Reporter Article

Check out the link below in order to read an article written by the Lutheran Reporter about the first worship service in Lunahuaná!
Enjoy!

http://classic.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=18973

First Worship Service in Lunahuaná

Great news from Peru....last Wednesday (July 6th) was the first worship service in Lunahuaná! After three years of praying, the Lord opened the doors for services to begin and I am excited to be able to share that with you today. Here is a little bit about how the day went:

Since all the missionaries are now living in Lima, Anthony, Jamie, the Eisold family, and I got up early on Wednesday morning to drive to Lunahuaná. We arrived at about 9:30am and some of us began inviting people to come while the rest took care of getting tables to the worship location (Hotel Las Brisas- found in the picture). We also drove to invite many of my former students from the English classes. It was a busy morning and early afternoon, but we had some great conversations with old and new friends.

In the afternoon, part of the team went to Lucumo which is where Jamie, Anthony, and I used to travel to do Bible study with a family every Saturday morning. We went to Lucumo to continue Children's ministry there for about 45 minutes and invite the families to worship in Lunahuaná. We sang song, read a Bible story, and played a game with the kids during our time there.

After Lucumo, everyone met at Hotel Las Brisas to begin our activities there. Jamie led the adults in a Bible study while Anthony and I led the Children's ministry. We did a craft, read the Bible story, and played a few games. We also learned the phrase, "¡Jesús es nuestro sanador!" which means "Jesus is our healer!". Jesus physically healed the lame man in the story (Mark 2:1-12), but he also heals us from our sins. What a wonderful message!

After Bible studies, everyone came together to worship. There were 31 Peruvians at the worship service and about 7 more who came to Bible study, but had to leave before the service began. What a blessing! We plan to return to Lunahuaná the first and third Wednesday of each month to continue with Bible studies and worship. Please keep those days on your prayers.

"For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." Psalm 57:10-11

Home Service

What a blessing it was to see many of you while I was home in the States for 3 weeks in June! I was able to take a trip to Omaha, Nebraska to visit some friends and family there and the rest of the time I was in Minnesota. During my time in the States, I was able to connect with many loved ones, be a part of a good friend's wedding, drink some Caribou Coffee, and speak about Peru on a few different occasions. Though I was not able to see all of you, I was very thankful for those I was able to spend time with. Thank you to all who made it to one of my presentations and for all of you who are continuing to pray for me and support me.

While speaking about Peru, I shared many stories and updates from the field. I also shared how the Lord has been teaching me through King Hezekiah in II Kings 18-19. Here are a few verses I used and am continuing to learn from:

"Hezekiah received the letter from the messenger and read it. THen he went up to the temple of the LORD and prayed to the LORD: 'O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennecherib has sent to insult the living God.

"It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." II Kings 19:14-19

As we continue to learn how to pray as boldly and confidently as Hezekiah prayed in these verses, I pray that the LORD also teaches us how to trust him more deeply. I was very humbled and encouraged as I reconnected with many of you back home and was assured on your constant prayers for me and the ministry in Peru. I pray that we are edified through those prayers and that our faith in the Lord is sharpened.

Home Stay Speaking Dates

Hi everyone!

As many of you already know, I will be traveling home to the United States on June 4th-25th. I am very excited to see many of you face-to-face and share what God is doing in Peru. Here is my schedule for when I am in the States so that you know when and where you can meet up with me!

June 4th- Travel to Minnesota

June 6th- Travel to Omaha, Nebraska

June 9th- Travel back to Minnesota

June 12th- Speak at Trinity Lutheran Church at 6:30PM (Blind Beggar Experience)

601 East Second Street, Waconia, MN 55387

http://www.trinitywaconia.org/

June 19th- Speak at Trinity Lutheran Church at 8:15AM and 10:00AM (Sunday worship services) 601 East Second Street, Waconia, MN 55387

http://www.trinitywaconia.org/

June 21st- Speak at Mayer Lutheran High School at 7:00PM (Media Center)

305 Fifth Street NE, Mayer, MN 55360

http://www.lhsmayer.mn.org

June 25th- Travel back to Peru

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about when and where I will be (katie.lane@lcms.org). I look forward to seeing may of you in June!

More Peruvian Scenarios

Just to give you all a little more insight into my everyday life in Peru, here are a few realistic scenarios that I have faced at least once since my arrival. My decisions are posted at the bottom.

