Sunday

John here again.

It's fun reading about the snow in Ottawa. In Pachecutec it never snows. It never even rains. Today was sunny and hot. We're now an hour earlier than Ottawa since we didn't take the daytime savings leap.

On Sunday when we arrived we went to visit some people in their homes in order to get to know them a bit and pray with them. This is Norma. She's a single mom with a two year old son and some health issues. She lost her job due to time missed at work with her illness. She's being supported by the church.

After lunch we gathered kids for VBS. We spent some time playing games with them.

This is Shawn getting taken to school by one of the young boys.

Then the drama team took over. This is the story of Jesus showing his disciples about becoming "fishers of men".

This is the captivated audience.

This is Jesus with Peter, James and John.

This is one of the crowd members who stayed in character after the drama was done.

Crafts were a big hit. They had three crafts at three different stations. Very well organized, Bea.

After VBS we had a church service. By this time we were all very tired. Fortunately, the guest pastor (Ron) chose the shortest Psalm and had a message of corresponding brevity.

The children have beautiful brown eyes. But then one mother was gushing over our blue eyes...

We got back to the hostel in time to have a late dinner at 7:00, some video reflections with Ron and some debriefing with Pepe. Bed time soon.

Now over to Ron...

It is now 10:10 pm and most of the team is nodding off to sleep after a very long, but good day. I don’t know what John has put on the blog yet, but I know he has some pictures, and has made some comments, so forgive me if I repeat some things. Also, for you writing purists out there, forgive me if my grammar isn’t perfect, or if I miss a few spelling errors. These are raw thoughts of the day, and it’s at the end of a long day. : )

I sit here in the dark, just outside my room on a bit of a balcony. It’s calm, and cooler than the day was. Pepe is beside me trying to connect to the wireless network that we have been able to get here. It has been a blessing to be able to use it, whomever the people are : )

We heard from some of the blog comments from you that Ottawa received 51 centimeters of snow over two days. Church was cancelled, and people are now digging out. In one way I am sorry I’ve missed that, because I like snow storms, but in another way, I’m sure glad I’m not digging out from it.

Oh, and speaking of comments, we’d love to hear from you who are reading the blogs each day. I was told by Marg, that you need to respond Reg. She’s waiting : ). But seriously, it is nice to hear from you who are reading the entries what you gleaning from them, and words of encouragement are important to those on the team. I know from some of the comments that the pictures are certainly appreciated. I hope the text is too : ) .

So, if you have the time, I suggest you get a cup of your favorite coffee, or tea and sit back and enjoy this entry. It’s going to be a long one. Let me tell you all about our day. It began at 8:00 am this morning. The summer sun blaring in our room. It felt like it was going to be a hot day. It was. We again enjoyed a great breakfast. Scrambled eggs and tang and wonderful sweet bread and jam. Enough was had for all.

After our breakfast we packed up and walked once again to the park. We practiced our drama’s for the day and prayed for the day as well. We then headed on the bus with our drama costumes, our craft supplies, and lunches, water and us. We traveled on the bus once again. I was again struck by the people as we drove through Lima. It was Sunday, so traffic was a bit lighter, but many people were still busy moving about. Shops were open, and people were moving about. At times it seems like people are just walking from place to place with no where to go, or not much to do. Shops have few customers, and the people in them are just sitting around waiting.

In the middle of nowhere will be an umbrella with someone sitting underneath reading or waiting for something. I’m not sure what. It’s interesting to watch.

We arrived in Pachecutec at around 11 am. We then split up into three groups. Two of them went into homes of people around the neighborhood, and the other two went together just to walk around and talk with people as we met them. I was in the latter group. We spend 1.5 hours doing this, and it was very good. We met a family who had three children, 12, 10 and 5. The mother and father would leave them from Monday thru Friday to go work in the city, leaving the 12 year old to take care of the other children. It was hard to hear. Another family had issues with a daughter who was rebelling. We had the opportunity to pray for them all. It was neat to see different members of the group doing that. Wilma found that to be a very wonderful experience, that people would be so inviting of us, and wanting to share their lives with us so freely and then offer prayers. I’ve also discovered that Wilma is a VERY good Spanish speaker. She is doing VERY well in conversing with many here. We find ourselves asking Wilma to translate for us at times, and she is able to do it most of the time. Neat to see. I didn’t think Wilma was that fluent in Spanish.

It made me wonder why we don’t do that back home. Why are we so guarded about who we are and what is happening in our lives in N.A. It would be very strange for us to go as a group from Calvin and begin to walk down the street and stop when we saw people and just talk with them about life, and what they are going through, and then offering to pray for them……or would it. Is it so impossible to do? Something I will be pondering long after we return, and am challenged by.

The other two groups visited families in their homes. Similar to what we did last time. One family had the husband working on the church here. He didn’t go to church much, but after they visited him, he ended up coming to the afternoon church service.

I have found these times of visiting to be very rewarding for the team once again. It gives a first hand perspective of the living conditions, the poverty and relative wealth differentiation within Pachecutec, and the many lives that have so much sorry attached to them. It’s good for us to hear about. It’s also neat to hear how thankful many of them are for what they do have; a point that did not go unnoticed by many in the group today.

We then had lunch as a group. We were able to see Louis’ wife and new child as well. Cute little girl. Louis was a translator for us two years ago, and he took his wife along with him for the week. We who returned knew her and it was nice to see her again.

