Thoughts..........

Almost as soon as I stepped off of the plane in Lima, Peru, my view of poverty and wealth changed. I began to see myself in a different light. Why have I been born to privilege, wealth, love, and joy when others are born to poverty, hate, and sadness? Although I don’t know the answer to this question, I know that because I was born in those circumstances I have a tremendous responsibility on my shoulders. We have started reading When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett. It is very thought-provoking. It is hard to come to grips with the World’s problems, my responsibility, and my inability to change the problems. It is easy to go to one extreme or the other in my thinking. One extreme: I’m totally deficient and cannot make much difference so I won’t do anything. Or the other extreme thinking that there is a lot I could accomplish on my own. As a follower of Jesus, I am called to do something in His grace. This is really an act of faith knowing that God must cause what I do to prosper and grow for it to really matter. I am still trying to figure out how to fulfill my calling to help the poor and needy. Whether it means giving diapers to the baby of the women who sits across from SALI every day, giving handouts to beggars, or saving my uneaten food for someone who needs it, I don’t know. There are so many problems most of which have no easy solution! When Helping Hurts suggests that poverty is caused by broken relationships. How are these relationships healed? How can I become involved in this relational process especially when I am broken all over? These are questions which have been at the forefront of my mind. Heidi told me “Since we have great education and wealth, it is our responsibility to use these God-given gifts for the Kingdom of God.” So, instead of feeling guilty because I have been given material wealth, I should share with others and receive from them the gifts that I don’t have. Material wealth doesn’t mean happiness. I don’t need to feel sorry for those who have less than me. They probably have learned lessons I haven’t or have a greater wealth of understanding.

September was the second month of teaching in SALI and most of us kept the same class time we had before. I have a couple of new students and am continually reminded to pray for their salvation. God has brought these specific 154 persons from all the people in Trujillo to come. Please pray that we could have good conversations and that they would see the difference in the Christians and ask questions.

A week and a half ago, I ate dinner with Ronald and Branco, his son. Ronald is a violinist here in Trujillo who has a ministry in Porvenir for children who cannot afford to take violin lessons. He is a prominent as a violinist in the Symphony Orchestra, and as a Suzuki teacher. I am now Branco’s new violin teacher. My studio has grown to two! God has used Ronald and Branco to be a blessing to me! It is really fun to listen to classical music and chat about the details of different pieces and composers. Sometimes the Spanish goes way over my head! Ronald is helping me get connected with the orchestra here. It sounds like I may be playing a concert with them soon!

My Spanish is going full charge ahead. Many times I feel so stupid and don’t want to open my mouth because whatever comes out is going to be full of errors! However, whenever I think this, I hear “Well, you have to try” in my head. I try to make 10-20 new flashcards every day, Monday through Friday. Usually a very frustrating day of Spanish indicates a big learning curve. Sunday night, I spent about 4-5 hours speaking and listening primarily in Spanish and that night I dreamed in Spanish and woke up thinking in Spanish. I was ectastic!!!!

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Grace Bateman was exactly right when she said Peruvians know how to throw a good party! Last Sunday was my 22nd Birthday. Sunday evening we had a bunch of friends over to celebrate. The tradition here is to have a "surprise" party but I was happy with knowing what was going on! We had guacamole (so far one of my favorite snacks here even though it is Mexican) and amazing cheesecake made by Alleen! I have never had such a big party. It was a very encouraging day!

A cool Peruvian tradition they did at my party was to have people say things that they appreciate about you. It is a little awkward but nevertheless encouraging! Another tradition at parties is dancing. Even though I am still learning the ropes of Salsa, it was really fun! It was really cool to have church members, fellows, and English students hanging out and having fun.

Sunday morning, I had Alleen take videos of some of the songs we do at Cristo Rey. The first video is rather amusing and a bit humbling for me as I stood up on a song I didn't know. I felt like I couldn't just sit down so I kind of faked my way through it. Alleen and I watched this video first and she said to me "Man, they need to turn up your mike. I can't hear you". I told her that that was the point. I didn't want to be heard on this one! Here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeaGRv_pVEU

This second video is my favorite song that we sing in Church. It is from the book of Revelations.

