linsey higgins

AU alumni fame :)

2009-09-17T14:01:00.001-05:00

Take a look at the article from Signatures, the AU alumni magazine, starring us alumni who now serve with WMF:
http://www.anderson.edu/w/features/2009/alumni-serving-at-word-made-flesh

Progress on the Ministry Center

2009-06-18T11:18:00.004-05:00

Hey all,

Sorry i haven't been blogging much. here are some pics of the progress on the ministry center. The demolition is finally done! WAHOO! So now we are going to have a big backyard, we can start putting in grass and flowers and a small vegetable garden and who knows what else (swings? a soccer goal? any other ideas?)

This is what the back area looked like before:

and this is what the back area looks like now:

The hope is still that we would build a larger building in this back area, shrinking the garden area, but growing our usable space, including a classroom, showers for the youth to use, perhaps a clinic space, and a large meeting room. But for now we're gonna have a huge backyard! Wanna come over for a BBQ?

Randomness

2009-04-01T16:08:00.004-05:00

Here are a few random things that you might (or not) be interested in:

1. Word Made Flesh got a new "visual identity." So check out the new website: www.wordmadeflesh.org and you can see the new logo. Don't be confused when you get mail from Word Made Flesh (ie my prayer letters), they will look different. The Cry goes out this week too and it has a new look, but its as good as ever. I promise.

2. Follow this link to see some pictures of our new office:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037322&id=179202568&l=7011e26f96
We've been working hard the last few months to get it ready and its finally up and running. Don't be too worried though, we look like we're workin really hard in these pictures, but many of them are staged. We are in fact still the fun-loving, just slightly unproductive, full-of-love community that you know us to be despite the fancy new office with space for all of us to work.

3. Sorry to those of you whom i told that i would be returning to the States for a visit in May. I lied. I mean, its not really a lie if you think you are telling the truth when you say it. I'm actually going to be going back to the States in late August or September for a few weeks. So, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. (not sure how you mark two months, but you can find a way, i'm sure)

4. I'm sad because at the pool where i swim it used to cost 5 soles for an hour but now they raised the price to 10 soles for an hour. And i'm riding my bike to work often these days.

5. I started a book club. If you live in Lima or are passing through and want to participate let me know.

6. I had Macaroni and Cheese, half a tomato, and some grapes for lunch with iced tea to drink.

i promised it would be random.

Field Forum Trip Part 3

2009-02-23T10:31:00.002-05:00

Who hasn't thought of what heaven will be like? What lover of Jesus hasn't wondered what it will be like when every tongue, nation, tribe and people worship God together?

I continue to wonder, but i think i got a tiny glimpse this week.

I spent this week in Nepal with people from 5 continents, at least 8 languages, rich and poor, book-smart and street-smart, all part of our word made flesh family. it was slightly messy and hard at times and a bit chaotic, but it was good for the soul to be together, although missing many.

While there are many reasons for which i have been crying often these days, it is mostly an overwhelming sense of gratitude to be serving among such incredible people. Jyoti loving on abandoned widows as her own mother. Esdrianne, who serves with her whole heart among children on the street in Rio, moved to tears listening to Jyoti tell her story. Upendra, a humble and generous man, gifting dignity and therefore freedom to women in prostitution. Finally meeting St. Noah of Kroo Bay. Listening to Victoria tell me stories of the first years of WMF. Translating for Anna as she speaks words of hope for our communities. So many people filled with passion and a deep love for the people among whom they serve. Hearts longing to speak dignity and truth. Moments of laughter and joy. Sharing stories around a fire. Doing yoga as the sun rises. Chasing monkeys. Practicing silence together. Eating momos.

Far from perfect, but it was a glimpse of what is to come.

Field Forum Trip Part 2

2009-02-23T10:17:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty sure that this week i met the woman who prayed me into the ministry. Actually i think she probably prayed me into meeting Jesus.As Victoria and i walked and talked one afternoon, she shared with me of the early days of the WMF childrens home in Madras which she and her husband faithfully run. She told me that they began to pray for Romania and Peru and that one day WMF would be serving children in those places as well. As i listened, i realized that she told me that she began to pray for those countries around 1995 and i began to sense that this woman even when i was in fourth grade was praying me into ministry. It was after fifth grade that i first met Jesus, when i first fell in love with him and decided to commit my life to doing whatever he wanted me to. I have thought about that conversation with Victoria so many times since that day last week and everytime i get goosebumps. It was a few years after they started to pray that WMF Peru and WMF Romania began. I couldn't help but wonder which countries she is praying for now, because i'm sure in another year or two a new field will be started. That's the power of Victoria's prayers.

Thanks Victoria.

Field Forum Trip Part 1

2009-02-13T10:23:00.002-05:00

So I left wednesday night to start my trip to Nepal for the field forum. Thanks for your prayers. My first two flights went really well. Way to go American Airlines. I almost cried in the immigrations line in miami because they were showing a video of all different people saying, "Welcome" and showing different places around the country. i guess maybe i miss home more than i realize sometimes. then on my flight from miami to chicago there wasn't anyone sitting next to me so i got to sleep across the three seats. let's pray for that the rest of my 7 flights.

i had a little trouble in miami because i was trying to bring some mangoes home to my mom, which happens to be against the customs regulations. so after telling several people that i didnt have anything agricultural i thought i was home free and then they put the bags through the x-ray machine that detects fruits and vegetables. yes, you read right. who knew that there was an x-ray machine that could detect fruits and veggies? oh but there is. so after i waited while the woman looked through this man's suitcase and found all these confidential documents which were aparently illegal to travel with, she finally got to me and i told her i was planning to eat them but then i forgot. but of course they were all wrapped up and in a box, so it was pretty obvious that i wasn't going to eat them. so she took my passport number so i'm probably forever in the system, forever being tracked to make sure i'm not an illegal mango importer. i wasn't trying to do anything illegal, i just wanted my mom to be able to taste the sweet goodness of a peruvian mango again instead of the ones that have traveled 9 weeks in a boat to be put on the shelf in a michigan grocery store.

in other news there was a plane crash in new york. not exactly comforting that when i am two flights through a set of nine a plane crashed. and another bit of news is that the Obama family is coming home today so Air Force One will be landing at O'Hare (3 miles from where i am sitting right now) later this evening. My mom's flight leaves at 7, maybe she'll get to meet him.

I'm having fun with mom in chicago. good times. this morning i had raisin bran for breakfast and raspberry yogurt. gotta love the deluxe continental breakfast. long live the continental breakfast. oh and yesterday mom and i braved the bus system in chicago. let's just say its a bit different from Lima. a bit. ok a lot.

alright, off to spend the day in Chicago then tomorrow i leave for Brussels then Delhi then Kathmandu on Monday morning. Field forum for the week then back to Lima the 23rd.

Crazy Christmas season

2008-12-05T18:01:00.002-05:00

As you probably have heard in the years past, Christmas is always a really crazy time for us in the ministry here. We always have so many celebrations planned, so many kids to reach, and never enough time, money, or people. But of course we always pull it off the best we can. So this year, there are just as many things going on, but i thought i'd let you all know about them so you can be praying for us as they happen. So here is the plan:

Tues. Dec. 9: Our annual Christmas party for the youth on the streets. This will be open to 120 youth and their children who we have relationships with who struggle daily with life on the street. There will be a whole program including Santa, gifts, a dance by us Gringos, dinner, and lots more stuff. We are having it in a different church this year, so we are all a little unsure how it will work. Pray for us during this time. Everything you could imagine has happened during these times: good and bad. The party will be from 6-9, if you want to be specifically praying during it.

Sat. Dec. 13: A day trip to the beach with the youth who have left the streets. This will be the second time we have done a trip like this for the young people who have found victory and have left their former lives. It will be a joy to spend this day with them, but there are lots of details to work out to move a big group of people and have the whole day run smoothly.

Tues. Dec. 16: Celebration with the girls' bible study. There are around 10 young women who have been participating in our bible study this year. We will have a time of lighting our last advent candles with them, singing and worshipping, and then doing some fun activities like a craft and decorating cookies. Pray for these young women, they are amazing.

Tues-Fri Dec. 16-19: Visits to homes of youth who have left the street. We have prepared baskets of food and goodies for each of the youth we know who have left the street. Last year we delivered 24 baskets and this year we will deliver 32. How exciting that each year the number goes up. Pray for us for energy, it takes a lot of it to get out to the shantytowns where many of them live, sometimes over an hour outside the city. It is encouraging to be with them, but we will be doing several visits each day to be able to see all the youth we want to visit. For this we will need extra strength and energy.

Christmas eve: A visit to the youth on the street to share hot chocolate and panetonne with them. Sadly, many of our friends will have no home to go to that evening and we will go to spend a short time with them.

In general, I love christmas because it seems that this season gets the youth we know thinking about Jesus, and what place he has in their lives. We find that often they have more sensitive spirits to hear the word of God and to open their hearts to him. It also can be a reconciling time for the family, as sometimes young people will return home, if they have one, to spend the holidays with family.

So pray for us, as a staff, we need stamina to keep going and to take advantage of these sensitive spirits and to give thanks as we prepare our hearts to receive Jesus, our coming King, the helpless baby in the manger. Come Lord Jesus, penetrate the darkness with your light.

The First Dog, "Machu Picchu Obama"

2008-11-12T09:13:00.003-05:00

The country i live in and love has offered the president elect of my homeland a gift. How nice, you might think. But the gift Peru is offering the Obama family might look like this:

or like this:

Yes, my friends, that is the Peruvian Hairless Dog. Native to Peru, bred by the Incas, known for their high body heat and low chance for parasites or fleas. Also known for being the ugliest dog in the world. Just last week i had the chance to come face to face with one of these creatures and they are even more frightening than in the photos.

The other insane thing about this gift is that Peru insists that the dog's official name will be "Machu Picchu." Can anyone imagine President Obama on the front porch of the White House yelling something that most American's have no idea how to pronounce? Who in their right mind would name a dog something like Machu Picchu? A racehorse, maybe. Not a family pet. Maybe try "Mari," short for Marinera, the national dance of peru. Or perhaps Cuzco, the famous center of the Incan empire. Or even Inca. But Machu Picchu, i mean, come on.

WMF Peru Christmas Cards FOR SALE!

2008-11-06T16:22:00.003-05:00

Hi Friends,

If anyone is interested in checking out this year's designs for our christmas cards, drawn by two great artists who have struggled to leave street life. Danny and Johncito have done a great job this year. So if you are interesting in just taking a look at them, you can check it out here: WMF Peru Christmas Cards!
And if you are interested in ordering some, you can email Monica at monica.ghali@wordmadeflesh.com for more info.

Love from Lima.

The long-awaited blog about the birth of my hiking life

2008-10-03T16:47:00.009-05:00

The Inca Trail...

El Camino Inca...

Four weeks ago today i started a four day journey back in time. I traveled with Monica and David into the land of the Incas, our brilliant ancestors (yes, i'm claiming them as my own although they aren't exactly). This incredible group of people had expanded their empire all throughout what we know as South America. They studied architecture, agriculture, astronomy, medicine, and more. And they were deeply spiritual men and women. They believed in balance, equilibrium. Because of this balance, men and women were both respected, they cared for the environment as their most beautiful gift from the Creator of all, and they worshiped all parts of nature because if it were not for the sun and the moon, day and night, mountains and valleys and rain and rivers, there would be no life.

This incredible group of people built caminos or roads throughout their empire, marked with checkpoints for weary travelers, temples to worship mountains, rainbows, rivers, the sun, and the God of all these elements, universities where the brightest could study philosophy or religion or agriculture, experimental terraces where the best corn and potatoes was developed, and villages where people lived. Despite the huge number of people that walk the trail each day, it is in tact, thriving, strong. Probably many people spent their whole lives working on the project of the caminos or a temple, perhaps dying before seeing the finished product. Machu Picchu was still in the process of being built when it was abandoned during the fall of the empire. What would their society, their architecture, their farming, have amounted to if they had another century or more to flourish? How much more would they have learned? How much more would they have developed?

We started the trail early on a Friday morning. We drove to a small village called Ollantaytambo where we had breakfast and bought our walking sticks. From there we went to kilometer 82 where the hike began. We headed out, the three of us with our four companions and our guide Santiago. The 12 young men responsible for carrying our things cheered as we left and passed us carrying all the food, tents, sleeping bags, and everything else we needed for 4 days on the trail.

The first day we hiked around 8 hours. The trail was hilly but no huge climbs or huge descents. We enjoyed the view of snow-capped mountains, several inca sites, and enjoyed our lessons along the way from our trusty guide. We arrived at our campsite that evening exhausted and overjoyed. Our tents faced a huge snow-capped beauty in all of her glory. I wasn't sure i had ever been that tired. But that was only Friday.

