Trying To Stay Warm While Chile
Here's a list of things we have been learning since arriving in Chile:
We don't need all the ankle socks we've packed
Deputation Diet, No. We're gaining weight from all the good food.
Houses without heat make for long nights
Churches without heat make for longer days
Showers without constant heat make for even shorter showers
The main form of exercise in Chile is salsa dancing
We don't get much exercise
Knowing Spanish isn't needed for acquiring food especially bread
Kissing isn't necessary when you can just touch cheeks
Responding to Tia and Gringo
How to warm up to Maipu (pronounced My-Poo)...the city we live in
How much we like Maipu...Do you like Maipu?
How to worship to techno beats from the 80´s
How to show the people love through working in the church and school
How to get worked by a 10, no 8, no 6, no 2 year old in soccer
How to enjoy the World Cup with the world
Serving God isn't always what you think it would be
Thanks for all your prayers, we'll keep you in ours.
Team Chile
Ester, Michelle, Sarah, Taylor and Thad
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Turkey Update
Dear Friends,
Merhaba from Turkey. Its Krista, Mary, and Jamie here… chillin’ around the kitchen table having some afternoon snack after a day’s work. These last two weeks we have been preparing and teaching English to children though arts and crafts. Today we made some pretty tight dioramas complete with stamps, glitter, and glue, and mod-podge (picture a cereal box with a hold cut in the front like a stage). We are praying that we continue to encourage Bill and Lydia (the long-term missionaries and new business owners.) They have finally gotten some rest and are enjoying a quiet house for a break. Last night, we babysat sleeping baby Josiah so that they could go out. We watched a movie and enjoyed girl time.
We are praying for children to come to the English club whose hearts God has been working on as well as the store. The opening of this store is important for building integrity, to show that two different cultures can work together. It is also important to have believers permanently located here, dealing with ordinary life struggles like raising a family, making a living, etc.
Bill’s friend Ali is an English professor and has requested that we come help out at his company’s English clubs. After kids graduate from high school here, they study for one year and then take a very difficult exam that places them in a university. These classes can help. Starting next week, we’ll switch off going to help out with a couple night classes. We’re excited to go =)
Our friend Mirve, a cute 17 year old girl we met in our store is going out with us tomorrow afternoon to show us around. Mirve hopes to become an English teacher and is in the process of studying on her own for the university exam. We are excited to improve our limited Turkish, especially our very own linguist, Jamie.
We have started a weekly bible study with us three girls, Lydia, and their cousin/our friend Rebekka. Since they’ve been so busy, it’s really nice to spend some time with Lydia apart from a hectic business setting. She’s a lot of fun =)
Last weekend we visited Pamukkale, the limestone-laden hot springs 45 minutes from our house in Denizli. It was packed with people but exciting to wade, play in the cascading waterfalls dribbling over the white rock. It was so near our house, but an entirely different world- the tourist world… a.k.a speedos and string bikini’s (a huge contrast here in Turkey). We also got our first dose of ruins and climbed all over an old theatre in a really fun downpour. Everyone let Krista run around in it before we left, and Jamie and Willem (the cute 6 year-old) joined soon after they saw the fun she was having. The next day we did the water park and got sunburned. It was fun. Bill got dad time with his kids at the park and we helped give Lydia some alone time to rest.
This weekend we are off to Antalya! We’re excited for our weekend touring (Sunday & Monday). We are all doing well and appreciate your prayers.
Love,
Team Turkey
Merhaba from Turkey. Its Krista, Mary, and Jamie here… chillin’ around the kitchen table having some afternoon snack after a day’s work. These last two weeks we have been preparing and teaching English to children though arts and crafts. Today we made some pretty tight dioramas complete with stamps, glitter, and glue, and mod-podge (picture a cereal box with a hold cut in the front like a stage). We are praying that we continue to encourage Bill and Lydia (the long-term missionaries and new business owners.) They have finally gotten some rest and are enjoying a quiet house for a break. Last night, we babysat sleeping baby Josiah so that they could go out. We watched a movie and enjoyed girl time.
