It is officially ''over''. We left Chupa last Tuesday, and have finished debriefing...now we are currently in Lidman's home city, Huanaco. Karen flies out of here just after midnight on Friday, and I fly out almost exactly 24 hours later. We return to Lima by bus today.
I'm still learning here. I'm learning a lot of things I haven't expected to learn, not all of them I could really explain in this blog. One thing that I can say that I have learned...I am going to have to come back here. I don't know when, I don't know for how long exactly...perhaps to visit friends for a week or two, perhaps for a few months, or perhaps to live here. I don't know. There are a lot of different reasons why.
I have also learned that a lot of people have trouble understanding my introverted nature, no matter how long they're around me. I like being around people, in fact, I would have trouble not being around people for a very long period of time. But I like it in my own time, and this is what people have trouble with. I can even appear extroverted at times...then when I decide I want to hole up by myself for awhile, people think there's something wrong. If they meet me while I really want to be by myself, they believe I really don't like being around people, which is isn't technically true (though I don't like big groups at all).
I also have an independent streak. Quite honestly, having people want to escort me places here has driven me crazy. It was fine for the first few weeks, as I was wary and timid of my new surroundings, but as I grew more confident, it got on my nerves. I remember the first month, Lidman and René wanted to make sure myself and Karen were accompanied by at least one of them EVERYWHERE we went. It was fine during the first couple of weeks...but I got to the point where I just wanted to go walk around by myself, to just visit a tienda without having someone practically attached to me. I remember when we went to Puno, the first night there I wanted to use the internet, and René insisted on escorting me to the internet café directly across the street from the hostel we were staying in...and staying there until I was ready to leave, to escort me back. I found it mildly amusing at the time, but I remember when we got to Nazca, and my team somewhat went their own seperate ways during that time, how FREE I felt...just to be able to go walking around, checking out the city, having the opprotunity to think without anyone telling me where I should go. Thankfully, by the time we got back to Juliaca, Lidman had loosened up about the matter a little--Karen and I got away with going to find dinner without Lidman coming with us because he wanted to watch a soccer game. And in Chupa, I got to take walks by myself, and no one (usually) had a problem with this. But Huanaco has been a challenge for me and my somewhat short patience. Hardly any gringos visit this city (people are scared of it because it had problems with terrorist in the 80´s and 90's, so people are still scared to come here), so we're a bit of a show here. So Lidman wouldn't even let me walk the two blocks to the internet café last night because it was dark...which drove me crazy.
That's really just scraping the surface of what I've learned about myself, honestly. The good and the bad both. I could go on and on.
We have gotten to do a lot of exploring here. Monday, when we arrived, we went to a waterfall to swim in the pool beneath it, which was an incredible experience. And yesterday, we went speluking, which was thrilling (and at times terrifying) experience, and then went to a zoological center at the university in Tingo Maria. Which was terrifying in it's own right---the zoo there is not anything like it would be in the States. I felt sorry for the animals, they were in very small cages for their species, and had no habitat. The most scary was the leopard. This cat was MAD. It kept pacing...back...and forth. I was taking it's picture (not like I'd have a chance to get this close to one again) and it came close to the part of the cage I was close to...and I jumped back. I had to. This creature, had it not been for the metal bars...I KNOW it would have attacked us. I know it.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Last entry before we leave Chupa...
Four more days...and we leave Chupa. I can't decide how I feel about this at this moment in time. The food drives me crazy, it's nearly impossible to get a hot shower, and Chupa isn't the most happenin' place in the world. But I'm going to miss it. I can't believe I'm about to leave...about to go back to the American way of life. Right now, there are so many feelings going through my mind and heart about this (some of them you might not believe if I told you about them), I'm about to explode. I don't want to leave, as much as living in Chupa has been an emotional, mental, cultural and physical struggle for me. But I want to go home and see my family and friends and my church. Will never I get woken up by the bug to Juliaca at 7 in the morning, honking its horn to let everyone know its leaving? Will I never hear the snort of those pigs of the profe's (and I've ALWAYS hated pigs) again? Will I never hear a cooing noise, and realize it is the doves that Rene sold the profe a few weeks ago, and shake my head over the matter? Will I never 'pisalo!' my laundry again? We have washing machines in the States...
Oh man. I can't believe I'm leaving. Back to the polluted civiliation of Lima...and then back to the States, and all the stuff that comes with the States. No more clean mountain air. No more morning mountain climbs. No more just walking to the nearest village, talking to my teammates as we go, using both English and Spanish to communicate.
It's strange for me that about a week or so ago, I was fearing being stuck in Chupa for awhile longer. I hid myself in my room and cried, because the teachers were striking, and had taken the Juliaca airport over. The teachers are still striking---they want more money, and they don't like the new evaluations that the Peruvian government are requiring. But the airport is okay now. But a secret little part of me wishes they'd cut off the city for a little longer...just so I don't have to leave QUITE yet. That's horrible of me. The strikes are not like the strikes we see in the US. That can get violent. People have been killed. My team and I are quite safe, but adults and children have been killed.
