I know I've been remiss in updating- but we've had several slow weeks here and I'm not too good about writing without subject matter:)

We are doing good and enjoying spring time here in Lima. As I said things have been slow...until this past week. When it rains it pours- except that we live in a desert now and it never rains...anyway.

We had our monthly check up last Wed. And things are looking good- the baby's heartbeat was good and strong and no problems with my health. The doctor fussed because I haven't gained very much weight yet- and then lectured me on eating healthy. I hate to tell him, but with my metabolism, I ain't going to get fat on salad. We go for a 4D ultrasound the day after Thanksgiving and should be able to determine the sex of the baby then! Yay!

The rest of the week we spent in meetings with leadership talking about upcoming changes in our team and method of work. We dont' have a lot of definate answers- but we know change is coming and that God will provide what we need to do what He wants us to do. Saturday we had a crazy morning involving a power outage which made for some creative problem solving. We had two teams to meet that morning and accompany one of them to their destination to cart stuff and some folks. Except that our truck was stuck at home b/c without power we couldn't open the gate:) We figured out an alternate plan and drove the team to their ministry spot about 5 hours from Lima. It was so good to get out of the city and see some countryside again. We didn't get back until that night and then early the next morning we met our home church and saw them off for their week-long ministry trip. It was good to be working hard and getting some things done. We are planning on going on a research trip to the jungle next week with our boss Jeff to do some research and right after Thanksgiving we are driving up the coast to find some beaches! More stories and photos to come!

Tomorrow David hits the road again. Please be praying for him as he travels with a couple from Southside Baptist Church to the Tarma area. They will be in the Tarma area until next Wednesday. Pray for a sucessful trip with ample opportunities to share the gospel and to disciple growing believers in the towns.

Please pray for me as I stay home once again.

We had our 12 wk check up yesterday and everything is going fine. This baby has grown!!! I go back next week to have an ultrasound to check for Downs.

Please keep praying for us as we continue to adjust to all the changes.

Thanks to you all!

Buenas Tardes todos!

I'm trying hard to adjust to this whole "seeing David off on a trip" thing, but its hard!

I've gotten so used to going everywhere with him this past year that it feels very weird to be apart so much. We've gotten spoiled!

I'm here in Lima, trying to adjust to life here. I've been learning a new market. Thankfully there is a market within walking distance- so I haven't had to completely revert back to being a grocery store girl. We've enjoyed attending Vida Nueva church nearby the past two Sundays. And in this dusty place we've been learning that the floor really has to be swept once a day at least. Hmm.

We've really enjoyed our housemates and teammates, the Nelsons these past 3 weeks. But yesterday their home became available and they have since departed to their own quarters! We will miss them...and their dog.

David got back fine from his last research trip which was fruitful and full! He said the average driving/researching day was 15 hours and he was in some high places! He'll be heading out again tomorrow for San Jose de Quero with Jamie Byers from our home church and super translator Hector. They'll be gone a short week- which will seem long back here on the ranch.

Please be praying for them, that God will direct their ministry and efforts, that He will bless and enrich relationships, and for health for all these guys.

I will admit, I am feeling left out a little bit and am concerned about what they will eat up there without me there to man the kitchen like normal??? But David reminds me that Hector has a reputation as a good cook and that there is a restaurant and hey, there is always PB&J. So I sigh and admit he's right...but I've become a part of that kitchen up there and it just doesn't seem right for me not to be in it:)

Hope you all are doing well and please please please let us know how you are doing and how we can pray for you.

Howdy! We are writting this as official Limanos now! We've completed the move and are spending most of our time settling in and making this place our place. We are getting to be housemates with our team members the Nelsons, and that has been lots of fun. Things have slowed down which has been a great break for us after that crazy summer.

