Day 6: 6/23/2015 Amijai

Tuesday


This morning we had breakfast at 7:30. It was cereal that tasted like corn pops but it looked like puffy cheerios, served with it was; milk, fruit, and strawberry yogurt. It was really good!Then the leaders from each ministry came to speak to us about their testimonies and what their ministry is all about. There was Brent and Stephanie, who are leaders in for Elim which is the Garbage Dump Ministry, Eli, who is the leader of Mana, which is the daycare, Joca, who is the leader for Inca Thaki which is a ministry for children surrounding sports, Brenda, who is the leader of Amijai, which is a ministry for children and families in the neighborhood and Daniel who is the president of Inca Link. Each time I hear them talk I just want to bawl my eyes out. They all just have such great hearts. The other thing I think is awesome is that they are all from Peru. They are wanting to change their neighborhood in God's way and they are. 
After our meeting we picked weeds. Not my favorite thing to do but I did not see one toad so that made it a little easier! There were quite a bit of lizards though. Thank goodness they were small! This took up quite a bit of the day but man, we got a lot done! It was hard though, it was hard but we just kept thinking about the 5 Pillars: 

Give 110%
Choose Joy
Challenge by Choice
Be Here Now
Love Covers All

For lunch we had beef, rice with peas and carrots. It tasted like beef stew and I liked it!
Today will be the first day we have interaction with the children outside of the compound. We will be going to Amijai to minister, and play with the children who are in the neighborhood. We are planning a lesson. We are going to act out the story Daniel and the Lions Den.

We left the compound by foot around 4. We started with 5 children from the compound, Jesse, his sister, Danny, Ricki and Elton. By the time we got to where we were going we had about 20 kids walking with us. They just followed us because they knew they were going to hear Gods word. How awesome is that!? These children are so loving and sweet. They too would greet us with a kiss on the cheek. We read them the story of Daniel and the Lions Den. We acted it out. (Someone has a video of this that I need to post, I will do that when I get the video) We sang "Father Abraham" (I had completely forgotten about this song) so much fun. Then we played this game, which I vaguely remember. You have 4 lions or so and the rest of the group is on the opposite side of the room and you keep asking, "what time is it" and the lions say 1 and you take 1 step or and so on and so on, until you say what time is it and the lions say "its time to eat" and then they chase you and catch one to be on their team. (something like that) Being with these children, God opened my eyes to this: Yes, there is a need but God will provide that. Yes, there is poverty here, but poverty is much more than not having food, or enough clothes to wear, poverty is having an empty soul. Poverty is not having God in your life. The richest person could be living in poverty if he or she does not have God. The children we were with tonight, had so much spirit inside of them. They know God. And you know what...God will provide everything they need. In this moment I remembered this scripture: 

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God is great! You can see these children and know his work is being done! Honored to be here!

For more information on Amijai click the link below.

amijai

Our word for today is: Work
Reading: Genesis 2:15, Psalm 139:14, Proverbs 12:11, Matthew 9:35-38, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 3:23

Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord other than the people. 
This verse stuck out to me today more so than the others. We had a lot of work today, pulling weeds, picking up trash, washing tables and chairs and I didn't complain, it was nice to help this ministry and I know that the work we are doing is making a difference and it is appreciated. But is was hard and I am tired and I am not feeling the best about myself today. So father, I pray that I can keep my flesh feelings out of this journey and focus on you and all you want my eyes open to in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Day 5: 6/22/2015

Monday

Today we woke up at 7 am had breakfast at 730. We had bread rolls and eggs for breakfast and then we set up bunk beds for missionaries who were going to be arriving on Wednesday. There will be about 50 people from Canada. So we moved bunk beds piece by piece from the compound building to our room (about .25 mile walk) then put the bunk beds together, then went back to get the mattresses! The team work was so nice and it was so nice to do something to make a difference AND I know how to put together a bunk bed-I am sure that will be in our plans at some point since my kids share a room!
For lunch we had that potato with avocado sauce and rice meal around 1:00, made the beds with sheets and pillows and then we had some down time.

For dinner they mixed it up a bit-rice with egg and beef. After dinner we had our debrief with everyone and Claudia, who takes care of the children at the orphanage spoke to us tonight. She is very sweet. She has been learning English and it just touched my heart to hear her speak. She told us that she was so happy we were here and what a blessing it is that we CHOOSE to come and help because it is needed very much and that she appreciates it very much! She was in tears, we were all in tears. She was called to be a disciple for Christ for these children and that is what she is doing!