1.) It's March in Lunahuana which means it is uncomfortably hot. Between the hours of 11-4 it's typically a good idea to stay inside wearing shorts and a tank top with a substantial supply of ice cold water. Going outside not only means dealing with heat, but it also means putting on jeans and close-toed shoes. If you don't, your legs and feet will get eaten by mosquitoes and gnats (you've learned this the hard way in the past).

Today is Tuesday which means that you are teaching English up the mountain and do have to leave the house before the heat begins to subside for the afternoon. It also seems to be hotter than usual which is obvious by how quickly you went through your water supply this morning. "This is good, though," you think to yourself. "At least when I go up the mountain I don't have to walk as far to catch a moto taxi as when I go down the mountain." You also remember that there is a tall palm tree right outside your house that creates the perfect amount of shade for one person to stand in while waiting for transportation. "Ahhh. The palm tree." Your thoughts rest on that haven in the middle of the desert community that you live in. Knowing that you're only going to have to walk out the door and across the street to the shade, you quickly gather your things and climb the stairs to the road. A truck whizzes by and when your eyes fix themselves on the palm tree's shadow you can't believe you eyes.

There's a donkey standing in your shade. What do you do?

a.) Huffing and puffing you lug your teaching supplies across the street and stand in the intense sun. Where did this animal get the nerve to take over YOUR spot and can't it take a hint to move?!

b.) You may have to stand a little too close for comfort, but you decide to share the shade with the donkey. You realize that you're probably going to smell like a farm for the rest of the day, but some shade is better than no shade. You might even make a new friend.

c.) Saddle up donkey and forget the moto taxi! It might be slow, but you'll save some money!

2.) Your house in Lunahuana is located right off the main road and there is a grifo (gas station) across the street. It's a good location in many regards because there are stores nearby and it's usually pretty easy to catch transportation. Unfortunately this can also mean that there can be a lot of traffic and noise. Thankfully the mornings are usually pretty quiet which is when you typically do your English lesson planning, e-mails, blog posts, and other "office-type" work.

It's Tuesday morning and you've got lots of things to finish up for lessons the upcoming days and a newsletter to get done. It will keep you busy all morning before you leave to teach this afternoon. You've had a morning run, a shower, breakfast, and some devotional time. You're ready to get to work. You move your computer out into the living room, open the window for a fresh breeze, and sit down to start checking things off your agenda. But then it happens. A moto taxi pulls up to the grifo and you hear the driver speaking to the owner. "Please no, please no." You close your eyes and let the reality sink in that this is not going to be a peaceful, productive morning.

The moto taxi driver shuts off his motor, gets comfortably situated to stay for awhile, and cranks his reggaeton music. (For those of you who don't know what reggaeton music is, let's just describe it as a fusion of hip-hop, rap, raggae, latin pop, latin dance, and electric. It's a blend of everything you don't want to be listening to when you are trying to be focused and intently working on something.)

An hour later the music is still playing loudly. What do you do?

a.) Fuming inside at the oblivion of the moto taxi driver, you take all your things back into your bedroom and slam the door shut. Taking two pillows and a roll of tape, you create something that resembles earmuffs in order to drown out the noise outside.

b.) Refusing to confront the taxi driver face-to-face, you find some of your own music and crank your own stereo. That should give him the hint and then you can hopefully start your work.

c.) Accept that you probably will not be as productive as you had originally hoped and use this opportunity to learn some new Spanish slang from the music. He won't stay all morning (you hope) and you'll get a good amount of work done once he drives away.

3.) You've gone out to eat guinea pig with some friends a few annexes down the mountain from your home and from the main part of Lunahuana. By the time you finish dinner and chat for awhile, it's late and the chance of finding a moto taxi or a combi to make it back home is unlikely. It is way to far to walk and the guinea pig is making you sleepy. What do you do?

a.) Wait it out and hope that something passes by soon. There has to be some driver going up the mountain tonight.

b.) Luckily there is a Peace Corps worker from the USA who lives with the owners of the restaurant. Ask her if you can stay over and catch a car in the morning.

c.) Thankfully, some of the friends you are with are musicians. Maybe the other people who are eating in the restaurant (and who do have a car) will take you up the mountain if your friends play a few songs for them. It's worth asking, at least.

ANSWERS

1. B I didn't make a new friend, but at least I kept cool from the heat of the sun until a moto taxi came!

2. C The music did eventually stop once the driver pulled away and I learned some new songs!

3. A and C This has happened to me twice and both times I made it back home safe and sound. Though I did know a Peace Corps worker who lived there for my first few months in Lunahuana, I never had to ask her for a place to stay.