I have thought about going to Europe next year. It would be very expensive. But Europe needs missionaries. But I'm not sure. I thought the civilation of Europe would be a better place for me to serve...but I now realize how much I'm going to MISS this place. I have no idea how I'm going to feel once I get back to the States. Will I slide easily back into my role as a college student, part time web designer, and eldest sister? I will long for my friends that I have made here, I know that much.
Before I end this, let me tell you about the mountain water of Chupa. There has been problems with running water in Chupa the past week...at times, there has been done. But there is a pipe on the side of a road in Chupa. From this pipe, constantely flows mountain water. This water is cleaner than what you would get from the tap when the water is working properly. IT IS DRINKABLE. It flows through one of the mountains, and the rocks filter the water, cleansing it. The hospital was built near the mountain which is comes from. Near the hospital, are three pools (though only one works currently), in which more of this water flows into. We did our laundry in it the other day, since there was no water from the tap.
Oh man. I can't believe I'm leaving. Back to the polluted civiliation of Lima...and then back to the States, and all the stuff that comes with the States. No more clean mountain air. No more morning mountain climbs. No more just walking to the nearest village, talking to my teammates as we go, using both English and Spanish to communicate.
It's strange for me that about a week or so ago, I was fearing being stuck in Chupa for awhile longer. I hid myself in my room and cried, because the teachers were striking, and had taken the Juliaca airport over. The teachers are still striking---they want more money, and they don't like the new evaluations that the Peruvian government are requiring. But the airport is okay now. But a secret little part of me wishes they'd cut off the city for a little longer...just so I don't have to leave QUITE yet. That's horrible of me. The strikes are not like the strikes we see in the US. That can get violent. People have been killed. My team and I are quite safe, but adults and children have been killed.
I have thought about going to Europe next year. It would be very expensive. But Europe needs missionaries. But I'm not sure. I thought the civilation of Europe would be a better place for me to serve...but I now realize how much I'm going to MISS this place. I have no idea how I'm going to feel once I get back to the States. Will I slide easily back into my role as a college student, part time web designer, and eldest sister? I will long for my friends that I have made here, I know that much.
Before I end this, let me tell you about the mountain water of Chupa. There has been problems with running water in Chupa the past week...at times, there has been done. But there is a pipe on the side of a road in Chupa. From this pipe, constantely flows mountain water. This water is cleaner than what you would get from the tap when the water is working properly. IT IS DRINKABLE. It flows through one of the mountains, and the rocks filter the water, cleansing it. The hospital was built near the mountain which is comes from. Near the hospital, are three pools (though only one works currently), in which more of this water flows into. We did our laundry in it the other day, since there was no water from the tap.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The ¨Virgin de Carmen¨
My summer in Peru is almost over, believe it or not! I will be back in the States in 2 weeks and 2 days, and our ministry in Chupa will end this coming Tuesday. We will be returning to Lima on Wednesday, and be there until Saturday, and then Karen, Lidman and I will head to Lidman´s home city, near the jungle. I am very excited about returning to the States and telling everyone about my many many adventures in Peru. I have so many stories to tell, both about our ministry here, and just interseting (and often hilarious) anecdotes that occured with my team, there are too many of them to list in this blog!
I have a lot to say in this blog, and I may end up going back and editing it at a later date. More than anything, I want to tell you a little bit about the cultural and religious situation in Chupa, and Peru as a whole.
This past week we caught a glimpse of the celebration of the Virgin de Carmen. Sunday night Lidman, René, Brett (our new team member from Bethelem Baptist Church in South Carolina) and I were preparing our own fiesta for Karen´s 20th birthday, and we kept hearing these big BOOMS! The next day I asked René about these, and he told me they were for the fiesta for the ¨Virgin de Carmen¨. Not only that, but Monday was the day for the actual ritual regarding this celebration, and I got to catch a glimpse of this, as Brett, our budding missionary photographer, wanted to take pictures. So Brett, René and I all went out to see. I learned a lot from René about this, and their Catholic celebrations in general.
They take the ¨Virgin¨ up the mountain that is behind where we have been staying the last two months. About a third of the way up there (I have climbed up to this point several times, as it is a nice, quiet place to pray and read your Bible), is this shrine of sorts, with a cross made of reeds next to it. Apparently, they take the ¨Virgin¨ up to this point and the priest for Chupa and Arapa (another nearby village) performs a Catholic ritual of some sort, and the people worship the ¨Virgin¨. The ¨Virgin¨ is accompanied by a man and a woman, both wearing banners across their chest, and this pair are supposed to be the godfather and godmother of the ¨Virgin¨.
