just keep swimming!

Back in the Swing of Things

2005-09-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Just so you guys know, I wasn't real sure I was ever going to make it back home. There was some confusion with my plane ticket, I thought it was an e-ticket, but when I checked in they told me if I didn't have the paper ticket I would have to pay over a thousand bucks to get on the plane! So of course I was freaking out and begged Ryan to go the Mike's office to find my ticket. In the mean time Heather had already checked in and was just waiting to leave so we sat and had our last Dunkin Donuts together as I tried not to think about the fact that I might not be getting home for awhile. Of course it all worked out, Ryan brought my ticket up and I boarded at the last minute. It just figures that I would do something like that.

So I made it home and my parents were waiting with a cold Dr. Pepper. The next few days at home were so crazy! I packed all my things and my parents were planning on renting a UHaul to bring everything up (like my clothes, my bed, and lots more). I left a few days early to visit my sister in San Marcos and then Marquette in Waco. I finally made it back up to school and was at work the day after I got there. Somehow UHaul lost my parents reservations and they couldn't get them another truck until this weekend. I haven't minded sleeping on the floor, it's better than freezing in mummy bag in a shady makeshift bed. Of course, though, we can't really afford to put the gas in the UHaul anymore so looks like all my bed and other furniture isn't going to make it up here. I don't really mind because it's a little reminder of Peru everyday.

This semester might be the easiest yet, I have no class on Tuesdays and Thurdays, and I don't start until after 11 on the other days. Soccer practice starts today (4 and 5 year olds) and basketball starts next week sometime. I hope you all are enjoying this school year, and for those of you not in school....lucky. I graduate in May and am beginning to realize that I soon need to discover what it is I'm going to do. I posted some new pictures of the house and a few from Lima. I miss you all and think about our trip often.

Home Sweet Home

2005-08-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

I made it!

I got it!

2005-08-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

So I got my passport this morning with no trouble at all! I'm officially a US citizen again! I went from the embassy over to immigration which is the craziest place in all of Peru. After wandering around for awhile asking people where I was supposed to go and then not understanding their answer, I met a guy who spoke english. He said he was a US attorney and friends with the President of Peru, he made it known that he had really good connections there. I told him I was a Baptist missionary and he told me he was a Christian as well. He led me upstairs and to the front a long line where he told the lady I was a missionary with him and I needed to get a visa. She took my paperwork right away and I had my 90 day visa stamped in my passport and was gone within 15 minutes. I couldn't beleive it! A couple of the Peruvian's in line were quite upset that I got "special treatment," one lady even started yelling at me about how this is her country and she can't even get a visa or something like that. I was so relieved to finally get everything done, though, I just ignored everyone and caught a taxi back to the apartment. We're about to head out to get some fried cuy (guinea pig) just so I can say that I had it while I was here. Tomorrow morning I fly out 10 and should be in Houston by 10pm. Thank you all for your prayers!

Milagro!

2005-08-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to a Spanish service at one of the Baptist churches here in Lima and it was the first time all summer that I have understood a sermon! The preacher spoke perfect Spanish, and it helped that he had all his teeth too. When we were out in the campo I rarely picked up on anything they were ever saying. I am looking forward to the opportunity to sit through a chruch service without having to work so hard at figuring out what the preacher is actually saying.

Tomorrow I am going to the American Embassy at 8am to see if my passport is ready - which I hope it is because my flight leaves on Tuesday. From there I am headed to immigration to figure out my visa stuff - I'm sure they'll let me out of the country, but I just have to figure out if I have to pay to leave. So if you think of me say a little prayer that it will all work out smoothly and I'll be on a flight back to Houston on Tuesday. I can't wait to see you all again!

Cold and Cloudy in Lima

2005-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well I've been back in Lima for over a week now and I never thought I would say this but I am so sick of eating out at fast food American restaurants, I'm actually beginning to crave some Peruvian food now...wierd. The night that my team flew in to Lima we all had huge burgers from Chiles, and I must say it was almost the best burger I've ever had - not as good as my dad's world famous. There was a kitchen in our hostel that we could use, but it was just to much of a hassle to go and get the groceries, and between those and a taxi it's just as expensive as eating out. There isn't that much to do here besides eat and hang out with the other missionaries...but, after tonight there will only be three of us left, and after Friday only two. So, I guess I can say that I am ready to be home only because it is so stinkin boring here. I haven't actually seen the sun since I've been in Lima, it seems like there is always a cloud hanging over this city and it's colder now than when we got here in the beginning of the summer. I can't wait to step into the heat and humidity of Houston, Texas!

Heather and I are staying at Ryan and Amanda's apartment until we leave (they are the ISC couple working with Reap South). I will probably put more pictures up either today or tomorrow and I'll blog again if anything crazy happens here in Lima. I can't believe that the summer is already over! I think I have all of my passport stuff figured out, and hopefully it will be ready by the 8th - the day before I leave. I'll be traveling to the immigration office some time in the next few days to figure out what to do about my Visa - which was lost with my passport too. I've heard that without a visa they make you pay a dollar a day that you are here - hopefully they'll let me work something out.

Grab a Life-jacket, This is Deep

2005-07-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well we finally finished almost everything. Our job doing research out on the field officially ended on Monday. Last Sunday we went to a church service in a village out in the middle of nowhere. Much to our surprise the place was packed full of people. We were asked to come up and share a little bit; we shared who we are and why we were the only gringos in that whole village and then they asked us to sing a song for them in English. So, Chris grabbed a guitar from one of the 12 people with guitars and we sang Todd Agnew's Grace Like Rain. It was really kind of awkward because everyone was just staring at us and no one had a clue what we were saying. We ended up sitting in through the service for about 5 hours, and most of it - well pretty much all of it - was in Quechua, that language that none of us understand. Thank the Lord when I get back to hear a church service in English!

We got to Rick and Kelly's on Monday night and have been hanging out working on reports for the last few days. Wednesday we had Elijah's 4th birthday party at his preschool and I got to make animal balloons the whole time - I think I have almost perfected the dog and am working on the rabbit. Maybe when I get back up to school I can get a part time job working at a restaurant making animal balloons and collecting tips - sounds like a winner to me!

During our break here I have had a lot of time to do some reflecting on the summer and I got to read A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a serious thirst to follow after God. As most of you know, we don't have too many comforts down here - well pretty much the only familiar thing I had all summer was my backpack. Most of the other summer missionaries would probably agree that you experience God in a way that you never have before when you are forced to give up the things that you hold dear and those that you think you need. Spending two months here already I have come to a better understanding of what it means to rely completely on God for everything...and from that I have realized my need for Him more and more everyday. Here's an exerpt from Tozer's book that talks about what it means to lose everything, but doing so you really gain so much more in Christ. I think by reading this you might understand just a little more what I have learned just from living somewhat uncomfortably this summer.

The way to deeper acknowledge God is through the lonely valleys of soul abnegation of all things. The blessed one's who posses the kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all the sense of possessing. These are the "poor in spirit." They have reached an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets of Jerusalem. That is what the word poor as Christ used it actually means. These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. "There's is the kingdom of heaven."

I have yet to to become completely free from "the tyranny of things," but I know I have a better grasp of how to do so now. There was a veil in the old testament tabernacles that separated us from the the Holy of Holies, from the presence of God and all His glory. People would fear to enter because it meant sure death. The veil was torn down, though, when Christ offered His life for us as the perfect sacrifice. No longer should we be fearful to enter the Holy of Holies and to experience the Living God. However, when we offer our lives unto God we have a tendency to refuse to let go of some things and by doing so we put up our own veil that brings separation between ourselves and God. This summer has been a time when I have realized what those things are and I am in the painful process of surrendering those to Him. The cross was rough and painful, but Christ tells us in Matthew 16:24 "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." Surrendering the things that hinder our walk with God will be painful and hard, but just as Christ was came down from the cross and rose again in all His glory, we too will be raised to walk in a new way of life. The next verse in Matthew says "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it." I think this summer was for me the beginning of understanding what it really means to surrender myself to Christ and to walk in His abundant grace. Hopefully this makes sense to you all, sometimes it is hard to put into words what you are in the process of learning.

