Christmas In Peru

Christmas in Peru is absolutely wonderful! The traditions here are much different than

the traditions in the United States. The main focus of Jesus Birthday still gets lost,

but Peruvians are much better about remembering and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas! I love it!

Basically everything happens on Christmas Eve in Peru. Yesterday we wrapped presents ALL day! The kids at New Hope decorate their houses for Christmas for a competition. Kristy, Gef and I got to be the judges! They were all SO amazing! I wish I could post pictures of all of them. But there were live nativities and mulch involved! After the announcement of the winners we went into town with all the kids and walked around in the Plaza, bought fire works, and came back around 11pm. We shot off all the little fireworks for awhile and then time for presents, panetone (fruit cake like bread), and hot chocolate at midnight! After presents a turkey and potato dinner! Yeah you read right, dinner at about 1am! Then off to bed!

Christmas here is wonderful and the best celebration of joy and love ever! There is Christmas cheer everywhere. It is not a question if it is politically correct to say Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas is not being replaced by Happy Holidays! It is Feliz Navidad all around and in every part of every community in Peru!

Check out the photos in the blog below this one!

Love much! Love Often!

Christmas In Peru -- Photos

...Long Pause

...I haven't blogged in awhile. But decided that just because I am in the states does not mean I can't update my life publicly for all (kind and creepers) to read.

Since I have been home I have been hugely blessed! I have a great family, wonderful friends, the greatest job, and just absolute true joy. Times have been hard being away from Peru, but even those times I feel ok about where I am and what my life is doing.

My dad had open heart surgery and is recovering great! I am finally getting past my sick that started 6 months ago. My church/pastor is wonderful and I am being opened up to new things that I have never learned AKA the not knowns. My relationships with friends and family are finally starting to feel normal again. I get to spend time once a week (ish) with some of the greatest middle school and high school ladies! My great friends Geff and Tiffany gave me an awesome job where I am learning an art that I have always loved: Photography. I have discovered that concerts are probably my favorite way to spend an evening. Basically my life is complaint free.

I am heading back to Peru in December for Christmas. If you are interested in finding out how you can support a child for Christmas please contact me! Or if you would like to support a child monthly for every day needs you can visit www.peruhope.org

Love Much! Love Often!

Esther

This morning in church I got to teach Sunday School for the 14-20's girls class. We talked about Esther. Esther has been my favorite story in the Bible for a really long time, but when preparing this morning for the class I realized for the first time how much girls at New Hope have in common with Esther. She was orphaned as a child and was a poor Jew. She overcame her life and became Queen.

While speaking about Esther I could absolutely feel the Lord working in my heart and the hearts of the girls in my class. Generally when I teach or anyone teaches there is a lot of nothing going on in their faces. Today they were looking at me and nodding their heads and responding to questions. I really feel like somehow they connected with the story. It is such a great feeling to have the Holy Spirit move and to be able to see it happening in a group of girls that you love and have such great hopes for. At the end of the story I encouraged them that they can be an Esther for their home, their town, and their country. They just have to be willing to be used by God. And I think that goes for all of us.

Love Much! Love Often!

New Shoes

Great story, I hope I do it justice in telling it:

(they really are sweet girls)

