January 2015
Dear Friends and Family,
The last year has been a blur. The days and weeks fly by quickly here. It takes longer to complete simple tasks like
shopping, laundry, cooking, and getting from one place to the next. I now live in Curahuasi which has a small
town feel. The church I’m attending is
young (1 year) and small. Consequently we spend a lot of time together, eating
together and hanging out together in both church and non-church settings. In the hospital one of the family practice
doctors had to return to the states due to his children’s health issues, and
two more of our long term doctors are getting ready to leave. The impact of all of this is more work and
more call. As in all mission settings,
even if you say “no” 99.9% of the time, after a year the “yes”es are enough to
keep you pretty busy. Also, I had the
blessing of a month long visit from my parents, a week long retreat in Brazil,
and three weeks in the USA (passing through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and
Washington). Through all this and
problems with internet I’m finally now sitting down to write to you all and
catch you up on all the wonderful things God’s been doing in and through me.
The MOVE:
In August I moved from the little village of Lukmos on one
side of the hospital to the town of Curahuasi (about 10,000 people) on the
other side of the hospital. I moved in
with Lisa who is a German lady about my age who‘s a Dental technician (ie makes
dentures). Shortly afterwards Joanna,
who was a German volunteer straight out of high school, moved in after returning
to Peru for 6 more months (she was previously here for a year) until her
nursing school starts next year. Lisa
and Joanna are wonderful to live with. They are both very laid back and servant
hearted. They’re always willing to help
out with my responsibilities when I’m out of town or on call, though I always
am hesitant to ask for help because I know how much they’re already serving and
involved in other ministries. It’s been
a fast six months living with them. They’re both planning to move back to
Germany in the next couple of weeks.
Inessa, a German dental assistant, who lived here previously, is
planning to return in January (she was in Germany for a 6 month furlough after
many years here).
The
upper photo is from where I run to every morning. Those who know me well,
know that my morning routine is crucial to me functioning well all day. From where I live now I run away from town
and have found a nice peaceful place to encounter God each day, and set the
tone for the day. J
The
lower photo is part of our view from our balcony overlooking the city at
night. We also have front row seats to
all the soccer games in the stadium from our balcony J (much to the envy of the Peruvians. The irony
is that we probably have the least appreciation for watching football out of
anyone in town J).
Melanie Brinkley and
Choquequirao
For two weeks in July Melanie Brinkley came to visit between
completing high school and starting at AIM (Adventures in Missions—a missionary
training program). I’ve known her family
since I was in 11th grade.
They attended our church in Federal Way, Washington for a while. Were care takers of our church camp for many
years. Moved to Houston, Texas just I
was starting medical school in Fort Worth, Texas, and served as my family in
Texas during those four rough years. I
visited the Brinkleys for 4 days in March when my tourist visa ran out, and
during that time invited Melanie to come visit and get an idea what missions
can look like. She had a busy two
weeks. I had her spending part of a day
with as many different professions/roles I could like of. Many people think in order to “serve in
missions” you must be a preacher, doctor or nurse. Not true.
I had her working with midwives, teachers, (I tried to have her with
social workers), pharmacists, nutritionists, physical therapists, lay bread
makers, lab technicians, doctors, nurses, etc).
Then we went on a 4 day camping/hiking trip to ruins like Macchu Pichu
that you can only get to by hiking. It
was intense, but a lot of fun. We went
with one of the other American doctors, the nutritionist, two ACU premed
students, the pastor of my church, and one other Peruvian from my church. I
loved it because by the end of it you’re so much closer to those you’ve
traveled with.
One
conversation in particular that really stuck out was one I had with Jemerson,
the pastor of the church I’m attending now.
He trained to be a veterinarian.
He says that he was raised up in a family that went to church but they
didn’t really know God or have a relationship with him. He says his story is pretty typical of many
Peruvians who claim to be Christians.
