prilz

New Website

2010-05-13T03:20:00.001-05:00

Luke and I now have a new website. Please go to http://lukeandprilz.com

Girls from church

2009-03-11T10:06:00.006-05:00

Our church has been going through some difficult times and disunity... some families were asked to leave the church and many people also left with them. It's been really sad to see people upset, disillusioned, angry and confused. Through it all, most of the youth have stayed with the church.

I've been trying to get to know the girls better and find ways to spend time with them... from going to pijamadas, going to Vacation Bible School, having them over for lunch, going to youth group, going shopping... just creative and fun ways to get to know each other better. It's hard to open up and share with someone that you don't know, so the last few months have been a process of building deeper relationships. For me, it feels like I have had to start again after Abancay and it has been hard, but I know that God will give me strength and wisdom.

I thought it would be cool to share with you about some of the girls I have gotten to know so you can be praying for them too...

Iris - We try and meet up once a week for discipleship, talk through issues and are going through Colossians. She is currently looking for work and continuing in her studies to be an English teacher

Johanna - She invited me to share at the pijamada and is in her last year of high school. She's been really excited about Luke and I getting married. We'll be meeting up weekly cos she wants to learn Chinese...!

Neftali - She is also getting married this year, and we've been able to talk and encourage one another as well as go shopping together! I had her and her sister Judith over last week and hope to be able to meet up with Neftali more regularly

Greta - I met her at youth group and got to know her better during Vacation Bible School...

It's been interesting to see how getting married has opened the doors for conversations and relationship building. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as I see the girls at church or at youth group or meet up them at other times, pray that God will continue to use me in their lives to draw them closer to Him.

Pijamada

2009-02-02T11:58:00.002-05:00

Last week the pyjama party was postponed and this week it was on, then off, then on again... but it did happen last Friday night and it was really fun.

I had never been to a pijamada in Peru so had no idea what to expect. It was supposed to start at 7 but I was told it would be fine to get there at 8:30 and all I needed to bring was something to sleep on. Joanna, the girl who organised the pijamada, asked me to share my testimony with the girls and tell them a bit about my relationship with Luke.

So I arrived a bit after 8:30 with my sleeping bag, sleeping mat, pillow and backpack with all my personal stuff... and none of the girls had arrived. It gave me a chance to chat with Joanna, so that was great. Not long after, Cibeli and Andrea arrived and we started watching a video. The youth pastor's wife, Vilma was also there and later another girl Martha also arrived. The girls were all in high-school and part of the high school group at the church. I had met some of them before but it was good to be able to hang out with them.

Then we played games, Hide and Seek and also Twister. I thought I knew how to play Hide and Seek but I was wrong, you have to try and sneak back to base... interesting trying to run around the church with all the lights off. By the time we'd finished playing games it was 1 and then we started with the testimonies - hopefully I was able to encourage the girls through my testimony and how God has worked in my life... then we got ready for bed... must have been around 2:30ish...

I woke up at around 8:30 with itchy bites all over my body from being attacked my mosquitoes and all achy from sleeping on the floor... and realised... I'm too old for pijamadas!!!

BUT it was great getting to know the girls and to have the opportunity to share with them.

Pray for Joanna, Cibeli, Andrea and Martha - that their friendships will be stronger because of the time they spent together having fun and that they will be able to encourage one another
Praise for the opportunity to share with these girls and to get to know them a bit better

El Redentor

2009-01-23T10:02:00.003-05:00

The church we have been going to since September is called El Redentor (The Redeemer). It is part of the Evangelical Free Church of Peru. There are quite a number of youth and university students. As the months go by, we've been able to get to know people better and build relationships with people through the different activities we attend at the church.

There are 2 Sunday services and we attend the 11:15am service - and we've been going to a small group (home group, cell group...?) on Thursday nights. I've wanted to be involved in a bible study with youth and while there is a youth group on Saturday nights, we were told the small groups were all mixed groups. Recently the youth started another group to study the bible and we've been invited to go along... and now as a newly engaged couple, we've been invited to attend the group for married people too.

So weekends are pretty busy with church activities, today (it's Friday) we'll be heading to the bible study in the afternoon, then the group for married people at night and tonight there is also a pyjama party for the high school girls that I've been invited to share at.... then youth group tomorrow night and church on Sunday followed by lunch with our small group leader and his family.

Praise that we have been able to connect with people at El Redentor
Praise that the youth are keen to study God's Word
Pray for my sharing/testimony tonight at the pyjama party and that I will be able get to know some of the younger girls
Pray for some of the girls that I've gotten to know - Iris, Sayuri, Ivonne, Joanna, Judith... that I can continue to build the relationship that we have so that I can encourage them in their walk with God

And I said...

2009-01-20T06:27:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, we decided to go out for sushi in Miraflores... it was the first day that Luke and I were both in Lima after about 3 weeks apart. Everything seemed normal, it was the restaurant that he took me to before we started dating and he made it sound like my idea to go out for Japanese. I got to order what I wanted (sushi rolls!) and when the food came out... it said...

I could only see "Will you" and I just looked at Luke... and he had the ring...And I said...

We'll be getting married here in Lima... that's all we know so far...

Here are some of the photos from our trip to Sydney and HK...

Please pray for us as we plan for life together, that God will continue to guide us. We are so thankful to Him for bringing us together in Lima, Peru... all the way from Minnesota and Sydney!

Spiritual Life Conference 2009

2009-01-17T06:37:00.002-05:00

Every year all the missionaries from SIM Peru meets together for the annual Spiritual Life Conference. This year we went to Arequipa in the south of Peru on Monday and I got back last night.

It is always great to hear about what God is doing all around Peru. We learnt from the Servant Songs in Isaiah, prayed and praised God together and had a great time of fellowship and fun with other SIM missos from Lima, Arequipa, Abancay and Cotahuasi. (I really enjoyed catching up with the missionaries from Abancay!)

The missionaries with SIM Peru come many different countries (Switzerland, USA, Germany, Canada, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, England, Scotland, Austria and of course, Australia!), so Stacey and I shared about the multi-cultural team training workshops we went to last year. It went pretty well and hopefully helped people be more aware of our differences and how we can work and serve together.

The last couple of months have involved a lot of travelling. First to Arequipa in November to visit the short termers and the ministry there as part of my job as Short term Coordinator for SIM Peru and then for the multi-cultural teams training workshop in Korea. After that, Luke and I went to Sydney, HK and Minnesota to meet each other's families and then most recently I went to Arequipa again for Spiritual Life Conference.

I'm ready now to settle back into life in Lima, especially as we're getting to know a lot of the youth at El Redentor (the church we attend). Luke and I end up chatting to so many people after the service that we're starving by the time we get around to having lunch... I'm taking it as a good sign!! We've been going to youth group and a small group and I'm also hoping to go to a youth bible study and continue with discipling.

