She’s There!

Amy and the Global Encounters group arrived in Peru last Saturday (or maybe early Sunday morning). All arrived safely, and all luggage arrived, too, except for one girl’s bags. Weather on Friday and Saturday had caused flights delays and problems for many on the team. One girl made it to the Miami flight with a very few minutes to spare, and her luggage didn’t get transferred in time. I believe it made it a couple of days later.

The team has been busy. On Thursday, Amy wrote an email to us saying, in part:

Hi everyone!

It’s 1:45am and I’m finishing up the day’s blog post. I thought I’d send a
quick email letting you know everything is going well and I am really
enjoying it here. There are so many ministry opportunities!

Continue to pray for team harmony, stamina, and a ministry focus.

Hope all is going well!

Off to get 5 hours sleep before getting ready to head back to Ventanilla…

Read her blog post, and other posts, at the Global Encounters blog.

— The Dad

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I’m Off!

I’m all packed and ready for my departure tomorrow! Please keep my team in your prayers, that we would have an effective time for the Lord in the lives of many people.

I’ll update during the trip as I am able. I’ll be thinking of everyone even if I don’t write frequently. Don’t forget the team blog if you haven’t heard from me in awhile.

Looking forward to another awesome trip!

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’08 Trip Details

I can’t believe it – I’m actually leaving this week! Wow!

We’ll be spending a week in Lima, focusing primarily on two kid’s clubs – one in the shantytown of Ventanilla during the day, and one in conjunction with an adult seminar hosted in Callao in the evenings. The Ventanilla time will be much like a VBS where the kids will rotate through different stations – Bible verses, lessons, crafts, games, lunch, and the “clean team”. Guess what I’m doing? You’re right, clean team! I, along with another teammate and a couple of translators/helpers, will be teaching the kids about basic hygiene, and tying the lessons into spiritual application (eg. clean mouth=clean speech). We’ll be passing out the hygiene kits on Thursday which will be our last day at Ventanilla. We have no idea how many kids we’ll be working with, but we’re planning for a possible 400-500 by the end as word gets out.

The Callao seminar will be similar to Ventanilla with several modifications. Since we won’t have a clean team station, I’ll probably be helping with crafts or something similar. The Callao kid’s seminar will run Monday through Thursday evenings, and all day Saturday. Friday will be our day off for getting extra rest, sightseeing, street witnessing, etc.

This time I’m actually one of two chalk artists traveling with the group. One of our leaders, Christie, is a long time artist. We’ll be dividing up the opportunities, with Christie primarily doing outdoor drawings with bright pictures, and me doing primarily indoor drawings with a blacklight. It will be fun to learn from her as we work together.

From Lima we will hop on a plane and head to Cusco, a town located in the mountains of Peru. Again, we will do another kid’s program in conjunction with a local church. During the days, we will be busy with street witnessing, visiting orphanages or hospitals, visiting schools, or whatever opportunities arise. We may also do some practical projects for the church such as painting or cleaning.

Friday will be another day off as we tour Machu Picchu. That’s going to be one exciting sight to see!

After our time in Cusco finishes up, we will fly back to Lima for a couple of days before heading home. One last slice of Roky’s lemon meringue pie, one last bottle of Inca Kola, and one last trip to the bustling markets. It will be over all too soon!

While I am gone, I hope to update my blog on an infrequent basis. 🙂 I found out last time that laptop availability is quite limited, but with fewer people on the team this time, I’ll hopefully have more opportunity. You can also check our team blog which will be updated daily (that is, if the internet is working!). And hey, while you’re at the Global Encounters website, sign up for an adventure of your own later in the summer! 🙂

I can’t wait to find out what all the Lord has in store for this trip…

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Peru Prayer Requests

It’s that time again! With less than a week before my departure, here are some requests I would appreciate everyone remembering in prayer both as I prepare to leave and during my time in Peru.

Safe travels – I leave this coming Friday, and return March 12. Please pray that my flights and layovers will be safe, and with no problems. Also pray that all 16 team members will connect up with no problems.

Luggage – Please pray that all our luggage will arrive safely and on time. I’m bringing chalk art supplies again, including an easel, blacklight, and tube of paper. Pray that all this makes it through security with no hassles and no broken parts.

