Name that food

Seafood is a big part of the Lima identity. Consequently, every restaurant (except McDonald's) sells "mariscos" (i.e., sea food). The interesting thing about the phrase "sea food" is that it doesn't tell you what kind of food--only that it comes from the sea. There are a lot of edible things that you can hoist out of the great deep. In Lima, they like to combine them in various, nondescript forms for your dining pleasure. Knowing this, I decided to dive in and order "Arroz con mariscos" (sea food with rice). It was fabulous! I could eat it every day. I suspect that the samples below are octopus or squid. I've eaten both before. I like squid best when it's battered and fried. Octopus is, in my opinion, tasteless. Both are like eating industrial rubber bands. The bottom picture is how the meal looks with the identifiable stuff removed for inspection. After taking the picture, I dutifully ate the evidence and went back for more.

Tastes like chicken

I debated naming this entry "Name that food." People ask us about exotic food all the time and when you speak with people from Lima about life in Lima, they always list the food as one of the major benefits. I have to say that the food is good. Here are two of the more exotic selections that we have eaten since we arrived:

Cuy (cui ?) otherwise known as Guinea Pig. It's a delicacy. It was very good, though the claw is a little unnerving. Thankfully, ours was without the head.

Ceviche--raw fish "cooked" in cold lemon juice and served with a ton of onions. This is the Peruvian version of sushi. It was delicious. The flavor is very strong. We all tried it, then went back for more. As the picture shows, it is often served with sweet potatoes.

No Internet & the frustration of waiting

We've been without internet and cut off from all the world--except for Peru. It's been painful. Thankfully, Peruvians have gotten along well for a long time, by just talking to each other. For our part, we're surviving and even thriving. But—without internet. We waited a week to get internet, then had it for a few days before they cut us off. It appears that the guy who installed it, didn't file the paperwork. As such, after a few days, we looked like people who were stealing our connection--rather than the law abiding, internet addicted North Americans that we are. Getting the internet company back out to our house, to do another install, has been a frustrating experience.

Waiting for service is a big issue here. Let me share an example. We asked an electrician to re-wire our dryer. We said, "This is really important to us."

He said, "I understand, so I'll get right on it!"

We waited. Then we waited some more. We waited a few days. Nothing. So, I called and he said, "I'll be right there."

So, we waited some more. In all, we waited about 5 days. I called again and he said, "Oh yea, when I was supposed to be there, I had an emergency and couldn't come. After that, I decided to rest; but don't worry, I can be there some time next week."

I said, "Thanks, but I've got a someone else doing the job for me."

He said, "Oh that's great. Well, give me a call the next you need me and I'll be right over!"

I've saved his number, because he wasn't being rude or irresponsible, by Peruvian standards. There are people here who have a North American concept of time and service, but there are many more who don't. So, to live happily in Peru, I'm going to have to learn to wait. I am capable of waiting,... unless it's for an internet connection!

New Address

We’re still unpacking boxes. It has been a frustrating move. We’ve found ourselves feeling like we’re in an alternative world, trying to do something which is normal in the states, but is much more difficult here. Our new address is:

Av. Jacinto Lara 465
Dpto. 400
San Isidro, Lima, 27
Peru

Here, the addresses are backwards, so in the above address, you start with “Avenue” then the street name “Jacinto Lara,” then the building number, “465.” Dpto is an abbreviation of the word for apartment. Our apartment is on the fourth floor, therefore #400. San Isidro is the city (which is actually a suburb of Lima), Lima is both the name of the city and the "state." and 27 is the zip code.

Our phone numbers are, from the states:
Home: (011-511) 422-0496 (the last 7 digits are our number)
Bill Cell: (011-511) 9-457-2241 (the 9 represents a cell phone toll call)
Lena Cell: (011-511) 9-457-2245

Our voip numbers are now connected (as of last night):
Cincinnati: 513-407-5412.
Cleveland: 330-294-0955

First tour of Lima - slideshow

Lima - First Tour

We took a tour of Lima under the tutelage of Gwen Kovac (an experienced missionary and extremely courageous woman). Gwen has worked for many years in the city and the jungle. We really appreciated gleaning from her insights. The slide show at right displays the pictures from our tour. To get a better view of the shots and read the comments I wrote about each picture, please visit our on line photo album. To see the slide show of our tour, just click on the picture above. That will take you to our photo album. You can hold your cursor over the pictures to read my comments, or just click the slideshow tab at the top. You can also follow the links at the top to view our other photos. I recently updated the albums to include shots of the city I've taken from the condo we're currently staying in.

