Fifth Week

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heavens. Ecc. 3:1

Yesterday we said good-bye to Luis and Elizabeth and tomorrow the Cuban family is arriving. We have to switch gears and emphasis.

But first, let me tell you about the couples Bible study last week. Luis talked about different giants that we face in our relationships. One big giant is finances. He introduced the simple budget and we tried to help them see the importance of living within their means. I don't think they got the concept. It was like talking about Mars. Their Math skills are very low. They all said it was good to talk about it, but I don't think any of them will put it into practice. Anyway, we tried. We might bring it up again in another trip.

Working on the budgets

Notice the women are more engaged than the men

Now for fish stories. The guys went fishing on Sunday morning. There were 14 of them, so they needed 3 boats. They are small boats, and they only have permits for up to 8 passengers. They actually caught a lot of fish. Luis had the biggest, but John was able to catch two fish with the same hook. Now they say that John catches them two-by-two. They caught 81 all together. Sunday night we gathered again a Christian's house and had a fish fry and grill. It was a very nice evening, so we sat under a big tree and ate and talked. Luis took the opportunity to say good-bye to the group and encouraged them to keep meeting even when we are not around. 

 The one that got away  Click on previous sentence to watch a short video.

Luis and his catch

Fish fry

With Ricardo and Miguelina

 Tuesday we had really bad news. Gardy drives a truck for a living and he was clipped by another truck that was trying to pass him. They ended up upside down! The Lord protected him and his helper. They came out with barely a scratch, but the load was lost, and the truck might be a total loss also. He just bought the truck four months ago, but failed to insure it! He owes about $30,000 to the bank, plus the load. We went to see him right away. He was thankful to be alive. He knows the Lord saved them. We prayed and thanked the Lord for his protection. 

The Cuban family arrives tomorrow. They will stay until Sunday. Pray that the Lord will show them clearly His will. We would love to have a permanent family living here, but we don't want to get ahead of the Lord.  They will need to start a business around here to support themselves.

Getting ready for the Cubans: four in one room

Somebody gets to sleep in the living room

I promised you monkeys. They finally came to me. This is the tree in front of our condo. Sorry, no close ups! I did not bring my telephoto lens.

Prayer requests:

• The Cuban family has a five hour drive to make it here. Pray for safety on the road
• Pray for Gardy and Paola, as they face a big financial set back
• For safety for Luis and Elizabeth as they travel back to their home
• For all the couples to grow in the Lord
• For wisdom as we teach and counsel
• For health and safety for our family back home

Until next time...from the beach...

Fourth Week

"For every animal of the forest is mine,  and the cattle on a thousand hills."

Psalm 50:10

We are surrounded by cattle and all kinds of wild life. This is a working hacienda, after all. I have no pictures of monkeys yet. I never have a camera handy when they are around.

There were no special meetings last week, just our regularly scheduled Bible studies. Luis and Elizabeth have been a great help, since we were able to double up one day a week. On Thursdays, they took the car and went to Francisco and Luz's, as we stayed home and hosted Christian and Daniela. This Thursday was very special because Christian and Daniela asked the Lord to come into their hearts. The lesson the week before ended with the question: "If you died today, what reason would you give the Lord to let you in Heaven?" We told them to think about it all week and give us an answer Thursday. Well, Thursday's first question from Christian was, "what is a sinner?" We explained that we are sinners before the Lord and all are guilty before we accept Jesus. Then we have the privilege to be called sons of God. We still sin, but we confess our sins are are forgiven. We read the pertinent verses, and then we asked them if they were ready, and they said yes! PTL!!

Luis and Elizabeth will go back to Bolivia this Wednesday. They are going by bus from here to the capital where Carlos will meet them and take them to his church Wednesday night. They will fly out Thursday, arriving late Thursday night to Bolivia. Then they will have a twenty-hour bus ride to their home. We are going to miss them. Not only they are a great help during the Bible studies (after all, they direct a Bible institute in Bolivia), but Luis is very handy around the house and the car. He has fixed a lot of little things that needed fixing.

Dinner at Ricardo and Miguelina's last night. The little girl photo bombing is their granddaughter 

Francisco and Luz were also invited

Tonight we will have the couples Bible study. Luis will lead. We have decided to talk about the giants in our lives. In this cultural context, one of the giants is handling finances. Luis will introduce the idea of a budget. Elizabeth even designed a simple budget worksheet for them to fill out and take home. She happens to be a certified accountant, among her many talents. Elizabeth is also cooking Peruvian rice for tonight's meal with the couples. I get to assist and learn how to do it.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the men are going fishing. Since there are so many who want to go, they are going in two separate boats. Now there is a friendly competition between the boats. We are expecting a great catch, so we are going back to Christian and Daniela's house for a big fish cook out. I will probably have a lot of fish stories for next blog.

