Hey there! I'm writing this in between batches of muffins and cookies- Cameron's Bakery is open today folks! Actually I am getting ready for a team coming into Huanuco this evening. This is a medical and evangelism team that is coming to serve in Consejos & Ambo- locations very near Huanuco that have recently suffered from devastating landslides. Hundreds of people are living in tents, having lost everything. We won't spend more than a day in each location, but we are hoping to encourage and help the best we can in that time. We have been told that the greater need will surface in 2 weeks when government aid pulls out. David and I will re-evaluate needs at that time and plan accordingly. After the 2 days here, we'll head out to San Jose de Quero to work for a few days as well.

Maruja's hostal will definitely be our second home this summer, well ok, maybe our first home and our apartment will be our second home.:)
We actually just got back from San Jose, where we spent a great week discipling, leading and participating in Bible studies and teaching in the schools a little.

Going there is always an encouragement to us- its the kind of place you can just go walking around and not worry about safety or unfriendly people.

Anecdote: We went to visit Rosa, Maruja's mother. She and her husband live outside of town a ways. Eugenio usually rides his horse to the store to see us, but he was visiting in another town when we came calling. Rosa was standing in her doorway, hand on hip, peering out to see who the group of gringos was. She welcomed us warmly as always. I'm always taken aback at how short she is. I swear she only comes up to my rib cage! SO tiny- we could just pack her up in a bookbag and carry her around. I'll bet she'd love that! She always invites us in her house which is a big deal culturally, not at all common. We came in and sat down and Rosa began show and tell. We started with her football sized potatoes, which she insisted on giving us a bag of. Then she brought in an apron full of abas, beans that is, which she promptly put in the potato bag, insisting that it was only a few. It was more than a few. Then she tried to give us some of her freshly sheared- yet unwashed wool. Thankfully, we convinced her not to give us that. But she did show us how to spin with nothing but your fingers. In about 10 seconds she produced a string of yarn nearly a foot long. She then showed us old photos she had, one of her as a young woman- probably early 20s, her brother and a few others. That was really special. She is 78 years old, sharp as a tack. She remembered a joke she made back in January and added to it this time. She sent us on our way with detailed instructions on which way to go to avoid the mud and huge smiles for all of us. Rosa and I have the same hat. I love that.

The next, oh I don't know, 5 months are going to be a little crazy, but we are excited about upcoming trips.

Please pray for us:

As we still seek an extension,

Keep up with logistics for teams,

Ministry for the summer,

That our current renters will renew their lease or we will find new renters without missing a month

Thanks so much to all of you, we miss you and love you. Keep us updated on whats going on with you! We love hearing from folks back home or wherever this finds you!

We are just back in Lima for a few days now, enjoying the warm humid weather and the occasional sunshine! We had a great past week in San Jose de Quero and Usibamba with our home church, Grace Community Baptist, and some guest visitors from Asheville, NC.

After a night in Huancayo, we set out for the higher altitude of 13,100 ft of San Jose. This trip's purpose was discipleship and we saw God do some amazing things this week! Teammate Mindy McCord and I were the only ladies on the trip and we were able to spend some great time with a few of the women. We went through a few old testament stories with Maruja, one of the key people in town (store and hostel manager, mayor's sister). It was wonderful to see her read the stories for the first time ever, her excitement about the Word, and her insight into application! We were encouraged with her eagerness to share the stories with others, without any prompting from us. God really used us despite our limited language skills and spoke through the power of His Word. We also spent a few evenings with Arminda in Usibamba. Arminda has been difficult in the past due to her tendancy to dominate the conversation and overwhelm us with unrelevant questions. She has also expressed in the past a lack of regard for Mindy's and my ability to teach the Bible because we don't have kids. Yeah...

Well this time, we really saw a softening in her and more gentleness for which we were grateful. We had two great nights working through some discipleship material. God taught me a lot through this- showing His power in my inadequecies. It constantly amazes me when I give it all up to Him, readily admitting that I am not able to do anything, how sufficient He is and how gracious. The men had a great week as well, spending very concentrated time with Teodoro, Godofredo, Rolando, and a new member of the group, Manuel. They had great results in teaching them to lead a Bible study using a passage of scripture and 3 simple question, what do I like, what do I not like, and what can I apply? I think the leaders were encouraged through this week and we are looking forward to seeing what is going when we return next month. We had a Sunday night Bible study in both towns, and both went really well. We were blessed to have 2 of the very best translators with us: Hector and Mijail, and they not only translate, they minister and pour into the people as much if not more than we do.

We are thankful for a wonderful time that was refreshing and encouraging. God highlighted this time with 2 clear nights where we saw His handiwork in the stars! You've never seen stars like this back home- trust me! You look up into the sky and you get dizzy because you see so much!