Health – Please pray for good health for me and the team. Pray for protection against lice and other diseases we will be exposed to in the shantytowns, as well as general colds, flu, and altitude adjustments in Cusco.

Ministry – Please pray that God will prepare the hearts of the children and families we will be ministering to. Pray that many souls will be saved, and many people given a vision of how great God is. Pray also for the translators, that the message would be relayed clearly to the people we are ministering to.

Team Unity – Please pray that our team will have unity and harmonious fellowship during our time together. Pray that we will all stay focused on the one goal of the trip – turning hearts to Christ.

Personal growth – Please pray that this will also be a time of spiritual growth in my own personal life. Pray that I will grow close to the Lord and rest on Him in every situation. Pray that I will remain consistent in my devotions, and keep Christ as the center of my activities and thoughts.

God’s Glory – Please pray that everything we do will be done for God’s glory and that He will be magnified both in our eyes and in the eyes of the Peruvians.

Thank you!

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It Actually Happened!

January 13th, 2008 – Assembly Day!

Wow, it actually happened! After weeks of receiving donations, making phone calls, sorting inventory, and finally the big fill-in-the-gaps shopping trip, the assembly day came for the Ventanilla kits! Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Barta and their ProTeen battalion, an “impossible” idea became a reality. We all met Sunday afternoon in the basement, and played “round and round the mulberry bush” as we assembled the individual kits. We had a fantastic time!

One funny story – when Hannah D. and I made the big shopping trip this last week, we kept stopping by the church to drop off supplies and tuck them in a small cabinet we normally use for our Wednesday night Bible quiz group. We pretty well amused the construction crew working on our new addition! After probably our 5th trip down there with loads of bags, and watching us hopelessly try and fit them into the cabinet, one of the construction guys who was looking over the building plans laughingly commented “what you guys really need is a bigger cabinet!” 🙂 More accurate words have never been spoken… 🙂

After weeks of suspense, here are the pictures everyone’s been waiting for…

(January 20 – I just got some new pictures from the Bartas, so I’m replacing a few I already posted. Enjoy!)

The Crew (l-r): Mrs. Julie Barta, Allison, Noah, Amy (me), Hannah, Hannah, Laura, Stephen, Samuel, Ethan, Mr. Tim Barta

The Pile of Supplies (not l-r 🙂 ): Toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, washcloths, shampoo, conditioner, combs, ponytail holders, crayons, note tablets, granola bars, tracts

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Assembly! Whether or not it looks like it, we were organized!

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Still sorting shampoo and conditioner… Amy and Laura

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When Mrs. Barta invented the brilliant idea of filling two bags at once, she revolutionized our entire process. Thanks, Mrs. Barta! You’re awesome!

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Funny how three guys ended up with the job of sorting combs and ponytail holders! 🙂 Thanks Samuel, Stephen, and Mr. Barta!

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We should have made this one of those see-who-can-guess-the-right-number games. We think it was something around 1,144 ponytail holders, but don’t hold me to it! 🙂

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Crayons anyone? Hannah D. and Hannah S.

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Wow, look at Laura’s artwork! That’s way above and beyond the call of duty!

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Believe it or not, we actually had to run to Wal-Mart for an extra package of washcloths during our assembly time. (We were sure we counted right…) Ethan, Noah, and Allison

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A couple of parents found our organized chaotic fun in the basement, and jumped in to help. Thanks, Kindigs!

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Mr. Barta counting out 8-16 crayons per bag, times how many bags?! Thanks, Mr. Barta, for keeping us moving!

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Stephen taking care of the garbage with all the extra packaging we threw away to save on space. And yes, you do see a split all the way down the side! 🙂 (Like everything, there’s a story behind that…)

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4 hours later, we’re actually done! Great work team!

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420 individual kits ready for transportation to Peru! 213 boy kits, and 207 girl kits. Amazing!

