Gosh...I leave tomorrow! That's insane!!!
I'm sort of pretty much ready. And by that I mean, I know what I'm taking. :) Most of my clothes are in the washer/dryer...most of the rest of what I need is laid out, ready to be packed. I just have to grab a few more things and put it all in a suitcase!
When Heather calls, we'll go to Old Navy and I'll look for a couple more shirts. I'm hoping they still have winter-ish stuff marked way, way down. I could use another pair of pants, too...but that's not necessary.
And then Heather and I are going to Chili's for dinner...Yum! Not bad for a last real meal for 10 days. :) I love Chili's. I love Old Navy. And, I love Heather. All in all, a pretty rocking Thursday night.
And tomorrow...I'll be at the church at 1230, board a bus and head on out to the airport!
It's been three years since I've been to Peru. Crazy. So much happened last time I was there. Of course, so much happens every time I go to South America.
Sooo...ummm...I guess...I'll catch ya' on the flip side.
See ya' in 10 days!!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ha ha ha...
I just checked the weather in Andahuaylas again...next Friday, the low is supposed to be 19!!!
Check here and pray for us!!!
Check here and pray for us!!!
Praise God for Cold Medicine and Good Friends
I feel much, MUCH better today. Still not 100%, but so much better than the last few days.
I've been taking Tylenol Cold consistently since Monday night and using my blessed Vicks Vapo Inhaler...and it seems to be working. :)
Yay! Now, to start thinking about my Peru trip!
So, I found out this week how cold it's going to be up there in the mountains. I guess I didn't really realize how high up we were going to be. I guess it's higher than I've been before. I mean, I've seen some cool weather in South America, but nothing like this. We're talking lows of 23 and highs of 68...in the SAME DAY!!!
And, in finding out how cold it's going to be, I also discovered that I need to make some clothing purchases for the trip. The next logical question, then, is how in the world am I going to pay for them??? (This is where the 'praise God for good friends part comes in.')
I was given a check yesterday for my trip from a good friend. (One whom I appreciated greatly before this event.) A few hours later I looked at it and it was written to me, not to the church...which would mean said friend would not get the tax receipt. I brought this to Great Friend's attention...and Great Friend's reply was that the money was for me for my trip...the extra expenses, not just what the trip cost.
What a blessing!!! And encouragement!!! In all honesty, I think this gift is part of what has me feeling better just for it's stress relief. :) Of course, it could also have something to do with the lecture I received from Good Friend about how I haven't been drinking enough water...and the subsequent texts to drink water...and the five bottles of water I drank yesterday afternoon/evening after talking with Good Friend. :)
So...today is my last day of work before Peru. That means, tomorrow is consumed with shopping and packing...Friday morning is set aside for some chill time and just a little heart preparation...and prayer with another very dear friend.
The excitement is starting to come!!! :)
I've been taking Tylenol Cold consistently since Monday night and using my blessed Vicks Vapo Inhaler...and it seems to be working. :)
Yay! Now, to start thinking about my Peru trip!
So, I found out this week how cold it's going to be up there in the mountains. I guess I didn't really realize how high up we were going to be. I guess it's higher than I've been before. I mean, I've seen some cool weather in South America, but nothing like this. We're talking lows of 23 and highs of 68...in the SAME DAY!!!
And, in finding out how cold it's going to be, I also discovered that I need to make some clothing purchases for the trip. The next logical question, then, is how in the world am I going to pay for them??? (This is where the 'praise God for good friends part comes in.')
I was given a check yesterday for my trip from a good friend. (One whom I appreciated greatly before this event.) A few hours later I looked at it and it was written to me, not to the church...which would mean said friend would not get the tax receipt. I brought this to Great Friend's attention...and Great Friend's reply was that the money was for me for my trip...the extra expenses, not just what the trip cost.
What a blessing!!! And encouragement!!! In all honesty, I think this gift is part of what has me feeling better just for it's stress relief. :) Of course, it could also have something to do with the lecture I received from Good Friend about how I haven't been drinking enough water...and the subsequent texts to drink water...and the five bottles of water I drank yesterday afternoon/evening after talking with Good Friend. :)
So...today is my last day of work before Peru. That means, tomorrow is consumed with shopping and packing...Friday morning is set aside for some chill time and just a little heart preparation...and prayer with another very dear friend.
The excitement is starting to come!!! :)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Ugh...
So, I leave for Peru in 5 days.
And I'm sick.
Ugh...
I had some allergy/sinus ick all weekend, but I woke up this morning in full-fledged (and gross) cold mode. Congestion, drainage, man-voice and all.
