Smiths in Peru

New Blog

2010-11-18T11:48:00.000-08:00

We've moved our blog!

Thank you for following us all these years. Continue to follow us at our new wordpress address @ allenandsandi.com

Where we work

2010-10-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

This is a great video of photographs taken by Nate Henderson. Nate visited our team and mission in Trujillo a couple of weeks ago and so generously gifted us with his talent. His work captures our work so well.

Faces of Peru from Nate Henderson on Vimeo.

Our little pumpkin is two weeks old!

2010-10-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the local pumpkin patch. . .

Evangeline Lucille has arrived!

2010-10-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Evangeline means "gospel bearer"
Lucille, named after Sandi's grandmother, means "light".
Put the two names together and you have "bearer of the gospel light".

There are several pronunciations for Evangeline, we are using
"ee-van-juh-LEEN"

Born at 2:23 pm on Sept. 30
7 lbs 13 oz & 20 inches

Happy fall to all!

2010-09-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

We haven't experienced a fall season in five years. I haven't really thought about this until my six year old yelled from the backyard yesterday, "something is happening! come see! what are all these leaves doing on the ground?" It was after the autumn season of 2005 and when our two oldest were just babies that we departed for Peru to live on the desert coast near the equator where there is not a lot of variety in the weather or seasons. So this year we are so looking forward to the cooler crisp weather and foliage. Memphis is a city filled with beautiful and large trees, so what a treat it will be!

Baby Shower!

2010-09-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

My sweet friends, Grace and Laura, hosted a baby shower for me last weekend. It was fun to get some new things for Evangeline! Thanks to all my Memphis friends for making this time special!

Happy 8th Birthday Abigail!

2010-09-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

Abigail turned 8 on Sept. 2nd. To celebrate, she had a pajama party with 13 little girls! Her grandparents also surprised her by coming in town.

Our friends, the Leavell family, gave her a mini tennis court as a birthday gift. Saturday morning, we had our own U.S. Open on Avon Rd.

The Forrest Spence 5K

2010-09-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we enjoyed participating in the Forrest Spence 5K. Brittany and David Spence are friends of ours in Memphis and David has been to Peru and served in our medical clinics. They have an incredible story of how through the loss of their infant son, Forrest, they began helping other families at LeBonheur Children's hosptial. You can read their story here.

Allen finishing the 5K. . .

Adeline reaching the finish line of the one mile fun-run (w/ some motivation from her dad running behind her). . .

And Mary Allen getting ready to compete in the 100 yard dash!

Baby cupcakes!

2010-08-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

For our last Summer get-away we went to Lake Hamilton for the weekend to Allen's dad's lake house. Since it happened to be my birthday, the girls came up with the idea of giving me a baby shower for my birthday. I was quite impressed with what a man and three little girls could do to throw a baby shower! They had games planned, food prepared and some fun gifts.

Just six weeks to go!

Celebrating 11 years!

2010-08-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

11 years ago . . .

San Fransisco to Fresno

2010-08-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the privilege of traveling to the San Fransisco area while our parents kept our girls. Allen preached at Sierra View Presbyterian Church, one of our supporting churches, in Fresno, CA. The senior pastor of the church, Brian Peterson, and his wife Anna, are dear friends of ours from seminary. We also met with two other churches in the San Fransisco area, sharing about the work God is doing through Peru Mission.

The rest of our time was spent relaxing and doing touristy things. We spent time in Union Square, Napa Valley and Half Moon Bay on the Pacific. Our drive through silicon valley to Fresno, we checked out the Google, Facebook and Apple headquarters. The Google headquarters (more like a village) was very impressive, while Facebook was very modest.

The Missional Church of the Risen Lord

2010-07-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Almost every Sunday, Allen has been speaking at different churches. Most places he has preached the Apostle John's version of the Great Commission found in John 20:19-24. In this talk, Allen is talking to Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis.

The main idea of the talk is that the resurrection of Jesus is not an escape from the world, rather it is basis of church's mission into the world because Christ is the Lord over the world. And on resurrection Sunday, Jesus mediates three gifts from each person in the Trinity to the church, so that she maybe the staging center for God's kingdom in the world. Here's the three main points...

1. The Peace of the Father: the push from fear to mission, John 20:19-21

2. The Mission of the Son: the privilege to join God's mission, 20:22

3. The Life of the Holy Spirit: the power to fulfill this mission, 20:23-24

9 weeks to go!

2010-07-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

. . . and props to my 6 year old wan-a-be photographer

Su Casa

2010-07-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

Allen had the privilege of preaching and leading worship this morning at "Su Casa", a Spanish church plant of 2nd Presbyterian Church here in Memphis. They have been meeting for less than a year and most of the attendees are students of an ESL (English as a Second Language) outreach ministry of 2nd Pres. We try to attend their service when we are in Memphis. After the service, Allen went to one of their homes where everyone was gathered to watch the World Cup finals!

Please pray for this church plant and their pastor Ricardo Green (from Honduras). There are about 100,000 Hispanics in Memphis in need of the Gospel.

Happy 4th!

2010-07-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family came to Memphis to celebrate the 4th with us. It has been 5 years since we have celebrated our country's independence day in our country. We do celebrate with our U.S. missionary friends in Peru, but it is definitely not the same when we are only 20 or so out of 1 million people celebrating in our Peruvian city of Trujillo. Not to mention, there are no fireworks, American flags, or red, white and blue decor. So, this 4th of July was special.

We enjoyed participating in our neighborhood parade, eating Memphis BBQ and watching a great firework show.

To all our missionary friends. . . we hope you had a good 4th and we look forward to joining you next year to celebrate in our creative missionary way.

A week at Dadeo's!

2010-06-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

We spent last week at Allen's dad's house in Hot Springs, AR. His house is right on Lake Hamilton, so for four straight days, from morning to dark, we were either swimming, tubing or cruising in the boat.

Four generations. . .

Dadeo with his girls. . . thanks for the fun week!

Mary Allen turns 3!