Early on Tuesday morning I was half asleep and I hear the wailing tears of Sandra. Sandra is 1/2 of a set of twins, she is 9 years old, and an absolute gem! I have barely seen her upset, but this Tuesday morning she was distraught to tears over something 10 feet outside of my door. Laura and I decide to go out and see what is going on. All the other kids have already left on the bus and Sandra, sitting in her school uniform, hair in pig tails, continues to cry sitting on the arm of an overstuffed green chair. I sit next to her and ask what is going on. But in her state of despair she can't breathe let alone say words. So the other girls tell me that she doesn't like her shoes, they are boys shoes. I don't know about everyone else, but when I was a 9 year old girl having to go to school in boys shoes might as well have been going to school with a shaved head. That is basically the worst form of torture. I guess the day before the school said that the heel on her school shoes were too high and she couldn't wear them again. I kneel down next to Sandra and convince her to go to school and after school we will go into town and buy new shoes for school that are made just for girls! She begins to cry even harder, which confuses me. She says that the bus has already left, so me in my pajamas, unbrushed hair and teeth, barely awake self grab her book bags and run with, a crying Sandra, about 1/3 of a mile up a mountain to hail a taxi. On the way to school the tears cease and she appears to be ok. We pull up to the school and she freezes! Absolutely freezes, she asks if I will accompany her. So me in my pajamas, unbrushed hair and teeth, barely awake self walk into a school filled with students and teachers to take Sandra all the way to her classroom. After school I ask how school went and of course all was well. She was back to good ole all smiles Sandra. So Sandra, Carolina, and I go shoe shopping. We find delicately fabulous shoes for school for the both of the girls, have a little ice cream date, and head home. All is well in the world of the New Hope Twins.

I wanted to tell this story because this shoe shopping venture wouldn't have been possible without all the people who support me here in Peru both in prayers and with money. So thank you! Thank you for giving, praying, and loving these kids along with me for the past 9 months.

Love Much! Love Often!

Caballo vs. Cabello

To start this blog a bit of a spanish lesson: caballo is horse and cabello is hair. Don't confuse the 2 or these girls will seriously rag on you for your whole life.

On Sunday after church I got to take all the girls horseback riding in the countryside of Arequipa. We all had so much fun. We took a bus to Saga (the mall, if you can call it that) to eat in the food court and then 3 taxi's about 30 minutes out of town to the horse ranch. There were 17 of us and we had the best time! I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Sandra eating her fries with mayonnaise. Yum?

All the girls eating in the food court. Most of them got KFC, but a few got chinese.

Magali and her horse, he always took her through the water as she said "oh no, oh no, ahhhh..."

Some of the girls eagerly waiting to get started.

Me and my horse whose name I couldn't remember so I called her "Chica".

Some of the girls

Carolina trying to make her horse go faster!

Sybil and Laura's horses did not like each other!

My horse.

The whole group after our ride!

Love Much! Love Often!

Win or Lose

This weekend I got to spend a lot of time with the kids outside of the home. On Saturday I got to go with the little boys and older girls to a sports complex just outside of our community of Pachacutec. There our kids got to play soccer and volleyball against other kids from other children's homes in the city. Our little boys played soccer and man were they cute. It was basically David v. Goliath though. These other kids were so big. However, our kids totally dominated in over time! Our mixed volleyball team also won, but our all girls volleyball team sorta got crushed.

Being at this event really opened up my eyes on the amount of children in Peru who live in homes. Just at this one event for this one part of the city there were hundreds and hundreds of kids. In a city of 1,000,000 people the percent of street kids and dislocated kids is somewhere around 40%. Peru, Arequipa, Pachacutec, and New Hope need our prayers and support in efforts to lower this percentage. If you are interested in supporting a child or learning more about New Hope please visit www.peruhope.org. Or you can contact me through e-mail and I would be happy to give you any information you need at amsemore@gmail.com

Love Much! Love Often!

Humble Me

Lately I have read verse after verse after verse on being humbled. It could be that maybe I am just seeing all the humbles because the Lord is working in me on being humble. But here are a few of the verses I have been given:

Isaiah - - the whole book is basically the Lord humbling town after town after town. I sure as heck do not want to be humbled like the people of Isaiah, I would much rather just get humble from the get go.

Luke 1:52 - -He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

Luke 14:11 - - "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:14 - -"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I am not sure how to go about becoming humble, but I am absolutely working on it and praying about it constantly! I never want to lift my self up or anything I do for the Lord. Anything I do is only by the grace of God allowing me to do it.

Love Much! Love Often!

Weekend of Blessings

This weekend has basically been non stop, and bonus I haven't been sick ALL weekend!

