The second half of the journey begins....

So its been a bit of a ‘mixed bag’ since I rejoined the team after my break.  Whilst I was really glad to see everybody, it was also harder than I had anticipated to be back with a big group of people…and many of whom are a lot louder and younger than me!  But I’m all good now and enjoying the experience again.  I have had some ‘reflecting’ times with a couple of the younger girls on the team before they have gone home for a break which has been a real privilege…sort of felt like social work supervision!

Probably my favourite time over the last couple of weeks has been in Tacna, near the Peruvian/Chilean border.  We spent a few days with an American family who have just started a childrens home (Exodus House) for abandoned and abused children.  They currently have two little ones with them and are due to take in two more in the next few days.  Their vision is one of working with the family and restoring children to their families where possible and partnering with the local social worker to make this happen, as well as of course providing a high level of care and support to the children. 

So as you can imagine I loved my time with them!  I was able to help care for the children practically in order to give the family some time out as well as give advice on the impact of this time of work on the family running the home and helping children retain their sense of identity and lots more besides!  It was funny…just a couple of days before this time in Tacna I had been saying to God and some of my team that I really missed my job…and then I got to use some of my skills…God really does answer prayer!

We’ve spent a lot of time on the road driving towards and now in Chile.   Did you know that Chile has the driest desert in the world?  Strange but true.  We did spend a couple of nights on the coast in Chile over the Easter weekend which meant that I got to swim and learnt how to make American pancakes for Easter Sunday breakfast.  Apparently this helps towards the qualification of one day marrying an American!  No progress in that department though…..!

Me and my girls spent Easter Sunday afternoon sipping wine (Chilean of course!) in our pop up remembering good times….as we then gave it away the following day to a family living in a shack…the Mum of whom had been praying for about a year for new accommodation for her family and beamed with happiness when she saw the gift!  This in turn means that one of our mobile homes no longer has to pull a pop up camper (thereby helping the engine etc to last longer) and we are now officially homeless!!

We are now in Santiago, Chile’s capital and about to go and work with a local church before heading down South.   We’re really excited about what God is going to do in Chile and have already seen a lady who used a stick walk free after being prayed for!  Love and God bless you all lots x.

Holiday times!

My fortnight’s holiday in Cusco was a massive blessing.  Cusco is South America’s oldest continually inhabited city and centre of the Inca empire so it is full of history and culture.  My team mate Caitlin and I stayed with a friend who we’d met in Mozambique, Elisabeth and her host family who were very hospitable.  This meant that I got my OWN bedroom for a whole two weeks and a wardrobe – so for the first time in 6 months I actually unpacked!  Sheer bliss!

I don’t think I realised how tired I was until I started to unwind!  My days mainly consisted of reading, resting, frequenting nice coffee shops and watching films.  It was so nice to be in one place for the whole time as well as having the opportunity to learn more about Peruvian culture in a beautiful city.  I was grateful that I got to swim in a local indoor heated pool (I was the only gringo there!) as well as get a massage and celebrate St Patricks Day (yes Cusco even has an Irish pub and youth hostel!) 

I also enjoyed going to an English speaking group for people seeking spiritual truth.  The first Sunday I went, the discussion topic was on the spiritual discipline of ‘silence and solitude’ which Caitlin and I thought was ironic (or maybe perfect timing!) as we have had so little of that living with often 30 others for the last six months.  It was great to be able to put into practice some of the practical applications we discussed during the rest of my holiday.  So this all meant that I felt very refreshed and ready for the second half of our journey when I returned to Lima.  [At this stage it looks like our journey will continue into September and maybe into October as we are a little behind the original ending of August at the time of writing!]

Peru: The land of desert and crazy driving!

Our ‘chilling’ time on the coast of Peru ended up with lots of people visiting the toilet for various reasons so I was able to be nurse maid on occasions.  We then had a long drive through Peru’s desert land (apparently 3/5 of Peru is jungle but I have yet to see this part!)  Peru is definitely the poorest country we have been in so far and there seems to be little pride in keeping the country clean…but the sunsets have been stunning!

En route to Lima, the team split into two groups.  One smaller group left to go to work in the jungle and help run a church leaders conference for those based in the Amazon.  The rest of the team then made their way to Paramonga where we partnered with local churches and led childrens work and prayed for lots of people.  On one occasion some of the team prayed for a man who had been deaf from birth and praise God he was able to hear after praying!

Myself and a few others then left south again for Lima to help prepare for the rest of the team’s arrival.  We were able to network with other agencies and do lots of airport runs for new team members arriving and people returning home for a break.  Having done 7 airport runs in 9 days as well as other driving, I’ve certainly conquered rush hour driving in Lima….although rules such as stopping at green lights and going at red sometimes is a little weird!

