The Murphys

Out and About in Broughshane

2012-01-15T20:50:00.003Z

Saturday 14th January 2012

This afternoon after a busy morning with Kindermusik classes we headed out for a walk with the kids. Joel and Sarah wanted to take their bikes.

Both Joel and Sarah Have grown quite a bit recently and so I think we will have to adjust their saddles and handlebars again soon. Hopefully by the summer time Joel can progress to a bigger bike and we can try to encourage him to learn to cycle without his safety wheels.

Our first stop was the park. Although the sky was blue and there was a little bit of sunshine the temperature was still very cold. It has been lovely to get out and about this last week or so without it raining though.

After about half an hour at the park we were all frozen and set off again to the duck pond and then on home.

Update from Broughshane

2009-04-16T19:27:00.002Z

Many of you have faithfully followed our blog for the last two and a bit years, and we have tried to be faithful in updating the blog on a regular basis. Some of you will have noticed that our updates have become less and less freuquent. This has been for a number of reasons, firstly we are currently at home in Northern Ireland on deputation. We have been busy with deputation but also we don't have internet in our apartment we are renting here and so are only able to check emails and make updates to our blog from time to time when we are at one of our parents house.

As we arrived home in Northern Ireland became aware of various changes here on this side of the pond. Our arriving in Northern Ireland was welcomed for the most part although two years away from the country resulted in a little bit of culture shock when we arrived back again. Within a couple of days of arriving home we made a visit to the new Tesco Superstore in Ballymena. The bread section alone was enough to cause much confusion and indecision on our part. As we walked around the store we identified numerous treats and delicacies that made our mouths water, however as a result of the incredible choice available to us we were unable to chose anything other than the necesities that we had come for! One of the other major differences we noted was on the road. We were nicely surprised as fellow drivers stopped to let us out, observed pedestrian crossings and as we walked through the town there was a real absence of horn tooting. It is funny to reflect on the things we have experienced and learn how much we have become accustomed to these things, while we also notice that there are some things we will never grow accustomed to.

Once again we thank you for your prayers and support, please continue to pray for us as we travel around the country visiting many of the different Baptist Churches. These visits have highlighted just how much the churches pray for and support the work in Peru and indeed the work of Baptist Missions in general.

We hope to keep you posted again soon with another update. Before I finish I would like to request prayer for Sarah as she commences a pre-school class on Monday. She will join the class for the summer term which will see her through to the end of June. We have been blessed with how Sarah has adapted to many different changes in her life over the last couple of years, however since we arrived home although she is enjoying being here and having family around her she has really struggled as we have left her numerous evenings throughout the week with babysitters in order that we could take deputation meetings. At times we have had an overwhelming sense of guilt as we have had to drive off with her in an inconsolable state as she does not want to be left. As a result of this we are unsure how she will react as she begins pre-school on Monday.

Countdown

2009-02-19T22:05:00.002Z

After over two years on the field here in Peru we are now down to under three weeks before we arrive back in Northern Ireland with our friends, family and supporters. In some ways it seems that the time has passed quickly and that we have experienced so many things in such a sort period of time. In other ways it seems like we have been here forever. When we think of family, friends and our home church it seems like we have been here a very long time and so we really are counting the days until we can be reunited with those special people.

We never realised how much preparation and time would be consumed getting ready to come home again, and this is writing a couple of weeks before our departure! Much of our time has been spent trying to continue with our usual routines and responsibilities but at the same time we have been completing necessary paperwork, preparing to hand over Mision Rescate and trying to spend time with people we have gotten to know. This all may not seem like alot but when I explain how it took 2 hours to book our flights from Tacna to Lima in the travel agent it puts everything into context!

Tomorrow we welcome Mission Director Gordon Darragh and his father in law, Pastor Byers. They will be in Peru for a couple of weeks and we look forward to their ministry during our mission conference next week. Next week we will be in Ite for most of the week to be invovled in the conference.

Following the conference we have a couple of days to pack up and make our way to Lima before flying onward to Toronto, London and then Belfast. Our first week at home will be spent catching up with as many people we can and taking care of important business, while the following week we will head to Wales for Alicia's brother's wedding. We will be a week in Wales before coming back to Broughshane and then jumping straight into our deputation schedule.

We look forward to renewing fellowship with many different people during our deputation schedule and making new friends with people who have been praying for us during our time here in Peru.

Finishing 2008 and Entering 2009

2009-01-07T19:44:00.007Z

The speed in which we come to the end of one year and begin a new year often catches us by surprise. For us as a family this year it has very much been the case.

It seems like no time since we said goodbyes to the cooler weather of our winter and were encouraged by the emergence of the sun once again, September really only seems like a few weeks ago! For us the last few weeks of the year provided us with some variety to spice up our lives. we will try to summarise some of the goings on and give you an insight into the plans for the next couple of months.

At the beginning of December, I (Dave) had the opportunity to accompany the Mision Rescate team that we are overseeing to Puno. We had joined up with Lourdes Brew in order to help her distribute some Christmas presents to children who attend the Sunday Schools in and around the Puno area. The journey up to Puno provided much more activity than we had anticipated. As 10 of us set off in the minibus from Tacna we did not really anticipate the climb from sea level to about 5000 metres to have such a dramatic impact but altitude sickness which resulted certainly made the journey much more interesting. Fortunately the recoverey from the journey was relatively quick for most of us. However some of us were quite amused that on arriving at the hostal half the team were assigned a room on the 5th floor!

As we travelled around some of the churches giving out presents to the children who had attended Sunday School faithfully throughout the year it was a real pleasure to see the faces the kids and the appreciation they showed. It certainly made us think twice about taking things for granted.

Whilst in Puno we had a few days of fellowship with the Pastor of the Central Puno church and his wife. We stayed in the care home that they oversee and really enjoyed playing with and getting to know many of the children who had been taken into care as a result of their parents not being able to care for them. The highlight of the time there was being able to buy a cake for the children and watch them enjoy eating something that they very rarely get.

While I (Dave) was in Puno, Alicia was left back in Ilo to look after the kids. She was very grateful of my return and although I really enjoyed the visit I was glad to get back to the kids and Alicia. The weeks after the Puno visit were occupied getting ourselves ready for Christmas and planning activities in the Ite Church as well as helping the team make their preparations for their Christmas dinner. The team decided that they would spend Christmas together, roast a chicken, have hot chocolate and Paneton, a real traditional Peruvian Christmas. As well as their own dinner the team got an invitation to help with serving the Christmas dinner in the Ilo church (they obviously didn't go hungry either!)

On Christmas eve we finished our preparations and entertained some friends before heading off to bed for an early night. Christmas morning was probably our most exciting yet as we were able to watch Sarah thoroughly enjoy the unwrapping of her presents. She also proved to big a big help to Joel in doing the same! We think she was hoping that as Joel couldn't open the presents he also would not be able use them and she would get them!

Instead of a traditional Christmas dinner "Norn Iron" style we decided to opt for a more Australian approach, the barbie. This proved to be a great success in the 25+ degrees tempertures and was a rather more appealing way to celebrate rather than sweating over an oven for 3 hours.

On Christmas Day afternoon two of the Irish members of the Mision Recate team arrived at the house to stay with us (babysit!) for the week, while the remainder of the team returned to their families for a break from team life. Sarah particularly enjoyed the company and the way Simon and Roberta played with her was obviously much more fun than the way mummy and daddy play!

Since the weeks break for the team our task has been motivating all seven of them to get their sleeves rolled up once again, get out of Christmas mode and into work mode. January will involve some practical work and preparation work for the Camps which will be held in February. sandwiched in between days of working have been some days at the beach for the team. It would not be fair that they didn't make the most of the good weather!

Just prior to Christmas Sarah finished her first year of nursery school (class of 3 years), the fact that nursery school is much more focused on learning through play here was highlighted by the report she recieved. In the report there were around 40 different areas of assessment including aspects of coordination, communication and other developmental areas, we were pleased and very proud that she received a report with all "A"s although to be honest think she is perhaps a little too young to be pushed. Our task now is keeping her occupied over the summer months although she really has taken to the team and has a ball being around them which makes it easier to combine work and family life. During the last couple weeks of January her school is running "useful holidays" which is somewhat like a summer scheme where she is taught how to swim, do crafts or another thing of our choice, we hope to enroll her.

Joel has decided that crawling is about as useful as the Manchester United team that faced Derby tonight (incidentally his preferred team is Liverpool, just like his dad and sister!) and so has resorted to rolling mutiple times to get to the destination of his choice. To date nothing seems to be painful to him apart from hunger and being left without constant company! This week we moved him into his own room and have been praying that he will adjust and sleep all night.

In June we received the wonderful gift of a new alarm clock in the form of Joel. The only problem was that the alarm seemed to go off numerous times throughout the night! When we eventually managed to stop the waking during the night he decided that 5am was a good time to begin the day, this decision was not well supported by his parents but eventually his dad decided to give in and make the most of the early starts, so since Christmas I have been rising from my pit with much more enthusiasm (exaggeration!) and going out running with my good friend Freddy. After a number of runs we managed to make it to 15km and were delighted with our progress but it seems that since that feat fatigue has set in and the marathon that we thought would be within reach soon seems so much further away now. We plan to keep running and hopefully we will well on way to our goal again very soon.

Finally I began the blog mentioning how quickly time seems to have flown over the last couple of months. with this in mind it makes our return to Northern Ireland in March seem so much closer. Wit alot to do between now and March no doubt the time will once again fly by. We really look forward to seeing many of you during our time at home. Again we thank you for your continued interest in us as a family and the work we are doing.

Cultural Shock in Peru!

2008-12-16T17:38:00.003Z

Since we have been involved in overseeing the Mision Rescate team which consists of 5 Peruvian young people and 2 from Ireland we have enjoyed different experiences with them both individually and as a team. Recently I had the joy of taking seeing the team respond in a number of different situations. I guess the reactions of those involved pointed towards culture shock. Surprisingly on both occasions it was our Peruvian team members who experienced it. It just goes to show that you don't have to be too far away from home to experience cultural shock.

Incident number 1: Half day visit to Arica, Chile
At the beginning of December both Simon and Roberta had to leave Peru in order to renew their Visas. We decided on a half day trip to Arica which is about 45 minutes away from Tacna. Two of the Peruvian team members decided they would like to join us for this journey. As we approached the border we could sense the excitement increasing to a level that was clearly almost incontrollable.

The day proved to be quite relaxing and we were able to enjoy a number of treats in Arica as well as the luxury of walking around and just people watching. As we walked around and crossed roads our two Peruvian members were amazed that cars actually stopped at zebra crossings to allow pedestrians to cross. at one point as a car pulled up to the crossing and stopped they were unwilling to cross the road until the car had passed. It was only after hand signals from the driver that they realised their lives were not in danger. Later on as they got to grip with things and crossed at a zebra crossing while a police car waited for us to cross someone commented "wow this is amazing, even the police obey the zebra crossing!" The shock of this was compounded by the fact that other motorists didn't toot their horns violently one mili second before the traffic lights changed. Personally being in Arica made me realise that I would have to adjust some of my "Peruvian driving techniques"!

Incident Number 2: Thunder Storms in Puno

Last week I was able to join the team as they made a trip to the mountains to help distribute presents to Sunday School kids. The trip proved to be interesting for a number of reasons, none moreso than watching the effect of the 5200 metre altitude on some of the team members. Fortunately everyone enjoyed the experience and although there was great joy in watching the children recieve their presents I imagine that the smile on the Peruvian team members faces when they saw the rain and hail that accompanied the thunderstorm was equal to the smile of joy from the children! On our first night in Puno we sat in a small cafe finishing off our dinner as we began to hear the pounding on the roof. In any regard the storm was impressive but as Simon, Roberta and I watched the first drops of rain we had seen for many months the rest of the team rain onto the street and danced with joy at having being able to watch their first real thunderstorm and to top it all off it wasn't just rain, it was hail! Coming from Northern Ireland I guess there are some things you just take for granted!

A Week in the life of the Murphys

2008-10-25T22:56:00.006Z

Over the last 18 months we have often been asked "what is a typical day like for you?" or "What is a typical week like?" all too often these have been almost impossible questions to answer so recently I thought it might be worthwhile to try and remember some of the things we have done over the past week or so and put them down in the form of a diary, so here goes!:

Sunday 19th October

Once again an early start, no sleeping in with Joel around, although we were able to lie on in bed until 7am, so that was a little lazy compared to our normal start to the day!

Like most Sunday mornings we managed to get up and out for a walk along the seafront with the kids before coffee time and then church. We then headed up to La Pampa for church at 11am.

We arrived back home from church and I (Dave) managed to shovel my dinner down before heading out to Ite to oversee the Mision Rescate Team as they took responsibility for Sunday School. Following Sunday School the team also took the evening service. Both services were encouraging and over 50 children turned up for Sunday School.

After this I left the team back at the Camp Centre and had a short meeting with them before driving home and jumping into bed. As I arrived home I found Alicia just as tired as me after looking after the kids all afternoon as well as entertaining a couple of unexpected visitors (Since Joel's birth Alicia has not really been able to attend the Sunday evening services as it is over too late and does not suit feeding times or bed times for the kids).

Monday 20th October

Monday always seems to be a rush to get ready and it always seems to be the day that Sarah is in the least of a rush! We manage to get her up and dressed into her full uniform of blazer and skirt, fed and off to school by 8.30am. Alicia headed off to the market to get some groceries and I headed out to take the dog a brisk walk before our customary prayer meeting with the Morrows. After the meeting which normally takes most of the morning Alicia started preparing some lunch while I headed into the town to get some supplies for the Mision Rescate Team arriving back home just in time to collect Sarah from school at 1pm.

After lunch Alicia and I, with the kids head out to Ite to catch up with the team and see how they are getting on with their preparations for meetings. We spent most of the afternoon in Ite and arrive home in time to get a late tea and get the kids ready for bed.

Tuesday 21st October

Today starts like most other days and I manage to give the dog a good long walk before coming back and putting the finishing touches to the Bible Study I had prepared for Ite. Most Tuesdays I head out to Ite mid afternoon so that I can spend time with the Team before the meeting and also try and visit in the village just before the meeting starts to remind people.

This week it is refreshing as although I had to share the Team take responsibility for leading and for the music and so I just share and lead the prayer time. After the meeting I leave the team back at the centre de-brief with them and then head home to Alicia to see how her afternoon has been with the kids.

Wednesday 22nd October

Wednesdays have proved to be the most hectic days because in October I have been leaving the house at 8am, this has left Alicia with Joel and preparing Sarah for school alone. Each Wednesday I have collected Pastor Mario from the Ilo church and taken him to Ite to teach the team on evangelism, while another believer from the church; Freddy has been teaching some Spanish. During these lessons I have tried to use the time to catch up on paperwork and my general planning.

