Katie on a Mission

On the Mend

2011-07-22T13:25:00.004-05:00

Well, you have read the story of Kevin, the young man with Flesh Eating Disease. I am happy to report that although he is still in the hospital, he is doing much better. As you can see from his picture, he is very thin, and tires very fast, but he is healing, and praising God for his recovery. Tuesday, July 19, was his 25th birthday. So, we went to the hospital and had a Fiesta. As we entered the room, we sang Happy Birthday and he began to cry because he is so happy to be alive. We brought cake, pop, and a Happy Birthday poster, and three ladies from the Yarinacocha church, his mom, Hermano Jose, Luz, and myself were there.

Ruth had received special permisson to have Estrella at the hospital with Kevin. He hadn't seen her since he went into the hospital a month ago. They were both very happy to see each other.It looks like he will be in the hospital for another 2 - 3 weeks, and he will have to take some physical therapy afterwards, because right now he can't walk. He wanted to so bad the other day, and so Ruth helped him get to his feet, but when he tried to take a step, his leg wouldn't support him, and Ruth had to catch him. He said he feels lots better, and he is praising God for his healing. He wanted to talk about all the things he wants to do in the church when he gets out of the hospital. He wants to work with the youth, and help get people interested in the church and Christ. He has a great testimony, and through this ordeal, his family is coming to know the saving grace of the Lord. They are seeing that the church doesn't just help you if you come to every service, or if you give money, or if you follow all the rules. This family is seeing that the church is a family and they love a person, whether good or bad, and want to see everyone saved by the redeeming grace of Christ.
Continue to pray for this family, and that the witness of Kevin will carry not only to his family, but also to the community. He has had the opportunity to share his faith several times on the news, in the newspaper, and personally to doctors and nurses. At 25 years of age, his life has made a drastic turn around, and he has an experience to share with others that is so rare that it cannot be credited to anyone or anything, only God.
Also, pray for the Yarinacocha Church of the Nazarene. Because Kevin is in the hospital, several of the ladies have started visiting the hospital regularly for anyone they know that is there. This is fast becoming a great outreach ministry for this very new church. Pray that these ladies will continue with this ministry and encourage others to join them.
Although this illness has been an ordeal for Kevin, his family, and the church, it has been a blessing in disguise. Many are coming to Christ, the faith of others has grown tremendously, and this story will have a lasting effect on many more in the future. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Giving Blood

2011-07-11T17:50:00.005-05:00

Okay, please don't laugh at the title. I know, I know...you are all thinking, "Why is Katie talking about blood? She gets queasy when people mention blood." Well, I will give you a recap of what happened (the full story is at luzykatie.blogspot.com) and then an update.

Ruth called us (Luz and I) on a Sunday morning very distraught, and we told her we would be there in a few minutes. The previous Sunday, Kevin, her husband, had gone to play soccer in the afternoon. At one point in the game, he collided with another player in the game and broke his collarbone. They went to the hospital and had x-rays. They found out from the x-rays that not only was it broken, but it was out of position, so if he didn't do anything, it would heal badly. So they thought they would begin treating that.
Well, the next day, there was a red spot on his leg, and it hurt, but they just thought it was a bruise from the collision, and so he ignored it. The next day, however, the red spot had spread, and the pain was excruciating. So, they went to the local witch doctor on Wednesday, who mixed up a mud paste and put on it. The mud didn't help, and so he cleaned that off and cut open a toad and put on it. Well, you guessed it...that didn't help either. So, he cleaned that off and mixed up an herbal water and heated it up and made a compress to put on the leg. All that made it lots worse, so they went home and waited. Kevin continued to get worse. When we entered the room that Sunday, Kevin lay on the bed with his eyes rolled into his head. His mouth was partially open, and his breathing was in short gasps. He was not the Kevin we know!
Ruth showed us his leg. What had been a red spot on his lower, inner thigh, had spread to his ankle and waist. His leg was nearly doubled in size. We immediately told her he needed to go to the hospital. But, they didn't want to take him to the hospital because they didn't have any money to pay. That is one thing about living here. I don't know if it is the Third World or just Peru, but if you don't pay first, they don't treat; even in an emergency like this!
We called Hermano Jose, the leader from the central church who is helping us in Yarinacocha. He said he would come and help them get Kevin to the hospital. Luz and I prayed with Ruth over Kevin, and a few minutes later, Estrella came in and before I could stop her, she touched Kevin's leg. He began to scream, (again in Spanish) "No, my little girl! My leg is hurt! My leg is hurt! Please, my little girl!"
Up until that point, he had been semi-conscious. Now, he was wide awake and in tons of pain. But, it gave Luz a chance to really talk to him and tell him that Jose was on the way to take him to the hospital, as well as pray with him. He wanted to say the sinner's prayer, so Luz began to pray, and as Kevin was praying and repeating her words, his voice began to get stronger and stronger. When they finished praying, Luz prayed for him again. Then he asked for some water, which he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for a long time because of his unconscious state. As we left, Kevin was smiling and thanking us for coming and helping him. He was a totally different person than when we came in. So we left with the promise that Brother Jose was on his way.
Luz went on to Jhon Hocking Weeks to lead the second and third Sunday Schools, and I went to the church in Yarina for the fourth class.
Later in the day, Jose called and said that Kevin was being treated at the hospital, but that the infection was so bad the doctors were debating taking his leg. They were just waiting to see how he responded to the medicine.
The next time we saw Kevin was on Tuesday afternoon at visiting hours. He continued to be in pain, but his spirit and life were changed. His leg actually looked worse, with a black area and blisters where the infection originally started, but he was thankful to be alive.
Because his leg was looking worse, they ran more tests to see if it was something else. Well, they had misdiagnosed the problem. It wasn’t just cellulitis, it was necrotizing fasciitis (NF), commonly known as flesh-eating disease, which is often mistaken for cellulitis at first, but it is much more aggressive and causes gangrene much more rapidly. But it was still better to be misdiagnosed with cellulitis than to not be diagnosed at all, because he was receiving antibiotics that were helping some. So on Thursday, I think, Kevin had his first surgery to cut out the gangrene from his skin. He slept well that night and dreamed of an angel coming to tell him he was going to get well, but it was going to take time.
On Friday, we went to the hospital in the morning because the doctor had told Ruth that we could visit in the morning, but they wouldn’t let us in, so we ended up supporting Ruth for a little while, praying with her, etc. and on Saturday we had the grilled chicken fundraiser to raise money to help. We were there from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm.
Then on Tuesday morning the following week, Ruth came to the central church at 7:30 in the morning because they were going to do a second surgery on Kevin, but he needed blood first and she needed encouragement and prayer. On Tuesdays, we have our regular weekly devotion together because it is the only day that all 8 of the 40/40s are here. The rest of the week we have a time of prayer.

