Giving Thanks for all the Agricultural Workers of Peru

Typical Method of Carrying Supplies

Llama Peru

This morning as I drink the coffee from the high jungle of Peru, I cannot help but think of all the workers we met in clinic.  They work so very hard.  Some of the women now in their 70s still working the machete for 12 hour days.  I pray this morning that I will never again take for granted the gifts they have given me.  Not only the food the put on my table, or the coffee in my cup, but the gift of their smiles, encouraging spirit even in illness.  God bless the agricultural workers today of Peru and give them peace, wisdom, health and love.  Peace to you Pastor Georgia

More Prayer Requests from Nueva Vista & Tarapoto

Tarapoto Peru Sunrise

Here is the final list of prayer requests please add them to the others already posted.  These came from the last clinic day and from the service on Sunday:
Hilton - family and health
Miguel - children & health
Juana - health
Juan -health
Jimena - health
Giam - health & family
Anonymous woman - being abused by husband & for her daughter who is hearing the abuse
Amalia - family
Roberto - health
Julia - health
Raul - family, children, wife who is expecting, and new baby will be healthy
Grimanesa - health, children
Delia - health
Children names: Algia, Nidelto, Jean & Niva may they follow Christ

Jane, Ruth & Edna Evaluating Clinic Clients

Maria - health,

Sunday day of worship!

July 25, 2010  
When we arrived at the church....the congregation was already singing.  The man in front
with the accordion was playing and singing.  the rhythms was up beat with many clapping hands. 
When you are at the door entering the courtyard, picture in your mine, trees as roof, benches are full of people, chairs setting here and there with mother's and babies.  There is always a little activity with the younger children that do not set still and move to the rhythm of the music.  A lot of clapping of hands.
After Pastor Oscar said a few words, our group went down in front of the congregation to be introduced again.  As is the custom, a line is formed and we are greeted with a kiss on the cheek, shaking of hands with hugs and Dios De Bendiga (God Bless You).  You are greeted this way  and it is repeated when you leave.  There were probably close to 60 people including children.
There were several tables set up in the back.  When Georgia finished telling the story of Esther, the kids had 3 crafts, crowns with jewels they glued on, Dr George made origami swans and there were plenty of pages to color. 
Since this was the last day at the Church/clinic, there were many pictures taken.  After returning to the hotel and having lunch, we too the van to Lama.  A town settled by the Inca Indians.  The language spoken there is Quechua.  The statues in the square represented a part of their history.  We truly enjoyed the museum as there were fossils,  skeleton heads of the jungle animals, insects and beetles.  Each room showed the tools they used, and how their daily life was lived.  Each case seemed to have music involved.  The last case shoe the hand carved figures dancing.  Every Sunday after church, they eat outside or eat as a group.  Then that evening, the music starts and the dancing begins.  Every member of the family is a a part of the celebration.
Just a celebration of being neighbors and celebration of life.
We went up and down some narrow dirt roads and arrived at the El Castillo De Lamas.  The Castle is in the process of being built, but can be toured.
Our next stop was the Look Out Mountain.  A breath taking view of the mountains in what is considered the lower Amazon  The tops were crowned with light fluffy clouds that had the sky blue blended.

As we were returning to Tarapoto, we were going through town when we saw a group of people dancing.  The music was loud enough to tell all those close it was time to gather for the weekly dancing.  As we passed them and traveled further down the street, we could see many people coming from the side streets to join them.  What a privilege to see a tiny bit of the Inca culture.
God Bless

Edna

Jesus in a woman named Juana

Juana & Georgia

This is Juana a beautiful woman that George and I met today.  She is 84 years old and came to see us at the clinic at Buena Vista.  Juana just came to share that at 84 years of age she is lucky to be alive and feels well most days.  She cannot see very well but has a walking stick that she uses to get around.  George and I enjoyed listening to her explain that she knew God was always caring for her because she had enough to eat.  I asked her if she had a family and she cried explaining that she does not. 
I then asked if she could be my grandmother as I do not have a mother or grandmother and would like to pray for her.  This was welcomed with a toothless smile.  George and I listened some more and then she went on her way.  Yes we were blessed today by meeting Jesus in a woman named Juana.  Peace to you, pastor Georgia

This is the day the Lord has made...