Saturday we woke up and i felt amazing. God's restorative work of sleep had done its job. Mona and i knew Day 2 would be our challenge. If we could just make it through this day, we were there. We started climbing. Up. and up. and up. Perhaps four hours, but it felt like four days, we were hiking up to our first pass. I knew it was a mind game. But i couldn't convince my mind that i could lift my leg another time. And the altitude wasn't helping. Every breath felt like a waste. When i finally took the last couple steps to the top of Dead Woman's Pass, the tears started to fall. Generally, i'm not a crier. but i couldn't stop myself. As the tears ran down my cheeks, i looked back down at the trail and thought about all the times i had considered curling up into a little ball and just rolling back down to the bottom. I did it. I completed something that i never would have imagined i could do. Here we are at the top of the pass at 4,215 meters:

Then we had a steep descent for a couple hours until lunch. And another pass to conquer. I made it up that one too. And when we got over it Monica and i became something i would describe as euphoric. Whereas at the top of the first pass the tears rolled down my cheeks, at the top of the second pass the out-of-control laughter broke out. I began to love nature again. And i loved the downhill parts (until the end of the day when i thought my knees were going to explode).

We arrived to our campsite that night after 10 hours of hiking, 2 passes, and more tired that we had ever been, but with a song of gratitude in our hearts for a Creator of All that gives such beautiful gifts to his children.

The third day we slept in a little bit (6:30 wakeup) and only hiked until a late lunch. We learned that day that Andean Flats are definitely not flat. The experiemtal terraces we saw that day were incredible. They made them on the sides of mountains facing the sun and the way the sun heated each terrace created something like a greenhouse. They probably studied genetics and created healthier, tastier and more nutritious vegetables and grains. Day three was a piece of cake compared to the other two days, but my muscles were achy and the early rest time was a gift. We were getting excited for Day 4.

We woke up at 4 a.m. with no time for morning tea. It was dark and we were anxious to get moving. As the sun rose and revealed the early morning Andes, the excitement grew. A couple hours later we were standing at the Sun Gate, an inca site overlooking the incredible Machu Picchu. We had done it. Another hour hike and we were standing in one of the most interesting places i've ever been. Full of mystery. We can only make guesses or wonder about the true significance and richness of all different aspects of Machu Picchu. Here we are at the place we walked 4 days to reach:

After spending several hours at Machu Picchu, we got on a bus (the first time in four days that i used something other than my feet as transportation) and headed down to the town of Aguas Calientes. Again, i started to cry. Four days. Dozens of miles. So much beauty, serenity, nature. And in a 20 minute bus ride, a 2 hour train ride, and another hour bus ride, we were back where we started. It was the end. The tears and the laughter mingled. The Inca Trail was over.

Celebration!

2008-08-09T15:51:00.004-05:00

A couple days ago marked the end of my 24th year on the planet and the start of my 25th year on the planet (just so you're not confused, i turned 24, which technically means finished 24). It makes me wonder a little, what are we celebrating when we celebrate birthdays. that the last year is finished? or a new one is beginning? i celebrated both.

the night before my birthday we had a girls night out to dinner with sarah, monica, rachel and i:

at dinner monica asked what the best part of my last year was. the truth is that my last year was filled with lots of hard things. my favorite parts were our retreat in chile last october, my time home with fam and friends, kendra's visit to peru, making a decision to stay in peru for 3 more years, and lots of small joys along the way that kept me going. so adios last year. i'm ready for a new one. then she asked what goals i have for this year and here they are: 1. start a book club. 2. keep swimming, running, and start roller blading and biking. 3. be a daily flosser. thats all. i'm a simple girl.

then we came back to our house and snuggled up to watch juno together:

then the next morning, my birthday morning i woke up and called my mom to thank her for birthing me. she told me the story of when i was born (moral of the story: don't eat spaghetti the night before you give birth). when i got off the phone david came over and brought a box of cinnamon life cereal from the states and three weeks of jeopardy that he had taped while he was in the states. now perhaps there are a few of you out there who don't know me at all. if you don't know me then i am not sure why you're reading my blog, but i'll share a little bit of info about me: i LOVE jeopardy. and its one of the things i miss the most living in peru. so three weeks of jeopardy warranted me jumping up and down on my bed for several minutes. a VERY good birthday surprise.

so then sarah and i made an angel food cake from scratch... didn't turn out perfect, but for the first try it wasn't horrible. then we all met to make 4 pans of chicken and beef enchiladas. that evening we had lots of friends over to eat enchiladas and angel food cake with strawberries. and i got fun presents and some packages in the mail. i was a happy camper! here we are taking a picture for peace:

and who thinks i look camoflauged when i stand in our living room wearing this shirt? you almost can't see me, right?:
all in all it was a great day(s) and there's more to come because what i really wanted for my birthday was sunshine so next saturday we are all leaving lima and going somewhere where the sun is shining! woo hoo!
monica was the official birthday photographer so you can check the rest of the pics out on her facebook, or on mine because i'm tagged in the majority of them. thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday Peru!

2008-07-29T12:09:00.003-05:00

As we celebrate the peruvian independence day, here are some things i love about peru:

1. we have mountains, jungle and coast. that makes for amazing sites to see, beautiful and diverse landscapes, all kinds of yummy fruits and lots of different kinds of people. we've got the amazon river, the andes mountains, lake titicaca (highest navigable lake in the world), villages deep in the rainforest that you can only reach by boat, hundreds of kilometers of oceanfront, and the city where i live along with 10 million other people.

2. we have over 2000 kinds of potatoes. who knew there were so many kinds of potatoes in the world, let alone in one country? i like potatoes as much as the next guy, but peruvians, they love their papas.

3. peruvians are filled with national pride. every house in peru has a flag flying on it on independence day (pictures to come). while there is a fine if you don't put up a flag, i still think this demonstrates national pride and not just avoidance of sanctions. and last week a peruvian model posed nude with the peruvian flag and now they are talking about throwing her in prison for 4 years. while not generally supported, you can do whatever the heck you want to the U.S. flag including posing nude.

4. peruvians have some yummy food. not desserts though. i'll stick with desserts from the U.S., but peruvians sure are proud of their food: lomo saltado, pollo a la brasa, tallarines verdes, aji de gallina, papa a la huancaina, ceviche, seco de res, arroz con pollo, locro de zapallo, the list goes on (while i dont like all these foods, i do believe they are all delicious to those who like onions, cilantro and/or raw fish). oh and inca kola. we can't forget that national pride.

5. the sense of family in peru is deep and profound and loyal and beautiful. sometimes lacking boundries, yes, but something to be deeply thankful for nonetheless. this deep value of the importance of family is what makes people who don't have families so lost in this society. the strength of good families is a gift but it makes it so that our friends on the street who are without families suffer even more deeply. but i'm grateful for the strength of peruvian families. it is part of what holds this society together.

6. we have llamas here.

7. peruvians tell it like it is. i like that about them. they don't beat around the bush. usually. at least about surfacy things. if you are looking fatter, they tell you. if they don't like your new haircut, they tell you. perhaps they could use a little tact sometimes, but i think we can learn from their honesty and straightforwardness. i like that if i ask one of my peruvian friends if they like my outfit or my haircut or if my hair looks messed up they will just tell me. no hard feelings, just tell me the truth.

8. peruvians are entrepreneurial to the core. they are creative. they have ideas. if they see a need or have a talent they start a business. if they need to make something they use the supplies they have to create it. they save things so they can have what they need to invent something when a need comes along. and they never get down if it doesnt work. they just think of something new. try something different. the spirit of the peruvian people is strong and vibrant.

well i could go on. i love this country. but for now i'll just say happy birthday peru. i love ya.

Thought of the day:

2008-07-21T17:55:00.001-05:00

I REALLY like organizing things.

I've been memed... it was only a matter of time.

2008-07-13T15:36:00.003-05:00

Although this seems reminiscient of those emails that tell you that if you really are someone's friend then you will fill it out and send it back, i have been memed and since it was my friend Brent who did it to me, here i am participating.

Memeing:
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. i have this weird fear of walking over grates on city sidewalks. i avoid it at all costs. then today i went into an old catholic church and there were grates on the floor in the middle aisle and there was no way to enter the church without walking over them. if it wasn't church, i may not have entered.

2. i don't like setting my alarm for a time that is right on the hour. like instead of setting my alarm for 8am, i will set it for 8:03 or 7:58. i'm not sure why.

3. i dream vivid, often crazy dreams every night. and i almost always remember them.

4. i love sugary anything. eating frosting out of the container, eating ice cream before breakfast, putting 4 tablespoons of sugar in tea. its out of control, i realize this. but i can't stop.

5. these are my 5 favorite places i've ever been in my whole life: sitting on the deck at the house where i grew up looking out over the lake on a summer evening, swimming in the clearest water i've ever seen and digging my toes into the whitest softest sand i've ever felt in the Caribbean at St. John's, sitting on the front porch of prem ghar in kathmandu watching the rain pour down, climbing to the top of an island in lake titicaca and seeing the snow-capped andes mountains meet the clouds, and lastly seeing the amazing colors of the appalachian mountains in the fall.

6. these are a few of the things that i would really like to learn how to do at some point in my life: use a sewing machine, play the piano (well), scuba dive.

7. these are the things that i have wanted to be when i grow up: teacher, surgeon, mom, missionary, speech pathologist, nurse, chemist, counselor, wife, professor, social worker, midwife... many of these things i still want to be when i grow up.

here are the people i'm meming: oh wait, i only really look at wmf people's blogs and the memeing is so "inbred" as monica g says, so i don't really have anyone to meme. but i think its ok because it isn't like those emails that say you will be cursed if you don't forward it to 10 people, so i think i'm off the hook. i'm just memeing monica noel ghali, even though she's already been memed, but hers is saved as a draft waiting to be posted. so this is a friendly reminder to post it. :)

Vaya con Díos

2008-07-06T23:20:00.002-05:00

So i just got home from watching the movie Point Break. and i just felt like i needed to write something about it on my blog.

This was my response when it was over:
"Wow, that movie had a little bit of everything i love: bank robbery, surfing, keanu reeves, and lots of guns"

Thanks Rachel, definitely a winner.

Vaya con Dios, to all my compadres.

Thank goodness for the year 1991. The world would be a much worse place if 1991 hadn't happened.

[united states of] America the Beautiful

2008-07-04T21:20:00.002-05:00

Happy 232nd birthday to you. (i think i did the math right)

Here's a list of things i love about my homeland:

1. jeopardy and all other game shows.

2. cookie dough ice cream and most other insanely sugary desserts including pie, brownies, cake (with lots of frosting), cookies, candy bars, and milkshakes. and the fact that often it is acceptable to eat two or more of these things at the same time (ie cake and ice cream, pie with ice cream, brownies with ice cream)

3. baseball and football (not so much the watching, more the playing).

4. public education (at least in the suburbs) and lets be honest, it might be bad in the cities, but its something. we can be critical of the low level of education in the inner cities, but for today i choose to be thankful that every kid in the U.S. is not only given the chance, but is required to attend school, even if its not the highest quality. yes we have steps to take to make it better, but i think its pretty super that all kids can go to school. and i loved my public education experience.

5. sweet corn and other genetically engineered masterpieces. brilliant.

6. the Great Lakes (i of course acknowledge that we share them with our dear friend and neighbor, Canada) and other geographical wonders including the grand canyon (which i haven't seen), the florida keys, the Rocky mountains, and mount rushmore. ok that last one was a joke. mount rushmore didn't happen naturally in nature in case you were confused.

7. really cool inventions that make our lives really different from our great-great-grandparents: cars, televisions, telephone, ipods, laptops, airplanes, internet, spandex, tupperware, bubblewrap, frisbees and silly putty. (among a few others of course)

8. people throughout all generations who stand up for justice, equality, dignity of all people, and who have brought change. little people who have done their part: people doing sit ins and marches and writing letters to the editor and creating moving art and people who recycle and teachers who inspire children to be better than those who have gone before us and businessmen and women who conduct themselves with integrity and who reject falsehood and elected officials who represent their constituency faithfully and fairly. all these and more are the people who help me to have a sense of pride in where i come from even with all her flaws. people like MLKJ, honest Abe, Rosa Parks, Teach for America teachers, and the lady down the street who seperates her glass, plastics and paper and sets it out on the curb every tuesday morning.

9. rocking 4th of July parties with huge fireworks, loud music, everyones yards all running together into one, mosquitoes, skiing and tubing, laying on the trampoline watching the sky light up, bonfires, and having all our family and friends together.

10. i was born and raised there! and everyone, no matter how annoyed or frustrated or embarassed you are of your native land sometimes, you still are ethnocentric. so, United States of America, you have your flaws, but i love ya. i am who i am because of you.

Its been awhile... as usual

2008-06-11T22:28:00.002-05:00

So there are a lot of things that i've been wanting to write on here and lists help me think so here goes:

1. Since most of my blogs usually start with apologies for not having blogged in such a long time i think i will skip the apology this time.

2. I had an AMAZING time in the U.S. of A. I'm still sorta processing through it but it was great to be with my family, see so many people that believe in what we are doing here in Lima, share about what God is doing in my heart and in the lives of our friends on the street, and to laugh a lot with good old friends that know me through and through. To old friends and new, young and old, thanks for the good times. Some of my favorite times in the U.S. include: eating a cruchwrap supreme from taco bell, watching Chad play basketball, shopping with mom, watching Christmas Vacation in May, getting to know Moweaqua Illinois and its quirky veterinarian, walking around in the sub hearing stories about Laura's grandmas, watching jeopardy while eating fried fish with daddy and bub, oh gosh... the list could go on and on. Mostly i just want to say thanks to those of you who went out of your way to make me feel special, loved, celebrated, relaxed, and really really cared for while i was in the States. I am blessed.