(update)

So, on that Tuesday, we spent our devotion time in prayer with Ruth, and then Luz, Kevin Snodgrass, Sammy, and I went to give blood (this is the part where you may start laughing). As most of you know, I pass out, or almost pass out, at the sight of blood, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. We left for the hospital at 9:30 or 10:00, and we were there until 5:00 in the afternoon. Who knew you can’t give blood in an hour?
When we first got to the hospital, we talked to Kevin through the window for a minute to tell him that we had come to give blood. Now, when I say we talked through the window, it isn’t like talking through an open window. The window is 7 feet up the wall, so we couldn’t see him, and he couldn’t see us. We were yelling through the window back and forth, but he sounded strong, and I wasn't talking much; Ruth and Luz were doing most of the talking. So Kevin said, "I want to hear Sister Katie." I said, "Kevin, I am here to give my blood, but only if it is a match. If it isn't a match, I don't think I can give it." He just kinda laughed.
So first, Ruth sent us to pay for the analysis (it was s/.50 for the 4 of us, which is a little less than $20). Then when we got back, they took us in to give a small amount of blood in a tube for analysis, and told us that would take 10 minutes.
So an hour and a half later (that is what we call Peruvian time), they called Sammy to give blood. By this time it was well after noon, and Sammy, Luz, and I hadn't eaten breakfast because we thought we would be in and out and go eat lunch. That was really a kinda dumb thing. Sammy was a little nervous before he went in because he had been asking Ruth how this all started with Kevin. So he went in and the doctor asked him, "How are you doing today?" and he said his vision started to cloud, but he didn’t say anything about it. Then when the nurse took the needle out of his arm, he thought he was okay. However, when Kevin went in and they put the first needle in Kevin's arm, Sammy said, “I don’t feel so good.” and passed out. So he was being revived, and Kevin said that Sammy was whiter than him at that moment…hahahahaha. So they took Kevin to another room to give his blood. Sammy finally came out, but laid down on the bench and fell asleep.
They had told us that three of us were matches, and one was a rarer blood type that didn't match, so we were waiting for them to call names, because we didn't know who it was that wasn't going to have to give blood. Luz insisted that it was her, and I had to agree because she is full blooded Peruvian, but she is whiter than me and has hazel eyes and her hair isn't black, so I thought yeah, it probably is her because she is a rare Peruvian. So Luz left to get some food for Sammy.
So we thought 3 of us would be giving blood and the fourth was free. Ah, no… Big resounding NO!
So, Luz had left to get food, and when Kevin came out, the doctor came and said, “We have two more. Luz Elita Rojas Gaona and Kathryn Anderson.” I told him that Luz had left to get some food for Sammy, and that I was Kathryn. He said, "Then we will do you." Call me really dumb now...I didn't ask if I was the rare blood type or if it was Luz. So I went into the room and they started the process. Of course, I didn’t look, but that needle sure hurt going in, but coming out was worse. After the needle was in, I asked, "So what type of blood do I have?" The nurse said, "Oh, you have A+. We can't use it for Kevin. Your three friends all have O+ which is what we want." I thought, "Are you kidding me. I am laying on a table, having the life drained out of me and I don't even match! I must be crazy!" Finally, after about 20 minutes, I asked the nurse how much more because I was suppose to be flexing my hand to make it go faster, but I could only move it a little. I still felt okay at that point though.
I called Sammy to see if he was okay, because they wouldn't let any of us go in with the others. And I also told them that they wanted Luz’s blood too, because mine wasn’t a match. So Luz was shocked because she was not the one with the rare blood. When I was finally done, Luz came in where I was to take her turn, and when I stood up, I almost fell over, but I didn't feel bad, just a little side step. But one of the nurses saw me and said, "you need to sit down." I said I would go sit with my friends, and I made it out to where Kevin and Sammy where fine. Sammy was eating and Kevin was talking to the other Kevin’s mom. So when Luz got done, she said she felt fine, and Kevin felt fine, and Sammy was feeling much better, only weak, and I thought I felt fine…
So by this time it was 4:15 PM and visiting hours are 3:00 until 5:00 (and they are very strict on that!), so we went to visit Kevin before we left, and pray with him. Okay, so Kevin needed the blood before he could have the second surgery. So, we walked in to him having the blood of Sammy put in by IV. His leg had bandages in two parts, on his thigh where the skin had been black before, and on his calf. It was seeping lots of liquid, but the swelling was down and his face was normal in color. Still, I wasn’t prepared for it.
I thought I could handle it, and I did okay until we were almost ready to leave and Sammy was praying. It was when I closed my eyes that I started to pass out. Probably the giving blood part didn’t help, nor the fact that I hadn't eaten anything all day. The bigger problem for me though was there was no place to sit down except the floor. My lips and legs began to tingle and my hands locked up and the sweat came on my face. So, I did what I had to do; I sat on the floor. Sammy finished praying, we said bye to Kevin, and Luz and Sammy tried to get my hands to relax, and by the time we got to the front of the hospital, I was pretty normal again. I mean, you know, I am a little off to begin with, so pretty normal is pretty normal…hahahaha.