More Pics from our Temporary Condo

For the last three weeks, we've been staying in a temporary condo on the 16th floor of a high rise in Lima. The condo costs $250/week, so we feel really blessed to be here. It is much cheaper and larger than a hotel would have been and it has allowed us time to look for an apartment to live in. We've found an apartment and will hopefully be moving on Monday. Before we leave here, I wanted to take a few more photos of the awesome view. It's usually foggy over Lima, but yesterday was very clear. So I took the opportunity to take a few shots. The first photo is of a real pyramid! It is the most successfully restored pyramid in all of Peru. It is an ancient burial ground and was probably a place of sacrifice. It's both very cool (from an archeological standpoint) and also a reminder of how Peru needs to turn from false religions and come to salvation through faith in Christ. On the south side, the condo also has a view of the ocean...Well, actually it's a view of the fog over the ocean, but it's still lovely. We're pretty far from the ocean, so I took the shot here using the camera's zoom.

The north side has a view of the mountains. We feel blessed that there are some trees and grass to be seen. Lima is in a dessert, so the usual ground cover is just dirt. But, we're blessed that many in this part of town have taken care to plant and water some beautiful things. We feel that the Lord has been truly kind to us. I pray that we can bless the Lord by planting and watering the Gospel in a way that changes the Landscape for all to see.


To see more photos from the condo please click on the following link:




http://picasaweb.google.com/BillandLenaPics/LimaPeruViewFromOurTemporaryCondo

Dis-phone-tional communication

One of the most frustrating things I've encountered in Lima is the cell phone. Our short-term rental condo did not come with a land-line phone--that's one that you plug into the wall. Rather, it came with a pre-pay cell phone that I could use if I was willing to put minutes on it. Since we needed to call on apartments, that sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately, I had no idea how expensive the service was and how cheap the phone was. The cost of the service is really high--sometimes as much as $.50/minute. Also, the keys on this phone don't work. Consequently, I’ve been paying about $10/day for a phone that cuts off calls, sucks money out of my wallet like a vacuum and won’t let me dial the numbers. When I was trying to call on apartments, I would start talking with a landlord (in Spanish) and the phone would cut off. I’d try to call back and the keys wouldn’t work. I had visions of throwing the phone in the ocean or in front of an on-coming truck. I’ve purchased new phones that function properly, but they are still expensive. I hate paying the money, but we don’t yet have a land-line to make calls from. The cell phone is all we’ve got. I studied Spanish for a year so I could communicate. I had no idea the most frustrating part would be the actual phone.

Blog reading level

A friend of mine (Dave Godzwa) tested the reading level of his blog and found it required a genius to read it. I'm happy to report that my natural writing style is that of the common man. To read something a little more challenging, you can check out Dave's blog at http://disciplemexico.org/

TV Reviews

House Hunt

We’ve been in Lima, Peru for 2 weeks now and are loving it. (That's us in front of the President's Palace.) It’s like living in New York City in the middle of August—congested, noisy, smelly, extremely humid and full of adventure. We're really grateful to the Lord for calling us here and grateful to everyone on our team for partnering with us. Thank you!

We've had five items on our agenda over the past two weeks, each of which has involved getting lost in city traffic. I've written a new proverb for my life: Never get lost in a big city during rush hour. Here's a rundown of our 5 agenda items:

1) Finalize our residency visas. This involved trips to Interpol (the international police agency) and Immigration. We were fingerprinted in both places. At Interpol, a doctor drew a picture of our teeth, while we lay inverted in a dentist's chair. It's hard to tell, but I think he was very impressed with my teeth! We received our "you can live here now" cards a few days ago. Praise the Lord!

2) Meet with the National staff. The Peruvian Assemblies of God were having their General Council meetings the week we arrived. So, we met with the General Superintendent (the top official for the country) prior to those meetings. Later we were presented to all the ministers. After the meetings, I met with the superintendent again. Since all of the Assembly of God missionaries were in town for the Council, we had a chance to go out to dinner with them. This is important, because some of them live 1000 miles away or on the other side of the mountains. It was great to meet them all, but it was a double blessing since one of them (Gwen Kovack) offered to take us on a tour of Lima and fill us in on some of her experiences in ministry. That was invaluable.

3) Find a car. We're in the process of buying a Kia Grand Carnival (known as the Kia Sedona in the states). I'll write more about that later.

4) Find an apartment. House hunting in Lima is a daunting task. The real estate agents work word-of-mouth. If you want a house, your agent calls all of his/her friends and asks about what they've got and if they've heard anything. While your agent is calling, you go driving around the neighborhood you want to live in and look for "For Rent" signs. We were really frustrated in the process. We wanted an apartment that was close to the kids' school, since we'll have one car and I'll be all over the country. The ability to walk to school or to a grocery store was a high priority. Unfortunately, we couldn't find one in that area that was large enough for us and still in our price range. (If we wanted to pay $3000, we could have found one or two.) For me, calling people and talking real estate over the phone has been a challenge. We should have had a class in this in language school!

We found one apartment that was small and expensive. We were about to take it, when we met a teacher at the kids' school. He knew of another apartment about 1/2 mile away. It's connected to a park where the kids can play and it's within walking distance. It's more money than we wanted to spend, but it's the best thing we've seen so far. When I was asking the Lord for his perspective on it, I felt like he said, "It fits all the criteria you asked for, doesn't it?" So I said, "Yes,...Thank you!" We'll get the keys on Monday and (hopefully) get our furniture on Wednesday or Thursday. We're really grateful for a place to soon call home. We've been living out of suitcases for a month and a half. We're all looking forward to a larger wardrobe selection.