On a sad note, I found out yesterday that my grandmother (dad's mum) passed away. In my last newsletter, I mentioned that grandfather (mum's dad) had passed away so it's not the same side of the family but anyway... it's been hard to be away from family and it was a blessing to have had seen my grandmother when Luke and I were in Sydney and her love for Jesus.

So for those who pray...
Praise God for the time of learning and fellowship in Arequipa at Spiritual Life Conference
Pray for my role as Short Term Coordinator and that the time I spent in Arequipa and the training I received in Korea will be able to help me do my job better
Praise God for the time that Luke and I spent getting to know each other's families and that he will continue to guide us
Pray that Luke and I will be able to settle back and get involved at El Redentor
Pray for my family

I finally did a newsletter...!

2008-09-01T08:29:00.000-05:00

Link to my latest newsletter...

http://groups.google.com.au/group/prilzinperu

I'm just about to fly to Cusco and then it'll only be 4 hours to Abancay instead of 15 hours on the bus. I'm looking forward to catching up with all my friends and being involved in the Women's conference in Abancay. Pray that that women who attend will be challenged from God's word and that we will also have a great time of fellowship.

Photos from Peru

2008-06-01T18:47:00.009-05:00

Here are some photos from the last couple of months in Peru.

Vacation with Mel... photos from the Plaza de Armas in Lima and the Floating Islands in Lake Titicaca

I was house-sitting for some missionaries and didn't want to live by myself, so had Zenaida and her daughter live with me... we organised a dinner for Ruben, Zenaida's brother who is Yesenia's godfather... and for the meal, he had guinea pig and we had chicken!

One year old parties are a BIG deal in Peru... I went to Eliasif's First Birthday... and he got a guinea pig from his grandparents!! YUMMM....!

So, it's been an interesting couple of months. I have been seeking God's guidance for my life and after much prayer and talks with SIM, I've decided to move to Lima. It has been a tough decision as I have been preparing to come to Abancay for quite a few years... but through this I have learnt to totally trust in God's plans for my life and not my own plans.

I have about a week here in Abancay before I head to Lima and then to Australia for my brother's wedding. When I come back from Australia, I will look for an apartment, church and settle into ministry in Lima with university students, young women and short-termers. Please pray for this transition. I am looking forward to what God has planned for me as I continue to follow Him wherever He leads.

First Bible Study...

2008-04-18T22:14:00.003-05:00

I just got home from leading my very first Bible study in Peru... it was with 'Entre Amigas' (Between Friends), which started from a group of girls from different churches who got pregnant outside of marriage. Now most of the babies are 1, with some about to turn 2!

We decided to study women of the Bible this year, so started with Eve. There were only 3 mums today (max of 7), but between 3 crying and playing toddlers, I felt that 3 was plenty!! We talked about creation and marriage. It was really cool, the girls all opened up about their relationships with their partners or husbands, the in-laws and were all really chatty, which surprised me - but I think the smaller group helped them feel comfortable to talk... and it just happened that the 3 girls were all from the IEP (Evangelical Church of Peru), which is the church that I attend.

I only just got back from travelling around with Mel (uni friend from Oz) and have been sick, but not too sick. I'll put up some cool photos from travelling around Peru when I get around to it... seems that I don't have many photos of ministry... will have to try and take some, it's hard, cos I'm usually busy chatting to girls and keep forgetting to take photos.

Tomorrow, I hope to have a bunch of girls over from the IEP to watch a video... just hang out so I can get to know them better. Just before I went on holidays, they all (ok... not ALL... about 16) came over and we just talked about some topics that they want to discuss... and surprise surprise, they all want to talk about guys and dating...!

So pray for me as I start doing stuff... pray for the girls from 'Entre Amigas' and from the IEP. Pray for wisdom to know what things to get involved in and as I consider different ministry options.

Last days in Lima... or actually... in Huaraz

2008-03-14T20:27:00.009-05:00

Last week, I finished bookkeeping with the SIM Peru office and Spanish classes. It's been a good couple of months in Lima and I think my Spanish grammar has improved (though, there is always room for improvement!). As for the office stuff... it was interesting, but I really wasn't there much! And I hope I haven't left things in a mess...!

So last weekend, my Abancay family... who now live in Lima and are actually from Huaraz... took me to Huaraz with them for a cousin's wedding.

Not the whole family went... just the girls! And because we missed our bus (long story...), Luciano (dad) took Diana and I all the way to Huaraz. But that ended up being really good, cos we got to hang out for a day.

It was really fun to have Rossmary (mum) show us around where she grew up. Huaraz is about 8 hours north of Lima in the mountains. It's absolutely beautiful there... but freezing!

After getting back from Huaraz, I left Lima for Abancay... my bus took over 18 hours, which is a record for me! Normally, it takes about 14 - 16 hours. So now I've been back in Abancay for a bit over a day... it's been good - it feels like I've come home and I'm ready to see where God leads me as I start this next phase of ministry.

I'm living at Jeff and Stacey's house (SIM US missos) and Zenaida and Yesenia, her 1 year old daughter, are staying with me so that I can have someone to speak Spanish to and so that I'm not living alone.

Continue to pray for guidance as I consider ministry opportunities. Pray that I can really settle back into life in Abancay... I've already been bitten to death by fleas... so that has been a nice welcome home!

Spiritual Life Conference 2008

2008-02-23T23:55:00.008-05:00

Every year all the missos from SIM Peru get together for their conference. It's a great time of learning, fellowship, fun and relaxation (at the beach!). This year, our speaker was Omar, SIM Oz director... very cool! It was awesome get to know some of the missionaries here who have so much experience and wisdom.

Talks, praise and sharing...

Me, Stacey and Amy (Go Abancay!!)

SIM Peru

Serious missionaries...

Now I've only got a few more weeks left in Lima until I head back to Abancay in the 2nd week of March. The plans have changed a little... and instead of looking for an apartment, I'm going to look after Jeff and Stacey's house while they go home for medical reasons combined with home assignment for 3 months. I'm hoping to start hanging out with girls in Abancay, so now I have a place to start, and I'll also have one of the girls from church stay with me (it's a really big house a bit further from the centre of town...), so I'm looking forward to getting to know her better and having people over!

So pray for me as I say good-bye to city life and get ready to head back and start ministry in some shape or form in Abancaycito.

A new year...

2008-01-09T23:46:00.000-05:00

My aim for these next two months is to get as good at Spanish as possible before I head back in Abancay in March. I'm meeting every day for 4 hours with Sandra... we do all sorts of cool stuff like read magazine articles, cook, play Scrabble and Boggle, watch and discuss movies, watch court cases on TV, visit interesting places in Lima, eat different types of food... all while working on improving my Spanish.

Learning made fun and practical has meant that this whole process of absorbing another language has been rather pain free... and I definitely think that living with a family has made a huge difference. Speaking of family... my family from Abancay arrived last week, so I've been trying to hang out with them (cept they live really really far away!)