Interestingly, if you had been there, you would see the priest and a nun (who are, oddly enough, Swedish, and as gringo looking as Karen and myself) come back way ahead of those carrying the ¨Virgin¨ back down the mountain. We asked René about this, and he said that the priest does not like to associate himself with the celebration, and only comes to perform the ritual, because the Pope wishes it, and does not believe in his heart that it is important.
This festival is mainly celebrated by the people who work at the hospital. After the ritual was over, there was a fiesta at the hospital in Chupa. By fiesta, I mean a fiesta where many of the participates, mostly the men, end up stone drunk.
I was very intrigued by this, and later asked him more...about the Catholic festivals in general. There are, if I remember correctly, 7 festivals in a year. One is on November 11th, a celebrating (and worshiping) San Martin de Tours, patron saint of the poor. René tells me that all the people of Chupa (and Peru as a whole) celebrate this festival. The results of the fiesta for this are horrible to think about this, and I imagine worse to see. People lying asleep in the streets, stone drunk. Men fighting with their wives, men fighting with each other.
Chupa consumes a very very large amount of beer for its small population in a normal week (I have seen the crates and crates of empty beer bottles). I am not against drinking in moderation, but the alcohol consumption in Chupa is astronomical. I can scarcely imagine the week of the festival for San Martin de Tours.
Well, I have so much more to talk about, but I have been on this computer for a very very long time, and I would suspect my friends are looking for me by now. I will probably write another tomorrow, regarding the recent strikes, and the mountain water pools of Chupa.
I have a lot to say in this blog, and I may end up going back and editing it at a later date. More than anything, I want to tell you a little bit about the cultural and religious situation in Chupa, and Peru as a whole.
This past week we caught a glimpse of the celebration of the Virgin de Carmen. Sunday night Lidman, René, Brett (our new team member from Bethelem Baptist Church in South Carolina) and I were preparing our own fiesta for Karen´s 20th birthday, and we kept hearing these big BOOMS! The next day I asked René about these, and he told me they were for the fiesta for the ¨Virgin de Carmen¨. Not only that, but Monday was the day for the actual ritual regarding this celebration, and I got to catch a glimpse of this, as Brett, our budding missionary photographer, wanted to take pictures. So Brett, René and I all went out to see. I learned a lot from René about this, and their Catholic celebrations in general.
They take the ¨Virgin¨ up the mountain that is behind where we have been staying the last two months. About a third of the way up there (I have climbed up to this point several times, as it is a nice, quiet place to pray and read your Bible), is this shrine of sorts, with a cross made of reeds next to it. Apparently, they take the ¨Virgin¨ up to this point and the priest for Chupa and Arapa (another nearby village) performs a Catholic ritual of some sort, and the people worship the ¨Virgin¨. The ¨Virgin¨ is accompanied by a man and a woman, both wearing banners across their chest, and this pair are supposed to be the godfather and godmother of the ¨Virgin¨.
Interestingly, if you had been there, you would see the priest and a nun (who are, oddly enough, Swedish, and as gringo looking as Karen and myself) come back way ahead of those carrying the ¨Virgin¨ back down the mountain. We asked René about this, and he said that the priest does not like to associate himself with the celebration, and only comes to perform the ritual, because the Pope wishes it, and does not believe in his heart that it is important.
This festival is mainly celebrated by the people who work at the hospital. After the ritual was over, there was a fiesta at the hospital in Chupa. By fiesta, I mean a fiesta where many of the participates, mostly the men, end up stone drunk.
I was very intrigued by this, and later asked him more...about the Catholic festivals in general. There are, if I remember correctly, 7 festivals in a year. One is on November 11th, a celebrating (and worshiping) San Martin de Tours, patron saint of the poor. René tells me that all the people of Chupa (and Peru as a whole) celebrate this festival. The results of the fiesta for this are horrible to think about this, and I imagine worse to see. People lying asleep in the streets, stone drunk. Men fighting with their wives, men fighting with each other.
Chupa consumes a very very large amount of beer for its small population in a normal week (I have seen the crates and crates of empty beer bottles). I am not against drinking in moderation, but the alcohol consumption in Chupa is astronomical. I can scarcely imagine the week of the festival for San Martin de Tours.
Well, I have so much more to talk about, but I have been on this computer for a very very long time, and I would suspect my friends are looking for me by now. I will probably write another tomorrow, regarding the recent strikes, and the mountain water pools of Chupa.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Emotional and Physical Exhaustion
I was in Puno the last time I write. Since then I have taken two 15 hour bus rides, experienced my first earthquake and found myself in a state of both emotional and physical exhaustion.
I was really excited about coming to Nazca and seeing friends I had said goodbye to, particuarly those on the Barnabus Team. However, with all the different people around, I found myself just being overwhelmed, as I´m not a ¨big group¨person. I like little groups, with one or two other people. So it was hard for me to really find my nitch there.
