You know your playing tennis in South America when. . .

. . .the tournament official flips a coin to see, not who will serve first, but to see who gets the side of the court without the scorpions. No joke, this is what happened last week. As I was warming up with my opponent before our quarter final match, my opponent noticed scorpions crawling on her side of the court. The tournament official thought the only fair thing to do was flip a coin to determine who started on that side of the court. I lost the flip, but won the match:-)

Mary Allen turns 2!

Muyupampa!

By far our favorite band in Peru is "Muyupampa". These are guys that Allen has been working with on a musical and spiritual level for about two years. These energetic guys are mostly from the jungle city of "Moyobamba", hence the band's name. They play folkloric music with traditional Peruvian instruments and have a great joy and energy for the Lord. They sing many of the Psalms and are working on putting more to Peruvian rhythms. When a group from the U.S. comes to work here in Trujillo, they can usually expect a concert.

Allen has been training some of these guys to lead music in the churches as well, which has been a HUGE blessing to all who attend our Larco church. It has been amazing to see the transformation of the worship service in the past year, largely due to these guys talent, Allen's weekly teaching on worship, and a dedicated choir!

Worshipping at the Larco church. . .

We have them in our home all the time, it seems like once a week. We love hanging out with these guys. Our neighbors have even grown to enjoy their music, as they can hear it coming from our house.

A common site in our living room. . .

Uncle Lenin hanging out in our home. . .
Performing in the historical Municipal building in downtown Trujillo. . .


Our girls absolutely love Muyupampa! They know all their songs and Lenin Karino (the group's leader) has officailly labeled them Muyupampa's #1 fans. The girls and I made "I Love Muyupamapa" t-shirts to wear to their concerts, and Lenin liked them so much he had some made to sell as a way to help pay for their next recording.


After a concert. . .
The women behind the men. . .
Please pray for these guys as they seek to worship the Lord through their talent and energy! Please pray for Allen as he continues to disciple and train these guys.

Patti's Baby is here!

We praise the Lord for the safe arrival of Ana Noami Adeline! Many of you know Patti our sweet Peruvian friend who has worked in our home for over three years. She is like a part of our family and we love her. Well now there is more of Patti to love. Last night she delivered a 5 pound little girl.

World Magazine showed up at the NYC furniture show last month to do an article on Parish Furniture. Here is a bit of the article written by Susan Olasky. It is a great summary of Parish Furniture and it's impact on the the lives of the Peruvian men involved.

"Parish Furniture's fine, high-end contemporary furniture attracted attention from architects, interior designers, and sales reps who stopped to admire the craftsmanship as they browsed furniture and lighting displayed at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair held recently in New York. These are people who don't blink to learn that an outdoor table wholesales for $6,000 because its level of craftsmanship required 120 hours of labor.

The designers were drawn to the furniture's clean lines and gentle curves, inspired by elements of the Peruvian landscape—sand dunes, weaving baskets, patterns in tile, downtown architecture. They were also drawn to the story. As Ball said, "It's fascinating to see, pretty much across the board, the interest in community development and nonprofit work in the Third World. . . . The Christian tradition has a lot to say about sustainable community development."

From its beginning the Peru Mission combined traditional church planting with diaconal projects like health clinics, language schools, and a micro-lending project for small women-run businesses. . . "

Click here to view the complete article.

Answered Prayers with the Belhaven Music Team

The Belhaven Music Team had a great ride! After more than 10 concerts and 10 masters classes from the Independence House in Trujillo to the Orphanage at Hogar de Esperanza, we witnessed the hand of God upon us. Today, I sat down and thought of several of the many ways God answered our prayers during this past week. Here are the highlights....

1. God opened up many new doors at the conservatory. Several on the team taught masters classes and performed. The administrator of the Conservatory invited two of the team members, Abigial Crumley and Rachel Reese, to come back and teach at the conservatory. Perhaps God will bring them back for a longer stay in Peru!


2. Through the concerts, the gospel was presented, many new contacts were made, and our Christian community grew in greater prestige. The Chrisitan Peruvian folk group, Muyupampa, made their grand debute on many stages in Trujillo.


The news caught wind of Belhaven's presence in Trujillo and invited us to for a live interview on Sol TV.

3. Through the music appreciation presentations at the colegios (grammar schools), several teachers have begun attending the Larco City Church.

4. Through the vocal classes, God gave great hope to budding vocalists and choir members in showing them their natural potential and giving them many solid basic instruction on singing properly.


5. God planted many seeds in future music missionary candidates, who are seeking God's will to return to Peru for a longer term.

Thank you, Belhaven Connections, for coming and serving with us! And thanks be to our gracious God who is cultivating a culture of beautiful music in Peru!