While we were home over Christmas, we visited friends at Akron-Springfield Assembly. Here's a picture of our "looking for an apartment notebook" with the pen I've been using. We we tell our partners that we couldn't do it without you, we really mean it!

5) Grocery shopping, learning the city and surviving. Whenever you're in a new town, this takes time. For us, in a new town that's 10 times larger than our old home and where everyone speaks a new language, this has been a stretch. But, it's a blessed stretch!

How and what we're doing in Peru

We're wrapping up our 10th day in Lima and the adventure is still a good one, though not without the kinds of nicks and bruises that are required for a real adventure. For instance, I'm grappling with a bad case of welcome-to-South-America diarrhea.

I recently had a meeting with the General Superintendent of Peru. Since one of my dreams is to teach in a Bible college, he wanted to know how soon I could teach at the Seminary here in Lima. That's the kind of invitation I've wanted for years. Unfortunately, I couldn't take him up on it right away. I don’t think it is wise to start teaching at the Seminary, too soon, for four reasons: 1) I’m serving as the country coordinator for Latin America ChildCare and have much to learn in order to do this job well. I need to fully understand the financial/administrative aspects of the ministry, as well as making relational connections with the pastors and directors of each school. 2) I have yet to complete my own doctoral studies. I have one class left to take and the project to complete. Of the latter, I’m about ½ way through. 3) As a family, we don’t yet have an apartment or a car. The kids aren’t enrolled in school yet. So, I need to smooth out the rough waters of transition so my family can feel more at ease. Figuratively speaking, we are like transplanted trees in buckets. We still look good, but we need to take root in the ground. 4) My Spanish is not yet strong enough—especially with regard to understanding the Peruvian accent and idioms. I told Pastor Espinoza that I needed 6 months. Rich Ferguson, another A/G missionary in Peru, advised 1 year. I probably need to sit in on a class or two before teaching, so that I can understand the dynamics of education in a Latin context. Personally, it’s disappointing to have to wait before stepping into a position I have long dreamed of. But, taking on too much too soon could be the disastrous. So, I’ll keep plugging away, jumping one hurdle at a time.

Unexpected Encouragement

On New Year's Day we had the pleasure of stopping in at the XA SALT conference in Cincinnati. What a great joy it was to see our friends! It was really surprising to see the daughter of one of my XA friends from when I was a student. I remember when Lisa Potter was born. Her mom and dad, Steve and Cindy, were major influences in my discipleship.

I knew that Lisa was attending XA at Ohio State, but it was still surprising seeing her at SALT--but it was even more surprising running into her dad (Steve) at the airport in Miami, Florida! We had just gotten there and pushed our pile of luggage into a corner, where we could spend our 5 hour lay-over on the way to Lima. (That Lay-over ended up being 7 hours.) I looked up and there was Steve! He was flying out of the same gate as us, only on an earlier flight. Steve was on his way to help a ministry in Haiti. He has always been a great encouragement to me, so I took this encounter as a sign from the Lord to be encouraged.

I wrote about Steve and Cindy previously in this blog. You an read that entry at:
http://billandlena.blogspot.com/2006/09/discipleship-through-years.html

We've Arrived!

4 years and 2 weeks after we received the call to Peru, we are finally in the Land. Praise the Lord for this awesome blessing! Our time in the states was great, though full of travel. We're looking forward to putting down some roots. Currently, we're in a condo in San Isidro, a suburb of Lima. We're renting this condo for two weeks, while we look for a perminant house or apartment. We were supposed to arrive last Saturday, Jan 5, but were delayed by the processing of our visas. We traveled to Chicago last Wednesday and went to the Peruvian Embassy. Everything was worked out and Lena and I are now card-carrying residents of Peru. Praise the Lord!

Thanks to all who've been praying for us. Our flight out of Miami was delayed 2 hours last night. As such, we arrived in Peru at 1:00 AM. It took 2 hours to get through customs. Consequently, the kids got to bed at 3:45 and I hit the hay at 4:45. Before going to bed, I opened the shades and the window in our bedroom. The breeze was great and I enjoyed looking at the lights of the city. I thought I’d sleep that way, then I remembered that the Sun comes up at 5:30 AM. Sometimes darkness is more beautiful than an impressive view. Abi, who slept through most of the flight, got up at 9:00. As such, so did the rest of us.

It is sunny and hot here. We just took a walk to the grocery store. It was lovely and expensive. Expensive is a small bummer, but the lovely part is a big upper. Hannah said, “So far, I love Lima.” We reminded her that our vacation rental condo is in the pricey part of town. I suspected when I rented this place that being in a nice part of town would be a good idea for our first impression of Lima. We’re on the 16^th floor with a great view of the city. In theory, we can see the ocean from our condo. In reality, we can only see the mist that resides over the ocean, which is very far away. I keep telling the kids, “There’s the ocean!” And they keep saying that they can’t see it. So I say, "Where's your faith?! Open your eyes!" It doesn't really help them, but I like saying it.

