Classes, Coast Lines and Chicharrón

Yes, yes, the blog post is a day late—but to make up for it, I’ll blog about our beach adventures yesterday. Deal? Deal.

Breakfast: Complete with blood sausage! 

So—last week can best be summarized in one word: MEADS. Again, MEADS stands for Ministerial Education and Discipleship Studies is a fancy was of saying we had temple school classes. And temple school classes is a fancy way to say we  studied church theology, scripture and general ministry techniques. MEADS is generally held in the Community of Christ Temple in Missouri, however for a lot of people in South America, that just isn’t an option: thus they bring the party to us.

And by “the party” I mean some interesting classes and Carlos Mejia and Steve Hatch. This was my first time meeting Carlos. He hails from Honduras, a country where the Community of Christ is thriving at the moment. He’s also a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles (and if you’re not a Community of Christ member, just know that means he’s kind of a big deal.) Steve visited us in January and he’s the apostolic assistant for Central and South America. The two of them, as well as Wilfredo, arrived in Peru on Wednesday, fresh from giving their MEADS presentations in Colombia.

Gathered around for a prayer during Steve's class. 

The week was a nice mix of business and pleasure. Wednesday we started things off with a casual meeting in Consuelo’s house to chat and preview the rest of the week. Thursday we had our first official class in Marlene’s house, talking about Christian Ethics. Thursday was also the day Jimmy and Cristian from Huanuco arrived. While the weekend didn’t leave a ton of time for banter, it was wonderful to have a little piece of Huanuco in town.

Friday was when things really took off. We started the morning with “breakfast” at a place famous for its chicarron (fried pork) called Don Luchos. Breakfast entailed sweet potatoes, ham, blood sausage (yes, it’s made with blood) and, of course, chicarron. It was fantastic, and a breakfast that made lunch completely obsolete. After that we headed to Monte Sion for a church service to kick things off. Katrina and I tag teamed presiding, Wilfredo preached and things rolled along fairly smoothly. 

Can you believe it? Steve gave us HOMEWORK! 

Saturday was our first full day of classes. An hour later than planned (in true Peruvian fashion) we climbed in a combi and trekked off to Monte Sion. Carlos taught a class on “Cuidado Pastoral” (Pastoral Care) and we had a surprising turnout from the Monte Sion congregation. People were impressively engaged in the lesson—because, let’s face it, a five hour class on anything can get a little dry after a while. We ended the night with another quick service, a beautiful sermon by Steve and a fantastic dinner served up by one of the Monte Sion members, Maria.

Sunday was our last day of MEADS. Once again, we climbed on the combi an hour later than planned, and this time five of us had to get out and walk so the combi could make it up the hill to Monte Sion (this hill is no joke, people.) After that toasty walk, we jumped into Steve’s class, which focused on the book of Mark. We compared different books of the bible and different interpretations and it was my favorite class of the weekend. Once again, we finished the affair with a church service, this one a little more extensive, and with a sermon by Carlos.

Our last day of MEADS with the freshly painted church!

Before we knew it, our time had run out and Wilfredo had to scamper off to the airport so Carlos and Steve could catch their flight to Chile. They have the pleasure of teaching their MEADS classes three weeks in a row.

To celebrate the successful weekend, the Filidelfia congregation headed out to the movie theater immediately afterwards to see “Non-Stop.” (I have to note here that the Spanish movie title literally translates to “Without Layovers” which is a much less dynamic title.) Something I love about Peru is that everyone here LOVES doing things with their family. Everyone begged and pleaded for Graciela and Consuelo (the two mothers in the group) to come to the movie with us, and eventually wrangled them into it (Consuelo promptly slept through the entire movie.)

By the end of the day, everyone had wet ocean pants. 

And that brings us to yesterday. For Jimmy and Cristian’s last day in Lima, Wilfredo took us all out to the beach to soak our feet. Graciela and I promptly trekked a little too close to the surf and got soaked from head to toe in seawater; however, it was a toasty day and we spent the rest of the afternoon drying out in the sun, unsuccessfully trying to skip rocks and watching surfers. Something about the quiet afternoon together was a simply beautiful experience and it stands as one of my favorite days I’ve had thus far in Peru.

As for this week, I’m presiding in Monte Sion and teaching a class in Filidelfia.  We leave in ONE WEEK for Arequipa and Lake Titicaca--and I can't wait for that new adventure. Big things are happening and our time is slowly slipping by—but we’re trying to hold on and love every moment of it. Until next time!

Tying up Loose Ends

Painting the back of the church! 

The church painting is finished, my stitches are out and our tickets to Arequipa/Lake Titicaca are BOOKED! Let’s recap.

