Wow, Im so thankful for you guys and your constant support through this roller coaster or a summer. I can honestly say that this summer has been the hardest summer of my life. The Lord has stretched me and grown me in ways that were deffinately not comfortable or fun, but that I needed. I have definately learned to rely on the Lord and He has given me a new appreciation for how much I need him on a daily basis. I have definately learned to place my trust in the Lord, a lot more than I did before.
The Lord has done some great things through this summer in our village with the family (Leoncio and Lucy and kids). I really feel like after spending a month in Quito Arma that They are growing faster and more every time they read the Bible. One of the things on the heart of Leoncio a lot is persecution. Hes one of the very few Christians in the town and his friends that he used to drink with (before becoming a believer) always make fun of him. He struggles with knowing what to do in situations like that. We have tried to instruct him as much as we could on that it just depends on the situation sometimes it is appropriate to stand up for yourself and your beliefs, and sometimes you just have to pray for them and leave them in Gods hands.
This is all I have time for today. I will try to update again tomorrow but deffinately before I leave the country.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Getting ready to head down the mountain
Natalie, Drew, Leslie and Nestor will be leaving Quito Arma and going to Lima on Sunday July 27. They will then go to a Baptist Camp for a couple of days for their end of summer debrief with all of the other REAP teams. They will go back to Lima on July 31 or August 1. Natalie hopes to get to spend some time with Peruvian friends that she has met on previous trips before heading back home on August 4.
Please pray for these last few days in the mountains with the friends they have made in Quito Arma. Pray especially for Leoncio and his wife as they begin the adventure of following God in leading a house church.
Also, as I mentioned in the last post, please pray for travel safety and good health for the team these last few days.
It is hard to believe that her days in Peru are coming to a close. Thank you so much for partnering with Natalie as she has followed God in this venture by your love, prayers and support.
Jeanie
PS Natalie is scheduled to arrive back in Little Rock Monday August 4 at 6:40 PM. We would be delighted for any of you who are able to join us at the airport to welcome her back. Feel free to just show up or call or email us if you want any more details.
Please pray for these last few days in the mountains with the friends they have made in Quito Arma. Pray especially for Leoncio and his wife as they begin the adventure of following God in leading a house church.
Also, as I mentioned in the last post, please pray for travel safety and good health for the team these last few days.
It is hard to believe that her days in Peru are coming to a close. Thank you so much for partnering with Natalie as she has followed God in this venture by your love, prayers and support.
Jeanie
PS Natalie is scheduled to arrive back in Little Rock Monday August 4 at 6:40 PM. We would be delighted for any of you who are able to join us at the airport to welcome her back. Feel free to just show up or call or email us if you want any more details.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Seventeen Days and Counting!
We are counting the days around here until Natalie gets back to Little Rock. We sure miss her. We are, however so glad that she is following the Lord and doing what she feels called to do. We are excited to think about the Peruvian brothers and sisters (maybe even generations of them) that we will meet in heaven because of her obedience.
The team is still in Quito Arma and will likely be there until time to head back to Lima. Please continue to pray for Leoncio and his wife. They will need great faith and encouragement from the Holy Spirit to continue the work after the "gringos" are gone.
Tonight the team (Natalie, Drew and Nestor) were going back to Huyatara to get to sleep in real beds and to get a shower and most importantly to get Leslie, their team leader! She has really had a difficult time. They deicided that she probably had bronchitious. Please pray that she will continue to get stronger and stay healthy and that the others will also stay healthy.
We would ask especially for prayers for the team's saftey these last three weeks. We knew from having been in the Andes Mountains in Peru, just how dangerous the roads (and the drivers) can be, but we are even more aware of it recently. On July 5th, one of the young men who came to Peru to work with the same program that Natalie's team is working with, was killed in a bus accident in the mountains.
His name was Greg Gomez and Natalie had just met him for the first time at the mid-summer debrief. Obviously this really shook all of the missionaries up and gave them much to process. I think that the translator for their team was also killed and that a girl from their team was also on the bus but not seriously injured. Please pray for Greg's family and friends and for all of the REAP missionaries, both the permanent ones and the summer ones.
The next to the last time we were in Peru with a group from Markham Street Bapt. Natalie and some others in our group rode on one of those buses down the mountains. There was a very close call that could easily have sent the bus over the edge. All of this has caused us all to remember anew that our life and times are in God's hands. That seems a trite thing to say at a time like this, but it is so true.
We are all humbled by and grateful for your prayers.
