This is Joselyn, (left) and her mom, and Elizabeth, my conversation partner and good friend. This was taken at the pollata. A pollata is the equivalent of a church picnic. Our church had one today to raise money for a mission trip the youth group is taking. The food is cooked throughout the day so you have to wait in line for a good hour to get your food.
The boys played soccer while all of the women were cooking.
This is a picture of Joselyn, me, and Eliabeth waiting for our plate o' food.

This is matt, stealing some chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are hard to come by in Peru. We have one big bag for all the interns for the interns to share but it has to last us a long time so we always try and make people feel bad when they eat them.
Fanny packs are totally in! Peruvian men sport them all the time. Matt and I reminisced from our childhood (the early 90s) when fannies were in style in the States and New Kids on the Block had the #1 cassette.

This is a picture of me and my roomie, Michelle. She is a good roomie. We don't get to see each other much b/c our schedules are completely opposite of each other. However, what little bit of time we have spent together has been really good.
This is a picture of the political science department from the university protesting. The man in the suit is directing the protest, telling professors to walk slower or faster. hehehe.

This is a picture of Gabriela, Olgie, and me on the steps in SALI. They are two of my favorite students. Gabriela and I decided that we are twins today. She wants to be a lawyer and we both think that Torta Alemana is the best kind of cake in Peru. Lomo soltado is also our favorite Peruvian dish.
This a picture of the professors protesting for higher wages. They have been on strike for a couple of weeks now. Here, the professors go on strike pretty frequently. However, they never get more money. Classes are canceled and students just go on vacation until the professors decide to return. The Peruvian government can't really force them to go back to work so many students just get behind in their school schedule. The protest was kind of funny because all of the professors were divided up into their different departments. It was a lot more organized than I had ever pictured a public protest.

Some good noticias...

So, I went to Oviedo, a nearby coffee shop, with my students today. I definitely got to share a little bit about my faith when one of my students asked why I was in Peru. I told them that I came to Peru to share the good news of the gospel with Peruvians and they asked what I meant by that. I explained a little bit about why I am here but I definitely couldn't answer their questions about the difference between Presbyterians and Catholics. I know how Presbyterians are different than Catholics but I couldn't explain it very well in Spanish. Two of my students told me that they really wanted to convert but weren't totally sure about it yet. Since I felt pretty inadequate to answer their questions, I told them that there are Peruvian pastors at SALI that they can meet with and they are going to meet with them probably some time next week.

In the mean time, one of the students, Gabriela, invited me to her house for lunch. She is going to teach me how to make her (and my) favorite Peruvian dish---lamo saltado. It has meat, rice, french fries, peppers, and onions in it. It is all mixed together and it is very good. Although the June cycle of classes is over, I will have Gabriela again in July in my Basic 7 class. I am excited that I get to continue to build my friendship with her. So please be praying for Gabriela. She seemed the most enthusiastic about Christianity.

The other student that was very interested in Christianity was Olgie. Olgie is super sweet and although she is traveling to the States next month, we are going to have dinner next week sometime and talk a little bit more about Christianity. She speaks a good bit more English than Gabriela so I might be able to explain things better. She is also going to meet with a pastor (hopefully before she goes to the States). Overall, today was very encouraging. I feel like God has given me a connection with Gabriela and Olgie. I am really overwhelmed that these students are interested in my life and actually want to spend time with me. I am thankful for these opportunities and actually really feel like I am supposed to be here for the first time all summer. Before now, I knew I was supposed to be here but I couldn't understand why yet. Now, I can clearly see that God does have me here for a reason. I don't know exactly what that reason is yet but I know that he is definitely working. I also know that his timing is perfect and his plan for me will be revealed exactly when it is supposed to be revealed. Please continue to pray for these students and that the Holy Spirit would be present and evident in my life and my interaction with every Peruvian (and American) I come into contact with.

Please Pray!

Today in class, one of my students asked me if I was a Christian and this question started a series of other questions concerning Christianity. Two of my students said that they have been interested in Christianity but didn't know how to convert and wanted to find out how to do so. Tomorrow is the last day of the June cycle of classes so we had already planned on going to coffee tomorrow after class. I told them that we would discuss their questions tomorrow when we have coffee and they looked very excited. I am so thankful that the one student asked me about my faith and I know that it was definitely an opportunity from the Lord. Please pray that somehow, when I meet with my students tomorrow, I can communicate with them clearly and that God would break through the language barrier b/c I definitely am not fluent in Spanish. I am thankful for an opportunity to share with my students about why I am in Peru and I just pray that God would use this opportunity to further his kingfom, if it be his will. I know that without his Holy Spirit, I can't accomplish anything.

