Whew! I know many of you have seen the You-Tube video of the "world's most dangerous road in Bolivia". Haha- you ain't seen nothing!!!! These past few days we have been on a research trip that would have scared Evil Canivel! We had plans to head out at 4 AM Thursday morning. Teammate Amber Smith arrived the previous morning from Lima for her first trip in the mountains. Also with us was a Peruvian couple who live here in Huanuco, Lindor and Zoila along with their 1 yr old Samuel. They are from an area near where we wanted to research and speak Quechua and Spanish. We all gathered together at 4AM- trying to beat the road construction that would have kept us waiting from 6 AM - 6 PM. But unfortunately- the lock on the gate had been changed and we didn't know- and our key didn't work. So we waited until 5 and then asked our landlord to let us out! Thank goodness for their dog who needed to go outside! So we hit the road at 5 and made it through the construction areas with no problems. We traveled 14 hours that day and still didn't make our destination. The rainy season began 15 days ago according to locals and I can't imagine what it will look like in a few months! The roads were really some of the scariest I've seen yet. Roads. Haha- thats a joke! They are usually wide enough for the truck- though completely mud- and some of these switchbacks were not designed for mud. About 1 out of those 14 hours was on pavement. We didn't have many options on where to stop and eat lunch- or to stop at all really. But we found one tiny town that had a restauarant that still had some soup left. So we sat in the kitchen with cats, rabbits and guinea pigs running around on the floor under our feet and ate our soup. We stopped the first place that had a hostel after it got dark and the six of us shared a room. Thankfully there were three single beds in it- but still... a little awkward. Anyway- the next day was easier- we only drove about 4-5 hours and spent most of the time in the town we had set out for- trying to find churches, believers, "campos blancos" as we say down here. It was a lot of walking around town, asking questions and at one point chasing a bus. Yes we chased after a bus trying to catch a pastor before he left town for the week. We didn't catch him.

Anyway- we ended up spending the night in the town which is "Huaycaybamba" and got rooms to ourselves! The next morning we set out hoping to return to Huanuco if all went well. All did not go well. We drove about 4 hours and our road was closed because of a mud/rock slide that closed the road at least until morning. So we turned around and found another route. We drove through part of the neighboring department of Ancash- and saw some incredibly beautiful areas. Everytime you turn a corner here it's different! Because its rainy season- we've seen tons of waterfalls! So beautiful- though you really have to work to get there to see them.

After another 12 hour day on the road- we made it to a town we've been to before "La Union" and were able to get supper and rooms for the night. Today- we drove the last 4 hours into Huanuco- thankfully most of which was on pavement. Quite a trip.

We were able to find out some of the information we needed to know about this area- though another trip may be necessary in the dry season for follow up. We saw areas that were so amazing- you could only look at them and say "wow, God!! Wow!" Places like this leave no doubt of a Creator! The intricacies, depth and power are unbelievable.

We also got to know Lindor and Zoila. Such sweet friends! They were a HUGE help to us! The questions coming from them rather than us made this trip a lot quicker than it would have been. They helped in everyway they could and it made a difference. Their Quechua came in handy a few times and the times the police stopped us went a lot quicker too. And Samuelito! Ahh- my new love:) He is a sweet little guy who wrinkles his whole nose when he smiles (which is often) and proudly displays his 6 teeth. Can you imagine taking a 1 year old in a truck for that many hours? They made it look easy. A great family to know and hopefully we will be able to work together often.

Amber was a great sport on a very difficult first trip to the Sierra! What a way to break her into the work here!

We are maybe going to remain in Huanuco until we head home for Christmas- but David is already talking about heading out to San Jose de Quero to line up things for the January trip there. Who knows! Here are some prayer requests we have:

• Praise for a safe and successful trip
• Please pray for safe travel to San Jose de Quero (if we go) and to Lima to fly home for Christmas.
• That our time with family and friends over Christmas will be sweet and intentional.
• Please pray for Lindor and Zoila as they minister in their day to day lives.
• Pray for continued language learning (we are getting better!- but please keep praying!)

Thanks so much to all of you! Merry Christmas and we hope to see most of you real soon!

We can't believe its already the last day of November! How can it be winter when we are wearing short sleeves and flip flops? Just doesn't seem right!

We are in Huanuco now- and will be until the 16th of Dec. when we head to Lima and fly out on the 18th for home! We are excited about seeing everyone and ordering in a restaurant in English. I hope I remember how.

David had a good trip to Jauja while I was in Lima- he got to meet some great folks out there. My parents came in November 18th- we had a great time together. We walked around Lima, to the beach, the Inca Market, Harry's, Wongs, all the best spots in Mira Flores! The next day we made the trip out to Huanuco. Saturday we braved the busiest market day and Mama was awed by the produce! That was the most fruit I've bought at the market yet! Then we headed up to Panao for lunch- fried trout at Lao's restaurant with Edmin and Maura. The next day we went to church and walked around town a while. Monday we headed back to Lima- the back way through Ambo- a beautiful drive- but almost all of it is on gravel/mud roads- I think we made Daddy a little nervous. But they got to see more of the countryside and a lot of llamas. The next day in Lima we visited the Inka Market again- Ma's new favorite place! Then we made thanksgiving supper- my first! And it turned out great! They left late that night- we were all grateful for the time together and that Christmas is close!

David and I rested a day in Lima and then drove back to Huanuco. We are preparing for a research trip this Thursday - Sunday. Teammate Amber Smith will be joining us- this will be her first trek out of Lima- pray for her as she deals with the altitude for the first time. Also accompanying us is a couple from Huanuco- Lindor and Zoila- they speak quechua and spanish and are from the general direction of where we are heading- though they have never been to our destination. This will challenge our spanish considerably- as they don't speak english. Please pray for this trip!

For safety on the roads- the cops have gotten more aggressive seeking bribes in time for christmas and have been giving us a hard time.

For clarity in language.

For thoroughness in research.

For health for all of us.

Please also pray that David's permanent license will come in soon- the police have been giving him grief about that too.

Thank you for all of your prayers!! I will try to update once more before we leave for the states! Love to all

Blog Update :

I finally have a little time to update again. I am in Lima for a few days while David is out with another team.
Ironically enough, being a missionary has a slow season! Not really, but church trips from the states do start to taper off this time of year. Because of this, we were blessed to participate in a trip with our home church Grace Community Baptist Church this past week. For about 2 years now our church has committed themselves to church planting in the towns of San Jose de Quero and Usibamba about an hour outside of Huancayo. One of the great things about trips like this is that its like going home, without going home! It was so fun to see familiar faces and enjoy the camaraderie of folks from home. David's great aunt came on the trip and showed us all how to do it!!! 85 years did not slow her down and she was a joy to minister with and an inspiration to watch. Those Jones girls sure are impressive aren't they?
This trip was a dental clinic and over 85 teeth were pulled. On a happier note- over 25 people prayed to receive God's gift of salvation. This was part of the clinic- everyone was shared with while they waited for dental work. I will admit that I had a hard time with this form of evangelization, I always do. I cringe at the lack of relationship and I worry that they will say anything if they think they are getting free dental work. BUT- God really gave me a good reminder. I was able to share with four women and all of them prayed to receive Christ. Even after witnessing that, I was cynical in my heart. But God just reminded me that that is not part of my job. I just need to share His truth. He does the rest. He knows their hearts, He knows their sincerity or lack of and that is not my job to determine. I am still praying for these 4 ladies, that they meant what they prayed and that their lives will be forever changed. But I am resting in His sufficiency and thankfully that none of this rests on my ability or lack thereof. God is so good to teach us isn't He?

