This is an entry straight from my personal journal last night...
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What a fabulous 24 hours it has been! I mean, what a day! Let's see, I woke up and had bfast before I attempted to lead worship (I lost my voice from practicing so much!). After a few songs, groups started sharing their group testimonies. It was such an encouraging time to hear the work that is being done in villages that we've already passed through, as well as those we will venture to soon. Many times I am sad that I do not get to form strong relationships with Peruanos this summer and that I do not get to see completed work, but God has continued to bless me with the knowledge that he has planned this summer- and my life for that matter- out so perfectly. The testimonies of teams today were just another proclamation of that truth. Good grief- God has blessed us! Even if it weren't for the stories of salvation and rededication to read, learn, and live the truth, I would consider every team blessed to have so many people to be able to share truth with. I prayed for Marguerita tonight- that she will seek truth in God's word and that she would believe it with all of her heart. I hope to pray for her and others this year, and hear stories of them next summer.
It has been so incredibly fun to hang out with everyone today! It really does feel like a fantastic family reunion. I know I'll be bawling at the end of the summer when I find out that I won't get to see them again. I mt with Kathy Weaver today for my personal interview time, and it was very encouraging (as she always is!). Also, tonight we watched a "movie" called "Eek-Taow: The Story of the Mouk People." It was a great missions video that shows exactly what I want to do- exactly- chronological Bible storying to people who have never heard (Romans 15:20-21). In it, they talked about how God shook the earth in the Bible, and how right after the missionary shared that story there was an earthquake. And the people were not scared, but rejoiceful that God was continuing to show his power. And then, we- no joke- had an earthquake. One of those little ones, but still... God is awesome! I was crying from the video, so I couldn't tell if it was just me or not, but it kept going and I was overwhelmed with amazement at the God of the universe. (Apparently there were 3 other quakes during the night last night, but I didn't feel them!) The only bad thing about today was the food, but that's something I've already shared was a big problem, so please continue to pray about that.
Well, I'm extremely tired and have another long day ahead of me, so ¡bueno noche y dulce sueños!
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I still have today and tomorrow morning in Nazca before we all head out again, so please be praying for our time, and for my health! Love you guys!
-Kathy
Friday, June 29, 2007
Bella Union
Short entry due to awful keyboard...
Bella Union was not my favorite village... we didnt get to hang out with children as much, nor was the town centralized (rather, very spread out), so I didnt feel like we connected as well with the people there. The on-site team there was great, but the factors of my sickness and not feeling used by God there made it a hard few days. However, we did have a few really great experiences. My favorite was a Bible study that the four of us girls went to do at a lady's (Julia) house/ peloqueria (hair salon). We were starting the study when two clients came in, so she had to stop and cut their hair. One of the guys saw our Bibles and asked us if we were reading it. We said yes, and he asked if they could stay. We said of course, and the "15- 20 minute study" turned into over an hour of questions concerning catholicism, saint worship, etc. It was awesome. He got answers straight from the Word of God, and we are hoping that Julia and her husband continue to minister to those 2 young men (a little younger than me). :-)
We headed off to midsummer debriefing after that, which convenientely is the next blog entry!
Bella Union was not my favorite village... we didnt get to hang out with children as much, nor was the town centralized (rather, very spread out), so I didnt feel like we connected as well with the people there. The on-site team there was great, but the factors of my sickness and not feeling used by God there made it a hard few days. However, we did have a few really great experiences. My favorite was a Bible study that the four of us girls went to do at a lady's (Julia) house/ peloqueria (hair salon). We were starting the study when two clients came in, so she had to stop and cut their hair. One of the guys saw our Bibles and asked us if we were reading it. We said yes, and he asked if they could stay. We said of course, and the "15- 20 minute study" turned into over an hour of questions concerning catholicism, saint worship, etc. It was awesome. He got answers straight from the Word of God, and we are hoping that Julia and her husband continue to minister to those 2 young men (a little younger than me). :-)
We headed off to midsummer debriefing after that, which convenientely is the next blog entry!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Santiago de Chorcorvos
Well, this was a different week... kinda.
We rode in the front of a truck carrying potatoes, livestock, and who knows what else on the way to Santiago. I sat next to the colegio (High school) math teacher and in front of a Peruvian missionary. RANDOM! Well, I had great conversations with both of them over the 7-8 hour bus ride. At one point the missionary, Pedro, and I were sharing our testimonies with each other, when Karin, the teacher, turned around and told us that our convo was very interesting. (Everything is everyones business here!) It was great though, because that gave Pedro the opportunity to share Christ with Karin. I saw her twice in the village after that, and introduced her to two girls who are on that village team.
