Peru 2014 - Day Long Retreat

On Saturday, February 8th, a group of 45 people invaded Calvin's fellowship hall for a day of retreat and work. 

This group comprised our Peru Mission Team. 
Each time we go, we have a day like this.

It's purpose is:

a. To get to know each other better
b. To get our VBS supplies organized.  
c. To do some more orientation as to why we do these trips to begin with. 
d. To pray about our trip, ourselves, and those we will meet.  

Dianne gave me a belated Christmas gift....how sweet.  

It was a pair of cuff links.  
I was puzzled at first as to why she did this....couldn't remember for the life of me. 
But then it came back.  
This was payback for something that happened during a Peru Fundraiser in Cornwall back in November, or was it December.....hmmmmm
Well, anyway...I have to tell you this story. 
Dianne was having some pain in her shoulder.  She was talking about it, and said to a couple of us that her rotator cufflink was really hurting. 

Well, I couldn't help but laugh at that...including the others who heard this.   
Apparently I kept going with this little joke, hence the cufflinks.  Thanks for your thoughtfulness Dianne, and for reminding me of that wonderful, humorous episode.  
It is NOW in my brain forever.  : ) 
All in good fun.  

But I digress.....
Hey, Annette seems ready to go for the day.  : ) 

Here is a picture of the group in the fellowship hall.  

Here I am opening things up by reminding people of the various forms that still needed to be filled in.  You would be surprised at how many forms are needed for a trip like this.  

After some brief introduction time, we turned things over to Peter who did some very basic Spanish teaching for us.  Muchly appreciated.  I mean "muy apreciado"  : ) 

At times the pronunciation was humourous.  

People did take it seriously though.
 Here we are saying things out loud.  

People patiently trying out their Spanish.  

Peter taught us a great Spanish song to help us remember different phrases.  

After Peter was finished, he stuck around to help Cheryl help us learn two Spanish songs.  As we learned them, some controversy arose.... go figure.  : ) 
People couldn't decide how the words to "I've got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy" should actually go!

It took some time....
some deliberation.....
some agreement to disagree.....  : ) 

...and then we were off.   

Here we are doing some actions to that song.  
Sit down...stand up....sit down....stand up.  

A short break and time to pick up the forms
that still needed to be filled in.  

Also time for juice and coffee.  

Those tables were busy places.  : ) 

But people filled in what was needed. 
Less work for me to track them down now.  Whew. 

The day allowed lots of time for socializing too. 
Burnadette and Amy catch up on life.  

After the break, it was time to begin
 putting together our VBS crafts.

Martin and Colin catching up on life.  

Sheila asked me to check up on something.  
I can't remember what though.  : ) 

Ben....being Ben....
You know..I've used that line before.
I wonder where. Hmmmmm

Our craft this year will involve giving out 
t-shirts to the children.  

We also had to package a bunch of crafts into ziploc bags.  

Here are Sarah and Rachel (I think it's Rachel) beginning the task of tracing Spanish onto the t-shirts.  

Pastor Steve from Cornwall
 getting into the swing of things.

Oh, I guess I should mention that for the past couple of times Cornwall has been partnering with us in this ongoing Peru relationship.  They have become full partners with us, and I, for one, am really glad they are part of our team.  Their excitement, caring and enthusiasm
 is something to be admired.   

So, as the t-shirts were being prepared, we were in the middle of trying to figure out if the saying should be
 Nino de Dios, or Hijo de Dios. 
It makes a difference. 
We contacted one of our former Peruvian translators, Ines, and she gave us the correct rendering.  Whew.  

More craft stuff to come out and be processed.  

120 t-shirts needed to be traced and coloured in today.  
Many hands make for light (and fun) work.  

Colour inside those lines Sheldon.

Julia concentrating. 

Amy too.  

Colin got to trace.  

As did Steve.

Some of the team practiced making balloon animals. 
We plan on making them for the children when they finish their crafts.  

Hmmmmmm, those don't look like animals to me.  : ) 

The t-shirt colouring continues.  
Way to go Steve.

Dianne always hard at work.  

What are you doing Ben?  

Marsha and Bea discussing what they will be doing during their teaching time. 
We will once again be holding training time for
 Gamaliel Christian School teachers.  
Bea, Dianne and Marsha will be heading this up for
 Monday - Wednesday.   Quite exciting.  

Hey, Cindy and Michelle once again.  