There is a life size replica of a pagan pyramid outside our bedroom window. I’m guessing that it’s a museum.

We love you mucho, mucho,

Bill

A short delay

We have not left the country yet. We were supposed to fly to Peru on Saturday morning (Jan 5), but the government agency that approves visas for missionaries in Peru was not able to approve ours in time for our flight. We could have gone ahead and entered the country as tourists, but it would have meant flying out of the country again to receive the proper visas. As such, we were advised to post-pone our flight so we can have our passports stamped in Chicago. We hope to have that done on Wednesday. We found out about the delay this past Thursday night, leaving us 1 day to change our plans. I was heartbroken. I wondered if it was the enemy keeping us from our calling, if it was God teaching me patience or if it was just circumstance. I prayed about it, asking the Lord if we should just go and start the visa process over in Peru. The Lord reminded me of a time when I was a kid and my uncle gave me a fishing tackle box. He offered to take me out to see “Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang,” on that night, then we’d go fishing the next night. I was too anxious to go fishing with my new tackle box, so I pushed for us to go fishing on the first night. It was a frustrating experience for my uncle, because we only had 30 minutes to go fishing. Of course, 30 minutes of fishing with my new gear was insufficient for me also. Afterward, I realized that I had pushed for the wrong choice. My uncle tried to warn me, but I was too enamored by my new tackle box to listen. As I prayed about our visas for Peru, the Lord brought this memory to my mind. I took it as the Lord’s advice to sit tight and get the proper approval. So, we’re visiting my in-laws in Cleveland and plan to drive to Chicago on Tuesday. After we get the visas, we’ll drive back to Cincinnati. I’ve changed our airline tickets to next Saturday (Jan 12). We’ll be arriving in Lima at 10:50 PM.

Please keep us in prayer for the successful completion of the visa process. Also, please pray with us that all that God has planned with be accomplished for his glory during these “bonus” days we have with family and friends.

Mucho Agape,
Bill

Transition

We're half way through the transition from language school in Costa Rica to our full-time appointment in Peru. We’re currently in the states, so we can ship our belonging to Peru. I've attached a photo of our luggage in the airport. (O.K., that's not our luggage--but it's close!) I thank God that our container shipment of furniture has gone out well and will arrive in Peru 2 or 3 weeks after we do. We've visited family in Cincinnati and Cleveland, and are currently in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (spending time with Bill's sister's family from Atlanta). Getting to see your family after a year overseas is beautiful and fills you with the knowledge that you are loved and wanted, but it is always tinged with the knowledge that your departure is imminent.

We are six days away from Peru. We land at 11:40 PM on Jan 5. We're all excited to get there, but trying not to be so excited that we miss what we're experiencing right now.

Some prayer requests:

1. Safe passage for us and our stuff.

2. Saying our goodbye's all over again.

3. God's provision and wisdom regarding where to live in Lima.

4. Favor with customs.

5. Approval of our visa applications.

¡Ya terminé!

¡Ya terminé!

That's Spanish for "I'm done!" Today, we'll go through the graduation service for our year at language school. Wow, what a year! The last two weeks, I've been in nervous breakdown mode. Preparing our final projects and taking tests, while trying to pack, has been one little nervous breakdown after another. It's good to know that, no matter how many little nervous breakdowns we have, God is still in control! We have a lot of questions yet to answer regarding where we'll live and what we'll drive when we get to Peru, but those things are all in God's hands. For now, Lena and I are rejoicing that we're graduating and that we know how to say goodbye (in Spanish) to our friends here. And when my nerves rise up within me, I keep saying (nervously, but by faith), "God has it all under his control!"

Some prayer requests that are a little urgent:

1) We haven't received our visas from Peru yet. It would be good if we received them before we leave Costa Rica on Monday, Dec 17.

2) Shipping our stuff to Peru--there are many details yet to be confirmed.

3) All the travel that will take place over the next three weeks--flying to the states, traveling in the states, flying to Peru and knowing where to go once we get there.

Those are just a few of the things for which I have to say, "Be still my soul!"

Latin America ChildCare Kids

These pictures are from one of the Latin America ChildCare (LACC) schools I've visited in Costa Rica. The teacher pictured here is an LACC grad, who returned to teach.


This is a picture of the community that the school is located in. The picture below is the inside of the school. You can see that it is a heaven for the kids within a really rough neighborhood. Those two gringo kids are pretty good looking too!

Anger Management

Here's an interesting article from Fox news:

Vince Hogg of Wormit, Scotland was arrested after tearing out the hair of his live-in girlfriend and slamming her against a wall. The Daily Record reports the two apparently have had a stormy relationship and he became incensed because a leaky shower was causing the carpet to get wet. All of this has caused Hogg problems with his job, as an anger management counselor. But Hogg is still on the payroll of the National Health Service, which runs the "zero tolerance campaign" against domestic violence, where he worked. Hogg was, however, demoted and reassigned.