We had a great Bible study with the believers in San Jose one night and I had a great time sitting on a gas can with Norma and Maruja and seeing their joy in the Word and teaching. So refreshing to see their hunger. David had a neat opportunity to share with a construction worker there and after conversation with Guy and Mijail, he prayed to receive Christ as well. Please be praying for him, his name is Isaac.
We really enjoyed this trip- it was great to see God work and enjoy the fellowship of brothers and sisters. It was fortuitous timing for me. My grandfather went to be with the Lord the night before we went to the village. While it was hard for me to be around so many people right after I found out, I was encouraged by their gentle sensitivity to me and was encouraged by the ability to stay busy with good things- while having some time alone to grieve. The balance was good and healing for me. Please keep my family and I in your prayers as we continue to miss him tremendously.
David is on a trip now in Jauja, Junin, not too far from where we were last week on a semi-vision trip. Pray for him, he's such an amazing guy and can go go go without a dimming in that smile of his, but it is a lot of driving and it ain't over yet! So please pray that his heart will be encouraged by this trip- that the Lord will keep him healthy and strong to continue. He really is a great guy isn't he?

2 very exciting things that I have to share is that my parents will be here in about 2 days now and I'm so excited I'm not sure what to do with myself! I can't wait to see them and show them everything! Pray for safe travel for them and health while they are here! I am also excited that we will be cooking a Thanksgiving supper while they are here on Sunday- And I'm excited about stuffing and chocolate meringue pie. The other exciting bit of news is that my sister just found out today that her pregnancy is going very well and healthy and that she is having a boy this go round! I am excited after 5 sweet beautiful nieces that we'll now have a nephew to shake things up!
Please keep us lifted up before the Father as we seek His will and share His love with the people of Peru! Love you all!

Hey! I know its been awhile and I will try to briefly summarize the past several weeks!

After our first vision conference we drove up to an area in Pasco called Santa Ana de Tusi to do a little research. We found the large town deserted for the day and just about the only person we found was a 7 year old boy who was running the local hostal. He reminded me of Short Round in Indiana Jones' "Hey lady, you call him Dr. Jones!" Anyway- he gave us the lowdown on the accommodations in town. We searched for several more towns and found most deserted as well. We think there may have been a festival in a neighboring town that we didn't know about.

We decided that it would be just as easy to spend the night in Huanuco so we bounced our way home for the night. The next day we drove down to Huancayo to visit with the baby churches that our home church is working with. We were about 10 minutes away when road construction stopped us and we were informed that all of the construction workers were staying in the hostal where we were hoping to. So we turned around and spent the night in the city and headed out the next morning. We spent a great day visiting with friends in the two towns, chatting and trying to encourage and pray with them. This day stretched our spanish considerably but it was really fun.

The next day we headed back to Lima and picked up the incoming vision team up from the airport that night. The next day was spent in orientation with the 3 men from Salem, VA. Through some unforseen circumstances I ended up staying in Lima while David took the team out to Santa Ana de Tusi.

It was a very challenging trip for the guys. Because of a political rally the hostal in Santa Ana was full so they ended up having to stay in another town that was considerably higher elevation. They all suffered effects of the altitude which was very an extreme change after the sea level of Lima. As a precaution they ended up going to Huanuco for the night. David-trooper that he is- drove basically 20 out of 24 hours. Whew. After a day of rest- they tried looking into another village to minister in, however they found one of the biggest healthiest churches we've seen! They worshipped with them, and then headed back to Huanuco for the night. Their last day they returned to Santa Ana de Tusi and had a great day talking to people and praying in the town. After a potentially very frustrating trip, it ended up very well and they are going to make a recommendation to the church to minister there! Please keep praying for this church as they make this decision.

After that - we returned to Huanuco for a few days rest. Then the team from Crossroads church flew in and we went with them up to Panoa for a day or so. Then we came home and promptly got sick. David escaped with only 1 day - I was more ambitious and was sick for about a week.

So here we are - in town until the end of the week and then back to Lima for a trip with our home church next week! Thanks so much for your prayers! We miss you all!

Hey everybody! Greetings from Lima! Yup we are back in the big town! We are actually back in Guesthouse room number 6 - our first home here in Peru! We've been going flat out this past week- working with the vision conference our team held. We attended a day of training for the churches and then hit the road to show the representatives from the churches some areas that we are hoping they will adopt. It was a good trip and we are joining these churches in prayer as they seek God's will for their church. They all left tonight to go back home and we are anticipating a "free" day tomorrow- and maybe even a date:) Saturday and Sunday we are looking forward to seeing Christi and Blake Weaver who are in town and showing them some of Peru! We'll drop them back off in Lima and then hopefully head up to Usibamba and San Jose de Quero for a check up on how the small groups there are doing. Then we will rush back to Lima in time to go out with another vision trip.

I am extremely excited that my folks are coming out to visit the 2nd week of November! Thats very special and I can't wait to show them around!

We met some really great people this week out in the villages, some that I will be asking you to pray specifically for very soon. However one of the men that we got to know is especially on my heart. He is an Assembly of God pastor in a town named Banos. He has a very passionate heart for the Lord and has been amazingly welcoming and helpful to us. We attended a Sunday night service at his church and it was one of my favorite nights in Peru so far. Please be praying for him to be strengthened and encouraged in the Lord. Pray also that a church will adopt this area soon and help him teach and raise up leaders for other churches. Please also pray for his wife who had a csection about 6 months ago and is still suffering a complication from that.

I am not sure how to spell his name right now- I will post that later, but if you will just pray for the pastor in Banos- God will know who you mean!

Please continue to pray for strength for us and we go go go. Pray for this upcoming vision trip and for wisdom for us as we still learn our job.

Thanks to you all! I hope you are doing great! We'd love to hear from you!

Buenas Dias todos! I hope everyone is doing well with the new school year, and upcoming fall! What happened to September???? It has slipped right out from under us here! Tomorrow will mark our 4th Sunday in Huanuco and I think it officially feels like home away from home for us now. Our apartment is all set up minus pictures for the walls that we are hoping to buy in the Inca Market in Lima. We hung the kitchen curtains yesterday and I had a tablecloth made for a whopping total of about $3. I am loving shopping in the market- its an adventure every time we go, but I love the options in fruits and vegetables and the aisles of potatoes! I like the vendors, some of whom are recognizing me. They call the women "mamita" a term of endearment I think...

