Peruvian Wedding

Some of us had an opportunity to attend a Peruvian wedding on Saturday. The civil service was suppose to start and 8:30 in a little town about 30 minutes from here, and then the church ceremony was supposed to be on the mountain another hour or so away. We were not originally intending to go to the civil service, but were just planning to be up the mountain in time for the church service. Our van left about 9:30 and when we arrived at the little town, the civil service hadn't yet taken place. Apparently the judge forgot about the wedding (or something) and left town. So, they were trying to contact the mayor or another official who could perform the ceremony. I'm not totally sure what time it was that the civil service actually happened, but it was close to noon before we left that little town.

We made the hour or so trip up the narrow windy mountian road, and only came upon one bus and one dump truck. Both times, one of us had to back up in order to find a place wide enough that both vehicles could pass each other. After we made it to the town where the wedding was to be held, we had to hike about a half mile up hill. (keep in mind that this is about 13,000 ft above sea level.) The little church at the top was a small building with a dirt floor and some wooden benches. Most of the service was done in Qechuan. (however you spell it)

Following the ceremony, we all walked a short way to the new couple's home. We sat on some blankets off to the side, while we waiting for the dinner. People brought out pots and pots of food. My favorite was the pig pieces that were brought out and taken to the kitchen. Finally, they started bringing out bowls of soup. We were a little worried that they might not have enough bowls and would just re-use them over and over without washing them. All of the Qechuans we just sipping directly from the bowls, but they provided all of us with spoons. The soup itself was very good. While we ate the soup, some women came around pots of baked potatoes and corn kernels. One of the women told us that it would be a good idea to peel the potatoes in order to clean them a little bit. I'm so GLAD I cleaned mine. In the process of cleaning off my little potato I accidentally broke off a small piece and found a WORM inside! Blek! Anyway, for the next course we saw massively piled plates of pasta, rice and huge chunks of pork coming out. Thankfully, the portions that came to us we slightly smaller and didn't have any pasta.

The work at the church seems to be progressing. The area where the old metal spiral staircase used to be has now been covered in the upstairs room and on the main floor ceiling. It seems like it was rather a long process to get the nails to actually go into the wood. Because the wood is so hard, they had to use some oil to get the nails to go into the wood without bending. On the main floor, the electrical boxes have been put in the walls in two rooms and most of the conduit for the wiring has been run. It is a process though because they had to cut into the walls in order to fit the conduit inside the concrete. Then once the conduit had been run, they plastered over those sections. I know that they also want to install a few more lights in these two rooms and do some painting. These two rooms are just the beginning of this construction process.

We aren’t sure what is going around, but there does seem to be some sort of virus that we are all sharing with each other. It isn’t just our group that is struggling with sickness. It seems as if the nationals are feeling sick as well. There are two left in our group that have yet to get the bug. Please pray that they will remain healthy and that the rest of us will not get sick again.

Since I last posted, the church had a special musical service. Many of us spent quite a bit of time handing out invitations in the market and other places, in order to get people to come to the service. Sarah sang and played about 10 different songs, and we really did have quite a full house. The school kids also sang a couple special songs. I didn't personally get any pictures of the concert, but I did get some pictures of people carrying things over to the building. The church building wasn't big enough to hold everyone for the event so the church rented a building a couple blocks away. So, everyone pitched in and helped carry things over. It was quite a parade! :)

There is a lot more I can say, but perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow! That way you all will keep reading!
Anyway, here is a picture of our whole group... for those of you who may not know everyone.

Back Row Left to Right:
Dave Heckart, MJ Munn, Pastor Hess, James Bradehoft
Front Row
Sarah Hess, Heather Sellin, Myself (Melissa), Anne Marie Hess, Kathy Bradehoft, Caitlyn White

How do you say "Don't Push!"?

(I typed this up Tuesday night, but didn't have an internet connection to post it)

Working with kids is always an adventure, but it’s even more interesting when you can’t communicate the way you would like to. Kids club today brought even more children. I don’t know if we had a final head count… it’s hard to count when the kids are coming and going… but I’m sure we had somewhere around 100.