At the same time that craft preparations were going on, Sheila took a group of people into the sanctuary and began VBS drama training time.  

We will be doing VBS from Sunday to Thursday and Sheila is in charge of making sure our drama's are número uno.  : )

Sandy, Martin and Robert getting comfortable with their lines.  Apparently Robert is a natural actor, and has at least one VBS under his belt.  We expect great things from you Robert.  : ) 

Getting into costume.  

Gerry, always looking on and interested. 
He will head up our evening video blog time. 
They make great memories when we return home.  

People brought snacks along as well.  

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime. 

Doesn't look like Ben is enjoying that banana.  : ) 

The three amigo's.  

Cornwall "ites" 

Hey Samantha....
You know, you look a lot like Erin in Peru. 
Really!  

Brenda working hard at getting supplies ready
 for suitcase packing. 

Christopher couldn't resist a shot of me eating. 
I deserve it since I take lots of photos 
of other people eating.  

Carmen will be our nurse for the week. 
She is charged with keeping us healthy. 
Glad you are coming along again Carmen.  

After lunch we broke into our small groups for a time of reflection on the why's of going to Peru.  
Martin is drinking it all in.  : ) 

Groups met in different places in the church and discussed questions to case studies, and just shared about why they are going.  

Dianne. One of our fearless group leaders.  

Another group enjoying the cozy fireplace.  

And yet another in the youth room.  

The other part of this group.  

Oh, and one group in the balcony.  

Our t-shirts are slowly getting completed. 
They look awesome.  

We purchased yellow and white t-shirts.  

We purchased Spanish Christian curriculum for the Christian school as well.  For Kindergarten - grade 3, I think.  Two anonymous donors covered this expense.  Cool.  

We sure do make a mess, don't we? : )

Ah, Annette. 
In form filling out mode. 
She always completes the forms I need, but usually JUST before they are due.  : ) 

Handing them in. 
It feels good to be done that, doesn't it Annette? 

Nice job Simon.  

After our small group time, Sheila walked us through the VBS in more detail.  

She got us to do one of the games.  

It involved tossing balls into these giant pants.  

Looks like it will be fun.  

Everyone lined up. 

Everyone got the chance to see if they could toss the ball into the pants. I'm pretty sure Martin was successful.  

Julie too.  

I think Sandy missed....
bahahahaha

We ended our day with the most important thing of all. 
A concert of prayer. 
We prayed for various things, together in our groups.  

Before we knew it, it was 5 pm and we were cleaning up and on our way home.  

A great day. 
We got most of the t-shirts done. 
Cornwall finished them off a couple of weeks later. 

Now all that's left is to pack, hold our commissioning services (which will be done by the time you read this), and prepare our minds and hearts.   

I've placed our tentative schedule below so you will know what we will be up to for the week.  
Thanks to all who support each Peru Team that goes. 
Your prayers and support are truly appreciated. 

Tentative Peru Schedule – March 2014

Arrive Friday night

Saturday

●     8:00 am – Morning Devotions (Ron). 

●     8:30 am – Breakfast and introduce translators

●     9:00 am -  Leave for Church.

●     10:30 am - Arrive at Gamaliel Church hopefully

●     10:45 am - Welcome from Gamaliel church and Pastor Sergio gives a tour of the church and school facilities (like he did the last time)

●     12:00 pm - Lunch

●     1:30 pm –

a.   Youth of our Group meet youth of church? See if any are willing/able to help out with any Drama’s on Wed or Thurs??

We can do a couple of games and Ron can give short message.

Might be done a little later.

b.  Some Adults do a walk through of the community to let families know

      about VBS – (Option is to stop and pray with people if the need arises.)

●     2:30 pm -

a.  We will start construction – Sanding and Painting, etc. 

b.  VBS Drama’s can be practiced here as well. 

●     5:00 pm ish - Back to Hostel and dinner and devotions

●     6:30 pm ish – Dinner

●     7:30 pm -  Pepe (and Erin) share about Frontline Peru and the growing relationship we have with them and Gamaliel.

●     Video with groups and off to bed.

Sunday

7 am  Devotions (Steve)

7:30 am Breakfast

8:15 am leave for church.

