hello all!
it´s christmas time! i love this time of year so much! the christmas songs on the radio, the lights reflecting off the puddles (let´s face it, the willamette valley doesn´t typically have snow this time of year), and one of my favorite parts is the advent candles in church on sunday. all of this helps prepare me for the day. for the celebration of the birth of Christ Jesus. He loved, and he lived, and he lives on amongst us through the Holy Spirit manifested in us.
all this to say...i don´t feel very christmas-y yet. we have not sang a single Christmas hymn in church, nor even mentioned that Christmas is approaching. and i have been getting sick lately (which i am not accostumed to). i´ve spent the past day and a half laifd up in bed, and should still be there i imagine, but...the point is this: please pray for our whole team. we´re all struggling being away from family at this time of year. traditions don´t make Christmas, for that matter, neither does family, but we miss them more accutely right now. also, pray for our health. we seem to be taking turns getting sick...and that makes us a bit grumpy:)
Merry Christmas everyone! i hope to write again soon! thanks for your prayers!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thanksgiving
¨Thanksgiving is more important to you guys than Christmas.¨Peruvian ¨No it isn´t.¨American
Although accustomed to celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, we waited and celebrated on Monday. Two reasons 1) we worked on Thursday (thus not having time to prepare the feast) 2) we couldn´t possibly do it without Andrew, and since he´s only home on Mondays...we waited.
Thursday night Tracy, Tyson, Kai, Wendy, Callie and I went to a grill (that i´d gone to with Daddy) and ate a bit of meat to satisfy our need to be full and then went home to watch last season of The Office to satisfy our need to feel like Americans.
Sunday night we were up till midnight baking the pumpkin pie, boiling the eggs (deviled eggs!!) and preparing the rolls and the bread for stuffing the next day. It was so much fun!
Monday, Callie and Tracy went to the Market early in the morning and bought all the vegetables, and then we made our house hot by baking sweet potatoes, rolls, stuffing, green beans, and the mashed potatoes...and Tyson did a steller job making chicken taste just like Thanksgiving Turkey. and the gravy rocked too! It was a feast that I would have been proud to eat in the USA, and I was thrilled to share it with the Peruvians. We invited Pastor Freddy and his family to join us, and they made the day extra fun (having to bring up an extra table, more food passing, extra noise...it was perfect!) We ate till we were sick and then laid around for a while.
That night the Smiths surprised us with a beautiful (artificial) Christmas tree!!!!! Those who have ever decorated a tree with me (ok, only my immediate family) know that I am very particular about how the decorations go on and can tend to sound a little bit.....bossy. But God has worked a miracle in my life and I didn´t say a word as people hastily and messily threw the ornaments on the tree. Tracy saved my life by suggesting we put the lights on first, so I grabbed the light strand and did half the tree. Then I passed it on to Andrew to finished the job. The lights look really good. The tree does look adorable...personally I would love to go in and rearrange the ornaments...but it´s not a big deal and it is fabulous to have the tree in the house. It may be 90 some odd degrees and feel like 103 with the humidity, but inside the house...it looks a little like Christmas season.
It truly was a day to be thankful for. God has brought us through so much and will continue to guide us as we go along. God has kept us safe, and relatively healthy. God has provided a means of communication (we now have a phone in our house! and if we buy phone cards we can call the states!) and there is an internet place in the center that isn´t tortois slow. And every day we grow closer together as a family. It was a good time to reflect and hope for the future.
Although accustomed to celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, we waited and celebrated on Monday. Two reasons 1) we worked on Thursday (thus not having time to prepare the feast) 2) we couldn´t possibly do it without Andrew, and since he´s only home on Mondays...we waited.
Thursday night Tracy, Tyson, Kai, Wendy, Callie and I went to a grill (that i´d gone to with Daddy) and ate a bit of meat to satisfy our need to be full and then went home to watch last season of The Office to satisfy our need to feel like Americans.
Sunday night we were up till midnight baking the pumpkin pie, boiling the eggs (deviled eggs!!) and preparing the rolls and the bread for stuffing the next day. It was so much fun!
Monday, Callie and Tracy went to the Market early in the morning and bought all the vegetables, and then we made our house hot by baking sweet potatoes, rolls, stuffing, green beans, and the mashed potatoes...and Tyson did a steller job making chicken taste just like Thanksgiving Turkey. and the gravy rocked too! It was a feast that I would have been proud to eat in the USA, and I was thrilled to share it with the Peruvians. We invited Pastor Freddy and his family to join us, and they made the day extra fun (having to bring up an extra table, more food passing, extra noise...it was perfect!) We ate till we were sick and then laid around for a while.