Each class time we have a couple of games, a couple of songs, a story, a verse, and today we had a “craft”. We had wordless book bracelets for each of the kids. Some of them we had prepared ahead of time because we knew it would just be too much to try to have each of the kids make it on their own. However, I think we’ve decided that trying to do a craft with that many children might not be something that would be really productive.

Also, after every class time, they give a piece of bread to each child. Tonight, they also gave the children something to drink. The children were told to get in a line, but some of the children couldn’t just stand nicely. I did my best to try to communicate, but I just didn’t know how to say “Don’t Push”. I can say wait, but perhaps my words aren’t as effective if I’m not fluent in Spanish. :p

The church here, is in the process of raising funds for the renovation project. Apparently half of the total amount needs to be raised by next Friday. So, today we spent a little bit of time passing out flyers for a special music service they are having at the church Wednesday night. During this time, they will have fundraisers to help put toward the amount needed. Please pray that they will be able to raise these funds.

Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you how the work project itself is going. I tried to venture in there to take some pictures today, but I could barely even see the guys because of all the dust. So, hopefully, I will have an update on that soon.

Beginning the week....

The days are seeming to fly by rather quickly. Monday resulted in everyone going several different directions. Some went to the school to help the students with classes, some to Cuzco to take care of some errands, some remained at the Rojas's, and some had a long day of work on the church building.

Monday also was the first day for the kids club. The location where we are holding the club is apparently different from where they normally hold it, so we had quite a few more kids then they were expecting. The kids just kept coming and coming. I think we ended up with somewhere around 80, but there were also a great deal of adults standing around and watching the group. One of the men from the church dressed up as  a clown, and I believe that was a great initial crowd drawer.

The guys continue to work hard on the project here at the church. Yesterday they were able to tear down a spiral staircase and install electrical outlets throughout one room. This morning, they are tearing out portions of the wall and stirring up quite a bit of dust.

Please pray for our group. We have had a few come down with different stomach bugs. Right now Pastor Hess and Mr. Bradehoft are both not feeling well.

Thank you!!

Another Update

Here we are, three days into our stay at Urubamba, and we have been able to be apart of so many things. The church here has been having a conference with a guest speaker from the States. So, every evening we've been able to listen to Randy Chovan speak in English while one of the other missionaries translated into Spanish. Each message has been very dynamic and the Lord has used the services to show several people their need of salvation. Praise the Lord! Each service has been very full, and it is exciting to see the way the church members jump into helping out in any way they can.

Following the morning service, we went to dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. The meal was very good, but it was made even more exciting by the televisions throughout the room playing the Spain vs. Italy soccar game.

The plans for the rest of the week involve helping out some more with the Christian School, and assisting in 5 day clubs after school. The women have been working on making answer keys for the 5th & 6th grade math. Right now the school only has Math papers with no answer keys. So, we have to go through and translate the questions then figure the problem to make the keys. It is a fairly long process, but we are learning more Spanish in the process!

Just a few pictures...

Arrival

We arrived in Cuzco Friday morning. All of us were pretty weary, but we were also fairly hungry. So, Pastor Samuel took us to breakfast at a little shop in Cuzco. We had a nice omelet, café con leche, fruit smoothie and fresh bread. After eating we all piled into the vehicle and started the drive to Urubamba. I honestly don’t know how long the drive was, because I was exhaustedly passed out in the back seat. We did stop a couple of times to take a few pictures at some different Incan ruins. After arriving in Urubamaba we again ate and unloaded our things. We did all get a nap that afternoon and barely woke up in time to go to the evening evangelistic service. Thankfully, Peruvian time does not mean that things start on time.

I was extremely thankful for a nap, but I had also really been anticipating a nice warm shower. However, we didn’t have time before the service and then when we got back… there was no water. So, again we crashed. That peaceful sleep was interrupted thought, but a mild water crisis. The water turned on randomly, and flooded the bathroom and some other rooms in the house. The night before, the water had been turned on (but there was no water) and the facet had not been turned back to off. So, poor MJ was awakened to a wet bed. Thankfully, the only thing that really got wet was MJ’s bed. Eventually we did get all of the water sopped up, and crawled back to bed.

