Land of the Living

From Lena:

Recently, our family had a rousing discussion of the phrase, "land of the living" as used in the psalms of David. Was he speaking about the here and now land, or heaven?
I believe that David had prophetic insight into the nature of God. Life is at the core of God's identity, and whether we are speaking of life here on this earth, or life eternal, God is at the heart of it, doing His work, making things live and breathe.

It reminded me of an experience we had recently when we began to work with Feed My Starving Children, in the hopes of seeing feeding programs started in our Piedad schools. It is an incredible program that provides much-needed vitamin enriched food for children in neighborhoods just like the ones where most of our schools are located. At the beginning, one of our schools had difficulties because the kids rejected the food for it's flavor. Without gussying it up, it tastes like.....vitamins!! One of our directors was deeply disturbed over the situation, as she knew that the nutrients provided by the food were desperately needed, and she was tired of seeing the children come to school listless and having difficulties concentrating for their nutritional lack.

She went to her knees, and that night, had SPIRITUAL WARFARE DREAMS over the issue.
She awoke, a recipe in mind, and the rest is history. The kids are now eating well, have better color, and ARE GROWING.

I found myself thinking, why in the world would the Enemy want these kids to be malnourished? How does that help him? The truth is, he is the Enemy of the God of the Living. He is a life thief, God is the life-giver. When children have the right food, they can think clearly, absorb the truth of the Word, and understand it. When they are malnourished, they walk around in a cloud, just surviving. If their brains don't receive the appropriate nourishment, there are thoughts they will never think...dreams they won't dream. Promoting LIFE--by nourishing little brains that otherwise will not achieve their potential--is an act of taking territory for the Land of the Living.

I was recently in Iquitos, in the school where this took place. The kids couldn't wait for lunch, and they very happily made every last drop of that vitamin-enriched food disappear(as well as with a healthy dose of the garlic, chicken broth, and onion combo that they love so much here). They recited Bible verses for me--some were so moving, I wish I had recorded them! Good nourishment helps them to not just put the words in their heads, but to think about them and live them. The God of Life has taken some territory for the Land of the Living! How exciting to be a witness of it.

Click the link to see pictures of our feeding program in Iquitos: http://picasaweb.google.com/BillandLenaPics/FeedingInIquitos#

A disturbing dream

From Bill: I'm reposting this, having had problems previously.

Last month I had a very disturbing dream which I’ve not been able to forget. I dreamt that I was in a room in a high-rise building. There were other people in the room with me. My journal (a steno notebook) was pulled out of my hand by an invisible force—as though it had been jerked up by a hook and line. It hit me in the chin, shot up to the ceiling, then out the window. I and the other people in the room (friends) ran to the window to watch as the journal fall. We were very high in the building, allowing the journal fall a long way. I cried out to the Lord, “It’s my journal!” By that, I meant that I didn’t want to lose all of the insights and memories that I had written there, along with the part God was taking from me. (I obviously thought, in the dream, that it was the Lord who ripped it from my hands. The fact that I was hit in the chin makes me wonder if he wasn’t scolding me for something inappropriate that I was saying.) I and my friends watched as a gushing wind caught the falling notebook, blowing it up and down. Pages were torn from it by the wind and blown back into my hands. I had received back the meaningful reflections. The rest was lost. Then I awoke.

I think the dream was from the Lord. The interpretation that follows is mine. I’m not sure that I’ve got it right. I think the journal represents the heart, that I had put stuff in my heart that was displeasing to God. I think that I had written something against another; i.e., dissing someone in my journal (and therefore in my heart). God ripped the journal from me and separated my proper reflections from those that were sinful. God is in the business of blowing on our hearts, just as the wind separates the wheat from the chaff. The dream was violent. I’d put something in the journal that was knowingly wrong and I was, I think, sharing it with my friends. I think I was deriding someone. God then pulled the journal from my hands and it hit me in the chin. I could have let go of the journal and not been hurt, but I was clutching on tight. It’s better if we never write these things in our hearts. But once we have, we still have the choice to give them over freely. If we do not, God will wrench them from us. Some hold on with a tight grip and end up getting hurt—fighting God. It’s better to let Him take it. In the dream, I think it was a negative perception or grudge I was holding against another. Perhaps it was unforgiveness, hate, pride, or jealousy.

