pastor Julian the accordion we brought down for him. He hasn’t had one for 20 years, but when he got it he could play it perfectly. I can’t describe the size of his smile when he saw it. What a blessing it is to give something that is so meaningful to someone else. He started playing hymns while we were finishing up our breakfast. He no longer had the huge smile on his face, now he was just worshipping peacefully. It’s certainly greater to give than to receive!

Our amazing baseball players

We had members of our group lined up to lead Sunday school for the kids, the teens, and the adults. We were told to plan for an hour. Saturday night we were told it would actually be 2 hours and there would be no combined AM service. So, again being flexible, we just made it happen! I was helping out with the kid’s SS where we did some very well organized songs, skits, and crafts, prepared by Kendra and Jamie. We tried to play some games, but I much preferred the planned and organized activities. We finished up right as the adults were excused from their class!

This afternoon we did some songs for kids at the church and then drove across town to play baseball with the same team we played with last summer. They had been practicing up for this game! It was their team against the Americans and church members. We started out doing pretty poorly but then had some of our guys bust out some homeruns! Pastor Julian was the biggest surprise though. He was on the sidelines at first, but then seeing how we were struggling, came out to the field to show us how it is done. He was on the ground going after the first ball that came near him! Now this guy has to be in his 50’s at least, and he was still in his Sunday clothes! Another time he was in the field and completely dove for a fly ball…it was amazing!! People from the neighborhood gathered around to see who these strange Americans were. We were able to explain to those people and the kids after the game, that we were from the Nazarene church and they are welcome to attend.

VBS outside Edward's house

We went to one of the players’ homes, Edward. He remembered us from last year and invited us to come do our puppet show and songs with the kids in his neighborhood. It was the 3^rd time we did it today, so we were really good at it! And the little kids that came out of the crammed little houses were so precious! They were very curious as to how the puppets worked, so several of them just ran behind the sheet we were holding up. I guess they had to figure out “the secret of the puppets” sometime.

During dinner tonight Pastor Julian came in with his new accordion and played more hymns for us. We sang one with him but then he played one we didn’t know. For the next one we didn’t know, Jamie started making up her own words. Then several others started doing the same thing. At the end of the song I mentioned that I had never heard that song. I hadn’t realized that they didn’t know it either!

Pastor loves his new accordion

We have met a man named Samuel here. His English is quite good, and after a conversation with some of the people in our group he is considering becoming a Work and Witness Coordinator. Unfortunately on our trip this year we have not been able to have the help of a Work and Witness Coordinator, but they normally help translate for and provide council and direction for mission teams. To give him a little practice he was asked to translate for Brandon as he preached in the evening service. Samuel struggled with some of our complicated American phrases, and Brandon struggled with keeping his sentences short and simple. But both of them were able to learn from the experience and the people still got the message across clearly! Jamie and Bobby both gave their testimonies tonight. I was almost brought to tears several times as I listened to how God has worked in these young peoples’ lives. He is so faithful to guide and provide for our every need!

Toward the end of the service Pastor had an alter call. And praise the Lord, the little boy from the baseball game, Edward, went to the front to accept Christ!! And a man who had been sitting by us in the service, who was clearly drunk, went up to get saved too! He had been reading pretty thoroughly through the scripture passages we were reading them. And though I don’t know how committed this man is to his decision, I know that he has been exposed to Christ and that God will continue to work in his heart. I love seeing churches that accept and welcome people from all walks of life!

Managua--6/25/11



Playing in the rain



After a lovely and uneventful night at the hotel, we took a tour of Managua while we waited for the next flight from Houston to arrive with our luggage. Our “luck” continued as during our drive we ran over a curb and got a flat tire! And ironically it had just started to rain! So rather than trying to hide under a tree and stay dry, we just embraced it! The guys in our group were awesome to jump right in and get it fixed. While the guys worked, the girls went for a wet walk around town. There were several taxis trying to give us rides. I guess they think that American girls don’t like to get rained on; we must be the exception!

That looks familiar!

Over the next several hours we were able to get a new tire, find our luggage, and drive the 3 hours up the mountains to Jinotega (He-no-ta-gah). We were pretty squished in our van/bus, so I have to admit that it wasn’t the most comfortable ride, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have fun practicing our worship set with Bobby on the guitar, and then playing the Bible Character game!! This is what I love about missions: people are always flexible and creative enough to make an uncomfortable situation a memorable one!

After our first authentic Nicaraguan meal at the pastor’s house in Jinotega, we experienced our first authentic Nicaraguan Nazarene church service. The band had drums, a new keyboard that we brought down with us, guitars, and three trumpets. Needless to say, it was loud and exciting—very Central American!

Fun in a crowded van

I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with the congregation at that first service. Mike from our team translated for me. I shared about how I’ve always wanted to be a missionary. Times like these where I’m in another country make me feel like I’m a typical missionary. But seeing how the believers here are constantly reaching out to their brothers and sisters and neighbors reminds me that they are missionaries too. I need to be constantly reminded that everything I do in Nampa should be in response to God’s call to love others and love Him more and more each day. I’ve always wanted to be a missionary, and what a joy to realize that I always have the opportunity to be…right where God has placed me.