After lunch it took some time, but eventually we began the first of 5 VBS days. We met outside this time, as the sanctuary of last time has no roof now. We had a bit of a problem getting power, but eventually we were ready to go. This break allowed the craft people to get prepared, and gave us some time to meet the children and parents as they began to trickle in. Nick and Margaret swung a skipping rope and children and adults alike took part. We played duck duck goose as well, and also tag with a football. Ken played Frisbee with several kids.

During VBS we also played some pick up soccer with some of the kids. Shawn and Christopher discovered that these kids play VERY good soccer. It was a sight to see them both working so hard to keep the ball, and losing it so fast to smaller, much faster kids.

Eventually we began VBS. Our female translator, Ines, who is very gifted with children, led the songs to start us out. We helped with the actions and learned a few new songs from here that involve a shark, and losing limbs, etc. I think we had about 35 children at that time. As things progressed we ended up with 58 kids and 3 mothers.

After the songs, we had two dramas. Jesus in the boat with his disciples and the fishing nets, and Jesus feeding the 5000. All did a GREAT job in the afternoon heat.

Then it was time for the crafts. They proved to be a highlight for both kids and adults alike. The craft team did a GREAT job. Everyone was into making the crafts. Even Pepe wants to make some this week he thinks they are so well done. I thank God for the gifts of the drama and craft people. Two less things I had to worry about, and they have all done just WONDERFUL work.

Then, it was off to church. We met in the library with the congregation and many of the kids. We couldn’t understand most of what was being said, but certain words kept coming through that we could. There was a lot of thanksgiving to God for many different things. This was noticed by the team and commented on a lot during our video time. I was asked to preach a mini sermon, which I did. The team said it sounded very good in Spanish. I’m not sure how to take that one. : ) Ines translated into Spanish for me, which was a bit different. When I introduced myself to the group, I said “Hola” and Ines out of reflex said, “Hello.” Everyone got a chuckle out of that.

It was neat to say some words on behalf of the group, and to be able to pray for a family that is going through some pretty hard times at the moment. I was also able to meet a mother who was pregnant with her child back two years ago. She asked for prayers for health for herself and her child, which are important things here, and they were granted. I was able to see her healthy child. She thanks me for her prayers. The other family I prayed for lost their mother during childbirth, and the child is not doing well. The father is left to raise 4 children, and it’s not an easy situation.

After church was over, it was back on the bus and back to the hostel. Showers for all, and another great supper of chicken and rice and tang. Oh, and the left over Inca Cola. I copied the comments from the blog and read them to the group tonight. Keep them coming if you can.

We then did our video time, which brought out some great comment about the days experiences. Then Pepe shared with us more about Pachecutec, and the issues that plague this and other places around Lima.

Finally the day ended and people drifted off to bed.

All in all, a LONG but GOOD day. The heat was not easy to deal with at times, especially in the craft class rooms. But, each person did what they had to do, and we all survived. I was proud of everyone today. They all did great and I think learned a great deal about themselves, about others, and about God’s faithfulness.

Some things that I noticed today.

1. Ken moving out of his comfort zone and doing crafts with the kids. He’s really having a GREAT time here, and his eyes have been opened to many new and at times not so wonderful things, but they have brought about wonderful points of thought for himself.
2. The language issue continues to get in the way of communicating at times. Now people realize they should have brushed up more on their Spanish, even those that went two years ago.
3. Harold getting out of his comfort zone and praying with a family. He found that challenging and rewarding.
4. Watching the craft and drama people use their gifts for the love of the children.
5. Seeing the openness and friendliness of those we met again today. Maybe it’s just me, but I find Peruvians to be very friendly and inviting. There are not the barriers we put up for ourselves in N.A. Maybe it’s because we are “gringos”, but I would have again thought that this would have been a hindrance. It has not been.
6. Watching different members of the team process the days events in their own ways. Some are quietly thinking through what has been happening around them, others are verbalizing quite freely.
7. Watching Marg get stronger with her walking and determination with her foot. She has been doing very well. She participated in pretty much everything today.
8. Watching my son begin to form a friendship with Hulio. This boy knows some English, and they seemed to hit it off today. Christopher was very happy about that. He looked pretty tired though today. I wonder how he feels about taking Wed out to visit with Dilan, our Compassion child here in Lima. I think he may have mixed feelings about that.
9. Watching Hannah B trying so hard to stay awake during Pepe’s talk, but just not being able to. It’s a long day for us adults, but longer for the younger ones in the group. I have to remember to allow them to pace themselves differently than the others in the group.
10. Having Ruth squirt white glue into my mouth during the craft time. She didn’t mean to. It was surprising for her, and for me. I can tell you, that white glue doesn’t taste very good. I think Ruth was trying to prevent me from preaching in the afternoon. : )

All in all things are progressing well. We are tired, but we are not yet feeling sick, for which we are thankful.

Some of us are feeling a bit burnt though. We didn’t apply our sunscreen on completely, and you can tell pretty much where that is. I have a wicked burn on my neck and a minor one on the back of my legs. Holly has one on her arms and neck. We will certainly be applying sunscreen more carefully tomorrow.

So, it’s 11:30 pm and that’s all the energy I have for today’s entry. I trust it gives you a bit of glimpse into our experiences here, and a starting point for more discussion with your team friends and family when they return.

I end by saying good night to my wife, Joycegina, and Katrina and Sarah. I miss you all (I can’t speak for Christopher, but he is having a good time here so far) and hope you are all well. Thanks for once again allowing me to be apart from all of you in order to allow others to grow in the Lord. I know it’s not always an easy thing for you to endure, but I love you for allowing me to use my gifts to further his Kingdom, even if they take me away from all of you for periods of time. I love you. See you in 6 sleeps. You can put that on the wall by the Calendar now Katrina, and count the days until we come home. : )