Today, (Saturday) the women spent a majority of the day making song charts for the Spanish children’s songs and the men used their time tearing out portions of the church and preparing for the rebuilding process. We were each able to shower today as well. The showers were pretty cold, but they were definitely refreshing!

Some random things you may want to know:

- Heather’s name in Spanish is Braza (pronounced Braysa)

- Mate (pronounced Matay) is the cure all tea… especially for headaches from the altitude.

- The water has some parasites in it, so don’t drink it unless it has been boiled. In fact, if you go out to eat somewhere, be sure to wipe your fork with a napkin so that you be sure to remove any possible parasites. The parasites are only there if water is present.

Just Beginning...

Our little group is currently sitting in the Ft Lauderdale airport awaiting our next flight. So far, our trip has gone well. It isn't really characterized by much sleep... for me anyway. I find myself being a tad envious of those who can just fall asleep before the plane has hardly even left the ground.

My day started with a 1:00 am wake up, a shower, and a rush to finish last minute packing before meeting the rest of the group at 2:00 to leave the church. (You know you haven't slept much when you haven't even had enough time for sleep to form in your eyeballs!) We arrived in Omaha and had a smooth check in, but our flight was a little delayed. This slight delay meant we were running to catch our next flight in Chicago. Since we switched airlines, we had to claim our luggage, re-check it and go through security again before we could go to our gate. Thankfully, we made it to our gate just as they began bording. There was just enough time to use the restroom, but unfortunately not enough time to grab a cup of coffee.

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale a little before 2 eastern time. Thankfully, this was a great opportunity to find a big cup of coffee and a delicious burger. I also spent $1.50 on an orange. Granted, it was a very good orange, but I was rather thinking that it should be something that airports in Florida should just hand out for free... as some sort of souvenier or something... :p

Our next flight departs at 7, and we are scheduled to land in Lima sometime just after midnight. We'll spend the rest of the night in the airport, and make our last flight change to Cuzco. So... for now... we wait. Talking... some of us cat napping... making final phone calls... and other randomness.

I am very thankful to the Lord for the safety we've had so far... I love flying... it's so amazing to view so many things that the Lord has made. I will post some pictures soon...

Writing again...

I'm sure there are very few of you out there that actually check my blog anymore, but I decided to revive it again. It actually took me quite a while to remember how to get back into my account to make a post... but here I am.

I am very excited to be heading back down to South America this coming week. I will be traveling with a group of 10 to Urubamba, Peru for a missions trip. We will leave out of Omaha at 6 am Thursday morning July 28th and return Wednesday July 11th. During our trip, we will be involved in a Christian school that the missionaries recently started, we will be a part of a couple of 5 day clubs, and we will be helping with other work projects. I am hoping to be able to post periodically during our trip so that some will know how to specifically pray for our group.

For now, please pray that we will be wise in knowing what to take with us. We have just found out that we are limited to just one bag with aa weight limit of 40 lbs. We had originally been planning to take a bunch of things down for the missionaries, but now we won't be able to take everything we planned. Also pray that we will be a blessing to the missionaries that we are seeking to help.

Thanks for praying...

Applesauce!

Phew! My facebook status this morning listed a great many things that I hoped to accomplish today... one of them in particular took a quite a bit more time than I anticipated, but was enjoyable. Just before lunch today Nathan and I set about to make applesauce. We cooked the apples and Nathan graciously "squished them" (for lack of a better description). After which... I added the necessary ingredients and plopped in jars. The last of the jars are about to be processed. Just wish I would have taken pics...

Changes in life

Wow... I realized just now that it's been May since my last post! I can't believe it! So much has gone on in that time. I finished up the semester at SCA and left with many mixed emotions. Leaving many friends behind I set off for home on July 5. What a joy to be reunited with my family though!

Since my arrival back in the States I feel as if I've constantly been on the go. Home for a couple days to a week and then gone again. The Lord has given opportunity to visit many friends and family as well as share in a couple of churches that supported me during my time in Chile.

My family and I will be moving at the end of this month to Wayne, Nebraska. The main purpose for this is to be closer to my Grandparents. So we are in the midst of packing and sorting and wondering why we have so much stuff! Though I haven't been around a lot during my family's stay here in Sheridan, I have come to love it and will miss being here. I am however excited to be closer to my Grandparents again.