3. My first couple weeks back in Lima have been INSANE. here's why (also in list format):

A. Camping trip: The day after i got back to lima I left for the camping trip with the youth we hang out with on wednesdays and fridays. we spent three days with them outside the city at this beautiful, peaceful place where we could see the stars, play in the freezing cold river, swim in the "ginasty" swimming pool, roast marshmallows, and have fun with some of our friends who have known mostly difficult lives. It was a joy to spend my first days back in Lima with those friends in that place.

B. Police Raid: The night we got back from the camping trip we went out to the street to hang out with some of the kids we know. The police, along with child protective services, had planned a raid for that night at the specific place and time that they know that we always hang out with the kids. They surrounded us and began to take the kids, one by one, until every single kid that was hanging out with us was in the truck ready to be taken away. Two of our staff also got taken with the kids that night. I was left with another staff and our servant team standing on the sidewalk, somewhat traumatized, watching them pull away with something like 50 kids and our two staff in the truck. I took the servant team home and we prayed and debriefed while Monica went to figure out what was going on. I've never seen so many police involved in a raid against our youth. We counted 19 trucks and i would guess over 100 police were involved in the raid. Eventually that night the let all the youth that were over 18 go, including our staff, and detained the minors. They sent them to a place similar to juvenile detention to await an opening in a home which they will probably escape from shortly after being placed there. We are safe and our friends are ok, a little shaken up. We continue to cry out to God, "INJUSTICE! WHERE IS YOUR JUSTICE?" This incident is sadly the reality for many of our friends. There is little that we can do except continue to cry out to God and ask him to bring his justice.

C. Despedida of the Servant Team: Three days after that our beloved servant team left. Darcy, Rachel, Ben and Joel spent four months with us, learning and growing, and it was SO sad to see them go. We had going away parties for them and lifted up on their behalf many prayers.

D. Contract Decision: In the middle of all of this i am having to make a decision about renewing my contract. Seems like a crazy way to enter back into life here, but the truth is that if it were a quiet couple of weeks that would be abnormal. So its probably better that these weeks of trying to make a final decision about my contract are filled to the brim with joys and sorrows because thats how life is here. FULL! I have a couple more weeks to decide... but for the first time in almost a year i feel so much peace! My prayer has been the verse in Isaiah that says, "You will go out in joy and be lead forth in peace." For most of the last year this has sorta been wishful thinking for me but i finally feel like i and going out in joy and being lead forth in peace! THANK GOD! (this doesn't mean that there aren't hard things or that my heart isn't heavy sometimes though)

E. Field Trip to Lurigancho: Then today we went to prison to visit our friends there. I haven't been to prison to visit since i was on my servant team in 2005! Going to prison is a bizarre experience. Today was women's visit day. You have to wear a skirt (not black) and sandals. All the women are all dressed up, red lipstick exceeding the normal amount, toting around huge bags of homemade goodies for their men, dragging two or three children behind them, many trying to cut in line. They check our documents at least 5 times (giving us a hard time without fail because we aren't peruvian), write weird numbers on our arms and stamp over it a couple times (i have no idea why), and we are finally permitted to pass through after some women police officers feel us up to make sure we don't have anything hiding in our bras or skirts. We enter the sea of young men and within seconds have several surrounding us. They all ask if Casa Job, our day center that closed in 2006, is still going. They ask how Mia, Daniela, Walter and Adriana, Emily, Craig, and others are doing (all staff who haven't lived in Lima for at least a couple years). They tell Sarah she looks old or young or fatter or skinnier. They ask who the new girl is (me... i've been here for almost two years now). Many are excited to share that they are studing the Word, going to the church, listening to the brothers and sisters that share the good news with them. We pray with some, sneak chocolates to others, give pictures to others. We notice that some look so healthy and others look thin and still sadly addicted. Some tell us that they haven't been sentenced yet even though they've been there for over a year, two years, 8 months, others tell us how they got there, some for good reason others for no reason at all, but they still await their sentences for months or years. We tell some how good their daughter is doing in school or how their son is looking more like them everyday or how their daughter took her first steps a few weeks ago. We encourage them to look ahead, keep the faith, stay strong, pray. We promise we'll be back soon, knowing that it will probably be longer than we hope before we are back again. As we leave, the little kids wash off the numbers from our arms and we give them 20 cents and a smile. We're tired, cold, emotionally exhausted, but glad we went. I continue to reflect on how young most of the men there are, how long their sentences seem for stealing a cell phone, how much they respect "the sisters," how many of my young friends are growing up with dads in prison, how an entire business is centered around prison visit days (renting skirts, selling food, shoes, soaps, make-up, keeping your things that would be confiscated while you go in, people who you pay to get you a better spot in line, the little kids that wash off your arm), i reflect on the sheer number of young men that we know who are in prison, and i wonder at what it would be like to be confined to one place for months or years of your life. I'm sure the reflecting will continue.

ok well thats the update from me... as always i'm going to try to be better about blogging... we'll see if it happens :)

good to be home

2008-05-04T14:38:00.002-05:00

yesterday we were walking through my brother's dorm at his university and i was noticing the signs people had on their doors from different fraternities. i asked my brother as we were walking along, "hey b, are you gonna rush?" and he said to me, "no i just have a longer stride than you do."
i almost died laughing.

when we were at applebees last night they were advertising riblets. my brother explained to me that riblets come from piglets just like ribs come from pigs.

today at church there were these two 5 year olds singing a duet during special music time. two rows in front of us there was another little 5 year old plugging his ears with his fingers.

good times at home (mich).

and starting to miss more about home (lima).

these are my goals for tomorrow: go to the library, go to borders, eat taco bell. yep, thats all. sounds like the perfect day if you ask me.

Leaving home to go home...

2008-05-02T15:44:00.002-05:00

Reasons i'm glad to be home (michigan):
1. my fam
2. foods: blackberries, cottage cheese, dino bites, dad's fish, bacon egg and cheese mcmuffin, casserole
3. rain, thunder and lighting
4. jeopardy, wheel of fortune, family feud, and LOST!
5. a shower without electrocuting myself or having the hot water shut off or go down to a trickle
6. driving a car

Reasons i miss home (lima):
1. the gente
2. papaya, mango, and other fresh fruit
3. sunshine

so far thats all. (but im sure the list will grow with time.)

Ok, so here's the plan:
Staying at mom's: May 1-8
Sharing at mom's church May 4 at 11am (let me know if you want details)
Anderson: May 8-15
Staying at dad's: May 16-22
Supporter meeting at mom's house May 20th from 6-9pm (more details to come)
With friends in Illinois: May 22-25
Home in Michigan May 26
Head back to Lima May 27

our bodies are cool.

2008-04-16T18:23:00.001-05:00

so i was sick this week and had a lot of time to think since i was laying in bed staring at my eyelids for about 56 hours. and this is what occurred to me: God made our bodies so incredibly. while the weather can change from 30 degrees one night to 60 degrees the next afternoon or go from 0 degrees in january to 90 degrees in july, our bodies vary only a few degrees. if my temp is 3 degrees off i'm sick. if its 6 or more degrees off i'm hospitalized with the risk of losing brain function (which has never happened to me and rarely happens to anyone). my body, despite what happens outside, despite storms and craziness inside, no matter how many popsicles i eat or cups of steaming chai i drink, stays within 7 degrees over an entire lifespan. that is incredible.

another reason why i think god is pretty amazing.

funny how tiny babies make you think...

2008-04-10T18:18:00.002-05:00

today i went and visited my friend who just had a baby three weeks ago. when we got to her house she wasn't there; she had returned to the street. her tiny daughter lay asleep in my arms as my friend's mom shared about how her daughter will never change and she is left to pick up the pieces. i held that little miracle in my arms and marveled at how she is just that: a miracle. her mom was inhaling glue throughout her pregnancy and yet she was born healthy. ten fingers. ten toes. good reflexes. curious brown eyes. this was my friend's second miracle baby. her first daughter is almost three and experienced similar abuse when she was in the womb. she too is healthy. two little miracles.

it makes me wonder if the world is just or terribly unjust. other friends who would be great moms can't get pregnant. and my friend who mistreats her children and leaves her mother to raise them has two healthy little miracles. so unjust. and yet maybe it is terribly just that these two little girls were born healthy despite the irresponsibility of their mom.

i don't get it. i will never pretend to get it. but i know that their little lives are miracles. and i know that life is a gift that God gives us and also one that we have to choose. i hope that my life helps people to recognize the gift of life and to choose life. and i give thanks that my job is something so beautiful as this.

My time in the US of A

2008-04-10T18:05:00.002-05:00

May 1: Arrive to Detroit 11:35 a.m.
May 1-7: Home! (eating mom's cookin', dad's fried fish, driving a car, watching jeopardy, going to the library, wandering around at Borders, and so many other things!)
May 8: Leave for Anderson
May 15: Head back to Brighton
May 22: Go to Moweaqua, Illinois (reunion 817 1/2 high st.) yay!
May 25: Back to Btown
May 27: Leave DTW at 12:05 p.m.
Back to Lima!

somewhere in there there will be sharing at mom's church and maybe some other church sharing, lots of meeting with people to share about what God is doing here, and there will also be an evening supporter meeting (i'm going to cook yummy peruvian dinner!) but those dates aren't for sure yet. when they are i'll post them here and let you all know.

can't wait to see so many of you!

Semana Santa

2008-03-28T18:02:00.002-05:00

Here are some pics from Easter week. We spent a few days at the beach and then had a really nice Easter dinner at Langley's.

pretty, no? these are two of the friends from the servant team and one of our staff.

Me and Sarah :)

Rachel's special table decorating touch and Isabel's egg decoration expertise

Yet again, good friends, good food, and some funny stories shared on the rooftop.

St. Patrick's Prayer

2008-03-25T16:17:00.003-05:00

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Clarification

2008-03-04T16:37:00.002-05:00

so it has come to my attention that people think we look sad in the pic of us on my previous blog but in fact we are making "gangsta" faces. well, not sarah. she's smiling away. but the rest of us were making gangsta faces.

I'm back.

2008-03-02T15:34:00.004-05:00

ok, so i know its been forever since i've blogged. sorry. life is crazy and i just haven't felt very motivated to put anything up. but here are some pics and a little news about whats going on. hopefully this will get me going again and i'll be more regular with my blogging, but honestly, no promises.

so we are in full swing summer here. its hot. sunny almost everyday. i think its been in the upper 80s mostly. i have some fun stuff growing on my roof, below is a pic of my hearty little pepper. its just a little plant growing this big pepper, so strong and delicate at the same time :)
and then sunsets have been amazing. almost every night jesus has been reminding us of his love for beauty as we watch the sunset from our roof. sarah is addicted to taking pics of the sunset and they never turn out as beautiful as they are to the eye, thats because jesus made our eyes and man made cameras. but still sarah gets some pretty great pics. here's one:
we've also been having some roof fun lately since its been nice out in the evenings. we had aaron strumpel with us for a couple days (he's a member of the enter the worship circle community and is a friend of word made flesh). he played us a private little concert on B and Rae's roof. here we are snuggling up when it got a little cool:
our friend jose luis (right) and his wife are about to have a baby! any day now we are waiting to hear that silvana daniela is born! this pic is from their baby shower a few weeks ago. fun times.
we are in the process of figuring out what comes next for the new house that will become the ministry center. we had a dedication ceremony with the staff, volunteers, some of the youth that have left the street, and other friends of wmf lima. we are excited about the steps that are coming up! these birds of paradise are from the plant at the new center. they are amazing! the new center also has a fig tree that is bursting with ripe figs. and the most gigantic rosemary plant you have ever seen.
I also got new chacos. thanks dad! i used my birthday money to buy them and they arrived last week. yay! i love them. aren't they fun?

well... other than that we have had lots of visitors in the community, we got a new servant team that is great, we had our board meeting this past weekend where i presented our budget for 2008, i'm teaching swim lessons at my niece's school, and i bought my plane tickets to go back to the states for a few weeks in may. thats pretty much the news here.

please keep praying for me... my decision is going to come quickly about renewing my contract and right now i'm just ignoring the fact that i will have to make it at some point. the day is coming when i will have to stop ignoring that fact and make a decision, so please join my in praying that the Lord would speak clearly about his will for me!

This is why...

2008-01-17T14:22:00.001-05:00

So if you read my post about my new years resolutions, you know that one of my resolutions this year is to think whenever a camera is pointed in my direction. I would like to give a few examples of why this came to be one of my resolutions.
Here they are (only a very few of the MANY) in no particular order:

2007: A Year in Photos

2008-01-15T10:29:00.001-05:00

Apparently at the start of it, we decided that 2007 was going to be our year, whatever that means. We started the year out well by spending it at the beach!