I arrived home from this in time for a late lunch and then a relatively free afternoon. Since alot of my time out is in the afternoon and the evening I try to set aside at least one afternoon a week to spend with the kids. Today we went out onto the grass at the seafront and flew Sarah's new kite. We enjoyed a great afternoon before heading back home, getting tea ready and the children bathed and off to bed.

Thursday 23rd October

Each Thursday everyone involved in the ministry at the camp centre meet for a time of planning, sharing and prayer. While I head out to this Alicia stays at home with Joel and has a Spanish conversation class with a lady from Ilo.

I arrive back mid afternoon and enjoy my lunch before preparing something for the youth meeting on Friday night.

Friday 24th October

Today is the big day. I have planned to do my driving test. Since arriving in Peru I have been using an international licence but decided it was time to get a Peruvian one. I had passed the medical, psychological and psychosimatic test a few weeks earlier and the theory test the previous week. Everything seemed a bit strange and didnt really relate to driving for example in one test I had to name 4 large cities, 4 types of fish and know at what time of the day my shadow would be the shortest (I didn't tell them I was from Northern Ireland and so we don't have shadows!) Last Friday afternoon I had attempted the driving test which involved a grand total of two parking manouevres in a large car park, I failed. The first manouevre was parallel parking into a space 1 metre longer than the length of the car and the second was to reverse park the car (diagonally) for a starting position of a right angle from the space. The area you must fit into is 2m 20cm; 40 cm wider than the car (not including the mirrors)in three moves with the second move being the edge forward 1m, it was on this that I failed the previous week.

After making a longer than expected visit to the travel agent to price flights home for our deputation I headed out with my friend Freddy to practice parking. After some practice and a quick lunch I head up to the testing area for the 2.30 start time. After waiting an hour the examiners arrive. I was one of six candidates for the test and after the first manouevre the group is reduced to myself and one other. Eventually we come to the second manouevre and this time the practice has paid off, I get the test and my friend reminds me it is one more step towards being Peruvian. I don't really care about that, I am just relieved to have passed what seemed like the strangest driving test I have ever seen. Not once did we drive in traffic and we barely drove in forward gears!

As I drew sighed with relief I rushed home to collect my stuff before heading out to the young peoples meeting in Ite. I quickly greet and say goodbye to Alicia, Joel and Sarah. I have hardly seen them all day and Joel has been a little off form with his teeth coming through, I feel bad for abandoning them but head off. We have a good meeting with the young people, they are given an open time to ask questions about God and I try to answer some of their deep questions. Many of them seem to be searching. After the meeting we stand around and have a chat before I once again head back home.

Saturday 25th October

Today we get to relax a little. After get ourselves together Alicia heads out to the market with Sarah while I mind Joel. We enjoy coffee and preparing some meat for a BBQ at lunch time. The temperature is 25 degrees so we enjoy a good bit of the afternoon after our BBQ on the patio roof. Later on we head out to the grass to fly Sarah's kite once again. As Joel sits in his pram his sits fascinated with the colours of the kite. We head back in again in time for a pancake tea and get the kids ready for bed.

A Princess, A Spring Party, an Athletics Coach and a Bug!

2008-09-24T15:44:00.003Z

Our title to this post may seem somewhat bizarre, perhaps resembling the author of the blog, however it really seems to sum some of our activities over the last few weeks. Let me explain:

A Princess and A Spring Party

Yesterday (September 23rd) was officially the first day of Spring here in Peru (although temperatures have been quite pleasant for a number of weeks now). In order to celebrate this arrival many of the schools organise parties. Sarah's school was no exception to the rule and had arranged that all the children meet in a conference room of a local restaurant for some entertainment from a surprisingly funny clown, loud music and lots of junk food. Of course all the children were over the moon to have such a treat.

As part of the celebrations each class had to select a female best friend and a male best friend and the couple with the most votes from each class would represent the class as the prince and princess. Yes you have already guessed it, Sarah was selected as the Princess and her good friend Josue (a child of some Christian parents we have got to know) was selected as the prince. So as all the other children donned their dresses and tuxedos (yes it was that formal!) Sarah dressed up in a lovely white dress and tiara to partner her Prince Charming!
With each event Sarah seems to be enjoying the attention more and more and was really chuffed that she had been chosen to represent the class and be the centre of attention! We have added some photos to give you a glimpse of the whole affair.

A Bug

Ok this is rather uninteresting but adds to the title! In brief, about two weeks ago I (Dave) was struck down with a stomach bug which left me weak for a few days. The timing of the bug was highly inapproriate as we had the Mission Director, Gordon Darragh and a supportor of the Mission visiting with us and to make matters worse it was within a week of my birthday. For me it was just another birthday but some people wanted to make a huge deal of the fact that it was a major landmark. Anyway without revealing my age the bug was conveniently renamed "thirtyitis!"

I insisted that the bug had nothing to do with the impending birthday but few were prepared to believe me - that was until everyone else started to come down with the bug. In our family Joel was the only to avoid the bug and even our "strong invincible" guests were both eventually struck down with the illness. Fortunately for all the affects seemed to pass within a few days. The fortunate thing about it all is that on my birthday I was well recovered and able to consume large amounts of cake while most other had to pass the offer by - I discovered that a cake between one person is a big cake!

An Athletics Coach

Most of you who know me will know that I am a passionate sports fan and many will know of my interest in football and especially Liverpool. (By the way I did not get too many emails from my good friends who normally email me after and Man U Liverpool encounter. Can't understand why, they must have been eating humble pie!) Some of you will also know that in my younger days (that were not that long ago!) I was a very keen and active track and field athlete. It had seemed that that interest had very much become a thing of the past until about a month ago when news of my former glories spread as far as the current athletics director in Ilo. Consequently, I was approached to help with athletics coaching in Ilo. So far this has been very enjoyable and interesting. As I coach these young athletes I realise how fortunate I was with all the facilities available to me. We train on a dirt track, some days there are lanes marked some days we draw a line in the dirt. In short facilities are basic, there are a few hurdles, a few throwing implements and I am led to believe that some of the athletes are high jumpers but I have yet to see a mat! I was wondering if it was a case of going back to basics and high jumping into sand - not sure how to coach that! Anyway the opportunity to help and be involved in this has been fantastic. My language has really been stretched, I am having lots of fun and getting to know many young people and parents. I am part of this because I want to help, but hopefully in this area I can also be salt and light and I may have more opportunities to share Christ.

On our next post I hope to share a little bit about some of the more intentional ministry opportunities we are involved in. As always we give thanks to God for you all, for your prayers, for your support and for your interest in the work that God is doing here in Peru. God Bless you all.

Some Photos

2008-09-17T13:59:00.006Z

At the start of the week we said goodbye to Gordon Darragh (the Mission Director) and David Hamill (a believer from NI who had been travelling with him to see the work). Each time we have visitors it is always a blessing to have them and to be reminded of the love, support and prayers of many people back home in Northern Ireland and indeed in varios parts of the world. The visit was a really good visit from our perspective (and hopefully from theirs too!) and after almost a week of constant conversation and almost constant laughing the empty house seemed so much more quiet.

The quietness of the house was added to very soon after the visitors left as most of us fell sick with a stomach bug. (Gordon claimed it was a reaction against the visitors leaving and that they should have stayed longer!) Fortunately it seemed to affect Alicia and I for a short period of time but Sarah seemed to pick up the bug a little later than us and is still off school , although she should be back on her feet again soon. Fortunately Joel seems to have managed to keep himself healthy and remains his happy, bubbly self.

Since we had not posted for a while and had not posted any photos for even longer we decided we would add a few recent ones just so you can see how big and grown up Joel and Sarah are getting and how young and youthful Alicia and I still are! Enjoy!

Paperwork, Paperwork and more Paperwork!

2008-08-12T16:16:00.002Z

Each time I update our blog I promise myself I will not let it be so long before updating it next time. Unfortunately I contstantly keep falling into the trap of being distracted by other things, getting on with our routine and trying to keep the wheels in motion.

July has been an eventful and very interesting month. At the start of the month we said goodbye to Alicia's mum who had been visiting us for just over three weeks. Her presence here was not just appreciated for her company but it also proved to be a vital help as we came to terms with having a new baby on the scene. Alicia's mum was brilliant at helping out around the house, helping to cook and generally spoiling and looking after all of us.

Throughout most of the month of June and right through July we had been anticipating the paperwork on our car being completed so that we would be mobile. Each week we seemed to be saying that it would be "this week." Due to an administrative error by the company that sold the vehicle getting license plates and all the other paper work proved to be a much longer process than it should have. Eventually at the end of July we got the necessary papers to enable us to drive the car. We are certainly delighted to have a vehicle that allows us to get to and from Ite and the other areas where we are involved in the work but it also enables us to get away from time to time as well when we have some time off. Thank you to so many of you who prayed for this and to those of you who gave so generously to enable this purchase to be made.

In the middle of July I made the trip to Lima in order to pick up a minibus for the ministry of the Camp and Conference Centre. The bus will be used to transport campers to and from the beach during camps as well as in numerous other ways. The trip included an 18 hour bus journey to Lima and a 24 hour journey (including stops) in the minibus back. While in Lima I was able to visit the British Embassy and Consulate in order to get the necessary British version of Joel's birth certificate. Although according to the documentation I read the procedure seemed fairly straight forward it all turned out to be far from it. Fortunately I was able to represent Joel in Lima as it is the only place in Peru where I could get this done and am thankful that I did not have to run around from pillar to post with Alicia and the kids trying to get this done.

The unfortunate side of the trip was that I was not able to apply for Joel's passport without having him present, however I knew I could do this at the Honory Consulate in Arequipa - a four hour journey away. So after a week getting back into the swing of things here in Ilo/Ite the four of us headed off to Arequipa in order to make Joel's passport application. At the time of writing the application has been made but we have yet to receive any form of response whether it has been approved or declined. Hopefully later in the week we should receive confirmation.

Aside from all the formalities of registering Joel and adjusting to having him around (by the way he is a delight to have and has a real wee chuckle!) we have been continuing with our work in Ite. In some ways things have been a little quieter recently due to it being the winter in Peru but that has freed us up to get our paperwork in order and has also given us a chance to think about the work a little bit more. In a few weeks time we will receive a visit from Gordon Darragh the Mission Director and the new Gap Year team will commence, we are also waiting to hear news about a site that we enquired about to build the new church in Ite (last year the building was burnt to the ground and the plan is to build again on a new site.)

Sarah is very excited this week because after two weeks off for mid winter break she started back at school. Over the next couple of weeks there will be numerous special activities to mark the sixth anniversary of the school. Tomorrow she has yet another birthday party. After each party she goes to she is always keen to know when hers will be. We dread telling her that hers was not that long ago and it will be a long time before her next one. She is certainly much more keen for celebration and festivities than either her mother or father!

Give thanks to the Lord for He is Good

2008-07-04T00:26:00.008Z

Recently I was thinking about our time here in Peru and the things that have happened, some things we had anticipated and other things have taken us by surprise but in each circumstance we have had a real sense of God's presence. As I was thinking I began to think back to the fears and doubts we had before coming to Peru. To be honest our biggest fears and worries lay in bringing our precious 1 1/2 year old Sarah to a completely different country where she would be exposed to all sorts of things and we could not guarantee what would lie ahead of her. As pondered this I thought back to the different experiences that Sarah has had so far and I realised that although she may have been separated from her extended family and taken out of a culture that Alicia and I were so comfortable in Sarah has very much adjusted to life here in Peru. What a blessing from God it has been that although we are sinful and worry when God promises that He will even take care of the flowers and the trees never mind us He still keeps His promises and undertakes for our worries.

I think the video footage that we have added just demonstrates how well Sarah has adjusted to life here and it also shows how perhaps she is being exposed to things that she would not have been exposed to at home, things that will ultimately make her a more confident person. God is really good. Now I wonder if we can really trust Him and leave all our worries with Him. How often do we fail Him by worying about the things that He has already taken care of.

The two video clips are from a belated Father's Day celebration put on by Sarah's School. We were very proud of her for her participation in the two performances firstly as a Cowgirl and secondly as a Clown. The evening out proved to be very exciting for Sarah as it was her first performance in front of her wee brother who seemed to enjoy the event. We hope you enjoy Sarah's performances as much as we did!

Please accept my apologies for the quality of the video but I had to upload it at a poorer quality as the internet connection is too slow and kept timing out, better than nothing though!

Chaos in Ilo

2008-06-13T21:47:00.008Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7458517.stm

One of the negative things about Peru is that strikes are a frequence occurance. Generally speaking most strikes are resolved within a matter of days, often the threat of strike is enough to achieve the required outcome. Fortunately for us Ilo is one of the most tranquil areas of Peru and the strikes here would be nothing compared to the rest of the country......................that was until last week! The people inthe province of Moquegua (which includes Ilo) have taken exception to the way they have been treated for numerous years and without going into lots of political details on Tuesday 10th June one of the most severe and longest running strikes for many years began. Generally speaking even in severe strike conditions there is still minor movement of vehicles between one town and another and even within the town and precaution is taken to avoid the main flashpoints. As I write this we are now in our fourth day of the strike and no signs of any resolution.

Unfortunately the strike which is predominantly confined to the province of Moquegua coincided with the arrival of Alicia's mother for a two week visit to see her new grandson. Although there were rumours of strikes before she left we did not take too much heed of this as we were unsure whether it would materialise or not. On the day of Alicia's mothers arrival we realised the extent of the situation that we were facing, recognising that most roads in and out of Ilo were blocked and it would be very difficult to make our way through to Tacna to collect her. Trevor Morrow and I decided to leave early in the day before the strike gained any momentum and made our way towards the main exit road towards Tacna zigzagging across the road to avoid boulders that had been placed across varios parts of the road. As we came to the main interseccion out of Ilo we approached a crowd blocking the exit, recognising it would be impossible to pass we turned back and decided to try again later in the afternoon. We felt that if we timed our exit between 2pm and 5pm we would overlap with siesta and dinner time and may be more likely to get out. This time we made our way as far as the main interseccion and the crowd had dispersed. Although the road was almost impassable we somehow managed to swerve through the boulders (some of which were 2 feet high) and broken glass and make our way out of Ilo. On the way out we discovered that the baracades were continuous for almost 3 km - a constant rubble of rocks and boulders on the road, and every 500metres or so we encountered more taxing obstacles that required more care and craft to get by, each of which gave a sense of satisfacion that we had overcome one more obstacle and we were closer to being on our way to Tacna to collect Alicia's mum. Eventually we came to a maned baracade and it became clear that it was in the best interest's of our safety to turn back. We were disappointed butnot defeated and so decided to try a few other exits from Ilo but it quickly became clear that it would not be in any way possible to get a car out of Ilo. Knowing this we decided to contact one of the missionaries in Tacna and ask them to meet Alicia's mum at the airport and to put her up for the night in Tacna.