Making it harder was the fact I knew we´d be leaving early to go back to Chupa so we could be there by Sunday. I confess, one of the big reasons I didn´t like this was because the situation was out of my control, and that I´m not used to a group of people expecting me to be at a certain place that requires me to sit in a bus for 15 hours to get to. The other reason being I knew it´d be sad saying goodbye again, for another month. And Sundays in Chupa just steamroll, as we travel a lot, and sit a lot.
Finally, I found myself with a friend who seemed to be avoiding my presence...and wasn´t sure why. This sent me into tears all day Friday, because I was so scared I was losing this friend.
To be honest, my second and third day in Nazca didn´t contain a whole lot of enjoyment, except for a few things, one of them being a rooftop conversation at midnight with my wonderful friend Allison, who I miss very much right now. But I can say I am pretty much at peace right now. I made another wonderful new friend named Brandy who sat with me through many of my tears, and I thank the Lord that the friendship I was so worried about has been healed, or is at least in the healing process.
Please pray for me and my team these next few days as we go back to Chupa. Tomorrow, we will be visiting the churches, though I may only go to one on the advice of Allison. Also, Tuesday we will be coming back again to Juliaca to pick up a new team member, which will also mean a new roommate for myself and Karen. Please pray for us as we adjust to this change, and that we would accept her with open arms into our little cobbled together family of myself, Karen, Lidman and René.
I was really excited about coming to Nazca and seeing friends I had said goodbye to, particuarly those on the Barnabus Team. However, with all the different people around, I found myself just being overwhelmed, as I´m not a ¨big group¨person. I like little groups, with one or two other people. So it was hard for me to really find my nitch there.
Making it harder was the fact I knew we´d be leaving early to go back to Chupa so we could be there by Sunday. I confess, one of the big reasons I didn´t like this was because the situation was out of my control, and that I´m not used to a group of people expecting me to be at a certain place that requires me to sit in a bus for 15 hours to get to. The other reason being I knew it´d be sad saying goodbye again, for another month. And Sundays in Chupa just steamroll, as we travel a lot, and sit a lot.
Finally, I found myself with a friend who seemed to be avoiding my presence...and wasn´t sure why. This sent me into tears all day Friday, because I was so scared I was losing this friend.
To be honest, my second and third day in Nazca didn´t contain a whole lot of enjoyment, except for a few things, one of them being a rooftop conversation at midnight with my wonderful friend Allison, who I miss very much right now. But I can say I am pretty much at peace right now. I made another wonderful new friend named Brandy who sat with me through many of my tears, and I thank the Lord that the friendship I was so worried about has been healed, or is at least in the healing process.
Please pray for me and my team these next few days as we go back to Chupa. Tomorrow, we will be visiting the churches, though I may only go to one on the advice of Allison. Also, Tuesday we will be coming back again to Juliaca to pick up a new team member, which will also mean a new roommate for myself and Karen. Please pray for us as we adjust to this change, and that we would accept her with open arms into our little cobbled together family of myself, Karen, Lidman and René.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Half the summer is gone!
Wow! Would you believe that half of the summer is gone already? Tomorrow, myself, Karen and Lidman head to Nazca for mid summer debriefing and training. I get to see all the people I have gotten to talk to in awhile, which is exciting to me!
We were only in Chupa again for about a week since the Barnabus Team left. To tell you the truth, it was really really really hard to see three people I had gotten to know in such a short time leave like that! But I will see them again the day after tomorrow. It was also very hard coming back to Chupa...because of the food. You guys are going to have to pray for me. The food is about to drive me crazy. I´m a fan of rich, spicy foods, and the very bland fair in Chupa had me going a bit crazy when we left very early Friday morning. It is very hard to get more than the staples in Chupa (and even some of what I would consider a staple is impossible to get). I would buy a big jar of peanut butter, but alas, that is non-existant in Peru. I am looking forward to attempting to make some nice Greekish chicken when we get back to Chupa, though my two partners think I´m a bit crazy for spending 22 soles (about 7 dollars) on a bottle of olive oil for it...which really isn´t THAT expensive. I´d pay the same in the States. I also picked up a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese. Not my favorite, but it´s better than unspiced rice and potatos.
We had another Chupa Bible study Wednesday night, and you all will be proud of me. I did something other than sit there and be lost. Before it started, I just started horsing around with René, giving a mini-comedy skit, where I started pulling on the strings of (what is to American eyes) a very goofy looking hat (look in my pictures, you´ll probably see someone wearing one). Oh! Speaking of that, you can go here to see some pictures: http://ius.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029271&l=89d0a&id=210001285
And yes, I will point out, that we are a BIT strange.
We had our little mini-vacation in Puno and Lake Titikaka. It´s been a lot of fun, but climbing up to the top of the mountains on the islands (or should I just say the island? Islands ARE mountains) was really really tiring, and I´m recovering from that at this point. Where we spent the night, Karen and I had to suffice with reed mats with very thin mattresses on them. It did nothing for my back after climbing the mountains, I´ll tell you that.