From his perspective he was a good person, and that being a Christian
was about being a good person. It wasn’t
until he was in Veterinarian school that he realized that he was a sinner too,
in need of a savior. And that when you
truly take Christ on as your savior you’re no longer able to live for you. Because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your
life you desire a personal relationship with Christ and yearn to be in the
church with fellow believers growing closer to Christ. Through pressure from family he completed his
studies even though he no longer had the desire to anything other than the Lords
work. He took a position as the pastor
of the IEP church in June or July. It’s
a new church plant and relatively small.
He receives partial support from the church collection here and partial
support from the mother church in Abancay.
Several
characteristics about Jemerson really encourage me. One is his thirst to know God more and
more. He’s always reading the bible, but
also any other book about God he can get his hands on. He tends to find free books online from
American preachers. Thanks to the
donations of several of you while I was back in the states, he now has a kindle
so he has access to more modern/current preachers/books. The second was his response to the slowly
growing new church plant. I’ve known
enough preachers who would be discouraged by low church attendance. Jemerson’s response is, “When you’re truly
saved the Holy Spirit works in you to yearn to be in church with your fellow
believers. If they’re not here then that
makes me think they may not be saved, and we have more evangelism to do.” He spends part of his days in the streets
talking with and sharing the gospel with the people. The culture here is more like the USA 50-80
years ago when everyone would sit out on their porches and talk to the
neighbors passing by. Which lends itself
to evangelism, which is Jemerson’s favorite thing to do.
Sexuality and
Holiness
In
August I was asked to give a presentation for an hour and a half about
sexuality and holiness to a group of 300-400 teens and college age Peruvians in
Spanish. I knew it was an impossible
feat before I even said yes. I said I’d
pray about it. The answer I got is that
how can I say no after complaining that no one is ever talking about this topic
to the youth and then I have to see them in my clinic pregnant and with
STD’s. So I said yes, but told God he’d
have to figure out how to make it possible.
Through the book recommendations of Jessica Skidmore I wrote my talk in
English. I translated my talk into
Spanish and then through the hard work and sacrifice of Luz (to the right of me
in the lower photo; the Peruvian general doctor who’s been working at
Diospi for 1.5 years now) and Belen (the nutritionist) they fixed my
Spanish. Luz agreed to come with me to Abancay
to help with the Question and Answer session because questions are the hardest
things to understand for me in Spanish.
Probably twenty minutes into my talk out of exhaustion I vasovagal-ed
and had to sit down before I passed out.
So making the impossible possible, God sent Luz up to finish the talk
that was mostly in her words anyways (though the answers where challenges to
her life and faith as well)—something that she would never have volunteered to
do. Even helping with the Spanish, she
said that she would never have done for anyone other than me. And though I still don’t know why God worked
like he did, the message of sexuality God’s way was share. Afterwards, all the pastors and leaders from
all the churches in the area who were present came up asking for copies of the
talk.
Evening in Pisonay
In June
I was talking with Rossmery (on the right in the upper photo; physical
therapy assistant) and Dennis (on the left in the upper photo; works in
Admissions) during lunch one day. I have
a book of questions and they asked for question 1001: If you could ask God one
question and he’d give you the answer today, what would you ask him? In response to Dennis’ question the
discussion turned to knowing for real if God exists. Dennis is interested in Christianity and has
attended churches for a time but has never committed her life and still doesn’t
understand a lot of the basics of the Christian faith. Rossmery is Catholic, though her common law
husband was recently baptized in to the Evangelical church. Both have very legalistic and works-based
understandings of the faith (which is very common in Peru) due to the strong
Catholic influence on the country. I’d
been praying that week for God to give me someone to study the bible with that
week, so I asked them if they’d like to study together. They said yes. They both work in the hospital during the
week and hurry home to care for their boys: Abraham (on the left in the lower photo; Dennis’ son, 5 years old) and Jose (on the right in the lower photo; Rossmerry’s son, 5 years old).