The team is still in Quito Arma and will likely be there until time to head back to Lima. Please continue to pray for Leoncio and his wife. They will need great faith and encouragement from the Holy Spirit to continue the work after the "gringos" are gone.
Tonight the team (Natalie, Drew and Nestor) were going back to Huyatara to get to sleep in real beds and to get a shower and most importantly to get Leslie, their team leader! She has really had a difficult time. They deicided that she probably had bronchitious. Please pray that she will continue to get stronger and stay healthy and that the others will also stay healthy.
We would ask especially for prayers for the team's saftey these last three weeks. We knew from having been in the Andes Mountains in Peru, just how dangerous the roads (and the drivers) can be, but we are even more aware of it recently. On July 5th, one of the young men who came to Peru to work with the same program that Natalie's team is working with, was killed in a bus accident in the mountains.
His name was Greg Gomez and Natalie had just met him for the first time at the mid-summer debrief. Obviously this really shook all of the missionaries up and gave them much to process. I think that the translator for their team was also killed and that a girl from their team was also on the bus but not seriously injured. Please pray for Greg's family and friends and for all of the REAP missionaries, both the permanent ones and the summer ones.
The next to the last time we were in Peru with a group from Markham Street Bapt. Natalie and some others in our group rode on one of those buses down the mountains. There was a very close call that could easily have sent the bus over the edge. All of this has caused us all to remember anew that our life and times are in God's hands. That seems a trite thing to say at a time like this, but it is so true.
We are all humbled by and grateful for your prayers.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Latest
We got to talk to Natalie on the phone this afternoon. It has been about a week since we had been able to communicate so it was wonderful to hear her voice. She and Drew and Nestor are all back in Quito Arma, the village they were in the first part of the trip.
They had to leave their team leader Leslie back in Huyatata because she has been so ill. Today, Natalie said that Leslie's temperature was over 100 for about 5 days. They think it is the flu. It seems she is feeling better and hopes to join them soon, but the communication is so limited, they really don't know when to expect her. There are some other missionaries in Huyatara who have been caring for Leslie and will likely be the ones to bring her back to Quito Arma.
Natalie, Drew and Nestor have been working again with Leoncio (the school principle) and his wife. They are taking him through the book of Matthew right now. They have had lots of distractions in the village, so they haven't gotten to meet with him as often as they were hoping but they are pressing on.
As we have mentioned before, there was a group coming from Gyer Springs First Baptist Church to work with Natalie's team for several days. This is the church that has committed to 3-5 years of working with the Peruvians who live in this area. She was very excited to have them coming and looking forward to the different activites they would get to do and also thought that they might be going to some of the other villages in the area. Unfortunately, only a couple of days after the GSFBC group arrived in the area, they were informed by the main missionaries in Peru that there was a transportation strike about to happen and they would have to leave early if they were going to be able to leave the country anytime in the near future. Apparently, the strike would shut down the Pam Am Highway which is the main artery through Central and South America. So after only a couple of days, and having traveled all the way from Little Rock, they had to leave. It is one of those things that happens that you know is God's will, but you can't for the life of you understand it. We asked Natalie today if she knew if the strike was over, but she hasn't been able to see the news since returning to Quito Arma.
We were thankful that they were able to take her a rather large "care package." I knew that the food options there were limited when one of the things she asked for more than once was canned vegatables. Not that she doesn't like veggies, but not really canned ones. I sent some banana nut bread muffins as well as canned fruit, notes, a little book, her coat, a package from Stephen and more. The Gyer Springs team was wonderful to take it all!
PRAISES:
1. The mid-summer debrief was fun, refreshing and inspiring.
2. Leslie is better and has had a missionary from the US that is a nurse caring for her.
3. None of the rest of their team has gotten sick.
4. Leoncio and his wife seem to be grownig.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. For the team to be wise and discerning and for Leoncio and his wife to be hungry as they all study the word together.
2. Wisdom for the team as they plan their strategy for the remaining few weeks.
3. Safe travel for any and all of the missionaries, especially during this strike.
4. Natalie is doing well, but she is VERY homesick. She knows she is where God wants her but it continues to be tough.
Thanks for your love, prayers and partnership. She is so thankful for each of you! If you have a chance, you can send her an e-mail at nataloo87@hotmail.com. She may or may not get it right away, but whenever she can it will be an encouragement. She is limited on her abilty to reply even when she can get on the Internet so she likely won't be able to respond, but she would love to hear from you.