Prayer requests:

• Safety tomorrow for all the guys going fishing
• Safety for Luis and Elizabeth as they make their way back home
• For Christian and Daniela, that they will grow in the Lord
• Wisdom as we share and counsel
• Good health and continued traveling mercies
• For all the couples to grow in the Lord and apply what they have learned
• For our family back home, health an safety

Until next time...from the beach...

Third Week

Chatting and enjoying thermal waters

Our cabins at the retreat

Life at the beach keeps us busy. 

I will start with the retreat: We had great weather and no incidents up and back (thank you for your prayers). Carlos and Rosario brought the praise music. Saturday night Luis talked about marriage, how men and women are wired differently. Sunday morning Elizabeth talked about forgiveness. That touched a few hearts. Many carried big burdens from childhood, others just convicted about lack of forgiveness. At the end each one of us wrote a name in a piece of paper and tore it up signaling our forgiveness of that person. The couples also used all the free time well, many talking by themselves, but all enjoying the thermal waters. We stopped for lunch at McDonald's again on our way home. The Cuban couple could not make it to the retreat, but they will visit us the weekend of August 31. Pray that the Lord's will be made clear to all of us.

Praise time with Carlos

Breakfast

Elizabeth sharing on Sunday

We continue will all the Bible studies as planned. Yesenia also wanted a time with Elizabeth and me, just to talk among women. She just wants to unload her burdens without being judged. She is very isolated in town because she is from another country. Immigrants from that country are looked down upon by the locals. We spent an hour, just talking, and finished with prayer.

Wednesday was mother's day here, a big deal. It is a holiday, so people are off. As before, we bought long-stemmed roses to pass around town. We bought 36, but the nice man at the florist gave us three extra roses. We gave away all 39 roses and could have given more. Next year we are going to buy 40.  I have a lot of pictures, here are some:

Getting ready

This lady's name is Alba. She used to attend the little church. Luis encouraged her to get back with the Lord.

These women were cooking at the Catholic's church kitchen, getting ready for a big event that afternoon.

Diana, who got married last February, with her mother-in-law

This is one family, except for Elizabeth on the left

Tonight we will have our couples Bible study, continuing on Proverbs.

Prayer requests:

• Pray the Word of God will take root and give fruit 
• Wisdom as we share and counsel
• Good health and continued traveling mercies
• For all the couples that they will learn to solve their problems in a healthy way
• For our family back home, health and safety 

Until next time...from the beach

Second Week

Last week our friends arrived from Bolivia safe and sound. Before they arrived, we met a friend who lives in the town the bus depot is located, and who had found a used part for our windshield wipers. He met us at a pre-arranged spot and we followed him to the mechanic. In about 15 minutes the mechanic changed the parts and we were on our way. Our friend tipped the mechanic for his prompt service. We would have had to wait a long time and pay a lot if we had gone on our own. Now we have good working wipers! PTL!

Couples' Bible study at Christian and Daniela's

From the other end. What was left of dinner on the foreground.

We met with the couples Saturday at Christian and Daniela's. All of the couples were there. We also had a new very young couple who are related to Yua and live next door to them. The topic was how to get along with each other, based on 1 P 3:8-12. We had a good discussion, but our emphasis always is that they need to put it into practice.

We did not attend church on Sunday, but rather, we listen to Pastor Tapia message on Mark in Spanish with our friends from Bolivia. Starting on Sunday evening, we began a few Bible studies with some couples in their home. The schedule is as follows:

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
6:OO PM Walter  & Yesenia Basic Christian Principles  Part I	6:00 PM Gardy  & Paola The Gospel of Mark	3:00 PM Yúa & Diana & (Paula, the new girl) Who is Jesus? --------- 6:00 PM Walter & Yesenia Christian Principles Part I	6:00 PM Eduardo & Arelis Basic Christian Principles Part II	6:30 PM Christian & Daniela Who is Jesus? ------------- Franciso & Luz (with Luis  Elizabet) The Gospel of  John	F R E E	7:00 PM Couples Bible Study

You probably noticed that Walter and Yesenia have two Bible studies a week. For the first time in my life, somebody has requested to meet twice a week. They realize that they do better when we are around and decided that they needed a double dosage. If the Lord brings it to your heart, please pray for each couple, that the Word will give fruit in their lives.

At Walter and Yesenia's. Our friend Elizabet is wearing the green top.

John and Walter and Yesenia's youngest daughter, a first grader.

We have a situation with Francisco and Luz that needs prayer. I can't talk about it in detail, but please pray that the Lord will give them wisdom to handle a delicate matter.

