The Listros

We Have Moved!

2010-02-11T19:54:00.002-05:00

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The Bible - More Relavant than We Think

2010-02-05T19:39:00.000-05:00

After being here in Peru for just over a year, It’s amazing how much the Bible has come to life for me (Christian). In America the stories of poverty, donkeys, farming, neighbors and markets all seemed theoretical. It is hard for the average middleclass person to relate to a lot of the situations in which Jesus ministered. Here, and in most of the world, people live lives a lot like what we read about in the Bible.
Today we went and visited a leper at his home. It was something that I never expected to do. A few weeks ago Julio got to translate to this man in the hospital that his leprosy had advanced to the point that there is no hope of a cure. As you can imagine he was devastated. Julio shared that even though there is no hope physically; Jesus came and died so that we could have hope for salvation and a life with him forever. This man prayed a prayer of tears for Jesus to forgive him and save him. It is a awful and beautiful story isn’t it?
On the way to his house in a friend’s mototaxi we stopped at the market and bought him some basic cheap groceries. We got to his house, a 15’ x 15’ room with a corrugated roof. He was much less gruesome than you would think. While there, it hit me that lepers are real people with real lives and personalities, not just caricatures in the Bible or a movie. I found myself feeling a mixture of respectful pity and envy. I in no way envy his position now but I truly am envious that he will be able to meet our creator sooner than me.
We plan on continuing to keep in touch with him. But it was an amazing privilege to be used by God in a small way which allowed me to experience the Bible being lived out. I hope that God will continue to show me and you that the American experience is a blessing that can keep us from really being able to relate to His word.

Sickness and Salad

2010-02-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that lettuce is to be avoided in this country . . .I got VERY sick from it in Arequipa, but when you have had 3 salads in the past year you might do something foolish like buy lettuce and try again. I made the best, let me rephrase that, the closest thing to taco salad I could yesterday. It was so good and definitely satisfied a craving many of us had. Unfortunately today Beth is throwing up, others have stomach aches and several have diarrhea. I am not positive it was the lettuce (I washed it twice and I am feeling fine) but you can be sure we won’t do that again anytime soon. Maybe again next year right before our annual dose of amoeba medicine. (Post Script: Just found out several friends have had a virus lately involving fever, headaches and nausea . . . . it was probably that . . . . maybe I will try lettuce again sooner than later. That salad was good.)

Sanity Check

2010-02-05T13:08:00.000-05:00

We spent last weekend in Lima with our friends the Dillons. It was a lot of fun. They came down from Huaraz and we spent 4 days together in the pseudo-normalcy of Lima. Christian and I planned this mini-vacation during our first 3 weeks in Pucallpa. That was a very rough time. As Christian explained to someone the other day – “The tickets to Lima are what kept us from buying tickets to Miami and beyond.” We were desperate for a break and cheap tickets to Lima seemed like a good solution. The greatest part about our long week-end (besides the Dillions, por supuesto) was the fact that now, 2 months after purchasing the tickets, leaving Pucallpa was hard. We had things to here and it got in the way of our “normal life”. For now we belong in Pucallpa. God is faithful to remind us that He brought us here – never would we have chosen this place. So glad God knows best.

We are still here

2010-02-05T12:35:00.001-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since I’ve let you in on life down here. I need to be sure to update more often because the longer I wait the harder it is to describe all that has been going on.
Some days are so terrible and I want to leave – I don’t want to write on those days because I know I would be very negative.
Some days are amazing and I love it here – I don’t write on those days either because I would be overly optimistic.
Today is a good day to write because it had good, bad, frustration and peace . . . all in the same day.
We are keeping very busy with meetings, getting to know the core group of leaders at the church, understanding Peruvian culture as it is in Pucallpa (very different from the mountains), and keeping our house clean and food on the table.
Christian still feels hindered in ministry due to his Spanish but really it is coming along. Today a 17 year-old college girl came over to practice her English. Her name is Naysha. Her dad owns a small dirt track and restaurant just outside of town (at km 13) and also a garage pretty close to our house. She is very sweet and she spent close to 4 hours at the house with our family. She is very open about who she is, her family, and religion – hoping next time we can talk more pointedly about Christ. Half of her time with us was speaking English and the other half was Spanish with Christian. I am excited to see how this friendship will grow.
In the last month Christian and the kids purchased the first of what I am sure will be many motorcycles. Christian, unfortunately, had to take his bike apart to fix some things and he found a hole in the engine case . . . . not good, but not the end of the world. The kid’s bike is just right for Gabe and Emma. Emma just learned how to use the clutch and loves to ride (especially now that her good friend/neighbor, Mimi, just got the same kind of bike this week and they can ride together.) Gabe hopped right on and picked up where he left off. He can’t wait to race. He and his friend Oli have already built a track right near the house, out behind the school. He loves to ride. It is so good to be in a place where they can get their bike out and go. The younger three are still looking for a bike – I am sure one will come along soon.
We still have days we want to pack up and leave but we now are at a place where we would miss many things about Pucallpa . . . .that is good we have a connection. Still I wonder at times, “Why does God want us here?’ - but He is faithful to reveal just a little at a time the answer to that question. We are no one special or extraordinary – just Christ followers that make mistakes and love God. Our prayer is that HE would be glorified through our family and that others would see HIM through us . . . (not just our red VW or cute gringo kids).

2010-02-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

Christmas Pagent

2010-01-14T00:09:00.002-05:00

The kids got to perform in their first Christmas play ever - here at Mil Palmeras. They did a great job. Here is a video of the beginning. Max and Emma are in the back row, Beth is in the middle and Gavin is bottom left . . . .my videography is shakey at first but it gets better.

Our First Jungle Christmas

2009-12-27T21:56:00.010-05:00

Our first jungle Christmas has now come and gone. It was very memorable for many reasons. I am not feeling very creative tonight so a list of bullet points and pictures are going to have to suffice. Hope you all had a great Christmas and we wish you a very happy New Year!!!

Memorable first:

*First fake Christmas tree

*first year for colored lights (they could sing and were all broken by Christmas morning)
*first Christmas morning with no working lights on tree
*first time in years all the kids didn't sleep around the tree (Gabe needed his own bed and insisted on sleeping. We had to stop him from showering before presents, that would have broken too far from the few traditions our family does have.)

*first time decorating the tree in shorts and sweating
*first Christmas without Walmart and Target
*first Christmas Eve spent in a lake tubing
*first time we planned presents a month ahead of time (Christian bought many of the kid's gift while he was in Lima over Thanksgiving.)

*first time we bought Emma real jewlery. (silver daisy earings we bought in Arequipa before we left.)

*first time ants invaded the candy stash
*first time we froze boxes of Nerds (brought from Lima) to kill ants and picked them out
*first time our kids were happy to receive candy mixed with dead frozen ants (we only missed a few . . and what didn't have ants did 12 hours later when they forgot to close the Ziploc baggies their candy was in.)
*first time our dog ate a nativity scene and ornaments off the tree (Libby is cute but she eats everything - we are starting to think she is partially goat . . .which is good and bad. I've always wanted a goat)
*first time my oven didn't cook well and after 4 hours we had to cut off the turkey breasts and cook them in my neighbors oven
*first time the turkey feet and head were included with the turkey (Libby ate everything we didn't . she loves turkey feet.)
*first time our kids have been in a Christmas program at church . . . their debut was in Spanish.

All-in-all, it has been a great holiday . . .difficult at times missing family and friends, but amazing when we realize the friends God has given us here. So glad he came to earth so we could know him.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!!!!

2009-12-24T23:14:00.002-05:00

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010. We had a great evening with friends and the kids got to go out on the lake at the airbase, tubing, for Christmas eve. That is a first and a great memory for years to come. We are planning a meal tomorrow for friends and we will be cooking a turkey, flown here from Lima. Can't wait.
Santa has presents to wrap before they get opened in eight hours . . . .so buenas noches a todos.

p.s. Gabe found the camera cord so I will post pictures soon.

Bus Trip Observations

2009-11-30T21:59:00.003-05:00

Christian just recently returned from an unplanned, short notice trip to Lima to help import our crate of belonging that recently arrived from the States . . . For those of you wondering why he had to go back to Lima so shortly after arriving, know the timing of everything has not been in our control for months. The trip was a very frustrating one but it is over now and Christian is home and our crate finnally arrived at our house yesterday. As difficult of an experience as it was it was wonderful to open boxes and rediscover our belongings. One million Matchbox cars again litter our floor and Grandma's quilts once more adorn all the children's beds.

One really great thing is that Christian took notes while on the bus for the first several hours. They were hillarious and we thought we would share the laugh with you.

" With-in the first 10 minutes they served cow's stomach for food and some warm chicha stuff. I only ate the rice and one bite of stomach.

It looks a lot like Pucallpa so far.

The junge is beautiful!

The bus smells like urine and cow's stomach.

A boy was begging [ouside] as we drove buy a 5 miles at 5 mph.

They handed out barf-bags. Not a good sign.

Tried to text Dan (Lawrence in CT) about construction methods.

Wow. White brahma bulls on a green hill.

We just drove through the river because the bidge half feel down.

We just passed a dog and a pig hanging out on the side of the road together.

A man just got off the bus to guide it over the river and he took a rifle with him.

We just got a speach about the about the dangers of the road because of robbers.

I paid the man with the gun s./20 ($7).

Thus end Christian's notes. He had a good chicken dinner on the bus and when he started to here the noise of people vomiting he took his sleeping pill and prayed to sleep through the worst. He woke up on the other side of the mountains.

Life in the bayou

2009-11-30T21:55:00.002-05:00

READER ADVISORY: Please don’t interpret any of this entry as complaining. . . I simply want to give you all an idea of what life is like here.

The best way I can describe our move from Arequipa to Pucallpa is to put it into perspective of where you live. You could say that we just moved from Manchester, CT to Woodstock, CT; or from Ada, MI to Lyons, MI; or from Fort Mill, SC to Union Mills, NC . . . . only not only are there very few places to shop in your new town you can only park your car on the street in front of a few of them (lest it be gone when you return) and you can’t really go there after the sun goes down, and down town is only 2.5 miles away but it is an action-packed 10 minute drive.

Our house is very nice. It is on the SAM property where we have a huge concrete wall, a watch man and a remote control gate for our cars to get in and out (the remote is new since we arrived). The surroundings give us a good sense of security that the kids can run around and play like they could in our yard back in the States, but we still have to bring in laundry at night, lest it get stolen. We don’t usually lock our doors during the day while we are around, even if we are not in the house but they are well locked on Sunday morning during church hours . . . everyone knows you are there and that is when a lot of theft occurs. Our house is the back half of what used to be the girl’s dorm way back, when SAM Academy functioned as a boarding school. To most of you it would look like a glorified summer cottage but as a missionary friend put it, “we have a real house” compared to their small rental in another neighborhood.

The house has screens and bars for windows, no glass. Ceiling fans in every room, but no a/c anywhere. Cockroaches were regular visitors for a while but the two huge ones we killed the other night were the only ones we’ve seen in a while . . . however you know you’ve seen a lot when the kids can calmly come out of the bathroom and tell that a roach is in the shower or in their toothbrush container (our very first night). You can’t put down your empty lemonade glass and forget it for an hour or two because it will be crawling with these little tiny clear-ish ants that are super fast. I am going to start charging them rent because there are so many in the house. I set a “trap” for them the other day and have been watching the steady stream of ants to and from the plate of boric acid and powdered sugar. Either I have just nourished the entire colony or they will soon all be dead. I am hoping for the latter.

As I sit here and type the drop in temperature (to 93 degrees F in the house) and the high setting on the fan are making me chilly . . . normal daily temp here is about 90 . . . in our house today it was 103. All and all Pucallpa is really a neat place to live. The jungle and lakes are beautiful. The city is very dirty and everything looks half built. The people are very friendly for the most part, but we have also found people here to be the most critical of our Spanish (which is interesting since everyone in Arequipa warned us about the improper jungle-Spanish spoken out here). After living in Arequipa I kind of feel like we went to a fancy prep-school and have now just returned home to the reality of our back woods home in the Louisiana bayou. We have a lot to get used to.

Bird's Eye View

2009-11-22T16:27:00.002-05:00

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-8.391661,+-74.567986&num=1&t=h&vps=3&jsv=189d&sll=-8.390982,-74.567186&sspn=0.00268,0.004812&hl=en&ie=UTF8&geocode=FRP0f_8dzi6O-w&split=0

If that link works (and that is a big IF because I am not a computer savvy as I look) you should be taken to a bird's eye view of our house in Pucallpa via google maps.
Yes, I am still looking for the camera cable.

Home, Sweet (I mean sweaty) Home

2009-11-20T21:47:00.001-05:00

Sorry it has taken so long to fill you in on the details of the move. We spent three great days in Lima with the Dillons. I t was a very busy time as both families rushed around trying to get everything done in three short days, but amidst lost wallets (Meghan), throwing up babies (Meghan's), declined bank cards (me), not to mention the frustrations the guys had - a good time was had by all and much was accomplished.

We almost didn't get the dog on the plane out of Lima. Apparently our handy dandy wooden crate that was happily accepted by Lan was 1 cm too large for Star Peru . . .ONE CENTIMETER! The flight was supposed to take off at 9:30 we arrived at the air port in Lima at 7:30ish and finally got through the line and the red tape and paid for the extra baggage (the dog) at 9:06. We still had pay the airport tax and get through security AND take a bus out to the plane . . . God is amazing because we made it and we were not the last people on the bus. Our seats were scattered across the plane but we all got on, all of our bags got on and the dog made it through the door and arrived in Pucallpa along with us.

Almost all the SAM family was at the airport to greet us and truck our family and all of our stuff back to our new home. We are living in a house on SAM property right now while another missionary family is away on furlough. We will be able to stay here until they return in June. Our front door is about 25 meters from the kid’s school and 50 meters from the church. Great location and 3 other SAM families are our neighbors here at SAM Center. We spent the first week cleaning, unpacking and cleaning some more. We are realizing that jungle-clean and Arequipa-clean are two very different things. It is very hot here and very humid. Mold is an issue but Christian’s allergies have not been a problem at all (for those of you who have known C for a long time know what a miracle that is), my allergies on the other hand have been bad but I have had worse. I am praying for relief as the seasons change (not that they change much here).
We are neighbors to Olga and Julio. Julio is the “motorcycle pastor” we are working with. Our girls and their two youngest girls were instant best friends and all the kids are having a great time climbing the mango and mame trees and running around the property and playing. It is a secure place (inside the wall) so we are free to let them run. What a change from Arequipa!
School is going well for the kids. We found out the Monday after we arrived that there would be no 1st or 2nd grade offered at the academy since both classes consist solely of Gavin and Max. So last Wednesday I dove right back into teaching and basically home schooling the younger two but we have our own small room over at the academy and they attend Spanish, art, and other similar classes with the other elementary students. It is working out fine . . . have to be in the classroom for 3 hours every morning (except Friday) is NOT how I envisioned my work to go down here but, asi es la vida.