2010-06-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed celebrating Mary Allen's birthday in Hot Springs, AR on Lake Hamilton where Allen's father lives. She enjoyed the day tubing, boat riding and later that evening going to see the premier of Toy Story 3!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Beasley Family Reunion

2010-06-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sun, swimming, tubing, Taunton's BBQ & lots of cousins makes for a great weekend!

All the cousins!
A weekend at Lake St. John, it was a blast!

22 weeks and counting

2010-05-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Visit our new Peru Mission website!

2010-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.perumission.org/

The Surfing Alpaca named "Pisco"

2010-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Boston Globe had a great picture I just had to share.

"Peruvian surfer Domingo Pianezzi rides a wave with his alpaca, Pisco, at San Bartolo beach in Lima March 16, 2010. Pianezzi has spent a decade training dogs to ride the nose of his board when he catches waves, and now he is the first to do so with an alpaca." (REUTERS/Pilar Olivares)

What's air conditioning?

2010-05-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

We are proud of Adeline for learning so much in her kindergarten class. In three months she has learned how to read in English (which will be helpful as we go back to our Peruvian school where she only reads in Spanish) and has made many new friends.

When we arrived in the U.S. in February and went to the school to register, this is what happened as we entered the kindergarten class to meet her new teacher.

Teacher: "Hello, Adeline, this is our classroom and your new classmates. And this is our pet guinea pig." (pictured above)

Adeline: "Guinea pig, we eat those in Peru!"

Mom: "Shhhhh, they don't eat them in the U.S."

Although, we have eaten guinea pig (otherwise known as cuy) on special Peruvian occasions, we are not huge fans, but it is a major delicacy especially in the mountains of Peru.

Another conversation with Adeline that our missionary friends will appreciate:

Adeline: "Daddy, it's getting hot in the house, can we bring out the fans?"

Dad: "We don't need fans, we have air conditioning in this house."

Adeline: "What's air-conditioning??"

Abigail's New Look

2010-05-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

She lost one tooth last night and when I picked her up from school today, she had lost the other!

Pink!

2010-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's going to be another GIRL!!

To have fun with the surprise, after the girls got home from school, I baked cupcakes and told them that they would know if they are going to have a brother or sister by the color of the inside of their cupcake. . .

So they bit in . . .

Some were excited!. . .

Others not so excited (but later warmed up to the idea of ANOTHER sister). . .

And some have no clue what's coming their way. . .

We are so thankful that God has blessed our family with another little girl and can't wait for her arrival!

The newest ballerina in the family

2010-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some serious 3 yr. old ballerinas. . .

Mary Allen with her patient teacher, Deborah Meis. . .

Happy, Happy Birthday dear Allen!

2010-04-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Allen's 34th birthday.

6am "breakfast in bed" prepared and served by his little ladies.

We are so thankful for him!

Adeline turns 6!

2010-04-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day celebrating Adeline's birthday at the Memphis Zoo. Her grandparents drove in from Louisiana and our Memphis friends, the Barry's, joined us. The biggest surprise of the day. . . the Bradford family, who we haven't seen since they left Peru last July drove in from Tupelo, MS to surprise Adeline! What a great day!

She was thrilled (can you tell?) to be reunited with her best friend, Andrew Bradford!

Celebrating with her kindergarten friends at school:

Poppa and Grammy (Sandi's parents):

Spring Break and Easter

2010-04-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

We had a great Spring Break and Easter visiting family. From fishing and boat riding at my parents lake house on Lake St. John, Louisiana to Easter egg hunting in El Dorado, AR it was perfect weather and sweet time with family.

A day at Lake St. John with Poppa and Grammy. . .

Fun on the Enterkin farm. . .

Fishing with Poppa. . .

Easter with "J" and Babo Steve. . .

Helping Babo Steve at his vet clinic. . .

My romantic husband declaring our love on a famous El Dorado tree. . .

While the girls and I had a relaxing week, Allen's work didn't slow down, he spoke at 5 of our supporting churches in Louisiana and Mississippi sharing what God is doing in Peru.

We hope you had a great Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Savior!

Smith Family March Update

2010-03-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

We have been in the River City for three weeks now. The folks at IPC have been incredible! Not only have they provided us a home for the year, but they have befriended us, fed us, given Allen an office, and loved on us in many other ways. Sandi has made many new friends through their woman's ministry.

The girls are enjoying public school. Adeline is excited about her field trip to the Zoo, where they'll have a class sleep over. Sounds crazy to me, just as long as they don't sleep with the lions. Abigail is doing very well in school and Mary Allen is taking three-year old ballet.

Allen has been traveling almost every weekend since we've been back. It has been wonderful catching up with our friends at our supporting churches. Here is the line up for the next few months:

March 27: Faith Presbyterian Church, Brookhaven MS
March 26-28: Trinity Presbyterian Church, Jackson MS
March 30: Faith Presbyterian Church, Clinton LA
March 31: South Baton Rouge Presbyterian Church
April 6-8: Twin Lakes Fellowship, Jackson MS
April 7: Lakeland Presbyterian Church, Flowood MS
April 8-10: Embers to a Flame Conference, Memphis TN
April 17-18: First Presbyterian Church, Jasper AL
May 11: Grace Presbytery Stated Meeting

One of our goals while in the States is to visit every supporter during our year visit. Allen plans on contacting every supporting church within the next month. Feel free to contact him first (see info below).

If God leads you to pray for us, here are some requests:

Pray for the new City Church Plant in Trujillo, that God would use this community to serve and bless the city. They launch on Easter resurrection morning

Pray for Sandi as she enters her second trimester of pregnancy. She had a green first trimester but feels much better now.

Pray that we will be safe on all our travels and our time spent with our families would be rich.

Pray that God would raise 20% of needed support to go back to Peru ($1,500/month).

Thank you again for your prayers and support!

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City Church Plant in Trujillo Peru

Jose and Emilio's Video

2010-03-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

God led Jose and Emilio to Peru last year. They have been an amazing contribution to our work. They have put together a great video about Peru Mission and their work. I'd love to know what you think.

Psalm 47 Muyupampa Style

2010-03-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to download a slide show of Psalm 47 in Muyupampa style, click here.

Saying goodbye. . .