From 10 am – 12:30 pm: (each group hast 10 ish people)

●     visit in homes of members of church (group 1) - broken down into two groups

●     walk about community again.  (groups 3 and  4)

●     Possibly start Construction in the AM  (Group 2)

●     Prepare for VBS  - crafts and Dramas  (Sheila Murphy and selected people)

12:30 pm ish….Lunch

1:30 – 4:30 PM

2 – 4:30pm Afternoon – VBS.  Songs, Drama’s, Crafts

●     During Playtime  (2 – 3 pm) before VBS a small group of ladies meets with ladies from church and talks about life issues (Parenting skills,

●     About 20 – 25 women could come

●     Probably done from 2 – 3 pm ish

●     Would like different women to help out each day from our group

●     Include a 5 – 10 minute short devotional based on women stuff. : )

●     Possible topics could include, parenting, relationship with God, being a Christian wife, and include a prayer time.     

●     Maybe a small craft or some pampering stuff?  

4:30 – 7 pm

●     4:30 – 5pm  Hang out with Kids until church. 

●     5 – 6pm  ish  Church with Gamaliel

○   Steve will preach via interpreters.

●     6 – 7 pm ish…Do some general icebreakers [need help with that from group] using Interpreters to help, and then break down into smaller groups and introduce ourselves to each other using the  (2 – 3 pics only) of our families

●     DINNER with church will happen after this

8 pm

●     Back to Hostel for showers, etc.

●     Video with groups. 

Monday

7 am  Devotions (Steve)

7:30 am Breakfast

8:15 am leave for church.

10 AM – 12:30 PM

a.      visit El Refugio (it’s partially an “orphanage,” but more a children’s dining hall and care center) (group #4) (bring a Craft (25 ish) along for them to do as well.  Songs with Actions are always appreciated.  )

b.      set up craft for VBS  (a couple of people, direction from Sheila Murphy) 

c.      visit health care facility  (One time only for those that are interested.)

d.      construction at church/school (group 3)

e.      Special Needs School. (Group 1) (bring a Craft (25 ish) along for them to do as well.  Songs with actions are always appreciated)

f.       visit in homes (group 2 – the group will split in half and visit homes in smaller numbers)

a.      Prepare questions in advance like

1.      Bible verses to share

2.      Who are they as a family and how did they come to this area.  Family story.

3.      What is a typical day/week for you

4.      A bit about ourselves.  Where we live and what we do. Our family story

5.      What do you think of your country? 

6.      What do we think of our country?

7.      If you could change one thing about your current situation what would it be?

8.      If we could change something about our current situation what would it be?

9.      Is there anything we can pray about together?  From our group and from the home. 

10.  Spend some time in prayer.

Pastor Sergio will have prepared a flyer to hand out to those homes we go visit as not all people we will visit will be members of Gamaliel church? 

g.      Bea, Dianne and Marsha – Teacher Training – DAY 1 sit in on school classes in AM??

h.      A couple of young people help teach English for kids in classrooms.  (need 2 – 3??)

12:30 – 1:30 ish pm Lunch (Practice for Drama for that day).

2 – 4:30 pm Afternoon – VBS.  Songs, Drama’s, Crafts

●     During Playtime  (2 – 3 pm) before VBS a small group of ladies meets with ladies from church and talks about life issues (Parenting skills,

●     About 20 – 25 women could come

●     Probably done from 2 – 3 pm ish

●     Would like different women to help out each day from our group

●     Include a 5 – 10 minute short devotional based on women stuff. : )

●     Possible topics could include, parenting, relationship with God, being a Christian wife, and include a prayer time.      

●     Maybe a small craft or some pampering stuff?   

2:30 – 4:30 pm  - Teacher training workshop #1 happens

3 – 4:30 pm VBS (with play time with kids happening from 2 – 3 pm)

5 pm - Back to Hostel for dinner and evening orientation and video with groups

Tuesday

7 am  Devotions – (Steve)

7:30 am Breakfast

8:15 am leave for church.

10 AM – 12:30 PM

a.      visit El Refugio  (group #1) (bring a Craft (25 ish) along for them to do as well.  Songs with Actions are always appreciated.  )

b.      set up craft for VBS  (a couple of people, direction from Sheila) –

c.      work on church (group 4)

i.       Visit to Special Needs Place. (group 2) (bring a Craft (25 ish) along for them to do as well.  Songs with Actions are always appreciated.  )

d.      visit in homes (group 3  group divided in half to visit homes)

Pastor Sergio will have prepared a flyer to hand out to those homes we go visit as not all people we will visit will be members of Gamaliel church. 

j.       Bea, Dianne and Marsha – get ready for Teacher Training – DAY 2

k.      A couple of (different) young people help teach English for kids in classrooms.  (need 2 – 3)

12:30 – 1:30 ish pm Lunch (Practice for Drama for that day).