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Final list of Donors

• Allegra Print and Imaging
• Allison Kindig’s Dentist Aunt & Uncle (sorry, I don’t have a name!)
• Baymont Inns and Suites
• Cedar Rapids Area Bible Quiz families
• Cedar Rapids Bright Lights/Light Shop families
• Cedar Rapids Homeschool Choir families
• Cedar River Ink – Vinton
• Center Point Road Dental
• Comfort Inn North
• Corridor Inns and Suites – Urbana
• Fareway Stores – Vinton
• Fine Line Printing – Palo
• Friendship Baptist Church
• Gentle Dental
• Heartland Bible Quiz Tournament families
• Huk Printing
• Kinko’s
• Laura Harpole’s Orthodontist (sorry, I don’t have a name!)
• Lindale Dental Care
• Quality Inn
• Residence Inn by Marriott
• Rochester MN YFC Bible Quiz families
• Roy’s Hometown Grocery – Shellsburg
• Salvation Army Store – Marion
• The Dental Center
• Wal-Mart – Blairs Ferry Rd.

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Ventanilla Project Update

Wow! Things are really exciting around here. We continue making phone calls, trying to contact area businesses about donating items for Peru. We’re getting a great response, and are probably going to end up with between 300-400 complete kits. January 13th is our packing date, so we’re in the final stretch of obtaining supplies. I’m posting an updated list of businesses and organizations that have made donations. New donors are in bold.

• Allegra Print and Imaging
• Baymont Inns and Suites
• Cedar Rapids Area Bible Quiz families
• Cedar Rapids Bright Lights/Light Shop
• Cedar Rapids Homeschool Choir families
• Cedar River Ink – Vinton
• Comfort Inn North
  
• Corridor Inns and Suites – Urbana
• Fareway Stores – Vinton
• Fine Line Printing – Palo
  
• Friendship Baptist Church
• Gentle Dental
• Heartland Bible Quiz Tournament families
• Huk Printing
• Kinko’s
• Lindale Dental Care
• Quality Inn
• Residence Inn by Marriott
• Rochester MN YFC Bible Quiz families
• Salvation Army Store – Marion
• The Dental Center
• Wal-Mart – Blairs Ferry Rd.

Stay tuned for a final list of donors after January 13th, as well as pictures of the huge pile of donations and packing day fun!

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Peru ’08!

By now I think most of you know that I’m planning a return trip to Peru in February, traveling again with Global Encounters. This time we’ll be focusing our work outside of Lima in Ventanilla, a shantytown with a population of 700,000 people where 70% of the homes do not have a dad. We’ll also spend a week in the mountainous area of Cusco, doing another week-long kid’s program in conjunction with an adult seminar hosted by a local church. It’s going to be one awesome trip!

This time however, we’re planning something bigger than ever before. Since the kids (and families) in Ventanilla have absolutely nothing, we thought it’d be neat if we could bring little hygiene kits for the kids with some basic supplies – toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, washcloth, shampoo, comb, ponytail holders, note tablet, crayons, and a granola bar. One of the ProTeen Battalions at my church adopted this area of ministry as one of their projects, and they are doing an awesome job collecting donations, writing thank-yous, and are planning a date in January to assemble all the individual kits. It’s been amazing how many people are happy do donate the necessary supplies and funds, and we are well on our way to 300 kits. (Some folks are even praying for enough supplies to make 1,000!)

Since so many people have graciously donated, I thought it’d be a good idea to start compiling a list for public recognition of their generosity. It’s a small way of saying “thank you” for making this impossibility a possibility!

• Cedar Rapids Area Bible Quiz families
• Cedar Rapids Bright Lights/Light Shop
• Cedar Rapids Homeschool Choir families
• Corridor Inns and Suites – Urbana
• Fareway Stores – Vinton
• Friendship Baptist Church
• Gentle Dental
• Heartland Bible Quiz Tournament families
• Huk Printing
• Lindale Dental Care
• Rochester MN YFC Bible Quiz families
• Salvation Army Store – Marion
• The Dental Center
• Wal-Mart – Blairs Ferry Rd.

Special thanks to Laura Harpole for storing all the supplies in her bedroom! 🙂

There are still many more people, organizations, and businesses who are still considering participating, so this list will be growing in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone who have already helped out! It’ll be exciting to see the end result in a few weeks. Keep watching for pictures of the piles of supplies and the assembly day fun!

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