They had to leave their team leader Leslie back in Huyatata because she has been so ill. Today, Natalie said that Leslie's temperature was over 100 for about 5 days. They think it is the flu. It seems she is feeling better and hopes to join them soon, but the communication is so limited, they really don't know when to expect her. There are some other missionaries in Huyatara who have been caring for Leslie and will likely be the ones to bring her back to Quito Arma.
Natalie, Drew and Nestor have been working again with Leoncio (the school principle) and his wife. They are taking him through the book of Matthew right now. They have had lots of distractions in the village, so they haven't gotten to meet with him as often as they were hoping but they are pressing on.
As we have mentioned before, there was a group coming from Gyer Springs First Baptist Church to work with Natalie's team for several days. This is the church that has committed to 3-5 years of working with the Peruvians who live in this area. She was very excited to have them coming and looking forward to the different activites they would get to do and also thought that they might be going to some of the other villages in the area. Unfortunately, only a couple of days after the GSFBC group arrived in the area, they were informed by the main missionaries in Peru that there was a transportation strike about to happen and they would have to leave early if they were going to be able to leave the country anytime in the near future. Apparently, the strike would shut down the Pam Am Highway which is the main artery through Central and South America. So after only a couple of days, and having traveled all the way from Little Rock, they had to leave. It is one of those things that happens that you know is God's will, but you can't for the life of you understand it. We asked Natalie today if she knew if the strike was over, but she hasn't been able to see the news since returning to Quito Arma.
We were thankful that they were able to take her a rather large "care package." I knew that the food options there were limited when one of the things she asked for more than once was canned vegatables. Not that she doesn't like veggies, but not really canned ones. I sent some banana nut bread muffins as well as canned fruit, notes, a little book, her coat, a package from Stephen and more. The Gyer Springs team was wonderful to take it all!
PRAISES:
1. The mid-summer debrief was fun, refreshing and inspiring.
2. Leslie is better and has had a missionary from the US that is a nurse caring for her.
3. None of the rest of their team has gotten sick.
4. Leoncio and his wife seem to be grownig.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. For the team to be wise and discerning and for Leoncio and his wife to be hungry as they all study the word together.
2. Wisdom for the team as they plan their strategy for the remaining few weeks.
3. Safe travel for any and all of the missionaries, especially during this strike.
4. Natalie is doing well, but she is VERY homesick. She knows she is where God wants her but it continues to be tough.
Thanks for your love, prayers and partnership. She is so thankful for each of you! If you have a chance, you can send her an e-mail at nataloo87@hotmail.com. She may or may not get it right away, but whenever she can it will be an encouragement. She is limited on her abilty to reply even when she can get on the Internet so she likely won't be able to respond, but she would love to hear from you.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
I need to keep this short
Sorry this has to be so short but let me give you kind of an overview of my time in Nasca with all the other gringos! We ate, ate, worshiped, ate, took showers, ate and slept some more. It was a great time of fellowship and relaxation...kinda. We stayed up late because we didn´t want to miss a minute of time with the other gringos. We heard many encouraging stories about what the Lord is doing in each village and through each team.
I was able to do a little sight seeing. I flew over the Nasca Lines which were created by an ancient group of people for an unknown reason. We flew in a little bity plane, and unfortunately I became motions sick due to the twisting and turning so we could see the figure from each different side.
My group ended up staying an extra day in Nasca but I ended up being sick, so I just layed in bed all day! Thankfully the Lord has been good and I´ve been with a nurse most of the time. Anyway, we are now safely back in Huaytara and will be here til either saturday or sunday. I´ll try to update more later!
Please pray for the health of out team, Leslie has the flu I think and is not feeling good. Also the safety of the Geyer Springs First Baptist Church team flying in today and tomorrow!
That´s all for now! God Bless you guys!
Natalie
I was able to do a little sight seeing. I flew over the Nasca Lines which were created by an ancient group of people for an unknown reason. We flew in a little bity plane, and unfortunately I became motions sick due to the twisting and turning so we could see the figure from each different side.
My group ended up staying an extra day in Nasca but I ended up being sick, so I just layed in bed all day! Thankfully the Lord has been good and I´ve been with a nurse most of the time. Anyway, we are now safely back in Huaytara and will be here til either saturday or sunday. I´ll try to update more later!
Please pray for the health of out team, Leslie has the flu I think and is not feeling good. Also the safety of the Geyer Springs First Baptist Church team flying in today and tomorrow!
That´s all for now! God Bless you guys!
Natalie
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