Tomorrow we are meeting the Lampa team for dinner in Juliaca along with the Martinez'. We will be spending the night there in a cheap hostel because our flight to Lima leaves early in the morning. Once we get there I will be sorting out my passport situation at the embassy and we will have a couple free days to hang out with the other teams before our final de-briefing on the 29th. I will try to keep the pictures coming and post once I get to Lima. Thank you all for your love and support this summer, it has been a huge blessing!

The Winter is Winding Down

2005-07-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Just to give guys an update on my health, I lost the fever and and I feel tons better. I can´t eat much because my stomach is doing all kinds of crazy things. Both Thursday and Friday night I woke up itching everywhere and my stomach and neck broke out into hives or some kind of wierd rash thing. I took benadryl both nights and it went away within a few hours, but it´s wierd because it only did it after I laid down. Maybe it´s the bedbugs that everyone talks about down here, who knows though.
Tuesday we left Juliaca and had planned to go to Orurillo for a few days, but of course that didn´t work out. There were no more cars going there...so we decided to head up to Ayiviri stay one night to get some info we forgot, then head up to Santa Rosa. In the short amount of time that we were Ayiviri one of the families we know here cooked us lunch - fried cheese, potatos and lettuce. MMMMMM, I chose to get mine in a bag because I didn´t think that cheese would have been the best thing for me. That night we also went to the vegetarian restaurant here to visit Oto, one of the kids of the family that owns it. We had banana shakes and fruit salads, but Oto seemed upset about something. He finally told us, he´s about 4, that he´s sad because his mom just had a baby and he doesn´t get very much attention. So...we decided we would stay for about an hour and just hang out and be goofy with him. Somehow I ended up with the name Señiorita toad and Oto with Señor rana (frog). We acted like kids, it made his day and we were all smiling when we left. Something about hanging out with kids makes you realize what really is important.
We caught a taxi up to Santa Rosa and began our research. We walked aroud the town for about 5 or 6 hours before finding the evangelical church. We spoke with one of the sisters there and Sunday (tomorrow) we are meeting her to drive out to one of the villages to meet the pastors of a few churches. We left Santa Rosa and headed towards Putina to get some more info about the churches there. Of course, though, we only made it as far as Huancane. We planned to stop by Rick and Kelly´s to get some more Quechua Bible studies then found out that the Lampa team was there for the night too. They had run out of water so we decided to stay and help move it from one tank to the other. It probably looked hilarious because we had a chain of people passing pots and pressure cookers full of water... it was especially hilarious when we found the dead frozen bird in the bottom of the water tank. It was already late in the afternoon so we decided to stay and head out to Putina in the morning. We played a huge game of Risk, which I still don´t really understand, then headed out to get some chicken. We went to the only restaurant aroud which also happenned to be at the smae place that gave me salmonella last time, so I opted to wait for a sandwhich whe we got back. I bought a bag of bread and patiently awaited my feast of peanut butter and honey. On our way back to the house the bottom of my bag broke and my bread went everywhere. Because I am in Peru I looked to see if it had landed in urine or something, then picked it all back up to take back and eat. Things just don´t seem gross here after awhile...like the squatty potties, they´re actually growing on me. We stayed up late watching movies and enjoying the company of other English speaking Americans.
The next day we said our goodbyes and headed out to Putina by combi. I´m learning how to pick the right seat - next to the window that can actually open and not where anyone can fit in my lap. We evetually got there and set out to find the churches, and much to our surprise we found them all within a couple hours. We had lunch as we watched the Spanish rendition of Ice Age and discovered all the new ways to use my camera. We made it an early night because we didn´t get but about 5 hours of sleep in Huancane. We made it a sleep in day...One of the 3 we have had all summer. We visited the Adventist´s church to ask a few questions then it was back to our favorite chicken sandwhich place. After a few sandwiches and about 4 glasses of juice we decided to head back towards Santa Rosa so we could meet up with the lady from church in the morning. The ride to Juliaca lasted a good 2 and a half hours and Heather and I were lucky enough to sit right in front of the door where all the dust came in, not a good seat but I had no choice in the matter. When we crawled out of the bus in Juliaca we decided we needed a short break from our summer of bus and combi rides so we sat down for some pizza and fettucini. Of course it´s not the same, but it sure beats rice and potatoes!
We caught the last bus here to Ayaviri and in the morning we will head up to Santa Rosa. Just for the record, we have stayed in a different place for the last 7 nights in a row. We are definatly expert packers by now, but I am looking forward to laying my head in the same place at least for a couple nights next week. Tomorrow is really our last day out on the field doing research. Monday we are heading back to Huancane to stay at Rick and Kelly´s for a few days. There isn´t another village around here that we can get to and research in the next 3 days that we haven´t already been to. I think Chris is going to be helping Rick some things around the house and we will be packing to head up to Lima. It is so wierd to think that we are pretty much done with our field work for the summer, even though we still have many reports to write about our findings down here. I´m excited, though, to see all the other summer missionaries and hear all their awesome stories.
I almost forgot to tell you all this. While we were in Santa Rosa we met with the principal of one of the highschools. We gave him our contact information, but thought nothing of it because we have given them out to tons of people and have yet to receive any mail from them. Little did we know this time it would be different. Heather checked her e-mail only to find a crazy long LOVE letter from professor Julio. She showed it to me and I decided to read it loud enough for everyone in the place to hear...it almost had me rolling on the ground. He talked about how she is like the Sirens of Greek mythology and she had captured his heart and love. WoW! There will always be a place for her to come back to down here in Peru :)
Just so you all know I am really excited about school this next semester. A friend of mine, Jessie Pace, was hired as an admissions counselor and she and I are renting a house together for the year. She just finalized everything a couple days ago and I can´t wait to see what our new house looks like! Also, my earliest class all semester starts at 11...how awesome is that! Well, I will proabaly update again and upload pictures sometime this next week while we´re in Huancane. Thank you all for your encouraging words this summer, they really mean a lot to all of us down here. Sometimes we have days when the comments on our blog are what keep us going. Much love from the Southern Hemisphere, yes...where it is now winter.

