Tacna Life

Alex is...

2011-03-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Alex is the oldest son of a single mother living two blocks from the church. He is eight years old and his little brother is two. After his mother was abandoned pregnant with Alex's little brother Alex also began to struggle more with school. It doesn't help that she is illiterate, a single mother, and can't find a steady job. Alex has to repeat this year in school again.

Our hope and prayer is that we can find a sponsor for Alex and his little brother. If anyone would like to support Alex and his family by fully or partially adopting them please send your donation to the address above with an attached note saying "Ridenour Project - Tacna, Peru (Alex)".

Let us know if you need any more information. The cost per child per month is $14. Per child per year is $140. If you would like to sponsor the family it is double the donation, $28 a month and $280 for the year.

Ruben is...

2011-03-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

Ruben is 8 years old and lives with his sister and recently single mom. He is very loving and grown on the hearts of many of the tio's here. His mom spoke with me a couple weeks ago about the possibility of lowering the costs of Nuestras Semillas to make it possible for both her children to attend. She loves the idea of the program helping her and her children out, but now she is alone and even though the $14 a month per child is very cheap, it is also very difficult without a regular income.

If anyone would like to support Ruben's family or any other family by fully or partially adopting them for a month(s) or year please send your donation to the address above with an attached not saying "Ridenour Project - Tacna, Peru (Ruben)".

Let us know if you would want anymore information. The cost per child per month is $14. per child per year is $140. If you would like to sponsor the family it is double the donation, $28 a month and $280 for the year.

Nuestras Semillas

2011-03-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

Our children's program is almost here! For those of you who don't know much about it, we will be opening up a children's learning program joined with the feeding program to help families in the neighborhood. Children will come for lunch and stay all afternoon doing their homework, learning different crafts and trades, playing sports, etc until 7pm while their parents can be at work all day and not worry about their children. Then when they get home they can spend quality time with their children and not just help them with their homework and then everyone goes to bed.

So many families have told us how much they want and need this in order to work and not have to take care of their children all day. We are praying that many will come to know Christ through the program and that their children can flourish with the hours a day of investment in their lives.

Please pray with us for Tacna. Thank you all who have helped make this possible.

Time to give!!!

2011-01-26T06:22:00.001-08:00

Its that time of year again when we want all your money...but it's for a great cause, God's!!!

The reality in Tacna is that "free" public education is a joke. The education is low quality; the teachers are not very interested in their students; at the end of the day if the students don't pass many can pay their corrupt teachers for passing grades. It is a sad cycle of corruption which seems impossible to defeat, impossible to overcome. At the beginning of each school year the teachers send out a list of approximately $50 in school supplies that each student must purchase in order to begin classes. For many families that only make $150, $200 or $300 a month, having a few kids studying can take up a month or two of salary.

Last year we were blessed to receive donations from six people which allowed us to give out 30 scholarships of $50 each. To see photos click here.

Our hope and prayer is that we will reach over 50 this year so please pass the word along. If anyone would like to give please send all tax-deductible donations to:

Iberoamerican Ministries

PO Box 1493

Monroe, Wa 98272

**Write in the note of the check "Brian Ridenour - Tacna Scholarships"**

We love you all and hope you are enjoying God's goodness. Without your support and prayers all we do wouldn't be possible.

Micro-business Success

2011-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am happy to share with you all what God has done through the micro-business.

We were able to pay out over $2300 in salaries, electricity bill, and internet costs.

Also, God provided the School Supply Store with over $4300 in profits which will allow us to give out over 40 school supply scholarships.

So the church has been able to provide jobs, lower the costs of running the church, and help over 40 families give their children an education to help give them an opportunity to get out of poverty with a donation of $7000 by one family. We have been given two smaller donations and we are looking to expand the micro-businesses this year so we can bless more and God's love can be known.

2011-01-17T11:01:00.000-08:00

The final product!

A look from afar.

New Years Eve a little different this year.

We started building the house for the temple guards in Ciudad Nueva. It has been on hold for over five years since we haven't received much financial support for construction, but God provided enough to build the walls and the roof. Thank you Hope Christian and the Rische family for their long time support.

Matthew's 1st Christmas

2010-12-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

Navidad - Children Ciudad Nueva

2010-12-27T07:55:00.001-08:00

We were able to have a nice party with all the children from the church with some chocolate milk and "paneton", played some games, and remembered Christ. There were no gifts this year for Ciudad Nueva because we couldn't get enough donations, but the children enjoyed the time anyways. Then a few days later we took all the children to see a house that puts up different nativity scenes representing all the major cities in Peru. Afterwards we took them to the new water park in front of the downtown church. It was a fun time and blessing for all of us.

Escuela de Futbol

2010-12-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

Brunner from Local Central has blessed us in Ciudad Nueva with his voluntary service to train as many kids as he can for futbol. Day one had 15 kids and Day three made it up to over 30. This number will surely continue to go up as school ends and summer vacation begins. He is helping the children learn discipline, teamwork, respect, and also showing them how to be loved through it all.

AWANA moment to remember

2010-12-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

We had our AWANA club meet out on the soccer court last week because the church was decorated for Ciudad Nueva's anniversary Sunday service. Because of the change we had over 25 new kids participate. Most of them came back this week as well.

The best moment of the week came when two kids began fighting in front of the teenagers and one of them hit the other in the back. He started crying so I called the aggressor over and told him to ask forgiveness for hitting him. When he finished I asked the other child if he would forgive him and give him a hug. When they began to hug they both started crying and saying,

"I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

"I don't want to be mad at you."

"You are my friend"

"Let's now fight again, okay?"

Among other things...me a couple of the guys from the youth group got all worked up and teary eyed. It was awesome to share a real moment like that with the guys!

Enrique's Baptism

2010-12-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

Enrique had been thinking about this decision for over a year now and a couple weeks ago he came up to me after the Sunday service saying he was ready. I couldn't help but be excited after waiting patiently for Enrique to make the best decision of his life. So last Sunday in an emotional thank you to his mom and us "tios" he had a few of us crying before he was finally baptized before all of us.

Lima

2010-12-11T18:23:00.001-08:00

Lima

2010-12-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

We had to be in Lima for a couple days to register Matthew at the embassy and get his and my passports. We were able to have a little pleasure time as well. Here are some fun photos to enjoy!

2010-11-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

Our thanksgiving lunch! Delicioso!

Chiqui thought my Trix were very funny and childish...thanks to now having a supermarket I was able to find some "gringo" stuff like this.

Global Leadership Summit - Lima, Peru

2010-11-30T21:37:00.000-08:00

The seven of us were truly blessed to be a part of the Global Leadership Summit in Lima. It was one of the best leadership conferences we have ever been a part of and it encourage us as a group to move forward and build up our leaders to form great teams.

2010-11-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

"I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse!"

Jail break!

2001 Flashback

2010-11-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

We took a little detour on our way back to the park where we were to meet as a group during the retreat in Ticaco. To my surprise we ran into the house module I built in 2001 on my first mission trip! That year we came up here to build the modules because of the huge earthquake that shook southern Peru just a month earlier. It was an encouraging reminder that though the circumstances seem difficult, God uses everything we lift up to him and does a work of endurance.

