Thanksgiving Festivities

Though I was not able to be at home for a traditional Thanksgiving with my family, that did not keep me from celebrating. Thanksgiving, or Accion de Gracias, was incorporated into my English classes this past week as we learned about this popular holiday in the United States. In the adult and youth classes we discussed the history of Thanksgiving and how it is celebrated in the United States today. In the youth classes we also talked about how Thanksgiving in celebrated today and did many different activities in class to celebrate this holiday. Over the past two weeks we have been learning vocabulary for fruits and vegetables, so for Thanksgiving we also learned about the blessing of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). Along with this Bible lesson, we created "Fruit of the Spirit" mobiles.

Please continue to pray that the Lord would continue to bless me with opportunities to talk about Him in the classroom and outside of the classroom.

Sand boarding for my 24th

Last Saturday marked 24 years since the day I was born and what better way to celebrate than by hitting the sand dunes of Huacca China, Peru. Huacca China (top picture) is a small oasis about 3 hours south of Lunahuana where tourists from all over the world venture to try their hand at sand boarding and to enjoy dune buggy excursions. Anthony, Jamie, and I spent the afternoon cruising the sand dunes with our driver, periodically stopping to slide down the dunes on our boards. Afterwards we relaxed in Huacca China, enjoying the atmosphere of this enchanted place. The beautiful contrast between the dry, barren desert and the rich, lush lagoon gives us a small glimpse of the creativity of our Creator and the vastness of his masterpiece. Thank you all for your birthday wishes from the United States (and a few other countries). I am extremely blessed by all of you.

The only down side of the day was the mistake made on my bus ticket. Instead of "Katie Lane" it says "Kathie Lame"....a new alias, perhaps?

Teaching Pictures

Some students from my adult class. (From left: Eda, Sara, Maria, me, Christian, and Peace Corp worker Pat) Pat also teaches one class at the training center.

Bruce Wall, LCMS World Mission Area Facilitator for Latin America and the Caribbean, helping teach an English lesson.

Teaching the children!

Corre Sin Limitas ("Run Without Limits")

Last Saturday a total of 10,000 runners put on their running shoes and neon-green t-shirts to participate in the We Run Lima 10K. Anthony, Jamie, and I could not pass up the opportunity to be a part of this event and I'm excited to share that all three members of "Team Luterano" successfully completed the course. The run was held at 7:30PM and the starting line was just a few blocks away from the mission apartment in Lima. With a beautiful route overlooking the Pacific Ocean, different bands playing throughout the course, and thousands of people cheering us on, the experience was one to be remembered! Thanks to the presence of fellow missionary and area facilitator, Bruce Wall, I have some great pictures to help capture the event. Enjoy!

A Holiday Weekend

Last weekend was an eventful one as Monday was a national holiday here in Peru. With the long weekend, the Lunahuana area was busy with tourists from Lima and other parts of the country. The streets were full and all the vendors were out selling chocolate, wine, jewelry, and other hand-crafted materials. It was enjoyable to be out and about, watching different interactions and conversing with a variety of people.

Last Friday night we had a birthday party at the training center where I teach English to celebrate all the October birthdays. Nilda and Pablo, the couple running the program, are planning on celebrating birthdays the last Friday of each month to give the students and teachers the opportunity to meet outside of the classroom and enjoy one another's company. The night was full of dancing, conversing, eating, and laughing. The whole group is pictured below.

On Sunday night, one of my students had a birthday party at his house. Willie turned forty and was kind enough to invite Jamie and me to his home to celebrate with his family and friends. Though the start time was "seven", Jamie and I arrived between 8:30 and 9 to find that we were some of the first people there. :) Oh, Latin America. As we conversed, more and more people arrived and the dancing began in the living room. One tradition that many Peruvians seem to have is that the person who is celebrating his or her birthday stands in the middle of the group and takes turns dancing with each person of the opposite gender. When it was my turn to dance with Willie, the whole group began laughing at the site of a tall, fair-skinned girl dancing with a short, Peruvian man. They called for Willie to get a chair in order to spin me and the joke continued throughout the night.

Let's just say this is not the first time my height has been commented on. :)

The whole group celebrating at the training center!