My Life in Peru

I'm legal again!

2010-06-17T13:26:00.001-07:00

This week I got the chance to go on an awesome trip. My VISA to be in Peru expired yesterday, the 16th, so I had to leave the country and come back again in order to get a new one. This meant driving up to Ecuador. Ken and I took off Tuesday morning early and headed out with a cooler full of food and things to keep us hydrated. The first stretch was just like around here, but then the trip became very biodiverse. If that's a word. For a long time we were in the sand dunes. A lot of the area looked like the deserts that you see in movies in the Middle East. Just dry, and hot. And nothing. We stopped one time to look around and there wasn't a single sound. No bugs, or anything. Just dead silence. Then we got into the dry forests, then the subtropics. Banana and coconut trees everywhere. Then we drove through the plateaus and saw huge canyons. Then suddenly everything turned green and again and we drove 2 hours along the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen. The water was blue and completely clear. There was surfing village after surfing village. White sand for miles. We ate some amazing seafood at a restaurant in a city called Piura, then headed to Tumbes where we got to our hotel and got our bus tickets to Ecuador figured out. That night, we went swimming in the pool. Of course since we were less than a day's drive from the equator, the pool was welcome. We were served lemonade by the poolside and everything. Tiki huts around, moon overhead, palm trees everywhere...not a care in the world.
On Wednesday morning, we headed across the border to Ecuador. After immigrations, we went to a little roadside stand and had a gatorade and a bag of chips while we watched some World Cup action with Peruvians crammed into this roadside stand. After an hour we crossed back over, but not until after we stopped to try the coconuts. They had stands where you could get coconuts with a straw in them. They call them pipas. They were chilled, and the cold coconut milk was refreshing, then you can eat the coconut or toss it. After we crossed back and I got my new VISA, we started the 7 hour drive back.
The most memorable part of the trip was when Ken decided to stop at this small hotel and restaurant to get a business card to one day take his family for vacation. They invited us in to try lunch. It was beautiful. From the road, you couldn't tell it was anything special, but once inside the gates that changed. Everything was absolutely tranquil. Private beach. People chilling around a pool. The best seafood I've ever eaten. And it was cheap. I so want to go back and stay one day. It was awesome. Completely relaxing. Then we headed back. All in all great trip. Of course there are many more stories to tell about it, but I've written enough for now. You'll have to ask me for the others.

It's been a while

2010-05-27T05:59:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry that I've been slacking on the updates. These last couple of weeks have been nuts. We were getting ready for a workcamp and then there was the workcamp and then there was the recovering after the workcamp left. Haha. It's all good. So what's new in my life in Peru? The workcamp that came down was lead by the boards new president, Keith. They worked really hard. They painted the sidewalk extension that was constructed before the school year started. They also got a majority of the house that I live in painted. It looks great. So much better than cold gray concrete everywhere. They also built 20 new benches and 6 new tables for the church in Milagro and put in a bathroom in Milagro. A finished, fully functioning bathroom. As opposed to the walled in area that the kids used and then we threw lime over. God blessed us greatly in our time. The group also helped in putting on a 2 day women's conference and there were over 300 in attendance. Two of the ladies from the group spoke and it went extremely well. We also had a chance to go out to Cusupe. If any of you have heard me tell my testimony, then you have heard about Grandma. Who, by the way, I have found out that her name is Eloisa, but she will always be Grandma to the workcampers. Anyway, when we met Grandma 3 years ago she had broken her hip and was bedridden. Bedridden to a bed made of moldy bundles of reeds. She also had arthritis so bad in her hands that she had trouble weaving the straw hats that she sold for money. The next year we went back and it was the same situation. In October it was the same situation. When we went out there last week....she was walking! With a cane, mind you, but walking! And when I asked how her hands were she simply lifted them up and wiggled her fingers around. I'm crying even as I type this. I couldn't handle it when I was there. God is so good. So good. Many more amazing things have happened that you can find out about if you are ever on my Facebook.
As far as the job is going, I am enjoying it much more. When I talked to anyone a month ago all I could talk about was the stress that came with all of the unexpected responsibilities. But now that I have gotten into the groove of things and figured out the Peruvian processes it is going much better. I still don't know what God has in store for me after December, but I know that He will show me in His time. If it's one thing I've learned in the last 2 years it is to fully rely on Him. He will provide.

Salvation Poem

2010-04-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I got the opportunity to spend some time with some of the youth from the church. There is a movie that has come out here about the Christian rock artist Pablo Oliveras from Argentina. He grew up in a Christian home, but in high school became a Satanist. The movie is all about his time messing with the occult and his mother continuously praying for him. It's a moving movie about the power of prayer. Anyway, the church had planned to go and the plan was to meet at 3 at the church. Well as things do here, the plan changed. The new plan was to meet at 6:30 in town at the taxi stop. I went into town with 2 of the kids from the habitat village and Ken's son Tim. When we got into town, we found out that the trip had been postponed until the next Saturday. Well since we had already paid to get into town, we decided to go. Tim went home. So we get to the mall and go to the theatre (which is really nice. 8 screens). What moved me even more than the movie was that when we were getting ready to go in, both of the kids' faces lit up. Florangel kept saying, "We're going in, we're going in. We're in!" I always know that there are things that we take for granted in the States, but this really opened my eyes. And to think about what they sacrificed to pay to get into the city and into the movie. The church paid half, but still. I was so moved to see how walking into a movie theatre completely brightened the day of 2 young people. If that simple act can better a life, then think about how much of a difference can be made by doing small things for the less fortunate in the world.