After we prayed we sang some worship songs! Today was my favorite day so far.

Father,
Thank you for my family, thank you for Chris, Olivia, Nick, Payton and Hank. Thank you for their peace of mind and their health and happiness. Thank you for my team members and their families. Thank you for the people here and your spirit surrounding them. Thank you for this opportunity to help and to be a blessing to others today. Thank you for blessing my soul and for the trust in me to be your hands and feet during my time here. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Our word today is: Gifted
Reading: Exodus 31:1-5, 35:30-35, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Romans 12:6

(eventually I will post more photos of our time here. We all are going to share our photos, but not all of us had time to download them onto a disk. so if you are interested in more photos check back periodically.)

Day 4: 6/21/2015 Church, Beach, Huanchaco, Peru

Sunday

Today we woke up, had breakfast at 7:30, had a meeting with our leaders and then went to church. Breakfast was bread rolls with butter and jam as choices for toppings.
Our meeting with our leaders was an introduction about what we were going to be doing. Jess and Katie are our leaders, they are interns there for the summer.
We talked about the 5 pillars of Inca Link:
1. Give 100%
2. Choose Joy
3. Challenge by Choice
4. Be Here Now
5. Love covers all

and we read Matthew 11:25-30 (NIV) 25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27 All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28."Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Church was very nice. I didn't understand a lot of it, but I knew that they were doing a teaching about fathers as Fathers Day was today. The worship service was joyful. Everyone there was so nice and very welcoming. In their culture, they greet you with a kiss on the cheek. That is also how they say goodbye.
After church we went to a mall to exchange money. 50 American dollars gets you 155 sols. Then we went to Huanchaco, where the beach is and lots of markets. We had a sack lunch, sandwich and casinos (which is like a sandwich cookie, similar to blond oreos).

This was my first time to ever go to a beach so I was pretty excited. It was beautiful. We looked around at the markets around the area too. They had wallets, key chains, (tourists souvenirs)

When we got back to the compound it was dinner time. We had chicken and rice ;-)
After dinner we had our debrief and Zack got a guitar out and we sang worship songs. It was fun. I know that we would have had a free day at some point in this trip and I am grateful for it, I am however, ready to get started on the ministries. With that unexpected extra travel day, and then a free day seems like we have been gone for so long and we haven't even started working yet. Although, just because we are not working yet, doesn't mean we aren't doing anything, I know that a simple smile is worth something. Sometimes just the smallest gestures that we don't even know we are doing can make a difference. But I am ready for the rest of the week.

Our word for today was: Presence
Reading Psalm 51, Psalm 139

(photos by Mandy Fowler)

Day 3: 6/20/2015 Travel Day and Arrival

Saturday

Today we woke up at 5:00. We left the hostel at 5:30 to catch our bus and we made it this time.
It was a very long bus ride about 9 hrs. We left at 9 am. I slept the first 5 hours and then we stopped for lunch. We had been told not to eat anything fresh, so no spices, no fruit or vegetables unless they were cooked and the menu was in Spanish so we were kind of at a loss on what to order. Andrea and Zack were the two people on our team who knew very little Spanish, so they narrated down the menu with the options of Pollos (chicken) and then tried to google what the sides options were. When it was all said and done, we had chicken, rice, and beans. It was very bland but good.
Then we got back on the bus and I slept the other 4 hours.
When we arrived in Trujillo, Peru, it was about 7:00. Brent, our contact from Inca Link came to pick us up. With him came Candy, Nikki, and Elena (Nikki and Elena are interns volunteering for the summer and Candy is the overhead leader there, along with her husband Randy). We rode in another van to our home away from home.

It is very sandy here. They have a large kitchen dining area where we had dinner, chicken and rice.
They built a lodge/cabin for us with a metal roof and electricity for us the week before we arrived. They also had bunk beds for us. I have a lower bunk with purple sheets and a green warm soft blanket.

I miss my family. Chris, Nick, and Olivia and my dad dropped me off at the airport. Nick and Olivia are staying with my mother in law Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. I know that Chris will be with them when he gets off work in the afternoons and will have time with them during the days on the weekends but that is a lot of time for them, 1. to be away from me, and 2. to be away from their beds. I hope they are doing okay. I have 7 more days left. We have just arrived and so far it seems like nothing has been done yet. But I know that God's plan is before us and he will guide our steps. I am probably feeling this way because we spent an entire day on a bus.