Well, should probably be off to dinner soon! I´m very hungry at the moment! I shall update my blog again in Nazca, or possibly Juliaca. I don´t know when I will get to again after that. :(
We were only in Chupa again for about a week since the Barnabus Team left. To tell you the truth, it was really really really hard to see three people I had gotten to know in such a short time leave like that! But I will see them again the day after tomorrow. It was also very hard coming back to Chupa...because of the food. You guys are going to have to pray for me. The food is about to drive me crazy. I´m a fan of rich, spicy foods, and the very bland fair in Chupa had me going a bit crazy when we left very early Friday morning. It is very hard to get more than the staples in Chupa (and even some of what I would consider a staple is impossible to get). I would buy a big jar of peanut butter, but alas, that is non-existant in Peru. I am looking forward to attempting to make some nice Greekish chicken when we get back to Chupa, though my two partners think I´m a bit crazy for spending 22 soles (about 7 dollars) on a bottle of olive oil for it...which really isn´t THAT expensive. I´d pay the same in the States. I also picked up a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese. Not my favorite, but it´s better than unspiced rice and potatos.
We had another Chupa Bible study Wednesday night, and you all will be proud of me. I did something other than sit there and be lost. Before it started, I just started horsing around with René, giving a mini-comedy skit, where I started pulling on the strings of (what is to American eyes) a very goofy looking hat (look in my pictures, you´ll probably see someone wearing one). Oh! Speaking of that, you can go here to see some pictures: http://ius.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029271&l=89d0a&id=210001285
And yes, I will point out, that we are a BIT strange.
We had our little mini-vacation in Puno and Lake Titikaka. It´s been a lot of fun, but climbing up to the top of the mountains on the islands (or should I just say the island? Islands ARE mountains) was really really tiring, and I´m recovering from that at this point. Where we spent the night, Karen and I had to suffice with reed mats with very thin mattresses on them. It did nothing for my back after climbing the mountains, I´ll tell you that.
Well, should probably be off to dinner soon! I´m very hungry at the moment! I shall update my blog again in Nazca, or possibly Juliaca. I don´t know when I will get to again after that. :(
Thursday, June 14, 2007
So much to say...and so little time to say it!
I can´t believe it has been two weeks since I´ve gotten the chance to use the internet here! Chupa has no Internet, and two phones (which cost an absolute fortune to use for an international call). So here I am. Where do I begin? I´m sitting in a little cubicle thing in an Internet café in Juliaca, Peru, my brain getting rather blasted by someone playing very loud music in the next cubicle.
The church that adopted the village of Chupa left myself, Karen and Lidman to ourselves as of two weeks ago. Since then, we´ve visited many of the village churches, and have tried to bring the Gospel into a couple few new villages. Unfortunately, we have had to shake the dust off our feet regarding two of them, called Chiña Chiña and Alto-Schandopi, as they refused to talk to us. Please pray for these two villages, that a door would be open for future missionaries there. In one of them, Alto-Schandopi, we did manage to speak to some people once, and the second boss agreed to tell the people of a meeting with us, but when we came the other day, we found that some of the villagers and the first boss had become angry with him because of this. He is still interested in listening to us though, so pray for his heart to be open to the message of the Gospel.
It´s been a very interesting week I must say. Unfortunately, something I ate on Monday very much didn´t agree with me, and I got sick. I was much better by the next morning. Please continue to pray for my health! Even without eating things that don´t agree with me, we still have to walk a lot and we´re at a very high elevation, so it´s very hard on our bodies here.
Last Friday, the Barnabus Team arrived in Chupa to visit us. There are two of these teams, and they go to visit each of the teams working in the villages to encourage and to help resolve any conflicts that have come about in a team. They leave to go visit the Lampa team tomorrow, and we´re going to miss them so much, as we´ve all become great friends. There is so much I could say about Allison, Justin and Amy that I could fill a novel with it! I know I can speak for Karen and Lidman both when I say we´ve all had a great time having them around. Pray for their safety and their health as they continue to travel around Peru.
The church that adopted the village of Chupa left myself, Karen and Lidman to ourselves as of two weeks ago. Since then, we´ve visited many of the village churches, and have tried to bring the Gospel into a couple few new villages. Unfortunately, we have had to shake the dust off our feet regarding two of them, called Chiña Chiña and Alto-Schandopi, as they refused to talk to us. Please pray for these two villages, that a door would be open for future missionaries there. In one of them, Alto-Schandopi, we did manage to speak to some people once, and the second boss agreed to tell the people of a meeting with us, but when we came the other day, we found that some of the villagers and the first boss had become angry with him because of this. He is still interested in listening to us though, so pray for his heart to be open to the message of the Gospel.
It´s been a very interesting week I must say. Unfortunately, something I ate on Monday very much didn´t agree with me, and I got sick. I was much better by the next morning. Please continue to pray for my health! Even without eating things that don´t agree with me, we still have to walk a lot and we´re at a very high elevation, so it´s very hard on our bodies here.