2010-02-13T06:34:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a week of saying goodbye. We had two wonderful going away parties, one hosted by the Bolton family with all of the Peru Mission team and the other one thrown by our Peruvian friends and with Muyupampa as entertainment of course.

Allen plays with Muyupampa one last time. . .

The ladies we will miss. . .

The men we will miss. . .

Saying goodbye to our babysitter, Karen, and her son Carlitos. . .

Our despedida (going away party) with our Peruvian friends. . .

Abigail dances with Pastor Jaime. . .

Sandi dancing a Peruvian mountain dance one last time. . .

A gift to Allen from Muyupampa. . .

A going away party with the Peru Mission team. . .

Saying goodbye to Lenin and Elvita. . .

Adeline saying goodbye to Hermis. . .

Saying goodbye to Bruno and Briggith. . .

The cake given to us at our Peruvian despedida which says "Regreso Pronto" (return soon). . .

We will miss all of our friends in Peru!!

New downtown church plant in Trujillo!

2010-02-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

We are so excited about our new church plant in downtown Trujillo. We had an information meeting last Saturday night and there were at least 80 in attendance. The last two Sunday's we have had services with a great (& eager) core group in attendence. Then on Wednesday, Allen had a meeting for all interested in leading a community/cell group and there was much interest.

We are using our new mission house (Casa San Augustin, also known as the "yellow house") for the new church plant location since it is in a great central location in downtown Trujillo.

There is much to be done and many decisions to be made. Please pray for the future of this church plant, that it would glorify God in this great city!

A day in Clementina

2010-02-05T05:03:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we join the IPC medical team in the community of Clementina, a swatter community that our mission has worked with for two years. Our girls were excited about the opportunity to serve and loaded up their pink backpacks with all their coloring books, colors, candy and nail polish and headed out to the desert foothills to join the team. As we arrived, the girls gathered the kids under the shade of one of their new friend's houses and began the fun.

Abigail even translated a little in the pharmacy. . .

When I wasn't translating, I enjoyed going to visit the homes of the children Abigail had made friends with. The front of Kelly's house. . .

The inside of Jacky's house, a little girl Abigail has befriended . . .

Lily's backyard, showing off her camote plants (sweet potatoes). . .

The trioge team (and some extras). . .

The youngest dental patient. . .

Mr. Kenny fixing up folks with eyeglasses. . .

Allen translating and talking with patients. . .
Dr. Hugh Scott, pediatrician, seeing one of many sick children. . .

Thank you Independent Presbytertian Church medical team for a GREAT week, we look forward to being your neighbors!

IPC Memphis Medical Team

2010-02-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

We are blessed to have a medical mission team of 27 from Independent Presbyterian Church , Memphis, Tn serving with us this week. They are doing a medical and dental clinic in five different locals in and around Trujillo. The weather is really hot and dusty and most of the clinic work is outside under tents, so these folks are troopers to say the least. They are blessing so many Peruvians everyday physically and spiritually.

Waiting to see the doctor in front of our Arevalo church clinic. . .

The evangelism tent is another way the team is loving on Peruvians. They have Biblical coloring sheets, arts and crafts and are painting finger nails, which the ladies love.

This also happens to be the church that is housing us for our year furlough! We will live in a house located right beside the church and many of the team members have told us they will be our neighbors! The team is keeping up a blog, so click here if you want to check out the latest updates on their week!

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Mudslides in Machu Picchu

2010-01-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, heavy rains and mudslides in Southern Peru triggered up to 40 landslides, one of which blocked the railway connecting Machu Picchu with the city of Cuzco (where we lived when we first moved to Peru). The train is the only means of transportation on the last leg of the trip to the ruins from the city of Cuzco. There were over 2,000 stranded tourists from all over the world. Some of the stranded travelers are being airlifted to safety by Peruvian military helicopters, but there are many still stranded in an area where there are no empty hostals and low food supplies.

Extensive areas in Cusco are now covered with muddy water, due to the overflow of rivers, roads are destroyed by mudslides, hundreds are injured, entire valleys are destroyed, people are homeless and displaced, and bridges are destroyed. In several towns of the southern Andes, families are trying to save their belongings and evacuate to bigger and safer cities. There are no official reports on the numbers of missing people yet, but there are reports of 5 to 10 people killed. The government of Lima has declared Cusco in state of emergency for 60 days.

Please pray for the many Peruvians who have lost their homes and crops and for the stranded tourist.

photos by WAtoday.com.au

Monos y motos. . . a trip to the jungle

2010-01-19T17:29:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, our family took a trip to the high jungle of Peru, to the cities of Tarapoto and Moyobamba. It was a really fun and adventerous trip for the girls. Our purpose for the trip was to attend a wedding of a friend in Moyobamba and for Allen to teach a seminary course, but we were also able to enjoy some family time. The main form of transportation in the jungle are motorcycles (motos), so to the girls delight, that's how they traveled during our visit, riding piggy back with our friends Oscar and Lenin. We enjoyed seeing the monkeys (monos), beautiful birds, a boat ride down the Rio Mayo, hiking to a waterfall and a lot of swimming and hanging out with good friends.

Hiking to a waterfall in Tarapoto. . .

Fresh fruit everywhere. . .

Riding motos. . .a highlight

Soccer in the jungle. . .

Does it look like he is giving us the peace sign?
Some of the monkeys we met. . .

It was so hot in Tarapoto, we were in the pool by 7am swimming. . .

Four years ago. . .

2010-01-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

December 2005 we watched all our earthly belongings leave on a 20' container heading to the New Orleans port and then on to the Lima port.

Shortly after, we began our lives in Peru by living in 11,000 ft. mountain city of Cusco, Peru for three months where we studied in a Spanish language school. I am so thankful we started our Peruvian lives there, it is truly the heart of South America.

We lived just a short train ride from Machu Picchu and our apartment was surrounded by ruins of ancient Inca civilization.

I remember finding the lowest and safest spot while on a visit to Machu Picchu and taking a rest with our youngest. These pictures remind me of how tired we were when we lived in Cusco. Between the 11,000 ft. altitude, four plus hours of Spanish school a day, and raising two toddlers. . . whew!