Mucho mejor

2010-04-12T12:12:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone out there who has kept us in your prayers. This week is starting out much better and I have a joyous feeling that it will stay this way. There are of course always things to deal with, but as far as the major issues of last week, they are mostly behind us now. Over the weekend I prayed for patience, wisdom and guidance and strongly believe that God has granted me these.
It went very well this past week at Milagro. On Thursday we went out for the evening service. Jorge is a ten year old who has no school, no shoes, and has to take care of his little sister, but is still always happy to be there and even shows up when we are working and helps however he can. By the faint glow of the generator operated fluorescent lights, I saw a kid running up the hill from the village. He had a cap on and when he got to the door he gave me the biggest hug. I'm sure you have figured out by now that it was of course Jorge. That hug meant a lot to me. It was a little thing that made a big difference in a difficult time. I also noticed that he had a pair of shoes on his feet. They were bright pink flip flops about 5 sizes too big, but they were still protection for his feet. God always amazes me at how he can use the little things to touch our hearts and change our lives.

Prayer Requests

2010-04-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Well this week was a little rough for the school. Things are going really well in Milagro. I'm constantly amazed at how quickly my fluency is improving. I ask that you keep the school in your prayers. We had 3 major situations come to our attention this week and although I can't share all details with you, I can ask you to pray. We, Ken, Maria, the director, and I, need wisdom and guidance in how to handle each situation. It seems to me that the enemy does not want this first class to graduate.

April 2nd and all is well

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

It has been a fast 3 weeks. Everything is going really well. I teach 5 hours of English a week. One hour with each of the 5 Secondary School grades. It has been interesting. I am strengthening my Spanish a lot by teaching them. I have been amazed at how much the kids know. They are just scared to use it. Which I completely understand. Speaking a strange language is scary. Next week we are going to start doing short dramas (sketches) to better their pronunciation. Things are also going well at Milagro. The services on Thursday evening and Sunday morning are both well attended. I have been sharing the preaching duties with the pastor from the main church. The people are very gracious and help me when I'm stumbling with a word. It's interesting, because most analogies that I would normally use don't make sense to the people in this village. It is something I've never thought of before. I started sharing a story about a lamp that isn't plugged in being useless and then realized that 90% of them had no idea that there were lamps that could be plugged in. Milagro is one of the more remote villages and they use kerosene lanterns. I love the work out there. i have also been spending quite a bit of time in the office seeing as how Ken is in the States for this month to be with his dad. I have had some responsibilities that I didn't expect, but nothing that has gone awry.
Yesterday was my birthday. I wasn't expecting to do anything but sleep in and stay home and rest (we didn't have classes yesterday or today), but I was pleasantly surprised by the Ruth and the teachers with a big lunch. Then I was surprised again when one of the elders in the church came knocking on my door and told me that they needed me at the church. We walked over and they had the people of the church there with gifts, cake, coffee. Way more than I ever expected. We just had a nice little time of worship and fellowship. Since their kids are in my English classes they were asking a lot of questions about English and the States and my daily life when I'm in the States. It was a lot of fun.

Safe Arrival

2010-03-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well. I got here fine. I arrived in Lima at about 4:50. After running to the ticket counter then to the checkin then back to the ticket counter then through taxes and security, I was able to just walk onto the 6:30 flight. I got to Chiclayo at about 7:40...with all my luggage!....then had to just grab a taxi from the airport to the school. There were many anxious taxi drivers, so I just picked the one who looked the least shady. Haha. Got to the school, set my bags down and went into a meeting with ken to start talking about what is going on. A quick catch up. After spending the rest of the morning with Roma Lee and taking a long awaited shower, I got to eat lunch with the kids. They fixed my favorite meal, rice with lentils. They took up one of my spare bedrooms for storage, so Roma Lee and Donna are at the house and I'm in the clinic this week. PS my djembe arrived safely along with everything else. I also had a meeting already today with the director (principal) to start setting up the English class, which they are very excited about. Overall everything is going well.

The Next Step

2010-02-21T18:39:00.001-08:00

I am very excited about what is coming. Lord willing, I will be leaving mid-March to spend the rest of the year in Peru. There is a lot of work to be done and I can't wait to get there and get started. Please pray that the funds will be there to make the trip down and that everything will fall into place so that I will be able to leave. Thank you for all of your support and prayer.

"See mom, we don't need money. God gave us food."