Today we are packing and getting ready for the retreat. We will leave tomorrow, Saturday, after lunch and will be back Sunday afternoon. I can't wait to see what the Lord will do!

Prayer Requests:

• For the retreat, that the Lord will pour his Holy Spirit over us, many blessings
• For good weather during the retreat, traveling mercies
• For all the children who will stay with relatives, that they will be safe and healthy
• For Luis and Elizabeth as they share at the retreat
• For the times of praise with Carlos and Rosario
• For the Cuban couple, now we are not sure that they will be able to attend the retreat. May the Lord's will be made clear
• For our family back home, that they will remain safe and healthy

John and Luis having breakfast with Sergio at the beach

Until next time...from the beach...

First Week

I should make a collage of all the pictures of this tree. This is from our first morning here.

John and I were talking yesterday, and we agreed that it seems longer than a week. I guess it is because we packed so many activities in such a short period of time.

We arrived safely without problems at customs. They did not even open any suitcases this time. It was the last flight of the day, and they were anxious to get home, I guess.

The first order of business next day was to buy gas and go to the grocery store. As we started the car after filling up, the windshield wipers came on and would not stop! The mechanic shop where we usually take the car is across the street from the gar station, so we went there without an appointment because it was sort of an emergency. We waited for a long time, but the mechanic just could not find the problem. Since it was taking long and it was way past lunch time by then, we walked to a nearby cafe owned by a couple from Argentina to have lunch. We had good sandwiches, lattes, and "alfajores," a typical Argentinian sugar cookie sandwich with Nutella filling.

Actually, we only had one cookie between the two of us because they are big and full of calories. After two and a half hours, the mechanic still could not find the problem, so he rigged it to work at high speed only. We made an appointment for Tuesday and left for the grocery store.

We usually rest the first day, but we had a suitcase full of diapers and baby clothes for Randall and Arleth's baby, Isabella :). So we went to see them. The baby is beautiful! (Sorry, forgot to take pictures, but they will be coming) Everything is fine with baby and mom. Before going to their house, we stopped to see Yua and Diana, the couple who got married in February. They greeted us warmly. However, Yua hurt himself at work and was in a great deal of back pain. We prayed with them for healing. We also promised to get him some Advil and a back brace, which we did next day. By Saturday, he was feeling a lot better.

Friday we visited more friends, and Saturday we met with the couples. Some of you have been praying for a home to open for the Bible study. Two homes opened up! They will alternate when it is not convenient for one of the families. They live next door to each other and are related. PTL! We did not have a formal Bible study Saturday because we had a lot to talk about, since we are going to the retreat on the 11. They have such a good time with each other! It is a pity that no one has taken up the leadership to meet while we are gone. Sunday we had dinner with Walter and Yesenia. He is working long hours, and it looks like Sundays will be the only time that we will be able to meet with them. We celebrated Nazaret's birthday on Monday. She is 11 years old. Her parents are Gardy and Paola. They are pretty steady as Christians and attend church regularly. We went out for pizza.

So, Tuesday was the day to take the car back. John dropped it off and came home in a taxi. Later on that afternoon they called to tells us that they had found the problem, but had no replacement parts; therefore, we were to go back and get the car (by taxi again) and wait to see if they find even an used part (we have a '99 Pathfinder). On the way back, the skies opened to a heavy downpour. It was a good thing that the wipers worked on high speed because even at that speed, it was hard to see the road. So, now we are waiting for a call from the mechanic, or from another friend who is trying to find a used part for us.

Last night we went to see Francisco, Luz, and their children. (Penny, I have to post pictures. Mary is 18 and beautiful.) Tomorrow, Friday, our friends from Bolivia are supposed to arrive. They will actually land this afternoon at the capital and will spend the night with Bolivian friends who live there. Tomorrow they will come by bus. We will pick them up in a town about 40 minutes from here. They could come all the way here on the bus, but it will take two extra hours; therefore, it is easier if we meet them there. They will spend a month with us and will be the speakers for the retreat. Carlos and Rosario, our good friends, will also come to the retreat to bring the music. By the way, Carlos called last night. It seems that there is a couple who might be interested in coming to live and work here. They are Cubans!! We are seeking the Lord's will on this.

We have new neighbors. They will be renting next door until December. They are a young couple. He is American and she is a local. They have one year old twin boys. They are so cute!

Prayer requests:

• Pray for good health and traveling mercies, specially for all of the couples driving to the retreat. It is up by the mountains.
• Pray for all the couples, that they will stay together and learn to work out problems.
• Pray for wisdom as we get to know this Cuban couple, and they get to know the town.
• Pray for our family back home, that they will remain safe and healthy.

Until next time...from the beach...

For those of you in California: this is what rain looks like.