Retreat 2010 photos

2010-11-07T08:49:00.000-08:00

Retreat 2010 - Tarata/Ticaco

2010-11-07T08:37:00.001-08:00

We were blessed to be invited to a retreat with the youth group from Local Central. For me personally it was refreshing to be a part of something and not be in charge and thinking about the responsibilities all the time. To be able to spend time with Chiqui and Matthew, read and pray without any worries in the city, enjoy worship songs, small groups, and a couple messages without having to do anything. It was refreshing!

Matthew

2010-11-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

Some more fun with Matthew! He is spending way too much time with our dog Kobe.

Talent Show

2010-11-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

We had our 2nd talent show (or so we call it) and it went very well. This year we only started an hour late and only two groups didn't make it in time. It went well and the youth group got to show off whatever they got and invite some friends to come as well.

If you want to see some videos click here www.youtube.com/user/wt4god98

Global Leadership Summit - Lima, Peru

2010-10-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

On November 19-20Willow Creek will be putting on their annual international leadership conference (www.willowcreekglobalsummit.com) and one of their international hubs will be in Lima, Peru. A group of 7-10 of us leaders from Tacna will be going to Lima to grow, be encouraged, and challenged as leaders to move ourselves forward as well as the churches God has entrusted unto us. It will be an important time for us with speakers like Jack Welch, Bill Hybels, Terri Kelly, and more.

This will a one time opportunity for some of the leaders, some have never even flown in an airplane before. We are hoping to have between 7-10 of the leaders there but we will need approximately $1500 financial support for airline tickets, room and board, and the conference fee.

Please keep this in your prayers and if you feel led to help out let us know. All information for donating is located at the top of the webpage.

Non-Catholic Religious Entities Conference

2010-10-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to host the Non-Catholic religious entities conference for all the churches in Tacna who wished to be present. The conference was designed to inform the churches in Tacna how and why they should register themselves with the government. We were surprised to find out that we are the only church in Tacna currently registered with the government. It was a very informative meeting and we pray it was a blessing to many churches.

2010-10-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

Taking an afternoon drive with Matthew. He loves how the stick shift shakes his arms.

While eating he grabbed his hair and gave himself this awesome oompa-loompa hairstyle.

B5...BINGO!!!

2010-10-23T19:48:00.001-07:00

The youth group in Local Central, Culto.com, did a Bingo event on Friday to raise money for a retreat on Halloween weekend. With some big changes in leadership happening in Culto.com next year, we are hoping the retreat will encourage more from the group to step up in their relationship with God.

Even with all his cards Carlos didn't win once...or maybe it was because he couldn't keep up with all his cards?

Children's Party

2010-10-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

We had our annual children's party this year to celebrate all the children's birthdays in one party. We played the usual AWANA games, then sang some songs together and danced, sang happy birthday and had some cake, and sent the kids off with a little bag of treats. It was a fun afternoon celebrating with the kids.

Nueva Jerusalen anniversary

2010-10-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 17th was the church in Nueva Jerusalen's anniversary and all three churches in Tacna came together to celebrate. We enjoyed worship music with typical peruvian instruments, a baptism, and a great time together with papa a la huancaina (all those who have been here know how good it is).

Here are some photos to enjoy!

Worship team from Nueva Jerusalen

The family of the bass player from Nueva Jerusalen

Everyone gathered around for a baptism

Baptism of one of the girls from the youth group

Fun, Friends, and Iglesia Sana

2010-10-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to have our good friends Steve and Pauly up from Santiago, Chile for a week.

This is all he has been doing lately...it's fun to watch him learn new things!

We were able to have a holiday off, well half off, and enjoy the time with a BBQ party. Tried out my new Jack Daniels Sauce recipe and had some fun with Matthew in the pool for the first time.

Earlier that morning and later that evening I was translating Dr. John Turner's "Sign's of a Healthy Church" seminar. It was definitely one of the most practical and helpful week of classes we have had at Iberoamericana. Let's just be praying that we can all learn to put such practical classes into practice.

OANSA/AWANA Championship - Videos

2010-10-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

OANSA/AWANA Championship

2010-10-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Nueva Jerusalen - winners of the latest championship.

Ciudad Nueva - our kids got a close 2nd...I think it was rigged!

Blurry because of extremely high speed running!

Hahahaha

2010-10-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Fun Bad Luck

2010-10-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

so we had a couple kids over to the house the other day to play some Wii (finally getting some use) and talk about bad luck...after about 10 minutes playing we had a blackout. We ended up playing different board games and playing with Kobe our dog, and after more than a couple hours we had to leave. We all got into the car and the moment I went to start the car we saw all the lights go on upstairs in our apartment.

As my friend Paul would say, "So it goes."

Not a still sleeper!

2010-08-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Matthew definitely moves a bit while he sleeps. Here are a couple pics from these last couple of days.

Grandma

2010-08-26T09:32:00.001-07:00

We had lunch with chiqui's family a couple weeks ago and I thought you might want to meet her 92 year-0ld grandma. Here we are walking around the restaurant and looking at the caged in animals. This one is a male peacock.

...and he's standing!!!

2010-08-26T09:09:00.001-07:00

Look! You can see his tooth.

He is beginning to stand up anywhere and everywhere he can.

December 2011 calendar pose!

The two faces that make my days better.

Look at the fear in his eyes...this is his first time ever standing!

struggling church

2010-08-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

We ask for your prayers.

For a couple of years now the members of the church in Ciudad Nueva have been asking to have the service in the morning. We were finally able to do the time change a couple of months ago after confirming that every single member except one wanted the service time in the morning. Since the time change we have drastically dropped down in attendance. After visiting everyone it seems that they didn't really think their decision through and they all want to have the service in the afternoon again.

Moments like these are frustrating but they are helping me to become a better leader. Please pray for the churches in Tacna and for us leaders. Pray that we will be able to come back even stronger than beforehand. Pray that as leaders we will be more sensible to the spirit's guiding whisper.

Also, please pray for Ebel, Brunner, and Maria Jose who are praying about helping us out at the Ciudad Nueva church. They would be a huge answer to our prayers for more support and leaders in such a difficult place to work. Maria is also going to be helping out the children's after-school center next year.

old house/land

2010-08-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

we are very excited and praying that this works out, but we leave it in our God's hands.

we found an old place that will need to be torn down, but we can stay there while we build a little place of the land. it is in an older part of town where there is mostly agriculture (Pocollay), but the place is near the plaza of Pocollay.

talked to the owners and over a few conversations we were able to drop the price from $45,000 to $38,000...this afternoon (Tuesday) I will be getting together to talk over the details...one of which could use your prayer and possible help.

we need $30,000 and the banks here charge at least 11% interest rates. Since I don't really have any credit here in Peru it might be higher. I would prefer to get a loan from someone I know and pay a lower interest rate to them so that we both win, but we need to find those "someone's". We have some saved up and praise God my dad is going to help but obviously he can't afford all of it...we will probably need another $20,000.