It very much feels that we’re in a time of transition as a team and as we’ve reached the 6 month mark, many of us are feeling tired and need a rest.  So I’m heading off tomorrow with my lovely friend Caitlin to go to Cuzco for a rest (just a mere 22 hour bus ride away!) whilst the rest of the team stays in Lima or goes to the jungle.  Whilst I love being with my ‘family’ here, close community living is not always easy so I’m looking forward to having some space and sleeping in the same bed for at least a week!  Thank you for making it possible for a holiday to happen.

The sweet smell of red roses..and life in the jungle

Having had the most ridiculous drive to Ecuador from Colombia (4 breakdowns in 2 days in 1 car!) we made it to Quito at about 2am.  We quickly started planning our time in the jungle and having split into two teams, we made our way into the Amazon jungle by bus, boat and on foot.  My team spent time amongst the Waorani and Shaur people who were both very welcoming, hospitable people. 

The nights with the Waorani people was slightly nerve racking as we were informed that their neighbouring tribe had only 7 months ago speared to death visitors staying in the same place as us…and if we were found then the ladies on our team would likely to be taken as slave wives for the men of the neighbouring tribe…I guess that is one way to acquire a husband but it probably wouldn’t be my first choice!! 

The Waorani tribe were also made ‘famous’ in the 1950s for killing a group of Christian missionary men who went to work with them.  Some of the mens wives were incredibly brave and honoured their husbands memories and God by living amongst the very people who had killed their husbands and saw amazing fruit from their work.

We spent time praying for the sick, teaching new Christians and learning of both indigenous group’s culture and traditions.  We got to drink spit soup, eat weird fruit, poo in the bush, get stuck in the mud and meet some incredible people!  We were very privileged to be given tribal names by the Waorani – mine was ‘germanco’ (my spelling!) which means fruit.  I learnt a lot from the whole experience even if I was very grateful for a toilet and shower on my return!  (If you want to see some action on film then check out ‘Iris South America Amazon Jungle Adventure’ on YouTube).

When we got back to Quito we had a busy few days.  Marco and Karina, our hosts are university lecturers so they invited some of us to help in their work.  This meant that I got to help lecture on ‘the Ethics of Jesus’ which was really interesting, although I did have to get it translated into Spanish.  Having been to university a few times it was great to be back in the classroom again!

We also had a very special day on Valentines Day.  Having made cards for all the guys on our team, we went to pray for the sick in the large public hospital as well as give food to people waiting for appointments as many of them travel for miles and have no money left to buy food.  In the evening, we went out into Quito’s red light district and gave out red roses to the sex workers, homeless and street vendors.  Most of the street vendors we saw were indigenous ladies wearing their traditional dress and one of them beamed and laughed when we gave her a rose and told her she was beautiful!  Such a great time.

We crossed the border into Peru on Friday and we’re chilling on the Pacific coast for a couple of days before heading to Lima.  It is so lovely to go to sleep with the sound of the crashing waves against the beach at night especially when we’ve been on the go for a while.  I am definitely missing the routine of home but also love being here.  God bless lovely friends.

COLOMBIA: cows, cakes and Cali

From Bogota we travelled to a farm just outside the city of Armenia.  As it was a working farm I got to milk a cow and drink lots of fresh milk which was a welcome change from UHT milk!  One evening we went into the city of Armenia and brought lots of fresh bread and spent time talking to and sharing with some of the city’s homeless folk.  This was done in partnership with a local church who are planning to continue the work on an ongoing basis.

From Armenia we travelled south west to the city of Cali, the home of salsa.  We stayed in a retreat house which had over 100 beds (so we each got a whole bunk bed to ourselves!) and hurrah I got to swim in the pool every morning too.  The team has had lots of opportunities to bless the inhabitants of Cali (see below for a couple of examples) and be blessed in return.  The church we have been working with called Rey de Reys (King of Kings) have been incredibly generous and have hosted us for free including all our food.

At the base I have been busy helping wash the pots for the team and looking after Zoe, our team leader’s two year old to give her parents a couple of days away.  I was also part of the team who spoke at the Sunday church service which was great. 

One of my most privileged moments was meeting Ruth Rubal whose husband, Julio was killed and martyred in 1995 as a direct result of their work in helping seeing Cali’s drug lords overturned and Cali’s drug use decrease.  I remember watching a film called ‘Transformations’ about 10 years ago regarding communities which had been impacted by churches working together and seeing God move in power – Julio and Ruth’s church were featured in this and so it was fantastic to be able to meet Ruth in person and hear from her experience and wisdom.

Last Friday, us ladies had the privilege of visiting South America’s largest and one of its newest prisons.  It took us about three hours to go through all the security checks but it was well worth it when we got to meet the ladies inside and speak and pray with them.  Each lady had their own story and many had children who were being cared for by relatives. 