The article can be found at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312006,00.html

Veteran's Day

I'm a fan of veteran's day, because I'm a fan of vets. It takes incredible character to put your life on the line to serve others. So, thanks all you vets out there!

My dad is my favorite vet. He served in WWII--including spending 9 months in solitary confinement in a prisoner of war prison. I'm also proud of my brother, Jan, who served in in Viet Nam. I came of age during a time when we weren't at war. I'm one of the blessed who has been able to enjoy the fruits of other people's sacrifices. So, thanks Buster, Denny, Jon, Terry, Paul, Nathan, Andy, Frank, Dawn and all the rest of my noble friends. I'd salute you, but since I was only a cub scout, it would look a little silly.

Bothered

You know how some actors are really good at playing the bad guy (i.e., James Woods). We might say something like, "They picked that actor because he likes playing the bad guy." That's the kind of conversation we had recently. Except, when you speak two languages it's easy to get your languages confused. The word "moleste" in Spanish, means "bothered" or "bugged" in English. So, even though it sounds just like "molested," it is not what it sounds like. Recently, we were all watching T.V. and there was a girl on the screen who looked bothered--a little bit angry. Consequently, Colton said something like, "Boy, they must have picked her because she likes looking molested."

There was a moment of silence, then I said, "I think you mean she likes looking bothered."

Ah, we make those kind of mistakes in Spanish every day!

Questions about a missionary's life

Our good friend Jonette McMasters leads the BGMC (Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade) group at Akron-Springfield A/G. She's teaching the kids to have a heart for missions. We are grateful for Jonette's friendship, support and the legacy she's building in the kids. (Thanks Jonette!) In order to educate them about missions, the kids wrote some questions to Lena. Here are a couple of her answers:

What is Costa Rica like?

Costa Rica is a really lovely place to learn Spanish. We live in San Jose, which is about halfway up the mountains, and it is almost always in the 60s y 70s. We can drive 2-5 hours to the beach once in a while, but most of the time we stay here and do our homework! We live in the city, so we don’t get to see all the cool animals who live in the jungle much, but that is pretty normal for a Costa Rican, because they don’t normally have the money to travel and see their beautiful country the way we do! Most Costa Rican people don’t earn as much in a week as a poor American does in a month, and cars are way more expensive here. We take taxis everywhere, and they mostly don’t have seat belts, so that was a big thing to get used to—not being able to put my kids in car seats. I pray a lot more now when we go somewhere as a family!

They eat a LOT of rice and black beans here, and I have been perfecting my version of it. Why? It is really cheap to eat rice and beans—and many Costa Ricans eat it for every meal and only get meat once or twice a month. And Costa Rica is one of the richest Latin American countries.

Would we rather be missionaries or billionaires?

Missionaries! I think it is more fun.

What made us want to be missionaries?

When God calls someone to be a missionary, He lets them know! He speaks to your heart and is very patient. Every person’s story is different, but we felt the call in our hearts first, and had it confirmed many, many times, in ways that were little miracles in our lives. It was a very exciting time. God wanting us to be missionaries made us want to be missionaries.

Do missionaries get killed telling people about the Lord?

This is definitely something that everyone who decides to become a missionary has to think about. It is true that people sometimes give their lives for the gospel, but more of them die because of difficult or unsafe conditions in the places they live. The biggest risk for us in Peru will be the traffic. There are very many car accidents in Peru, and we will have to be very careful. The air is really dirty there, too, because the air isn’t able to go over the mountains, and the pollution stays in the city. Sometimes we will go to the jungle, and that will have other risks, but most of our time will be in the city. We will need your prayers for our protection from thieves, too, as this is another real danger.

(The picture at the top is of our family in a traditional Costa Rican cart. The picture at the bottom is one I took on a city street in Lima. You can see how compromised the air quality is. Perhaps even more dangerous, though, is the taxi. It's a 3-wheeled motorcycle with a tent on the back!)

What's that smell?

I'd be the first to admit that a men's bathroom might need an air freshener, but strawberries and cream is not a fragrance I associate with the bathroom. Nonetheless, this is the fragrance that sits atop the urinal in the men's bathroom of our language school. This is an example of culture shock. Culture shock is what happens when you spend all day asking, “Why do they do it that way?” Culture shock leaves you wondering if you'll ever be able to embrace it or if, as a missionary, you’ll just endure it. I have experiences of this nature every day--experiences that seem incongruent with my north American sensibilities. This is especially the case with fragrances. Latinos love strong fragrances. They wear a lot of cologne and buy cleaning products that smell more like bubble gum or flowers than bleach. Being North American, I want my bathroom to smell sanitized. I want a bathroom that smells like harsh chemicals. Latinos want everything to smell beautiful. Neither preference has any effect on the actual cleanliness of the toilet.

Just as I was contemplating culture shock and my inability to embrace a strawberries and cream bathroom, in walked one of my professors (Alex Garro). His expression said it all—it wasn’t culture shock and Latinos don’t like strawberry scented urinals! It just happened to be the air freshener that was around when the air needed freshening. Mmmmmm, that smells sweet.