2009-10-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we handed out food boxes to 55 families in the Las Delicias church. The boxes included rice, lentils, beans, oil, sugar, soap, detergent, tuna, canned milk, spaghetti, popcorn, toothpaste, oatmeal, and much more. Last night one of the mothers in the church gave a testimony. She said that her husband can hardly walk because of knee problems and hasn't been able to work for a long time. (he also has a gambling problem even when he is making money). She said that a neighbor had given them a food box a while back that had lasted them a month. With no money she has a hard time feeding a family of 6. She said that when they got the food box home yesterday her son said, "see mom, we don't need money." She was confused and asked him what he meant. He said, "We don't need money. We pray and God gives us food." They were able to eat lunch yesterday and she said that it was such a blessing to her family. Praise the Lord for all that He is doing in this place. Last night we had a meeting about the breakfast programs and got it planned out. After a meeting tomorrow night to come up with monthly estimates they are going to start this next Sunday. I wish I could be here for that, but that's ok. Tonight we are going to put together boxes for 60 families in Milagro to be handed out on Wednesday. Then Thursday it's off to Lima then back home. A fast trip, but so worth it. I have been touched immensely by watching God's mighty hand at work in these few days. Feeding children who otherwise wouldn't be eating. God is good. Amen.

Feeding of the 500

2009-10-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

We had our first feeding today. It was in Nueva Reque (New Reque) where there is an annex that was celebrating it's 6 year anniversary. I don't even have words to explain to you this experience. We started with a children's service at 10am. Then they were to go get their parents and tell them that there was going to be an adult service with a free meal afterwards. First of all, someone got saved at the adult service. Praise the Lord. Then the real work began. After the people of the church in the school and some mothers in the area cooked all morning it was time to serve. A group of us got trays and we would go to the house and load up with plates of food. The people were waiting on a community soccer slab and we took the food to them. Families came in from all directions. Roma Lee kept her eye out and made sure we didn't miss a soul. When the day was done, we learned that we had fed over 500 children!! 500!!! This is the first big scale feeding that I have been a part of. When I took my first tray out and saw the children eating I almost lost it. Like now when I am typing this. I had to go aside and pull it together and remind myself that I had to keep going. It was so moving to see the work of God first hand in that little slum of a village. There aren't words to accurately describe this experience. There are pictures which may help that I will have posted on Facebook. Just absolutely unreal.
After the feeding we came back to the school and put together food boxes with staple foods for 55 families. These will be handed out to the people of the church tomorrow morning. 55 families. Needless to say the workers were weary by the end of the day, but it is definitely worth it. I will let you know how tomorrow's food distribution goes. God is so good. Proverbs 19:21 has become my verse of the trip. We cannot plan anything. God's plans are so much bigger, and they are so much better. I am so happy that I get to be a part of what is happening here.

We're here!

2009-10-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

The trip was so long. Both Roma Lee and I had delays on flights, but we got here after about 28 hours of travel. Ken met us in Lima and we all kept each other company as we spent the night in those uncomfortable plastic chairs. Haha. We got here yesterday and after showers and lunch we slept most of the afternoon. Today is a national holiday, so there are no classes, but we have a full day planned. This morning we are hoping to go visit families in their homes. It will be a good day for it, because kids are out of school and maybe whole families will be home. This afternoon I will most likely go with Maria and Ruth to buy food for the 2 feedings we have planned for this weekend. That's right, 2 feedings! Nothing better than hitting the ground running. Tomorrow, Saturday, there will be a community feeding for lunch in New Reque. It is the ten year anniversary of the Sunday School there and it will be a great outreach to the community. A soup kitchen is going to let us use it's facilities for the day. We are planning to have a chicken stew with none other than rice. On Sunday morning we are going to hand out food boxes to all of the families in the church here at the school. These will be much like the food boxes that are handed out during Roma Lee's workcamps and will include staple foods such as rice, flour, oils, canned milk, oatmeal, potatoes, and many other things. We are planning a feeding in an evening next week for Milagro. All of the rest of the time will be spent trying to find leaders for breakfast programs in all of the Sunday Schools. The plan is to have breakfast for every Sunday School each week. If this works well, then hopefully it will turn into daily feedings in each of those villages. Thank you for all of your prayers, and I will keep you updated as the work continues.

Peru Bound!!

2009-10-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

God is so good!!! I wrote last time about a new opportunity that has come up in Peru. Roma Lee has taken on raising funds for feeding programs, and she has enough to start a few. She had asked me to go with her on October 7th and help set things up. At first I said that if God worked it out I would go. God provided the money for the tickets. Then Roma Lee's health took a turn for the worst and we decided to postpone the trip for a month or two. After I updated my sponsors, I received word that Roma Lee was feeling better and we put the trip back on. In a huge step of faith I bought the tickets with all of the money that I had. I had faith that this trip was in God's will and He could provide what I would need for Stateside expenses and expenses in Peru. Of course I was a little nervous, because I only had a week to get everything together. After speaking at my new church in Wichita, God paid for my rent and more through several generous givers. Then I knew that I had one last $100 check coming in the mail. I woke up yesterday morning and told my roommate that I wished I had $100 more. That would just make me feel so much better about everything. When that $100 check came in it was written out for $200!!!! So now I am Peru bound once again. Roma Lee and I leave tomorrow for Peru. We will meet up in Atlanta around 1:30pm and then I think our flight leaves for Lima at about 5:30. We will return on the 16th. It is a much shorter trip than I am used to, but I know that it is meant to happen. Thank you for your faithful prayers, and I ask that you keep Roma Lee and this trip on your mind. Her health is fragile, but her faith is solid. Thank you God for everything you do.