As we considered the situation overnight and realised that there was still no change in the activities in the town we realised that would had no idea when we would be able to drive through to collect Alicia's mum and so we began to think of alternatives. So on Thursday morning we asked on of the Peruvian national workers who spoke good english to accompany Alicia's mum by taxi as far towards Ilo as possible and we would commence our walk out of Ilo to greet her at the first point of resistance on the way towards Ilo. Our understanding at this point was that this was 6km outside Ilo which we considered long but managable. As we walked out and crossed picket lines and baracades (we were informed that walking out was possible permitted) we realised the level of resistance the people of Ilo were putting up. Some of the believers from the La Pampa church had come on bicycles to help us get out but as we came to one picket line and baracade they were told they could not cross with bicycles but we could walk, however as we approached on foot we were also told we could not pass and that we would have to climb the hill to pass round the side of the baracade - the strikers stood and watched as we made our way around and as our friends who were not allowed to cycle put the bikes on their shoulders and walked around! This proved to be the main obstacle and although we realised that the last block was actually over 10km out of Ilo we eventually made it there to find Alicia's mum, her escort, taxi and taxi driver on the other side of the manned baracade. Needless to say this was not the welcome that any of us had anticipated she would receive!

As we approached and briefly welcomed Alicia's mum we realised that now our two main concerns were getting back to Ilo and getting the taxi with our national worker who had accompanied Alicia's mum to this point back to Tacna. Having made it that far by foot and having seen the obstacles, we were confident that it would at least be possible to get back home by foot but we were now faced with a situation where although the strikers were allowing Alicia's mum to walk in to Ilo they were threatening to prevent the taxi from returning to Tacna! After much discussion it was agreed to allow the return. I dread to think what was going on in Alicia's mum's head as will discussed and pleaded with the strikers in Spanish all of which even to me seemed like complete confusion!

As the taxi made it's way back to Tacna we had to consider our best options for returning home with Alicia's mum and all her luggage. We were informed that it was unlikely that it would be as easy to return back over the pickets lines we had crossed as they would have expended all their mercy letting us through in the first place and so we would need to return on a new route. At this baracade where we collected Alicia's mum we were shown a degree of compassion because we were foreigners and "it is not the foreigners fault!" It just so happened that one of the strikers was a taxi driver and so for a fare offered to drive us back in towards Ilo via another route, up to about 500metres before another flash point. Our friends who had accompanied us on bicycles followed us up on their bikes. Eventually we were dropped off just outside the La Pampa area of Ilo, on a road somewhere in the desert and began the rest of our return journey on foot. We walked past the main roundabout with suicases, boxes and everything in hand without a comment made (although we did get a few weird looks).

After passing the roundabout we still had roughly 3km to walk and hoped that there would be at least some movement of vehicles within the town so we could get a taxi home but there was nothing. Eventually we arrived back at the house at 3.30pm 5 hours after leaving the house but it was certainly worth it to see Alicia's mum's joy at seeing her new grandson and her precious granddaughter not to forget her daughter and much less anxious son-in-law!

We are just delighted that although the strike is still continuing and there does seem to be any imminent solution that Alicia's mum is here with us and we are able to enjoy here company rather than her stuck in Tacna not knowing when she would be able to get through to see us. We are also thankful to God that the Mision Rescate team were able to get out of the strike zone before it commenced and they are well away from any of the effects of the strike and will be able to make their way home to Ireland without any hassle.

Often people ask us what it is a typical day as a missionary and after almost a year and a half here in Peru I have not been able to describe a typical day, perhaps my acount of Alicia's mum's arrival explains why! The one thing we are sure of though is that although nothing seems certain here or indeed wherever we are we have an unchanging God who looks after us, protects us, guides us and provides for us, Praise be to our mighty God!

We really appreciate your interest in us and know that many of you check our blog regularly and pray for us frequently, we are so indebted to you, thank you. We have been overwhelmed by the number of messages from you after Joel's birth. We are so thankful to God that he is healthy and he is sleeping well at night, he is certainly a little treasure.

We will keep you updated on our current situation here in Ilo and in Joel's (and of course Sarah's) progress as they develop. We had been intending to add more video of Sarah's father's day performance which was due to be tomorrow but since she has been off school all week due to the strike it looks like this will either be cancelled or postponed. One advantage of the strike is that it gives me more time to spend at home with Alicia, Sarah, Joel and Alicia's mum, update the blog and watch Euro 2008! Life has certainly slowed down a little this week! Please do not be concerned for our safety, we are well and not under any threat but we would appreciate your prayers that there would be a resolution soon here in Ilo as it would certainly make life a little easier!

Ilo Welcomes Joel Murphy

2008-06-03T01:43:00.003Z

Since emailing many of our good friends to inform them of the arrival of our second child; Joel John Murphy (to be called Joel and certainly not JJ!) on Sunday morning at 10.40am Peru time we have recieved numerous emails telling us of the desire to see some photos. It had always been our intention to put some photos on our blog and so we have made sure that there are enough to satisfy your interest and enable you all to determine who he looks like, Mum, Dad or grandparents!We do write this post aware that God really has been good to us by giving us Joel. We decided to call him Joel because it means "The Lord is God" however it is easy to confuse it to mean "The Lord is good" either way both are equally true and one is synomous with the other. John is a very special name and although it may not sit so well right after Joel it has great significance. My (Dave's) grandfather who passed away a few weeks ago was called John and my father and I both have John as a middle name. Incidentally, John means "God is gracious." Finally we did not have too much choice in the Murphy part of the name but since I am the only Murphy boy of my generation Joel also becomes the only Murphy boy and has the opportunity to carry on the name.
I don't want to write outside my remit but the labour itself was a much better labour than her labour with Sarah, only keeping us waiting for 8 hours compared to 42 the last time! Joel was born at 10.40am, and and declared healthy and normal. Initially we were of the belief that he weighed in just under 10lbs but after recieving the official papers and doing the caculations from Kilos to Pounds we discovered that he was indeed a very big boy; 4.695Kg or roughly 10lbs 5oz!
Since everything was normal and Joel was born before midday on Sunday he and Alicia were allowed home by 10am the next morning.

Sarah seems to have really taken to Joel and was so excited that she was going to visit him in hospital that she was virtually speechless. Since he has been home Sarah has been watching his every move and never wants to go out of his sight in case she misses something. One thing she told her dad was that she is looking forward to playing football with Joel, although she is more of the belief that that will be sooner rather than later. On the note of football I can confirm that Joel knows his football and is already a staunch Liverpool FC supporter, please don't try to lead him astray with any poor imatations from London or Manchester!On a more serious note we are indeed grateful to God that he has been gracious to us and given us this wonderful child. We have really appreciated your prayers throughout his development in the womb but please continue to pray for him as he develops and for us as parents as we try to be godly parents who will be able to show him that he name is much more than a name but that there is truth to be found in it. We trust and pray for both Joel and Sarah that at a young age they will come to know Christ as their Saviour. We feel called to Peru to share Christ here but pray that we will also be faithful in sharing Him in our own home.

Mother's Day Performance Part 2

2008-05-28T20:15:00.004Z

It seems having made a concerted focus on getting back to regular blogging and of course an abundance of activity at present has made it much easier to do regular posts on the blog, in some ways it is difficult at the moment to put everything that is happening in words and pictures, for example last weekend was Ilo day (the anninversary of the Port) and everything came to a standstill to focus on the parades, parties and concerts that were held throughout the town. as you may have gathered by now nothing seems to be taken more seriously in Peru than festivals, parties and celebrations! The point of this blog however was not to write about Ilo Day, it was to finally post the video of the second part of Sarah's Mother's Day event. Of course I was keen to get this posted before the arrival of the baby as we will want to blog with photos as soon as he or she is born. So to not postpone the video anymore here it is below:

Instructions for viewing: If you click on play button and then press pause, meanwhile the video will be uploading (you can view progess on the timeline) once the video has uploaded press play and you will be able to watch it without any cuts or breaks in the play)

Pre-School Education Week

2008-05-21T21:41:00.009Z

On our last blog post we shared some video (we hope to post the second part of the video soon) from Sarah's Birthday Party and Mothers' Day Presentations. In Peru you never have to wait too long for a reason to celebrate something. This week it is pre-school education week in Peru. At home this would possibly not mean very much but here in Peru it is taken quite seriously. All week there have been activities in the school and other events throughout the town. Yesterday there was a parade of all the pre-school children from the pre-schools through the town centre. Interestingly Sarah's school was one of the few pre-schools not to participate in this event; they had planned a week full of their own events. The program for her school was as follows:

Monday a drawing competition for the school.
Tuesday a singing competition.
Wednesday a dancing competition.

Thursday a visit to the Collosium to see the opening ceremony of the Junior Olympics.
Friday a party to celebrate the end of Pre-school Education Week.

It is hard to know how Sarah got on in the drawing competition and how she will enjoy the Olympics tomorrow but she certainly threw herself into the singing. She was torn between singing Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or I Love You, You Love Me (Barney and Friends) Eventually she decided she would sing in Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Her teacher was impressed that she stood up in front of all the pre-school 3 year olds, 4 year olds and 5 year olds, and of course we were very proud that she rose to the occasion.

Initially we did not recognise the emphasis that other parents would put on their children doing well in all the competitions, however after one of the parents asked us if Sarah would team up with her son for the dancing competition we soon realised how important it was to the parents. Josue came to practise a traditional Peruvian dance with Sarah three times before the real thing. Although the performance was purely an in-school event and we were not allowed to be there we were informed that she performed well, although later she did confess to us " I did the circles too fast!" (News just in: Sarah and her partner won the dance competition - fancy that, a girl from Ballymena winning a dance competition in Peru!)

I must admit that I don't ever remember having as much activity or as much fun at school as Sarah seems to be having, it would almost make me want to go through it all again! On a more serious note all the activity and excitment has been a very good way for us to get to know her teachers and other parents much better. We trust and pray that through Sarah and the people that she brings us in contact with that we will have more opportunities to share Christ with them.

The festivities really don't stop here in Peru, and this weekend is Ilo day (-think American Independence Day and St Patricks Day combined and you are beginning to imagine the scale of things!). Festivities for that will likely start this Friday and run right through the weekend. We have been told that it is virtually impossible to sleep (we need to get used to that again anyhow with the impending arrival of Murphy junior number two!) as there are constant fireworks and bangers throughout the weekend. No doubt Sarah and her classmates will have been practising something to present for Ilo Day! Oh and then of course Father's Day is just around the corner! I guess one thing is for sure - you will never get bored here!

Don't forget to check our blog again soon for the second part of the video from Sarah's Mother's Day performance!

Video Footage of Sarah

2008-05-15T00:52:00.009Z

Click on the Blue Area Below to see Pictures of Sarah's Birthday and Her Mother's Day Celebration

In order to view the attached video footage doubl click on the blue area above. This will take you to the photobucket website where you will once again see the same image in a smaller version. Double click again and then it should begin streaming. When the video starts streaming put the player on pause until streaming has finished and the video should play smoothly.

Unfortunately we have not been able to upload both performances onto this one post so in a week I will upload the second half - Los Ratoncitos (The Little Mice)

Sarah's Busy Weekend

Saturday past was Sarah's third birthday. We had been planning to keep things pretty low profile this year after our experience of having a party in school last year. Considering her birthday fell on a Saturday we thought it would work fine and we would not get any pressure from teachers to have a party in school - we had not accounted for Sarah though! About a week and a half before her birthday Sarah told us she was going to have a big party in school just like last year so we quickly got on with the plans!

Our weekend began with a party (which of course we had to be present at) on Friday in school. There was the traditdional handing over of presents, food, music and dancing. Sarah was so excited by the whole event at times we thought we were going to have to calm her down! In the afternoon she was so excited it was difficult to get her settled for her afternoon nap.

On Saturday morning Sarah got up and was allowed to open her presents. She had already received her bicyclce from her aunts and granny and granda and was almost knocked off her feet when she walked into her playroom to see the Winnie the Pooh stickers which her grandma and grandpa had bought stuck to the wall. What a surprise! Mummy and Daddy had obviously been up late the previous night sticking the wall stickers on. After breakfast we started to prepare for another party. Trevor, Christine, Rebecca and Andrew had been invited for a small party with more music, cake and lots of excitement.

As Sunday was Mother's Day in Peru all the kids in the school had been practising for a special event for Mothers on the Saturday afternoon. Sarah was taking part in two pieces (see above video), one she was required to wear traditional Peruvian custume and do a traditional dance and the second piece which lasted a total of nine minutes involved her dressing up with her classmates as naughty mice! She marched, danced, walked, jumped and ran for the whole time and then if that was not enough she danced to all the pieces by the other children in the older class too. Needless to say she slept really well on Saturday night.

With Sunday being Mother's Day the weekend would not have been complete without another event. The church in Ite decided to put on a special event to celebrate Mother's Day, although it was a little more tame it certainly finished off a very busy weekend for Sarah.

Looking back on April

2008-04-30T17:07:00.010Z

As our time here in Ilo increases it seems to be more and more difficult to update our blog on a regular basis. As I sat down to think of the reasons for our failings in this regard I thought of the usual excuses, "we were busy", "there were more important things to get down" or "the internet was not working for about three weeks here", but as I thought of these seemingly valid excuses I realised that although these things may have contributed in one sense there is probably another reason. In our intial months in Peru we were making observations about culture, experiencing new activities and events and informing of our own progress as a family. I genuinely believe that it has become more difficult to blog regularly because although we are experiencing strange and different things on a regular basis we have adjusted and what was once strange is a way of life....not just for the Peruvians who we rub shoulders with but for us too. Therefore as we have settled into a routine it becomes more difficult to identify things of note that we care share with you. To this end we want to thank you for your continued prayers for us, we are of no doubt that your prayers have been key to helping us settle here in Peru. However in writing this there is the danger that we suggest that our time of settling, adjusting and adapting to the culture, language and ministry has finished and we are now perfectly adjusted missionaries. The reality is that we still need your prayers, we still have difficult days and face situations that seem unnatural and we still miss friends an family from home but we are pleased that God has brought us to this bought where we are content with where he has us.

It was never the intention of the blog to give detailed reports of the work that we are involved in here in Peru but we do like to give you an insight into some of the situations that we encounter and some of the things that God is doing here in Ilo/Ite. As many of you are aware, while the Morrows were on furlough we took responsibility for a number of areas of the work here, including overseeing the small church in Ite and overseeing camps and the Year Team (Mision Rescate. At the beggining of April the Morrows were back from furlough and able to step back into the work. Since then we have tried to divide up the work in a manner that is a little bit more manageable. This has been a very encouraging time for us being able to work very closely alongside another missionary family and share the work load.