Let us rejoice and be glad in it..No mater what you can rejoice in it.  Dear ones Thank you so much for your love, prayers, support and lots of encouragement.  Without for this would not be possible.  The day went well at the mission with us arriving at 8:30am and getting back to our hotel about 6:00 or so.  The people here and at the mission are wonderful people.  They are gracious and kind and very appreciative.  At the clinic Dr. George sees the patients and Georgia interprets.  A young Dr. Carlos from outside of Lima is here also.  His parents live in Tarapoto.  He is very kind and caring.  Kathyrn and Gladys work at the table where the medicine is distributed.  Gladys is our wonderful mission guide and also interprets.  She also fixes our delicious lunch and brings it to the mission with us.  Kathy check their temperature, pulse and also does diabetic checks.  Edna is taking their BP and I write it down.  All of the 20 volunteers are very helpful and kind.  They help help push Edna wheel chair.  They help with the people that are their calling their names when they are ready to see Dr. George or Dr. Carlos.  They help us in so many special ways.  Their pastor is a very special man that always opens with prayers and singing praises to the Lord.  The volunteers without their help this mission would be impossible.  Ruth continues to do BP and to help with the dentist. Cathy the dentist is extracting teeth and doing check ups.  Cathy is from Texas like me.  Rita also interprets for Cathy and all of us.  The Lord has made this place and everyone here.  The people are such a blessing.  We pray together and also help one another.  We leave them in God's hands and the leave us as well. 

The picture is of the main source of transportation in Tarapoto.  This is how we return to our hotels with our medicine bags in back.  They go very fast and we pray while we ride home!  Peace to you, Jane

Prayer requests From Thursday

 Katie, Jane and children jumping rope while waiting for clinic appointments.

Marmita for her husband, children and her health

Amalia for the family Peña Sangama

Roberto for his health

Julia for her health

Raul for his family

Grimanesa health & her 5 children that they will follow Christ

Delia for her family

Milton his health and his family

Pedro for all the churches of Peru

7-22-10 Clinic day, Testimony Day

Cathy & Rita pulling teeth (ouch)!

Today I Edna had the privledge of sharing my personal testimony with the people at the clinic.  Pastor Oscar said an opening day songs and prayer and I was happy to hell them how Jesus has worked in my life.  Then our day began as usual..8:30am-we took the clinic (Tarapoto Primera Metodista Iglesia).  In that place we felt such a beautiful spirit.  There were people already waiting on us.  Those of us (Kathy, Ruth and myself) moved to higher ground as the table was wobbly and out of balanced.  I might explain the compound is a dirt floor that angles down very close to a 45 degree angle.  We are to the left as the covered areas seperating specific needs.  The Peruvian people are very resiliant.  We have seen adults as well as children have a tooth/teeth pulled and later playing or visiting an hour later.  As if it was nothing more than putting a bandaid on a scratch.  Every man woman and child that came to us (Kathy, Jane and myself) for blood pressure, etc taken -  We discovered another spirit of life.  Their practice of kissing the cheek, shaking hands and hugging is a part of their life.  One woman in particular stays in my mind.  She was approximately 82- Her hands were very strong but you could feel her flesh on her bones.    She was so happy to be there.  She ask very little of us except to help her as best as we could.  Although she explained her illness it was never with a bitter mood, and was more than glad to be there two days if that was what she needed to do to see Dr. George or Dr. Carlos.  Some would travel as far as 30 miles out or 4 hours to be here in a dirt floor clinic with a couple of chickens and a rooster, and not to forget a little dog.  It is the greatest blessing to be here with the brothers and sisters in Christ who have taught us more than any university degree.  Only the tip of the ice berg- this was a very small part of one day.                                   With Love, Edna Williams :)

Tarapoto, Peru - Clinic Wed. 7-21-10

¡Hola! from Tarapoto, Peru.  What a beautiful day it was again today as temperatures have been abnormally cool. We were greeted today, our second day at the work site, by 100-150 people (some returning from yesterday and many new ones). Our day began with greeting, singing, & praising.  We completed approximately 75 patients and have about that many more for tomorrow.  We have shared laughter, tears, prayers and a part of ourselves.  Our dentist (Cathy) was on site today to perform dental checks, answered inquiries, extracted several teeth, showed children how to properly brush their teeth and stressed how important dental hygiene is.  Toothbrushes and toothpaste were handed out. We have experienced many new things , met many new friends, and learned much about Peruvian culture.We all give thanks for the opportunity to serve God in this capacity. We pray that our words and works are as much of a blessing to the Peruvian people as it is to us.  We look forward to our day in service tomorrow. Blessings and love to all of you who have kept us is your thoughts and prayers.  Kathy Vaughan

