Duran Family Peru Blog

Puerto Maldonado

2009-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

I flew out to Puerto Maldonado on Thursday the 24th. After a night of no sleep in the Lima Airport and picking up 14 short term volunteers (with the help of Scott Englund) we made it to Puerto on Friday Morning. It feels like I'm in a different country here in the jungle. It's hard to describe obviously but it's hot, humid but somehow very relaxing and calming.

Everyone drives motorcycles and the local people seem very friendly. The level of poverty is shocking yet no one seems to be desperate like in Arequipa and Lima. I haven't seen any beggers which is a big difference from Arequipa.

I've had the oppurtunity to go out to the jungle in some of the planning for the upcoming projects. It's so calming hearing no cars, no noises except for those of random birds. It really sounds like a soundtrack you would find at Walmart of jungle noises. It's so perfect.

On Friday and Saturday night we had church services and they were very moving. The second night 7 people came foward to accept Christ! People were gathering around from the street, people stopped on their motorcycles to listen. It was awesome!

The church is in a "barn" but the members are so involved and stayed out till 10:30pm on saturday night.

The church has no projector (they use the hymnals) they have one keyboard player and they use a CD player Car deck for their offering plate.

On the way to Puerto my Uncle Fernando that lives in Cusco came to see me (I had a one hour layover in Cusco). My Cousin Eliseo was in Cusco as well videoing a church service. It was great to see him and my uncle.

I am here in Puerto until Tuesday. Abby and the kids stayed back and all of them seem to be fighting off colds, flu's and food poisioning. It has been stressful for Abby and stressful for me being away and not being able to help. Please keep them in your prayers!

You can follow the project at http://www.extremenazarene.org/

Here is a brief video I put together of the evening service. 7 community members came foward to accept Christ!

Josh and Mylie's First Dance

2009-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to be said about this video. As a parent these are the moments you cherish. Apparently this happened spontaneously and my cousin Betty caught it on her camera phone.

My Love for Dave Ramsey Explained!

2009-09-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I have some stinking exciting news for you! Dave Ramsey of Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University is coming to Portland for two days in late October to speak LIVE!!! If I was still in Oregon, I'd have already bought my tickets:) Now you may be wondering why I am so crazy about this man and I will tell you.......

In January 2008, our church offered the Financial Peace University class at our church and Daniel and I decided to attend. We were in way over our heads financially and were having a hard time staying afloat. In fact, we were sinking in debt pretty bad. The cost for the materials for the class was about $100, which was difficult to pay given where we were, but it was the best $100 I have ever spent in my life. So for twelve weeks we went to class, learned how to budget realistically, pay of debt one bill at a time, pay our tithe, save and buy only with cash. His principles are so simple and yet why didn't we do this before?!

So over the next few months, we put our house on the market, sold of unnecessary stuff to help pay debt, cut up all credit cards, used cash for purchases and just started feeling better about life. I can honestly say that if it hadn't been for Dave Ramsey's class, Daniel and I would never have been able to come to Peru to serve. God had been planning for us to be here as early as Jan '08! We hadn't even heard about Extreme Peru until later that August:) How amazing is that!!!

Now, I'm not saying that if you go see him live or take his classes, all your financial problems will go away. Our house was never able to sell and unfortunately went into foreclosure and we still have debt (medical and school) that we are still paying off. Its kind of hard to do so right now with no income:) But I know that these classes have put us in the right mindset of how to live debt free and I hope that in a few years time I can say: I'M DEBT FREE!!!

So for all of you new to Dave Ramsey or Extreme Peru, please check out these amazing websites. See how one weekend can change your life (http://www.daveramsey.com/) and see whats been happening down here in Peru (http://www.extremenazarene.org/) :) Love you all and God bless!!!

Saturday in Kiscos

2009-09-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

This last Saturday, Daniel, the kids and I were invited to spend the day at a hot springs with the youth group from Alto Libertad. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to see a new site and hang out with some great company, we accepted. So we hopped on a bus with about 15 other people and left for the outskirts of town to Yura.

The hot springs ended up being a shallow pond of crystal clear bath temp water. It was heaven! It was the perfect height for the kids to wade in and for us to sit and relax. I attempted to teach Joshua how to swim but the silly boy couldn't relax! And then poor Mylie got thrown into the water by yours truly and she was a little hesitant to play after that. Oops:(

The day went really well with a short worship service, picnic and games. It was really great to meet some new people as well as spend the day with our kids. The only downside to the day was that, me being me, I forgot to put sunscreen on and wound up with Bob the Tomato legs. I have spent the last two days bedridden and unable to walk. Yeah me! I think in the future I won't be forgetting to put it on:)

As it is Tuesday, Daniel and I are back in the office, preparing for our upcoming project in Puerto Maldonado. Please keep Extreme in your prayers as we continue to expand the kingdom. Daniel and the Communications team just got done updating the website (www.extremenazarene.org) with photos from both projects so check it out! We also have quite a few more Long Term Volunteers and 12 new 40/40's on the field and are excited to have them here.

Arequipa Lately

2009-08-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Okay all, so sorry to have kept you waiting! But life here in Arequipa has been one crazy event after the other. Now that the dust has finally settled, I have some spare time to catch you all up.

Our second Arequipa Impact/Construction project began on August 7th with the arrival of 79 short-term volunteers, including peeps from my home church and my parents. Needless to say, I was freaking excited. For the next twelve days, we rushed the STV's all over Arequipa, working with children, the elderly, prison ministries, prayer in the Plaza and so much more. I won't go into too much detail, so if you want more info on what happened, please go check out our website http://www.extremenazarene.org/. It was an amazing time of outreach, compassion ministries and kingdom expansion. I was truly touched by the dedication some STV's displayed to show the love of Christ to the people of Peru. And to brag just a little bit on my parents, they were AMAZING!!! My dad was hanging on scaffolding most days, painting (he hates to paint) and my mom jumped in anywhere there was a need. She painted bathrooms in a juvy center, gave footrubs to women in prison and the whole time kept a smile. I have never been more proud to call them my parents. They withstood cold showers, hard beds and pillows and everyday meals of chicken and rice and I never heard them complain once. Thats a big deal to me! Okay.....stepping off the soap box........I'm good now.

So with the end of the project, so came the time for my dad to leave. It was very hard to say goodbye to him, not knowing when I would see him again. I had such a fun time tiling bathrooms, paiting classrooms and just being able to hug my dad! But he was gracious enough to leave my mom with me for one more week. So with dads departure came my mothers arrival at my house. It was such a comforting feeling to have her with me, playing cards and watching girlie movies. I'm one of those girls who loves to spend time with her family so this was a real treat! And yes, there was shopping!!! I haven't "shopped" in such a long time I thought I was going to have a panic attack in the department store. I didn't know what to do with myself!

It was lovely being able to show my mom (and my dad a little too) what a beautiful city Daniel and I live in. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are SO BLESSED to be located in Arequipa. We took mom and the kiddies to the dinosaur park, some of our favorite restaurants, local markets and much more. And ironically enough, the very last day my mom was here, Josh and Mylies school had Grandparents Day, where they were invited to visit classes and enjoy a short presentation from each of the classes. So mom was able to see Josh and Miss Moo in their cute little smocks, having a good time at school. I think that was a blessing from God really.

But as with my dad, the time came to send my mother home. Thankfully, Daniel and I were able to fly up to Lima with her to say goodbye as I need to be there the next day to get my residency completed. So at the Lima Airport, I handed off my mom to the Wertz's and off she went. Again, more tearful goodbyes and promises to skype. Thanks mom for that extra special week. I will hold onto those memories until next we meet.

God is and continues to be amazing. The Arequipa projects, in my opinion, went very well and I am looking forward to the upcoming Puerto projects, where more Hill Churchers will be joining us. People are making decisions for Christ and all I can say to that is Praise Jesus! and Amen.

Parentals in PERU!!!

2009-08-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

So this weekend has been super exciting as my parents have landed here in Arequipa and will be around for the next two weeks. I haven't seen them since the end of January and am so happy to have them come! I cannot tell a lie......I wept a bit at the airport:)

So why have they come? To visit me yes, but also to participate in our Arequipa 1 Project! We will be evangelizing all over this city to the young and the old, as well as small work projects in local hospitals and and children's homes. I'm pretty stoked to be heading up a few painting projects in one of the local churches and a children's home I have been visiting these past few months. Sometimes just showing the love of God by donating time and labor is all it takes:)

We are hoping to finish up the Missionary Training Center at the Zamacola church by the end of next week and we still have a long way to go. Please pray that we are able to complete the building on time and underbudget! Today was the first day of for the Short Term Volunteers to be out on the construction site and they did a fantastic job! I watched my dad stand MANY feet up in the air, building scaffolding to paint the outside of the church. Amazing!! I would have fallen given my clumsiness:)

With this coming week being crazy busy, we probably won't be posting too much. However, if you would like see pictures and hear stories of this project, please, PLEASE visit www.extremenazarene.org and look up this current project. We have some awesome photographers capturing these precious moments here.

God is good and with His protection, love and grace we will make a difference in the lives of many this week. Praise God and Amen!

Family, fun and Arequipa 1

2009-08-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

My Twin brother came to see me here in Arequipa. David stayed from the 30th of July to the 6th of August. It was really like a breath of fresh air to have him here. Because of the timing (another group of volunteers coming) I worked in the office in the mornings but we were able to get out and see the sights and sounds of Arequipa. The last time we were both here was 9 years ago. We both were single...man how things change! His wife is expecting their 4th daugher in mid-September. I've never been on that side of the airport, seeing family leave back to the states. Our family was VERY happy to see him come and VERY sad to see him leave. Much thanks to my Mom and his wife who helped make his trip possible.