David, I and our teammate Christine just completed another research trip earlier this week. We traveled out close to an area we've looked at before and then to a cluster of towns in the department of Pasco. We were able to find 2 more potential fields for ministry for strategy coordinator churches. Which is good news because we are about to get crazy busy here next week. I'm posting our schedule here for you- so you can pray for us as we go!

October 1-9: Vision Conference--> We will be taking 2 churches out to our department for vision trips. This conference includes 8 churches- please pray for this! Its a new idea- and David and I are really excited for it- but its a lot of work for our whole team.

October 10-11: Time with Blake Weaver- Christi "Holloway's" husband who will be in Lima for a conference! We are excited to see him and show him around a little!

October 12-14: Possible trip up to San Jose de Quero and Usibamba to encourage the believers there.

October 14-20: Vision trip with a church from VIRGINIA! woohooo!

October 23-30: Pastors Conference Trip with Crossroads Baptist Church in Panao.

November 7-14: Grace Community Baptist Church trip in San Jose and Usibamba

November 18-25: My parents are coming for a visit!!! I'm very excited about this!!!!

So as you can see there is very little spare time in the coming months. We are excited though- we've been doing a lot to prepare for this time and we covet your prayers for us.

Please also pray that our spanish will continue to improve, we will develop relationships with locals, and that we will be moldable in the Father's hands.

We love you all- let us know how you are!

cameronanddave905@yahoo.com

Blog update:

Hello all and welcome to our first blog from Huanuco! We have officially moved here- and are in the process of setting up our new apartment. It is quite a process. So far we've bought a bed and mattress and our appliances. Our next goal is a kitchen table and hutch. So far I have no cabinets- so we need something to put the dishes in! Something to sit on would be nice to- since right now our only options are the bed or the floor. No spaghetti in bed. Anyway- we are getting a little more used to the heat here- its a big change from Lima- its sunny and hot right now. We've been struggling through conversations in the stores to buy what we need, though we've made mistakes and I'm sure have been taken advantage of. But hey, not much we can do about that.
The drive out here was good- I actually braved the roads for about 5 hours of the trip! It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. But it was a relief when David took over.
Please be praying for us during this transitional time of setting up house, making new friends, and learning a new city.
Also praise God with us as we celebrate our 4^th anniversary on the 10th!

Thanks you all- miss and love you.

Hey everyone!

David and I have made it back to Lima after a week long research trip in the department of Huanuco.  We left last Sunday and made the drive from Lima out to the city of Huanuco in a record of 8 hours.  Traffic was very light and I think the police only stopped us to check our documents once.  We spent the night in our destination city and hit the road for the "country" in the morning.  We traveled around all week in the west section of the department.  We were traveling with team member Christine Jackson- REAP North's best researcher and learning the ropes from her and leaning on her Spanish- which is better than ours:) 

Basically we traveled from tiny pueblo to tiny pueblo asking people if there were evangelical churches in the town, how many people attended and how many people live in the town.  We talked to pastors when we could, but many times the pastors were out in the fields working or didn't live in the towns they ministered in.  It seems like a simple task but its really not.  We are searching for places that have little to no evangelical presence in the area.  We didn't find any Baptist churches but found a lot of Assembly of God and Alianza (a sort of pentecostal church- but pretty close to Baptist).  Our days were long- and we went on some roads that really weren't roads.  At one point we were driving up a stream and it was still the "road".  Yikes.  David has done an amazing job driving- I am so grateful for that- however, there are still times when I shriek and close my eyes.  I'm working on it ok?  I'm not quite Peruvian yet. 

We were out in the middle of nowhere most of the week, though every night we made it to a larger town (2000 people) and stayed in hostals.  We saw some amazing places- that I doubt few gringos have ever seen.  We ran into a lot of road work- they are paving a section of road (gracias a Dios) and we found an alternate route to Lima.  Its quite a bit longer from Huanuco - about 12 hours- but from a possible adoption site- only about 6-7 which would cut a teams travel down considerably.  Plus its a nice road!  David actually got to drive in 5th gear.  He was excited about that.

We also moonlighted this week as a taxi!  When you are out in the boonies- people flag you down for rides constantly- so we packed the backseat with all kinds of people, teachers trying to get back to the city for the weekend, a Quechua lady with a baby (who needed a diaper change) and a young teenager taking some produce into the city from his grandparents farm.  Don't be alarmed- we aren't picking up strange men- we are being careful-but its a good opportunity to help someone and talk to them a little.  I was able to explain what David and I are doing here to three ladies at one point.  It really stretched my spanish- but was good to try the best I could.   Peruvians for the most part are good about looking out for us- especially if you've helped them or bought something in their store:)  But we met an especially nice man who owns a gas station in a town we spent the night in.  We got some gas one morning and asked for some directions.  We came back through several days later and stopped there to use the bathroom.  He was kind in helping us with more directions, telling us where and why some places were not safe to go, offering some very good advice, letting us park our truck there while we went to a store and use the bathroom for free.  David tried to give him a little money for helping us- but he wouldn't take it.  Might not sound like much- but you don't get anything for free around here- its hard to get information, a bathroom and a parking place for nothing- not even buying anymore gas from him... We got ripped off at the hotel in that town and it really just made my day seeing the kindness of this man. 

We have a signed lease for our apartment in Huanuco now!  Horray!  I expect we will be moving out there in about a week.  We've got to get our Peruvian ID's this week and get some paperwork completed and then we are off.  I'm very excited- every trip to Huanuco has resulted in a higher level of excitement about living there.  Its a great city- and we are getting more and more familiar with it.  

Please pray for us!  We are so blessed that you go to the Father on our behalf!

Prayer Requests:

• The ever-present homesickness for me
  
• Language!!!!!  Can't stress this enough
  
• A good relationship with our new landlords and neighbors
  
• An upcoming vision conference next month we are preparing for
  
• An abounding love for Peruvians
  
• Praise for our new home, safe travel and new friends
  

Love you all- please let us know if we can pray for you!!!

Sorry its been so long- but we've been on the go go go here. About 3 weeks ago or so, we left on a vet clinic trip with Crossroads church from KY. David, I and 2 translators: Mijail and Reuben headed out from Lima to Huanuco on Saturday morning. This was David's first driving adventure over the mountains. He did a great job and I think he might be part Peruvian. I made new rule that if I have to shut my eyes for more than 20 seconds he shouldn't be doing that. We saw a lot of snow on Ticlio and when we passed through Pasco (a very high section) we all fell deep asleep (except David of course) curtesy of the altitude.  We arrived in Huanuco after about 8 1/2 hours on the road.  We stayed in our familiar hostel and did some apartment hunting.  The next morning we attended the Baptist church and then picked up the team from the airport.  We headed straight out to Panoa, about 2 hours on dirt roads, yet another driving challenge for David.  We made it into Panoa- but the town was so busy that it took us a while to make it to the hotel.  The streets are only big enough for one vehicle and they are two - way streets.  They are also full of people.  But we finally made it and checked into the Hotel.  That evening we met up with Edmin and Maura for dinner and got ready for the next day.  Some of the team was having some trouble with altitude and we turned in early.  