In March, Caldwell came to Lima

A couple weeks later, my mom and John came to Lima

Then Natalia turned one, she's so fun to watch as she grows and learns and does all kinds of new things!

We celebrated mother's day with some of the young women we know, these are a few of my dear friends, strong beautiful women whom i admire: Then I went to India and Nepal in June!

We had our WMF staff retreat in Nebraska City in July

I turned 23 and we celebrated at Papa Johns :)

We got a servant team full of amazing women who became my sweet friends and i celebrated 1 year of living in Lima:

In December my Dad, bro, aunt and cousin came for a visit. This is us in the airport at 4 AM:

Thanks 2007. You were a good year.

New Years Resolutions, Goals, Thoughts, and Hopes

2008-01-03T14:07:00.001-05:00

1. during 2008, I will think before someone takes a picture of me. there have been far too many ridiculous pictures taken of me in 2007 so this year i will use the mind that the Lord has given me every time a camera is pointed in my direction. (note: this does not mean that there will be no silly or stupid pictures, it only means that they will be intentionally silly or stupid)

2. i will have second helpings on anything i eat or drink and like (obviously this does not include if i have to pay more for seconds or if it takes it from someone else's hungry belly). this resolution was decided because my mother decided that this year one of her resolutions would be to have no second helpings. how horrifying. i want to live a little this year even if it means i gain a few pounds. so look out, i'm having seconds. (mom, i support you in your resolution, i just really don't want it to be mine)

3. once a month for each of the next 12 (or at least 9) months, i will visit a new park in lima that i have never visited. i will read on a bench that i have never sat on or look at a fountain i have never seen or watch birds i have never watched before. i will also probably roll down a hill if there is a hill to be rolled down.

4. this year, i will learn how to whistle. my brother says that you either know how to whistle or you don't but i reject this theory. i think that a person can learn how to whistly with hard work and determination. and in fact, i think today i am whistling better than i did yesterday. at least some sound is coming out. and sarah doesn't start cracking up when i try to whistle because it actually resembles a whistle now.

5. once every month i will take a day of solitude. maybe i will go to a place that makes me feel like i am the first person who has ever been there or a place where i can breathe deeply or a place where children laughing is the only noise. maybe i will stay in my room or go for a walk or be surrounded by a million people but find solitude there. maybe i will be silent. and still. and maybe, just maybe, i will find God in a deeper, new or different way.

6. this may be obvious to you, but this year i will decide whether i renew my contract and stay in lima for 3 more years or not. now clearly i am going to decide this because i have to decide this. and while you may be thinking that this can't be a resolution because someone else is forcing me to do it, i think it can be. or at least i want to put it on the list because it assures me that there will be a point when the decision is made. past the mind-boggling, heart-wretching decision of it all and on to the other side of the decision. so i put it on my list mostly to comfort myself. to say, linsey, don't worry, a day will come in 2008, this year, when the decision will be made.

Adios 2007. you were a good year. a full year of living in lima. fields aministrated and bible studies taught and games and games of soccer played. a baby named after me. 4 continents visited and adventures had. dozens of airplane rides, train rides, bus rides, taxi rides, boat rides, lots of walking. birth and death and marriage and joy and pain and pleasure and loneliness and beauty and community and tears and heartbreak and redemption. lots and lots of beauty and redemption. who knows what 2008 will hold. i'm sure much of the same and i'm sure much will be new.

may the spirit of the lord be near.

PRAY PRAY AND PRAY

2007-12-11T09:22:00.001-05:00

Today is our Christmas party with the kids we know who are living on the street... around 100 kids, dozens of volunteers and staff, santa claus and pretty much complete madness...

we could use your prayers today. the party is from 6-10 this evening.

more soon about how it went!

Prohibitions

2007-12-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

thanks to my dear friend mallory, i read the prohibitions of the united states postal service regarding packages mailed to peru. this is the list of prohibitions. some of them are hilarious.

Prohibitions (130)

Accessories and personal items.

Agricultural pesticides containing active ingredients (ethylene dichloride, ethylene oxide, monocrotophos).

Arms and munitions including spare parts or other accessories and components.

Artificial flowers and interior ornaments.

Cartographic and geographic texts, books, floppy disks, video cassettes, and any medium containing a distortion or misrepresentation of the Peruvian national territory and its borders.

Ceramic products and imitation jewelry.

Cigars, cigarettes, and tobacco.

Coins; banknotes; currency notes (paper money); traveler’s checks; securities payable to bearer; platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not; precious stones; jewelry; and other valuable articles.

Clothing, accessories, and underwear.

Communist propaganda.

Contraceptive products, remedies, or apparatus.

Drinks manufactured abroad under the brand name “Pisco.”

Electrical household appliances.

Footwear, shoes, boots, and accessories.

Furs and clothing made of fur.

Gloves and hosiery.

Household articles of iron, steel, copper, and aluminum.

Household linens.

Lighters.

Organochlorinated pesticides and their derivatives and components.

Perfume products or soaps.

Perishable infectious biological substances.

Playing cards.

Pyrotechnic products.

Radioactive materials.

Samples of cigars, cigarettes, and tobacco.

Sound recorders and reproducing devices.

Textiles and carpets.

Toys and dolls of all kinds.

Toys known as “Yoyo Loco” or “Yoyo Chino.”

Travel articles, suitcases, attache cases, kits, or similar articles.

Used clothing and shoes.

Used tires.

Waxes and creams for shoes.

Wooden utensils.

what is it about those yoyo loco or yoyo chino dolls that makes it so you cant send them in the mail? and what's wrong with a wooden spoon or a dish towel or a pillowcase? and you can't send used clothes or socks or shoes? and who would want to send a used tire? and communist propaganda is prohibited, but what about fascist or otherwise? and no playing cards?? wow, usps is weird.

Two theatrical masterpieces in one week!

2007-12-05T17:49:00.000-05:00

We went to two really great shows in just one short week. First, for my birthday (yes my birthday was several months ago) we went to see Vuelo del Condor. It was this amazing show with crazy-flexible people doing insane things with an Inca theme. Here are a few pics:

the best part of Vuelo del Condor though was when the director chose David out of the audience to do this little skit type thing with him and David had to box with the man and he made him take his shirt off in front of hundreds of peruvians in the audience. good times had by all (except for maybe david). the show was fun, but david was the icing on the cake.

then a couple days later we went to colegio san adres' production of swan lake starring my beautiful and talented niece Isabel. Below are a couple pics of this masterpiece:

Being an aunt is fun.

thanksgiving!

2007-11-29T18:30:00.000-05:00

For thanksgiving we had dinner with the staff in the afternoon and then had desserts with all our volunteers and staff in the evening.

Yay for pies! Sarah and I (mostly Sarah) made 2 pumpkin pies, 1 sweet potato pie, 1 almond cake, 1 batch of peanut butter chip cookies, and 1 chocolate eclair cake. In addition Brian made 2 apple pies, Mona made a chocolate chip pie, David made sugar cookies, a few volunteers brought desserts, and we had quite a table of dulces. I'm thankful for my friends and this community!

This is the group of staff and volunteers and the table of desserts behind us. Everyone was having trouble listening to Brian as they stared at the pies and cakes.

And i'm thankful for beautiful sunsets from our roof and for my beautiful Sarah who i share a roof with.

I'm thankful. Plain and simple.

Menores Campamento 2007

2007-11-29T18:07:00.000-05:00

This is where we went for the camping trip with the boys.

Gotta love a HUGE campfire!

Below is us and the boys doing art. they were using things from nature to make their pictures: leaves, flowers, sticks, grass and other things. they turned out really cool (actually cooler than we thought they were going to).

bling bling

2007-11-28T17:52:00.000-05:00

today we hung out with some of the boys we know from the street. one of the boys was wearing his shirt we gave all the kids when we went on the camping trip. he ran up to us and showed us that he had put these little jewel sequence things on each of the O's in the bible verse. basically he pimped out his shirt from the camping trip.

on another note, forgive me for not blogging more. i haven't felt very inspired to blog lately. maybe i will feel more inspired soon. hope so.

Can I see some ID?

2007-11-16T14:58:00.001-05:00

I love peru. It gives me new stories everyday. Here is one:

Yesterday i go to the bank. The people who are on our bank account are Anna and Rachel. I am neither Anna nor Rachel. But i have a bank card and take money out of our account often. The options are to take money out of the ATM (max $500) or you can go inside the bank and tell the teller how much money you want out. Usually if i go inside i take out between $1,000 and $1,200. Yesterday though, the teller asked if i could show her my ID. Now of course i said i didn't have it because i'm neither Rachel nor Anna. She said that I couldn't take out that large of an amount of money without ID. I asked how much i could take out. She said only $950.

Are you serious? Why even ask for my ID? And then when i told her that i couldn't show my ID she still let me take out $950??

Scary. and funny.

Campamento 2007

2007-11-09T15:19:00.000-05:00

49 bug bites on my body. all together i would bet that the 13 boys, 6 servant team girls, 9 staff and 2 volunteers could count thousands of bites on our bodies. thousands.

the campamento was amazing.

this is what i learned:
1. all boys like throwing rocks (into the river, into the fire, at each other, it doesn't really matter at what)
2. all teenage boys are the same when taken out of their element
3. the boys we know are afraid of the dark, but not afraid of fights, drugs or STDs
4. the boys we know are quite capable of not using drugs
5. i like the boys much more when they aren't high
6. God thinks these boys are even more precious than we do. and that is pretty hugely precious because we adore these boys.

hopefully soon i'll post some pictures. the place we went was gorgeous, we had so much fun with the boys, it was nice to get away from all the things i've been thinking about lately, and the boys smiled more than i've ever seen.

God is good. and fully faithful.

now i'm going to take a nap.

camping trip 2007!

2007-11-07T07:19:00.000-05:00

lots going on... maybe one day i will feel done processing it all. for now i just wanted to ask for your prayers for our camping trip this week with the kids. we are taking 20 kids, 10 staff, the servant team of 6 girls, a busload of supplies, equipment and food and going away from Lima on a camping trip with some of the kids we know. PRAY FOR US!! the theme of the retreat is faithfulness so we will be talking about God's faithfulness to us and ours to him and each other. pray that hearts would move toward God, relationships would develop between us all, and that i have enough energy to spend three days with a bunch of teenagers.

may we each know God's peace today.

Dear self, welcome back to your blog...

2007-10-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

Hi friends, its been over a month since i've blogged, how horrible. it isn't because there hasn't been anything to blog about because boy, there sure has been. We haven't had internet at our house and that has way hindered the fun internet things because i'm always trying to do worky internet things when i actually do use the internet. but now we have internet in our house again! hip hip hooray!

So my promise to myself and the world is that i will blog soon. but not right now. right now i have to pack because i am leaving at 5 a.m. for SANTIAGO, CHILE!! We have a retreat for missionaries there and some of the friends from the other WMF fields are going too, so it should be a sweet reunion and a fun time in a new city. I'll tell you all about it when i get back. for now... i'm off to pack. and sleep. i love sleep. i don't love 5 a.m.

Santiago, Chile, here i come.

Wendell Berry

2007-09-22T10:51:00.001-05:00

I've been reading What Are People For? by Wendell Berry and these are some of his thoughts that really impacted me.

"The purpose of education with us, like the purpose of society with us, has been, and is, to get away from the small farm--indeed, from the small everything. The purpose of education has been to prepare people to 'take their places' in an industrial society, the assumption being that all small economic units are obsolete. And the superstition of education assumes that this 'place in society' is 'up.' 'Up' is the direction from small to big. Education is the way up. The popular aim of education is to put everybody 'on top.' Well, I think I hardly need to document the consequent pushing and trampling and kicking in the face...

What a trial, in fact, that is for us, and how guilty it proves us: we think it ordinary to spend twelve or sixteen ot twenty years of a person's life and many thousands of public dollars on 'education'--and not a dime or a thought on character. Of course, it is preposterous to suppose that character could be cultivated by any sort of public program. Persons of character are not public products. They are made my local cultures, local responsibilities. That we have so few such persons does not suggest that we ought to start character workshops in the schools. It does suggest that 'up' may be the wrong direction."

Campaign For A New National Anthem

2007-09-08T12:10:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about our national anthem and i think we should ditch the whole "Star-Spangled Banner" thing. Our country is based on more than just a piece of cloth waving in the wind during the chaotic burning of our nation's capitol. So i've been considering some new ones to put in the running for the non-existent contest that is currently going on. Here are some of the options:

SONGS FOR THE PEOPLE
by Frances E. W. Harper (abolitionist and women's suffrage activist)

But songs to thrill the hearts of men
With more abundant life.
Let me make the songs for the weary,
Amid life's fever and fret,
Till hearts shall relax their tension,
And careworn brows forget.

Let me sing for little children,
Before their footsteps stray,
Sweet anthems of love and duty,
To float o'er life's highway.

I would sing for the poor and aged,
When shadows dim their sight;
Of the bright and restful mansions,
Where there shall be no night.

Our world, so worn and weary,
Needs music, pure and strong,
To hush the jangle and discords
Of sorrow, pain, and wrong.