Gross.
And, I have to get on a plane in 5 days.
Traveling sick and being in Peru sick doesn't really bother me all that much...I've done both, actually. What concerns me is that the travelling is on a plane.
Three years ago, the last time I was in Peru, I picked up a nasty head-cold...and by nasty, I mean NASTY. In the midst of the nastiness, we took a plane ride that lasted just a couple hours. I really, honestly thought my head would explode. My head has never hurt that bad in all my life. I cried on the plane 'cause it hurt so bad.
That's the part about being sick and leaving for Peru in 5 days that concerns me.
Well, that and the fact that I haven't even begun to shop or pack or anything...and with being sick, by the evening when I have time to do that, I'm just flat-out exhausted.
This will be an interesting week.
Pray!
And I'm sick.
Ugh...
I had some allergy/sinus ick all weekend, but I woke up this morning in full-fledged (and gross) cold mode. Congestion, drainage, man-voice and all.
Gross.
And, I have to get on a plane in 5 days.
Traveling sick and being in Peru sick doesn't really bother me all that much...I've done both, actually. What concerns me is that the travelling is on a plane.
Three years ago, the last time I was in Peru, I picked up a nasty head-cold...and by nasty, I mean NASTY. In the midst of the nastiness, we took a plane ride that lasted just a couple hours. I really, honestly thought my head would explode. My head has never hurt that bad in all my life. I cried on the plane 'cause it hurt so bad.
That's the part about being sick and leaving for Peru in 5 days that concerns me.
Well, that and the fact that I haven't even begun to shop or pack or anything...and with being sick, by the evening when I have time to do that, I'm just flat-out exhausted.
This will be an interesting week.
Pray!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Ecuador 2006 - Part VII
I woke up Sunday morning with a single line of a song running, repeatedly, through my head.
“And what was said to the rose to make it unfold, was said here in my chest.”
Beautiful words to my heart and such evidence of the inexplicable rightness I had felt since we stepped off the plane.
We arose Sunday morning to beautiful skies and a breakfast cooked by our new friend, Teresita. Teresita lives in Ambato, attends Jonhattan’s church and cooks for the American teams Dan brings to the area. Teresita was faithful in her commitment to our team. She always had hot water for coffee first thing in the early morning and hot meals when we pulled into the hacienda in the evening. What a blessing it was to be ministered to in such a way!
We were privileged that morning to attend the service at Jonhattan’s church. Rogelio delivered us to the Primera Bautista during their Sunday school hour. Because Dan wanted us to have an opportunity to interact with the youth of the church, he took Lana and I downstairs and pulled the youth girls out of their class for us to hang out with. It was so awkward! We spent some time with a few fourteen-year-olds who would not talk to us at all. They answered all of our questions with one-word answers and looked at us as if we were crazy. Eventually, a couple of older girls joined us and they livened up the conversation. The older girls had questions for us about life in the United States, our families and, of course, if we had boyfriends.
When it was time for the service to start, we moved up to the sanctuary and found places to sit. Because Danny had encouraged us that morning to spread ourselves around the church and sit among the congregation rather than in a big gringo group so that we could meet people and be a part of the congregation, Lana and I sat in a pew near the front…but nobody would sit with us. Eventually, though, the church began to fill and people sat in our pew…but they wouldn’t talk to us, choosing rather to stare at the two of us, one with beautiful blonde hair and one, an obvious out-of-a-bottle redhead.
The service began and Fabian led worship in both Spanish and English. He sang “Open the Eyes of My Heart” in Spanish, which had quickly become one of my favorite songs after I learned the Spanish version in Peru last year. I rarely sing it in English anymore, even in the U.S. When Fabian began to sing the same song in English without putting the words on the screen, I realized that I had sung it Spanish so often I didn’t know the words in English anymore. That made me laugh at myself. After a time of worship, Danny preached a message about the liberty and freedom we have in Christ and Dan translated for the Spanish-speaking congregation. Danny did a great job but the fun began when he sat down.
Jonhattan had received a number of boxes from Samaritan’s Purse and wanted us to help pass them out. Samaritan’s Purse is a ministry in the US and the UK, spearheaded by Franklin Graham. Throughout the year, Samaritan’s Purse encourages people to save shoe-boxes and, in the weeks before Christmas, fill them with items for children: small toys, dolls, toothpaste, toothbrushes, things children in privileged countries take for granted. Just before Christmas, Samaritan’s Purse collects the boxes and ships them around the world to areas with children whose parents are unable to provide them with much of the fun, or even health-conscious, parts of life. I was in a wedding last summer where the bride, rather than spending money on wedding favors and excessive decorations, instead purchased enough supplies (and collected enough shoeboxes) for each guest to put together a box before entering the reception. I also have friends who spend November and December in a warehouse in Atlanta every year helping with the receiving and shipping of Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes so to have the opportunity to hand out the shoeboxes was amazing.