If anyone is willing and interested in giving us a loan we are willing to pay interest so that we both win (and not the bank!!!). I would much rather pay interest to someone I know that to a rich institution...you all understand.

Thank you all for your support! we pray this goes well.

Videos - Tacna and Matthew

2010-07-19T17:50:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

www.youtube.com/user/wt4god98

I have been working on a short video with photos from Tacna and realized how easy it is to upload videos edited in my computer to YouTube...so I also uploaded some videos from Mother's Day, our apartment, and Matthew.

Hopefully I can get more and more videos up about the work going on here so you can see it first hand and share it with others who are interested in what God is doing here.

Thank you all for your support, prayers, comments, etc. You are cherished and a blessing!

Dad stories...

2010-07-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

There seems to be more and more stories each day. Tuesday was probably one of the worst so yet!

I wasn't feeling too good all night and during the morning and Chiqui had been working hard taking care of Matthew the whole time. So during the morning when I felt he pooed while on my lap I figured the least I could do is change him.

Halfway through the process I unintentionally took a big wiff...the result, lunch coming back up and onto the floor!

While I was heaving, Matthew decided to roll over real fast and get his poop all over himself...look at his leg!

But as always, he seems to be happiest after these moments.

Pears, tongue, and dad

2010-07-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Matthew having some fun after breakfast! I think he likes pears.

Mayhem on the Horizon!!!

2010-07-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Just finished finals week at seminary.

July 23rd to 30th - Christ's Church of the Valley will be here to work their butts off!

July 30th to August 9th - In Lima and other towns with my dad and his wife. Their first time seeing Matthew and first time back since our wedding 5 years ago.

August 9th to 16th - Should have a great friend and his wife be here in Tacna to see the church and projects. He is a pastor and their church is almost positively going to support. Your prayers are welcomed anyways!

August 17th to 21st - We have to go back to Lima to do some paperwork in the embassy for Matthew and for my passport...I have two pages left and it expires within a year.

We have another great friend(one of my longest and best friends) and his wife trying to make it down here before August as well. Hopefully that happens!

In these up and down moments God has overloaded us with a lot of blessings through these visits. It is almost too much, but in this case that is impossible.

Great times in Tacna!

2010-07-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a lonche (light dinner with bread and tea) at the church with all the members interested in the future of the church and their involvement. In recent years when we have had meeting like this there would be 6 or sometimes up to ten people interested...last night we had nearly 20. They were all very excited and participating in the conversation, talking through ideas for the future, events that are coming up soon, and how they would like to be involved. It was definitely an encouraging moment after the last few up and down months with the youth group.

A few of the things we discussed that you could be praying for are:

1) Musicians: since the church was handed over to me to oversee we haven't had any musicians. It got complicated when we changed the service to the morning because it was better for everyone (literally). In the meeting 10 people wanted to learn something or begin singing and/or playing instruments for the Sunday service. The need created an opportunity and the church responded. Before when musicians came over from the other churches there was never the opportunity that had to be filled. Once again God responding and turning a difficult moment into an incredibly great moment.

2) 3 more people volunteered to support AWANA's and Sunday school with the children. Another prayer answered. We have been low on help, especially with AWANA's.

3) Unity: We decided as a group that we will be getting together every month and a half to share a meal after service. One of the women who has been a part of the church since the beginning has taken on the task of getting the event organized. She will plan what food everyone needs to bring, how much, and confirm everyone that will be participate. It is one more step toward a mature church that begins to take on tasks for themselves and move us forward.

God is good! I cannot say it enough. In the darkest and most difficult moments he always blesses us with a ray of light. As Habakkuk responded in difficult moments, "yet I will rejoice in the Lord, in the God of my salvation." We rejoice in those moments and now we rejoice yet even more. I cannot say it enough...God is good!

Great moment!

2010-07-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

One of Matthew's funniest moments realizing the camera is on him and then letting out a huge burp...unfortunately you can't hear it because of the bad audio on the camera and the keys jingling...still great though!

2010-07-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

A new street that opened up near the house...it will make for nicer afternoon walks.

Fun Times with Poo!

2010-06-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

matthew didn't poo for a week...but when he did he was on my lap in the living room and it was an explosion of great magnitude!

while changing him i saw poo on his back, his hands, his onezee, his pants, his shirt, and his sweater...it literary passed through all six layers. while taking his clothes off it got on the back of his neck, his hands, and his forehead and feet...cuz we all know how babies stay still when you change them.

when i "finished" i noticed it had also passed through all his layers onto my pants. took them off and there it was on my boxers. took them off and noticed it was on my leg also. so i was half naked and there I noticed another spot (or shot!). took off the shirt and i stood there in my socks with a pile of dirty poo'd on clothes of two sizes, baby and mens, with poo on my left thigh, stomach (actually passed through the huge happy trail), and on my chest...

and Matthew cracking up laughing the whole time!

Depression and Hope

2010-06-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough first year in charge of the church in Ciudad Nueva. There have been some really great moments and some days that just take it out of me, days when I could get on a boat in the middle of a storm and fall asleep.

These last couple weeks have been just that for me.

We have a new family that has been coming every week the last month and they are great. We have two single moms that are getting more and more involved in the church and going to seminary classes. We have the husband of a long time member beginning to come more faithfully and showing a lot more interest since we had a men only BBQ the day before Father's day, and he wants to be involved in our house visit ministry and study at seminary next semester.

We have also had two members get into a really bad fight and are having a real hard time reconciling. That can be tough on a small church. There is a member who has caused a lot of strife with stupid comments at inappropriate times. We had a total of 6 men at our Father's day service that we had to start an hour late because there were only 6 people at the scheduled service time. Our youth group has practically vanished within 6 weeks and we have not been able to pinpoint why. Our musicians were from Local Central and they no longer will be playing for us...but I kind of like singing to a CD.

Ups and downs. Moments of great joy and great sadness. It seems each time that something goes really bad God shows a little spark of hope. We know that this is a new year with a lot of things that will change. Our hope is that we can now follow Jesus' example of multiplying and not adding members. We are dedicating to a small group of men and women to equip and empower them to take of ministries responsibly. It is just the seed and I know that God will cause it to grow...but we are so impatient to want to see the fruits sometimes.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

World Cup

2010-06-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I will be trying to get as much free time as possible during this month...World Cup Soccer! got to go the US is playing England right now.

Violence

2010-06-03T09:27:00.001-07:00

After the other night some of the old thoughts started coming back to me...

"Up to what point is violence okay?"

"Is violence okay?"

I was thinking the whole night about the event, but not so much in the best way. There is this innate thinking process that keeps me thinking about different ways that I could've handled it...sadly, I spent little time thinking about anything else but a violent ending. Maybe it was the excitement of the moment...maybe it was all the violence seen on TV and in movies being brought out of me through this moment.

What could it be?

The more I think about it I think about more bizarre outcomes...

How about inviting him for a bite to eat and giving him a couple bucks to do it? That would at least allow me to talk to him for a few minutes and try to plant a small seed that could make a tree of a difference, each branch reaching out to a part of his life. Maybe he would have said no and just kept on doing what he does. He probably still still is now, so what I did do hasn't changed much.