We performed at the jardin (kindergarten), primero (elementary), and colegio (high school), and were well recieved by all three.
We didnt have a village team for the first two days. We found out when they showed up that they were in another village and werent expecting us until later. We dont know how that miscommuncation happened, but it was nice because my team took our day of rest... we watched movies and lounged around the hostel. :-) There are six people on their team, and four of them went back out to another village hours after they got to Santiago, but thats okay... we got by pretty well on our own! (I mean, who can resist puppets, songs, and dramas?!?)
I met several of the kids in the village, and my heart melted as always. One girl, named Luz, took to me quite quickly. She lived in the hostel because her mom owned it, and she and I had lots of fun together. It was fun to see her at the school and get to present to her and my other friends (one of them was a great boy named Emerson. He was awesome!)
We also got to know one shop owner pretty well. Her name was Gisella and she was 27 years old. We played voleibol with her, ate at her "restaurant" twice, and just hung out with her for at least some part of the day every day. We even got to have a conversation with her about Christ, and we are waiting to hear followup updates from the village team about what comes out of that! Exciting stuff!
To end our time there, we rode back on the same kind of truck, except this time we sat on the outside instead of in the "cabin" part... literally on boards that were ON TOP of 5 cows, 5 goats, and 2 giant sheep. And we were sitting with watermelons, potatoes, firecracker stands, and a box of cuy (guinea pig). Interesting to say the least... and COLD through the dessert... it made for a great memory though!
Prayer requests:
-That my team has a fruitful time in Bella Union before we have midsummer debriefing in Nazca.
-For my health. I have been waking up every night for the past week and a half with really bad, knife-like cramps (but way worse than regular cramps) all throughout the front part of my core. Also, my muscles all throughout my body have been really tight and achy, and my energy level has been WAY down. Ive tried several different things to figure out what is wrong, but I cant seem to figure it out.
-For my sister, Kelli. I have not heard from her lately, but she was not doing well last time I heard, and I woke up last night feeling that something was really wrong with her. Please keep her and her mental and physical health in your prayers.
Leave comments! Love you and aprreciate the work youre doing in Peru by praying!
We rode in the front of a truck carrying potatoes, livestock, and who knows what else on the way to Santiago. I sat next to the colegio (High school) math teacher and in front of a Peruvian missionary. RANDOM! Well, I had great conversations with both of them over the 7-8 hour bus ride. At one point the missionary, Pedro, and I were sharing our testimonies with each other, when Karin, the teacher, turned around and told us that our convo was very interesting. (Everything is everyones business here!) It was great though, because that gave Pedro the opportunity to share Christ with Karin. I saw her twice in the village after that, and introduced her to two girls who are on that village team.
We performed at the jardin (kindergarten), primero (elementary), and colegio (high school), and were well recieved by all three.
We didnt have a village team for the first two days. We found out when they showed up that they were in another village and werent expecting us until later. We dont know how that miscommuncation happened, but it was nice because my team took our day of rest... we watched movies and lounged around the hostel. :-) There are six people on their team, and four of them went back out to another village hours after they got to Santiago, but thats okay... we got by pretty well on our own! (I mean, who can resist puppets, songs, and dramas?!?)
I met several of the kids in the village, and my heart melted as always. One girl, named Luz, took to me quite quickly. She lived in the hostel because her mom owned it, and she and I had lots of fun together. It was fun to see her at the school and get to present to her and my other friends (one of them was a great boy named Emerson. He was awesome!)
We also got to know one shop owner pretty well. Her name was Gisella and she was 27 years old. We played voleibol with her, ate at her "restaurant" twice, and just hung out with her for at least some part of the day every day. We even got to have a conversation with her about Christ, and we are waiting to hear followup updates from the village team about what comes out of that! Exciting stuff!
To end our time there, we rode back on the same kind of truck, except this time we sat on the outside instead of in the "cabin" part... literally on boards that were ON TOP of 5 cows, 5 goats, and 2 giant sheep. And we were sitting with watermelons, potatoes, firecracker stands, and a box of cuy (guinea pig). Interesting to say the least... and COLD through the dessert... it made for a great memory though!
Prayer requests:
-That my team has a fruitful time in Bella Union before we have midsummer debriefing in Nazca.