Prayer requests

Ananias health
Flor health
Andrea health
Olga her church[Tres Unidos
Luany salvation of her children
Luciola Prayers for her family and health
Maria her family and her health
Ruth prayers for her family
Remigio health
Oclilio  health
Leonor Health & her family return to God
Esmith health and her husband is an alcoholic
Claudia physical and spiritual health
Neith for her children
Victor for his spiritual health
Josefa her life, her children and for Jorge who is an alcoholic
Victor health & for children
Patricia for her family, dauther, health, and her husband´s work...also her spiritual life
Requina health and spiritual health
Tony health, family, parents, & her life
Victoria health
Gsleiten prayers family accept Christ
Armendo spiritual prayers
Ezequiel health
Maria health, family, husband
Daniel (baby) needs hernia surgery
Elisabeth health

Blood Pressures, Pulse, and Temperature...oh my!

¡Hola! First workday in Tarapoto! Katie testing blood pressure equipment on Ruth. We were planning to set up our medical supplies, etc. and start seeing patients at 1PM. but there were 100-200 people waiting when we got there.  There was a wonderful greeting ceremony...the traditional Peruvian cheek kiss from everyone there to each of us! The worksite was under some shady mango trees, but a little more primitive than we might have anticipated, what with the chickens and dog running among us. There'll be more people tomorrow!  Today we saw all kinds of ailments, found an undiagnosed diabetic, and a case of extreme high blood pressure. Some had come from far away, and had waited since 4 AM to be seen. All that were seen were so appreciative and thankful. We look forward to serving many more tomorrow. Our dentist, Kathy, has arrived and will be on site tomorrow. Yours in Christ,  Rita

Prayer requests

These are the prayer requests we received while at our first day of clinic.
1. Miranda for her health and her spirit
2.Maria for her health
3.Janita for her health
4. Cruzilda prayers for her
5. Hilda prayers for her
6. For the mother of Adriano

Peace!
Pastor Georgia

And the greatest of these I tell you is love.

While we close this chapter of our journey to Peru I wanted to share some thoughts with you.


I had really hoped to write sooner but we have been so busy that I haven’t had the time until now.

As God would have it, this trip exceeded all of my expectations. The love and support that we have had the opportunity to share with the people of Peru has been returned tenfold. While we were able to offer our hands to help, most importantly, we shared in the spirit of Christ, which offered hope to those in need. I thank God for this opportunity and to be able to share it with my family brought great joy to me.

Besides doing a presentation to over 50 people in the community while in Peru we also were able to perform wheelchair evaluations for around 20 people. Working with the little resources we had available we were able to make modifications, repairs, adaptations and recommendations they needed. With some of the material we had brought we were even able to build a complete seating system for a little girl and installed it in a chair that Becky had transported on the plane. (see photos below)



Thanks to everyone for helping make the trip so special for Becky. While change is sometimes difficult for her she handled a wide variety of changes from the bumpy van rides to various foods to church singing and she made it through it all!



I am also grateful for the opportunity to share this experience with Carol. Most mission trips I struggle with putting into words the overall experience and to have her share in this made it even more special.



To Michelle, for all of her help and friendship, Beth, for her enthusiasm, Steve for his friendship and continual support, Dwayne for his hard work, Rita for her translations, and Georgia for all of her encouragement, for without her, this trip would not have been possible.
Muchas Gracias,

Adios

Dale

Welcome to Peru!!!