Last Friday, the Barnabus Team arrived in Chupa to visit us. There are two of these teams, and they go to visit each of the teams working in the villages to encourage and to help resolve any conflicts that have come about in a team. They leave to go visit the Lampa team tomorrow, and we´re going to miss them so much, as we´ve all become great friends. There is so much I could say about Allison, Justin and Amy that I could fill a novel with it! I know I can speak for Karen and Lidman both when I say we´ve all had a great time having them around. Pray for their safety and their health as they continue to travel around Peru.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Greetings from Peru!
This is sort of two blogs in one! The first time I had a chance to get on the internet, it quit on everyone after I managed to get off a couple of MySpace messages to my sister. Unfortunately, these will not be as frequent as I had hoped, but I hope I will be able to post every week and half or so.
This is a modified version of a message to my sister I wrote on the 24th of May
Yesterday (Tuesday), we visited another church. Again, the service was in both Spanish and Queche, but I was able to understand a lot more, as I was actually alert and feeling okay! We once again given seats of honor, as is the custom for visitors there, I gather. Mike got up and gave a message about the Great Commission, with the help of the REAP translator, Jerry. Then Lidman got up and spoke to the congregation in Spanish, with Renee, a local pastor that speaks both Spanish and Queche, translating for him. This church also fixed us a welcome meal. Unfortunately, their portion sizes are HUGE and are nearly impossible for us to eat. To make it worse, I was informed that the meat on my plate was part of a sheep’s head… Luckily, with Lidman along, we were able to diplomatically not eat all of our portions, which I’m afraid to say, would’ve been impossible for me to do, given my fragile stomach at the time.
My team members are great. One is Karen, a girl from southern Florida. The guy who ill be working with is actually Peruvian, and his name is Lidman. His English is about as good as my Spanish, so this should be interesting! Karen speaks Spanish too, and hers is about as good as mine (or as bad...which ever way you want to look at my Spanish!) The food is pretty good here in Lima. Lots of rice, chicken and potatoes, but you can get American fast food here too. I have not eaten any llamas or guinea pigs yet...though Lidman says he will make sure we get to try alpache. I think that God is going to do some great things here this summer! I´m really looking forward to cheap, even though the idea of some of the things I may have to do terrify me! so far, He has provided though, and I’ve made a whole lot of new friends here already (the majority I will be saying goodbye to for a month on Saturday, and will only get to see a couple of more times before leaving Peru in august).
Today´s blog!
Finally back on a computer again! Again, forgive my grammatical and spelling errors, because these crazy Spanish keyboards mess my typing up big time...
Let’s see... We finished our training Friday, and we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean that night. You can only see the most popular American films here on the same day they come out in the States. You can’t see Shrek 3 until June 14th here. Anyway, before the movie, we had a Thanksgiving dinner...turkey!...at Mike Weaver´s house, who is the guy who is the head of REAPSouth, the ministry that I’m under here. It was really good to have some home cooked American food, and his wife is a terrific cook.
Afterwards, I went back to our hostel and took a shower, and one of the guys, Justin, offered to take me to Wongs...which is like Wal-Mart here...to get a few things, but by the time we got there, it was closed. He’s a really cool guy though, and we had a lot of fun getting ´´lost´´ in Lima. Because it was closed, we went to Starbucks instead and hung out with the other people there until it was time to go see the movie. You have no idea how happy I was to get Sprite again at the theater!!! The movie was pretty good, but I still liked the first one much better than the newer ones.
Next day (Saturday) most of us headed off into the field. For myself, Karen and Lidman, this meant Chupa, which is close to the lake north of Lake Titicaca (I can’t remember its name right now...Lidman says he’ll take us to Lake Titicaca before midsummer break!). We met with the represenitives from the church that adopted Chupa, Bethlehem Baptist Church and they came with us to Chupa. They actually leave today.
So we actually flew from Lima to Juliaca, the major city about three hours away from Chupa, and where I’m actually sitting at the moment (no internet in Chupa...). Unfortunately, the minute we landed in Juliaca, I knew the first few days were not going to be easy for me. Juliaca is at about 12,000 feet above sea level, and the moment we got off the plane, I was asking Karen and Lidman to slow down because I couldn’t catch my breath. The remainders of my cold a couple of weeks ago haven’t helped any either.
I can’t say my first few days in the Chupa area were fun at all. At dinner the night we landed, we had Chinese, but I had to get Allen (one of the church reps) to take me back to the hostel because I felt terrible. After that...well, altitude sickness has not been fun and all, and I think the Chinese food had something to do with the fact my stomach was really messed up until yesterday. Karen actually ordered me to stay in our room in Chupa on Monday because I was having stomach cramps all night...she was right too. I convinced them to let me to go the school in Chupa (a couple of blocks away) and it turned out to be a very bad idea. After choking down some Pepno Bismo chewables (I’ve tasted worse...) and after Mike, one of the church reps, gave me some stuff for my stomach that also knocked me out, I was a lot better by morning and was able to go visit a church with the others.