(I will post it later as it takes like 40 minutes to upload)

Thank you for all the letters you have sent! I have a "wall of letters" in my room where I post letters people send. :) Life here has definitely picked up speed. I cannot believe I have been here one month!

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday afternoons at 4:00 PM we have ensayo (rehearsal) for church on Sunday. This week was my second rehearsal with the church musicians and thanks to Allen Smith and Wes Baker I had some sheet music! The musicians are as follows from left to right: Me, Loida (who sang), Hermes who sings, Veronica (singer), Bruno (leads by singing and playing guitar), Rebecca, and Kati who also sings.

In Peru, most things start about 30 or so minutes late. As people arrive you greet them with a kiss. When you arrive, you greet everyone present. I actually think this makes the situation much less awkard! The greeting here is to kiss the left cheek. Some people will shake hands but the kiss is much warmer :)

We have a lot of fun in rehearsal. Hermes who is also a dancer will sometimes dance as he sings. Everyone teases each other. The main thing they say to me repeatedly is "Tranquila, tranquila, Raquelito" which basically means to relax! They are very patient with me as I try to learn the songs, introductions, and the order of worship. It is a bit difficult when you have no music and you are asked to play the introduction especially when you have forgotten what key it's in or what note it starts on!

Even though I have only been here a short time, the love that these brothers and sisters have for God and others has been obvious to me. Whenever there is a church event ministry, the young people (20-30 yr olds) are there serving. I hope to be able to learn and grow from their patience and love for each other.

Anyway, after praying, we practice the songs for worship. Afterwards, I have started a class teaching Music Theory and Sight-reading to those in the worship team. My goal is to help them not only be better educated musicians but also to give them the tools they need to write down the songs they have written for worship. If you can sightread, a new realm of music is opened to you. All of my students are very intelligent and continually surprise me with the rapidity of their growth! So far, we have done notes in the bass and treble clef (do-si are the syllables they use instead of the alphabet) and simple rhyth

ms.

The past two weeks, Veronica and I have stayed after class and played some guitar and violin duets. We tried some Paganini and some Pop songs such as Nuestro Secreto. It has been awesome to see God open up opportunities for relationships through music. I thought I would not have people to play chamber music with but I already have a guitarist friend and a violinist friend!

Thank you for all your prayers regarding my health and adjustment! To my surprise, I haven't been sick even with a cold! I am slowly learning the culture and I can get around the city some! Please continue to pray for me as I learn Spanish. It is a long and frustrating process! I always wanted to learn another language but it is very draining. It takes every ounce of brain I have to understand and to speak. By the time I teach English at 4:00 PM I keep speaking in Spanish! I was reprimanded lovingly by Alleen that this was English class and that I wasn't to speak in Spanish :)

May God bless you all!

Opportunities

La plaza de armas of Trujillo





God brought me my first violin student this week! We had our first lesson. He is very motivated and learns quickly. I went to the worship rehearsal for Cristo Rey, the new downtown church plant. It was really overwhelming because they sing about 20 songs every Sunday and I was trying to learn them all by ear. I only played 5 or so songs on Sunday 2 of which I had heard from before. I was "challenged" that I needed to learn their songs más rapido! After the rehearsal, I gave a Music Theory/Sightreading class. I am attempting to teach them first to sightread and then hopefully to write down their own songs. I loved the songs I did hear. The worship team has such enthusiasm for God and are eager to sing His praises. I'm so blessed to be here and learn from them!

The sun has been coming out in the afternoons and the sky turns blue. It makes me very happy :)

Relationships and Getting Started

So, what do I actually do during the day? My main goals for the next few months are to improve my Spanish, make relationships, and begin entering the music world of Trujillo. I spend about 4 hours studying Spanish everyday. My excellent tutor works with me 1-2 hours and I have a one hour group lesson. She is very encouraging which helps me keep going. Learning a language uses both parts of your brain which makes it exhausting. After a couple hours of Spanish study, I cannot remember English words anymore! In order to teach music and be active in the music community, I basically have to be fluent in Spanish. Many prayers in that regard are highly appreciated!

