Day 5 - Peru 2014 - A day of God moments

Day 5 - A day of God moments. 

We are now more than 1/2 way finished our 2014 learning opportunity. 

We awoke again for our 7 am comment session time...John and Jackie yours are hilarious.  : ) 

This is a picture that I forgot to include yesterday. A panoramic that Colin took of just outside Gamaliel church.  A nice way to view what we view.   

 When I awoke this morning, I heard a strange sound I had not yet heard this week. 

The sound of snoring...and not just any snoring, but the kind of snoring that would tear the wallpaper off walls. 

I walked down the hall, and what did I see, but Pastor Steve sleeping IN the hallway, snoring away. 

Apparently he was having a hard time sleeping, and since he was on the top bunk, he figured it easier to just sleep on the floor, rather than get out of his bunk all the time. 

 Well, back to our day. 

After our devotion time we had breakfast. 

I have made a habit to high 5 everyone as they come in.  A way to get the smiles on people's faces, and start the day off positively.  

Hopefully it works.  : )

 We had the usual fare.

Buns with peanut butter and jam and nutella.  

Apparently some like to put bananas with their peanut butter....yuck!  : ) 

 After breakfast we got ready to go on the buses again. 

Some people braided hair. 

Here's Michelle getting her hair done, but you know, she doesn't like to be on pictures very much.

 I did manage to sneak one in though.  Hahahaha

 Julia and Sarah waiting on their perch for us to leave.  

 Group #1 doing the breakfast dishes.  

 They actually have FUN doing dishes.....

I can't believe it.  : ) 

 I took the small bus again today.  

It's faster than the big bus.  

 Our small bus bus driver.  

He's a nice guy.  

 The morning traffic. 

We are actually making pretty good time, even with the heavy traffic. 

About 1 hour and 15 minutes.  A bit better than two years ago I think.  But still lots and lots of cars and taxis and trucks competing for the roads.  Dangerous too, but we all seem to make it through.  

 We got to Pachacutec and I sorted out the groups for their various places to go. 

This is the construction crew.  

More painting of classrooms. 

 Martin, is that safe?  

 Brenda enjoys painting. 

Apparently Martin doesn't, but he did a great job today.  

 Today it was Anika and Simon and Samantha teaching English to the students.  They did a great job. 

 This is the classroom that we put a new floor into on Sunday, and then a new roof too.  Now there are kids in the room having school.  

 This time we used English cards with pictures to help teach English.  It worked a bit better.  Ines came up with the idea. A natural teacher herself. 

 These are the curriculum books that we are donating to the school. Four different grades.  A huge blessing to this school.  We hope they use this material well and often.  

Bea and Marsha and Dianne getting ready for their teaching time.  They are fun to watch.  So much energy and excitement and joy in what they do.  

 Here's a picture of the computer room in the school. It's in the building we use to eat lunch in.  We store our valuables in here, as it locks.  

 Behind me in the picture I took above is a supply room.  

It wasn't nearly as tidy two years ago, but looks very good now.  

 hmmmmm, I'm not sure where this picture was taken, but I'm assuming it's one of the groups who went to the orphanage or special needs place.  We weren't allowed to take pictures this time at the special needs place...too bad.  

 Ben and Annette and Cheryl painting the outside walls of the church.  Wasn't an easy task at times, but all three loved the sun and the heat.  

 Sheldon and Gerry....not sure what they are doing.  

 So, I do share a lot of our day as sort of a story board for you, but today, there were some God moments that I also need to tell you about.  This is the first one. Pastor Sergio came up to Ben and wanted to share some things with him.  Gigi interpreted for us.  

 Cheryl keep on working, allowing Annette and Ben (and me) to listen to Pastor Sergio. 

 He told Ben he remembered him when he was younger. 

He admired his growth in stature, as well as his growth in character and spiritual walk with God. 

He challenged Ben to follow God's calling in life and go wherever God would lead him, not just where he wanted to go.  Then he prayed for Ben.  It was a wonderful God moment that I hope Ben will ponder for some time. 

Annette was privildged to hear this as well.  A real blessing for a parent to hear prophetic words from such a man of God as Pastor Sergio.  

 Back to the storyboard for now.  