We came back to Juliaca yesterday because the church reps, Mike, Lindsey and Carrie are flying home today. To say the least, I refused to have Chinese food for dinner, for obvious reasons. We went to a pizza restaurant instead, and it was very good, though the pizza here has a lot less tomato souse on it than that in the States.
We’re going to be eating breakfast here in about an hour at a pastry place that Lidman says has good breakfast food. I think we’re staying in Juliaca tonight, because we’re going to have to buy bus tickets back to Chupa and you have to get there very very early and its probably already to late to buy enough of them. We are talking about buying a motorcycle or horse to ride out to the villages we would otherwise have about 4 hour walks to from Chupa, but we will see what happens with that. We have to ask permission first.
Here’s a run down on what we’ve done in the villages the past few days. Forgive me, but I’m still learning the names of the villages. I will go back and add them we go.
Sunday morning we went to a church in a village that was about a 45 minute bus ride from Chupa. Unfortunately, we did have to walk, and me being sick with altitude sickness, this was very difficult. Lidman ended up lagging behind me on the way up there. They sang songs in Spanish and Queche (that is the indigenous language), and gave us seats of honor at the front of the church, and had us introduce myself. Unfortunately, my name is somewhat amusing to many of them and caused a few giggles. Lidman had already explained this to me, fortunately. ´Lisa´ is apparently is a local word for a rebellious girl. Unfortunately, due to the facts of I don’t speak any Queche, my Spanish is still fairly basic, and I was felt so ill and weak that I was actually nodding off against all of my effort during the latter part of the service, I didn’t manage to pick up a whole lot of the service. Mike did explain some of what was going on as he was escorting me back to the bus while the others stayed to eat. Be in pray for one of the men (again, I´m terrible with names, and I apologize for that) who recently lost his son and is now in financial trouble.
Monday I can´t really say that much about, as I was forced to stay in the room most of the day. We did visit a school, where the Gospel was shared with the children there and was accepted by many of them. Pray for these little boys and girls in Chupa, and that their schools continue to remain open to us.
So everything went fine with flying, no disasters like that. It’s very neat here in Peru. There’s really too much to tell and I only have an hour...probably more like 45 minutes at this point...on this computer (1 hour for 1 sol...Which is about 33 cents in US money...but I’m completely broke as far as having actual cash on me at the moment...but its okay. I will be able to get my other money tomorrow. Right now, were at a camp for training. Still technically in Lima, but we got back to what we would call downtown Lima tomorrow. Saturday, we will travel what I guess will be the nearest airport to cheap, the village where ill be working this summer. I believe we will be flying there, which makes me a bit nervous...its probably not going to be delta or some US based company that I´ll be flying on.
This is a modified version of a message to my sister I wrote on the 24th of May
Yesterday (Tuesday), we visited another church. Again, the service was in both Spanish and Queche, but I was able to understand a lot more, as I was actually alert and feeling okay! We once again given seats of honor, as is the custom for visitors there, I gather. Mike got up and gave a message about the Great Commission, with the help of the REAP translator, Jerry. Then Lidman got up and spoke to the congregation in Spanish, with Renee, a local pastor that speaks both Spanish and Queche, translating for him. This church also fixed us a welcome meal. Unfortunately, their portion sizes are HUGE and are nearly impossible for us to eat. To make it worse, I was informed that the meat on my plate was part of a sheep’s head… Luckily, with Lidman along, we were able to diplomatically not eat all of our portions, which I’m afraid to say, would’ve been impossible for me to do, given my fragile stomach at the time.
My team members are great. One is Karen, a girl from southern Florida. The guy who ill be working with is actually Peruvian, and his name is Lidman. His English is about as good as my Spanish, so this should be interesting! Karen speaks Spanish too, and hers is about as good as mine (or as bad...which ever way you want to look at my Spanish!) The food is pretty good here in Lima. Lots of rice, chicken and potatoes, but you can get American fast food here too. I have not eaten any llamas or guinea pigs yet...though Lidman says he will make sure we get to try alpache. I think that God is going to do some great things here this summer! I´m really looking forward to cheap, even though the idea of some of the things I may have to do terrify me! so far, He has provided though, and I’ve made a whole lot of new friends here already (the majority I will be saying goodbye to for a month on Saturday, and will only get to see a couple of more times before leaving Peru in august).
Today´s blog!
Finally back on a computer again! Again, forgive my grammatical and spelling errors, because these crazy Spanish keyboards mess my typing up big time...
Let’s see... We finished our training Friday, and we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean that night. You can only see the most popular American films here on the same day they come out in the States. You can’t see Shrek 3 until June 14th here. Anyway, before the movie, we had a Thanksgiving dinner...turkey!...at Mike Weaver´s house, who is the guy who is the head of REAPSouth, the ministry that I’m under here. It was really good to have some home cooked American food, and his wife is a terrific cook.
