OUR NEW ASSIGNMENT
We wanted to wait until it was official to “publically” announce our next assignment with the IMB. We will be moving to Murcia, Spain in January 2013 after Jeremy finishes up Seminary this next year. We will be joining the Diaspora team there. Our ministry will be engaging and equipping Latinos that are living in Spain. There is a large growing number of Latinos on the coast and we will mobilizing/discipling them to reaching their Judea, Samaria and uttermost parts as well as church planting among unreached pockets of Latinos. There are a number of different facets to this assignment and we are both really excited and challenged by this God-sized task. Jeremy calls it the “oversees job", since he has spent all of his life in either Latin America and the US, this will be his first time ever “crossing the pond”. This has been a long process for us, we felt God calling us to a new assignment well over a year ago and have been praying and discussing this type of ministry assignment for almost as long. Repeatedly we’ve received both peace and confirmation from the Father regarding this new challenge in ministry for our family. Join us now in praying for VISA approval for our entire family!
Family Jungle Trip
Well we had a blast. I've uploaded lots of pictures to tell the story but we had a few stories that we're captured on film (some were captured on video but our internet is WAY too slow to upload those). So the story goes:
Not pictured:
1. The first night out- we spent it sleeping on a sandbar stranded because we broke part of the prop on the motor and couldn't fix it yet (it did get fixed the next day). We were too far up the river to turn back to the last village but too far away from the village we were trying to make it too! Oh yeah- the other family we were with didn't bring their tent, so we lent them one of ours. So Jeremy, me and the girls all slept in a 2 person tent in the pouring down rain. (Well the girls slept at least- J & I tried LOL!)
2. Crystal was able to have a women's bible study with several ladies. We studied Proverbs 31 and she taught them 5 questions they can ask themselves when studying the Word.
3. Jeremy was able to teach as well in each village on Godly Wisdom. We also were able to distribute several Bibles in Buena Vista.
4. Crystal learned how to weave baskets/plates!
5. They had a special service in Atalaya the last night we were there. At the end folks prayed for our family and said their good-byes. It was sweet.
All the stories that have pictures:
Not pictured:
1. The first night out- we spent it sleeping on a sandbar stranded because we broke part of the prop on the motor and couldn't fix it yet (it did get fixed the next day). We were too far up the river to turn back to the last village but too far away from the village we were trying to make it too! Oh yeah- the other family we were with didn't bring their tent, so we lent them one of ours. So Jeremy, me and the girls all slept in a 2 person tent in the pouring down rain. (Well the girls slept at least- J & I tried LOL!)
2. Crystal was able to have a women's bible study with several ladies. We studied Proverbs 31 and she taught them 5 questions they can ask themselves when studying the Word.
3. Jeremy was able to teach as well in each village on Godly Wisdom. We also were able to distribute several Bibles in Buena Vista.
4. Crystal learned how to weave baskets/plates!
5. They had a special service in Atalaya the last night we were there. At the end folks prayed for our family and said their good-byes. It was sweet.
All the stories that have pictures:
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| Addie sleeping ontop of the luggage on the boat ride up the river. |
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| Everyone calls Addie "babydoll" here, but she really does look like one. LOL |
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| The girls killing time in the hammock on the boat ride up the river. |
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| Karis & her favorite friend in Atalaya- Ana! |
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| Jeremy is teaching Luis the "fisherman's tail" way of taking a photo, so that the fish appears much larger. |
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| Actual size of the peacock bass. LOL |
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| Addie & her favorite Peruvian Uncle Omar playing with dinner before its cut up. |
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| Karis & Alton (Luis' son) playing on the steps of the house while folks play soccer. |
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| Crystal and Karis |
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| Buena Vista |
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| River bank |
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| Location of Bible study in Beuna Vista |
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| Jungle version of a pack-n-play. The mayor's wife saif this is what she uses for her grandbabies so that they don't have to sit in the dirt to play. I thought it was sweet of her to get it out for Addie to use during Bible study. |
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| Karis wanting to play in the "boat" as she called it. |
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| Addie taking her morning nap at 6AM! Jeremy was kind enough to stay in his hammock and let her rest awhile. So precious how she has her arm resting on his. =) |
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| Nothing like a 10 year old and an 8 year old gutting lunch down on the river bank. And bringing their little brother down to watch. |
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| Luis & Addie playing on the boat. |
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| Karis is a very good observer. She noticed that everyone nursing their babies lots in the jungle. So she was nursing her babydoll and telling us we needed to be quiet, so she could feed! LOL! |
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| Omar and Karis on top of the boat catching some air. Do you think Karis likes it? |
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| Addie after Daddy lifted her up high enough to feel the breeze. Not a big fan! Such a sad face. |
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| Samuel & Alton (Luis' sons) such precious boys! |
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| God has a plan for Alton's life. Before he was 2 years old (he is six weeks younger than Karis). He has had dengue fever twice, dysentry, and a motorcycle fell down on him punturing his skull...he still has a hole in his skull from it. He is a trooper!!! |
Going to the "Jungle"
Yesterday I was talking with our neighbor and said that we were going to the jungle tomorrow and she looked at me puzzled and asked "Don't we live in the jungle?" So I guess I'll clarify by saying that we are going out on the rivers, since Iquitos is basically your last stop of civilization. LOL!
