We Have Arrived!!

It's been a few months since our last blog post (ACK!), and we've been in Peru for 2 months now, which seems hard to believe. We recently got internet hooked up at our house so we're finally able to post this long-overdue update.

We ended up having to wait longer to leave for our mission post than most of the other new missionaries because we were waiting on a certain document that we were going to need for the visa process. We ended up flying out on February 26^th and arriving in Lima on the 27^th.
 

At the airport in Tarapoto with the other FMC missionaries.

We had a one-hour connecting flight into Tarapoto, which is in the San Martin region of Peru.  We were very warmly greeted by all the other FMC missionaries serving this area (11 people at the time, however 2 more families have come since then. The total number of FMC missionaries here is now 30, including us).

After loading up all of our stuff, we went out for lunch together and enjoyed time with this awesome community of missionaries. The single guys team then drove us out to Tingo de Ponaza, the pueblo that we now call home. We marveled at the beauty of this area during the two hour drive from Tarapoto. Along the way, we stopped briefly in Picota, the main town under which we serve. This is where the priests and the church are located.

Coming in to our pueblo, God gave me a sense of peace and gratitude for being in this particular place and community that He has called us to serve. We had been praying for these people ever since we found out that we had been assigned to “Tingo” and now we were finally here!

Looking at the road from our house, which is at the end of the road.

We walked into our new home (which requires its own blog post...stay tuned.) and were soon greeted by tons of the neighborhood kids flooding into the yard to see who all these white kids were. They pulled coconuts down from the tree in the back and opened them up for us to have coconut water, and then proceeded to play with the kids, asking their names and how old they are. Their immediate kindness and excitement meant so much to us.

Since then, we've been busy trying to get settled in here. One thing we were told during our 3-month intake was that we should approach our mission as a marathon and not a sprint. Since we're here long-term as opposed to a brief mission trip, we don't need to hit the ground running, saying “yes” to every ministry opportunity that presents itself. Instead, we should give ourselves time to adjust, to really make our house a home, and to set up a healthy schedule and routine for our family. That way we can serve more freely and generously knowing that our family life is in order and thereby reduce the risk of burnout. We have taken this advice to heart as we do intend to be here for at least the next two years, quite possibly longer.

It's been a longer and more expensive process than we thought it would be. We have had to buy everything to set up a home all over again: beds, mattresses, pillows and sheets, a kitchen table, pots and pans, silverware, a fridge and “stove” (a 4-range cooktop), things to store food and dishes in (to keep out bugs and mice), etc. The hardest part for me, being the thrifty person that I am, is that there are no second-hand stores here so we're having to buy everything brand new and I wasn't expecting things to cost as much as they do. Some things, like the sheets, were even more than what we'd pay at Target or Wal-Mart! I don't know how the average person here can afford to buy some of these basic household items.


After a trip in to Picota on our second day here to get mattresses, fans, and other necessities. 
The vehicle is being loaned to us from the single guys' team. Miraculously, all nine of us can squeeze into it!
 

We had one big family bed in the living room until we got beds for the kids.

 

Our backyard with aforementioned coconut tree.  The structure is a
huge chicken coop that houses our neighbor's chickens. 

Before coming here, we were told that this area has a great need for catechesis as the parish itself is less than 50 years old. We are beginning to see this for ourselves as we learn that some (most?) of the people in this area think it's more important to attend their own pueblo's Liturgy of the Word service on Sunday than to go to Mass, even if one of the priests comes to celebrate Mass in a pueblo just down the road. Few (if any) people from our pueblo make it to Sunday Mass. We thought it might be because of the expense of getting a motorcar (a taxi service) to take them, and while that is a factor, we are learning that the primary reason is that few (if any) don't realize that they should be trying to get to Mass on Sundays. Although many people identify as being Catholic, it seems there is little understanding of what that means. We are hoping to buy a truck soon so that we'll have the ability to transport some of the people from our pueblo into Picota for Mass on Sundays. So far, just our neighbor has come with us a couple of times.  



