The Biegert’s Blog

Talked with Brian last night and things aren’t going as well as they’d like. First off, a couple have been pretty sick. Brian’s not feeling so hot himself, but he’s hoping if he drinks more water today, he’ll start feeling better. It was hotter yesterday, too, than it had been, so I think the heat took them off-guard.

The main problem, though, is with all the wood. They ordered 100 pieces of wood at 120cm. They got 120 pieces of wood at 100cm! Then, they got wood that was 4m instead of 5m. Then, the posts that were laid for the second building before they got there are 2 feet out of square. So, they have a lot of work to do to try to fix things. A lot of dealing with local vendors and readjusting plans. Please pray for them; it was a little discouraging yesterday. They’re also really tired, so that doesn’t help.

Today begins the missions conference (I thought it began tomorrow, but it doesn’t). So, they’re actually leaving the property at 4 to make the 2-hr trip back to the house, then they’ll be at the house long enough to shower and leave for the missions conference. They won’t be eating dinner til they get home from the conference, which could be pushing 11pm. So, pray for endurance!! And Brian wondered why I sent medicine and crackers with him!

I’ve been hearing from Brian every night. They began work on Monday morning. It hasn’t been as hot up there as they had thought it would be. Global warming you know. One of the more annoying problems they have is that we do not own a vehicule up there. The truck we used back in March was borrowed and the owner sold it, so now, they’re renting a city bus that comes to pick them up every day and takes them to the village where our boat is docked. They are actually building two buildings this time, in a different spot than the rest of the campus (the boarding school). They are working on building the retreat center – two big buildings with bathrooms inside (the other buildings have outdoor bathrooms). Brian said it looks like they will definitely complete one and at least get the other well under-way. They are feeling more like they’re in the “jungle” this time than we did in March because the wildlife have made an appearance! Yesterday, while a man was chopping down a tree, he found a miniature three-toed sloth with her baby. Brian said they got to watch it climb the tree and sit up high the rest of the day, watching them. Some of the other men saw some rather large monkeys swinging through the trees! But, they believe they’re the kind that steal, so they’re having to watch their tools rather closely. Great problem to have, huh?? You can be praying for the men, though. A few have been having some stomach problems; one man that arrived on Sunday has yet to get out of bed. Brian didn’t feel so well yesterday, but he said this morning that it seems to have passed. The Ministry Year students arrived safely last night around 10 from Tarapoto. Their boat trip only took two days, which is pretty good. Sometimes it can take up to five! The missions conference they’re putting on begins on Friday and goes through Sunday.

So, that’s all I know! More to come later this week, I’m sure.

Well, Brian made it back to the jungle Saturday morning at 6:30! He’s safely there and will be there for the next two weeks.

He went with quite a large group. There are three American guys here in Peru doing construction for two months, and they went up there. Three of our co-workers went, along with our director. A group of four men from the States flew directly to Iquitos and are there as well. Our fourth year students (Ministry Year) will arrive on Tuesday. They have been in another jungle city, Tarapoto, for two weeks and are right now taking the boat up the Amazon to Iquitos. I’m not sure the total of people that will be there up by Wednesday, but it’s quite a few!

They are all staying here:

which is where we stayed when we were in the jungle in March. This house belongs to an American family who are working with BCM Peru as well, but are currently in language school.

During the days, they will all be heading out to Llanchama (Yan-cha-ma) to work at the property BCM Peru owns, which is the same place we were at in March. Llanchama is a jungle village outside of Iquitos. It takes about an hour or more by car and boat to get there. This is the boat they’ll be taking out there ever day:

The property in Llanchama has three purposes. Two of them are still future; one is going on right now. The first and main purpose is to be a boarding school for high school kids from even further up the Amazon who have no other opportunity to attend high school. Llanchama has a high school, so if the kids have someplace to stay, they can go to school and have the opportunity to have a better life. We currently have eight kids living there; the goal is to have 30 total. Here’s a picture of the kids currently live there (don’t they look young??). The baby is Jordan Odicio, our friend’s little boy.

The second purpose is to hold camps at the property, for kids from Iquitos and up the river. The goal is to begin camps this coming January. So, the men are building, during these next two weeks, dorm buildings for the kids. When we were there in March, they built the boy’s dorm for the boarding school, along with their bathroom. But, additional buildings are needed for camps, including a cafeteria, which will not be built anytime soon. Here is a picture of the building Brian and the men finished back in March:

The last thing this property will be used for is a retreat center. The opportunities and options for a retreat center in this area are endless! BCM Peru has already held retreats in Llanchama, with a good attendance, but unfortunately, we had to rent a different property and it is just too expensive to keep doing that. So, once we get a few more buildings up, we will be able to have lots of retreats at the property! It’s very exciting.

So, Brian and the men will be in Iquitos doing construction. It’s hot and humid right now, so pray for endurance. The wood is very hard, making the work very difficult. There are poisonous snakes and spiders, so pray for safety! This weekend, they will be participating in a missions conference in Iquitos, which is one reason why the four men from the States and the Ministry Year students are up there. Brian was able to share his testimony last night in a church. Their schedule is very busy, so the time should pass quickly. But, pray for them! It’s not an easy job, but it needs to get done.

I will keep you updated on their progress as much as possible.