Yesterday Sybil and Fernando took me to all the sights in Arequipa that I haven't seen yet. I got to climb a tower in Sachaca and see the whole city without interruption. Apparently the French really like to give giant monuments to all countries because at this tower that I got to climb was a white statue of Jesus gifted from the French. After the tower we headed to a "lake" called Tingo. It was more like a pond, but it is the closest thing to a lake I have seen since the States. We tried to ride one of the boats, but apparently you have to be child size so instead we ate my favorite Peruvian food, Brunillos(insert a squiggly over the 'n'). It is this fried dough with a syrupy sauce over it! Incredible! The next Arequipa destination we ventured to I cannot remember the name of for the life of me, but it was a park that had caged animals. Like a zoo, but horrible and cruel! PETA would totally freak out and free all the little monkey and bird creatures. Again there was a "lake" with boats, but this time we couldn't get anyone to help us, so once again no boat time. However, there was this slide that looked super fun so I decided to give it a go. Big mistake!! It is the fastest slide EVER! It was made of concrete and I guess got real slick and shiny by all the peoples booties who went down it. I think there was a reason no one was going on it. I flew, literally flew down this slide so fast that I thought that I was going to fly into the water, and almost did! Ridiculous, and totally fun! Doing it again soon! Saturday night we went to see 2 of our girls, Judith and Iris, sing at a concert in town. They did so great! I am so proud of them and the amazing women they are developing into! I also moved into New Hope with all the girls for my last 2 weeks. Should be a good time...I hope!

So all that was Saturday. On to Sunday. Church was incredible. I can't totally understand everything that is being preached so a lot of times I just pray and read scripture. And God absolutely speaks to me through His word every time. Today I read a bunch in Luke and Hebrews, good stuff there. Such a huge blessing! After church my Peru family called me their prodigal daughter because I moved out to be with the girls, but invited me to lunch anyway! Then a parade, Peruvian style, which means it was 7 hours long...literally! We only stayed for a couple hours and I got an amazing sun burn, but it was still a fun time. And then church again tonight!

Love Much! Love Often!

Gavin James

So this has nothing to do with Peru. I just think the world (aka the 5 people who read this) should know that I am a godmother!!! This hansom little fella is Gavin James! And I cannot wait to meet him! I know that Jeff and Daina will be wonderful parents and my job as a godmother will be so great!

"...You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (ESV)

Oh and P.S. how cute is he in this hat? I am not even a Broncos fan and I am loving it!

Purple Paint Party

I have been so blessed since I returned back to Peru from the States and have been able to spend so much more time with the kids, specifically the girls. They are absolutely incredible young ladies. I grow more and more fond of them each day. One day I was hanging out, enjoying a little quality time, with four of the girls in their room and noticed the ugly walls and lack of girlie..ness. It was very obvious that a guy chose the boring beige color on the walls and the two sets of windows in the room had two different fabrics/prints of curtains. No fun for sure! So we decided to have a little paint party. The girls decided they wanted pink and purple. So one Friday night we bought some paint and supplies and started painting! Seriously one of the greatest nights of my life. We had so much fun painting and cleaning and organizing the room. After all the hard work we had a bit of a paint fight that I am pretty sure Laura (another gringa) and I lost horribly! Good times for the record books!

Love Much! Love Often!

Lyrical Shmyrical

A few encouraging lyrics in my life right now...

David Crowder Band

Ohh praise Him!

Ohh praise Him!

He is Holy!

He is Holy!

Oh la la la la la la..

Oh la la la la la la..

Oh la la la la la... laaa laa laa laaa!

Ohh praise Him!

Ohh praise Him!

He is Holy!

He is Holy!

How infinite and sweet

This love so rescuing

Oh how infinitely sweet

This great love that has redeemed

As one, we sing...

Kutless

Everybody falls sometimes

Gotta find the strength to rise

From the ashes and make a new beginning

Anyone can feel the ache

You think it’s more than you can take

But you're stronger, stronger than you know

Don’t you give up now

The sun will soon be shining

You gotta face the clouds

To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains

Hope that doesn’t ever end

Even when the sky is falling

I’ve seen miracles just happen

Silent prayers get answered

Broken hearts become brand new

That’s what faith can do...