Though it's not all fun and games... I'm also going to start intensive grammar twice a week for 2 hours each time with another girl named Roxy. I still confused about the 3 different types of past tenses and the subjunctive... I tried to learn by osmosis, but I don't think that was such a good plan so hopefully Roxy will explain it all to me...!

Pray for my relationship with my family from Abancay, Sandra and Roxy, for good health in Lima (my allergies have been OK but I've been taking antihistamines...) and that Spanish will continue to become more natural... speaking, reading and writing.

Feliz Navidad!

2007-12-24T18:04:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

I love singing Christmas carols in Spanish to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour... familiar tunes and great words that tell us of what God has done for us.

Peruvians celebrate Christmas at midnight on the 24th. It's my first Peruvian Christmas and I am about to go to a concert/carol event at the church and then go over to spend Christmas with the Peruvian family I lived with in Lima in 2004. Should be fun!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Moved... to Lima

2007-12-09T19:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been in Lima for about a week and a half and it's been totally full on...! I started with learning all the stuff for bookkeeping (total brain overload, it's been ages since I've worked in an office environment, and with spreadsheets!!), and I'll be doing this for SIM Peru until March to cover for missos going on home assignment... meanwhile, I'll be trying to improve my Spanish, which is the main reason I'm in Lima. I've started classes with a girl named Sandra - she's just finished her second year of Journalism at the University of Lima. It will be great to focus on my grammar.

The last couple of months in Abancay were really cool - I had lots of opportunities to talk to the family and understand more of the culture. It was sad to leave... but they should be moving to Lima just before Christmas, so at least I will see them soon.

My time with Haydee, my Spanish helper in Abancay, has been really awesome. As well as helping me out with language, she also became a good friend.

And you might remember my second language helper, Silvia... I go and visit her every other week and we also catch up at church. I'm excited about going back to Abancay and hopefully starting up some girls bible study groups with her and Stacey (SIM US misso). Her baby is so cute!!

Since arriving in Lima, I've managed to be sick most of the time... allergies, cough and now diarrhoea... not sure what is going on...

So if you want to pray... pray for good health, a good relationship with Sandra and a good brain for numbers and spreadsheets.

Bebebino's Baptism

2007-10-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I went to Bebebino's baptism cos Luciano and Rossmary were godparents. It was pretty interesting since I've never been to a Catholic baptism before. Bebebino is a kid that the family has known since he was born... I think his real name is Josue.

Part of the job of godparents is to buy new clothes and the cake... so we dropped the cake off before the baptism and took some photos... here's Diana, Bebebino, me and Javier.

We then headed over to the church, where I found out that there was going to be a wedding, baptism and first communion... all on the same day! It all seemed very low key, the bride walked in and there wasn't even music playing, she just sorta appeared at the front!

The parents and the godparents help to baptize the child and I think they make some promises and light a candle. It was all over pretty quickly.

Everyone then headed to Bebebino's place to eat and drink. To thank the godparents, the parents gave them 2 chickens and 4 guinea pigs... we ended up eating meat all weekend...! Here's Luciano and Rossmary with their present...

Entre Amigas

2007-10-19T23:52:00.000-05:00

About a year ago, Stacey and Cynthia (SIM USA missos) started a group for girls from the churches here in Abancay who got pregnant but weren't married. It's a cool time for the girls to encourage one another, talk about mum/baby stuff, pray, do craft... I've been going along to play with the babies...! They're all about 1 and are SO cute. It's also been a good opportunity to get to know some of the girls.

Last weekend, we went on a day trip... and had a fun time hanging out.

And this little one... people keep thinking she's my kid...

Pray for the mums and their babies... more like toddlers...!

Choquequirao

2007-10-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

I set off on Saturday morning for Choquequirao with 5 other missionaries from Diospi Suyana (a predominantly German hospital in Curahuasi which is about 2 hours from Abancay).

In 2004, I went with the Baptist church here in Abancay to the same ruins, it's a 3 day hike from Cachora and I thought I was going to die but this time, we had 6 mules, so we didn't have to carry our stuff, so I figured it would be fine.

The first day we hiked 10 k's down the mountain to the river, crossed and then hiked another 7 k's to the campsite. The view was awesome... I love the Andes.

The next morning, we woke up early and hiked to Choquequirao. The ruins are similar to Machu Picchu, with way less tourists.

The Incans built these cities as centres for religion and culture, they're pretty interesting, especially since Choquequirao continues to be excavated.

They say it's only at about 60% at the moment. It's pretty amazing how much the ruins have changed since 2004!

It was fun looking around and imagining what it would have been like as a city!

It was pretty cool. After a couple of hours, we started heading back. It's amazing how long it takes to go up and down a mountain, it's pretty steep (unlike Oz)!

My toes were starting to hurt even though I had good shoes and socks. The last time I went to Choquequirao, both my big toenails fell off and by 2k's from the river, I was in pain with every step. So lucky we had the mules, so I got on one of the mules for the rest of the way down the mountain and to the next campsite. When we got to the campsite, I took off my shoes... and... someone accidentally stepped on my toe...

OUCH! And my toe started bleeding, lucky I was with 4 nurses! They bandaged me up and that was it for walking and I had to ride a mule all the way back. Now my toenail is all black and is gonna fall off again...

Besides a squashed toe, it was a pretty cool trip and I got back safely even though my toenail wasn't so lucky.

So I guess no more hiking trips for me just yet... just Spanish. Things are going well with the family and also with Haydee my language helper... I think I'm improving, it's hard to tell but my family thinks so cos I can make jokes in Spanish that are actually funny. I guess that's a good sign?

Lima vs. Abancay

2007-09-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

To tell you the truth, I was getting a bit sick of Abancay (not sure if it was cos I was getting bored of my routine, missed the city, ... or what) and was totally looking forward to going to Lima. This morning, I arrived back in Abancay after a week in Lima and Ica.

And can I just say, I love Abancay! After a week of breathing in damp air, pollution and horrid weather... this fresh air and sunshine is SO good! It's good to get away and want to come back! Being a city girl, I was thinking that I would love city life and it would be hard to leave - but it wasn't! I couldn't wait to get back to Abancay... my family, the missos, friends, church, the gym, meeting with my Spanish helper. Getting away has been really good - I got to do city things and hang out with missos and friends from 2004 and now I'm all ready to get on with life in Abancay.

I went to Lima because we had a misso women's conference in Ica (about 4 hours from Lima) and it was sad to see all the destruction from the earthquake, though that made it very real for me. It's been almost a month since the earthquake but its effects in people's lives is evident... many houses, churches and other buildings are in ruins. At the same time, it was cool to be refreshed from God's word and reflect on my spiritual life.