In early April my (Dave's) parents paid a three week visit which was really appreciated. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with family and share the country, people and work that we are passionate about with them. It was also a good time for them as they were able to see the overall work and get a better idea of the things that we and the mission are involved in here in the South of Peru. We were also very pleased at how well Sarah took to here grandparents who she had not seen for over a year. She had a blast! It was important for her grandparents to see her going to school and how content she is here in her surroundings. With every visit from home it is nice to get time to relax as well and we really enjoyed the few days that we spent in Arequipa with mum and dad.

It was great that I was able to make it to Lima to say my farewells as mum and dads departure was combined with a necessary trip to Lima with Trevor Morrow to make some necessary purchases for the camp centre and look into the types of vehicles that are available. Many of you will have been aware that we have been looking into the purchase of a vehicle for a little while now and the trip proved to be very benificial in this regard. We thank you for your prayers and for you generosity in making this possible for us, hopefully in the not too distant future we will be able to proceed with the purchase of a vehicle.

Although the time in Lima was very busy it was thoroughly enjoyable and although many people see Lima as an undesireable large city (like most large cities), for two missionaries living in the small port of Lima it was like letting a child loose in a sweet shop! It is always exciting to be able to find small things like Heinz Ketchup, Museli or other eatables.

It was always our intention after having left language school and moving to Ilo to find a language tutor who could help us with conversation and reinforcement of ideas and rules however with one thing and another this never seemed to work out but just this last week steps have been taken to pursue this once again. It seems that in the next couple of weeks we will be starting to work with a tutor. We trust that this will help us to make big strides in bettering our ability to communicate and eradicating any bad habits that we have formed. Please pray for this.

One of the difficulties of being in Peru is certainly the seperation from family and friends, this has become all the more clear to us over the last number of weeks as my grandfather has taken seriously ill. As other family members give updates on his condition in the hospital the distance is certainly felt. Please pray for my the doctors and my family as they try to make my grandfather as comfortable as possible.

Again we really do thank you for your interest in us, and in the work here in Peru, your prayers are very much valued and appreciated. At times the work here can be lonely but we are regularly reminded that we are not alone in the work as we have some many people walking alongside us in prayer and above all we have a God who promised never to leave us or forsake us. Praise the Lord for His faithfullness and thank you for playing such a large part in the ministry here.

March Update

2008-03-18T00:49:00.001Z

It is probably about a month since we last updated our blog which is a good sign to many of you regular readers that we have been quite busy over this last period. Fortunately things seem to have slowed down a little this last week or so with the return of Christine Morrow and kids to Ilo, Trevor’s return in a couple of weeks time will be a great help too.

In March my (Dave’s) preaching responsibilities seem to have been quite a bit more frequent. It has really been good to preach in Spanish although at times it has made me feel slightly restricted both in what I can say and in the deliverance of what I say. On the other hand each time I have preached or spoken I have had a great sense of the Lord empowering me. Needless to say a 30 minute sermon takes many hours preparation and then the actual deliverance of it consumes practically all my energy to the point of near exhaustion; however it is in these times where I have been able to see God working through my weaknesses.

Since the Morrows left for furlough and we have taken more responsibility for the church in Ite, we have got to know some of the regular participants in the services much better which has been a real blessing to us. On a more negative note however, numbers throughout the summer period have really dwindled as a result of holidays and community sports events. We really would appreciate your prayers for this as we have tried to reach out in a number of ways including having a number of open air events in the main Plaza of the village. Interest in these events have been good but there seems to be something stopping people from making the transition from these events to our regular services.

As the school holidays have come to an end, the intensity of camps has eased off. The camp centre will not be used quite as much over the coming weeks although we do anticipate a number of other camps in the coming months, some which may just last over the weekend and others that will be during holidays or conferences for Pastors, leaders etc.

We have continued to oversee the Mision Rescate team that is based at the camp centre and have been ministering in various church in Ite, Ilo, Moquegua, Puno and Tacna over the past year. It has been very encouraging to be involved with these young people who have set this year aside to serve the Lord. One of the greatest encouragements has been to see each of them develop in confidence and in their faith.

Closer to home in Ilo, things are going well. Alicia is now into her seventh month of pregnancy and everything is going well. We have been very impressed so far with the standard of medical care that Alicia has been getting.

Sarah has settled in really well to her new nursery which we are very pleased about. Each day she enthusiastically tells us about the songs she sang, the little dances she learnt or the painting she coloured. Today she brought home her very first homework which was a bit of a shock for a 2 year old to have homework, but no doubt over the coming months and years we will learn lots of cultural and language things through Sarah!

2008-02-16T01:26:00.005Z

Once again time has got the better of us and despite the best intentions to update this blog more frequently we have not been able to follow through with them! The last month has been a month of variety. We have been kept busy looking after the Mision Rescate year team which is based at the Camp and Conference Centre (Baptist Centre – Valle Azul), overseeing camps and also the small church in Ite.

The month has been a good month in many ways as it has enabled us to really find our feet in the ministry here. At times we have really been stretched, particularly with regards to language but also in other areas too, however we have also had some very encouraging and reassuring moments.

Some of the challenges over the last month have included the Morrow’s car (which we were using) breaking down a few days after they left and being with the mechanic for almost a month. This stretched us in quite a lot of ways, trying to manage without this vehicle but I also gave me some extra mechanical vocabulary! The incident also gave us another insight into some of the frustrations of life here (that is if you can’t see the funny side of things!) I initially took the car to a welder to fix a part of the car, he was unable to fix it but in the process he damaged a cable to the car computer which resulted in the car breaking down half way between Ilo and Ite. I ended up getting the car towed to Ilo where a mechanic looked at it. After a number of hours standing in the hot sun he told us we needed to tow the car to an electrical engineer as it was an electrical fault. We towed it to the electrical engineer and after looking at the car for over 4 hours he informed me that he believed there was a fault with a cable behind the engine but he could not take it out because it was in a difficult place, therefore we had to go to a mechanic so that he could remove the engine in order to get the cable! We eventually got the mechanic and he informed us that he could manage the electrical side of things. On removing the cable we discovered it was faulty and spent the next three weeks trying to find a new cable, we tried practically everywhere in Peru and phone calls we also made to Arica, Chile in order to see if they had the part, it was beginning to look like we were going to have to place an order to the USA when we found a place in Lima with the parts! To cut a long story short the car is back on the road again but the electrical fault left the radio not working – I think I will just avoid trying to fix that!!!

Another more difficult incident here in Ilo was the hospitalisation and then return home of Sam Colville, one of the Gap Year students. After having Sam here for five months and seeing his involvement in the team and the work it was difficult to see him leave and probably even more difficult for the rest of the team.

The Camps that we have had so far have not been as well attended as we initially anticipated, however this has allowed for time to make necessary adjustments to the programme and has also allowed for much more personal interaction with the campers. The Mision Rescate team have been excellent in their handling of the camps and seem to have really enjoyed this. Tomorrow starts another Youth Camp and so the coming week will be busy for all.

The week after the Youth Camp, Mision Rescate, ourselves and Milagros will be involved in holiday Bibles clubs. There will be a team in Ite and a team in Moquegua working on these.
Ite has itself produced some highlights and some lowlights over the last month. It seems that throughout the summer the church services are going to be competing against summer sports events in the village and as a result our numbers have been low of late. On a more encouraging note we have had quite a few new people coming to worship with us and a number of people who had not been for some time coming back again.

In the village there are many problems, two weeks ago a man murdered his wife as a result of a heated row they had, then this past weekend Ite was the victim of a large scale robbery by a gang of eight men. Fortunately police intercepted the gang and they have been detained. As a result of all these struggles we have been trying to think of ways to really reach out to the people in the village. There has been some visitation going on in the village, and tonight (Friday 15th Feb) we plan to hold the second outreach event, this time we have been given permission by the mayor to use the amphitheatre in the main plaza. We trust that many people will be able to hear a relevant Gospel message and be challenged by what they hear.

On a personal note we are doing really well. Alicia is growing bigger by the day. She had a scan this week and got a little shock when the scan brought the due date three weeks forward to mid-May instead of the start of June. But the important thing is that the baby seems to be developing well and Alicia is keeping well.

Sarah is really doing well at her nursery. Just this morning we were at a party prepared by the teachers and pupils to be presented to parents. It was wonderful just to see Sarah mixing so well with her friends and teachers and the confidence she has developed even over this last month. Sadly she will now have a three week break from nursery before the new season starts but we are so pleased that she is happy in her nursery and has settled so well.

Camps Begin

2008-01-19T18:04:00.000Z

Once again lack of time seems to have prevented us from sitting down and updating our blog for some time. Some days here in Peru you run around like a crazy person trying to get things done and then at the end of the day you have to sit back and think very hard what you have done that day! When we first arrived in Peru a more experienced missionary from a different mission shared a piece of advice with us. He said here in Peru you should plan to do two things everyday and be pleased when you get one done! I think it would be fair to say that this is an exaggeration but I guess in recent days we have become aware that in some ways this is not too far away from the truth! Often we find ourselves one problem away from completing a task.

Since the New Year time really has flown by rapidly. On Saturday 5th January the first camp started at Baptist Centre – Valle Azul. Although the week of camp proved to be quite tiring it was highly profitable as many of the young campers who attended were encouraged in their faith and a few made commitments to follow Jesus as their Saviour for the very first time. It is in these times that we are reminded that this is what serving as a missionary is all about – seeing lives transformed for God.

The week following the first camp we spent preparing for the second camp, a Family Camp which starts tomorrow (19th January) and runs to the 26th January. During this week we also took over a number of responsibilities from the Morrow family as they left Ilo for Ireland via Lima on Monday 14th January. Over the next three months Alicia and I will have more responsibility in looking after the small church plant in Ite, including taking quite a few meetings, looking after the overall running of camps and overseeing the Mision Rescate Team who are based at the Camp Centre for a year.

We really would appreciate your prayers over the few months as we try to be faithful in serving the Lord with what we have been given. As we take on these new responsibilities we are encouraged by seven words from Psalm 29:11 “The Lord gives strength to his people.”

Since moving to Ilo at the end of September Sarah has been spent most of her time at home. On Monday past Sarah started back into and induction month for her new nursery. She will attend the nursery for two hours a day three days a week for a month. After a couple of weeks break she will properly enrol in the nursery at the beginning of March. Once again we ask that you would pray that Sarah will adjust to her new surroundings. To date she has been happy with the concept of going to nursery and making new friends again but the reality has been a little more difficult and there have been a few tears. We hope and pray that very soon she will settle and will pick up where she left off with her Spanish.

Finally we just want to apologise to any of you who may have received some junk mail from us earlier in the week. We are not sure what happened but are suspecting that someone hacked our email. We have now increased security and have not experienced any problems since. As a result of our problem with our email we lost all our email addresses. We were able to retrieve some addresses which we had written down in various places, however if you regularly receive our prayer letters (or emails from us) and would wish to continue doing so please send us an email expressing your desire to do this so that we can store your email address once again. Once again we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused to you. After looking into the problem it seems it is not something that is a threat to others.

As always we want to thank you for your love, prayers and support. You have been such an encouragement to us as a family. We would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone who remembered us in anyway over the Christmas period, be it in prayer, through an email or phone call or by card or parcel.

May God Bless you all.

Season Greetings

2007-12-21T13:31:00.000Z

If you are a regular reader of our blog then you deserve an apology from us for our lack of entries over these last number of weeks. Can I assure you that the reason for this is not because we have been idle or have not wanted to add any entries, in fact it is very much to the contrary!

Since our last entry we have been very busy, Dave has preached on two separate Tuesday evenings in Ite at the Prayer Meeting and Bible Study, we have been planning camps for January with the Morrows and we have been helping to plan and organise a Christmas outreach program for the community in Ite and a program for the La Pampa church in Ilo.

As well as all the busyness which we experienced we also have been blessed to have Alicia’s parents with us from the start of December right through to the end of January. Their presence here with us has been wonderful and they have been great at helping out with various practical things so that we can get on with the planning of programs and so on.

On the 8th December we were able to take just over a weeks break with Alicia’s parents, firstly in Mejia and then in Arequipa. This time out was certainly a welcome break and it was only afterwards that we realised that it was our first real holiday break away somewhere in almost a year and a half. The time spent on the beach digging sandcastles for Sarah and looking for crabs as well as all the books read and miles walked certainly helped us to chill out!

Since arriving back to Ilo on Tuesday we have been busy working alongside Mision Rescate (The Gap Year Team) in order to put together a Christmas program for the La Pampa Church (Friday night) and the community of Ite (Sunday afternoon). We are hoping that through song, the reading of God’s Word, narration and a short message people will hear the true message of Christmas and appreciate that it is much more than just giving and receiving presents but it is about the Incarnation of the greatest gift ever.

After Sunday’s Christmas program we should have a few days to unwind and enjoy some time together as a family. Alicia’s parents plan to travel for about a week in Peru from Boxing Day and the following day some good friends whom we met while at language school in Arequipa are coming to stay with us as they were planning to be passing through Ilo on that date and wanted to take the opportunity to spend some time with us.

Other significant news is that we are expecting our second child at the beginning of June. Alicia has a check up this week (16 weeks) and everything appears well so we really have much to give thanks to God for. We would appreciate your prayers for Alicia and the unborn child over the coming months.

Finally, we want to wish you a wonderful Christmas. We thank you again for you interest you have taken in us and the work here, thanks to you for the prayers that have been prayed over this past year and for the encouraging comments that so many of you have posted over this last year; always at the right time.

An Irish Baptist Team Visit and the Opening of the Camp and Conference Centre in Ite

2007-11-14T11:49:00.000Z

Over the last month or so we have been expecting to get a better idea of what a normal day for a missionary in Ilo involves, however as time has passed it has become apparent that no two days are the same!

Since we arrived in Ilo our time has been spent trying to get settled into our house, settling into Ilo and helping get ready fof the opening of the Camp and Conference Centre in Ite. Prior to the opening of the Camp Centre my (Dave) time was spent working alongside the workers and the Gap Year Team in Ite doing manual work in order to get the Centre ready for the opening. This proved to be interesting as I had not done manual work of this type for many years (I also found out that manual work in Peru means manual as there are no machines for the heavier stuff!) The opportunity to work alongside the Gap Year team and the site workers proved very helpful from a language perspective as well as I found I was picking up new vocabulary. During these weeks I also spent quite a bit of time running back and forth to shops, hardwear stores and other places to get building equipment for the centre.