We said goodbye to him on Thursday and on Friday "Nanna" and "Papa" arrived! Abby's parents, Cal and Debbie Kearns, landed with the rest of the 80 short term volunteers for Arequipa 1. This afternoon we had our orientation and registration. The construction and impact projects will start tomorrow. It will be a whirlwind two weeks, so make sure to follow the website (http://www.extremenazarene.org/) for the updates and pictures.

Saturday adventures

2009-07-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

We went up to Huczapata for a impact event on Saturday. We put on a kids parade and rounded up kids for the event. Josh and Mylie loved interacting with the other kids and by the end of the day they were tied, dusty but very happy! Here are a few pictures from the day. Check out www.Extremenazarene.org for more pictures and info on what God did there that day!

Update

2009-07-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

Extreme Peru is in full swing and we have been loving every minuite of it. There is so much to say and tell of this past week and what God has done. The best way I believe to do this, is to direct everyone to our website where we are posting daily updates to keep everyone in the know. Please take the time to read though the days and hopefully you will all be as encouraged as I am about the results down here in Peru. Thank you all who are making this possible!

http://www.extremenazarene.org/arequipa0

Scroll to the bottom of the page where there are the daily updates.

Un Dia Mas!!!

2009-07-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, get your prayer gear together and start praying! We have one day left to get all our ducks in a row so to speak before 35 short-term volunteers land here in Arequipa! The office has been all abuzz this past week, checking and re-checking lists and programs to make sure everything will run smoothly for the next two weeks. But for anyone who has been on a missions trip, you must know that things never work quite the way you planned. We've already have experienced bumps in the road such as school closures which affected our school ministry outreach and then illness and etc. Please be praying for success with our Impact projects, construction keeps on schedule and that all bodies involved will stay healthy and happy!!!

I, Abby, am personally feeling so many emotions this weeks, mostly excitement to see the fruit of our labor these past few months play out. I just want to again say thank you to everyone who played a part in getting Daniel and I down here. I thank God everyday for those of you who have given your time, energy, prayers and financial support to my family and I. I truly believe in the focus that Extreme Nazarene has for Peru and am so blessed to be fulfilling a life-long dream to be a field missionary. So again thank you all and God bless!

PS: I know we have been remiss in our blog as of late, but please forgive us! My feeble excuses are that we recently lost the internet at our house and have only now gotten it back and I have been seriously ill these last two weeks. We will rally and do better now especially since our projects are beginning. Keep your eyes open for future photos of impact events and the construction site!!!

3 days and Counting

2009-07-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

My brother David, just booked his flight to come visit us here in Peru! Words can not express how excited I am to see him. We have never been seperated by more then 20 miles so needless to say I miss him. He will arrive on the 30th of July (the same day our first group of short term volunteers leave) and stay for one week. I'm sure we will pack that week full! Many thanks to his wife who let come leaving her alone with 3 kids and one on the way (due in Septemper).

There are a mere 3 days remaining until our first group arrives from the states. We have been busy finishing up the last details of the projects that will be taking place. The devil is definitley not wanting us to be down here. Just in the last week the goverment has shut down the schools (they were suppose to be open till August). We had many impact projects planned for the schools so we are having to put a new plan together. Seems like everyone is getting sick (Abby has been sick for almost 2 weeks!) and we just feel the devil attacking everyone at the office. Please continue to pray for these projects and that God puts his shield of protection of our ministry here.

NO SCHOOL!....and other tidbits:)

2009-06-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

We are loving Peru, because no joke, there are at least five holidays a month! And usually with one or two of these festivals/holidays, there is no school:) Today was no exception. I have absolutely no idea what the holiday was for (you tend to stop caring and keeping count after awhile), but we seized the day and spent it as a family out at a "bosque" or forest. Or at least I thought it was going to be a forest.....Their idea of forests are areas with about thirty planted trees:) Mind you, they do have the rainforest, but Arequipa is a long way away from it. Anyways, I digress. So we met up with Tio Davids church group and played a few rounds of volleyball, soccer and whatnot. It was a truly beautiful day with the sun shining and a slight breeze blowing....however any time I come into contact with sun, regardless of how much sunscreen I slather on, I turn into a lobster within an hour. Yeah me! It was a small price to pay to spend an afternoon in fellowship with family and newfound friends. Here are a few pics to help you visualize. Enjoy!

Here is a quick shot of me and the Moo. As Daniel never takes pics of me and the kids, I have resorted to taking them myself:) So should something ever happen to me, they'll know they had a mother! (Wink)

Michelle, Mylie and Joshua taking a breather after a walk around the park. I have no idea what Mylie is doing!

Here is a picture of the play area (which was totally flooded and we don't have rain!). The view of the snow-capped mountains behind the "forest" was pretty amazing.

Okay, now for work update:) Things have been super quiet in the office this last week due to half our project staff being in Orlando, FL for the Nazarene General Assembly. If you were there, I hope you got to meet Rico the Cuy! But we are go-getters and have been working hard at finishing up all loose ends in preparation for the short-term projects that will be starting very soon! Daniel and Eliseo spent a good portion of the week buying up sound equipment for all of the concerts we'll be hosting for local churches and Love Extreme. Below is a picture of them testing it out.....I swear it was like three kids (including Scott) in a toy store! Please be in prayer for our first short-term project, Arequipa 0. Our STV's will be arriving on the field July 17! Craziness, I'm so excited! We are the salt are we not:)

BRAD HUNT UPDATE: Thank you for all the prayers going out to the Hunt family. They have spent the last week and a half in Lima, taking numerous tests and waiting for answers. There are a few possibilities as to what happened to Brad. Two of them being a severe reaction to a migraine or a mini-stroke. Yesterday they were able to fly back home to Arequipa with a few meds in hand and a plan for lifestyle changes. So Brad is fine and will hopefully be back to work tomorrow. Praise Jesus!

Fathers Day Weekend and Whatnots

2009-06-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

We'd like to give a 1uick update on Brad Hunt's status. Currently Brad and Michelle are in Lima undergoing extensive testing to determine what the cause was of the headaches and stroke like symtoms he had this last week. Brad is feeling MUCH better and they are in good spirits. They have had excellent care in Lima. We had the privillege of watching their little son Tyler one night last week while they were in the hospital here in Arequipa. Our kids enjoyed playing with Tyler and Mylie attempted to share ALL her toys with him. (see below)

This last weekend both the kids participated in a show for Fathers Day. Their school really gets involved in these holidays and it was quite a production. Mylie was an elephant in a circus number and Josh did a choreographed dance to High School Musical's Get Your Head in the Game. Our camera doesn't have audio so you have to imagine circus music for Mylie and a pop song for Josh (in the videos below). They both worked on some crafts that they gave me after the play as well. Abby made a beautiful card (with the Kids) and also got me a Basketball so I can stay in semi good shape while i'm down here.

We also finally got around washing all of Mylie's stuff animals that somehow made their way to Peru in our suitcases along with everything else that might have been pink or dirty. I came home to them all hanging by their ears and thought it was a funny picture.

We are now 24 days out from the first short term project. We are very excited and are daily planning for the short-termers that will be here in Arequipa. The 40/40's are continuing their education right now in Iquitos and a new batch of 16 40/40's will be arriving in August. We have now been here almost 6 months! Time has flown by in some ways but we also daily miss our family and friends back home. Thanks again for the prayers and support! We are anxious to have other Americans come down and see what God is doing here in PERU!!!

Prayer request

2009-06-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

One of the fellow missionaries in our office, Brad Hunt, woke up with a serious headache and was unable to talk or generally function Monday morning. He was taken to the hospital where he was given drugs and recovered. They performed an MRI, an EEG, and other tests and had him stay two nights. The doctors sent him home yesterday morning saying that they could not find anything wrong.

He woke up this morning in a similar condition to Monday morning. They are now very concerned. They are now at the hospital (in Arequipa) attempting to get clearance to fly to Lima and/or the USA for better medical treatment.

Both Brad and his wife are around 30 years old with a one-year-old son, Tyler. Brad is our general maintance lead and Michelle is the medical coordinator for the 40/40's. They recently accepted the posistion of Cluster Support family for the Cusco cohort.

Please pray that they can receive safe travel, better medical answers, and treatment if necessary.

Nazareno

2009-06-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have been going up to the small outer community of Arequipa called "Nazareno" (I know, it's ironic). It's about a 30min bus ride from the center and at the foot of the mountain Chachani. Our church is trying to start a small church up there and is starting with a Children's church that takes place after our service every Sunday. Abby has gone a couple times and I've now been able to go help out a couple times as well.

There are obviously no words to explain the poverty yet peace that is found up in this beautiful community. The kids always swarm around and are anxious to hear about God. Supplies are limited and because of the distance it's hard to take to much with us. This last time we were able to take up some bread and coloring supplies and the kids loved it.

I went up with 4 other members of our church Kindra, Janelle,Gladis and Pilar (who is the leader). It's such a blessing to be able to help out and build friendships with these kids. Many of them have parents that work 10-12 hours a day to make enough money for food. The brother and sister in the photo said that there Dad had been gone for a few days and there mom was still working (it was 5pm). It breaks my heart to see such young kids on their own. The kids find such joy in the small things and appreciate EVERYTHING. Such a change from what I see in the US. I took a few pictures of the brother and sister becuase their age difference is about the same as Mylie and Josh. They took care of each other and the brother was constantley holding his sisters hand to help her do things. I started to think of why and how God has blessed me and my family but in the same token I PRAY that my family has the same passion for Christ as the kids up here!