So we went to get food first because we all needed some. And then Kevin and Sammy went home, and I called Sarah and told her to make Sammy lay down when he got home. Luz and I went to sit in the plaza in Yarinacocha for a few minutes before we went on to Jhon Hocking for the service there…At Jhon Hocking, we had the service of prayer that day. And I was fine until the final prayer. I closed my eyes and again began to pass out. Fortunately, my hands didn’t lock up that time, but I was sweating like crazy and there isn’t even a floor to sit on there. After the prayer, I sat on one of the stools that the kids had been using until we were ready to leave.
Then we went to the service in Yarina. Ruth and her mother-in-law were there and got some much needed encouragement. We finally got home around 10:00 that night. Quite the day!!!
Kevin didn’t have the surgery until Wednesday morning, and following the surgery, his fever returned, but the doctor assured them it was normal because his body was going through shock. He has a place on his side where the infection had spread before, but it is like the part on his calf and was caught before any gangrene started. They are going to do skin grafts on his leg, but they have to wait because he has lost so much weight that he doesn't have any extra skin right now. And the muscle and skin of his leg is now all living…he doesn’t have any gangrene now. He also has another problem: His father. He still wants Kevin to leave the hospital and go to the witch doctor again. We are pretty sure that is where he received the bacteria that caused this to infection to explode into the much more serious infection than cellulitis because the information we have on it says that many times the bacteria comes from mud, and that is the first thing the witch doctor put on Kevin’s leg. And than with the hot compress, that probably just made the bacteria grow even faster. But Ruth has the final say, and she can see the improvement in Kevin. She is not sending him to any witch doctor. But the pressure is taking a toll on her…She is only 21 and Kevin is 24. Continue to pray for them and Kevin’s mom too. She is ready to start discipleship classes now. Kevin is continuing to improve. He can move his leg without screaming in pain now, but he is discouraged as well. Still, I am thinking with a leg is better than without, which losing limbs happens with this type of infection. Pray for continued growth in his faith. I started this blog before we went to the hospital to see him, so it has Monday's date. But when we went to the hospital to see him yesterday, his leg was normal size, there is no redness on his leg or across his stomach, and he was sleeping (and not because he was sedated). This is the first time I have seen him sleeping since all this has started. His body is definitely healing. But the doctor says it will probably be another month in the hospital. Ruth also said that the account that the doctor set up so that they could get treatment in this emergency situation is around S/.900, which is about $300. They are having another grilled chicken fund raiser this Saturday. Each day, the cost of the bed is S/.15, so, just for another month of hospital, it is S/.450 more soles. But, there is good news. The doctor said that if they can't pay, he can't leave the hospital. At least we know they are not going to kick him out. And another bit of encouraging news. Kevin also got to go outside in a wheelchair yesterday afternoon. He had Ruth take pictures because he was so happy to get out of the bed and wanted to remember how he felt the first time he got to leave to go outside the hospital. And being able to get outside really did a lot to lift his spirits. Things are definitely changing in the lives of this family. Continue to pray for them as they struggle through this trial. This obstacle has made them grow stronger in their love for God. Ruth was in the service last night with her mother-in-law, and they left feeling the love of the church family. And, on another note, as you also know, Yarinacocha was our first church plant, and when we went to visit Kevin at the hospital yesterday, three of the ladies from the church went too. We were so encouraged that they are starting to get involved in ministries of the church. Thanks for your continued prayers for Yarinacocha as well.

Things Are Happening!

2011-04-06T22:51:00.011-05:00

Okay, let me begin by telling you that we serve an awesome God!!! It is so great to see how little things add up to His great and awesome plan...for our lives AND for His people. I am so blessed to be a part of this plan. I love doing what I am doing! I can't say I love my job, because it doesn't feel like a job!

So on to what's happening...I think I have said in earlier blogs that we are working in Jhon Hocking Weeks and La Victoria simultaneously. Jhon Hocking is close to Yarinacocha, where we worked last year, and La Victoria is at KM 19, about 15 to 20 minutes outside Pucallpa.

In Jhon Hocking, we have a place to have our services, and we had electricity that Ryan had come and extended from the house we are borrowing the room from, but just this week the owner of the electricity decided that we were another lot, and wanted us or the owners of the property to pay 200 soles more to have electricity there, or he would shut off their elecity. We didn't want any trouble for them, so we have "uninstalled" the electricity, and actually used candles and flashlights in our last service. But that is unimportant; we still had 20 kids in the service. We have a great group of adolescents there, and are discipling several adults in their homes. And we have tons of kids there...20 - 30 every week in Sunday School and about half of them each week in the services, which can be good and bad (good because we love them, bad because they can be distracting). However, we are hoping that with the Easter Week activities, we will be able to have more adults begin to come.