David will be traveling next week to do some research in the Pasco area and then a week after that, he will travel with Grace Richmond to Quero. I will staying home as I am busy growing a baby! We were thrilled to find out right before we moved that we are expecting and due this coming April! Please pray for us! Its all very new and already causing a lot to change. The sight of cheese has never made me sick before. I'm not sure what to do about that!! But it means that my ability to go with David on trips is very much limited right now. And that changes a lot of things! So please be praying for our flexibility and ability to adapt quickly. Also pray that I will still be able to be effective even though I'm not on the road all the time and I that I can work despite of the nausea. :)

Thanks as always for your prayers- they are our best support!

Please don't hesitate to let us know how we can be praying for you and your families.

The sun is out full force today in Huanuco and it is great to be here. We are soaking up these last few days here- visiting with friends and enjoying the best weather in the world.

We've been hopping around a little this past month, but not so dramatic as the last post!

Crossroads came to do ministry in the form of a vet clinic- which is always fun and an adventure. This year Edmin took us way out to the boonies to work, out to where Quechua is definately their primary language. We saw a lot of sheep, pigs, mules, horses, chickens and guinea pigs. We also slept on a dirt floor- all 12 of us in the same room. It was interesting...

David and I could only be with them for 2 days and then we returned to Huanuco. Shortly after that, we headed to Tarma for a Pastor's conference there. This time I escaped kitchen duty and got to sit in on the ladies' sessions. It was a good conference and we love Tarma. After Huanuco it may be one of the best mountain towns to live in. After the conference, we spent a morning witnessing in a small near-by town. The following day we headed into Lima and dropped off our first truck full of stuff at the Holder's house. We have begun the move...

We headed back to Huanuco and rested for a few days, then set out to do some research and got into a fender bender with a bus on a blind curve on those mountain roads. His fender didn't bend at all. Our truck is still in the shop. Thankfully everyone was fine and we got to see the Huanuco police in action (had to file a report). So we rested a few more days and then went up to Panao again, this time for the dedication of the Quechua de Panao New Testament! After 26 years of work- they had a celebration and distributed the Bibles. It was a neat weekend and really special for us to be able to to attend.

So here we are, back at home and getting ready to head out Thursday night to go to Huancayo to meet up with our home church and go to Quero for a few days.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, we found out last week that we have been approved for a second term! That means we will go home this winter for 2 months stateside and then return for 2 more years, putting us here in Peru until early 2013. Thanks for praying for us!

Miss ya'll!

Whew! Its been a whirwind that's for sure. You won't believe some of the things I've done this week! But more on that later. We left Huanuco and researched our way to Cerro de Pasco and from there we drove to Huancayo and parked our truck at the church-bought our bus tickets for the overnight bus to Lima, saw a movie and took the bus all night. That was day 1. We arrived in Lima early morning saturday. David took care of 1 team's needs and in the afternoon we received the van for the New River team. The team arrived that night and the next morning we set out for Jauja. David did a great job driving the bus and we made good time. The hostel we stayed at was a treat! Very cool Colonial style with really hot water. We attended the church service that night. The next morning we started ministering in Molinos. We set up the medical clinic but the crowd wasn't coming. So we did a house calland the rest of the team went out tell people to come. By the time we got back from the house call they were lined up outside the clinic. Its difficult to share what all David and I did during the clinic. Generally we helped keep order, translated, brought lunch, coordinated the upcoming day, etc. I even translated a little in the doctors office and I can now say "do you have blood in your stools" in spanish. Of course I couldn't at the time, so you should have heard me try to "talk around" that one! We left this team early Wed morning and did some coordination for the upcoming medical trip this next week. From there we went to Huancayo and picked up a few things for the students in Quero. We made it up there and brought tears to their eyes when I told them that I'd brought stiff to make hamburgers for supper. Larry arrived that evening and we spent the next day visiting around Quero with them. Friday morning we drove early in the morning to the Jauja team, picked them up- left our truck there- and drove them to Lima. We spent the night and following day there in Lima, and that night we took another overnight bus to Jauja, picked up our truck, drove to Huancayo and then crashed for a few hours before church. We met the group from New Orleans at church and spent the day preparing for the week's upcoming pastors conference. I'd like to say the conference went well... but I don't know. I spent 15 hours a day either in the market or kitchen, helping ladies from the church prepare meals for 200 people. What an experience. I got lessons in my different types of ajis (pepper sauces), an even faster way to cut up a chicken (or 25 chickens to be exact) and the proper technique for cleaning chicken feet. Quite an adventure. I also had a major breakthrough that week. I had my first real dream in spanish- speaking and hearing in spanish. Of course it was about chicken... so I'm not sure if that was a breakthrough or just insanity... time will tell I suppose. The conference overlapped with the International World Changer's project in Huancayo- so we ended at 11 pm one night and started again the next morning at 7. Whew. We had a day of training and then we spent the rest of the week doing door to door medical visits. After this team, we headed into Lima to prep for our move there in September. We had a surprise awaiting us- some generous soul gave us a night at the Marriot- a cream of the crop hotel establishment located in the swanky part of Lima- every room with an ocean view. Very very swanky:) Of course we felt like the Beverly Hillbillies coming in with a very dirty truck and no clean clothes for ourselves. A little intimidating but a great time none the less. We got our errands done in Lima and then finally headed home to Huanuco, where we rested for a day. To celebrate this rest, the next day we took a 12.5 hour road trip to do some scouting for this upcoming week's vet clinic. So the past two days have been rest for the weary and now we have our vet clinic team in town and head out tomorrow. Please forgive the punchy note to this blog- but I think I just might BE punchy soo.... go figure ! Pray for us, our sanity and that the Lord will do great and mighty things here in Peru!