After working right into the early hours of the morning of the opening of the camp centre, we finally managed to get it ready for the big day. We were delighted that for the opening we could have the presence of eight people from Northern Ireland who arrived in Tacna the morning of the opening. After bringing our guests to Ilo to get a quick cup of coffee and spliting the eight between our house and the Morrows we headed for the Camp Centre.

The opening proved to be a wonderful event in which I believe God was truly glorified and where there were many unbelievers present to witness what God had done. After a number of special events and presentations our Mission Director, Gordon Darragh unveiled a plaque and then we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Following lunch we had a time of praise led by a national pastor and a band from the Gap Year Team, it was truly uplifting. After our time of singing Derek Baxter brought a message from Psalm 100 focusing on our need to be thankful for what he has provided for us. The whole day was sandwiched by Alicia playing "I cannot tell why he whom angels worshipped" to a traditional Irish tune on the flute and by a Peruvian closing with some traditional music on the panpipes and the Peruvian flute.

For us as a family this event was hugely significant and we were delighted to be part of the missionary team in Peru for the opening. One of the most significant events in the lead up to us coming to Peru was when we first heard Trevor present the vision for a Camp and Conference Centre at the annual May meetings over five and a half years ago. At this presentation we already had a desire in our hearts to serve God but were unsure where we could fit in and what gifts we could bring to the missionary team here. As Trevor presented his vision it was as if God was speaking to us directly and confirming that he wanted us to go to Peru and that he would make sure that there was an area in which our gifts could be used. To sit on the day of the opening remembering this and also looking into the future and visualising us being a part of God's work here was very special.

Following the opening we had the joy of hosting the team from Ireland for almost a week in total. It was lovely to have people staying with us and representing all the other people in Ireland who are so faithful in supporting and praying for the work here in Peru. The visit of this group proved to be a huge encouragement to us.

The Friday following the opening of the Camp Centre a day-long ladies conference entitled "Heart to Heart" was held. The day proved to be very uplifting for many of the ladies. The following day the Camp Centre was used for a Youth Conference called "Me Queda Sin Palabras" (Lost for Words). The focus of the conference was on encouraging the young people not to be lost for words when sharing their faith but to be bold in doing so. Although mainly focused on teaching the young people to evanglise there was an evagelistic message within the seminars and we were delighted that at least one young person made a committment to Christ.

Although the official opening has passed, over the coming months workmen will continue working on the Camp Centre as there is still a lot to be done. In the next week or two we also plan to sit down with Trevor and Christine Morrow to map out a program for Camps for January and Febuary. We would appreciate your prayers as we do this.

It seems that a lot lies ahead of us and we will constantly be encountering new challenges in this life where no two days are the same. However we hope that within the next two weeks we can begin some classes with a language tutor so to help ground us in what we learnt in Arequipa and keep us moving in the right direction with regards to language. We are also delighted that we will have a visit from Alicia's Mum and Dad who come at the beginning of December. We are delighted that we will be able to spend time with them and that they will be able to see the work that we are involved in here in Ilo.

I would especially appreciate your prayers over these next couple of weeks as next Tuesday and the following Tuesday I will be sharing from God's Word at the Bible Study and Prayer Meeting in Ite. This will be my first time to share from God's Word in Spanish and so I am a little nervous about this!

This week a special evangelistic campaign has started in the La Pampa Church in Ilo. The Gap Year team are helping with this and as I write this some good opportunities have presented themselves through door to door work. Next week the team will follow up on these opportunities visiting the people in their homes once again. Please pray for them.

Finally over this past six weeks here in Ilo through our running around and general day to day activities it has become evident that we are going to need a vehicle of some kind here in order to be able to really throw ourselves into the work. Again we would ask you to join with us in prayer for this need.

Once again we thank you all for your interest in what we are doing and more importantly in God's Work here in Peru. Thank you for your faithful prayers.

Getting our Feet Wet in Ilo

2007-10-22T17:55:00.000Z

These last couple of weeks in Ilo have been very busy ones and also very interesting. Part of adjusting to life in Ilo has entailed furnishing our house. We have spent alot of time running from one furniture shop to another. We have discovered that buying furniture here in Peru is very different from the same in Ballymena! As we enquired abo various things we have been told to come back the next day or in a week and they will have it, as we do this we are often disappointed as the shop is either closed for no known reason or they still don't have the furniture! At times this has proved to be frustrating as we are keen to get settled and begin to have a more active role in the work here.

Aside from settling in to Ilo we have also been getting to know many of the believers in Ilo and Ite, this has been a real encouragement to us and we trust that over time God can use us to be a huge encouragement to them. Alicia has been attending the ladies meeting in Ite on a weekly basis with Christine and has really enjoyed getting to know these ladies. I have been helping out each Saturday at the Camp Centre where there is now weekly work days for the various churches. I also go out to the Camp Centre a couple of times a week with Trevor to help with the year long evangelism team that is currently based there. While there I am able to go on to the mid week meeting or youth meeting at the Ite church depending on the day. Last week I spent two days in Tacna with Trevor as he was looking for materials and equipment for the camp centre. The opening of the centre is Saturday 3rd November. The building work is not yet complete but we will have to be content with this come 3rd November as there is too much to be done to finish off. This week the workers will continue to work on construction, painting, wiring etc and then next week their time will be devoted to cleaning up and preparing for the opening. Fortunately the Gap team have been able to lend a labouring hand at the centre.

Sarah seems to have settled well here in Ilo. We had initially planned to put her in a nursery here as she developed so well and made some good friends in here nursery in Arequipa, however after giving if some thought we decided against this idea. The school year in Peru ends at Christmas time and then restarts in March. We thought that Sarah needed time to settle and adjust to life here before being thrown into another new situation. We felt that one change in March would be sufficient as if we sent here now if would be likely that she would have to change school again in March again as the nurseries here seem to be different from Arequipa. They go up to 3 years and then there is a different school for over 3s. So far it has worked out well, we are enjoying having her around the house a little more and she does not seem to be missing out on the chance to mix with other children or to speak spanish either. God has truly been good.

Life in Ilo

2007-10-03T00:10:00.000Z

On Thursday past we left the sunny hills of Arequipa for the dull and gloomy shores of Ilo. However although there was not much brightness in the sky this trip signaled a new dawn for us as we prepared to set up home in Ilo. Surprisingly the move went very smoothly. We had arranged for a removal lorry to come at 9am to take our luggage and when a lady from the business arrived at the door at 10am to enquire what time we wanted the lorry at we began to doubt whether our stuff would ever arrive in Ilo! After this hiccup everything else went as planned.

We travelled to Ilo with Trevor Morrow who had come to Arequipa to pick us up and to get some items in Arequipa for the camp centre. Fortunately his time in Arequipa was very productive as he was able to get more than he had anticipated.

It was planned that we would stay with the Morrows in their house until we got things sorted in our own house and arrangements had been made to meet the owners of our house on Thursday afternoon, however after not getting left as early as anticipated we postponed this appointement until Friday morning. When we did see the house and meet the owners we found that the house was spotless and the owner had gone to great lengths to help us settle in. We are already thankful for the wonderful ladylords we have for our house and trust that over time we will be able to get to know them better.

Since we got the keys of our house most of our time has been consumed organising our stuff, going to the market to buy essential items and spending time with Sarah. Once again Sarah seems to have coped with the transition remarkably well. We can do nothing other than thank God for this and thank God for a wonderful toddler who brings us so much joy. We hope to allow Sarah a few weeks of adjusting to her new environment before we enroll her in a nursery and so this week we may begin looking at the various possibilities. We would appreciate your prayers that we would find somewhere where she would be equally as happy as she was in Arequipa and that she would soon make a new group of friends.

As we become more settled with practical items in our house we hope to be able to establish an idea of where we will best fit in to the work here in Ilo and Ite. We are praying that God will direct us to the right place. It is likely that our role will be multi-faceted and we are fairly certain that part of this will revolve around the new camp and conference centre in Ite. We ask for your prayers for the opening of the centre in the first week in November. As yet the construction is not completed and funds are low. Please pray with us that the deadline and also financial commitments could be met. I know that the MEET (Gap Year) Team would appreciate your prayers too as they arrive on Thursday. Their time here will involve planning and helping to run camps and also some evangelism work in the Baptist churches throughout the South of Peru.

Again we thank you for your support and for remembering us as a family and the rest of the work of Baptist Missions in Peru.

Stage 1 Completed

2007-09-22T01:32:00.000Z

Today we finished our studies at the Language Institute. After 28 weeks of study at the Institute we said our goodbyes today during a small party that was held for our farewell. The goal had always been to move on from the Institute and not to stay here in Arequipa but after 28 weeks working with various teachers we have developed a bond with many of them and so our goodbyes were much more difficult to say than we thought they would be. On the other hand our graduation from the Institute gave us a sense of achievement and a great awareness of how with God's help we have developed from having very little Spanish to being able to converse in Spanish.

The end of this chapter also marks the beginning of the next chapter - our work in Ilo (which was the reason we came to Peru). We will make this move next Thursday. Tomorrow morning I (Dave) will join many of the teachers and students from the Institute for the weekly game of football and then afterwards we (as a family) have been invited to enjoy lunch with our teachers Julio and Miriam at their house. In the evening we have been asked to come along to the youth fellowship of of church in order to judge a fancy dress competition. It should be fun.

On Sunday we will say goodbye to many from our church, and will likely be required to say something to the church in relation to our leaving. Alicia has also been asked to play her flute during the service, something she has not had much opportunity to do since coming here.

Next week will involve packing up our last few things and also trying to fit in a number of things in that we have not yet been able to do in Arequipa. One of the things we want to see but have not seen is the project our church is involved in in a shanty town area of Arequipa. The church has a small school there providing free schooling and some nutrition for children who cannot afford such things.

On Wednesday we hope to have a little bit of time to visit Sarah's nursery as they are having a farewell for her there too. It will also give us a little longer to see how she has developed. Normally we don't see her in class as we are in class at the same time but according to her teacher she is talking away in Spanish and really interacting well with the rest of the class. More recently Sarah had been mothering one of the newer younger kids in the nursery!

As the title says step 1 (our time at the language institute) has been completed, however as I have written previously we still need more practice and time studying on our own in order to raise our level of Spanish. Step 2 will involve settling into Ilo. It will be a much more difficult step to measure in terms of its completion, however as we settle little by little we will get more involved in the work there. As we settle we will also be able to identify exactely what areas of the work we will be involved in.

The Road Ahead

2007-09-04T23:24:00.000Z

Since we arrived in Peru in January we have been so encouraged at how so many of you have maintained an interest in our adjustment to life in Peru and news of of development here. as we come to the end of our time of official language study we feel it is appropriate to let you know of the changes and challenges that lie ahead so that you can be up to date with our situation and can continue to remember us in prayer.

Friday September 21st will be our last day at the language school. As is custom we will have a small party as a farewell on this day. On the one hand it will be an exciting day as it will be the closure of one chapter here in Peru and the beggning of the next chapter. Language Study has been a necessary step in the preparation for what we came to Peru for - to share the Love of Christ with those who have never heard of it. Having said this over the past six months we have made some good friends, particularly with the teachers who have invested so much time and energy into our development. It will be difficult to say our goodbyes to them but we will keep good contact with many of the friends we have made. The last number of weeks have been building up to us leaving the language institute as we have been spending lots of time working through some tests in order to identify our weaknesses and then the rest of the time has been spent working on these areas of weakness.

The time at the language institute has been hugely beneficial and it is encouraging that having arrived in Peru with virtually no Spanish we can now have conversations with people. We have been very impressed with the system that the institute has used and the amount of time and energy the teachers have been willing to expend in order to ensure we understand things well, however at this point and time we are far from fluent. We still lack alot of vocabularly that can only be adquired from experience and time in the country. We also need lots more practice in conversation in order to become more competant Spanish speakers. With this in mind we are pleased that we will soon move on and be more involved with people and involved in real life situations where we will have to make more use of what language we have. We feel that with the base we already have this will enable us to develop from our current level. We also plan to have a tutor working with us for a few hours a week who will help us.

After finishing language study on 21st September we will have almost a week to pack up and get ready for our move to Ilo. We are currently making plans for the removal of our personal stuff and a number of furniture items that we have bought in Arequipa over the last number of weeks. We have had to buy a number of things here in Arequipa as they are either not available in Ilo or there is not as good a selection there. Hopefully during this week we will also have enough time to say goodbyes to some of the people we have got to know here.

During our last visit to Ilo in July we had the opportunity to look at a couple of houses. One of the houses we saw we really liked and were praying that it would be possible for us to rent this house. There was a degree of doubt about the availability of this house to us but on Saturday past we heard that the owners were willing to rent it to us and wanted to accomodate us in any way they could. We praise the Lord that this is available to us and that we will be arriving in Ilo having seen inside the house we will be living in. God has been more than good to us, thank you for praying with us.

Our first couple of weeks in Ilo will mainly involve us getting settled into the house and organising our stuff. We plan to put Sarah into a nursery once again as it has helped her so much and it is good for her to have the interaction with other kids her age, but we will probably allow her a couple of weeks in Ilo to settle in her new surroundings before we enrol her anywhere.

A week after we arrive in Ilo the Baptist Missions Gap year team will arrive. We will be working alongside these young people who will be working at the Camp and Conference Centre in Ite with 9 Peruvian young people. We are excited about this opportunity. I know that these young people would appreciate your prayers as they prepare for a busy year of camps and evangelism with some of the churches in the mountains.

We are also likely to have some form of church involvement. At present the nature of this involvement remains to be seen, we are unsure whether this will be in the small church plant in Ite or in the more established La Pampa church in Ilo. We would appreciate your prayers that we would fit in where God wants us to be involved.

One other area for pray is regarding our driving licences. At present we do not have Peruvian driving licences but eventually we will have to drive in and out to Ite on a regular basis. We hope to be able to take our Peruvian driving test as soon as possible in order that we can get around a little bit more easily.

Once again we want to thank you all for your interest and prayers in the work of Baptist Missions and particularly in us as a family. We are deeply indebted to you because without your prayers we could not be here.

The End is in Sight

2007-08-27T01:33:00.000Z

As we write this we are counting down the number of days we have left at the Language Institute - exactly 4 weeks. It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of our formal language learning as in many ways we still feel very green to Peru and to the language.

We are very excited about the prospect of moving on to the next step but at the same time I am sure you can imagine that after spending 6 months of intensive language study with our teachers that we have bonded really well with them and become great friends. In many ways it is a disservice to call it a language institute as the teachers have helped us with our cultural adaptation, our emotional health and our spiritual health. We are grateful to God for having met our teachers and for the amount they have imparted to us.