Gotta Be Flexible Down Here

2005-07-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing that I have learned this summer it is how to be flexible. So far I don´t think any of the plans that we have made have actually happened. The other village in Sandia that we were going to visit we found had very few people, no hostals, and people don´t speak Spanish - also everyone told us that the road was extremely dangerous and there were a lot of accidents. So...we decided to head back south and get a couple more villages in the district of Melgar done instead of waiting to do Quiaca. We found a truck that told us they were going to Putina (which is another town down south that we needed to stop back by). We piled into the back of this truck with about 10 other Peruvians, nothing beats truck rides in the jungle. We were driving on mountain roads and through waterfalls - it was so beautiful! After about an hour and half of continuing to see jungle we got a little worried because Putina is cold and all dirt hills. We figured that there couldn´t be 2 Putina´s and we just figured we were taking a different way down. About 4 hours later we stoped in the town of San Juan del Oro - which is even deeper into the jungle and further from anywhere we needed to go. Lillte did we know there was another Putina about an hour away.
Of course we couldn´t do much but laugh becuase there was no way we could leave that night. We found a cheap hostel and decided to make the most of it, the weather was absolutley beautiful anyways! Rick and Kelly, the career missionaries in Huanacane, had mentioned that if we were down by San Juan del Oro then maybe we could do a little research for them. We met some students in the intstitute there, and they wanted to take us down to the river. The next morning I went for a jog - the first time since Ayaviri about a month ago. The village was only 4,000 ft above sea level (much different than Ayaviri at 13,000 ft). I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could run with no problem. While I was jogging I found a small hill with a cross on top that over looked all of San Juan del Oro. I made my way up and just sat in awe for awhile. Everything was so beautiful, the mountains, the jungle, the river, the clouds. I couldn´t help but consider the indescribable greatness of God and his creation.
Later we decided we head down to the river with the students from the institute and wash our hair, and Chris was going to try to wash some clothes. We hiked down to the river - I was so excited becuase it was the first time all summer I got to wear shorts and a t-shirt! It took a while but we finally inched in just enough to wash our hair. One of the guys from the school decided to show us how he could swim through the rapids, and of course I had to try it. Little did I know he had done this many times and knew where to dodge all the rocks. I have quite a few bruises on my legs now, but at least I can say I swam in the rapids of the River Tambopata in the jungle, the headwater of the Amazon. We stayed in the water for awhile, then found places to put dry clothes on. While Chris was still in the water he decided to wash some of his clothes and laid them out to dry on one of the rocks. Heather and Chris decided to pump some water out of the river, then Heather tried to stand on one of the big rocks on the river to brush her teeth - the same rock Chris´clothes were drying on. Boots, jeans, dry clothes and all Heather slipped off the rock into the river, taking Chris´clothes with her. He was able to grab Heather and almost all his clothes. I just sat back and videod it all. Heather pulled herself out and dumped about a gallon of water out of her hiking boots (the only shoes she has besides flip flops). We hiked back up and on the way tried to pick a few oranges of the trees. An elderly lady walking down toward the river stuck her hand out to say hi to Heather and she jumped away terrified - the lady had a machete in her other hand - it was absolutley hilarious!
Finally we made it back up and crashed for a little bit. We got some research done and decided we would visit the churches in the morning. It was the most relaxing time I have had all summer, which was much needed. We all took advantage of our time there, Heather had the opportunity to share Christ with a family she had met.
The next morning we headed to the churches and finished up our research, then we jumped on a bus back to Juliaca at about 5pm. Heather and I were sitting together and decided that we would try to learn the Spanish songs that were blaring from the speaker right above our seats. We had an audience and help from one of the ladies sitting in the aisle (they don´t waist space down here). It took about 3 hours to get to Sandia, where we had a 20 minute restroom/dinner break. Then the dreaded 7 hour dirve back to Juliaca. We left Sandia around 9 and probably around midnight it was freezing cold in the bus. I honestly don´t think I have ever been as cold as I was in that bus, my feet were stinging and my face was numb, it was absolutly miserable. We didn´t actually get into Juliaca until about 6 this morning, which made it altogther a 13 hour bus ride. We didn´t get too much sleep becuase were shaking so bad, I the street food we had bought for dinner didn´t settle to well. We got off the bus in Juliaca and I think it was at least about 15 degrees. I piled my stuff on to a trici taxi and headed to the Royal Inn to eat breakfast. We were all completely wiped out so Heather and I got a room at a hostel and Chris got a nice room at the Royal. We slept unitl about 1 this afternoon then had a little Chifa for lunch (Chineses food). Today we are getting caught up on pictures and writing up a couple reports. In the morning we are heading out to Orurillo where we will be for the next few days at least. I think I am starting to get sick (allergies and stomach stuff) - who knows what from, but please pray that I will stay healthy for the remainder of the summer, and my team also.
It´s wierd to think that we will only be on the field for 2 more weeks before we head back to Lima. The summer has been one of the most challenging but rewarding things I have ever done and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. In case you have sent me an e-mail, the school server is down I guess and so I haven´t been able to check it for about a week now.

Everybody Move to the Back of the Bus

2005-07-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well the bus ride up here to Sandia only took a surprising seven hours. About half way into the trip they made us all pile out of the bus because there was a huge crater in the road, I guess it's easier to go through minus 60 people. It was dark and freezing cold out, and we filed into the ditches for our only bathroom break of the ride. We finally arrived in Sandia around 1 am and much to our surprise it was only about 60 outside. We found the only hostel that was open and crashed for the night. The hostel was much like an orphanage with about twenty beds in one room and it seemed like everyone who got of the bus ended up sleeping there. When I woke up the next morning I walked outside and we were completely surrounded by huge mountains covered in green! I can't explain how great it was to look up and not see dirt hills.
Later that afternoon we found a combi to Cuyo Cuyo. It was supposed to be an hour and a half trip and for some reason ended up taking about 2 and a half hours. Needless to say I was quite happy to arrive in Cuyo Cuyo. Earlier that day it had been hot in Sandia - shorts and t-shirt weather, but by the time we got to Cuyo Cuyo it was pretty chilly. The town is in a valley and the mountains go straight up around it, made me kind of chlostrophobic. We arrived around 3 and the sun was already hidden for the rest of the day. I think we just took it easy that night becuase we were all pooped form the drive - it was all on mountian roads and was the roughest ride we have had yet.
The next day we got most of our research done, the town was so small it only took about 20 minutes to walk around the entire thing. Everthing there is made out of some kind of gray stone and it seemed so dark becuase the sun is only out for about 6 hours each day. We found a seventh day adventists church and of course the Catholic church in the plaza. We found the missionaries that worked at the Catholic church and we only spoke with them for about 10 minutes becuase they thought it was hilarious to just laugh at us and lie to us for no reason, great missionaries! Later we went to the stadium and watched a soccer game that the secondary school was having - we couldn't stay long becuase it was driving me crazy watching them play. There was absolutely no way we would find any type of firecrackers in that town so we retired to the hostel to celebrate on our own. We listened to Garth Brook's We Shall Be Free and gave reason why we were so thankful for the US - it's a lot easier to think of reasons when there all taken away for awhile. If you look at the pictures you can tell we de-railed a little because we spent probably an hour and half messing with each others hair. There was no need for hairspray or little clippy things because when your hair's this greasy it tends to stand on it's own.
We would soon find out the next day what it felt like to be hated on. We awoke early and found the professors to get info about the schools.After a while we attempted to find a place to eat lunch. The first restaurant that we went to the people that worked there completely ignored us for about 20 minutes or more. It was somewhat disturbing becuase I went to ask why they were ignoring us and she would'nt even talk to me. The next four restaurants told us they didn't have lunch that day - it wouldn't have been a problem if thier places weren't packed full of people eating lunch. I seriousely felt like I was in the movie Forget the Titans or something. I just shook it off and kept looking for a place to eat. We finally found one other restaurant and all they had was chuño soup (the black potato that I dislike the most of all the food down here). I didn't much care though becuase I was starving at this point. Afterwards we decided to treat ourselves to chocolate and went to our room to play cards for awhile. We were all ready to get out of that town.
The next morning we headed to the plaza and finally caught a ride back to Sandia - and this time it only took an hour and forty five minutes. I don't know why, but at one point on the way back we were actually driving downstream IN the river, I was for sure that we would get swept away, but I guess our combi driver knew what he was doing. We got back and searched for a hostel that had two rooms available, but everybody said they had no rooms. We finally found a place near the bus stop (which is always the trashiest side of town). They had single rooms for all of us, which was kind of nice because we all got to sleep as late as we wanted. We had some meals in a bag and the best alpaca steak I've had since I've been here, then we headed back to our rooms. I stayed up reading for a little while then decided to get a little shut eye. For some reason everywhere we are there is always a tv or radio that gets turned on fulol blast around 6 in the morning. I managed to sleep throuygh most of it unitl about 9 - it was the lates I have slept all summer! heather and I had some soggy frech fries, fried hot dogs (not like our hot dogs) and rice for breakfast - we couldn't have asked for anything better.
The next place that we need to go here in Sandia doesn't have a bus until Sunday, so we are thinking about going to San jaun de oro because our friends in Huancane asked us to get some info from there if we had time. It supposedly is a little deeper into the jungle, too, so it will be a little warmer.
I am going to try to upload more pictures today but the computers up here are so slow so i'm not sure if it is going to work. I hope all had a great 4th of Julio! I will update again in a few days. Love you all and miss you.