Christian is already hard at work trying to fix technical problems and create creative ways to solve communication issues amongst the pastors and elders at the church and trying to get our crate into the country.

I will post some pictures of our new home and town after I locate the cable for the camera. I know it has to be around here somewhere. Please continue to pray. We are so thankful for all of you.

GO!!!!!!!!

2009-11-03T07:02:00.002-05:00

I can not believe the day has finally come to leave Arequipa. We are packed, except for the normal loose ends, and the Combi is on a truck on the way to Lima. We put some boxes in the van to help with our move. We are praying that they will still be there when we get the van in Lima tomorrow morning. The task of washing all the sheets and one last wet mopping of the ever dusty floor then we will give the keys back tot Mirella and hopefully get our deposit back. (Nothing is for sure around here).

Saying good bye has been hard but they bright side is that everyone at the institute is used to saying good bye, as are we.

God did something amazing - LAN will allow the dog to travel with us in the handy wooden crate Christian made. Not sure why they changed there mind, but they did. We just hope they don't change it again this after noon. We are looking forward to some time in Lima. Our friends, the Dillons, are going to make a trip to Lima for necessary items and will arrive at the mission house tomorrow morning. We can't wait to see them.

When we arrive in Pucallpa we will it the ground running. Many people to get acquainted with, school life to get into for the kids, church life to assimilate to . . . not to mention unpacking and setting up house. God is amazing and we have learned so much here in Arequipa - we have enjoyed this time . . . for the most part.

We received sad new the other night that friends in Pucallpa were robbed of their backpack (full of very expensive and important things) WHILE riding in a mototaxi. It was heart breaking to hear their story but I was strangely happy that it had happened to me and that I knew how to pray for them and what they were feeling . . . I love how God can change our hearts to be full of thanksgiving, even for the really bad stuff.

So, we are off . . . . next time you hear from us we will be in Pucallpa!

still getting set . . . .

2009-10-27T19:47:00.003-04:00

So hours after I posted the last blog Christian went out to get the final seat for the Combi that was still at the tapisero's shop. Literally it is at the end of the street, two blocks away. So had was parking the van when a very drunk driver back hi car right into the side of the combi . . .how sweet. I honestly thought Christian was kidding when he called to tell me. We skipped the police this time and Christina got a quote and received payment right away. Back to the house in less than an hour. Now as we are finishing up here we have to send the combi back to the shop to get fixed. The van is supposed to be shipped on Monday to Lima. Vamos a ver.
Then we found out that the crate we have for our dog is to small according to the airline and one the correct size would cost us about $260. What to do? What to do??? Well, the air line won't allow a wooden box but the cargo flights will . . . .so C left to go buy wood and attempt to build a crate with limited tools. Nothing got packed today as we spent the day in the van trying to get things done. . . . .oh, did I mention we spent over an hour stranded in a not-so-great part of town because the not came off of the clutch cable. Apparently when they replace the cable they didn't put a new nut on an put the old threadless one back on. They clutch totally failed in the middle of traffic. God is good because it happen relatively close to the mechanic's shop that did the work and he came and fixed it in the street.
Always and adventure.

Get Set . . . .

2009-10-22T21:38:00.004-04:00

School is officially over for both Christian and I now. We had our despedida (good-bye party) at the institute yesterday. I was so strange to be the giving the speech and saying good-bye. We have watched so many others do it over the last 9 months. It is hard to believe that we are headed on to the next part of this adventure. Pucallpa awaits. We have 10 to get the Kombi back together, get the house clean, and pack. it sounds like a simple list but as we have learned, nothing in life is as easy as it sounds.

I had to run the dog to the vet the other day and found out that she has amoebas . . . fun. She got them from drinking the water on the ground at the park. Holding my dog down so the vet could start an IV drip and waiting for the drip to finish was really NOT what I had planned for that day but . . . that was what happened. The kids were at home and the office wasn't busy so the vet and I sat down and chatted for close to an hour. It was amazing. We talked about all sorts of stuff but mainly God, salvation, religion, church, and what the Bible ACTUALLY says about those things. It was great. I was so encouraged. God used that day to remind me that he can work in any circumstances and that it is the Holy Spirit at work in me that gives wisdom and words. I love God.

The next day we were out and about and Emma's earring fell out of her newly pierced ear. It fell off on the escalator in Saga and was lost down the side. Upon reaching the bottom floor, I quickly pulled out on of my earrings and put it in Emma's now empty lobe. Not fun or very sanitary but necessary. It actually was the best thing that could have happened because it caused us to go out and get other studs. We replaced her earrings with new gold studs w/special backings so they won't fall out. She has much happier ears now.

Our van is still in pieces, Christian is out side right now putting it all back together. None of the people we paid to do stuff did it on time or did it right but we are learning to lower our standards since "on-time" and "done correctly" seem to be foreign concepts at times in this culture. The kids have some make up work to finish this weekend but them will have a two week break before beginning SAM Academy in Pucallpa on November 9th.

Busy weeks lie ahead.

On your mark . . . .

2009-10-15T22:38:00.003-04:00

We are finally at the end of our time here in Arequipa. We have less than 3 weeks left living in the shadow of Misti before we head to the Amazon. It took me two days to procure plane tickets but we finally have them (very long and frustrating story . . . .I will spare you) only to find out this morning, 14 hours after having bought our tickets, that a special on ticket to Pucallpa started this morning . . . . . just a little something to add to the frustration. Oh, well. We are learning not to get to worked up about things. Así es la vida acá.

We have one more week of school (the kids and me at home, Christian at the institute) and then one week to pack. We have the Kombi to get in good working order and finish all the work on it before we leave here and parts aren't available. We have a house to clean and a garden to fix before we give the keys back (Libby dug a few holes to China and ate most of the plants in the back yard). We have to figure out the shipping of our Kombi and our stuff to Pucallpa, and oh yeah, we have to pack.

We will be leaving on November 3rd and spending a few days in Lima before heading to Pucallpa on November 7th. It is very exciting to finally share that news! Emma's birthday is on the 6th and she already has our move working to her advantage. She is planning a party with friends here, dinner at Chili's in Lima, and a party with friends in Pucallpa. I can't believe she is going to be eleven!!!!!!

We will keep you posted on the events of the coming weeks.

another helping of good-bye with a side of hope

2009-09-28T01:54:00.005-04:00

I don't care how often we do it, I don't think I'll ever get used to saying good-bye. Over the past 5 years saying hello and good-bye have become a regular and normal part of our life. You would think that with years of practice it would get easier but it doesn't.
We left family and good friends in CT to move to MI in 2004. We knew no one when we arrived yet when we left in 2006 we left behind a community of friends that felt like family. It was hard to leave. Then we moved again from CT to SC. This time we knew a few people from the SAM office before we arrived but by the time we left for Peru God had, again, provided a network of friends and church family making our good-bye that much more difficult.
Here we are in Peru and in 3 days we have to say good-bye. Only this time we are staying put (at least for 6 more weeks) and Scott and Meghan are leaving for Huaraz. We met Scott and Meghan the week we arrived in Arequipa, they had just arrived, too. They live 3.5 blocks from us and have been with us through this crazy adventure of language learning/cultural acclimation every step of the way. We have never been here without them and the thought of that is strangely sad. We are so blessed and grateful that God crossed the paths of our lives here in Arequipa. We know God has a purpose for them in Huaraz but we also can testify that he used them right here to minister to us. We are all going to miss them so much.
The gray cloud looming over us is saying good-bye . . .again, but every time special people exit stage left the silver lining of hope around that gray cloud gets bigger. God has shown us repeatedly that he loves us enough to provide for all of our needs, including friends and community. So even though we will make sure to travel to Huaraz to visit the Dillons we look ahead expectantly to who God will bring into our life next and how he will use us to minister to them and vice versa.

Moody Misti

2009-09-07T23:16:00.006-04:00

It is really wild sometimes to remember that we live at the base of an active volcano. Misti is ever present high above the city. From certain locations you can see how the city is slowly climbing up his (volcanoes are masculine) sandy slopes. They weather here is beautiful and sunny almost everyday. This the view we usually have of El Misti.

(This picture was taken from our VW kombi, while it was actually working, when we were crossing the Puente de Fierro - designed by Gustave Eiffel, it was the longest bridge in the world in 1882.)

Sometimes it actually gets cloudy in Arequipa. It is so rare though, that most people love it and are in a good mood when it is cloudy.

In July, while my mom was visiting, we had a freak snow storm and we could watch from our roof as the clouds lifted off Misti to reveal the blanket they left behind.

I used to call it the "really cool cloud" or something like that until I was instructed by pilot-man/my husband that it is called a 'lenticular cloud' and it is extremely dangerous for airplanes. With my feet firmly planted on the ground, I think it is an amazing sight.

Change

2009-09-07T22:58:00.003-04:00

Life has changed for us once again. We are enter a new and final season of our time here in Arequipa. Christian is continuing full-time at the language institute and the kids and I are at home. The kids said their good-byes to their friends and teachers at Colegio Rey de Reyes about a week ago. I also said good-bye to friends and teachers at the institute . . . not officially yet - but it is strange to not see them everyday.
Christian's Spanish gets better and better all the time and it is exciting to see the change in comprehension and communication levels for everyone in the family. I have been told that I speak Spanish with an Italian accent. I have been told the same about my French. Hopefully that would mean the little Italian I do know would be spot on. The kids know and understand a lot more than they let on and the younger ones are having trouble remembering English vowel sounds.
I am home schooling the kids until we get to Pucallpa. I have to say I feel like I have been given a gift to have them all at home again. The last 5 months at school have been very good for all of them but there are some aspects of Peruvian education we are trying to unlearn (ie. WHAT you write on the paper in far more important than the COLOR pen with which you write.) But, everyone is falling back into a good routine. Pray for them as they only finished half of last years grade and need to get up to speed for this year. They are all anxiously awaiting our departure for Pucallpa and attending SAM Academy. We plan to leave Arequipa in early November and be well settled by Thanksgiving.
A month ago, Christian attended a church planting conference with a few men from Mil Palmeras church. Apparently there is quite a group waiting for our arrival in the jungle now. It is nice to know that God is creating a place for us over there.

La Gripe

2009-08-22T17:29:00.002-04:00

Well, it has been an interesting month. The first week of August was vacation from school for the whole family. The second week Christian went to Lima for a church planting conference and the kids and I went back to school after three weeks off for fear of "gripe porcina", swine flu. Christian had a wonderful time in Lima getting to know some of the guys from the Mil Palmeras church and I had fun driving for the first time since we've been here. I managed to get the kids back and forth to school every day until I tried to fix the problem with the blinkers and I accidentally left the key on and drained the battery. Needless to say we took public transportation the rest of the week. The kids were in school 4 days before Gavin came home with a fever. Our house has had a fever ever since! Christian came home and one by one they dropped like flies. High fevers that lasted 3 days plagued everyone (except me. I got to be Nurse Cratchet all week). The 4 youngest returned to school Friday after spending all of week three of August sick and delirious. Christian and Gabe are still feeling a bit under the weather but are slowly improving each day.
I am studying for my drivers exam right now. It is amazing how sensible the driving code is yet how NO ONE follows it. It is crazy. Driving here is crazy. It would figure however that as I study for my drivers test I see a headline yesterday that states, "No Drivers Licenses Until 2010". They are tightening the rules and changing regulations so that me they just aren't going to give out licenses until 2010 sometime. Sounds logical to me. So that leaves so big questions. It we take the test here in Arequipa do we have to come back with the paper work to get our licenses after we've already moved to Pucallpa?? Probably because the regulations are a such . . .so do we bother doing it here? I am told it is nearly impossible to pass the driving exam in Pucallpa. People want bribes so they fail you over and over again. So many questions.
We also just found out that we have to make an unexpected visit to Lima to pick up the kids resident cards. We thought we could wait till we moved but apparently not. We have chosen the over night bus trip experience. We will go in September and managed to get the appointment we need a immigration the same weekend friends and fellow SAMers arrive for their first term in Peru. It will be fun to see them in Lima and greet them when they arrive.
So, that is the latest from this side of the equator. You are all up there getting ready for school to start and our kids just finished their winter break. Actually, the kids have one week of school left before we take them out. We have 2 months before we head to Pucallpa and we are going to work on their studies at home to get them all caught up and ready for SAM Academy. I guess that means I only have one more week of language school . . . Christian has 2 more months and then we will be done here in Arequipa.

Spanish Homonyms

2009-08-11T00:11:00.003-04:00

La Playa:

where you park your car

where you play in the surf

La Playa

2009-08-06T22:12:00.006-04:00

We made the trip out to the beach today . . . you'd think that would mean bathing suits, sand buckets and suntan lotion . . . . but this is Peru. Nothing here is as it seems or as you would expect. We left Arequipa on a coach style bus (our Kombi would never make it back up the 8,000 ft climb back to Arequipa) - Less than clean, but adequate. Really, you can't expect much more for a 2.5 hour bus ride that only costs $2.67. The weather leaving the city was beautiful. We had swim suits and towels all backed just in case we found sunshine at the shore.

The road leaving town toward Lima and the coast felt curvier and bumpier than the road to Colca Canyon. I was sure I was going to lose my breakfast before we even spotted water. We drove through some very interesting landscapes. Pretty much just desert but an occasional strip-mall-style town or farm. The kids thought the little houses that dotted the mountain sides looked like Legos scattered on the ground.

As we approached the very hilly horizon we could see this strange gray stuff above the hill tops. We were hopping there was an enormous garbage pile burning some where producing this amount of "smoke" but alas, no burning rubbish just a thick, dark cloud line. It was rather astonishing to leave the sun light behind us and plunge into such a distinct cloud line. The road began to descend and the overcast sky, that we were driving through, rose higher and higher above us.

We finally arrived in Mollendo. The bus station is located on the outskirts of town. We decided to walk to the beach instead of take a taxi. We donned our sweatshirts and chose the road less traveled. I think we saw parts of town that only the local residents see. We were quite a spectacle for the locals as well. Our family of seven, plus our friends with the cute two year old and the baby are quite a sight where ever we go, but today was extra special for the people of Mollendo. Though Meghan and baby Mark were not with us, we still made up 9 of the 11 gringos in the entire coastal town. It is really funny to hear people yell out, very loudly, "Que gringuitos bonitos!" We were imagining how that would work if the roles were reversed. You would never hear some one in the States yell, "What sweet little Mexicans!" or "Look at the cute Chinese kiddies!" It just gives you a deeper insight into the culture we live in down here.