We will be in Lima for a few days until Saturday when we travel with a church to Jauja to help out with a baseball camp! Looking forward to this! We will leave this team early and head up to Ambo to see College Street ministering there before heading home to Huanuco for a few days. Ahhh home.

Blog Update:

So sorry its been so long! We have been on the move and when we stop- we still feel like we are moving...
So this blog is a recap of February!

After the great time with the team from College Street Baptist Church, we had a few restful days at home which were a blessing to us! I have been sewing and reading, David has been roof gardening and reading as well!
We headed into Lima around February 10 to meet an incoming team from Hesperia Baptist Church from Hesperia, CA. We arrived a few days early to meet with our bosses and discuss the near future and to sketch out our calendar for the next 6 months. We are going to be very busy- but are glad for that! More opportunities to see what God is doing here in Peru! We have also discussed the possibility of a relocation to Lima around September. While we love Huanuco so much, we have realized that it is not the most strategic location for us as our team changes. I would say that the move is pretty much a sure thing- but I wouldn't set it in concrete just yet.
We went with a team of 4 from Hesperia to a town called Tarma, nicknamed the city of flowers. Sounds pretty good huh? We drove into this mountain town that is located more or less between La Oroya and Cerro de Pasco, through fields of chrysanthemums, gladiolas, baby's breath and others! Que bonita! We stayed the week in the apartments above one of the Baptist Churches in Tarma. Hesperia is partnering with this church to reach a nearby town called Acobamba. Pastor Paul of Tarma was a great encouragement to us- to see his heart for the lost and for discipleship and training were remarkable. We spent the week partnering with Peruvian brothers and sisters from Tarma, evangelizing door to door 8 hours a day, for 4 days. At night we showed the Jesus film and the Hope film and had a Bible study.
They were one translator short for the trip, so David, Pastor Paul and I made our own team (no english allowed). We were stretched way beyond our comfort zone, in not only the language, but hey, the door to door thing. I think there are few who would say that is easy for them. But God was so faithful and was able to work through our shortcomings and fears show Himself powerful that week. David and I were able to share the gospel with over 50 people who received Christ as their Lord. As always its NOT about the numbers, but it was an encouragement to see their desire for a Savior. There are trained local leaders already in place for follow-up discipleship. WOW! Thats amazing! What a blessing to serve along side of these faithful brothers in Christ who desire to see their neighbors realize the love of Christ. We returned to Huanuco following this trip- thoroughly stretched, tired and refreshed. We spent a few days at home, during which time David helped a semi-local VBS by playing chauffer. So he didn't get a good rest from time in the truck. I did. Anyway. A few days later we headed back into Lima to pick up David's folks. We tried an alternate route which ended in a mudslide, detour, and a total of 13 hours on the road. But we made it to Lima nonetheless and spent the next day recouping while the truck had its day in the spa getting tuned up. We spent the next day on the beach! Rough huh?
That night Betty and Jim arrived. We spent 1 day in Lima, drove to Huaraz, drove to Banos, drove to Huanuco and stayed there 2 days, drove to Jauja, San Jose de Quero, and then to Paracas! Ahh Paracas! A day on the coast and we took a boat tour out to the Ballestas islands to see sea lions, pelicans, penguins and much much more! How fun for us! We went back to Lima and spent the night and got them on the plane the following morning. We had an adventerous time that morning, as our side mirror had been stolen the night before. So we set off on a quest to find a replacement. After 3 hours of fighting Lima traffic, we are not city folk by the way, we had the mirror replaced. We drove to the hotel to pick up the team from Santa Cruz from our home church Grace. I am writing this now from San Jose de Quero- but will post it in Lima- and will write more about this trip soon!

Pray for us as we go go go!

Hey everyone! Just a quick one today but I don't want to get so far behind that I have to write a novel next time!

We've been getting to know the Huanuco/Ambo area a little better these past several days. College Street Baptist Church has let us tag along on their trip. These pros don't need our help when they come to minister as this is their 5th year serving here in Ambo as a Strategy Coordinator Church. However, they are gracious enough to invite us along and introduce us to all the contacts they've made. We visited several pastors in the area for follow-up and for preparations for a March pastor's conference they will be holding. We attended an Alianza service Sunday morning and a Pentacostal service Sunday night. In the Pent. we sang one song for 30 mins. I timed it. Same tune, the words changed about every 5 minutes!

This church is a great encouragement for us and we enjoyed getting to know some new faces on their team. We'll spend the next week or so here in Huanuco with maybe a few day trips and a day to celebrate my birthday.

Here are some prayer requests:

Safety in travel for the College Street Team

Language ability

Health- some allergy issues and stomach aches.