So at the moment, the plan is to stay in Abancay with my family while meeting up with my language helper until the end of November. From the end of November until early March, I'll be helping SIM Peru with bookkeeping and getting intensive Spanish grammar lessons... in Lima! In March, I'll move back to Abancay... find a place to live in, get that all set up and start getting seriously involved in ministry.

Earthquake...

2007-08-16T08:09:00.000-05:00

From CNN... "A magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck off the coast of central Peru on Wednesday evening, reportedly killing scores and injuring hundreds. The quake was felt for two minutes, according to Peruvian media. It was followed by several powerful aftershocks."

In Abancay, I felt my bed shaking for about a minute but I wasn't feeling totally well and thought it was just my head spinning... until I heard the news reports. So I think it's all OK here in Abancay as we're probably about 10 hours away from the epicentre but most of the damage is in the south of Peru near the coast in Ica.

Please pray for Peru, we have the news on and it doesn't sound good with over 300 killed and 1000 injured. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, are injured or have lost their homes.

Chuquibambilla

2007-08-14T22:33:00.000-05:00

Last week my friend Sandra invited me to visit her village... Chuqui (I found out later that it's actually called Chuquibambilla... pronounced Chookie-bam-bi-ya) - so as this year isn't just about learning Spanish but also about learning more about Peruvian culture... I thought it would be good to see more of my state of Apurimac and experience a bit of the reality of life outside of Abancay.

So on Friday afternoon, off we went. I've been on a lot of buses in Peru, but from Abancay to Chuqui was probably the worse so far - 5 hours and I was ready to chuck, only the first 20 minutes were paved and the rest... bumpy, windy and 4 hours too long.

We arrive in Chuqui, I'm feeling pretty sick and it was freezing...! It was a small town on the side of the mountain in the middle of nowhere... adobe houses, pit toilets, animals... though bigger and more developed than I had imagined.

There was a conference happening at the church, so we went along for some of activities and some of the meals. It really hit me how different life is in the villages when I found myself eating soup with interesting animal parts floating in it while some kind of animal was being chopped up at my feet. It was hard not to imagine bits of whatever animal it was flying up and ending up in my soup... while trying to avoid the intestinal looking things already in my soup.

I've always thought that I couldn't handle not having a flushing toilet and a shower... but I'm proud to say that I managed quite well for 3 days! I was quite surprised, cos at first I was like... I don't think I can do this, but now... I'm like... I could definitely do this! Probably not forever, but a week or so would be cool...

We also went hiking, and that was heaps fun. The Andes are just amazing - it doesn't look like it's that far away, but then it takes forever to climb up and down a mountain.... seriously it doesn't look that steep from across the mountain and when you get there, it's like... I could fall, get pricked by cactus and die!

Anyway, it was a great experience, enjoyed getting to know Sandra's family, didn't get sick, survived the bus ride back, it was cool! Totally outside my comfort zone and it was great to see the needs of churches outside of Abancay. Praise God for the opportunity to go to Chuqui!

A really big rock...

2007-07-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

There’s this really interesting rock that I went to visit last week, it's about an hour away from Abancay. It’s called Saywite and shows the Incan empire: coast, mountains and jungle, as well as representations of animals and important places like Machu Picchu. Lynda (short-termer from NZ) and I got dropped off on the highway and walked down into the valley... and there it was, this big rock in a cage... It made for a good day-trip to find out more about Peruvian culture.

And today is a public holiday because we celebrated Independence Day on Saturday 28th July. I went with Diana to watch her dad march in the parade and help raise the flag... it was interesting for the first couple of groups but then it seemed like we were watching the whole of Abancay march past and it took ages and got a bit cold and boring.

Anyway, all is going well with my family. Diana and Javier didn’t have class for about 3 weeks cos all the teachers were on strike but they started school again last week and won’t have mid-year holidays because of they have to make up all the classes that they missed. After moving back in earlier this month, praise God that we've been getting along really well and as my Spanish improves, I've been able to have some really cool conversations.

Sometimes on the weekends, we got on paseos, where we all pile into the car and drive somewhere or visit someone and then come back. Last week we went with another family and they have 2 little girls... so here's Diana and I mucking around with my camera.

Mi Familia Abanquina

2007-07-09T08:12:00.000-05:00

Like every family - we have had our ups and downs. Unfortunately, this week was a major down and I actually moved out. It's been quite stressful and emotional but we've sorted it all out and I'm actually going to be moving back in later today.

When you're in another country on your own, dealing with problems can be tough. But I've been reminded that I'm not alone. God is always here with me and even when I don't know what's happening or don't understand... God is sovereign and always in control. He always provides for us. I am a part of a great SIM team who have been amazing, and as a bonus, I've discovered I have some close Peruvian friends.

So I'm looking forward to moving back in with Luciano, Rossmary, Diana and Javier. Pray that I will continue to live as a light for Jesus and use the opportunity that God has given me to live with this family in this year of language and culture learning.

Just some news of what else is happening in Abancay:

- From Friday to Sunday, the SIM women missos had an interdenominational retreat for the women leaders of Abancay... praise God that it all went smoothly and that the ladies all enjoyed themselves. Pray that they will be challenged by what they learnt and be strengthened in their walk with God and encourage their churches.

- It's actually dry season... and the coldest month of the year here - but for some reason it poured last night and I can see snow on the tops of the hills (which is apparently not normal). Pray for the people in the villages, especially the children, that they will be warm and healthy.

What the...?

2007-06-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

So I’ve been plodding away at Spanish since getting back from Lima and Bolivia. It’s been going pretty well. I’m noticing more and more when I say things incorrectly (which I’m taking as a good sign...). But when I do stuff up, it definitely makes for a good laugh!

I decided not to do most of my language and culture year in a language school, so the idea was to have some language helpers and live with a family... and it’s been really cool! I’m learning words and phrases that people use (though I have a feeling my 13 year old brother Javier might be using words that I might not want to use...). Conversation is getting easier, especially one-on-one and face-to-face...but groups and over the phone is still difficult.

So I thought I’d share some of my stuff ups... I’m watching TV with Javier and we’re and talking about going to look at the stars with his telescope and I say... But today’s not really a good day because of all the nines (nueves) in the sky. Clouds are “nubes” which you might think sounds nothing like “nueves” but B and V are virtually identical in Spanish. He definitely gave me a “What the...?” look.

There are so many words that are really easy to mix up... for eg: casada (married): cansada (tired), vieja (old): viajar (travel), piedra (stone): pierna (leg), pollo (chicken): polo (t-shirt)...

So basically, there are SO many mistakes I can make... and at the same time, there is still so much to learn. I’m looking forward to going to Lima in a couple of months to consolidate everything but at this stage, I’m really enjoying meeting with Haydee and Deysi each day and hanging out with my family. Learning in context has made it a lot easier and I have lots of opportunities to listen and practice.