On a side note, Timmy our new dog is loving life

Lima, Timmy,Rico

2009-06-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Lima (the capital of Peru) last Wednesday and Thursday and I am now an offical Peruvian Resident! Abby also went with me and she started her residency process. We stayed over night at the Nazarene headquarters in Lima. It was nice to get this process finished/started and now we just need to work on the Kids.

Things around the office and Peru have been getting more and more busy. This week we had the pastors from all 7 cities that we will be working in come to Arequipa for a time to get everyone on the same page with the the projects and impact events that are planned. The superintendant of the Church of the Nazarene Peru district came as well. It was good to talk and share in the excitment with the pastors that are on the front lines here in Peru.

I started helping out with music at our church in Arequipa. I waited a few months to get to know the songs and ease into it. It's been fun to get back into music. Right now the worship team includes Jonathan (guitar, singing) and me. There are also about 3 vocalist that help out on any given Sunday.

This week we also got some of our promotion ideas nailed down one which is Rico Cuy. Rico is the Mascot for the Love Extreme project and is a giant Guinea Pig. Abby dressed up for a photo shoot and many of you will be getting friend requests via Facebook from Rico.

We also added a new member of our Peru family, Timmy. Timmy is a mut puppy that is part Shithzu/Piekaneese mix that is VERY cute. He will be our guard dog but right now he's the kids play toy.

The kids are doing well in school and learning Spanish! Mylie is throwing in a spanish about every other word and Josh is starting to accept the fact that he needs to learn as well.

We are a mere 2 months away from the first Extreme project here in Arequipa and we getting VERY excited to see what God will do.

Random Office

2009-06-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be appropriate to show everyone some pictures of the office staff here in Arequipa. So today I took some random photos of the team working hard!

On the left is Janelle, who is working on organizing all the impact projects. She is modeling over 25,000 beads that we plan to take into schools for the kids to make salvation bracelets. It was quite a task counting all of them to make sure we had the correct number (no joke, we really did). The next photo is the Hunt family. Brad, Michelle and little Tyler. They left today for Iquitos to spend some time with the Smith family and the 40/40's.

This lovely dish was made for our office lunch today, which consisted of potatoes, onions, peas, carrots and cow intestines. Yeah, seriously! Not going to lie, wasn't my favorite dish and the texture was all wrong. On the left is my friend, Pilar, who comes to the office on fridays and makes lunch for 30+ people. She is amazing and can make lomo saltado like no other:)

Here is Ruben and Scott testing out cuy heads for our project mascot, Rico. This whole week has been dedicated to purchasing a costume and designing a soccer shirt for Rico to wear so we can send Rico up to General Assembly for the Nazarene church in Orlando, FL.

This lovely lady is Sarah Foster and I love her even though she is Admin and not Project:) Here she is working very hard on getting my residency process completed.....oh wait, nope, she's reading up on all the latest gossip for the cast of High School Musical. Sarah, really? :)

So, now you can visualize a few faces from the Extreme staff. I will post more next week! Also, just want to give a shout out to Jerry Allen. Glad your surgery went well and hope your post-op recovery goes speedily so you can be out on a roof in no time:) Love you and Edie and will continue to pray for you down here.

Website finally done!

2009-05-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY got our website up and going. It's been a 3 month process with Kindra Bible doing all the programing, database and all the complicated smart stuff, Eliseo Duran (my cousin) doing all the video and most of the Flash pages and me doing the content, and the graphics and Flash. It was really a tream effort and we are so excited for how it turned out. Go to http://www.extremenazarene.org/ and poke around if you'd like. With this done now I can move on to other fun and exciting things.

Work Days

2009-05-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Office life down here is anything but normal. On any given day I could be out scouring the city for a cuy costume or stuck on my computer typing up documents. It all just depends my friends. With only eight weeks left until Short Term Volunteer projects begin, we are all frantically trying to finish up our work. When is the website going to be finished? How can we get a piano down here for worship? How many people do we need on the construction worksite? How are we going to shuttle everyone around? Do we have what we need for Impact projects? Do we have a finished t-shirt design idea for our soccer shirts? Where can we buy 200 cuy costumes?! Who has all the answers???? (you get the idea). Hectic, but a very beautiful thing.

So at the office, I get to sit next to a very handsome, somwhat sloppy man. Yeah, thats right! I get to look at Daniels mug 8-5 everday:) Of course communication is a little difficult with him ALWAYS wearing his Princess Leah headphones. But that is Daniel for you! He's been working very hard on helping to finish up the Extreme website, which is fantastic. And just so you can see how very different Daniel and I are (in case you didn't already know), here are some photos of us working and our work areas.....Yeah, thats just his desk! Try living with him!!! :)

I am very excited for July to come as that is when our first round of Short Term Volunteers (STV's) show up for our first project. They are essentially going to be our guinea pigs as far as all the impact projects and logistics are concerned. Its going to be amazing what people will be doing down here as far as bringing the love of Christ to Peru. God is going to be shaking his "salt" all over Arequipa this summer and I am so blessed to be a part of it. Please pray that we can accomplish all that is set before us. Thanks!

PS: Bonus pics of Josh and Mylie. These were taken at the 40/40 going away party at the Englunds last week.

Goodbyes

2009-05-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

First off I want to apologize for not posting in a while but we misplaced our camera and just recently located it. Don't ask Abby where it was...it's a sore subject (it was in her desk at work).

The last couple weeks have been some of the toughest weeks since we touched down in Peru. Last week was Memorial weekend and it was the first "Kearns/Nazarene camping at South Beach" trip that Abby has ever missed. I also have gone a solid 8 consecutive years and I sorely missed the fun and fellowship of my friends and family.

Last Thursday Tyson and Tracy Smith and the other 40/40's left to Iquitos (north of us by about 2500 miles). They will spend the next 5 months there before they finally make it to Puerto Maldonado. They have been such a blessing to both Abby and I. It was such an encouragement to go through this whole process with them. For those of you who don't know the story here is a condensed version:

Tyson and I both heard of Extreme at seperate times and I was gone when the Extreme team came to our church to present the project. I talked to Brent (mobilization coordinator) and Tyson talked to Scott (the project coordinator). At the time Tyson and I were spending a solid 3-4 days a week together playing music. I didn't mention anything to him as we didn't know for sure what would come of it. Tyson did the same and it wasn't till we were going in for our final interview up in Portland did we find out that we were both about to leave the country and end up in Peru! It was such a blessing to know that neither of us were doing this because of one another but it sure didn't hurt to have each other to lean on during the months leading up to this adventure. It was a lot easier to sell my playstation knowing that Tyson had to sell his TV!

I am writting all of this to say that I miss the Smiths and I want everyone that reads this to remember the Smiths as they embark on an amazing journey. We are all doing the Lords work down here but theirs includes a lot more travel and with a young child it won't be easy. Thanks Tyson for your friendship and I think of you daily....

Okay...second goodbye that same week was to my cousin who headed back to Cusco after a family emergency came up. It was nothing serious but she needs to go back to help watch her younger brother for a while. I don't know if she will come back but she was such a blessing to have watch our kids while we were gone and it was great to get to know some more of my family down here. She also spoke English which was a huge plus for Abby and the kids!

I'm posting some more pics of Arequipa (which continually grows on me) and some pics of the kids. Lastly I want to say a BIG thanks to Carl Dudley and David Duran. They have been sending me some of my music stuff from back home that I didn't have room to pack when we came. Being here has made me realize how much I LOVE music. I have set up a make shift music/recording room with the stuff that has been sent. It's been great to share this passion with my family here who loves music just as much as I do. Thanks guys for your prayers and support. Our thoughts continually go out to our friends and family back home.

P.S. The website we've been working on is one week away from being done. I will post the link when it's completed. I'm very excited about it!

Mylies big day

2009-05-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

So only 2 days into school, Mylie and Josh had a Mothers day program. Josh opted out but Mylie being a go getter decided to participate. They celebrate Mothers day very different here. It was a week long event which is fine in my opinion! She had to dress up as a flower and dance around. Dance around she did and it was very entertaining! Especially with her petals falling all over the place. But what do you expect with only one day notice on her costume! Thankfully we had her tinkerbell outfit and our wonderful cousins, Betty and Verena, made the petals the morning of the performance. Abby cried at the pagent she was laughing so hard:) It was a most memorable Mothers Day!

First day of School

2009-05-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

After much thought and consideration, we decided to put Mylie and Josh into a school here. They need the interaction with other kids and we found a nice school only blocks away from our house. They seemed very excited but we wondered if it would last through the first day. As it turned out the only tears the came that day were from us! They were so cute getting ready for school and carrying their lunchboxes and backpacks! We met their teachers and couldn't have been more pleased. The first day passed with little problems except Josh's complaint of "someone put a toy on my head".

A shock came when we got his school supply list. Glitter glue, specific colored paper, puzzles, blocks, 2 textbooks, etc. Two pages...front and back and 300 soles later we were done! He's 4! Well, hopefully he will be ahead of schedule when we return home. About 3 hours ago we recieved Mylie's school supply list and were equally surprised.

We are blessed to have found a nice school close to home, where our cousin Verena (who watches the kids while we are at work) can take them to and from School which is great!

