Quiet Weekend

We have had a very nice, very quiet weekend here. Yesterday, Elena went to play with some friends and so we even had about an hour to ourselves – which just never happens! Even today, we’re just relaxing and enjoying not having anything pertinent to do… even the house is clean! We were able to watch a friend’s wedding via the internet today, too. A good friend from CIT (our cultural training years ago!) got married today in Denver and was kind enough to stream it live so people like us could “attend”, too. Gotta love technology!

All the students were back from their trips by Wednesday. Eva came down Wednesday evening and we were able to hear about the Cusco trip. The people of Cusco are very closed. They are Catholic, but they’ve mixed it so much with their ancient Indian traditions and beliefs that it is not a Catholicism that any of us are familiar with. During door-to-door evangelism, the kids got yelled at, doors slammed in their faces… not fun. They had people shouting mean things during some open-air events. The churches that they visited have been around quite awhile, but are still very small (50 people or less). The area is steeped in “religion” but are still so lost. The one event that seemed to go very well was outside an all-girls’ school. The kids were asking lots of questions and our students talked to many of the parents as well. Pray for Cusco – and pray especially for the opportunity for BCM Peru to begin a work up there and help out these churches who seem to be at a loss as to what to do next to reach the community.

Thursday evening, the students showed pictures of their campaigns and talked a little about how things went. Over all, things went very well – good turn-outs and many people reached with the Gospel. It was a good experience for the kids and they are all very glad they went on these trips. The next time they go on missions trips is in October, but we don’t know anything about those trips yet.

Eva was so sweet and brought us back a few souvenirs from Cusco. My favorite gift was this:

A tiny, handmade Alpaca sweater for our little Baby M.! I didn’t even know they made them that small!

In other news….

This week found Brian doing lots and lots of car repairs!

He worked on 3 different vehicles this week. One of the buses for the Bible school is still not fixed and won’t be for awhile. Brian did a lot of running around looking for parts this week and then worked late Thursday and Friday and even some on Saturday trying to ensure the buses would be ready for the weekend activities… only to finish and realize there was more than he could do in that amount of time. In the end, everyone had transportation, but the one bus still needs to get fixed promptly so that’s on his agenda again this week. When I asked him what else he had to do this week his response was, “I don’t plan that far in advance.” I guess at least one of us has adapted to the Peruvian lifestyle somewhat.

I go back to teaching in the afternoons this week finally after two weeks “off” from the afternoons. My schedule is pretty much same old, same old!

Elena hasn’t been feeling well for about a week and a half now. She’s having trouble sleeping at night, not eating well during the day, running a fever off and on, and still having sporadic diarrea. Pray for her. We think it’s just molars trying to come in, but we’re not sure and don’t trust the pediatricians here enough to take her in just for a check-up. We’re all pretty tired; we haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a couple of weeks now. More importantly, though, we want our normal little girl back! She just has not been herself lately.

I know, I know, she doesn’t look sick, but trust me, this happy little face is deceiving!

Reporting in…

The missions trips are over! Most of the students are home and the rest are on their way. We know things in Cusco went very well; we haven’t heard anything from Huancayo. I’m hoping to hear reports of the trips within the next week or so and then I’ll have more to tell you. To see pictures from the trips, join the group “BCM Peru” on Facebook!

The construction team finished Sunday evening. Brian ended up being there more often than he had planned in order to help them make better progress. He was there Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, Friday, and Saturday. Here are a few pictures from the week to give you an idea of what the church they were working on looks like:

The church is on the 2nd floor of a building. This is the original construction that they had to tear down and replace.

This is the view from the street. The 2nd floor is the new church building.

A view of part of the inside on the last day of work when electricity was functioning and painting was almost done.

Most of the team that worked all week (just missing a few). You can see Brian in the back with his cheesy, tired smile.

[To see all 100+ of the pictures, go to BCM Peru's Facebook page.]

This trip was a first for BCM Peru. We’ve had a lot of construction teams come here to help out, but never have we sent one out. Brian said that Lucho, one of the missionaries, explained it very well to the kids on Saturday. Lucho explained how this is a missions project, every bit as much as the evangelism trips their friends were on. He told them that thanks to this group, this church now has a building they can meet in without fear of it falling on their heads each week. The students were excited by the end of the week to see how they had a part in this.

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In other news, in case you didn’t see already on Facebook…

This 2nd baby is also a little girl!

I am 20 weeks along – so we’re halfway there! The baby is very healthy and we’re both doing just fine. We’re very glad that it was the Lord who decided the gender! There was a few minutes where our doctor thought it was a boy and we were okay with that, too! In the end, we’re just so happy to be blessed with another child, it doesn’t matter if it’s boy or girl. So, 20 more weeks and we’ll get to have another little girl to dirty bless our house!