A nice shot of me looking into a classroom where Brenda was painting. 

 Martin still using tables instead of ladders...well, when you don't actually HAVE a ladder...you improvise.  : ) 

 Hmmmm, soooooooo these three ladies have graduated from simply hugging each other to, well....kissing each other as they share together their teaching times......

awkward...... : ) 

 The group that went to the Special needs place also took a bit of a tour of the area on their way home. A nice shot of the ocean here.  

 An a huge flag of Peru.  

 A pretty basic lane way.  

 And an abandoned theme park, of sorts. 

 No pictures of the orphanage today either.  

Lunch was soon upon us.  

This is a nice picture, but I think Julia is eyeing that sandwich of Sarah's.....watch out sweetie... : ) That Julia can be a trouble maker.  

 The group eating lunch together.  

 It's actually VERY noisy while we eat lunch.  

Lots of sharing about the morning's activities with each other.  I love this part of the day, though not everyone loves the noise.  

Today I was reminded again that for some, this week is a struggle.  We are all wired differently and if you are not a social person by nature, this week can be quite difficult for you.  At times we have people come on these trips who struggle with that element.  

That's not a bad thing in my books, but it does make for some difficult times for some.  We need to be reminded that we all process this sort of Learning Opportunity differently.  

 Lucy has taken it upon herself to be the garbage collector person each lunch time.  Thanks Lucy. 

 Apparently we haven't had many pictures of Marsha this week, as was pointed out by someone's comment, so here's one of Marsha and Daniel.  Daniel is one of our translators.  Another excellent translator for us. 

A note:  We try our best to include everyone in the blog, but some people may get missed.  We apologize for that, but you will certainly get to see them if you ever see the pictures of this trip with those who went.  There will be LOTS to choose from....trust me (and Chris).  : ) 

 Some of the girls getting a nap in after lunch. Looks comfortable. 

God moment #2.

At 1 pm today, Nancy and Pastor Steve and myself and Colin (to take pictures) settled into Pastor Sergio's home. 

Nancy wanted to present to Pastor Sergio a gift that came from Nancy's Aunt who passed away last year.  

 She cried a lot, but got through presenting Pastor Sergio and Falicitas with a plaque of Nancy's Aunt, and some money to go towards the building projects at Gamaliel church. It was touching to listen to Pastor Sergio comforting Nancy. Such great words and a wonderful time of prayer with her as well. 

 A well deserved hug afterwards.  

 An a place on the shelf for the plaque.  

 This is a picture of the feeding program that still goes on at Gamaliel church.  Children eat each day after school in the new building they have for the feeding program.  

 Lori Anne and Brenda sharing something that probably can't be repeated in this blog.....TMI ladies.....TMI.  : ) 

 Bea and Dianne and Marsha prepared their classroom for teaching time.  This diagram was prepared to help them teach the basics of classroom ethics and other things, which I think I'll have to have them fill in tomorrow, because I don't really know.  You will notice the 4 books on the floor to give to the teachers.  

The teachers had another wonderful teaching time. 

They were engaged in the process and understood the material, which was very encouraging for our three teachers. Great stuff!

 I took some time to talk with Ines. 

Always fun to do that. 

She has a lot to offer in life.  

 huh...what do you want now!!!  : )  

 After lunch it was time to gather at the front of the church and welcome the children. Lucy always gets a few kids around her neck. 

 Face painting continued today. 

It's a huge hit. 

Rachel does a great job, as do the others. 

I think they've painted about 40 faces each day. 

 hmmmm, I'm not sure why Chris put this picture in Mikayla...sorry about that. : ) 

 Time for more soccer. 

 or Frisbee. I think that's Chris behind that Frisbee.  

 Nice catch Bernadette.  

 Steve with his boys.  

 Good catch Amy, or this that good throw...can't really tell. 

 It was Chris behind that Frisbee. 

 Sheldon playing Frisbee as well. 

 The children love playing the sports we offer. 

 Martin and George discussing something serious.  

 A cute picture. 

 Smiles all around. 

These children just grow on you. 

 

Four years ago, a child brought a monkey to VBS. 

This time it a was a piglette.  No, none of us touched it...I hope. 

 Silke was suprised to see it.  