As some of you may already know, we had to postpone our family trip to the jungle. Jeremy was not going to be able to meet with some of the men in the community that he wanted to because they were traveling. Due to the postponement we also had to shorten the number of days we'll be gone. So we'll only be out 4 days. Pray that we will be able to accomplish our goals even with the delay/shortening. Here are a few prayer requests for our time out. {September 10 to 14}
- It would be a good time of fellowship and good-byes
- That the girls would sleep well and stay healthy
- Women in the communities would be willing to meet with Crystal for Bible Study.
- Men in the communities would have open ears and hearts as Jeremy shares with them.
- That bugs, snakes and various other jungle creatures not bother the girls [or anyone else].
First Neighborhood Kids Bible Study
So this week I've been meeting with our 12 year old neighbor, Malu, to study the Bible. We met Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for about 2 hours each day going through the gospel (she accepted Christ =) and then we've been going through how to study your bible, pray, what obedience looks like etc... Anyways so on Wednesday she asked me if I could substitute for a Peruvian missionary that was doing a bible study at her house on Saturday but couldn't come. Since then I had gotten very little information from her on it- just that it should be about an hour long, some games and studying the Bible.
So I prepared all of that and showed up at 4pm. Malu came out of her house and said no one had showed up and then I found out that this was going to be the first week. She didn't invite anyone from school, like she thought, because she didn't know if everything was going to work out. There was a continual mix up with the Peruvian missionary. Anyways- so Malu said- well you're here and I want to study, so let me go find some friends. So she gathered up 3 other neighborhood kids that were outside playing and we had bible study.
We read the parables of the lost sheep and coin and I explained to them that each of them were very important to God. Asked them if they had ever lost something important to them and how did they feel when they found it. After that I said that is how God feels when a person confesses their sins and accepts Christ into their lives...that its a big party in heaven. We read John 3:16 and talked about that fact that God loves them so much that he sent his son to save them. Then we read the parables of the hidden treasure and pearl of great price. I explained to them that their relationship with Christ (because some are Christians and some aren't) is the most important thing that they could ever have in their entire lives. Then I pulled out a bucket of sand (which I got for free by walking down to the end of the street and scooping it up from the mounds of it heaped around all the construction equipment being stored on our street by the government). I had them search in the sand with a pair of tongs (from my kitchen) for their hidden treasure. I had buried 12 braided bracelets in the sand. Since only 4 of them were there, I let each of them find 3. They really enjoyed it and I told them that when they looked at the bracelets it could remind them that their relationship with Christ is their greatest treasure. Two of kids like the game so much (the two youngest ones 8 & 10) they re-hid their bracelets and searched some more.
Well Malu wanted to study some more and that meant I would be "winging" it (which I don't really enjoy, so much). So the 10 year old John-Pierre said he wanted to read Luke 8: 1-10. Which is the parable of the sower. So then I asked if they were a seed, what kind of soil would they want to fall into? They all said the good soil, so then we talked about what living in good soil meant. Which lead into what does producing good fruit look like in your life? They gave some examples and then we read Galatians 5:22 and I explained the Fruit of the Spirit.
Then Malu busted out the big guns and said she had been reading in Revelations and wanted to know when and if God created Satan, since he created Adam & Eve. So I explained that God did create Satan that he used to be an angel but that he wanted to do things in his own strength but most importantly he wanted to be God. So he was punished for this and cast out of heaven forever. We also talked about the end of times, the 1st church in Acts and giving God glory.
Then a huge storm started to brew on the horizon and we decided that we should probably wrap things up. We had a prayer time and I returned my borrowed sand to the heaps at the end of the street.