P.S We've been watching the Star Wars cartoons with Josh and the other day he came into our bedroom holding this and said "look what I made"(it's the Bounty Hunter's ship). As a fan of legos and star wars I was a proud dad.

Happy Birthday to Joshua!

2009-05-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

On April 30th, we celebrated Joshua's fourth birthday! He is officially a "big boy" now. It was a little difficult to plan anything exciting for him this year as he and Mylie have been sick. So Thursday night we brought home a GIANT chocolate chip cookie (thank-you Jill) and some ice-cream for after dinner. He had two gifts from us that night: a lunch box for when he starts school this next week and a Cars towel:) We have some Legos coming in from the States as he has become a huge fan of Star Wars. Just like his daddy!

As Friday was a national holiday much like Labor Day in the US, we were able to spend the whole day with family, celebrating Josh's big day. David, Lucy and their girls stopped by the house with a suprise cake and soda. After we stuffed our faces full of sugar, we had a little lunch and watched a movie together. Later that day, we took Joshua out to find a new movie and he choose a Star Wars cartoon. Later in the evening, we had a Skype birthday party with Joshua's cousins back home. It was hilarious to turn on the webcam and see my parents wearing Spiderman masks! Thank you mom and dad for taking the time to throw the party and thank you to Ethan, McKenna, Lucy and Kya for showing up and eating cupcakes in honor of Bubba! Love you guys!

Saturday was spent at the park near our church for a picnic with all three Nazarene churches in Arequipa. Joshua and Mylie had a wonderful time playing with all the kids and we enjoyed the chicken lunch:)

Joshua had a wonderful birthday weekend spent with family and friends (although not the usual ones we are accustomed to, they will always be missed). I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that my baby boy is growing up fast! Thank you to all who wished Joshua happy birthday and sent cards/packages.

Office Days

2009-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Right, so these past few days in the office have been quite an experience. I showed up to work Monday morning and forgot that I had told the Project head I wouldn't be coming in til Tuesday. He had some meetings and no time to give me something to do, which was actually great because I jumped on to a project with some of the other ladies in the office. We headed out to a kind of half-way house for young kids who have either been abandoned or have had law infractions and were sent there. Once there, we met with the director and asked if there was anything he thought we could help out with weekly and with Impact Outreach projects with short-term volunteers coming down in July and August. He gave us a list of suggestions and introduced us to the nine kids they have living there at the moment. It was great to meet the kids and teacher and have a tour of the facility. A group of people from our office will be going there every Wednesday for a few hours to hang out with the kids: teaching English, showing movies, sharing magazines and so much more. Please pray for the ladies heading up this ministry as it is a new venture as well as the kids living there and are to come!

The rest of Monday was kind of a blur of getting situated and understanding what I'm to do everyday and what tasks need to be accomplished. One of my jobs is to find and purchase a "cuy" or guinea pig costume so that we can send it up to the States to have another two hundred made for promotion for our Love Extreme Event! Just a normal day in the office down here:)

Tuesday was pretty uneventful with meetings and internet researching, but Wednesday (today) takes the cake! At my desk this morning I tried to turn my computer on and it just wouldn't cooperate! It would turn on, but it wouldn't go to any start-up screen.....my computer and I seem to have a love/hate relationship and we have been having problems since we got here in January. So I believe it is time to end the relationship and move on. With a VERY TIGHT budget, I think Daniel and I have found a solution and I hope to have my new computer here in Peru by Monday or Tuesday. Computers are very important down here in the Extreme Office as EVERYTHING we do revolves around them. So, no worries, just a small bump in the road that has been fixed. (I hope:)

On the project front: our 40/40's have only a few weeks left before they leave for bible training in Iquitos, which is a large city very close to the Amazon River. Thats right! Our 40/40's are going jungle on us soon. Also, our first wave of short-term volunteers will be coming in just a few short months and we are all very excited to get the ball rolling. As I said before, the vision of Extreme Peru is mind-blowing amazing and I can't wait to see what happens. God bless and love you all!

PS: Please pray for Josh and Mylie as they both have some serious coughs and colds. Here is a pic of them lying around:(

Chile or Bust!

2009-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

We have had quite the exciting weekend here. Friday was my last day of language classes and you have no idea how crazy delirious I am to get into the office and start working. And I hear Scot already has a long list of things for me to do. Nothing like a challenge on your first day of work to get you really motivated:) I am sorry to be leaving behind two amazing professors who have had to put up with me for the last twelve weeks. A huge thanks to Henry and Esila for all their hard work and patience. Trust me, you need it to teach me.

Saturday was an interesting day in that the whole family woke up before sunrise and hopped on a bus to Arica, Chile. Here is the story: Daniel has started his residency process so is unable to leave the country. However, the kids and I haven't begun our process yet because we are waiting on some paperwork from the States that seem to have completely disappeared...hmmmm. So with it being the three month mark, our visas for Peru expired on Thursday. The only thing we could do was "flee" the country at a snails pace in a huge bus to the closest town in Chile and drive back over the border to renew our visas. Sounds simple, right? The whole paper work process at the border was actually pretty straightforward and easy. The hard part was going into another country without Daniel. As he was not allowed to leave Peru, I brought my Aunt Lucy with me to help translate and have another set of hands to assist with the kids. She was amazing! We took a six hour bus ride to Tacna, left Daniel at a bus terminal and went over the border to Arica.

While in Arica, we ate at McDonalds!!! Thats right people, Abby Duran finally has eaten at McDonalds! First time in three months. I was so excited, I think the taxi driver thought I was nuts. Since we were in a city I probably will never visit again, we took a taxi tour of the city. Arica is a pretty beautiful town with some great beaches. Anyways, after the tour we grabbed Daniel and some dinner and hopped back on another bus for the ride home. We made it home around midnight and immediately zonked out in bed. A very tiring day, but the kids and I have another three months to find those papers and start our residency process.

Since Josh and Mylie spent an entire day sitting down, I took them to the dinosaur park today and then out to pizza. While at Presto Pizza, Mylie being the beautiful princess that she is, had all the employees eating out of her hand. It was amazing! I took Joshua to the restroom and when we got out, Mylie was sitting on the counter, surrounded by the ladies. She was coloring and eating sprinkles they had provided. It was so funny, I had to take a picture. (PS: I didn't leave Mylie all alone when we went to the restroom! My cousin Verana was with us. Just don't want you to think I am a neglectful parent.)

All in all, while this weekend was stressful and exhausting, we still managed to have a wonderful time. Please pray for us this week as I begin work and the kids will hopefully begin school. Will keep you posted on that front. Love you all and God bless!!!!

Extreme Retreat 09 and Cherry Coke!!!

2009-04-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

The Extreme Peru team just finished our 2009 staff retreat here in Arequipa. It was an amazing three days of fellowship. Wednesday we began our day at Huaczapata, where one of the three Nazarene churches here in Arequipa have a mission/sister church. The church is in a very poor area on the outskirts of the city. When you look out over the hill, you can see the whole of Arequipa. The morning was spent discussing culture shock and doing some team building exercises. We ate lunch there provided by Pilar and Gladys, two wonderful women working for the Extreme office and Olivia led us in communion. We then hopped on a bus and took a tour of the falicity we will be using for our Love Extreme event next June. Scott has an amazing vision to outreach to the people here in Arequipa.

Day two was spent at the Extreme office where we learned about the history of the Nazarene church, in general and in Peru, as well as the recent history of Peru. The last twenty years here have been seriously unsteady and their past president has just recently been sentenced to twenty five years in prison! I still love it here though:) We also did a scavenger hunt in which my team seriously dropped the ball due to lack of communication and reading of directions...but hey, its a growing process and now we know that we need to work as a team and communicate:) In the afternoon we worked on mission statements for our Extreme groups: admin, project and 40/40.

Day three was our "fun" day where we went out to a military facility and did a few team building exercises involving a rather dirty pool where we had to dive for keys. It was awesome! Daniel and I had a really great time out there even though we came back with at least twenty bug bites between the two of us. What can I say, we are delicious! The last part of the day the group went to a go-kart racing place where there was some serious racing. It felt kind of nice to get behind a wheel since I haven't driven in almost three months. Look out McMinnville when I come home!

Also at the retreat we learned about the history of Extreme Nazarene and its vision for the future. Listening to all that has happened and all that will happen, I am so excited to be able to be a part of this great organization. Be proud to be a prayer/financial supporter of Extreme. We are focused on reaching the lost and living the Great Commission. Praise Jesus!!!

That is a small recap on all that went on. There was so much more, but I don't want to write you a book:) Please keep Daniel and I in your prayers as we continue to work down here. I am finishing school this week and Daniel has a deadline to finish the new website by June 1.

On a sidenote: I am so stoked that today I found CHERRY COKE!!! It is my all-time favorite beverage and they just don't sell it down here. I haven't had one since the morning of January 22. Thats right! I know when I had my last one. But today in a small store I found a can! Yeah me!!! God was smiling on me today. It is amazing since living down here how much more I appreciate the small things like finding a can of coke or having the sun shine the day I need to do laundry. I think sometimes we forget to be glad for the life God has given us. We just need to

play the Glad Game everyday. Love you guys!

Easter

2009-04-14T06:20:00.001-07:00

We passed our first major holiday here in Peru and it was quite different then back home! Easter is a 4 day holiday here with many strange yet beautiful traditions that take place. Being a Catholic country most of the emphasis was put on Thursday and Friday. Everything shut down for the most part. The Extreme team put together an "American" lunch for everyone on Sunday complete with an Easter egg hunt for the kid-os. It was great to have mashed potatoes, Ham and green salad with Ranch.