Hola amigos!!!  Our flights went great!! (even thought they were super early), and all the luggage made it!!! After arriving late into Lima we met up with our good friends Gladis and Raul, and headed to the Cathlolic House (Catholic Hostile). When we arrived many people in the lobby were singing and praising! It was thier prayer or worship day. They had an ALL night mass service and we could hear them singing until early the next morning! They are so thankful for what they have, and many of those people have nothing. The next morning we headed to breakfast at the hostile and met a wonderfull lady, Sister Maria. She was very kind to us and made sure all of us had what we needed. After breakfast we took a quick walk around Lima. Its quite chilly in Lima during this time of year since it is thier winter time. We were quite suprised. After we headed back we went to a very small and pleasant Methodist church. EVERYONE there was overwhelmed with joy to see us. Many of them came up to us and hugged us and then kissed our cheek. I was kind of shocked at first, but then I realized its normal. :) After church we headed to lunch. The 18th of July is Dia de Pollo (Chicken Day) , so each one of us got a free 1/4 chicken with our already large meal. Next we headed to the market. There was so many things there!!!! After an hour or so we headed back to the hostile for the night. We were exausted. We ate dinner in the hostile and prepared our bodies and minds for the adventure ahead. Today we arrived in our final destination at Tarapoto, Peru. We had to wake up at 3am, and our flight was scheduled for 6:30am. Everything and everyone arrived safely. Tarapoto is BEAUTIFUL!!!! When we got of the plane there was moutains everywhere. Gentlemen from the hotel picked our luggage and transported us to the hotel (which is very nice). They even carried all our luggage to our rooms for us! As a welcoming gift a young women brought us each  a glass of grape juice! It was delicious. We are at the hotel, and going to rest for a couple hours before going to lunch and checking out the worksite!
- Katie :)

Last Day

The last day at CASP was a hectic but, fulfilling day. It was a day full of emotion as our team knew we were going to be breaking up and leaving to either go to another location or returning home to see family. Rita and Georgia will be meeting another group to travel to Tarapoto and the rest of us left on a 1:00 AM flight to head to the states. I feel I can speak for the group returning to the US that we are glad to go home and see our families and friends but, also a little sad to leave a lot of "unfinished" work (and friends) in Peru. Maybe a few people noticed that I did not blog until after I landed back into the US. That is only because I found myself working feverishly right up the last minute trying to piece together wheelchairs, trying to rob pieces from one or two to make another safe and operable. We made sure that wheelchairs were identified as "safe", "repairable" or "do not use". Dale, Carol, Dwayne and Georgia took the time to visit a mother in her home whose son is in hospice. It was my understanding that they were very touched by the visit. Becky, Rita, Michelle and Beth were busy cleaning up the odds and ends (which there are always many). The school prepared and presented each of us a small gift. I, for one, was very touched. Before entering into the log jam (better known as the highway to the airport) we took the opportunity to visit Circuito Magico del Agua. This is a park in the city of Lima that has 13 unique fountains. At dark they are lighted up.

Thank you to everyone who supported us financially and prayerfully

Steve

Potatoes!

Good day from Peru! Wow! We´re all doing fine here. The work we originally had in mind is far from finished, but we´ve accomplished even more things and have to leave sometime. Dale thought he would give some individual consultations after the big presentation on Saturday, but he´s been seeing wheel chair clients steadily every single day since then, and there have been two more presentations also. See the link to watch. We did a lot of construction and painting projects, and are leaving supplies that the Maestro (that´s his nickname) can do later. We also have purchased quite a few tools and supplies to leave here at CASP for their use. On Thursday we went to the International Potato Center. They don´t allow a lot of tourists, because they are a research facility. They maintain a seed bank for the thousands of varieties of potatoes in the whole world. We saw the scientists, microscopes, and row upon row of tiny tiny plants in test tubes at a very cold temp. If something were to happen to one of the potatoes that they´d developed over hundreds of yrs., they could go to the seed bank and retrieve their variety. An example is like when the Shining Path terrorists were in Peru a few yrs. ago and villagers were afraid to go out to their fields, therefore losing all their potatoes. Then we had the honor of being invited to Dr. Liliana Mayo´s house for supper.  She´s the founder of CASP.  I say honor because on her wall she has pix of herself with the Queen of Spain, and the the secr-general of the UN.  And she took the time at supper to thank each of us individually for our efforts at the Ann Sullivan Center.  She learned our names the first day here! We will all have wonderful memories of this school, and are all planning our next trip back.   Paz, Rita