The next day we headed out to a smaller village and set up shop.  The team did a lot of house calls and stayed pretty busy de-worming sheep, cows, pigs, horses, donkeys, and probably a few others that I am forgetting.  We did this for 3 more days in different villages.  It was a neat way to minister to the people there and most of their animals were in surprisingly good condition.  David jumped right in like he'd been doing it his whole life.  I liked doing the sheep especially.  

The last day we saw more chickens, dogs and guinea pigs than we had earlier and I spent most of the day explaining in my rotten spanish how to administer the medicine to their animals that they couldn't bring to where we were working.  That proved challenging.  I also held a few pigs, so I could say that I did.  But I don't really like pigs.

After we finished that day, we headed back into Huanuco for the night.  We had Italian food, but it still tasted Peruvian...

The next morning David and I and the translators headed back down the road to Lima.  Traffic was a little slow coming down some of the mountains and we hit Lima right at Friday night rushour.  It took us about 9 1/2 hours to get home.  We dropped Reuben off and we and Mijail made it to the hotel to give the team their luggage and supplies for their trip home the next day.  

We checked into the Martinika and got as much sleep as we could.  The next morning we woke up and greeted the team from our home church who arrived late the night before.  David's brother Daniel was part of the team and it was a huge blessing to see some family.  That morning we packed up the trucks and vans and got back on the road, heading this time to Huancayo- about a 6 hour drive if you don't stop.  We stopped.  So it took about 9 hours to get there.  The first part of the trip is the same for going to Huanuco, but the road forks at one point and if you go north you get to our city, if you go south you get to Huancayo.  We spent the evening in Huancayo and attended church the next morning.  We then headed out to San Jose de Quero and got settled into Maruja's hostel.  That night we prepared for the "True Love Waits" presentation the following day.  The next day we went to the high school and presented to the older kids.  I'm still not sure how I feel that this went and how well it was received.  I think overall we all agreed that the gospel presentation needed to be more clear and central.  

That night we had Bible study in SJQ and a small group held one in Usibamba as well.  The group was using storying and I felt that the study went well in SJQ.  It was good to see familiar faces and have some people remember us.  It was also really great to be able to talk to Maruja this time.  The next day we presented again in Usibamba and held Bible study again.  The last day we spent prayer walking in Usibamba, exploring a new area, visiting people in SJQ and having the last Bible study.  

We had unusual weather, including rain and 2 hail storms.  We woke up one morning to white peaks- beautiful.  That morning David and I got up very early to drive into Huancayo (we left our computer charger in the hotel) and it was a pretty drive.  I had my first driving lesson on the way back so I can now say that I've driven in Peru.  We picked up a man and gave him a ride- so that was a little intimidating, but I made it through! 

We headed back to Lima the next day- and we went the "back way".  Last year we took this same shortcut that more than doubled the driving time.  However this year we were assured that the road was more than half paved and was a lot faster.  So we decided to try it out.  It is one of the most beautiful drives with awe-inspiring views and a lot of llama herds.  But we got to the exact same spot that we had our first flat tire last year, and they were in the process of paving the road and we had to wait for over 2 hours for it be drivable.  There goes the "faster" description.  We enjoyed the layover though and David went swimming in the river there- freezing cold, but you know David, he said it felt wonderful:)  Some of the other guys got involuntarily wet, but thats another story for another day.

We made it into Lima and enjoyed a shower and dinner out with the team.  The next day was spent typically in the Inca Market, eating Papa John's Pizza, and all that jazz.  The following day we got some errands done and then took an overnight bus (our truck was in the shop) to Huanuco with Daniel and a translator friend of ours, JP.  We were planning on apt hunting.  We arrived early the next morning and after a few mishaps (like falling in a hole in the sidewalk) we made it to the hostel and started the search.  Long story short, we've found an apartment and have a deposit on it.  We are waiting for the office to work out the contract and hope to move in Sept. 1 or near to it.  We spent the rest of the time walking around, price checking appliances and furniture and scoping out new places to eat.  We found one restaurant we will not be returning to.  If I told you about it- you would swear I was making it all up.  Daniel and David ate cuy- which is guinea pig, and JP bought us emoliants- some sort of tea with alfalfa in it. Not too bad...

We took another overnight bus back and arrived in Lima yesterday.  Since then we have been doing some errands and remarkeably... resting!  AHHH!!!!!  wonderful.  We are supposed to be heading out on a research trip Saturday for a week or so in the Pasco area.  After that- hopefully we will be moving to Huanuco.

Please pray for us :

for continued language learning

for relationships with nationals

for the paperwork on the apt to go through

praise God that we were able to get plane tickets home for Christmas

We love and miss you all, please keep sending us updates on whats going on with you and how we can be praying for you.

We've just made it back to Lima after our first foray into the Huanuco area! It was an adventurous trip! We met with the team of 3 ladies from Crossroads Baptist Church, and 2 translators: Tula and Salomon Sunday morning to work out the plan and details. That night, the translators and us took the overnight bus to Huanuco- about an 8 hour trip. It was a rough trip for me, the altitude got me pretty good- so I spent most of the night being sick. We arrived in the city around 6:30 AM and rested for a while in a Hostal. We picked up the ladies from the airport, packed ourselves and about 400lbs of luggage into 2 taxis and bumped our way up to the town of Panoa- about 2 hours from Huanuco. We arrived late afternoon, settled into our hotel, ate supper at one of the many pollo restaurants (chicken and fries) and turned in early. The next day, we met Edmin and his wife Maura- who are the on the ground people for Crossroads and they were a huge help to us for the next few days. We discovered that they live both in Panoa and in Huanuco- so we will be seeing more of them in the future, hopefully. We took a few taxis about 10 minutes down the road (sometimes down the road means literally DOWN) to a small area called Molinas. We broke into two groups- Ramona, Salomon and me with the ladies and Debbie, Marci, Tula, and David with the kids. Ramona did a great job teaching the ladies, and they especially seemed to enjoy the crafts she brought for them to do. The kids had a great time listening to some Bible stories, coloring and eating candy- sounds good to me! We paused for lunch which was prepared behind the church by the pastor and few other men: fried trout and potatoes and rice, which was good! After lunch they held a second session for those who couldn't come in the morning. David and I played with the kids who didn't want to go home- but had already participated in the morning. We had an english lesson, played volleyball and took pictures. Kids here are so sweet and welcoming- all you have to do is smile at them and immediately you are friends. We left in the early evening to go pack to Panoa (pronounced Paw-Now). We ate supper and headed to the church that we were to work in the next day. We had a time of worship with them and David shared his testimony. It is fun to watch people respond to him, his love and friendliness come through so clearly. The next day we arrived at the church and held the morning session. I had the opportunity to do some translating- though not in the way you might think! Salomon is an excellent translator, and Ramona is a great teacher, but sometimes that Kentucky is hard to decifer! So I translated a few things from Kentucky to Spanish. 