Terry is one of my favorites. He has an older brother Andy, a younger brother Cristian, and a baby sister Rubi. Their family life is not very good, and Terry started out as a trouble maker in our classes and services. One night, when we were having a service, Empe had already "kicked out" all the kids who wanted to play and not listen, so they were running around outside making a bunch of noise. Sometimes they would run into the service, so I finally went over and stood in front of the door and wasn't letting them in. So, Terry almost got past me, but I caught him and told him he needed to stay outside. So he took off, and that is when I saw his mom coming. About five minutes later, she came back around the building, calling for Terry to come too. He said he didn't want to, and she started after him again. A couple minutes later, I heard Terry crying and screaming. It was dark outside, so I didn't see what happened, but I have witnessed her "discipline" before, so I have a good idea of what was happening. However, since that night, Terry has come to every service and been an angel. I think he has found that the little building where we have services is a safe place and that Empe and I love him and want the best for him. He sits on his stool and is a perfect little boy.

In La Victoria, we are using the "community building" to have our Sunday School classes. Let me clarify...the community building is a picnic shelter with a concrete floor in half of it, and bleacher like benches built down each side. We have the kids sit on the bottom bench and use the top bench for a table, so it actually works out really well. But, the really great news is WE HAVE PROPERTY!!! Yes! We have property in La Victoria! We were able to get two lots, on the corner of a "street", actually two corners, because the blocks are two lots by three lots, and we got two lots on the end of a block, so "street front" property! However, the pictures show there is still a lot of work to do. We need to rake all the stuff up and burn it that was chopped down. The picture with my shadow shows the "street front" on the right. Yep, that is the street, just a bunch of brush. But the property is large...about 16.5 yards by 63.5 yards, and we only paid a S/.200 inscription fee to put our name on it! That is about $75. What a blessing! Now we just need some type of structure on the property so that we can begin having services there. We are so excited about what is happening in La Victoria! We are also discipling several adults there. God is doing great things there!

Praise the Lord for all he is doing with His work here in the "Greater Pucallpa Area"!

Moving Roof

2011-03-22T11:48:00.008-05:00

So, this past Sunday, we went in the afternoon to La Victoria to start Sunday School classes. We were suppose to start at 3:30 pm, and although we left at 10 til three, we were still in a car at 3:30 because there were no cars going as far as we needed them to go. So, we got out of the car at KM 19 (that is where the entrance for La Victoria is) and began our trek to the "Community Building" that is pretty much in the center of everything. As we were walking across the soccer field, I noticed a palm leaf roof moving along the road...I wondered what was going on...There were about 15 or 20 guys under the roof moving it to another location...then I saw the house with no roof (It is to the far right of the screen at the end of the video)...It was quite the comical sight, and definitely one I had never seen before. Although my video isn't the best, because I was walking too, I think you can get the point from it.

Zapote

2011-03-22T11:37:00.003-05:00

This is a Zapote...it is one of the most glorious fruits that God invented!!! That is my very humble opinion on the matter... I waited for a year for them to be in season again, and am so happy to be enjoying them now. They are kind of stringy on the inside, with five large seeds. So, the fruit is cut into five sections and you eat if from the inside out. It has a unique flavor that tastes like it has milk in it. If you come to the jungle in February or March, and possible into the first part of April, we can enjoy some together! YUM!

Recent Happenings (or recent in light of the fact that my last blog was in July of last year!)

2011-03-11T00:21:00.004-05:00

Okay, so keeping up to date on blogs is not my best skill...give me a newsletter to do or a form to make, but up-date a blog...wow! Anyway, I am only going to go back as far as December...In December, I had my birthday!!!! Yay for me! But we also finished up in Yarinacocha with our little church there, and a new pastora came to continue the work there. Her name is Luz which is light in Spanish. Anyway, at the middle/end of December, I went home to WV for a couple of weeks. I saw my family and lots of friends. My mom's idea was so great to have an open house at our house for family and neighbors because that freed up lots more of my time that I needed to go to the appointments I had. I had to get a new prescription in one of my contacts, and for only the first time in my life, it was actually better than before...now don't get all excited, it is still -5.25, but it was -5.75 (and the other is still -6). The river was frozen too, at least for the first week while I was home. Then it got "warm", but I was still freezing! On New Year's Eve we went to the traditional New Year's sing...Yes, I am almost as tall as Dan AND Cindy in that picture, but I think my shoes were somewhere around 5 inches. And Peruvians think I am tall!!! Hahahahaha!!! I also had the opportunity to share twice about my work here in Peru. I dressed in Shipibo clothing for that.

I came back Peru a week before I had to come back for work. I went to Chiclayo to visit some friends that have moved back there after 20 years in the jungle. I had some ceviche at the beach, we went to a movie, and we just spent some time talking and catching up. I have to say, it was more relaxing than my time in WV, although I loved my time in WV, because I only knew a few people there! That was the best thing I could have done! I was ready to get back to Pucallpa and start working.

When I got back to Pucallpa, I was the first of the 40/40s to get back. So I had time to get all my stuff organized...it was nice to have some time before everyone came back. I was glad for that time.

When we left in December, we were planning on coming back and working in Aguaytia for 5-6 days a week and starting two churches there. However, it was going to be rather expensive, and when we are finished here, it wasn't going to be a possibility to have a pastor there to continue the work because it is so far away from Pucallpa. So, Pastor Dario found us two other places.