NeedToBreathe

Cause I need more time

Just a few more months and we'll be fine

So say whats on your mind

Cause I can't figure out just what's inside

So say alright

Cuase I know we can make it if we try

Cause I need more time

Just a few more months and we'll be fine...

Chris Tomlin

Our God is greater, our God is stronger

God You are higher than any other

Our God is Healer, awesome in power

Our God, Our God…

Our God is greater, our God is stronger

God You are higher than any other

Our God is Healer, awesome in power

Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

What can stand against?...

Bible With A Side of Breakfast

In May, before I came home for a visit, I started a Breakfast and Bible Study (B&B) with the girls who are in high school. We get together on Tuesday mornings and have breakfast at my place and talk about the Lord in our lives. When we first started the girls would barely speak, we would eat in silence, and then if I really encouraged maybe one girl would say a few words. It was like pulling teeth to get them to say anything at all, even to each other. I am not really sure why but the girls here are really hard to connect with. However, since I have returned it is as if someone flicked a switch and these girls are opening up all over the place! I am able to spend more time with them in their home, at church, and in town! It is such a huge blessing and incredible answer to prayer.

When I first came to Peru I said that I didn't want to hear these girls stories unless they wanted to share them with me. A few weeks ago one of the girls shared in our Bible study how at the age of 14 she found the missionary David Bolos and was able to keep her family together. 14 years old and she found a home for herself and 3 younger siblings. Another girl shared with us that she has a twin sister and 3 younger sisters that she has never met and has no idea where they are. She would like to go on her summer vacation and try to find them. Earlier today we had our B&B and instantly they were chatting away about their week and their lives. We are going through the book "Captivating" and most of them had read and were ready to discuss. I am so encouraged daily by these girls.

Please continue to pray for New Hope and the all these young ladies that I get to spend time with!

Love Much! Love Often!

Sick and Abroad

Hey you who read my blog!

I have been back in Peru for 3 weeks now and unfortunately have been sick for about 2 of those weeks. Everyone here has been so great in helping me get better. Sybil, Fernando, David, and the family I live with have all chipped in someway or another. I am so blessed by all the people the Lord has placed in my life here. Without these people I probably would have already packed up all my stuff and headed back to the states. It is really hard to be in a foreign country and sick. I don't know if you have ever experienced a foreign hospital but it has never really been on my bucket list. :/

As I said staying here while being sick is really hard. I know that great things are going to happen while I am here for the next 6 months or satan wouldn't be fighting so hard to get me to leave. Please continually pray for my health and for all the people in this place who are so important to me.

Great things are happening at New Hope right now! Besides me there are 3 other gringos here for the next couple of months who will be working with the kids in different ways. Pray for their time here to be blessed. Also, I started teaching english one night a week with the older kids in the home who are interested and it has gone really really well! I am so excited about it. Once I get well I will be starting an english class for the younger kids in the home and for the community in the church. I appreciate all your prayers and support!

Love Much! Love Often!

10 Things I Get To See In Peru.

1. Amazing kids and teens loving the Lord fully and without falter.

2. De-skinned bull heads strapped to the top of a car with an exhaust problem.

3. A 3 year old named JoJo who never forgets my name.

4. Breastfeeding mommas on every corner.

5. A skyline filled with volcanoes higher than the highest mountain in the US, and waking up never knowing if they will be covered with snow or not that day.

6. Street vendors with everything from boiled eggs to tuna fruit to toilet paper to paper clips.

7. Kids so grateful for a new coat or new shoes or a new pen that days and weeks later they continue to say thanks!

8. 4 to 5 dogs on every corner wagging their tails and barking at you like you are supper....but I recently learned that if their tail is wagging they are friendly and therefore I am not supper.

9. Ladies of all ages smashing carrots with their feet "I Love Lucy" style.

10. The Lord working and moving in this incredible country and its people.

Love Much! Love Often!

