Hola!

I have to be quick because it´s after 11pm and I have to be downstairs by 6am to get an early breakfast and then go to the airport and go to Cusco. And I have to pack my stuff for Cusco tonight! We may not have internet access in Cusco.

Please pray for all of us on the mission team as we are going to be going from sea level to very very high elevation in a short period of time. Please also pray for me b-c I have packing issues and I am only supposed to bring my carry on bag--which is a bookbag--and we will be there 2 nights, I think!

We will tour Machupicchu (spelling?) on Friday. We will visit two orphanages while in Cusco--one orphanage for girls tomorrow and another for boys on Saturday morning. Aso, I am leading our devotional on Saturday morning. Please pray that I will share what God wants us to hear that day. It is going to be sad to have to say goodbye to all my new friends from my mission team and the Buckner Staff.

Anyway, today we visited Hogar Reyna de la Paz in the morning. It is a home for single moms and their children. The moms were as young as 11. This is a home run by nuns. It was very nice and had very beautiful gardens all over the outside areas. One of the girls in our group had a baby who was only 12 days old. I had the privilege to hold little Justin Timberlake (that´s what his mom said his name was) in my arms for several minutes. How awesome! I have pics, but alas, I can´t yet upload them! These little moms seemed to be learning how to take good care of their kids. I can´t imagine what it would have been like to have a child when I was a child as young as some of these girls! Many of them seemed to be pretty easy going about it. I was pretty nervous as a new mom when I had Joshua--and I was 26!

As a mom, I could tell that babies and kids were starting to get hungry during our visit. No problema for these moms! They simply nursed their children. I think it is wonderful that they felt no shame in giving their children the nourishment that God made within their bodies. Some of the men (and women) were a bit taken aback by it, but I see it as a beautiful portrayal of God´s provision and care for us.

We had a delicioso lunch today at a nice restaurant called Grand Azul. We were served warm bread, salads, the Peruvian version of Rotisserie (spelling) chicken (delicious!), grilled and skewered Anticucho (cow and-or chicken hearts--I didn´t partake of those today but I did eat a whole skewer of beef Anticucho last night at dinner), Papas Fritas, and a dessert that is like a doughnut that looks like a big onion ring served with honey. I drank Sprite and Agua. By the way, if you come to Peru, make sure to order your agua "sin gas"--unless you like sparkling water!

This afternon we visited Aldea San Ricardo, a sibling home in Chosica with over 100 children who have been removed from their families´ homes for their protection. We had a big group of children. Many of them called me "Jennifer Lopez!" She is very popular here. I was asked to share my testimony when it was time for the VBS portion of our group´s activities. I haven´t really done this much in public before--especially in front of children..so I was a little hesitant. But God led me in the direction He wanted me to go and He gave me the words and a message that many of them could relate to. I am thankful for our awesome translator Julie who helped the kids understand my testimony. She is a very gifted, loving and beautiful Drama teacher..and she really makes the gospel come alive! Almost all the kids in our group raised their hand to say that they wanted to accept the regala (or is it regalo?)--the gift--of salvation!

During the shoe selection part of our time with our group, I was able to help find new shoes for a precious 2 or 3 year old little boy named Jesus (pronounced hay-zeus). At first I couldn´t find a pair to fit him. One was too big;another was too small. But I found a whole other selection to choose from and I found some that were just right for mi amigo Jesus! He was a sweet and smart little boy. I was told that he couldn´t really talk because he was missing part of the top of his mouth. The lady who told me showed me but I can´t translate into words what it looked like. Little Jesus and I had a good time playing around while I put his new socks and shoes on his little feet--and afterward. He kept pointing to the other shoes and saying "zapatoes"! ( I don´t have a clue how to spell the Spanish word for shoes so I just wrote it how it sounds) I would laugh and tell him they were mucho grande. I was trying to tell him they were too big;I think he understood despite my incorrect wording.

Well, I didn´t want to have to leave little Jesus. I don´t know his family background or what will happen to him now. But I told him about Jesus. And I hugged him and held him and played with him and kissed him. And he gave me some sweet little kisses on my cheeks, too. I had Julie explain to him that I had to go but that I love him and Jesus loves him. And I will remember Jesus of Chosica, Peru.

The experience of taking off an orphaned child´s dirty little socks and shoes and replacing them with clean, new socks and good, sturdy, nice shoes is not like anything I have ever experienced. It reminds me, as I think about it now, of Jesus washing his disciples´ feet. Jesus was loving them and serving them--just as I was loving and serving little Jesus today.