Anyway, God did not call us to change the world. We are to love and be a light and allow Him to do any changing the can be done. Did it feel good to do what I did? You bet it did! Do I think it was the best thing to do...let's just say I don't remember reading Jesus doing anything like that except to the religious.

Oops! Cheese!

2010-05-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

After a really long day I made it home and remembered that I forgot the cheese (that is not code, I really forgot the cheese!). So I hopped back on the motorcycle, which I have been using for a couple months while we try to find a car/van/truck/something, and headed back to the market last night.

There I was on the bike, first one in line, waiting for the light to turn green, and the unbelievable part of the night begins...

All of the sudden on the corner this guy jumps on the back of another guy and starts putting his hands in his pockets trying to rob him...just some foreshadowing, thieves really drive me crazy...and I just reacted. They were about 6-8 feet from me and I just got off the bike, left it in the middle of the street, took off my helmet, and just knocked the bajizzle out of this guy. He took off running and I caught up to him and grabbed him, then from behind I hear "let him go I got a knife." So I obviously just let him go and took a quick step to the other side of a car, look back and there were two guys with something small in their hands...fortunately it was just a small folded up paper.

They took off running, I bought the cheese and headed home with a great story for the family which is in town for Chiqui's grandma's 92nd birthday today! Fun ending to a long day! And the guy I saved didn't even say thank you...just kept on walking.

2010/2011 Projects

2010-05-25T20:56:00.001-07:00

As you can read below we are praying to be blessed with $84,000+ in money or materials to make these projects a reality. Please keep them in your prayers and pass along the word to anyone that might be interested in blessing.

We already have been blessed with a possible donor of computer PC's to expand the micro-business'.

Thank you all for your financial support, prayers, encouragement, and partnership in God's wonderful work in Tacna, Peru. You are cherished.

2010/2011 Projects

2010-05-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Medical Clinic $30,000+

Tacna has been blessed with a short-term missions team that comes yearly to set up two week medical clinics. The same church has taken the first step towards beginning a permanent clinic in Nueva Jerusalen, the poorest part of Tacna. Ebel is a peruvian doctor in the church and she has accepted the job to get this project moving forward. Please pray for the other 40% of the funding needed, between $30-50,000, either in materials or money.

Temple Guard Houses $15,000+

In Ciudad Nueva and especially in Nueva Jerusalen, we need to build the houses of the temple guards. They are currently living in their makeshift homes which aren't really intended to be lived in. We will need at least $15,000 to build both houses so that the families can live in better, proper houses.

Truck $15000+ or a donated truck under 5yrs old/48,000 miles

Nueva Jerusalen is located on the outskirts of Tacna and there is not public transportation to all places and during many hours. In order to get materials for any ministries the poorest of the three churches needs to pay high priced taxis. Also, many of the church members miss out on great seminars and preparation courses at two seminaries because they have no way to get to and from during night hours. In the future we envision having a farm in which the church in Nueva Jerusalen will probably be in charge of and they will also need to get back and forth.

Micro-business $18,000+/-

Hopefully Nueva Jerusalen will have a Hardware Store by the end of 2011. A micro-business will help the churches be more self-sustained, provide jobs, and better paying church employees. A hardware store would cost $18,000 to start up, but we are looking into other possibilities that could be helpful to lower the cost of ministries and also be a blessing to the community.

Micro-business Expansion $4000 or donated PC's

The success of the two current micro-businesses has encouraged us to expand the current business' to allow better pay for the workers, more income for the ministries, and lowering the running costs of the churches. We are looking to add a total of 8-10 computers.

Library in Nueva Jerusalen and Ciudad Nueva $2000+

With the blessing of having a small library in the Local Central church, the other two churches also have a desire to have the blessing of a library as well. The library has allowed many members and ministries to have books available to disciple, teach, and equip. Because we are attending a seminary here in Tacna we are allowed to get books at a discount between 35-45%. We hope to begin the two libraries with at least $1000 of books in each church.

I love the Catholics, but this is funny!

2010-05-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

On their way to get married, a young Catholic couple are involved in a fatal car accident. They find themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates, waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven. While waiting, they begin to wonder: Could they possibly get married in Heaven?

When St. Peter shows up, they ask him.

St. Peter says, 'I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked that. Let me go and find out,' and he leaves.

The couple sits, and waits, and waits. Two months pass and the couple are still waiting. As they wait, they discuss that if they were allowed to get married in Heaven, what was the eternal aspect of it all.

'What if it doesn't work?' they wondered. 'Are we stuck together forever?'

After yet another month, St. Peter finally returns, looking somewhat bedraggled.

'Yes,' he informs the couple, 'you can get married in Heaven.'

'Great!' say the couple, 'But we were just wondering, what if things don't work out? Can we also get a divorce in Heaven?'

St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slams his clipboard onto the ground.

'What's wrong?' ask the frightened couple.

'OH, COME ON!' St. Peter shouts, 'It took me three months to find a priest up here! Do you have any idea how long it'll take me to find a lawyer?'

Prayer

2010-05-12T17:08:00.001-07:00

Those of you who read the previous post know that another very sad moment happened in the family of a couple kids who come to church. Jose Miguel is the older brother and he is not confronting the situation and trying to act like nothing is wrong. Andres, the younger brother, is taking it harder. We visited them a couple times and they need our prayers. It is time for us to come together as a family for these children.

Please pray that they will open up to us in time and that they will find God's love and care in us.

Please pray that their mother will have work and will be able to care for them.

Pray that God's church will respond.

Urgent Prayer

2010-05-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Please keep the family of Jose Miguel and Andres in your prayers. On Mother's Day their parents had a big argument because the father was abusive and she kicked him out. Later in the afternoon, one of the kids found his father on the floor after he took venom...early this morning he passed away.

Suicide plagues our society here. Please pray for Jose Miguel, Andres, and their family.

Pray for Satan's stronghold to be broken by the hope of our Savior.

A couple of fun Matthew pic's

2010-05-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

"Can someone give me a hand here?"

"What the...?"

"Anyone got the time? I'm pooped!" (aka "Benjamin Button")

"I'm from da barrio, hom's"

From the movie "A Christmas Story"

B-day

2010-05-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

Had a great birthday on April 17th...was able to take the day off after classes, went to the pool during the afternoon, then all you can eat BBQ, and later that night went out with a few friends to a place we frecuent throughout the year. Great day of friends, family, food, and relaxation!

Supporters

2010-05-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

One of the tests of missionaries that do not receive much support must go through from time to time is keeping the faith and not worrying when supporters drop us or lower a good amount of their support. As most of you know, both of those things happened about a month ago. We received a letter from a small church that has been struggling financially the last few years and they will no longer be able to support us at all. Within 10 days we received a letter from our main supporter letting us know that 20% of our support will be going towards new works that have much need in their area. It came as a blow to us, but as we know and many reassured us, though we may want, God will never leave or abandon us...therefore, we will never be in want.