But I have to say that the Lord really helped me with this, I wasn't nervous, my Spanish made sense (most of it anyways- haha) and scripture came to mind easily and I was able to have answers to difficult questions (which usually I just panic and then can't think of the answers). So God really was in, through and wrapped around this little bible study.
Pray for Malu, she really wants to keep doing this bible study and I want to help her with it but don't want to step on any toes and really it would be best of this Peruvian Missionary would help/lead it because we are leaving soon. Pray for Malu as she continues to grow, she has such a sharp mind and is so intrigued by the Bible.
So I prepared all of that and showed up at 4pm. Malu came out of her house and said no one had showed up and then I found out that this was going to be the first week. She didn't invite anyone from school, like she thought, because she didn't know if everything was going to work out. There was a continual mix up with the Peruvian missionary. Anyways- so Malu said- well you're here and I want to study, so let me go find some friends. So she gathered up 3 other neighborhood kids that were outside playing and we had bible study.
We read the parables of the lost sheep and coin and I explained to them that each of them were very important to God. Asked them if they had ever lost something important to them and how did they feel when they found it. After that I said that is how God feels when a person confesses their sins and accepts Christ into their lives...that its a big party in heaven. We read John 3:16 and talked about that fact that God loves them so much that he sent his son to save them. Then we read the parables of the hidden treasure and pearl of great price. I explained to them that their relationship with Christ (because some are Christians and some aren't) is the most important thing that they could ever have in their entire lives. Then I pulled out a bucket of sand (which I got for free by walking down to the end of the street and scooping it up from the mounds of it heaped around all the construction equipment being stored on our street by the government). I had them search in the sand with a pair of tongs (from my kitchen) for their hidden treasure. I had buried 12 braided bracelets in the sand. Since only 4 of them were there, I let each of them find 3. They really enjoyed it and I told them that when they looked at the bracelets it could remind them that their relationship with Christ is their greatest treasure. Two of kids like the game so much (the two youngest ones 8 & 10) they re-hid their bracelets and searched some more.
Well Malu wanted to study some more and that meant I would be "winging" it (which I don't really enjoy, so much). So the 10 year old John-Pierre said he wanted to read Luke 8: 1-10. Which is the parable of the sower. So then I asked if they were a seed, what kind of soil would they want to fall into? They all said the good soil, so then we talked about what living in good soil meant. Which lead into what does producing good fruit look like in your life? They gave some examples and then we read Galatians 5:22 and I explained the Fruit of the Spirit.
Then Malu busted out the big guns and said she had been reading in Revelations and wanted to know when and if God created Satan, since he created Adam & Eve. So I explained that God did create Satan that he used to be an angel but that he wanted to do things in his own strength but most importantly he wanted to be God. So he was punished for this and cast out of heaven forever. We also talked about the end of times, the 1st church in Acts and giving God glory.
Then a huge storm started to brew on the horizon and we decided that we should probably wrap things up. We had a prayer time and I returned my borrowed sand to the heaps at the end of the street.
But I have to say that the Lord really helped me with this, I wasn't nervous, my Spanish made sense (most of it anyways- haha) and scripture came to mind easily and I was able to have answers to difficult questions (which usually I just panic and then can't think of the answers). So God really was in, through and wrapped around this little bible study.
Pray for Malu, she really wants to keep doing this bible study and I want to help her with it but don't want to step on any toes and really it would be best of this Peruvian Missionary would help/lead it because we are leaving soon. Pray for Malu as she continues to grow, she has such a sharp mind and is so intrigued by the Bible.
Freezing
So every few months I get motivated to prepare/cook lots of meals and freeze them for "rainy/insanely busy" days. So last week I saw a pin on pinterest about freezer crock pot meals and was inspired. So last weekend I chopped the most vegetables I've ever chopped in my life at one time (a special thanks goes to Jeremy for entertaining Karis with his wood working project and to my mom & step dad for all of those grueling hours I spent helping you prep for caterings during college- no worries I've still upheld to my oath of never doing another melon ball in my life!) Anyways- in true "pinterest" fashion and also just desiring to capture this achievement-I took a picture:
After this stage I cut up all of the meat, put everything into freeze bags, added the seasonings and voila! 4 dinners ready to go into the crock pot and a side of vegetables ready to be baked to go to a friends house later. I also had 2 other meals I was going to prep however those mirasol peppers got to me (I got some of the oil on my fingers). So spent the next hour trying every suggestion I could find online to stop the insane burning!