Mmmmm...blended frog

2005-07-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, a lot has happened since I last updated. We went to Nuñoa on the 24th and stayed until Monday morning. We made a few really good contacts there, and gathered as much info as we could. There were a few surrounding villages that we hoped to visit but we couldn´t find a way to get out there. Our two contacts that had cars were gone both nights we were there, the first night practicing for the dances and the next night everyone was out in the campo at a huge festival. We rode out to the festival in the back of a truck with about a hundred other people. People came from all around to see the dances, I think there were about 40 dances all together. We stayed for about 8 hours until it was over. It was also Heather´s birthday so when we got back to Nuñoa we were on a mission to find cake. It was hopeless, so instead we bought bread and chocolate and tried to melt it with a lighter. It didn´t melt very well, but at least it was something, right.

The next day we woke up early to catch a bus to Juliaca. We finally arrived after about a 3 hour drive, which wasn´t bad because only half of the ride was in a combi. We were all ready for some r and r too. We put our things down at the hotel and met Mike, Ryan, Amanda, and Rick and Kelly at the chifa restaurant (Peruvian for Chinese). It was so great to eat something besides bread and honey, and to see other people we could speak english with! Later that afternoon the Lampa team arrived, David, Wade and Ginny. We all had a nice dinner together and exchanged stories from the first half of the summer. That night we decided to show everyone here just how awesome we can all sing at a karaoke place nearby. We serenade them all with somgs like Can You Feel the Love TOnight, Heroe, I Will Always Love You, Born in the USA, and Call Me. I got to sing my solo to Selena´s Bidi Bidi Boom Boom (I think that´s what it´s called). I think it´s a lot easier to get up and sing in front of people who have no idea what youré saying! Needless to say we had a great time together, and you should be able to tell from the pictures.

The next day we had debriefing and each of us met with either Mike, Ryan or Amanda. I met with Mike, and it was so encouraging just to sit and think about how many things God has already done this summer and how my outlook on many things has already changed for the better. We spent the majority of the day with our team and preparing for the next month together. After lunch we all headed out to Tupac, the huge market here in Juliaca. Rebecca Kunz (whom most of you know) promised to buy me a pizza from chuckie cheese if I got myself drinking frog juice on video. Well Rebecca, I am looking forward to my pizza! On the streets in Tupac there are small stands with little aquariums of frogs that they blend with papaya and other herbal things and it supposedly helps your brain somehow. Well, I picked out my frog and downed two glasses - which I think now I deserve 2 pizzas Rebecca! You should check out the pictures!

The next morning we were up and on our way to Puno at 6 in the morning. We decided to head out to Lake Titicaca and spend the night on one of the islands. We visited Uros, which is the island that is made of only reeds, and of course I stepped through the reeds into the lake so I had a wet foot for most of the day. It was so crazy, though, becuase it´s just a floating island and you can see waves go through it when boats go by. From there we traveled about 2 and a half hours to the Isle Amanti where we spent the night. The ride out there was so beautiful because you see the huge snow capped mountains of Bolivia on one side and Peru on the other. When we got there we were met by two families that we were going to stay with that night. Ginny, Heather and I stayed with one family and the guys stayed with their neighbors. I didn´t realize that we would actually be sleeping at their house and they would cook for us. She brought us out a vegetarian lunch (rice, potatoes and yellow squash) and then we hiked up to the top of the island with the others in our group. It was quite a steep, difficult hike, but it definatley paid off. We got to the top just in time to see he sun set over the lake. I was one othe most beautiful things that I have ever seen!

When we returned we had the same thing for dinner, then she dressed us in their traditional dress for the dance that was that night. It was hilarious seeing ourselves in all the clothes! We went to the dance, but Wade and I snuck out to the top of the building to check out the stars. It was by far the most amazing sky that I have ever seen! It was so unbelieable that I can´t put it into words that would do it justice. There are so many more stars down here and we probably saw 6 shooting stars while we were up there. We all headed back to our host houses, which was very hard to do walking down the mountain in skirts in pitch black - but it was fun.

The next morning we had something like funnel cake for breakfast, visited the Isle of Taquile (very touristy), then had a 4 hour ride back to Puno. I took so many pictures, but I don´t think that any of them can show just how amazing it was out there. We found a place in Puno that served "American" food and grubbed out. We all had our own burgers and shared 2 pizzas (they weren´t like our burgers and pizza but they were good). We were all so stuffed, so we headed back to Juliaca to find a place for dessert. We found a place that made milkshakes, pies and cakes and we ate until we couldn´t eat anymore. We decided we were aloud to splurge at least once this summer. Wade and Chris stayed in a really nice hotel, but he rest of us settled for a 5 soles a night hostel (about $1.50). The bathroom was a bit shady, but it was warm and the owner was hilarious.

This morning we went to the market for some last minute things before we head back out on the field; we also had chifa one last time. Tonight we are headed to Huancane to Rick and Kelly´s where our team is going to put together our reports of the villages we have already visited. Either tomorrow or Sunday we are heading up to Sandia, a 15 hour bus ride to the high jungle. We will be there probably for a couple weeks because there are quite a few villages we need to visit. We are definatly all looking forward to the change in scenery and climate. Everyone has told us that it will be much warmer, which will be great since it had been in the 20´s here at night. There should be internet cafe´s there so I should be able to update and upload pictures at least once or twice a week.

Please pray for us as we begin to travel again. Thank you all for your love and prayers!

Intestines Anyone?

2005-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

This morning we headed out to Macari to the district wide IEP meeting (Iglesia Evangelica Peruana). The pastor from here in Ayaviri accompanied us, and we met all the pastors in this area. They spoke mostly Quechua for the first hour or two and we had no idea what was going on. Then everyone started moving inside to the church, and Eron, the pastor from Ayaviri, told us it was our turn. Well, Chris had gone to get a drink so it was just Heather and I for awhile. It was awesome to be able to talk to them and get feedback about where the churches are and there specific needs. We gathered so much information and got contact info from every pastor that was there. After we talked for wbout and hour we headed outside for lunch. They put the 3 of us at a table in front of all of them, it was kind of awkward but we had a good time.

My stomach dropped when they brought us our food because it was soup with chuñus in it. Now chuñus are old potatoes that they step on with their bear feet to get all the water out, then they sit out forever. Needless to say it is not exactly my favorite food from Peru. However we got it all down to find out there was more to eat. What they brought out looked like tongue with tastebuds, but we soon figured out that it was stomach and intestines. Of course we had to eat it to be polite, but it wasn't very pretty. After we all finished our lunch they asked Chris to play a song on his guitar. He got it out and the 3 of us sang the Todd Agnew song Grace Like Rain. It felt so good to be around so many beleivers, because they are few and far between down here.

We left Macari to head back to Ayaviri where we could catch a bus to Nuñoa. By the time we got back to Ayaviri it would have been around 6 before we got to Nuñoa. So...we decided to stay in a cheap hostel for the night so we could get caught up on uploading pictures. You should check them out. Many of them are from when we were bored and waiting for a ride in San Luis, hopefully they will make you laugh. Early tomorrow morning we are heading up to Nuñoa where we will be until we go to Juliaca on Monday. Hopefully sometime Tuesday or Wednesday I'll be able to upload more pics. Thank you all for commenting and for your love and support!