I cannot adequately describe to you just how awesome it is to be able to go into these children´s homes and bring and give children shoes and socks and other items to meet their physical needs AND to also be able to meet their spiritual needs by telling them about Jesus. In addition, we let them know we love them and play games with them and give them the affection that they are so often starving for.

This summer, WBFJ listeners will have a chance to buy shoes to donate to Buckner International´s Shoes For Orphans Souls project. I can tell you that these shoes will go to children who really need them. And they will get more than shoes and socks--they will get the chance to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to know that God loves them and that people who live in the USA love them and care for them. They will be hugged and loved and prayed for. Buckner´s in-country staff will follow up with them, too.

So, please start praying about our upcoming shoe drive. I want WBFJ to collect MUCHO shoes--good quality , sturdy, nice-looking shoes that we would buy for our own children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews, etc! I want the orphaned children who receive our donated shoes to know that WBFJ listeners care about them and want to help meet their needs. Go online to www.buckner.org to find out more about this wonderful ministry. And when you buy shoes to donate to this project, please pray for the child who will receive them. You can even put a note in the shoes for the child who will receive them. They really enjoy that! And they love pictures, too! I can´t wait to share my trip photos with you! And if God so leads, I would love to return to Peru with my husband Joe (who knows quite a bit of Spanish) and with any WBFJ listeners who would like to experience the blessing of ministering to ¨the least of these¨ and share your love and God´s love with these precious children under the capable and caring leadership of Buckner International´s staff.

:) Chau!
Jennifer

(So much for this being quick--tis now after 12:30 am here! I don´t want to get up at 5 or 5:30am!)


Thanks for your prayers.

Another Good Day in Peru

Hola!It has been another wonderful day of ministry, excitement, interesting food, etc here in Lima, Peru. We visited two boys´ homes today--both for kids who had been living on the street. The boys at the second home were older and had drug addictions. We met lots of sweet boys at each home. There was one super sweet little fella at the first home named Bryan (that´s not how he spelled it, but...). He is 10. I got to help put his new shoes (donated by someone during a Shoes For Orphans Souls shoe drive in the USA) on him. They were really cool and fit him well. He had a big huge beautiful smile on his face! I got some awesome pics of me and him but I have no way to upload them yet!

Anyway, at one point I gave him a big hug and he hugged me back and neither of us wanted to let go. I told him Te amo y Jesus te amo--I love you and Jesus loves you. We had a time earlier during which members of our group (Orange--the radio representatives) had shared their story of coming to know Jesus with the kids--and also read them a story and talked to them about praying to God. Julie, one of our AWESOME translators who is a Drama Teacher, was really expressive and dramatic in her translations. Most of the kids understood quite a bit about God and Jesus and the Bible, actually! :) And little Bryan now knows that God loves him, Jesus died for him and there are Americans like me who love him and care about him.

I learned later that Bryan is a true orphan. His parents died a few years ago in a car accident. Also, he was adopted somewhat recently, but was then sent back to the Boys Home. A sad fact, but Bryan has hope. I could see it in his smile. And I could feel it in his hug. It was a blessing to be able to show him affection.

Speaking of showing affection, the goodbyes here at the orpanages are very hard. We all wish we could stay longer. I wish I could hug and hold each one and tell them that they are special and that God and I love them. But the goodbyes are also very sweet. The custom is to say "Adios" or "Ciao" (pronounced "Chow!") and then give and get a hug with one arm and give and get a kiss on the cheek. Some of these little guys today didn´t want to let go.

There´s more to tell but I need to go to my room and get ready for bed. I am already being told to be at meeting places at least 5 minutes before everyone else is told to arrive. :( I´ve done well the last couple of times. ;)

Beunos Noches!Jennifer(A little boy named Isaac at the first Home we visited today called me Jennifer Lopez)

PS-stay tuned to WBFJ or check out www.wbfj.fm for more info and reports on my trip!

Hola from Lima, Peru!

I am at the Colon Hotel in Mira Flores where it is hard to figure out how to use the internet. There is no light in here and so the computer screen is very bright and hurts my eyes. And the mouse keys are backwards from how they are at home.

Wally-- i just called joe and forgot to ask him to call you''sorry! It is hard to do the uppercase letters here-the keyboard is different, so sometimes i´m not bothering with them.