After our detour through the more "scenic" part of town we made it down to the plaza that over looks the ocean. Absolutely beautiful! While we were there we ran into one of Max's class mates and her family. They were visiting the beach for the day as well. It was fun to chat and get to know them better. We talked about school and family, the weather and beaches . . .then some how the conversation turned to birth control (I think the mom asked if we were having any more and how were we preventing it) I told her we were done and had a full house and that my hubby had visited the doctor and we have no worries. She had a million questions. I found it quite amusing that I having a conversation, in Spanish, over looking the Pacific Ocean, with people I had just met, about vasectomies. God works in mysterious ways. Hopefully he will believe us that he won't be impotent if he has it done (that is what the doctor had told him) and their marriage will be blessed.

We then went to eat lunch and splash in the ocean. A great time was had by all. Of course the kids all got there clothes wet after we had asked them not to - reminiscent of afternoons at Lake Michigan. The bus ride home was crowed and long. We are very thankful that no one got sick and nothing was stolen. Other than a lack of sun it was a great day for the beach, in the middle of winter, in Peru.

Returned to Owner

2009-07-30T08:51:00.005-04:00

We got our Dell laptop back. We met with the D.A. and with the vendor that had the computer. He promised to never possess stolen goods again and we got the computer back. An ABSOLUTE MIRACLE! The D.A told us that people never find their stuff. Christian and our friend Scott went right to work on retrieving everything possible from the hard drive. So far they have recovered about 1,000 photos! God is amazing - nothing is impossible for him.

We also got our Kombi back. . . FINALLY! After a long 6.5 weeks our beloved 1980 VW van has returned from the painters. As you can see 12 days takes longer in Peru.

Before:

After:

We have been having a wonderful vacation from school with the kids and a great visit with my (Amy's) mom. I've got a lot to share with you but it will have to wait till she's gone. Please keep praying . . . . more changes for us in the near future.

Leave it to the government

2009-07-16T14:35:00.002-04:00

Here is a little sample of our life in recent weeks to give you and idea of what things are like here. Every year the country celebrates there independence from Spain on July 28th and 29th. The normal vacation for all of the school, both public and private, is the last week of July and the 1st week of august. That is how it is every year . . . . well this past Friday the government changed the vacation schedule because of the swine flu. Friday we were told end of month exams were being moved to Monday and that exams would take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the rest of the exams would take place when school started again on August 3rd. Tuesday at school we got a new note at the end of the day stating that there was no school the next day and that classes would recommence the 6th of August if they weren't prolonged any more.

So we have begun our unexpected vacation . . .I have to say that it has only been two days but I am enjoying being with the kids again. They have been really good about hanging out a physical therapy with Christian (his ankle still isn't healed) or at the dentist with me (still finishing up a root canal). My mom should be here next week!! We are looking forward to her visit. Spanish classes are moving along. We are feeling more and more confident all the time.

we would love to hear from all of you - please keep in touch.

Plaza de Armas and Current Events

2009-07-08T17:27:00.004-04:00

I had been with out a camera for so long that I forget I have one now. Here is a photo, for your viewing pleasure, of the Plaza de Armas here in Arequipa.

Hello All! I keep thinking of the the many things I want to share with you but whenever I have the time to sit down and type I forget what I wanted to say. Things are moving along here. I am in the middle of a root canal and Christian is on his second week of physical therapy after injuring his ankle playing soccer. The kids are doing great and we have had a wonderful long week-end. Early dismissal on Friday, no school Monday due to Teacher's Day, and there has been a transportation strike yesterday and today. It has been fun. Gavin lost his lunch box AGAIN, but I found nothing of value at the market this time when I went to buy a new one.

Back to school as usual tomorrow for the kids and Christian and I have an appointment at the District Attorney's office at 8 a.m. We should be getting our computer back. Have I mentioned that we received a copy of the vendor's statement. He changed his story for the third time and says he got the computer from a young man named "Jorge2". Interesting, no?? Any how, I will let you know how it all plays out tomorrow.

My mom is coming to visit us in two weeks!!!! We can't wait. She is bring suitcases full of stuff for us so anyone has been wanting to send us something (a few people have asked) - can send there packages to my mom and she can carry them down. Let me know if you need more info.

Can you spot the gringo pigeon??

Red Eagles

2009-07-02T23:26:00.003-04:00

This is a photo of the kids before the father's day event at school - they are the Red Eagles

Couples Night

2009-07-02T23:14:00.002-04:00

O.K. this past Sunday night we experienced our first public ministry in Peru. Christian was the main speaker at the couple's night at church. It was very interesting and didn't go at all like we planned but I believe it was a good ice breaker.
Christian spoke in English and I was his translator - that part went more or less well. After talking with the pastor on Saturday night we realized how careful we needed to be to NOT talk about marriage from a cultural stand point. The self-help tips in the U.S. are not going to be realitive to anybody here. Christian printed out 8 pages of scriptures on marriage - all in Spanish to hand out at the dinner. He simply pesented from scripture what marriage is and what it is not.
This fairly simply chat got off on the wrong foot when, while explaining that in God's eyes marriage is forever and how other than infedelity there is no way out of marrige, it ended up sounding like he was telling everyone how to get OUT of their marriages . . . the pastor quickly helped clear that up.
Actually, we weren't very unclear - we just han't gotten to the scripture about God hating divorce and apparently there were several men in the room who might be looking for an out because they have other women on the side. (a practice not at all uncommon here). However by the end I believe Christian had done a great job presenting the scripture and sending them home with much to read and study. The Holy Spirit can speak, correct, encourage, and convict from here.

A Word form the Lord??

2009-06-23T14:41:00.002-04:00

I left my house early this morning - two hours early to be exact. I only have two hours of class per day this week and I have purposed to put the other two hours aside for praying and reading my Bible and journaling. Things I love to do but have not had the time - or should I say - made the time for recently. I knew if I stayed in the house I would spend my two hours cleaning or organizing so I fled to a cafe for coffee and solitude.
When I arrived there was no one in the place. I found a table, took out my Bible and was about to look at the menu when a woman approached me. She was a Peruvian, and she spoke so quitely I couldn't HEAR what she was saying. I memtioned once that she needed to speak up but she didn't. I didn't want to say it again because she would have assumed that I don't understand Spanish. So I strained my ears the best I could to hear here over Ace Of Base blaring in the background.
She saw my Bible and told me that she was also a Christian. I asked when and how she decided to follow Christ and she told me a long story about 2002 when she was in Brasil . . . .unfotunately most of her story was drowned out by the music. I did here her clearly quote James 3:17 and then she spoke of my family and prayed for us. She spoke against discouragement and how inportant it is that we are here . . . .I then realized she was talking to me about me. It was amazing! She hugged me prayed over me and left. I would have thought she was an angel, but she came back and gave me her e-mail address. the waitress says she is a regular at the cafe and often speaks about God.
It is absolutely amazing to me that God knows our needs so well and exactly how to encourage us and exactly how much we can take as far as pain and trials go. I am suddenly starting to have terrible pain and swelling in my gums on one side and am very nervous about what might be going on in my mouth. It seems that everytime I get to the point where I feel like I can actually handle all that is going on in our life God sends something else to stretch us and try us. I was just telling Him how I really can't handle anymore, and he sent an sister in Christ to encourage me. I am so glad she responded to the Lord and talked to me and prayed for me. It was what I needed to be able to handle what God has for me. (Amy)

Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:48:00.005-04:00

Sorry to leave you all hanging . . . everyone keeps asking what happened with the computer.

Well the next morning we went to our meeting at the District Attorney's office. The vendedor didn't show up. So he is trouble for possessing stolen goods and now for not appearing. She took our statement and said that there was a new investigation open and that she wanted to get the vendedor's statement before she gave the computer back to us. If he doesn't come to her office she said she would go to his tienda and look for other stolen goods. So now we just wait. But really, we don't mind. We are still just basking in the glow of God's hand in all of this. God is amazing!

We spent the day yesterday at the kids school, Sataurday, 8:30 to 2:30. There was a father's day party and the kick-off to the intermural olympics. The kids are on the "red" team. They walked in the opening parade of colors and them 4 of them danced or sang for the fathers. (3rd grade didn't do anything). It was so cute!

Christian's Father's Day started with a delicious breakfast of eggs benedict - Peruvian style: ciabatta rolls instead of English muffins, and "pizza ham" in lieu of Canadian bacon. It was still very good though. Then we hosted our gringo home church tonight. Scott and Meghan are in Lima. It was fun and we had a lot of people. It amazes me how many people come and go in our small circle of aquaintances. Our friend and fellow SAMer, Marshall, arrives on Tuesday and will live with us for a month while he attends classes at the institute as well.

It is freezing cold in our house right now. There is no heating anywhere here in any of the buildings. When the sun is out the temperature is o.k. It is winter here now so the cold is awful but you roast in the sun. It is crazy. Sweaters are contantly being put on and taken off. The only warm place around here is our bed . . . so good night.

Hope in a Lunch Box (edited)

2009-06-17T00:09:00.008-04:00

Well through a series of events I brought the kids to school today. Usually Christian brings the kids and I stay home to let in our house helper and give her instructions for the day (before you all start wondering way we can pay a maid here it is because it is expected, for one, for two, it costs us the same to have her clean, iron, and cook for what it would cost for 2 coffees and a cookie at Starbucks - honestly, I can't do it all with out help here.) Anyway . . . Christian stayed at home this morning and I took all the kids on the combi (public bus) to school. Taking the combi is interesting because the combi's job is to pick people up and drop them off but they don't like to stop for anyone. The bus is fast and crowded. When it was time to get off, two blocks from school, I was counting heads, back packs, and lunch boxes. It appeared that everyone and everything was in order as they rapidly exited the bus.

We crossed the street and started up the hill when I noticed that Gavin was missing his lunchbox. "Gavin, where's your lunchbox?" "I don't know. Maybe I dropped it.", he replied. Dropped it? You just dropped your lunch? Really now, how is that possible? Another student from the school passed us on the corner and said that there was a lonchera back across the street. So I sent the kids up the hill to school and went back for the lunch. Of course it was gone. Not to be found - some Peruvian experienced pumpkin pie for the first time today. I went to the school and ended up buying Gavin a nutritious meal of yogurt, chips, Gatorade, and clemintines from the corner store. The kids all went to class and so did I.

My teacher and I went to the police station in Yanahuara, to pick up my denuncia that states I was robbed and I need to get a new ID. All went very well and then we were off to converse over coffee. Christian stayed home because he wasn't feeling great but at noon met me and some friends for a quick lunch and then we were off to the second hand clothing market. It was in a part of town I had never been to before and very interesting - it was strange to rummage through all the American "throw away" clothes, some of which were VERY nice. We couldn't stay long because we needed to get back to the otherside of town to pick up the kids after school. So off we went. Everyone had a great day at school, we took the combi home and had lunch - In Peru they eat their big meal, lunch, between 2 and 4ish. We ate and got ready to leave because we needed to go out and find a new lonchera for Gavin.

That may seem like an easy thing to do but at this time during the school, no. If it were March you could find them on every street corner but this time of you you have to seek out the source and find out who sells the loncheras year round. We had to choices: San Camilo or Siglo XX. The San Camilo area I know pretty well now. It is not the best part of town but you can find EVERYTHING there. I had only been to Siglo XX once before but they have everything, too, so I picked to night as the night to learn. We found a taxi larger than a Tico and made our way out there. When you see the street Siglo XX you might not think there are very many stores, but there are hundreds! You enter one shop and it leads to another, which leads to another, and pretty soon you realize that the entire block is all shops. It can be intimidating and overwhelming at first but we now find it quite interesting.

The first isle we went up we found just about everything on our list. Then we were free to just wander around the shops. We were in the second block of stores when we found ourselves in the computer section - all used, referbished, and most of them probably stolen. Christian, half joking, said, "Keep your eyes out for our stolen computer." and then approached a random vendedor in his 5'x5' cubicle of a store to ask how much used laptops go for. As he was chatting he noticed a Dell Studio Laptop up on the shelf. We asked to see it and the guy wouldn't let us. He lied to us about the brand (said it was a Toshiba - it says Dell right on it) then he lied about the color and also that it wasn't his. Someone had dropped it off to be fixed. We told him we didn't want any trouble and if we could just verify that it WASN'T ours we would be on our way. He continued to refuse so Beth and I left to find the police. We prayed that if God wanted the Police involved that he would let us find one - there was one, only one that I could see for blocks. I explained to him the problem and he can back to the tienda with us. He made the vendedor show us the computer. It was blue, not silver like he said, and had other options that ours had.

Christian went to the tienda across the hall and paid them to use the internet and get our serial numbers for our Dell. (We happened to have them because our new computer broke and we had it serviced Friday. The service tech told us to get the numbers from Dell and if he ever ran across our stolen laptop he'd return it - before Friday we didn't have these numbers in our posession) - Christian printed the e-mail and it was a perfect match. It was OUR Dell. You have to understand that there were over 200 cubicle-like computer tiendas in this block and Christian "just happened" to talk to the guy that had our computer? It was a direct act of God - a miracle.

At this point the police man said the vendedor didn't want trouble and the police man is implying that we should pay the man for our computer to settle the matter. No, gracias. So we, all 10 of us, went to The police station Santa Marta. Here you pay for the taxi to take you and the police man to the station. After much talking amonst them selves (I really don't think the police knew exactly what to do) we went to a different police station, another taxi ride. Again, confusion, and we went back to station SM. Finally, after I realized I had told them the wrong date for the robbery of our house back in March, we all went to police station Y (where I had been in the morning) and finished the paper work there.

Long story a little shorter, the vendedor said he bought the computer from someone and can prove it so tomorrow we have to go to the Y police station again to show the special judge lady our paperwork. Once all of this was done, hours into the process the vendedor decided he would like to just give us the computer if we would drop the process. I f we drop the process the computer goes back to him there is no garantia he would return it. So we are going to continue with all of this in the morning. So we may get our computer back tomorrow. Vamos a ver!

Tonight was long and tiring for all of us (at one point the 5 kids, me, 3 police men, and 2 Peruvian friends were all in the same small SUV! Two police up front, 4 kids, me and a police in the backseat, and two adults and Gavin in the back hatch. I was balancing on one leg with my bottom off the seat to avoid sitting on the policeman's lap.) Lucky for us Dominos was having 2 for 1 pizza night. We didn't eat till 10:30p.m. The kids were exhausted, but it was good for them to expirience all of this first hand. So the appointment is for 9 a.m. We may get it back, we may not, but either way this has encouraged us greatly! God is reminding us of his power -and that bad can be used for good by him. So we went out insearch of a luch box and came home several hours later with a new lonchera and a lot of hope. Not hope for the computer but for all that God can and will do.

Birthday Fun

2009-06-15T01:14:00.003-04:00

Hey, we just got a new camera today! So hopefully I will be faithful in posting new pictures, but I just remembered that we had pictures from Beth and Gavin's b-day that Scott and Meghan took.

Lining up for the pinata.Cake number one.Cake number two.

Daniel, anyone?