The girls preschool "Chaska Wasi" which is Quechua for "house of stars". It was a great school and where the girls kick started their bi-lingual lives.

Learning about llamas, cuye (guinea pig) and local shopping. . .

Outside our favorite Peruvian organic resturant, our gringitas were always fun entertainment for the local ladies. . .

Our family four years ago. . .

Our family today. . .

We are so thankful for you, our faithful prayer and financial supporters! We have been blessed beyond measure these past four years and are so encouraged to see what the Lord has done in the past four years. We have learned so much and have so much more to learn! The Lord is doing amazing things in our churches and missoin in Trujillo and we are excited about what the next five years holds.

Rural church plant sings new camp songs

2010-01-11T09:29:00.001-08:00

The Sunday after Twin Lakes camp Allen preached at our Arevelo church plant. It was fun to see the kids still excited about camp and many wearing their camp shirts. Even more exciting was that night. Allen preached an 8pm service at a church plant in an area called Parque Industrial, a community outside of Trujillo. There were at least three young girls there who had attended camp and requested to share with the congregation the new camp songs Allen had composed and taught them at camp. Here is a video clip of 1 Samuel 16:7:

It is rewarding to see God use Allen's gifts to help these children hide scripture in their hearts! We pray we will continue to see fruit from camp.

Twinlakes blesses us again!

2010-01-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

For the third year in a row, Twin Lakes brought down a team of 21 camp counselors to run a week camp for 100 of our church kids, 40 orphans and 13 missionary kids. It was a week of fun they will never forget and never would have experience otherwise. Many thanks to Alleen Mclain, Andrew Vincent, Tuan La and Zach Owens who put much work into this week. We are thankful for them and I know they will see many Peruvians in Heaven that will be ever grateful for their labors.

Zach Owens (pictured with Allen below in the green shirt), one of the newest Twin Lakes camp directors did an incredible job of teaching on a different "king" in the Bible each day, ending on the one true king, Jesus Christ. He taught both in small groups and in the large assembly each day sharing the gospel in such a clear way with great enthusiasm . We really enjoyed getting to know he and his wife, Kristen (pictured below painting faces) and hope to spend more time with them in the furture.

Allen did a great job leading the camp music. He composed two songs for the week. He put the theme verse (1 Samuel 16:7) to music and also put one of the catechisms to the tune of the Peruvian national anthem. The kids loved it!

We plan to send our two oldest girls to a week of camp at Twin Lakes while we are in the U.S. on furlough, they are so excited! Abigail said, it will be so much fun to have camp all in English!!

Thanks Twin Lakes and First Presbyterian Church Jackson, Ms for blessing us again!

New Years in Peru!

2010-01-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

New Year's is the biggest and most celebrated holiday in Peru. The gathering of friends usually starts a little before midnight and there are many fun traditions. Making a muñeco (doll) out of your old clothes and burning it, eating 12 grapes at midnight, wearing the color yellow, just to name a few. This year the party landed at our house (our girls were thrilled of course) where we hosted many of our Peruvian friends, mostly college age, some new believers and some newly married couples.

Allen took three Peruvian traditions and put a Christian message to them:

1. Every Christian is a saint. Usually, Peruvians make a doll out of their old clothes, and name it after someone they don't like and burn it. We, rather, made our doll to represent the killing of the old man within us, our fallen nature, and bringing to life the new man through holy habits.

Everyone wrote a sin they have struggled with and stuffed our muñeco (doll) with those papers.

We later watched the doll burn, being thankful for the Lord's forgiveness.

2. Every Christian is also a missionary. Normally, Peruvians take empty suitcases and run around the block, with the hope that they will travel that year. Instead, we emphasized that all Christians are sent out by Jesus (John 20:21) on mission into the world.

Lenin and Jon on their way out of the house...

We all took some luggage and had fun running around the block together, showing that we are on a mission together as gospel communities.

3. Finally, we reflected on how every Christian is a disciple. Peruvians typically eat 12 grapes for 12 months of good luck. We said that 12 represents the 12 disciples of Jesus, who are the new people of God. We are found to be Jesus' true disciples by the fruit we bear. Grapes are not picked among the thorns, but rather among the loving, growing, disciples of Christ.

Later we partied in the street at midnight. . .

Some thought the night was quite loud. . .

In Peru, the party starts AFTER the count down and last until early the next morning.

It was the best New Year's Eve party we have ever had! We are so blessed to have so many good friends in Peru.

Adeline Graduates the Montessori Kindergarten

2009-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Adeline also finished out her school year at the Montessori preschool which she attended for 2 & 1/2 years. It has been an excellent preschool for both our oldest girls. This is where they both became "Spanish speakers" and learned a little German as well. It is a Montessori kindergarten owned and run by a Lutheran missonary family from Germany.

Adeline and Fabian, the 5 year old graduates, with their teachers

The Montessori method teaches children how to do things such as: pouring and scooping, using kitchen utensils, washing dishes, polishing objects, scrubbing tables, and cleaning up. They also learn how to dress themselves, tie their shoes, wash their hands, and other self-care practices. Adeline had a cooking class once a week and now loves to help cook at home. I have also been impressed with their emphasis on world cultures and geography. Adeline can name all the continents and identify all the flags of the South American countries. The Montessori method encourages children to teach and help each other. Here are some pictures taken by her teachers:

Abigail finishes Primero Grado (1st Grade)

2009-12-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

Her teacher, Mrs. Julie, presenting Abigail with her report card

December is the busiest month of the year here in Peru, not necessarily because of Christmas, but because it is the end of the school year. The school year begins in March and ends just a few days before Christmas day. Abigail finished 1st Grade at her all girls school. We were very pleased with Abigail finishing with straight A's on her report card, which was not easy when she was the only girl with Spanish as her second language. She learned to read books (and aloud), write in cursive and take spelling test. . . all in Spanish. Her courses included Logic, Math, Spanish phonics, Spanish lecture (reading), Etiquette, Peru History and Geography, Science, Dance (learning the traditional Peruvian dances), Art and Physical Education, oh, and English class which she said was "easy cheesy".