As so it goes, we were contacted by a friend who came down a couple times the last few years with Hope Christian Church in Tustin. He has since moved to the east coast and made a contact with his church to possibly begin supporting God's work here. It is a pretty long process, but get this...later on the same day as above, this new contact emailed us. It was like hearing a soft whisper from God, "Do not worry! I will never leave you nor forsake you." Even if this doesn't happen financially, God continues to reassure us.

Then a couple of weeks ago we were contacted by a good friend who has planted a church and they are interested in supporting as well.

We are confident in the holistic vision God has given us for the community of Tacna. God has blessed us with many great supporters who also believe in the work God has called us to complete with him, and he is opening the eyes of more and more people to see his merciful and loving hand at work here.

Please pray that God would reveal to these possible supporters if it is His will or not to form these relationships. I am almost certain about one and the other one I only have a feeling that God might be making the connection. Please pray his will in these situations.

Prayer...Projects...

2010-04-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Things have been going well at the internet cafe and the School Supply store, so well that we are looking to expand them a little. But I am not going to reveal the details just yet.

Please pray for the projects we are looking into accomplishing this year, as part of our overall plan to prepare, equip, and raise up self-sustaining churches in Tacna for continuing God's work throughout the unreached zones and people groups.

We will have more details revealed after prayer and team meetings.

The sound of happy - part 2

2010-04-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

The sound of happy

2010-04-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Seminary

2010-04-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

We are excited to say that we have 8 people from the church in Ciudad Nueva that have begun seminary classes, two of which are recent christians who have been going to our church the last few months since we opened the School Supply Store. This is obviously very exciting and encouraging for us, because we know that education allows our ignorance to no longer impede us (the work of God in us). In all the Iberoamerican churches in Tacna have 16 members and leaders attending seminary.

Please pray for Brigida and Christina. They are the two newest members mentioned above. Christina is a single mom who was left by her husband for another woman. Brigida is excited about Christ and we are talking to plan her baptism and wedding.

A Prayer for Support...an example of Giving

2010-04-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Please keep our financial support in your prayers.

Shortly ago we were informed by one of the two churches that support that they will no longer be supporting us because of the economy. They are a small church and have been hit hard so it is very understandable and we are grateful for the support they have shown us without even knowing each other too long nor having a longstanding relationship. They were over 10% of our monthly support.

And this week we were informed by our main supporter that we will be getting cut by 20%. We have a very long relationship and there are many factors involved, but the fact that they are 50% or more of our monthly support means a lot. We are very grateful for their support as well.

Please pray that God will open hearts and minds to see the great things He is doing here in Tacna and that support will grow and not diminish. We know that God brings support from where he desires...and we recently were able to see first hand.

After the earthquake in Chile, the church in Tacna was motivated to do what we can. We talked about different things we could try to do and God shut the door on a couple of ideas. Our initial goal was to try to raise around $600 between the three churches here in Tacna, and it seemed unlikely with the main event to raise money being cancelled. But God showed us once again the great things he is able to do and the church responded to His goodness towards them. With all the poverty and extreme poverty in our city, we were still able to raise way more than we had even ideally hoped for...it was a God thing! In total the church was able to give about $1000 to help a small town in southern Chile, Iloca, after it was devastated by the earthquake and tsunamis.

So can God bring in more support than we hope for? Most definitely. And he has shown us once again that our faith in Him is not in vain.

Patty is back

2010-04-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

Chiqui's mom with Matthew and Patty with her grandson Leonardo.

Praise God that after 16+ months of treatment and therapy the pastor's wife Patty is back. She will have to travel back to Santiago, Chile every 2 1/2 months for checkups, but she is living in Tacna again.

Once again...God is good!

We were also blessed to have Tito and Patty's daughter Ula, her husband Alvaro, and her newborn with us as well. Ula and Alvaro worked with the youth group in the central church for 4 years.

No more truck...

2010-04-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we had a sad but good day...we were forced to sell the truck. Peru no longer would allow us into the country with the truck that we had purchased in Chile, but thankfully we had made a contact in November who was interested in buying it.

It's interesting how God works isn't it? When we needed the truck most during Chiqui's pregnancy and Matthew's first months we were blessed to have it. Now when we were forced to sell the truck we were able to within a day. We arrived in Arica, Chile on Wednesday afternoon and we were in Tacna by lunchtime on Thursday. Can't complain about that. In pesos we didn't ended up losing much money, but because of the fall of the Chilean peso a little bit since the date we purchased the truck we ended up losing around $900...not so bad for almost two years of use.

So we need a means of transportation soon and your prayers are needed and appreciated. Our options are the same as mentioned before:

1) Purchase in the US or in Chile and import into Peru
2) Purchase in Peru and not worry about the paperwork (but it costs a LOT more!!!), or
3) Receive a donated vehicle and import

Obviously, the 3rd option is our preferred option, but we know that it is difficult; moreso, with the economic crisis and the fact the it needs to have less than 49,000 miles and 5 years old or less.

We know God will open up a door for one of these options or maybe even surprise us with an option of his own.

Only kryptonite can stop him...

2010-04-01T01:31:00.000-07:00

He grows and grows and grows...when he'll stop no one knows!

Matthew just celebrated 3 months and he is using clothes for 6-9 month old babies! And his ability to laugh grows even faster. Enjoy!!!

Scholarships and gratitude

2010-04-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

God has once again been very good to us and Tacna.

Thanks to one very generous supporter we were able to open the School Supply store. And thanks to several other supporters we were able to give out over 30 scholarships to poor families, widows, single mothers, and a few church employees who all were in need of financial help so their children could study. We hope that next year this number can at least double.

Thank you Kevin and Leslie, your generosity has blessed a city and a kingdom.
Thank you Lee and Heather, families are one step closer to leaving poverty's vicious cycle because of you.
Thank you Paul, CCV, John and Rachel, Steve and Ann, the Pentz, Diandra, Lyle and Cathy, Dan and Claudia, Doug and Ellie, Eddie and Jen, John and Maureen,George and Charlene, Jay and Lori, Brad and Julie, Mark and Sarah, Phil, and everyone else who has ever sent a check, said a prayer, or sent an email or word of encouragement. Every photo you see, email you receive, blog you read is all possible because of the years of support. We thank God for you all constantly.

Scholarships

2010-04-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

Scholarships

2010-03-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

Scholarships

2010-03-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

Scolarships

2010-03-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

New Year, New Servanthood

2010-03-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

This last year was a crazy one with Pastor Tito and his wife Patty out of the country because of Patty's breast cancer. Praise God she is well and they are both back in Tacna.

For over 16 months we were working hard in Tacna for God's glory and it was a great year for growth within the three churches, especially Local Central and Ciudad Nueva. With the vacuum created without Tito and Patty many members stepped up their dedication to the church. God moved greatly in the hardest time of the church's existence in Tacna...as he usually does in our lives.

Now that they have arrived it is a new year and there are new changes in the churches and a big change for us...I am now officially the lead pastor in Ciudad Nueva. It is very exciting, but practically the same responsibility that we had these last 16+ months. The new responsibility adds a new level of ambitiousness towards planning the year and working closely with the team of leaders that God has raised up. We are looking into studying at a seminary together as a group once a week, planning visits every other week to get to know all the children's families at the church, and praying and talking over the visits every other week. Our hope is to get to know the families, help them in any way possible, and share the good news of Jesus whenever possible.

