Peru - Day 4 - Routine

Day 4 

Routine always starts to set in. 

Sorry John, but it's lunch time and I happen to have these pictures up and ready to blog so I'll be blogging the first half of the day. : ) 

I'll keep my ellipses to a minimum.  : ) 

7 a.m. was gathering time.  

Also Devotional time.  

And say hello time.   

Andrew had devotions this morning.  

We were asked questions about our time in Peru so far. 

I'll document some of the answers if I get this blog done before VBS begins.   

So I have a couple of minutes:

Question:  The most common Objects I see are:

People

Cars

Pallets

Taxis

Clay Bricks

Question:  Something I see that looks alot like home is:

Geraniums

Cell phones

Pizza Hut

Kids playing

Flowers

Rough roads

Question: Something I haven't seen here is:

Pine Trees

Farms

Snow

Vinyl siding

Trains

Ice Cream

Question:  One smell I noticed here is:

Sewage  (many responses)

Chicken

Garbage

Question:  The main sound I hear is:

Honking (mentioned ALOT)  : )

Traffice

Sowee!!!!!

Our group listening to the Master.  : ) 

Andrew did a masterful job.  

Breakfast.  

Good morning Gigi (a.k.a. Kijiji).  

Eggs again (no pic this time Andrew) 

As well as yogurt (yes, everyone that wants it seems to be getting yogurt), and bananas and juice and bread, etc.  

Only one side of the room is for seating. 

Our smaller group of 16 does take some getting used to.  

A view from my room. 

The school we are beside.   

The courtyard. 

After breakfast time to get ready to head out. 

Sunscreen a MUST.  

Brenda inspecting George's sunscreen application to his ears.....(Ellipse)  and he passes.   

Today it's First Aid teaching day for Andrea.   

 Dianne showed me this from Jackie and Girard. 

Needed to make the blog, and so it has.  : ) 

Brenda finds the beauty in everything. : ) 

Almost ready to head out.  

Back on the bus.  

And there's Gigi again.   

Some more pics of our trip to Patchacutec.   

This farmer's market is new. 

In honour of Gerry.  : ) 

Skittles.  Whoot! 

Getting there.  

Traffic doesn't seem too bad this year.  

We have arrived.  

Oh, and there are the children.  

Off the bus Gigi 

And the rest of us.   

Time to say hello.   

Kids seem to flock to Ella.  

Must remember all those piggy back rides from yesterday.  : ) 

Hola.  

Kids playing football

Our ministries this morning were English, Construction and Home visits. 

This group taught English (Joycegina is actually taking some of the pictures).   

More of a Canadian Geography lesson.   

Handouts.  

Our beloved flag.  : )  

Explanation about our flag.   

Time to colour our flag.   

Pick me!

Pick me!

The end result. 

A nice class.  

Today the wall that was sanded was painted.  

More games.   

With Brenda.....

Aren't these yesterday's Pics..hmmmm

I think Brenda likes games.  

Home visits. 

Finding our where we are going (me included)

And we are off.  

This dog wasn't about to move for us.  

A new football pitch.  

Our first home.   

 A wonderful lady 

Second home housed a painter.  

He does good work.   

Lady on the left is a member of the church and was glad we were here.  She said others who have come to visit seemed a bit arrogant as "gringo's" but we Canadians seemed humble.   

Brenda was very sweet to her.   

 So she gave her a gift.  

Together

And we convinced Juan Carlos to do a selfie.   

The lady has a small business selling sandals. 

We hope to see her in the market.   

On to the third house. 

We took a short cut.   

Lots of pallets to be taken apart and made into house walls.   

Beautiful for Brenda. 

Hot for me.   

 Final home.  

Her children are enrolled in the Christian School, but she has a hard time coming to church because she runs a bakery out of her home and is on call to bake and deliver whenever she gets an order. 

Another selfie.  

As we walked back to the church we discovered a play ground.  

The other group got to cuddle babies. 

Looks like they had a good time.   

Home #1 

Home #2.  

Lunch is ready. 

Nice work is setting it out.  