Saying goodbye to Ana Camilia, her favorite classmate

We were glad to finish a hard year of school, but so sad to have to say good-bye to her friends and teachers. We are going on furlough Feb.'10-Feb.'11 so that our girls can maintain a Peruvian school year. Abigail will return to the same school in 2011 and enter 3rd grade and Adeline 1st grade.

Feliz Navidad from Peru!

2009-12-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas Eve at Huanchaco beach. Alleen McClain and a couple of the Baker girls joined us as well. The weather was perfect and my dear husband spend over an hour building a very impressive "Frosty the Sandman"!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!

Our ballerina

2009-12-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

Adeline performed in her first ballet recital this past weekend, The Nutcracker, which is "Cascanueces" in Spanish. She did a great job and always amazes us at how confident she is in front of a crowd.

Lenin & Elva's Wedding

2009-12-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Two of our Peruvian friends, Lenin & Elva, were married this weekend. It was a beautiful and joyous wedding! Adeline was the flower girl and Allen helped lead the ceremony. We are happy to see yet another new marriage in our churches!

Pray for Allen in Cajamarca

2009-11-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

Please pray for Allen as he is in the mountain city of Cajamarca all this week teaching a Homiletics course (a preaching course). He will be teaching men from Cajamarca and from the amazon jungle who have traveled a long distance to attend the class.

Pray for his stamina and safety, he had an 8-10 hour bus ride on a "not so nice" bus through the night (meaning, he missed a night of sleep). As soon as he got off the bus, the men from the jungle were so eager to learn, they asked to be taught 2 times a day instead of just one. Ministry has been extremely difficult and exhausting here in Trujillo lately, probably one of the hardest times of ministry we have had, so he was already tired when he left. But, God is always faithful to give us strength when needed.

Praise the Lord for these men who are so eager to learn how to preach the Gospel! This is why we are in Peru! I think Allen getting in the Andes for a week will encourage his heart and mind, the Lord seems to use the mountains to remind us of His greatness and might.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day, we are thankful for you our friends and family!

Yes, I know the "s" is missing in Thanksgiving, but it's still a cute picture :-)

We have our plane tickets!

2009-11-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

After being in Peru for four years, we are going back to the U.S. for a year furlough (Home Missionary Assignment). We just bought our plane tickets, and our date is set. We will arrive on February 17th and plan to be in the States for one year.

God has already graciously provided us with a house to live in and a car to use. We will be living in Memphis, TN in the mission house of Independent Presbyterian Church. If you are interested, go here to see it's location on Google Maps.

We would love to visit as many of you as possible and share what God is doing in Peru. Please contact us if you are interested (see email on side bar).

Peru Mission Beach Trip!!

2009-11-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

Last week the Peru Mission crew from Trujillo (6 missionary families and 12 fellows) took a week long beach trip to Vichayito, Peru, which is the nicest Peruvian beach located 8 hours north of Trujillo. It was a refreshing time away from the work in Trujillo and a fun bonding time for our team.

The fathers/missionaries each took a petition in the Lord's prayer and lead a devotional for us and Allen lead us in worship.

There was some serious boogie boarding, volleyball, sandcastle building, swimming and other random fun to be had.

We praise the Lord for such an excellent week of enjoying His beautiful creation, fellowship with a wonderful team and for safe travels along the coast!

Peru Paper Co. Online

2009-10-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Grace Bateman, has put her micro-finance company online. It's called Peru Paper Co. Here is an excerpt from the website:

"It is out of the unlikely setting of impoverished neighborhoods in Trujillo, Peru, that Peru Paper Co. has flourished. Peruvian women are highly creative and industrious, thriving in even the most difficult situations, and Peru Paper Co. has grown to where it is today primarily because the Peruvian women working with it saw its potential early on and have worked hard to see that it succeeds. What began as a small craft project in Trujillo in the spring of 2005 has continued to grow, consistently adding employees and increasing production and sales. We produce and sell high-quality, handmade stationary and paper products from recycled materials, employing underprivileged and marginalized women in Peru who would otherwise not have the opportunity to make a livable wage to support their families. Your purchases help grow the business and change lives as more Peruvian women are employed."

Twin Lakes Article

2009-10-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Twin Lakes and Peru Mission are featured in the latest RTS magazine. Click here and go to pages 12-14 to read an uplifting article focusing on Matthew Nasekos, who has recently come on board as Peru Mission's Recruiter.

HT: Allen Bradford's blog.

From Death to Life

2009-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

A father of one of our church members gave up on life and hung himself. To make matters worse, he was a renowned atheist. Yet his family called upon the church to administer his funeral.

The senior minister was on vacation, so I was on call. At first I panicked and thought to myself, “What does one say at the funeral of a atheist who committed suicide?” I sought God in prayer, and John 12:24 came to mind: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” After I read this verse in the sermon, I fixed my eyes on all eight remaining children and said, “Your father’s death will be in vain unless you bear the fruit of salvation in your life.”

I had no idea how the word of God landed that day until I received a call from César, the eldest son. In good Catholic tradition, the family requested that I preach again in their house for the one-month anniversary of their father’s death. Through my conversations with César and some of the church leaders, it became evident that the family wanted to start an evangelistic cell group. César is now one of the cell group leaders, and many are interested in being baptized and joining the church.

Only God can bring life out of the suicide of an atheist!

Cell Group Leaders: César, Wilmer, and Adrian

Ladies Annual Conference

2009-10-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

Over 90 ladies from our churches gathered last Friday for our annual ladies conference with the theme of "United for Christ". My friend, Marti Bolton, did a great job talking on being united for Christ in the world we live in.

GTF Tour Women's Singles Tournament

2009-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Percy, my tennis coach

1st place this time!

Please pray for me (Sandi) as I deepen friendships with the tennis community in Trujillo, particularly with a group of 25 Peruvian ladies that I play with all the time. Ever since my early teen years, the Lord has used tennis to open doors to friendships and planting gospel seeds. I need wisdom and winsomeness (& good spanish:-) as our conversations deepen.