Our word for today is: Abide
Reading: John 15:1-7, Jeremiah 15:16

John 15:1-7 (NIV) 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardner. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV) When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.

Day 2: 6/19/2015 Travel Day and Runa Simi

Friday

We woke up at 6:00 am and had breakfast. Breakfast was a roll with butter and jam as the options for toppings and instant coffee was available.
The taxi drivers, who were the same drivers as the night before picked us up, loaded our luggage and drove us to the bus station. We were a little bit late though. We drove from Lima, Peru to Chosica, Peru, about a 2 hour drive. The bus was leaving at 9 and we showed up a little after 8:45. We had to check in and check our luggage in still, and the reps at the desk were hurrying as much as they could, but like I said before, none of us spoke Spanish so it was a little hard to communicate. Our drivers though, they were so sweet and stayed with us the whole time. Even though, they didn't speak English and we didn't speak Spanish, they made sure we were taken care of. Once we got checked in, we started heading down to the bus, we made it to the door to see it driving off.
We were at the bus station for quite sometime after that, trying to figure out how we were going to catch another bus, our tickets had been paid for by the funds we had already raised and Inca Link made the arrangements. We hadn't exchanged any money yet in Peru and they didn't take american money. So the first thing we did was stop to pray that this would all be worked out. Two people on our team had an international plan on their cell phones and we tried to call Josh, our missionary leader at the church. He got in touch with our contact, Brent, from Inca Link, who talked to the bus station to buy more tickets but the problem was, the bus station didn't have any available seats, as it was fathers day weekend and they were all full. So our drivers took us to another hostel. We are finding out though, this was part of God's plan and Josh kept telling us for months to be flexible. You can plan everything but some things just come up. So we were all prepared to follow God's lead.

It was around 12:30 or 1 when we arrived at the new hostel in Chosica, Peru. Upon arrival, we met Tawa of Runa Simi Quechua Missions and his missionary group he was hosting. They all spoke English which was nice to communicate with them and learn what they did. It was their last day and they were going to eat lunch and head out about 2:00. We joined them for lunch and took a tour of the hostel and their home. Lunch was potatoes with shredded chicken on top, covered in an avocado sauce and an olive served with a side of white rice. This was our first real meal in Peru. A lot of us had a hard time eating it. It was okay but it was a large serving. Zack, the only guy in our group ate most of our plates that afternoon.

This place is beautiful. They have so much outdoor living space since the weather is so nice here. It actually never rains. If they have a few sprinkles, they consider that pouring. Our room was one large space with 7 beds in it, and they had 2 rooms upstairs that the other 3 people on our team slept. They had 3 showers with hot water and a large dining area.
There was a house on the site too where Tawa's mother lived. Beautiful home. We learned so much about their ministry. They are connected through Inca Link but they have their own ministry and organization called Runa Simi Quechua Missions. Pablo and Kusi are married and have 2 sons and Tawa is Kusi's brother. Their Dad and he started translating the bible to quechua so that they could reach many more people in the indian tribe and surrounding areas. Today his family is continuing that work. I will post a link for more information about how they got started and where they are now. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It really opened my eyes to how many people are in this world, how many are led to do God's great works and how many people are being saved.

That night, we had chicken soup for dinner and Kusi, her sons, Gabriel who is 4 and Andre is a little over 1 and Kusi's mom joined us. Gabriel reminded me of Nick. He spoke English so well. He knows spanish and quechua as well.  He wanted to show me the crickets and the grasshoppers that were on the ground. :-) He was very sweet and asked lots of questions and showed me everything about the place he lived! Shortly after dinner we had our team debrief and went to bed so we could make our bus the next morning.