The first is Jhon Hocking Weeks, and it isn't too far from Yarinacocha. There was one sister in the church who lived in Jhon Hocking Weeks when we first went, and she introduced us to lots of people who lived there and were already Christians but had no church. Some of them introduced us to others who were not Christians but wanted to know more about it. We have had a Vacation Bible School, where we had over 70 different children over the course of the week, and are holding regular services on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and have three levels of Sunday School each Sunday morning. We are averaging about 28 - 30 children in every service. Tonight was our second Thursday service, and we had 2 mothers, 2 teen girls, 11 adolescents, and 11 kids. How exciting to see the church begin to grow for the Lord.

The second location didn't have a name, but was near the PetroGas gas station, so we called it Petrogas. However, we didn't have much success knocking on doors there, I think because it is more of a business area than a residental section of town. So Pastor gave us yet another spot this week.

It is called La Victoria, and we are claiming "the victory" there! There is only one evangelical church there, and a 7th Day Adventist church, and neither have a temple structure yet. All the people we have talked to have been very friendly and helpful. We are looking forward to working there. Tomorrow, we are going to look at the plan of vacant lots to see if there is one that we can buy.

Please pray for us as we are working in these two new locations, as well as visiting in Yarinacocha sometimes. Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. Also, there are lots more pictures on my facebook, so check them out!!!

Cold (in the jungle) and Cultos (services)

2010-07-25T16:18:00.004-05:00

Okay, so contrary to anything I have said before, it is possible for the temperature to be cold in the jungle. We wore long pants and long sleeves, and jackets if we had them, for over a week. I was very thankful for the sweatshirt my dad left behind that I would "never" need. They say it is suppose to get cold again tomorrow...I am praying it doesn't. For one, I want to go to the pool tomorrow (selfish, I know). But also because the cold effects everything here in the jungle. You would think that it snowed three feet...I mean, I am uncomfortable, and cold, but it is still possible to do things...the roads are passable, there is no ice on the windshield (we don't have windshields, but if we did, there still wouldn't be ice on them), and it is literally about 60-75 degrees, so not freezing! But the people want to stay in their beds, and riding in a motocar is very cold! It didn't get warm until Wednesday last week, so the pictures above are at our church service on Tuesday night, and that is why most everyone has on long sleeves. And if they don't, it is because they don't have long sleeves to put on. We had 19 (9 adults, 2 youth, 8 kids), and after a lesson given by Empe, we had popcorn and juice for everyone.
We were very happy to have this many people there, because it has been very difficult to get our numbers back since we were gone for a month in Arequipa...I am glad we had the opportunity to go to Arequipa, but it hurt the flow of ministry here in Yarina. So today, is Sunday, and after a very disappointing week two weeks ago with only three kids, we had 13 last week, and 14 today...we are glad to have the kids back, because we were haveing 25 or more before...so pray that the kids come back. Also, pray that we can find a permanent place to have the Sunday School classes because we are meeting in the Fisherman's Association building, but they don't let us know when they are having meetings, so today we had to move our class three times to have Sunday School. We finally moved it to a house of one of our regulars. These are our Sunday School classes today. The first picture is Empe's class and the second two are my class.

Short Termers are Grrreat!!

2010-07-08T16:08:00.006-05:00

Well, I must say that I loved our short termers here in Pucallpa! It was a joy to have people who want to see the expansion of God's kingdom as much as we do, and were willing to get down and dirty and even wash feet! And the fact that my dad was one of the short termers didn't hurt either...and with a suitcase of goodies, that just added to the joy of all the 40/40s here in Pucallpa. This is a picture of the group, part of the activities in Yarinacocha, me and my dad, and our Sunday School class of lions and the short termers who went to SS with us.

A Special Day with Felix

2010-05-31T12:31:00.008-05:00

Well, we had quite the busy week. Most of our days were rearranged for us, but that is fine; it makes life more interesting! Saturday was a special day. We had gone to see Felix the week before. We are discipling his youngest daughter, Ruth, who is pictured in the previous blog. Anyway, the first day we visited Ruth, she told us that her father had fallen quite a while ago and broke his pelvis, so now he is bedfast, although he is able to sit up for short periods of time. She asked us if we would visit him. We told her we would, that we would come to her house first and then go to visit him. So on the first Saturday, we went at 10:00 to Ruth’s, and by 10:30 am, we were on our way to Felix’s. We walked about 7 blocks, but Ruth was carrying her little girl, and she wouldn’t let any of the rest of us carry her, so we ended up getting a mototaxi for the rest of the way. We were glad because it was way further than we thought. We got to the house, which is the house of Ruth’s older sister, Ruth. She cooks food to sell in one of the markets. She cooks the food in her house and then takes it down to the market to sell for lunch. Her daughter and granddaughter live there too, along with Felix. Empe and I waited outside a few minutes while they got Felix ready to receive company. He is 80 years old. He was so glad to have company. Felix is a Christian, but because of his physical state, he is unable to leave the house to go to church. We offered him words of encouragement, prayed with him, and even sang one of the songs he remembered from church. He told us he couldn’t read his Bible anymore because he didn’t have glasses. So, we told him we would come back the next week and bring him glasses. That gave me one week to get glasses made. I decided the best thing to do would be to make one of each strength of lenses so that, if need be, he could try on the different glasses instead of using the tester board. We weren’t sure how it would work out. So this past Saturday, we went back to see Felix. I had finished the glasses at 12:30 the night before, and was ready to give away our first pair of glasses. Again, Empe and I waited outside for a few minutes while they got Felix ready for visitors. When we entered his room we were surprised to see Felix was sitting up and ready for a visit. Empe told him we wanted to read some scripture with him, but we wanted to have him try glasses before that so that he could read along. We tried the tester board since he was sitting up, and that got us close. We ended up trying on the different strength’s of glasses that were close to the one he thought was good. Once he tried the glasses and saw that he could read, he began to cry because he was so glad that he would be able to read his Bible again. His older daughter, Ruth, saw what we were doing, and said she was so glad he was getting glasses. She said when she would read her Bible she had to hold it far away, so we asked her if she wanted to try some glasses too. She asked if she could really have a pair. We said, “Of course. We want to help people.” She said others have offered to help in the past, but it was always for a price. That seems to be a common factor here. People say they will visit or help, but they want the family to pay a price for that visit or help. Nancy and Kristy have run into the same thing. Anyway, now Felix can read his Bible. He wasn’t able to see the really fine print in italics, but he could read the headings and verses. So when we left him, Felix was encouraged in the Lord and would be able to read his Bible once again. Please keep praying for Felix and his family. Although there is no way possible to afford the surgery he needs for his pelvis, and now the doctors say he has bone cancer as well, we know that if it is His will, God can heal, or at least relieve the physical pain.