You know what? This week has been really cool, the family and some church friends asked about why I decided to ditch the corporate world and become a missionary in Peru. While it is such a great opportunity to share my testimony, at the same time, it’s frustrating because there are things that I can’t express properly, especially deep and meaningful stuff.

So pray that my Spanish will continue to improve, so that I can have more opportunities to talk and share with people at a deeper level, especially my family. Praise God that we’ve been getting along really well, God has provided me such a cool family to live with and it has been such an answer to prayer. Pray for creativity, motivation and discipline to learn more vocab and verbs. If you have any fun ideas, let me know!!

A crazy week...

2007-06-03T18:06:00.000-05:00

So you think you know what you're going to do for a week... think again!

This week was a great reminder that God is in control. I had initially planned to go with Lynda (a short termer from NZ) to Bolivia to renew her visa and visit some ministries in La Paz but through different circumstances (including me getting sick and not getting back from Lima..!), we decided to go to Cusco and Puno instead.

So on Monday, we arrive in Cusco thinking that we would go to Puno the next day.
On Tuesday... we accidentally find Immigration and find out that we can cross the border to Bolivia to renew Lynda's visa but needed to go back for a stamp the next morning.

So on Wednesday night, we're on an overnight bus to Desaguadero, which is on the border of Peru and Bolivia. When we arrived on Thursday morning, we stand in line for ages and yet somehow managed to cross the border without the stamp in our passport and had to walk back to Peru to get the stamp.

On the Peruvian side, we were told we could come back the same day... but when we got to Bolivia... we're told that we have to stay 24 hours... and there was NOTHING in the Bolivian side of this town... and we couldn't get back to the Peruvian side where all the buses were... so we jump back on the bus that we came on and find ourselves in La Paz.

I would have thought that being in the capital of Bolivia would have been exciting, but we were both really tired from being on the bus for about 15 hours, my nose started bleeding, it didn't feel very safe, had nowhere to stay... so it just seemed easier to head to Copacabana instead, which was closer to Peru and on Lake Titicaca (when you live in the mountains... water is very appealing!)So we hop onto a bus that took us to Copacabana. At one stage, we had to get out of our bus so that it could go across the lake... apparently it was safer for us to go across in a packed little boat. It was a gorgeous town on Lake Titicaca.

On Friday, we take a bus to Puno (which is where we wanted to go on Tuesday...and right on Lake Titicaca) and head out to see the floating islands. It was really interesting... they have these islands made from reeds and people live on them!

We spend ALL day Saturday getting back to Abancay from Puno... on buses and taxis.

Looking back... it's been an amazing cultural experience and I feel so privileged to be able to see another part of God's creation here in South America. Thank you to everyone for praying, God kept us safe as we trooped around and as for being sick...I'm still a little bit sick... but it's great to be back home in Abancay.

This is a really long post... so I might as well keep going... I start with 2 new language helpers tomorrow. Pray that I will be able to get lots of language practice and build good relationships with Haydee and Deysi.

Thanks for reading and to everyone who has left comments - I feel very loved and know that I wouldn't be here in Peru and totally loving it if I didn't have friends and family back home (and all around the world) who are praying for me and love me.

I'm sick...

2007-05-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

So after being in Peru for 2 months... it's finally happened... and I'm sick.

Lucky for me it's not a stomach or vomiting thing... I just had this allergic reaction to dust that has somehow morphed into a cold, congestion, sore throat and now a cough. It only started yesterday afternoon and I was spose to travel back to Abancay today but I really didn't feel up to sitting on the bus for 15 hours, so will see how I feel after some drugs and some sleep.

Other than getting sick... Lima has been really good but I'm looking forward to going back to Abancay.

Back in the city...

2007-05-17T22:39:00.000-05:00

I arrived in Lima earlier today after a 15 hour bus ride from Abancay... it was pretty good, I managed to sleep through the night. Tomorrow I will go to Migraciones to get my carnet (Peruvian ID card for foreigners... all I know is that I need a carnet to be able to leave the country and also to open a bank account) and hang around in the big city until Wednesday.

Couple of things of my 'To Do' list:
- catch up with some missos, mks and friends here in Lima
- check out a language school for later on the year
- go visit Ruy (Diana and Javier's older brother who is studying here in Lima) and other relatives of my Abancay family
- buy some baby toys and clothes for Silvia (baby toys are almost non-existent in Abancay...)
- sort out how to get to Bolivia... I'm going to La Paz to see some SIM ministries with a short-termer in Abancay who needs to leave the country
- go to the movies
- go have Thai food
- go have gelato
- go to the beach (more like, go look at the ocean)
- go shopping (more like window shopping...!)

The main part of this trip is to officially become a Peruvian resident and get the card that goes with it, but the stuff that comes with being in the city is a bonus. I love Abancay and while I don't think I want to live in Lima... it's cool to be able to visit.

Would you...?

2007-05-14T16:13:00.000-05:00

Would you get in a car driven by...?

On the weekends, we often go on paseos. The family has a red, VW, jeep, convertible type car and we drive around Abancay. Within 10 minutes, we're out in the country... and it's pretty fun.

When we get out into the middle of nowhere, Javier gets to have a go driving. He's actually pretty good considering it's a manual car that doesn't have power steering, the roads aren't paved, there are horses, sheep, cows, dogs and chickens he has to avoid hitting AND he's only 13!

Praise God that I've settled into living with Luciano, Rossmary, Diana and Javier, my Peruvian family in Abancay. Pray for opportunities to talk about God as my Spanish improves.
Pray for a safe trip to Lima on Wednesday - YAY, 15 hours overnight on a bus!

Un bebé

2007-05-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

Qué lindo! Silvia had her baby yesterday and we went to visit them in the hospital. I found out that apparently in Peru, dads aren't allowed in during the birth...! So we finally get to meet Eliasif Eliab Cervantes Huamanñahui.

I'd been praying for the baby to come during meal times since Silvia went into hospital on Tuesday and didn't give birth until Thursday, so the family was pretty excited and Rossmary (the mum) and Diana (my 'sister') came to the hosptial with me to visit Silvia and meet the baby.

Praise God that both Silvia and Eliasif are both doing well.

For One Night Owls...

2007-05-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

One Night Owls is the name of a Year 1 class in Sydney who has been praying for me. I think it's so cool - so I thought I'd post some pictures of some Peruvian animals for them (and for everyone else who reads my blog)!

Vicuña

Llama

Condor

Praise God that my Peruvian ID card is now ready to be picked up in Lima. So I will probably do the 14 hour bus ride next week and stay for a couple of days in Lima to catch up with my friends.

Praise God that I'm getting to know the family better and that we are all getting along.

Pray for Silvia (my language helper), she's gone into hospital to have her baby, and pray for a new language helper.

3 mk's 4 3 days

2007-05-03T22:58:00.000-05:00

From Friday lunchtime until Monday lunchtime (Peruvian time... which is about 15 hours behind Oz)... I am going to be looking after Brandon 6, Jonathon 4 and Nathan 3, while their parents are away for the weekend.