On the weekends they work in their families fields. So I’ve been riding my bike 30 minutes uphill
to their village Sunday evenings to study with them.
My time with them is precious because they are
both sweet, kindhearted women who are thirsty to know the Lord. One week I asked Dennis what part of her day
or week she looked forward to, and she said Sunday evenings because she is
about to forget about all of her problems for a couple of hours. Dennis lives with her parents and
brothers. Abraham’s dad has never been
involved since he was born. Rosemerry
lived with her common law husband, but he left several months ago and they’re
currently having many problems with their relationship.
Another
time while we were reading Luke and talking about what they were reading Dennis
said, “When I try to read on my own I just feel more confused after reading the
scriptures. But when we’re reading
together the Bible always seems so much clearer.”
Praise
the Lord for a pleasant surprise the last several weeks. I’d mentioned to several of the guys in the
church the need of Abraham and Jose for a Christian male role model in their
lives. On their own initiative they’ve
been coming with me the last several weeks to hang out with the boys while I
study with Dennis and Rossmery. Not only
is this a much needed blessing for the boys, but it also helps the women focus
and learn more about God without constant distractions. Last week Dennis said, “I can’t understand
why you guys would take time to visit us.”
Please
be praying for both of them. For their
social situations, for their families, for their faith, that they will commit
their lives to Christ and for their faith.
The Feminist
League---ie Women’s Bible Study
I hate
the name in Spanish. I call it women’s
bible study. The Peruvians call it the
feminist league, because it means something different to them than it does to
us in English. This has been another
sweet blessing from the Lord Monday nights.
There are nights that Lisa and I are the only white people in the room
and there are nights that we are half and half foreigners/Peruvians. We share dinner together because many come
straight after work. Women from the
hospital, church and community come.
They start coming at 6:30pm and keep coming at times until 8:30pm,
whenever they get off work, even if it means they’ll only be there until 9 or
9:30pm. Many of the women are in
Curahuasi for work and have family in other cities whom they visit on the
weekends, thereby making week nights tiring but the best option for
meeting. Part of their culture of women
bible studies include “crafts.” In the picture
on the right they’re sewing prayer pillows for the church, since the IEP has
prayer night Tuesday nights. The women
represent several of the churches in town, so all are encouraged to recommend
projects /crafts that can help their church that we can all participate in.
Currently
we’re still slowly going through Beth Moore’s Believing God bible study. Its perfect for a culture that “believes in
God,” but doesn’t really understand what it means or how to BELIEVE/Trust God
day to day with the big and small things.
It really warmed my heart one week when Luz who’s been waiting for God
to give her a big clear sign on what to do next with her life leaves bible
study one week requesting that we pray that she can see God in the small things
that week. Then the next Monday she
returns full of joy and lists all the ways she’s seen God working through the
day and in her life that last week.
The Month My Parents
Came to Visit
September I had the privilege of my parents coming to
visit. During the weekends we traveled
around the country visiting Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable
lake, about 14000 miles in elevation), the Amazon jungle, and Cusco. During the week they had sometime to
recuperate while I worked. Also during
the week they were able to experience my favorite part of Peru…the people. It meant a lot of translating for me, but it
was worth it for them to have the opportunity to get to know some of my
friends. They also went out on a couple
excursions during the week. Several of
my Peruvian friends would take them out.
Unfortunately they didn’t have a language in common with my
parents. Two of the security guards who
work at Diospi and went out with my parents really enjoyed them. One of them, Emiliano, wrote a note to them saying
that they’d be even better friends if they shared the same language. This motivated my parents to try to learn
Spanish for when they come back to visit again.