Last Monday, our little team of church painters took a much needed day of rest. I know it’s only been two weeks since I’ve stopped running, but can I tell you something? Painting the church makes me feel crazy out of shape. My THIGHS were by far the sorest part of my body. My thighs?! I hate to think of what kind of awkward squatty position I paint in.

Anyway, Tuesday it was back to the grind and Wilfredo, Prudencio, Billy, Katrina and I made the trek to Monte Sion to finish up painting. Katrina and I tackled painting the outside of the church, while Wilfredo and Prudencio touched up the inside. Perhaps my favorite part of the day was watching Wilfredo paint over all of the accidentally paint splotches we made, just to watch Prudencio leave another three seconds later. We started the day with every intention of finishing the job, but alas, we ran out of paint and sunlight before we could wrap things up.

Prudencio: Paint brush in one hand, Inca Cola in the other. 

Wednesday was the GLORIOUS day they took my stitches out. When the doctor glanced at my foot he hesitated and asked me to clarify how long my stitches had been in, but eventually said they were ready to come out and I did a happy dance in my head. The bad news? He says I still can’t run for THREE weeks! While I appreciate a good excuse to be a lazy turd, that’s going to make five weeks total without running which makes Melissa an unhappy, slightly pudgier camper.

After getting my stitches out, Katrina and I celebrated by booking our plane tickets for our next trip: Arequipa and Lake Titicaca! Lake Titicaca is where the Incans believe the sun was born and is the highest elevated lake in the world. Arequipa is known as “The White City” and has Colca Canyon on its outskirts, which is supposed to surpass the Grand Canyon in beauty. We leave in two weeks and I’m super excited—despite our host family’s repeated warnings that one person got lost and died in the Canyon last year.

We're clearly working hard. 

Friday we bid our adieu to Billy and Anna, as they prepared to make the trip back home to Pomobamba. Billy’s constant commentary on our lives has been entertaining over the last few months (and at times slightly offensive…”That man is SO, SO fat! He is even fatter than MELISSA!”) I know I’ll miss his passion for selling popsicles, singing performances and “jokes” (which always just end up being a long story about one of his friends farting.) The surprise of the day was his mother, Anna, giving us a very tearful goodbye. This Chavez family is infamous for being criers, but the farewell was a reminder to Katrina and I how hard our goodbyes are going to be with the rest of the family in July.  

Paint crew (minus Billy): Wilfredo, Prudencio, Katrina & I. 

Friday night we trekked off to Monte Sion for a little more painting and our weekly bible study. Now—don’t fool yourself and think we had a boring night of slapping a paint brush against a wall because anytime you travel to Monte Sion with Prudencio, it’s an adventure. Prudencio has two cars, and I’m not sure which of them scares me more.

To clarify, Monte Sion is at the top of a giant hill, which can challenge the most capable of cars. Prudencio’s cars…they…well, they just aren’t the greatest. If the car is full, two people have to get out and walk up the hills, otherwise the car won’t make it. At one point, the car made it halfway up the hill, then couldn’t go anymore and we had to slowly reverse back down the hill. But if you think going UP is a thrill—the going down—THAT, my friends is where the action is. Prudencio’s car has a tendency to die—and when it does, there aren’t any breaks. As we went down, Pudencio happily recounted the tale of the time his car died going down the hill and he nearly drove onto someone’s roof. Prudencio is notorious for being absolutely fearless and one trip in his car to Monte Sion will convince you of it.

Our reward for those long days of painting: sunsets. 

Anyway—nobody ended up coming to the bible study on Friday, which has been a reoccurring problem in Monte Sion. Saturday, we headed back (once again, a delightful adventure in the Prudencio-mobile) and FINALLY finished the painting job. Prudencio and I touched up the paint on the outside while the rest of our group took up the tedious job of chipping paint off the floor inside. Once we got things ready to go, we started our service. It was the first time I’d ever seen Prudencio preside, but it was an experience I’m glad to have had. The family loves to joke that Prudencio is long-winded, but he kept things moving along at the perfect pace.

Farewell Anna (left) and Billy (the wee one)!! 

Sunday it was my turn to preach in Filidelfia. Lately, writing sermons has become more and more challenging. I continually realize that I don’t process and dwell on a scripture like other people do; my brain is a weird place and it does what it wants. I think this week I finally came to terms with that. I ended my service with a short meditation where everyone could stew a little on the scripture and come up with what it means to THEM—because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? It’s charming to entertain the idea that I have some great wisdom to impart on everyone, but sometimes, people are better off filling in some of the blanks themselves.

Tomorrow, the insanity of MEADS (Ministerial Education and Discipleship) unofficially kicks off because a few church leaders are flying in. The actual classes and services of MEADS won’t start until Friday, but whenever we have visitors in town, we’re always on the move. So here’s to another week on the go and hoping that everyone enjoys the church’s new makeover! 

Painting the Town Red...Church Brown...Whatever.

The before picture of Monte Sion. 

Last week started in Monte Sion with a popcorn covered floor and a dusty white church. A few days later, we sat in the same building, eating a soft and sweet cake and celebrating our freshly painted light brown walls. Let’s recap.

Tuesday marked our first ever movie night in Monte Sion. For a while now, the most dynamic thing about the congregation in Monte Sion has been the youth participation. Any given Sunday, we have about 25 local kids come to our classes, ranging from 2 – 13 years old. Since it’s summer in the southern hemisphere, the students are finishing up their summer vacation and heading back to school for a new year. To celebrate, the church hosted a movie bash and we watched “Lilo & Stitch” and “The Emperor’s New Groove.” We had planned only one movie for the night, but in true Peruvian fashion, nobody showed up until the last 15 minutes of the movie, so we played another.

Wilfredo, mixing up our new color! 

With a lot of children’s events in Monte Sion, we’ve had the awkward experience of the kids coming, getting their presents or snacks, then instantly leaving (to me, this sounds a lot like college kids in the United States.) Movie night was no exception—as soon as the soda, suckers and popcorn ran dry, most of the kids scrambled out of the church—but the night was about hosting kids and familiarizing them with who we are and what we do. So—even though only two or three stayed until the end of the movie, while about 40 came to eat popcorn—I’m going to call the night a success.

Wednesday morning I woke up elated, because it was my big day—my stitches were FINALLY coming out. I hopped a combi, and went to the doctor solo, a little nervous about talking through the appointment in Spanish; however, everything got off without a hitch... well, that is, until the doctor looked at my foot and dropped the bomb on me that it would need ANOTHER week with stitches to heal. So it goes.

The kids at Monte Sion, sanding before we paint! 

Thursday brought plenty to distract me from my stitches disappointment, because we FINALLY started painting the church in Monte Sion. Ever since we’ve come to Peru, the congregation has said they want to paint the church and Katrina and I have been pushing HARD to make it happen—so Thursday, after seven months, we finally headed to Sodimac to buy paint.

The day started out looking bleak. While the congregation had voted on colors to paint the church, we quickly realized we hadn’t decided on a specific shade or brand. We also found out that there WASN’T money in the budget for paint (Katrina and I had been pushing the project along because we’d been told the church already had the money.) Next, we also encountered the issue of how many colors we were painting the church. I was under the impression we’d selected two colors, Katrina thought we’d decided on three colors and now the running total stands at five colors: two outside, three inside. Needless to say, the day started with a lot of head shaking, sighing and thoughts of maybe we should just put this off another week. But low and behold, we persevered and eventually made it to Monte Sion with a cart full of paint. And so it began.

Gettin' my paint on! 

All day Thursday, Friday and Saturday we painted and painted. I have to pause here to say that some of the people here are simply fearless. There is only one large latter in the church and it looks like it was hewn together in about five minutes out of some random sticks someone found in their backyard. At Christmas, Wilfredo climbed the latter to hang up lights and promptly went tumbling down its uneven rungs. Additionally, the floor in Monte Sion is concrete, so everything naturally slides across the floor. All the same, at multiple points during the day I’d turn around from painting something and there was Prudencio,15 feet off the ground with nothing keeping that latter from sliding and clattering to the ground. The man is fearless.

I call this move, "the neck breaker." 

After three full days of painting, taping, begging kids to stop touching the walls, and pollo a la brasa for lunch, we were scrambling before church to clear enough space and sweep so that we could have a service. The church isn’t completely done—we still have some spots to touch up—but I have to say, as we sat in that service on Saturday night, we truly felt like we were in God’s home, not just an empty church. Katrina presided and Gladys preached, and after the service we pulled out a cake to celebrate International Women’s Day. As we began eating, a giant rat ran out from under the water tank and I have never seen such chaos inside of a church. The event can only be described from a gloriously awful song from my childhood called “The Mississippi Squirrel Revival.” If you didn’t grow up with a father from Hannibal, MO that calls the thing you clean clothes with the “warshin machine” you can watch a YouTube video of the Ray Steven’s song by clicking here.  Anyway, the chaos of part of the room running away, part of the room standing and shrieking and part of the room running about, smacking the ground with brooms, ended when Wilfredo stomped on the rat with a sickening crunch. Happy Women’s Day!

The after picture--much more homey! 

Anyway—after that excitement, Sunday was “tranquila.” We ate a cevicheria on the coast, then had our typical service in Filidelfia.

This week is already flying-- tomorrow we’re putting the finishing touches on the paint in Monte Sion, Wednesday my stitches come out, Thursday is Sandra’s birthday, Friday is Billy and Anna’s last day in Callao and Sunday I’ll be preaching in Filidelfia. In our free time, we’ll be planning MEADS (Ministerial Education and Discipleship Studies) which is now just under two weeks away (more info to come.)

Until then—I hope you enjoy the pictures of the new church colors as much as I do!  

Bloody Wednesday: The Battle of a Toe and a Hand Weight.

Last week was…well…bloody. Let’s recap.

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I’m currently tangoing with the odd situation of trying to live in the moment while I’m in Peru, yet looking for work in the US. So, after the church-filled weekend in Huánuco, I got back to the hunt on Wednesday and spent my entire morning in a final interview with Teach for America.

Oh--you didn't want to see it? Too bad. 

The morning was full of all of the natural nerves and worries that come with any job interview, plus the added concern of our less than stellar internet connection; however, by 2 p.m. I was done with the interview and had strapped on my tennis shoes to go run out the morning’s tension. After a half hour run, I felt refreshed, came home, stripped off my shoes, stretched and started to lift weights. After a particularly hard set, I put my hand weights on the dresser—and this is when my beloved six pound hand weight betrayed me—and rolled off the dresser and landed with a horrifying “thunk” on my left foot.  

Can I tell you something? I didn’t know a toe so small could bleed so much. I crumpled to the floor instantly after the weight hit me, looked at my foot and saw my toe had split open. In a matter of seconds my hands were completely covered in blood and it was uncontrollably spilling over my sopping hands and onto the floor. I called out to Graciela  and shyly said, “Uhh…can you help me with something?” She came upstairs, looked at me and asked, “What did you DO?!” Now—let me tell you something else—this woman is fearless of blood. All I wanted was for her to bring me a wet towel, but she grabbed the towel and helped me clean every drop off blood of my cut, hands, legs and the floor. This woman is a saint. She even put a band aid on for me, which made me feel six years old, but better all the same.

I wish you could sit on the roof of every church and site see.

From there, it was the frustrating process of figuring out where my insurance said I should go for medical help, then deciding to go somewhere completely different. Eventually, we showed up at a local clinic where they very embarrassingly insisted that I roll around in a wheelchair, like my foot was a mangled bloody stump or something.  After some x-rays, everything checked out okay and the doctor put three stitches in my toe and kindly told me that he doesn’t want me to walk until we take them out—a WEEK later.

Needless to say, I’ve respected the doctor’s wishes as much as possible—but I have walked. I have three stitches in my toe—I’m not going to ask someone to carry me to the toilet for that. However, the cabin fever of knowing I CANT leave the house set in almost instantly.

Now—running is a constantly challenging sport that I don’t always love, but I have to tell you—I cannot WAIT to get these stitches out so I can run again. Yes—sometimes when I run I get chased by dogs, whistled at by creepy men and one time I even saw a man’s entire penis as he took a leak about two feet away from me—but as a World Service Corps rep, running is sometimes the only YOU time you get the entire day.

Clearly a wheelchair is not necessary for this. 

By the time the weekend arrived, it was  breath of fresh air because it meant I got to LEAVE the house. Saturday, I was in charge of the young adult class, but unfortunately there was birthday party at the same time as my class and, well, the birthday party won.  

Sunday in Filidelfia, we guinea pigged the more “traditional” way of presiding. Presiding in Peru has always meant the presider is the center of the service. They walk the audience step-by-step through the service. The presider usually gives the invocation, welcome, introduces every song and event (offertory, communion, etc.) and gives a pre and post-sermon talk. In all honestly, I prefer preaching to presiding because being this MC-type person can be a TON of work.

Katrina's class on Saturday in Monte Sion.

So, Marlene presided on Sunday with a more behind-the-scenes approach. For the first time since I’ve come to Peru, everything was actually planned out ahead of time. I even had a full 24 hours notice that I’d be giving a testimony, which is simply unheard of here. I would also like to point out that this more American-style of presiding was NOT Katrina nor I’s idea—it was a local leader’s idea. The service glided along smoothly and it was a good experience; although I must admit, I’m going to miss a little bit of the charm in the way that Peru is so different and transparent about who puts together their service. But, times are a changing, and I’m glad the leadership team here is willing to try different things.

As for this week, we’ll be in Monte Sion every day to FINALLY paint the church (I’ll post before and after pics!) And my stitches, if they look okay, come out TOMORROW! Wish me luck—if they don’t take these puppies out, I might have to go and eat three plates picarones to numb my disappointment. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Until next time!