That same evening we went out late at night armed with drinks, cakes and desserts for the sex workers on the streets of Cali.  Many of them would only accept food that was packaged as there had been an incident whereby they had been offered food which was poisoned in an effort to ‘clean up the streets’.  Thankfully it was great to be part of a hugely positive alternative offering the hand of friendship, generosity and prayer. 

To thank us for all our work in Cali, we were thrown a salsa party on Saturday night complete with a BBQ.  Whilst I was slightly disappointed not to be able to boogie to any 80s classics, I did try to salsa although not very successfully!!  The last couple of days we have been working on cleaning and maintenance of the vehicles before we head to Ecuador and jungle territory!

Thank you for reading!  Love and miss you all lots x

Happy New Year from Colombia!

Happy New Year from Bogota, Colombia!

We managed to all get flights to Cartagena, Colombia before Christmas and our vehicles got shipped shortly after which was fantastic.  There was a real sense of excitement and anticipation amongst the team as we arrived in Colombia, our first country in South America.  We stayed in Cartagena for Christmas which was a great Christmas present from God!  Cartagena is a walled city which is a World Heritage Site and we had some time off to enjoy the sights and the sun.  The team also did various work – mine was cleaning a school ready for the Christmas production!

Christmas Day was slightly strange (partly because it was so hot!) but New Years Eve was even weirder!  We spent two very very long days travelling from Cartagena to Bogota and managed to find a ‘camping spot’ (really the grass area of a restaurant!) at about 8pm on New Years Eve.  It had the most impressive view of Bogota city but was absolutely freezing and quite a few of us girls shed a few tears due to being so cold…the glass of wine did help though (Bogota is at 2,650 metres above sea level)!

On New Years Day we moved just down the mountain and are spending a few nights sleeping on a bar floor whilst we work with a local church (we’ve also bought some warmer clothes so no more tears!)  As a team we’ve climbed the mountain Montserrat and prayed for Bogota at the chapel on top of the mountain and visited a mens drug and alcohol rehab.  My favourite day was when the ladies on the team went to the red light district and spent time with the sex workers, both male and female and prayed with them and just loved them. 

We also got to visit a teenagers rehab and myself and Natalie who were leading the work for these few days got to speak and encourage the teenagers.  We were so excited to see young people get healed and delivered as well as a lady from the church reported that her lumps from breast cancer completely disappeared when we prayed for her – God rocks!  Its also great to see our team continue to grow in size and in giftings – we really are one big family!  Thanks for your prayers and support – I couldn’t be here without you.

Canal Land: Panama

I have loved being in Panama and we have been incredibly blessed to stay in two places (church floor and then a centre with beds – hurrah!) on the edge of the canal close to Panama City.  Our first week was pretty busy and quite intense at times.  One evening we went to pray at the local cancer hospital and myself and Roberta and Rose on my team walked into a room where sadly a young man’s father had literally just died (his body was still uncovered) so we simply sat with Paulo, the young man and hugged and prayed for him and his family.  Paulo seemed very touched by this divine appointment as were we.

We visited the worst ‘block’ in the city and it felt like a prison to me and certainly a lot worse than anywhere I’ve visited in the UK.  We played with the children and prayed for people.  One lady had not been able to walk unaided for a year due to having TB (confirmed by her family) and moved round in a wheelchair.  After praying for her, a miracle happened and she was able to stand up and walk!!  When we offered her the wheelchair to rest in after she had walked round the building, she refused and just kept walking!  This young mother will be able to now take care of her children more easily and the community was in a good shock when we left!  Praise God!

One of my highlights was visiting an indigenous community on an island only reachable by boat, close to the church in Gamboa where we were staying and working with.  We prayed for lots of people and I was able to teach from the story of Elisha and the widow from the Old Testament (with an interpreter!)  We also spent time at a childrens home, some of whom are HIV positive.  The home which is run by nuns felt very safe and caring and has the reputation for being the best in Panama so it was great to see good practice at work! 

I spent some time babysitting Zoe, our team leaders two year old who is adorable and so bright.  This helped release her parents, Jesse and Tanya to spend time at the port of Colon working out how to ship our vehicles to Colombia.  We are incredibly grateful to the anonymous donor who gave us $12,000 to pay for the shipment as none of us have that kind of money! Today the paperwork has been finalised for our vehicles to be shipped to Colombia to arrive in time for Christmas and we are in the process of booking flights.    

Panama is famous for its canal and I have loved learning about the history (paid a visit to the Discovery Centre) and Panamanians are obviously very proud of the canal and are in the process of building a third part for it to take bigger ships.    I feel so privileged to have worked with such a great team from Youth with a Mission as well as vibrant local churches during this time.  It has been a great end to our time in Central America.

It will be strange not being in England for Christmas and not being able to see friends and family.  I have already had many moments of missing the build up to Christmas but very glad for the invention of skype!  God bless you all this Christmas and may you experience God’s peace and love as you celebrate the birth of Jesus with friends and family Lizxx.