Busy, busy

Tuesday everyone on the team was busy, busy, busy.  I found Dwayne up on the roof--it´s where the students practice their laundry skills--and he was painting the cage that protects a compressor.  Beth and Michelle were down in the store room area painting the shaped mats that the physical therapist will use, directing a student to stand on the red square or the green triangle, etc. The girls likened themselves to surgeons, with their white dust masks and big rubber gloves. Dale and Steve were holding a seating clinic, evaluating the needs of various clients, both children and adults.  They´re doing the same thing today, but have just about run out of all the wheel chair parts we brought with us. Georgia translated for them. Becky didn´t get to go to the dance class yesterday because the teacher had fallen and broken her foot, so Becky helped supervise the painting and wheelchair projects. Carol, Becky, Georgia, and Dwayne gave a presentation for a parents´meeting.  It really meant a lot to those parents that people around the world have the same problems and challenges.  As for me yesterday, you can tell I was all over the place--giving Georgia a break at the translating, drawing more forms so that someone could cut them for the girls, and accompanying Dwayne and Steve to the hardware store.  The guys stayed late at CASP and the female team members left and attended a UMW meeting at the church we attended Sunday.  Sweet ladies, studying the Methodist traditions. They were so welcoming.  We sang too, and had snacks (we love those banana chips!) and exchanged gifts.  The cheek kiss on meeting and leaving is becoming more natural for us, and the ladies there loved it when Michelle told one she smelled nice! Good-bye for now.  We are all well and fine, and we´re trusting God´s taking care of all our families back home!   In his name,   Rita

Day by Day

Each day brings new activities, friends and opportunities.  Today we worked on 6 wheel chairs so far, fixed a compressor, gave 2 presentations, cut circles, squares, triangles, and moon shapes and painted them.  We held hands, cried, laugh and ate a brief lunch.  We were inspired by families stories of caring for children with different abilities.  What a blessing each child here and family member.  We have several hours to go yet today and I am sure several hundred more kisses.  Each day we go to bed with tired bodies but full hearts.  Peace to you Pastor Georgia

Peruvian Paso

These horses were brought to Peru from Andalusia Spain during the time of the conquistador.  The horses here in Peru are called "Los caballos de Peruvian Paso. . The horses of the Peruvian dance."

Please watch the video below by clicking on the Peruvian Paso and observe their elegant dance steps.
Peace!
Pastor Georgia

Peruvian Paso

July 11 2010

Yesterday we went to a very small church where we met many caring people.  Although there were about 20 people including us, you could tell that they were very welcoming.  At the end of the service they served us tamales and coffee.  Then we were off to see the Peruvian horses!  We drove through a very poor part of Peru and were amazed to see the conditions in which people were living.  Many people were living in shacks along the side of a mountain.  After driving on a dirt road for what seemed like 20 minutes, we arrived at a black door.  Raul knocked on the door and a man opened the door, which lead to a gravel road.  We parked and were greated by a woman in all white, she was to be one of our guides for the day.  After walking up a small hill, we were greated by another woman who was predominantely dressed in white which was our other guide.  We walked through a canopy of trees to a covered area where we sat in wicker chairs with white cushions.  The women spoke about the different stages of training that the horses went through while men road the horses around the courtyard showing us different tricks.  After the presention was finished, a woman danced in ethnic dress while a man on a horse danced along with her.  We were then lead to a beautifully decorated table where we ate a dinner consisting of chicken, rice, beans, and salad.  It was amazing!  Dessert included ice cream (vanilla, Lucuma, and chocolate) and papaya.  We were able to ride the horses as well!  Everyone took pictures with the horses that were shown and also the horses in the stables.  The landscape was magnificant!  We could see the Andies mountains in the distance and the plants that bordered the area were vibrant.  The women were very welcoming and made our stay unforgetable.  After we left the horse ranch we went to a Peruvian market.  People came up to us trying to sell whatever they could varying from scarves to ceramic pots.  After the market we went to the Catholic House and ate dinner with Raul and Gladys who brought cake.  We played a few card games and went to bed.

