Out At Camp

We woke up early Thursday morning (the 25th), grabbed some homemade english muffins for breakfast and then headed off to camp.  After an hour of driving we finally arrived at the camp and were greeted by Luis and Nico, their dog. 

We drove up to the snack shop, got ready to unload the truck of the packages of pop, chips and cookies, but first we had a little "argument" as to who would wipe out all the spider webs. :) After Abi cleaned the shop and we loaded it up, us girls helped Mrs. Stilwell in the kitchen.  We washed all the trays, cups and bowls and by that time it was time to get ready for lunch. We took a bit of time off after lunch.  Us kids raced to the teeter-totters - i have always loved these things and probably always will - and played on those for a while before we started working again.  Abi and I joined Jacob and Mr. Stilwell at the volleyball court where they mowed the grass and we would rake it up.  Joe and Bekah helped Luis out by shoveling sand into the tractor and transporting it elsewhere. 

Finally, when the work was done, we gathered together and played softball.  We played girls against guys, and even though there were more girls, we still lost by way too much.

We all had so much fun and it was great to be back to where all the memories are from 2 years ago.  The mountains are so large and clear there and it's so quiet.  Here in town there are cars driving, horns honking, dogs barking, people yelling, music blaring...oh and there are chickens right next door.  There is also a school just down the street and the band practices on the roof, so it is very easily heard from the house.  So spending a day out at camp was definitely relaxing where you could only hear the birds singing and the wind rustling the leaves (and occasionally a bray or two from the donkey next door).

Today is Peru's independence day. I think it's fun that I am able to celebrate two independence day's while I'm down here! Then, Monday through Wednesday is the youth conference.  You can definitely be praying for all the youth that will be attending.  We are going to be studying 1 Timothy (which is really neat because I just finished having devotions there).  It will be a crazy few days, please pray that all goes well!

The ABC Group - Part 2

Thursday was the day for sightseeing when the group was here.  We were able to see a beautiful temple and part of a mud city (Chan Chan: the largest mud city in the world!).  The picture just below was taken at the Huacas, where we saw the temple.

We stopped at a seafood restaurant for lunch and ordered ceviche, fried swordfish and lomo saltado. 

I don't like seafood, but this fried fish was amazing!

This is ceviche (a combination of crab, shrimp, fish, octopus etc. all marinated in lemon juice).  It looks pretty doesn't it?

A little side dish.  This popped corn is delicious!

After visiting Chan Chan we stopped by the beach to take pictures and walk on the pier. This is Abi and the youth pastor's wife, Jill.

Joe and Josh

Rebecca, Lindsey and Bekah

Friday and Saturday afternoons we walked over to the nearby parks and played sports with the kids and then shared the gospel with them.

 Sharing the gospel by using the colored ball.  Mr. Stilwell translated. :)

 Everyone who was there for the Friday afternoon evangelism.

And here is one last picture of the group with Joe and I. :D

Around Town

This morning Joe, Bekah and I spent the morning wandering the streets of downtown Trujillo.  Mr. Stilwell had a few errands to run and I needed to buy a Spanish Bible for myself. It was fun to see all the people bustling about and the taxi's crowding the streets.  This was actually only the second time for me to see downtown so it was still new and exciting. One thing that you can't help but notice is the brightly colored buildings - this was my favorite part.  I decided to share a bit of the pictures from town so that you can get a little taste of it too. :)

The doors can be so beautiful and exquisite here.

 We stopped at a flower stand that was just in front of this huge cemetery.

We bought a huge bouquet of flowers for an unbelievably low price.  Joe and I were amazed!

Then the flower lady gave Bekah, Joe and I a rose.  Pink roses for Bekah and I, and a white one for Joe. :) 

I had to add this picture, for there are so many bugs down here.  We played the slug bug game for weeks, until Mrs. Stilwell told us that there was enough hitting going on (somehow there were still punches going around for a while...). Really though, you can't go anywhere without seeing a good number of bugs along the way.

The ABC Group - Part 1

Along with the group from Ankeny Baptist Church (Iowa) came a very busy week.  We worked 3 days at the seminary and 2 days with sports evangelism.  That left 1 day for sightseeing. But the Friday evening before there were to arrive, we kids went to the church with Mr. Stilwell to work on preparing the beds and rooms. 

Making the beds - we switched sheets around and around trying to make the right fit, so that finally we had enough sheets for all 17 of them.

We left them a little treat on their beds - one "sublime" each. Those things are so delicious!

We stuck the guys in the 4th floor, the one that is big and open, and hung up a tarp to make them a little room. Here Joe and Samuel are putting up the wire so we could hang up the tarp.

Monday morning the group started working in the dining hall at the seminary.  They peeled off the wallpaper, did some sandpapering and painted the walls and ceiling.

We worked on it from Monday to Wednesday, and each day Charity had a little paint spot on her nose.

Cley and Joe working on the ceiling

I see Luz nearly every time I go to the seminary.  She is always out and looking for someone to play with.  She doesn't mind much that I can't really talk to her. :)

Pastor Jason

I was one of the trimmers all day Tuesday.  I loved using the ladder, but by the end of the day, my legs were slightly sore. :S

We also painted a few classrooms and varnished the banister.

That's all for now, but I'll be sharing a few pictures from the sightseeing and sports evangelism.

First Service in Alto Trujillo

This past week was chuck full of working and activities because we had a group come down from Iowa.  There were 17 of them, plus the Stilwell's and us working for three days at the seminary, going sight seeing and having sports evangalism! I will definitely share pictures.

We've had three services in Alto Trujillo. These are pictures from the first service.  You'll see that many people were there, but that was only because it was the first service.  There are not that many people who normally go. 

This is the outside of the church.  The blue flag is a big help to the people who need to know where it is.  When handing out invitations we would tell the people that the church was under the "bandera azul" (blue flag).

There were not enough chairs for everyone so many had to stand.

There are two rooms for the kids, which is great because we always have a large number of children.  This past Sunday I counted about 30 kids in all. :D

I took this picture so that you could see the mountains in relation to the church.  They're all around and very big and beautiful. 

This is after the service when everyone was getting ready to leave.

There literally filled the truck as best as they could!

Here I am standing just in front of the church looking down the hill. Notice how there is sand everywhere!

Painting at the Church

A group from Iowa is coming down this Saturday and will be staying at the church.  The church has four floors (plus the roof) - the 3rd and 4th having just been added.  So this week we have been preparing those two floors for the groups arrival by sweeping, mopping and waxing floors.  Last week, though, we all got together (the whole family, I mean) to paint the ceiling of the 4th floor.

This is the overview of the 4th floor - big and open.

When we came down two years ago, and were painting the pool, I painted a smiley face on Rebekah's foot...so I did it again, this time, for the fun of it. Then I painted one on my own foot and a picture was taken.

What's Been Going On

One afternoon we walked to the church (the church is just around the block from the house) to scrub the platform.  

I had to add this picture, for all of you who know him.  Joe took this picture on one of his workdays at the camp with Grandpa Stilwell.  

Last Thursday we spent our family night (afternoon) out at the beach.  It was the first time to go swimming in the ocean, so even though it was freezing cold, I still dove in.  It was a lot of fun, despite the shivering that went around.

We found a purple sea urchin! It was dead, but it was still cool!  You don't find any of those in Lake Michigan...

On the way home from the beach...wet, sandy and squished in the back seat... :)

This is our church building in Alto Trujillo.  This past weekend we went up to hand out invitations - there is sand everywhere!  Our first service is this Sunday, from three to five, so Sunday's will now be packed tight with services.