Candelaria Take 2

Well, it’s February and that means party time in Puno.  It started out with the Candelaria, the big celebration of the Virgin de la Candelaria, now we are into Carnivales (Carnivals) and Corta Monte (Cut a Tree).  Below are some pictures from the Candelaria this year.  Truly, this year it didn’t seem as big of a deal as it did last year.  I don’t know if it really was not as big of a deal for the people here or if we are just used to Puno and their parties by now.  We didn’t spend much time checking out the festival but Franci and I were able to watch the procession of the virgin.  Wow, it was a big ‘to-do’, people were on their roofs throwing flower petals on the doll, the street was decorated in its honor, there was a line to walk up in front of the doll before the procession and pray/worship it.  Really, it was disgusting and sad.  I know some people just do this out of tradition, because their parents did it and its what you do in Puno.  I know a lot of the people don’t really believe in the virgin and her so called powers.  But, even so, to see the time and effort put into this procession of……a DOLL, it was sickening and I know it does not please God. 

The culture here is interesting, the dances are fascinating, the costumes unique, but the pagan chains have spiritually imprisoned these people for generations and it continues today.  Pray for Puno, pray that these chains would be broken, that these customs and traditions would be left behind in order to seek a new way of life with Christ.  I never want these people to lose their culture, its a beautiful thing, I love watching polleras (typical skirts) waving as women walk in the fields, I love the importance of greeting everyone in the room when you arrive and leave, I love the dances and the way they are being passed down to younger generations.  But, the paganism must be lost, forgotten and buried forever. I want Puno to worship and praise God and only God, I want them to celebrate Him, to dance for Him, to get together and fellowship in His Name.

   

Wheely Cart

I just finished reading 1 Chronicles last week.  I will be honest, I was not excited about reading and studying Chronicles, but I had been reading though the Old Testament and came to 1 Chronicles.  Gritting my teeth, I started studying an average of one chapter a day of this Old Testament book.  The first few chapters were exactly what I expected, boring chronology, but really, just the first four chapters were brutal.  Then, things started to get interesting.  I started to see examples of God’s faithfulness between the lists of genealogy. 

So I found some little gems, some little things that spoke to me among the lists of names, of sons and fathers.  Then things started to get really good in chapter nine, there’s not as many chronological lists, but is instead the story of David and his reign until the end of the book in chapter 29.  I learned a lot going through these chapters, God really used His Spirit to guide and teach me as I read through 1 Chronicles.  And I have been impacted specifically by chapter 13.  In this chapter, David decides he wants the Ark of the Covenant in Israel, he confirmed with his officers and commanders that this was a good idea.  But, big mistake, he didn’t confirm this plan with God.  So David got everything in order to bring the Ark from its current home in Kiriath Jearim. 

Verse seven is my favorite, its says, “They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it.”  Why is that my favorite verse?  Because this is the verse I’ve been thinking about and meditating on the past few weeks.  David and his men fashioned a fancy new ‘wheely cart’, as I’ve been calling it, so they could move the Ark.  Why is that such a big deal?  Well, the law of Moses clearly stated that only Levites were to carry the Ark.  So David got around this detail by using this fancy new fangled wheely cart to carry the Ark instead of the Levites. And all I’ve been able to think about in these past few weeks is what am I carrying on a wheely cart instead of carrying the way God intended and commanded?  His Word, His Gospel. 

When I first got here to Peru, I didn’t like the word evangelize, I didn’t like the idea of telling people they are sinners, I hated the idea of knocking on doors.  I wanted to reach the people here indirectly, I wanted to start by teaching English and then working up to a conversation about God.  I wanted to be very passive about our approach to the Gospel.  But I’ve been convicted of this.  God has been teaching me that too often, I’m using a wheely cart to carry the Gospel to these people instead of carrying it how He intended.  My way is not better, His way is better.

I’m not saying that we can’t start off with friendship before we share the gospel, I’m also not saying that we can’t use impact events to reach people.  What I’m saying, and what I’ve been convicted of myself is that we may put on an impact event or make a new friend, but then we leave out the other half of it, we don’t confront the truth.  It’s difficult, and it’s taken me a year and half to be okay with the idea of ‘evangelizing’.  But Jesus was clear in Matthew, in the Great Commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Jesus said, GO!  He said, MAKE DISCIPLES!  He said, TEACH THEM!  He did not say, passively make new friends and show them my love because you are kind and generous without saying my name.  Yes, we can do that, we can be a light for Him.  But too often, that becomes an excuse not to go deeper, it becomes and excuse to not avoid that conversation where you have to say, you are a sinner, you need God, you must make a decision. 