Abby has a total of 5 days of school left! She is getting very anxious and it will be nice to have her here at the office. Things are moving along and we are grateful for those who have kept in touch and let us know news from back home. I want to let Kasey and Lisa Kauer know that we continue to pray for them and their family and also the Anderson family who going through a "valley of darkness" right now. Our thought go out to those families as it's hard to be miles away while friends are going through tough times. Love all you guys!

Earthquake!!!!..... wait, that was a tremor??

2009-04-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

Okay so last night was pretty eventful with an international Extreme staff meeting AND a 4.8 earthquake. I don't know which was cooler:) First was the meeting. Daniel, Eliseo and I went to our Extreme Headquarters to listen/watch our "jefe" Brian do a live webcast with our Extremies in the States. In the meeting we covered a range of topics from our Love Extreme event next June to our staff retreat in two weeks. We were updated on our financial situation as well. As of this last month, we are on track and ahead of pace in the Community Adoption Program. This is where people or businesses donate $7500 to "adopt" a community and pay for materials needed to help the community. In March alone, we raised over $105,000 which is just about 1/3 of the total donations raised year to date. HOW FREAKING AMAZING IS THAT! To quote Brian, "God is blessing us in the midst of this financial crisis."

Another topic we discussed was the short-term volunteer situation. Throughout the entire three years, we are needing 800 short-term volunteers to come to Peru. As of this moment, we have 221 signed up and a waiting list for some of the projects! I am so excited that some of the volunteers are coming from COTH! Can't wait to see everyone:) There are volunteers coming from 15 different states which is pretty amazing too.

As far as the new website, which Daniel, Eliseo and Kindra have created, its projected premiere date is June 1st. It is going to be an amazing, interactive website where you can log on to see prayer requests, interactive map of the projects in Peru and a weekly focus on one of our long-term volunteers. So come June, please log onto www.extremenazare.org and check out the work my hubby has done!

There were lots of other topics pertaining to the training of the 40/40's, projected finances through the year and more, but I think you will survive without that knowledge:) The meeting has renewed my drive to be done with school and working in the office! Three more weeks and I am there! Yeah me!

And now the earthquake......so Daniel and I were casually watching an episode of Friends last night, Season 7 if you care to know, and all of the sudden the ground starts shaking and dogs are barking like they have rabies! Total mayhem!!! And it didn't just shake once and that was it. I swear the tremors lasted two whole minutes. I had no idea what to do. The doorway is concrete just like the rest of the house so would it really make a difference to get off the comfy couch? After the "tremors", Daniel opened our door to make sure everything was okay and his cousin came out and shouted "Bienvenidos Arequipa!" I feel like I have just survived an initiation to the city and am now a "townie."

Since the earthquake was only a 4.8, it is technically a tremor and not an earthquake. But for me it was an EARTHQUAKE! And be at ease, the house is fine, the kids snored through it and Daniel and I got back to finishing our show.

Thats all from Arequipa, stay tuned.....................................

Afternoon in Chachani

2009-03-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today after church, along with five other ladies, I ventured out of the city limits to the base of Mt. Chachani. We spent the afternoon doing a vacation bible school-like program with the local kids. There were around thirty kids ages two to around twelve. I was put in with the older kids and was able to sit with them during a bible lesson and help them answer questions in their packets. All in Spanish!!! My classes have really come in handy:) After our lesson there was an attempt to play a few games, however someone must have put IncaCola in their water because attention spans were very short. So we gave up and had some running competitions and more sugar in the form of suckers.

All in all, I had an absolutely great time this afternoon hanging out with my sisters in Christ and getting to know the local kids. I am excited to return next week. The kids out there don't have much, but they were all smiles and it is infectious. Hope you enjoy the photos....I just wasn't able to catch the magnificance of the mountain. Truly breathtaking. I love Arequipa more and more

everyday!

Call to Arms

2009-03-27T23:03:00.001-07:00

Forgive me everyone for not writing anything sooner, but I am having a difficult time thinking of something to blog about. At the moment things are pretty much in a routine that is supernaturally boring. During the week, I attend Spanish school and Daniel is still plugging along on the website at the office. However, have no fear! In just a few, hopefully short weeks, I will be finished with language school and heading to the office with the hubby! Yeah me! So if you can bear with us and not lose interest:), I will be a wealth of Extreme information here shortly.

Today I would like to share with you a recap of our weekly Extreme Staff meeting. One of our 40/40's gave us a great devotional about following Christ, sharing the message and spiritual gifts God gives us to enrich the kingdom. Brian, our illustrious leader gave us all an update on Extremes goals for recruiting 4o/40's, short term mission volunteers and financial donations for the city sites. We are currently meeting our goals which is absolutely amazing! At the beginning of this month, we had only two new 40/40s recruited and our goal is to have 12 by the end of June. As of right now, we have eight! So praise Jesus there are people out there with the heart and the call to serve in Peru! Please keep praying for us all to reach our goals in these areas. And if you have any single friends who feel the call to missions and ministry, please pass along our website to them or get them in touch with someone (COTH, Daniel and I, Nazarene headquarters, etc.) to answer questions.

I just want to finish with this: I am so blessed to be here, experiencing the everyday miracles of God and the passion that these Extremies have. Daniel and I are so grateful for everyone who had any part of our journey, whether through prayer, donations or kindness. I hope you don't get weary of my saying this, because I don't think I can say it enough! I am truly humbled by it all. Muchas Gracias para todo!

PS on a personal level: happy birthday shout outs to my Dad, my niece Kenzie and my best friend Sheena! Love you guys and sorry to have missed out on your special days:(

BOUS Sighting!!!

2009-03-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

BOUS meaning Bug of Unusual Size! The other day I took the laundry off the clotheslines upstairs and was folding them in my room. While I was folding Mylies shorts, a HUGE fly came out of them and buzzed around the room. This was no ordinary fly either. We are talking gi-normous insect! I of course being the girl that I am, screamed, ran out of the room and shut the door behind me until Daniel came home to get rid of it. I know, I am a total weanie! Anyways, this was my first bug incident and I thought I would share it with all of you! With twenty two months to go, I'm sure there will be more.

On to more important things:

On the work front, the 40/40 missionaries have begun school and are preparing for their jungle training coming up in June. Daniel and I were fortunate enough to have them all over for dinner this last week to get to know them better. They are an amazing group of young individuals who will be doing great things in Puerto Maldonado. Please remember to keep them in your prayers as they are a huge part of why we are down here.

Brian, our "el jefe" down here has spent the last week traveling around the various cities with a few fellows from around the States, showing them our vision for Extreme. While in Puerto Maldonado, they met with Vivian (remember her story?) and decided that she is going to move to Arequipa and work with Extreme full time. We are all very excited to meet her and work with her over the next two years.

All in all, the time here is flying by. I have already finished seven weeks of language training and have only six more weeks to go! Then I will be in the office helping to get things accomplished for our Love Extreme event next June. Daniel is plugging away, learning new computer programs and working on updating the Extrem website. We promise to keep you posted on all the goings on throughout the office and through Extreme as they come. However, right now we are in planning stages and getting adjusted to the culture. Once everyone is through language school and in the office, it will be hopping. Thank you again for all your support!

Weekend Update

2009-03-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I spent this weekend catching up with the kiddos and taking it easy. Saturday we cleaned the house and then went out to the Plaza for lunch and a leisurely stroll. First Daniel took me to an open market that has been running for over three hundred years here in Arequipa. It was amazing to see and amazingly busy. He showed me the stall where they serve frog smoothies (said to be very beneficial to ones health, I don't think so!) There were rows and rows of fresh fruits, vegetables and pig heads and hooves which I did not find appetizing :)

After the market, we made our way down to a quaint Mexican restaurant just behind the Plaza. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was fun. Should anyone come to visit us, this is one place we will take you! Once we were solidly stuffed on guacamole and tacos, we walked around the shops a bit to give our big bellies some much needed exercise. The rest of Saturday was uneventful, we spent it at home giving the kids a bath and hanging out in the playroom.

Daniel has a new tradition on Sundays. Just before we leave for church, he takes the car outside in the street and gives it a good washing. If he didn't love me so much, I would think he'd marry this car! I mentioned that when we go home to Oregon, we should live in a car, that way he would want to keep our "house" clean! Anyways, I digress. Once the car was spic and span, we, along with our cousin Eliseo and his wife, Lily, hopped in and went to pick up the Smiths. Thats right! We fit six adults and three kids into one tiny little VW Beetle. I felt like I was riding in one of those circus cars that clowns just keep coming out of and you can't figure out how they all fit! Church was craziness with the kids again, but they are beginning to come around and I hope that in another few weeks, we won't have to sit with them in class.

All in all, we had a great weekend with an occasional toddler meltdown (due to teething). Please keep us in your prayers this weeks and I am still learning the native tongue and Daniel is working hard at the office updating the website! We love and miss our families and our friends!

Lima

2009-03-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

I had to go to Lima today to start my residency process. Becuase of some complications Abby was not able to make the trip with me but will get her process started shortly. I got up at 4am to catch the 6am flight out. Mike and Sydney Drinkwater and Scott and Terry England also made the trip with me. We arrived in Lima around 8 and from there went to immigration then Interpol.

Luckly we had someone from the Lima church there at the airport to walk us though the process. They checked my teeth, and took numerous fingerprints and by 11am we were done. Our flight back didn't leave till 4 so we got some time to look around Lima.