Motorcars and motorcycles are the most common modes of transportation. There are very few cars.

 

What a motorcar looks like.  It's a motorcycle with a seat in the back that fits about 3 adults.

The type of truck we hope to buy soon.  "Cages" on trucks, like this one, is very common to see.
Lots of people pile into the back of them to get around.

Our little pueblo's chapel
 

Speaking of our neighbor, she is a God-send!!! I'll write more about her in an upcoming post about our house, but I just want to say briefly now that she has been the biggest help to us in getting settled in and figuring out how things are done here. She has patiently put up with our very little Spanish-speaking abilities and sometimes has gone out of her way to show us things or point us in the right direction. I thank God for her daily.
 

I hope to start writing posts more regularly now that we have internet. Please know that we are incredibly thankful for your prayers for us and for this mission. God is so good to have entrusted us with this particular mission – and when I say “us,” I also mean all of you back home who are praying for and sponsoring us! Your participation in the work of foreign missions through your prayers and sponsorship is a very important and critical part! We could never be here without the prayers uplifting us and the people we are here to serve, nor without the funds to even come in the first place. So we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

 

St. Rose of Lima, pray for us.

St. Martin de Porres, pray for us.

 

Helping out at a medical mission trip with students who came from Benedictine.
The line on the right are the people who came to be seen by the doctors.

The kids' job at the mission: playing with the other kids! 

Getting a lesson in Spanish by one of the girls from our chapel.

Baby Aaron gets a lot of attention wherever we go.
Many people have no problem taking him out of my hands to hold him and make over him.
These teenagers are part of a youth group in Picota.

Robert with our neighbor Roberto.  They're just a few months apart in age.

Learning which caterpillars that crawl in and around our house are poisonous. 
This one is.

Buckets of water that people brought to Mass so Father could bless it for them.

A few of us with the Bishop in Moyobamba, the capitol of the San Martin region.

John Paul walking to our chapel for an unexpected Friday night Mass.

...And immediately following Mass was an unexpected Stations of the Cross around the plaza.
We've come to realize there's no sense in gauging how long things will take
because there's always something happening that we don't know about or aren't expecting.
It's all God's timing anyways.

The elaborate and beautiful palms that people made for Palm Sunday

People always point to our legs and exclaim, "Zancudos!!"
Robert's responded a couple of times with, "Zancudos amor gringos,"
which garnered lots of laughs.

When a motorcycle is your only means of transportation, you get creative.
I wish I could have pictures of all the things I've seen people holding while riding their bikes.
The craziest was a children's bike.  I think I actually have a picture of it.  I'll add it if I find it.

Alaina (5) loves to draw.  She has now started drawing people with brown skin and black hair.

Alaina, Michael, and our neighbor Jherson in a group hug.  He has become an almost constant companion.
He likes to draw pictures and then show them to me and say what they are in Spanish.
It's his way of building our vocabulary.  I've learned quite a bit from him!
This day he taught us the word "abrazo" (hug).

Our neighbor, Cimy, and her sister taking the feathers off 3 of the chickens in our yard (we share our yard).
This was the first time any of us had seen chickens being killed and de-feathered (is that a word?)







 

Kid Interview

I asked the kids some questions about our upcoming move to Peru.  Here's what they said...

1. What are you most excited about in moving to Peru?
       Alaina (5 yo): “It's warm a whole bunch!”

       Annabelle (6 yo): “Going to the beach and wearing our new clothes.” (I reminded her,
      “But we're not going to live near a beach.” She replied, “I know, but when we visit one.”)

       Michael (4 yo): “Getting new shoes.”

       John Paul (8 yo): “New things to see.”

       Merrilee (2 yo): “Jesus. Mommy. Daddy.”

       Robert (11 yo): “Just getting there and that it'll be warm.”

2. What are you nervous about?

       Michael: “Talking.” (in Spanish)

       John Paul: “Mosquitoes”

       Robert: “Getting a bad sickness.”

       Merrillee: “Two!”