1Ch 28:9b says, “the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” Also, in Rev. 2:23b, Jesus says, “I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” Finally, in Luke 3:16-17, John the Baptist gives a brief job description of the Messiah, telling the crowd, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

In the Luke passage, above, the word fire is a reference to judgment and purification—just like what happened to the pages of my journal. I’ve asked the Lord to reveal to me that which I must repent of. If it’s a choice of being wheat or chaff, I’m going with the wheat. Also, if I’m harboring hatred or malice in my heart, I want it out. It will only suck you dry. Pray for me to pass through this purification. I must confess that the dream was very disturbing and bothered me for days. In early Pentecostal churches, there was a place down front were people went to repent of their sins. It was called the mourner’s bench. It looks like I have an appointment there. If anyone wants, I’d be happy to have some friends go to the mourner’s bench with me.

Buying Christmas gifts in Lima

Buying Christmas gifts for 1500 poor kids is both fun and hard work. To accomplish our task within our budget, we went to the "bowels of Lima!" (It's important to say this like a dramatic movie announcer.) The "bowels of Lima!" is the dark underbelly of the city's merchandising district. My helpers were Phyllis Rose, a missionary who works with us in the Latin America ChildCare office, and Katrina Frazee, one of our Chi Alpha Alumni who is also a U.S. Missionary working in the National Offices of Chi Alpha. Katrina was down for a week scouting out new places for Chi Alpha students to "give a year and pray about a lifetime!" During her week with us, she visted the jungle and "the bowels of Lima!" Here, Katrina and Phyllis are following our helper cart gifts back to our Speed the Light van. The traffic was heavy, so the guy just ran in the street with the cars. You can see a video of it on our YouTube bar at the right.

You never know what you are going to find in the "bowels of Lima!" Below, are two photos of something that everyone needs: A rotating, lighted pop/beer can, with the image of the last supper. This is to remind us all that Jesus refreshes a weary soul.

Over the mountains with Mike 2

Mike Files and I went to Huancayo, to check out a school for LACC. Huancayo is at 10,800 feet--twice the altitude of Denver. The families of these children earn about $100/month.

To see the complete collection of photos from this trip, please check out the link for "Bill and Lena Pics" (at right) or follow this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillandLenaPics/

The school day always begins by lining up, singing a song and saying a prayer.

The bathrooms are ... rustic. Below, the kids line up their writing/art supplies on the window sill.

Over the Mountains with Mike

My friend, Mike Files, is South American Director of LACC (Latin America ChildCare). He and I traveled over the Andes Mountains, at 15,000 feet, to visit Huancayo, Peru. Here's a shot of Mike near the top of our journey.

This is a shot of a train coming out of a mountain tunnel.

Below is a shot of me. I'm standing with my legs far apart, because we were dizzy. At this altitude, the air is thin and your legs get wobbly. Your body adjusts, but when you first get out of the car, it feels like your legs are made out of rubber.

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What I Love About My Country...