We had trout and potatoes again for lunch- and talked to the Pastor of the church for a while. We rested up in the afternoon and visited the church for the next day that evening. Thursday we had a session in the morning and then headed back to Huanuco. We got the ladies set up in a hotel, checked into a hostal ourselves. Tula and Salomon were taking the overnight bus back to Lima that night- so we enjoyed the afternoon talking to them and getting some help with our Spanish. They are great! They headed out that night. The next day we took the ladies to the airport- made sure they got off alright- and then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Huanuco. We tried to get to know the city a little bit, and we found some of the areas that felt good and safe, and some we weren't so comfortable with. We met some missionaries who have lived in the city for about 12 years and were grateful for their advice. The task of finding housing is overwhelming as there are no real estate offices there- its all word of mouth. Please pray for us as we continue to try and figure out where to live and how to live in this city. It will take a lot of adjusting- though it is a nice city with a wonderful climate- very warm in the days and cool at night. There is no grocery store- only an open air market. I'm fine buying the fruit and vegetables that way- but the meat....I'm not so sure. Especially since we saw a whole pig hanging on a hook as soon as we walked in. How do you order bacon from that??? Just kidding- I don't eat bacon. Anyway- it was a challenge being on our own because of our spanish- that still needs a lot of work. Oh boy. But we are confident that God will provide ALL that we need.
Please pray as we struggle with not having a place to call home. Living out of a suitcase is getting a little old-it will be nice to be settled somewhere and have a base. I am having a really hard time with this, and feeling overwhelmed with figuring it all out. We are missing home and Guatemala and look forward to the day that Peru feels as comfortable as those did. Please also pray for my grandfather who is still having health problems and is in the hospital. Please send us an update on whats going on with you soon. We love hearing news from home, it helps with those hard days when we miss it so much. We'd love to be praying for you in anyway we can. We appreciate your prayers so much- they are a sweet aroma that is pleasing to the Father and vital to our ministry here.   

Hola from Peru!  What happened to the sunshine?????  Somebody stole it from Lima!  

**Left is our last day at school in Guatemala!**

We arrived to our destination country on July 4th.  We started our day by leaving San Juan at 2:30 AM.  Our host parents insisted on getting up and seeing us off- Domi looked like I felt- about to keel over into a coma, while Oralia chatted away like it was 2:30 PM.  Our trip to the airport and from then on out was super easy- no hiccups at all in the trip and all our bags made it.  Once we arrived, our supervisor met us at the airport and hauled us and the million pounds of luggage (actually only about 250lbs) to a hotel.  We rested up and then headed to a Independence Day party at Jeff and Liesa's home (our supervisors).  There we met several of our teammates, tried valiantly to make conversation- which wasn't easy after 4 hours of sleep the night before!  The next day we were moved to the IMB guest house here in Lima- where we are currently.  The guest house is very comfortable and we are living in a small apartment on the top floor.  I've finally got a kitchen again!  We've been here for about a week now, and we've spent the week asking questions about what we are supposed to be doing now...

We spent a few days on paperwork for visas, having orientations with our Language and Cultural acquisition coordinator and business manager, and going to Interpol (international police).  There we got our mug shots taken, fingerprinted, and had our teeth looked at.  All very serious business!  Don't worry, no crimes have been committed, everyone has to do this to get a visa:)  Since then we've been studying for our drivers license test (a whole new vocabulary in spanish for us) and getting to know our team here and Lima itself.  I have to say that we are definitely not cut out for big city living!  Thankfully we are heading out tomorrow for a trip with a sc church to Huanuco!  So we will get to see our city that we will eventually live in!  We'll come back for about 10 days and then head out again on 3 consecutive trips, have a few days off and then one more trip for August~!  Whew- we will be busy then!  But we are looking forward to it!  

We are enjoying some things about being here in Lima.  For instance, we have internet in our apartment- so thats really nice, and I washed clothes in a washing machine yesterday!  Our jeans fit again!  

Please pray for us as we adjust to a new culture, and a new rhythm of speech, and try to obtain all our necessary papers for life here.

Please pray as well for the trips we will be going on that they will be fruitful and the teams will have a servants heart.

Please pray for my (Cameron)'s grandfather as he recovers from a recent fall.

Rejoice with us in the arrival of our 5th niece!  Sadie Lu Estes

Pray that we will ever fall deeper in love with the Saviour.

Thanks so much- love you all!

June 24, 2009

This will probably be the last blog update from Guatemala! We are scheduled to leave for Lima on July 4^th. We have mixed feelings about leaving, we have loved being here and the people and the food:) But we are very ready to get going on our job. Our group is now down to 4, the four going to Peru. School has been dragging quite a bit- I think we and our teachers are just bored now! But we are still plugging along, doing the best we can. We have our exit interviews (our final oral exams) on Wednesday of next week with the school's director. Today is San Juan del Obispo's birthday and they whole town is celebrating the birth of their patron saint John the Baptist. The bombas started last night at 12 and our family along was responsible for setting off 36 “big ones” as our host mother told us this morning. After about 30 minutes of bombas, they say a prayer as a family and come home and sleep. But not for long, because the band comes by our house at 4 AM. I'm not sure why- no one seems to know-it's just what they do. I woke up pretty quickly with the bombas- mainly because the bed and window were shaking with the impact. David said that some of them were actually fireworks, with lights and everything. I took his word for it. I couldn't get my eyes open wide enough to see 'em. The band I remember hearing but not for very long. I am learning to sleep through a lot:) And today they had a mass and processional and a little fair or carnival set up for the kids in the plaza. Needless to say there is a lot going on here today!
We've had an exciting door open these past few days. The pastor from the church we've been attending (in another town) has been trying to get us in contact with a man who lives here in our town named Moises who is a believer. We finally, after weeks of trying, met up yesterday and talked for a while. He is very interested in starting a Bible study in his home, but doesn't feel confident enough to teach yet. We are meeting with him tomorrow night for study and then will meet with him again in his home later with his friends and family. We are going to try and focus on teaching him how to read and interpret scripture and teach others. It will be difficult, David will need to lead and teach, but our teammate Candy has the best Spanish. It is going to be a hard job for her to translate some, and David will have to stretch himself to do this. It is no small task. Please pray for him and the rest of us as we prepare. Please pray for Moises as well, that he will grow in wisdom and knowledge and be able to spread the love of Christ with confidence in this town.

Thank you for your prayers concerning our house, we are pleased to report that we have a newly signed lease and deposit. Please continue to pray that these renters will enjoy our home for the coming year!
Again, we miss you all and love it when you send us updates on whats going on!
Praying for you!