It should be really fun... playing hide and seek, watching the Incredibles, reading books, playing chutes and ladders, having water fights, playing outside, going out for ice-cream, making a mess, going to church and Sunday School, jumping on the couch and maybe get some sleep!

Pray that the kids, the house and I will all be in one piece on Monday... no seriously - pray that it will be a fun weekend!

Spanish... Spanglish?

2007-04-26T12:57:00.000-05:00

I had a language helper named Esther for about 5 days and then she got a job as a teacher about 2.5 hours away in Circa. So I have now started with Silvia... and her baby is due on the 18th May (but she has been told it will probably come early). She's the pastor's wife and we're bout the same age - we meet for about 3 hours each day and it's been really cool.

So I guess you might be thinking... what do you do with a language helper?

We usually meet in the plaza at 9am and then chat about what we the previous day in the arvo and at night. She corrects me if I say stuff incorrectly. After that, the topics of conversation can range from food, culture, stories, myths, people, clothing, church, colours, numbers... usually I've thought of some stuff that I want to know or consolidate and she also has something that she wants to teach me.

After a while in the plaza, we walk around the market or streets to learn new words and then end up at the honey shop, where we have a drink or something to eat and read the Bible.

I also had a suggestion from someone or somewhere to read the New Testament out loud - so for about the last half hour, we take turns and read a paragraph each... at first it was quite hard, but it's getting easier and I feel like I'm reading at a "normal" pace. It's been cool to learn "bible" words and we're up to Mark 11.

I feel like I am improving, more Spanish and less Spanglish... and it has been really fun to have language helpers and live with a family rather than be stuck in a classroom. Definitely recommend it!

Pray that my brain will continue to absorb Spanish!
Pray for Silvia, for the rest of her pregnancy and that the birth will go smoothly.

Settling into my room...

2007-04-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

My new room... and furniture! I bought a table and shelves to put all my stuff...

My culture helper, Sandra - we went to the Mirador (the lookout), you can see Abancay behind us

It's been fun getting to know Abancay and some of the people here. I'm getting lots of Spanish practice with the family, Esther and Sandra.

Moved in...

2007-04-15T18:05:00.000-05:00

I've now been living with a family here in Abancay for 6 days. It's been really cool experiencing the Peruvian culture and being able to listen to/speak Spanish all day.

The father, Luciano, is a judge or lawyer here in Abancay for the district of Apurimac, the mother, Rosemary, takes care of the house and cooks etc - and they have 3 children. The eldest, Ruy, is studying in Lima, so I haven't met him, then there's Diana who's 16 and Javier is 13. They're really friendly and fun.

My room is right on the street and I'm only metres away from people walking past and cars driving past - it makes for a good alarm clock in the morning and I'm gradually learning to sleep through it all, I bought a table and shelves to put all my stuff, I've gotten used to showering without a shower curtain and making the whole bathroom wet in the process, I'm getting used to having breakfast at 8ish, lunch at 2:30ish and dinner at 9:30ish, and I've had all sorts of yummy Peruvian food. So it's going pretty well - I'm loving it.

I also meet up with Esther, one of my friends from the IEP church, for Spanish class and practice each day for about 3 hours. Another girl, Sandra, is also helping me to get to know Abancay. So we walk around town, catch the combis, visit people I know and chat.

Praise God for:
- the opportunity to live with a local family - it's awesome!
- Esther and Sandra who are helping me with Spanish and culture
- no new bug bites!!

Pray for:
- my relationship with the family, that I will be a good witness and have opportunities to share the gospel
- my Spanish, that it will continue to improve

Semana Santa

2007-04-09T08:47:00.000-05:00

Holy Week...

I've been tagging along with the missos or MK's when they go and do interesting stuff...
- Allen and Jeff (missos) spoke at one of the universities that had a forum on "Jesuscristo Revolucionario" along with a Catholic priest
- Sarah (MK) sang at her school mass for Easter
- Allen went to a village about 1.5 hours away and showed "La Pasion de Cristo" followed with a gospel talk

So little by little, hopefully I'll understand more of Catholicism here in Abancay compared with the evangelicals. The Pastor at the IEP (Evangelical Church of Peru) spoke from Matthew 28:1-11 and reminded us of the significance of the cross and the hope we have in Christ's resurrection.

The team here in Abancay (15 Americans and 1 Aussie/ABC) also celebrated Easter and the fact that our Saviour and Lord died and is risen, and that has also been an interesting cultural experience! Since I started High School, Easter meant Youth Houseparty or Youth Getaway... AND chocolate... but this year, dyeing and hiding Easter eggs (who would have thought Easter eggs came in a non-chocolate variety that you had to dye yourself!), singing Easter songs (or were they hymns...) that everyone knew cept me, and having an Easter lunch with turkey, cranberry sauce and apple pie! YUM! I think I like!!

So for other news...
- I move in with the Peruvian family later today... Luciano, Rosemary, Diana and Javier
- I counted over 50 bug bites all over my body.... very itchy!
- I failed my project... again!

Pray that I'll be able to adjust to living with a local family and that there will be many opportunities to share Jesus.

Settling in...

2007-04-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's a bit bizarre to think that this is now my home. I live in Abancay...! I go from ohmygoodness to AWESOME!

Going to youth group and church, wanting to sing in Spanish but not knowing the words (they all just seem to know all the songs so they don't always put words up!), drinking something pink and sweet for communion, greeting people with a kiss, itchy bites all over my body, the soft Quechuan handshake, going shopping at the markets, bumping into people you know on the street, catching the combi, walking along dirt roads, jumping over gross things I don't want to step in, getting stared at - all things that sometimes seem unfamiliar which in time will become familiar.

A small town in the Andes - Abancay is very different to Lima. I feel like a city girl pretending to fit in and live in the country! Funny thing is, many people come into Abancay from the surrounding district, so it is supposed to be the "city". But I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere.

At the same time... this is where God wants me to be and I'm really looking forward to getting to know the girls from church better. I wish my Spanish was heaps better too! It would make it so much easier to get to know people. Listening to Spanish and trying to speak can actually be quite tiring too... I look forward to the day when I will be able to think and dream in Spanish!

Today as I was walking around town with Stacey (my orientation mentor), I met the Chinese couple who have a Chinese restaurant in town and they invited me to have Chinese tea with them! They speak Mandarin (not Cantonese) so that should be interesting - but we did manage a conversation with my really bad Mandarin and broken Spanish. How funny!

Tomorrow, we will go to visit the Peruvian family I hope to live with from next week.

Pray that
- I will continue to settle in
- I will be able to build good relationships with the other missionaries and some of the girls at church
- I will be a light for Jesus to the Peruvian family and the Chinese couple

Finally... in Abancay!!

