Copacabana

Well, my time here in Puno is coming to a close and as we realize we only have a few short, busy weeks left, we are frantically trying to squeeze as much in as possible.  That being said, Franci, Chad, Garren and I decided to take our chances at crossing the border to Bolivia on Monday.  We have heard over and over that North Americans must pay $135 just to cross the border into Bolivia.  Therefore, for the past year and a half, we haven’t even attempted to visit the county only 2-3 hours away from our “home” here. But, recently, we were told that we could pass the border through the border town, Yunguyo, without paying like if we were to pass through the more well known, Desaguadero.

I’m pretty sure this job already requires an adventurous spirit!  But we are always looking for some more adventure so the four of us got up early on Monday morning, hopped on a combi for a two hour drive to Yunguyo.  We arrived to Yunguyo and it was cold.  Seriously, it was rain/snowing and windy, burrr.  After a quick bathroom trip for us girls, we asked around and found out we needed a taxi for the five minute drive to the border.  Piling in the taxi, we rode to the border.  Not knowing what was going to happen, unsure of anything really, we started walking up the hill out of Peru.  We got to the top of the hill, and saw a sign that said “Welcome to Bolivia”, in Spanish of course.  Shivering and trembling, we stopped to snap a few pictures.  Still unaware, we just kept on walking, following our fearless leader, Garren, we walked right through the fence that says “stop”, in English, oddly enough.  We walked through like we owned the place and nobody said a thing, just like that, we were in Bolivia! 
 
Right there waiting for passengers was a combi headed to Copacabana, our destination.  Riding on the combi we laughed at the easiness of our entrry, no questions, no passports, nothing.  We had the whole day ahead of us to explore Copacabana and we were pumped.  Too bad it was drizzly, cloudy and cold.  Despite the weather, we arrived in Copacabana, changed some Peruvian soles to Bolivian bolivianos.  We walked to the docks, checked out some tourist shops, went to the plaza, checked out the Catholic church, paid to climb a hill and see the Inca Gallows, ate lunch in the market and ate fried street food.  That was just in the morning!  Then, in the afternoon, we got on a boat and rode the hour and a half journey to the Isla del Sol (Sun Island).  There, we paid again, to climb up stairs and explore the island a tiny bit.  We only had an hour on the island but we made the best of our time before we had to get back on the boat and head inland. 

 
We got back to Copacabana, bought souvenirs, got a taxi back to the border and walked back into Peru.  As we were walking back into Peru, a guy from the immigrations office came out yelling at us, trying to get our attention.  I looked at Chad and Garren and we just kept walking, pretending like we didn’t hear him yelling.  We tried to get a taxi but before we could, he caught up to us and told us we had to check in first.  We went into the immigration office and Franci did all the talking.  And let me just say, I love Franci and her adventurous spirit.  She truly does love a good adventure as long as she doesn’t get wet and isn’t in danger.  Anyway, we showed the guy our residency cards and he said we should have stopped in the office in the morning before leaving the country.  We had no idea!  He was not happy with us but there was nothing he could do, he just told us that next time we have to go through immigrations first.  After Franci asked what could be the dumbest question in the world, “Do they have to pay anything now?”, the guy let us go without making us pay anything and without any further questions.
So we made it to Bolivia and back.  I’m pretty sure we were there illegally, but, who cares, we had an awesome adventure and got to see another country, if only from sunrise to sunset.

Lukewarm

Have you heard the term, “Lukewarm Christian”?  In the book Crazy Love, Francis Chan gives an extensive list of ‘lukewarm christian’ tendencies in life.  For example, he writes, “Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives.  But only a part.”  Or he says, “Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give.”

I’ve been thinking about this idea of lukewarmness for a while now.  Lukewarm is a grey area.  And I think us North American’s tend to create grey areas to justify ourselves and others.  I think this term lukewarm is to justify ourselves and others, to make us feel better for not being 100%, sold-out, passionate for Christ.  But the idea of a disciple being lukewarm is not Biblical as far as I understand. 

But what is Biblical, is that we are either sold-out, passionate followers of Christ or we are not.  Where do we find this?  First, I think Jesus speaks to this very topic in Luke 14:34.  Jesus talks about the cost of being a disciple, the cost of being a disciple is giving up EVERYthing.  Jesus says He comes before everything.  Before siblings, parents and spouses.  Being His disciple requires a commitment, it requires committing everything you are and you have to Him.  Putting Him first, loving Him with the greatest of devotion even to the greatest extreme.  Is there anything lukewarm about that?  No.  There’s nothing lukewarm about complete devotion to Him.  Dying to self, dying to this World, and living in Him.  Back to verse 34, Jesus wraps up the whole ‘Cost of Being a Disciple’ talk by talking about salt.  He says, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”  If we are true disciples, if we are committed to following Him, if we give up everything for Him, then, we are salty.  But, if we are not committed, if we do not give up everything to follow Him, we are not salty and therefore, useless to Him.  In verse 35 Jesus actually says that the unsalty salt isn’t even dignified for the manure pile.  I don’t see any grey area in there.  Jesus does not talk about salty salt and kind of salty salt and unsalty salt.  No, either you are useful to Jesus because you have given everything up to follow Him, or you are trash, worse than trash.  It’s black and white, no grey, it’s harsh, but true.