-For my health. I have been waking up every night for the past week and a half with really bad, knife-like cramps (but way worse than regular cramps) all throughout the front part of my core. Also, my muscles all throughout my body have been really tight and achy, and my energy level has been WAY down. Ive tried several different things to figure out what is wrong, but I cant seem to figure it out.
-For my sister, Kelli. I have not heard from her lately, but she was not doing well last time I heard, and I woke up last night feeling that something was really wrong with her. Please keep her and her mental and physical health in your prayers.
Leave comments! Love you and aprreciate the work youre doing in Peru by praying!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Hola de Ica!
I´m in the city of Ica tonight, passing between Cusicancha and Santiago de Chorcovo.
Cusicanchi was definitely my favorite village so far. The people received our Creative Ministries so well, and the village team was so hospitable towards me and my team!
Four cool things:
1) We asked to perform at the colegio (high school) and it just so happens that they were having a Father´s Day celebration the same day. We got to perform not only for the kids, but also for several of their parents who came!
2) That same night, we performed again in the plaza. It was SO cold (I was wearing 4 shirts, 2 pants, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of gloves, and scarf and a hat) but so many people came out to watch it. This is the first village we did the box skit at (the skit I got from my church youth minister, Stu) and it went really well both times. I think it is a fun way to clearly show the gospel´s effects on different people´s lives. Our other dramas are going really well too, and everyone loves our puppets and singing (English or Spanish).
3) We had a very impromptu Bible Study with a woman (22) named Marguerita. She was walking home from work, we asked her if she would like to study the Bible with us sometime, and she said sure... now! It was good. She seemed very interested and the village team set up a second date with her.
4) The last night, Audra, Leslie, and I were out in the plaza and were hanging out with a bunch of the teenage boys. We taught them a bunch of "American" dances like the running man, C-walk, Thriller, etc. Then, we did ballet stuff with them, and they all tried to do the splits. :-) We also made lots of animal noises- I´m a really good goat for those of you who haven´t heard my goat yet- and sand lots of songs. We taught them some random words too, that they put into this sentence: "Tomorrow, beuatiful, I love you." It was so funny!
God is really doing mighty things in Peru! I´m excited to travel to other villages (despite not liking spending a large portion of my time in buses) and see what transpires!
Keep commenting please! Love you all!
Cusicanchi was definitely my favorite village so far. The people received our Creative Ministries so well, and the village team was so hospitable towards me and my team!
Four cool things:
1) We asked to perform at the colegio (high school) and it just so happens that they were having a Father´s Day celebration the same day. We got to perform not only for the kids, but also for several of their parents who came!
2) That same night, we performed again in the plaza. It was SO cold (I was wearing 4 shirts, 2 pants, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of gloves, and scarf and a hat) but so many people came out to watch it. This is the first village we did the box skit at (the skit I got from my church youth minister, Stu) and it went really well both times. I think it is a fun way to clearly show the gospel´s effects on different people´s lives. Our other dramas are going really well too, and everyone loves our puppets and singing (English or Spanish).
3) We had a very impromptu Bible Study with a woman (22) named Marguerita. She was walking home from work, we asked her if she would like to study the Bible with us sometime, and she said sure... now! It was good. She seemed very interested and the village team set up a second date with her.
4) The last night, Audra, Leslie, and I were out in the plaza and were hanging out with a bunch of the teenage boys. We taught them a bunch of "American" dances like the running man, C-walk, Thriller, etc. Then, we did ballet stuff with them, and they all tried to do the splits. :-) We also made lots of animal noises- I´m a really good goat for those of you who haven´t heard my goat yet- and sand lots of songs. We taught them some random words too, that they put into this sentence: "Tomorrow, beuatiful, I love you." It was so funny!
God is really doing mighty things in Peru! I´m excited to travel to other villages (despite not liking spending a large portion of my time in buses) and see what transpires!
Keep commenting please! Love you all!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Short and Sweet
Hola a todos! I have about 5 minutes, so this won´t be long...
We are leaving from Ayacucho in about an hour to head to Cusicanchi. We left Huancapi yesterday. We spent most of our time with the local evangelical pastor and his family. He expects a lot of material things from missionaries, and, while we couldn´t provide those things for him, he was very thankful that we had come- he said we were a great encouragement to him and his family. We also performed at three schools- the primary girls school, the primary boys school, and the kindergarten, called "jardin". THEY WERE SO CUTE! Good thing I super like kids!