Dump Truck Taxi

2005-06-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

We have all recoverd well from our recent lack of sleep. Yesterday we had one of the best days yet, well I know I did. In the morning we set out to a village called Mariapatta (I probably spelled it wrong). We took a combi out there , and we beat our record of 18 people with a whopping 24! It was quite uncomfortable, but worth the experience. When they dropped us off it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. I think there were only about 40 little adobe houses in the whole village. We were told that there was an IEP church out there, but we soon found out that there really was nothing. We saw more cows than we did people. The first guy that we talked to told us three was no church, the next lady only spoke Quechua (which sounds nothing like anything I have ever heard before), and the next guy told us where the tenienta lived (the team captain of the town). We went to visit him and he didn´t have much info to offer. We walked a ways further and talked with a guy that was herding his sheep and found out most of our info from him. It was so fun becuase we had to hike quite a bit because the village was so spread out. We started to walk back to Ayaviri, which probably would have taken about 2 and a half hours...then a dump truck drove by, we waved them down and hitched a ride all the way back. We had a blast and 2 other kids had hitched a ride with them too.

We had lunch in Ayaviri then took another combi to San Luis. About an hour into the drive we figured out that they were taking us to the San Luis in Nuñoa, not the one in Ayaviri. When they dropped us off there was one family that lived there, it was tiny. We figured we might as well make the most of our time so we went into their house and talked with them for a while. We got to share evreything that we believe with them and read scripture together. As a nice gesture they gave us each a huge chunk of cheese. I love cheese, but some of the cheese here is just interesting to say the least - the particular one tasted kind of like smoked nail polish remover. We went back out to the road because the combi said they would come back to pick us up at 5. We got bored and creative with our picture taking (I´ll post the pics when I get to Juliaca for r and r on the 28th). Around 6 we started hiking towards Nuñoa because we figured they weren´t coming. We tried to flag down a few trucks to pick us up, but had no luck. Eventually a combi stopped and we stuffed ourselves into the back. They were going to Santa Rosa, and from there we hitched a ride in the back of a taxi to Ayaviri.

We got back and hung out with some kids we had met the first day we were here. At 8 we went to eat dinner with Jessica from the hotel. Somehow we got on the topic of asthma and I pulled out my inhaler and tried to ask Jessica what it meant in Spanish. I explained to her what it was and showed her how it worked. She took and sprayed it in her mouth twice, her face was hilarious and she tried to wipe it out of her mouth. (It was funny because I didn´t tell her to do it) By that time I was rolling on the floor and we were all laughing hysterically. We took dinner back to the other lady that works at the hotel and had some coco cookies for dessert.

On the way back we stopped to see the kids that we knew and they gave us all chuyus as a gift (there like beanies with ear things). When we got back to the hotel they gave us each a pair of gloves, too. The people in this town are so sweet! This morning we planned on leaving for Macari but they are having a transportation strike - so we´re here until tomorrow. Once we leave I won´t be able to post again until the 27th or 28th because there are no computers where we are going. If I don´t get more pics up tonight then I will when once we get back to Juliaca in a week. Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Rockin Out In Ayaviri!

2005-06-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Where to start...Well we ended up giving Sarge away to Jessica, one of the workers at the hotel. He was fun to have around, but we figured he was big enough to eat so we gave him away, and we´re not to big on dog meat ourselves. We went to Nuñoa a couple days ago and we found out so much just in one day. We were asking people in the town where the churches were, and finally we found a guy, Jaime, who knew the address of the IEP church (Iglesia Evangelical Peruana). He was a great help and between him and one of the helpers at the church we found out which of the surrounding villages had IEPs. Wednesday we are going back to Nuñoa and we are having dinner with Jaime and his family; I´m so excited because it´s the first time anyone has invited us over to share a meal. The combi ride back from Nuñoa to Ayaviri was unbelievable! Just picture a van smaller than a soccer mom van and 18 people stuffed into it.

The night that we got back to Ayaviri we hung out with Jessica from the hotel. She invited us to a Peruvian rock concert Sunday night - we figured it would be good to hang out outside the hotel so we agreed. Saturday night they had another parade, but his one started at around 8pm and went on until about 3am. Our hotel room overlookes the plaza and so we could hear it just fine ALL night. The governor of Arequipa was staying in our same hotel, so when the parade was over they threw him a party in the lobby right outside our room. It only lasted until about 5, and we figured we´d at least be able to get a couple hours of sleep. But...we forgot that every Sunday morning starting at 6am the bus to Nuñoa parks right outside our window and honks it´s horn for 2 hours. Needless to say we were wiped out yesterday.

We went to visit the IEP church here in Ayaviri and got more contact info. Later that evening the pastor and a college age woman came over and went through our entire packet to help us find all the IEP churches in the districts we will visit. It was so great, we got so much information, and the pastor offered to travel with us to the villages surrounding Nuñoa later this week! Thursday the IEP is having some sort of conference and he invited us to come with him. Supposedly all the pastors of the IEP churches in Puno will be there, which would be awesome because we would find out so much.

Last night around 8 Jessica came by to get us to go to the concert. We were so tired, but we had promised that we would go. The concert was outside in the courtyard of a school, and the temperature got down to the low 20´s. We had a blast hanging out and doing stupid dances together. The first 2 bands that came out weren´t very good at all, and we thought it was over around 10:30 when the 2nd band finished. Little did we know those were just opening acts; the actual band called Por Dinero came out around 11. It was so awesome! I think that it´s actually a pretty popular band here in Peru. I knew that the people here really had no aspect of personal space, but being at this concert just confirmed it. I can´t explain how crowded it was, I´m glad I was taller than everyone becuase if not I don´t think I would have been able to breath.

The 3 of us were the only gringos in the whole crowd so we stuck out so bad. The band kept talking to us between songs, but we really had no idea what they were saying. At one point Heather got separated from Chris and I and she couldn´t get back in because there were so many people. One of the guys in the band, Miguel (who really just danced on the stage and didn´t play anything) came out and got Heather, made his way through the crowd and brought her back to us, it was hilarious! At around 1am they played their last song and of course everyone started shouting Encore! They came back out and dedicated the next song to us, they played Jerry Garcia´s Come Together Over Me (I think that´s what it´s called, I know it was on a cell phone commercial in the states at one point). It was so fun! The 3 of us were the only ones in the whole crowd that knew the song.

After the song they brought us back behind the stage and we talked probably until 2:20am. They were all drinking and offered us some, we told them we weren´t drinking and they were so confused. We told them we were Baptist missionaries and they immediately told us that they were Catholic and believed that God was the center of their lives and they had JesuCristo in their hearts. It was interesting because they kept trying to tell us that they weren´t bad people and they were only drinking to keep warm. We talked about religion and Christ for quite some time, we had the opportunity to tell them exactly what we believe. While we were talking tons of teenagers kept coming up to them and asking for their autographs and to take pictures with them. It was wierd because then they were asking for all of our information and to take pictures with us. It was funny because we felt famous for the night. We all left to go get hot water together. The sell it on the street and it´s like hot lemon water. They bought us all one and we stood around and talked for a while. They got out their video camera and we all said hello, and told our names to the camera and where we´re from. They said it was for an actual tv show in Arequipa. I tell you what I had a commercial in Huancane and now we might be on a show in Arequipa. If this keeps up I might just stay down here in Peru and pursue and acting career!

We finally got back to our hotel around 3. Heather and I stayed up for a while talking about the night. It was so awesome that we got to share our faith with one of the most famous bands around this area. I kept thinking to myself it´s like we just hung out with and witnessed to a group like Aerosmith in the US. I´m getting to do so many things that I was not expecting and God is definatly using our team in so many more ways than just research. Today we´re going out to part of Ayaviri we haven´t visited before and making plans to visit surrounding villages tomorrow. God has faithfully been answering our prayers to put people in our path to help us with our research, and people to build relationships with and share Christ with. I´m excited to see what else He has in store for us for the rest of the summer!

