Week in a Nutshell

Let’s see if I can recap this week’s events in as little words as possible…

Sunday evening, our guest, Dave Haas, came home from preaching with a very high fever. By Monday morning, he was very, very sick. Nothing had really changed by Tuesday afternoon, so our director took him to the doctor. They discovered that he did not have whatever is going around campus right now, but rather a stomach infection. We’re not sure how he would have gotten it, but the word “salmonella” was thrown around. Again, no idea how he would’ve gotten it, but after getting some antibiotics into his system and replenishing some electrolytes, he was basically back to his usual self. We were very thankful for that! He only missed one day of teaching, surprisingly enough (there are never classes on Mondays). If you happened to pray for Dave and Lois this week – thank you very much!

Wednesday was a day of prayer and fasting for BCM International. In the evening, from 7:30-10, we had prayer time. Each 10-minute block was divided up into praying for different ministries here and around the world in BCM. Wednesday after classes was an afternoon of baking for me (Lisa… I don’t know why I always identify myself, Brian never writes on here!!). Thursday evening was Thanksgiving, so I had to have three apple cakes baked and sliced before then. Between watching Cielo all Wednesday afternoon, baking three cakes, and finding time to practice piano for the first time in eight months, it was a busy afternoon!

Thursday after classes in the morning, I practiced piano again, then went to help decorate our cafeteria for the Thanksgiving Celebration. We had a ton of work to do to get it ready and honestly, at 6:00, I did NOT think it was going to be done in time! But, somehow, the workers pulled it together and we got it finished and it looked really nice.

The entryway to our cafeteria

Inside of our cafeteria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The goal of the mealtime was to sit as families. Each missionary couple had a table and the students could pick who they would like to sit with. During dinner, we were all to share with each other what we’re thankful for this year (like many families do in the States on Thanksgiving). Then, we had to pick one representative from each table to share with everyone during the program.

Our Table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything ran late, though, thanks to our power going out for about 20 minutes before the meal. Not sure what happened; every now and then our power gets overloaded and the whole campus goes black. And we do mean BLACK. It’s not like there’s street lights out here! So, everything was running a little late. All of us on the organizing team had to serve the food to everybody before we could sit and enjoy the meal. We had chicken with a typical Peruvian sauce, Peruvian mashed potatoes (which are used more like a sauce down here; they’re very runny and smooth, but taste better than it sounds), rice (of course!), and steamed mixed vegetables. It may not have been “Thanksgiving”, but it tasted good! Our table was filled… numerous times. They kept forgetting that WE had to sit there, too. This is the group that ended up sitting with us.

Our "Family"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The program went very, very well. There was a lot of special music: Brian’s English class (he teaches English to the advanced speakers Tuesday-Friday mornings) went first. Then, the man Brian works with, Fernando, organized a small band to sing typical Peruvian mountain praise music. SO gorgeous!

The man with the full-size guitar is Fernando; the young man is a student; the other man on the small guitar is a friend of Fernando's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of us “gringos” sang “I Will Enter His Gates” a couple of times. Trust me, after the mountain music, it sounded SO corny. But, people seemed to enjoy it.

The "Gringos" singing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The goal was for the Peruvians to sing their version of Psalm 100 (which has a totally different melody), but something got lost in translation and it didn’t happen. Which, surprisingly, was the only thing that went wrong Thursday night and it wasn’t even something anybody could notice. Another student, Nelida, sang “My Tribute” in Spanish. She has a beautiful voice and did a phenomenal job. We had a special speaker, who is actually one of the pastor’s of a church plant, Gimbler Picon. I realized at the beginning of his message that no one was translating for Dave and Lois, so I made my way to the back and translated the rest of the program into English for them. I don’t think I’m quite ready to do that on a regular basis, but it’s definitely easier going from Spanish to English than English to Spanish (both of which I’ve had to do this week for Dave and Lois).