Kendra resting after a busy morning.  

Ella and Annette.   

Colin and George and Dianne.  

Who's gonna win? 

Brenda and Lori Ann (I spelled it RIGHT!) swapping home visit stories. 

No, really, it's true Andrea. 

Really.   

Someone stole my chair. 

I won't tell you which one of these two.  

You can figure it out. : ) 

Our interpreters are awesome.   

Joycegina pondering.  

So ends the morning of Day 4. 

Dianne will continue the afternoon and evening..... (ellipse!!!)

This morning, many of us were motivated by Andrew's t-shirt which referenced Isaiah: "Here I am Lord, send me into the world." By the afternoon, our motivator needed a nap. He needed to get ready for his Academy Award winning performance in the Good Samaritan VBS skit. 

These lovelies from Ottawa got acquainted with Dania, one of our interpreters, after lunch. They learned that she is originally from Paraguay. She is a funny and multi-talented woman who is a makeup artist, a wonderful singer, a piano player and a worship leader at her church. 

Teaching Kijiji how to play Euchre under the canopied playground area was fun especially for Sheldon and Colin who won the game. Gigi was overheard on the bus later saying she needed a new Euchre partner. Guess George is having as much luck at this game as he does in Canada. Would you agree Jackie and Steve Girard? 

Andrea, our trusted First Aid Instructor, was on duty today teaching teachers how to respond to concussions. It appears this is a number one concern for them. The surfaces are hard at the school and in the homes. After testing their bandaging skills on each other - and a few laughs - they left with greater confidence on how to handle these situations. 

Andrea's animated style kept the teachers engaged and laughing as they learned new skills. 

Jocelyne was having fun as well as she tried to interpret Andrea's animated style. 

Smiles were the reward for Joycegina's great facial artwork. It takes great concentration to successfully paint those flowers and stars on young faces.

Kendra joined in as well as one of the children assesses her artwork.

This bulletin board in the sanctuary at Gamaliel accounts for the work being accomplished by its members. As you can see, our learning opportunity in Peru is prominently displayed by the map and a reference to the team from Canada. What a privilege it is to serve along side our friends here in Pachacutec.

Play time with the children continues to be a favourite part of the day for many of us. Sheldon is demonstrating the correct way to squat while catching a ball. Well done!!

Andrew is simply amazed by Ryan's fancy footwork. 

Brenda played catch with a little boy who delighted in her words of encouragement and laughter. 

The quilt which was given to Gamaliel in 2006 is now framed and hangs in a special place. Ron thought this was pretty cool.

A hug is shared between Melissa and Annette. Melissa is now an active member of the youth group at Gamaliel. She and her parents say hello and send their love to Marsha, Gerry and Sarah. 

Despite the heat, Ella was a master at giving rides today. Children were lined up in anticipation of a turn and a spin. 

This little one arrived just in time for me (Dianne) to give her a skipping rope. The smile says it all. By the way, Julia, thank you for lending me this hat; however, I must say - especially after seeing this photo - that it looks so much better on you!

Peru has a future quarterback in the making thanks to the coaching skills of Colin and George. The taxi driver was so impressed that he too joined in. 

Colin later shared having chatted with the taxi driver who may bring his children to the VBS program tomorrow. We will be looking out for them!

It did not take long for Ryan to have an appendage to his body. This little guy clung to him for most of the afternoon. 

Katrina was also surrounded by children.

Like Ella, she too was a human vehicle for little ones. 

As we debriefed about our day today, we discussed gifts received throughout the day. Annette shared her reflections about the gift of playtime. She had opportunity to kick a ball and toss a frisbee with children who welcomed other children in the activity. It was a time of joy. 

