Lucille's Adventures in Peru Av. Fatima 820, #703, Trujillo, Peru --- www.perumission.org --- "Not all those who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

Today we arose to a beautiful sunny day in Trujillo! Our God is an Awesome God! and we enjoyed worshiping him with the Peruvians and Missionaries here in Peru. We did not have our trusty bus Bob today, he (the bus and our driver Ilias) had the day off. So, we had a line of taxis lined up outside our hotel waiting for us and off we were off to Winchanzao for morning worship. It was wonderful to be there and see some of the children we would be ministering to at camp. We saw many of our old friends and it was neat to see the kids from last year. And for our new members, it was a great chance to experience a worship service in Spanish! We sang and enjoyed the worship even for those that didn't understand it all since it was in Spanish. The preacher can speak some English and he did say enough in English that we got the main gist of the sermon. Here in Peru, we observe the Lord's Supper at every morning worship service. Last year we were all prepared for the sipping of real wine from the same cup. This year, we were surprised to see that they now used small disposable cups like we are used to in the States. The shock was what was in it! I didn't ask, but we all agreed it was some STRONG wine! It served up some interesting faces as we all gulped on it as if it were grape juice--and for interesting conversation the remainder of the day. And. . . quite a wake up drink! Drew McWay is an intern here at Peru Mission that has been working in a microfinance program with the ladies of Trujillo to help women build businesses. They all are accountable for everyone's loans. If one defaults, the others have pledged to pay it back. And it has been very successful! After church, he shared with us what he is doing and how God is working through this program. Then we were off to lunch at the park! Bill and Allen Bradford graciously hosted a picnic in the park for us and it was a picture perfect day! All of the missionary families and our group and a few interns came over and we enjoyed lunch in the park. After lunch, we came back to the hotel and worked on organizing our camp supplies (some of them), items for the orphanage, gifts for the missionaries, and gifts and prizes for the campers. And we got our camp shirts for this new year! Very fun. . . And then about an hour to rest or hang out at the hotel. A few of us managed to squeeze in a Settlers of Catan game even. Matthew was thinking that he might cool off in the pool, but no such luck. The pool is a very new addition, but not open for use yet. The hotel is the same one from last year and we are all enjoying it. It has 4 floors of rooms and no elevator, but they are building it now. So, by this time next year, an elevator!! That is exciting when you are looking at 4 flights of stairs and several large suitcases. Tonight we worshiped at Larco Church and Pastor Paul (Nasekos) preached. It was very enjoyable, though I am sure a little hard for him as he has to speak and break his sentences up into phrases that can be translated. Bill Bradford ably and wonderfully translated it into Spanish for the Peruvians. After dinner we retired to the Smith's and enjoyed a fabulous dinner of chicken salad, bread, fresh mango and the hit of dinner -- fresh guacamole and chips. It was a HUGE bowl (think large mixing bowl) of guacamole and it was all gone before we were done! Needless to say, it was a big hit. And then we celebrated Saracaroline's 13th birthday with a cake and song. And a belated Birthday to matthew who's birthday was the 30th of December. Finally, we ended our day with a time of worship in English and song with Allen Smith's accompanying us on his guitar. It is always a fun time at the Smith's Sing A Long! Everyone enjoyed singing in English and shouting out their favorite hymns to sing. Here is a sample of our time at the smith's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRKvlpNPQ9M (sorry, i couldn't make it hyperlinked so just cut and paste it in your browser). Tomorrow we are meeting at ARevelo to have our Camp Orientation meeting with the Peruvians. And then camp will start on Monday. Everyone is so excited about having camp and working with the kids as well as the Peruvian helpers, counselors, and translators. Thank you so much for the comments and prayers. We love hearing that our prayer warriors are behind us all the way!