Note: Alex’s expression is a reenactment. No actual bathroom usage was taking place during the photo journalistic phase of this blog entry.

How we are

We're at an interesting place in this process, we're able to communicate (which makes life much easier), but we're also aware that another huge move is only 6 weeks away. As such, on the outside, we're happy and content; while on the inside, we're fairly anxious. I’ve observed how all of us missionaries have responded to culture shock, and I've concluded that it is a horrible experience no matter how prepared you think you are. Anger, anxiety, depression, low self esteem and negative interpretation are the daily fare here--and they're confounded by the late night hours spent doing homework. After 9 months in Costa Rica, we're beginning to feel more comfortable. But, it is a short lived comfort, since we’re moving to Peru in January. I no longer think it will be a smooth and easy transition. I suspect that we’ll have a repeat of some of the same emotional and physical responses. It's ironic to feel stress when the weather is so nice. I've learned here that being a missionary in a lovely place is still very stressful. No matter how beautiful the place, the missionaries still pay the price of being far from family and friends. You can't quickly replace friendships that were forged over 20 years. So, beautiful weather aside, being a missionary is emotionally costly. If we didn't have a personal relationship with the living God, then it wouldn't be worth it. But, since our call to Peru has been so miraculously confirmed, then we have to believe that these light and momentary troubles will produce eternal fruit!

On the bright side, I preached my first Spanish sermon for the students and staff this past week and it went so well that I was invited to preach at a church this Sunday. Just before I went up to preach this past week, I became emotionally overwhelmed. The reality of fulfilling our call felt very near. We received the call to Peru four years ago. Preaching in Spanish became a realization of the nearness of fulfilling that call. By grace, it was a great experience.

(The picture, above, was taken just after my first Spanish sermon (this week). I'm chatting with one of our professors, Rosita. Lena is behind me, chatting with our friend and fellow missionary, Sherri Mattix.)

Traditional dance

September 15, 1821 was the day Costa Rica was granted independence from Spain. In honor of the day, Costa Ricans celebrate with parades, parties and traditional dance. At our language school, the staff treated us to a presentation of traditional dance and food. It was a great day! Here's a video of the staff doing a dance from the Guanacaste region. In this dance, the man is chasing the girl trying to steal a kiss. When the couples come together, the man lifts his handkerchief in order to hide his attempt for a little smooch.

Lena and I liked this one so much, we tried it at home. But, since I don't have a handkerchief, I had to chase her with toilet paper.

Peruvian Coffee

The main cash crops of Peru are:

1. Coca--the leaves from which cocaine is manufactured.

2. Coffee--more than 350 million dollars worth, per year.

3. Asparagus

4. Paprika

The surprising item listed here is Coffee. People don't usually think of Peru as a great coffee producer, since the bulk of advertising regards Costa Rican and Colombian coffees. Nonetheless, Peru also produces great coffee. The irony has been that, even though the country produced great coffee, it was nearly impossible to get any of it in Peru. In the past, they exported all of the good stuff to the states. As such, in the past, our missionary friends in Peru would have friends bring coffee with them when they visited from the states. Or, in a truly ironic situation, you would have to buy Peruvian coffee at Starbucks--coffee which had been grown and roasted in Peru, shipped to the states for packaging, then shipped back to Peru for sale. As you can imagine, it's expensive. Now there is a move among coffee producers in Peru to hold back some of their produce for Peruvian consumption. That's really good news for me, since I love good coffee and my time in Costa Rica has only served to refine my tastes. I believe that God has some wonderful blessings for us in Peru and I'm believing that a good cup of coffee is one of them. (For more on Peruvian coffee, please visit: http://www.livinginperu.com/gastronomy/features-535)

A couple thoughts about the cash crops listed above:

1. Coca--though cocaine is produced from these leaves, they are also used for other productive purposes. In the culture of the people, they use them to make tea which is very effective for altitude sickness. Many of the tourists who visit Cuzco and Machu Pichu treat their altitude sickness with a traditional cup of coca tea.

2. Coffee--it's not really a bean. It's a fruit. On the trees, the fruit looks like cherries and produces a sweet juice. Inside the Cherri is the seed. That's the part we roast, grind and brew to make coffee. Who figured that out?

3. Asparagus--this is the first vegetable that I realized I really liked. It was a great eye opening experience which is still impacting my life today. My second favorite vegetable is broccoli.

4. Paprika--(the ground chilies at left) I know nothing about paprika, other than that it is used in baking. As such, I find it hard to think of paprika as a cash crop. When someone asks, "What do you do for a living?" Does anyone say, "Why, little darlin', I'm a Paprika farmer!" This is amazing to me.