New church members

2009-10-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

We had five youth join our Larco City Church last month. Four of them are young girls who are all orphans at Hogar de Esperanza, an orphanage our mission partners with. All professed their faith in Christ, were baptized and were welcomed as members of the church. The fifth was our friend (also member of Muyupampa folklore band), Hermes. We are so thankful for how the LORD is growing this church!

"Copa Linea" Doubles Tennis Tournament

2009-09-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Karen, my doubles partner (and neighbor):

Our adopted family

2009-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here in Peru, we have "adopted" several family members. Here is our family picture (from left to right): Mark Gregory, Julie Rogers, Heather Campbell (w/ new husband Calin), and Alleen McClain. We love our famliy members and are blessed to have them working with us in Peru.

Woman dies at 99, leaves behind 1,400 descendents

2009-09-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

I hardly ever post popular news, but this is too interesting to pass up. The news feed reads...

The commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" the Krishevsky family follows quite closely. Last Saturday, the great grandmother, Rachel Krishevsky passed away at the age of 99, leaving behind no less than 1,400 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great-grandchildren.

Go here for the entire article. Talk about a multigenerational vision!

HT: John Ferguson, church planter in Calgary Canada.

Peru Mission E-Bulletin September 2009

2009-09-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Click here to enlarge.

Heather & Calin get married!

2009-09-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Heather is one of our adopted "fellows" and has been working with Peru Mission for nearly 2 years. During her time here, the Lord brought Calin into her live. Calin is a godly young man who is a member of one of our churches. On Sept. 3rd, with the blessing of their parents and the mission, they were married! Here in Peru, you must have a civil wedding and the religious wedding is optional. They will have a religious wedding in Nov. when Heather's family will be able to fly to Peru.Please pray for Calin's visa process. They hope to move to the U.S. for at least three years so that he can become an American citizen. Whether they choose to make their home and future in Peru or the U.S. they will be missionaries and a blessing to those they are around!

Help to the cold

2009-09-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a cold winter and many children and elderly have died from pneumonia in the mountain village of Inka Wasi. Our Peruvian missionary friend, Trino (pictured above), was very grateful when our Larco church decided to collect clothes for the people there. It is a blessing to see our churches have more of a "missionary" heart in their own country. Trino sent us these pictures of the people receiving the clothes.

Older post about our visit to this villlage, click here and here.

The Faces of Colca Valley

2009-09-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Although the land of Peru is a very beautiful and majestic land, it is the beauty of the people who continue to captivate our hearts.

Abigail as class Brigadier

2009-09-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Abigail was elected "brigadier" of her class this month. In Peru (and most Latin American countries), each class has a brigadier that takes on the role of class officer, or teacher's helper. She has held the position with honor and enjoyed wearing the blue shoulder cords and carrying the marching stick.

Abigail turns 7!

2009-09-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Abigail's 7th birthday, she had a fun party with all her class mates at her school today (forgot my camera, so no pictures:-). Also, with all the missionary kids, we celebrated by having our 2nd annual Missionary Kid Talent Show. It was a blast and it was fun to see all the different talents. Guitar playing, gymnastics, sword fighting and lip-syncing were just a few of the 20 performances we enjoyed. Allen, of course, was our master of ceremonies and did a great job making the kids laugh.

Adeline performed the Peruvian "wayno" mountain dance with her father:

Mary Allen, won the "Most Promising Career" as she sang a High School Musical song. . .

Abigail played the Harmonica, shaker and kazoo. . .

Last act. . .Happy Birthday Abigail!

The whole gang. . .
and our "celebrity judges". . .

A Trip to Colca Canyon

2009-08-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Allen and I took a trip to the south Peruvian Andes visiting the romantic city of Arequipa and Colca Canyon. It was a much needed refreshment away from our dusty city of Trujillo and Allen's busy ministry schedule.

Colca Canyon is located about a 3-4 bus ride out of Arequipa. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and known for it's large Candor birds.

The Colca Valley is a colorful Andean valley with towns founded in Spanish Colonial times and formerly inhabited by the Collaguas and the Cabanas.

At the peak of our travels to the canyon, at 16,000 ft., we found a glacier and a '57 Chevy. . .

Dinning at La Trattoria del Monasterio in Arequipa . . .

Check out more pictures by clicking here:

10 years ago. . .

2009-08-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

10 Great Years!

2009-08-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

August 14th, marks our 10 year wedding anniversary. I could not have imagined ten years ago we would be living in South America and have three little girls. How the Lord has blessed us in so many ways. I am so thankful for my loving, faithful husband and the life God has given us together!

Sandi's Birthday

2009-08-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked my 32nd year. I had a great time relaxing at Starbucks with my family, a fun lunch with my North American friends and a great date with Allen that night.

Beasley's in Trujillo

2009-08-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

My parents came to visit us in Peru for the third time. It was an encouraging and fun time as always. Their week was spent loving on the girls, going to the beach to fly kites, riding horses, touring the different aspects of the mission, a concert from Muyupampa, celebrating Abigail's birthday and much more!
Flying kites at Huanchaco Beach. . .

Riding Caballos de Paso (smooth riding spanish horses). . .

Visiting our new adobe church building and community in Clementina. . .

We even moved Abigail's birthday party up a month so Poppa and Grammy could celebrate it with us!
I am so blessed to have such wonderful, loving and supportive parents. We already miss them and look forward to seeing them next year when we go to the U.S. for our year furlough.

Felizes Fiestas Patrias!

2009-07-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

A cuy (guinea pig) cookout with friends. . .

. . .and a game of volleyball . . .made today a fun and culturally rich Fiestas Patrias!

Today, July 28th, marks the day that Peru gained its independence from Spain with the help of General Jose de San Martin, known as Peru's liberator. Along with Christmas, Fiestas Patrias is one of the most important celebrations of the year for Peruvians.

The celebration Fiestas Patrias in Peru coincides with the vacation periods for the local schools as well as some businesses. So, our girls are enjoying a few weeks of vacation from school and are enjoying the extra relaxation and play.

At dawn on the 28th a 21 cannon salute traditionally begins flag-raising ceremonies as Peru remembers the anniversary of its birth. This morning at 6:30am, the Smith household was awoken by the sound of cannon-like fires which began our fun day!