2009-06-14T23:57:00.004-04:00

" . . . so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that you were destined for them. In fact when we were with you we kept telling you that you would be persecuted. And it turned out that way as you well know." I Thes. 3:3-4

This is one of the scriptures that Christian used when he lead homegroup tonight. He was sifting through the scriptures and ideas of why we are here. All of us, the gringos in our home church, have very different yet very similar reasons for being here in Peru. But it is really good to reflect and remind yourself every now-and-again.

My purse was stolen yesterday. It was the final blow for me in a very tough week. Things here can just be very frustrating. No one ever does what they say they will do, and if they do do it, it will get done a week later than you requested. Trafic laws are non-existant. Life here is organized chaos at times. So, when you spend your day running around making photocopies of your id card just to mail a small package to the States and then the mail clerk slathers on a small line of glue to the copy, sticks it on the envelope and then wants you to put it in the slot where your id paper is just going to fall off , you can get a bit frustrated. . . . or you pull up to the gas pump and ask for 60 soles of gasoline, you give him s/60, the reciept says s/60 but then you look at the pump before pulling away only to see s/50 of gas had been pumped . . . .or you leave the park early because the kids need to use the bathroom only to find you got on the bus going the wrong direction only to end up in a part of town you've never even seen on the map.
Finally yesterday I was going out to have coffe with my friend Meghan and baby Mark (he is 3 weeks old). We went to this little coffee shop a few blocks from my house and had chocolate cake and cappucino. It was just what I needed after a frustrating week. We had a great time talking and catching up (I haven't seen much of her in the last 3 weeks) The cafe is very small and you have to walk down stairs to get inside. We sat near the back and I was sitting facing the door so i could see everyone coming in. For some reason my purse was really bothering my neck so I hung it on the back of my chair and leaned against it. The only people who could see it were the waitstaff and I was checking on it every 5 to 10 minutes. We were getting ready to leave aftering having been at our table for well over and hour. I asked for the check and checked my purse. All was well. A group of ladies entered the cafe and were talking to the workers about the cakes and wanted to buy one. As we waited for our check one of the ladies approached the table to see baby Mark - his car seat was on the chair opposite mine. She began to ask questions about the baby and then was telling us that something was wrong with the baby's chin. I stood up to see Mark's head and then the lady suddenly had to leave with her friend. I sat down and the check came. I went to grab my purse and it was gone and so were those two ladies. The other ladies in the store actually bought a cake, while the other two entered the store simlpy to steal something. My wallet with my id card, my drivers license, my cell phone, and my house keys se fueron (left). The worst part was I can't be sure that our address was not on a receipt in my wallet and thus the robbers would have my house number and house keys. It took all last night and most of today to get our locks changed . . . again (they had just been changed in March after the break in) - the locks are welded to the door. Not something you can do your self w/o a welder.
All is now fixed and I have to go to the police station tomorrow to get a report made so I can send it in to get new id papers . . . the sad part is I am scared about what the police station will be like. I am sure it will be a long drawn out process that makes no sense and then I will have to pay what ever the guy at the counter tells me. I doubt there is a standard price sheet at the counter.
If you can not tell I am having a hard time loving neighbor and my enemy right now since they seem to be one-in-the-same.
I know that as followers of Christ we are to expect hardship but I have to be honest things are hard right now and it can get pretty discouraging. There have been a lot of good things lately but they quickly get blocked out by the hard and ugly part of life. Please pray for us that we will see the world around us the way God sees it. We are all either lost or found and we all need compassion, love and mercy in our lives. That IS why we are here. We have the opportunity to share the love of God with the people around us. To show them and tell them that God prefered to become a human and die than to live forever without them. What an amazing love story. A story for all man kind - even the ladies that used my concern for a baby to steal my stuff.
We knew a head of time that by following Christ there would be hardships, and but leaving all that we know to head out somewhere new and different the hardships would be even greater, but when you think about them the way the James describes them in James chapter 1: that we should count it all joy when we face trials because the bring about maturity so in the end we will be lacking in nothing! (My paraphrase and exclamation.) I do want to grow in my faith and learn perserevence and become mature, but I am no Daniel. Just like when we were robbed I pointed out that I am no Job - I honestly am scared to keep maturing because it means more trials. Daniel was 80 years old when he was ready for the trial of the lion's den. He had been through much prior to that event and had been proven faithful , , so I pray to be proven faithful, but I am not sure I ever want to be "ready" to pass throug the trial of the lion's den.
No matter what happens I KNOW that God is good and faithful - unfortunately at times what I know and what I feel are at odds with each other. So God, I pray for and undivided heart. A heart thet seeks only for your honor and glory. Help me to love those who persecute me/ steal me stuff.

The long walk home

2009-06-07T22:31:00.004-04:00

We are thoroughly enjoying having our Kombi (VW bus) - it is great to have room for 5 kids and backpacks and lunch boxes. Trying to squish all that in to a taxi at 7:30 in the morning is NOT fun. Well, the kombi is off to the beauty shop tomorrow to get a new coat of red paint. We planned on painting her when we bought her - at the moment the Kombi is tan, silver, and blue - with the words "servicio escolar" scratched off the front and back. We have been pulled over 4 times now and got in our first car accident. Christian has gotten very good at talking with the police and has yet to be hauled off to the station house. (The accident wasn't bad, a taxi wanted to change lanes and drove into the side of our bus. The taxi was much worse off than our bus.)

Saturday we went on a hike with our Swiss friends Christian, Petra, and their son Jan. We took a taxi out to the middle of of no where, about a 20 minute drive. We found ourselves in a valley with the shrine to the Virgin of Chapi protruding out of the mountain side. Interesting and sad all at the same time. . . . 90% of all taxis in Arequipa have a photo card of this icon/doll in them or have her name plastered across the back of their car. We walk through fields and farm land along the river for close to two hours then made our way back to a street and then back to the city. Our friends took a bus back to our side of town and for some reason we felt like walking. We walked, all 7 of us, over 10 km in total, all the way back to the house. Dinner never tasted so good and bed was never such a welcome sight. It was a long but great afternoon.

Surprise Party

2009-05-31T16:24:00.003-04:00

Hello all! You missed agreat time last night. I threw a suprise party for Christian. His birthday was last Monday but it didn't work out to have the party until this week end . . . boy, was he surprised! The best part was all of the guests. I guess we are getting to know quite a few people here - english and spanish speakers. We had a house full. We had friends from the language schoolas well as new friends from church (we've been attending a small church that meets in a cafe for about 2 months now). Good food and conversation . . . I am so thankful that God has been VERY faithful to us supplying us with friendship and relationships where ever we go.

Life is continuing at breakneck speed here. I can't believe we've been here for 4 plus months already! We are working on a newletter . . . it went through it's 5 rewrite in two months, so continue to be patient with us. If you are not on our mailing list send us your address, postal and electronic, and we will add you to it.

The kids are all doing great in there new school. There spanish gets better everyday. Gabe is on the soccer team and the three boys stay after school once a week for a soccer workshop. The girl took a cooking class after school this past month, too. I can't belive that tomorrow is June 1st! Where does the time go?

Christian and I have both finished our spanish practica books and are finishing up our spanish grammar books in the next few weeks. We have a lot of head knowledge but are still encountering road blocks to getting that knowledge out of our mouths in spanish.

Our dog Libby has grown huge and has an even bigger appetite - balloons and Polly Pocket clothes are her favorite entrays.

As we are half way through our time in Arequipa we are starting to look towards oar move to Pucallpa . . . lots of details to be worked out. Please keep this in prayer. Our plan is to move in August or September but that all depends on our Spanish.

Alive and Well

2009-05-20T08:41:00.002-04:00

Hello to all of our friends, family , and supporters. We are here, alive and well, despite our lack of communication. We are hard at work on a news letter that has been through 2 revisions in the last month and is in need of yet another since several weeks have passed.
Christian is getting over another bout of something - gastrointestenal stuff. The kids have had their fair share of sore throats and days off from school for "swine flu education" (mandated by the government of Peru). The change in the kids school has been very good for everyone. The kids are happy, so we are happy, and this new school seems more interested in them as people and character development than in copy work. I am taking a few minutes before I run to class to let you all know that we think of you and pray for you all often.

Samantha Ryan Bagley

2009-05-01T09:03:00.002-04:00

We would like to introduce to you our new niece, Samantha Ryan Bagley. Other than having a couple of very sleep deprived parents everyone is doing very well. She was born on Friday the 24th. This is a picture of her and her daddy, Chad, shortly after her arrival.

Overwhelmed and Unmoving

2009-04-30T11:36:00.001-04:00

I know I am not the only one this happens to, but it feels like it at he moment . . . you have so much too do that you find yourself frozen unable to do any of it. I am home today with two semi-sick girls. Not sure if they have strep or just wanted a day off from school . . . today is Gavin's b-day, tomorrow is Beth's, it is my cranky time of the month, I have a boat-load of house work (amazing how one day w/o water can set you back), I have cakes to bake, pinatas to either make or buy, phone calls to make to find someone to buy the kids unused school books from the other school (they changed schools), other things I would like to look for in the market, need to go to the farmacia, if I were to make the pinata we should have started yesterday or at least early this morning . . .yet here I sit. How did I get here?
I was making our bed this morning when a song came on entitlted, "What Do I Know Of Holy" by Addison Road, and I found myself dropping onto the bed listening to the words and then swooped into a time of fervent prayer - for myself but more for a very young sweet friend of mine. I have not experienced such an amazing time of communion with God in a LONG time. It is so painful, but I love when god uses me to pray for others and I can feel their pain in my heart and pray for them in a way I couldn't have otherwise. Then some crazy loud Spanish song came on and the moment was over - but I am so thankful for that moment in the presence of the creator; that he loves my friend enough to burden my heart for her, and I know he loves me and draws others to pray for me.
So, even though nothing I wanted to get done today have gotten done yet I am deeply reminded that life is not about the stuff you get done and accomplish - it is about who you are and where you stand with God - I am a fool if I think I know what his plans are or should be for my family - my plans are made with a small mind and small eyes. I like to measure myself and others by what I can see, by what I can control, or by what I think they should be able to control - however that is not God's measuring tool. I have been forgetting that my purpose is not to DO things for God, but to simply BE with him. Great things will naturally follow being with him and being his hands and feet where ever go. So, overwhelmed I am right now, but unmoving is where I hope to stay. Unmoved from His hands, His gaze, His spirit, His love, and His presence.

Catching Up

2009-04-30T00:30:00.006-04:00

A lot has happened over the past month since our last posting. Things had been pretty stressful and busy with the kids school and then add in a very small puppy who wakes you up several times a night you get two parents who aren't functioning at 100%. Throw in the Spanish factor and you have some extremely stressful moments. Take away our health and then we are floundering.

We have all had sickness since arriving in Peru but two weeks ago a bad virus hit us. Gabe and Christian seemed to have slept it off in one afternoon while the girls and Gavin seemed to barely get a fever. For Max and me it was quite a different experience. We both had high fevers and aches and pains that put us in bed for days. I ended up going to the ER - we thought I might have typhoid. Max seemed to get better but I didn't and after many, many tests it was determined that I had amoebas and salmonella (on top of the virus that has been going around). The whole family took anti-amoeba meds for a week. It was strong medicine and we are all feeling better but trying to share the nasty side effects of the Flagyl. Not more than a few days after getting over one illness a second of low fevers and terribly sore throats has hit our house. I am sick of being sick!!!!

Also this month after much prayer, question asking and information gathering we withdrew the kids from Colegio Internacional. The stress of the environment there was too much for us. There was little consistancy between what we were told would be expected of our children (free students) and what was happening in the class room. Our kids need to learn Spanish not live in fear of getting screamed at by their teachers for not completing homework that we can't do yet due to the language barrier or for not having a $40 science that they can't read anyway . . .there was a lot more to it than that but long story short we changed schools. The kids are now attending a much smaller school called Rey de Reyes. They have officially been there a week now and we are all much happier.

Over the past month and a half two people who have been very important in Christian's life and spiritual formation have passed away and this past weekend a fellow missionary in Pucallpa died while practicing for a motorcross race. I have to say, I flich a little everytime I open e-mail wondering what news shall come our way next.

Some good news: Christian's sister, Nicole, and her husband, Chad, had a baby girl on the 24th. We are proud to announce the birth of our niece, Samantha Ryan Bagley. Our baby is going to turn 6 years old tomorrow!!!! We spent 6 years straight being pregnant, and now I can't believe that it has been 6 years since our last baby!!!! Our sweet little Bethie will be 9 on Friday. It seems like just yesterday that we told her she was getting a baby brother for her third birthday. Oh, how the time flies!!!! We are inviting some Peruvian friends over for the party along with the gringos - birthdays are a VERY big deal here. We visited the street today where they sell all the b-day stuff. Some many pinatas!!!

We had a special visit from our good friends Kirk and Emily - Kirk also happens to be head of SAM and he had to come to Peru for board meetings and Emily was able to join him. What a blessing it was to us that they could slip out to Arequipa for 30hours. We had a great time. But I have to admit it was really hard to watch them leave . . . . however, they did not leave us empty handed. They we the deliverers of our new computer and a slew of gifts from our home group and others. Thank you to every one involved in that. And a special thanks to my gilrfriends who sent me a great selection of new jewelry to replace all mine that was stolen. I love it all!

Speaking of the robbery, we also received a new front door this month. It is now flush with the road so you can't hide in the doorway while you pry open our door. Turns out that the night we were robbed we were just the lucky ones. Other houses had been tried that night, our was just the winner. Our neighbor two doors donw was robbed over the week-end while they were all asleep in the house - they are getting a whole new wall and doors. That is just life here - not much you can do about it.

Libby Sparks Listro

2009-03-29T12:40:00.003-04:00

Here she is. The newest member of the Listro family. Her full name is Libelulle Sparks Listro, but we call her Libby. She is a mere 4 weeks old and very very sweet. (Lily Lawrence, we named her 'Sparks" after you :0)

Much better than last week-end

2009-03-29T12:15:00.002-04:00

Well, this week was full of the usual ups and downs but for the most part God gave us amazing hope and peace. I am not sure why it seems better, but things at the kids school seem to be going better . . . nothing has really changed except our heart and it is amazing how different life feels when your heart has been encouraged.
We had a busy week of classes, a meeting with Max's teacher, an impromptu visit from Marshall (fellower SAMer from Pucallpa), and 4 day visit from our land lord, and we got a new puppy!!
Last Sunday morning Christian and I were home cleaning up the mess the robbers left behind today I am home with our new boxer pup named Libby. She is a mere 4 weeks old and can't be left alone yet. We went to pick her out yesterday and intended to leave her with her mama a few more weeks, but after we paid we found out that the vet was going to keep her for a few weeks. If they sent her back to the mama the owner would probably sell her to someone else - so we said we would rather bring her home now than leave her in a cage at the vet. She is so tiny. She is like having a new born - she kept me up all night, but I don't mind. Soon she will be huge, frolicking with the kids and attacking robbers that try their luck at our house again.

Thing went very well with the landlord. She was very kind and understanding. She is putting in a new metal door in front of our wooden one and also installing fencing along the side and roof of the house. all the lock are fixed and she conceeded to let us have a dog!!!!