Proverbs 19:21

2009-09-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. This is a saying that I often hear, but lately I have found it to be more truthful. The works God is doing in Peru are advancing so quickly that I can barely keep up. He keeps amazing me with how much bigger His plans are than anything I could ever imagine. For example, when I was originally leaving to help with the church plant in La Villa Milagro, we had a 9x18 meter plot of land. While working, we kept gaining land, and the plot that the church stands on now is almost seven times the size of that meek little plot. Acts like these constantly prove to me that God is working in the country of Peru. I would like to thank you for your continued support through prayer, finances, and encouragement. The work couldn’t be where it is without you.
The church in Milagro is running around 105 children and 15 adults on Sunday mornings. As far as construction goes, there is a brick wall around the main property. There are five classrooms inside made of adobe bricks. That part of the property will also include the restrooms, kitchen, dining room, and a patio area. The other half will be used for the sanctuary. We also still own the original 9x18 meter plot, which is planned to become a bakery. Milagro has no market. There are some bodegas, which are home front stores, but nowhere to get anything fresh. A bakery would help with maintaining a feeding program in the village, and also give the people a place to get fresh bread baked in a clean atmosphere. The great news is that God never stops!
I am writing now to tell you of His latest blessing. This last summer, a workcamp lead by Roma Lee Courvisier did a feeding for the church in Milagro and fed around 350 children and adults from the area. Because of the success of this program and the help of Roma Lee’s faithful heart, there are possibilities of beginning feeding programs in some of the area villages. Roma Lee called me this week and asked me to accompany her to Peru in October to explore options for locations, leaders, and helpers. She cannot travel alone because of several health issues. This will also be a great opportunity to check up on the work in Milagro and to make plans for my next long-term trip, which will most likely include a leadership retreat, more construction in Milagro, and evangelism. I am very excited for this opportunity; however, since I wasn’t planning on returning this soon, I am turning to those who have faithfully stood behind me for help. The trip is set for October 7-15. Specific prayer requests for this trip would be for finances (I’ll have to come up with approximately $2,500 in the next two weeks), and also for Roma Lee’s health, travel safety, open doors in Peru, and God’s guidance in all decision making. Again, I thank you for your support throughout this experience, and I pray that God will bless you in all things.
Any donations may be sent to:

Terrance Volden
9100 E Harry #1605
Wichita, KS 67207

It's Been a While

2009-09-09T18:19:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone. So...it has been a while. I admit that I am failing at this whole blogging thing. The short version of the update is that I spent June in Peru. The work in Milagro is advancing. The walls are up around the main property and there are 5 classrooms divided out inside. The plots adjoining this one belong to the church, also and will be used for the sanctuary. Right now theya re still just having Sunday School on Sunday mornings. Once there are restrooms and the ground is completely leveled they will be able to start having church services. There was also a feeding in Milagro this past summer and 350 people from the village were fed. God is doing amazing things and continues to blow my mind.
Personally, I got back into the US on July 2nd and spent a month in Poteau, OK acting in and building a set for a production of Godspell. Now I'm back in Wichita. I'm attending the Pawnee Avenue Church of God and I get to play my djembe in the praise band. It's a blast! I have applies for a substitute license. I figure that would be a good way to make a little extra money.
If all goes well I will be heading out to Indiana in a couple weeks to spend some time speaking at churches. Please continue to pray for the work in Peru, for LACF, Milagro, Ken Biron (our missionary in Peru), and myself. Hopefully it will not be so long before I take the initiative to update this thing.

Walking in Faith

2009-03-19T22:20:00.001-07:00

Well. Where do I start. I've gotten moved into my apartment in Wichita and have set up life there pretty well. God has been good to me. I've been looking at possible properties to set up the office and start the internship program and have found an old elementary school building in northern Wichita that would be perfect. Now I'm just praying the funds appear to make that happen. I'm going to start working on some grants, so we'll see how that goes. The plans for the program are pretty well under way. I am going to St Louis April 8th to talk to the board about the plans and get them approved or not. My biggest job right now is setting up a major speaking tour. I'm going to be in Kansas through April and May, in Peru in June, July will be Arkansas and Oklahoma, then 4 months of touring that aren't planned yet. Please keep praying that I'll find personal support. That's going to be my biggest obstacle, or so it appears. also keep my tax situation in your prayers. i went in to get them taken care of and it turns out there is a huge self employment tax that is going to kill me. My agent is talking to the IRS to see what she can get worked out. We'll see. But other than finances, things are going well. It's a good thing I don't care about money. too bad there are people like my apartment complex who do care about money. Haha. Well, thanks to all of my faithful readers. One day I will write again, so keep checking. God bless.