Over the last week we were given a number of exams in the institute. The idea was to identify where we were and what our weaknesses are and then work on these areas over the last month. This has been really helpful to date and we look forward to polishing up a few more weaknesses in the coming weeks. We plan to keep studying when we leave the institute - perhaps a few hours a week so that we can continue to develop. Hopefully when we arrive in Ilo we will be able to find a tutor who can assist us with this.

The plan is that we will move house from Arequipa to Ilo on the 27th of September. Over the last couple of weeks and for the incoming weeks we have been and will be making preparations for our move. Things that we need to organise include transport of our stuff from Arequipa to Ilo. We are also planning on picking up some furniture here in Arequipa before moving as it is generally cheaper here, often of better quality and there is a much wider selection. This last week we were sofa shopping. At home this is a relatively straight forward task, the problem is often that there is too much choice. Here sofa shopping is a different story! It is rare to go into a shop and see the exact model you like here. Rather you must come to the shop with an idea of the style you would like and then from a selection of materials choose your covering, then choose the firmness of the sofa and then they make the sofa for you. It is important when you do this to pick an honest and well-known sofa maker as quality varies. After looking around many shops we have finally come to the point where we are about ready to make a decision. After we place our order we will be able to go and inspect the wood, material and filling for the sofa. To us this is another interesting aspect of the culture that we are being exposed to.

In the next week or ten days we will have to organise the transport of our sofa and other goods to Ilo. At present we believe we have found a suitable house in Ilo but will not hear until the end of August or the beginning of September if it will definitely be available to us. Once we know we can begin making a few more concrete plans and preparing for our impending move.

Our arrival in Ilo will just about coincide with the arrival of a gap year team from Ireland coming to work at the camp centre and in other projects for the the year. We are very excited about this team and look forward to meeting the individuals and working with them.

Once again we thank you for praying for us and know that all our forthcoming plans will be covered in prayer. We really appreciate your prayers and were touched by many people's concern and prayers after the recent earthquake, thank you. The media hype from this tragic event has subsided, however many, many people are still in desperate situations and it will take months and even years to rebuild their homes and their lives, please continue to pray for them.

Earthquake in Peru

2007-08-16T23:56:00.000Z

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

Romans 8:22

Last night the reality of the fact that the world that we live in is imperfect and is not our permanent home became much more real to us. At 6:41pm Peru time, Peru experienced one of the worst earthquakes the country has seen in recent times. The quake, now being recorded as having a magnitude of 8.0 shook buildings in Lima and other coastal areas, with the Ica region being the worst hit. At present the death toll has risen to almost 500 but with many people trapped under collapsed buildings it is expected to rise. Some regions are still without electricity, communications and running water while other regions have been cut off from the rest of the country as some major roads have virtually been split in two by the quake.

Fortunately Arequipa and the regions that Baptist Missions work in did not suffer much in terms of damage and no lives were lost in these areas however many of our friends here in Arequipa have relatives and friends in these areas and to date they have been unable to get in touch with them. It is a particularly distressing time for them.

We ask you to pray for the people who have lost family and friends and for others who have lost homes. In one city it was reported that 60% of the homes there had collapsed in the quake. As we watch the news and see bodies being lined up in the streets it is hard to understand this situation, however we would ask you to pray that Peru would realise that this earth is "groaning" and is an imperfect dwelling place for us but that God is building a mansion in heaven for those who trust in Him.

For more information on the earthquake: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6949984.stm

For pictures of some of the worst affected areas:

http://media.elcomercio.com.pe/peruenemergencia/

Holidays Come to an End

2007-08-06T14:20:00.000Z

Today is our first day of not being on holiday for two weeks. We will resume classes this morning and the thought that we only have another eight weeks of language study left is a huge motivation to get stuck back in again but the same thought also terrifies us! How are we going to manage after language school?!

Our two weeks off from studies were two excellant weeks. The time off enabled us to relax quite a bit and divert from our usual daily routine. During our first week of holidays Sarah was still in nursery and so we had the freedom to do things together each morning in Arequipa, something whihc we have not had for a long time. As anticipated this involved visiting coffee shops amongst some other things.

On Friday 27th July we travelled down to Ilo by bus for a week. In the morning Sarah was required to be in nursery as the children were doing a special presentation for Fiestas Patrias - Peru Day. She had to dress up as a typical Liminian (Someone from Lima). Immediately after Sarah's presentation we got on the bus for the 4 hour journey to Ilo.

Our time in Ilo was very relaxing and very much a holiday, athough we did feel that we achieved a number of things while there as well. On the Saturday morning after arriving in Ilo there was a work day for all the churches at the Camp and conference centre, to help with the building of the centre. For almost three hours I (Dave) shovelled soil into a wheelbarrow so we could bring the foundation of the kitchen up two feet. It was really enjoyable as I was able to converse with many of the other Peruvians who I was working alongside. It proved to be a helpful experience from the perspective of giving me opportunity to converse a little in spanish as well. Unfortunately when I woke up on Sunday morning with aching muscles I did not value the experience quite so much!

We also had the opportunity to talk about some preparations for our move to Ilo at the end of September or the beginning of October. During the week we viewed two houses. One of the houses we really liked and would be very keen to take it. At this point we are unsure whether we will be able to get it but we are praying that if this is not the one then God would provide somewhere else for us. Please pray with us regarding this situation.

Since arriving back in Arequipa we have renewed enthusiam for studying and despite the break seem to have picked up where we left off. We have also began thinking through some of the practical details for our impending move. In the midst of all this we decided we did not have enough to occupy our minds and had a moment of madness and bought a dog. We had our eye on a little golden retriever pup for a number of weeks and eventually gave in as there seemed to be so many good reason why we should! Since buying it and bringing it home Sarah has named it after the Penguin in her DVD - Scamper! She adores the dog and the dog loves her - so much so that it jumps up on her and nearly knocks her over!

Once again we do appreciate your interest in what we are doing here and your prayers are very much valued. Could you please pray that we will continue well to the end of our language course and make good progress and that as we leave we would feel well equipped for the next step. Please also pray for all the plans that will need to be made in the coming 2 months.

Mid-Winter Vacations

2007-07-21T17:51:00.000Z

Yesterday was our last day of studies for two weeks as the Institute is closed for mid-winter holidays which includes Peru Day on July 28th. We are looking forward to a few weeks off to relax a little. We plan to spend about a week of the holidays in Arequipa relaxing, and enjoying some new things in the city. As a result of the recent strike Sarah will have nursery next week and so will give us the opportunity to spend some time together, this will most likely involve coffee!

We don't want to get too lazy during our time off and so will also try and spend sometime with some of our Peruvian friends here in Arequipa. This will stop us from going backwards with the language during our holidays.

For our second week of holidays we hope to go to Ilo and spend some time with the Morrows. While we are in Ilo hopefully we will also have the opportunity to look at potential houses and perhaps make some other preparations for our long term arrival in Ilo.

After our holidays we will probably only have another 8 weeks of classes at the language institute left. If everything goes according to plan we will move on from Arequipa at the end of September or the beginning of October. Our time at the institute has been very beneficial for us and we thank God for the people who have invested time and energy into us so we could pick up the language and the culture. We are by no means fluent in the language and at times struggle, which is natural but the time here has given us to tool to work with. When we leave here we will still need to spend plenty of time each week revising over things on our own and then trying to communicate these things with people. The one benefit of Ilo will be that we will be in much more real and permanent setting and will therefore have many more opportunities to converse in natural ministry settings.

Recently our time at the Institute has been split between doing Bible studies in Spanish, answering questions and creating questions from passages and also analysing passages and their meanings. This has been hugely helpful for our language development, particularly in order to develop a Biblical vocabulary but it has also given us an insight into some cultural views and responses to certain doctrines. The other part of the language study has involved reading through "The Purpose Driven Life" in spanish "Una Vida con Proposito" with a tutor. This also has been really helpful for numerous reasons, including pronounciation and vocabulary development. Interestingly as we have worked on our language, in this way God has been feeding us and we have been learning new things from His word - in Spanish!

A Visit from Belfast

2007-07-13T01:28:00.000Z

Last weekend we had the pleasure of a visit from our Mission Director, Gordon Darragh, his wife, Janet and daughter, Amy. Having them with us gaveus the opportunity to relax a little and to join in some of the touristy things that they were doing in Arequipa.

During our sightseeing of the city we were able to go to a number of lookout points that overlook the city and enjoy the spectacular views with the snow peaked mountians in the background. We also spent some time at a park with children's amusements and a lake. Although the purpose of our visit was to give Amy and Sarah something to entertain them we all thoroughly enjoyed our time there, particularly our little lap of the lake in the rowing boat.

One of the more interesting activites that we did was to visit the musuem of the ice mummy "Juanita". The museum told the story of Juanita through various artifacts. The city of Arequipa is surrounded by volcanoes. The Incas in Peru believed that everytime a volcano erupted it was a message from the gods telling them that they were angry. In order to appease the gods the Incas used to choose a child to sacrifice at the top of the mountain (almost 6000 metres) after a long pilgrimage.

Juanita was an eleven year old girl who at birth was "the chosen child" who would be used to appease the gods. She made her pilgrimage with her family knowing that she was the chosen one and woud be sacrificed. After she was sacrificed at the top of the mountain she was then buried about two metres under the surface. At 6000 metres the body of Juanita very quickly froze. Hundreds of years later Juanita's body was discovered still frozen and with everything in place including her hair. The climax of the visit to the museum was a display of Juanita in a glass freezer. The idea of it sounds horrible but the museum visit was fascinating as it gave us a great insight into the history and culture of the Incas. Hundreds of years later many Peruvians still believe that natural disasters are the gods' ways of demonstrating their anger.

As I was taken through the museum I could not help draw parallels between Juanita "the chosen one to appease the gods" and the chosen one, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Unfortunately for Juanita her willingness to die was in vain, however, we know that the death (and resurrection) of Jesus was not in vain. I could not help leaving the museum thanking God that through the chosen one, Jesus Christ, we have been freed from much more than the fury of the volcanoes but that we have been freed from the burden of our sins.

Following the Darragh departure we were thinking that everything would return to normal here, however it was just after they left that we discovered that there would be strikes thoughout Arequipa. The scale of the strikes left us housebound and needing to miss a number of classes. Fortunately the strikes are not as intense as they were and have since been able to return to classes, however, the situation has not yet been resolved with the government and more intense strikes are inevitable if a resolution is not found.

In terms of our classes, as previously mentioned we would be taking a second practical class with the intention of working on some Biblical vocabulary now that we have finished our grammar course. We have just started reading The Purpose Driven Life in Spanish (Una Vida Con Proposito). So far this has been really good and we are enjoying this. From next Friday we will have two weeks off for mid-winter break here. We plan to spend a little bit of this time with the Morrows in Ilo. We may even get the chance to look at a number of potential houses while we are there. For the remainder of our holiday we plan to relax a little, take opportunities to use our Spanish and do some studying on our own so we don't forget anything!

At language institute with our grammar teacher, Julio.

Field Conference in Ite

2007-07-06T02:10:00.001Z

The Missionary Families who gathered for Field Conference on 29th and 30th of June in Ite

Last Thursday we travelled by bus from Arequipa to Ilo. Although our field conference in Ite was not due to commence until Friday lunch time we were keen to arrive a little earlier as we were aware that the Baptist Missions Summer team would also be arriving in Ilo on Thursday and we were keen to meet the members and spend a little bit of time with them.

We arrived in Ilo on Thursday in time for lunch with the team. In the evening the team headed out to Ite where they would be staying. Alicia and Christine also went to Ite for the weekly ladies meeting.

On Friday morning we set off for Ite where we would spend the next two days at field conference where Pastor Harry Dowds would be sharing from God's Word. Shortly after we arrived the whole missionary family in Peru had lunch together and then we began our first session. It would be fair to say that throughout the conference we were really well fed. We had more than enough excellant food to eat, lots of coffee and some excellant spiritual food as Pastor Dowds shared from Psalm 23. The feeling from all was that his messages were really hit the spot, the messages were both challenging and encouraging.

Following the conference we stayed in Ilo until Monday morning and travelled back to Arequipa with the Baptist Missions team. It was encouraging to be able to attend various services over the weekend in both Ite and Ilo in which the team were invovled. On Saturday evening I (Dave) was able to join the team as they were invovled in the young people's meeting which was preceeded by a dinner. It was a really enjoyable evening and great to see the enthusiasm of the young people.

On Sunday we were back in Ite once again, firstly for Sunday School and then for the Sunday morning service, which was followed by a lunch prepared by some of the ladies from Ite. On Sunday evening the team was invovled in the service at the La Pampa church in Ilo. We had a number of opportunities to speak to different Peruvian believers over the course of the weekend. On the whole for the weekend was a really benificial weekend.

Field Conference

2007-06-29T02:01:00.000Z

On Wednesday we had our last Spanish grammar class. We had been due to finish grammar the previous week but due to Dave being sick we had one extra week of grammar. We had a real sense of achievement at completing the course, however in terms of langugae study it only means that there is more work ahead of us! Next week we will increase from one practical class a day to two classes a day instead of grammar. The idea now is to get lots of practice speaking and begin using the grammar that we have been taught.

Today (Thursday) we travelled by bus to Ilo. We will spend the evening with the Morrows, before heading out to Ite for our field conference tomorrow morning. This will invovle a series of meetings where Pastor Harry Dowds, who has accompanied the Baptist Team this year will speak. We are looking forward to being refreshed and challenged by God´s Word.

We plan to travel back to Arequipa after the weekend and then in the middle of the week Gordon Darragh, his wife Janet and eight year old daughter Amy will join us for a few nights. Sarah is looking forward to Amy´s company - and Gordon and Janet too of course!

A Reminder that Peru Needs the the Freeing Message of the Gospel

2007-06-23T21:39:00.000Z

Today (Saturday) we decided that since Sarah and I (Dave) had recovered from our stomach bugs that we could venture out into the town for a while as we had both been stuck in the apartment for most of the week. It was nice to get a change of scenery and we were also able to enjoy a lovely meal out at lunchtime, our day as a family was just what the doctor ordered!

As we were on our way into the town in a taxi and passing under the bridge that ran above us our attention was drawn to a crowd standing below the bridge on the other side of the road. It became apparent that the crowd were standing around a body. About ten minutes previous to us passing a young person had thrown themselves off the bridge above. This is not an isolated event as suicides are very common here in Peru, however as we passed it struck me how hopeless so many people here in Peru feel. It was a reminder to us how many people need God to touch their desperate situations. It was a reminder that so many people here do not know that they are special to God, that their lives are precious, and have never heard Jesus' words of John 10:10 that he Has come to bring life and that we may have it to it to the full.