Music to soothe all its sorrow,
Till war and crime shall cease;
And the hearts of men grown tender
Girdle the world with peace.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
by Katherine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies, For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties Above the enameled plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet, Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale Of liberating strife
When once and twice, for man's avail Men lavished precious life!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee!

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE
by Samuel Francis Smith

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our father's God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING
by James Weldon Johnson

Lift every voice and sing,
'Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on 'til victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

WE SHALL OVERCOME
old negro spiritual

We shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day

The Lord will see us through, the Lord will see us through
The lord will see us through some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
The Lord will see us some day

We’re on to victory, we’re on to victory
We’re on to victory some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We’re on to victory some day

We’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand
We’ll walk hand in hand some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We’ll walk hand in hand some day

We are not afraid, we are not afraid
We are not afraid today
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We are not afraid today

The truth shall make us free, the truth shall make us free
The truth shall make us free some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
The truth shall make us free some day

We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace
We shall live in peace some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall live in peace some day

That's all the songs that are in the running for today... maybe we'll add some more soon. Any thoughts or submissions?

I have amazing friends.

2007-09-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

My friend Krista is an amazing dancer. She is involved in this show at Belhaven College where she teaches. Check out this article about it and then at the bottom of the article there is a link to a video clip of some of the pieces. She is the beautiful blonde dancer.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/FEAT05/709060310

New Life Motto

2007-09-04T14:59:00.000-05:00

Love is waiting.

This has been formulating since i moved to peru. and today i declare that it has come to be my life motto, at least for now. Whether waiting for kids to show up for a lunch date or Bible study, not really convinced that they will remember, or waiting for people to be ready to leave after a meeting, or waiting for them to finally sing happy birthday at a 4 hour long birthday party for a one-year-old who looks frightened by the loud music the entire 4 hour period, or waiting for a bus to come and then waiting as i sit on the bumpy, loud, dirty bus to arrive at some distant corner to visit a friend in their home, or waiting for Jesus to show up and make everything right in the world again, its all love.

So I wait. And I love. And I wait some more.

Greassy, Donating blood, and a new Servant Team...

2007-08-21T14:15:00.000-05:00

We survived the quake. This is an update on what has followed. sorta.

First of all, i would like to share with you a little story about the night of the quake. I went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for the soup we made and as i was going through the checkout line, it came to my attention that the checkout lady's name was GREASSY. She asked me if i had my bonus card and all i could thing was, "Your name is Greassy. Do you know what that means? What possessed your parents to name you that? Your name is Greassy." Instead I said no, i didn't have a bonus card. But then the earthquake happened, and it seemed a little insensitive to write funny blogs when serious stuff was happening. But i thought it was time to share about the lady at Metro whose name is Greassy. Rachel things they meant it to be like Gracie. She's nice like that. I just keep making fun of it.

Second, i would like to inform you that the no longer need any blood in all of Lima. What? Well, i went to Hospital Santa Rosa to see if we could give blood. The nice lady told me that they had enough and if i wanted to fill out a little form they could call me when they needed some. I said i could go to a different hospital. They said no, they have enough blood in all the hospitals. The banks are full. They can't take anymore blood. How can you have enough blood when thousands of people are injured just 90 miles south of here? I went again today and they told me once again that they don't need any blood. I just wanted to give something. anything. But they don't want my blood.

Thirdly, the servant team of 6 lovely ladies arrived on thursday. well, only two arrived on thursday because of hurricanes, thunderstorms and other natural disasters. the rest arrived the following night. They are excited to be here and are a great group. We've got vegetarians and carnivores, students and professionals, ex-military, blondes and brunettes, spanish-speaking and not, lots of laughter and lots of servants. We are excited about having them here. Please join with us in praying for them as they journey through these next 4 months with our community. Pray that our kids would receive them and that they would receive our kids.

Here is a pic of the servant team, staff, and the families that are hosting the team:

it's the end of the world as we know it...

2007-08-16T08:49:00.000-05:00

"The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it." Nahum 1:5

Yes, friends, the earth trembles at his presence. The mountains quake before him. So do the coasts. So does Pueblo Libre, our little barrio here in Lima. And it quakes enough to register 7.9 on the Richter scale. For those of you who are new to earthquakes, that is big. One might even say huge, catastrophic, ginormous.

I was at the Langley's making Tuscan Tomato soup. As i'm chopping tomatoes, i hear Brian say, "Is that a big truck?" As we looked around at each other and waited for it to pass, we all realized that it was very much not a big truck. Rachel, Brian, Natalia, Isabel, Sarah and I all proceeded to stand in the same doorway. 6 people in one doorway doesn't seem the safest. And I still had the knife in my hand from cutting the tomatoes, also not the safest. So the water was sloshing out of the fish tank all over the floor, the ceiling fan was a-swinging and we were all huddled in one doorway. Usually by this time the earthquake is done. Not this one. This one kept going. and going. and going. It shook long enough for Brian and Rachel to think, "Good thing we have a working contingency plan." and long enough for them to move with the girls to another doorway and long enough that I started to go back to the tomatoes and everything started shaking again. It finally stopped, we all calmed down, and the soup turned out delicious.

Phones aren't working well still. Lots of people are hurt south of here. There could be aftershocks. The servant team arrives tonight. Some buildings in Lima fell. It's really cold out. We could use a lot of prayer. But we are safe. Thanks for worrying about us.

Mi Cumple!

2007-08-10T16:28:00.001-05:00

My 23rd birthday... what to say? It was fantastic. I woke up to blueberry muffins (sarah brought the blueberries from the states dried because we don't have them here), fruit salad, fruit loops (which are a special splurge treat), peach juice, and tea. The friends all came over in the morning to celebrate, bringing fun and flowers and laughter. Here we are: Jose Luis, Luisa, me, Anna, Monica, Sarah and Sebastian.

Sebastian is a great artist and he made this card and everyone signed it for me. And Monica made me the crown to wear for the whole day. Its my tradition that I make a crown for all the staff on their birthday, and while I considered making one for myself, I'm glad that Monica made one for me.

In the afternoon we went downtown and walked around and went to this art exibition that was all made out of recycled materials. It was super cool. Then in the evening we went to the airport to pick up the Langley's and had a special treat of Papa John's pizza at the airport. No birthday is complete without the Papa! They even put candles in my pizza and sang to me!

Garments by Kalil Gibran

2007-08-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

"Upon a day Beauty and Ugliness met on the shore of a sea.

And they said to one another, "Let us bathe in the sea."

Then they disrobed and swam in the waters.

And after a while Ugliness came back to shore and garmented himself with the garments of Beauty and walked his way.

And Beauty too came out of the sea, and found not her raiment, and she was too shy to be naked, therefore she dressed herself with the raiment of Ugliness.

And Beauty walked her way.

And to this very day men and women mistake the one for the other.

Yet some there are who have beheld the face of Beauty, and they know her notwithstanding her garments.

And some there be who know the face of Ugliness, and the cloth conceals him not from their eyes."

May we recognize Beauty when we see her.

Why I like my job...

2007-08-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

The first couple days i was back in lima, i think i had sorta forgotten why i love my job. But then i started to remember. day by day, i started to remember.

This is a list of reasons i love my job:

1. Edith
2. Miguel
3. Sylvia
4. Carlos
5. Sandy
6. Patrick
7. Melanie
8. Kiara
9. Chinata
10. Jorge Luis
11. Daniel
12. Vanessa
13. Charly
14. Raquel
15. Vanesita

Thats only a few of the reasons. there are more. lots more.

Check this out...

2007-08-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

Chris Heuertz wrote this article for Lausanne. Thought you might like to take a look at it.

http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/812/09-2007

peace.

Classy and Graceful

2007-08-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

My Grandma passed away on Wednesday. These are some reflections to celebrate her life well lived.

Grandma loved life. She lived hers well. She loved a lot of things about life and loved a lot of people well. Grandma and Grandpa loved each other immensely. She traveled to Colorado and married Grandpa on the base before he got shipped off to fight in WWII. They had three kids together that were their pride in life. Then, one by one, they came to have 8 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Grandma's family was her priority, her sustenance, her joy. She poured herself into each of us fully and with great love.

Grandma was great at Wheel of Fortune. She almost always guessed the puzzles before me (and i consider myself a pretty good Wheel player). She loved Saunder's Hot Fudge, which she would spluge on sometimes and put a tablespoon on her vanilla frozen yogurt. She also loved orange sherbet; we share that love as well. Grandma made the best Chocolate Buttercream Cake in the world. It lives on, thanks to my cousin who makes it just about as well and with as much love because Grandma passed the love down with the recipe. From Grandma, I learned to love family, swimming, coffee cake, chicken paprikash, Wheel, giving gifts, and a slew of other things. I learned that loving involves sacrifice. I learned that there is nothing better than being with your family at the holidays. I learned that marriage is a gift, even when you get annoyed with each other. I learned that being a mother is a beautiful position in life, something to be valued. I learned that giving is better than receiving and comes with great joy. I remember hours of playing badmiton, bocce ball, bean bag toss, going for swims, and reading National Geographic at her house. I loved being at her house. I remember going shopping with her (her treat of course), cooking with her and learning her special recipes, celebrating birthdays and other holidays, and spending the night at her house. I remember coming home from school to Grandma cooking dinner at our house on nights that mom or dad were working. I remember waking up and having breakfast with them when they were living with us. They have been a huge part of my life and I'm grateful. They have shaped me and helped make me who I am.

Here are a couple stories about Grandma:

One day when Caldwell was visiting in Brighton, Grandma decided that she wanted to treat us to breakfast. She gave me $20. A few minutes later she called to me from her bedroom and exchanged the $20 for $50 and told me to have a nice breakfast. I told her that was excessive, but she insisted. Caldwell and I ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert that day on the money she gave us. Her generosity continued to surprise me even though she was always doing things like that for us.

Grandma would always insist that when the kids play cards that we shouldn't play for money. So if we lost, we would always say that Grandma didn't want us to play for money, but if we won, we would always insist that they pay us our winnings. And she let us get away with it everytime.

Grandma's hair was always done, her clothes pressed, and her make-up always looked nice. She was a classy woman, full of grace and dignity. She lived a full life, loved well, and left a legacy of her life in each of us who are the fruit of her love. I am deeply grateful for the life we have shared together.

Home sweet home

2007-07-29T15:42:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting in my apartment in Lima watching the flags blowing in the brisk, damp wind. The sun came out and the flags wave as if to welcome me back. Honestly, I don't know how i feel. The emotions range from tired, calm, and excited to exausted, grateful, lonely, and the list goes on.

I've been around the world and back. I've laughed and cried more with Caldwell in these 2 months than ever before. I've slept in the same bed for no more than 10 days over two months. I've been on 17 flights in 7 weeks. I've been blessed and challenged and loved. I've held Nepali babies and visited women leaving prostitution in Kolkata. I've climbed up to temples and drank gallons of Chai. I've traveled by plane, train, bus, rickshaw, car, and my own two feet. I've snuggled with my mom and touched my brothers soft face. I've gotten to know my vibrant 1 year old cousin and i've visited my frail grandma. I've laughed and worshipped with the amazing people that i serve with from all over the world. I've drank tea in Des Moines, swam in the Nebraska City pool, eaten Thai in Indianapolis, and barbequed hot dogs with my Dad and brother. So much has happened. Even as I write this, tears have begun to stream down my face. I have so much to process through.

Thank you to those who have made these weeks a blessing to me. I rest assured of my belovedness today.

I like my job. a lot.

2007-07-11T14:08:00.000-05:00

I had an amazing time in India and Nepal.

amazing. absolutely amazing.

The communities in Kathmandu and Kolkata welcomed me and allowed me to see their ministry and meet their friends and I was overwhelmed by their hospitality and their commitment to service among the poor. I had great food and lots of hugs, laughs, and warmth. I can't really describe my experiences here... let's have some coffee and i'll tell you all about it.

here is a pic of me with the staff in Kathmandu.

Caldwell and Linsey's Asian Adventures...

2007-07-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

Us in Kathmandu, Nepal

and in Shillong, India

and at the rainiest place on earth

Brrrr...

2007-05-30T23:17:00.000-05:00

It's official. This morning I saw my breath.

It is winter in Lima.

and i don't like it.

my Father's world

2007-05-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

It is always a spiritual battle.
Sometimes it is fought with rocks and broken bottles late at night.
Sometimes it is fought with fists,
with nightsticks,
with knives.
Other times it is fought with words,
with silence,
or with the withholding of love.
Sometimes it is sickness, deceit, or resentfulness.
It happens on the street, in our homes, in our churches.

Although they may be physical, emotional, sexual or psychological battles, they are always spiritual battles. It is always about more than drugs or jealousy or protecting territory. It is more than alcoholism or absent fathers. It is always a spiritual battle. It is Satan battling for the hearts and minds and lives of our friends on the street, of our families and of ourselves. It is a deep and continuous battle that keeps people in bondage. It is a battle for justice and rightousness.

In the world I see, the struggle and the injustice remain strong, prevalent and sometimes overbearing. I feel like we are losing the battle. Friends are getting kicked out of their houses and people we love are getting sick and the injustice seems to win.

