Mid-Winter Vacations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!