Typical Transportation

This is Pastor Freddy and his family...typical transportion for a family of 5!

Let´s get ready to RUMBLE!!!

Tomorrow we have a group of teenagers coming for our Rumble in the Jungle project. We are looking forward to a great week of events and to getting to know these young people. Please join us in praying for the impact in the communities, safety for all, that the lives of those coming would be touched and changed and that the Lord´s presence would be felt by all throughout the week! God Bless!

VBS

The last couple weeks in February our team was busier than usual putting on Vacation Bible Schools in their different communities. Over the course of two weeks our team put on VBS in 7 different communities around the city of Puerto Maldonado. Each VBS was two days long and the kids learned the love of Jesus through different Bible stories and crafts. Some learned about obedience through the story of Abraham, others about the story of Jonah, and others were reminded that God is always near them as they learned about Joseph. They did wonderful crafts, learned memory verses and new songs, played games and finished up the two days with a little party at the end. A cool part of this for me was that my sister´s 3rd grade class at Chico Christian helped make this possible by raising money selling hot chocolate. I know, so sweet! It was so touching for me to know that the Lord used those kids to make a difference in the lives of kids here in our city of Puerto! Thanks Mrs. Zancanella´s Class! It was an awesome couple weeks as so many kids were able to hear about the Love of Christ Jesus!

Headed into the ¨Zona Roja¨ Prayers Needed

We just ask that those who are following this blog would keep our team in your prayers as we head this Friday into the ¨Red zone.¨ We are headed into the prostitution area of town to spread the Good News and we are unsure as to how that will look. Pray for the Spirits leading and wisdom as we head into the middle of darkness to shed Christ´s light. Pray for our protection and that we would have the words to say that will be convicting and yet show compàssion and love. Thank you all for your time on your knees.

Baptisms!

Last Saturday we had our first baptism here in Puerto! It was very exciting because 2 of the 3 people baptized are being discipled by our 40/40s! It is awesome to witness them making this commitment and amazing to see the fruits of our work here!

We drove out to a neat little spot out of town. We had a little mix up on transportation so while we were supposed to leave at 8 or 9am, we ended up leaving at around 10:15am...true peruvian style. Most of the group of about 30 crammed into a cumbi (basically a van) and we rode with Tyson in the motocar. It was great...I love how I no longer get frustrated by this sort of thing...I am adapting I guess:)

We started with a hymn to which Tyson played guitar and a short message from Olivia and Elisa who were our pastors for the day as Pastor Freddy is gone for the month. They did an awesome job.

We did the baptism in a little river...the water looks really dirty in this picture...and it was. But, they were still washed clean:)

This boy, Manuel, is from one of Ana & Olivia´s communities!

Gladys was also baptized and is from one of Callie & Carmen´s communities. She also opens her home every week so they do a service...she is an extremely sweet lady!

And after we celebrated with food and play...futbol of course!

It was a wondeful day and an awesome time to witness and celebrate new life in Christ! Please pray for those baptized (the third person was, Carla, a teen from the church) and for our team as the continue to diligently evangalize, disciple and hold services in their communities. More to come about what each of the pairs and all they are doing!

One Year

On year ago we arrived in Peru. A lot has happened and the time has gone very fast, and also it seems it has gone slow. We have lived in 3 different cities, added 8 members to our family, watched our baby turn 2 and act like it, we have both turned 29, we have learned to speak a new language and live in a new culture. There are also plenty of things I can´t measure, like the love I have felt, the grace I have been given, the faithfulness of our Lord, lives that have been changed. It has been a year I will never forget and will always look back on with joy and thankfulness. But this year has passed and now we look forward to how the Lord will use, mold and guide us through the next one. We don´t know all that is to come, but we can rest in the assurance that he does and he is will be with us and for that I am thankful!

Thank you to all of you who have walked with us this past year. We have so many that are praying for us, who are suppporting us financially so we can be here, who have come and participated in projects and built our home, who are part of our Extreme team supporting us in numerous ways, who have sent us packages or encouraging letters or supplies, who have strengthened us with words of support and encouragement. Thank you, this past year would not have been possible without all of you...and this next year wouldn´t be either. Thank you for being a part of what the Lord is doing here and for the immeasurable love you have given. God Bless you!

Questionable Hiring Practices

We'll we just found out that their must be some sort of discriminating hiring practices going on here in Puerto, because we have noticed the garbage disposal industry has the monopoly on employing larger than normal Peruvians. Photo evidence included....

Water, Water Everywhere!