"This is my Father's world. O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world. The battle is not done.
Jesus who died will be satisfied
and earth and heaven be one."

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:23

I sing praises to His name and I cry out on behalf of my friends who suffer and on behalf of our community that walks together though pain, suffering and inustice. I do my best to cling to the hope that one day every tear will be wiped away and the spiritual battle will be over and we will know--along with our friends who live on the street--only joy, peace and love in the presence of the Lord. All injustice will be replaced with the perfect righteousness of Jesus. And we will sing together praises and know for certain that this is our Father's world.

But today it remains a struggle.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2007-05-14T20:59:00.000-05:00

Things I'm learning that I love:

1. Gardening. I have tomatoes growing on our roof that I grew from seeds. I am so proud of them. And the cherry tomatoes that come off of those plants are so sweet! Today I bought rosemary, oregano and mint and planted them too. And my tomato plants were getting so big that they were falling over so i bought something to help them stand up. Such a fun hobby to grow vegetables and herbs on my roof in a city of 10 million people. Plants are so amazing. It amazes me that i can put a seed in the ground and i can tend it and take good care of it and then it produces fruit. How does a tomato come from a seed? There is nothing nourishing about a seed, there is nothing red or green or plump and juicy about a seed or dirt or a stem. But then after weeks something comes from that little tiny seed, something edible and delicious and beautiful. It really is very amazing to me.

2. Swimming. Monica and I have started swimming once a week before work for exercize. We go to this olympic size swimming pool at this park between where we live and the office. It only costs 5 soles and I am teaching Monica some strokes and getting some exercize. It wakes me up and gets me ready for the day and its so fun. I feel like its really stress relieving too.

3. Teaching. I love sharing knowledge with people. I love when someone shares an interest in something that I know about. I love teaching Monica how to fix her stroke. I helped Isabel with her math last week, and the moment when i saw the light bulb go on was so fun. I've also been teaching the lesson for our ministry to kids 13-17. I'm teaching about Jesus and I love it. I love when they remember what they learned the week before. And last week I was reading national geographic and Isa wanted to know what the article was about. so i started explaining the pictures and the fish crisis and the graphs and charts. it was so fun to see her interested, even fascinated. I love teaching little things like why putting salt in water makes it boil faster and teaching strategy in poker, i love teaching Spanish and I love teaching how to make a great cherry coke.

I like that i am not done learning about myself and i'm learning more about what i like and what i need and what makes me happy. i'm learning more about what God wants to do in my life and i'm learning more about what keeps God from doing what he wants in my life. I'm glad that i'm learning what i like because i need to do those thigns more. if i don't, i won't be able to minister to people very well. i need to love myself and do things that bring joy and life so that i have some life to offer to others. i'm still figuring that out. but i think at least i'm learning.

Funny things that have happened recently

2007-05-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to sit down and write blogs about several things that have happened recently, so here are some stories that will hopefully make you laugh. at least, they made me laugh.

Last week we went to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner. It is one of our Peruvian staff member's favorite restaurants, so we went there. The options for dinner were Chicken Cordon Bleu, Stuffed Veal, or a Vegetable Stuffed Chicken. How, you might ask, do they serve chicken and veal at a vegetarian restaurant? At least that is what i asked. Well, its because it is fake meat. But I feel like you should call it something different. Its not Chicken Cordon Bleu, Its a fake piece of grey matter with cheese and basil inside. And that, to me, is definitely not Cordon Bleu. The second half of the story has to do with five of us going to McDonalds afterward to eat hamburgers and drink fountain pop. (Monica and I get excited about fountain pop)

On Saturday we decided to have a poker night. Some of you may know, but I love poker. Thanks to the gambling that sorta runs in my genes, i just love it. So Sarah was talking smack the entire day. "I beat my family everytime we play, you better watch out" and "I'm so good at poker, none of you guys stant a chance at winning" were a couple of the things i remember hearing that day. So then we sat down to play. David says, "Ok, Texas Holdem, ante up." and Sarah says, "Ok, so whats the object of this game again? I mean like, do you try to get 3 of a kind or what?" David and I couldn't stop laughing.

We played poker with fruit loops. So David had his piles, reds and yellows were 5, greens were 10, and purple were 50. At one point, David lost a green fruit loop in his pile of reds and yellows. But he couldnt find it. He said, "Man, them green buggers kinda hide in those red and yellow ones." Monica and I looked at each other and looked back at him confused. How could green hide among red and yellow. That makes no sense. And then I remembered those little tests you have to take for colorblindness.

I realized they were exactly like a pile of fruit loops. I added one of the tests at the right so you can experience it. If you can't see the number at first then you too, might be colorblind. So the rest of the story is that all night David kept playing this little game where he would hide the green one among the red ones and see how long it took him to find it. It took him way to long and i started to get really nervous that he in fact is colorblind. So the next day we got online and took a bunch of tests and found out that David has red-green colorblindness. If you can't see the 29 at the right, take a few more tests, but its likely that you are too. Did you know that up to 20% of the White Male population is colorblind? Interesting, isn't it?

Then when Isabel was trying to comfort David because he was having trouble seeing the red numbers in the green circles, she said, "Well, its good you can't see red, thats the Buckeye color." (David is a crazy Florida Gators fan and Isabel's fam are Buckeyes)

I won our poker game, if you were wondering.

Mother's Day Prayer

2007-05-06T23:08:00.000-05:00

What would it like to be a mom? What would it be like to conceive a child, carry it to term, deliver it, provide it's every need, have that child be completely dependent on me for everything and then just when i'm getting used to it they become less dependent, start doing more and more on their own, I learn to trust them, allow them to fall sometimes, but i'm always there, always teaching, always learning. What would it be like to have two or three or more children?

What would it be like if I had my baby when I was 15? another when i was 17? What would it be like if the person I loved, the father of my baby, went to jail? What would it be like to raise a child on my own? What would it be like to try to figure out how to be a mom if i didn't have anyone who taught me or anyone to turn to? What would it be like to struggle to feed them, struggle to send them to school, not be able to help them with their homework because i didn't finish elementary school? what would it be like to feel like i was doing the best i could but that wasn't good enough? What would it be like to live with the fear that my child would end up with the same life I have?

I'm 22 years old. I love children, but i don't want any of my own right now. I'm not sure how I would do it.

But I have friends who are doing it. and they are doing an amazing job. they are doing the very best with what they have been given. they are beating odds. they are leaping over obstacles. sometimes they crash and burn, but they get up again. they are putting their whole selves into trying to make a better life for their children. I am amazed at the courage and determination of my friends: E who is taking care of both of her kids and her brother, V who has a newborn and a 4 year old, C who is raising three beautiful boys, D who's whole family depends on her but they don't realize it, and so many other amazing young women who i am privileged to know.

Please pray for the young mom's we know. They are beautiful and determined to provide better lives for their children than they have had. I marvel at their daily strength and the reality of their fragility. Join me in praying for these precious friends.

Raise your hand if you think Linsey is losing her mind...

2007-04-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

1. I made some pasta a few days ago and put some salt on it and then put the salt away, ate my pasta, and then took a nap. When i woke up from my nap i told sarah i still felt tired.
she said, "is that why you put the salt in the fridge?"
I said, "i didn't put the salt in the fridge. i put it on the shelf where it goes."
"then how did the salt get in the fridge," she asked me gently.
"i don't know, sarah, but why would i put the salt in the fridge?" she looked at me a little worried.
then i said, as i came to the realization of what i had done, "i put the salt in the fridge? who does that?"

2. Last week i had my pasta bowl on the counter and my cup next to it. i got the iced tea out of the fridge and began to pour my iced tea into my pasta bowl. i was about 4 ounces into the pouring when i realized that i was not in fact pouring into my glass, but instead into my bowl.

stress? did someone say stress? some common symptoms of stress are: confusion, loss of concentration and irrational behavior. i think these things qualify.

Sarah is so funny!

2007-04-23T18:01:00.000-05:00

The other day i was grating cheese. I asked Sarah if that was enough. She said, "Yeah, i think thats probably great." She waited a second and then said, "No pun intended."

Get it? Great-Grate! HA!

funny friends

2007-04-23T17:50:00.000-05:00

so here are some things that kids have worn or said in the last few weeks that have made us laugh:

1. Last week one of the younger kids know on the street was wearing a shirt that said "Great Freaking Pizza" on the back.

2. We were singing a song about Jesus being our friend. Sarah said, "Who has a friend who's name is Jesus?" and one of the boys said, "I do! He lives down the street from me!" (Jesus is a common name in Latin America.

3. We were playing a running game and one of the boys (the tallest in the group) had to run against David. He stood up in front of the whole group and said, "I have a complaint! How is anyone supposed to win when they are running against a guy that has legs like the twin towers? This guy has posts for legs!"

4. We were looking in the windows of this abandoned building the other day seeing if it could be a possibility for the new center. Monica had her face pressed against the window and somehow came away with a perfectly french-looking moustache. It looked something like this:

It was hot.

Thats all the funny stories for now... more to come. Life here is just really funny sometimes.

a new leaf

2007-04-23T17:47:00.000-05:00

so i'm starting this new phase of my life where running isn't a synonym for hell. i'm actually kind of enjoying it. and tonight we are going swimming. so poco a poco i'm getting back into actually moving once in awhile.

my favorite pastime is still napping though.

The Mis-Adventures of Monica and Tanya in Arica

2007-04-15T18:15:00.000-05:00

This is a tale of two girls who when to Arica, Chile to get a resident visa.

One day, Monica and her friend Linsey got in a bus and traveled for 20 hours to Tacna, Peru. Arriving there, they took a sketchy taxi with 5 other people across the Peru-Chile border. Linsey had to pay a $71 fee because she had overstayed her visa by 71 days. No, not 7 or 17 or even 70, but 71 entire days. Luckily they didn't immediately throw her in prison like they would in the States. Instead the man pleasantly told her that she owed a dollar for each day. So she went to the bank that was across the parking lot, paid her fine, went back to the other window, and was permitted to leave the country. After they confiscated their fruit of course. Chile is apparently very protective of their agriculture.

They arrived in Arica just in time to go to the consulate because it closed at 1:30 for lunch and siesta. Upon arrival, the man asked if she had her pictures, which she had never been informed that she needed. She didn't and the nearest place was in the center of town, so they knew they would have to wait for the next day.

They got pizza for lunch (3,000 pesos). When taking Monica's order, the man asked her her name and she told him. Then Linsey ordered, but the man didn't ask her name. When they brought out the food, they called Monica and then they called Tanya. Linsey said that her name wasn't Tanya, but the man said it was her food. Apparently the man wanted her name to be Tanya. So then for the rest of the trip, Monica called Linsey, Tanya.

Tanya and Monica spend the day thrift-store shopping and walking by the beach and watching crabs play. They watched 3 hours of tv in their hostal, drank some juice and ate some ice cream and then went to bed.

The next morning they got Tanya's pictures taken (1450 pesos) and then went back to the consulate. Just after arriving, a group of about 15 mormons arrived too. So the consulate man put Linsey's with theirs and so it took forever. Monica and Tanya read The Great Gatsby aloud to each other on the front lawn of the consulate. There were these obnoxious children shooting rubber bands at each other in the consulate that went and sat right next to us on the lawn. (they will show up in the story later) The mormons were busy prostelytizing the security guard. Finally, Tanya and the mormons received their resident visas.

Tanya and Monica had a nice lunch (2750 pesos) and ate berry ice cream (for the third time in two days since berry anything is hard to find in Lima) and then headed back to the bus station to return to Peru. They got in another sketchy taxi, this time with a girl who was sleeping on Tanya's shoulder the whole time. Everything went well crossing the border, thankfully. Now Tanya is a resident!

They got on their bus to go home (which they paid 80 soles instead of the 105 they paid on the way there). They expected it to be a little bit ghetto, but other things they did not expect. Things they did not expect:
1. The annoying kids from the consulate were sitting right in front of them.
2. They got stopped 5 times by customs. Each time they stopped the bus, yelled for all the people who were declaring things to get off, took out all the luggage, turned all the lights on in the bus, searched the bus, and then finally let us go on. (mind you, this is the middle of the night)
3. They didn't give them any information about whats going on.
4. They began rationing their food supply around noon.
5. They arrived in Lima at 6pm instead of the 1pm that they were scheduled to arrive.

Yes is was a bit of a misadventure, but Tanya is now a resident of Peru, has learned how to sleep on a bus overnight, is the proud owner of two new dresses, costing less the five dollars together (2500 pesos), ate berry ice cream (850 pesos), read half of The Great Gatsby, laughed A LOT, and has now been to 8 countries.

Thank you Latin America for giving me endless stories to tell.

Lima Beans

2007-04-15T18:08:00.000-05:00

After doing some research, I learned that Lima beans are so called because they originated in the Andean region of South America, namely Lima. Therefore, I am starting a campaign to stop pronoucing it Lima (LI-ma) beans and instead they should be called Lima (LEE-ma) beans.

Thank you for your participation in my campaign.

The Adventures of Mom and John in Lima

2007-04-15T17:38:00.000-05:00

Mom and John came for a visit. Here are a few pics of our time together.