A Day in the Life of a 40/40

2010-05-27T11:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we have been out on the streets visiting and giving lessons in discipleship for about 2 ½ weeks now. So yesterday, Empe and I made our schedule as follows:
10:00 AM – discipleship lesson at Ruth’s
11:00 AM – search out more houses
12:30 – return to the church for lunch
3:00 PM – visit Erika
4:00 PM – discipleship lesson with Rosalina and Maria
5:00 PM – visit Laura
6:00 PM – return to the house.
Here is how our schedule went:
9:30 AM – left house for Yarinacocha
10:00 AM - arrived at Ruth’s house, but she wasn’t there, so we went to search for more of the houses in our contacts. We asked several places where a certain number was, with no success, so we just kept walking up the “street”. We discovered one of the numbers we were looking for on the electric meter, so we knocked on the door. A little boy came out, who we later discovered was Pedro, and we asked him if this was where the people we were looking for lived. He said no, so when we asked him where they lived, he said, “tell me why you want to know first.” Empe said, “no, tell us where they live first.” So this went back and forth a couple times, and finally he told us they lived next door. So then he wanted to know why we wanted to find them. We told him to invite them to Sunday School on Sunday, and he was invited too. So we knocked on the fence of the house, but the lady had already gone to work, and her sister-in-law said she would be home at 2:00 PM every day. So we said we would stop by another day. Well, we thought Pedro had been so helpful, that we asked him if he knew who some of these other people were. We asked him about an older gentleman, and he said he knew where that man lived, but it was further up the street. We asked him if he would show us where, and so we followed him through all the mud to the house. When we got there, we had about a ½ inch of mud on the bottom of our shoes. We found out that the man was Pedro’s grandpa. At that point, we still didn’t know Pedro’s name. So we were talking to the man, and he said that he had gone to the clinic with his daughters and their kids. So we had all the papers and started asking him the names. As we went down the list, Pedro began to answer, “that is my brother, that is my sister, that is my aunt, that is my mom, that is my cousin,” and so on. We got a kick out of him. He is only 6 years old, but he sure wasn’t shy. So we talked with his grandpa and prayed with him, and then went back to Pedro’s house. There we discovered that it was actually his aunt’s house and that he lived there because it was closer to his school than his house. So the whole family had used the address for the clinic. We invited all the kids to Sunday School, and then thought we would return to Ruth’s, to see if she was home yet.
11:15 AM – We returned from the muddy street to the concrete, and as we were scraping the mud from our shoes, both of us broke one of our shoes. So then we looked like a couple of cripples walking down the street because our shoes were broke. (photo #2)
11:20 AM – Enter the house of Ruth for a discipleship class. (photo # 1)
12:15 – Return to the house for lunch. However, since we both had broken shoes, Ruth went to the end of the street to get us a motocar to return to the house so we wouldn’t have to walk with the broken shoes.
12:30 – Return to the house, to discover that lunch wasn’t quite ready, so we went down to the center to get credit on our cell phones. Samuel had to go to the bank, so since you can get your cell “recharged” there, he stood in line with my cell and Empe and I sat and talked while we waited. Okay, we may think the lines are long at the bank in the states, but it is nothing like here. There is always a line of at least 50 people at the bank. I don’t know why exactly, but it was that way in Belize too. It is not a problem because all the banks are air conditioned, so no one minds waiting. However, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get to the front of the line. So Empe and I had plenty of time to talk.
1:00 PM – return to the house (with loaded phones, and for Samuel, some money) to eat lunch.
2:00 – 2:30 PM – took a quick nap.
2:45 PM – went to the house of Erika’s sister, where she told us to visit her, to discover that she has gone on a trip and won’t be back until Saturday or Sunday. So we went back to Ruth’s house to give her a Bible to read, but she wasn’t home either. So we went to Maria and Oscar’s house to visit and see if they wanted us to come and do the discipleship classes at their house, because they had the first lesson at the church with Pastor Dario last Sunday. They have decided to take the classes at the church, but Oscar is part of the local Fisherman’s Association, and he gave us some tips on how to get in touch with the President because they have the only large building in the area and we wanted to see if they would let us borrow it for Sunday School and services on one evening a week. We have already been to his house several times to no avail, so now we have some new ideas for that. So we talked with Oscar and Maria for a little while about the lesson they had studied with Pastor. Oscar is excited about the church.
4:00 PM – Went to the house of Rosalina and Maria lives next door. We started the discipleship classes, and then the sister and niece came too. (photo #3) That was great, and we will be going back on Friday. They are all very interested. There are lots of scriptures to look up, and so they are enjoying trying to find the scripture before the other one…it is quite comical at times. We enjoyed a time of study there, and then they gave us some popcorn and a fermented corn drink. Empe was good and drank the whole glass, but I could only get about half of mine down.
5:15 PM – Walked to the house of Laura…she is a teacher at one of the schools, so she gets home around 2:00 PM and then grades papers. 5:00 is a good time for her, but she had her grandson at her house this time, and they were playing and visiting out front. We visited for a few minutes, and told her we would come back another day.
5:35 PM – Returned to the house.