So we woke up to rain yesterday morning...nothing unusual, we live in the rain forest after all. But today it kept raining. Hard. And after a few hours we noticed water was raising in front of our house...and still coming. We have had issues with drainage and water since we moved here but it has never gotten up to our door like this. We have sort of been waiting for it to get worse as we kept hearing about how the "rainy season" was coming. I didn't expect the water to rise so fast or so close the the house. All that to say, please pray. Pray that the water goes down, that we can get it drained out and that in the meantime, it doesn't rain more. Right now it is centimeters from entering our house, our water cistern is covered by the flood water which means there is bad water in there. Given, we can't drink the water from here anyway...but this is really bad water that we don't want to use for showers, dishes or anything. Also, we have water entering our house through the bathtub and drains in the floor. It is gross, but this is not a new problem. We rarely are able to flush our toilet and almost every day have sewer water in our bathtub/shower. I have learned to live with it but it is not my favorite. Please pray we can solve this problem to keep from happening in the future. Can I also just say I have an amazing husband. He was out in the disgusting water (that has gross worms floating in it) working to get us ladies cinder blocks to step on and trying to stop the water from entering the cistern (which eventually became impossible). He has also been working hard since we arrived here (2 months ago) trying to solve these issues of drainage. He has been at the city office mulitple times a week trying to get them to do something and has just finally gotten approval from them to do it ourselves. That is the way it goes here...slow, slow going to get anything done. We are praying this is the solution and would appreciate your prayers as well. Please also pray for the health and protection of our team. Thank you all and God Bless!

from our yard into our house...

Today Tyson spotted a little crocodile outside in the "pond" next to the church....I saw it's little eyes sticking up too but we couldn't get a picture. It wasn't too big...but still a crocodile...yikes!

our front door view

and for the pleasure of all...our bathtub...yummy! I have poured more bottles of bleach then you can imagine in that tub...it helps. But still. Gross.

Monkey Business

So the other night we had a little visitor…an uninvited one. Elisa was downstairs hanging out with my while I was cooking and I hear “Es un mono?” (It’s a monkey?) Sure enough, I look out the window and see a monkey scaling the house. I was so excited I grabbed my camera and ran out the door to see it…leaving the door wide open. Open doors are apparently invitations to monkeys because it promptly tried to enter the house (those things move fast). Luckily we shut the door in time and yelled up to the girls upstairs to check it out. The money scaled the walls once again and headed to the second story just as Wendy opened to door to see what we were yelling about—she quickly went back in (because again, the monkey tried to get inside) and checked it out from the window. It also climbed up the bars on the window and tried to get in that way (*note* our bars are not monkey proof…thankfully we have glass to shut). A very curious monkey we had on our hands. After a while it came back down and began to check out the church. I had to run in front of it and shut the church door before it got in which the monkey did not like and began to push against my legs to get in…I screamed but did not give in. I would like to say I stopped the little rascal from getting in but it just went up to the window and got in that way. I was worried that it would start playing with the sound system or something but it didn’t seem too interested. I should end this by saying there is a “zoo” down the street from us from which the monkey escaped so this was no ‘fresh out of the jungle’ monkey, but a monkey just the same. A little excitement for the evening was fun…but I am not hoping to see it again anytime soon!

I thought I would through this picture in…this was hanging out in the pond/swamp/gross water that is right next to our house…so we sometimes have nice, pretty animals visit us too:)

4 years!

Tyson and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary a couple weeks ago. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe we have been married 4 years already. But then I think back to all that we have experienced together and it seems crazy it has fit into only 4 little years:) This past year has been packed full of its own joys and challenges. We have packed up our lives and moved to Peru, lived in three separate cities within Peru (which means we have set up and tried to establish “home” three different times), we have learned (and continue to learn) a new language and culture, faced the challenges of raising a 2-year-old (anyone hear me on that one), we have walked with our team through victories and disappointments, had our own victories and disappointments, learned again and again that the Lord is mighty and great and bigger then our circumstances and have watched him work in the lives of his people.

We have also faced the challenge of learning how to work together as husband and wife in every area of our lives. This has been one of my biggest challenges and biggest joys this past year. We went from a united couple who had our own jobs and ministries, to being a couple fully united and engaged in every area of life—marriage, family, ministry and the responsibilities that go with that. The first few months for me were such a challenge to learn to work together, how to honor and compliment Tyson in all areas, and how to separate family life from ministry life once in a while. I cannot say I have figured it out, but, I am now seeing the fruits of our time and work together in regards to our relationship. I feel closer to my husband now more than ever, I appreciate him and understand him better more and more each day. I have learned he has amazing instincts; his heart is even bigger than I thought; and his honesty is more often than not, just what I need. I love him now more than ever and my loves grows more and more each day. I know the Lord has grown the roots of our relationship deeper in Him and has prepared us to face all that this next year will bring.

This past month has been the hardest for me yet in Peru. I have not struggled much with culture shock until now (a little delayed, yes) and this, along with a mix of other things have caused me to fall back more in the arms of my husband, knowing with assurance that the strength and love he gives me comes from our Lord. I have a loving, faithful, God-fearing husband and we serve a faithful God. The Lord’s faithfulness has been so evident throughout our entire marriage but this past year He has showered us with blessings, answers to prayer and love beyond what I had imagined. Thank you to all who have partnered with us through prayer and support, each of you are examples to His faithfulness to us. Today I ask for your continued prayers—for our ministry but also for our marriage, not because we are struggling, but because we don’t want to wait until we are to ask:) Please pray that we continued to be united, to encourage and lift each other up. Pray that our marriage could be an example of a loving, godly marriage to our team, church and neighbors, and that it would honor our Lord in all circumstances. Four years ago this verse was printed on our program “He is before all things and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17. Those words continue to ring true for us as we have seen the evidence of his going before us, and as we have felt his arms around us and our team, holding us together. We are privileged to serve such a great and loving God!