This is me and mom in front of our friends Sarah and Eduardo's juice stand. They have the best popsicles (actually called Chups) in the world. John thinks so too. Not that John or i have traveled the whole world, but i would be willing to say that i can't imagine a better popsicle.

This is me explaining the menu at the restaurant. I'm not sure mom and John liked the food a lot, but i didn't at first either. It kinda grows on you after awhile. Or maybe when you live here you just decide to like things because you don't have another choice. But i really believe the food here is delicious. Some food at least.

This is Mom and John on top of Cerro San Cristobal. That is Lima behind them. Beautiful, smoggy, hazy, gray Lima. Home sweet home.

Overall we had a really great time. I'm glad they got to see my life here. And they brought me all kinds of goodies from home! YUM! :)

I miss Caldwell.

2007-03-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Adventures of Caldwell and Linsey in Lima

2007-03-18T16:13:00.000-05:00

Caldwell spent the last two weeks in lima and these are some stories and pics from our adventures together.

We went to Pisco, Ica, and Paracas together. Three cities along the coast south of lima. This is the candelabra that is on the side of a hill in the Paracas National Reserve. It is similar to the Nazca lines, dating to before the Inca Empire. No one really knows why this was carved or what it means.

We went to the Islas Ballestas where there are sea lions and penguins and the most birds i've ever seen in one place in my life. It is the top place to collect guano in the country or the world or something. It was so cool to see animals like that in the wild and not in the zoo!

This is us enjoying a couple of local delicacies: cow heart on a stick and an atomico which is a juice that contains all kinds of fruit, beer, an egg, syrups, pollen, and who knows what else.

Here are a few more pics from around lima:

this is us in the plaza mayor in downtown lima. below is us having breakfast by the ocean and us up on top of cerro san cristobal with all of lima behind us.

Peruvian Penguins

2007-03-16T23:49:00.000-05:00

Raise your hand if you knew there were penguins in peru.

anyone? anyone? didn't think so. me either. i mean, until a couple months ago when monica and her family went to see them. so then caldwell and i went to see them last weekend.

penguins living in the wild. you can only see that in three places: south africa (where my brother saw penguins), antarctica (which isn't exactly a frequently visited vacation spot), and these little islands off the coast of peru (where i saw real live penguins living in the wild).

i'm not sure if you think thats cool, but i think thats pretty stinkin' awesome.

the night sky

2007-03-16T23:35:00.000-05:00

last weekend i traveled outside of lima and i learned something very interesting. i used to think that there were only five stars in the peruvian sky. i was wrong. it turns out there are only five stars in lima, but there are actually millions in other parts of peru. who knew.

the dangers of the street

2007-03-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

last week i was out at night hanging out with some of our friends that live on the street.

i talked with F for awhile. he has a big smile and a sweet hug. i asked him how his day was. he told me about how he had peanut chicken for lunch. it was delicious. with rice and salad. and this scrumptious peanut sauce over the chicken. i told him about the pasta i had for lunch too, although his peanut chicken sounded better.

a bit later i talked with V for awhile. he asked me if i had seen the Alianza game. i hadn't. i don't really follow Alianza, but the kids inform me so i stay in the loop. they had won against their rival team. he explained all about all the players and what teams they were playing. he invited me to go with him sometime to watch a game. i told him i would love to. he told me about how sarah loves soccer, how shes a player. he loves sarah because they both love futbol.

awhile later i was sitting around the corner talking with a young girl when M came to tell me that the group was singing and getting ready to pass out the food. i told him i would be right there. he told me he thought it would be a good idea to leave from where i was. i asked why and he whispered to me that the boys that were a few feet away from me were smoking marajuana. it was a funny thought since he himself was high and was warning me about the other kids, but i thanked him for telling me and assured him i would be there in a second. he made me promise i would hurry.

as we were getting ready to leave i was standing talking with F, V, and M. some police arrived in their SUVs with their lights flashing and nightsticks in hand. one police walked up to me and asked me why i was there and if i knew how dangerous these kids were.

i almost laughed in his face.

i couldn't help but remember F's excitement about his peanut chicken and V's invitation to go to a futbol game with him and M's worry about me being near boys that were smoking. i remembered the week before when we went to the beach together and kept joking about how we were going to swim all the way to japan, how we buryied each other in the sand, and how we made sand angels. i have read the word with these boys, prayed with these boys and stood next to these boys in church. they have hugged me when i was sad and made me laugh when i felt like crying.

"do you know how dangerous these boys are?"

i didn't laugh at the policeman, even though i felt like it. instead i said simply the only thing that came to my mind, "these boys are my friends."

he looked at me like i was out of my mind. maybe i am.

its not that there aren't dangers on the street. there are. but i can assure you that the danger for me is not found in F, V, or M.

a different world

2007-02-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

it's so hot outside that there is warm water coming out of the kitchen sink.

Break my heart

2007-02-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

This is my new favorite music video (actually i think this is the first time i've ever said that i have a favorite music video):

http://www.reginaspektor.com/index2.html
click on Fidelity

the joys of intercultural communication

2007-02-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

so a couple weeks ago we got this great idea to play "what time is it Mr. Fox," a childhood favorite of mine with the younger kids we minister among. we haven't played a lot of organized games with them, so when we try to make our program like fifth grade gym class they get a little confused. and then we try to communicate the rules and they get even more confused. with this game they were not particularly confused, but laughed everytime i told them to say, "Que hora es Senorita Zorra." they played and had fun.

then a couple nights ago we were watching a movie with one of our peruvian friends, so we had the subtitles on. this guy said to this girl, "everyone knows your mom is a whore." and the translation on the subtitles was, "todos saben que tu mama es una ZORRA." (don't worry, we aren't watching filth... that was like the worst word in the whole movie)

monica screamed, "no wonder the kids were laughing at us! we were telling them to call you a bad name!" we asked Sebas and he said that it doesn't necessarily mean that here. thank goodness. it does mean female fox, but it does also mean something bad. after further research, it can mean, foxy, prostitute, vixen, drunken, or some other things, but mostly in other spanish-speaking countries.

moral of the story: if all the kids are laughing at you, there is probably a reason.

Vamos a la playa!

2007-02-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

Today we (monica, jill (a friend who is visiting) and me) went to the beach with some of our friends from the street. It wasn't like a ministry activity or anything, we just wanted to go to the beach and so we invited whoever wanted to come. We didn't know who would come or if anyone would show up.

We arrived at the meeting place to see C with a towel around his neck anxiously awaiting us. Then we see V a little farther down. They tell us that F and M are there too. We wait for E, P and S to show up. They get there too.

As the story goes, C was so excited that he ran around waking everyone up this morning. M was mad because he wasn't even gonna have time to get a change of clothes. V was mad because he didnt have time for breakfast. and they couldn't find F anywhere. so they finally just had to leave without him. they came on the bus even though they didn't have enough money for their fares. they dug up enough that the guy let them go, even though it still wasn't enough. and then when they got to the beach, there F was sleeping by the bridge where we were supposed to meet. they said he had been there since early in the morning.

A little later two guys from years ago show up. So they hang out with us. Then a little later three of the younger guys show up. So they hang out with us too. so our group went from 3 to 7 to 10 to 12 to 15 as the day went on. then we gave C the money for everyone's bus on the way home and he was running around saying, "and i'll pay your fare, and yours, and your fare and yours" as he pointed at the kids. it was cracking us up. he was acting like we had just put him in charge of 100 dollars.

i'm not sure if that story is going to be funny to anyone except for us, but i thought i'd share it because it makes me laugh everytime i think about it.

thanks, jesus, for days filled with laughter and joy and then amazing sunsets to seal the deal.

that's not normal!

2007-02-17T20:06:00.000-05:00

Friends, yesterday i took a five hour long nap. and i only woke up because Sarah woke me up to tell me it was time to leave. five hours. that has never happened to me before.

christian hardcore

2007-02-14T23:40:00.000-05:00

my favorite moment of today:

Sarah singing Christian hardcore. you know that deep scary singing in which you are sure the singer is ruining his vocal cords with every word he growls? you know my sweet friend sarah who takes care of our community and loves baking cookies? now put them together. she's actually pretty good. in a frightening sort of way.

i'm so cool.

2007-02-14T23:34:00.000-05:00

today the drummer from magic bullets totally called me to wish me a happy valentines day. yes, the drummer from a famous band called me in peru on valentines day. i'm not sure about you, but i think that makes me pretty cool. their new album is coming out soon. you should check it out.

comfortable

2007-02-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

i've been thinking about how some things in life give me comfort even if they are bad things.

it gives me comfort that every night when i go to the street, although everything may be changing and falling apart there will always be these few guys. the old school guys, as we call them. they are always there. and that gives me comfort. and i hate that. i want to hope and dream and wish and pray that one day i would go and none of them would be there, but part of my heart longs for constancy, sameness, order. they are like a permanent fixure there. and i hate that. and i want it to change. but still it gives me comfort.

it takes women on average 8 times of being beaten before they leave their husband. here i'm sure the statistic, if there even is one, would be much higher. they are hospitalized and yet they go back. one of our friends from the street goes at his girlfriend with a screwdriver. he surely could have hurt her very badly if no one was there to stop him. and last night they were loving on each other in the corner instead of participating in our activity. it made me sick. comfortable. drawn back to what we know. even if it hurts us. even if its a hopeless and dark place to return to. its comfortable.

our friend moves off the street, lives off the street, works off the street, is getting educated, studying the Word, and then one day just goes back to the street. he has all kinds of opportunities laid at his feet, all he has to do is pick them up. but he can't. he's afraid he will fumble them around or drop them if he picks them up. he believes that he belongs there. its where he's comfortable. even though its a dark and ugly place.

i have friends who care about the poor and sense the call of God on their lives that are serving Lattes at Starbucks to the men and women who go through the drive-thru on their way to work and on the way home. it has nothing to do with not wanting to serve God or not having the opportunity. it has everything to do with being comfortable.

and then there are some of us who serve among the poor who close ourselves off. its too uncomfortable to share ourselves. too hard to be hurt again. everytime a kid goes back to the street after being home i feel like my heart is being ripped out. a voice says to stop caring. it says its too hard to open up to broken, hurting people. but i realize that i am a broken hurting person. i love the comfortable.

i open myself and i close back up. i despair and i hope and i despair again. i cry and i laugh and i cry some more. i go to whats comfortable and then i step out only to shrink back into the comfortable again.

as much as i want life to be comfortable, it isn't. i struggle to hope and to laugh and to take opportunities and to step out and to open myself. i go back to the comfortable and then i start over again struggling to hope and to laugh and to take opportunities and to step out and to open myself.

His Ways Are Not Our Ways

2007-02-12T16:10:00.000-05:00

Hosea 6

1 "Come, let us return to the LORD.

He has torn us to pieces

but he will heal us;

he has injured us

but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will restore us,

that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;

let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

he will appear;

he will come to us like the winter rains,

like the spring rains that water the earth."

Come Lord Jesus, Come

The Colts Win the Superbowl!

2007-02-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, i'm in peru, but i just got back from Chili's watching the Colts dominate the Bears. A fajita pita with chicken and no onions, fries, heinz ketchup, salt and pepper on the tables, toilet paper in the bathrooms, good music in english, the whole bar area almost to ourselves, a frozen lemonade with grenadine, Bears fans to mess with, and watching the Colts take home the big win... i'm having trouble thinking of a better evening.

good times.

Monica promises to have pics up on her blog soon of the excitement (mine at least) and disappointment (monica and david's) of the evening.

Conversation between WMF missionaries

2007-02-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

(These conversations are approximately what was said, but may not be exact words)

conversation #1

David: Man, i'm tired.

Linsey: I know, me too, why do we have to be night missionaries? Why can't we just be day missionaries who stay locked in their compound at night?

conversation #2

Monica: So do you think that if we had a house on the beach and we let the kids come whenever they wanted and swim in the ocean that it could still be considered incarnational ministry?

Linsey: I think you need to look deep in your heart and answer that question for yourself.

Monica: Well, it would be like water therapy. Its really good for you, ya know.

for God a day is like a thousand years...

2007-02-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

I think maybe God lives on lima time.

Here is a list of some important events, crazy stories, and random Lima-ness:

1. Yesterday i got a call that one of our good friends was going into labor. David and i went to get them and took them to the hospital where we proceeded to wait for 5 hours before we knew anything. We finally got to see the mama but not the baby. Then we took the dad to another hospital because he had some pretty bad cuts from a fight he had gotten in earlier this week. So we proceeded to spend the second half of the day at another hospital. Today we got to go again and we saw the baby. They named her after me. She is so beautiful and has the most precious little hands and feet and little eyes. What a miracle of God newborn babies are.

2. Two days ago we were riding on the big red 87 (one of the busses) and we were stopped at a red light and our driver got off the bus and picked a fight with this taxi driver in front of us. They just started punching each other and going at it. The cobrador (the guy that collects the money on the bus) whipped him into shape and reminded him that he was working and we got on our way.

3. Last night Monica heard a loud noise and looked out her window and there was a bunch of guys fighting with broken glass. She went into the other room and the people down stairs were singing praise songs. A knife fight through one wall and praise songs through the other wall. Oh the paradoxical world we live in.