2007-03-30T16:00:00.000-05:00

The last 4 days in Lima have been really fun. Here's a photo of some of the friends I hang out with in Lima - Yelly, Fiorella and their mum Mariana. I lived with the family and used to go to church and cell group with the girls, so it's been fun to spend time with them.

It feels like it's been quite an easy transition into Peru, it all feels quite normal...catching combis, getting squished, being very security conscious, getting lost, people staring, not flushing toilet paper down the toilet and eating Peruvian food (no guinea pig or purple corn just yet).

On Wednesday, I went to Interpol... to get fingerprints taken and have a dental check. I think this is all so that I can get a Peruvian residency and an ID card.

Then on Thursday afternoon, I caught the bus to Abancay and arrived this morning with my 2 rather heavy bags and a backpack. It ended up being a 15 hour trip (not 18 as I had thought) and I didn't feel sick until the last 2 hours of winding up and down the mountains. So now I'm here!! I'm staying with Jeff and Stacey until I move in with the Peruvian family, they came to pick me up and I had a shower and then we went to the Abancay team meeting where I got to meet everyone. That was cool. It's a bit surreal...I can't believe I'm here!!! I thought you'd like a photo, so I just went out to the balcony and took this.

I'm living in the Andes... how awesome is that?!

Pray that I will settle into life in Abancay. I will move to live with a Peruvian family just after Easter and start Spanish with some language helpers soon too.

In Peru!!!

2007-03-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

I've now been in Lima for 2 days and it's been AWESOME!! I arrived on Saturday night and by the time I got out of immigration and custome - it was Sunday. The Porters (Aussie family with SIM) came to pick me up and I'm staying with them until I leave for Abancay, which is really cool! Some of my friends also came to see me at the airport and we arranged to meet at church. I met Fiorella, Marc and Yelly at the Alianza Church in Lince and because I was running late... I ended up catching a taxi. Lucky I did, cos I didn't recognise the church when I got there. The service was really good - I loved being able to sing in Spanish and tried to follow the message - though that was pretty hard. We then went back to their place, had lunch and hung around catching up, mucking around, speaking Spanglish, looking at photos and watching videos of the weddings I had missed. It was heaps of fun, and just like old times when I used to live with the Arrieta family and hang out there on Sundays, even after I moved out.

Then today I went to the SIM Lima prayer meeting and met some of the new missos and caught up with some of the old ones. I've been oriented to the finance system and then I got to spend some time with Julie (short-termer from Oz here for 2 years) and that was really fun. My big achievement for the day was buying a new sim card for my mobile. YAY - I am now connected to the world again!

Praise God for:
- safe travels (for me and luggage!)
- renewed relationships

Pray for:
- my travels to Abancay by bus on Thursday
- great time catching up with missionaries and friends in Abancay

And just in case you didn't quite get it... I'M LOVING IT

Almost there... in Chile!

2007-03-24T12:19:00.000-05:00

So what do you when you're in transit for 10 hours in Chile? You go to the LAN Mistral... comfy lounges, drinks, food, showers, wireless... pretty good!

My first two flights were pretty good, slept a bit, watched The Queen and The Departed, feeling a bit tired but it's day time here, so going to try and stay awake until I arrive in Peru tonight.

It's funny that my webpages have now switched to Spanish... pretty smart that it knows I've arrived in Spanish-speaking South America... though not so smart cos I'm not always sure what it says!

1 more sleep!

2007-03-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

I just got back from picking up the visa in the city. YAY!

Now just have to pack...!

I think I'm procrastinating from packing... the plan was to be packed by Thursday night... hmmm...

Praise God for:
- visa!

Pray for:
- packing, good time with family, some sleep tonight, smooth check-in, good good-byes and safe travelling

2 more sleeps!!

2007-03-22T00:48:00.000-05:00

It's quite funny that I still don't have my visa and I leave on Saturday. Though it has been a cool reminder that God is totally in control.

The plan was to go to pick up the visa on Monday, when I was told that my passport would have to be sent to Canberra for a signature - AND that it would take a week! My response: "Ummmm - but... I'm leaving on Saturday!" So the plan was then that they would send it straight away and I should get it by the end of the week.

So today, I called the embassy in Canberra and in trying to find out where my passport was, I found out that normally the Sydney office would issue the visa but from the beginning of this year, the person has left and the new guy doesn't come until the 28th March. If I was to pick up my visa a week later - it would have been fine!

Eventually, it was all sorted out - my passport had been signed and it has just been confirmed that it is waiting for me in Sydney. So it's all good. I wasn't really worried about it until about an hour ago when I thought - I really should call the embassy again!

So the plan is... I'll pick it up tomorrow morning! And in 2 more sleeps and lots of time in the air and in transit - I'll be in PERU!!

Uno, dos, tres... days not weeks!

2007-03-21T07:12:00.000-05:00

With 3 days to go... it is almost here!!

Quick recap of last few days... (just in case you're wondering what an 'almost misso' does in their last days of being at home!)

Monday 12th - Friday 16th - in Gerroa on family holiday, was really relaxing and fun... quality time in between the hecticness of preparing to leave

Saturday 17th - my commissioning at CBC - was a really encouraging and memorable day and it was cool to be sent off to Abancay with the prayers and support of my church and so many other friends

Sunday 18th March - last Sunday Service at church - feels weird and a bit surreal that I won't be back for 3 years

Monday 19th - went to "pick up" my visa... but nope - apparently it doesn't work like that and my passport has to go down to Canberra for a signature

Tuesday 20th - spent most of the day at SIM, had my exit interview, sorted out stuff, wrote a will

Wednesday 21st - spent the day at SMBC (I wanted to go to one last Principal's Hour... and it was awesome!), caught up with people and said goodbye

Most nights we have had people over for dinner... so that has been really good too... and now I'm sitting here writing emails and updating my blog.

Praise God for:

- family and friends

Pray for:

- my passport, that it will have a safe trip to Canberra and back with the required signature

2 wks 2 go

2007-03-11T01:13:00.000-05:00

With less than 2 weeks to go, I can hardly believe that I will be in Peru so soon. I left Lima in October 2004 and now after 2.5 years, it's finally happening!! It's hard to describe how I feel because it's almost like I am too busy to even think about it.

It's been exciting to hear from the missos in Peru and to hear that they have found a potential Peruvian family for me to live with! AND my visa is almost ready! YAY!

This past week I managed to catch up with some friends, share about Peru at Meriden and speak at a youth group . It still feels like there is a lot to do in terms of packing and organising (i.e. I haven't started packing...!), but I'm sure it will all somehow get done...

I'll spend this week (Monday - Friday) on the South Coast and will be back on Saturday for my commissioning.

Praise God for:
- opportunities to share about Peru and mission
- a potential Peruvian family to live with

Pray for:
- quality time with God
- a great week with my family

Uno, dos, tres...