That night the Smiths surprised us with a beautiful (artificial) Christmas tree!!!!! Those who have ever decorated a tree with me (ok, only my immediate family) know that I am very particular about how the decorations go on and can tend to sound a little bit.....bossy. But God has worked a miracle in my life and I didn´t say a word as people hastily and messily threw the ornaments on the tree. Tracy saved my life by suggesting we put the lights on first, so I grabbed the light strand and did half the tree. Then I passed it on to Andrew to finished the job. The lights look really good. The tree does look adorable...personally I would love to go in and rearrange the ornaments...but it´s not a big deal and it is fabulous to have the tree in the house. It may be 90 some odd degrees and feel like 103 with the humidity, but inside the house...it looks a little like Christmas season.
It truly was a day to be thankful for. God has brought us through so much and will continue to guide us as we go along. God has kept us safe, and relatively healthy. God has provided a means of communication (we now have a phone in our house! and if we buy phone cards we can call the states!) and there is an internet place in the center that isn´t tortois slow. And every day we grow closer together as a family. It was a good time to reflect and hope for the future.
Puerto Maldonado
I am supposed to be writing for my 3 church sites, but I already wrote for them and thought I´d saved them on the USB, but I guess I didn´t...so I´m going to take the time to write a wee bit here instead...
Just over 1 month ago, Andrew and I (the first 4040´s) arrived early to Puerto Maldonado. Daddy and Andrew´s mom had come down to complete the construction process of our home and do some on the field witnessing (impact). The Smith family came a couple days later, and the rest of the group followed week after.
The time spent with Daddy here was incredible. It passed as if it were a dream and before I could really enjoy it or believe it, it was already time for him to leave. We had a wonderful time though-he found a wonderful icecream place that we frequented daily, and explored the market thoroughly. We became pro´s at hailing motorcycles for taxis and just hopping on the back. It was beautiful to have Daddy here, but it passed so fast. Then I woke up from my dream and began the marathon that we are running as if it were a sprint.
Ana and I are learning more about each other every day. Tuesdays through Sundays we go to people´s businesses and homes and share with them the love of God. It is truly amazing to me how they are so accepting of what we have to say. They already believe the Bible is Truth, and regardless of whether or not they have a relationship with Christ, they value the Bible and treat it with utmost respect. The people are open to listen and learn from us. We alternate amongst 7 Junio, Crosby, and Circunvilacion, and try to make sure that we visit each location a minimum of 2 times every week.
We leave at 8:45am and come home around 11:15, and go out again at 2:45 and return around 5:15. These hours are set because we don´t want to be coming around during meal times or while they are trying to get their kids off to school. When they would like to begin the disciplship process, we come at whatever time they ask of us. Some people have us come at 7 or 8 in the evening.
In a quick word, that´s what we´re up to. I´ll be managing 3 other sites with information about each specific location. Thank you for your prayers and support. Honestly we couldn´t do this without God´s strength each and every day.
Just over 1 month ago, Andrew and I (the first 4040´s) arrived early to Puerto Maldonado. Daddy and Andrew´s mom had come down to complete the construction process of our home and do some on the field witnessing (impact). The Smith family came a couple days later, and the rest of the group followed week after.
The time spent with Daddy here was incredible. It passed as if it were a dream and before I could really enjoy it or believe it, it was already time for him to leave. We had a wonderful time though-he found a wonderful icecream place that we frequented daily, and explored the market thoroughly. We became pro´s at hailing motorcycles for taxis and just hopping on the back. It was beautiful to have Daddy here, but it passed so fast. Then I woke up from my dream and began the marathon that we are running as if it were a sprint.
Ana and I are learning more about each other every day. Tuesdays through Sundays we go to people´s businesses and homes and share with them the love of God. It is truly amazing to me how they are so accepting of what we have to say. They already believe the Bible is Truth, and regardless of whether or not they have a relationship with Christ, they value the Bible and treat it with utmost respect. The people are open to listen and learn from us. We alternate amongst 7 Junio, Crosby, and Circunvilacion, and try to make sure that we visit each location a minimum of 2 times every week.
We leave at 8:45am and come home around 11:15, and go out again at 2:45 and return around 5:15. These hours are set because we don´t want to be coming around during meal times or while they are trying to get their kids off to school. When they would like to begin the disciplship process, we come at whatever time they ask of us. Some people have us come at 7 or 8 in the evening.
In a quick word, that´s what we´re up to. I´ll be managing 3 other sites with information about each specific location. Thank you for your prayers and support. Honestly we couldn´t do this without God´s strength each and every day.
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