It's a city of close to 10million people and the size compared to Arequipa is olverwhelming. The city itself is beautifual as it sits on the Pacific coast, but the size makes it pretty inimidating. I arrived back in Arequipa at 6pm after a long day of travel and was ready to go to bed!

Lots Happening

2009-03-02T06:14:00.000-08:00

There has been alot happening so I'm going to try to catch everyone up with our news and sprinkle in some pictures as well. We have been attending our church for a month now and every week it gets better as I am now understanding the messages. They are so excited to have Extreme in Peru and you can tell that God is moving in this small congregation.

They have a kids program and Josh and Mylie are starting to enjoy that as well. It's no "Kids Zone" and they don't have anything fancy but their teacher loves kids and teaches them from the Bible so it's all good to me! After church on Sunday we had my Cousin and her daughter come ove to play. Mylie loved it!

We've been doing some work to our house to make it more comfortable for our kids and for us as well. The house we're staying in has not had anybody living in it for sometime so we mainly had to shake out the cobwebs and get things smelling like freash paint agian. I love it that both Abby and I have a passion for fixing things up. It's been great working with her (She'll tell you she's done most the work....and she has) and bonding in that way.

We figured out a way to give our kids a bath, since they don't have bathtubs. They seemed to enjoy it much more then standing up in a cold shower.

I wanted to say thanks again to all those who have emailed us, wrote us, commented on our blog and stayed in contact with us (we even recieved the old schoool mail, Thanks Kearns and Thompsons!!!!). We love hearing what's going on with everyone and feel so blessed to have people praying, and supporting us in this journey.

The Extreme Team

2009-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in the last post, the Smiths arrived last Friday. With them came Olivia Myers (a 40/40 volunteer) and today 2 more 40/40's arrived. Tomorrow another one will arrive and next week...well you get the picture. With all the arrivals the office energy has picked up and it's been great to see the ball start rolling. We had a group lunch today at our office and got to meet all the new team members. Continue to pray for the safe travels of all the volunteers on their way, and praise God for the saftey so far of eveyone that has come down!

Smiths in Arequipa

2009-02-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

We are stoked that the Smith's made it safe and sound to Peru. For those of you who don't know, Tyson and Tracy Smith (and their son Kai) attended our church in McMinnville, and are also embarking on an adventure here in Peru. Tyson and I play music together and made the decision to come here on our own without each other even knowing it. It wasn't till a ways down the application process did we find out that both our families were headed down here.

They arrived on Friday and on Saturday we went out for dinner and they got to meet some of the other volunteers here in Arequipa. Along the way we fed some pigions in the Plazza and stopped for some Ice Cream. Joshua was grateful to have another boy to play with (that speaks English) and Mylie, well she just ran her self into utter exhaustion. It will be great having them around and will feel a bit more like home.

Love Extreme

2009-02-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

In June of 2010 Extreme Peru is going to put on one big event in Arequipa and invite the community and the city to see what God has done and is doing in Peru. Yesterday we went to the venue that we are looking to rent out. It is basically a fairground that has space for about 40,000. Our goal is to get 10,000+ locals to show up and enjoy a day filled with free concerts, food, kids programs, women and men speakers and a bunch of other events. We are thinking BIG! We are already in contact with a Christian motocross team, a professional soccer player and other well known speakers.

We are also contacting Guinness World Record for an interesting idea. A delicacy here in Peru is "Cuy" which is guinea pig. Here me out...our idea is to have the largest guine pig feed ever. We are planning on bringing in 10,000 of these little suckers and holding the world record for largest guinea pig feed :) To put in perspective it would be like having the world’s largest Pizza feed. We're not doing this as a show, but to draw the locals in so the gospel message can be presented. Food is often times the way to someones heart. Anyways, here are some shots of the facilities.

We are going to set up a free clinic (doctors are coming in from the US) free haircuts and basically try to show the love of Christ to believers and non-believers alike. At the end of the visit I got chased by a very upset ostrich. Go figure, only in Peru.

Found a Car!

2009-02-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

I've quickly found the necessity for a car has out weighed my fear of driving here. It's in my favor that classics are cheaper then vehicles from the 80's. We don't want to spend a lot on a car but want one that is functional as well. I have found one that I'm in the process of buying. Bill, your going to love it! It's a 1962 VW bug that is in GREAT condition. For a mere 2k I'm going to own myself a nice classic car that has been fully restored. To give you some perspective, a beat up 1983 Nissan sentra is about 4k...my choice was clear:)

We got out the other night and went to our favorite pizza joint called Presto. The kids had a blast and it was nice to get out with Abby. Our schedules are pretty weird right now with me being at work till 5:30, Kids going to bed at 7 and Abby having homework most nights, so a chance to get away was great.

Work has been going great and it's been awesome to see all of this come together. Tyson and Tracy Smith come this week along with a couple more Americans. They will be going though language training then off to jungle training, then the field. There are some huge plans in store for Peru and it's so exciting to be at the root level of it all. I feel as if I haven't written a whole lot about that side of our trip yet, but stick with us for our journey as things are still unfolding. Thanks so much for all the little notes and comments, I think I'm going to say that every time! Love you all...

Blankets for the Babies and Valentines Day

2009-02-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

So I am beginning to think that wherever I go, as a true Oregonian, I bring the rain!! It must be some magical power I possess :) I was expecting sunshine all the time here in Arequipa but thankfully God has been kind and the weather has been somewhat cooler and rainy. With the cold weather, comes cold nights. Daniel and I went out with the kids this last week to purchase some blankets for their beds. We went to our favorite mercado, Avelino. There we found Joshua a huge blanket with Mickey Mouse and Mylie one with Barbie. Oh yeah! Now we can wrap them around at least three times in these huge blankets! I know this really isn't blogworthy, but the blankets are so darn funny I wanted to post a pic of the kids in bed with them :) Indulge me!

We also passed our first holiday here! St. Valentines day was this last Saturday and I got quite a shock. Daniel, with the help of little Mylie, went out to a street vender and bought me flowers. Now for those of you who don't really know Daniel and I, flowers are kind of a big deal. He has only bought me flowers two other times that I can think of and we have been together for over eight years more or less:) So here is a picture of my beautiful bouquet from the Mr. He had Mylie bring it in to the dining room for him which was super cute and he even bought a smaller bouquet for her. What a sweet dad!

So with three weeks down, we have gotten into a groove of school and work. The kids are still adjusting to a new lifestyle and language, but I feel that they will pick it all up soon. Mylie already can say "gracias" and it is the cutest thing. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts. We miss you all!

On the way to work

2009-02-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

We wanted to show a couple shots of our daily ride to work and our office. We have a great view of Mt. Misti the volcano and some of the other large mountians close by. We are getting used to the driving and almost daily there are a few close calls (no zoom on picture below). Abby is still plugging away at spanish class and doing very well. I had my cousin, Eliseo, come in and interview for a design/computer programing job and he got it! He will be working with me on the website and newsletter stuff. We miss everyone and want to thank everyone for all the comments and emails as that has made this transition much easier.

Not A Good Weekend

2009-02-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

I (Abby) have spent this whole weekend and the latter part of last week feeling quite ill. I think there was even a moment of total surrender where I asked God to "just take me now." Seems that a few of the Extremies from our language school, including myself, had eaten a bad snack and suffered from some kind of food poisoning. Or at least that is the current theory. Could be just bad water or dairy. Who knows! One silver lining I suppose is I've lost four pounds and my pants fit better :) In all seriousness, I am just glad to be on the mend. Am now working on building up my strength again, mentally and physically, for school tomorrow. Please keep the health of my family and of the other Extremies down here in your daily prayers. We need to be fit and healthy for us to continue our studies and the work done in the Extreme Office. There is a goal to be reached and it cannot be accomplished without healthy workers. Thank you.

THANK YOU!

2009-02-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give a very quick update on how thankful we are for the prayer and monetary support we are receiving! It's been 2 weeks and we have been blessed to have acclimated well and had the means to make life "normal" for our kids and put food on the table. Here is a small list of what the money is going towards.

If you donate...

$100 a month- that is 300 soles (their money). Right now I'm taking a taxi to and from work which is 10 soles round trip. You are helping me get to work for 2 weeks! Thanks!

$50 a month- 6 pieces of bread is 1 sole. We buy about 5 soles of bread a day (breakfast and lunch and dinner) which is about 40 soles a week. 160 soles a month witch is about 50 dollars. Your buying our bread for a month!

$25 a month-Our church that we are helping at is out of town and is about 20 soles taxi/bus ride to get to. Over the course of a month we will be spending about 75-80soles a month to be able to go help out. You are helping us get to church!

Those of you who have given one time donations...

$500- You bought our Fridge! We didn't have any way to keep food more then one day and with your help we are now able to have guests over and not going shopping every day!

$250- You helped buy our beds, mattress, crib for Mylie, dresser, and desk!

There are many other expenses such as health insurance, daily food, phones, electricity, household supplies and so on. I can't thank everyone who has supported us emotionally, financially and spiritually though this transition, and it's just begun!

Work Day!