IPC Memphis Senior High Brings Encouragment

2009-07-28T05:52:00.000-07:00

Bill Johns from Independence Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN brought down 14 of his youth group and what a blessing they have been. As they enjoyed forming relationships with Peruvians and playing lots of soccer, they also saved us money by preparing the back lot of the Larco City Church.

Bill's Senior High Team brought down a year supply of grape jelly and chocolate chips for each missionary family - two food items we all love, but can't be found in Peru! He also supplied the missionary wives with our next Bible study material and brought our family a dozen wonderful books from our Amazon wish-lists. We have been overwhelmed by their generosity and serving spirits.

Last Saturday, the team gave us a fun day. They brought down all the supplies for tie-dying and had a messy blast with the missionary kids.

Bill Johns and Allen leading the group in worship at our house before debriefing:

Our Peruvian dancer!

2009-07-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

Today, our five year old, Adeline, had the privilege of performing the three traditional Peruvian dances at school to kick off the season of celebrating Peru's Independence Day (which is July 28th). She did a wonderful job, you would have thought she was Peruvian! I suppose in heart she is since she moved to Peru as a baby. In her current school, as they study the 3 regions of Peru, they also learn the dance of that region.

So, the first dance is the Marinera, a coastal dance of Peru, generally called the "National Dance of Peru." Marinera is a graceful and romantic couple's dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. Adeline was able to borrow a traditional Marinera dress of one of her teachers. Her dance partner was actual German, the only other international student in her class, but the two communicate in Spanish with no problem:-)

The second is the Andean (mountain) dance called the Wayno, named after a genre of popular Andean music. The dance consists of an agile and vigorous stamping of the feet during which the man follows the woman, opposite to front, touching her with his shoulders after having turned around. The movements are very happy and child like.

And the third they performed is one of many Amazon jungle dances. The girls each have a basket, mostly filled with tasty fruit, but one of the girls will have a snake in her basket. The dance begins with boys dance around the girls looking in their baskets. . .
. . .and later the girls get up and dance a fun energetic dance with the boys.

Growth at Larco City Church

2009-07-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

God has blessed the Larco City Church with the recent addition of two new families and two young men. Pastor Jaime had the privilege to baptize four new church members into the body of Christ.

Although it was wonderful to witnesses new professions of faith, it was sad to witness neither father involved in these new families. Please pray with us that God would restore families through the power of the gospel.

Another Thing I Like About Peru

2009-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Although most Peruvians are poor, they are very creative. That is another thing I love about Peru!

Alt

A Few of My Favorite Things

2009-07-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

What I miss from the States
1. Family
2. Anything green, especially Pine Trees (I'm from South Arkansas)
3. Comfortable Chairs
4. BBQ Ribs
5. Wider variety of restaurants
6. Coke Icees (my in-law's favorite treat)
7. The freedom to drive anywhere (we only use taxis)
8. Orderly lines and stop signs
9. Water skiing
10. Walking in the woods

What I like in Peru
1. Daily fresh organic food
2. Slower pace of life
3. Higher emphasis on personal relationships
4. Help around the house
5. Churros: fried donut pastry filled with caramel
6. Rocoto Rellenos: stuffed peppers
7. The beautiful, jagged Andes Mountains
8. Peruvian folk music
9. The beach with its monstrous Pacific surfing waves
10. Most of all, the Peruvian people with all their hopes and challenges

One of the blessings of living in another culture is being able expand your favorite things list.

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

2009-06-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

. . .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!

2009-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Muyupampa!

2009-06-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-06-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

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!

Belhaven College Music Team

2009-05-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

This week Belhaven College is back again in Peru. They will be playing more than ten concerts, teach at the local conservatory, and teach various workshops. Please pray that God would use this team to share the gospel with many non-Christian musicians as well as help cultivate a culture of music excellence in our churches.

Fun with girlfriends!

2009-05-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun occasions have happened recently that have reminded me of how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends, literally from all over the world.

My Peruvian tennis friends and I we went out to celebrate the end of our recent tennis tournament and to try out Brenda's (pictured on left in yellow shirt) new Chinese restaurant she recently opened in Trujillo. It was great food and fun!

We had a baby shower for my dear friend Marti Bolton whose family just arrived back with their newly adopted baby from China, Mei Mei (which means "little sister" in Chinese). We are thrilled to finally have her in Peru and are loving every minute with her.

And finally a picture of the Peru Mission women enjoying surfing the Huanchaco waves together.

Allen's Quema

2009-05-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

April 30th was Allen's 33rd birthday. Thirty of his closest Peruvian friends surprised him with a "Quema". A quema is a fun tradition here where friends show up at your house the midnight before your birthday and begin celebrating with a bang! After sneaking in our garage without Allen knowing they began singing happy birthday accompanied by their Peruvian instrument. After several songs, they went around in a circle each sharing an encouraging word or story about Allen.

It was very fun and encouraging to say the least, a birthday he will never forget!

Torneo de Tenis

2009-04-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

I played in my first Peruvian tennis tournament this past week. After babies and a broken knee, I have finally started back playing competitively. The perfect weather here coupled with South American clay courts is a tennis player's paradise. The tournament was a blast, I came in third place (20 competitors) which is much better than I expected. More importantly, I made a lot of new friends. One interested thing, the lady I played in the Semi-finals (pictured above) was Miss Peru 1996.

A visit from Tucker Robbins

2009-04-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

I must say, there is never a dull moment working with Peru Mission. This week brought us a visit from the famous New York designer, Tucker Robins (pictured above). When Parish Furniture, Peru Mission's largest economic development project, attended their first furniture market in New York last month Tucker took a quick interest in their unique furniture designs and Peruvian woods. This started a relationship that we are praying that will be beneficial to the success of Parish Furniture and the lives of many Peruvian men. Tucker and a couple of his partners, came to Trujillo this week to talk with the Ball's, meet the Peruvian carpenters and further discuss their collaboration.

The missionary families were invited to go out to Clementina on Wednesday to be a part of a promotional video that Tucker is making to promote Parish Furniture. We will share the footage with you when it is released, but until then, here are some snapshots of folks trying out the furniture for the video:

It is always exciting to see how the Lord connects people for His purposes, we are all very excited to see what He will do!
To learn more about our Parish Furniture project, visit here.