Afterwards, I went back to our hostel and took a shower, and one of the guys, Justin, offered to take me to Wongs...which is like Wal-Mart here...to get a few things, but by the time we got there, it was closed. He’s a really cool guy though, and we had a lot of fun getting ´´lost´´ in Lima. Because it was closed, we went to Starbucks instead and hung out with the other people there until it was time to go see the movie. You have no idea how happy I was to get Sprite again at the theater!!! The movie was pretty good, but I still liked the first one much better than the newer ones.
Next day (Saturday) most of us headed off into the field. For myself, Karen and Lidman, this meant Chupa, which is close to the lake north of Lake Titicaca (I can’t remember its name right now...Lidman says he’ll take us to Lake Titicaca before midsummer break!). We met with the represenitives from the church that adopted Chupa, Bethlehem Baptist Church and they came with us to Chupa. They actually leave today.
So we actually flew from Lima to Juliaca, the major city about three hours away from Chupa, and where I’m actually sitting at the moment (no internet in Chupa...). Unfortunately, the minute we landed in Juliaca, I knew the first few days were not going to be easy for me. Juliaca is at about 12,000 feet above sea level, and the moment we got off the plane, I was asking Karen and Lidman to slow down because I couldn’t catch my breath. The remainders of my cold a couple of weeks ago haven’t helped any either.
I can’t say my first few days in the Chupa area were fun at all. At dinner the night we landed, we had Chinese, but I had to get Allen (one of the church reps) to take me back to the hostel because I felt terrible. After that...well, altitude sickness has not been fun and all, and I think the Chinese food had something to do with the fact my stomach was really messed up until yesterday. Karen actually ordered me to stay in our room in Chupa on Monday because I was having stomach cramps all night...she was right too. I convinced them to let me to go the school in Chupa (a couple of blocks away) and it turned out to be a very bad idea. After choking down some Pepno Bismo chewables (I’ve tasted worse...) and after Mike, one of the church reps, gave me some stuff for my stomach that also knocked me out, I was a lot better by morning and was able to go visit a church with the others.
We came back to Juliaca yesterday because the church reps, Mike, Lindsey and Carrie are flying home today. To say the least, I refused to have Chinese food for dinner, for obvious reasons. We went to a pizza restaurant instead, and it was very good, though the pizza here has a lot less tomato souse on it than that in the States.
We’re going to be eating breakfast here in about an hour at a pastry place that Lidman says has good breakfast food. I think we’re staying in Juliaca tonight, because we’re going to have to buy bus tickets back to Chupa and you have to get there very very early and its probably already to late to buy enough of them. We are talking about buying a motorcycle or horse to ride out to the villages we would otherwise have about 4 hour walks to from Chupa, but we will see what happens with that. We have to ask permission first.
Here’s a run down on what we’ve done in the villages the past few days. Forgive me, but I’m still learning the names of the villages. I will go back and add them we go.
Sunday morning we went to a church in a village that was about a 45 minute bus ride from Chupa. Unfortunately, we did have to walk, and me being sick with altitude sickness, this was very difficult. Lidman ended up lagging behind me on the way up there. They sang songs in Spanish and Queche (that is the indigenous language), and gave us seats of honor at the front of the church, and had us introduce myself. Unfortunately, my name is somewhat amusing to many of them and caused a few giggles. Lidman had already explained this to me, fortunately. ´Lisa´ is apparently is a local word for a rebellious girl. Unfortunately, due to the facts of I don’t speak any Queche, my Spanish is still fairly basic, and I was felt so ill and weak that I was actually nodding off against all of my effort during the latter part of the service, I didn’t manage to pick up a whole lot of the service. Mike did explain some of what was going on as he was escorting me back to the bus while the others stayed to eat. Be in pray for one of the men (again, I´m terrible with names, and I apologize for that) who recently lost his son and is now in financial trouble.
Monday I can´t really say that much about, as I was forced to stay in the room most of the day. We did visit a school, where the Gospel was shared with the children there and was accepted by many of them. Pray for these little boys and girls in Chupa, and that their schools continue to remain open to us.
So everything went fine with flying, no disasters like that. It’s very neat here in Peru. There’s really too much to tell and I only have an hour...probably more like 45 minutes at this point...on this computer (1 hour for 1 sol...Which is about 33 cents in US money...but I’m completely broke as far as having actual cash on me at the moment...but its okay. I will be able to get my other money tomorrow. Right now, were at a camp for training. Still technically in Lima, but we got back to what we would call downtown Lima tomorrow. Saturday, we will travel what I guess will be the nearest airport to cheap, the village where ill be working this summer. I believe we will be flying there, which makes me a bit nervous...its probably not going to be delta or some US based company that I´ll be flying on.
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