March 2009
-- I moved to Peru on March 18, 2009, and I found my first apartment in Miraflores, Lima shortly thereafter.
My first apartment
Johnny and I at the game
April 2009
-- I began to get connected with my new home church in Lima--Camino de Vida.
Getting ready for a service project with church
-- I also began working full time with Scripture Union's school ministry. It was a great chance for me to get to know a part of the Scripture Union family and to learn more about the ministry that we have here in Peru. I celebrated my 23rd birthday by going out to a Peruvian Chinese restaurant with the schools workers one evening after finishing a training session for the Lima volunteers.
Chifa (Peruvian Chinese food) for my 23rd birthday!
May 2009
-- I spent the first weekend in May volunteering at on of Scripture Union's camps that was done in conjunction with a Christian high school here in Lima. It was a great time of fellowship and sharing with some of the youth here in Lima!
With some of the guys from the camp/retreat
My mom
Her Peruvian lilies
-- The end of May also marked the beginning of the 2009 work team season. I had the opportunity to host the senior class trip of South Lake Christian School, and we went to Ica and to Kusi. I look forward to hosting their senior class trip yet again this coming May!
South Lake's graduating class of 2009
June 2009
-- I temporarily moved from Lima to Cusco's Sacred Valley to begin hosting all of the 2009 work teams that came to work at our Casa Girasoles and visit with the boys there.
The Girasoles from the Sacred Valley
-- Kate also came down to Cusco for a week with her church's work team. We spent one day in Cusco and saw lots of crazy parades, processions, and protests!
Gorilla boy in one of Cusco's parades
July 2009
-- I continued to host teams at our Sacred Valley boys' home in Cusco. It was a real privilege to build a relationship with Hector and Maritza (the house parents) and with the entire family there at the home.
With Hector, Maritza, and their two children
-- I also had the chance to so some tourism around Cusco. One of the highlights was the day that Hector and I jumped off a mountain at the top of the Sacred Valley and parachuted all of the way down to the bottom of the valley!
Hanging from my parachute over the Sacred Valley
August 2009
-- The big event in August was my family's Peru trip. I was so excited that my entire family (mom, dad, brother, and sister) could come and visit me. I got to show them all around the country, introducing them to my friends, our ministry, and Peru's culture. They were here for less than two weeks, but they were able to visit four of the six boys' homes that we operate in the country. They also got to see my church and my dad, brother, and I went to Machu Picchu. Sadly mom and Mandy were feeling sick, and they had to miss out--there's always next year!
My family at Lake Llanganuco near our Kusi boys' home
-- August also marked the beginning of the demolition of our old center in downtown Lima.
Standing in Billy Clark's old office
-- I also moved to my new (and current) apartment.
My apartment
September 2009
-- This month was a busy one. I was no longer based in Cusco. Instead I traveled from place to place with a number of different work teams. It was great to see the progress that different teams made at some of our other sites. For instance, they basically built two new buildings during the course of the summer at Kusi!
The administrator's house at Kusi (built over the Summer of 2009)
October 2009
-- October was my last big month of work teams for 2009. I had the unique opportunity to join one of the teams on the world famous Inca Trail! They invited me, and I wasn't about to pass them up on the offer. For me it was physically trying but well worth the effort. I had already been to Machu Picchu eight or nine times, so I was there more for the journey rather than the destination. What a beautiful creation God has blessed us with!
At Warmiwañusca (the highest pass on the Inca Trail)
-- My last team in October was an HBI medical team that came to Kusi to preform a free medical campaign for the people who lived near our home at Kusi as well as to perform a survey to determine the needs of the community as we begin to look towards constructing a permanent medical clinic for the community.
Dr. Wayne and Karen working hard at our free clinic
November 2009-- The first part of November was a chance for me to sit back and take a deep breath now that the work team season had officially come to an end. I had a chance to reconnect with friends in Lima as well as spend some time back at my church. I also got to see two concerts: first a Hillsong United concert (a popular worship band from Austrailia) and then a Juan Diego Florez concert (one of Peru's most famous classical singers).
Worshiping with 1000's of Peruvians at Hillsong's concert
-- In the middle of the month I hit the road again. I moved to our boys' home in Ica to spend two and a half months living and working at our Casa Girasoles.
My first days in Ica as the boys were practicing their music
December 2009-- I continued with my time at Girasoles Ica. I had a number of opportunities to share with the boys at the home and build relationships. Augusto and Nancy (Ica's house parents) were a huge blessing in my life. It was incredibly refreshing to see their faith in action, and they were a blessing to me as I dealt with the homesickness of being far from my family over Christmas.
Augusto, Nancy, and their two children
-- It was difficult to be away from home over Christmas, but the celebration in Ica was unforgettable. We had a beautiful time of praise and worship with the boys, and then as the clock struck 12:00 midnight on Christmas morning we burst out with a big turkey dinner and gifts for the entire family! After celebrating Christmas until three in the morning, I jumped on a bus for four hours to go up to Paul and Marty Clark's house in Lima to have another Christmas celebration at their home during the day!