June 8, 2009

Hello all! I hope you are all doing well! We are into week 9 here and today just changed teachers for the third and final time. Its hard to believe that we will finally be in Peru in just a few more weeks! It seems like we've been waiting forever. Well, it has been a year now. Anyway- we've been puttering along just fine here lately. We've dodged a few stomach troubles for the past week or so-but I hope we are on the mend now. We've ventured into the subjunctive voice in our studies and please don't ask me what it is yet! I haven't quite figured this one out yet, but supposedly it is the last gramatical hurdle and then we just do a lot of conversation. Another of our group departed this morning so we are now 5. David and the four girls. Poor David. Don't worry, I'm brushing up on my “man talk” to try and give him something of a reprieve. We've also been watching a lot of Clint Eastwood movies. We are still working out at the mission in Alotenango and enjoying that quite a bit. This past week we sang the silliest song about a toad. I'm still not sure what it all means, but all the kids knew it and you get to yell “Jesus” really loud at the end and of course they love that. We had around 100 kids this week and at times it is very overwhelming and hard to keep their attention sometimes. Not to mention speaking/reading/acting in spanish, leading music (those of ya'll who know us well, go ahead and laugh-its definitely worthwhile!) and just trying to understand 25 kids who are speaking at once. Whew!
We will not be able to go back this saturday because we are taking a trip to Panajachel and Lake Atilan. If you have time, google it a look at some photos! Its supposedly one of the most beautiful places. David's birthday is Sunday and we are looking forward to a little vacation to celebrate. Check out my facebook page for photos sometime next week!

This past week we had the opportunity to visist a coffee farm very close to where we live. Fincas or farms here are more like old plantations. We visited the farm's school which had about 15 students (kids of the workers) hiked up a small mountain where they grow the coffee. Then we saw the dairy cow part of the farm, the farm chapel, one of the biggest trees I've ever seen, and the most amazing flower garden! It was the best field trip David and I could have imagined!
Please continue lifting us up in prayer in the following areas:
Team unity

Motivation and Endurance for language learning

Our work with the mission kids

Safety in travel

A renter for our house back home

Thanks for those of you who wrote us last time- it was great hearing from you- keep 'em coming!
Missing you all and praying for you!

Sorry for the delay~ I think I fell asleep on the job! In actuality, we've been pretty busy! We had our first exam 2 weeks ago and I 'm pleased to report that we both advanced to the next level. We also received some bad news that our renters are leaving. However, there are several families very interested and Jim is being our handler and lining them up! God also blessed us by selling our car so that takes the pressure off a little. Please pray that the new renters will really enjoy our house and take care of it. One of our team members left a week ago for Peru. Please pray for him as he changes scenery for a while and for us as the group changes and for David being the only man left. We had a week of celebrating his completion of language school including a very impressive surprise fiesta during class that Friday with all our teachers (who made the guacamole and several speeches) and a trip to Domino's for supper. We had an interesting cultural experience on our trip home from the restaurant. This was the lateste we'd ever caught a bus home before and didn't realize how full the buses were. We've ridden them when they were already unbelievable full- theya re old school buses with 3 people to a seat and people standing in the aisle. One time I was sitting and leaning a little forward and actually had a woman sit on the back of my shoulder for about 10 minutes. She was not a small woman. Anyway- this time it exceeded all precedents- when the bus stopped to pick us up, there were people hanging on the outside of it-but no worries, they had room for us 6 gringos. They just opened up the back door of the bus and shoved us in. I had no worries about falling down even though I had no handhold, because we were packed in there so tight. I could only bounce into those next to me. The speed bumps were interesting.
We've been returning to the mission that we've been working with. Last week we did a silly skit of the wise man/foolish man which they enjoyed. Unfortunatley at least 2 of their normal helpers need a break for a while and we've been recruited to replace them for the rest of our time here. So this week we stretched ourselves, and told a story in Spanish, made them answer questions and got them to act it out. We sang “gracias Senor”, “Allelu, allelu, alleluia...Gloria Dios” and Padre Abraham. They are sweet kids who just hug on us, and hold our hands and they discovered that I'm ticklish this week and look out Cameron:)
Last week I also visited a Malnutrition Center to play with the kids there. That was good but also very hard. I will probably go back- pray for protection for my heart. Please pray for David as well, he had a rough week health-wise and is still getting things back to normal. We only have about 5 weeks left including this one, so time is getting on and as much as I LOVE Guatemala, we are getting a ready to head to Peru and get started in our job, meet our team and our new city of residence and just GO!! Pray for patience and continued excitement and a burdening love for the people there. Please send us an update on whats going on with you all ! We don't want to be out of sight and out of mind and want to continue to pray for you specifically. Shoot us a line at cameronanddave905@yahoo.com.

Hola! I hope you are all doing well! We have just finished out 5^th week. This week was calm and slow, we've stayed in San Juan all week and studied. We changed teachers this week and that has made us work harder. My new teacher has taught me a lot and at a much more rapid pace. They are prepping us for an evaluation exam on Tuesday. He's very nice though and is encouraging when I get things correct. He tells me lots of jokes and makes me laugh a lot too. It took us all week just to learn David's teacher's name. And yet, yesterday in our prayer time- he got his name wrong and in actuality prayed for God to reveal Himself to ice cream. For those of you who know David- you understand why this is especially funny. I had a hard time not laughing through the rest of the prayer time.
We also got to experience Dia de Madre here (Mother's Day) which is an enormous event here- Sunday started with a marching band and bombas at 4 in the morning. I'm not sure why they insist on celebrating so early- but it is getting much easier to tune it all out! The rainy season has started in earnest here- raining very hard for about 30 minutes per midday and off and on the rest of the afternoon and night. Our street literally turns into a river and our mother likes to stand on the balcony overlooking the street and watch it. She talks to us everyday about the weather and her prediction for when the rain will come. She has it down to a science that Aunt Beth would appreciate, and usually gets the clothes off the line seconds before the rain starts. She is very pleased with her talent and is often smug after her success!
David gave me a haircut this week- I explained the process and the shut my eyes and prayed. He did a very good job:) He's also pleased that I don't have to pay someone to cut my hair. Go figure.
We are looking forward to going back to the mission with the Baptist church we've gone to. Last week was fun- but it was a very organized program for mother's day and we really couldn't do much. We are hoping to be able to help more this week.
Please pray for us- for our team to have unity and love for one another.
Pray that we will continue to learn and be encouraged in speaking spanish.

Pray that we will have opportunities to share with people, especially our family and teachers.

We love you and miss you! Please send us updates on how you are doing!   