In our daily work, I’m trying to be more direct in evangelism.  I’m trying not to beat around the bush but instead trying to be up front and honest, sincere and concerned for this person’s future instead of being concerned about what they are going to think about what I have to say.  And apart from this, our team has decided to separate one day a week to go out as a team and evangelize in one of our locations.  So far we have been out to Juliaca, Yanamayo, Salcedo and Rinconada de Salcedo, knocking on doors and using the evangicube to tell people about sin, why Jesus came, and how they can have a relationship with our Father.  The method has been surprisingly successful!  Yes, people tell us they don’t have time, people don’t answer the door, people think we are freaks, but, in the big scheme of things, I don’t care.  If one person truly listens to the story of Christ and a seed is planted or even a new life begun, it makes all the rejections worth while.  And, above all, we are pleasing God by carrying His Message, not indirectly on some fancy schmancy wheely cart, but we are carrying His Message the way He intended, by going out to these places and teaching people the story of Christ in hopes of making disciples. 

Again, I’m not saying its the same in the states.  I’m not saying you should go out and knock on doors with an evangicube.  But, I challenge you to think about that word ‘evangelism’.  We are ALL evangelists, not just me because I’m supposedly a missionary (probably the worst missionary ever) in Peru.  Daily we are to evangelize the Gospel.  I challenge you to think about the wheely cart with me.  I ask you to look for opportunities to give up that excuse of ‘evangelizing’ with your attitude or way of life and challenge you to carry God’s Message like He commanded.  Who cares if you are embarrassed, who cares if you lose a friend, who cares if you are made fun of?  Because you know what……the result of using the wheely cart is death.  In chapter 13 of 1 Chronicles, Uzzah dies, he was struck down by God and died right there.  That’s the consequence when we use the wheely cart.  People are left behind, people, souls are left to die because we were too embarrassed or too timid or too cool to be blunt and carry the Message. Think about it. 

1 Chronicles 28:9-10

And you, my son/daughter (fill in your name), acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.  Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to (fill in your call).  Be strong and do the work.

Machu Picchu

Well, I finally made it to Machu Picchu.  In Puno we are really only 7 hours from Cusco, Peru where all tourists go to hop on a train to the famous wonder of the world, Machu Picchu.  So thanks to some financial help from my parents and some friends, I was able to make the trek up North, but down in elevation, to Cusco.  We spent some time in Cusco, wandering around the plaza, drinking Starbucks and eating McDonald’s, luxuries at least 6 hours from home in Puno. 

But of course, the most important part of the trip was going to Machu Picchu!  We left the 40/40 house where we stayed at 6:15 in the morning on Tuesday.  Chad, Amanda, Chad’s parents Loren & Vicki, Trevor, Garren and myself had a private car (set up by the tour agency) take us all from the city out to a town called Ollantaytambo, about two hours away.  The entire drive is gorgeous!  It’s all farmland, rolling hills, snowcapped mountains and adorable adobe houses. Despite being tired, that will be one of the most memorable rides of my life.  Then we got to Ollantaytambo, used the outhouses, plastic ones like in the states, not three pieces of sheet metal and a potato sack like in the country, then boarded the train.  The train ride is another two hours or so but it is quite comfortable and again, the views were amazing.  Now that we were getting closer to Machu Picchu, the vegetation began to change, it became more tropical and jungle like.  I personally had no idea, but Machu Picchu is what would be considered, high jungle, or what our guide called it, cloud jungle.  The next leg of the trip started when we arrived by train in Aguas Calientes.  This little town was my favorite, its quaint and surrounded by mountains.  Although different from the good ol’ Rocky Mountains, something about a little town surrounded by mountains makes me feel at home.  From there we took a bus up the switchbacks of the mountain and arrived at the gate, finally, it was probably about 11:30 am at this point.

We were there!  We met up with our guide, walked up a little trail, and finally got our first view of the infamous Machu Picchu!  The weather was great, warm and humid but not hot.  The clouds and saturation of rain from the morning made perfect conditions for picture taking.  And I was there with the people I love, the people who understand me and what I see and go through on a daily basis, the people with whom I’ve been able to bond over laughs and tears, the people who understand how cool it was to finally see this place after living her for over a year and a half.  Chad, Amanda, Trevor and Garren, I love you guys and I’m so blessed to have experienced Machu Picchu with you!

So…..are you ready for some pictures?!  I think so!!!
 


 

Tuesday’s

Tuesday night prayer services continue to amaze me, bring me joy and remind me of God’s faithfulness.  This week, on a cold and rainy Tuesday night we had five adults, one teen and six kids in the church!  Wow, I am often overwhelmed with God’s faithfulness!