We are praying for children to come to the English club whose hearts God has been working on as well as the store. The opening of this store is important for building integrity, to show that two different cultures can work together. It is also important to have believers permanently located here, dealing with ordinary life struggles like raising a family, making a living, etc.
Bill’s friend Ali is an English professor and has requested that we come help out at his company’s English clubs. After kids graduate from high school here, they study for one year and then take a very difficult exam that places them in a university. These classes can help. Starting next week, we’ll switch off going to help out with a couple night classes. We’re excited to go =)
Our friend Mirve, a cute 17 year old girl we met in our store is going out with us tomorrow afternoon to show us around. Mirve hopes to become an English teacher and is in the process of studying on her own for the university exam. We are excited to improve our limited Turkish, especially our very own linguist, Jamie.
We have started a weekly bible study with us three girls, Lydia, and their cousin/our friend Rebekka. Since they’ve been so busy, it’s really nice to spend some time with Lydia apart from a hectic business setting. She’s a lot of fun =)
Last weekend we visited Pamukkale, the limestone-laden hot springs 45 minutes from our house in Denizli. It was packed with people but exciting to wade, play in the cascading waterfalls dribbling over the white rock. It was so near our house, but an entirely different world- the tourist world… a.k.a speedos and string bikini’s (a huge contrast here in Turkey). We also got our first dose of ruins and climbed all over an old theatre in a really fun downpour. Everyone let Krista run around in it before we left, and Jamie and Willem (the cute 6 year-old) joined soon after they saw the fun she was having. The next day we did the water park and got sunburned. It was fun. Bill got dad time with his kids at the park and we helped give Lydia some alone time to rest.
This weekend we are off to Antalya! We’re excited for our weekend touring (Sunday & Monday). We are all doing well and appreciate your prayers.
Love,
Team Turkey
Serbia Update....
Week 2
Week two went by very quickly. On Monday the girls helped out at a local kindergarten which is sponsored by the church we attended on Sunday. R.J. and I went to work out with one of the local baseball players (George) which included some baseball practice and then lifting weights at his gym. Everybody met up around 6:00 for the EUS meeting. Tuesday we traveled to Novi Sad. Wednesday kindergarten then baseball. Thursday we hung out and greeted Mike (a post-grad from UW who came over to visit the Balkans and talk with some local churches) then went to a local Gypsy community and visited the pastor there. He told us about the difficulties that he is having largely that about 99% of the gypsy population are Muslim the prayer meeting followed by more Salsa dancing at the Fashion Café. The evening was very cool because of the lightening storm with no thunder or rain.
Friday morning the girls left to go to Kosovo for five days. While in Kosovo they worked with a couple other missionaries there and helped run some kids camps. Since the girls were gone we dubbed Friday “Man’s Day” which included a few hours of hanging out at Café Domino which is right down the street from our flat. Then we grabbed some Chinese food and watched an American movie at Slobadan’s flat. After the movie we hung out and walked back home at around 2:00a.m. Saturday the guys returned to Novi Sad so that Mike could take in the sights. We visited both the Catholic Church and also the Serbian Orthodox church in Novi Sad and the fortress. We were also able to see three bridges that were bombed in 1999 in order to disable transportation and communication during the war. The night was topped off with me jumping around and doing flips on a trampoline that was set up in a local park (it was set up as part of some festival and I was the only person above the age of 12 that went jumping). Sunday we visited the Anglican Church which also happens to be the only English speaking church in Belgrade. It was a very interesting service. From my own experience it mirrors the Catholic Church service. After church we headed down to the local African museum for an African festival. The food was great and there some really neat exhibits to look at. The night ended with some fellowship and spending time with some of the guys.
Monday began with our Bible study at Domino Café followed by setting up and preparing for the EUS meeting where Mike gave a talk on “Singleness”. Immediately following EUS we all went to a Blues concert downtown that EUS sponsored. The band was compiled of artists from various countries although most of them were from the U.S. Tuesday was a rather slow day which started out again with our Bible Study. Most of the day was spent helping clean and organize the EUS office and also spending one-on-one time with the students. Wednesday was a pretty exciting day which included the girls returning from Kosovo, some baseball and also a successful 6 on 6 game of American football with a Serbian style barbeque afterwards.