We plan on meeting tomorrow at 10:30 (9:30 Eastern time) so I would appreciate your prayers. My students's names are George, Olgie, Connie, and Gabriela. I will write a post tomorrow and let you know how our time together goes.

This is the postre de platano that me and Sydney made. Que rico! It was really good.
This is the process of us making the banana pudding. It was touch and go for while there, but it all worked out in the end. *Sydney is one of my favorite new people. She makes me laugh really hard and she is a good friend to me. I am thankful that God allowed our paths to cross.
This is some corn bread that I helped Rosita make. I can't wait to make it for my family back in the states.
This is a picture from the ladies meeting last Wednesday. We met in Sydney's house (she lives with the pastor's family). Some of the missionary wives came and it was fun to have them there.
This is Mateo (or Matt). He came with Elizabeth, Anna, and me today on our mini-adventure to Poroto. He is super fun and a good big brother. He makes me smile.

Noticias de Peru

So I have been in Peru for a month now. Time has definitely flown by but I am excited I still have another month here. My schedule has definitely picked up so I am thankful that God is allowing me to get involved with a lot of different ministries going on here in Peru. I will give you an overview of my daily routine to give you an idea of what my life is like here in Peru. I normally get to SALI around 7:00, eat some yogurt and cereal (the milk here is not refrigerated and I can't bring myself to drink/use warm milk), and then I teach from 7:30 until 10:30. I have 2 classes and God is definitely encouraging me through my interaction with my students. At SALI, we have RUF on Friday nights. I wrote a note on the board last week for my classes but none of my students seemed interested at the time. However, at the meeting, at looked over and saw one of my students at the meeting. Her name is Joselyn and I am not sure if she is a Christian or not. She told me that she grew up Catholic but she does not go to chuch anywhere. She also came to a Monday night Bible study the following week. Please be praying that God would be working in her heart. I am excited to see what he has in store for Joselyn. Joselyn also invited one of my other students, Marli, to the meeting. Marli came to the RUF meeting last night and afterwards I went out with both Marli and Joselyn and Anna and Elizabeth (my two Peruvian friends who are strong Christians). Joselyn is going to go to church with me tomorrow and we are going to have lunch together tomorrow. I have no idea what God is doing but I am trusting that he has a plan.

From 10:30 until 1:00, I grade papers and tests and plan for my next day of classes. From 1:00 until 2:00, I have lunch with the other interns. This is always a lot of fun and a good break in the middle of the day. After lunch, I go to one of the churches that our mission sponsors (it is in Arevelo and it is the church that the short term team I came with last year helped). At Arevelo, two other female interns and I do some children's ministry in the afternoon. We have about 6 children that come on a regular basis. We teach them a little bit of English and then play UNO (they LOVE Uno) or color some pictures to help them learn new vocabulary. Most of the kids here don't have anything---and when I say they dont have anything, I mean literally, they dont have one single toy or game or a soccer ball. They normally make up games that dont require any kind of props so I think they are enjoying a chance to color and do something a little different. I am also teaching one Peruvian lady some English. However, it is hard to invest time into these people when I know that I will be leaving them in a month. I know that the new group of interns wont have extra time to go out to Arevelo so pray that God would somehow continue this minstry through someone else, if it be his will. After Arevelo, I come back and go for a run or eat some dinner. After that, I have different things everyday. Two days a week I meet with my conversation partner, Elizabeth, to work on my Spanish. Other nights, I catch up on my e-mails or just go home and relax for a couple of hours since I get up pretty early during the week. Next month, my nights will be spent at Wichenzao teaching English to some older children.

I am thankful for my time here. God is definitely drawing me closer to him and I am finding out how much I need to rely on him. Being in a third-world country, I think it is a lot easier to get aggrivated with things that are out of my control. Here, Peruvians take their time to do everything so I find myself losing my patience. Most Peruvians are at least 20-30 minutes late for every single appointment and it is difficult not to get frustrated. Also being a gringo, I am automatically a target for every Peruvian to take advantage of me financially and this is probably my biggest frustration. For example, taxi drivers will charge me more than they would a Peruvian simply because I am an American. Just today, I took a bus to a town about an hour away with Anna and Elizabeth and the bus driver wanted to charge all the other people on the bus 2.50 while he told me I had to pay 3 soles. Thankfully, Anna and Elizabeth objected to this and he backed down but this is a regular occurence and it is hard to want to minister to a culture that I feel like is just trying to deceive me or take advantage of me. Please pray that God would somehow give me love for the people that I want to love the least.