Adeline turns 5!

2009-04-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Adeline turned 5 years old yesterday and we had a busy week of celebrating. She had a party in the park with all the missionary kids playing lots of fun games. She also had a party at her preschool where they made her feel very special by all making her homemade cards. We are so thankful for 5 years with our Adeline!
Party at school. . .

Patti gets married!

2009-04-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend Patti was married yesterday. It was a joy to be a part of her special day. For a little over three years now, Patti has been working in our home since we have lived in Trujillo. She has been a huge answer to prayers in helping us with our home: watching the girls, cooking, and cleaning, (which is no easy task while living in a desert). Our daughters adore her. In fact Patti is Mary Allen's best friend and the reason most of her first words have been in Spanish. She has such a servant's heart, always going above and beyond what she is asked to do. If you have every visited us in Peru, she has probably been a blessing to you as well as she stays busy cooking for our many visitors and short-term teams that come down to visit us.

Allen giving the newly weds a blessing at the reception. . .

Patti even served us at her own wedding reception. . .

The culture here is not welcoming for faithful Biblical marriages. In fact, as you might notice from the pictures, Patti and José are already expecting a baby. This is very typical that couples have children before they are actually married. In fact, most of the weddings we have attended, the children of the couple are in the wedding.

Please pray for Patti and her husband José as they begin a new live together.

Our friend and photographer, Robin Eby, also snapped some great pics, check them out here

Surfing Huanchaco Beach

2009-04-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

Huanchaco beach is located about 8 miles from Trujillo, where we live. It is a fishing and surfing community that we spend many weekends, especially during the hot months.

Props: photos taken by a local surfing school

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

The big missionary kid Easter egg hunt. . .

We hope your weekend of celebrating Jesus Christ's resurrection was a blessing.
Happy Easter from our family to yours!
Family photo: props to Robin Eby

New School and New Smile

2009-04-11T08:00:00.001-07:00

Abigail started first grade this year and entered a new school. It is an all girls school located close to our house in Trujillo. She really loves it and we have been very pleased with the school. She is the tallest in her class and the top student in her "Clase de Ingles"(English class) :-)

Another change in our six year old, if you look closely, you will see that she just lost her first tooth.

Teaching Hebrew in Lima

2009-04-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Lima where Allen kicked off the new year of the Reformed Biblical Seminary by teaching an intensive Hebrew course. It was amazing to see students with no knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet begin to translate portions of scripture, after just four nights of class.

Allen also had the privilege to preach on Palm Sunday at the Los Olivos Church in Lima, a sister church in our denomination.

Please pray that God would continue to bless our efforts to equip men for the ministry.

Beach Trip to Cerro Negro

2009-03-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we packed up and took our (maybe) last beach trip of the Peruvian summer. We went to a new beach about an hour out of Trujillo called Cerro Negro. Cerro Negro is a cove surrounded by mountains with various streams and lagoons, so it's not only beautiful, but there is so much to explore.

Boogie boarding. . .

Climbing mountains. . .

Chasing birds. . . .
The lagoon. . .

The men starting a fire for lunch. . .
Best friends. . .We thank God for His grand creation and wonderful friends to share it with!

In Argentina. . .Celebrating 10 years of marriage!

2009-03-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

Last week we traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. With some great friends (thanks Pam & Cassie Doolittle) caring for our girls and saved up frequent flyer miles, we were off for a romantic get-away to Argentina! Allen has always been a great trip planner, and this was no exception.

Most of our time was spent in Buenos Aires, where there is so much to see and do, but one day we took a day trip to the Iguazu Falls, which was indeed the highlight of our trip. . . taking a jeep through the jungle, hiking across an island and rafting through the falls. It was so fun to get away to celebrate 10 wonderful years of marriage! We thank God for every year we've had together!
You can check out more pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allenandsandi/sets/72157614746956547/

1st Annual Larco Missions Conference

2009-02-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, we had our first annual missions conference at our Larco church here in Trujillo. Along with two local missionaries from our church, we had two guest speakers, Dario whose family is from our church but is a missionary in the Amazon jungle. And our dear friend, Trinidad de Los Angles (or Trino, pictured), a gentleman from the coast who is a missionary to a remote village called Inca Wasi located in the Andean mountains.
Trino is a follow-up missionary to Wycliffe missionaries who just introduce the New Testament Bible in 2005 to this "unreached" people group. You may remember our blog post from our incredible visit to Inca Wasi last October where we first met Trino. It was a blessing to have him in our home and for him to share in our church.

The conference was a blessing to all who attended. It was an encouragement to us as foreign missionaries and to the men we are trying to train to be missionaries in their own country. Our hope and prayer is that we will be sending more missionaries out from our churches to more places in Peru.

Summer Fun

2009-02-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

At the Pacific. . .

Our first Swim Meet. . .

Pretty dresses. . .

A great week of camp. . .Thanks Twin Lakes!

2009-01-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

This past week we had the privilege of having Twin Lakes Camp come down to run another summer camp in Trujillo. What a wonderful week it was! The Lord provided beautiful weather, 175 excited kids, and an energetic and loving camp staff.

They enjoyed swimming. . .

. . .riding horses
. . .face painting

. . .super-fun games
. . .archery

. . . inflatable slides

. . .fun music

. . .arts & crafts

Thank you to the 26 Twin Lakes staff that came down to run another wonderful camp. Thank you for showing the love of Christ to over 100 children from our target neighborhoods, 40 children from a local orphanage and 25 missionary kids. The gospel message was presented in both a small group setting and in the large assembly by Pastor Paul Nasekos.

Thanks to all who financially and prayerfully supported this camp!

Please Pray for Twin Lakes Camp in Peru

2009-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

The 2nd annual Twin Lakes Camp in Peru begins tomorrow! Please pray for all the U.S. and Peruvian staff that will run the camp. And pray for the 40 orphans, 100 children from our church neighborhoods and 25 missionary kids as they play hard, have fun and learn about Christ's love.