Our word for the day was: Energy

Reading: Colossians 1:29, Galations 2:20, Matthew 11:28-30, Mark 6:31

Col 1:29 (NIV) To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

Gal 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Matt 11:28-30 (NIV) 28."Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Mark 6:31 (NIV) Then, because so many people were coming and going that htey did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

 Hanging out at Friends Place waiting to go to the bus station:

Tiffany and Krisi

Riley and Abbie

 Group picture with our drivers at the bus station:

Waiting at the bus station after we missed our bus, trying to see if we can catch another one:

Runa Simi Place

Lunch:

This is a picture of Pablo, Kusi and their boys for more information about the Runa Simi Quechua Ministries click here: pablo and kusi saccsara 

Day 1: 6/18/2015 Travel Day

Thursday

I left for Peru on Thursday June 28th, 2015. We took a flight from Wichita, KS to Houston, TX which was about an hour and a half flight, then flew from Houston, TX to Lima, Peru which was about a six and half hour flight. The first flight we flew was United Express. It was a very tiny little plane and my ears hurt so bad. Even when we got off the plane it felt like a pencil was stabbed into my ear. (Now, I have never had a pencil stuck in my ear, but you can imagine right?!) The second flight was easier on the ears. We flew United again but it was a much larger plane. Each seat had its own tv and free movies to watch. I being a mom of 2 and watch other kids during the day, never get to watch what I want to watch, it is usually Paw Patrol or Star Wars...So I caught up on all the movies I wanted to see. Exodus Gods and Kings, American Sniper, The Good Lie. All good movies! 

Once we landed in Lima, Peru it was about 12:30 am. We went through immigration, picked up our luggage and started to look for the group of people from Inca Link who were going to pick us up. We found them with a big sign! There were 2 drivers and 2 vans for us. Since there were 11 of us we had to take 2 seperate "taxis" luckily, these drivers are part Inca Link and we didn't have to take a random taxi. There were so many people at the airport who would ask you if you wanted a ride....

"Taxi" "Taxi" "Taxi" Nobody on our team spoke spanish at all. Besides the obvious words like Gracious, Por Favor, etc. and from what I hear, it is a good thing we didn't take a regular taxi. They do a lot of negotiating on the price as you are on your way to where you are going. 

The drivers drove us to our hostel. The hostel was called "Friends House" The drive there was interesting to say the least! They have lanes like we do but they do not drive in them like we do. You could be in the right lane, someone else could be in the left lane at the same time and you just honk your horn and turn left right in front of them like it is no big deal. They have one way streets that they drive down the opposite way...and it is normal for them to do that. Jonna, one of our team members took a video of the driving! I will have to get it from her and post it! 

When we pulled up, the outside looked like a storage unit. They had the garage looking door on it and a much skinnier walk thru door right beside it. That led us to an outdoor space and then the living/dining room. They had 3 levels to the hostel, 3 bedrooms and 2 or 3 bathrooms. 5 of us stayed on the 1st level with a room that had 5 beds, 3 of us stayed on the 2nd level with 3 beds and 2 stayed on the 3rd level that had 2 beds.  Each room had at least 3 beds in it, I stayed on the 2nd level in the bed that was closest to the wall. it had a maroon, designed, flat comforter and the sheets were off-white with flowers on it. We needed to get up and be ready to leave at 6:30 that morning, and by the time we got there it was 2:30, so we had our group debrief, brushed our teeth, and went to bed. 

Inca Link gave us a short term missions journal that we started filling out 10 days before we left. It gave us a word for the day and scriptures to read according to that word to help us all be on the samw page as a team before we left and while we were there and to prepare us for each day along our journey. I am going to share those with you and type out the verses. I am reading from the New International Version (NIV)

Today our word was: Wait

Reading: Psalm 27:14, Proverbs 8:34, Lamentations 3:25-27, Luke 10:38-42

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

Lam 3:25-27 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

Luke 10:38-42 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tel her to help me!"41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. 

My Team:

Back Row: Roberta, Zack, Krisi, Riley, Mandy, Andrea, Jonna
First Row: Me, Tiffani, Abbie, Adley

I'm leaving...The Country

Friends House Outdoor

What my room looked like

The Decison to Go and pasitos de fe

2014 was a really hard year for me. I was upset and hurt and didn't quite know how to fix it. I had always had a relationship with God. I always leaned on him but when I started looking for the answers I needed in the Bible, I started to mend, and heal. I started to grow and change, and with that seeking and guidance, my relationship with God grew. In January 2015, I decided I was going to take this year to concentrate on my faith, my husband and kids, and myself. Once I committed to that, I felt called to go on this mission trip to Peru. I knew that God had set this before me.

I am working on blogging my journal entries and will be posting pictures of my trip these next few days. The link below was the video I watched before I went on this mission trip. I wanted to share it so you can have a better idea of where I went and why.

pasitos de fe