1/2 Way Point

I officially only have 2 weeks left in the States. I cannot believe how fast time has flown! I set a goal to raise $4000 for New Hope and the church by the time I left to go home. Unfortunately, I am no where near there. But I am not losing faith. I am crazy praying that the Lord touches hearts to donate to New Hope and Iglesia Bautista Amistad in Arequipa, Peru. So if you are feeling an itch to give away some money it could very well be the Lord answering my prayers. I encourage you not to resist that urge and give me a call! He will crazy bless you for your obedience and faith.

My time home has been absolutely wonderful! I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every minute in Oklahoma and Colorado, except maybe the ridiculous weather! I still have so much to look forward to throughout my time home.

Please continue to pray for my fundraising attempts, the kids to all get sponsors, and the church renovations. Also, I am getting a little nervous about my return to Peru. It is going to be really hard to leave again. I miss the kids and people in Peru terribly. I know that going back is what the Lord has for me, I just also love everyone here so much and am going to miss them terribly. So please be praying that the transition back to Peru goes smoothly and that the Lord comforts me in all the goodbyes!

Love Much! Love Often!

Moments To Remember When Traveling Alone Internationally

A few things I thought were worthy enough to blog about in my travels home:

A: Crazy weird emotions of so stinkin excited to be in OK mixed with sad to leave my kids/Peruvian family with a dash of nervous that everything back home has changed and I won't fit anymore.

B: Great massage in the Lima airport for about $10 that I couldn't totally enjoy cause I was afraid someone was going to steal my carry on bag!

C: Crazy annoying girls talking extremely loud in the starbucks that I set camp at for 6 hours! I was there first and they came in with their loudness and ruined the whole wonderment of the coffee shop!

D: Hecka frustrating valley girl who said like 17 times in one sentence and said um so many times in that same sentence that I couldn't keep track. Think she forgot how to use punctuation in speaking!

E: Silly me freaking out cause the boarding time was printed wrong on my ticket and while I was in line for security I thought I missed my flight!

F: I so want to call my parents and make my homecoming less of a surprise. I am so bad at keeping exciting secrets! I used to always tell my sister what she was getting for Christmas.

G: Crazy heavy bags! One day I will be a girl who travels light....one day.

H: Plane people! When they say to you there is a log discrepency just know that it is going to be awhile! So get comfortable. And getting to unboard your plane is a VERY bad sign!

I: Tylenol PM literally makes you crazy when you don't sleep after taking it!

J: I yelled at a Canadian lady! Like yelled! I don't yell at people. I found her about 2 hours later and apologized. Then like 20 minutes later she cut about 30 people again.

K: Not knowing if you are in Panama City, FL or Panama City like Panama Canal is a definite sign of delirium.

L: 40 hours with no sleep is by far the longest I have ever gone.

M: Airplane food is probably the worst food EVER made....worst than hospital food no doubt!

N: Met a nice girl in one of the 27 lines I waited in on this trip. Told her I was trying to get home before my mom's surgery. She preceeded to tell me how her mom died.

O: Detour to the Panama Canal (yes, I figured out where I was)...good times?

P: Do NOT joke with the customs guys! The video says it is NOT ok! I know this cause I got to watch the video in Houston customs about 38 times.

Q: Too tired is when you don't want to get up and walk 20 feet to get your free food voucher.

R: Traveling alone causes you to trust people that you don't really know...is it wrong to judge people by their appearance in this case?

S: Running through the Houston airport only to be stopped in baggage claim FOR-EV-ER waiting on your bag.

T: Running through the Houston airport after getting your luggage only to be stopped outside the shuttle entrance FOR-EV-ER waiting on the train for 45-44-43-42....seconds.

U: Running through the Houston airport after getting your luggage and catching the shuttle only to be stopped by the ticket guy telling you that there is a weight problem and you may or may not be able to get on the plane is just what a girl wants to hear after 40 hours of traveling!

V: Getting on the "overweight" plane finally and getting to sit next to a guy that might have been the problem was priceless. (Probably not ok to continue the judging people by their appearance in this situation, no more appearance judging starting now)

W: You know that feeling when you just want to be home and you feel like you could run faster than the car is going....I got that feeling in the airplane from Houston to OKC. Pretty sure I can't run that fast, but it was taking for stinkin ever!