Adios!
Michelle

July 10 Presentation

Hola.  Saturday was a big day for us.  The wheel chair/accessibility presentation was very well received. CASP is indeed a school, but don´t "graduate" kids out of the program at any specified age, like we do in the USA.  There were more adults in wheelchairs in attendance than I´d ever anticipated.  Georgia and Dwayne and Dale and Carol talked about their own challenges in raising children with different abilities.  Then Dale talked about the importance of proper seating. For example, you can take a person whose spine is bent so that they´re always looking down, and adjust with a cushion or something like that so he´ll look naturally out & up at the world.  Everyone in the question-answer period was so thankful, even emotional. They had never been fitted for their chairs, just using whatever they could get their hands on. I think ALL of them were using foam rubber cushions, which give no support. They really need gel-filled ones. Several couldn´t reach the foot rests--one mans feet rested on a cord stretched between the foot rest supports. One young woman had a youth chair, but she would benefit from putting larger wheels on it so she wouldn´t have to push as frequently to cover distances.  Her story was something else! Because of her disability, shed been left to sit at home all day.´They lived in a small village and were quite poor.  Not even a wheelchair. Never got to go to school.   She had two brothers.  One went to Lima and worked as a taxi driver.  He delivered someone one day to CASP and found out what they did here, and asked if he could bring his little brother with Downs Syndrome there. Well, she got to come too, and in a very short time got caught up in learning to read and write. Today she works at a bank in the accounting dept. As everyone left Dale´s program, they had to cheek-kiss everyone of us, of course.  We´re getting to like this type of greeting / good-bye. Earlier, the director had them sing me happy birthday, and I was so impressed that altho´ everyone had come to this presentation with their own concerns & preoccupations, as they kissed good-bye, they remembered to wish me a happy birthday with true sincerity .  Very touching. The cheek-kiss is such a part of the lifestyle here. We sat in on a class, and one boy came in quite late, but still went around the room, kissing every student and also his teacher.  I was thinking how I would have reacted if one of my students in Kansas had come in and planted a kiss on my cheek! When we went back to where we were staying, our supper was ready, and Gladys and Raul brought a Birthday Cake!   It was a chocolate layer cake with lucuma (a Peruvian fruit)  kind of gelatin-like filling and frosting.  They´d remembered that when we were shopping that I got lucuma ice cream and made a big deal out of it. Yes, I did have a good day, (we all did), altho´ even with a sweater and jacket, I´m still always chilly!
Por Rita

Monday, July 12, 2010- "The Missionaries of the Traveling Toilet Seat"

Today has been fun so far. We woke up at about 6:00 and 6:30 this morning. A few of us went on a walk through Lima before breakfast while others stayed behind and either slept or took a cold shower. After breakfast we headed to the school we´re working at. We had to take our cameras and water and also a toilet seat. A few places don´t have toilet seats so we bring one for ourselves. We call ourselves "The Missionaries of the Traveling Toilet Seat". :) Right now, Dale is working on two wheelchairs, Dwayne and Rita are cutting out  rubber shapes for a physical therapy class, and Steve is helping with a canopy to cover a laundry area. There is an eye clinic going on on the top floor and many of us are heading up there to observe. The eye doctor here is from Salina, Kansas. Michelle and I are going to help paint Dwayne´s shapes once we are done at the eye clinic. Carol, Becky, and Georgia got to go to a dance class right before lunch. They had a really great time there. We´re going to head back to the church we´re staying at at 4:00. We´re going to stop by the store on the way there. Then we have dinner at 7:00, and finally we´re going to have a very competitive game of spoons before bed. Then, before we know it, it will be time to wake up for yet another fun day.
Beth Bolander

This is a baby from the nursery.

Team wheels del peru

(in the picture Georgia, Carol, Lilliana, & mother's from CASP)

Dear Family and friends greeting from Peru. i write today to tell you that we are well and enjoying the company of many old friends and making new ones as well . Yesterday we went shopping at what would be like the Home Depot with a man we call the Maestro he is in charge of all the maintenance in this facility. we will be painting, and constructing a cover for the laundry area and the washing area, also relocating a compressor and enclosing it from the weather and also doing some upholstery work on the children's bus. 