Things have been going very well. Our prayer requests would just be that we are able to continue to meet and connect with Serbians and to be able to love and serve them however that may be. We are also striving to maintain strong communication in order to build and strengthen our relationships here. That is all for now.
Ciao,
Team Serbia a.k.a. Team Dominate
Week two went by very quickly. On Monday the girls helped out at a local kindergarten which is sponsored by the church we attended on Sunday. R.J. and I went to work out with one of the local baseball players (George) which included some baseball practice and then lifting weights at his gym. Everybody met up around 6:00 for the EUS meeting. Tuesday we traveled to Novi Sad. Wednesday kindergarten then baseball. Thursday we hung out and greeted Mike (a post-grad from UW who came over to visit the Balkans and talk with some local churches) then went to a local Gypsy community and visited the pastor there. He told us about the difficulties that he is having largely that about 99% of the gypsy population are Muslim the prayer meeting followed by more Salsa dancing at the Fashion Café. The evening was very cool because of the lightening storm with no thunder or rain.
Friday morning the girls left to go to Kosovo for five days. While in Kosovo they worked with a couple other missionaries there and helped run some kids camps. Since the girls were gone we dubbed Friday “Man’s Day” which included a few hours of hanging out at Café Domino which is right down the street from our flat. Then we grabbed some Chinese food and watched an American movie at Slobadan’s flat. After the movie we hung out and walked back home at around 2:00a.m. Saturday the guys returned to Novi Sad so that Mike could take in the sights. We visited both the Catholic Church and also the Serbian Orthodox church in Novi Sad and the fortress. We were also able to see three bridges that were bombed in 1999 in order to disable transportation and communication during the war. The night was topped off with me jumping around and doing flips on a trampoline that was set up in a local park (it was set up as part of some festival and I was the only person above the age of 12 that went jumping). Sunday we visited the Anglican Church which also happens to be the only English speaking church in Belgrade. It was a very interesting service. From my own experience it mirrors the Catholic Church service. After church we headed down to the local African museum for an African festival. The food was great and there some really neat exhibits to look at. The night ended with some fellowship and spending time with some of the guys.
Monday began with our Bible study at Domino Café followed by setting up and preparing for the EUS meeting where Mike gave a talk on “Singleness”. Immediately following EUS we all went to a Blues concert downtown that EUS sponsored. The band was compiled of artists from various countries although most of them were from the U.S. Tuesday was a rather slow day which started out again with our Bible Study. Most of the day was spent helping clean and organize the EUS office and also spending one-on-one time with the students. Wednesday was a pretty exciting day which included the girls returning from Kosovo, some baseball and also a successful 6 on 6 game of American football with a Serbian style barbeque afterwards.
Things have been going very well. Our prayer requests would just be that we are able to continue to meet and connect with Serbians and to be able to love and serve them however that may be. We are also striving to maintain strong communication in order to build and strengthen our relationships here. That is all for now.
Ciao,
Team Serbia a.k.a. Team Dominate
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
France Update #2
Salut from Roubaix!!
Team France is now writing from the second leg of our Deputation journey. We all made the 3 hour car-ride to Lille (still in France) about four days ago. Our team is spread out among two homes: Alec and Mac are living with an Algerian man named Amar (who we hear is quite the host) in the Centre de Lille, while Riley and Kaitlyn are living in Belgium with a delightful British missionary family. Yes that's right, Belgium! We're only about 100 yards from the French border, but we think it's pretty exciting nonetheless.
We are working in Roubaix with Ali Arhab, in a ministry focused on reaching out to the poor and unemployed North African population through street evangelism and games with youth. Yesterday we worked on cleaning up the office and getting it ready for a team of 12 high school students coming in to work from Minnesota. We continue to be overwhelmed by the love and hospitality here. God has a way of blowing expectations out of the water, and I think that in our anxiousness to serve and be useful, we're receiving a lot more encouragement and wisdom from everyone around us than we had anticipated. We are all excited to see how God will work through us, sometimes forgetting that he's working IN us all the while.