With Marshall came all sorts of greetings, cookies, prayers and even a love offering from our SAM family in Pucallpa. How wonderful to feel Gods love everywhere we go. Marshall flies back to Pucallpa today but will be back in June or July to get in somemore language school.

Many people have asked how they can help, if there is anything they can do after the robbery. Well, first and foremost, pray. I don't fully understand prayer or why god chooses to use our prayers, but he does so please keep praying for safety, wisdom, and a heart of love towards a people and a culture that is so different.
Also, some have asked where they could send a gift to help replace some of our lost items. If you are already a regular supporter you can send in extra with your monthly gift with a note that it is for replacing stolen items. If you are not a regular supporter you can still send a gift to South America Mission and they will deposit it and let us know. If you want a reciept make the check out to SAM and it will go into our service account (that is where the money for a new computer will come from) if you don't want a reciept make the check out to us and send it to SAM with a note that it is a personal gift. They will deposit the funds and let us know. SAM's address is
1021 Maxwell Mill Rd
Ste. B
Fort Mill, SC 29708

Thanks for asking and caring. We are so thankful for all of you.

Robbed

2009-03-22T10:17:00.005-04:00

We went out to buy some MORE school books yesterday afternoon . . . .after a long and serious talk between Christian and I about how hard things are here, how useless we feel unable to speak the language, how all the changes and stresses of the past 4 years have taken a HUGE toll on our family, yet we are committed to what ever God has for us . . .his best doesn't always come in the package we want to see . . . . So we talk to the kids about some issues happening in our family. Christian and I repent of our own selfishness and anger and then we get ready and head out the door. when we left it was light out. We were gone for about 4 hours. We walked all over the city to find the book stores we needed, we went out for dinner (did I mention most of the city, including our house, was out of water all day which was one of the main reasons we went out . . . no water= no flushing, handwashing, clean dishes, or cooking) so we ate out and then decided to have a treat somewhere because the afternoon was going great . . different than how it has been for a while. We ran to the pharmacy to get vitamin C and then to the grocery store to get yogurt for breakfast. we caught a taxi home and when we got there Christian opened the big wooden door in our front wall (can only be opened w/a key, no latch on the outside) our front and back doors were open, the backdoor was open and all the lights were on.
The kids and I immediately went to Scott and Meghan's and the taxidriver called the police. (we are using their computer to post this.) Christian and Scott went into the house and our computers were gone, the bedrooms ransacked, otherdoors kicked in and broken. Our cash was gone, they took our propane tank, and tried to take the T.V. It looks like they were spoked away because they didn't take the mp3 players from Gabe's room and they didn't get the cable disconnected. All of my jewlery is gone. Stuff I saved from high school, stuff my Gram gave me, my mom's wedding rings, the piece glass from C's first car that I unknowing had carried around for years before I met him (some of you know that story) anyway . . stuff that is meaningless to others but the only stuff I have saved through all of our moves. Our computers were important but they are replaceable, the photos on the computer and on the camera are not replaceable. Christian's backpack is gone too - they probably took it to carry the computers and will have found out later that our camera and my mp3 player were in there.
They pushed in our gatedoor (how w/o being seen baffles me) then they climbed in the den window (at least two of them, one had to lift the other) then they opend the kitchen door, took the computers, someone went out back and kick in a door - -there was nothing out there to find, someone ransacked our room, papers and underwear everywhere. they found the cash but left credit cards, banking info and didn't find the passports - amazing. They attempted to find things in the kids rooms but gave up fast. I'm sure they were dissappointed by our entertainment center that was full of books and card games. Some how they missed the playstation and our CD's.

Christian and I have to go home and clean up the house while the kids go to church w/Scott and Meghan. We don't want them to see their stuff like that, and there are 36 hours of dirty dishes I haven't had water to wash and our landlord could come from Lima anytime today.

God challenged me long ago about my faith - if he were to take something from me, even a child, would I still bless his name . . .I really struggled witht that question. Can I? Should I? I resolved that night 3 years ago that I would. I can trust that God loves me and my family more than I ever could or will. I CAN TRUST HIM. But I can be sad too. We were reading and thinking about Job this morning . . .Job I am not. God thought highly of him and blessed him even more after all his loss, but you can't tell me Job didn't have a huge pain in his heart from the loss he suffered. I thought that last week was the hardest yet. . . but it got harder. Christian is handling all of this amazingly well. If you knew him years ago when his GSX-R was stolen you would be amazed at how God has strengthened him. I am a wreck - I am sad - I find my self wondering what is next. I know that to know the Lord in all his Glory I must also know him in his suffering - but as I said last night -" knowing the suffering sucks" I trust my God, he will bring us through, but knowing him doen't mean a perfect life - it means peace in the turmoil, it means hope when hope makes no sense, it means having a God you can cast all your care, angst, anger, and fear upon.
we are thankful that it wasn't worse and that no one was hurt, but we are also reminded that personal safety is not guarnteed, nothing is for sure except for our creator. God is just as good and in control as he was yesterday morning. The Lord gives and takes away and we will choose to bless his name.

An Hour Late, But On Time

2009-03-18T00:14:00.006-04:00

That title encompasses a lot of life here. How a scheduled plane flight can just be rescheduled that morning and then register as on time when you get in the air and hour and twenty minutes late is one of the mysteries of Peru.

This past week has been a rough one. The adjustment to school for the kids has been difficult. They have some really good days and other days when they cry most of the afternoon because they don't want to go back. It has been a HUGE adjustment for all of us. I have also discovered that the craziness of the last week and a half is common to all Peruvian households when school starts - "March Madness" has a different context down here.

Pucallpa was really great - it is difficult to describe so I am just going to show you a video of downtown. It will give you a little taste of the "city". This video was takes from the truck of a fellow SAMer as he took us to town to get us cell phones. It is of the part of the city right on the river.

I HAVE NOW TRIED 4 TIMES TO UPLOAD THE VIDEO - IT WON'T WORK. I WILL TRY AGAIN LATER. SORRY - A.L.

First week of school

2009-03-12T09:53:00.004-04:00

The first week of school is almost over. I wish I could say it has been wonderful but that would not be the truth. It has been ok. The kids are troopers and are already picking up some Spanish after the first week.

This last picture is of their gym uniforms. They wear them to school all day on they day they have Educacion Fisica. The extra cutie in the picture belongs to our friends Scott and Meghan. Her name is Rachel and the kids love to have her around and play with her. (notice we dressed her up in an extra shirt).

More to Come

2009-03-08T16:08:00.002-04:00

We returned from the jungle last night. Pucallpa was great. We had a great time at the SAM field conference for Peru. We met up with friends from orientation and made many new ones. The kids loved their time there. It was a very profitable trip. We got to know Pucallpa pretty well and even got a lead/verbal contract on a house. We will see what happens.
I didn't have a good connection in Pucallpa so I didn't post anything. I have many pictures to get up and details to tell you about but right now I have to go grocery shopping, sew name tags into the kids uniforms and art bags, and then make 5 lunches, clean the house, go to bed early, and have everyone ready and at school by 7:20 . . . . I will post more when I can.

Gabe´s B-day

2009-02-27T06:30:00.003-05:00

Well, it has been a very eventful few days. I got the uniforms - after more waiting and a few tears we are all set. I took pictures and will try to post them soon. We arrived in Lima last night for an appointment we have this morning with immigration. Gabe's b-day was yesterday. We can't believe he's 12!!!!! He want to have pollo a la brassa in Lima, but now he says the chicken is better in Arequipa. Such a conesseur. He got some neat gift's "imported" from the States and we also managed to find him a TinTin book, in English, at a book store in Arequipa. He was very happy. Tonight we will conclude the celebration by going to a water/fountain park here in Lima and finding him a cake.
We hope to pick up our resident visas and our carnets today, and also begin the process for the kids' carnets. But, this is Peru, nothing is simple so we shall see how it goes. I have to go out and search of a bakery or corner store to get some breakfast.

Frustrations

2009-02-24T00:28:00.003-05:00

Getting used to the mentality here is harder than I thought. Every thing happens "tomorrow" and nothing is ever ready when it is supposed to be. I go tomorrow to pick up the rest of the kids uniforms . . . pray they are ready. I have already given her an extra 10 days from what she originally told me and wrote on my receipt.
We leave for Lima on Thursday and then head to Pucallpa for the SAM field conference on Sunday. There are a lot of loose ends to tie . . . like the fact that we are going to get our visas on Friday and still have no idea what it will cost. We still have no plane tickets for Sunday. We are waiting for a special, doing things the Peruvian way.
I probably shouldn't be writing right now . . .I a m a bit frustrated with things that are out of my control like Bank fees, credit card companies, and immigration offices.
Otherwise all is well.

El Misti in the Snow

2009-02-17T22:14:00.001-05:00

Whenever it rains here in the city it seems to snow up on El Misti (the summit is over 19,000 feet) . . . we caught this great sight the other day and thought we'd share.

A Map

2009-02-17T22:07:00.002-05:00

I never cease to be amazed by the wonders of technology. If you paste this address in you browser you will be privy to a satellite view of our house. It is not the greatest picture but it will give you a good sense of where we live.

this link should get you to a map and our house:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=-16.399751,-71.550447&daddr=&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=18&sll=-16.40004,-71.550044&sspn=0.002743,0.004807&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=18

If that doesn't work try these coordinates in the search box on the map site:
-16.399751, -71.550447

The Zoo

2009-02-17T00:33:00.007-05:00

We had an interesting week-end. Saturday morning Christian and Gabe got up bright and early to go play soccer with some of the students and teachers from our school. They had a lot of fun and got a lot of sunburn. Christian was still feeling the effects today as he has a body full of sore muscles. Gabe on the other hand has been receiving complements all day on how well he played. Looks like the grown-up boys will be glad to let him play again.
Saturday night we had a cook-out with some friends. The Charcoal here is actually chunks of wood. It took forever to get the grill ready but the burgers were good and so was the strawberry shortcake. (I love strawberries for $.70 a pound.)
Sunday we went to church – which was shortened due to the fact that all the kids teachers and worship team were away on vacation. I have to admit that we were glad because it is hard to sit there for an hour listen to a sermon of which you only understand 50% or less. I just found out that Impact has the sermons on “TV” on their website. We may have to watch what is going on in Mi until we can understand what is going on in church here.
Sunday afternoon we got a nice phone call from Germany form some friends that lived in MI the same time we did. Volker went to SMAT with Christian and we haven’t heard from then since they left MI back in 2006. They are living in Germany, have 7 kids (they had 5 last time we saw them), and are still hoping to go to the mission field. We got a call on our house phone at the same time from a Swiss German couple who are here in Arequipa with us. They invited us to go to the zoo with them that afternoon.

(kids at the zoo with new friend Jan)

They meet us at our house and we took two taxis quite a ways out to the edge of town to visit the zoo. We saw many interesting animals and saw things that would make Northern zoo keepers cringe. Most of the workers in the zoo were selling ice cream. I did see one picking up trash but that was it. All the animals had just being feed but the monkeys weren’t interested in their fruit, they wanted the fruit all the visitors were handing to them. I found it amazing that people brought in bags of food to feed the animals even though the sign clearly said, “Do not feed the animals. They bite.” We got to see condors and armadillos, though. I’ve always wanted to see those.

(the kids, doing what they do . . .)

When we were leaving the zoo we decided to take a combi (bus) back to town, It would be much cheaper than the taxi. While walking to the combi stop Christian looked up and exclaimed, “I can’t believe we live here!” This was our view when he said that.

Yeah, we live here . . . and really, we are enjoying it. It’s a whole new adventure.

Late Start and Chifa

2009-02-13T23:31:00.005-05:00

This morning started out like every other on here but then . . . .
we had no water. We thought it was just the gas for the hot water heater so we called the Llamagas man. He can right away with a new bottle of gas, but that wasn't the problem. Christian took our little hot water heater apart and the gas man thought it was the batteries (for the electric start) . . . well one of the hardest parts to find at 8:00 in the morning are D size batteries. He went looking and ever got taken by a taxi driver who insisted that Plaza Vea was open that early. The driver dropped him off and took off, leaving Christian outside a very closed Plaza Vea. He caught another taxi home and by then we realized we had no water at all.
By this time Christian was going to miss his first class. We sat down for some breakfast (yogurt and cornflakes) and decided to call the land lord in Lima.
We only understood 50% of what she said but we did get the part that she would call some one and call us back. In 30-40 minutes we had water again. The hot water was out due to low water pressure. I heard later on that a mud slide had broken a water pipe and whole chunks of the city were out water. So other getting a very late start to the day it all turned out well.
We decide to go have Chifa tonight for dinner. We had some of the best Chinese food ever. The kids all tried really hard to use chopsticks and got to drink Inca Cola. It was a lot of fun. I tried to get some pictures but my camera is being very fickle. it only works some of the time. But I think I got at least one picture good enough to share.

Waiting for Chifa:

One stick for each hand, right?

Our Street: Los Jazmines

2009-02-09T19:56:00.006-05:00

Christian and kids in front of our house.

View down our street.
View up our street. If you could see through to the next block you would see the kids school.

Shoe Shopping

2009-02-09T19:39:00.002-05:00

I left the house early this morning with the kids when Christian left for class. We grabbed a taxi and found ourselves over in the San Camilo area at the place where they make and sell shoes. I guess we jumped the gun a bit because they are just unlocking gates at 8:30 in the morning. We walked around killing time and I took the kids to the big market and other surrounding shops. It was interesting to watch everyone set up their stands. We picked up a few miscellaneous items for school and then head back to Acma, the shoe place. This place is a huge building with 4 floors, on all of which they make or sell shoes. We stayed on the first floor where there were at least 30 little 6ft x 6ft shoe shops. everyone sells things a little different than the others and every one different prices. It is really odd to ask to try on a shoe and have the sellers run outside and across the street to get your size, or whistle to someone 3 floors up.
After many, many shops and pairs of shoes we got everyone every thing they needed. We had to leave after only buying two pairs because I had to get to class, but after class Christian went back with us. He had never been over to that part of town before. I plan to back 1 or 2 more times this week to get the kids school supplies.

That area of town doesn't get much traffic from tourists so we were quite the sight. Really, almost every vendor and half the people on the street stare and count our kids outloud . ."uno, dos, tres, cuatro, y cinco. CINCO HIJOS!!" I think the word '5 ' and the word 'kids' are the first words our children understood well.

What Do On A Rainy Day????

2009-02-07T22:44:00.003-05:00

Our kids have gotten very creative with the space they have to play in. We have a tiled driveway and no car so that gives them plenty of extra space. They have used that area to play soccer with covers from water bottles (that was before I bought the soccer ball last week.), they have played bowling with the water bottles, sword fighting and war with the the empty water bottles . . . . but when I arrived home after class on Friday their creativity had peaked. It had been raining for quite a while and , well, I'll let the video explain.