Relational Evangelism

2005-06-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished uploading some pictures, and most of them are of Sarge, or Sargento in español. Although we love the dog we are probably going to get rid of him soon. One of the ladies that works at the hotel we are staying in might keep him. This afternoon we are heading out to Nuñoa, which I think is about a 2 hour drive from Ayaviri. Most likely we will be staying in a hostel there for at least one night while we do our research. We met a guy here in Ayaviri who lives on an alpaca farm in Nuñoa; we probably won´t stay there but we´ll at least go check out what exactly an alpaca farm is - I think it´s like a llama.
Last night we made grilled cheese and mashed potatos and 2 of the ladies that work at the hotel ate with us in our room. After we finished eating we sang a few worship songs and Chris played his guitar. Before we leave Ayaviri we will have an open door now to share the gospel with them. It´s been great getting to build relationships with the people here in Ayaviri, we have definalty made good contacts for the next team to come in. The kids are wonderful here too. This town is in definate need of a constant Christian witness, and in most places here it is very welcomed. Please pray for our team as we are about to venture out to another village that we will be welcomed, we will be able to gather the information that we need and that we will make good contacts while we are there. Thank you all for your continued support and it´s great to read all your comments. I´ll post again when we get back from Nuñoa.

Puppy Breath

2005-06-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a crazy day. We attempted to visit one of the annexes of Ayaviri - well first we got off the bus an hour too early. That wasn´t too bad though, we just had to wait for another bus to come through. We finally got on another bus, standing room only, and realized we had to travel all the way back to Juliaca to catch a combi to Nicassio. When we got to Juliaca we found the combi (only one) that was going to Nicassio. We sat in the combi waiting to leave for an hour, then had a 40 minute ride to the town. It wasn´t that bad because we got a lot of info about Nicassio from the people on the combi. We noticed when we got in that there was a black bag under one of the seats that was moving. It freaked us out so we asked a kid to look in the bag and she told us it was a gallina (hen). We figured it was dying because it wasn´t trying to get out and we didn´t think much of it. About 10 minutes before we got to Nicassio somehow we realized that it was a little puppy tied in the bag. After much consideration we offered the man 5 bucks to buy the dog, and of course he agreed. So we pulled the puppy out and he was so dirty and scared. We talked to a lady from Nicassio who told us that it was some sort of holiday, everything was closed, and the last combi was about to leave. There are no places to stay in this little town so we had to hop back on the last combi to Juliaca.

We ended up being on the road for about 4 hours to stay in Nicassio for about 10 minutes. When we got back to Juliaca we stopped by the vet to have the puppy washed, vaccinated and dewormed. All this only cost about $11 US dollars, and it was definatly worth it. We found out that he is 1 1/2 months old, and is part Newfoundland and part Border Collie. His name is Sarjento. We stopped by the market to pick up some milk to take back to Ayaviri, but before we could we were running for the bus stop. We don´t know why but people were spitting on Chris and some guy kept tugging at my jacket and yelling in Spanish something about his bicycle. It was so wierd. Finally we got back to Ayaviri and back to the hotel. They don´t mind that we have a little puppy because he´s so cute. Today we realized that this dog is definatly going to help us do our research. People come up to us to talk to us now so they can pet our dog. It´s a great opportunity to ask about their town and tell them about Jesus.

We woke up this morning at 7:15 by a phone call saying that the kids that we sometimes teach English were waiting for us downstairs. We had breakfast with them, then headed off to try to catch a combi to a couple surrounding villages. Much to our surprise we know more about the villages than they do. Nobody had even heard of the places we were trying to go. We ended up taking a trip back to Juliaca because we ran out of money and it´s where the only bank is. Tomorrow we will visit the hospital in Ayaviri and go speak with the pastor of the only evangelical church in town.

Everybody is healthy now, but we just had Chinese food in Peru so we´re not sure how long that´s going to last. Thank you for your continued prayers. Our team has gotten a lot accomplished for other teams to follow where we have been, and we couldn´t do it without all your support and prayers. I miss you all and will update again when I can. Check out the new pictures under the More Pictures Link.

Need New Lungs

2005-06-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot has happened in the last few days, which is probably a good thing. We have gotten a lot of research done here in Ayaviri and all we really have left to do is visit the hospital tomorrow morning. Last night we found out that we could use the kitchen where we are staying so we went shopping. Every store sells exactly the same thing and all there is pretty much is pasta, rice, vegetables and chicken or lamb. We definatly saw a few lamb heads for sale - fur, eyeballs, smile and all...wierd because we see them running around the streets all the time. We didn´t know this but Chris is quite the chef and made us his special "Pasta de Cris." While we were cooking, Heather was teaching English to a little girl and one of the ladies that runs the place. Finally we all sat down to dinner and invited the lady who works there to eat with us, and she took us up on the offer. It was great because we are building a great relationship with her and she is only 21.
Oh and we started a new team work out time every night. It´s not much but we do abs, leg raises, stretches and stuff like that, it´s some sort of exercise and it makes us feel better. This morning Heather and I decided to attempt to run for the first time since we´ve been 13,000 ft up. I heard that it would be hard, but I mean it was ridiculous. We ran at a good pace for about 4 and half minutes, I couldn´t go any further becuase my lungs felt like they were going to explode. When I stopped running I took my heart rate and it was 156! That´s only after 4 1/2 minutes! My chest and my throat hurt sooo bad I felt like I had just run a marathon in the snow. We figured that if we keep trying to run everyday that maybe by the end of the summer it won´t hurt as bad.
This morning we visited the Mormon church and found out there are at least 50 active members in the church here, which is scary because that´s 50 more than any Baptist church goers. We sat in on the service in the Peruvian Evangelical Church this morning; the preacher taught from the book of Nehemiah, which is one of my favorites in the OT. I hope you all are taking full advantage of the opportunity to go to church to worship and be fed the Word of God - it´s a privelege because there are many places where there is no church. Tonight we are going to visit the Pentecostal church that we found a couple days ago and hopefully we can find out more about their doctrine and how many active members there are.
Tomorrow we are heading out to one of the surrounding villages to make some contacts and do some research. Hopefully the bus that goes there won´t leave from the same place the Nuñoa bus left this morning. Heather and I were awakened this morning at 6 and every 30 minutes after that by a young boy screaming Nuñoa, Nuñoa, Nuñoa and the ridiculously loud horn. I can´t complain, though, becuase we found a place with warm showers. Funny thing, though, even though we have access to showers very seldom do we take advantage of it.
I think we are about to go cut up some pinapple, apples and oranges for dinner, our idea of fruit salad. We´re starting to get a little more creative with the food here. Thank you all for your prayers, things are finally starting to go smoothly. I´ll post again in a few days. Miss you all!

101 Ways to Eat Saltine Crackers

2005-06-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that I am feeling much better than I have been this last week. I have been able to eat and drink with no problem since yesterday morning. We arrived here in Avaviri yesterday morning and have had great success so far with our research here. We have already found most of the churches, which surprisingly can be quite challenging. We even sat down with the youth minister and wife of the pastor of pentecostal church, drank tea, talked about the town, compared doctrine and prayed together. It was so encouraging to meet other brothers and sisters in Christ - there are very few down here. We also had the opportunity to meet with the governor, and she was able to provide a lot of info about Ayaviri.

Last night we met a few kids at the plaza and I had the chance to share our faith with them. Today they came by the hotel we are staying in and we got to teach them English for a couple hours - they taught us some Spanish too. The people in this town are very welcoming and most are very polite and want to talk. This afternoon we spoke with one of the professors at the school and were followed out by a mob of kids. I asked them if they knew JesuCristo and much to my surprise they couldn't answer me. I reminded them that He is the Son of God and he died for our sins, they knew that, but they seemed surprised to hear that He rose again. It is so hard to try to judge how evangelized any town is by their active involvement in church, because their doctrine differs so much.