2 – 4:30 pm Afternoon – VBS.  Songs, Drama’s, Crafts

●     During Playtime before VBS a small group of ladies meets with ladies from church and talks about life issues.  (See above for more information)    

2:30 – 4:30 pm  - Teacher training workshop #2 happens

3 – 4:30 pm VBS (with play time with kids happening from 2 – 3 pm)

5 – 6 pm snacks at the church somehow just for group (extra sandwich/fruit, etc.)

(Some get crafts ready for Wed, since we will be arriving late that day)

6:00 – 7:00 pm  Tuesday night the church has their prayer meeting. The idea is to join them in their prayer meeting. Sergio and Pastor Steve will both share a BRIEF thought/devotional/verse about prayer. 2-3 minutes each (keeping in mind that the translation will make it more like 5 minutes). Then there will be songs, sharing, etc.

Here’s the basic idea we talked through with Sergio:

●      Sergio shares first.

●      Then Gamaliel does 2 songs.

●      Then church members will share their prayer requests, and people (from your church or from Gamaliel) will pray for them right then (after each request, we pray).

●      To close the meeting, Calvin/Cornwall will share one song.

●      Then Steve will share a brief thought/devotional/verse about prayer and then will pray to end the meeting.

Arrive back at hostel for showers, supper, off to bed.    

Wednesday

(a shorter day so we don’t kill everyone).  : )

9 am  Devotions (Steve)

9:30 am breakfast

10 – 11:30 am video time to reflect on Tuesday’s experiences

Leave at 11:30 AM for Gamaliel church (eating lunch on the bus) and arrive by 1 ish

Do the following things 

a.      Final set up craft for VBS and practice Drama (Sheila Murphy and team)

b.      Work on church (while VBS is happening) (Colin to lead with some others interested in that)  

c.      Rest of group plays with kids as they show up. 

2 – 4:30 pm Afternoon – VBS.  Songs, Drama’s, Crafts

●     FINAL ONE - During Playtime before VBS a small group of ladies meets with ladies from church and talks about life issues.  (See above for more information)    

2:30 – 4:30 pm  - Teacher training workshop #3 happens

3 – 4:30 pm VBS (with play time with kids happening from 2 – 3 pm)

Arrive back at hostel and supper and fountain.

Not sure yet which order we’ll do things….

Could be fountain then supper…or supper then fountains….

After Fountains we do some video blogging and then off to bed.    

Thursday

7 am  Devotions (Steve)

7:30 am Breakfast

8:15 am leave for church.

10 AM – 12:30 PM

a.      visit El Refugio  (group #2) (bring a Craft (25 ish) along for them to do as well.  Songs with Actions are always appreciated.  )

b.      set up craft for VBS  (a couple of people, direction from Jeannine and Marsha)

c.      work on church (group 1)

d.      Special Needs Place. (either group 3) (bring a Craft (25 ish) along for them to do as well.  Songs with Actions are always appreciated.  )

e.      visit in homes (group 4)

Pastor Sergio will have prepared a flyer to hand out to those homes we go visit as not all people we will visit will be members of Gamaliel church. 

12:30 – 1:30 ish pm Lunch (Practice for Drama for that day).

2 – 4:30 pm Afternoon – VBS.  Songs, Drama’s, Crafts

NO TEACHER TRAINING  

5 pm - Goodbye ceremony at Gamaliel

6pm - head home to Lima

after dinner we have our closing time as a group (Ron to lead)  and video time as groups

Friday

8 am  Final Morning Devotions (Ron)

8:30 am Breakfast

9:00 am  Pack up and get on bus(es).  Leave around 9:45 am

Off to downtown to tour catacombs, maybe. 

11:30 am Lunch like usual, on our own.  (Don’t eat chicken as we will be having that for supper).

1:00 pm leave for market for souvenier hunting

4:30 pm leave for airport and dinner (taken care of by Frontline)

Off to airport, arriving by 7:00 pm.

Sarah and Ron staying till Monday evening at Erin and Pepe’s and visit compassion children.