Friday, I let my kids go at 11 (instead of 1) so I could come home and bake cookies for the graduation service Friday evening. Each of us had to make 100 snacks; it only took three and a half hours (I’m glad I didn’t frost them!). I also translated for one of our missionary girls who wanted to talk with Dave and Lois for an hour. We left around 6, on the motorcycle, for the MK school about 25 minutes from here for the graduation service. I knew I was to play piano and possibly do a little prelude beforehand. But, thanks to our bus full of students breaking down and people not arriving on time, I ended up at the piano for 45 minutes. About 25 longer than expected! Somehow, that was okay with me.

The service was really, really nice. We had five young men graduate from “Ano Ministerial” (Ministry Year) which is the year of candidate orientation into BCM Peru. They have now done three years of Bible school plus this one year of seeing the behind-the-scenes workings of BCM Peru. Now, they will be placed in their official places of ministry. Granted, all of them are under-supported, so some of them won’t be able to start completely before more support comes in. Meet our new BCM Peru missionaries!

From Right to Left:

Cristofer – will be working in the camp ministry here in Lima

Guillermo – actually the brother of our director, Carlos Odicio (at the microphone), so it was neat to see them together on stage. He is working in Llanchama with our Quiruma kids (the boarding school outside of Iquitos).

Ohtino – joining our Apoyo (Evangelism) Team. His goal is to head up a team to the mountain city of Huancayo hopefully within the next couple of years. He is getting married in April to a wonderful girl named Loida.

GianCarlo – working in FundIgle (Church Planting); his goal is to pastor a new church plant that we’re starting in the nearby city of Via El Salvador. We’ve been watching his relationship with another student, Dora, and are praying with them as they consider getting married next year.

Claudio – also part of FundIgle. He will be getting married to one of our single missionary girls, Cynthia, in December. In February, they are taking over a church plant in Manchay (also not far from here) so the pastor that’s been there can move to a brand new church we’re opening up in Via El Salvador in February.

Saturday, Dave and Lois headed back to the States. Sunday was a baptism here at camp for our four church plants. Next Thursday is a special chapel time – Grumi – where we’ll be focusing on praying for North America. We’re part of the team, so we’ll be working during the week getting everything ready and then I will be helping cook chili Thursday afternoon for the students’ dinner. Keep praying for us! We’re both either having allergies or getting a cold, neither of which we’d like to have. Brian’s been busy building a house for Jonaton and Shantal Odicio. So far, he’s managed to drop OSB on his foot and hurt his back. But, he keeps insisting it’s all part of the job. I’m trying to get my kids to finish their school year well, but it’s hard when they’re ready to be done and have checked mentally out of their classes. Keeping their focus til December 11 is going to be a chore!!

Camps – CHECK!

 

We made it through the last weekend of camps for 2009! It was a crazy weekend, but we all survived. Although, everyone is still a little tired. We had 114 kids from World Vision this weekend. As much as I like what World Vision does, I have to be honest in saying that in person, I’m greatly disappointed with the program. It is advertised as a Christian organization in the States, but it does not conduct itself as such here in Peru. The kids are definitely never taught anything about the Lord. They were the hardest group of kids I think I’ve ever been around – which says a lot. They were disobedient, rowdy, dirty language, disrespectful… It’s one thing when there’s a handful that act this way. It’s another when all 114 act this way! We brought in Pennies for Peru volunteers and every single one of our missionaries that was here this weekend helped out. It literally took all of us to keep the camp under control. We are SO thankful for each of you that prayed for us this weekend!

We know Satan was trying to keep things from going well. One of the most visible ways was on our health. Last week, pretty much all of the missionaries came down with a form of the flu. I (Lisa) thought for sure I was getting it when I woke up at 2:30am Sunday and felt SO sick. I went to get something to drink and it hit me that maybe this was from the devil. I prayed in our kitchen and within 10 minutes, felt perfectly fine, like it had never happened. We were able to both participate all day Sunday, but by Sunday evening, something did hit both of us. We’re fine now and we never got truly sick, so we’re not going to complain!

