Prattville FUMC Peru Mission 2009

The Hospital and Resturant

2009-06-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today we had a group of about 15 people that went to a disabled hospital, were we fed them lunch, brushed their teeth afterwards, and changed diapers, and put them down for a nap after they were finished eating. After I had finsihed helping with the little girl I helped feed, I went back to the kitchen and helped clear off the dishes so that they could wash them. I helped shell peas for their dinner later and also cut up some carrots, I tried my hardest to do whatever they needed me to do for them.

Later on after VBS in Cuzco and shopping at the market, we went to a nice Resturant were we watched dances and a group perform music from composers like Mozart. One group that was dancing, a guy invited me up on stage, at first I was freaked out because people in mask freak me out, then once I realized he wanted me up on stage I went up on the stage, then like 20 seconds later he let me sit back down. But over all it was a really good day here in Peru!

Nicole.

How Diversity Brings Unity

2009-06-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hola,
Here I am sitting at this computer looking out to God`s creation and WOW!!!! Andes mountains, Pacific Ocean, and Machu Picchu all in one week....do not tell me I do not serve a Creative Artist. These past few days I was able to see how diverse our communities can be but we ALL are created by the same God!!! It is the little things that have taught me that we are all the same. Yesterday morning, Sunday, people from all over the world woke up and went to church to worship the SAME God! The other day I was able to experience something I enjoy a lot but just with a different twist to it.....the Peruvian running club!!! We were able to find a common ground that we both enjoy and see how God brings that unity among us. But the most I have learned so far from this experience is that we are ALL broken and in need of a Savior. No matter who we are we are BROKEN!!!!! But on the other hand I have learned that not only are we broken but we can all be healed by the same thing.....faith in Christ is what brings restoration to the broken heart!!! So my challenge for you (and me) is that find someone that you may judge for who they are for whatever reason and humble yourself in that you can find that place where God brings unity between the two. And what I have learned from all that is if people can can humble themselves you can learn so much from each other! Well there goes my random thoughts...haha.

1 Peter 5:6,

Anna Lauren Schumpert

Cusco

2009-06-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

We flew into Cusco Saturday morning. What a great experience, flying into the Andes mountains!!

I continue to be so totally amazed at God´s wonderful, amazing creation!! We are nestled in the middle of the mountains, high up on a hill overlooking the town. There are very, very narrow streets to travel in our buses. That can be a little frightening at times.

We went down to the little community where we are doing VBS. The people here are amazing. I keep remembering the pictures I have seen from National Geographic of the Peruvian Indian women with the hats, the very colorful shawls, the long skirts and leggings. That is what we are seeing. There are sheep just out in the grass grazing and cows being lead down the street by a man.

Getting adapted to the altitude has been a bit difficult for some of us. The headaches tend to be pretty bad. Naturally we feel much more tired than we really should, but we are adapting; learning to take it easy is not always an easy lesson to learn.

Sunday we got up super, super early to head to Machu Picchu. After this day, we have traveled almost all forms of transportation: planes, trains, buses, and boats.
Machu Picchu is so truly amazing. It is so hard to believe that ancient cultures could do such amazing things with their architecture. The stair system is so amazing. There must have been some strong legs on those wonderful people climbing those stairs all the time. And the terrace system for farming is just amazing!
After spending a wonderful time on MP, we headed down the mountain to have lunch. The little town at the bottom is so quaint with the train tracks running right through the middle of town. As we ate lunch, the trains kept coming through town and blowing their whistles. Needless to say, at times conversation was difficult since the doors were wide open and the door was only about 15 feet from the tracks. We had a great local band that came in and played for us. They sang Happy Birthday to Emily. It will be a truly great memory for her.

The train ride back to Cusco was very relaxing. I´m not sure if anyone didn´t get a nap. Kind of hard to tell when my eyes were closed to;/
I can´t wait to see what God has in store for the next two days!!!

Anita

Hola from Hayden

2009-06-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

buenas dias

This trip has been a very humbling experience.We flew into Lima and settled down in our hostel on Monday. Tuesday we went to the orphanage in Chilca. It kind of hit me very quickly that we were not in Prattville, Alabama anymore. Then we headed to Lomas after we left the orphanage. They were so happy to see us and when we brought out the soccer balls and the bubbles they all went crazy. That was a great thing to see because even though they have nothing at all they are still happy for what they have.

Wednesday we worked with concrete to help make a dining hall for the orphanage. After we worked a little bit we started to kick the soccer ball around with the kids. Then that is when i met my girl Nathelly. She could not pronouce my name so she always calls me Pablo, and i think that is the funniest thing ever. Then after we left the orphanage we went back to Lomas. We played soccer and everything else with them, but we also did VBS and they also loved that very much. They got to sing, dance, make crafts, and learn more about God.

Thursday we still worked with concrete, we were gainging on it but we still were getting closer to finishing. Then we took the orphans to the bay which took us to the Pacific Ocean that was so much fun because we got to see what god made. We got to see sea lions which most of us do not get to see sea lions very often in Alabama. After that we went to Lomas. When we were playing with the kids I saw the orphanage van pull up. Then Nathelly step out ready to play. She is so crazy and she dis liked to be spun. Then we did VBS with the kids again and they were all just so excited for us to be there that they would not even sit down. I got to go and do prayer walk with our interpreter. When all of the ninth grade guys were walking we just noticed all the poverty and it was so sad. Then christian taught us a sentence to tell the parents and the kids that we were having a festival at six. The hard thing about it was that we had to say it in spanish. Then we had a little treat for the mothers and we gave them manicures. Then we served the kids some chicken soup. That to me was the turning point of the whole trip because just watching them eat was so great, because they probably never get a meal like that where they get seconds.