2007-03-02T22:03:00.000-05:00

3 weeks to go...
3 planes to board...
3 years in Peru...

This last week has involved a lot of traveling... Newcastle, Bowral and Canberra to visit SIM prayer groups, catch up with Dene, Rachel and Eliott, go to Jody and Eugene's wedding and to visit Tracey (otherwise known as Jellyfish). It's been cool and encouraging to see college friends again.

In between all the traveling, I also had to hand in the re-write of my project. It's been a good process of trusting God with the unexpected (more like unwanted!!) And it's all out of my hands now.

It's hard to say how I feel about leaving in 3 weeks - excited and scared at the same time, a bit emotionally drained, ready to leave but wanting to spend time with family and friends, so much to do and not a lot of time...

Praise God:
- for his faithfulness and provision
- that I handed in the re-write for my project
- time spent with friends, supporters and pray-ers over the last week

Pray for:
- quality time with God, family and friends
- visa (waiting for SIM Peru to let me know it's all sorted so I can go to the Peruvian consulate in Sydney to get my passport stamped)

In exactly 4 weeks...

2007-02-23T18:16:00.000-05:00

I will be sitting on a plane, ready to take off on my journey back to Peru. I feels a bit surreal that it's happening so soon. On one hand, I can't wait to see everyone again but at the same time, I still have so many people I want to see and catch up with before I leave.

I still have to finish my project - I have to re-write it a bit and then college will re-submit and then we will see what happens. So that has been this extra thing to think about. I often hear of missos who have something big happen before they leave, so if this was it for me... I got it pretty easy!

Then I can focus on packing, preparing and saying bye to people! I still have 1 prayer group, 1 school and 1 youth group to visit... and my commissioning on 17th March!

Praise God for:
- his provision in all areas of my life so that I am now 4 weeks away from Peru
- family and friends

Pray for:
- my project re-write (due 1st March)
- energy and passion as I continue to share with others about mission and Peru

Hanging out in Hong Kong

2007-02-15T08:42:00.000-05:00

I've been back from Hong Kong for a couple of days, jet lagged, a bit sick and working for the week. I'm glad I got to go and see my grandparents before going to Peru. I spent quite a lot of time hanging out with my grandmother (po po) and went to visit my grandfather (gung gung) at the nursing home. The last time I went to Hong Kong was when I was on my way back from Peru in 2004... so it's been over 2 years and it was great to see my relos and catch up with people.

Some friends took me to see another side of Hong Kong. No highrises, no people rushing around, no shops, no buses, no MTR, fresh air, blue skies, wide open spaces... was I really still in Hong Kong? Cheung Chau and Tai O are part of the outlying islands of Hong Kong... and it reminded me of Peru, though a lot more developed. It was pretty cool.

Being in Hong Kong made me think about language and culture and the challenges that comes with not being able to speak a language fluently and not always understanding the what and why of what is happening around me. Oh the joys... though I am really looking forward to learning Spanish properly this time!

Now it's back to Oz... counting down... just over 5 weeks to go! I guess lots of people ask - how does it feel?? I feel like I've been ready to go back to Peru for a while, so it's like... COME ON! At other times, I think... what am I doing?? And it's usually at the strangest times... Like when I was watching the movie Babel and got a bit freaked out that if I got shot in the Andes on a bus then I wouldn't be able to get medical help and have to get stitches without anesthetic in some little mud hut in the middle of nowhere...!

But then I'm reminded that I am serving the Almighty God and it's all good!

Praise God for:
- my time in Hong Kong, especially with my grandparents

Pray for:
- my visa application (currently underway in Peru)
- the churches, prayer groups and schools that I will visit in the next month, that God will continue to use me as I share about Peru, mission and how God has been working in my life

SMBC, SUFM, KYLC and HK...

2007-01-27T05:04:00.000-05:00

That's a pretty good summary of my life... a whole bunch of acronyms!

I managed to finish Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC) and "graduate" (more info later to explain "...") and then move back home. College was an amazing time of learning and growth - not only spiritually but personally. I am constantly learning more, but I feel like I am better prepared and equipped for what is ahead because of my time at college and living on campus.

My family at SMBC Graduation 2006

I spent a couple of weeks at home amazed at how much junk I had accumulated while at college and thinking that I can't possibly fit it all into 2 bags, even if each bag can be 30-something kgs each... and doing odd jobs like... buying my ticket... and applying for a new passport...before heading to Forster Scripture Union Family Mission (SUFM).

I love Forster SUFM and it was great to visit the team. I was able to share with some of the kids why I was going to Peru. On my way home from Forster, I caught up with 2 families who live in Newcastle, both with kids who had invited me to Cooks Night Off when I was a Minis leader.

Then it was onto prep for Katoomba Youth Leadership Conference (KYLC). 10 years ago, I was in Strand 2 and it made heaps more sense this time around. I really like Strand 2 which is Biblical Theology and I wanted to experience teaching it in English... which is why I stayed around in Sydney, and it was totally worth it!! Talks from Joshua and Titus - AND great people to hang out with!

Here's to explain the "..."! While I was at KYLC, I found out that I had failed my major project at college - the 8000 word one (we didn't really graduate at graduation... since results come out after graduation)! Thinking back, being at KYLC and having Christians all around me was a blessing. At this stage, things are still uncertain in regards to re-mark, re-submit or re-do but all I know is that God is in control and he is growing me through this.

So on Monday, I go to Hong Kong to see my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends. And when I come back to Oz, it will be 6 weeks before I leave for Peru. Just a note for your diaries: Commissioning on the 17th March in the arvo at Central Baptist Church. And then on the 24th March, I start my journey 28 hour journey to Peru (18 hours in the air and 10 hours hanging around in airports)! Sydney - Auckland - Santiago - Lima!! WOOHOO!

Praise God for:
- all the graduates from SMBC going all around Sydney, Australia and the world to serve God
- everything I learnt while I was at SMBC and the friendships that I made
- the encouraging time at Forster and Katoomba
- all the people that are wanting to partner with me in prayer and finance, so that I was able to buy my ticket

Pray for:
- the time I will spend with my grandparents in Hong Kong
- my project - that it will all be sorted out and I will learn and grow through this experience
- a suitable Peruvian family to live with in Abancay during language and culture learning
- the churches in Peru and the pastors that lead them

Bienvenido

2006-10-25T18:45:00.000-05:00

I’ve finally joined the world wide web of blogging… my thoughts and experiences, as well as some prayer points… so here goes!

In 5 months, I'll be going to Abancay. It's a scary yet exciting thought. These 2 years back home have been a great time of learning and thinking. But it will be great to learn Spanish properly and immerse myself in the culture so that I can get involved in serving God in the Andes. Until then - there are 2 essays, 12,000 words, churches and prayer groups to visit and people to see.

Praise God for:
- opportunities to visit churches and groups to share about mission and the needs in Peru

Pray for:
- clarity for writing these essays