Our third week has come and gone now and with it many new adventures. Early last week we confined ourselves to studying hard and staying in San Juan in the afternoon. David and I got up early one morning to wash our clothes and get them on the line by 7:15- since the rainy season has somewhat begun, there is a 50% chance of rain every afternoon and its important to get the clothes dry as early as possible:) We had a short week because Friday is Guatemala's labor day, thus no school. So we planned a beach trip to El Salvador for our 3 day weekend. We came up with a shopping list assuming(correctly) that things would be more expensive in El Salvador. Since I was elected head chef and of course that suited me just fine- I got to brave the market with instructions from my host mom on what type of pineapple to ask for and how much things should cost and I am pleased to report that I am pretty darn good at shopping in the market. I got three of the sweetest pineapples you could ever imagine for less than $3.00. Wild huh? Early Friday morning we were picked up in a mini-bus and headed out to the beach- a 4 hour trip more or less. The place we stayed was nice by standards here at least:) A little rough for standards back home. 5 girls in 1 room, and 2 boys in the other. But the place had a tiny pool and was ocean front and for $80 for 3 days and 2 nights-thats not too bad. The beach was great- different, black sand and rocks, but warm water and great waves! I swam more there than I have in a long time. Lots of surfers- and David had a lesson on Saturday morning:) He said it is much harder than it looks and I believe him! We cooked supper the first night (me and Mandy) in the hotels' kitchen- which is also the kitchen for the restaurant in the hotel. I kinda felt like we were in the way. But they assured us it was OK and I think they enjoyed watching me struggling to de-skin the chicken with a dull knife. Not easy. But we produced fried chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and pineapple that was consumed with gratifying gusto. And no one got sick- thank heavens. The next night David and I actually went on a date! The rest of the group went to a restaurant down on the beach- but Dave and I crossed the road to a little place across from our hotel and enjoyed french fries (my first in 3 weeks and y'all know what a big deal that is to me) and garlic chicken for me, mexican chicken salad for David and cokes in the bottle (even after several weeks, that still makes me smile-I think I will still love that after 2-3 years). We had a great time just being by ourselves. Sunday was slower and then came the ride home. Not terrible but not great- it seems the travel agency overbooked the bus home and we had one more person than we had seats. So yup- of course I'm the skinniest and I was sitting on some German guys' backpack on the floor unable to see out the window. That only worked for an hour until car-sickness overtook me and my wonderful husband took over for me. Better on my stomach, but worse on my nose as I then had to sit beside the German guy who did not smell so pleasant. Our driver was determined to make up the lost time spent waiting on the 3 German guys by zooming around every vehicle in sight for 3.5 hours. Needless to say I was overjoyed to set these two feet back in the dust of San Juan del Obispo- which I realized when we got back to our house and my heart jumped a little, really is feeling more like home. Monday, we went to school and when we got home, I became sick- for the rest of the day, then David got sick and another girl. So as much as I enjoyed El Salvador, I'm not a fan right now! We are on the mend now, just tired from fighting the fever and nausea and still having some ill effects of the stomach. However, our host mother has not rested in making sure we are ok- making us different herb teas (one that really did help), making us hot bananas for breakfast, offering to take us to the doctor, bring us buckets to throw up in, you name it- she really is like a grandmother:) I like her because she laughs full out and often and likes to tease me and lets me help her sometimes. We skipped school today but we are hoping the rest of this week will continue more normally and uneventfully!
Please continue to pray for our health, our ministry to our team mates, our relationship with our family and teachers, opportunities to share and opportunities to minister to the people here in San Juan. Pray that we will be protected from the enemy and strengthened daily by God's Word. Pray that our feeling of home will be in Him alone. Please let us know how you are and how we can pray for you!  

Hola! I hope you all are doing well. We are doing good here- we've survived our second week:) This week has been a little different. School was much harder as I got into the intricacies of ser and estar and por and para and saber and conosco and irregular preterit verbs. Whew- it makes me tired just writing it! But conversation is getting better and a little easier and thats good. I figured out that I had over 400 vocab words as of Tuesday. No I don't have them all memorized yet. Keep praying! On Sunday we went to a Baptist church near Antigua and are going today to minister with them in a mission project they are involved in. More on that later. We've stayed in San Juan more this week in the afternoons and that has been helpful. Candy, Mandy and I have also been putting on our backpacks full of stuff and hiking some of the steep streets here a couple of times a week for practice for the Andes. The locals really think we are crazy now. Our family continues to bless us with their kindness and generosity. The food is still amazing- one morning this week we had homemade banana crepes with marmalade in them and a side of fresh pineapple. You have no idea. Please pray for them that the veil of catholicism will be lifted and they will see who Christ really is. We love them very much and hope to be able to speak to them better soon! Pray for our teachers as well. They are used to teaching missionaries and they either know what to say or how to keep the conversation from going there. Though just in regular conversation I've been able to share some things with my teacher. Its not hard to love the people here very quickly. They are sweet in nature, quick to laugh, and always ready to eat something! We are hoping to plan a trip to the beach next weekend b/c Guat.'s labor day is Friday and we don't have class- so we get a long weekend.
Please continue to pray for our group here as we strive to be united, find where God wants us to minister, and work hard to learn the language. Pray also for health for the group- David and I have been fine but some others have had a few stomach issues and a sprained ankle has made their week more tough.
An interesting note: Here in San Juan there is a bombas factory (fireworks mostly, though not with the pretty lights, just the loud loud loud noise) and they are very popular to set off for a fiesta or someones birthday or if I understand correctly, if anything remotely exciting happens at all. We've heard them quite a bit and they are extraordinarily loud. But we've kinda gotten used to them. Yet this morning (friday) I was having my typical nightly bad dream about a war of some kind- when I was awakened to the loud sound of what I could only imagine was machine gun fire. David, being the protective caring, wonderful husband he is, threw himself over me and covered my head. My heart is pounding like crazy and I'm thinking we need to get under the bed!!! But its not big enough- so I'm laying there trying to think if we could turn the table over and get behind it- when at last we realize it was just someone celebrating a birthday with an enormous string of bombas_ AT 4:45 IN THE MORNING. Now I'm not a Guatemalan- so I know I don't really understand, but who in their right mind celebrates ANYTHING at 4:45 in the morning? Well they do in San Juan. With that note- I'll write more next week. 

Week 1 in Guatemala

Hola! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring there! We've jumped straight into summer here and of course I'm loving it. Guatemala is a great place and we are enjoying it tremendously. Though things are dusty and a little brown now- I've been assured that in a few weeks when the rainy season starts- everything becomes really beautiful. But even now it looks good to us. There are tons of flowers and plenty of fresh fruit. The family we are staying with is wonderful- I really couldn't ask for better. They have 4 kids, one dog and 2 parrots. The house is very nice- its more of a lot of seperate rooms around a courtyard. For instance, when I leave our bedroom I walk outside and across the courtyard to the bathroom and then across again to get to the kitchen. Our mother has fed us very well and eveything we've had has been really good! The pineapple is so sweet you wouldn't believe it. We've also had papaya, canteloupe and bananas. The school is about a 5 minute walk away, we go past the center of town where the catholic church is and the park. The school is 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms and a principal's office. But we don't have class inside- they set up tables outside on the wrap around porch and one is the yard. The yard is very nice, with tons of flowers, and a few chickens running around. Each of us here have our own teacher, so its one on one for 2 hours and then we get a 30 minute break and then 1.5 hours more. Its very good for learning because you can't zone out at all- you have to work the whole time. My teacher is very kind and patient and has taught me a lot. The first few days we did a lot of vocab and verb forms but from there have gone to more conversation with drills thrown in here and there and whenever we get to a word I don't know or I say wrong, he corrects it and we keep going. Today David decided to write out flash cards for all the vocab he' s learned this week and it has taken him over three hours and he's still not done! Whew- very intense. But I can see a difference already- so there is hope for only learning for three months.
In the afternoons we go home and eat lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day here. After that it depends, our first day we had a tour of Antigua- a very pretty town that isn't that large but a lot of people and a ton of tourists. But there is pretty much anything you need there. The second afternoon we went on a macadamia nut farm tour. It was kind of a bust- bc it wasn't much to see. But is the only organic one in Guatemala! Wednesday we stayed in San Juan and studied in the park, but went to Antigua to have supper with some IMBers here. Thursday we hiked up an active volcano- so our first sighting of lava. Friday we hung around San Juan and studied and enjoyed not having the 15 minute bus ride into Antigua and then home again. So in short we are enjoying this very much. Please let us know how to pray for you! We miss you!
Please pray for us as we stretch our brains and try to learn as much as possible

Also pray for us to know best how to minister while we are here, we are trying to start a Bible study and maybe some prayer walking.