X-Z: Getting off the plane and seeing my dad, then Adie, then K-Hers, then my mom and grandma was absolutely the best feeling I have had and makes all this other stuff on this trip totally worth it!

Home at last! Gah I love Oklahoma!!

Iglesia Bautista Amistad

Iglesia Bautista Amistad is the church that I and all the kids of New Hope attend. This is where we are fed spiritually 4 times a week. A place that is very close to my heart and a place that the Lord is blessing tremendously. The people here are faithful and love the Lord. This place is where the children of New Hope hear about Jesus and His love possibly for the first time and the place that is reaching the Pachacutec community for the Lord. I have been so blessed to be able to help in the girls class on Sunday mornings, help with kids choir/club on Thursday nights, serve with the youth on Friday nights, and help anywhere needed throughout the week. I love this place and while I can't have my home church this place is a great second home.

Over the past month or so we have been greatly blessed financially and have been working on completing the worship room. We got the walls stuccoed and painted, the floors tiled, and the lights installed! Every need we have the Lord is providing every step of the way. Please be praying for my trip home and the support raising I will be doing for both the church and New Hope. A few of the projects that still need to be completed in the church are:

- A roof, tile, and walls for the class rooms and bathrooms.

- Tile completion downstairs in the office and nursery.

- Stucco for all walls and paint.

- etc, etc, etc.

This picture is a few of the things the ladies group in the church has made for me to sell in the states. This is about 1/2 of it! Get excited!

Carlista To Change

Lately I have been so unmotivated to blog about anything. I don't know if anyone even follows my blog regularly but if you do sorry for the long delay.

On Tuesday, after our run, Carlos and I were walking to my house and we saw the littlest old woman I have ever seen and she was carrying the greatest load of sticks that seemed virutally impossible for her, and on her back at that! We just walked right past her, I said that we should have helped her, but we didn't turn back and offer help. So on Thursday we went for a run again. I was really tired from my day and running was a serious accomplishment so we are walking back and we see the old woman again. This time we offer help. I take the giant tree trunk from her hand and Carlos takes the huge weight of limbs from her back. With my broken spanish and a ton of help from Carlos we talked with the woman the 1/2 mile up the hill to her house. Her name is Carlista and she lives in a little shack next to the Catholic church that looks like Noah's Ark.

Now you may think I am crazy after this but I felt the Holy Spirit right there in me and all around me as we were saying our goodbyes to Carlista. It is very hard here sometimes to remember the reason the Lord brought me here. I get in a routine, just like back home, and life here becomes a job and a chore. Carlista was a God send and a reminder that I am here because not every place is like good ole Oklahoma. Where the majority of people you meet and come across in your daily life are believers.

I don't know who all of you remember Roc. A friend of mine and Adie's from City Rescue Mission. But that man changed my life and now Carlista is reminding me of that change. I plan to visit Carlista and invite her and her family to church. Please be praying for her. And be praying for me, I don't want to lose sight of why I am here again.

"Religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

- - James 1:27

Much Blessed!

This past weekend I was able to go to Chile to renew my visa. The 6 hour bus ride there and 6 hour bus ride back provides a lot of time for thinking and reflecting on life. I am so incredibly blessed! My whole life has been a huge blessing. Even the hard times and bad stuff the Lord has made His own and used to bring me where I am today. And the amazing thing is that where I am now holds a purpose for everything that will happen in my future!

I grew up in a tremendous family filled with love and kindness. We didn't have a lot of money or tons of stuff, but there was always plenty of love and time spent. I think through that I learned that time is my most valuable posession. Money has never been a priority in my life and I pray it never is. Here, at New Hope, money is important. This place cannot function without money, but these kids love the time spent with people who love them. Thank you to my mom, dad, grandma, and sister! You guys are pretty great!