Please keep the church in Ciudad Nueva in your prayers, as with the other churches in Tacna. Please keep me in your prayers. I have always had a fear of power because I have seen what damage it can do...but I also know that these positions can and should be used to serve the church, serve the community, and glorify God through it. I am very excited and very fearful. Pray that humbleness and desire for GOD to be glorified will always guide my ways, my thoughts, and my steps. Please pray for wisdom to lead God's church and serve his children and creation.

Lastly, God has opened up a door to possible financial support from the east coast and we also ask your prayers through the process of being evaluated. It is a very missions oriented church. A friend has made a connection and we need to turn in some information for review by their missions committee. Please pray.

Thank you all for your support in every way. Thank you everyone who has helped financially to open up the School Supply store which is blessing to many. Thank you all for your constant prayers which are so necessary and appreciated for the good of God's work in Tacna. We love you.

Education...

2010-03-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

...the way up the social ladder and the way out of poverty.

The reality in Tacna is that "free" public education is a joke. The education is low quality; the teachers are not very interested in their students; at the end of the day if the students don't pass many can pay their corrupt teachers for passing grades. It is a sad cycle of corruption which seems impossible to defeat, impossible to overcome. At the beginning of each school year the teachers send out a list of approximately $50 in school supplies that each student must purchase in order to begin classes. For many families that only make $150, $200 or $300 a month, having a few kids studying can take up a month or two of salary.

What we can do for now is provide for the poor a helping hand to purchase these school supplies. Thanks to six different donors we were able to give out 30 scholarships worth $50 in supplies. The conditions are simple: the parents must make sure their children are studying hard and getting good grades, and next year they will be able to qualify for another scholarship next year.

We want to be responsible with the donations God has provided. This is why we want to work with the parents to make sure the children are well educated. It would make no sense at all to give away scholarships and have the children not learn. Our long-term dream would be to open up a school of our own to ensure good quality affordable education, providing jobs for many people and raising up a new generation from amongst the poor.

In the end corruption will continue. We can only hope in Him who has the power to overcome, for who are those who overcome the world but those who believe in Jesus the Son of God. Our hope lies not just in education or jobs or businesses, but in he who can provide them. This is the end of everything we do...that our Lord we be glorified and His creation restored.

2009 Goal Reviews

2010-03-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

The first week of January last year I took a few days away from Tacna to rest, pray, and meditate. During that time a few goals for the year of 2009 were set. Here those goals and others by the Peruvian leaders.

I. Youth Group
a. 15 Baptisms
b. 9 Discipleships
c. 2 Guitarists
d. 3+ families coming to the church
e. Teaching in Sunday School
f. More responsibility and less anger

II. Tacna Churches
a. Train Leaders
b. 1 new preacher
c. 2 Cell Groups
d. 3 Marriages Counseled

III. Self-Sustained Vision
a. One business up and running by years end
b. Preparing second business for 2010

We had a pretty good year, even though there were some pretty big setbacks. Not all of our goals were met, but many were and we are happy to have had some things change during the year that the spirit moved in us and the church. Here is a brief review of each goal:

I. Youth Groups
a. Baptisms: 7 in Ciudad Nueva, 4 Culto.com
b. 10 Discipleships started...sadly none finished. But we have already begun with some of the same disciples this year and quite a few more new disciples.
c. 3 guitarists were being taught last year from the youth group in Ciudad Nueva
d. 3 families from the youth group have attended the church many times throughout the year
e. 2 youth are now teaching in Sunday School in Ciudad Nueva
f. There is considerably less anger and the youth group is helping out a lot more with missions, cleaning up the church, and helping out with the activities in the church

II. Tacna churches
a. The leaders began reading a leadership book together and we have begun to do evaluations on a regular basis
b. The person we were hoping to raise up to preach has come into some serious financial problems and has no free time at all to be trained
c. The two cell groups were not accomplished, but we were able to bring groups together and read a book together to help their marriages called, The 10 Commandments of Marriage.
d. 6 couples attended marriage studies or counseling.
e. We celebrating two weddings

III. Self- Sustained church
a. The School supply store was started late December and is going very well
b. We have a plan to get the Hardware Store up and running the end of the third quarter of 2010

I will write more on the goals for the fiscal year which begins today. Some are a continuation of the goals mentioned above and others are completely new and exciting. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Vacation's Over

2010-02-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

During the month of January I was able to spend most of the month on "vacation" to spend more time with the family and help out as much as possible at the house. Because of the situation with Pastor Tito's wife Patty in 2007 and 2008, I had not taken almost any vacation and was able to accumulate and take the month off. It the end it worked out for the best because now Patty is here in Tacna healthy after a year and a half of cancer treatment and I was able to spend good quality time with Chiqui and Matthew.

But come the January 15th we had a medical team come in and hold clinics in the three churches, helping out hundreds of patients in a week with every type of problem physically and spiritually. We set the clinics up so that while the patients are waiting for the prescription members of the church talk with them and pray with them if they would like. It was a great blessing for the churches and the community. Sadly they left on the 23rd with hopes to see Machu Picchu, but ended up in Cusco right in the middle of the storm the caused the great Inca ruin to be shut down for up to two months. Good news is they didn't miss any flights and no one from the team was injured. But still pray for Cusco, I have heard there are many injuries and some deaths, but also the the ruins bring in $500,000 a day to Peru and this is going to take a big blow to many families that depend on tourism for their income. Pray that this will be a time for the church to be a strong witness to many.

After the medical team left I was able to finish the last days of the month relaxing a little bit while being in the house and helping out...but babies can take it out of you! Little by little I find myself more and more tired each day, the coffee stock is getting lower and lower, and the days seem to mix. But with one little smile from my boy it all makes it worth it.

We are currently hosting a team from Tito and Patty's home church in Chile. They are from the youth group consisting of mostly college age members. The team has so far worked with the children's ministries in all three churches with activities for the children who are currently on summer vacation. Also, they have helped out with the youth group in Ciudad Nueva and this week they are working hard with Culto.com (doesn't mean Cult), which is the youth group in the mother church in Tacna. With concerts throughout the city, drama skits, and a short show for the children they are getting word out of who our God is and that the church is open for everyone to learn more.

On the last day the team is in Tacna we will be having the final of a mini-soccer tournament. We have mixed the teams with church members and friends and neighbors of the church to try to find another way to get people to open up and receive Christ.

Please pray for the rest of the week the team from Chile will be here. Pray that many will hear, understand, and accept God's salvation. Pray that Tacna will glorify God more each day that we are hear as his light and witnesses.

Happy New Year Matthew!!!

2009-12-31T20:47:00.000-08:00

I know most of you are going to get sick of so many photos and videos...but I don't care! Matthew is great in this one...he is starting to do some facial expressions and his curiosity of being able to see things is capturing his attention. Enjoy!

