The church in Punta Hermosa

Santos Buendia is an amazing saint who works tirelessly to make known the gospel in the areas around Lima.  He has been encouraging the church, serving the needs of people and making know the good new of Christ for many years.  Santos' wife, Norma, and his daughter Charis serve warmly and graciously alongside him and loved us well.  One of the areas he regularly serves in is Punta Hermosa.  We had a chance to travel to Punta Hermosa for two days and have VBS, dental and medical services - overlooking the breathtaking Pacific ocean.

Two team members, Shannon and Nakia, I enjoyed getting to know better and look forward to knowing better back home - standing in front of the church in Punta Hermosa - I was greatly encouraged by these two and loved to see their heart to serve the children and the others on the team

 Inside the open air church in Punta Hermosa while Moises teaches VBS

 The people were colorful and full of gratitude.  Here a mom waits with her baby sleeping soundly on her back while the little ones stand nearby

 The dental clinic - Dr. Josh (AKA Dr. Duele or Dr. Pain)

 The streets of Punta Hermosa outside the church

 A little boy making a puppet - the puppet had red hair, glasses and blue eyes - I told him "Mi esposo tiene pelo rojo, ojos Azul y spectacles" (My husband has red hair, blue eyes and glasses) he laughed and the boys around him laughed hard - they wanted to touch my red hair

 At a visit to the local school we saw children practicing the machete dance - with real machetes - for the Peruvian independence day that is July 28

 Dr. Josh, the dentist, at the local school giving fluoride to the students.  On the previous day when we went to the school to be introduced the principal set me up in the little building behind Josh and I saw patients most of the day.

 Lunch in Punta Hermosa - Corn, potatoes and Ceviche (raw fish and octopus "cooked" in lemon juice and coated with aji peppers and cilantro - delicious!  And to drink Chichi Morado - a drink made by boiling pineapple, purple corn and cinnamon - wow!

Regan painting the children and loving on them!

The church in Chilca

On a rainy Wednesday we traveled by bus away from the ocean and into the foothills of the Andes to a windswept, dusty village to work alongside Chilcan believers to have VBS, dental clinics, and medical clinic.  I was grateful for the rain this day.  I was reminded the Lord is gracious to all as he brings rain for the righteous and unrighteous.  I spent many hours in the back of a room talking with people from the village, praying with them, educating them on health issues and giving advice (one of our team members, Maria, speaks fluent Spanish and she has a huge compassionate heart and did most of the talking and encouraging - I was glad to serve with her each day).  Children peeked in the door, rain dripped from the thatched roof, children smiled and older people told stories of lives lived hard and long and faithful.  I didn't see much of what went on outside the room but I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve.

This sweet woman, Elda Rosa, wasn't sure how old she was.  She told me her parents knew how old but she wasn't sure.  I felt privileged to talk with her and pray as she shared of her ailing knees and joints.  I only wish I could hear more stories of how each line was placed on her face...

 The rain on the glass-less window

 We see but a faint reflection - dimly

 Eating in the kitchen

 Amazing concrete sink

 

Peru 2013

I'm back home after a week in Peru serving with members from my church.  What a privilege to serve alongside the Peruvian church and get to know dear brothers and sisters in Christ from another hemisphere!  There were 12 of us that traveled from Grace Presbyterian and many Peruvians that joined us at various times in our week. 

The Peruvian Christians are beautiful, warm, gracious and thankful - I was encouraged by their love for us and the Lord.  One of the women I served with was Mariella - next week she is helping take 15 youth from a church in Perales into the Andes mountains to teach VBS to children in HuanCavelleca.

Did I mention...

Tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane for the South American western shore.  I'll be landing in Lima, Peru for a week of encouraging the church with our mutual love of the Savior, sharing these ER nursing skills of mine and serving with members from our church as we help with Vacation Bibles schools for children, a dental clinic and a medical clinic.  I hope to have some pictures to share when I get back!

Please pray for me as I speak on Saturday, July 20 to a group of women at the church AND as daily I work using these nursing skills to comfort and educate people (and for my sweet family as I'm gone)  What an adventure!