Things about Huancapi:
1) No running water, except for one faucet... that made going to the bathroom interesting, and showering nonexistent.
2) I ate trout twice- watched it caught, killed, gutted, and I cooked it, skinned it, and ate it (the eyeballs were still there). And, it was good!
3) The pastor´s trout farm was right by the river- cold, but very pretty.
4) The MOST AMAZING STARS I´ve ever seen in my entire life. Like, wow... you could see the Milky Way and a kajillion stars.
5) Not as cold as Huarochiri, which was very pleasant!
6) Way more receptive to Christians and Christian messages!
Team prayer requests:
-My sister, Kelli- ongoing problems with anorexia
-Brian- he just found out today that his best friend, Matt, died in a skateboarding accident.
You ALL mean so much to me! Thank you for your prayers and comments!
We are leaving from Ayacucho in about an hour to head to Cusicanchi. We left Huancapi yesterday. We spent most of our time with the local evangelical pastor and his family. He expects a lot of material things from missionaries, and, while we couldn´t provide those things for him, he was very thankful that we had come- he said we were a great encouragement to him and his family. We also performed at three schools- the primary girls school, the primary boys school, and the kindergarten, called "jardin". THEY WERE SO CUTE! Good thing I super like kids!
Things about Huancapi:
1) No running water, except for one faucet... that made going to the bathroom interesting, and showering nonexistent.
2) I ate trout twice- watched it caught, killed, gutted, and I cooked it, skinned it, and ate it (the eyeballs were still there). And, it was good!
3) The pastor´s trout farm was right by the river- cold, but very pretty.
4) The MOST AMAZING STARS I´ve ever seen in my entire life. Like, wow... you could see the Milky Way and a kajillion stars.
5) Not as cold as Huarochiri, which was very pleasant!
6) Way more receptive to Christians and Christian messages!
Team prayer requests:
-My sister, Kelli- ongoing problems with anorexia
-Brian- he just found out today that his best friend, Matt, died in a skateboarding accident.
You ALL mean so much to me! Thank you for your prayers and comments!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Huarochiri
My team just got back from our first village, Huarochiri. It was great! It was a 7 hour bus ride away, and it was FREEZING because its in the mountains. But, we really feel like God is using our ministry to the glory of His name. We are the CMT, but we are just as much a team of encouragement as we are a team of dramatics. The village team that was there, Blake and Anibal, was discouraged because the town is very turned off to evangelicals because of past experiences. No one was coming to their Bible study, and many people didn't even want them there at all because they are Baptist. However, the people started opening up to us and I really feel like they trust Christians more now. We met 2 different men who were so excited about finally having a real light in their village. One man said that he had been hoping for something like this for a long time, and that he wishes other people in his village realized that you can never learn too much about God. Our conversation with him was really encouraging.
We played with the kids a lot, which was great for me, because I pretty much love kids. :-) My favorites were Yanela (pronounced Yuhnelah), Leonela (Layohnelah), Abigail (Ahbeehaiel), and Janet (Yahneht). We also did three performances of our puppets/dramas/songs- two for the high school and one for the elementary school. They went much better than I expected, especially the high school ones. The priest of the village highly approved of our being there, which was surprising and encouraging because its the first step to breaking down the Catholic vs. Christian divide. I'm so excited to see what opportunities God has already set in place for the boys (Blake and Anibal)!
The altitude is really going to get me this summer. That and long bus rides. My head hurt the entire time I was in the village, so be praying for health!
I have eaten more ice cream and papas fritas (fries DRENCHED in grease) that I am pretty much grossed out. I could definitely eat ice cream every day (because we do- sometimes more than once a day) but I really don't need to. Impulse eating is becoming a very bad habit.
Here are my randoms from Huarochiri:
1. There was no light in the one bathroom that all 7 of us shared. And you can hear everything that happens in there from every room in the hostel. Needless to say, we're a closely knit bunch.
2. They started playing music- really bad music- over the town loudspeakers at 5:30 in the morning. Like really loud, REALLY bad music.
3. There are tons of dogs there. We adopted one named Blancita (Whitey). She was black.
4. Priests play futbol and wear sweatpants. Really.
5. There were only 2 "restaurants"- we ate at one for lunch and one for dinner. And had papas fritas every night. blah...
6. Only cold water (when they don't turn the water off), so I didn't take a shower for 5 days. I'm rugged, I know.
P.S. You can't flush toilet paper anywhere in Peru. If you even have toilet paper. You Americans better appreciate your toilet paper. A lot. :-)
Prayer Requests:
1. Spanish improvement.
2. Focus and intentionality for the entire team.
3. Safety and health during all of our traveling.
4. Good personal time with God.
Dios te bendigo!