Where I am now

2009-02-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

It's been some time since I've updated my blog. I haven't exactly had internet connection since being back in the States. My time in Peru was great and we got a lot accomplished. I did not personally work on the construction site much. Most of my time was spent doing more of the business side of things. I loved this because it meant that I got to meet a lot of new people and visit many homes, so I learned more about how the people actually live in their daily lives. I am now moved into an apartment in Wichita and love having a place of my own. so far most of my time has been spent setting up my new life, but I have also begun touring again. Last week I got to spend time in Liberal and help work on their musical, Little Shop of Horrors. It was a lot of fun and I got to spend time with old friends. This past Sunday I spoke at 2 churches and it went really well. Things seem to be falling into place. My 2 biggest prayer requests at this time are that I will be able to find personal sponsors and that churches will continue to open their doors to allow me to come in and share the good news of God's works in Peru. Thank you to all who have been faithful in prayer.

Feliz Aniversario

2008-11-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a blast. We had a celebration for the second anniversary of the operation of the annex in La Villa Milagro. And I'm tired. I had a new experience Saturday morning. I went to a huge open market in Chiclayo with Walter and his wife Jessica. i got to see a lady hack a whole chicken in half with a meat cleaver. After that fun experience, we had a big puppet show in La Villa for the kids in the village. Sunday was the actual celebration. Walter and I went out in the morning and decorated. Kids started showing up an hour early because they saw us out there. Early! That doesn't happen here. So I kept decorating with the sunday school teachers while Walter entertained children. We ended up with over 100 kids for the first part. After Sunday School, we all moved over to the construction site and had a church service. The church in Reque brought chairs out and people came from there and a couple other annexes. Each class of kids put on something for the people. Afterwards we fed everyone. I counted 80 children that we fed and there were probably 60 adults. Our estimate was that we were able to feed around 150 people. Once we got through that, Walter and I spent today searching for adobes to continue work in Milagro. It was kind of fun. there are just random adobe pits around the ravine in the country behind Milagro. We just set out walking through the hills and we'd talk to the owners of the adobe pits we came across. This trip has been far more exhausting than last time, which is wierd because I did so much physical labor last time. All of the walking and planning and thinking is tiring. But I love it. I have had chances to be in many homes, meet lots of new people, go to new places, and stock up on fun stories to tell.

I'm Back!

2008-11-05T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone. I am finally back in Peru. The trip was kind of interesting. There is a bridge between here and Chiclayo, which is where the airport is, and they have been working on it for a while. Because of all the rain in the mountains the river flooded and washed out the bypass. We had to cross some planks and a muddy stretch to get all of my luggage across the river. But I am here. This also causes troubles with every other aspect of life: the grocery store is there, our construction materials come from there, some students live there, some teachers live there, Ken's kids go to school there, and the list goes on and on. Please keep us in your prayers as we decide how to handle all of these situations. Also, Ken and I are going to be talking a lot about what my job will be after we return in the end of December, so keep that in your prayers, also. Now that I will have internet access a little more regularly than before I hope I can get you better updates.

I'm Official!!!

2008-10-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a board meeting last Tesday and I now work full-time for LACF. The first year is going to be spent fundraising and then I will be pretty free to do whatever. They liked all of my ideas from the drama/praise group to the internship program. As soon as we can get the organization on solid ground, then we can start expanding. I am so excited to begin this next step. My next trip to Peru will be from Nov 1 to Dec 29 and then we will have another meeting to more fully describe my position and duties. Please keep my continued travels in your prayers.

Church tour

2008-09-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. Well here is what is happening so far. I have been in the country for 3 weeks and it has flown by. I've already made one trip, driving, to Ohio. That was a fun road trip. I got some new musical soundtracks memorized. Haha. What the schedule looks like right now is that I will be in Kansas for the rest of September. On the 21st I am speaking at Pleasant Prairie COG in Satanta and then on the 28th I will be at Redline in Palco. October has me back in Ohio and then in Illinois for the first few weeks. I'll be back in Kansas on October 19th to speak in Sterling at the Methodist Church and a Sterling College chapel. That is also the weekend of Sterling's musical, so I will get to see that, which I am excited about. I have never seen a musical there. Been in a few, but never watched one. Teh tentative plan is to return to Peru in the first part of November. Please pray that I will be able to get the funds together to buy those plane tickets. Also, keep October 7th in your prayers. I am scheduled to meet with the LACF board and will need the Lord's guidance in what I would or should propose to them concerning my calling to fulltime missions work. Thanks for everything and I will try my hardest to keep this thing updated more frequently.

105! There were 105!

2008-08-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

The Sunday School is growing so fast that there is absolutely so room for them. I am starting my journey back today. While I am gone for the 2 months they are going to finish as quickly as possible and fill in the parts that they can't get to with adobe bricks that can be knocked out later. They will set up straw mat dividers inside the property to start having classes there instead of in the guys house. Oh, and we also had 3 new adults! There were 114 in total not counting me, Walter or and of the teachers who come from the church here at the school to help out there.

73! There were 73!

2008-08-17T17:17:00.001-07:00

God is so good. The Sunday School in La Villa Milagro has been averaging roughly 45 kids each Sunday and 5-6 adults. This is awesome because of the placement of the Sunday School on the edge of the village and considering that the other 3 annexes have about 30 kids. Milagro has been the biggest annex for a while. When the work camps were here, the numbers went up a little because everyone down here knows that gringos bring candy and toys when they come. Well the last 2 Sundays have been awesome. Last week there were 61 children and 4 adults. Walter had me take an extra table from the church here out with me one day when I went to work because they lacked table space for 61. There wasn't enough space in the room for the tables that we had, but we crammed one more in. This week I counted as the children left and there were 73! I almost fainted. It was unbelievable. And with only one gringo...me. We need more tables! What a great problem to have. No more major updates, I was just really excited about that one, so I thought I'd write. Excited to see everyone in 9 days.