New Tribe found

Today, while chatting with my brother on the phone, he asked if there were still indians living in the jungles of South America. Just a few hours later, I read the following article from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7027254.stm. In essence it states that a new tribe of nomadic indians has been spotted in the Peruvian jungle, near the border with Brazil. This is facinating to me and I'm looking forward to befriending and ministering among the indiginous people of the Amazon. (We have two Latin America ChildCare Schools in the jungle, though not among unknown tribes.) Unfortunatly, contact with outsiders can be deadly for tribes such as these, since they have no immunity to infectious diseases. I tend to think of the outsiders that they would encounter as missionaries, but the truth of the matter is that missionaries are not usually the first or only people to forge into the jungle. 100 years ago, it was industrial firms searching for rubber. Now, it is frequently oil firms, logging companies or environmentalists. (It would be a horrible irony to catch a deadly disease from an environmentalist. It's important to note that environmentalists can also catch diseases from jungle dwellers.) When Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador, returned to Peru for his second visit, 1/3 of the population had been decimated by infectious diseases contracted from the Spanard's virst visit. Unfortunately, another 1/3 died from civil war, so that contact with outsiders is not the only evil that may befall native peoples. In the end, keeping a people group alive by restricting their contact with the outside world is an impossibility. They will eventually die of something. There are infectious diseases and deadly dangers that have nothing to do with people from other communities. Jungle natives, like their city dwelling counterparts, have no immunity against sin or death--both of which they are guarenteed to experience. That's why we're going to Peru. There are a lot of people who are lost in the jungle--whether it is the Amazon Jungle or the concrete jungle of Lima (with over 8 million people). They all need to know the good news of eternal life that is the gift of Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis said that the Gospel is like a virus and that our job is to infect the world.

(The picture above is of the Yagua tribe.)

How much can you do in a year?

People write and ask, "Are you still in Costa Rica or are you in Peru? We’re still in Costa Rica, learning Spanish and practicing ministry in a "latin" context. We are scheduled to leave here on December 17. We’ll be in Cincinnati and Cleveland for the Christmas holidays and to ship our belongings to Peru. We fly out on January 5. We flew here on January 3, last year. So, it’s almost exactly one year from our departure from Cincinnati, to our arrival in Peru. I’m not sure why that’s significant, but it feels somehow significant. Whether a year is a long time or a short time depends on your context. To Americans, a year sounds like a significant chunk of time. To cultures outside the states, North Americans appear to be overly aware of (some would say obsessed with) calenders and clocks. If your having fun, a year goes by really fast. If your studying for a Spanish test, a year seems like a long time. We've been hear for 9 1/2 months. Since we're eager to fulfill our call to Peru, being in Costa Rica has (at times) felt like waiting in an airport for a connecting flight. When you're eager, waiting is hard. Sometimes, like when you're waiting in an airport, it feels like nothing significant is taking place. When you're learning a language and a new culture, changes come painfully slowly. But, over time, little changes add up to a lot. Consequently, in the midst of my own feelings of frustration, I’m also aware of many changes that are taking place; e.g., the ability to speak Spanish. There are plenty of days (most of them, to be honest) when I’m exhausted by all the work and I wonder when the process of metamorphosis will end (or at least slow down).

So, what does 9 1/2 months of language and missions training produce? Well, if you're Lena, you come out sounding like a native. If you're a 46 year old white guy, people say things like, "Don't worry--lots of guys your age struggle!" I’m able to have long conversations in Spanish, go to the store without problems and even have a "firm discussion" with the manager of a store over why he's not allowed to charge me twice for the same purchase. So, I can do a lot, but I can't function as well in Spanish as I can in English--or even Pig Latin. I’m not yet able to understand the evening news in Spanish or to read a book any more difficult than First Grade.

One of the greatest strains of being here is leaving a vocation where you were confident and appreciated, to come to a place where you are incompetent and unknown. But I am well aware of the fact that no one is unknown to God, nor incompetent; and, as Paul said, these light and momentary troubles are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us. (2 Corinthians 4:17) For us, that means both heaven and a glorious work in Peru “which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10) All in all, I feel like one of the most blessed people alive. I get the chance to go on an adventure with Jesus, wait in the airport for a year, learn a new language, feel like a nobody and carry the Gospel to a whole new people group. Que Bueno!

Hannah is a teenager

Our daughter, Hannah, turned 13 this week. A lot of parents dread the teenage years, but for us, the last few days have been just as fabulous as the 4383 that preceded them. Hannah is beautiful, funny and very charismatic. I'm so glad that I get to be her dad. Here are a few shots of her through the years.

Chess & Purpose

Colton and I play a lot of chess. At only ten years old, he frequently beats me. That makes me mighty proud!

In chess, the object is to capture your opponent's King. It's easy to forget this and think that the object is to take out your opponent's players. Capturing your opponents players feels like progress. Whenever someone asks, "Who's winning?" It's easy to point to the pile of captured players and say, "Well Bob has captured more men." It sounds great, but it could be meaningless. Often, taking out your opponent's players can actually hurt you. It may be better to have the King blocked in by his own army. The worst scenario is when you could "checkmate" your opponent's King, but you miss the opportunity because you're so focused on capturing his/her Queen. Capturing your opponent's players feels great and looks like success, but it's not the purpose of the game.