 Apparently the soccer game got out of hand. 

A face full of dirt, and with all the sweat, well, it really sticks to one's face pretty good.  

 Time to wash it off.  

 Robert has his following too.  

 Before we new it, it was time for VBS to start and songs to sing.  I was picked to be one of the singers this time. 

Time to get the group up there pumped and ready to go.  High 5's all around.  I had a good teacher...right Martin? : ) 

 Every song has actions. 

I new NONE of them..but was a good follower. 

It was quite fun actually.  

 Not every child sticks around for everything at VBS.  

They come and go like the wind sometimes.  

 The crowd enjoying the songs too. 

 You can tell we all don't know the actions. 

Sarah and Rachel are following the translators, just like me.  

A nice picture of Silke with her new friend. 

 Amy and Bernadette watching the drama unfold.  By that I mean the drama time for VBS. 

Sandy and Annette and Robert did another great job with the Drama. 

 A nice shot of Julia and George.  

 After the drama and explanation of it, it was time for a game.  

This game involved some very big pants and throwing a ball in either a black back, or the pants, depending on  what the name on the ball was.  The kids had fun doing it.  

 Then it was craft time.  Miranda and this child are hearing the explanation of how to do the craft.  

 This time it was weaving a heart and then gluing it.  

 The littler ones needed more help.  

When the craft time was over it was time for scripture memory and then the singing train. 

I got to lead the children out once again. 

Loads of fun.  

 After VBS was over, we cleaned up a bit, and then prepared the church for the evening prayer service. 

I thought is was going to start at 6 pm, but apparently it was moved up to 5 pm.  Oh well, we roll with it. 

Some took to skipping using old balloons that were popped.  Very ingenious. 

 Robert actually got a balloon of his own.  How nice. 

 Gamaliel had no musicians for the prayer service, so we pressed into service our very own. 

Andrew on the Guitar, Sarah and Cheryl on vocals....

 ...and Simon on keyboard. 

Almost like being back at Calvin, eh Simon???

They all did a great job of leading us in worship.  

 The two churches worshiping together.  

We did outnumber the Gamaliel congregation, but that didn't matter at all. 

 The new projector pressed into service again.  

 God moment #3

After singing we held a prayer time. 

Pastor Sergio began by praying for our two churches in Canada. I then prayed for Gamaliel church and Pastor Sergio's work. 

Then the group split up into smaller groups comprised of our team and Gamaliel church members and they prayed together for about 10 minutes.  

A wonderful time of fellowshiping with people from different cultures. 

 Pastor Steve led us again with a short sermon.  

 We ended our time in song once again. 

 And before you knew it, it was time to head home. 

A wonderful sunset to greet us as we boarded the buses.  

Our ride home was wonderful. 

I got to know Gigi much better as we drove home. She will be taking over some of Erin's work, as she will be concentrating on raising a child soon.  Gigi will do well.  She did very well today without Erin around.  

We did notice something sad on our way home, however. As we were stopped at an intersection that was crowded with cars, a man walked up to a taxi, and stuck his hands into the taxi and wrestled a cell phone away from a female passenger and then just walked away.  

We who witnessed this were all quite stunned by what we saw.  It was another reminder that we are in a country where some places are not safe, even for fellow Peruvians.  Gigi was sad to see this go on, but said it happens often. 

 We arrived back home at 7:45 and had dinner right away. 

 Rice and chicken

 and potatoes in a wonderful sauce.  

Chris took this picture just after dinner.  

A wonderful evening.  

So ends another day here in Peru for our team. 

Another long, but good day. 

Many touching moments today that I was privileged to be part of.  Thank you Lord. 

Many other things that others were able to be part of. 

Tomorrow will be a sleep in day and we will be leaving for the church at 11:30 am.  Breakfast will be at 9 am. 

Time to rest a bit before VBS again. 

I'll try to blog the day's events tomorrow evening, but we will be going to the fountains, so we will have to see what happens. 

Time for bed now. 

Blessings to you all and I hope you enjoyed today's post. 

oh, and just so you know, I'll be posting your comments from yesterday's blog Wednesday morning at about 10:45 am after I've read them to the group.  Some of them are classic once again.  : )