With or With Out Me

2009-02-05T17:17:00.005-05:00

This week my Spanish classes has not consisted of the typical grammar and speach practice. Twice this week class has been replace by "cultural learning". I've gotten an earful of what the school the kids will attend is really like, found out that we will continue to buy more and more things through out the school year, C and I must attend parenting classes and PTA meeting or we can get a fine and it will effect part of the kids' grades . . . this is going to be quite an experience.
I am learning all about a part of town I haven't been to yet where all the Peruvians go to shop. I am hiring my friends house lady to bring me there on Saturday. It is a huge commercial area just east of el centro. Apparently if you wander too far off the main streets you are in a "red" area where all the drug sellers, addicts, prositutes and theives live. You can buy everything you could imagine over there - cheap too . . . .I am looking forward to going and glad someone will show me the places to go and not to go before I go there alone on Monday with the kids to buy black shoes for school.
Today we talked about this area some more . . the converation turned to the pain in peoples lives and how much culture and society won't change by legislation . . .the bad things in life like STDs, AIDS, Abortion, adultery, feeling unwanted and unloved, the feelings of worthlessness that lead to desperate behavior - these things can only change one person at a time, one heart at a time. As I sat in class chatting with Julio about all this I was overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness. I can't do anything about it. I have such a passion and heart to see families healthy and see marriages succeed and thrive - yet in the States where I speak the language and understand the culture I still have to sit by and watch as friends' marriages fall apart or exist in daily turmoil. There I know what to say (how to express my heart), I understand the problems (at least I can listen and understand as others share their hearts) . . .yet unless hearts are turned to God for truth and healing my words do nothing . . . I guess that should actually make me feel better - I am simply a tool used by God the results are not depended on me . . .but it seems daunting when I am here and I don't speak the language and I don't understand the culture (ie. .having a mistress is common place) . . .how does our/my being here change anything. I guess what I am realizing as I type is that I am powerless and always have been to change anything in the world around me - it is only God that has power. I am truly thankful for that truth, but it makes us being here all the more crazy.
God has a plan and it seems more unbelievable than ever and I see less and less clearly how we fit into the plan but I know we do . .so I guess we will have to wait and see what he does. We have fit perfectly and he has used us everywhere else we have gone so why would here be any different - the barriers of language and culture are nothing to God.
When I started typing I was a bit discouraged but now I am reminded that my hope is in Christ - everything good in me comes from him - every good thing in this world comes from him - all power in heaven and on Earth finds its source in him - through Christ all things are possible. I can love because he has loved me - I can trust him because he died to be with me - TRUE LOVE. His love casts out all fear - His love changes things with or with out me.

An Honest Heart

2009-02-04T14:57:00.000-05:00

God, thank you for giving me such a nice house that I forget I am in Peru. I month ago I thought it was this awful place (but now I know it is not) and thank you for my family. Amen
-Emma

Domingo Estupendo (Super Sunday) and other lesser days

2009-02-02T22:08:00.003-05:00

Well …we hosted the first Superbowl party of our lives. It was a lot of fun if not a little sad that we had to move to Peru to do so. Since we have five kids, we have the largest house in the missionary/language student community. Therefore, we hosted the night at our place and our friend Scott provided a projector to simulate a 60” TV. Initially it was a little spotty but in the end it was way better than any TV I’ve watched the game on in the past. (Aside from the Spanish commentators.) We had a diverse group. It was us and various new friends from Delaware, Oregon, Montana, Nottingham England and Switzerland. At one point I was explaining the rules of football to Christian, a Swiss-German, who in turn was explaining them to his 11 year-old son Jan who only speaks German. Between my utter lack of knowledge of the rules and Christian’s limited English it would be interesting to know what Jan (Yan) thought of the game. We had a great time and to top it off it was a great game.

Today we were back at school. Spanish learning is going well. My mood varies from moments of encouragement to moments of dread over the huge task before me. I think that by the end of this week I will have surpassed everything I retained from my two years of C- high school Spanish.

Amy spent the whole afternoon after language school out by herself finishing the kid’s uniform shopping. I am so proud of her. She had to tell the woman from Friday that we decided to buy some of the stuff from another store. I think in all Amy saved us a couple hundred dollars by asking questions and being willing to suffer through a few extra hours of using Spanish she hasn’t learned yet. Rest assured that we will post a picture of the kids in their costumes (I mean uniforms) once we get them all.

Thanks for taking the time to read these posts and for being interested in what God is allowing us to do for him. Feel free to leave a comment. We love to read them.

For all of the Listros,

Christian

Another Day, More Rain

2009-01-31T21:10:00.003-05:00

O.K. - it rained again today. the second time since we've been here. I convinced its because I washed the rest of our bed sheets . . there was plenty of sunshine but as soon as I hung the last one the clouds rolled in.

We had quite the experience today. We had to go see about the kids uniforms for school. We went to two places for prices. The first one right down the street wrote out a price list for us. The prices for everything vary based on the size. Seriously, a size 8 shirt will cost $.60 less than a size 10. This makes getting prices time consuming because we have to give every one's sizes for each piece. The first place was pretty fast but we realized later that we didn't get a complete list. We spent well over an hour at the second place, which is on the other side of town, having the kids try on everything. Poor Christian has never taken the kids to buy clothes before - he was tired, hungry, and overwhelmed by the amount of clothing getting passed back and forth. The nice lady in the shop kept a good list and managed to get every one's sizes.
The kids need a uniform and a gym suit. The lady at the second shop offered us the minimum amount of everything and she'll through in the school hats for free. Even still, the total was 2,000 soles (3.16 soles = $1). We need to talk to someone tomorrow about what is REALLY required and what is extra. We don't want to buy more than they need. Then we have to buy books and we have lists with two million bullet points of things the kids have to have for school. Gavin has to bring a toothbrush and toothpaste among other things.
That reminds me, today in the public bathroom at Sagafalabella, THE fancy store in Arequipa, the girls and I had to wait in line to wash our hands because at 4:00p.m. there were 10 ladies brushing their teeth. Not quite sure what was going on there but is was certainly odd.
The kids and I cleaned the house yesterday. There is a constant layer of dust/ash on everything. We swept and washed all the floors. It reminded me a lot of our house on Wopowog Rd. in CT. Our house here is spacious, has a strange layout, and tons of windows. Very much like our old house. We are enjoying Arequipa very much. Our outing today fried our brains - all that Spanish and we need to understand and be understood. Afterward we went to find a place to get Christian hair cut. We found a place, Christian brought pictures and tried his best to explain what he wanted but it didn't quite come out like he wanted. But lucky for us when it was over and we asked how much we were told, "5 soles." His hair cut only cost $1.58. I guess that was a good price for a not so good hair cut.
I took a lot of pictures while we were out to day I will try to post them later.

Flip-Flop

2009-01-29T22:18:00.002-05:00

I will have to bring my camera with me the next time I go to the market - my words won't give you the full effect. I have made a second visit to a very sweet lady named Adela. I am going to make couscous tomorrow. The price of food here is flip-flopped from the States, which is good for us. It makes eating well a lot cheaper than at home.

small jar processed peanut butter: $5
10 white flour tortillas: $4.50
Betty Crocker cookie mix: $5.00

2 eggplant, 2 red peppers, 2 yellow pepper, 2+ pounds carrots, fresh basil, 3 turnips, 3 leeks, 4 cucumbers, 2+pounds onions, 1+ pounds of green beans, 3 zucchini, and a bag of hand washed chick peas: $10
She also threw in a free pepper for mi esposo. Last time she gave me some free ginger root.

I have to say that I probably look pretty silly with my dictionary in the market and at the grocery store, but oh well. I am managing to get what we need and am even managing to speak and be understood rather that smiling, pointing and grunting.

School is going well for the kids and us. I know Christian is looking forward a break this week-end. We are both studying hard. The kids are doing great and working very hard on their studies. They have a few more weeks to work on their current schooling full-time before they start at the International School.

Keep praying for us. Honestly, everything is going great but I am very tired. The air up here at 8,000 ft is a bit thinner. I get winded going up to do laundry. It actually rained a little today. That was only because I decided to water the lawn today and wash our bed sheets . . .

Crazy Gringos Play Ball

2009-01-27T22:31:00.003-05:00

Well, Christian is feeling much better today. Thanks to all of you who prayed. We had an adventurous afternoon and evening. After siesta we went to the park down the street and played a little soccer with the kids. We played half court (the field is a basketball court) because some other kids were playing on the otherside. Well I noticed that eventually they stopped playing and just watched us. I think we were better than T.V. - A large family of gringos playing soccer was a sight to behold. We were slipping and sliding on the painted concrete. It was fun and I'm sure the Peruvians had a good laugh.
After a little futbol we headed off to get a taxi and go to Plaza Vea. It is like Walmart, kind of. We were able to get some school supplies, a froggie trash can (for all that toilet paper), and hair clippers. It is a little embarrassing that the lady working at the store spoke more English than we did Spanish. But we got what we needed and then headed of to the centro. We walked many streets looking for a bookstore to by a Spanish/English dictionary. Funny we didn't own one. Now many streets and two book stores later we own two.
We took a taxi back across town to Pollo Real. Picked up 2 chickens, 2 fries and 1 Inca Cola and headed home. The chicken was great but I feel a little sick to my stomach - maybe it is because the chicken man put five raw chickens on a spit, tied them, wiped his hands on a towel and put our food in the containers with his salmonella ridden hands! Oh, well. I'm sure its not the first time and I know it won't be the last.
Spanish classes are going well. I am thoroughly enjoying going to class, and so is Christian. Really, we are blessed in a very special way to be living here and learning Spanish - it is such a blessing - parasites and all. There have been many moments since we arrived that I have wondered why we are here. We, in and of ourselves, have nothing to offer Peru. They don't need our culture, habits, cooking, language . . . .nothing. We have nothing to give worth anything except Christ. I pray HE will be seen in us.

Revenge of the Germs

2009-01-26T21:52:00.002-05:00

We've been here for two weeks and we have all been fairly healthy until now. Christian has a terrible gastrointestinal issue. He can't eat, can't sleep, can't study, can't throw up . . . .he is just down right miserable. Please pray for his health. I don't think I ever seen him quite like this. Nothing seems to help, so just pray, He has class at 8:30 in the morning.

We started our Spanish classes today and the kids started home school again after a month and a half break. It has been a busy day. I still have a couple of hours of home work to do so this will be short. Christian is in class for 4 hours a day, 2 hours of practice and 2 hours of grammar. I am only doing 2 hours of practice in the afternoon right now so I can be home with the kids while Christian is at class, then we switch. We were supposed to do 2 hours of grammar together so I will do that at home until March when the kids start at the International School.

Please pray for good health for all of us.
Homework is calling me . . . .

Rock concert

2009-01-25T21:20:00.000-05:00

Hi this is Gabe on the Sunday be for we left. I went to a concert staring Toby Mac and Hawk Nelson. Dad,Emma,Kenny,and I went. It was at the Bob Cat stadium we sat really high up. Here is picture of Emma, me and Hawk Nelson. The movies are of Hawk Nelson and Tobymac.

More Tid Bits

2009-01-24T14:26:00.002-05:00

Here are a few more things that make our life here all the more interesting and comical:

The washing machine is plugged into an extension cord that runs down the side of the house into the kid's bathroom window.

I have to unplug the washer to plug in the nightlight so the kids can find the bathroom in the dark.

The meat counter at El Super is self serve - pick your steaks and scoop your own ground beef.

The garbageman rings bell so you know he is coming - he doesn't come even close to the time marked in the paper.

Our district in Arequipa, Yanahuara, is Quechua for "black underwear"

Tid Bits

2009-01-23T23:26:00.007-05:00

As we were landing in Arequipa Tuesday I pointed out El Misti to the kids and told them it was an active volcano. Gavin's first question is, "Are we going to die?" I quickly explained that the volcano was sleeping and we had nothing to worry about. A few seconds later he looks at me and says,
"We're going to die here? I hope it doesn't happen (volcanic eruption) because we'll all die and that will be the end of our mission . . but we'll be in heaven so that's O.K."
Boy that kids keeps us laughing and on our toes. Today he went to hail a taxi for me w/o permission. No fear . . .
Classes start on Monday for Christian and me. The kids are all registered for school, too. I will be going to school 1/2 time until March when the kids will be in school all day. I will then go the full 4 hours while they are at school. Until then We will continue to home school in the mornings while Christian is in class and then I will go in the afternoon. The kids will have to wear uniforms to school. All the kids wear white shirts, gray pants or skirt. and a green sweater. Gabe get to wear a green Blazer and a tie instead of the sweater. I am looking forward to seeing this.
I wish you could all be here and see, smell, and experience everything with us. I will do my best to share all that with you.

Here is a short list of things that make life here different and interesting:
I do the laundry on the roof.
I look at a volcano when I do laundry.
Toilet paper goes in the trash can.
Paper napkins are single ply.
Cold water only to wash clothes and dishes.
We have cable T.V. - first time ever.
The meat counter at El Super was self serve.
We live 8,000 ft up and the air is thin.

View of El Misti from our roof.

A Nice Steady Closet

2009-01-22T23:52:00.001-05:00

Getting out of Lima was not as simple the second time around. We had a taxi pick us up around 9a.m. to take us to the airport. Our flight to Arequipa was supposed to leave around 11:20. We planned to have enough time to check our bags, eat breakfast at the airport, and get through security. All was going very well. We checked our carry-ons so we wouldn’t have to lug them around, not to mention that they we VERY over weight for carry-on luggage. We took our time at the food court (did you know Papa John’s serves breakfast?we opted for McD.), paid our airport tax of $6.25 a person (tickets are invalid w/o the paid tax sticker), got down to the gates, checked the board only to find written next to our flight CANCELADO. Even you non Spanish speakers can figure that one out, CANCELED. The flight had been canceled while we went through security.
So back to the ticket counter we go. The line at the LAN counter was huge! So being resourceful Christian put the Latin culture to work to help us out. He got the attention of a LAN worker and pointed out our predicament : canceled flight + last in line + 5 kids=remove blockade and put family with kids at the head of the groups line. People down here don’t like to see kids cry or make them wait. We were thankful to not have too long of a wait. However, it almost didn’t matter because the next flight to Arequipa was at 3:50p.m. we now had 5 hours to wait in the Lima airport.
We found the nicest spot we could near a fountain, under a skylight and set up camp. We ordered the most expensive cookies (not realizing what we were ordering) just to sit in this café. The price was worth it since we spent a good 2.5 hours sitting there playing cards and trying to figure out how to call the school in Arequipa to tell them our change in plans. With that dome we made our way back to security to head to our gate. We bypassed the tax booth since we had already paid several hours earlier, well – since our tax stickers had already been scanned once they weren’t valid anymore. I was about ready to scream. The lady at the counter said it would be fine but now we were being told to go back down to the ticket counter to get it fixed. The kids and I planted ourselves on the floor along the glass wall in front of the security entrance. Christian returned in about 10 minutes with new stickers and we were on our way – through security again and to our gate. At this point all went well. We got on the plane – got to Arequipa just fine, and so did our luggage. People from our school meet us and brought us to our house where we meet the owner and signed our lease, we went shopping for some necessities, moved around a lot of beds, and got to bed very late.
The next morning we left the house at 9:45a.m. to go to ABC (that is the language school)to talk with some people there and see where it is. It is about a 15 minute walk from our house. We then proceeded to walk all over Arequipa. It is a beautiful city – we walked 4.5 hours that day. At almost 8,000 feet up the air is thinner and the sun stronger. We were all exhausted and sun burnt by the time we got home. Our boxes also arrived in Arequipa without a problem. It was nice to unpack our things and make this place home – even if it is only till August. As Gavin put it when we put his laundry away, “It is nice to have a nice steady closet.”

