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