Final Full Week

2008-08-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have 10 days until I leave Peru for a while. Mixed feelings. Most of me is extremely excited to see my friends and family. There is a part of me, however, that knows I will miss Peru while I am home. Another part knows that the church tour will be long and tiring. Right now I am really excited about it, but after driving to so many states I may not want to ever drive again. the board is looking at having me stay in the states for 3 months now. They were originally going to put me on a 2 month tour and have Ken come back in January to do one month. Because of the possible weather issues in January, he mentioned that maybe I could just do 3 months and go to the places they would have had him speak at in January such as Colorado and other places that would have rough winter weather. The states we are looking at are Ohio, Kansas, West Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Florida, Washington and possibly Illinois. It will be crazy, but fun. The only places I am for sure speaking at right now are my home church August 31 and First United Methodist in Sterling, KS Oct 19. You should come if you can. I'll try and update my tour schedule on here so you know if I am coming close to you. I may also be speaking at a Stelring College chapel. That one is extremely exciting, because I would love to get Sterling started on bringing work camps. They take so many trips each summer why not Peru? And I could totally use Sterling as a feeder school for the internship program that I am trying to get started.

Work is coming along well. We are almost all the way around the main property with the main wall. I know that seems slow to those of you who do any construction in the states, but you have to remember that we are working in Peru. Nothing makes sense, and since we do everything by hand including leveling the ground and diggin gthe trenches and mixing and pouring cement, it takes a while. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing some of you when I am in the states. Dios te Bendiga!

My new life

2008-08-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Great news! I have finally felt the calling into full time missions. The plan right now is that I will be the stateside missionary for LACF. I will take over a lot of the fundraising and organization of the actual sponsorship program. In order to do this, I will have church supports like Ken does for pay. The main way that we will accomplish this is by instating an internship program. For one semester each year, we will have a small group of interns, paid, who will get opportunities in missions stateside and in Peru. I will be working with them first hand and be with them when they come down to Peru. This will give young people who are interested in missions an opportunity to gain experience in several areas. They can help with the paperwork side, setting up church tours, searching for funds, doing medical and pastoral things in Peru, and many other areas that people don't always think about when looking at missions. i am really excited and a little bit scared. Please pray for guidance and discernment for me, the board, and Ken as we decide where I will be stationed, what my first steps will be and who I should contact for backing. I will stay on the Milagro project down here until May and then start immediately after that in the states. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers and I will update everyone as I know more. Dios te bendiga!

It's Official!

2008-07-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot of people have been wondering what my next step will be after August. Ken and I talked this morning and have a definite plan. I will return to the States August 27 and spend a little time in sterling then head home to recooperate a little. After that I will begin a 2 month church tour to spread the word about LACF and all of our projects. We don't have definite contacts and churches yet, but the way we were talking, I could end up in West Virginia, San Antonio, Indiana and Ohio. After those 2 months (it will then be the first part of november) I will return to Peru for 6 months. This will take me up to May, which is what the board and I agreed on, May to May. After that, who knows. I haven't felt a definite calling either way yet. I may try to make it as a Director, I may puruse the teaching gig, I may end up in Peru. Or another country. I am pretty open right now. Or maybe I will come home after August for a few years until I find a wife who can help me down here. (only partly a joke). It's hard to get everything done in a day without help. Again, I am open for anything God leads me into. Please keep all decisions that I will be making this next year in your prayers.

Construction is coming along. We have taken a little break this past week trying to decide what is priority for the funding we have left. Our goal before I leave is to have the perimeter wall completed and straw mats set up inside as divisions so they can start using the church. Once I get more funds, they (and me when I return) can start building all of the interior stuff like the sanctuary, classrooms, kitchen, etc. Please keep funding in your prayers, but also pray that churches will open their doors to us so we can spread the word about God's awesome work in the country of Peru. Thank you for all of your support up to this point.

P.S. Pray for Ken. I am tired from helping with the work camps, but he is absolutely exhausted from it. He helps the campers every possible way and manages to maintain his job and family. Just pray for strength and encouragement. And rest.

Update

2008-07-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. I know my updates have become few and far between. Our internet here has a mind of its own and we have had very limited access for quite some time. The computer guy came in today and we now have wireless in the offices. Hopefully it will not go in and out now. Another reason I haven't gotten on is that we have had a work camp here for the last 2 weeks. Time with them has been great. English speakers! yay. I haven't had much time outside of helping to entertain them to accomplish other things like email. This group will leave us Friday and we will gain a work camp of 21 that same day. That work camp is back to back with yet a third. Most of the campers here now are from Indiana, but the 2 groups after them are Roma Lee groups. i will miss this group of people a lot, but am excited to see Roma Lee again.

We have been making great progress on the building; however, are now at a little standstill. We have a pretty good portion of the wall bricked in. these last few days have been spent trying to make the work camp switch. We also are a little low on funds and materials, so we are trying to decide what our priorities are before we continue. We will start work again on Monday and be taking part of Roma Lee's camp out with us to help. That will be great.