2009-12-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

2009-12-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Matthew!!!

2009-12-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

We will be celebrating the new year a little early this year with the arrival of Matthew.

After more than a day of contractions, 20 hours of pain, and 14 hours in the hospital, he finally decided to come out. Chiqui was unbelieveable the way she handled that much pain for that much time.

He came out at 52 1/2 centimeters (20 3/4 inches) and 3.710 kilos (8.2 lbs). But you don't want to read about him...you want to see him!

X-Mas Peru Style

2009-12-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

I choose coffee over hot chocolate because the milk here kind of makes me sit down on the porcelain throne too often.

It is a little different in latin countries...but I like the the reasoning.

Here the families get together and hang out until midnight when they all greet each other with a Christmas kiss on the cheek and have a big meal (kind of our Thanksgiving). A big turkey and the whole family together, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. In the Nativity scene Jesus is covered with a small cloth until midnight and then they remove the "veil" and reveal baby Jesus.

After all of this it is time for presents, hanging out late into the morning and then sleeping in on Christmas day.

Christmas morning everyone usually has the typical Christmas breakfast of Paneton (kind of like a Peruvian fruitcake) and hot chocolate. This year we actually woke up in time to have it for lunch...a 12 o'clock hot chocolate and paneton...

Christmas was nice and relaxing. Unfortunately, I was working on Christmas eve until about 10pm so I missed out on some of the family time...but it was in order to open the School Supply store so it was something else we could celebrate on Christmas.

Matthew's Future?

2009-12-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

Most people thought it was a ball when they saw this photo.

Who knows what will be of our son? But if Chiqui and her friends are any form of prophetess', he will be doing something in missions. Here are some photos of what they did with her belly the other day.

Very creative!

School Supply Store

2009-12-24T20:06:00.000-08:00

Edwin and Livia are two of the four people who will be employed through the School Supply store. Here they are happily posing for a photo in the first couple of hours that we opened.

It has finished!!!

Most famously quoted by our savior, but also appropriate today.

I have been at the School Supply store almost every day getting the last details (which the list never seems to end) taken care of so we can open up the school supply store. Well the day has finally come, Christmas eve 2009.

We will officially inaugurate it on Saturday or Sunday, but it is good to go and Edwin has decided that he doesn't want to wait until Saturday or Sunday. He said he wanted to work tonight and tomorrow. He has been there everyday with me at some time or another and he just kept asking when we were going to open.

It is a good way to finish of the year and a good way to prepare myself for Christmas.

It is finished! Now it is time to remember Him who came to finish it all, our Savior Jesucristo!

Ciudad Nueva - 6th Anniversary

2009-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

We were very excited after months of planning to finally celebrate our anniversary as a church. Here in Peru it is a custom to celebrate everything. We planned on having an all day event like we did in September, but this time with all three churches. Our goal was to unite and celebrate...and it was accomplished. To finally sit back on Monday and thank God for the way he moved on Sunday was great. The church continues to grow and be more and more united.

Another one of our goals is to raise up a new generation of leaders. Here are two of the youth from the youth group that are learning to serve. Edwin, on the right, also is helping in Sunday school and AWANA's and he is learning guitar to be one of the first worship team members to come out of Ciudad Nueva. He is one of the fruits that makes all the difficult moments and times of depression worth everything. Please pray for him and the other youth and adults who are being brought up as future leaders.

A good time for food and laughs while we watch a video compilation of the 6+ years of the church's history.

Typical clothes and dance outfits displaying some of the beautiful typical parts of the Peruvian cultures. Yvan (on the left of the photo above) is also helping out in AWANA's and learning to play guitar.

We love you all and thank God for your participation in the ministry in Tacna through prayers, encouragement, and financial support. May God continue to bless you and others through you.

School Supply Store

2009-12-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Things are underway and on track to meet our goal. From the start of the year we had planned and hoped to open up the first micro-business by years end, and at least one more in 2010. We are on track to open up the School Supply store for mid-December.

Thank you all for your prayers and financial support for making this happen. You are all a vital part of God's work in progress here in Tacna.

Baby Shower 2

2009-12-01T22:21:00.001-08:00

Baby Shower

2009-12-01T22:03:00.001-08:00

So we had our first baby shower...and unfortunately here that means that WE had our first baby shower. Even though I tried and tried to tell them that baby showers are for women. In the end I was still there at the families baby shower and at the church's baby shower. In the end it was great to see all the things we will be saving money on...lol!

A Man of Men

2009-11-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

You ever have one of those days that make you feel like a man. I spent over half the day fixing little things on the truck (windows, door locks, alarm, etc)...but it was about a half hour during the day that was something special.

I had to drive fast to make it on time. Within a minute of my arrival the sacrifice began. Our little friend above went from a pet to lunch real fast. My reaction was actually none at all. At first it startled me a little, but then it just became an act.

My thoughts went immediately to how the Levites would have had to remind themselves that the sacrifices were holy acts to the Most High. How often do we forget that in our daily lives? How many times do I forget that to give sacrifices and offerings should not become routine for us, but rather something done in love. Then my thoughts go on towards how we do and do and do...and always forget that we are COMMANDED to rest; to take at least one day in the week to restore our energy, restore our family, and restore our hearts and minds with Him.

I can't wait 'til Monday!

ps - if anyone wants any more graphic photos send me an email.

The Truck Situation

2009-11-07T15:59:00.001-08:00

Juanita...that's her name. She has been good to us for about a year and a half now. She has taken us to the mountains to bring clothes and medicine to poorer communities. She has brought many children and youth to their houses when it is late after church. She has helped do more construction for the church and community than we can even remember. She has carried gringos everywhere while they came on short-term trips. The only she won't do is bring Chiqui to the hospital to give birth to our son.

Yes, the time has come for us to depart with our truck. The government has begun to change the laws so that our truck can no longer be here in Peru with us. If all goes as planned, in a couple weeks we will be taken her to Arica to try to sell.

It was a good run. Worth every moment.

But on a serious note, we bought the truck in Chile because it has been very very necessary for the work we do and we simply cannot afford to buy one in Peru because they are almost twice as much. Thanks to an aunt and uncle of mine (thanks George and Charlene) we were able to have enough to buy the truck. But now with the new laws we will have to sell her and get something here in Peru. Unfortunately, we can probably only get a car with the money we have. So we are looking into and praying over three options: 1) a very nice and giving gringo or church would donate a lot of money or a truck less than 4 years old, 2) we could purchase one in the states for under $7000 and under 4 years old and ship it over here, or 3) we get a car here that won't serve as well for the ministry.

Please keep these things in your prayers...starting with the quick sell of the truck within a month.

Pollada

2009-11-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Whenever we go somewhere in Latin America they always ask us, "What is a pollada?" Let me tell you all what a pollada is...it's like a kid selling lemonade or a football team having a car-wash...it is the main way Peruvians raise money for special events or needs.

If you have a family member who needs a surgery and you don't have the money...you plan a pollada.

If you get in a car accident and need to fix your car...you plan a pollada.

If you are planning a children's Christmas party in poor areas in Tacna...you plan a pollada.