The churches here are much smaller than most of us are used to (usually 200 people maximum) but with that comes incredible fellowship. We just all got together at Ali's house to eat couscous (an Algerian staple that we're sure to have our fill of) and later on we're all watching the football (soccer) game. The World Cup is everything in Europe right now, and it's pretty exciting to be here for it!
We all send our love and continue to be especially thankful to all those who are praying for us throughout the summer. Some specific things to pray for:
~ That we will be able to reach out despite the language barrier
~ That we all stay focused of Christ and that our spirits are molded through every situation
~ For the ministry here in Roubaix and that we will serve as an encouragement to Ali and everyone else
Until next week! Que Dieu vous benisse!! (God Bless)
Alec, Mac, Riley & Kaitlyn
Team France is now writing from the second leg of our Deputation journey. We all made the 3 hour car-ride to Lille (still in France) about four days ago. Our team is spread out among two homes: Alec and Mac are living with an Algerian man named Amar (who we hear is quite the host) in the Centre de Lille, while Riley and Kaitlyn are living in Belgium with a delightful British missionary family. Yes that's right, Belgium! We're only about 100 yards from the French border, but we think it's pretty exciting nonetheless.
We are working in Roubaix with Ali Arhab, in a ministry focused on reaching out to the poor and unemployed North African population through street evangelism and games with youth. Yesterday we worked on cleaning up the office and getting it ready for a team of 12 high school students coming in to work from Minnesota. We continue to be overwhelmed by the love and hospitality here. God has a way of blowing expectations out of the water, and I think that in our anxiousness to serve and be useful, we're receiving a lot more encouragement and wisdom from everyone around us than we had anticipated. We are all excited to see how God will work through us, sometimes forgetting that he's working IN us all the while.
The churches here are much smaller than most of us are used to (usually 200 people maximum) but with that comes incredible fellowship. We just all got together at Ali's house to eat couscous (an Algerian staple that we're sure to have our fill of) and later on we're all watching the football (soccer) game. The World Cup is everything in Europe right now, and it's pretty exciting to be here for it!
We all send our love and continue to be especially thankful to all those who are praying for us throughout the summer. Some specific things to pray for:
~ That we will be able to reach out despite the language barrier
~ That we all stay focused of Christ and that our spirits are molded through every situation
~ For the ministry here in Roubaix and that we will serve as an encouragement to Ali and everyone else
Until next week! Que Dieu vous benisse!! (God Bless)
Alec, Mac, Riley & Kaitlyn
Team Sierra Leone has arrived!
Team Sierra Leone has arrived safely. They are doing great, are completely enthused, well taken care of, amazed with the kids and adults, and looking forward to a great experience. We hope to hear more from them soon.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Team Croatia is off!
Jessica and Rachel are on their way to an exciting summer in the tiny town of Fužine, Croatia!
Sretan put moji prijatelji!
Jessica, Hillary, and Rachel
Sretan put moji prijatelji!
Jessica, Hillary, and Rachel
Friday, June 23, 2006
Turkey Pics!
Working at the store, Kreative Kids, getting it ready for opening day! Please pray against discouragement for Bill and Lydia, the family running the store. They are very tired from all the prep work. We love working with them and encouraging them in any way that we can.
We also love their kids!
Team Turkey out for Turkish food!
Malawi update
We tracked down all 10 lost bags from the Malawi team. They should have all their baggage in hand by today or tomorrow.
Welcome to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia...
I recieved a short email from Brenna. The Ethiopia team is officially on the ground in Addis. Their planes were slightly delayed but other than that everything went off well. I'm sure they are very tired so let's pray for recovery and then for enjoyment as they discover Addis and do some orientation training.
Dorm life in India...
