And boom goes the dynamite.

Well it's been too long since my last post. After my last post, Team Chavina headed back to Lima to finish up our summer and see all of the other summer missionaries. Leaving Peru was crazy tough. All of us shed a lot of tears, but knew that God had reasons for us going back to our state-side lives. Since I got back from Peru I have been extremely busy! I moved out of my Johnson City appt., moved stuff from Dover to my new home for the next 3ish years, Wake Forest, NC for Seminary at Southeastern. I've been taking classes for the past month and a halfish. I definately miss TN alot and all of my friends there, but I'm adjusting to this new enviroment quickly and making friends.

PART - Y? Because I´m Chavinan

So this will be my last update from Chavina (well CoraCora actually) We head for Lima for our final debriefing on the 28th/29th The huge thing right now in Chavina is the party for the saints that began at 4am yesterday with a 21 gun salute followed with dancing and drinking, followed with more drinking and some more drinking just for fun. Kind of a weird way to honor religious ´saints´don´t you think? So there are TONS of new people in Chavina from all over Peru. We even met another Gringo who is from Miami named Billy who has family in Lima. So the majority of our ministry has been helping people get ready for the festival by making pansito (little pieces of bread) which we have done for hours and hours. We have been able to share bible stories and the gospel during these times, so it was all good. Our main prayer request is that we can still find ways to minister and share the gospel despite everyone being focused on the party.

Dance the Chuta Chuta!

Hey Everyone! I´m posting an update so that means that the team is visiting CoraCora on our day of rest. A lot has happened in the past week in Chavina so here comes the update! Last Saturday through Tuesday morning the Creative Ministries Team (CMT for short, a team that travels around to all of the village teams and does dramas, songs, and comedy bits that contain the gospel) visited us in Chavina! It was amazing having them there! They were able to spark some more intrest in the Gospel, espescially with the children. I got to hang out with Trey and Josh alot so that was a huge blessing. One MAJOR thing that I forgot to mention in my last update is that Chavina, they are having a HUGE festival at the end of the month (from the 22nd on) and everything that people are doing is in prepration for the festival. So everyday we see new faces coming into Chavina for the festival. So with that in mind, people are preoccupied and we have had a hard time getting people together for bible studies. So instead we have been going to people´s houses and studying the bible there (it´s harder for them to run away!) We´re not sure how our ministry will change when the festival time comes.
We have also been continuing our ministry in Santa Rosa, focusing on the youth and a woman named Senora Mecche (who calls me her Christobal and ALWAYS tells me how pretty my eyes are). Senora Mecche is a Christian and is respected in Santa Rosa greatly.
Our team is still getting along awesome! Our major prayer requests include making the most of the time (and days that most of the town will be sober) until the festival as well as growing closer to God´s word personally.

We Make Plans and God Laughs!

First off, sorry it has been so long since my last update. I´ll explain why further down in this post. There is a TON to update you on so this will probably be a long post! Since my last post, all of the Peruvian summer missionaries met in Nazca for our midsummer reflect and relax time for 2 days. It was wonderful getting to see everyone and hear about the work God has been doing all over Peru. Also it was amazing to be able to eat food other than rice and potatoes! We got to eat food like hamburgers, lasagna, pizza, and chineese! So we were in Nazca for Tuesday and Wednesday (the 29th my birthday and the 30th) and then the teams were going to head to their villages Thursday morning. Well I was all ready to head to Bella Union with my new team, when Mike Weaver (the ReapSouth jefe (boss)) pulled me, Ben (the other male on the Bella Union team) and asked if either of us would be open to a change in teams. We both said yes and Mike decided to put me on the Chavina team with Kelsey Harper (a Junior from Witchia State in Kansas) and Mercedez (a 26 year old Peruvian girl from Lima) So as Mike says, Blessed are the flexiable for they will not be bent out of shape!
So for the past week I´ve been in Chavina instead of Bella Union! WOW! Chavina reminds me of a bigger Lambrama, without the biting insects! Alot of what we have been doing in Chavina for the past week is preparing for a bible study by trying to secure a meeting place (which has been really tough!), inviting locals, and reconnecting with people from before Nazca (as well as introducing me as Christobol Colon ( Christopher Colombus)). We had our first bible study last night and had one girl show, Rosemary. The story we shared with her was the story of the Prodigal son (hijo perdido). It went well, but we are hoping for a larger turnout for our next bible study. We have also been trying to start a bible study in a small town that is 20ish minutes away called Santa Rosa. Today is our day of rest so we are in CoraCora, an hour away, visiting. Chavina doesn´t have internet so that´s why it´s been so long since my last update. So I won´t be able to update unless we come to CoraCora.
It was definately a shock finding out that I was on a new team and then leaving with them an hour later, but as the title of this post says, We Make Plans and God Laughs.