I was raised in the most fabulous church where I learned that giving should be cheerful and loving goes a lot further than condemning. It is not always easy to be cheerful thousands of miles away from family and friends, but somehow the Lord gives me joy in all things here. So many of the people and kids that I love here have extremely crazy histories and to show them an ounce of that love could change their day from bad to good. Thank you Bro. Robby and Kathy for following the Lord to Guthrie, thank you Z and E for being such a huge part of my spiritual growth, and thank you church family for giving and loving from your hearts!

And finally, I have the most supportive friends who show me patience and understanding with every drastic change I have in my life. They are always there to lift me up via skype or phone or e-mail. It would be so hard to be here and stay here for the entire year without their support through everything. Thank you K-Hers (and Robbie), Jourdan, Adie, Daina (and Jeff), Meggie (and Derek), Gef & Kristy, Erin, Allison, Janzen and everyone else for always being an ear when I need you!

I love to experience new things and new places! I am so blessed to have my family, church, and friends behind me in this new place! Peru is absolutely where the Lord wants me and without each of these groups of people it would not be possible for me to be here!

So thank you from my whole heart!

Love Much!

Chivay Mission

I just finished a 4 day mission trip in Chivay (the Colca Canyon Region) with the youth from New Hope and some from the church. What an amazing experience! It is going to be really hard to put into words the absolute incredibleness of the entire weekend. The youth here love the Lord and doing such a tremendous work for Him. My spanish is getting better but I can honestly say that for most of this trip I had no idea what was going on. We traveled from town to town sharing the love of Jesus. I simply followed along and mirrored what the rest of the group did.

The living conditions that we were in were less than perfect, but somehow no one complained when we had to sleep on the concrete floor, and no one groaned when there were no toilet seats or running water. And at 4am each day when we had to get up for the mornings adventure people just got up with no grumblings! What a blessing!

Our first stop after spending the night in Chivay was to Coporaque where we went into an elementary school. Can you imagine telling an elementary school in the States that a church group is going to come in and tell the kids about Jesus? We were able to sing songs with them, play games, Fernando (one of New Hope's older kids) told a story of a mean boy who meets Jesus. They handed out goodie bags with keychains that represent the Salvation Bracelets that we have in the States. At the end, the 3rd grade class came out and did a traditional Arequepian dance for us in traditional outfits.

Once we piled back in the bus we headed to the town of Ichupampa. However, before arriving our bus decided to take a little break and break down! So we enjoyed the view, got some sandwiches, climbed up some hills, took some pictures, and then the bus was rested and we headed to the middle school. We once again played games and shared Jesus with the kids.

Onward to the town of Madrigal. Here we walked the streets passing out tracks (one for adults and one for kids) and inviting the townspeople to the evenings festivities. In the auditorium of the town the youth had prepared a skit, we sang praise songs, and showed a Christian movie. About 50-60 people from the town showed up...people that possibly have never heard about the love of Christ. What a blessing to be a part of this group and the work that is happening throughout them.

This night we stayed in the Town Hall of Madrigal. The next morning began our 8 hour hike UP the Colca Canyon. The night before we asked how difficult it was and the elderly Peruvian woman told me that I could do it easily. Man I wish I knew where that woman was now. Haha. It was the hardest thing I have ever accomplished....but I am so blessed to have done it! What an amazing view and experience with these youth!

After the hike we took a bus to Tuti, where we again passed out tracks and invited the town to a movie at the local church. About 30 people came this night. The next morning we hiked up a hill (Oklahoma mountain) and picked aba (lima beans) to take back to New Hope with us. After the farming, we went to church where the singing was in the language of the Incans, Quechuan, and the sermon in Spanish with a Quechuan interpreter. I love the Quechuan singing. I wouldn't say it is pretty, just unique from anything you have ever heard and you don't want it to stop.

Overall, the trip was a huge success! The youth here are so strong and so willing to be servants for the Lord. My prayer for them is that they never lose sight of Christ's love and that they have great success in their lives. That they aren't afraid to follow His will and that they continue sharing the Lord everywhere they go!