Please keep praying for the decisions I have to be making. I need to decide what will happen after August and also what will happen after this year is finished in May. Also pray for Ken and the LACF board as they help me in making some of these decisions.

Quick Update

2008-07-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

Building is coming along great. I have added a video tour of the property. It is about 2 minutes long. Sorry for the bad cinematography. I was using my digital camera's video thing for the first time and didn't really start with a plan of action. Hope you enjoy it.

One man's trash is another man's church property.

2008-06-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

I found out the other day that the property used to be a landfill. That finally expalins all of the garbage we found about a foot below the surface. I tell you one thing, diapers are murder to dig through.

A little about the food. I love it for the most part. A few things have been interesting. I eat Peruvian food for lunch every day. The school cook, Ruth, sends it out to me with lunches for other workers. She is awesome. Every meal consists of rice, a little protein, and a salad, and then a drink. The protein is almost always chicken or fish. Occasionaly beef. The salalds here are one of four things: lettuce and tomato, diced onion, diced radish, or diced onion with diced relish. Same salad dressing all of the time, lemon juice. It's actually more of a marinade than dressing. I hate onions, but in the citrus marinade, they don't even taste like onions. Some other things I've had here are a tamale type thing with beef and hardboiled egg inside and a dish called ceviche, which is raw fish marinated with onion in citrus juice. The drinks here are always hot. And with sugar. Peruvians have a huge sweet tooth. They never (yes never) drink straight water. Evne at the school where the water is clean and drinkable. Water mixed drinks are always hot and things like pop are always room temperature. They don't even refrigerate milk. They freak when I put ice in my drinks. It cracks me up. I always take a frozen water bottle out to the workplace and they make fun of me everyday. Such a foregin idea. The main water mix drinks are tea, lemonade, and chicha. i love chicha. It is boiled purple corn with a little sugar. I usually have to drink it hot, but Ruth puts ice in mine sometimes and it is great.

Building update: We started laying brick today on the main wall. yay. We have the foundation poured on the front and one side of the main property. The footers are poured on the back and other side, but we are waiting until we have more rebar to tie into columns to pour the foundation there. We also have some trenches dug inside the property that will become bases for the sactuary and kitchen/bakery. We have a new formeman named Alex. Oscar still works with us and there were no hard feelings, because Alex is far more experienced. Work now is sailing along. With Alex's organization, it seems like the work days are much easier, but we accomplish so much. Of course they may also seem easier because I am building strength and endurance.

I hurt my hip a couple weeks ago and tried working through the pain for a week. A couple days ago they noticed it hindering my ability to work and made me take a day off. It is much much better now, but could still use some prayers. I think it is just some inflamation from doing work it is not used to. Thanks for your prayers on everything so far.

Latest News

2008-06-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

The kids at VBS at my home church decided that they wanted to donate their offerings this year to the Peru Project. We very rarely hit $200 at our VBS's, but this year they raised $600! I am so amazed. I found out yesterday that we got a new foreman. Oscar is going to keep working with us, but some guy named Alex is taking over on Monday. That may prove to be an awkward day, so pray for that. I am glad Oscar is sticking around, because I like him a lot. He is a lot of fun. Kind of a quirky 43 year old man. They call him Tigre here (tiger) because he is a really hard, fast worker. Of course comparitively, he isn't that small here, but to me he seems small and mighty. Everyone around here is around 5 feet tall. I try to tell them that in the US I am average, but they don't believe me. I am an inch or two taller than Ken, so they think I am so tall. Everywhere we go everyone stops to stare at the tall gringo.

Building is coming along. We didn't do much else than dig more foundation trenches this past week. Supposedly, we start brickwork next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

Pray for us

2008-06-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Most important updates: we are thinking about purchasing a small plot of land next to the current one to serve as a breakfast program, Ken is looking at starting a partnership with the Church of God schools in Chepen and some other town which would be awesome but needs prayer, and we need prayer for funds to continue the project. We have a little over half of the original estimate, but it will require more because of the bigger land. Not a big need, but keep it in your prayers. Also, LACF is looking for sponsors for children. If you are at all interested, please visit lacf.org for more information. I will write with more updates as they come.

Just an update

2008-06-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Things are going well. We have started ppouring cement and working on the first inside walls for the classrooms. We have also decided to buy a plot of land next to the church that will serve as a kitchen and dining room for a breakfast program. There will be food and devotions there in the mornings and it will hopefully help in building the congregation.

I got to spend some time with the Birons (the missionary family) last night. We went into Chiclayo to a mall and I had Pizza Hut pizza. Didn't taste the pizza hut I know and love, but it was still a good change. The kids were fun and it was nice to get out.