I usually go to work about 8:30 AM. The office is about 3-4 blocks away so I can easily walk. In the morning, I usually practice violin and study Spanish. Lunch here is from 1-3 so the days I don't have commitments (we have lunch with the interns one day and lunch with our "family" one day) I usually go to a Menú which is a small lunch place which usually serves a 2 course meal. The going rate for that is about 4 soles (a little less than 2 dollars). Today I had the traditional Lomito Saltado which is small pieces of tender beef with french fries, tomatoes, and onions. It came with soup and a really different juice drink. The juice looked like river water with bits floating around in it and tasted like barley tea with sweetener. Seth laughed and said he loved ordering something unknown.

After lunch, I prepare for my English class. I teach one advanced class at 4:00 PM Monday through Friday with 5 guy students. Most of them are between 20-30 years old. it is a really fun class and a great way to make relationships with people from many different backgrounds. One thing I really appreciate is the time people take for other people. Everyone greets each other and says goodbye to everyone. Another thing I really enjoy is the 10 minute prayer and Psalm time we have before English classes.

At night my roommates I are out and about doing various things trying to develop relationships with our students and each other. Monday night some friends came over and hung out. We listened to the Kjarkus band and ate spaghetti. On Tuesday the girls had prayer meeting with Alleen. We went to the late night showing of Inception and met up with some of our English students. It was good discussion material for the next day's class! Wednesday, Lydia and Hermes, (our friend from Cristo Rey Church), and I went and ate a traditional Peruvian dish. It was a cool time of sharing and fellowship. The intern Bible study is on Thursday nights. Needless to say, we don't spend much time at home!

I love the schedule and getting to know people.

The sights, sounds, and smells of Trujillo

Well, what is Trujillo like? It is a city on the coast but it is very dry. It is very dusty and sandybut whatever is watered flourishes. I suppose any large metropolis is noisy but it was more than I had bargained for! Our apartment is filled with sounds of horns which are anything from beep beep to different melodies and even the whistle associated with the sight of a pretty girl. On Sunday morning, I woke up to loud enthusiastic singing

coming from the Pentacostal Church located next door! (it was beautiful!)

There are many varieties of fruits which in many cases used for juice. At juguerias the chef will squeeze the fruit in front of you and will hand it to you in a community glass to drink on the spot!

Or you can order it to go and it comes in a plastic bag with a straw.

Many of the buildings here are brightly colored. It is fun to walk down the street and smell the smells of a small lunch joint, see people chatting and haggling the prices of their wares, and feel the wind of a passing taxi. (yes they drive by the inch here).

By night, my brain is totally dead! Speaking Spanish is so fun but it is not natural for me yet. :) Yesterday we went to the downtown church plant Cristo Rey. I love the service even though I can't understand everything. We sang like 20 songs! The brothers and sisters here are truly a blessing. They are very understanding and patient with my Spanish!

Praise God for a safe arrival in Trujillo, Peru! These past few days have been rather ethereal. All of the fellows (there are 7 of us) arrived in the Lima airport Wednesday night. Alleen met us at the airport and we spent the night there. My fellow expatriates are (left to right) Patrick, Tyler, Heidi, me, Lydia, Daniel and Seth. So far so good! None of us are sick although we have been somewhat adventuresome. Most of us have had salad which can be iffy depending on the restaurant. This is a jello/jamish type of fruit dessert. It was as interesting as it appears!

Yesterday we had orientation with Josh Eby our pastor and boss. Everything is quite overwhelming and leaves me feeling a little dumb and incompetent. However, from God's perspective both are true but I never realized it in quite the same way. :) There is much to learn not even mentioning the need to learn more Spanish. In that area I have been both surprised and fearful. I can speak but I am very slow to figure out how and what to say! God is teaching me to trust Him in all things. Now is the time!

I love you all and will post again soon!