It is still freezing down here, and I think that by the time I get used to the weather I will be back in Houston where it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity. It is so dry here that the people age so fast! You just can't tell how old any of these people are. We have been asking the people how old they think we are and almost every time they think I'm 14 or 15; I like to think that I look at least 18. It's wierd, though, my hands look like the hands of an old lady because they're so dark and wrinkly looking from the weather. The food here is the same for breakfast lunch and dinner - we have rice, onions and a tiny piece of meat. Today we decided to change it up and have had saltine crackers with apples, saltine crackers with jelly, and saltine crackers with cheese. I didn't think I would ever appreciate saltine crackers so much, but they are great!

We will be traveling out to the smaller villages surrounding Ayaviri and I will update soon to let you all know how our team is and what we find, and all the crazy things that happen. Thank you all for your prayers and for keeping up with what is happening down here. It is very encouraging to hear from all of you!

Woo hoo salmonella!

2005-06-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well...as you can probably tell from the title I have been officially diagnosed with salmonella (so I made the type a salmon color, haha). Yes, it is very exciting, it is one more thing that I can now say that I´ve had. Seriousely, though, I still haven´t been able to hold down any solid food (not even jello - but does anybody know what that is, solid, liquid, slime?) At least I can do water and pedialite now. The doctor put me on some antibiotics and said that I should be feeling better in a few days. Hopefully he is right because we are about to head out to spend a few weeks researching some of the villages on the west side of Puno.
Today is Chris´20th birthday so we had cake for breakfast - well I didn´t really but if you know him then make sure you remember to comment on his blog and tell him happy birthday, his spot is www.becausehesaidgo.blogspot.com We will try to update our blogs when we get to Ayiviri. Thank you all for your prayers and I can´t tell you enough how great it is to read the comments you all write!

I mean...what else could happen?

2005-06-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well...where to start. We headed out last Wednesday to our first village to research. We caught a combi (small van that can always fit one more) and 15 minutes into the ride I got a horrible nose bleed - it was crazy, blood everywhere. In the hectic rush to try to find tissue in my back pack my money belt fell out - well that's what we think happened. So now I have no passport, drivers license, debit card, or birth certificate. Today I put signs up everywhere in Huancane and even paid to have a radio spot and tv commercial offering a reward for my passport and other documents. If I don't get it back soon then I will have to find some way to get to the embassy in Lima to get another passport. I ask you all for your prayers, and that my passport at least will be returned.

We spent a few days in the first village and made some great contacts, people interested in the Baptist church and faith in Christ. Our last day there, while we were waiting for the bus, we had a crowd of probably 40 people around us. At first we were just talking, then we decided to hand out tracts. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that I got tackled by 40 people. Needless to say the tracts were gone in less then a minute. From there we left to go to Quilcapunco. I think the only way to decribe this village is ghost town. We saw more animals than we did people, and saw quite a few animal bones and skulls too - it was kind of creepy. The people in the town are so lost! They have a Catholic church, but they don't have a priest - and the only active religion is 7th day adventists. Our research was done within one day and we headed back to Huancane so I could figure out my passport stuff.

The night that we got in I must have had some bad chicken because I was throwing up all day Saturday and Sunday - I couldn't hold anything down. I got a lot of rest yesterday, and I'm feeling a bit better today. I have been able to hold a little bit of food down, but I'm still dehydrated. Hopefully I will bounce back by tomorrow because we're supposed to head out on our big journey. We're traveling up the west side of Puno and researching about 7 villages. So...please pray for my health and also for the health of my teammates. We will be far away from Huancane and probably gone for a few weeks - and probably with no showers. I aslo don't know when we will be able to write again or upload pictures.

Amidst all of the craziness we have already finished our research for 3 villages. Please continue to pray for us, because as you can see, we are facing many trials. Pray that we don't let the enemy use these trials as a foot hold in us our in our trip. Before any of this happened I started memorizing Romans 5. It says that we rejoice in our afflictions because we know that it produces endurance, which produces proven character, which then produces hope. Right know I am praying this verse and asking God to use these trials to produce endurance, character and hope in me and in my teammates. Thank you all for your prayers and support, they are reaching us down here in the Southern Hemisphere.

Lake Titicaca

2005-06-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

We're still here in Hauncane but hopefully this morning we can catch a bus out. Yesterday we all hiked down to Lake Titicaca and it was beautiful! This water is so clear and it's so cold. A man from the village that Rick and Kelly know took us out in his little conaoe thing and we went around through all the reeds. It was so funny because the boat kept filling with water and every few minutes we had to start bailing it out. Many times he accidentally poured half the bucket of water into my lap. He taught us how to eat the reeds, too. If you can imagine an apple soaked in fish for a few weeks that's what it tasted like, interesting. We also drove up about 1000 ft up one of the "hills" surrounding Hauncane. It was so beautiful because we could see everything, snow capped mountains, Lake Titicaca, and we were above most of the clouds. The people of the town go up there and build altars to mother earth and ask for her blessigns for the year. It's so crazy because then they go and worship God at the cross that's on top of the hill. Hopefully this summer we can shine some light on these villages and towns that they may realize their need for Jesus Christ alone.

Well we're about to head out to try and catch a bus. We will be up in the Northern part of Puno for this month covering Sandia, Macusani, Putina and many of their surrounding annexes. Hopefully there will be some people their that speak Spanish because we have heard from many people that live around here that they speak Aymara and Quechua - which sounds nothing like Spanish. We're confident, though, that God will provide some sort of communication with them - or maybe we'll come home speaking three languages. Please continue to pray for us as we begin or journey this morning. Many of the places we are going will be much colder than it is here, and right now it's 32 degrees. We will update hopefully within the next week or two. Love you all!

Oxygen!

2005-05-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Just to give you guys a bit of an update on the altitude. The three of us seem to be doing alright - but I get out of breath when I'm just talking - it's crazy! Last night it was about 45 degrees in the room that we slept in so I put on almost all my clothes, zipped myself into my mummy bag and laid 4 blankets on top of me. It was so wierd trying to fall asleep because it felt like somebody was sitting on me. Much to my surprise I slept very well. I woke up around 3am and freaked out - I got so chlostrophobic inside my bag and under all the blankets. I kept warm, though, I think I even got hot at point in the night. Hopefully we will get used to it soon - I mean I feel out of breath from typing! I'm still healthy and that's is definatly a praise. Today we are meeting with a man here and trying to plot out our course and find towns that may have hostels or other places we can sleep. It has been such a blessing spending time with Rick and Kelly and their kids. We spent some time last night sharing scripture together and it was so encouraging hearing some of their stories. We'll probably be here until tomorrow, but after that it might be a while before I can update again. Oh and I finally figured out how to upload pictures. There is a link on the right side that says Picture Link I think and it should take you to photo bucket where you can view the pictures we have taken so far. Please continue to pray for as we plan out the summer. Thanks for your love - and keep commenting - it's great to hear from ya'll!

20 hours and 13,000 ft later

2005-05-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Just to let everybody know, my team and I made it safely to Juliaca. We had a 15 hour bus ride to Arequipa and then another 4 and a half hour bus ride to Juliaca. The ride to Arequipa was unbelievable! I wish it would have been light outside for more of the ride because we were driving on mountain roads with no gaurdrails that dropped straight off into the Pacific Ocean. I was terrifying but at the same time the view was amazing! We managed to successfully change buses and not lose our luggage and made to to Juliaca around 1:30 today. A family that lives about 45 minutes from there picked us up from the bus stop at around 3:15. While we were waiting we mingled with a few of the friendly Peruvians and bought sweaters from and elderly lady. Before she left I gave her a tract and she read through some of it - it was so sad though to hear her response. She said that this is only a religion in the United States and was not meant for Peru. The people here are in such need of a savior and we feel so honored and blessed to be able to give these people hope through Jesus Christ.