8 Year old interview

Samuel's 8 year old interview -

Favorite color - red
Favorite food - nachos, tacos, pizza AND Deer sausage with rice and green beans
Friends - Matthew, Malcolm, Reed, Roman, Reace, Bryce, Colin, Alex, Tyler, Braden, Clarke
Favorite thing that you did with family/friends this year - going camping, Stone Mountain park, Disney, Grandma and Papa's
Accomplishment you made this year- learning to swim 
Favorite books you've read this year - Lord of the Rings 1 and 2, Hardy Boys, Homer Price, Encyclopedia Brown, Magic Tree House books
What do you want to be when you grow up - Archeologist
Things you like to do in free time - play outside, ride bike and skooter, listen to music, play board games
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? - Sahara desert or African savanna
What is something you want do/learn how to do this year? How to play flag football, go to Lego land, NYC and Washington DC
How many teeth did you loose this year? - 2
What movies or shows do you like to watch? Iron Man, Avengers, Narnia - Prince Caspian, Adventures of Clutch Powers, Star Wars,

AND for the stats of Samuel's 8 year old check up that happened on August 2, 2013 -

Height - 51 3/4 inches (71%)
Weight - 64.2 lbs (76 %)

Serious business

She may appear cute and cuddly in her pink glasses but this look really means "Don't even think about touching my brownie!"

The big dig

So the waste water project was a little more involved than we thought but finally it's finished and the dirt will be filled in today.  We had two problems - 1. the slope from the house was off (we fixed this first) 2. there was a root growing into the tap near where the sewer connects to the city.

 

The surprise was on the city end the drain was completely clogged and pipe busted BUT since it was on our property we got to fix it.  Here are some pics from the second phase of the operation.

 Jeremy down in the hole looking at the problem - He managed the big dig well and got more than a little dirty himself.  We were super grateful to Mark and Jimmy the plumber for all of their work

 busted pipes

 We (meaning Mark) had to dig two 12 foot holes because of the power line running right through the area (there was also a 4- five inch root growing alongside the power cable.

 And here was the problem - busted pipe and the solid waste (poop) plug that was on the other side (I pictured Ernest going EWWWWWW!)

He's 8

Several weeks ago Samuel asked for breakfast in bed for his birthday - so he got it. CFA biscuit, donut, grapes, OJ, and strawberry yogurt.

 

Lego Lord of the Rings cake with Samuel's LEGO guys, a melted chocolate covered marshmellow 'Mount Doom' and a little decoration.

 The 'one ring to rule them all' - for our sweet Sam-Wise

 My tall birthday boy!

 Fun pool races.  The great thing about the pool party were the games they came up with .  We made sure everyone was breathing and let them enjoy the rest.  We had a great time and are so grateful so many friends came!

 Neat pool shoes

 Eating pizza and cake

 Samuel's new Razor skooter from Mama and Daddy that shoots sparks, he got Lego Lord of the Rings Wii game from Lucy, and friends gave him Legos, a Robot building kit, and books.  He was so grateful for everything!

 

With the family at the pool

 

A little helper cleaning up the leftovers.

Sweet as honey

Friends are sweeter than honey!

Last week we went to a sweet older couple at church's house, the Thornton's, to see the bee hives.  The children got to see an empty hive, see the smoker in action, watch the bees buzz around and try on a beekeeper hat.  We had a wonderful rainy afternoon watching bees, eating grilled cheese sandwiches and enjoying other friends.  Thanks so much for a great opportunity to see some bees hard at work!

Leaf races in the rain

Simple fun

Overheard on the dirt pile.......The kingdom of SamOx, a kingdom of miners, invaded the kingdom of Cheewa, a kingdom of farmers ruled by Miss Cheetah.  The battle raged fierce on the plane of Lydia-andia but in the end the desire for goldfish crackers and talk of a peace treaty ended the hostilities and paved the way for peaceful rainy day leaf races.  Simple fun in the dirt.