As I thought about this tragic event my heart was moved but it also confirmed to us the need to share God's love with so many people in desperate situations here in Peru. Praise God that the Gospel is a message a of hope, a message that assures us that our lives are valuable and ultimately it is a message that can deliver from darkness.

A Few Hiccups (for want of a better word!) and a Few Upcoming Events

2007-06-18T23:39:00.000Z

We had been really fortunate that in 25 months of Sarah's life and 5 months in Peru Sarah had not been sick. On Friday the inevitable happened! When Alicia went to collect Sarah from her nursery Sarah's teacher told her that Sarah had been sick four times that morning. Apparently a stomach virus has been working its way around the children.

We brought Sarah home and in the evening she seemed to pick up quite a bit and she was not being sick as often. On Saturday morning Sarah seemed much better and at that point we had thought that she had just picked up a 24 hour bug. Sarah's nursery had planned a Father's Day performanc on Saturday morning and given that she seemed much better we decided to allow her to go. Unfortunately, the performance did not go to plan. Unlike Sarah's Mother's Day performance where she stole the show as the only child on stage to follow instructions, in this performance she copied her classmates and just stood motionless with a big frown on her face. (Therefore we have withheld the photos this time!)

Following Sarah's performance (or lack of!) she came down into the audience and watched the rest of the classes doing their bit. Half way through the programme she decided to be sick once again. I guess her Father's Day gift was to completely miss her Dad and totally cover her mum! At this we decided it was time to make a quick exit! Fortunately now after being prescribed some medicine Sarah is much better and well on the road to recovery.

With regards to our Spanish classes, things are going quite well. Up to this point we have had two classes each day. One class was to get a grasp of the grammar and the other class was a conversation class which allowed us to use the grammar we had been learning. This Friday will be our last grammar class and from then on we will have two practical/conversation classes a day. Just because we are finished grammar does not mean we are anywhere near fluent as knowing the rules of the grammar and being able to apply them in conversations are completely different things, however we are glad that we have made progress and day by day we are growing in confidence (although there are still days of frustration!)

From now on we will also be able to develop our Biblical and theological vocabulary as in one of our practical classes we will be expected to work through a Spanish Christian book of our choice and write summaries of the chapters, discuss topics and probably a whole lot more. We are looking forward to this and hope that it will also enable us to get a better grasp of the sermons we have been hearing in our church. Again thanks to all who have been praying for our progress in language study, we really are committed to getting the language really well (although we know that we will be learning for many years and that the language school is really just to get us off the ground and able to communicate), as we really want to be able to communicate God's love to the people here in the most simple and understandable manner.

Next week will be a short week at the language institute as we have a Mission Conference at the new Camp Centre in Ite. We will leave Arequipa on Thursday by bus and come back on Monday morning. We are looking forward to meeting the Baptist Missions team from Ireland while there and also to being encouraged by Harry Dowds' ministry. Pray that we will be refreshed by this time both spiritually and physically and please pray for Harry as he prepares God's Word.

A Welcome Break

2007-06-08T01:45:00.000Z

At the end of last week we had Friday off from the language institute as we had to go to our field meeting in Tacna. We decided that since we would not be back in Arequipa until Sunday evening we would also take Monday off from studies and use the time as a little break since we had been feeling quite tired by all the studying. It was great to meet up with the other missionaries in Tacna once again and spend some time in prayer with them.

Following the meeting we travelled across to Ilo with Trevor Morrow where we spent the rest of the weekend. we had a great time with the Morrows and Sarah enjoyed being spoilt by all! We found it so refreshing to be away from the hussle and bussle of the city here in Arequipa and to be able to spend time on the coast. It was almost like being at home!

While in Ilo we were able to take a short boat trip around the port. We stopped at various points to see the seals. Sarah was fascinated with this, and although enjoyed the boat trip was a little less amused when we pulled into port once again!

The cliche of short and sweet was definitely true of our weekend away and our break from studying. It seemed like we had no sooner arrived in Ilo than we were getting on the bus for the five hour journey back to Arequipa. To make the most of the break on Monday morning we took Sarah into nursery and since we had the day off studies we were able to spend time together looking around some shops and enjoying a coffee together.

On Tuesday we were back into class with renewed enthusiasm and energy. I am sure by the time the weekend comes around again we will be ready for another couple of days rest!

Contrasting the Rich and the Poor

2007-05-31T13:28:00.000Z

This week has been an interesting week. On Saturday we had the pleasure of being able to go to The Arequipa International Club which is an exclusive leisure complex in the city with some missionary friends from the language institute (they have a little boy of a similar age to Sarah). It was beautiful, and a real nice change to be able to allow Sarah the freedom to run around outside and enjoy the grass and all the outside play equipment like slides, swings and much more (Unfortunately Arequipa has very few green areas and certainly not many play parks that we know of). Sarah had a real ball and had it not been that she was so tired we would have kept her there all day. Just before we left the Club we took Sarah for a dip in the swimming pool (something she has not done since Christmas as none of the public pools here are heated or particularly clean). We were glad to be able to splash out on this little treat for Sarah as she enjoyed it so much. It was actually something we had planned to do for her birthday but never got around to it.

On Wednesday of this week the language institute took a group to a school in on the outscrirts of the city of Arequipa in quite a poor area. It was interesting to see how little the school had in terms of resources.

The purpose of the visit was twofold, to give us an opportunity to speak in Spanish and to encourage the students in the school of the value of education. Each of us were required to share a little bit about our country and then explain the education system in our country. As the whole concept was to encourage the students many of us then talked about the value of education and the possibilities that it creates. Although the school is a state school and therefore Catholic we were given freedom to talk about what we wanted. In two of the sessions we were involved in the young people were told that they need not look up to foreigners like idols as we were no better than them. They were told that there was no one more valuable to God than them and no one less valuable, no matter how they felt about themselves.

It was certainly an interesting week. A week on contrast where we began with a visit to the International Club where we were likely mixing it with some of Arequipa's more wealthy individuals to visiting this school where they did not even have a map of the world never mind decent computers!

On Friday 1st June (tomorrow) we plan to fly to Tacna for field meetings. We will then travel across to Ilo with the Morrows for the weekend. We look forward to spending some time with them and to seeing many of the believers in Ilo once again. We also trust that it will be a nice break for us and take our minds off the studying just for a couple of days. We feel that after three months of intense studying we are now due a "wee break."

Another Taste of Peruvian Culture

2007-05-26T02:15:00.000Z

We have been thinking what a privilege it is to have Sarah attending a nursery here in Arequipa. Not only does Sarah absolutely love going to the nursery and interacting with her new friends and teacher but she is also being given many opportunities to do things that perhaps she would not have done at home. Through many of the activities and events that Sarah has been invovled in over the last number of weeks (including birthday parties, mother's day performances and most obscure of all 'Week of Infant Education') we too have been able to gain an insight into the Peruvian culture.

We feel blessed in so many ways for Sarah, her enthusiasm for life (although sometimes we struggle to keep up with her!) and the fun she brings to our own lives. However, we never really considered that God would use her to help us understand and adjust to the Peruvian culture. We thank God for her and for the way he is using her to help us. Maybe Sarah will never understand how important she is in helping us with life here in Peru.

This past week was a special week in her nursery (actually nearly every week seems to be a special week just for a different reason - if you had not gathered by now Peruvians like their special events and activities!). It was the week of Infant Education (no, we are not too sure what that means either). It invovled a party on Wednesday with lots of sweet stuff for the kids to enjoy and then today all the children were required to come in fancy dress. Sarah meowed all the way to nursery this morning dressed up like a cat!

Sometimes all the special events and parties make us wish we were in nursery again, especially when we think about all the verb conjugations we need to remember and all the homework that awaits us every evening. On the other hand we know that we are putting in all the hard work for a reason and the satisfaction from being accomplished in Spanish will far exceed all the hard work we are putting in now. We look forward to being able to use our language in a more meaningful way. This week we had the opportunity to converse with a girl from the church for three hours. Yes we were exhausted afterwards but really encouraged at the same time that we were able to hold a conversation in Spanish for that long! This was a real encouragement to us and although we recognise that we still have a long way to go we need to take each day as it comes and be encouraged by the progress we have made to date.

We thank God also for a number of other English-speaking people that he has brought into our lives. It is draining speaking Spanish all the time and not being able to express exactly what you want to say--just being able to speak English is a blessing at times! We really appreciate your prayers as we continue with our studies.

It is amazing how God answers our prayers and so often beyond our expectations. Before we left home the biggest issue for concern in our minds was how Sarah would settle. We have been overwhelmed by the degree of her adjustment and the way she is enjoying life and chittering away in both English and Spanish. We will soon be learning more than cultural things through her, we anticipate her to develop her Spanish beyond ours and some day she will be correcting our mistakes. Pray that we will be humble and accept her corrections when that day comes!

Star in the Making!

2007-05-17T01:44:00.000Z

Just a little clip from Sarah's Birthday party in her nursery. It proved to be a little different from what we are used to, however Sarah had a great day!

Mother's Day is not only celebrated on a different date the the UK it is celebrated in a slightly different manner too! Take a little look at the performance that Sarah, her class and some of the other children from her nursery put on for their mothers!

Feliz Cumpleanos y Feliz Dia de la Madre!!

2007-05-09T23:30:00.000Z

On Tuesday we were treated to a little bit of Peruvian culture as we discovered that Peruvian's really know how to go to town for birthdays and special events.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is Sarah's second birthday and the teachers at her nursery has asked us if we would be organising a party in the nursery for her. We were unsure what to do but after a few enquiries we discovered that the normal practice was to organise a party. After agreeing to the party we were then asked if we wanted to hold the party for the whole nursery (50 children) or if we wanted to just have it for her class. We decided that 20 children was a little more manageable! We were then asked whether we would like to hire clowns in or if we would prefer dancers! We decided to decline this kind offer, not so sure Sarah would appreciate their talents!!

Alicia was able to use her practical classes preparing for the party and found it really useful in enhancing her vocabularly. On Tuesday (the day of the party - we were not able to have the party on her real birthday as another child was having her party on that day) Alicia and I both had to miss our grammar class in order to be at the party, but what an experience, it may not have helped our grammar but it certainly gave us a little bit more of an insight into the culture here in Peru. Things kicked off with all the children dancing to some music (remember these are 2 year olds!) and then they sang Happy Birthday in English and Spanish.

Alicia had prepared some snacks; marshmallows coated in chocolate, a birthday cake, crisps, fizzy drinks, jelly and biscuits to name a few of the things. The kids delved into the snacks and spilled as much over the floor as they did into their little mouths! Sarah had a real blast at the party and all the other kids seemed to enjoy it too. Afterwards Sarah recieved an invitation to the Birthday Party on Thursday which had forced her party to be moved to Tuesday. She will certainly be getting a taste for Birthday parties!

Sunday is Mother's Day in Peru and so on Friday all the Mother's are invited to the nursery for a special presentation by the kids. This proves to be another culture lesson for us. We will let you know how this turns out. Our only concern about all these events are that next week Sarah is off nursery for a break, we are not sure we can entertain her in quite the same way as she has been this week!!!

Language Study - Week 8

2007-04-25T23:32:00.000Z

The main focus of our day here in Arequipa has been language study. Over these last few weeks we have felt that we have progressed a little more in our ability to communicate in Spanish. We recognise that we have a long way to go but we have begun to feel much more confident in speaking in Spanish and have been able to pick up quite a bit more than previously.

On Sunday we went to church as usual and as has been the case were going expecting not to understand much of the sermon. This had proved to be a little frustrating for us over the last number of weeks, however on Sunday past we recieved a real surprise. We were able to understand most of the sermon, we understood all the main points and many of the sub-points and anecdotes. What a blessing it was to us!

Recently we had also decided that in order to continue developing in our language study we would need to have more oportunities to converse with people outside of the language school and beyond our current visits to the supermarket and markets. On Sunday as we were leaving church we were invited to a small group Bible study (which of course is in Spanish). This was a real answer to prayer. Unfortunately we are both not able to go to this Bible Study together but we have decided that since the study is weekly we will take it week about. On Monday past Alicia went to the Bible Study for the first time. She really enjoyed the study and was able to understand most of the discussion on Romans 12:1-2. Most of the people who attend this study are a similar age to ourselves and so she found it really good to be able to mix with Peruvian's at the same stage as us in life.

I (Dave) have also been asked to play football with a number of Peruvians that I met through the language institute. Again this has provided an opportunity to make new Peruvian friends and to be able to use what we learn at the language school. It has also provided me with an opportunity to play football for the first time in 6 months since I broke my ankle. (Alicia would appreciate your prayers for my safety as I get back into football again!)

This weekend we hope to have two of our language teachers Julio and his wife, Miriam for lunch, either Saturday or Sunday. It should be good as they both speak English but we will probably end up speaking Spanish for most of time.

Thank You once again for praying for us!

We have really appreciated your prayers and the way so many of you have followed what we have been up to through this blog. We regularly thank God for you and for your faithfulness in remembering us. We know that God has answered many of your prayers and have had a deep sense of His presence since we arrived here three months ago now. Right now we would appreciate your prayers that God would keep us safe here in Arequipa, and again to continue praying for our increased understanding and ability to speak Spanish.

Life in Arequipa

2007-04-16T00:13:00.000Z

Apologies to those who check this blog regularly that we have not updated the blog for a while. Our life in Arequipa is following a fairly routine pattern now. This is not to say that we are not enjoying our time here but generally our daily routine involves getting up, getting ready, taking Sarah to nursery, going to the Language Institute, picking Sarah up from nursery, going home and doing homework.

In between these routine items we sometimes find time to do something different like watch a movie, have our dinner out or visit a market for some shopping.

We sometimes find ourselves feeling we should be more advanced in our language study but then we have to remind ourselves that we have actually only done 6 weeks at the institute and will be here until at least September. When we look at it that way we realise how much we have been able to pack into a short space of time. Some days when we are out we have interactions with Peruvians which leaves us feeling satisfied that we could commmunicate well, while other times we come away completely disccouraged as we were unable to understand a word!

On the whole last week was a really positive week for both Alicia and myself at the Language Institute and we really seemed to be progressing well. We were taught a new tense last week and it opened up alot of new possibilities in our communication. However, Friday was an incredibly frustrating day for us both. For some reason neither of us were able to remember much in our practical classes and really struggled - even with the elementary stuff! I guess it just shows that there are good days and bad days and not to be too discouraged by the bad days. To be fair by the end of each day we are pretty tired from the studying but particularly by Friday we are exhausted and in need of the weekend.

When we returned from Lima we began potty training Sarah. Initially it seemed like an impossible task, but after a few days she began to get the hang of it. We have been so thankful for tiled floors - it has made a change from me flooding the floors!