This from Lena:
Periodically, in our ministry, the sponsored children write a note on a given theme to their sponsors, letting them know a little something about who they are, and what their lives are like. It is my special job—which I really love—to translate these little slices of Peruvian school children’s thoughts, hopes, and dreams. I laugh at their honesty, cheer them on in their dreams and hopes for the future….Frequently I am touched by their fervent loyalty to their family--their desires to make a future for their children and provide for their parents.
This time around, they were assigned to write about what they love about their country. Many of them talked of the great diversity of climates here in Peru (the only country with coastal dessert, mountain, and rainforest), their undying pride in Peruvian cuisine (Peruvians are certain that their food is the best in the world—and they may be right!), Machu Picchu, and the Amazon River. Some spoke of the struggle here-how Peru has fought to make progress, and how they long to be a part of that. More than anything, they spoke of how they were simply born here, and their parents were born here, and how that makes it home. The intensity of how they spoke of Peru fascinated me—as though there could be no better place in the world—isn’t that obvious? Pretty similar to my own feelings about the US—if I am honest about it and what goes on in my own heart. I love Peru, and I love God more, but there is a little American flag waver deep down inside me, and she just never goes away.
It made me think about what home is to me. There is something about the place you grew up in—some sort of programming that sticks with you, and the sights and the smells are something you long for the rest of your life. Rich Mullins, in the song, “Here in America,” says, “Nobody tells you, when you get born here, how much you’re going to love it….” It isn’t always so dramatic, what you feel when you miss home. Usually it is something you live with if you are far away, but every now and then, there is a pang, and you know you are not home, and for a little bit, you just really feel the longing for a snowy fir tree, or a green, green rolling hill, or silly things like a rest stop on the highway or a Dr. Pepper.
Why I love my country... Snow. Thunderstorms. Pine trees and brooks and tons of green. Water you can drink from the tap. Memorial Day parades with my dad. Garage sales on Saturday mornings, and my brother-in-law walking in while we are still not quite “presentable.” Ice cream. Stupid pop culture jokes. Soccer games that give us an excuse to sit on lawn chairs with a cup of coffee and talk to the other parents. Picking blueberries in late June. My mom and dad and sisters are there!!!!!!!!! So many good friends….The idea that a person should be given medical care, whether or not they can pay, because they are human beings! (That one is precious!) The general attitude that even if someone has lowly beginnings—and sometimes even because of it—that they deserve a shot at success.
These are just a few things I love about my country, but maybe there is no better reason than the one our sponsored kids gave—that I was born there! And I definitely never knew--"when I got born there"-- how much I would love it.

Quality untrusted by animals

On my last trip to Iquitos, in the Amazon jungle, I forgot to bring the charging cord for my cell phone. (I'd like to interrupt this blog entry to say that the idea of using your cell phone in the jungle is pretty funny right from the start. When I was itinerating through Pennsylvania, my cell phone frequently had no coverage; but in the heart of the Amazon Rain Forest, I get perfect coverage and have even called my mom in the states. The conversation begins like this, "If the call cuts off, its because I'm in the jungle and the monkeys like to steal cell phones.") On this occasion, I was going to be in Iquitos for a week and I was worried about my battery going dead. I have very strong LENA needs and have to check in for some romantic chit-chat with my wife on a regular basis. As such, I stopped at an out-door market to find a replacement charger for my cell phone. They guy found a suitable charger right away and gave me very helpful advice. He said, "Don't leave it plugged in for more than an hour or it'll explode." That made me worry a little bit, but I felt much better when I got back to the hotel room and read the box. It said, "Quality Trusted by People." That worked for me, because I'm a person. It's also good to know that I don't have to worry about the monkeys trying to steal my new charger. Apparently, monkeys don't trust that brand.

Resistance to "foreign" water

A friend of mine is in Haiti. He asked if it's possible to build up a resistence to bacteria and parasites in unclean water and food. I all this the "foreign water fallacy." People often think that your body is used to the water in your area, but not in other areas. The truth is that your body prefers clean water. I've read much on this subject, since we deal with it every day. The basic answer is that humans do not build up resistance to e.coli or parasites. I'm guessing that the fallacy has been enabled by anecdotal evidence of friends getting sick on trips (which is definitely correlative) and the idea that we build up resistance to viruses. The truth is that people in 3rd world countries do not build up a resistance to unclean drinking water; rather, they have parasites. Here in Peru, many Peruvians also believe this fallacy and assume that Americans just have weak digestive systems. The truth is, they shouldn't be eating or drinking unclean things either--but they're unwilling to change their hygiene habits. For example, they may know that they have to get their drinking water from a clean source. Unfortunately, they don't use a clean bucket to store it in. Another common practice is boiling the water they use to make fruit drinks, then leaving it on the counter all day. The water was safe when they made the drink, but millions of bacteria grow during the hot afternoon. (This is also 100% true for southern sweet tea sitting on a kitchen counter in Georgia.) The good news for us is that God has designed us to survive, in spite of the aliens trying to live off of us. That being said, God also gave us doctors. So, I'm continuing to take my parasite and salmonella medicine.