I know flexibility is the name of the game! It is fun to see how God works everything out, and our day is still filled, even though our plans change so much from hour to hour, or sometimes minute to minute. Thanks for all your prayers as we continue our work in Yarinacocha, and please pray for those we are discipling. Check out Empe and my “work” blog at empeykatie.blogspot.com.

Pics on the Boat

2010-05-11T13:30:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I finally got some of the pictures to upload or download or whichever it is...sorry Steve...someone else explained it to me the other day, and I still can't remember...anyway, these pictures are from the boat. Some of the great food..

one of the "ports" we stopped at...

the congregation on Sunday morning...

The preacher...Pastor Daniel...

And some of the beautiful scenery.

Pucallpa

2010-05-06T22:20:00.000-05:00

Okay...so I haven't been so good at this blog thing. But in Iquitos we didn't have internet much. Only when we went downtown and paid for it. So anyway, now we are in Pucallpa...our final destination...and we went to our sites today to see where they are. Empe and I are at Yarinacocha, which is the area that Broadway Church of the Nazarene sponsored. We have a nice park there where we can do some events, and we have some contacts. But I want to tell you how we got to Pucallpa.

It was your ordinary Friday afternoon. Okay, it wasn't exactly ordinary because we had all been packing our stuff for two days, and we were leaving our friends in Iquitos. But otherwise, it was an ordinary Friday afternoon. At about 3:30 on that Friday afternoon, we went to one of the local ports. It was the Masusa port, if I remember correctly. Wait, back up...I missed the part about Pastor Miguel gathering all the 40/40s together and having a prayer with us. It was a special time when we got to say goodbye to our friends and get ready for our adventure. Little Josue came and gave me a hug and said he wanted me to stay in Iquitos. I told him I would be back for a visit, and I have every intention to return to Iquitos for a visit. I just don't know when. So back to Masusa...We get there, and in order to enter the port in the moto, we would have to pay half a sole, so we decide to carry the bags from there, once we saw that some of our other friends were doing the same. So we are all standing in front of a ton of huge boats, and we ask Samuel and Daniel which boat is ours...they were the ones who made the arrangements. Samuel pointed to one, so we got on that one. Apparently it was the right one because we are her in Pucallpa, but back to the story. We got to the second floor of the boat, (there are three floors) and we were standing there in a group, when the captain came and said that we needed to go to the next level. So we got to the third level (Now let me say that as you move up on the boat, the steps get steeper, more like ladders. And we were carrying boxes, luggage, food, books...I think just about anything you could name, we probably had it among us. So you can imagine, not only was it extremely hot, but it became more and more difficult to move up), there was a room because Daniel and Samuel had gone down early to buy a room to put our luggage in. So we started putting our luggage there, and the captain comes over and says that we can only use one of the bunks because we had only paid for one person to use the cabin. So we moved everything so it only took up the floor and the bottom bunk. Now, this is the funny part. They weren't going to let anyone else in the room, but if we had stuff on the top bunk, they wanted us to pay another 120 or 130 soles. So we got that all taken care of and then moved into the sala, or living room, to put our hammocks up. There were 6 of us going on this boat or lancha in Spanish. So it was, Empe next to the wall, then me, then Kevin, then Tim, then Daniel, and then the end of Samuel's hammock was between Empe and me, but he was really on the other side of the boat. Daniel was in charge of the keys because his ticket had on it that he had the room. So many of our friends came to see us off. All of our Extreme buddies were there, then many of the youth from the church, and my friends, Layla, Moises, Kati, and Chino came too. Moises had just come back to Iquitos after three and a half weeks in Lima. He actually changed his ticket to come back early because we were leaving. He and Samuel are great friends. Anyway, so those four were the very last to leave. The didn't actually leave until our boat was taking off. They had to climb on the boat next to ours to get off. Anyway, back to the story. We went all around the boat taking pictures. Some of them are here. So we have become really close to these guys over the last 5 months, so I was really trying hard not to cry, and I know they were too, and we all succeeded until the end, but at that point we weren't paying attention to whether the other were crying because they were trying to get off the boat. They are really good friends to have. I am glad to count them as mine. So this began our first night on the lancha. We left the port at Masusa and went to another port a short ways away because the contents of the boat has to be checked for taxing and fees. We were there for 3 or 4 hours. Just relaxing in our hammocks. Then it was off on the river, but at that time, we were ready to sleep. And the first night we didn't get any supper. Oh, yeah, I think I mentioned that we had two boxes of food. Pure and simple, junk food! (Chifles are my favorite!!! That is fried banana chips.) Okay, so there were some apples and oranges, but I only like apples! So we went to sleep. In the morning we were wakened to the "Chink, chink, chink" of metal banging on metal. That was the dinner bell, but it was 6:30 in the AM. So we went down and got in line for breakfast. It was "chocolate oatmeal" and two rolls, one with butter and one with meat. I ate the one with butter and gave the other one to Empe or Samuel. Then the chocolate is just plain aweful...I am not really a fan of hot chocolate on a hot day, but this wasn't even good hot chocolate. And well, the whole texture thing. It was kind of slimy and had chunks of oatmeal in the bottom...well, not really chunks so much as fragmented pieces. Just not a fan. Anyway, I went in the bathroom to wash out my dish...thank you Sarah and Ryan for buying the containers because we wouldn't have been able to eat if we didn't have a bowl. Except Daniel because he had the special ticket with the room on it, so he got to sit at a table and be served. It was really funny. So when I went to the bathroom, to clean the bowl, that is when we realized the water was coming from the river. The water that came out of the spicket was almost the same color as the chocolate I poured down the drain. So we took to washing our dishes and then using hand sanitizer to sterilize them afterward. I don't think we took a picture of that, but we should have. So 5 and a half days of this, although we did have some food that wasn't bad, and on the nights they had soup, we didn't eat it because it was so hot...too hot for soup. The food wasn't bad, and it was surely hot. I mean, it wasn't the greatest food, but I have had worse. So we spent our days reading, listening to music, watching movies when we had electricity, and talking to one another and getting closer. I think it was a good trip, and I am glad I went on the boat. On the final night of the trip, the keys got locked in the room, and it took 30 - 45 minutes for them to cut the lock off when they finally decided that was what they would do. Daniel was so worried about it. I told him not to worry, it was part of the adventure. And of course, I was laughing the whole time. There were no other keys to fit the lock...shock! We are living in Peru, but why would they not have two keys?? Anyway, Daniel spent the next day guarding the door because he was worried that some of our stuff would be taken. We got to Pucallpa with everything though, and now, for the most part we are settled in.