Bur really, I want to tell you about the prayer service we had last Tuesday.  Again, Franci and I waited for the clock to read 6pm before starting our service.  And there we were, the two of us, the clock reading past 6, and nobody else had arrived yet.  We started the service, just the two of us like we’ve done many times.  But this week was different.  We sang, we read the Bible, we prayed, just the two of us.  And still, nobody arrived.  We prayed again, asking God to bring people, so they could hear the Word and pray with their neighbors, their brothers and sisters of the faith we have in Christ.  Finally, two little girls arrived.  We are not even discipling their mother but these two girls, Juliana and Nicol are faithful to come every time we are in the church, Sunday’s, Tuesday’s and Saturday’s.  We read the Bible again, this time with the girls.  As we were reading, Petronila and Felipe arrived.  We started over reading the Bible passage so they could hear the entire passage.  And, in the middle of reading the passage this time, Florentina and her grandson Brando came in.  We again stopped reading the passage, got everyone settled on the wooden benches, and started reading from the top again. 

So there we were, Franci and myself, Petronila, Felipe, Juliana, Nicol, Florentina and Brando.  Franci gave a short reflection on the passage we had read and then we asked for prayer requests.  Florentina spoke up, she asked for prayer for her husband, Fortunato, who we have never met.  She said he is regularly drunk and she wants him to change.  Then, her grandson, Brando, about 10 years old spoke up as well.  He asked for prayer for his dad who is also frequently drunk.  He went on and described how difficult it is for him, his mother and his older sister when his father comes home drunk.  He talked about how he yells at them and explained that his older sister, Aremi, tries to go to bed before their dad gets home so that she doesn’t have to deal with his drunkenness.  But, her going to bed early, only frustrates the drunk ‘father’ even more and he yells at her telling her she doesn’t want to be part of the family and she should just go away.  My heart broke for Brando and Aremi.

This isn’t the first time my heart has broken for this family.  I’ve known since we met this family in June that his father was a drunk and we’ve been praying for him.  That day in June when Franci and I went to their house with Carmen, the entire family was crying, hearts broken, tired and weary from the drama and emotional damage of a drunk father.  In the weeks following, Brando would tell us about how he would kneel at his bed and pray when his dad came home drunk. 

So, my heart went out to Brando again in this moment, this poor child.  But not only did my heart go out to him, Petronila was crying.  Petronila knows what its like to have an alcoholic husband and son.  She knows what her grandson Elvis has gone through having an alcoholic father pass away.  She also relates to Florentina, understanding what it’s like to have an alcoholic husband, Guillermo is no longer drinking but is now three months drink-free.  We got up from the benches and formed a circle to pray for these prayer requests Florentina and Brando had so transparently shared with the group.  As we circled up, Petronila grabbed a hold of Brando with tears in her eyes and she held onto him tight, pressing him into her bosom, caressing him like a mother, shedding tears of sadness and understanding.  We prayed, Petronila holding onto Brando, and Florentina next to me tears falling from her eyes.  As we prayed, I thought about how the night started, about how Franci and I feared no one would show up.  And I thanked God for His faithfulness.  All I could say, I was so overwhelmed, was, “God you are faithful, thank you for your faithfulness.”  I repeated this prayer over and over.  I couldn’t get any other words to come out of my mouth.

God had a plan for that night.  He had a plan to unite these families in Yanamayo, He had a plan to bring them together in their pain, a plan to connect them, show them how important this church family is.  God is so incredibly faithful!

 

Deuteronomy 32:3-4

I will proclaim the name of the Lord.

Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

upright and just is he.

Titicaca, Turkey and Tombs

I haven’t posted any pictures for a while so here’s a photo update from the past few weeks…..

Titicaca – In November we went to the shores of Lake Titicaca for a baptism ceremony.  Our bus did blow out a tire along the way, but we made it to the beach and 6 people were baptized in the frigid water, showing their decision to follow Christ.  Baptisms in Lake Titicaca, how amazing, these baptisms will always be some of my fondest memories.

 

Turkey – Although Thanksgiving was not the day I had expected, I ended up being frustrated and crying at the cultural differences and the fact I was missing my family, my home, all things familiar.  But, overall, it was a good day with good time shared with my family here, good food, shopping for ugly Christmas sweaters, making pumpkin cheesecake and watching fuzzy internet quality good ol’ American football with the guys.  A special thanks to Amanda for all the time she spent (literally 3 days) making our Thanksgiving favorites and for taking all the pictures!

Tombs – Last week the Extreme Director, Brian, came up here to Puno for a review of the past 11 months of work.  We shared stories of what God is doing in our communities, in us and through us.  It was a great time to review the work we are doing and review the goals with just over seven months left in Puno.  The next day, Brian took us out to celebrate, we went to Sillustani, ancient pre-Inca tombs north of Puno.  It was a fun day to hang out as a Puno family and see more of our beautiful surroundings.