2009-02-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

My turn to post! While Abby has been trudging though school I have started my work here in the office. It's the quiet before the storm right now as Brian, the project leader, has been explaining what my job will exactly entail. Right now it sounds like a communications, video, graphic, publishing job. All of these I enjoy but have a lot to learn as well. We are working on re-doing the website, setting up newsletters, and other publications and designing two retail campaigns for the US. Fun stuff! The awesome part is that I am going to be at the center of all that is happening around Peru and will get to be the first to hear of all that God is doing. Here are some first mocks of some of the designs I'm working on. The photo of the girl is a picture at one of the many brothels at in the "red light" districts in Puerto Maldonado. The writing above is written on the building and reads "we need girls" in Spanish. Puerto is the first city where Extreme is going to and is bound in the trade of prostitution. Please pray for Tyson and Tracy Smith as they prepare to bring the light to this dark region of Peru.

Early Week Update

2009-02-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

Today was my third day of Spanish classes and as much as I would like to say they are getting easier to understand that would be lying. I'm sure that it will take some time to adjust so I am keeping my hopes up:) I have two teachers that are amazingly tough yet kind. They can see when I am frustrated and take the time to help me understand rather than just moving onto something else. I feel like I am in college again because they make me do HOMEWORK! I haven't had homework or assignments in years! Henry (my teacher) says that it will help me in the long run, but I really think he is just trying to torture me.

A typical day at school looks like this: I arrive to meet Maria (my first teacher) and we walk into a small classroom where we immediately begin. We spend about two hours going over exercises in my notebook, learning new verbs and reviewing what we have already done:) Then, when I finally feel like I've gotten into a groove, our twenty minute break begins. This is my favorite part of the morning because the school serves us wonderful snacks and beverages. Plus, I get to speak English!!! Then all too soon, Henry shows up and off I go to the classroom again for another two hours. Only this time, I have to converse a bit more while still going over excercises in the book. I really like Henry because we sometimes go off on tangent about Arequipa and the time passes swiftly. When 1pm finally comes I am overjoyed! I get to go home with a huge headache and take a siesta! Or wash the laundry as in today's case:(

I find that learning the language is absolutely necessary to live here in Peru. This three month course is an amazing opportunity to immerse myself in Peruvian culture and language. I am excited for the completion not only so that I can go to work in the Extreme office, but because I will hopefully stop relying on others for translation and feel a little Arequipian myself:)

Church and First Day of School

2009-02-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

This last Sunday was our first experience at a church here in Arequipa. Daniel and I, along with Josh and Mylie, went to one of the three Nazarene churches in our city. The four of us hopped into a tiny taxi and drove twenty minutes to the outskirts of town where upon arrival discovered Daniel forgot to pack more money in his wallet so we were 3 soles short of our fare. Oops! What do you do when you have no money and there is no ATM within a twenty mile radius? Trust that God is always watching over you of course. As we were standing in an uncomfortable situation outside the church structure, a young girl came out of the building and saved us by paying the rest of the fare for us. Praise Jesus! She was amazing and yes, we did pay her back.

The church we attend is under construction at the moment and is actually the building that the short term Extreme team coming from COTH in August will be working on. So we began Sunday School in the unfinished building: music then a lesson on the beliefs and membership of the Nazarene church. Honestly, I thought that Sunday School was the church service, but no, I was mistaken! After the lesson, we sang more hymns (I really just hummed because I had no idea what they were singing) then our wonderful pastor preached a message. Not going to lie to you all, but I didn't hear much of the service because there is no child care so my lovely little daughter was restless as always and running around everywhere!! I was horribly embarrassed, but Kindra (another Extreme Missionary) said no worries, that all the kids did that and nobody cares. I was thinking that if Jerry Moen was there he would be having a heart attack! So to wrap up an extremely long blog:), church was interesting from my perspective. The pastor and his wife were very friendly and the congregation I sincerely look forward to spending time with them. I am excited to be a part of a new church family while we are away missing ours back home.

Oh yeah, started language school today. Four hours of one on one tutoring is exhausting and English is not really allowed. So for someone who has no Spanish background from high school or college, I was lost half the time. I just nodded my head and said si a lot :) I'm sure that these three months of classes will be amazing and I just need to keep my head up and nose in my study book! Living with Daniels family is truly a blessing because they all speak Spanish and insist on helping me:) My little cousins helped me with my homework this evening (they only laughed a handful of times at my pronunciation:).

Arequipa at Night

2009-02-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

We went out at night for the first time and had dinner in the Plaza de Armas. It was a great experience and we ate at a Pre-Incan restaurant. I had Alpaca ribs and Abby had Alpaca tenderloin. Others were more daring and got "river shrimp". It was a great experience and the food was excellent. Tomorrow is church and I'm sure we will be sharing about our first experience. Thanks for all your continued prayers as the first week in Peru flew by safely.

Laundry Day

2009-01-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

Having been here a week already, our small hamper in the bathroom was quickly turning into Mt. Mistie (volcano here in Arequipa). So today I did my first load of laundry sans machines! Thats right people! Here in Peru we wash with what God gave us: our hands:) I had no idea how to go about this process, so I enlisted the help of my dear Tia Naedene to show me how. It was a long process with soaking and hand aggitating, but I did it! I think two years worth of laundry will give me some seriously toned arms. After ringing out all of the wet, clean clothes I hauled my bucket of laundry up to the roof and hung them out to dry. The sun here in Peru is pretty intense so it didn't take too long to dry.

Daniel also got in on the laundry action and washed his personals with the help of Miss Mylie. It takes a real man to stand out in the hot sun and launder his own belongings:) God choose a good man for me!

Tomorrow we go to the church we have been assigned to attend through Extreme and we are excited to start getting to know the people in this area. Will let you all know how the service goes. I hope I can follow at least the songs:)

Day by the pool

2009-01-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today we went with some family to a local park to have a little fun in the sun. The park had a nice playground, pool and a basketball/soccer court. It's been hard without a vehicle and we are still getting to know the city to get out much so it was nice to be outside for a bit. Abby was in the sun for only a few hours and now looks like a lobster (yes, she was wearing sunscreen:). We have started looking for a car so hopefully we will be able to explore more of Arequipa soon. As we mentioned before, Abby starts school on Monday and I will start going into the office as well so we are cherishing these family moments.

The Duran Family

2009-01-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Daniel and I are very blessed down here in Peru. By an act of God, we are stationed in the same city Daniels dad grew up in and where the Duran family still lives. We are currently sharing our home with a few of Daniels aunts and uncles and they have been a huge blessing in our lives as we adjust to our new life here in Peru. From helping us buy furniture for our room to showing us how to cook our meals, they have been there every step of the way. I am so grateful to them all for their willingness to help and their patience with my lack of understanding. Not knowing Spanish is a bit of a hinderance, but everyday I am catching on more and more to conversations and I hope that in a few months I will no longer need a translator at the dinner table :) I wanted to especially thank my Tia Naedene (I hope you read this:) for showing me the ropes. We still need to tackle the hand washing of the clothes thing. The hot cocoa is fantastic and your company is comforting. Daniel and I also want to thank Eliseo for helping us get set up with all of our furniture and fixing my computer! You, my friend are a lifesaver. I am very thankful for these past few days of downtime before the work begins to get to know my new family.

As for an Extreme Peru update: I start language school next Monday so please pray that I soak it all up like a sponge! Daniel will start going to the office for work next week as well, so please pray that we find some wonderful woman to watch our children while we are gone during the day. Thank you.

Adjusting

2009-01-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

We are coming up on one week away and life is slowly adjusting. For me (Daniel) it's been a matter of remembering the past and getting reacquainted with life here. For Abby, I'm sure, it's been a bit harder. Abby starts language training next week and I will go into the office starting around then as well. As of right now we've been slowly trying to work our way into the Peruvian schedule which is much different then America. Everyone gets up around 8:30am and most stores don't open till after 10:00am. Light breakfast then we wait till around 3:00pm for Lunch. You better eat up then as we have learned since dinner isn't much of a priority here. Coco and bread is usually what is eaten around 8-9pm. Most of the time people stay up talking and playing games till around 11:30 as well. We finally got some hot water for showers yet for some reason it only works when I'm taking the shower so Abby has had to endure a few cold ones. The kids make by with the outside sink with sun heated water. The food has been great with a LOT of fruit and bread and meats. I'm fine with all 3 especially fruit. Thanks for the prayers as this transition has gone as smoothly as I had hoped!

First Impressions

2009-01-24T20:06:00.000-08:00

So today was my first experience shopping in Peru. We needed to purchase beds for the four of us and something to put our clothes in since our room was empty when we came and no closets. Daniel and I, along with Mylie, our cousin Eliseo and his wife Lily, hopped into a taxi and sped to the market. I literally mean sped! The taxis and drivers in Arequipa must be crazy....so fast, so close to other cars and with no lights, they just honk til they get through an intersection. I have learned in this short time to just close my eyes and pray until we reach our destination.
The market where we bought our beds is hard to explain; all around you are tiny shops with the same, yet not the same merchandise. One shop sold us our mattresses and another our bed frames which basically are 4x4 posts with 2x4 planks. We found an armoire for our clothes to be stored and spent at least a half hour bartering over a few soles (money). My favorite part of our excursion was getting home. Eliseo hailed a station wagon taxi who loaded two bed frames, three mattresses, one crib and an armoire to the top of his car. An amazing feat let me tell you.

So our first full day here was eye opening and I am excited to go to church tomorrow to see how their services differ from ours back at home. I also can't wait to go shopping for groceries as well. Oh and for those of you concerned about me lacking soda down here, do not fret! They don't have ice, but I manage just fine.... lots of love to all our viewers, supporters and friends!

We Are Here!