However, one of our guests, Dave Haas, IS very sick. He came home Sunday evening from preaching and was running a very high fever. He is still sick this morning and they’re both very discouraged that he’s not able to teach today. Please be praying for him! Pray also for Lois that she won’t get sick either. You can pray that Brian and I won’t get it, either! That’d be nice!

Here’s some pictures from camp – including the bonfire that was Saturday night again, where the kids could throw a piece of wood on the first symbolizing giving their all to Christ. Continue to pray for the kids from World Vision that somehow, they would not only be given education, but also HOPE in Jesus Christ! Pray for the leaders that came with them, that something would continue to impact their lives as well. None of the leaders that came this weekend knew the Lord, so one of our new candidates took the time after the bonfire to share the gospel specifically with them. Pray that God would continue to reap a harvest from this past weekend of work!

 

Dave Haas preaching, being translated by Jonaton Odicio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys playing with the giant ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it's the girls' turn!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singing around the bonfire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids throwing sticks on the bonfire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian playing with Cielo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow is a day of prayer and fasting for BCM International. Will you join us, even for a few minutes?

Thursday, we are helping organize a Thanksgiving dinner and celebration.

Friday is the commissioning for 4 new BCM Peru missionaries!

Sunday is a baptism for our 4 church plants.

Pray for us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beginnings of November!

November is in full swing and since we promised you as many updates throughout our busy month as possible, here goes Update #1!

Last week, we had a baby shower for one of the students here. Her name is Melissa and if you could keep her in prayer, that’d be wonderful. Melissa and Harold got married in March and were pregnant pretty much immediately. Unfortunately, her health was bad to begin with and has gone downhill this entire time. She had, we believe, her gallbladder out in April. That seemed to have helped, but she’s been in and out of the hospital the entire pregnancy. The problem now is preclampsia (sorry if I spelled that wrong!) and even though baby Mariana is not due until the beginning of December, they’re thinking they’ll do an emergency C-section, possibly even yet this week, which would make Mariana a month early. Harold and Melissa really have no money left since it all went to her first operation and subsequent doctor’s visits. Everyone here is helping them out as much as possible, which is why we had such a big baby shower. They are our neighbors and just two weeks ago, I had a good conversation with her. She told me that through all this, she’s learned that God is in control and no matter what happens – even if they were to lose the baby now – she’d be fine with it because God has a plan for their lives. Wow. So, here’s a picture of Melissa at her baby shower last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past weekend was the first of two weekends of camp with kids all from World Vision. We were supposed to have 120 children, but on Thursday, we found out only 80 were coming. Trust me – 80 was plenty! They showed up Saturday morning and left Sunday afternoon. Camp here is a full schedule of games, time with their counselors, lessons, challenges, a banquet, and Saturday night there’s a bonfire. Brian was involved in the games on Saturday, which included getting everything set up and being a referee. It was a chilly day, but they played water games regardless! He was SOAKED and freezing cold most of the day, but the games went really well. Saturday night, we both went to the bonfire and had the privilege of seeing many children give their lives to Christ, symbolized by throwing a small piece of wood into the bonfire.

One thing we learned that we hadn’t realized was that the majority of workers for World Vision and even Compassion International, at least here in Peru, are NOT believers. The counselors that came with the children were not believers and they had a hard time understanding how we were running the camp and why we were running it that way. Thankfully, a few of them accepted the Lord as well. This coming weekend, we’ll have one more World Vision camp and that is the end of camps until New Year’s Eve.

