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 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.
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