The kids were so excited to get their boxes and play with their new toys. It was such a privilege and a blessing to be a part of putting smiles on those little faces, even if it was such a small part. This was also the first opportunity I had to really use my Spanish. I talked with some of the parents and a few of the kids and came away so encouraged both with their patience with me and with how much of the language I had retained. And, of course, the experience left me so ready to meet the people we would be working with all week and to begin building relationships with them.
“And what was said to the rose to make it unfold, was said here in my chest.”
Beautiful words to my heart and such evidence of the inexplicable rightness I had felt since we stepped off the plane.
We arose Sunday morning to beautiful skies and a breakfast cooked by our new friend, Teresita. Teresita lives in Ambato, attends Jonhattan’s church and cooks for the American teams Dan brings to the area. Teresita was faithful in her commitment to our team. She always had hot water for coffee first thing in the early morning and hot meals when we pulled into the hacienda in the evening. What a blessing it was to be ministered to in such a way!
We were privileged that morning to attend the service at Jonhattan’s church. Rogelio delivered us to the Primera Bautista during their Sunday school hour. Because Dan wanted us to have an opportunity to interact with the youth of the church, he took Lana and I downstairs and pulled the youth girls out of their class for us to hang out with. It was so awkward! We spent some time with a few fourteen-year-olds who would not talk to us at all. They answered all of our questions with one-word answers and looked at us as if we were crazy. Eventually, a couple of older girls joined us and they livened up the conversation. The older girls had questions for us about life in the United States, our families and, of course, if we had boyfriends.
When it was time for the service to start, we moved up to the sanctuary and found places to sit. Because Danny had encouraged us that morning to spread ourselves around the church and sit among the congregation rather than in a big gringo group so that we could meet people and be a part of the congregation, Lana and I sat in a pew near the front…but nobody would sit with us. Eventually, though, the church began to fill and people sat in our pew…but they wouldn’t talk to us, choosing rather to stare at the two of us, one with beautiful blonde hair and one, an obvious out-of-a-bottle redhead.
The service began and Fabian led worship in both Spanish and English. He sang “Open the Eyes of My Heart” in Spanish, which had quickly become one of my favorite songs after I learned the Spanish version in Peru last year. I rarely sing it in English anymore, even in the U.S. When Fabian began to sing the same song in English without putting the words on the screen, I realized that I had sung it Spanish so often I didn’t know the words in English anymore. That made me laugh at myself. After a time of worship, Danny preached a message about the liberty and freedom we have in Christ and Dan translated for the Spanish-speaking congregation. Danny did a great job but the fun began when he sat down.
Jonhattan had received a number of boxes from Samaritan’s Purse and wanted us to help pass them out. Samaritan’s Purse is a ministry in the US and the UK, spearheaded by Franklin Graham. Throughout the year, Samaritan’s Purse encourages people to save shoe-boxes and, in the weeks before Christmas, fill them with items for children: small toys, dolls, toothpaste, toothbrushes, things children in privileged countries take for granted. Just before Christmas, Samaritan’s Purse collects the boxes and ships them around the world to areas with children whose parents are unable to provide them with much of the fun, or even health-conscious, parts of life. I was in a wedding last summer where the bride, rather than spending money on wedding favors and excessive decorations, instead purchased enough supplies (and collected enough shoeboxes) for each guest to put together a box before entering the reception. I also have friends who spend November and December in a warehouse in Atlanta every year helping with the receiving and shipping of Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes so to have the opportunity to hand out the shoeboxes was amazing.
The kids were so excited to get their boxes and play with their new toys. It was such a privilege and a blessing to be a part of putting smiles on those little faces, even if it was such a small part. This was also the first opportunity I had to really use my Spanish. I talked with some of the parents and a few of the kids and came away so encouraged both with their patience with me and with how much of the language I had retained. And, of course, the experience left me so ready to meet the people we would be working with all week and to begin building relationships with them.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Ecuador 2006 - Part VI
We awoke the next morning not feeling entirely rested, but completely charged and ready to tackle whatever the Lord had for us in Quito, Ambato and along the road in between. Dan came to the guesthouse and walked us down the street, around the corner and through the big metal gate in the big cement wall around the HCJB headquarters. He took us into his office or, at least, into meeting room outside his office, which was more accommodating to a group that numbered about 30 people once we added Dan, Jen and their boys Brady and Keagan.