       Annabelle: “Mosquitoes and getting a bad sickness.”

       Alaina: “Mosquitoes and getting sick.”

3. What do you think is going to be hard about moving to Peru?

       Annabelle: “Not seeing my friends.”

       Alaina: “Not getting treats on the ride because they're too sticky.”

       Robert: “Not seeing Zack and no warm water.”

       John Paul: “No warm water.”

       Michael: “Not getting treats.”

       Merrilee: “Not getting treats.” (repeating what she heard last.)

4. What do you think is going to be fun about moving to Peru?

       John Paul: “The bugs! Playing with them.”

       Robert: “Our free times are going to be awesome and bonding with Augustine is going to be

       awesome too!”

       Michael: “Eat bugs!” (Who knew that a kid who turns his nose up at enchiladas would think to

       say that eating bugs is going to be fun. Also note that it is unknown where he got the idea that

       bugs are a popular protein source in a Peruvian diet.)

       Annabelle: “The pretty beach at sunset.” (This girl can't get her mind off the beach.)

       Alaina: “Going hiking in the jungle and going to the beach.”

 

5. How do you feel about learning Spanish?

       Alaina: “Happy!”

       John Paul: “Happy.”

       Robert: “Nothing. Not excited but not bummed about it either.”

       Michael: “Happy.”

       Annabelle: “Happy.”

       Merrilee: “Learning Spanish!”

6. What's something you already know how to say in Spanish?

       Michael: “Uno, dos, tres” (one, two three)

       Robert: “Hola! Me llamo Roberto.” (Hi! My name is Robert.)

       John Paul: “Hola! Cómo estás? (Hi! How are you?)

       Alaina: “Buenos días! Alabare a mi Señor Jesus!” (Good morning! Praise my Lord Jesus!” <---

       part of a song they learned while in Mexico)

       Merrilee: “Buenos dias!” (Good morning!)

       Annabelle: “Baja al rio.” (Go down to the river <--- part of another song we learned in Mexico)

 

Recap of the Past Two Months

 

 

It's been almost two months since our last blog post so I'll give a quick recap of what has happened since. We ended our time in Mexico with another group of Americans that came down for a week-long mission trip. This was over the week of Thanksgiving. It was a busy week of work projects during the day and visits to the neighboring ranchos in the evening. One of the traditions at the mission house in General Cepeda is to invite the townspeople for a traditional Thanksgiving feast on Thanksgiving Day. It was estimated that more than 200 people showed up to eat turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberries, and more. One older lady said on her way out the door, “Here, I never go hungry.”

Serving guests at the mission house on Thanksgiving.

Once we got back to Big Woods (FMC's home base in Louisiana), we had time to learn a little more about our new mission post in Peru. We were also given the opportunity to meet most of the missionaries who have been serving in Peru for the past year or longer as they were back for a “Year in Review” retreat. The group in Peru will consist of a women's team of four, a men's team of four, and three families, after all of us newbies get there.


Some of the Peru missionaries.  Missing 1 family, 1 single guy, 1 single girl, and a bunch of kids.

On December 5^th, our family along with all of the people we've been going through Intake with, were formally commissioned as foreign missionaries. The next day started our month-long break. We went back to Florida to stay with Robert's parents during that time. It was a busy month full of finalizing our packing, continued fundraising, getting necessary documents for the visas we'll need, and even a week-long visit from some friends. 

 

Getting some time at the beach with friends.

 

The boys helping Robert load up our car with all our suitcases to head back to Louisiana.

We came back to Louisiana this past week to finish the last two weeks of our training. During this time we're getting talks that are pertinent to the transition period that we'll go through after moving to our mission post.

 

The kids were excited to come back and see their friends.

Although our training ends on the 19^th, we likely won't be flying out to Peru until late February or early March due to the long processing time for one of the documents that we need in order to get our visas. We were disappointed about this to begin with but have come to accept it as part of God's plan, and that He must have some reason to keep us back for a little while longer.
 