Today we visited the home for girls who were rescued out of prostitution. I made a new friend named Thalia who is 14. She has been at the home for 2 years. Can you imagine what kind of person would pay to take advantage of little girls? Several of the girls had babies or young kids and they were beautiful. Thalia kept coming up to me and finding me and wanting me to come with her for different things. I was able to help her with her new shoes, too. That was a blessing.

The Colon Hotel is rather nice. I need a reminder sign in front of me about not putting paper in the toilet, though. (Yes, you can not put paper in the toilets here. You have to put it in little trash cans beside the toilets. And not all the toilets and stalls have TP in them. There is a sign in el bano in my hotel room but it is behind the "WC" so --out of sight, out of mind!
Speaking of El Bano, I need to go there, por favor.

I have taken lots of pics but I can´t see if there is a USB port on this computer or not. I think I´ll go to El Bano and get my glasses and flashlight and see what I find out--when I come back to the business computer room, I mean.

As far as food, I had breakfast at the hotel this morning. I had some pancakes with syrup that tasted like honey, some scrambled eggs (not as good as Joe´s) , coffee, orange juice, cantaloupe, some other kind of fruit, etc. We ate lunch at a traditional Peruvian buffet restaurant. It was good. I tried lots of different foods'--even a bite of grilled beef heart served on skewers! We had dinner at a very nice Peruvian Chinese restaurant overlooking the Pacific OCEAN.
This is an awesome experience so far. Thanks for your prayers!
I´ll write more when I can see better!

Beunos Noches/Ciao!
Jennifer

This month I will be travelling to Peru to represent WBFJ on a Shoes For Orphans Souls mission trip with Buckner International. (www.buckner.org)

This will be my first mission trip as well as my first trip outside the USA requiring a Passport. So, I had to get a Passport. That was pretty easy to do after I called my mom to confirm her and my dad's birthplaces. Good thing I did, b/c I would have gotten my dad's wrong! He was born in Petersburg, Va--not Hopewell like I thought! I knew that mom was born in Buffalo, NY!

Well, I hear that South America is lovely--but there are some risks in going there.

YIKES! I don't want any-colored fever and I needed my Tetnus/Diptheria booster, so one day last month I went to my Doctor's office for that. And the next day (2/16/07, I think) I headed to a place I just recently learned about--The Passport Health office.
Tonya, the Clinical Nurse Manager, talked to me about the various health risks of visiting the areas of Peru where I'll be travelling. She had a HUGE map in her office to help us visualize my trip.

Ultimately, I decided to cover the basics including Typhoid Fever, Flu and Hepatitis A&B. Here is a lineup of what I was about to face. Tonya was working on preparing the 3rd shot off camera. (The biohazard bin kinda looks like a Red Hat in this pic. My mom is in a Red Hats group in Hopewell, VA! I think Tonya is a bit young for the average age of Red Hatters, anyway. )

1,2, 3 sticks and then 3 bandages for my "boo-boos". My son Josh wondered why I didn't get "cool" bandages like he uses. Why, indeed, Tonya?! Perhaps those are reserved for minors.
(Not pictured: my 1 boo-boo on my right arm from the Tetnus/Dipth. shot I got the day before.)

In the bathroom after my shots, I reflected on my experience. No tears! Even though my hair was pretty flat. I'm growing it out to cut 10 inches of it off to give to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. They meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Check out www.locksoflove.org

After all those shots, all that talk about SOUTH America and needing to learn some Spanish, and since it was so close to lunchtime, I decided I would jump on into some more trip prep-work by going "South of the border" to the nearby Taco Bell drive -through to get my lunch. (I didn't see ANY rats!) I only wonder if I can work my working lunch into my reinbursable expenses.(I do not advise eating Tacos while driving. It is difficult and messy and unsafe--even though I was driving my hubby's car and didn't have to shift gears. Of course, being safety and CLEAN-conscious, I did most of my nibbling at the stop lights and back at the station.)

I will be blogging about my trip from Peru from time to time. So check back and see how things are going. And I'd appreciate your prayers for me, for the others making the trip, for my husband Joe and son Joshua and for the orphans the rest of the team and I will be blessing and ministering to on this trip!

My son Joshua and me My husband Joe

Rejoicing in grace and in the opportunity to share God's love in Peru,
Jennifer

Labels: Preparing for Peru-time for shots
originally posted by JennB on my other blogsite @ 7:43 AMMonday, February 26, 2007

Heading Out Soon

Stay Tuned for updates from Jennifer and her trip to Peru!