The End of a Great Month!

Well Lambrama has been a wonderful village! I know it has been a while since my last update, but we have been really busy here and the internet has been a little sketchy. Monday was a pretty relaxed day. Dino and Aida were in Lambrama for Sunday and Monday because Dino´s uncle passed away, so they weren´t there. We met with Sellia on Monday and tried to visit with other people but everybody seemed to be busy. Tuesday was some Saint´s Day so all of the village drank and carried an idol of the saint around the plaza for most of the day. Wednesday was Brittne´s birthday. So we started the day off watching the USA WIN in the 91st minute!!! Then we had lunch with Dino and Aida. That night we visited with Sellia again, Saw Victor and Ricardo before they left, and visited with Dino and Aida again that night. Thursday was some type of agricultural fair where Quechea from all over brought their produce, livestock, quilts, and other wares and had a big festival. At the festival, there was a presentation with dancing and offerings to PachiuMama (my spelling is probably pretty awful), the Peruvian Mother Earth more or less. There was also a Miss Quechea festival! Friday we visited with Dino and went with him to Abancay. Saying our goodbyes was really tough. There were pleanty of tears and ¨Stay here please¨s. We´re really going to miss Lambrama, but we are excited about next month in Bella Union (hopefully there aren´t biting insects like there are here) Bella Union is a village a lot closer to the coast, near Nazca. Katie and I will be joining Amelia and Ashley from Kentucky. Brittne is leading vision trips for church groups coming down from the USA.
So Lambrama has been amazing, but we´re hoping for an even better July!

One More Week In Lambrama

Hey everyone! Today is Monday the 21st. We have had another couple busy days since my last update. On Thursday we visited with Dino and Aida in the morning. After that visit, we decided to walk through town and see if there was anyone who wanted to talk. On that walk we met Ruth, a 29 year old woman who works with the preschool. We were able to share the story of creation with her and she very receptive. Thursday night we also read more of Colossians with Sellia. Friday was kind of a slow day in the morning. We watched the US play in the world cup against Slovenia (where we got robbed of a 3-2 win) That afternoon, we walked through town again, but no one was really out. That night we decided to make pancakes for our neighbor at the hostel named Victor. So with the pancakes, the team, Victor, and his friend Ricardo, we sat at one of the resturants and talked for a good hour or so where we decided that we were going ot make spaghetti Sunday night. So within only a couple of days, we started new relationships which is pretty cool (and unusual in some villages) On Saturday morning, we were supposed to meet with Ruth at ten, but when we got to her house, she canceled. So we headed back to the hostel to try and meet with Gladys, a woman who workes at the hostel and her husband. Well they were busy, but we did end up talking with Ricardo for a good 2 hours. Ricardo has an Evangelical mom and some Evangelical friends, but himself is Agnostic. He was very interested in what we were sharing and had a lot of really tough questions and doubts. But as a team, we were able to share many scriptures from the Bible as well as personal experiences to answer his questions. So that convo was awesome! That night we were supposed to visit with Sellia, but when we got to her store, we found out that she had gone to Abancay for the day. So instead we decided to visit with Dino and Aida where we shared our testimonies. Not only did the team get to share our testominies, but Dino also shared his with us! Another awesome convo! And on Sunday, we took our day of rest. In the morning, we listened to a sermon from Matt Chandler and as a team had the Lord´s Supper with bread and chicha morado (a purple corn drink). Then we ate spaghetti with Victor and Ricardo that night. So we have had a pretty amazing time so far here in Lambrama. This last week is going to be still pretty jam-packed and eventful.

Prayer Request and Update

This morning I woke up and found out via Facebook that the New England Travel team (Justin Owens, Palmer Maphet, Legon Craighead, and Leah Hardwick) along with their local supervisor (Marilyn McClendon) were involved in a car accident yesterday. Justin, Legon, Leah, and Marilyn were treated at the hospital and released. Palmer did not survive the accident. He was a student at TN Tech and was very involved with the BCM. Please pray for Palmer´s family. the New England Travel Team, and everyone that was close to Palmer.

www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=33183

Here in Lambrama, we were able to visit the high schoolers again yesterday. We watched Facing the Giants with them and they liked it alot. Afterwards we asked them questions about the movie and about the Gospel that we shared last week and the first to answer received a Bible in Spanish. It has been amazing how we have been able to built relationships with the students and Mario. We also were able to read the Bible with Sellia again. This time she even read some on her own!