Many have asked me what I am doing now, or what my plans are... I can say without a shadow of a doubt... I don't know :) Beyond today, I don't know what the Lord has. I continue to pray that the Lord would give direction. He has just impressed upon my heart the need to be faithful to what I know to do now. (Hopefully I'm back to updating regularly and can answer this question sometime again in the near future :)

Fall turning to Winter...

The weather over the last couple weeks has progressively gotten colder. I wake up every morning and peak out my window to see what the day may hold. Oh the joy to see the sunshine rising over the Mountains... even if it is surrounded by smog! :) We have had a couple of cold days here and there, but nothing to horrible. Everyone has informed me that the winter is supposed to be especially cold this year, but so far we haven't see that yet. I wouldn't mind if it held off for another six weeks. :p

This evening I will be participating in a little "camping" outing with some of the kids from the Elementary. While getting ready for school this morning, I received a phone call asking me if I would be willing to help chaperone a group of the 5-6th graders who will be spending the night here on campus. Apparently they are doing some sort of wilderness experience and are going to build a campfire and all. So this evening when they are all ready to crawl into their little sleeping bags I will join the girls in their tent. Hopefully the night isn't super cold, but I will be fully decked out in warm clothing, lots of blankets, and a hot water bottle!

Germ-X!!!

It's official... the swine flu is in Chile... Ahhhh!! Just when I thought the craze was dying out... The school administrator came around to each of the classrooms today with specific instructions that everyone is to wash their hands and use germ-x every day before they eat lunch. I'm not really worried about it however. The Lord is still in control.

This week has turned out to be extremely short. There are only class days due to a Chilean holiday on Thursday and an extra holiday given for Friday. My goal is to be diligent in the work I need to accomplish.

The semester and school year are quickly drawing to a close and I know that it will be over before in a flash. Many of the students as well as the administration are beginning to fret over what is going to happen for teachers next semester. There is still a need for at least 2 more teachers. Will you be in prayer with me for the school? I know the Lord is in control and His timing is perfect.

Spirit Week - Clash Day

Being a little over halfway through the second semester here at SCA provides great timing for Spirit week. The weather is turning dreary and getting ready to hit the rainy season.... so a little extra "Spirit" is in order.

The different classes in the Elementary and High School have been divided into 4 teams with 2 teachers on each team as well. So every morning this week, we will gather with our teams and do a predetermined activity as a group. This first day, Clash Day, each team came up with a team name and decorated their team poster. Miss Lori, the Kindergarden teacher, and myself are the offical leaders of the "Yello Jaket Jokers" (all words are intentionally misspelled).

As you can see... the Junior High girls did very well in their clashing abilitites. It promises to be an exciting week with more great days to follow.

Gone to a better place...

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Late Sunday evening I received news from home saying that my Aunt Lynne passed away. We weren't super close, but my immediate reaction was to leave for home as soon as possible. All I could think about was being with my family. I was very close to hopping on a plane and heading back to the States. However, after praying, talking, and thinking some more... I felt more at peace about staying than going.

I'm very thankful that I can rest in the fact that she trusted Christ as her personal Savior and that I will one day see her again in heaven. My Aunt had a great deal of health problems for a long time, and for her sake I am thankful that she is no longer in pain. I'm confident that the Lord's timing is perfect and he has it all worked out for His glory!

The Memorial service will be held today in Lincoln. My parents and sister were able to travel out for the service. I would definitely appreciate your prayers for them at this time. Please pray also for my Grandparents. They will have much to do over the next couple of months... please pray for their physical as well as emotional strength. Thank you!

How we got a chicken...

Off and on over the last couple of weeks, we as a Science class have been wanting to disect something. The purpose being, our topic of study has been cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals, their characteristics, and the way their organs work. Originally the idea was to get a frog. How hard can that be? The secretary here at the school, Kathy, did some checking for us and found out the it is illegal to disect frogs here... hmmm... not sure why that is.