We are in town for just a few days and are heading out again Tuesday!

We just got back from San Jose de Quero where we spent the last week. Our team is grateful to have a team of students staying in Quero for 2 months! Our job this week was to get them started: familiarizing them with the people and area and strategy, teaching them how to cook, and as always enjoying being up there. The student team is GREAT! Go - getters and very grounded in the Word. We are confident God will use them mightily this summer. I enjoyed holding "cooking classes" every day and teaching them to shop in the market in Chaquicocha. If anyone needs some tips- I found a much faster way to cut up a whole chicken. I'm a beast.

Please lift these students up in your prayers as they minister "on their own" these next few weeks. We will be up to check on them in a few weeks with Larry Pumpelly, but until then they are holding down the fort.

We are enjoying Huanuco and the warmth very much today! We had a great time of worship at church this morning and had a visit from our friends Lindor, Zoila and Samuelito this afternoon. What a blessing to have been able to live here and make friends. We will surely miss Huanuco come September. However, we are excited about living in Lima as well- being close to our team will be good and make us more helpful to them. Please pray for us as we say goodbyes these next few months to our friends here though.

Our schedule peaks this month and I've listed it below so that you can be praying for us in "real time". I may not be able to update the blog again until mid-July. Your prayers are definately needed and we earnestly ask for them. We can not do the work here- we desperately need God to do it for us.

Tomorrow is David's 28th birthday and I have made Betty's famous Mocha Chocolate Torte Cake to celebrate the occasion. We are glad to spend the day together and in a warm climate:)

Here is our schedule- please be praying for us~

June 15-18: Research in Pasco area

June 18-20: Travel via bus to Lima to meet New River Team

June 20-22: Minister in Jauja with New River

June 23-24: Meet Larry Pumpelly in San Jose de Quero

June 25-26: Return to Lima with New River Team and Stay the night in Lima

June 26-July 2: Return to Huancayo with team from New Orleans Seminary for Pastors conference in Huancayo

July 2-July 8: International World Changers Medical team: I will be leading a team to the Quero/Usibamba area and David will lead one to the Jauja area.

July 9: Return to Huanuco.

As you can see its a lot of traveling and a lot of work- so lift us before the Father that we may have the endurance and right attitude to do all this well.

Thanks! Love to you all! Please send us updates on how you are doing and how we can be praying for you!