Feliz Nuevo Ano!!!

We have had another busy and exciting day here in Chiclayo. The morning started off early, but not as early as orginally planned. The Peruvian time schedule takes some getting used to. We had originally planned to get up at 8:30 to have breakfast, but no one has alarm clocks here, so at 8:30 most people in the house were still sleeping. It is so much more laid back here, people come and go, and aren't restricted by a strict schedule. We ended up having breakfast at about 9:15 instead and then left for church. Church here is very different from church at home. For starters, it is a lot longer, the language is different, the music sounds different, and the liturgy is different. However, taking all these differences into consideration, we are all worshipping the same Father God. The people here have so much passion about their faith. It is so cool to see people who have so little be so happy and thankful for the things that they do have. Henrik was nice enough to print off the lessons and his sermon outline for us in English, although we are starting to pick up more and more familiar Spanish words. After church we took a moto-taxi to a restaurant called the Lebanese-Peruvian Friendship Club. It was very nice. We tried goat, raw fish, peruvian lasagne, duck and various drinks made from fresh fruit. Each meal cost only 9 soles, which is about $2.75. After lunch we came home for some siesta time. The whole city basically shuts down for an hour or two in the afternoon to have a time of rest. After siesta we took a Combi (van/taxi/bus thing I mentioned in the previous post) to a suburb of Chiclayo called San Antonio for another church service. When we got to the church there were about five or six kids running around playing, so we joined in. I am amazed how much you can communicate with people even when you don't know much of the language. They were very cute and we took a lot of pictures. The church service was much the same as the first one, only less formal. The people are so welcoming here. We introduced ourselves and sang a song for the people before the sermon. Everyone here thinks that Parker's name is very funny. After the service we played with the kids a bit more and then left to take a Combi back home. We only had a few minutes at home and then headed over to the mission house for New Year's celebrations. We had supper and then sat around and played games with the other mission families. In Peru, New Years is a big deal. People make dummies called Munecas and fill them with straw and firecrackers and then light them on fire at midnight, it is quite a sight to see. The whole city of Chiclayo is covered by a haze of smoke right now. It is also tradition to have a big meal with your family at midnight, so on our walk home, we could see all the families in their houses together. Please pray for the people that we are working with, that they would continue to be strengthened in their faith. Also pray that they would receive a deeper understanding of Christ's love for them. We are all one in the body, so we pray also for unity among believers. We love all the comments that we have been getting, they are a huge encouragement to us all. God bless and Feliz Nuevo Ano!

Lindsay for Team Peru

Our First Day

Well it is hard to believe that we are actually here, in Peru, but we are. After our sleep this morning/early afternoon, Henrik took us on a walk around Las Brisas (the area of Chiclayo that they live in) and two other communities around Las Brisas. We went to people's homes and visited with them. It was good to get aquainted with our surroundings, and the place that we will be staying while we are in Peru. After our walk around the neighbourhood, we went to the market to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables. We took a taxi/van/bus sort of thing to the market. Let me tell you one thing about Peru...there are absolutely no rules of the road. It is so fun and exciting to be in the midst of all the chaos. Basic things to know, the bigger car has the right of way, and that is about it...absolute pandemoneum! We got to the market in one piece and were greeted by tons of people all bustling around doing their shopping. It seems that every booth and vendor has a microphone, so you are forever being yelled at to buy this or that. There are so many interesting things to see at the market. A few things of note: several pigs heads (real ones), huge barrels of olives, yellow underwear (a new year's tradition for good luck), and many other things. After the market we went to mass at the Catholic church down town. It was interesting to see, although, none of us understood a word. We went and got some money changed from a vendor on the street and then came home for supper. We had a Peruvian version of Tamales (the name escapes me at the moment) made from ground fresh corn, meat, onions, and cheese. Following supper we went over to the church for youth group. There were about 15-20 people there, and our time consisted of singing songs, sharing testimonies and prayer time. It was really neat. Roonie and Parker organized a soccer game with some of the guys from the church for tomorrow, so that should be fun. It has been a very full day, so it is almost time for bed. God bless, and thank you for your prayers.

Lindsay for Team Peru

We Made It!

Hello everyone back at home! Well after more than 24 hours of airports and airplanes we finally made it to Chiclayo. Everything went very smoothly besides a few short delays. We are all doing well, other than being extremely tired. We arrived at the Christopherson's house after a crazy cab ride, with all of our luggage, yay. Although it feels like it is the middle of the afternoon because we have been up for so many hours, it is only 9:15 in the morning, so we just had breakfast. Now we are all going to head straight to bed and get our inner clocks back on track. Thank you so much for your prayers for safety...more updates to come soon.

Lindsay for Team Peru

TEAM PERU READY TO EMBARK!

Stay tuned for posts from the team here!!!