Other things that I have done during the week include:
(1) Last Saturday, we took our students on a field trip to some ruins here in Trujillo and this gave all the teachers some time with our students outside of class. It was fun to see my some of my students in a different setting and I enjoyed getting to know them better. It also gave me a chance to show them that I want to know them as individuals, not just as my students.
(2) Last Wednesday, I went to a women's Bible study for the church in Larco (the church where most of the interns attend). I was put in charge (w/ Sydney) of providing a postre (or dessert) for the meeting. Sydney and I found a recipe for some banana pudding and threw it together. It was different than the banana pudding in the US b/c we cooked it in the oven. But it was just as good. The meeting was very encouraging b/c it was all in Spanish and I understood almost every word. I was encouraged that God is enabling me to understand more Spanish so that I can be a better communicator while I am down here.
(3) Today I traveled about an hour away with Anna, Elizabeth, and Matt (he is another intern) to Poroto. We took a bus to a little town and walked up several flights of stairs and got to see a beautiful view of the countryside. The pictures are on Matt's camera so I will post them later. We had a lot of fun and had the chance to eat some guavas.

This is the guide telling us about the ruins.
Me and Luz, one of my students.

The guide blowing into a conk shell. The Chan Chan people used to use a conk shell to tell people to come somewhere.
This is me helping Rosita make some pan de maiz (which is corn bread but this cornbread had red peppers and fresh corn in it).

These are 3 of my Basic 5 and Basic 6 students. They came to the field trip at Chan Chan. Their names are Saul, Guillermo, and Christian.
Me and my students.
This is Sarah Story, Caleb (the administrator of SALI and our boss), and Becca Angle. Check out Caleb's sketchy smile.
The Chan Chan ruins. Back in the day, people would put sacrifices in those little holes you see.
More ruins. I can't remember which part this is a picture of. All of the piles of old sand started looking alike by the end of the tour.

Mas fotografias de mi casa y mi vida en Peru.

This is my bed (until Monday when I will move into the house across the street when some of the older interns leave).
This is the rest of my room.
This is the upstairs shower. It didnt have hot water until yesterday.
These are the sheets that Amelia, the lady whose house we are living in, put on my bed.
Close up of my sheets w/ unicorns all over them. :)

Mi casa.

These are my favorite little cookies. They are chocolate on the inside and chocolate on the outside.
This is Megan. I met her in the Lima airport after both of our flights to Trujillo got cancelled. We hung out in the Lima airport for 12 hours and she was a lot of fun. She is coming to Trujillo to do medical mission work. She was a lot of fun and she made the day go by a lot faster.
Hi Mommie! I miss you.
This is some Peruvian food Megan got in the airport. The yellow stuff is potatoes. The potatoes here are yellow, not white but they are still really good. The rice and potatoes in this dish are both staples of the Peruvian diet.
This is the bathroom me and 2 other interns share. Nice toilet seat cover. I think it is handmade.

Mas fotografias

This is me and Rosita, our cook. She makes a homemade cake almost everyday. Today, she made pastel de plantas (banana cake).
In Peru, Americans are called "Gringos," and so the name of the intern office is called "GringoLandia."
This room is where our lunches and lots of fun go down. I have probably laughed about 1000 times during our lunches here in the past 2 weeks from the older interns' stories about their students and random sicknesses.

This is my new friend Ana. She is about to make un pastel de plantas (a banana cake).
This is the bulletin board me and another intern (Chase Harris) made for SALI. Since SALI is an American institute, we had a summer theme since it summer time in the States.
This is our courtyard at SALI.

First 2 weeks in trujillo.

It has been so good to see God's goodness and provision in the short time that I have been here. God is constantly providing new friends and blessing my time here. Last night I went to SALI's RUF and I got to talk to two sisters, Ana y Elisabeth, and we are going to have lunch sometime next week. Tonight, I am going to my church's youth group (which includes peruvians anywhere from late teens to their late 20s). I am excited about getting involved with that ministry and getting to know the people there. My classes start on Monday so I will get to meet my students for the month of June. This weekend has been restful and a lot of fun. The older interns have been reallly good about making me and the other new interns feel welcomed and loved. I am thankful for their willingness to serve. My Spanish is definitely picking up and so I have been able to have more and more conversations with the Peruvians and that is definitely a blessing. I will continute to keep you updated on how things progress here (now that I have a blogspot that I can remember the password for) Here are some pictures from the first 2 weeks.

Bienvenidos a mi blog.