More Bus Pictures

2009-01-19T21:54:00.006-05:00

Emma, Hannah and Tasa in front of the Murray's purple house.

We leave tomorrow and are not sure when we will have stable internet again. We are heading to our new home and are looking forward to getting settled. Please pray for our Spanish - we want to learn quickly and we want to learn well. Here are a few more pictures of our bus trip. Ciao, I am off to pack.

They looked thrilled, don't they?

Th view of the ocean off the cliff on the side of the road.

The Road to Puerto Supe

2009-01-19T12:34:00.005-05:00

We had a great time with Tim and Hannah - it takes a lot to host the 7 of us.

Not many people hop on a bus to P.Supe during their first 5 days in Peru, but we did. With some much needed help from Adela we caught the bus in Lima, traveled to P.Supe - everyone on the bus thought the gringo kids were so cute (they would pat them and touch their hair when we got on and off) - everyone made sure the gringos got off at the right spot. They were almost cheering for us as we pulled up to the bus stop. We managed to get a taxi and arrive at the Murrays house.

Sunday morning Tim and Hannah took us to the next town over, Barranca, to catch a bus back to Lima. We got tickets and got right on the bus. We were lucky that the returning bus was cleaner than the first. We followed Tim's directions and got off at this plaza in Lima and managed, on our own to get a taxi, go to the store and get another taxi back to the house. We were tired but very happy we managed to do all that. The little boys fell asleep on the bus and wouldn't wake up when it was time to get off. Max sleep-walked off the bus and I had to throw Gavin over my shoulder. We were quite a sight. A very nice lady asked about the kids while we were figuring out where to catch the taxi. It was great how much I could understand. It is frustrating how little I can say (for those who know me well, that is exceptionally difficult for me.) The lady did warn us not to pay more than 6-7 soles for the taxi. Glad she did, the driver tried to charge us 12 soles.

Christian went back to the bus station today with Julio to drop off our boxes. We are going to have them bused to Arequipa. We leave tommorow for our new home. I can't believe we've only been here 6 days.

Here are some pictures of the road we traveled on

The Ocean in January

2009-01-18T08:29:00.006-05:00

There is nothing quite like swimming in the Pacific Ocean in January.

This movie was taken yesterday on the beach in Puerto Supe, Peru (3hrs north of Lima), where we came to visit fellow SAMers, Tim and Hannah Murray. The sky was white as usual here but we still managed to get burned. P. Supe is a small fishing town - the fishing industry is in decline, however. It is a pretty depressed area. The trip on the dirty crowed bus was well worth it. We got to catch up with Tim and Hannah, go to the beach, and to watch Prince Caspian (in Spanish). The kids have been dying to see that movie and it is kind of ironic that they had to come to Puerto Supe to see it. God seems to blessing them that way - the kids are being great about everything. They got to see Hawk Nelson and TobyMac last Sunday night in Charlotte. (Gabe is working on a post about that.) When Tim said they were showing Prince Caspian for the town (only 3 people came besides us) the kids were so excited. I am so glad knows the desires of our hearts and shows his love in such small but specific ways. You can't doubt his love when you remember all he does.

Good sleep after playing hard -

A few more pictures of Puerto Supe

INTERPOL

2009-01-16T18:08:00.003-05:00

Well, we went to INTERPOL this morning. They are the ones who put the warning at the beginning of all the DVD's warning you not to pirate them. It actually went quite smoothly. It was a challenge to find a taxi. i guess no one wanted to drive and hour across town. Once there we had our mug shots taken, several sets of finger prints made, and had our mouths examined so they could map our fillings. Loads of fun. We got our passports back, which was very nice and were told that we should get our visas when we come back through in March. (We have to go to Pucallpa for the field conference in March.) At that time we can begin the paper work for the kids. It really couldn't have gone better.
Tomorrow we are going to visit fellow SAMers up in Puerto Supe. We are taking a 2.5 hour bus ride. It should be interesting. I have finished REpacking our boxes. I made the 6 boxes into 5 because we are going to have them shipped by bus to Arequipa. I took out all the valuable things and put them in the carry-ons. I will be very glad to unpack once and for all when we get to our house in Arequipa.
As I sit here and type I am wondering if I shouldn't have been more careful about eating local produce. You really shouldn't eat salad and things that you haven't properly washed - but while out we've all eaten a few tomatoes and some lettuce. My stomach isn't so happy right now. Everyone else is fine (thankfully). The kids are all outside playing crazy jumping games. We are waiting to go out and get some dinner - pollo a la brasa. (That is Peruvian fast food).
I have to admit it is a bit frustrating not being able to speak Spanish . . but not as much a you might think. We are getting along pretty well for our few semesters. I am really looking forward to learning and speaking well. The kids are already picking up a few things. I hope we learn half as fast as them.

Taxi Trouble

2009-01-15T16:47:00.004-05:00

I wish you could all be here to experience some of the crazy things we are doing. We just went to see the man who will help us get our resident visas. The office had piles of passports and paperwork everywhere. It was a bit scary to watch as people came in looking for their papers and the man dug through drawers and piles looking for them. We are learning that nothing ever goes as planned and a quoted price means nothing. We ended up paying twice as much for the papers and leaving our passports (C and A) and the kid's legalized birth certificates. I am so glad God is so much bigger than the government of any country.

We went with Adela, she is the house help. She is very sweet and speaks no English - the man at the visa office spoke no English . . . it was interesting. We all piled in a taxi to get there - kids in back hatch-grown ups in seats. Well, on the way home we stopped a taxi drver with a sation wagon purposing to return the same way. He said the kids couldn't get in back so we quick piled in the back seat, all 7 of us. We did it fast and the kids aren't so little anymore . . . we were squished. We couldn´t move at all. Seriously, there was zero movement. I made it two blocks before I started to freak out. I have never had a panic attack or any such thing, so I don't know what happened to me. I couldn't breathe and the thought of riding for 10 minutes like that was too much. I started shouting, "No puedo! No puedo!" I can´t, I can´t. Christian thought I was kidding but eventually we stopped and reloaded a little better - I was fine but that was scary. Next time we will take our time and get in the cab well.

New Friends

2009-01-15T09:22:00.004-05:00

We have now been in Peru for a full day and night. Other than being a little tired we are all doing well and enjoying the sights, sounds, and new friends. Our flight was late getting in so we didn’t get to the guest house in Lima until 1 a.m. or so. Julio, Olga, and Heather meet us at the airport. We got all of our boxes back to the guest house without a problem. There was no meal on the flight so we were all quite hungry when we got in. Christian and Julio went out got us braised chicken and fries. We all ate together at 1:30 in the morning. Gavin was so tired he was like a zombie walking in circles. Then we all went off to bed. The house is really nice and having been to Africa and Indonesia nothing here has really surprised us. I have to remember that this IS all new for the kids. Things smell and bit different and look abit different but they are using “all their courage” and doing a great job.
We spent the day out and about with Olga, Julio, and their two youngest girls, Miranda and Natalia. Mimi is Emma’s age and Nati is Beth’s age. They seemed to have a great time together. We saw some sights in Lima. We went to Miraflores (I thought of you Shelly W.) Then after a long day we came back to the house. All the kids played crazy games of tag in the yard (VERY small walled in grassy area.) while Olga, Heather and I went to the grocery store to get things for dinner. I made the kids quesadillas with avocado on the side and watermelon for dessert. Not to different. Baths for all and then off to bed. I have to get the boys up – they are in a separate room across the hall. Today we have an appointment for our resident visas. Pray that goes smoothly. Emma and Miranda (Mimi)
Beth and Natalia (Nati)

Olga and Me

Gabe - Live from the airport

2009-01-13T16:22:00.003-05:00

Hi I am Gabe were in the Fort Lauderdale airport in this restaurant called Nathan's. It is soooo boring max fell a sleep bye gaBe.

Mystery Gift Giver

2008-10-05T16:14:00.001-04:00

This is a special note to say, "THANK YOU!" To the kind person that has been leaving us gifts in cars and in-boxes. You are a blessing to us. God bless you.

I Did It!!!

2008-10-05T07:48:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I (Amy) ran my first 5k! Saturday night I was dreading the thought of going to run but it was great. I ran with two friends, Emily and Olivia. We signed up for the non-competitive run/walk. That was a mistake. There were over 15,000 people in down town Charlotte yesterday for the Susan G. Komen run for the cure. I think 14,000 of them were walking. It was difficult to get through the crowd if you wanted to run. But I didn't train the last 6 weeks to walk. So I weaved my way through the crowd and completed the race in 38 minutes!!!! I say that it was my first 5K because now that I have done it once I just might do it again.

Our latest news letter went out on September 30. If you didn't get one and you want one let us know.

Maggie

2008-09-11T23:07:00.007-04:00

I knew that someday I would have to post this blog, but I didn't think it would be this hard. Last Saturday our 12 year old boxer, Maggie, died. We aren't quite sure how. Sun-stroke, heart-attack . . .old age. We actually had hoped she would die before we left the country. We wanted closure for ourselves and the kids. But it was extremely difficult and emotional. They have never lived without her. Saturday was an awful day. We said our good-byes, dug a deep hole together out in the woods, wrapped her in her favorite blanket, and buried her. The kids each picked something special to bury with her or wrote a note and placed it with her. It was really sad. It has been almost a week now and I still automatically go to let her in or out. We miss her but such is life. We are thankful to have had one of the BEST dogs ever in our family.

New thoughts for the here and now

2008-08-07T15:31:00.003-04:00

Christian and I have spent the last 4 days in Union Mills, SC at the Center for Intercultural Training. We have just completed a church planting class. It was really good. We are headed home today. Larry and Lorraine have been at our house watching the kids this week. I haven't spoken with the kids since Monday (ZERO cell reception out here in Union Mills and a 15 mile radius.) I assume all is well. This was the last of our requirements that we need to "go do". We still have some books to read and Bible courses to finish but those can be done at home. For the first time in very long time we don't have anywhere we need to go. God has to work some amazing networking now. We have asked everyone we know to join our team and we still have 25% left to raise (that = $1,300 a month.) He has already done some really neat things in SC. We just pray he continues to do more.
Pray for us that we - all seven of us - will learn what ever God has for us to learn in SC, in this season of prolonged waiting. I do ask that you pray that God will provide the rest of our support but for the first time ever I am not placing time frame on that. I don't want to guess or demand that God do anything not in his plan for us. I don't want to be prayed out of a hard situation - I want to champion the situation through God's might and power. A good friend was always pointing out to me how our family was going through major change and how the kids or I were acting accordingly. Well, God has kept our family in a constant state of flux for the last 8 years . . . change seems to be a constant in our family so God must want us to get good at handling it.

I have never really prayed for that. I have always prayed to get to the next phase, or the next "known quantitiy" as quickly as possible. So please pray in a new way for us. Pray that through God's strength we are able to champion the difficult circumstances in our life right now and that we would feel free to enjoy the life God has given us.
Pray that the rest of our support comes in soon - we truly believe that is God's will for our family, to go to Peru. But I am done putting dates and time limits on my prayers - I have caused myself much frustration and disappointment by making plans (even if they were just in my head) that I really had no authority to make.

Thanks for loving us and reading this.

Somewhere in Kentucky

2008-07-10T00:55:00.003-04:00

Yes, we have to go to Kentucky to use the internet!!!! No, we really only have to go down the street to the office but we happen to be in a hotel in the middle of KY with free wifi. How nice!!
We are on our way to visit friends in MI. We are looking forward to seeing everyone.
I had a bunch of clever quotes and interesting stories I was going to tell you but I don't feel cleaver anymore. I can't remember what I wanted to write. So good night to you all. Tomorrow we leave the beautiful rolling hills of KY for the flatness that is Ohio and then on to MI.

A la prochaine.

Off Line

2008-05-24T14:16:00.003-04:00

We have no home phone and no internet at home either . . . hence the lack of posts. My gratitude to those of you who have kept checking our blog. We are all doing well. We are loving the weather, and Christian is really enjoying his job. We just mailed out a newsletter last week that gives a few more details on that. If you didn't receive one just let us know and we will add you to our mailing list.

There is a block party scheduled for our neighborhood today so the kids got out their littlest dirt bike and all took turns zipping around the streets. It was fun to watch them ride. They love it.

We have gone to some very interesting churches over the past few weeks. We attended a baptism at one last week. It is always so amazing to watch people commit their lives to Christ. I didn't know anything about the people professing their faith in Jesus in the pool, in the parking lot outside the cinema. I am sure they were just like the rest of us. They have a story to tell. A life full of trials and heartache with a scarred heart to prove it. Yet, in that pool, the hope and peace that washed over them because they know God now was almost tangible. God is so amazing, the way he has chosen to love us, and know us, and change us. But most of all, I am so thankful for the hope gives.

We have a new address!

2008-04-10T21:38:00.002-04:00

God is amazing!! Christian made it to SC Tuesday night. He made some phone calls the next day and found a condo for rent only 3 miles from the office. It has some woods and a stream to play in and a community pool (our kids prayed persistently for a pool!)

Our new address - as temporary as it may be . . .

2149 Midnight Blue Ln
Fort Mill , SC 29708

Thank you to all who have been praying for us. They land lord was very nice and gave us a good deal on the rent and a very short-term lease and we can have Maggie (our dog) come with us!! God is faithful. The plan from here is to pack and leave next week-end. Christian will be home Saturday night and has to work his last week here in CT. Packing is proving to be the most trying aspect of this move. It looks like a bomb has exploded in our rooms. Well, I will just pray and keep plugging away . . .

The song says it all

2008-04-06T22:38:00.005-04:00

Something changed inside me,
broke wide open all spilled out,
till I had no doubt
that something changed.

Every word I believed in,
'til I felt it in my own heart
in the deepest part
the healing came.

And I cannot make it
and I cannot fake it
and I can't afford it
but it's mine.

Something so amazing
in a heart so dark and dim
when the walls fall down
and the light comes in

And I cannot make it
and I cannot fake it
and I can't afford it
but it's mine.

I thank you, Lord . . . .