2009-11-04T16:41:00.000-05:00

This is at one of the four birthday parties for Jesus. He was a good sport and wore the crown the whole evening! I had to laugh at this picture because he didn't know that the crown was sideways.

This is another Sunday afternoon drive. We went to a place called "Mirador de Sachaca" which is a 6 or 7 story tower/building on top of a hill. From there you can see the city of Arequipa. We stopped on the way down to get "blessed" by the statue. Maciel was a little short, but I am sure she is blessed!

Here are some of the views from the top middle and bottom of the tower. Jesus and Kamila were at the bottom of the actual tower, but that was about two stories of steps up from the ground (as you can see from Milu, Jesus, and Kamila walking up...It was a beautiful day, as every day in Arequipa is.

Out for a Sunday Drive

2009-09-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

On Sunday we took a drive to the country with Tio Juan (that is Uncle John) who is a neighbor of Jesus and Miluska's. We saw lots of pretty landscape, and to finish out the day, we had bunuelos (with a ~ over the n). They are like elephant ears with honey instead of cinnamon and sugar, and round like doughnuts (4 to a plate). I could only eat 2, but they are very deliciouso! We had a great time, and had some fun in the fountain and Chomba (clay pot). And a very beautiful sunset!

Mission for Alto Libertad

2009-09-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

We went to a neighborhood near our church and knocked on doors to get the children to come and sing songs, hear a Bible story, and eat bread (pan) and hot chocolate. It was up on top of a mountain, and it was warm, but when the wind blew there was a definite chill. The children came first, and when some of the mothers came, many went back and got their mothers too. There were about 25-35 people there. When we finished, many of the women went and got large containers for the rest of the hot chocolate. And the hot chocolate was made from chocolate bars, cream, hot water and sugar (azucar). We had lots of fun, and also learned of some of the needs in the area.

End of Week Two

2009-09-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

Well, we have been here for two weeks now. Sorry, I just got this blog up and running, but I am new at this.

Today we completed two weeks of Spanish school, and I can carry on a basic conversation, although I understand a lot more than I can express.

I am living with two other of the 40/40s with a great family here in Arequipa. Tabby and Laura are the other 40/40s. The family has two little girls (Maciel and Kamila) and they are really fun to be with. They speak a little English, but not much, so we are challenged everyday to really expand our Spanish vocabulary. Miluska is the mom and Jesus is the dad.

The busses here are called combi's, and it is a true adventure to ride one. We have to look at the front of the bus, where they have "static cling" signs that say where they are going. If you aren't sure where they're going, there is a person standing in the doorway yelling out the destinations. Once you get on a "bus", which is about the size of the mini busses in the states, you may get a seat or you may have to stand up with the other 20 people who didn't get a seat. I guess it can be added to the list of "Ad-van-tures" I have been on. We take combi's a lot, and they only cost 70 centimos, which is less than 30 cents, and you can stay on and ride all day if you want. Sometimes they aren't crowded at all, and sometimes they are very crowded...there are definitely rush hours. After dark, we usually take taxis, which usually cost 4 or 5 soles (around $1.50 USD). And the taxis are about the size of a mini-coup, and it doesn't matter how many people you put in one, the price is the same. We usually try to negotiate a price before we go so the driver doesn't try to raise the price on us. I will try to get some pictures of all this soon.

Until later,

Katie