Little America…..

After two long weeks of impact events with a group of 30+ short term volunteers, construction of a new church building here in Puno and finding and meeting new contacts from the outreach events, our entire team was tired and worn out.  Going into this short term trip, we knew we would be tired so we planned a three day break to celebrate a job well done, rest up and rejuvenate for these final three months in Puno.  Trevor, Garren and I decided the thing that would rejuvenate us the most was a little bit of American culture.  Here in Puno we have gone out, the three of us, exactly three times in 13 months.  So three twenty-something’s, stuck in the cold, secluded, farm town of Puno, we needed a break from this place and some North American food and coffee.  Where do we get the closest thing to North America?  Arequipa which is now little America.  When we arrived in Arequipa almost two years ago, there was exactly one Plaza Vea (WalMart-ish store), there was one Dominos, one KFC and one Burger King.  There was no such thing as Starbucks or McDonald’s or malls or large grocery store chains.  Arequipa has been booming in the past year and now there are three Starbucks, a few McDonald’s, one TGIFriday’s, one Chili’s and three huge malls!  So Trevor Garren and I hopped on a bus at 11pm on Sunday night for the six hour trek to eat, literally, that was our main goal, to enjoy warm weather, drink coffee (specifically, Starbucks) and eat our hearts out.


In our attempt to enjoy some North American culture and way of life, our Peruvian bus broke down in the middle of the mountains at 3am.  Thanks to God, seriously, they were able to jimmy-rig the bus and we made it to Arequipa only an hour or two later than expected.  We wandered around the city for three days, reminiscing of our arrival to Peru, this city of Arequipa almost two years ago, remembering how this place was so foreign to us and now it’s the closest thing we have to home. 


Honestly, I enjoyed the food, we ate all the stuff we can’t get in Puno, McDonald’s, TGIFriday’s, Mexican food, pizza and more.  We ate a lot!  And I sipped on a latte everyday, that’s how we started each day, spending the entire morning in Starbucks enjoying the smells and the ambiance while reading or chatting.  I had fun seeing friends who live in Arequipa and spending time with Trevor and Garren outside of work and the cold. 

But as much as I enjoyed our time and the coffee and the friends and the food, I was saddened and scared.  The sad part of me was sad because I just want to be home now.  being in little America made me realize how much I miss home and actually having a social life and being able to grab a Starbucks or go out with friends.  And the other part of me was scared.  Honestly, I’m a bit frightened at the idea of going home and the reverse culture shock.  Here I walk alongside the pigs and sheep.  I watch cholas (mountain ladies) walk their alpaca’s to the grassy areas as their skirts sway back and forth with every step.  I see children playing with trash strewn about in the streets, using plastic bottles as soccer balls and broken pieces of plastic tubing as a shovel to play in the dirt.  I walk into houses that before I would never consider a “house” but a glorified, permanent, tent.  The things I see and experience here have become normal.  And that scares me.  What am I going to do in the states.  I’m going to marvel at homes with four walls, insulation and running water, I’m going to be walking on sidewalks and not with the sheep and pigs but with people dressed in modern clothing, probably with a cell phone glued to their ear, I’m going to eat food I used to know and will not see rice and pasta and potatoes on the same plate. 





I desperately want to go home but at the same time, just as coming here was a shock and a big change, going home will be a shock and a change.  I’m sure I’ll adjust quickly and get back into the groove of driving instead of catching a combi or taxi, of wearing heels instead of brown hiking boots, of using a purse instead of a backpack.  But I never want to get used to the way I lived life before in the states.  I never want to go back to my old self.  God has changed me and molded me into a different woman and that I want to go with me, I’m packing the new me and bringing her to the states.  The me that has seen and experienced so much from this city and this culture, the me that has grown closer to her Heavenly Father and has learned to disciple, preach and lead only through the guidance and wisdom of the Spirit.  I will be glad to fall back into some old habits, like grabbing a latte before church on Sunday, but so many other things, I want to leave behind forever, only moving forward in my life and ministry to the Father, using this experience as a part of me forever.

Burrrrrr…..