One of the great challenges in life is keeping your purpose, priorities and/or focus on your strategic target and not on the periphery--no matter how much the latter looks like success.

“Therefore … let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,…” Heb 12:1-2

Family Vacation

My sister and brother-in-law (Leisa & Tim Johnson) joined us for a week of vacation. We visited the Poas Volcano (with the 2nd largest crater in the world), the La Paz waterfalls and the Manuel Antonio National Park. We saw monkeys, sloths and Lizards. The sights were wonderful, but nothing compares to having those you love near enough to hug!

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

“Knowledge tells us that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom prevents us from putting it into a fruit salad.”

Miles Kington, British humorist

You know you're a missionary kid when...

Yesterday, I was playing an educational computer game with Willy (age 4). The game showed three drawings: a triangle, a square and a circle. The game required that Willy identify the circle without using the word "circle." So I said, "it's kind of like the shape of an apple." Willy wasn't sure what an apple was (even though he eats them, cut up, every day). So I said, "Well, then, kind of like the shape of an orange." Willy had no idea. Finally, I said, "It's like a mango." Willy said, "Oh!" and immediately chose the circle.

Mother Teresa - Doubt, Devout & Depressed

Mother Teresa is in the news again. This time, it's her doubt. Mother Teresa's journey to fame and depression started with a prophetic call from Jesus. Shortly after following God's calling to serve the poor of Calcutta, she entered into depression and ceased to hear God's voice for nearly 50 years. She wrote letters to friends about her pain and her difficulty hearing God's voice. She wrote to her friend Michael Van Der Peet, "Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear."

I want to share 3 thoughts:

1) People who hear God's voice often go through periods of difficulty where they can't hear. This is normal and should be expected. People in the world act like Christians shouldn't struggle. The truth is that everyone struggles. In fact, the more powerful your vision, the more significant your challenge, the more you will struggle.

2) Don't judge a Christian by the things they confess to their closest friends. We all need a friend to whom we can confess our feelings and perceptions--especially those that are ugly, difficult or seemingly contradictory. That's a part of who we are, but it's not the whole story. I once read a blog article about a guy who visited a German spa where everyone was naked. His assessment was that most people look better with their clothes on. Reading someone's journal entries, or their letters to a prayer partner, is like looking at a person who is naked. It may be true, but it isn't a complete picture of a person's life. The clothes a person wears tells you more about their personality, thoughts and values. Jesus said that you can tell a tree by it's fruit. Mother Teresa was mighty fruitful! To discredit her fruit because she had times of difficult honesty is unrealistically immature. Her struggles, though true, are merely one tree in the vast landscape of her life.

3) God speaks, but he doesn't always speak when or how we want him to. For our part, we often create obstacles to our own ability to hear. There have been times when I was overworked and horribly depressed. I've found in those times that it is very hard (nearly impossible) to hear God's voice. There is an irony to those times. The truth is that God speaks during those times--but not necessarily on the topics that I'm most interested in. Sometimes it's because God has already spoken on the topics and I just didn't hear what I wanted. Other times it was because I was too exhausted. Mother Teresa was an exhausted person. She didn't leave a lot of time to relax. In fact, in spite of the grace she showed the poor of Calcutta, she didn't have very much grace for herself or for her co-laborers. She was so purpose driven to serve God selflessly that she missed a big part of the Gospel--Grace! Mother Teresa needed a long vacation and, probably, an antidepressant. But, she couldn't allow these liberties in her life. I saw a documentary on her life, where her charity was given a building in New York City. The building had new industrial carpet in it (which works well in chilly New York), but Mother Teresa tore it out and declared it to be an unnecessary luxury. She also ran into trouble with New York state officials because the law required an elevator in the building. Mother Teresa wouldn't have the building, if it contained an elevator. To Mother Teresa an unnecessary luxury was viewed as an EVIL luxury. She valued simplicity so highly that normal comforts were viewed as sinful. For that reason, she wore sandals in the snow. Like many devout Catholics throughout history, the concept of personally inflicting suffering on oneself was seen as being spiritual. Unfortunately, it also gets in the way of us receiving God's affection--which includes hearing his voice in prayer. There is an irony in the fact that when Mother Teresa heard God's call to the poor of Calcutta, she was on a vacation that had been forced on her by her superiors. The vacation (a Sabbath) provided the space she needed to hear the voice of God. But when Mother Teresa was in charge of her own order, she wouldn't force herself to take a vacation. Sabbath is an act of faith that God values highly. Mother Teresa became a victim of her "purpose driven" life.

I'd like sum all of this up by saying that I think Mother Teresa is one of the greatest examples of leadership from the 20th century. She knew where she wanted to go, she went there with painful dedication, and her vision and purpose inspired others to follow her. I also do not think that her struggles with depression mean anything with regard to her faith. Her fruit speaks far more. Nonetheless, she failed her followers and disobeyed the Lord by not allowing more sabbath rest in her life. We get saved by grace, we have to live by grace and without grace, it's impossible to hear the voice of God.