I am still working on adjusting to lifestyle changes. Things like dusting and sweeping every day because of all of the sand get old, but when I slack I pay. I also haven't gotten used to having to hang my clothes outside. Never thought I would miss something like a dryer. The construction is still moving along well and I pray we will be able to get a substantial amount done this summer. Or winter. Depending on what country you are in. We are moving along and will get some help from work camps, but I don't know if where we are is good or bad from here. It is slow for me because of the lack of technology and power tools, so I can't really understand how progress is really going. We do have official architects plans for the church and everything now and it is pretty cool. I am going to try and see if I can get it online somehow. The temple (or sanctuary) is curved and in one corner and the benches are going to be set up from the stage to look like sun rays. At least that's the concept. Then we will have 2 stories with 3 classrooms each in another section, bathrooms and a small patio area. The original donated plot is going to eventually be a parsonage and then the purchased land for the breakfast program. I will update more when I know more.

Construction update

2008-06-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Oscar, our foreman, is really cool and I love working with him. We also have an 18 year old kid named Alex (called Chino) and a 16 year old named Gokey who help. The future pasotr of the church, Walter, helps out when he can. We also have the help of a man who lives out there named Juan Carlos. The first few days were rough. We had to dig out the foundation trenches by pick and shovel and it took two days to get about 3/4 finished. And we still haven't dug out the rest yet. We had other help then whcih was nice because Brittany and I have never been that sore in our lives. She made it home all right by the way. We then made rebar columns and spent the last 2 days pouring concrete footers. We have to mix the concrete my hand on the ground and wheelbarrel it to the trench. Backbreaking work, but I am building muscle and endurance. It's great. God is good and continues to bless us and I will let you know more later.

I have an internet connection?

2008-06-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Things are going well so far. I feel lonely sometimes and miss America, but I am loving it. We got even more land donated!!! God is so good. We work from 7:30 to 5:30 every day and it gets dark at 6:30, so I don't do much else than work other than on weekends. It is really rough, but I am building muscles and endurance and enjoy the guys I work with. Spanish is coming along really well. I understand way more than I ever thought I would, but speaking is still slow. I get stared at everywhere because I tower over everyone and I am a gringo. Making a lot of friends. Ken's family is really welcoming. Continue to read, because I will keep updating at things come along. Oh, by the way. We have rebar columns up and footer poured (by hand) for two sides of the wall that will protect the property.

Final plans and Information

2008-05-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

5 days. Wow. time flies when you're having fun. Well not much has changed since I wrote last. I am leaving Liberal Saturday to go spend some time in the Sterling area before leaving. Brittany and I are scheduled to fly out at 10:28 Tuesday morning. We are supposed to land at 10:30 that night in Lima, but we'll see if that actually happens. I don't have much faith in airlines anymore. We will then spend the night in a hostal (Oscar's Hostal) with Ken Biron, the missionary. Our flight from Lima to Chiclayo is early Wednesday afternoon. A short bus ride will get us to the school. And by short I mean about 10 minutes. I don't exactly know what will happen after that. I don't know when building will begin or anything. That will all be determined once we get there. I do know that a second plot of land has been donated. It is about 10 meters bigger each direction, but is a block away from our current building project. That is awesome, though. We can have two venues. The building will start on the smaller plot because the paperwork and plans are done for that. The other will be another project I guess. We'll see. Thank you for prayers so far. We have raised 13,000 of the estimated 25,500 dollars for the project. I am excited about this.

Now, many of you have been asking about mail and care packages. I will not be able to send or recieve any of this while there. The Peruvian government goes through all mail and takes what they want, so there is not a very good chance I would get anything that is sent. There are ways to help, though. If you really want to send something like a care pakcage this is what I suggest to do. Figure out what you would spend on items and shipping. Send that money to one of two addresses below. That can be wired down to us and then I will be able to distribute it however I feel necessary. So in a way I get to pick out what is in your care packages, haha. The top address is probably best because I don't know if Mitch wants to receive a lot of smaller donations. My church is going to send everything they get once a month in large sums, but it really doesn't matter. If you would rather the ckeck go straight to LACF, that is fine. Remember to keep checking in and I will update when i can. Thanks.

South Church of God
708 S. Washington
Liberal, KS 67901
(memo of Peru Fund)

LACF
c/o Mitch Dooley
PO Box 25
Chaffee, MO 63740
(memo of Milagro Fund)

Still working on stuff

2008-05-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well the fund total now is about $11,500. I am so excited. Learning Spanish is going all right. I have been working everyday until my brain hurts. Tomorrow night I am going to go to the service of our Hispanic congregation to test things out and see how much I can understand in full-speed talking instead of from CDs and the workbook. If anyone has any long-term overseas packing tips I would love to hear them.

Getting Ready

2008-05-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well. 26 days to go. Right now I am trying to cram as much Spanish in my head as I possibly can. Kind of nervous about that, but not too much. Also, the work camp has become a single volunteer. Brittany Small. I am excited about this, though because she has been to the school before and I trust her to help me get moved in.

Funds. Right now my home church sits at $8500 and I have received $2100 from the Methodist church in Sterling (where I went to college). Oh, and I graduated last Saturday. Yay. Anyway. The goal for the entire project is $25,500. That includes building estimate, moving in costs, flights, and monthly food allowances. We still need money, so if you know anyone who would like to sponsor the trip, send donations to South Church of God in Liberal, KS. Just write checks out to South Church of God with Peru Fund in the memo. Well, I will keep everyone updated. The whole blog thing is new to me, but I like it.