Another gift was shared today. Lori Ann and Crystal met in 2014. Though they had corresponded over time they had not seen each other in 4 years. We learned upon our arrival at Gamaliel that a reunion would be unlikely because Crystal had just had wisdom teeth surgery. However, today, Crystal surprised us all - especially Lori Ann. The reunion was grand. Lori Ann was in the washroom so Crystal and Jocelyne (friend and interpreter) waited in one of the classrooms. As Lor came out of the washroom, I quizzed her by saying what does the bible say happens when you ASK for something to which she replied: "It will be given to you." And what happens when you SEEK something. "You find it" was her answer. Finally, I encouraged her to KNOCK on the door of the classroom. It was already open and when she entered she and Crystal were reunited. It was great and such proof that a relational ministry goes a long way.

Gigi is already trying to borrow the books given to Naftali last night. I have to agree, Gigi, they are great books!

More playtime! More children arrive!

More pictures being painted on faces!

Joycegina and Ynes, another one of our great interpreters, share a moment.

Ring around the rosy is played.

And then, it is time for our second day of VBS.

Steven opens the session in prayer with Spanish translation provided by Juan.

Colin, Brenda and George show their dance moves.

Looks like the 3 Canadians are having a tough time following along with Juan.

That's more like it! Colin, Brenda and George look like they have a handle on the choreography. 

The audience joins in. Wish you could hear the music!

The performance continues.

All are in step!

Oops! What happened George? Knees sore?

Ah yes! Here I am. There are no words.

Friends in Christ, Dianne and Gigi, get ready to narrate the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The music and singing continues.

Then it's time for the "loco" song. 

Colin, Brenda, George and Juan are all a little "loco"!

Ryan and his appendage enjoy the show. Happy Dania follows along with the moves. 

Our Canadians are upstaged by children who think they can do much better.

Katrina and her pals sing along.

A thumbs up is given for the performance.

The children prepare to listen to the bible story.

A little information is shared about Jesus and the telling of parables.  

The children listen attentively.

George watches on (secretly wondering why his wife has a beard). 

Brenda wonders what will happen next.

So does Katrina, 

and Kendra, and Lori Ann, and all the children.

The story is told of a man who was on his way to Jericho.

Juan is this man.

He is suddenly attacked by robbers Ron and Ryan, who 

strip him of his clothing and take his belongings.

They beat him up and leave him alone to die. 

Later, a Priest walked by, took notice of him but walked on the other side of the road. 

A Levite also came along and also walked away.

A Samaritan (Andrew) came along. He took pity on the man.

He bandaged his wounds. 

He took him to a nearby inn.

He took care of the man. 

The next morning, he asked the innkeeper (Sheldon) to watch over the man. 

He gave him two silver coins.

And told him he would reimburse him for anything more when he returned. 

While the children gather for VBS, some of the women meet as well. Joycegina, Annette and Andrea facilitate the gathering with the help of Ynes, the interpreter.

Andrea painted some nails. 

Others coloured, all while chatting. 

Gigi is itching to remove her costume and beard.

Juan quizzes the children on the story and on the memory verse. The children were superstars when it came to remembering yesterday's memory verse and today's story.

There is a great time of encouragement.

Diego is a member of Gamaliel's Youth Group and a great help at VBS.

Lori Ann and Dania explain the symbolism of the colours on the salvation bracelets with Colin's help. 

The bracelets are distributed along with the written explanations for the children to take home.

Everyone wants a bracelet. George, Kendra and Sheldon are busy handing them out. 

Dania, Steven and Katrina are among those helping the children with their bracelets.

Then Sheldon leads the train out of the sanctuary. 

I give out colouring pictures about today's bible story for the children to take home. 

Sheldon helps me out. Thank you Sheldon!

While on the bus back to Lima, Juan entertains with a number of activities. 

Whether you have to listen for a stick to be a stick, or pay attention to the question to know the number of elephants, or even say thank you for the cell phone - all of it was quite amusing and challenging for many. You just had to be there!!

Ron was certainly appreciative of Juan's activities. 

He got a little snooze in while everyone else tried to figure out what Juan was doing or talking about. 

Well, maybe it was more than just a little snooze!

Suffice it to say that Ron got enough sleep to join the guys and Gigi for a game of pigs. He was promptly booted out from the pig game for his blatant disrespect for the pigs - this, only hours after Craig's earlier admonishment.

It was another day of blessings here in Peru.