An update from Brad:
It has officially been a full week (and some) here in India. The biggest change this week was that on Sunday night we moved from Prem & Rita's house to the hostel at the school. Basically, the school is in a building with a kitchen, cafeteria and art room in the basement, classrooms on the 1st and 2nd floor and the 3rd floor is a hostel (dorm) complete with showers and a "common room." There are four boys staying there right now (a 9 year old, a 14 year old and two 16 year olds); Prem and Rita have had trouble finding a warden to live there to watch after them so we are filling in the role. It was a tough change from the house, which for the most part is pretty nice, to the hostel just because of the general feeling of being back in a dorm with cement walls and bars on the windows. But it is nice, there is a TV in the common room for World Cup watching and the boys are very well behaved, it is also a lot calmer where the school is - Prem and Rita's street can get pretty noisy in the mornings. The school's chef, Albert, lives right next to the school so he comes over and cooks us meals, which have been quite good. The highlight of the experience has definitely been living with Nirup, the 9 year old boy. He is just learning English and can say that his name is Nirup and a few other phrases but for the most part he just parrots whatever you say, and of course none of this is at a normal talking level, it is all at a volume and range that could only be replicated by machine. He's a good kid though, whenever you play guitar he proclaims that you are a 'magician' (musician) and he also complains that there are 'eagles' (mosquitoes) biting him in his room. After a few days he has learned Howard and my name (which sounds like a mumbled version of 'bread') and he can remember Alynena's name for a day but it never sticks after sleep.
So we have spent the week at the school working during the day and playing with the boys and helping them study after school. We have been able to catch some great sunsets as well as some good shots of parrots from the school's roof. On Wednesday our team was hit with some sort of bug which put both Erin and Howard out of comission for the day. They are feeling better but still are not 100%. Today was my day to be out as I think my Malaria medication's "Avoid excessive sun exposure" has finally caught up with me. We rode the school bus back to Prem and Rita's for the weeked which should hopefully be a good chance for us all to relax, rest and recover. We are going to be playing a few worship songs at church this Sunday which should be an experience all by itself. As always, thanks for your concern and prayers for our team.
Brad / Team India
It has officially been a full week (and some) here in India. The biggest change this week was that on Sunday night we moved from Prem & Rita's house to the hostel at the school. Basically, the school is in a building with a kitchen, cafeteria and art room in the basement, classrooms on the 1st and 2nd floor and the 3rd floor is a hostel (dorm) complete with showers and a "common room." There are four boys staying there right now (a 9 year old, a 14 year old and two 16 year olds); Prem and Rita have had trouble finding a warden to live there to watch after them so we are filling in the role. It was a tough change from the house, which for the most part is pretty nice, to the hostel just because of the general feeling of being back in a dorm with cement walls and bars on the windows. But it is nice, there is a TV in the common room for World Cup watching and the boys are very well behaved, it is also a lot calmer where the school is - Prem and Rita's street can get pretty noisy in the mornings. The school's chef, Albert, lives right next to the school so he comes over and cooks us meals, which have been quite good. The highlight of the experience has definitely been living with Nirup, the 9 year old boy. He is just learning English and can say that his name is Nirup and a few other phrases but for the most part he just parrots whatever you say, and of course none of this is at a normal talking level, it is all at a volume and range that could only be replicated by machine. He's a good kid though, whenever you play guitar he proclaims that you are a 'magician' (musician) and he also complains that there are 'eagles' (mosquitoes) biting him in his room. After a few days he has learned Howard and my name (which sounds like a mumbled version of 'bread') and he can remember Alynena's name for a day but it never sticks after sleep.
So we have spent the week at the school working during the day and playing with the boys and helping them study after school. We have been able to catch some great sunsets as well as some good shots of parrots from the school's roof. On Wednesday our team was hit with some sort of bug which put both Erin and Howard out of comission for the day. They are feeling better but still are not 100%. Today was my day to be out as I think my Malaria medication's "Avoid excessive sun exposure" has finally caught up with me. We rode the school bus back to Prem and Rita's for the weeked which should hopefully be a good chance for us all to relax, rest and recover. We are going to be playing a few worship songs at church this Sunday which should be an experience all by itself. As always, thanks for your concern and prayers for our team.
Brad / Team India
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)