Quechua Fest 2010!

Hey Hey! Today has been pretty busy here in Lambrama! Once a month, the Peruvian government gives 100 soles (roughly 30-35 dollars) to every Quechua (kinda pronounced catch-uh-waw) person. So Lambrama is one of the places that the government stations to distribute this money, so there were hundreds of old Quechua people here in the little village of Lambrama. Also with the Quechua people came vendors from surrounding villages to sell their goods. This is by far the most busy I have ever seen this little village. One of the treasures from my venture through the vendors was a pair of ´Peruvian chacos´ They are Peruvian sandals made out of old tires. I think they are pretty awesome and I got them for 6 soles (about 2 dollars). Also Katie and I bought a cuy (guinea pig) to eat. We didn´t really like the taste of it, but had to at least get it so we could say that we tried it.
Yesterday (Monday) We had a pretty relaxed day. We visited with Dino, Aida, Sellia, and some other people in the plaza. About 12 o´clock or so we decided to walk through some of the village streets and try to meet some new people. We had a pretty good conversation with a man named Victor about religion. He told us that he was Catholic but had never read the Bible. After asking him some more questions and finding out what he believed, we told him what the Bible said. After a long conversation, where we shared scripture and Biblical truth, Victor said that he was going to pray to God that night about salvation. Also on Tuesday, we made chocolate banana pancakes at Dino and Aida´s and I played chess against Aida (and won!)
On Wednesday we are visiting the school again and are hopefully going to watch Facing the Giants with the students and just hang out with them for a little bit. Also we have another meeting set up with Sellia to read the Bible.

Good News!

Hey! Just a quick little update! I found out today that I got accepted to Seminary at Southeastern and will be there in the fall! Our team is taking today as our day of rest and day of laundry.

Awesome Update!

Hey! Sorry it has been so long since my last update. The internet has been a little sketchy at times and we have been doing tons of stuff! The last time I posted was on Saturday I think. Well Saturday the townspeople had a festival dedicating the construction of a new building. We showed up for the first part of it, then Dino told us that we should leave for the second half because all they did was drank and played some pretty awful music. So our Saturday was mostly spent at the hostel and visiting Josefa. Sunday in the village is pretty slow. Nobody is out in the plaza mostly. We tried to have a church service at 4pm, but we encountered some problems and had to scale back. So instead we sang songs and told bible stories in the plaza with the 5 to 10 children that were there. Monday and Tuesday the clinic in Lambrama was having classes and training sessions for other clinic workers in the surrounding cities, so we helped Aida and Dino in the resturant from about 8am to 3pm. In the evenings, we would talk to people in the plaza, talk to various shop owners, or visit Josefa (i refered to her as Josefina earlier, Josefa is more correct). The Barnabas team got here Tuesday night and will be here through Saturday. They have been amazing! Wednesday was amazing and jampacked. It started at 9am where we went to the school and talked with a group of high schoolers (30 or so) for 2 hours. We had shared the gospel with their teacher earlier in the week in the plaza and he invited us to share it with his whole class. So for 2 hours we shared the gospel, went through the plan of salvation in Romans Road, talked about the difference between religion and relationship, and answered some of their questions. It was amazing! This Saturday morning, we are going to join them to do some work to raise money for their senior trip to Cuzco. We might even be able to watch USA vs England in the World Cup with them! On Wednesday, we talked with a man that we had met in the plaza on Tuesday. He asked us if God would punish him if he re married after his wife left him 9 years ago. So as a team, we searched scripture and prayed about it and talked with him on Wednesday. We have also been meeting with a believer named Selia and have been reading through Colossians with her.
Some prayer requests include-Pray for Dino, Selia and any other believers in Lambrama. Pray for their growth in their faith and their boldness to tell other villagers the Gospel. Pray for our time with the youth, pray that it will be meaningful and that the Gospel will penetrate their hearts.

Bugbites and Bible Stories

Hey Y'all! Since my last post, everything has been going wonderful here in Lambrama (except for the little bugs that love to bite) We have been able to visit the school on multiple occasions, build relationships, and grow as a team. One family that we have grown very close to is a man named Dino, his wife Aida, and their 15 month old daughter. They own a resturant here in town. We have even been able to halp them prepare meals and serve customers. Dino is a believer and a definate man of peace for us. One of our goals is going to be to disciple him, and encourage him to witness to other villagers. We have also had the opportunity to serve some elderly citizens. Speceficaly, a woman named Josafina, who we believe is in excess of 100 years old. Dino and a very few others are the only people in the community that care for her.
Pray that we keep a "sheep-like" attitude and heart for the people of Lambrama as Matthew 25:31-46 says. Pray that we will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as to whom to talk with about the Gospel and whom to serve. Most of all, pray that we will stay broken for the people of Lambrama and their souls.