Burrrr, it’s cold again in Puno!  It is rainy and cloudy, which at 13,000 feet, makes it quite chilly.  When you first heard I was coming to Peru, did you think…..hot, sweaty, humid, jungle?  I did!  But, here I am, in the cold, rain and sleet of the Andes.  Working in the rain and cold makes everything more difficult, especially since our job is mostly outside.  Even when we disciple people, less than half of them let us into their houses. With most of our contacts, especially in Huascar, we sit on rocks or sidewalk right outside their house and read the Bible and pray.  It’s great when the sun is out, when the sun is out I’d rather be outside warming up than in a cold, dark, cement house.  But in the rain, it’s miserable.  With raindrops falling on my Bible, cold wind blowing in my face, shivering and gritting my teeth, I talk about God.  Sometimes I hate it.  Sometimes I just want to get the lesson over with, pray already and say our goodbyes so I can at least warm up by walking to the next place.  Sometimes my heart just isn’t in it. 
Is it really that cold here?  No, its not THAT cold.  The forecast this week calls for highs in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s.  But, when you are outside all day with clouds covering the sun, rain falling and wind blowing, then you go home to a house that’s a cozy 50 – 55 degrees, it gets to you after a while.  Not to mention the leak in our room, the puddle I have to cross to get to my room, the black mold in our bathroom and the layers and layers of clothes, I’m tired of it all.  And all I could think about today in the cold of Yanamayo was, that it’s only going to get worse.  We had a cold rainy summer, now we are in fall and the rain keeps coming along with clouds and wind, then in May, June and July, comes the freezing cold.  Literally, that’s what they call it here, the freezing, because temperatures drop below freezing most of the day. 

There has been so much rain this year, many of the potato crops have been ruined from too much moisture.   Because of a leak in our roof, Franci and I have black mold in our bathroom.
 
A storm coming in, the view from my room and the puddle from the stairs to my room, the black door in the back.
Layers and layers of clothes!
But, I can’t let the cold get to me, I can’t let this hinder what we are striving to achieve here in Puno.  Instead, I need to keep positive, keep focused on God, keep in the forefront of my mind the need here in Puno, the need for the Gospel and salvation through Christ.  My prayer today as we worked was that God would renew my passion for this city and these people so I can continue on, strong and more passionate than ever for these last 3 months despite the cold, despite the “senioritis”, despite the many reasons I’m anxious to go home. 
I’m home now, warmed with a fleece blanket, sweats, two pairs of socks and a hot water bottle on my feet.  It’s easy to say and write, right now, that I want to be passionate and work hard.  But when we are out in the cold and the rain, it’s a different story.  The good thing is, I am not relying on my weak, fleshly strength, but God is my strength, God is the reason I’ve been able to live in Peru for 22 months, His strength is what has kept me going and what will keep me going.  I am His servant, He is my strength.  His work through me here is not in vain, instead, it is the work of gathering His people and bringing them back to Him, which this work is never done in vain, it is never done with our strength, it is always done to His glory, for His Kingdom, with His strength.

Isaiah 49:1-5

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
² He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
⁵ And now the Lord says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—

Names….

I think I am a small-town kinda girl.  When we lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I hated it, I hated the smallness, I hated the fact there were only two malls in the entire state, and I hated seeing everyone everywhere.  But, I was 13, give me a break.  Now that I’m, eeeek…..26, I’ve realized, I like those things.  I like Puno because of its smallness, I like seeing everyone everywhere, running into people in the street.  I do wish however, that there was a mall here!  One with Target, DSW, Starbucks, the works!  But one thing that gives me joy here, is knowing people. 

Franci and I are always running into people we know as we walk around town.  Or especially as we walk around Yanamayo and Huascar.  Constantly we walk by people we know whether they are contacts we are discipling, people we used to disciple who are no longer interested, store owners, restaurant servers, Mormons, Adventists, neighbors, etc. We know a lot of people and one of the best things about this partnership between Franci and I is that we are opposites in so many ways.  But that’s perfect because where I lack, she excels and vice versa.  Franci is great with faces, she remembers faces but not names.  I on the other hand, not naturally, but I work very hard to remember names.  I learned this little trick in the insurance business, remembering a client’s name means the world to them.  And even better if you can ask them about their granddaughter or husband by name as well.  So, I do the same here.  I work really hard to remember everyone’s name and call them by it, letting them know in a little way that they are special to me and hopefully conveying they are even more special to God.  In the past week, I’ve jotted down a list of the names in my head.  These aren’t all the names of people I know here, there are more people, people from the central church, people in the communities like Juliaca or Salceldo where the boys work and more.  But here are some names of people from Yanamayo and Huascar, 167 names in total.