Some things we still have to figure out (which may not happen until we get there) are: when and where we'll go to language school, if we'll have a house ready for us to move into or if we'll have to find one ourselves, how soon we'll be able to get a vehicle, and making a preliminary daily, weekly, and monthly schedule.
 

We welcome any and all prayers for a smooth transition to Peru, for the spiritual and physical needs of the people we will meet, and for our spiritual protection as we attempt to claim the area we live in for Christ!

 

We're going to....

On our “desert day” (a day for extended prayer time) this past week, we found out where we're being placed for our first mission post! Since we've been in Mexico, we've gone out into the beautiful country here to have our desert days. This past week, we caravanned on crazy bumpy roads through the foothills into the mountains. It was an incredibly beautiful drive, passing through a quaint little rancho, an old, old man riding a donkey, a man herding goats with his dog, and a family riding a cart pulled by a donkey. 

 

Once we got to our destination, each of us were handed an envelope which contained the information we were anxiously anticipating for the past few weeks: which country we were getting sent to. The boys were praying for jungles and mountains for the past few months. Our oldest son, Robert, had been hoping and praying specifically for Peru. We eagerly took our envelope and make a short hike to an area where we could lay out blankets to eat lunch and pray.

 

 

 

Gathering together to collect our envelopes containing our future mission posts.

 

Going for a short hike to find a place to park ourselves. 

 

Our cozy spot.

The view from our cozy spot.

 

After eating and talking about the readings for that day, we let Robert open the envelope since he was the only one in our family that actually had desired a specific country. He barely opened the letter before announcing that we were going to Peru. We thought he might be teasing since he had hardly opened the letter (and because he likes to tease), but he wasn't! Our family erupted into laughter and cheers.

We don't know too much yet about the area we'll be going to. We do know that it's a small town near a larger town named Picota and that it's in a moderate jungle area at the foothills of the mountains. The town itself has a chapel but we're not sure how often the priest makes it to that chapel; people most likely have to go to Picota for Sunday Mass each week. The church in Picota is less than 50 years old, and the surrounding towns are still largely uncatechized. The local priest is a Spanish missionary and has specifically asked for a missionary family to come to the area. We are so excited about this opportunity to get to know the Peruvian people and be Christ to them, and encounter Christ through them!

We still have 3 more weeks of training left (this last week being in Mexico) before we take a month-long break for Christmas and New Years. All of us “Intakers” will meet up at the Big Woods mission in Louisiana again in January for about 10 days before we start flying out to our mission posts. Please continue to pray for us as we begin making some preparations for our move to Peru, such as figuring out housing, and when and where to go to language school. Please also pray for the people we will be meeting there and for the Holy Spirit to move in their hearts.

 

Here's some blog posts from some of the missionaries serving in Peru right now:

I Can't But Jesus Can

A Pair of Shoes

When Jesus Speaks

 

Our First Week in Mexico

We just finished our first of three weeks at FMC's mission in General Cepeda, Mexico. We left after dinner last Friday evening and drove through the night, arriving at the Mexican border around 8:00 Saturday morning. We ended up getting stuck there for five hours because there was some kind of issue the people at the immigration office were having with the vans we had rented.

As four of the guys sat in line after line and tried to work things out, the rest of us prayed and interceded for them and the people that didn't want to let us through. For some of the time, a large group of us sang praise & worship in the parking lot. Rebekah, one of the girls riding in our van, brought out her ukulele and sang praise with the kids and the others in the van with us at the time. I was edified by her prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God for giving us the opportunity to offer up the circumstance we found ourselves in amid our tiredness from the night of driving and our restlessness to get to our destination.

Just the week prior, we had been given a talk on praise, thanksgiving and rejoicing, and how central they are to the Christian life, and essential to being a missionary. Scripture is full of verses about praising and thanking God (particularly in the Psalms) and rejoicing in all circumstances. St. Paul exhorts us in Philippians to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice! ...Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4, 6-7) The Catechism tells us that “every joy and suffering, every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving which, sharing in that of Christ, should fill one's whole life” (CCC 2648). It references 1 Thes. 5:18 which says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This talk was a potentially life-changing one for both Robert and I – if we can truly live it out! And getting stuck at the border was the perfect opportunity to practice praising, rejoicing, and thanking God when we wouldn't normally feel like it.