4. The other day we saw this big red 87 driving on the sidewalk. The big red 87 is appropriately named because it is the biggest public bus there is. And it was driving on the sidewalk to get around a stalled car. Yes, i said it was driving on the sidewalk.

Well... thats the news from around here. I'm sure in a couple more days there will be thousands more stories since every day is like a thousand years here.

Values of Peru

2007-01-19T15:14:00.000-05:00

Monica has this notebook that has the national anthem of peru and the four values of peru on the inside cover. I would like to add a commentary based on each of the values.

Value #1: Efficiency

The steps one must go through to get a package at the post office:
1. Wait in line at window number 1 with your package notice that was left at your house.
2. Go to window number two with the papers that the window number 1 lady gave you.
3. Give your passport to the window 2 lady, have her write down some things on another piece of paper.
4. Go to window number four line, get more papers from another lady.
5. Wait in the waiting area for up to the whole day. (Four hours in our case)
6. When they call your name go to the counter and watch them take all of the things out of your package and then pack it back up.
7. Go sit back down for 10 minutes more.
8. When they call your name you can go pay your fee (because it has been there more than two days because you have a life and can't spend everyday waiting in the post office the whole day) and they will give you your package.

Yep, that sounds efficient to me.

Value #2: Punctuality

Our work meetings start between 20 and 45 minutes late. When waiting for a peruvian to meet you somewhere, you have to wait for at least an hour to know if they are gonna show up. It is not uncommon to walk into church halfway through the sermon, completely missing worship, offering, and prayer time. There is never an ending time and often not a starting time (that is actually when it starts) for a peruvian party. And no one wears a watch in this country.

Value #3: Respect

Number of times a man yelled or whisted at me today: 10
Number of times a man stared at me in a gross way today: around 40

Value #4: Unity

Now on one hand i don't feel like i can joke about people here in the area of relationships. they clearly have a better understanding of valueing people than the culture i come from. if there is one thing that i do see here it is a value of friends and family. and i'm thankful for that because they have a lot to teach me in that area. in fact, that is why i get so frustrated with the lack of efficiency and punctuality. my culture is the most efficient, time-oriented, people-disregarding culture in the world possibly, so i do have something to learn from peruvian's sense of people being more important than tasks or time or results.

way to go peru, you got 1/4.

so then i started thinking about what we would say the four basic values of the US are. Maybe freedom (except for the wire-tapping and racial profiling), or justice (except for the people with mental illness that live under the bridge down the street and the kids that are trapped in cyclical poverty), or equality (except for the discrimination and the fact that there are significantly more blacks in prison than whites). OK, so we have our own problems.

way to go US, you got 0/3.

looks like we have a long way to go before a perfect world, whatever country you are in.

Halloween... a little late

2007-01-16T13:26:00.000-05:00

These are some pics from our fall fest we had at Monica's on Halloween. I realize this is way late, but these pictures make me laugh so i thought i'd post them.

6 pumkins: (left to right) toothless Katy, pirate Kristy, weird cat-like frenchman, staring Benja, tooty grin beach-going pumpkin, and laughing Linsey (they were dead serious and it was cracking me up!)

The whole fall fest gang: Katy, Kristy, Linsey, Benja, Timoteo (Bob Marley Peruano), Sarah, and Monica, and our two pumpkins

Home Sweet Home

2007-01-09T17:31:00.000-05:00

Here are some views of Lima for y'all to enjoy.

Above is the National futbol stadium. We play futbol out front with the kids sometimes.

These are some cars that are permanently located on the road between the Langley's and Monica's house.

Above is the River Rimac. Some of our friends live near it.

This pic is taken off of Monica's balcony.

This is us making an ice cream stop.

This is the National Cathedral

WHAT?

2007-01-08T17:35:00.000-05:00

This lovely home is in Punta Negra, Peru. Is this really bizarre to anyone else?

New Year Traditions in Lima

2007-01-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

Traditions from Lima, Peru:

1. Eat 12 grapes at midnight. (I did this and 12 grapes is a lot when they are those big fat ones with seeds in them instead of the little ones like in the States)

2. Wear yellow. Especially yellow underwear. (I did this. well, i wore a yellow lei, but not yellow underwear)

3. Take your empty suitcases outside and run around the block with them. Then you will have good luck in traveling in the year to come. (I did not do this although i wanted to)

4. Make a life-size doll out of old socks, clothes, rags, etc. and then burn it in the street. Out with the old and in with the new. (I did not do this, although I watched several dolls burning in the street outside our house)

5. Light off fireworks. Especially small children. (I did not do this, but I watched lots from the roof, all over the city they were going off)

6. Stay up SUPER late. (I did not do this. I no longer have the ability like i did in college. oh wait, i never was able to stay up late. I went to bed around 1:30 and the parties were still going, all the music was still blaring and the fireworks were still going off. I heard children laughing outside my window as i fell asleep at 1:30 am. that is just not normal! Sarah woke up to these kids lighting off firecrackers at 5 AM!)

7. Eating turkey, paneton, and hot chocoloate just like on Christmas. (I did not do this. I had some Egyptian food that Monica's parents made, ice cream, and some snacks. I hate paneton by the way)

Those are the New Year traditions here. Happy 2007!

Goodbye 2006

2006-12-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

I have compiled a list of important things that happened in my life in 2006:

*I started dating Caldwell Christopher Manners in January

*I was interviewed and approved by the WMF board in April

*I graduated from college in May

*I was a part of my childhood best friend's wedding in May and my college roommate's weddings in February and June

*I worked from May through September with adults with developmental disabilities

*I planted a vegetable garden in May and enjoyed cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini during the summer

*I had a garage sale in August and sold the majority of what i owned

*I drove to Omaha to be commissioned in October

*I moved to Lima, Peru October 18

*I lived at the foot of a volcano in Arequipa, Peru during November and December

*I celebrated my first Thanksgiving and Christmas away from my family

2006 might win as the most change-filled year of my life, or at least one of the top two or three so far. Let's see what 2007 has to hold!

Why Peruvians are smart #4

2006-12-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

I like peruvians because they don't lie. For instance, take a look at the difference between these two street signs.

This one, where the people are walking calmly across the street, is what you would find in the States. One the other hand, the one below is what you would find in Peru. Yes, the pedestrian appears to be running because, in fact, if you don't run you will be hit by an oncoming big red 87 (thats the bus i take sometimes).

So i like peruvians because they aren't afraid to be honest. If you don't run, you will be hit by a bus. There are signs indicating this fact and you should take them seriously. The best piece of advice for crossing the street in Lima is from the mouth of our very own Brian Langley, "Don't Die."

que precioso

2006-12-13T18:33:00.000-05:00

This is me with my friend Raquel's baby. Isn't he precious?

why peruvians are smart #3

2006-12-13T18:25:00.000-05:00

Today we went to a large store like you would find in the states. A bit wal-mart-ish. They have groceries, clothes, patio furniture, etc. The store is two levels. They have moving sidewalks that take you from the top level to the bottom level. No, not escalators, but inclined moving sidewalks. Why you might ask, would you not just want escalators. Well, because then you can take your shopping cart from one level to the next. Now it seems like that would be dangerous, right? Carts rolling down moving sidewalks, taking people out as they go. No, actually they thought of that too. The carts have a special stopper so that when it is on the sidewalk it gets caught so it can't roll away. It felt a bit like the Jetson's in a way.

They may not deliver packages to your house, have mexican restaurants, or sell frozen vegetables, but they do have inclined moving sidewalks and carts that are custom made to ride on the moving sidewalks.

He really meant what he said.

2006-12-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

Then Jesus said, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

We did that. It was crazy. and beautiful.

Christmas party in Arequipa

2006-12-11T09:52:00.000-05:00

These pics are from the Christmas party for the women of the church in Arequipa. One of my friends from the institute had the party at her house, shared a message, and we did a little christmas craft. The ladies had glitter all over them, it was so cute.

Important Community Updates

2006-12-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple important things going on with us right now:

1. Yesterday we put Brian and Rachel and Isabel on a plane to Iquitos, Peru to go meet their daughter. Today is the day they are meeting her! We are so excited! Also, previously I announced that her name is Eva, but they have decided to change their minds. Now they are considering Natalia which means comes at Christmas or Gabriela. But like my mom says, they'll know what to name her when they see her. So please be praying for this joyful addition to our community!

2. Today is our annual Christmas party with the kids that live on the street. I think this is the seventh year. We partner with another ministry, Semilla de Mostaza (Mustard Seed), and we have the capacity for 140 people. I'm not sure what you think, but I think that spells CRAZINESS! But we are super excited. We have been working on the dance that the north Americans always do. This year we are dancing to Stayin' Alive. Should be a good time. Pray that this would be a time for our kids to understand more about our Emmanuel, God With Us. Through all the food and dancing and word searches and Santa Claus and presents, I pray that they would know the joy of a God who doesn't desire to control or punish, but a God who desires to dwell among his beloved ones. May they know that they are those beloved ones whom he came to be among.

A BABY!!

2006-12-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

The Word Made Flesh Lima community is having a baby! Brian and Rachel are adopting a sweet little seven month old jewel from Iquitos, Peru. It sorta feels like in one day Rae got pregnant, carried her child to term, gave birth to baby Eva, and seven months went by! We are so filled with excitement! And Isabel is now an older sister! YAY!

Pray for Eva, Rachel, Brian, Isa, and all of us proud aunts and uncles in Lima!

Thanksgiving

2006-12-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple pics to assure you all that i did have an authentic American thanksgiving, although in Peru. Good times :)

things i´ve never seen in the US

2006-12-05T14:55:00.000-05:00

1. On Sunday I was sitting in the plaza de armas, this big park in the center of the city. I was waiting for my friend Raquel and doing some homework in addition to people watching. All of a sudden from around the corner came five giant walking condoms. Yes, you read right, five people in condom costumes walking around the square. Their signs read, ¨You and I can prevent HIV-AIDS.¨ I have a degree in family science and have seen a lot of things thanks to Lisa Pay and other professors, but never have I seen five giant walking condoms educating the public about HIV and AIDS.

2. Yesterday I was walking from my house to the internet cafe and the garbage truck drove by. It was playing the Titanic theme song, but the way ice cream trucks play music, no words, just the kinda high pitched tones. Why the garbage truck plays music, I dont know. Why the garbage truck is playing Celine Dion, i really dont know.

Near... Far... wherever you are... i believe that the heart does go on...

Why Peruvians are Smart #2

2006-12-01T19:26:00.000-05:00

So on our roof we have this stuff called sombra. Sombra is the Spanish word for shade. But its not just any shade.

So how many times have you been in the sun and its so hot you feel like you are going to melt but then you go in the shade and there is a little breeze and its just a tiny bit chilly and you wish you could have a little sun and a little shade. If you are thinking, wow that has never been a problem for me, then just ignore everything i am saying. but if you are thinking, wow yeah that is exactly what happens, then keep reading.

On our roof we have a space where there is some furniture to sit and enjoy the sun. But the sun here is really strong. But its also really windy, so if you are in the shade its a little cool. So we have this tarp-like thing as a little overhang. but its like mesh sorta. So it kinda blocks the sun, but not entirely. So i can sit on our roof and be warm, yet not frying, yet get a bit of a tan, yet not freeze. its the prefect plan. Graduation parties all over the US could be experiencing the wonderfulness of SOMBRA!

Arequipa may not have a steady internet connection, they buy their fruit and meat in open air markets, and they don´t have carpet, but the did think of sombra, and thats pretty exciting to me.

Why not everyone should have children

2006-12-01T19:11:00.000-05:00

I would like to share a conversation that took place between my mother and her hairdresser whom she has known for years.

Hairdresser: How´s Linsey?
Mom: Good... (sharing about me being in peru and studying at the institute, etc.)
Hairdresser: Wow, I bet its really hard to let your daughter move so far away likethat. I can´t even imagine how hard it must be.
Mom: Yeah, its hard but we know that she is where she is supposed to be and we really have a peace about that.
Hairdresser: I just cant imagine. I left my ferret for the first time last time i went hunting. I left him with my sister and as soon as i left the house i was crying so much i had to go back in to say goodbye again. I just kept thinking about him the whole time. It was so hard to leave him.

What? Your ferret? Until this conversation we thought that she was an emotionally stable person, but now I have my doubts.

Your ferret?

why peruvians are smart #1

2006-11-18T12:42:00.000-05:00

So i think i am going to start sharing with you reasons i think peruvians are smart. and let´s be honest, what i mean is smarter than me and the culture in which i grew up.
Today i was walking, as i am doing a lot lately since i´m in arequipa where i don´t really know anyone or my way around. i was passing through this park by where i am living and they were watering the grass. instead of purchasing sprinklers (the old fashioned kind) they had punched some holes in a pop bottle and had put it on the end of the hose. when the water came out of the hose, it went through the holes in the pop bottle, spraying every which way, and with some force too.
They may not own a microwave, have heat in their house, or have invented fast food, but they know how to make sprinklers out of pop bottles.
It´s brilliant.