Trabajar

Peru and New Hope is absolutely wonderful! My job here is to be in charge of education for all the kids who live at the home. That is about 40 kids in 3 different schools. I get their school supplies and uniforms, make sure they get to school and meet with their teachers for parent teacher conferences as well as when things aren't going so well. Basically, I am a mom for the kids in relation to their schools. They all start school on March 3rd. Please be praying for them as they head off for their first week as well as be praying for the funds to come in for the needed uniforms and school supplies. 5 of the kids have to go to a private school. They are very behind in school due to their history and this school will allow them to accomplish 2 grades in 1 year! This school is quite expensive, but the Lord has provided thus far. Be praying for continued blessing!

This picture is all the school supplies I had to buy for these kids to start the year. The schools do not provide a list, so I had the opportunity to figure out (in spanish) approximately what they would need and then I had the opportunity to go to the markets to bargain for the best deals (in spanish)! Getting a taxi driver to let us haul all this stuff was a bit crazy as well. Abel and Elizabeth were with me and they had to sit on top of the notebooks in the back, but it all worked out and we got a really great price! All you parents who are reading this and get stressed for your 2-3 kids back to school shopping, please think of me next time school starts and you get to go to wal-mart and get a list of supplies and fight the crowd.

February in Peru

February in Arequipa is carnival month! It is packed full of water balloon fights, valentines day banquets, and carnivals. The church I go to has a jovenes (youth) banquet so we decided to take the girls to get their nails done. It was a lot of fun. The manicures and the banquet. They reserved a private room in the Plaza (the main town square), had a nice dinner, played some games, sang worship songs, and had a good ole time. Valentines Day here is like no place I have ever heard of. It is basically a whole state of water fights! Water Balloons, buckets of water, water hoses, cups of water, basically however you can get your hands on water will work. So the water fights are the whole month. But the main day is February 14th. They are everywhere! I got hit with a water balloon walking to New Hope from church and then literally drenched with 2 buckets of water when walking home. Carnival month here is the equivalent to Marti Gras in New Orleans. Arequipa is primarily Catholic so they are getting all their crazies out before lent. It is a crazy good time that I can't wait to be over! Ha.

A Day In The Life

Every time I get the opportunity to talk to someone back home I get the "so what is a day like for you?" question. So here it is:

Sunday (Domingo): Church at 10am and 7pm. In between church is lunch and just a real chill day. Just like back home. Just add 40 kids. Ha. Dinner is after church at 8ish-pm

Monday/Wednesday/Friday (Lunes/Miercoles/Viernes): I get to the home around 8am. Head to the middle boys home, they are doing their studies and I do a devotional and study spanish. From 10am-12pm I have Spanish Class with Pili. Right after class is lunch with the boys. After lunch I usually do spanish/english with the tutor (Gladys or Maruja depending on the day). Dinner is at 7pm so sometimes I stay and eat and sometimes I head home about 6pm. Friday night is youth group (which I love) at 7pm and all the youth (from the home and not) come back to the home and play soccer or volleyball or just hang out for awhile.

Tuesday/Thursday (Martes/Jueves): Everything is the same except I don't have spanish class. From 10am-12pm I help the little ninos with their studies. My spanish is about at their level...1st grade. Ha. Thursday nights is church again (prayer meeting) at 7pm and dinner is at 8pm right after. Always eat that dinner.

Saturday (Sabado): I get to the home at 6am and we take a bus with Maruja and one of the boys to the open air market. Maruja buys the food that she needs for her menu for the whole week. I usually pick up some fruit and water. We get back around 8:30 and have breakfast with the boys. Then just depending on the day I can go to my house or stay at the home. It is kinda my day off. I usually try to go into the city and get personal stuff done. Like shopping or just chill at Saga (the mall/movie theatre place).

Any down time I am studying spanish! This will be my schedule until I learn spanish better and until the kids go back to school in March. At that point everything will change! So what I am saying is that my spanish needs to be top notch by MARCH! Be praying!

The picture is of the boys I eat all my meals with. (left to right) The boy taking a drink is Miguel, then Rosmel, Alvaro, Victor, Fredi, and Roberto. We just ate spaghetti so they are all pretty happy!

Love and Joy!