The First Week

Yes we have arrived in Peru! Our journey has been very long and it is hard to believe that we have been here almost a week now.

Our trip started on Monday with a delay at Tampa International. We were supposed to leave at 11:00 but we did not leave until 1:30 because our flight had not arrived because of weather. We made it down to Miami and got to our gate with enough time to spare. We then boarded and had to wait almost 2 hours on the plane because the ground crew put too much gasoline in the plane, so they had to go get the right nozzle to take gas out and so we learned to be patient. Finally we got off the ground and started on our way to Peru. We arrived around 11:30pm Peruvian time, which is an hour behind EST because they don’t have day light savings time. After getting our luggage and meeting our fellow REAP south student missionaries we got on a crowded bus and head to Chocinca (I think that is how it is spelled) about 2 hours away. We finally arrived, after our bus driver got lost a couple times, around 1:30 to 2:00am.

The next couple of days we spent training for this summer. The REAP south program that we went with send out groups of students into villages to teach the message of Christ through the technique of telling stories straight from the Bible. Our training mainly consisted of: How to Story the Bible, What to expect in the Village, How do the locals communicate, What to do about Spiritual Warfare, How to make what we do reproducible among the Peruvians, and How to know the call of missions. I normally got up around 6 every morning, but we would start classes around 8am after breakfast and go until 9pm. We would get few breaks, but we were never certain of when these would be. On a couple of occasions we had a game time and we played a game called soccey ball. Which was essentially volleyball mixed with soccer. It was fun, but our team did not do so well. So far the food that we have been eating has been great. There is almost rice at every meal, but normally you can mix that with the other elements on your plate.

Today we made it to Matucana, which is where we will be based out of for the next 2 months. We were taken into the town by Mr. and Mrs. Brown and their translator Mary. We are now touring around the town getting familiar with it and meeting different people.

Please pray for us as we continue to getting use to the climate. As far as I know no one has gotten altitude sickness, but please pray that we don’t get it. Also pray that we would stay focused on our task here in Matucana and that we would be proactive. Please also pray for the Catholic Priest of the town His name is Oliver. We have heard that he is telling people not to listen to the gringos and not to associate with the Christians, so if you could pray for his heart and that we would have an opportunity to talk with him and share the truth. Thank you all so much for your continued support. Without your prayers we wouldn’t be here.

Until next time,
*Josh

thank you!

it's 1am on the morning we leave for peru! i'm finishing up packing and i don't feel like i forgot anything important. our flight's at 11am and we should arrive at around 10pm local time (peru is 1 hour behind us i believe). the day after we arrive in peru we will be training for 5 days, then we'll be meeting up with the Browns and Mary Marcano. they will be taking us to matucana where we'll actually be the the rest of the trip.
thank you all for your prayer and financial support! we have been so blessed with great friends and family. keep checking the blog and comment. if you all have any questions we will try to answer them in a timely matter and to the best of our abiblities!
hope i didn't forget anything! love you all and please continue to pray for the people of matucana and us!
SEE you all in 10 weeks! :)
~chelsea ><>

9 days. eesh.

i am about as prepared as one can be before leaving the states to live in a south american country for 10 weeks. that feeling of forgetting something is lurking and time is running out to hang out with my friends one last time before i go. i've been through this before only i went to colorado for a year and a half, so i know i can handle it. but still, it seems different that i'm leaving the comforts of america. i'm ready though. God has prepared me for this in so many ways. it even sounds like the hostel down there in matucana is actually better lodging than that little trailer i stayed in all summer in colorado. ;) good times. i loved that trailer.
with it being about 9 days this MAY be my last post before we go. i don't know. this will be a busy week for us for sure. i'm pretty excited because i have 2 more work days left before i go! tuesday night at 9 pm i will be done! wednesday night will be my last night working in my church's youth group until august 5th :( i'm sad about all i'm going to miss out on this summer, but i'm praying and i know that the youth group will grow so much in God this summer!
that's all for now, not much happened this past week, except that i'm packing. same will go for all of next week i'm sure.
~chelsea><>

Stars

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."
Philippians 2:14-15(NIV)
this verse has been a major part of my life recently. there have been some issues and instances where i had to make a decision as to whether or not i should participate in some things that would not necessarily constitute as a sin but might hurt my witness. as i was deciding, there were times that i would try to justify my soon-to-be-action because it would "open me up to a whole new people group". one night we studied this verse in our middle school class at church and i was God-slapped: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12:2(NIV)
that answered my question and i immediately was able to make my decision. God doesn't need me to be a witness by hovering on the line of right and wrong. there's already enough Christians doing that. instead, He calls us to be transformed and to be living sacrifices for Him. we need to reflect His glory to the best of our ability. it's easy to say "yes" and have the world assume nothing of it, but saying "no" leads to more opportunities of being a better witness.
this seems to be a popular subject these days and i wanted to put my two cents in there :)

anyway, this week has been pretty eventful. i praise God for all that took place, both good and seemingly bad. i try to remind myself that everything happens for a reason and God's always in control. here is one thing i will tell you about. we had a scare when josh found out his application wasn't accepted all because of a technicality. we are very grateful it has been/is being resolved.
as far as i know the guys (andy and josh) are done with their classes until after peru! what a relief for them. i am working a little less and will be done at auntie anne's i believe on the 19th until i return! i'm still praising God for a job when i get back!!!
please continue to be praying for us as the day arrives. personally, i am now at the point where i feel like i'm running out of time before i go. again, i need to remember that God's in control.
that's all for now. thanks for reading!
~chelsea ><>

p.s. 19 more days to go