We were able to sell 200 polladas and raise over $150. That is about 10% of the total we hope to raise. The Internet Cafe micro-business brings in on average an additional $25 a month just for the children's ministry and we are awaiting answers from some businesses in Tacna that are looking into possibly donating the gifts for the children. We are on our way to meeting the goal and we would appreciate your prayers and support in this cause. Also, we have recieved some responses from you about supporting and we thank you. As of now there is an additional $180 pledged and others praying about possible financial support. We are hoping to fully support the Christmas party with Peruvian fundraising so that any additional support can be used to provide $50 educational scholarships for a years worth education.

There will be plenty of polladas in the future so if you are ever in the Tacna area let us know and we will try to plan one around your visit so you can partake in this integral part of the Peruvian culture.

ps - the beer bottle in the photo was the beer used in the seasoning of the chicken...we weren't selling any beer (though beer selling would raise a lot of money!) j/k

Night of the Stars!!!!

2009-11-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

We had our first ever Talent Show in Ciudad Nueva and it was a hit. We had a big audience of neighbors, the youth group, their parents and classmates, etc all in the church to see what they could do. Their was a variety of dances, singing, a magic show, choreographies, and lip-singing (seriously). It was fun. We had our three judges (three young adults from the previous youth group) critiquing their perfomances and the crowd going crazy all night.

What we want to encourage is their abilities and desires to be able to foster them into a life ministry not just inside the church, but of course including the church. One of our goals was to have musicians in Ciudad Nueva by years end and three people from the youth group are learning guitar and hopefully will play in a service by the end of the year. One of them played guitar and sang with another girl from the group.

In all it was a success and we were able to enjoy seeing small fruits of this years work with the youth group.

CCV Update

2009-10-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

After a long wait, a lot of prayer by all of you and us, we finally recieved news from our home church CCV. It is a long review process so it has taken some time. We were told that no missionaries will be cut in 2010, but will be reduced in financial support. Also, there will be a yearly review, and based on the review and the yearly budget we will be informed about further support.

This is good news. I think that the church is trying to make amends to their prior decision and I know God has used it to prepare us as missionaries to take financial support in perspective. While we hope to have supporters interested in our work and faithful in their support, we need to also understand that in any given moment we might lose financial support for no fault of our own. I know I had begun to be a little less informative than before, and this time also helped to encourage me to get back to informing all of you more.

Thank you for your constant emails and concern. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We love you all and God has used you greatly to help us day after day.

Talk about Embarrassing!!!

2009-10-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just done something really stupid and couldn't do anything but laugh about it?

Today I was shaving, and as usual I was playing around with my beard and mustache. As I was finishing up showing Chiqui different "looks" I was having fun with, the battery began to run low. I decided to leave the shaver charging while we ate lunch and then shave off "the stache" afterwards. As life goes, we finished lunch and I washed the dishes and was hanging out the clothes to dry when we noticed we were running a couple minutes late. So we hurried out the door and went to church.

"What did you do to yourself?" was the first greeting I got at the door. Immediately, I lifted up my hand to "the stache" and said, "Awe man! I forgot to shave it off." The rest of the afternoon in the church was mostly filled with people laughing and me explaining my absent-mindedness. The best part is that almost no one said a thing until I mentioned it.

In all it made for a funny afternoon and a great story...and those of you who know me know that almost anything is worth a great story in the end.

The End!

Busy Weekend - Part 2 Nueva Jerusalen

2009-10-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

October 11th we celebrated in Nueva Jerusalen. It was there 2nd Anniversary as a fully running church. The day before we had our 2nd OANSA championship (AWANA) and the home team won. Nueva Jerusalen took 1st and we took second in Ciudad Nueva.

Similiar to what we did in Ciudad Nueva on September 20th, this anniversary in Nueva Jerusalen was an all day event. The difference is that this was three church event.

In the morning we had a special service which including a typical Peruvian dance presented by the youth group from Ciudad Nueva (they are the ones dressed up in the 1st photo above). Afterwards we shared a plate of picante (the most typical dish from Tacna) and then off to finish off the last leg of a three-week soccer and volleyball tournament.

Busy Weekend - Part 1

2009-10-17T18:38:00.001-07:00

The first part of the weekend was a party for the children. Since it would be crazy and impossible to have birthday parties for all the children during the year, we have one special day when we celebrate all of them. This year was very special. The kids from the youth group did a musical sketch to Chavo el 8, a famous and very popular Mexican comedy program. Also, for the first time ever we were able to get a clean payaso (clown). It was a great time with each of the kids from the church.

During the party the clown had me do the gorilla dance and put a mask on me. Aparently it is a well-known dance I never had heard of.

Weeds!!!

2009-10-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

We are trying to imbed in the habits of the youth the importance of helping out and doing unselfish work for good. To encourage them with more than words we are organizing doing more things like we did a couple weeks ago. We went to the park in Nueva Jerusalen to help clean it up and pull out all the weeds. As a group of 13 we spent about 3 hours working the soil and it was fun. The last photo doesn't do justice, but the pile of weeds was about 7 feet long by 5 feet wide, and about 4 feet high...it was BIG!

The Sabbath

2009-10-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

We asked for your prayers and we thank you for them. On September 20th we held a special service to get together as a church and just do what we should be doing, spending good time together. We had a service in the morning and then followed it up with a very good lunch.

After lunch there was a funny moment when a couple of kids from the youth group made a couple machista comments about it being a woman's job to wash the dishes. So we went ahead and made real men of 'em and put them on the dishwashing crew. A great lesson in life for the young guys. Hopefully it sticks with them and they become great helpful and humble husbands in the future.

From there we went down to the park and played volleyball and soccer for a couple hours.

In the end we were all very content to be able to spend the day in community, sharing his Word, sharing quality time, having fun and relaxing. It was a perfect example of a good sabbath day, which just happened to be the text for the day in the Hebrews series we are going through for 7 months.

Chiqui's Sister Got Married

2009-10-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

Chiqui's sister is back in Tacna. She lived in the capital Lima since the year we got married, 2005. The family was once again reunited, but not for long because she got married a few weeks after her arrival on September 12th with her long time boyfriend of 11 years. It is about time!

ps - I love the sky in this picture...

pss - Stephanie, the camera does take some decent fotos, huh!

Prayer

2009-09-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

We wanted to ask for prayer from everyone who has a couple minutes. this week ccv was supposed to have met on Tuesday to talk over all of their missionaries and what they will be doing with them (i.e.- cutting financial support or not, in order to send it to Zimbabwe, India, and other countries and contacts to be announced or revealed later).

Please pray that God will lead in all times.

Pray that God will continue to take care of all of us missionaries, financially and especially spiritually and emotionally.

Pray that this matter will not distract us from the work we dedicate our lives to doing.

Pray for His will to be done.

Thank you all for your hearts, prayers, and constant support.

norma

2009-09-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

norma olvido ponerse en la cola para mandarte estos saludos. te queremos.

Saludos Tia Patty

2009-09-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

Saludos Tia Patty

2009-09-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

para que veas y escuches unas saludos de tu tierra Tacna.