ALSO: My list of places I'm going, in case you want to track me on a map:
June:
2-5: Huarochiri
8-11: Huancapi (in Fajardo)
13-16: Cusicancha (in Huaytara Alto)
18-21: Santiago de Chocorvos (in Huaytara bajo)
23-26: bella Union
27-29: nazca for mid-summer debriefing
July:
1-4: Chumpi (in Ayacucho)
5-7: Pausa (in Ayacucho)
8-11: Marcabamba (in Ayacucho)
13-15: Pomacanchi (in Cusco/Cuzco)
16-18: nunoa- the second 'n' is an n with a wavy tilde on top, but I can't do that on this computer (in Puno)
20-22: Chupa (in Puno)
23-25: Lampa (in Puno)
26-29: Lima for final debriefing
30-3: traveling for my vacation somewhere... I don't know where yet!
We played with the kids a lot, which was great for me, because I pretty much love kids. :-) My favorites were Yanela (pronounced Yuhnelah), Leonela (Layohnelah), Abigail (Ahbeehaiel), and Janet (Yahneht). We also did three performances of our puppets/dramas/songs- two for the high school and one for the elementary school. They went much better than I expected, especially the high school ones. The priest of the village highly approved of our being there, which was surprising and encouraging because its the first step to breaking down the Catholic vs. Christian divide. I'm so excited to see what opportunities God has already set in place for the boys (Blake and Anibal)!
The altitude is really going to get me this summer. That and long bus rides. My head hurt the entire time I was in the village, so be praying for health!
I have eaten more ice cream and papas fritas (fries DRENCHED in grease) that I am pretty much grossed out. I could definitely eat ice cream every day (because we do- sometimes more than once a day) but I really don't need to. Impulse eating is becoming a very bad habit.
Here are my randoms from Huarochiri:
1. There was no light in the one bathroom that all 7 of us shared. And you can hear everything that happens in there from every room in the hostel. Needless to say, we're a closely knit bunch.
2. They started playing music- really bad music- over the town loudspeakers at 5:30 in the morning. Like really loud, REALLY bad music.
3. There are tons of dogs there. We adopted one named Blancita (Whitey). She was black.
4. Priests play futbol and wear sweatpants. Really.
5. There were only 2 "restaurants"- we ate at one for lunch and one for dinner. And had papas fritas every night. blah...
6. Only cold water (when they don't turn the water off), so I didn't take a shower for 5 days. I'm rugged, I know.
P.S. You can't flush toilet paper anywhere in Peru. If you even have toilet paper. You Americans better appreciate your toilet paper. A lot. :-)
Prayer Requests:
1. Spanish improvement.
2. Focus and intentionality for the entire team.
3. Safety and health during all of our traveling.
4. Good personal time with God.
Dios te bendigo!
ALSO: My list of places I'm going, in case you want to track me on a map:
June:
2-5: Huarochiri
8-11: Huancapi (in Fajardo)
13-16: Cusicancha (in Huaytara Alto)
18-21: Santiago de Chocorvos (in Huaytara bajo)
23-26: bella Union
27-29: nazca for mid-summer debriefing
July:
1-4: Chumpi (in Ayacucho)
5-7: Pausa (in Ayacucho)
8-11: Marcabamba (in Ayacucho)
13-15: Pomacanchi (in Cusco/Cuzco)
16-18: nunoa- the second 'n' is an n with a wavy tilde on top, but I can't do that on this computer (in Puno)
20-22: Chupa (in Puno)
23-25: Lampa (in Puno)
26-29: Lima for final debriefing
30-3: traveling for my vacation somewhere... I don't know where yet!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
PS.
Orphans and homeless are becoming a bigger and bigger passion of mine. We'll see what comes out of that! (Exciting stuff my friends!)
Off to the Mountains!
(Sorry it's so long... it's good stuff, I promise!)
And we're off! My team is leaving today to go to our first village. It is called Huarochirí, and it is a village in the Lima state, but about 7 hours away from where I am staying right now. We will most likely be riding on a cambi, which is like a VW bus that has way too many people on it. I'm hoping I get to sit, since its a 7 hour long (hopefully) journey. Next week we are taking a 23 hour bus ride, so this one is just like a warm up I suppose. :-)
We have been preparing unspoken dramas, puppet plays, kids songs, and adult worship songs all week. I feel SOOO much more prepared than I was before the week began, but still have trouble with some of the words. God is so faithful though, and I can already see his provisions with language barriers coming through. (No, I'm definitely not where I want to be, but getting better and better each day.)
