Wow!

What an amazing day! We spent the morning at the same sites we were at yesterday, and then had the championship. It was a blast! Let me tell you... Danny Hassler is hilarious! I wish I could describe the kind of spell he puts on these kids. He´s like the Pied Piper, running around with them chasing him! They love him, and you can tell how much he loves them too.

I`m sorry to report that the ladies lost the first Copa de Gringo volleyball match, 10 to 0! These Peruvians are serious about their sports! Don´t worry, we plan on using part of our day tomorrow to practice in hopes that we might at least score one point at the championship on Friday. (To be honest, we were impressed that we got the ball over the net... and that´s only because we served first!)

(just as a side note... we´re being serenaded by a Peruvian in the hotel lobby. I`m not sure where he came from, but he´s pretty good. Shawn matched his skills by playing ¨Stairway to Heaven. Not quite the same genre, but it worked.)

To end, Peruvian driving tip number 352--
When driving a taxi, honk your horn only after you are mid-way through an intersection that has no stop signs or traffic lights, so that another taxi stops only inches away from your car. Your customers will give you a bigger tip because they´re greatful to be alive!

Ok, the Peruvian is now playing Hotel California and we´re all trying to remember the words-I have to go so that I can concentrate. Wait... now we´re on La Bamba. Have a great night, guys!

-- Yolanda

Day Two

Here we are, just finishing our first camp championship tournament. We are now done in the first two areas that we were working in. I preached a sermon on salvation today, that was crazy. I can tell you that I am proabably not the person that should be preaching. It was quite the experience. The championship was played in a stadium, and there were probably around 300 to 350 people that came out for the event. We had the volleyball tournament and the soccer tournament. After that we presented awards and sang a song, and then I preached. We were also rewarded with home made rice pudding, I sure hope it does not give us the Inca revenge. It was great. We are very excited about the last two days and are looking forward to the rest of the week. Wardell is going to teach a bible study at the local church tonight. Tomorrow is a day of rest. We all need to regroup and chill for a bit. The days have been long and hard, so we are looking forward to a down day.... Shamon

Day One Recap

Well day one is in the books.... It went really good. We broke down into two teams and went to two different squatter villages to run the soccer camps, vbs, volleyball and bible studies. I watched as my son Christian played soccer with the kids. At first they were not all that willing to pass him the ball, but by the end of the day they were begging for ¨Ingless¨ to help represent one of the local teams that will be in today´s tournament. I just hope that if they win, they wont want to keep him. He did great yesterday and really enjoyed playing with the kids. It is amazing to watch kids that can´t speak the same language work it all out and figure out a way to communicate. Christian and Landy both presented a bible devotion to the kids and at the end of the day, Landy presented the plan of slavation to the adults. The whole community had a blast. We are heading back today. Where I think I am supposed to preach tonight... That should be fun....

Tuesday!

Today is our last day at the first site. Yesterday started off a bit rocky, since the teacher of the local school decided not to let her kids out of class like she had promised Juan (speculation is that she found out we were a Christian group). We had smaller groups of kids in the morning, but made up for that yesterday afternoon, when both sites had more than 100 kids! We returned from lunch, and about 20 or so kids were waiting for us... we started handing out t shirts, and turned around and there were 100! Praise God!

Christian was worried that he would be run over by the kids here playing soccer, but he held his own with them, and even scored twice. He also gave a devotion yesterday, about God having a plan for each of their lives. He did great. My "baby" is really growing up-- I think he would have been fine on this trip without us, just goes off with the rest of the group and does his thing! He's already eaten cow heart and ceviche, and wants to try everything else he can. Let me tell you, the adults on this trip are amazed at how much this kid eats!

I was able to share a devotion with the kids yesterday, and then the plan of salvation with the adults as the camp was ending. Please pray that God`s Words are sunk deep into these people`s hearts. As you might know, this area is heavily entrenched in witchcraft.

Also pray for poor Novene and Wardel... they are still without bags!

Much love,
Yolanda

Peruvian Driving 101

God is still in the miracle business!

I know that seems like a bold statement, so let me explain...some of our outings require us to ride in the local taxis. Doesn`t sound particularly miraculous, but the fact that we have all thus far lived through the experience is truly a miracle! Most of the streets here are standard streets with lines, however, those lines are apparently just a suggestion and there does not appear to be any laws requiring drivers to stay within them!

Some other observations about driving "etiquette" here in Peru:
1. If you don´t have a horn, and use it liberally, you will get nowhere.
2. Bumpers are for...well, bumping.
3. You can fit 6 cars (maybe more) in 2 standard lanes.
4. If you don´t get there first, it doesn´t count.
5. Finally... you really can get 6 people in a Daewoo hatchback.

On a more serious note, today was our first day of camp. Julia and I helped 42 preschoolers make a book about the 7 days of creation. They were so excited to make something for themselves with pretty colors and shiny stickers. They even insisted on having their pictures taken with their books. The kids are absolutely precious and treat us like celebrities--I had several moms hand me their babies just to have a picture taken with me. It has been very humbling to see how they live and how readily they accept us. God is so sweet to allow me the privilege of being here. Although the day was hectic, and I am very tired, I am excited to see what God has planned for tomorrow. I don´t want to miss one whisper He speaks or one fingerprint He leaves! Our God is truly amazing!

Resting in His arms (especially on the taxi rides!),
Tera