-heart/life: Amy
-words: Sara Groves

The Latest . . .

2008-04-06T22:19:00.003-04:00

Christian leaves on Tuesday to go a look for a place for us to live in the Charlotte, NC area. He accepted a position at the SAM home office and will be working there TEMPORARILY until we leave for Peru. We are still waiting our full support to come in but in the mean time we thought this job would be a great opportunity for Christian and our whole family. Pray for him, Finding a rental with 5 kids and a dog at an affordable price is not as simple of a task as I had once thought. We will be coming back up to CT in early May and we still plan to travel to MI. Our address is changing but that is all - we are still raising support and will leave for Peru as some as we are at 100%.

Other noteworthy news:
Max lost his first tooth (ripped it out himself)
and
We are officially finished with our history book!!! (it has taken us 2+ years to get though world history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the colonization of North America - Story of the World volume 2)

Table Games

2008-03-22T15:48:00.001-04:00

Our kids have always been very creative and they become more even more so as there minds are opened up to the realities of other cultures around the world. It is interesting to see how their minds process and accept the idiosyncrasies of other cultures. People who eat bugs for lunch is not really gross anymore. It is a matter of fact.

For lunch today we had pasta. I didn’t have quite enough penne so I broke up so angle hair and through it in the pot, too. While eating, Gavin and Beth had some sort of game going but I couldn’t quite tell what it was. Then Beth blurts out, "We are playing American and Indian!" It took a second to put it all together, but they meant Indian: a person indigenous to the rainforest, and not American Navaho. I had a pretty good idea what was going on but I had to ask for an explanation of the game. Just to hear it in their own words.

One person is the Indian and the other person is the American. The "Indian" gets to make up what they are eating - for example, the angel hair were the skinny worms and the penne were the fat worms/grubs. The "Indian" acts like they LOVE the food while the "American" sheepishly puts the "worms" into their mouth and tries not to get grossed out.

I allowed them to continue the game as they were still remembering their table manners. Then Gavin(who was the "American") looks at Beth and asks pleadingly, "Can we stop this game, my belly is really starting to hurt." I guess he got into his role a little too well.

Chocolate cream pie

2008-03-15T21:44:00.005-04:00

We scheduled several small group presentations about Peru for this month. We had great turn out at the first one, great turn out at the second, and zero tonight. Two families couldn't make it and the others never RSVP'd. So, admittedly, tonight was a bit discouraging but over all, four new people have joined our support team in the last week. That is AMAZING!!!!! God never ceases to astound us with his goodness and his foresight.

Having no one show up tonight actually was a blessing. We were able to take our time with dinner and eat chocolate cream pie for dessert. Gabe had gone to my mom's for a birthday sleep over tonight and the three younger ones went to bed as usual which left us with just Emma. We let her stay up late and played a great game of "Settlers of Catan". It is always exciting to spend time with the kids one on one or when they find themselves in a new roll (ie. oldest sibling for the day).

To Infinity and Beyond!!!!

2008-02-27T22:57:00.006-05:00

Well, we didn't quite make it to infinity but we did travel to/through 13 states and 1 Canadian province in 20 days. We are all a bit sick of the car, but it was a fun adventure none the less.

We stayed in Ontario with our friends the Harris family. God blessed us with their friendship shortly after moving to MI in 2004. They have 6 kids - what a house full. It was such a blessing to reconnect and spend time with them. We were able to see their new home in Canada. That is good because I like to be able to picture where someone is standing in their house when I talk to them on the phone and to know little things about their everyday life . . .like the fact that they by milk in a bag. (Its a Canadian thing.) Bobby took us all bowling one night. Most of our kids have never been. Of the 15 of us guess who won . . . . Gavin!!!! He scored a 155 and beat us all!!!

In Michigan our wonder friends, Jim and Natasha, opened their home and let us invade their basement. We always wanted a large family so we would always be a big group of people doing things together - unfortunately . . .we are a large group of people every where we go. It is hard to be discrete in another's home when you are like the invading Saxon horde moving onto their land. J and N - you guys are saints!!!

The kids (and us too) had a great time with baby Max. Natasha is an amazing first time mom. She was patient and calm as my 5 hovered over Maxon James like vultures. They had more fun with his baby toys than he did. Maxon also got a great work out as the kids helped him do lap after lap around the house helping him walk.

We had fun catching up with friends and renewing acquaintances. It was great to see everyone at Impact. We plan to travel back to MI in April, so if we missed you this time we hope to catch up with you then.

Apart from fellowship, our main purpose for this trip was to raise support. We are at 40% of our monthly support and are praying we see that double in the next month or so. We hope to be fully funded and leave for language school by the end of the summer. After language school we will be church planting in Peru. All of this is in God's timing . . it always has been. I just forget sometimes.

We went south after 9 days in MI. We drove through OH, KY and TN. KY is beautiful!!!!! We stayed in this place called Pigeon Forge, TN because the hotel room was dirt cheap. Little did we know we were staying in a mini, less risque version of Las Vegas! As we headed south off the highway in the direction of the Microtel we were accosted for miles by lights, signs and shows. It was crazy - tacky to be more precise. Turns out we stayed right near Dollywood. (It was closed for the season.)

The next day we drove through Smokey Mountain National Park. The mountains were beautiful. We hit Asheville, Morganton and Hickory, NC on our way down to SC to visit the South America Mission office in Fort Mill, SC. We stayed with friends and enjoyed beautiful weather.

God has opened some doors and placed some great opportunities in our lap during this trip. Pray that God's desire for our family and our remaining time here would become our desire as well.

I will try to post pictures later.

We're Headed West

2008-02-06T00:08:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we pack up and head west. (Yes, we will pack tomorrow. I am still doing laundry) We are going to visit with some dear friends, formerly from Alto, who now live in Canada. We can't wait!!!!! Then it is on to the Lowell area where we get to visit more great friends and stay at Baby Max's house. God has been doing amazing things through a lot of different people. It is so amazing to watch God unfold the story of your life.

Gabe's first blog entry

2008-01-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

Gavin and I went out to play in snow. He fell and hurt his leg so I teased him and said,"Want me to bury your leg?" He said, "Yes." So I buried all of him.

Good idea . . in theory

2008-01-09T21:26:00.000-05:00

We were making lemonade today: lemon juice, real maple syrup, and water. As usual, we weren't measuring anything. The "Guess and Taste" method works pretty well in our house. Well, the first attempt was rather sour and we were out of maple syrup. I went to the cabinet to find some stevia packets when Gavin shouts, "I know, through some flax seed in it!"
Ah, I have taught my kids well. They love their Omega 3's.

(I know what some of you are thinking . . . . No, I did NOT let him do it.)

Musician Max

2008-01-04T20:45:00.000-05:00

This really needs no explanation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Max . . . .

Key Change

2008-01-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

In the aftermath of Christmas morning presents Max and Gavin find their way to their instruments and begin to make magical tunes. Gavin thought the guitar needed a bit more tuning so watch closely and you will catch him giving big brother a hand.

Holiday Fun

2008-01-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

We had a great holiday and we pray all of you did, too. We took advantage of family time on Christmas eve and the seven of us opened our gifts while L&L went to church. It was so fun watch the kids exchange gifts with each other. Gabe, Emma, and Beth used their own money to buy gifts for their siblings. Max and Gavin had a little parental help. The smiles, hugs and kisses we witnessed that night among the five of them was such a blessing.

We have always had this rule: one gift per kid. When you only have one shot to get it right it had better be the perfect gift. This year I don't know who was more excited about their gifts, us or them.

Beth opening earrings from Emma (Clip-ons Emma had gotten from Nana and saved for Beth)

Emma showing Gabe a little gratitude for the mood bracelet he bought her.

Max has wanted to learn guitar so he finally got his own.

Gavin was so excited for his eye-patch from Gabe - he didn't even seem to notice the tag on his nose.

All-in-all it was a musical Christmas. Max got a guitar, Beth got a how-to harmonica book (she has had the harmonica for a while), Emma got a sustain pedal for her keyboard, and Gabe can practice drums while he listens to his MP3 player. Gavin, well, he got an eye patch and he's missing a tooth - the perfect front man for the band.

Lexicology with Gavin

2007-12-06T12:02:00.000-05:00

The other day the kids stumbled upon a really bad video recording of a musical I did in high school with the church youth group. The kids thought it was hilarious to watch. I was a bit embarrassed to hear for myself that my singing wasn't as good as I had thought back then. Emma was glad that I am not as large as I had been and glad I don't wear that much jewelry any more. Gavin just wanted to know what a youth group was. With his face a screwed up he demanded, "Mommy, what IS a youth group?" I answered very simply, "A group of youth who get together and do things." Annoyed he asked again, "What is a youth?" "Oh, a youth is a young person." Annoyed and exasperated he finished the conversation, "Uh! Why can't they just say young people!!"

Biology II with Gavin

2007-12-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

Gavin complimented me on a dress I was wearing yesterday. I thanked him and told him Daddy liked my dress, too, and that I have had it along time. I even had it when Mommy and Daddy were dating.
"You mean like crickets, Mom, when they meet each other for the first time. You had that dress when you were mating?"

Biology with Gavin

2007-12-03T14:04:00.000-05:00

The other day I was assisting Gavin in the bathroom when a discussion ensued about the differences between boys and girls. I pointed out that he and Daddy were boys, to which he quickly corrected me. "Daddy is not a boy. He is a man!" True enough. I then pointed out that he and Daddy were males, to which he responded, "Oh, we are males and you're a she-male!"

It was quite cute.

More Lovely Locks

2007-10-31T10:17:00.000-04:00

Beth just got back from Grandma's shop . . . minus 10 inches of hair. We LOVE her new do. We will mail her ponytails off to Locks of Love this week.

We are proud of you, Beth.

For those of you who noticed - yes, her ponytail fell apart. The elastic fell off when she was shaking it around. We had to pick some of the hair up off the deck. She also managed to stab herself with the back end of an arrow yesterday - hence the mark on her neck. (That happened yesterday while we were on the phone, Nancy.) She is an apple that doesn't fall far from this tree (mom).

The Goat Kart

2007-10-30T11:11:00.000-04:00

The kids love playing with the new go-kart they built with Daddy. The neighbor kids and the cousins like it too. Max mistakenly spent several days calling it a "goat kart" in stead of a go-kart before we realised the miss understanding.

A Day at Home

2007-10-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

So, today was the first Saturday in months that we have not needed to attend a soccer game (or two or three). We ate in our jammies - well, mom did. Read stories, played Legos and cars, made jewelry, planned a birthday party and best of all . . . helped Daddy make the neatest go-kart/soap box derby car ever. I made three meals, finished the laundry and never set foot outside (it was raining and cold.) Tomorrow the schedule is full again but that fact only leads me to appreciate today all the more.

Lovely Locks

2007-10-10T19:42:00.000-04:00

In the Spring of 2004 our girls had some very lovely long locks. Beth was not quite 4 and Emma was 5.

They each cut off 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love.

Well, here we are in 2007 and Emma did it again. Last week she cut off 10 inches of her hair to donate to Locks of Love.

It was a hard decision for her this time. She didn't have to do it but she chose to. We think she made a good choice. We are proud of you, Emma!!!

Emma's Baptism

2007-10-06T00:33:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I didn't post this earlier. It could have something to do with the fact that I just down loaded the pictures off the camera. Any way . . . . . . .

Emma was baptised in August. It was so amazing. We have never approached our kids about baptism. They know what God has to say about the subject but we never asked or pushed. We want their faith to be entirely theirs. Emma has opted not to over the last few years whenever the opportunity presented itself. Well, our church was having its regularly scheduled picnic/baptism at a local park at the end of August. We never mentioned it. She never mentioned it. Then the day before the picnic I was helping Lorraine (my mother-in-law) frost a cake for the picnic and Gavin was watching us, cracking his usual jokes. Gabe went outside to find Emma and tell her what we were doing and about Gavin's silliness. She just said, "What, the baptism is tomorrow??" She scrambled out of the tree she was in, ran inside to find Christian, and told him she wanted to be baptised. We were a bit surprised but very happy for her. She was baptised by her dad in the lake the following day. (the other guy in the picture is the new pastor at FCC, Chuck Redfern.)

Truth, Lies, and Little Hearts

2007-10-04T21:51:00.001-04:00

One of the reasons we home school is so we can speak truth into the lives of our kids. I have been ever so grateful for this privilege this week. I truly believe that God created us to be told who we are - BY HIM; yet we usually aren't tuned into what he is saying to us. We have our ears tuned to the fallen, imperfect people around us.

A few of our kids are struggling with some things this week. I was so thankful to be the one with whom they were talking, sharing their deepest secrets and hurts. I was was truly saddened at how much of what they were thinking and feeling were lies - untruths about themselves and others. The lies are nothing new to mankind, yet to see our little ones wrestle with their feelings and hurtful encounters with others it is really frustrating and heart wrenching. The worst part is that you can see the sparkle dim in their beautiful little eyes as some part of their heart believes the lie that was just spoken to or about them.

God wants us to allow him to tell us who we are - he already has. The God of heaven and Earth chose to die than to live eternity without us. That makes us very special and valuable. Yet I stand amazed at how we quickly exchange our value for the filth and lies our "friends", enemies, and others choose to toss our way.

You can't really learn first hand about God's ability to "bind up the broken hearted" unless you have a broken heart but where do you draw the line as a parent? No situation is going to be perfect but every situation is a learning experience about people, life, God and human nature. So tonight we struggle with knowing where to draw the line. Let them continue where they are, learn, and get wounded or pull them off the front lines?

Tuesday Nights

2007-09-26T03:12:00.000-04:00

I don't know what the rest of you do on Tuesday nights but I spend mine on the couch at Dunkin Donuts in Marlborough. No, I don't go there for the coffee, the doughnuts, or the new pizza (although inside sources tell me the flat bread sandwiches are really quite good). I freeze to death every time I go there and sometimes have to listen to the likes of KORN (not my favorite band) - so why do I go there every week? - because I get to spend the evening with a group of great young women.

I think God was very serious when he asked the older women to teach the younger women how to be kind and love their husbands and children (Titus chapter 2) - God has shown me so much over the last several years - he has taught me things I wish I had know BEFORE I got married or involved in a relationship at all. I wanted to encourage, bless and teach the younger women. That is why I invited these women to get together to read scripture and talk about life. I never expected to be so blessed and take as much away from our Tuesday nights as I do.

I love where these girls are in life. Not the easiest time of life but so exciting. So many new things, so many unknowns, so many preconceived notions. I love watching their lives unfold and seeing God work in, bless and challenge them. They may not see him in their everyday but I do and am so encouraged. Talking with them and working through some of the issues that arise when you're 19 takes me back to when I was faced with some of the same issues. I can see now that God was there and helping me through all the trials and difficulties.

So why do I go on Tuesday nights - because of the people. I love the relationships and am so blessed by them.

"I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessing." - Paul 1Cor. 9:23