A couple of the girls were not sad at all about not being able to be apart of a disection, but the majority were disappointed. However, after asking around some more, Kathy found out that we could disect a rabbit if we wanted. Unfortunately no one wanted to kill and skin a rabbit for us. Ugh! Back to square one.

Thankfully Kathy kept pursuing ideas for us and found a place where we could get a chicken. The chicken arrived here at the school this morning, and 20 minutes before Science class began Jose Louis (a guard) killed and plucked it. So, the disection commenced right on time. Many of the girls were enthusiastic and others tolerated it while making gagging noises in the background. All in all it was very informative to be able to see the different organs, and I'm sure the girls won't soon forget it. That's well worth smelling like a chicken for the rest of the day.

P.S. For some of you who may be less inclined to seeing the insides of a chicken, I decided against posting pictures... :)

Highlights of the last week or so...

~ Hiking with Troy and Jodie
~ Going to the B-day party of one of my students
~ Listening to and understanding a big portion of the Sunday service... Super Excited!
~ Garage sale here at the school
~ Hanging with the Kunnari's
~ Eating chicken and massive piles of potato salad at a church dinner
~ Getting ready for classes
~ Being encouraged through God's Word
~ Having to give demerits for unfinished assignments
~ Learning new Spanish words
~ Going to the feria
~ Making dinner with the other singles here
~ Long phone conversations
~ Correcting homework
~ Going for a morning run
~ Taking cold showers
~ Playing Dutch Blitz
~ Teaching new Algebra concepts

All of these things and more have taken place over the last week... many of them could be elaborated on, but I failed to post on the days they happened.
Over all, I am encouraged to watch the Lord work and blessed to be here! Thank you for your prayers!

A Day in Chimborango!

Hola! Saturday was a little out of the ordinary for me, but I absolutely loved it. Lori, one of my fellow teachers, invited me to join her on a trip to a small town outside of the city. The purpose was to go to a little craft show type of thing and also to visit a Chilean family that she's friends with.

I really enjoyed spending time with the family. I have been praying about and desiring more opportunities to be around Spanish and this was one opportunity that the Lord provided. We sat around and talked for quite a while, ate lunch with the family (about 3:30), and played some SkipBo with them before we left. They were so friendly! It was fun to try to talk with them.

Before I left, their little boy asked if there was any gift that he could give me. I just didn't know how to respond... especially in Spanish. Thankfully Lori helped me out! So they sent me away with a handful of roses from their garden.

I look forward to visiting with them again!

Friday night Fun!

It was Friday, just after the school bells ring died out... that a group of us (teachers and high school students) headed out for an adventure at Miss Kelly's house. We made the short walk to the metro... some laden with pop (or soda, depending on what area of the country you're from), some with chips, and some with cookies. The ride was short and not too crowded, but extremely warm! Traveling via metro is always much more of a "show" when you have a combination of Jr. High and High school students! Upon exiting the Metro we detoured to the little grocery store to pick up some ice and a few more goodies... then on to the Dominos where, of course, we ordered pizza!


After scarfing down some delicious pizza and watching the cookie pile dwindle to near crumbs... we all gathered around for some exciting group games. It took a little while to get the kids into them but nontheless... it was a hit. I'm grateful for the opportunities to be able to spend extra time with the kids. Hopefully there will be many more in the months ahead.

A normal Sunday in Santiago... for me anyway :)

On a normal Sunday morning, I attend a small church about a 20 minute walk from my apartment. Sunday School/Church begins about 11:00 and ends somewhere between 12:30 & 1:30 depending on the day. The church itself is small, but the people are very friendly. Though I spend most of the service trying to understand the Spanish, I do enjoy and appreciate what I do understand. Thankfully they have a powerpoint that they use fairly regularly and that helps with my comprehension of what is happening. I appreciate also being able to attend with the Kunnari's. It's been a blessing to have them near, and most Sundays I join them for dinner. Their open door and hearts have been a big encouragement over the time I've been here.

Tomorrow begins week three of classes here at the school. Praise the Lord, I feel like I'm beginning to catch up a little on some things. At this time, I'm am prepping for classes from day to day and that takes up a majority of my time. But that's ok... that's why I'm here!