PROJECT ALLIANCE

I started singing with my church worship team 4 months ago. I was amazed that they are responsible to raise funds for whatever they need, their microphones, instruments, and outfits. Next up on the project list are stage monitors, which allow those of us on stage to hear what we're singing and playing. (Our church is large and made of concrete and most of the sound never gets back to the front of the room where we're standing.)

Fundraisers are usually bake sales, where you can by a papa rellena, a stuffed potato, for 1 sol, which is about 30 cents. I started doing the math and realized it would take a lot of papas rellenas to raise around $700, which what we estimate it will cost to provide monitors for our church.

Then I realized what a great opportunity this was to give my U.S. friends the chance to help out my Peruvian friends. And there are a lot of you musicians who know just what I'm talking about regarding the monitors!

Any size gift will be a big help to the project. Just think: a gift of $5 equals 15 papas rellenas, and donating $20 is equivalent to purchasing 60! I'll be in Lima in the middle of April, so I hope to see enough funds come in so we can purchase these then.

Click here to donate through PayPal or to mail a check.

Thank you!

Let the Little Ones...

One of the most mind-blowing things to me is the variety of opportunities for service here. Did I miss all of them in the States? Is there something about being a "missionary" that leads people to tell you about their ministries and invite you to work with them? Am I just more attuned?

I enjoy expanding my understanding of the ways others are serving. When my friend Deedra came down we made a point to visit the girls' home my friends started. We even took along a tiny keyboard (thanks, Smiths!)....


While we can't serve in every capacity, we are called to listen and follow. And we can be confident that He will lead. "The mind of a man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
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Food & Friends

Two of my friends decided it was time I learned how to make my favorite Peruvian dish, Ají de Gallina. So they came over last Friday and we cooked together for a few hours, one of my favorite things to do.

Ají de Gallina literally means Pepper of the Hen and the idea is that you can use your oldest, toughest bird, simmer it in this spicy yet creamy sauce, and get a fantastic result. It's served over rice and potatoes, with hardboiled egg and olives as condiments. As an added plus, we made a refresco, or drink, out of apple, cocona, and maracuya. Peruvian food is certainly not a hardship!

2 days, 50 people, 6 languages

Two weekends ago we had over 50 people working together here in Huánuco from 6 distinct languages. We had to use Spanish to communicate. Female ministry leaders (and a few guys) came to share and learn about the Women of the Bible project. In the picture above are members of the Huamalíes team I traveled with a few times last year. Their team is expanding as they bring new leaders on board for this year's round of workshops. They helped introduce this Bible teacher training program to ministry leaders from other Quechua language groups. It was thrilling to watch these Quechua women trainers learn from each other, share experiences, hopes, and frustrations, and spend hours in prayer for their ministries and each other.

The kids were pretty awesome too: