Salt and Light: SouthLake Christian Academy: 2009

Monday, June 29, 2009

Peru Teacher Trip 2009

Here are some pictures from this year's teacher trip to Peru! We had an incredible time and saw God's faithfulness throughout our entire trip as we traveled, shared the Gospel in two orphanages and several public schools, and spent time with and were mutually encouraged by Scripture Union's School's workers and volunteers.

This year's team included: Susan Smith, Jose and Iva Bas, Elizabeth Smit, Christy Seifert, Aimee Powell, and Trish Jackson.

The pictures are not in order, and there is no way to capture all that we saw and all that God did, but we hope that they encourage you to continue to pray for the work that God is doing in the hearts of children in Peru.

This is Alan, the school's worker in Chincha, Peru. He is opening a gift from SLCA that included a bookbag filled with goodies and a picture of the class that prays for him. We got to eat lunch with each of the Lima area workers and their volunteers.

Jose talks with some children during our first school's presentation. Over the course of the week we visited several schools and were able to share the Gospel with the children that we met.

These boys are pretty excited after doing
the "Baile del Pollito"....aka The Chicken Dance!

In between schools and eating, crazy things sometimes happen :)

A typical peruvian meal: chicken, rice, and potatoes.
We were NOT sad to get home to our own food.

Riding dune buggies in Ica, Peru, just south of Lima.

Here we are sharing our favorite song "Soy Honesto" (I am honest) with the children at the INABIF in Lima. INABIF is a state run orphanage.

Jose is teaching about Bloom's taxonomy. He did an incredible job of explaining and giving examples of how to get students to use their higher order thinking skills!!!

These children participated in one of our
workshops called "How to tell stories creatively"

yay! candy!

Christy, Aimee, and Susan did a skit about honesty.

On Sunday we got to join the Lima workers for church at Camino de Vida.

One night we went to a show called Las Brisas de Titicaca
We saw many typical dances of Peru and got to do some of our own at the end!

After presenting at this particular school, the "Directora" and her teachers invited us to a snack and we enjoyed a good time of fellowship and sharing. They were very encouraged by the presentation and hopeful to gain more ideas from the weekend's training session.

We got to spend our very last day in Peru at Kawai,
our favorite boy's home, located south of Lima. We worshipped with the boys, Elizabeth and Iva shared the gospel with the boys, and Jose encouraged the older boys to "sigue adelante"- keep moving forward- and to put their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Iva and some of the boys at Kawai

Not so they know us, but that they might know HIM!

Pray for Peru:
- For the workers and volunteers who share the a values curriculum in the public schools
- for the summer camps where these same children hear the Gospel
- for the street boys who live in the 5 SU homes
- for the very difficult task that the house parents have of raising these boys

Our theme for the week:
¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-2

Cute Boys

This is a picture of two of the boys (Martin and Freddie) taken AFTER
SouthLake's Senior trip to Peru. Recognize those hoodies?? :)

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Thoughts from Alex Tribo

Hello, everyone! Right now we are about to eat lunch at the hostal.(I am not sure where the apostrophe key on this Spanish keyboard is, so I cannot use contractions). :D

So far, it has been a really good time here. The experience is overwhelming. It seems so cliche to say, "Wow, Americans are so rich compared to these people," but when one is here in the midst of so much poverty, there is hardly a sense that is more powerful. Last night, all of us sat in a circle and each talked about what touched them most during his or her stay in Peru. Everyone had some powerful things to say, and regarding the poverty here, Tam made a good point - so often in America we confuse what we want with what we need. Always thinking we must buy a new dress for a party, or we have to go get a burger because we are craving it. But what are these people craving? They crave the necessities. Food, water, love. Nothing more. I think all of our eyes have been opened. The people here are so passionate about our God as well, and so joyful. Why is it that so many of us in America are fighting depression? Why is it that we cannot see beyond our small inconveniencies to see the blessings that God has poured on all of us? In the BIble, it says that he who as been given much, is expected much. That hits me, personally, very hard here.To everyone who is reading this, I ask that you would pray with me, that this experience will stick with the senior class of 09 forever. So often, after returning from mission trips the fire for God in us dulls, and we are back, undulating in our routine, which has the tendency to suck all passion for the good from us, and replace it with apathy and thanklessness. Please pray that all of us would remember this trip. Please pray that the fire for God which has been built in all of us these nine days would not dull, but instead would grow and spread through prayer, and a healthy relationship with Christ. I pray that for those who did not have that relationship with Christ before this trip, that their hearts may host a spark for Christ, which may set ablaze.

This morning, we went to a church (I believe it was Pentecostal). It was certainly very difficult to not get lost because half of the service was in Spanish. We studied in Mark 6. The pastor discussed Jesus and his choosing of His disciples, and how we, as people of God, should also seek disciples of God in many nations! Because of their faith, the disciples were able to cast demons out of many, and heal many people. Likewise, we should have a strong and unwavering faith! It was wonderful to see all of these people in such a poor town, in a church that had no air conditioning, and was constantly disturbed by cars honking outside - and they are all just praising God and worshipping Him with such graciousness and joy that I cannot help to desire to want to mimick that in America, and we should. A large part of a relationship with Christ is faith, and faith keeps the fire in our hearts ablaze.

One particular story the pastor told was very inspiring. He explained, if I am not mistaken, that an unbelieveing woman came tot eh church, and asked that they would pray for her daughter, because it seemed she was possessed by a demon. The woman also had an infection in her throat. The pastor visited the home of the woman, and saw that the daughter, indeed, was possessed. This demon prevented her from doing ordinary things like writing, eating, and sleeping. With his unfailing faith, and his humility to give glory to God, the pastor was able to cast the demon out, by the grace of God. Amazingly enough, later on, the woman had a dream in which she was told to read the Bible. She did, and is now beginning to walk with God. How amazing is our God! This story really spoke to me, because it tells me that God not only loves us, but He is not distant from us! He wants to be personal with us, and He wants us to trust Him.

In church, the pastor asked that we introduce ourselves. So, we all went to the front, and sang songs for them in English, and Daniel and Marcie gave their testimonies, which were translated by Billy. The church people were very kind and received us joyfully. As I went back to my seat, one older woman gently grazed my arm with her fingers and mumbled something and smiled, and that was just very moving. Although we may be divided by our culture and language, it is amazing because we are united with our love for Christ! And love certainly is a language within itself, that all people can speak and understand.

Anyway, at this point, we are all so very exhausted and hope to arrive home safely to see our families and sleep in our own beds! :P I ask that you would pray we are able to get home safely, by the grace of God. I hope that the seniors or 09 will come home with a new perspective, and take what they have learned on this priceless missions trip to college.

Pro Rege,
Alexandra R. Tribo

Wrapping things up...

Good morning from Peru!
The past few days have been a whirlwind! Here are some highlights!

We had two great days of VBS! Thanks for praying!

Here the boys show off their "honest lips"

Sarah helps one of the kids remember that

God looks at the heart and what should be in our hearts.

A marathon...not a sprint: Most of the time in the states we value speed and productivity, but in Peru, the process is the best part of the journey! 6 years ago, SLCA students laid the cornerstones of this school. Today, around 100 students enjoy classes in this building everyday. The bricks that they made this year will continue to add onto KUSI, the village that began right here.

Kierra helps the kids at Kusi
school with their heart crafts.

Yesterday we took a 1.5 hr bus ride up to Llanganuco,

a glacial lake near Huascaran.

PACHAMANCA: Food cooked in the ground!

Two little ladies from the school getting

ready to share some traditional dances.

Morgan and Olivia making bricks.

After being beaten by the Peruvians in soccer,

we decided to take them on in American Football.

A very interesting parade followed

by a fireworks show...don´t stand too close!

We hiked from Kusi to the CampoSanto in Yungay,

where 20,000+ people were buried by an avalanche/mudslide.

This bus was folded in half by the mud.

SLCA students, ready to come home =)

Today: Church at 10, spend time with the boys and say good

by Kusi in the afternoon, night bus to Lima (8hrs!),

sleep a few hours on the floor at the boys home in Lima.

Monday: Walking tour in Lima, eat lunch with boys,

shopping at MercadoIndio, dinner, night flight to ATL.

Tuesday: Flight from ATL to CLT!

See you all soon!

- miss j

Friday, May 22, 2009

Epiphanous Thoughts from Caleb and Sarah

hola from peru!

some of the coolest things happening in peru in the last couple of days:

making over 600 bricks in 2 days. with blazing hot sun haha.
keith nevel = hardest worker ever
caleb eating a guinea pig...(killed it first) nasty
peruvian soccer makes american soccer look stupid
good food :) chicken and starches haha
fast spanish speaking= hard to comprehend
cold showers!
no phone...
zaboomafoo and magic schoolbus in spanish
carrying tiolet paper everywhere
spiders the size of america found in hostel rooms
screaming birds...
shorts= may cause tetanus
best firework show ever....
scott and billy=the coolest chaps ever
kids=amazing
walking in the streets=suicide
honking for fun!
coolest looking mountain ever...huascaran
paying to go to the bathroom
carmen=slave driver
tea. alllllll the time
bread allllll the time
what time is it? peru time. what is that? i dont know peru doesnt have clocks.
tati and jesse (aka chub chub) are the coolest dogs ever
longest days ever= carrying water buckets and making bricks
dirty fingernails
dune buggies and sandbording was ther BEST DAY EVERRRRRR
biggiest water bottles ever
bad airplane food

Peru = beautiful children

Peru = beautiful bricks and mountains

Peru = beautiful food??

Gracias

Thanks SouthLake! We got to deliver gifts to Angel and Rosa Montesinos, house parents at Kusi. They now have in their care 44 abandoned boys. They were very grateful to receive the things that you all collected for them!!!

Angel and Rosa opening a suitcase full of donations.

A special thanks to Miss Robb´s class for collecting peanut butter, socks, and undewear!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

just a pile of bricks

hey party people,
This is class president Christopher L. Kilgannon Jr. here giving you a status report on the trip.We are all alive and well and no one has been sold.... yet.

Today was our first day of the real nitty gritty manual labor. We turned a mound of dirt into 203 adobe bricks in a matter of about 6 hours. It was quite strenous but with people like Keith Nevel and myself manning the shovels the task was easily overcome. On a more serious note it jus goes to show you that while we in the good old US of A could just go down to Lowes and buy a ton of bricks it takes these people months to prepare just the basic necessity of life.

Also passing out water to a certain village was quite a heart wrenching task to see these people so down trodden and without water just really put a thorn in my side. I realized that this was basically the best time of their week which kinda makes me think more about everytime i toss some water back at home. As we were filling 50 gallon drums with water i realized that we were meeting these peoples physical needs and Í believe everyone on the trip took something away from that experience.

Other than that not much to report the kids are great and they bring a smile to my face every time I see them. Everyone here has an amazing work ethic and I am continually impressed by that fact.

Hope all´s well back on the home front till then,
Christopher L. Kilgannon Jr.
PRO REGE

Brian, Keith, and Chris after getting kerwolloped at Soccer!! 6-0

Peruvian hello from Shea

Hey everybody! I mean Hola! Well here we are in Peru...its been a whirlwind trip so far! We´ve hung out at the beach, took gorgeous pictures of the Andes Mountains, and sand boarded in the dunes of the Peruvian desert...hmmm this sounds like a vacation huh? HaHa well as much fun as we´ve had we actually have done mission work in every place we´ve been. We´ve visited three seperate boys homes and visited with the street boys in these homes. We´ve handed out water in a neighborhood that has no access to water and we´ve put on a bible school in a elementary school, and made adobe bricks for a new building at the Kusi boys home. These experiences have impacted all of us in positive but different ways.

We´ve seen more poverty and more filth than I can even imagine, but among all the dirt is happiness. This is what amazes me most about this trip. The people have nothing compared us, but are so happy with what they have and so grateful for what they are given. This is my third trip to Peru and this same thing has impacted me each time I return. I have made it a challenge in my life to be content with what I have been given and grateful for any gifts. If people in this level of poverty can be content then shouldn´t we be able to when we have been blessed with so much?

Well I guess it´s time for me to go. Currently Caleb Furrow is killing a guinea pig for our dinner...oh caleb wanted me to say hey to you Mr. and Mrs. Furrow, and don´t worry he´s behaving. Everyone else says hello too! Hope ya´ll are having an awesome week and we´ll see you soon!