Excited in Ica for a great Christmas dinner
-- Right after Christmas, Kate Bruder along with her mom, Ann, and her brother, Randy, came down to Ica to visit. Everyone was excited to have them around for a few days! (Sorry, I didn't have my camera out much during their visit.)January 2010
-- Again, I was still living down in Ica on New Year's Day. We brought in 2010 with a big clown show that all of the boys enjoyed.
Clowing around at Ica for the new year
-- On my last day in Ica we took a day trip to the beach with all of the boys from our home. What a great way to be able to say goodbye! I would see everyone again soon, but January marked the end of my two and a half month stay at the home.
On the way to the beach with Girasoles Ica
-- On a more somber note, we received news that our Sacred Valley home had been completely destroyed due to the wide spread flooding that affected the entire valley after record levels of rainfall. Praise God that all of our boys from Cusco were on vacation that week far from the dangers of the floods.
Hector and some of his boys on vacation far from the flooding in Cusco!
February 2010-- In February I was back on the road receiving small groups who came to visit our ministry in Peru. They were different from the regular work teams. Instead, they were vision trips for people who were interested either supporting our ministry in the future or for people who were interested in possibly putting a work team together and coming back to Peru. It was one of my busiest months of traveling yet. I had 12 flights and a number of bus rides and boat rides during February. In my last small group of the month, I had the pleasure of hosting Steve Johnson, the president of LAM, and showing him around some of Scripture Union Peru's different ministries.
In the air for one of my many flights in February (overlooking Huascarán, Peru's tallest mountain)
-- During my travels I also got to take some of the groups to visit our medical ship that travels up and down the Amazon River providing free medical service for the indigenous communities in Peru's Amazon basin. It was my first trip to our boat, and I was very excited to meet the doctors and the staff that work in this ministry.
The Amazon Hope 2
Driving the boat after having my face decorated by some of the indigenous ladies in the town where we were serving.
March 2010-- In March, I again had a chance to catch my breath and settle down in Lima for a little while. For this month, I was assigned to work in yet another one of Scripture Union Peru's ministries--the ministry for the deaf. I had a great time volunteering at the deaf center. I even had a chance to begin taking Peruvian sign language classes. I promise to get some pictures soon, but I keep forgetting to take my camera to the deaf center.
-- I also spent one week in March at Kawai for the annual schools ministry conference. My job was to translate from English to Spanish for one of the speakers. It was an excellent week of community building between all of the different schools workers as well as a chance to become better equipped for the ministry which God has called them to.
With the crew in Kawai
April 2010-- Finally, we make it back to the present! This month has been full of excitement. I began the month back in Ica with a high school Spring Break trip from Parrott Academy, North Carolina. We spent Easter Sunday in Ica, and I had the privilege of translating a wonderful Easter sermon to the group. Pastor Martin Laos preached beautifully about the power of the resurrection of Jesus!
-- Right after the high school trip, I headed down to Cusco to spend a long weekend with the Hector, Maritza, and the boys at the home. It was my first trip since the home was destroyed by the flooding. It was sad to see the old home gone, but I remain excited to see what God has in their future. God is at work with our boys in the Sacred Valley!
The bridge that we used to cross on the way to the Sacred Valley home (washed out by the floods)
The ruins of the home now that the floods have subsided
-- Just a couple of days ago, I celebrated my 24th birthday by attending the wedding of one of our girls from the Scripture Union office. After the wedding I went out with some friends to celebrate over dessert at TGI Friday's. Thankfully, they were too busy to sing for me and make me dance with the waitress. God was watching out for me--I know that if I would have been asked to dance yet another embarrassing video of me would have gone out on YouTube.-- This event is yet to come, but I want to get the news out there. ON APRIL 28TH I AM COMING HOME for a few weeks. My sister is graduating from Indiana Wesleyan on May 1st, and she will be getting married on May 14th. I would love to see as many people as I can. If you are going to be around Michigan or Indiana between April 28 and May 18, please let me know. It would be great to see you and catch up.
It is amazing to look back and reflect on this journey that God had brought me through. I look forward to seeing what He has in store for the next year! Please remember to keep me and Peru in your prayers. I have seen God work in mighty ways through His peoples' prayers!
What a great reflection! "Aint God good to give us so many blessings, undeserving that's what we are. We gonna love Him. Love and praise Him a little more today and a whole lot more tomorrow" it was a song I sang when I went to Tennessee Temple, which I was reminded of during my resent trip! How is exciting that you are coming back for a little while :) I have a friend who lived in Fort Wayne that I could visit with during the time that your around. Is it that anywhere close to where you will be?
ReplyDeleteThis is great, exactly what I was talking about! Nice job with the hyperlinks to the previous posts. :) It sounds like you have had lots of fun and great experiences in just 13 months.
ReplyDelete