ANTS!!!

So, several weeks ago, I was home alone for the day, and I thought, "Ahhh, I can fix something simple for lunch and relax a little bit!" WRONG!!! I walked in our bedroom to get a shirt, and found ants had taken up residency in our clothes! I don't mean one or two ants. I mean thousands of them, and they were building their nests in the crevices of our clothes. I was horrified! We had all our clothes that should be in a dresser, in a suitcase on top of a stool. That is so they don't get a musty smell, because if the suitcase is on the floor, the clothes get damp, and it is just not pleasant. So I began the task of finding the source of the ants. The came from the ceiling, down the cord that holds our pole for hanging clothes, down the sleeve of one of my shirts, onto and into the suitcase of clothing. I only took pictures of the outside, but they were in all the crevices of the clothes with more of the white nest that you see in these pictures. Once I found the source, I started washing the clothes and got all the clothes out of the suitcase and put the suitcase outside in the sun so the ants would leave. It took all morning to wash all the clothes (I had just washed them all two days before), and by early afternoon they were all dry and folded and put back in the suitcase...just in time for Sixto to come home and see me sitting in the hammock...hahaha...so much for relaxing! I thank God that I found the ants before I put on any of the clothes, because that would have been painful!!!

Gifts from Broadway Church of the Nazarene

This past Sunday, March 9, was the day before school started here in Peru. Thanks to the church family at Broadway Church of the Nazarene in Parkersburg, WV for sending 3 boxes of school supplies and money for notebooks to us, here in Campanilla, Peru. We were able to give 38 packets of school supplies to the children and youth of the church. There were 10 preschoolers, 15 primary schoolers, and 13 highschoolers who received bags of goodies. The pictures are a little blurry and dark because there was no electricity that night, and all but 8 of the kids were there. Three who weren't there are from the same family and the two youngest are getting over Dengue Fever. There names are Jhon David and Joel. The children were very excited to receive the supplies, and we even put a few candies in with the supplies too. Thanks for all that you did for our kids, and enjoy the pictures. Pray for these children, that they will have a good year in school and learn all that they can! And, the adults received the notebooks that were sent and a pen, for Sunday School. We bought more than 100 notebooks for the kids with money sent from Broadway, because the notebooks they use here are different than those from the states. However, the adults were happy to receive their school supplies too! Thanks Broadway Church of the Nazarene for your support of your church family abroad!



 

The preschoolers



Primary School kids





Everyone in the congregation with their gifts

Home again...ahhhhhhhhh!!!

Well, it has been a busy few weeks, but I want to focus on last week. Sixto is the District President for Youth in Mission, and last week we had the privilege to go to Huancayo (where it is really cold!!!). We spent two days traveling to Huancayo, three days working to help the church there, a day of tourism, and a day and a half returning to Campanilla. I don't have pictures right now, because we used Sixto's tablet to take pictures and forgot to bring it with us to Juanjui today. However, I will give you some word pictures of our time in Huancayo.
On Monday night when we arrive, after traveling through all extremes of weather (okay, no snow, but for someone who lives in the hot jungle, 40 degrees is cold!!!), I was told that I wouldn't be helping with the VBS as was first thought, but that I would be teaching the older kids. Wow!! Shock!!! I had materials prepared for smaller kids, but nothing for older kids...ages 11 to 17. Fortunately, the first day of VBS was in the afternoon, so I had the morning to look up pictures to use with the stories for the week. We had Elijah being fed by ravens, staying in the house of the widow, and his contest on Mount Carmel for the first day, Elisha and the Healing of Naaman for the second, and Jonah for the third. I was able to get materials together (thanks to the fact that the church had great internet!!!).
On Wednesday and Thursday, the VBS was in the morning, so in the afternoon on Wednesday, I went with Sixto and Judith, one of the young ladies at the church, to an orphanage to get permission to come the next day and have some time with the kids who live there. I was highly impressed by the orphanage, as I have been by all the orphanages I have been to in Peru. When we walked in, it is like an oasis in the desert. Outside the orphanage, the streets are dirt, the houses are run down, and though there is vegetation, it isn't well cared for. When you step onto the orphanage property, there are lots of nice brick houses, with well maintained yards, beautiful flowers, sidewalks, and just an overall pleasant atmosphere. The coordinator of programming talked with us because the director was on vacation. He invited us to come the next morning at 10 am until noon.
I was a little disappointed because I was schedule to help with the VBS. And in the afternoon we were scheduled to go to the prison. I had hoped for a change in the schedule. Anyway, when we got back to the church, we prepared for an evening in the plaza of sharing "From the Dark" along with singing and preaching. We got everything ready in the rain (which was freezing cold!!!), and then ran to the church to get last minute things. Wouldn't you know, in God's plan, the rain stopped about a half hour before our program and didn't start again until we were finishing! God is AWESOME!!! At the close of the time in the park, there was one convert. We returned to the church and ate a late dinner.
On Thursday morning, the leaders of the team said that Gladys and I could ask our helpers to take over our classes of VBS because they wanted us to go to the orphanage too. I was happy to go, but was going to miss the group of kids a little. So we all got to the orphanage at 10, but they weren't ready yet, so we waited until about 10:30 am to start. We had a good time with the kids, singing, sharing a skit, making bracelets, and just talking with them. Then we hurried back to the church to eat lunch, change our clothes, and got to jail...hahahaha. When we got to the prison, we were standing outside waiting when a gentleman came up to us and asked if we had received our permission yet. We said no, we were told to come to the gate to receive it. He then said, "Well, I am the director of the prison, and I will send my secretary right down with the permission." We said, "Thank you!" and as he said, his secretary was there in just a couple of minutes to give us our permission. We also met a group of 4 local Gideons there who brought New Testaments to give out. In all, there was our group of 10, the local pastor, and the 4 Gideons. We shared with two different groups of prisoners, and unfortunately, we only had a set of speakers for a desktop computer (not very loud), because we were only permitted to bring in a laptop and a projector. However, the prisoners were so interested in the movie, that there was no doubt to the last row what was being said in the movie! We showed "From the Dark" about Felix Vargas. As we were finishing in the first group, Sixto and Pastor Wilmer took the equipment to the second group to get set up. The prisoners were so happy to receive the New Testaments and at the end, several of them gave their lives to Christ.
Friday, we went to a Huanca Ruin (sounds like Wonka, but there was no candy!!!!), and a lake in the morning, and in the afternoon, a rainbow trout farm...imported from the USA in the 40s...Yep, so I was close to home there!!!
I will try to get some pictures on here soon, but until then, I want to say, though we had a wonderful time, even in the cold, in Huancayo, I am glad to be home again!!! I will be going to Pucallpa for the last time in my monthly journeys next week, and then it should be home sweet home for a while.
Please continue to pray for the church in Campanilla, as we plan to build a new church building this summer. If you are interested in coming to help, you can contact us at katielovessixto@gmail.com or get on the Work and Witness webpage, search for the Campanilla, Peru project and send an e-mailto the coordinator for more information.
Thanks to all who pray for us daily!!!