I didn’t get any pictures of camp because I was too busy with these little munchkins:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cielo and Pablo were here over the weekend and I had a blast taking care of them. Neither of them can hear and both come from horrible backgrounds. Pablo’s parents saw how Karen was doing with Cielo and asked if she would take in Pablo as well. Really, she shouldn’t because Pablo’s family is not doing that bad and Karen is just a single girl struggling to get through Bible school and take care of Cielo. Pablo is 8 and knows a considerable amount of sign language. It was hilarious taking care of them because even though they couldn’t speak, they sure enjoyed blaming each other and fighting constantly! We had them Saturday until 9:30pm and Sunday, bright and early at 7am, until the afternoon. Karen took Pablo home in the afternoon Sunday and we kept Cielo until she got back. We’d love to keep Cielo permanently, but that’s just not possible right now for just so many reasons. Pray for her, though. Pray for Karen as she figures out how to take care of her AND pay her school bill AND be a young person. Pray for us as we are part of Cielo’s life and want to be the best role models we can be. We’re just positive that she’s had bad run-ins with men and we’re working with her, trying to show her that not all men are going to hurt her. She’s warming up to Brian and yesterday, she kept asking for both of us – not just me – so that’s a good sign. She’ll cuddle with him and let him hold her, but she gets nervous if she thinks she’s done something wrong or if she thinks she’s going to be left alone with him. We’re trying to help her realize that he’s not ever going to hurt her. Poor baby! She did enjoy watching him shave, though, and helping him realize he was making a mess. Ha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the midst of all this are personal successes with cultural adaptation and language learning. Brian is able to carry on whole meetings with his team of maintenance workers, in Spanish. Even though he still has a ways to go, he’s able to understand and get across what he needs done with very little help from his crew. I was able to carry on an hour-long meeting last week with the parents of the kids in my class, explaining ideas and options for home school for 2010. I was able to answer questions and explain different curriculums, all in Spanish, with very little help! We also went to our church plant two Saturdays ago and taught English together, in Spanish, to the Bible club kids. So fun! But, a little challenging! We are also feeling very included in our team here and the weekend of camp was the first time we actually knew what was expected and how to do things and where to be and we could even ask questions if we needed to! Small successes are just wonderful.

Well, off to another busy week! We have guests here for two weeks as well, so life is always interesting!

November Schedule

We’re sending out our monthly e-update this week. If you’re not on our list, drop us a note! We’d love to add you to it. 

We are beginning November and that means just SO much as far as our schedules go. Here’s an idea of our schedule through December, although all of it is subject to change (we live in a Latin country after all! Is there really anything set in stone?!):

• November 7 – Day of Prayer and Fasting for BCM Peru. Will you join us in this? We could use some prayer as we are in the midst of a spiritual attack. If you are on our e-list, you will be receiving a letter from our leadership about it. Otherwise, let us know if you’d like more information and specifics to pray for.
• November 7-8 and 14-15 – We are helping with two weekends of camps for 120+ kids (each weekend) from World Vision. Brian will be helping with games, security, crowd control, and emceeing (yup – in Spanish!!). I will be working in the kiosko (concession stand) and setting up the meals.
• November 8-21 – Guest House for Dave and Lois Haas, a BCM Intl. couple coming down (for the last time) to teach and do some women’s ministry.
• November 18 – Giving my testimony in a girls’ dorm during evening devos.
• November 19 – Thanksgiving Dinner we’re helping put together. It’s also a goodbye party for the Haas’ (they’ve been coming for years, but won’t be able to come again). Brian and I are helping put together the meal, decorations, and program.
• November 20 – Official commissioning service for three new BCM Peru missionaries. I am also helping organize this event.
• November 26 – First Thanksgiving in Peru. Also, special chapel time featuring prayer for North American missionaries. We’re part of that team, so we’re helping organize the event. I will be helping cook chili and praying in French. Brian will be giving his testimony. We’re both helping set up and decorate.
• December 4 – My last day of school for 2009!! Can’t believe it’s already over! Let the planning for 2010 begin!
• December 8 – The Family Fair. It’s an annual event held here at camp that’s used to reach hundreds of people in our community. We have games, a yard sale, food, drama, Gospel presentations, music… a very busy, very full day of reaching out to our area.
• All of December – Pennies for Peru Christmas Outreaches! The first year students and basically all the missionaries are involved in these almost daily activities around Lima and in a few other cities as well. Since we are no longer going to Iquitos in December, we will probably be helping somehow in these as well.
• December 25 – First Christmas in Peru in our new house.

 Can it get busier??? 