The past couple of weeks, we’ve had a group of visitors from Lancaster Bible College. They’ve been able to see and experience a lot of our various ministries and visit many of our church plants and outreaches. Last Thursday, our anniversary, was also two of the girls’ birthdays. One of the girls was turning 18 on the 18th, so it was kind of a big deal. Peruvians LOVE celebrations, so we actually had two surprise birthday parties for the girls. The first was held in my classroom with my little girls and their moms. The second was that evening, after chapel. The IBYM students threw a “Quincenera” – which is the big 15th birthday party that Latin girls have. The girls were treated almost like brides; they threw a bouquet, were escorted around the room by different men, given seats of honor, their own cake… It was quite the fiesta! One of the games they played with the IBYM students was like a giant version of “rock, paper, scissors”. You have two teams and your choices are lion, man, or rifle. Lion eats the man; rifle kills the lion; man controls the rifle. The picture below shows one team as lion and the other as man. It was quite funny. We got a video of another game they played – the equivalent of “musical chairs” with the girls being the “chairs.” The boys had to run around the girls and when the music stopped, they had to link arms with a girl. HILARIOUS! And they wonder why Bible Schools are usually called “bridal schools”…

The other celebration we attended a week ago was an anniversary celebration for a BCM church plan that’s been in existence for five years. It was not started by BCM, but a BCM pastor was asked to take it over a few years ago. Anniversaries like this are celebrated much, much differently down here! They went ALL OUT. The celebration began at 3pm (approximately) with a lot of singing. After the singing, they had a few special presentations from our evangelistic team called Apoyo.

They did a song and then a couple of mimes. Once they were done, we sang some more…Peruvian churches LOVE to sing…and then we had a special message from our good friend, Jonaton Odicio, who also just happens to be head of the Apoyo Ministry Team.

Being the silly Americans we are, we thought we’d be nearing the end of the celebration now. We were wrong. After Jonaton spoke, they had each BCM church plant give a presentation. Each Bible club we have in the area was represented, either by some of the children or just their leaders. Those with kids, sang; those whose kids couldn’t make it, just said special words of Congratulations to the church.

This club actually consists of about 50 children, but they were from a different city and very few could make it. They sang BEAUTIUFULLY! The lady up there with them is hands-down the sweetest lady we’ve ever met. Her name is Karina; her husband, Gimbler, is the pastor of the church this Bible club is held at. Their precious baby girl is the product of a 7-year wait. Sweet family.
After the songs and congratulations, a birthday cake came out! They turned off the lights and sang 3 of the 5 versions of Happy Birthday (including “Happy Birthday” the English version!) that we have here in Peru. Then, gifts were presented from area churches. What we love about “gifts” down here for special occasions like this – or even for events like Mother’s Day – they’re all very practical! You’ll notice the one gift is a mop and bucket. How much more practical can that be??

Then, we sang some more! And finally, cake and punch was handed out. We’ve noticed as well that at events like this, you never, ever serve yourself cake or refreshments. They are ALWAYS brought to you. Part of that is the space issue; we were well over 100 people packed in a room that could safely (and comfortably) hold about 60. So, there was no room to move around. But then as well, it’s just a way to show honor to your guests.

So, that was our fun week of celebrations! This week, we’ll have yet another celebration. The group from Lancaster is leaving Friday, so right after lunch, we’ll be throwing a goodbye party – complete with gifts and farewell prayers and well-wishes. Peruvians are NOT quiet about their celebrating or rejoicing. Any and every event is cause for a celebration and they sure do it up right! Even our anniversary was recognized last week after the big birthday bash. We were invited up front, prayed over, and we were asked to say a few words to each other. Brian’s “words” made me cry, so all I got out was, “I love you, too.”

On another note – be praying for us! Brian leaves Saturday morning at 4am for Iquitos. He’ll be gone for 2 weeks doing some pretty tough manual labor in even HOTTER weather than what we had in March. While he’s gone, I’ll be here, by myself, teaching. Not looking forward to it, but I’ll be okay. Pray for us! I’ll keep you updated with how Brian is doing whenever I hear from him.

Today is our 4th Anniversary. This time last year, we were raising support, not knowing when we’d actually arrive in Peru. We were in South Dakota, visiting friends and family, enjoying the warm summer weather. And now… a solid year later… I’m sitting in our brand new bedroom, in our brand new house, flicking spiders and ants off my computer screen, bundled in a sweater because it’s winter here in Peru…and thanking God that we’re finally right where we’re supposed to be. No, we didn’t know four years ago where God would take us. No, we never imagined being permanently overseas. But, wow did God have bigger and better plans for our life as a married couple. Brian gets to do his favorite thing in the world – fix things – as MINISTRY. I get to teach and raise up young missionary kids, impacting their lives and helping them be prepared for life outside of teh bubble that is Bible school living. I get to play hostess in my very own, two-story house. We get to live in a country where, even though it’s winter, it’ll never be colder than 50 degrees. We get to work with Bible school kids, spend time in the jungle, and enable others to reach Peruvians for Christ and impact their world. How can life get any better than this?
Four years. More miles than we care to count. So many wonderful memories. Here’s to a lifetime more, no matter where God takes us and no matter what He asks us to do.