Missions Trips and Molars

I don’t know much about what is going on with the missions trips, but I’ll share what little I do (and have gleaned from the ever-lovely Facebook!):

• Everyone arrived safely to their destinations by Tuesday. I know some got sick on the trip to Cuzco and the trip to Huancayo (both mountain cities – ucky roads, high altitude, long bus trips), but I haven’t heard of anyone being sick after arrival.
• The Apoyo (evangelism) groups are doing a variety of things: door to door, Gospel Clown, children’s street programs, prayer services, and showing a film. I’m sure there’s more – these are the things I know about.
• Pennies for Peru (in Ica, about 4hrs south of Lima) are doing just that – Pennies for Peru campaigns. The only update I’ve seen from Ica was put up yesterday and so far they had reached more than 300 people with the Gospel!
• Apoyo in Cuzco has shared the Gospel with around 300 children as well.
• The group in Villa el Salvador doing construction is coming along, but have a ways to go.  Brian went Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, and today to help out.

Continue to pray for these groups! They have a full, busy weekend ahead of every one of them. They start coming back, I believe, on Monday. 

As for here at the home fort, I’ve had a pretty sick baby this week with molars coming in. She’s got a cold, a fever, diarrea, and an achy mouth (I wonder if it’s all not related!), so that’s been fun. But, on the plus side, she’s been much more quiet and cuddly than normal!

…but she’s still cute with her first time having pigtails!

**If you’d like to see pictures from the trips, join the group “BCM Peru” on Facebook (you can find them on my page or by searching for them). Some of the teams are regularly updating and if I don’t do the translating, someone else does, so things are (eventually!) put into English. But, at least pictures are there and more will come when they get home next week!**

Mother’s Day Weekend

If you’ve followed us for a few years, you’ve learned that Mother’s Day is huge here in Peru. Like I said last year, we’re not sure exactly why that is and we’ll probably never know for sure, but the ideas that we’ve gathered are: the Roman Catholic influence (Mary), the matriarchal society, or the fact that Peru likes to copy the U.S.A. (and do it bigger and better). Whatever the reason, Mother’s Day is more like Mother’s Week… and now that I’m a Mom, I’m okay with that.

Thursday afternoon, all the Moms I work with went to a friend’s house for lunch and a relaxing afternoon – the only kids in tow were the ones who are still nursing. You know how strange it is to constantly be around children and then suddenly have almost an entire afternoon without kids OR husbands?? I honestly wasn’t sure what to do with myself… but I figured it out fast, don’t worry.

We spent the afternoon by (or in!) a beautiful pool. After lunch, we had a game (the picture) and then a devotional and a few gifts.

The devotional was brought by the pastor of a local church plant (left).

I was especially happy to see my good friend, Zarela. She and her husband Robert (and son Caleb) just moved to Tarapoto last month to be directors up there, but were able to come for the weekend. It was wonderful catching up!

Then, on the way home, the “typically unexpected” happened: Becky hit a piece of wood with a nice, long nail in it! We stopped to check the tire and were sent to a “llanteria” (tire store) across the street where we waited for some co-workers to come check it out for us before driving home. Always an experience…

Zarela, Becky’s sister-in-law Desiree (visiting for a week), and Joan – with our little chocolate boxes, waiting for “rescue” from the flat tire.

Becky, our driver, contemplating whether or not to run across to the street to the hardware store for her husband… or staying put in the slightly questionable area. She stayed.

Where we stopped (tire store on left). Fine place to drive through; we were glad we didn’t have to wait there very long.

Thursday evening, there was a special Mother’s Day chapel, full of skits, special music, special PowerPoint presentations, games, and give-aways. Unfortunately, my camera battery died at the beginning of the evening so I didn’t get any good pictures.

Saturday, Brian took me out for a “date day” – something we haven’t been able to do since I got pregnant really. We went to the mall and enjoyed a nice lunch and afternoon together as a family.

Sunday, our church went all out for Mother’s Day. Just an observation: we thought it was quite interesting that on Easter, nothing was said or done to commemorate the holiday (not a special song, not even a “Happy Easter” or a flower up front). But, for Mother’s Day? The entire service was focused on Moms – the congregation sang a total of two songs and the rest of the time was different specials, all centered on moms. Gifts were given, prizes handed out, even the sermon focused on mothers.

Some of the kids at church talking about their moms

A special ladies’ choir

And here are the two reasons I got to celebrate Mother’s Day yesterday:

This week is the different missions trips. This morning, the group left to work on the church in the Lima district. This afternoon, all the other groups are heading out. A few will have all-night bus rides (specifically the ones going 20hrs to Cuzco). Pray for our students as they build, do Pennies for Peru, and lead evangelism campaigns!

[We are here, I'm doing school in the mornings as usual. Brian will go once or twice to see how the build is coming along, but he'll be here most of the week as well.]

Letter to All Moms

Saw this online today and thought it was just lovely. Enjoy!

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

*To read the whole post, click here: http://messymiddle.com/2012/05/10/an-open-letter-to-pastors-a-non-mom-speaks-about-mothers-day/

Day of Prayer and Fasting

A couple times a year there is an international day of prayer and fasting for Bible Centered Ministries. Today is one of those days! I thought I would share some specific requests so that if you have a few minutes today (or in the days to come! It’s not limited to today!), you could lift up us and our board in your prayers.