From there Jen took us on a tour of the facility and explained what is the ministry and heart of HCJB, which stands for, in English, Heralding Christ Jesus Broadcast. The passion of HCJB World Radio is making disciples of Jesus all over the world through mass media and healthcare. The ministry began with a radio broadcast in Ecuador in 1931. Over the last 75 years, the ministry has grown worldwide. Today they have ministries in 100 countries and radio broadcasts in 120 languages and dialects.
If I am not paying enough attention to her, my four-year-old sister will, at times, grab my face in her fat little hands and turn my head so that I can see nothing but her. The Lord did that to me during the tour. I had spent three months before the trip trying to figure out how my love of writing and my heart for South America could be tied into one another. At the same time, I was contemplating whether or not I should return to school and finish my degree and if I did, in what field should I get my degree? The tour that began at Dan’s office continued outside where we could look up a mountain and see the towers HCJB uses to transmit their radio programs all over South America. We walked around a corner of the building containing Dan’s office and stood facing another bigger, longer building with the letters “CCC” hanging on the outside.
It turns out the C.C.C. is a college on the HCJB property that focuses on mass communications—print journalism, broadcasting, etc. It is a three-year program accredited by a school in the US. It is not yet considered a bachelor’s program, but surely my associates degree in Spanish would transfer and I have fifteen additional credit hours that didn’t apply to my AA…surely I could get a BA out of this program that would combine everything I loved. I started to cry, then, and Ava gave me “the glare” that is her way of wordlessly asking if I too see what the Lord is saying. If I remember correctly, I told her to shut up and start praying.
The tour ended across the street at La Hospital Voz Andes, the hospital maintained by HCJB. While there, several of our team members were able to visit and pray with William, a boy who is part of Dawn and Jerry Carnhill’s ministry at the Quito dump. The week before, William had lost his arm in a trash baler at the dump. He was in poor spirits and poor health. I wasn’t one of the group who visited him, but I heard that they were asked by the family of the man sharing a room with William if they would pray for their loved one also. Awesome. The Lord draws people to Himself when we simply obey His command to love those who are hurting and bear one another’s burdens.
Back outside the guesthouse we, along with our luggage, piled onto the bus that was to be our source of transportation for the week and had our first daylight encounter with Rogelio. The members of our team who had been to Ecuador before adored Rogelio and assured the rest of us that we would, too, by the end of our trip. Rogelio’s name, to me, suits him. The name speaks of a jolly little man who loves to smile and lives to serve and that is the very essence of Rogelio’s nature. Our team members were right. We all loved Rogelio as one of our own by the end of the trip.
Rogelio’s bus took us that afternoon from Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, through the mountains and past volcanoes both active and dormant, to the city of Ambato. We stopped along the way in a place called Leather Town. I’m not sure if that is a name known only to the numerous groups from Grace who have passed through or the town’s actual name but it is, nonetheless, an apt description. Leather Town is a community whose main source of economy is, well, leather products of all kinds: shoes, wallets, belts, bags, hats; they have it all. And we bought a lot of it.
From Leather Town, we continued our journey to Ambato and to the hacienda where we would stay for the week. I don’t think any of us really expected what the hacienda had to offer with its indoor pool, handball court, sauna and complete kitchen. It was nice and well kept. It was big enough for us to spread out, to eat and even to find some alone time, but it also offered a few couches and a couple of nooks for pleasant and quiet conversation. It was enough to be our home for the week and more than we had anticipated.
That night our group of misplaced gringos descended upon Jonhattan and Ivonne Constante’s home for dinner. Jonhattan is the pastor of La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Ambato, the First Baptist Church of Ambato and he is the main pastor through which Dan coordinates most of his work in the Ambato area. From the States, Danny communicated with Dan in Quito, who communicated with Jonhattan in Ambato who communicated with the other national pastors in the area. Jonhattan’s heart is clearly for the people of Ecuador. You can see it in his interaction with youth and adult alike. He loves people well and the Lord passionately.
As our first day ended, our beds were a welcomed relief. Well, after we got the mouse poop off the sheets. I lay in bed that night thinking back over my first day in this country I would come to love. It had been a beautiful day full of exploration, travel, sightseeing and getting to know my teammates. As I drifted to sleep, I looked toward the morning with anticipation…and a slight groan as I realized how late it was and how very soon 6:30 would come and our alarm would go off and another adventure would begin.