We performed at a very poor school yesterday, as well as a shanti-town orphanage. The school was fun because the littlest ones were right in front of me when we were singing and dancing, and I got to see their faces light up. It was great! Plus, most of the kids knew one of our Christian songs, which made me really happy. Our "line-up" shares the gospel pretty straightforwardly, which I'm really excited about. I wasn't too thrilled when I found out that I would "only" be performing in each village and not getting to spend a whole lot of time relationally with the people. But, if Christ's name is made known, we have done our jobs! The orphanage was amazing. It was SO run down and dirty, and the government doesn't support it at all, so its supported (I think) by this one man and a couple of churches here and there. The kids were so happy we came! There were two girls named Emerelda (about 11) and Estrella (about 5-6) that were so sweet. There were also about 9-10 boys. After we performed, we went and played futbol with them for like 1.5 hours- that was such a thrill for them, because they have to stay inside the orphanage building unless one of the ladies there is with them, so it was sort of like a very short vacation from normality for them. We came back after that and gave them Bibles, coloring books, necklaces, balls (thanks Dillard family!), and candy. (Some of the boys have Bibles from 1.5 years ago when Stephen brought another team in, and they carry them to school every day with them!) They were excited, but even more excited that we had come to visit them. A couple of boys came up to me at the end- I thought they asked me how long I was going to be in Peru, but apparently they asked me when I'm coming to visit them again. I said August, thinking they asked the former question, so we'll see how that turns out. I might just have to stop back by!
Other than that, my team and a Barnabus team (traveling encouragement and mediation) have just been hanging out. Its been really fun getting to know these people so well in such a ridiculously short amount of time.
I'll be back in Lima next weekend, so I'll update you then. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! Love you all! Vaya con Dios!
And we're off! My team is leaving today to go to our first village. It is called Huarochirí, and it is a village in the Lima state, but about 7 hours away from where I am staying right now. We will most likely be riding on a cambi, which is like a VW bus that has way too many people on it. I'm hoping I get to sit, since its a 7 hour long (hopefully) journey. Next week we are taking a 23 hour bus ride, so this one is just like a warm up I suppose. :-)
We have been preparing unspoken dramas, puppet plays, kids songs, and adult worship songs all week. I feel SOOO much more prepared than I was before the week began, but still have trouble with some of the words. God is so faithful though, and I can already see his provisions with language barriers coming through. (No, I'm definitely not where I want to be, but getting better and better each day.)
We performed at a very poor school yesterday, as well as a shanti-town orphanage. The school was fun because the littlest ones were right in front of me when we were singing and dancing, and I got to see their faces light up. It was great! Plus, most of the kids knew one of our Christian songs, which made me really happy. Our "line-up" shares the gospel pretty straightforwardly, which I'm really excited about. I wasn't too thrilled when I found out that I would "only" be performing in each village and not getting to spend a whole lot of time relationally with the people. But, if Christ's name is made known, we have done our jobs! The orphanage was amazing. It was SO run down and dirty, and the government doesn't support it at all, so its supported (I think) by this one man and a couple of churches here and there. The kids were so happy we came! There were two girls named Emerelda (about 11) and Estrella (about 5-6) that were so sweet. There were also about 9-10 boys. After we performed, we went and played futbol with them for like 1.5 hours- that was such a thrill for them, because they have to stay inside the orphanage building unless one of the ladies there is with them, so it was sort of like a very short vacation from normality for them. We came back after that and gave them Bibles, coloring books, necklaces, balls (thanks Dillard family!), and candy. (Some of the boys have Bibles from 1.5 years ago when Stephen brought another team in, and they carry them to school every day with them!) They were excited, but even more excited that we had come to visit them. A couple of boys came up to me at the end- I thought they asked me how long I was going to be in Peru, but apparently they asked me when I'm coming to visit them again. I said August, thinking they asked the former question, so we'll see how that turns out. I might just have to stop back by!
Other than that, my team and a Barnabus team (traveling encouragement and mediation) have just been hanging out. Its been really fun getting to know these people so well in such a ridiculously short amount of time.
I'll be back in Lima next weekend, so I'll update you then. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! Love you all! Vaya con Dios!
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