Why?  Why would I share a list of names with you?  Well, now you can better pray for these people.  Each name isn’t just a name, its a person, someone with a story, a history and a future.  I don’t even know all the stories of all these people, but each and every one of them needs to be lifted up in prayer.  So, pick some names, choose a few from each list, a commit to praying for that person by name.  Franci and I pray together almost daily for our contacts, for these people that we know.  But we need help!  This is a lot of people, these are a lot of names, a lot of lives to pray for.  Help us lift these people up to God, asking for salvation for many of them, asking for strength to continue down this road with Jesus for others.  Pray for provision, food and money, pray for strength and courage to follow Jesus, pray that the chains of paganism and the catholic church here would be broken in their hearts and minds. 

Take a look at Colossians 1:1-14, Paul says he is praying for the people of Colosse, yet, Paul was in jail, he didn’t know any of the people in Colosse he was praying for.  But he knew they were starting a life with Christ, he knew seeds had been planted by his friend and fellow evangelist, Epaphras.  Paul knew these people needed to be lifted up to the Father in prayer.  Paul prayed for 1) knowledge of God’s will & discernment, 2) a walk with Christ pleasing to the Lord, 3) a fruit bearing walk, 4) continual growth in Him, 5) a reliance on His strength, 6) acknowledgement & praise to God for all His great works.  You don’t know these people, but you can pray for them, follow Paul’s example.  And now, you can pray for them by name!

Huascar – Adults

Manuel, Vilma, Eulalia, Miriam, Lourdes, Rogelia, Mery, Isabel, Luz Marina, Florencia, Adela, Estela, Tomas, Rut, Andres, Dominga, Bonifacio, Ester, Seovia, Joesfina, Lydia, Natividad, Abdomchin, Hortencia, Aracely Deisy, Yanet, Lucia, Paulino, Iris, Yhon, Yesica, Teofila, Jesus, Lola, Lupe, Rosio, Gladis, Isabel, Diosino, Nelly, Doris, Alan, Ester, Hilda, Filomena, Diego

Huascar – Kids & Teens

Cyntia, Abel, Manuel, Yeni, Romario, Valeria, Kevin, Brian, Josue, Carol, Yanet, Gabby, Eliana, Heidi, Karen, Leidy, Reina, Josef, Jesus, Bruce, Jer, Adriana, Sebastiana, Davis, Maribel, Antony, Ruby, Jorge, Pilar, Jesse, Daniel, Jumi, Lucero, Jefferson, Jack, Junior, Cristian, Paola, Estefani, Cristian, Jorge, Yoel

Yanamayo – Adults

Carmen, Godofredo, Guillermo, Petronila, Siro, Jose, Felipe, Carina, Karina, Yovanna, Richard, Florentina, Maribel, Marcelino, Adela F, Adela O, Ana, Carmen, Serafina, Luis, David, Erica, Euleterio, Alicia, Roxana, Consuelo, Elena, Livia, Miriam, Maruja, Ines, Meliza, Isac, Marilia, Marcel, Alfredo, Maria, Raul, Justiniano, Natalio, Euslevia, Dominga, Margarita, Ronaldo

Yanamayo – Kids & Teens

Kiara, Shayla, Shayla, Gilda, Elvis, Carolina, Pedro, Nicol, Juliana, Daniel, Paul, Alvaro, Gary, Jorge, Mili, Brian, Cesar, Richard, Flor, Sebastian, Franklin, Alexander, Brando, Aracely, Aremi, Lupe, Ingrid, Celeste, Dulce, Siomara, Paul, Elisabeth, Leidy, Nati

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!!!