From there Jen took us on a tour of the facility and explained what is the ministry and heart of HCJB, which stands for, in English, Heralding Christ Jesus Broadcast. The passion of HCJB World Radio is making disciples of Jesus all over the world through mass media and healthcare. The ministry began with a radio broadcast in Ecuador in 1931. Over the last 75 years, the ministry has grown worldwide. Today they have ministries in 100 countries and radio broadcasts in 120 languages and dialects.
If I am not paying enough attention to her, my four-year-old sister will, at times, grab my face in her fat little hands and turn my head so that I can see nothing but her. The Lord did that to me during the tour. I had spent three months before the trip trying to figure out how my love of writing and my heart for South America could be tied into one another. At the same time, I was contemplating whether or not I should return to school and finish my degree and if I did, in what field should I get my degree? The tour that began at Dan’s office continued outside where we could look up a mountain and see the towers HCJB uses to transmit their radio programs all over South America. We walked around a corner of the building containing Dan’s office and stood facing another bigger, longer building with the letters “CCC” hanging on the outside.
It turns out the C.C.C. is a college on the HCJB property that focuses on mass communications—print journalism, broadcasting, etc. It is a three-year program accredited by a school in the US. It is not yet considered a bachelor’s program, but surely my associates degree in Spanish would transfer and I have fifteen additional credit hours that didn’t apply to my AA…surely I could get a BA out of this program that would combine everything I loved. I started to cry, then, and Ava gave me “the glare” that is her way of wordlessly asking if I too see what the Lord is saying. If I remember correctly, I told her to shut up and start praying.
The tour ended across the street at La Hospital Voz Andes, the hospital maintained by HCJB. While there, several of our team members were able to visit and pray with William, a boy who is part of Dawn and Jerry Carnhill’s ministry at the Quito dump. The week before, William had lost his arm in a trash baler at the dump. He was in poor spirits and poor health. I wasn’t one of the group who visited him, but I heard that they were asked by the family of the man sharing a room with William if they would pray for their loved one also. Awesome. The Lord draws people to Himself when we simply obey His command to love those who are hurting and bear one another’s burdens.
Back outside the guesthouse we, along with our luggage, piled onto the bus that was to be our source of transportation for the week and had our first daylight encounter with Rogelio. The members of our team who had been to Ecuador before adored Rogelio and assured the rest of us that we would, too, by the end of our trip. Rogelio’s name, to me, suits him. The name speaks of a jolly little man who loves to smile and lives to serve and that is the very essence of Rogelio’s nature. Our team members were right. We all loved Rogelio as one of our own by the end of the trip.
Rogelio’s bus took us that afternoon from Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, through the mountains and past volcanoes both active and dormant, to the city of Ambato. We stopped along the way in a place called Leather Town. I’m not sure if that is a name known only to the numerous groups from Grace who have passed through or the town’s actual name but it is, nonetheless, an apt description. Leather Town is a community whose main source of economy is, well, leather products of all kinds: shoes, wallets, belts, bags, hats; they have it all. And we bought a lot of it.
From Leather Town, we continued our journey to Ambato and to the hacienda where we would stay for the week. I don’t think any of us really expected what the hacienda had to offer with its indoor pool, handball court, sauna and complete kitchen. It was nice and well kept. It was big enough for us to spread out, to eat and even to find some alone time, but it also offered a few couches and a couple of nooks for pleasant and quiet conversation. It was enough to be our home for the week and more than we had anticipated.
That night our group of misplaced gringos descended upon Jonhattan and Ivonne Constante’s home for dinner. Jonhattan is the pastor of La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Ambato, the First Baptist Church of Ambato and he is the main pastor through which Dan coordinates most of his work in the Ambato area. From the States, Danny communicated with Dan in Quito, who communicated with Jonhattan in Ambato who communicated with the other national pastors in the area. Jonhattan’s heart is clearly for the people of Ecuador. You can see it in his interaction with youth and adult alike. He loves people well and the Lord passionately.
As our first day ended, our beds were a welcomed relief. Well, after we got the mouse poop off the sheets. I lay in bed that night thinking back over my first day in this country I would come to love. It had been a beautiful day full of exploration, travel, sightseeing and getting to know my teammates. As I drifted to sleep, I looked toward the morning with anticipation…and a slight groan as I realized how late it was and how very soon 6:30 would come and our alarm would go off and another adventure would begin.
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