Friday we went back to the orphanage and that was the last day we worked on the dininig hall. We did not get to finish but we did help them get started and all we were there to do was to plant a seed and hopefully they would get up with it. Then we went to Lomas, we did VBS again. Then we had to say our good byes because we are not going back until next year. It was really sad because everyone was crying. The only good news was that I was going to get to see Nathelly again.

Saturday we flew to Cusco. Then we rested for about two hours. I had altitude sickness for the whole day. Mr. Scott and one of the interns Annie told me to stay but i could cause i wanted to go do VBS with the new kids. After three Coca teas later i was feeling very good. It was worth it to go because it was just like Lomas and all the kids loved that we were here.

Sunday was amazing. We got to go see one of the seventh wonders of the world called Machu Peechu. That is like a once in a life time chance. It was so pretty and our tour guide was the best. He showed us everything that we wanted to know. Everyone was so tired and exausted that we came home and slept.

We have dos mas days until we return to Lima to go and hang out with the orphans.

-Hayden Gillespie

Chu Chu Wa

2009-06-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

¡Buenas dias!
Probably one of the best days while in Lima was thursday. Our normal work morning was thrown off due to a medical clinic that was in the church where we were painting. So every new person that hadn't gone on a prayer walk went and the rest of us worked on concrete. Even with a mixer that is some hard work. Usually we got done with the morning of work, we would just eat lunch at the orphange but Erin and Pepe had a surprise for us and the orphans. We took off on a bus towards Lomas but instead of turning we continued down the road that no one had ever been on. The orphans were hanging out with us on the bus and everyone was curious as to where we were going but we just went with the flow. Finally we got to another city that was on a bay. We got out of the bus, orphans holding our hands and goofing off, and we started walking. When Erin and Pepe stopped at a place where we could get on a boat, so several boats pulled up and there were around 11 people per boat. We started riding and everyone was so curious as to where we were going and what we were doing. After about 5 to 10 minutes we had passed a lot of homes and we weren't stopping, then we turned towards the ocean. Keep in mind that these were very small boats that looked like one wave could completely destroy, but the boats stayed together and we headed towards the Pacific Ocean. We saw on a cliff several sea lions. They were playing and sleeping and some were swimming. The orphans loved seeing that and so did we. All the boats started heading back to were we came from and it was so cold but everyone loved joking and just enjoying the ride. After we got off of the boats we started heading to a different location and we saw this cave thing that water rushed through and would crash against rocks. It was so amazing, God did a great job at that. We were breathless at the sight and the orphans enjoyed it. We finally pulled ourselves away from the cave thing and went back to the bus. We headed back to the orphange and dropped the kids off and made our way to Lomas. We were about 30 minutes late and the kids of Lomas were running to the bus trying to get to us and play. Playing time was cut down and VBS started early. Once VBS was over we began to prepare for our outreach night, this was the first ever outreach in the city of Lomas. Some people started on the chicken soup with one of the locals. The chicken wasn't cut up nice and neat like what anyone would find in Wal Mart, the chicken still had the head on it. That was gross, the local started wacking at it and began to pull out parts that were going to be used for the soup. Not much was left over, even the feet were declawed and peeled and placed in the soup. Manicures were given to the mothers just so they had something done for them and everyone else played with the kids. Mini missionaries did a skit by shaving with whip cream and bladeless razors, then Emily, Leslie and Allie all sang songs for everyone (in English and the rest of the youth also sang). Scott spoke and so did the pastor of the church. Then some of the teenagers did dances for everyone. The cool thing about that was a teenage boy also danced, not just girls. That was not common. Finally when everything was finished, we started serving the soup. It was a slow process but everyone got food, even some guys from the town started passing out soup. It was a great success and Scott was so happy and everyone else was too. We cleaned up and headed back to the hostal for sleep, which we definitely needed and wanted. That was such a long day but a major success.
¡Chau!
Rebekah

¡hola!

2009-06-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

We are about to begin our 4th day in Peru and we are all very excited; but yesterday was especially wonderful because we sponsored an event in the village of Lomas de Marchan. We had music, games, food, and fellowship. Leslie, Emily, and Alli led the music, the mini-missionaries performed, Scott preached, and then we ate soup that had been prepared by Karen, Luann, Anita, and others. The soup was made of vegetables, rice, and chicken. We served lots and lots of people! What a blessing to feed the people with food and the word of God! It reminded me of the stories in the Bible where Jesus fed those that came to hear him teach. The only difference was that we were feeding them soup made with chicken feet... not fish and bread. We were told that eating soup made with chicken feet helped your body to produce more collagen... hmm... I might just try it when I get home :) What a wonderful day!

Wendy Darling

¡DAY UNO(one)!

2009-06-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Family and Friends :)
Today was our first official day in Lima, Peru and it was amazing! We began construction today, some people poured concrete and others painted and sanded at a local church. After construction we went to Lomas for VBS! It was such an amazing sight and feeling to see familiar faces from our pervious years in Peru. Just the joy on their faces when we arrived fills you with such an awesome feeling, knowing that they remember you and continue to think about you. A lady approached me today and gave me an enourmous hug and was overjoyed to see me. To have someone think about you and be so thrilled to see you makes you feel awesome! So many of us had these types of moments today when we were reunited with people of the village. I hope that we can leave the same affect this year and have these same moments in years to follow. Please continue to pray for the team as we spend nine more days in Peru, we appreciate your support so much!

Love from Lima, Haley:)

Peru Prepping

2009-06-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

We're one week out and this week is flying by.

Currently the team is at our meeting and some are packing, some are prepping crafts, some are learning new dances, and i'm here blogging. everybody's super excited.

Peru is always an exciting adventure for both the new people and the returners.

All the support we've received for our mission trip has been an amazing blessing. Please continue to pray for our group :)