Today we met many of the special families and some of the children.  Georgia, Dale & Carol  gave presentations today that were well received by all.  today we are also going shopping. I would like to thank you  for all your prayers for us while we are away may gods grace and peace find you and console you while we continue to do Gods work in Peru, in the name of Jesus.  Dwayne Glisson

Blessings in Peru

Hola to all our family and friends,

After a very enlightening day at CASP, were we learned so much about this amazing school, its history, philosophy and their love for one another we made a stop at "Wongs" (wallmart) and everyone picked up different items from fruit, shampoo to flowers. We were all very tired from our travels the day before so we headed back to the Catholic School for dinner, devotions and a good night sleep. Before dinner we heard  band music coming from the courtyard and upon investigation were delighted to be entertained by the Catholic schools all girl marching band practicing for distirct wide compitition this Saturday. The children where delightful and they ranged from six to eleven years in age. Dinner was provided by the Catholic school and it was off to bed. This morning started with breakfast, a happy birthday song and off to CASP for a work day with a variety of plans; some building equipment, shopping for supplies and others meeting and practicing for presentation tomorrow.
Watch for video of band and more later from Peru!
Peace and Love to those at home,
Carol

Our First Day!

Our flight and airport experiences were amazing.  There were no problems with customs and everyone arrived safely.  We arrived at the Catholic House, but no one was there so we decided to spend the night at a hotel nearby.  The people were very accomodating and made us feel comfortable.  Today we arrived at CASP, which stands for Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru, where we met Liliana Mayo and many other staff members.  They welcomed us with open arms and greated us with a service dog raised in Salina, KS.  The dog´s name is Tempe and Becky is in love with him.  We will post soon!
Love,
Michelle

We and all our luggage...

Made it safely and well.  Thank you for praying for our first team.  We will be blogging in a little bit about our travels yesterday.  Peace to you!  Pastor Georgia

Meet Michelle Wheels team mate!

I am going on this mission trip because I am passionate about helping people. I know that I will change many people’s lives while they are changing mine. My life is going to change significantly as I strengthen my relationship with God. This is the first time I have been out of the country and I am excited to experience another culture. I am also very excited to share this experience with Becky. She is a very important person in my life and seeing how she interacts with people from another culture will be very uplifting.

Max a team member in Spirit - Gives a great gift to the people of Peru

Max was interested in the success of the Peru trip from the time it was first mentioned and started giving a little extra to the church to help towards the expense of the trip.

When he passed away, I felt it was not only important to keep with the giving plan he had established, but to also speak to the family about possibly using his memorial for the same cause, and they all agreed.  Since he had suffered through some serious health problems before his death, I feel he would be very pleased to know his memorial is going to ease the suffering of others or possible even save their lives.

Max was a really fun guy, he absolutely loved funny jokes and stories and could barely retell them without laughing hysterically again.  He was very quiet, but loved being with friends and family.  He liked to read and travel and being on the computer, also playing computer games with Grayson, his grandson.  He liked volunteering and felt it was important to pass on the blessing he had received, and enjoyed working on projects at church with his friends on the trustees.

Packing Packing Packing

Now the suitcases are all lined up and items are beginning to go in.  

While you are packing don't forget to add three key items for your journey otherwise when you arrive in Peru you will find you needed these items the most.


Love- Pack an extra helping of love in your suitcase.  A willingness to love whomever is in your path.  And in the words of Pastor Rudy pratice saying.  "Te Quiero y no hay nada que puedes hacer"
(Translation "I love you and there is nothing you can do about it)


Servanthood- An additude of servant hood that will do whatever you are asked to do.  Does not matter how silly or odd, or weird you will do the work you are asked.


Grace- Extend grace to everyone you meet...even if it is not extended to you.


If you go with these three items in your suitcase you will have it made!  Peace to you!  Pastor Georgia

Dedication Service

On Monday July 5th from 6:30-7:00 Oakland United Methodist Church will be sending off the Peru teams.  Please come if you are able and send us off.  If you are unable to join and wish to let us know you are praying for us please comment on the blog.  Peace!For churches location click here :)

Suitcases & Help

"Waiting"

Team needs the following items: old suitcase could use at least 2 more. Old meaning you don't want it back ...large ones would be great. Also any financial donations so we might can some additional local Peruvian doctors to help. Send checks to Oakland United Methodist Church 801 NE Chester Ave. Topeka KS ..Make ...them out to Oakland United Methodist Church in the comment line Peru.

Pray: Suitcases make it safely to work site
Action: Consider making a small donation today  -every dollar counts.