In Lambrama!

We made it into Lambrama this morning at about 8:00 after the long bus ride to Abancay and then the 2 hr taxi ride into Lambrama. We were given a warm welcome from the hostel owner, villagers that Brittne is friends with, as well as a group from a church in Tennessee that is staying for the week. We started the day with a quick look-around of the city (these mountains are AMAZING!!!), followed with some conversations with locals. By the end of the day we had prayed with 2 villagers to accecpt Christ (we're praying for sincerity and clarity), played games and told bible stories with the children, and even spoken on local Lambrama radio about the purpose of our visit. Brittne, Katie, and I are very excited about the possibilities that this summer holds and are praying that God does a mighty work among the Lambrama people that we have already grown to love!
Pray for Tica and her husband (our hostal owners), Dino and his wife (resturant owners who also allowed us to talk on the Lambrama radio station) and Professor Adres. Also pray for our storying sessions, school visits, and the Sunday service that we are planning. Muchos Gracias!

Chris

ps also if you are unable to reply to a post that you want to on here, you can instead write on my Facebook wall or send me an email at ChEngelman@aol.com

Before I hit the road

We booked our bus for Lambrama yesterday. We'll be leaving on Tuesday at 2pm and will be on one bus for 18 hrs and a second bus for another 2-3 hrs. Yesterday (Saturday) and today (Sunday) most of the village teams are headed out with the other few village teams leaving Monday and Tuesday. The research team and the creative ministry teams are headed out later in the week. Pray for safe travel for all of the teams and a quick transition when the teams hit the villages.

First Week Recap

Hey y'all! This week in Peru has been amazing!!! We've had tons of training sessions including sessions about, local traditions, local religions and spiritual beliefs, cultural differences, and ways to share our Gospel with an illiterate culture through story telling. I've been able to spend time building friendships with the other missionaries and my team mates. There are 5-10 other village teams heading out as well as ESL, traveling creative ministry teams and traveling research teams. The Lambrama team, my team, consists of Katie, a student at Liberty University, Britnee, a 2 year Journeyman through the IMB program, and me. We're heading out on Monday for Lambrama on a 20+ bus ride. Well there is a line behind me at the computer. Later y'all!

Chris

ps I ate a cow heart last night. It tasted like a little chewier form of steak.

Day Uno

Hey Y'all! Today has been pretty filled with basic orientation stuff and some 'get to know you' team stuff. The big news that I found out today is that I'll be spending the entire summer in Lambrama instead of only half of it. Also Lambrama is a 20+ hour bus ride from here in Lima!

Finally in Peru!

After a total of 9-10 hours of total flight, I made it to Lima Peru! For this next week, we'll be in Meircoles for training and orientation with the Reapsouth crew. Praise God for safe travel and awesome teamates!

Summertime!

So here's what's up y'all! I've ended my time in Johnson City, TN. I loved it there and will miss all the people there, but I'm excited about the new chapter of my life that God has called me to. Well this summer (which starts on Monday May 24th) I'm going to be spending 10 weeks in Peru! For the first half of the summer, I'll be in Lambrama which is nestled in the Andes mountains and the second half of the summer I'll be in Cordova (not Cordova, TN :-)). Whenever I have the opportunity, I'll update this blog to let y'all know how God is working in the villages that I'm serving in and how God is impacting me and my team also. Right now the excitement of this trip is almost unbearable! It was only earlier this week that I found out where I would be serving and who with. I still don't know 100% what I'll be doing, but I'll find out during orientation. My tasks will include relationship building through serving, English teaching, playing sports, and a number of other activities.
Some prayer requests that I can think of include: pray for safe travel for all of the missionaries headed to Peru, pray for us to quickly adapt to the new culture so we can jump into our ministries, pray for Mike and Kathy Weaver (our leaders), pray for open hearts among the villagers that we encounter as well as open hearts among us missionaries.

What can happen in only a few hours?

Well this past weekend, I was able to find out the answer to that question.
In only a few hours, nearly 80 summer plans were decided.
In only a few hours, nervousness turned to anticipation turned into joy turned into praise.
In only a few hours, pieces of God's plan were revealed to anxious hearts.
In only a few hours, my life was redirected for the next 3 or so years.

A week ago, I had no idea that I would be headed to BeachReach for a 5th straight year and that I would be spending 71 days of my summer in some village in Peru. But now I do! God does great things to those who will walk by faith in Him.