As we approached General Cepeda, we were struck by the beauty of the area with all the mountains (which the locals apparently call hills as they are technically foothills, but to a Minnesota girl, they're mountains). We were told that the altitude here is one mile high. The town, which has a population of roughly 11,000 people, is what I would think of as a stereotypical Mexican town: colorful buildings, mariachi music playing outside store fronts, and warm, welcoming people. We are staying at the mission house in the downtown area, which was originally built in the 1700s as servants quarters. The night we got here, John Paul said, “I could get used to this!” and as I was tucking Annabelle in for bed, she said she wanted to live here forever.

Throughout this past week we have continued some of the same things we did at Big Woods in Louisiana: community prayer and meals, assigned chores, our Acts of the Apostles and Mission of the Redeemer studies, and a weekly “desert day.” But the biggest difference is that most evenings (and some days) we go out to the “ranchos” (small, rural communities) in the vicinity to hold Communion or prayer services at the local chapel. This has been an awesome experience and opportunity for us to meet the people here and learn a little bit about their particular needs.

Community meals

A General Cepeda neighborhood

Most of the time, when we get to the rancho, we go door-to-door inviting people to come to the chapel for the communion/prayer service. Unlike in America, it isn't considered rude to bang on a person's door and yell, “Buenos dias!” to get them to answer the door. The people we've talked to have been so kind despite us not knowing Spanish and having t

o read our invitation to them (completely botching some of the words).

A rancho chapel

Lots of kids have been coming to the chapel at most of the ranchos we've visited. At one, they

Lauren playing Duck, Duck, Goose with kids

gathered outside and played loudly while the adults were inside for the prayer service. I went outside with our kids not long after the service started because they were getting antsy and it seemed to draw even more kids over. It's amazing how the language barrier doesn't seem to matter with kids. They interact and play just as well as if they spoke the same language. I had many girls coming up to me asking questions about baby Aaron (What's his name? How old is he? Can I hold him?). Lauren, one of girls going through intake with us, organized a game of “Duck, Duck, Goose” for the little kids while Robert, John Paul, and some other missionary kids played another made-up game with the bigger kids. That prayer service lasted particularly long because most of the people there asked to be prayed over, so the kids were able to play for quite awhile.

Someone shared that at a rancho they visited, an older woman was out of breath as she came to the chapel after they rang the bells indicating that there was going to be a communion service. She said she had been out in the field working with her 99-year-old father when she heard the bells ringing and came running. She shared that she has been feeling forgotten by the Church because the priest rarely visits that rancho and there's a lack of presence at the chapel there. At the mission house, there's a map of all the ranchos in the vicinity and there's simply too many for the amount of missionaries here to effectively minister to

them all. Just another reminder that the Church is in desperate need of more missionaries!!

Playing outside with kids after a Bible Study at a rancho chapel

Gathering outside a rancho chapel to talk with people

Singing fun songs just before a prayer service starts

Inside a rancho chapel

This coming week, we will likely be finding out which country our family will be getting sent to for our first mission post. We'll try to write another post next week to make the announcement! The

following week, we will serve alongside people coming here for a week-long mission trip. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving during this trip by inviting the poor to come to the mission house for a feast!

Throughout this coming week, I encourage you to practice praising and thanking God in every circumstance and in all things, and rejoicing even – no, especially! - in your trials and hardships. It's hard to do when you feel like complaining, but not only will it glorify God but it will change your perspective. It's harder to feel upset or worried about something when you're praising and thanking God for His Providential care for you and for all the good things in your life, even simple things that we take for granted like a warm house, indoor plumbing, and clean drinking water.

An outhouse at someone's house on a rancho

Be grateful for all that you have.