I am now at a family's house in Huancane. They are so nice to let us stay in their house, and their children have been a blessing because they are all under three and they have made me laugh and smile the whole time we have been here. Tomorrow we are meeting with one of the Peruvian men from this town and he is going to help us map out our course for the summer. Most likely we will be stuck here for a few days though because tomorrow they are beginning a transportation strike. On the way here we saw what was left of one that just ended and there are huge rock and broken glass all over the road.

Our prayer now is that we acclimate quickly to the altitude here - we are at about 13,000 ft. Heather on our team is taking it the worst so please pray for her. I am going to try and upload pictures now so be looking for them soon. Thank you all for your love!

Yinnifer (what everybody calls me here)

Kingdom Work

2005-05-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let of all of you now that I have changed teams. Originally I was on the Lampa team that would be living in a villge and doing things such as evangelization and discipleship. Mike (our strategy coordinator) asked that I move to the research team and the be the linguistic leader - which means I will do translating if necessary and asking most of the questions to get around. We will be traveling all over the state of Puno and finding transportation or hiking to 11 villages where they have not been before. When we get there we will be doing ethnographic research and determining the status as far as being evangelized or not, and trying to find Christian witness if any. I am extremely excited about the move! I think that this team may be the most physically demanding and I know that God is going to stretch me in every way this summer. I also know that I will be using my Spanish a lot more than I thought I would be.

Yesterday during orientation we were taught how to present the gospel using the book with no words. It is just a small felt book with five pages of different colors. Most of you have probably heard of or seen some variation of this. After we learned it (in english) we were supposed to go out into the streets and practice; I was so nervous because we needed to know how to do it in Spanish. My team went out together and we found a young man sitting on a bench in the obalo. While my team sat back and prayed, I asked him if I could sit down. We intoroduced ourselves and I began my story with no words. Much to my surprise I made it through the entire gospel presentation with no problem. He asked a few questions and to the best of my ability I answered them. I asked if he wanted to say a prayer to ask Christ into his life and he said yes! I prayed with him (Bruno) and gave him a Spanish Bible to read. I have a picture of him so hopefully I will be able to upload it soon. I saw him later and he was still on the bench reading his Bible. I never thought that I would be able to lead someone to the Lord in another language, it was amazing!

I know that being on the research team our focus isn't evangelization, but more doing research and catching the vision for other missionaries or churches to follow us - but there is always opportunities to share Christ on the buses or anyone else we come in contact with. My team leaves for Puno this afternoon at 3 - we will be taking a 14 hour bus ride to Arequipa and then from there another 6 hour bus ride to Juliaca. Right now there is a transportation strike where we are supposed to be traveling so pray that God will provide a means of reaching the villages we are assigned to research.

I was talking with a few of the people who came last year and they say that the reaerch team went for weeks without bathing and washing their clothes :) I'm off to a good start considering I have been wearing the same shirt for 5 days now. I'm not sure when I will be able to write again after today, but hopefully we will be traveling through larger towns once a week so we can find an internet cafe.

Thankyou all for posting your comments! It is so encouraging hearing from people back home.
I miss you and love you all!

Culture Shock

2005-05-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Woah...I thought people drived crazy this morning, but we took taxis a few times today and I it was unbeleivable - we get so close to the other cars! I am staying at the backpackers house, which is a pretty nice hostal. Today I arrived and got about 3 hours of sleep then headed out to see the sites with the other 5 team members that are here already. Along the many museums and shops, we went to the catacombs - so weird...in the basement of this huge church there are the bones of over 250,000 people...freaky! We had lunch around 1 and I had octopus for the first time. The tentacle aren't too bad, just a little chewy. It's the other part that crazy - you bite into it and it explodes with squishy gooey stuff!

I can't tell much more because the other guys are waiting to use the internet. Hopefully soon i will figure out how to upload my pictures because I already have some pretty great ones. Thank you all for posting your comments - it has been great to hear from you all! Hi mom - thanks for writing, I love ya! I should be able to write again in the next few days. Hasta Lechuga!

I Made It!

2005-05-25T04:49:00.000-07:00

Well I finally made it to Peru. Right now I'm at the house of a couple who is here on missions for or 3 years. The flight from Houston to Miami was awesome! I sat next to a lady named Jennifer who was originally from Venezuela and has only been in the US for 5 years now. I had the opportunity to talk with her about her beliefs and mine. She's also a believer in Jesus Christ and a Lutheran. She gave me a Spanish lesson for the last hour and a half of the flight. She was very encouraging and I definatly felt more confident in my Spanish speaking abilities after I got off the plane.

We got to Miami arounnd 10:30 pm and didn't fly out until 12:55 am. I was so thankful because nobody sat by me on this flight so I got to lay down and sleep - that is until we had lasagna at 2:30 am. I finally arrived in Lima and had no problem getting my luggage or going through customs. When I got outside the gate, though, I was expecting to see somebody holding a sign with my name on it - but there was no such person and I had no idea where to go or what to do. I walked around for a good fifteen minutes looking for an American but had no luck. All this time there are tons of guys asking if I need a taxi or a hotel room.

Then a man walks up to me with a Tourist Info badge and allows me to use his cell phone to call the Weavers (my contacts here). Little did I know he was going to charge me 10 American dollors for the call. I'd only been here 2o minutes and already been ripped off.

Soon after I was met by the American ISC'ers and we headed back to the apartment where I am now. I think that I am going to go to the hostel that I will be staying in the next few days and rest for a while. I'm not sure when I will be able to write again, but I continue to ask for your prayers - the people here drive crazy! (worse than Houston)

23 hours

2005-05-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been crazy! On Friday my car broke down at school and I had to get my starter replaced early Saturday morning. I stayed for graduation, then it took a good 3 1/2 hours to pack my car and clean my apartment. I finally headed out of town around 7 and on my way out stopped at Walmart for gas. Of course, my car died again. One of the guys who works in the automotive area got it started again and put a new battery in it - he told me that I shouldn't drive it more than just around town because my alternator was going out. Figures, my car has never given me problems until I try to drive home and catch my flight to Peru.

So...I ended up staying at Monica's house and unpacking my car to store my things at West U apartments. Yesterday I caught a ride with Dr. Youman's and her family to Dallas. If you guys read this I had a blast hanging out with ya'll and Noah - and I can't thank you enough for the ride! My dad met us in Dallas and we eventually got home around midnight.

Today I have been running around like crazy trying to get last minute things for the trip and trying to pack. I fly out tomorrow at 7pm, so I probably won't be able to update this site for awhile. Oh, and I found out that I'll actually be staying in the village of Lampa which is about two hours from Lake Titicaca. Hopefully I will be able to upload pictures so you guys can see where I'll be. Please pray for all the students that we will have safe travel and for those who are already in Peru. Thank you all for your love and support!

Hi Marissa, Lauren, Matthew and Melanie - I miss you and love you all!

6 more days!

2005-05-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well...I'm done with all my finals and now I'm just counting down the days until I get on the plane to peru. Yesterday I found out some more details about my trip... the team that I will be on will be me, Ginny and Wade (other college students) and the three of us will be in Puno the entire summer. Puno is southwest of Lima about 500 hundred miles and located on Lake Titicaca at about 13, 400 ft. There will also be a group from First Baptist Church in Lithia, Georgia that will be down there helping out - but I'm not sure their age or how many are coming. Hopefully staying at Lake Titicaca all summer I will overcome my horrible fear of lakes! I am not sure that i will be able to update this at all over the summer considering how far we will be from our base camp...but I will try every chance that I get. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Jen