Cameron's sister- she needs about 5 more weeks until she delivers baby #3- and is on bed rest now. Please pray for her protection and the baby's health.

David's Great -Uncle Ed- recovering from surgery- pray for his healing and that he will come to know the Father.

Thanks ya'll! Miss you and appreciate the prayers more than you know!

Hey everyone! We are back in Huanuco and for longer than a few days this time!

We just got back from a trip to Huaraz for a pastors conference. We left early early early Monday morning and made the 7 hour trip with no hiccups! We drove through a National Reserve which was amazing! Huaraz is a beautiful city- with amazing views of snow capped peaks, including the highest mountain in Peru at over 20,000 ft. We spent the rest of Monday settling in and gearing up for the following day. David and I, along with 2 members of Ingleside Church from the US, 2 fabulous translators (what would we do without them) and Reap teammates: Amber, Mindy and Sandi were on day care duty. With over 250 pastors and their wives, we had a boatload of kids! most days we averaged around 85-100. Fortunately, we had a huge yard to keep them in - most importantly with a very high wall and gate to keep them in:) It also had a swing set, jungle gym, basketball court and most popularly a trampoline! The kids were a bit over enthusiastic about the trampoline so that became David's domain- he ran it like a pro carnival ride keeper! Somehow- I got talked into getting up myself (twice) and bounced myself back about 10 years:) We put the trampoline up after the second day to give it a rest- not to mention David. The majority of the kids were so sweet and very well behaved but as always there were a few trouble makers who couldn't stay out of trouble for very long. There is one kid I will never forget- a chubby 3 year old with a Batman t-shirt. Yeah- he got spanked a few times. Don't freak out- we are in Peru, you can spank other peoples kids.

We played a lot of volleyball, soccer, memory card game, colored and tried gamely to keep the peace. I think we did pretty darn good considering our lack of child experience. We all got badly sunburned as we were at 10,000 ft. playing in the sunshine for about 8 hours a day. But it was a good week of hard work and sweet rewards. The kids are so cute and most are so sweet. When you've got a 6 year old kissing your cheek in the cultural greeting of Peru calling you "hermana" (sister) it just melts your heart a little. We enjoyed it- but it is good to be home and have a little rest. We have a church arrive next Thursday- College Street Baptist- who has worked in a town about 20 minutes from us. We will catch up with them as time and opportunity allows- and are looking forward to tagging along. This church is a pro and doesn't need any help from us- but we are glad to ride around with them and are grateful they let us:)

After that David's folks will be coming out to visit and we are looking forward to that. I hope you are all well and know that we miss you! Thanks for praying for us- we need it:)

Prayer Requests:

As always, Language learning (we are getting better!)

Pray for decisions about our future ministry and timing

Pray for Lottie Moon offerings to be sufficient for His work

Pray for our team leaders as they plan the upcoming year's schedule and face the challenges of the diminishing short termers on our team.

Thanks so much!

Nose to the Grindstone...

Hey there! Well we are back at it! On the road more than not, but thankfully the police stops have been much much fewer and we've been safe.

This past week we were able to go back to San Jose de Quero- still probably our favorite place here. Cambridge Baptist Church- partner with Grace Community, arrived Wednesday night and we hit the road Thursday morning. We arrived in Huancayo that afternoon and after being appalled at hotel prices in El Presidente, we settled into Los Balcones. We had dinner and then a few of us braved Plaza Vea (grocery store) which rivals a super Wal-Mart and is ALWAYS packed with people. The next morning we drove the 1.5 hours to San Jose de Quero. We spent the rest of that day setting up meetings and touring the market in Chaquicocha a neighboring town. We took it easy that night- as the first night in that altitude usually has its effect of making everyone sleepy. The next morning, we did some prayer walking around San Jose and ran into all sorts of people that we know there, Elizabeth and her 3 kids, Norma & Alexander, Gomerciendo, and a few others. I always love getting out and walking around out there. Its the closest to feeling at home that I've felt here, pastures and the smell of cows...

We spent the afternoon in Usibamba, meeting with Godofredo and Armenda. The rainy season makes things more challenging. The back roads are slippery to get from town to town, people don't come out as much, and some even leave town to go to Huancayo. This made things more difficult, but I am proud of the team for making the most of every opportunity! After we met with this couple, I was able to call Mama to wish her a happy birthday- which I was glad I could do. Godo. & Armen. have a tienda with a phone and they wouldn't let me pay for the call! They are sometimes difficult to talk with, but they are so welcoming and sweet to us.