Pray that our group will stay united and that we will be an encouragement for each other.

Pray for our families that they will have peace and comfort about us being away.

Pray for our adopted families here that we will be able to show the love of Christ to them in real ways.

Praise God with us for the success of our learning so far!

Please pray for these boys in Peru-

We saw them two years ago.  They 

live in San Jose de Quiero.

Hello!  I know it has been a while, but I'm finally getting around to updating this thing!  This is our first really free Saturday.  David is of course putting the finishing touches on the house.  Our renters are moving in tomorrow.  Please pray for them as they adjust to living in a new place with their first baby on the way.  I, however, am determined to hang out at the quad for most of the day and catch up on some paperwork and cleaning and laundry.  Being a missionary does not eliminate the problem of having to do laundry unfortunately.  In the past two weeks, we've learned a whole lot more.  We learned the T4T training method, doctrine, got our ESL certificates (they spelled my name wrong though), persecuted church and Bible storying.  Our favorite was probably the persecuted church- what an eye opening two days that was!  Please don't forget to be praying for people groups under severe persecution!  We've also been impressed with the need to develop our Bible Storying technique.  Its amazing how much of our world is oral.  If you want to know more about storying or the need for it, please send us an email!  We'd love to share some of what we've learned with you.  Please pray for us as we learn this new technique and practice it for the next few weeks.  We've been having fun too, don't worry!  I've taken up knitting and crocheting again with a large group of ladies who are in all stages of skill level and we are having fun doing that!  We've also been playing volleyball every Wednesday night and I'm holding in the competitiveness for the most part:)  We have gone out with some awesome people, played games, and laughed a lot.  We've also tried to make sure we keep a night of the week just for us.  Last night we went to the Byrd which is always fun!  We have about 3.5 weeks left here and it feels like it is flying by.  We are still waiting on definite dates of departure for Guatemala, but have settled into the South America mindset already- so we aren't worried about it.  Its hard to be worried about much here because they take such good care of you here. 

Please remember to be praying for the Quechua people.  One thing we've learned here is that prayer is not just nice and helpful, but it is critical.  And not just prayer for us, but especially prayer for the people we will be going out to.  Pray for hearts to stirred to the gospel, for persons of peace, and for a good crop for them this year.  

Please please please let us know how we can be praying for you all!  

Happy Sunday to you all! I'm updating this quickly as we are due to facilitate our house church this morning in about 30 minutes. I hope everyone is doing fine and had a great Valentine's day.
We celebrated by doing 8 hours of ESL training. Romantic huh? Things continue to go well for us. We have had sessions on spiritual warfare, anthropology, phonetics, church planting movements, mobilizing, servant leadership, worldview workshops and probably a lot more that I can't remember. Some highlights have been my success at memorizing Psalm 100 in spanish. Before you get too impressed, look up how short that psalm is! David's ankle is finally all better- now if I can just keep tarzan on the ground, we'll be ok! David said his highlight is the fact the he's still being paid to go to Bible studies all day! We are adjusting to the cafeteria food- and enjoy guessing what monday's meal will be recycled as on Wednesday! David has also figured out a better way for the ILC to run- he thinks there should be more produce grown on campus! I think he's going to miss gardening as much as I am. We get a break tomorrow- which I am sure we are all looking forward to. Dave and I will be running hither and to, getting some of our never-ending to do list accomplished. Please continue to pray for us to grow and mature in our walk with the Lord, be continually humbled before Him, and for rest, always for rest! Please keep in touch with us and let us know how to pray for you!

Hello again!  This time we write as professional missionaries (haha).  We are half way through our second week of training here at the Learning Center.  We started with 2 days of moving out of our house and into the ILC and all the pesky projects that seemed endless.  But they are mostly done:) and we have settled nicely into our little apartment here.  I have been running the heat full blast since we got here! What a luxury;)  Our building has four other units- 2 families and a single guy.  A total of 7 kids!  We were concerned about that- not being used to living so close to them, but they have been really fun and they really are great kids.  We are mostly in session all day from 8-3 or 4.  We've had a lot of overviews about missions and this time here and several just great Bible study times.  How is it that we are being paid to have Bible study?  Also on the schedule last week was a personal retreat time.  Time set aside for us to be with God for 3 hours.  That was amazing as well.  I went down to the South Anna- and was reminded that God doesn't just reveal Himself through His creation to those who have no other way to hear about Him (see Rom. 1) but He continues to remind me of His excellent greatness by showing me His creation.  This week has been spent studying spiritual warfare so far and tomorrow we move on to the development of the early church.  We've also had an interesting session on malaria- that scared most of the group half to death:)  We feel that God has really affirmed our call to those HIGH mountain places (where there are no mosquitos).  But anyway- the purpose of us being here is not just to remove us from our culture, but to really train us for the field.  I think I am beginning to understand a little more of what this calling is about and why we need this "spiritual boot camp" before we go.  We are also training physically, for the altitude, rough living, and just so that we will be healthier and able to minister more effectively.  When we aren't in session- we are usually eating (which takes a lot longer when every meal is shared with several families- and you can't leave until about an hour has gone by!) working on assignments- ok yes, its homework basically, catching up on the reading we should have done before we got here-oops, working on Spanish, running, talking to the people in our quad, learning bible storying, and hey- reading the Word, praying, journaling and generally seeking after the Father.  

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement- they are a sweet aroma, not just to us, but to the Lord.  Please continue to pray for us in these specific areas:

1) That we will strive for excellence in our time here and not just get by

2)  That we will develop our strengths and work hard on our weaknesses

3)  That we will create patterns here that will carry us over into the field

4) For physical and mental rest as we get back into the school type life, and for me as I struggle with sleeping well - pray that God will reign over my dreams as well.

5) For the Quechua people of Peru

6) For our marriage- that we will strengthen and mature our relationship deeper every day and remember to put each other above our own selves.

Thanks to all of you!  Please keep us updated on what is going on in your lives, and how we can pray for you.

More to come...