1. The camping season is gearing up in the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Ireland, England, France, Spain, etc). Pray for the volunteers, the directors, and most importantly – the campers. 
2. Finances as a whole in BCM Int’l are way down. Many workers at our headquarters have been let go (or are “on hold” until their full support is raised). Pray that God would provide the funds necessary to keep the mission board going and that those trying to raise full monthly support (to work an office job in the States – not an easy thing to raise support for!) would be able to do so quickly.
3. BCM Int’l will, Lord-willing, open a new field in Africa later this year. They are all Africans, fully supported, and reaching thousands of kids every month. Pray for this new work!
4. Different individuals around the world are currently translating our curriculum “In Step with the Master Teacher” into multiple languages who currently have nothing like it. Pray that they would be able to finish the translating sooner than expected so more teachers can be trained and ultimately more children reached with the Gospel!
5. The curriculum “Footsteps of Faith” (a Sunday School curriculum) is currently being revised. It was written quite a few years ago, so it is being updated and revised and corrected, then translated into the many languages it is currently available in. Pray for this team working on the revisions – there’s a lot of work left to be done. Then the translating begins again!
6. Our friends, Robert and Zarela, and their year old son, Caleb, are in the jungle city of Tarapoto, working as BCM Peru directors of Tarapoto. They are new to the area, alone, and in a new position. Pray for them as they coordinate with churches, train volunteers, and hopefully build a team – all while raising their son and keeping their family strong.
7. One of our missionaries here, Joan, is newly pregnant. She suffered a miscarriage last year; pray that this baby will be healthy and grow to full-term.
8. Next week are the missions trips for the IBYM students. Pray for safety as they travel to Cuzco, Huancayo, Ica, and around Lima. Pray for their finances (some still don’t have the funds necessary to go) and pray that they would reach many for Christ.
9. Pray for our IBYM students: many of them just plain don’t have the money they need right now. A lot of our students are eating just one meal a day because they can’t afford food and tuition. Pray that God would provide for these kids who have sacrificed (in some cases – a lot!) to be here.
10. For Brian and myself – we have a lot of very difficult decisions to make in the next few months. Pray that God make His will very clear to us in the direction we are to take.

The car, a room, and the week ahead

Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am that my husband is a mechanic? Probably not often enough! Well, this past week was yet another prime example of why it’s great to have married a mechanic! Brian knew (somehow!) that the clutch was going out on our little car. He had to go out Thursday night and when he got home, he told me that he was not taking the family anywhere in the car – it was going straight to the shop. Friday afternoon, he took it to the shop and made it literally minutes before it would’ve been undrivable. Our mechanic wanted Brian to take it home and bring it back in a few weeks, but when Brian said it felt like the e-brake was on perpetually (which is….bad, I guess), he told Brian to just leave it and not even have the other mechanics turn it on to move it! We’re not sure when it’ll be done – probably in a few days. Brian’s going to check on it today. We’re just so thankful Brian caught it before it went out while we were out as a family. It’s going to be a little more expensive than he’d planned on, but that’s what emergency funds are for, right?

Sunday, we borrowed a friend’s car to go to church, but wouldn’t you know it, IT had problems, too! So, instead of making it to first service like we normally do, we had to go to second service so Brian could have time to fix the wires. After he was done fiddling with the car, he worked on Elena’s room. Elena’s room has been a mix of laundry room, storage room, and toolshed. It’s now just Elena’s room and part laundry room! Brian got it all cleaned out and then he hung up these wooden flowers and butterflies that he made for her before she was born, but was never able to hang up. It looks just wonderful and of course, Elena loves it.

This week includes:

• A day of prayer and fasting for BCM Int’l on Wednesday. Lisa will have classes in the morning, but nothing in the afternoon as everyone will be spending time together in prayer. Will you consider joining us for even a few minutes on Wednesday and pray for our ministry and the global ministry of our mission board? I will post some specific requests from around the world sometime on Wednesday.
• If you’ve followed us the last few years, you know Mother’s Day is a big deal here in Peru. Thursday for lunch, all the missionary women here are going out together. Thursday evening, there’s a special chapel time dedicated to the moms.
• Friday evening we’re hoping for a date night to celebrate Mother’s Day {though I just heard a soft pretzel stand is opening in our mall on Saturday so I might talk Brian into postponing our date til Saturday!}.
• Sunday morning is church and there is a competition for all the moms of kids 3 and under to dress up our kids as much as possible. hmm… not so good at that, but we’ll give it a shot!
• Then on Monday, everyone heads out for their prospective missions trips!

We hope you have a lovely week! Thanks for checking in with us!

*Do you receive our monthly newsletter yet?? If not, drop us an email at brianlisabiegert@yahoo.com and we’ll add you to our list! One just went out on Saturday – don’t miss out!*