This past week, we had the joy of spending the day with our favorite four year old. We’ve talked about Cielo here before. We just looooooove this beautiful little girl so when we were asked to babysit all day Thursday, we jumped at the opportunity. She hung out with me and my kids in school all morning. While I taught my 7^th grader, Brian helped her do puzzles… for an hour and a half! In the afternoon, we all hung out together for awhile before Brian went to work. Then, Cielo and I had “quiet time” watching a cartoon. She may be deaf, but she sure followed that movie closely! The best parts of the day for Brian and I, though, were #1- when Brian left the house the second time, she jumped up on the couch, opened the window, and waved and waved until he was out of sight. Then, #2 – while watching the movie, she kept sitting up, giving me the sign for “I love you” and then wrapping herself around my neck. We had a hard time saying goodbye to her when Karen came to collect her that evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, we filled in at our church plant for a girl who couldn’t be there and I taught English (with Brian’s help) to about 15 kids. It was a lot of fun! If we weren’t so busy in the coming weekends, we’d probably go back again. 

Quite a few of our third year students are behind on their bills right now. In fact, before they can graduate, there’s an accumulated debt of $5000 (15,000 soles!). So, we’ve been helping the kids out – letting them use our oven to bake things to sell; giving them chores to do around the house so they can earn money; and even chipping in on a few bills for kids we’ve gotten really attached to. But, these kids could use more help! If the bills aren’t paid before December, a whole bunch won’t be able to graduate. Would you consider sponsoring a kid through Bible school? Drop us an email and we’ll send you additional information: brianlisabiegert@yahoo.com 

Hope you’re all enjoying fall/winter! Heard it’s chilly in PA and blizzarding in SD. Hate to break it to ya, but it’s pushing 80 here and positively gorgeous! Maybe consider visiting…

Ninos Del Peru (children of Peru)

The goal of BCM is to “Reach Children and Plant Churches Worldwide.” Brian and I joined BCM International because that’s the desire of our hearts as well! Before coming to Peru, we learned that Peru has the highest percentage of illegal abortions… in the world. Whether or not this is true, we’re not sure. But, we DO know that the percentage of abortions here is abnormally high. I talked with a friend of ours here this week about it and she confirmed that abortions here, illegal though they may be, are done in crazy high numbers.

One of the things we see frequently posted literally all over are signs that say, “Atrso Mensual?” with a phone number underneath. They’re not very big, always white, and literally pasted everywhere there’s space. We were told that these are all advertising illegal abortion clinics. Yesterday, on the way to a town about 20 minutes away, I counted 85. Before I quit counting. Halfway to the town. That’s too many.

The other issue in Peru is human trafficking. Prostitution is legal; trafficking people of any age is not. However, many of the street children here in Lima have been brought here against their will from the mountains and the jungle. There’s a whole section in Lima made up of women brought here from Iquitos. Most of the places labeled “Hostal” are actually brothels – with trafficked women. We could not believe it when we read last week that so many kids on the streets – that we see every day – are actually kidnapped and working for their kidnapers. Makes us wonder how many of the kids we see every day are not supposed to be here.

So, how can you help us? Please pray with us for our “Casa Hogar” – our orphanage. BCM Peru has been trying to open an orphange since 2002. But, the paperwork has been stuck in government issues this entire time. We still can’t see an end in sight – and yet, we frequently have children left here that are in need of a home. Two of the missionary families here are known for taking in kids who need a home, putting them through high school, and helping them through Bible school. We need a Children’s Home – preferably 7 years ago when we wanted it.

You can also pray for our Apoyo (evangelism) team. Occasionally, they are given the opportunity to go into schools and talk about abstinence. But, “talking” about abstinence doesn’t fix the problem. I would love to see us doing more to help the pregnant women in the area who have nowhere else to go and no one to help them. An anonymous sign on a post is about the only help they have right now. And heaven knows, that’s NOT help!

Pray for Brian and I as we see how we fit into this picture. Pray for the leaders of Pennies for Peru – Robert and Zarela – as they deal first hand with children needing homes and help every week.

Peru’s population is over 50% under the age of 18. We live in the middle of the 4/14 window and we desire to be affective in reaching these little ones for Christ.