A Peruvian Wedding
Recently I got to attend the wedding of Claudia. She’s part of our church in Curahuasi, works
as a nurse at Diospi, and is part of the Woman’s Group Monday nights. Her wedding was in Cusco where her fiancé
lived and where she’s from. Several of
us from the church and from Diospi traveled to Cusco for the event (the lower photo is of those of us from
the church, and the upper photo is of those of us who work at Diospi) . It was suppose to start at 3:00pm. Claudia sent me a face book message the day
before (that I didn’t see) that said to arrive early, at 2:30pm. I was trying to coordinate us a ride back to
Curahuasi after the wedding since it’s hard to find a taxi after 6 pm. Claudia said the wedding and reception would
go until 6pm or 8pm maximum. I was
traveling with a group of Peruvians from the church and we were shopping before
going to the wedding. They sat down in a
restaurant in the mall to eat lunch at 3pm.
We arrived at the wedding at 4:15pm.
The wedding started at 4:45pm.
The wedding started with a band from the church in Cusco playing worship
songs. Then the preacher talked for a
while. All the family was introduced. I
think then were the vows. Then Claudia
and her husband sang and talked for a while.
Then they left for a long time to take photos. During that time we were served coke and
snacks. Finally after an hour or more
they came back (Familiar with Peruvian weddings, Dr. Martina left during this
break to finish shopping). Then EVERYONE
in the audience went up on the stage and took a picture with the bride and
groom. Then everyone made a line and
gave their gifts to the bride and groom and hugged them. Then a huge dinner was served after 9 pm. Then a bunch of the guys from our church in
Curahuasi went up and played a couple songs while the food was being served. Then at 10:30pm we were finally about to
leave.
Like a lot of
couples here in Peru, Claudia continues to work several days a week at Diospi
and travels on the weekends (3 hours) to Cusco to be with her husband.
The Jovenes of
Abancay
I laugh at Miqui and Jemerson. I’m still not sure exactly what age is
included in the term “Jovenes.” Both
Miqui (who works in IT at Diospi) and Jemerson (the Pastor of our church here
in Curahuasi) are from Abancay and are still involved in the “Jovenes”
group. Basically from what I can
understand it includes teenagers, college age, and young adult. Because of their active involvement with the
group in Abancay, the Jovenes come and visit Curahuasi from time to time to
help with various events such as: the week of the Bible, the one year
anniversary of the church, and a children’s program around the time of Christmas. This last weekend we traveled to Abancay to
celebrate the New Year with them.
Christmas!!!---the 24th
or the 25th?
So Peruvians celebrate Christmas at
midnight the 25th (i.e. the night of the 24th). At midnight they all drink hot chocolate, eat
fruit cake and turkey, and open presents.
Fortunately the Germans also celebrate Christmas the 24th. They go to church, and then eat dinner with
family and open presents. The advantage
is that the Germans are happy to be on call the 25th, and it didn’t
bother me to be on call the 24th.
Many of the Peruvians in the church went home to celebrate with their
families, but those who were working and couldn’t all met at my house the 25th
in the afternoon. The funny thing is we
cooked together all afternoon (mostly the women). Then several of the women left to do other
things and all the guys arrived in time to eat all the food. Turkey is the food of Christmas here. You can only buy turkey in town the day
before Christmas.
Whoooh!!!
I guess that’s a whirlwind glimpse of what I’ve been up
to. We’re still playing Ultimate Frisbee
once a week….the Peruvians are getting pretty good. I’m also teaching English once a week. I have “Spanish” lessons once a week and
Quechua classes when I can squeeze them in.
And we still have English speaking (ie American) bible study once a
week, though our American numbers are dwindling L
(we do have more European attendees thoughJ).
Thanks for all your
prayers. The Lord is working. My New Year Resolutions that you can be
praying for are that:
-I blog more
faithfully
- I integrate 1
Corinthians 13:1-7 in my everyday life more
- My accent and
Spanish continue to improve
- I learn more
Quechua
- I integrate God’s
“Rest” in my daily life more so that I can serve Him more single-mindedly
God’s blessings on you all in the new year!
No comments:
Post a Comment