Back in Arequipa

2007-04-04T20:37:00.000Z

We arrived back in our apartment in Arequipa last night after a very productive week away. We left for Tacna last Tuesday and had a couple of days to relax, revise through some Spanish notes and do some homework.

On Wednesday we had to travel through from Tacna to Arica, Chile. Although Alicia and I both had our VISA Sarah was in Peru as a tourist as we could not apply for the VISA until we were in Peru, however in order to collect the VISA we had to leave the country! The closest and easiest way to do this was to make the one hour journey from Tacna through to Arica. Fortunately everything went well and we were only in Chile for a few hours. Having the VISA then cleared us to apply for Sarah's residency card which we would have to collect in Lima.

On Friday morning in Tacna we had a field meeting with the other missionaries, which was nice as it gave us an opportunity to see all the other missionaries. Unfortunately things took a little turn for the worse on Friday evening when I (Dave) had some pineapple juice that was off. I woke up with food poisoning in the middle of the night. Fortunately the effects only lasted about 24 hours and was back to myself by Sunday evening.

On Sunday evening we headed off to Lima to collect Sarah's residency card. Once again everything worked out well and we found we had a little extra time in Lima to relax and to look for things that we can't get in Arequipa.

Our time away was very productive, although it is always nice to be back home again and to get on with things. Obviously since we were away we were not able to attend language classes, however we will resume classes once again on Easter Monday.

We trust that all of you will have a peaceful Easter whatever you are doing and that you will have some time just to reflect on the wonderful gift of eternal life that we have because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

An Apology
It has been drawn to my attention that some of you may have received an strange email from us. I did not intentionally send any email but I believe that the email was sent as a result of me opening an email from a friend. I received an email from a friend inviting me to join an online forum. I read the invite but did not join the forum but it seems as a result email addresses were taken from my address book and invites were sent to you (and from what I believe some were in Spanish!). Please accept my apologies for this but don't worry either as it is NOT a virus! Hopefully I will not have anymore technological problems!

A Busy Week Ahead

2007-03-25T23:19:00.000Z

This coming week promises to take us out of our usual routine of classes, followed by homework each day. We will break from this routine on Tuesday morning when we will fly from Arequipa to Tacna. We plan to stay Tuesday night in Tacna and then we have to cross the border into Chile on Wednesday morning. Up until now Sarah has been living in Peru as a "tourist", we could only apply for her Visa after we had recieved our official residency card. Her Visa is ready to be collected in Lima and her residency card will also be picked up in Lima however before we do this we have to leave the country. On Wednesday we will then leave Peru, cross over into Arica, Chile and visit the consulate there.

When we return from Chile we will stay in Tacna for a few more days as we have a field conference on Friday. We look forward to this because it is our first chance to see many of the missionaries since our arrival here in Peru.

Following this we will fly north to Lima in order to visit immigration and collect Sarah's visa and residency card. This will likely take at least 24 hours. We anticipate flying back to Arequipa again the following Wednesday. The Institute is closed on the Thursday and Friday for Easter so it will give us a couple of days to recover from our travels. We would appreciate your prayers concerning our safety during our travels and also particularly that all the paperwork could be dealt with smoothly and quickly.

Life in Arequipa

2007-03-15T22:52:00.000Z

Sorry it's been a while since we last posted an entry on our blog site. We have been keeping busy studying and doing homework. We are enjoying getting to grips with the language a little more each day. In Peru they say "Poco a poco" which means little by little. Some days we wonder if we will ever get to grips with it while other days we seem to do well.

Sarah continues to enjoy her nursery and has made quite a few friends. We are so glad she has settled so well. She has also made a friend in the church we have been going to. Joaquin is about Sarah's age and last Sunday Sarah chased him around the church insisting that he takes one of her sweets! (As you can imagine church is a little more relaxed here in Peru.)

As well as getting to grips with the language we have been tryin to emerse ourselves in the culture. Last Saturday I (Dave) had the opportunity to go to a men's breakfast at the church of one of my spanish teachers. I really enjoyed it and was good to converse with some of the men, although spicy onion soup with beef chunks in it with raw onions and tomatoes on the side were not quite what I expected at 7.45am!!! I managed to finish my bowl but needless to say I did not go for seconds!

Getting the Lingo

2007-02-27T23:31:00.000Z

We have now been in Arequipa for over three weeks and settled into our apartment now for about two weeks and our beginning to feel settled here. We have been able to get around the city a little and find our bearings. It has also been interesting shopping and finding out where there best places are to buy things. We are fortunate that there are two supermarkets nearby but for most things it is actually better and much cheaper to get them at the market. It has been fun discovering what market is best for what things.

Sarah continues to settle into and enjoy her nursery. It sounds like it will be great. At present it is alot less structured but next week is when the summer holidays end here and so she will be seperated into age specific classes. Although it is nursery they are very much into interactive learning here even at her age. We were given a list (that filled an A4 page!) of things that we would need to get for her. (Parents provide everything that is used in the classroom, including toilet rolls and soap for the year!) Already Sarah has made some friends and she amuses the helpers by copying everything so she has already picked up some Spanish and understands many of their instructions. We have phased Sarah into the nursery and so for the first week we took her for between an hour and an hour and a half and one of us stayed with her. Last week we started language study for 1 1/2 hours a day and so we left her on her own for the full time and then this week our schedule has increased so she is staying for almost 4 hour a day. Praise God she seems to be adapting well. She always cries when we leave her (which we are told is natural) but when we come back to collect her she is almost always having lots of fun. Sometimes she has cried when we leave nursery saying "more boys and girls."!!!!!

Last week we started language study with a phonetics class. We found this really helpful to get much of our pronounciation right (although we still have a long way to go!) This week and from now on we will have two classes a day, grammar and conversation/practical. Things are much busier this week. Alicia leaves the house with Sarah at 8am and takes Sarah to nursery on her way to the language school for her conversation class which starts at 8.30am. (All the conversation classes are one to one). I then leave the house at 9.30am to get to the language school for 10am when Alicia and I have a grammar class together. This finishes around noon and then Alicia collects Sarah, takes her home, gets her lunch and puts her to bed and then starts her homework while I stay on until 2pm for my conversation class. I walk home and get some well deserved lunch and then if Sarah is still sleeping, make a start on homework. This week so far we have had about 2 hours of homework but it can be anything up to 4 hours. In the afternoon we try to do something with Sarah and then in the evening we may have a little homework to finish off.

At the weekend we hav tried to do something together on the Saturday and then go to church on Sunday. This past Sunday we also had some other missionaries from Northern Ireland here for lunch which was really nice. Since we have come to Arequipa we have attended the same church each Sunday. It is a Baptist Church. We have really enjoyed the friendliness of the people and it has been really good that it is only about 100 yards from our apartment. Hopefully over the coming weeks as our language develops we will be able to get more out of the sermons but in the meantime we have really appreciated Val's sermons on our church website (You are a star Val!!!).

We hope to post the text from our prayer letter on this blog soon but thought that we should also tell you a little more about what is happening in our life at the moment and what a day in our life involves here in Arequipa. Once again thank you to all for thinking of us and for praying for us.

Settled in New House

2007-02-16T01:42:00.000Z

after nearly a month of living out of suitcases tonight we were finally able to unpack more permanently. This afternoon we moved into a lovely apartment in Arequipa. (We have now been in for more than 8 hours and I have yet to flood anywhere!!) We have spent this evening unpacking and trying to make it "home" for us for the next 6-9 months.

Thank you to those of you who prayed for us with regards to the nursery situation for Sarah. It seems to have worked out well. We have enrolled her in a Christian run nursery just around the corner from the language school where we will be studying. This last week we have been taking Sarah for about 2 hours each morning and staying with her to ease her into the program. Next week we will be starting our language study but we will also be eased in. We will only have 2 hours a day for the first week. The following week we will increase to half days in class, followed by homework.

Thanks again to all who are praying for us and to everyone who is reading this blog and posting comments. It has been a real encouragement to us. Our next steps are to commence language study on Monday and to find ourselves a church to worship in. We have met a number of other missionaries and they all seem to go to different places for church so there seems to be no shortage of places to worship, it is just finding the right place for us.

Thats all for now. Be in touch again soon.

Arrived in Arequipa

2007-02-08T15:45:00.001Z

We have been in Arequipa now since Tuesday and are living in temporary accommodation that LAtin Link own. We werent too long in it before I (Dave) managed to flood the kitchen floor!!!Yesterday we had the opportunity to view our more permanent place. It is fantastic. God has really been good in the way he has undertaken for our needs. We will move into this place next thursday and for any of you who are on skype we will have internet access there from when we move in. We are currently using cafes to check emails etc. This morning Trevor and Rebecca who had brought us to Arequipa fromIlo left to go back to Ilo. There were a huge help to us in helping us to get settled and showing us the language school where we will be studying. OUr new start date is Mon 19th. Later today we are going to see a Christian nursery where we may send Sarah while we are at language school, there are a number of options for this, we would appreciate your prayers that we would make hte right choice for her. Thats all for now, but we will try to keep you all updated with our latest news. Thanks again for all your prayers.

Arrived in Arequipa

2007-02-08T15:45:00.000Z

Leaving Ilo

2007-02-06T13:58:00.000Z

We are packed up and due to leave Ilo in about an hour. We have a 4 hour journey to Arequipa. When there we will meet the people at the language school and deal with some stuff in order to settle in. It might be a few days now before we can update this again but we will do our best to get internet access asap.

Still in Ilo

2007-02-04T21:50:00.000Z

It is hard to believe that it is two weeks since we left Northern Ireland. The time has flown by and we have taken in alot of new things since being here. We are still in Ilo with the Morrow family and although we are keen to commence our language study in Arequipa we are also very content here. The plan was that we would leave tomorrow (Monday) for Arequipa, but at this stage that looks unlikely. The freight we had flown out arrived in Lima and went through customs without any problems and we immediately arranged for it to be sent by truck to Ilo, that was two weeks ago this Tuesday! The company that were dealing with our stuff only dispatch a lorry once it is full. We had teamed up with Trevor who had some items for the camp centre to be sent down as well but it must not have filled the lorry. We got word on Thursday that our stuff was leaving Lima later that afternoon, we have not been in contact with them since to find out if this actually did happen. Tomorrow we will have a better idea when things will arrive but we would not really be able to set up house in Arequipa without much of the stuff so it is better that we wait a few days extra.

In the meantime we have had time to spend with the Morrows which has been nice and we have had the opportunity to see some of the work as well as taking things a little slower, this has been particularly nice since we arrived here quite tired after a busy few weeks and then had a very busy time in Lima. Time to go once again but we will keep you posted on our next move.

Arrived in Ilo

2007-01-29T16:49:00.000Z

We arrived in Ilo on Friday evening and have since had some time to relax just a little after a hectic week in Lima standing in queues, signing forms, and getting finger prints taken. We have had the chance to look at a house here in Ilo that may be a possibility for when we finish language study. It looked very suitable but we will look at a few other properties.

We plan to start language study on 12th Febuary but will move up there perhaps at the end of this week to adjust. Initially we will move into an apartment owned by Latin Link but on 19th Feb we will be able to move into another place that is available more long term. The 19th will be a nice day when we can begin to settle a little more and stop living out of suitcases!

Yesterday we went to the morning service at the La Pampa church and had a small welcome there and had to bring greetings and then in the evening we were at the church plant in Ite. They had a welcome meal for us and a time of praise and worship which was lovely. Everyone is so welcoming - it is so encouraging how they have welcomed foreigners into their land with open arms.

We will be able to update this blog as we need to until the weekend and then after that we are not sure how things will work out in Arequipa. We may not have such free access to internet intially anyway but please be patient with us and we will try to get more news to you as soon as we can.

2007-01-25T19:46:00.000Z

Just to update you all. Yesterday we asked for prayer that processing our residency card could be completed before Monday (which was when we were told it would be done at the earliest.) Trevor called and was told that I was completed (in record time). We will have a busy day tomorrow as we will have to pick it up and fill in some forms (yes more forms) at immigration. Our flight is at 5pm to Tacna so it will be touch and go but we have no reason to believe that God will not help us through this as he has most certainly been with us all along.

God willing the next time I write will be from Ilo. God bless to all.

2007-01-24T21:58:00.000Z

This has been our first chance since arriving in Peru to sit do and add to our blog. It is hard to believe that we have only been here a couple of days as so much has happened! The flight (which seems so long ago) went well and we made our connections and Sarah behaved (as did her mum and dad!)

Obviously the time difference took its toll on us all but Sarah easpecially, although she is still coping well. She has woken up in the middle of the night the last two nights and wants to play (mum and dad were just not quite as keen to join her!)

We have managed to get quite a bit done here so far. Trevor and I (Dave) went yesterday and got our freight cleared with nothing to pay. The inspector just happened to be an evangelical Christian on a hurry to get her lunch break - God is good. I think Trevor is still trying to pick his chin off the floor that there was no charge and we were not made to take everything out of the containers!

We have spent some time trying to get our residency card which like everything here is a comp´licated process with much paperwork. We have flights booked to Tacna for Friday and are hoping that we wont have to change them or come back another time, but the people dealing with this have told us it will likely be Monday before it is ready. Pray that we may have the card prior to Monday.

Otherwise everthing is going well, enjoying the 30 degree plus temperatures and lots on INca Cola to cool us down. Talk to you all again soon. hasta luego.

Farewell Service 14/01/05

2007-01-15T17:05:00.000Z

Last night we had our farewell service from our church Ballymena Baptist (in our new premises of Slemish College). We had requested that the youth band oversee worship for the evening due to Alicia's invovlement with the youth band over the past while. we were really glad that both fathers were able to take part with Alicia's dad reading Psalm 126 and Dave's dad closing in prayer after Val spoke. The evening was a real encouragement to us particularly as so many people can to show their support, including friends from other churches. After a lovely supper there were a few nice surprises in store for us as firstly some of the youth were interviewed and commented on the encouragement we had been to them over the past couple of years - what an encouragement to us!! The BWF then presented Alicia with a lovely gift. Although the evening ended with many emotional goodbyes it was such a blessing to us to have such a send off from such a supportive church.

The Murphys in Peru

2007-01-12T17:32:00.000Z

Yesterday we sent off our barrells with most of our luggage for Peru. It is a busy and exciting time for us. This Sunday we have our farewell service with our church. Ballymena Baptist Church have been so supportive of us. It will be a difficult service as it is never easy to say goodbye. Next week will be spent tying up all the lose ends and saying goodbyes to friends and family. We would appreciate prayers as we do this. We fly out of Dublin on Sunday week at around 7pm, we stopover in Madrid and then leave the next day at noon for Lima. We are not sure how Sarah will manage this second flight which will be 12 hours as she has never flown before.