Or how about Jesus’ famous words in Luke 11:23 when He says, “He who is not with me is against me…”  Here, Jesus is defending himself against the Pharisees who accuse him of driving out demons in the name of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.  First off, their logic is way off and Jesus calls them out on it.  It makes no sense that the prince of demons would be involved in casting out the demons he placed.  Anyway, Jesus admits with all this talk about demons that Satan is strong, that Satan is fully armed to fight.  But Jesus says, there is a stronger One.  And this is where He says, take a side.  Do you want to fight on the side with the strong one or the stronger One?  Consciously or unconsciously you take a side.  Again, there is no middle ground, no room for lukewarmness.  You are either on one side or the other.  Which side are you on?

Well, if you can’t tell already, I’m reading through Luke, so here’s another verse in Luke that speaks to this idea.  Luke 16:13, “No servant can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”  Black and white, right?  Either you serve God or you serve this world.  I think this goes against what Francis Chan calls a lukewarm christian who loves Jesus but He is only a part of their life.  If we truly love Jesus, can He only be a part?  I don’t think so.  We can’t serve Him one minute, or one day, Sunday, and serve the world the rest of the week.  We can only have one master, we can only serve one, which one is it going to be?

And now, the most disturbing of all, check out Revelation 3:15-16.  Jesus speaks to the church in Laodicea and says they are lukewarm.  So, here is that word, lukewarm.  But, lukewarmness means that you are neither hot or cold.  You are neither a soothing, therapeutic hot spring, you are neither a fresh, cold, mountain spring water.  You therefore make Jesus want to vomit.  If you are neither hot nor cold, you are against Him, you are serving the world, you are not His disciple, you are not salty.  It’s either one or the other, it’s black or white.  Why make up this grey area to justify ourselves and our friends for not being 100% sold-out, passionate disciples of Christ.  This grey area just means that you make Jesus want to vomit.  And if you make Him want to vomit, you are not with Him. 

The true desire of my heart is to be sold-out and passionate about being a student of Christ daily.  Some days are easier, some days are harder.  Being fully committed to Christ and His ways does not mean we don’t mess up and struggle, but it means we have our eyes on Him, we have our focus heavenward, we die daily to our self and ask to be filled up with Him.  The desire of my heart is to live this life on earth right, right in His eyes.  And, I want everyone, I want the people here in Puno, I want my loved ones back in the states to be sold-out, passionate and committed to walking with Him.  I don’t want to make Jesus vomit and I don’t want you to make Him vomit either.  So let’s stop making excuses!  Let’s stop creating grey areas, let’s stop justifying things in the eyes of this world.  Let’s start looking up, let’s step over that line from black to white, let’s be on the side of the stronger One and He will share the victory with us!

Weary

I’m physically and emotionally tired and weary.  I see the calendar and I know I’m two months away from finishing my time here in Peru.  I’m sure there were some of you who didn’t think I would make it.  You sent me off in May of 2010 thinking I’d be running back, right?  Well, there’s a part of me that has wanted to run home everyday of the past two years.  And yes, it has been two years.  I left Colorado on May 17th, 2010 for orientation in Florida.  And on Thursday this week, we celebrate two years of being in Peru as our team touched down in Peru on May 24th, 2010.  So, two years, that’s a long time!  If it were just two years, I’d be done now, this week, but it’s not, it’s two years and two months.  And let me just say, right now, these two months look like the longest months in history to me.

Lately everything is getting to me here.  I’m easily frustrated when contacts aren’t home, I get angry at the pot holes in the road and the way the combi drivers race over them, the constant music, dogs, roosters, cars and drunks making noise is annoying me daily.  Things that I could tolerate before are now driving me insane.  I feel like I’m at the end of my rope, humanly, I’m done, I can’t handle any more.  But at the same time, God has put a desire in my heart for these people to know His Holy Name, to have a relationship with Him.  So, there’s a conflict going on inside me daily.  I desire to make the best of these last two months, preaching and healing as Jesus commanded (Luke 9:2), but also, I want this time to go by in a flash.

So right now, I’m weary and weak.  I don’t like this feeling.  But I know, this is right where God wants me to be.  I’m pushed to the limit, I feel like I can’t handle anymore.  So I know, that these next two months are all God.  When I first felt called to Peru, I had been reading 1 Corinthians and verses 26-31 of chapter 1 stuck out to me because Paul talks about how God chooses the weak, the foolish, the lowly and the despised.  I am amazed even more today than I was two years ago that God chose me.  But I look at my weaknesses, my faults and my gaps and I realize that He chose me because of all those things.  He chose me because it is so obvious that I am here because of His grace and power.  He has pushed me through to this point and I know He’s not going to stop working in me and through me, He’s not going to stop providing the grace and power I need to continue on, but He will continue to get me through this not so that I can say I did it, not so that I can boast, but so that He is glorified, so that everyone knows His power and grace because He used me, the lowly and weak, the messed up and foolish, and it turned out awesome, because of Him. 

So here are some verses I’m meditating on as He gets me through the next two months….

I am weak, but He is strong - 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

I am tired but will not lose heart - 2 Corinthians 4:1- Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

I am blessed to have seen hearts and lives changed – Luke 10:23-24 - Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.  For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

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.