Sunday, we headed back to Usibamba to meet with them again in the morning. This time Godofredo invited a young man who had a lot of questions about salvation and the Christian life. We were able to share with him for over two hours and he seemed encouraged and thoughtful about what was shared. We are glad to have made a new contact there and will hopefully be able to follow up with him in March. The afternoon the girls had planned a kids event in de Quero, but rain made attendance a little low. However, the 5 kids that did come seemed to enjoy themselves, singing, playing and listening to the story of Jonah and the whale. David was Jonah in the dramatization:) That evening we had a Bible study with the believers in San Jose and again there weren't many who would come out in the rain but we still had about 8 or so. Don't be quick to judge them for letting rain deter them. They usually only have 1 set of clothing and when they get wet- they stay wet for a long time and its cold up there. Miserable. The time with the group is always a highlight for me- they are a sweet group!

We met the owner of the town's restaurant and he expressed some interest in joining the group and potential leadership. I am still unsure how to take this, given that he's never attended the Bible study but is willing to lead it. However, we encouraged him to meet with the group and pray for the Lord's leading.

Monday we spent the morning walking down to the river- always one of my favorite things to do. It was muddy and the river is way up- overflowing in the canals. There are tons of little flowers blooming now that the rain has started and you wouldn't believe how green it all is! Its like someone plugged it in and now instead of brown its electric green.

That afternoon we visited Santa Rosa- a potential ministry town that has been in the backs of all our minds for a while now. We also made a trip out to San Pedro de Sulcan- a place we've been a few times but have not done anything past showing the Hope film. we just went to look around and ended up talking with the owner of a tienda there named Lydia (no coincidence in the name). Uncle Guy and Aunt Gay and translator Hector had visited there and had lunch one day last March. Hector was with us on this trip and remembered eating there. We came into her shop and began talking. Aunt Gay had enjoyed a green soup that she served there and had told me about it. I mentioned to Lydia that Gay was still talking about what a wonderful soup she had served there and Lydia remembered that it was a green soup. What small impressions can do!! This opened some doors and before long Hector was sharing with her and praying with her to receive Christ. She had the quote of the week saying "no one has come to teach us, we would change if we knew, but no on has taught us." Wow, talk about your open doors huh? We are praying for her and that town and hoping that maybe our churches can do some teaching there.

The next day we departed for Lima, taking a chance on that back way through Yauyos again. The other two times we've taken it, we've encountered serious delays. But promises of completed paving and beautiful views made us take the bait. And third times a charm- because we made record time and it was indeed beautiful! Herds of llama, lakes, racing rivers, flowers blooming everywhere, and less trucks on the road. It was a great trip!

We spent a day in Lima resting and running some errands and then retreated to Huanuco the next day. We are glad to be home at least for a few days. Monday we head to Huaraz for a pastors conference that one of the SC churches is hosting. We are expecting several hundred peruvian pastors and their families.

I think we will be on child care along with several teammates. We are looking forward to seeing the "Alps" of Peru and the city of Huaraz. After that we have some down time here in Huanuco- I'll keep you posted. Here are some things you can be praying for !

• Pray for the believers in San Jose and Usibamba for encouragement and growth and development of leadership.
• Pray for Lydia and her town Sulcan
• Pray for Michel and his mother Berta in Usibamba (the young man we shared with)
• Pray for the Pastor's conference in Huaraz
• Pray for safety in travel
• Pray for guidance and wisdom for us in reference to extending and the future of REAP North as short term missionaries' terms end.
• Pray for continued language learning!

Thanks so much to all of you!

2010 Bienvenidos! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

I hope you all had a great time the end of 2009!

David and I are back in Peru-we came back about a week ago. We had a great time being back home and visiting folks. It was hard trying to see everyone and fit it all in- and frankly we needed a vacation from vacation! But we are very glad we got to spend Christmas at home and are grateful that we were able to do so.

I have not missed winter though! We were excited to have about a foot of snow the night we landed in D.C. and enjoyed that rarity- but I admit its nice to be back in warmer lands now!

We leave tomorrow with a team from Cambridge Baptist Church. We will spend tomorrow night in Huancayo and from there spend about 4 days in San Jose de Quero.

We are looking forward to getting back up into the mountains and seeing all the sweet brothers and sisters up there!

Please be praying for David and I in the following ways:

• Our big decision lately has been whether or not to extend our term to a third year. We have decided to apply for the extension though the odds are not good that we will get it due to budget cuts. Pray for wisdom as we seek God's will on what's next for us.
• Please pray for Lottie Moon Offerings this year. This is the money that keeps us missionaries on the field- pray that God will provide and those in leadership will be sensitive to where the money should best be spent.
• Pray for continued language learning ( I just copy and paste this one every time).
• Please pray for peace for our families as we change when we are coming home often.

Thanks so much to all of you- thanks for your prayers for us! We love you and I will update again after our trip!