2009-01-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

We made it here safe and sound! Praise God! Our biggest problem was acually leaving portland where they forced us to buy a return ticket. Besides that it was smooth sailing (if you consider a 10 hour layover with a 4 year old and 2 year old smooth). The Kids have taken to the food here and having family around has been clutch. There is so much to say but it's really hard to sum up and it's one of those "you have to be here" kind of things. I know most of you won't ever be down here so we will try to let you guys know of the shock of living in a mostly 3rd world contry. We are still in the honeymoon stage of our trip obviously so i have only seen the positives...home cooked meal for EVERY meal, the focus on family and friends and "hanging" out and the positive attitudes of EVERYONE even if they don't have a shower, dishwasher, washing machine or drinkable water in their house. Need I say more :)

Farewell Friends!

2009-01-21T22:54:00.000-08:00

There is only one hour left in our last day full day in Oregon. Tomorrow our family embarks on our journey to Peru. Though we are nervous/scared/anxious/(fill in the blank), we are so excited to be following the call of God and being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Daniel and I would like to thank everyone who made this moment possible: our amazing friends who put on Peruvian Nights 09 (prom was awesome!), the prayer warriors, the financial supporters, and our friends and family. We also want to thank our incredible church family- the love and support coming from COTH is humbling. We will never forget your kindness and stewardship.

Please continue to pray for our family and for Extreme Peru. We love you all and will miss you greatly.

2 Weeks!

2009-01-10T09:51:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since we have last posted. With 2 weeks and counting left before we take off, it has been a whirlwind around our place. These blogs will become more consistant once we are down in Peru and have some routine down. For now, here are some of the things that have happened in the last couple weeks. Mylie turned 2! Last goodbye dinners with friends, and random pictures with Mylie :)

Feliez Navidad!

2008-12-26T23:59:00.001-08:00

This awesome weather did not disturb our holiday plans but we did change a few things. We got the kids dressed up for the Christmas eve service and they enjoyed getting out of the house. We ended up staying at Abby's parents house on Christmas eve to save on travel time and that turned out to be a smart move. Christmas morning went well and Mylie ended up trying on all the new clothes she got all at once. Josh received some Lego's that he could not wait to play with and spent a solid hour up in a room, by himself playing with them. The power went out literally as the turkey was coming out of the oven. We enjoyed our meal in the dark but the power came on shortly after. On Saturday we will be heading out to my parents for a second Christmas to wrap up the holiday festivities.

Snow day

2008-12-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else around Oregon we are posting some great photos of "Artic Blast" 2008. We have been hunkered down at the house over the last couple days and are looking foward to getting out for Christmas. Since we haven't gotten out of the home it has allowed us to do some much needed packing and cleaning. Our plan is to be out of our house by the first of the year. We'll be having another moving sale on the 10th of Janurary.

SNOW

2008-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

We are thankful that we were able to catch some snow before we left to the land of eternal sunshine, kids had about 10mins of fun before they started complaning about the cold. 65 degrees last week and 20 degrees tonight, got to love Oregon!

CHASE THE AGE

2008-12-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

Some of you might know that Tyson Smith and I play some tunes and have a "band" called Chase the Age. We use the word band because we are almost done with a CD but in reality we are a couple of guys who love to jam and are excited if God takes us any further then that. Tyson writes the tunes and I add what i can. We both strangly enough have the same taste in music and it's works well. Tyson and his wife Tracy will be going down to serve in Peru as well and Tyson and I are trying to finish up the CD so it can be another way of support while we are gone. We have been fortunate enough to have some very generous people in our lives. Carl Dudley has donated his time and studio to let us complete this project. My cousin Shaun was nice enough to snap some shots for our albumn and for our website. Check it out and see what you think. http://www.chasetheage.com/ or you can check out our myspace page at www.myspace.com/chasetheage. Just another note, i have to thank my wife and Tracy becuase over the last 3-4 months Tyson and I have logged some serious time in the studio and they have been very supportive. Rock on!

Birthday Blog

2008-12-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday was my 27th birthday. I grew up not having any big birthday parties so usally this date passes with little fanfare. If there was a party it was split with my twin brother and I. This year my wife planned a great day at the beach with some of my favoirte activities. It was nice to spend some quality time with her and the kids hung out with one of thier favorite babysitters, Monica.

The first activity was going out to lunch at Kyllo's in Lincoln City. While we were there we got a chance to visit the location of the infomous proposal. I re-inacted the the proposal in front of the Sea Gypsy hotel. After that we headed to the outlet mall to pick up some nessecities for our trip. We ended up catching a flick in McMinnville and called it a night. Thank you Abby for the great day and Monica for watching th kids. My next birthday will be in Peru and so I will remember this one for a while!

Getting Ready- Passports

2008-12-03T09:03:00.001-08:00

Last night Daniel and I took the kids to a local shop to get our passport photos done. It was hilarious to have Joshua and Mylie sit still for more than five seconds. Mylie, always the adventurer, went first. She wasn't shy and even gave the photographer a big grin and said "CHEESE!" One down, one to go. Joshua wasn't so great. He didn't want to get in the chair and then when we coaxed him in it, he wouldn't look up. He kept tilting his head to one side with his chin on his chest. Silly boy. In the end, with the promise of a blue balloon on the horizon, he looked up and the picture was taken. What I find truly interesting is that by the time we leave for Peru, my kids will look a little older and by the time we are ready to come back to the States, their pictures will be so outdated! That just put everything into perspective for me. Our friends and family back home will be missing two whole years of Josh and Mylie's growth! So, for those of you out there wanting to stay in touch visually, please pull out your webcam and download Skype! That way we can talk face to face once in awhile for absolutely FREE (duran.familia)!!!!

Thanksgiving turkey and Walmart at 4a.m.

2008-12-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

We had a great 4 day weekend with family and friends. It started with an awesome Thanksgiving meal prepared by the Kearns clan and featuring a delicious turkey prepared by Abby (who only gagged twice when she touched it). Debbie's homemade rolls are legendary and coupled with a relaxing day of family and football, I could not ask for more. On Friday we split up and Abby hit JC Penny, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Target and the mall before 10am and I found myself outside of Circuit City at 4am. At the end of the day we had got some good deals and no broken bones. My cousins Shaun and Tanya came in for the weekend to see us one more time before we head down to Peru. They drove all the way down from Spokane and it meant a lot to have them here. Overall I would give it a 10 out of 10 for Turkey Weekend 2008!

Last Hurrah

2008-12-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

For my (Daniel) birthday, I mentioned that I wanted to go to a Blazer game. I know this isn't really Peru related...but i guess it kind of is. I was fortunate to be able to go watch a game this past Wednesday and my Dad came along for the ride. It was a great experience and we actually got decent seats giving the fact that we bought them outside the rose quarter from a shady looking man. Blazers ended up winning by 40 points! I don't know if I will get to go to another game before i take off, so this will be a great memory for a long time. I have a feeling that once I'm down in Peru I will miss the little things like being able to catch a good ball game with loved ones...Thanks Dad!

Back Home!

2008-11-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

We have been in Boise, Idaho for the last 4 days. We attended a cross-culture class as well as a stewardship seminar while in Boise. Both of these classes were essential for our preparation to head off to Peru. Our good friends Tyson and Tracy joined us for the trip and it was a great time of fellowship. We were fortunate to have Abby's sister, Sarah, allow us to stay at their home which was only about 10mins away from our meetings. This trip was just further confirmation of the great work that will take place in Peru and we are gaining more excitement every passing day.

Our Mission

2008-11-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Today I thought I would share with everyone what Daniel and I will be doing down in Peru and where we will be staying. We have been very blessed to be located in Arequipa, which just so happens to be the city that Daniel's dad, Victor, grew up in. It just so happens that Victor and MaryBel have a house down there that our family will be able to move into! So with the weight of trying to find a place to live off our shoulders, we are going to be able to jump right into taking care of everything else (school/childcare) and get to work:)
Daniel is the Director of Communications for Extreme Peru. He will be in charge of keeping the lines of communication open between the organization in Peru and the USA. He also, with the help of a team, will be creating videos/presentations to send back to the churches supporting our endeavors. I am the Assistant to the Co-Director, meaning I get to do almost the same thing I'm doing now, just in another country:) God has been an amazing force in this whole process and I am so excited/encouraged to be able to serve Him in the coming years.
The Extreme Peru mission is to establish Christian fellowships in 120 rural communities. Some are in the large cities of Arequipa and Puno, others are located in the dense Jungle like Pureto Maldonado. Teams from the States will be coming on short term missions to build a tri-plex in 7 bases cities that will house missionaries, homeless and be a center of worship. Please check out the link on our page "Extreme Peru" to find out how you can help support us and the cause.

Answer to Prayer!

2008-11-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

If anyone was at Church on the Hill this last Sunday, you would know that an offering was taken at all three services to help the Smith family and our family pay for our passports and plane tickets to Peru. Well, with all the support donated that day, we are able to buy our tickets today and turn in our passport applications! What an amazing answer to prayer. God is truly an awesome God. Thank you to all who pitched in; Daniel and I are truly grateful for your generosity:) So with that, we will officially be leaving on January 22! Only 60 days left!

This is it!

2008-11-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

We are coming up on the 2 month count down to our departure to Peru. We wanted to create a outlet to write and communicate with our dear friends back home. Over the next 2 years you will be able to see the growth of our kids as well as our growth as Christians and leaders in a new country. Our request is that every time you "visit" us here that you say a quick prayer as this is a very exciting yet scary time of complete trust and dependence on God. We will try to keep this as up to date as possible so you can feel apart of our journey.