In case you are wondering the following DOES NOT REMOVE mirasol oil from your finger tips:
Here is the amazing part of the story. I usually try to prep dinner while the girls are down for their afternoon naps (it makes my llife so much easier and everyone's happier). Well the next day, my neighbor, Malu, said that she had ordered 20 Bible studies from a radio program and wanted me to go through them with her. So we've been meeting during the girls nap times and its been going for 2 or 3 hours. Isn't God good! I prepared those meals, not knowing what my week was going to look like! And now I can do these Bible studies with Malu and try to answer all of her zillions of questions worry free- cause dinner will be ready when it needs to be!
Just if you're curious here's what I prepped:
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| A mound of carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, two different types of zapallo (gourd), potato, snap peas, bell peppers, green onions, mushrooms, zucchini, 3 mirasols (hot peppers) and a beet. All chopped and ready to go. |
After this stage I cut up all of the meat, put everything into freeze bags, added the seasonings and voila! 4 dinners ready to go into the crock pot and a side of vegetables ready to be baked to go to a friends house later. I also had 2 other meals I was going to prep however those mirasol peppers got to me (I got some of the oil on my fingers). So spent the next hour trying every suggestion I could find online to stop the insane burning!
In case you are wondering the following DOES NOT REMOVE mirasol oil from your finger tips:
- rubbing your finger tips through your hair
- washing your hands dozens of times
- soaking them in a water/baking soda solution
- putting straight baking soda on your finger tips
- washing your hands with a laundry deotergent
- soaking them in a four part water/one part bleach solution
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| 4 Meals- Ready to Go! |
Just if you're curious here's what I prepped:
- BBQ chicken & veggies
- Goulash
- Curried Chicken & Veggies
- Italian Chicken & Veggies
- large dish of veggies to bake for side dish
Jeremy's Last Trip to the Urarina
Here are some photos from Jeremy's last trip out to work with the Urarina for this term. Enjoy!
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| Karis busting out the guitar for some worship time with the team while they got their gear ready. |
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| Kershaw Baptist Association- SC, Peru 2011 - Urarina Leadership Training Conference |
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| Spending some time in prayer |
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| Jimmy's training session. 3 groups of leaders routated between 3 different sessions in the AM & 3 more in the PM. |
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| Service |
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| Question and Answer time for all the Pastors |
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| LUNCH MENU-gaint sardine |
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| Someone's Dinner Menu- Jeremy's Catch of the Day. 30+ lb Sting Ray. Tail macheted off in honor of Steve Irwin |
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| Urarina Women & Children at the Conference |
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| If Goliath would have repented! HAHA- No really Pastors were praying over J, thanking him for his service to the Urarina during a special "Going Away" service they had for him. |
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| Happiness |
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| Urarina Families camping near good fishing sites. The boat couldn't make it any further up the river, so the team camped with these families and helped them fish for a day and a half. |
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| Camping Uraria Style |
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| Camping Gringo Style |
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| Fishing |
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| Jeremy finally got a Peacock Bass...the Lord lifted his curse. Amen |
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| Jungle is all its awesomeness. |
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| Traditional Dug Out |
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| Watch your fingers! |
On the Amazon
Our friends, Larry & Sharon, came to visit us for 3 days this week. Larry took a lot of great pictures and videos. We thought we'd share this cute one of Karis enjoying the boat ride on the Amazon!
Calle Independencia 442
So this is our street. Its never really been a thing of beauty but it sure isn't pretty these days. The city is putting in new drainage pipes everywhere and what seems like all the heavy construction for doing it all is being housed down the street from us. The bull dosers and other machines are tearing up our dirt road. They said they were going to fix it this morning but it still looks the same. You may also find it amusing at how we squeeze our truck into the garage...it honestly does barely fit...the front passenger has to get out before we pull in our they get block in my a cement pole on the inside of the garage but at least they moved the telephone pole that was blocking part of the garage a while back on the outside...that really made life easier...but the guy stealing the motor for our garage door opener several months ago, that was unfortunate but luckily I married a strong tall man! And I can open it just fine, I have to give a few little swings to give myself a little more momentum to get it open but thats all. LOL! Enjoy!
sidenote: for all those worried about Adalyn...she is usually in a rear facing carseat but was a lap baby for that trip.
Training the "Next" Generation
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| Jose, Manuel, Elias, Jeremy & Luis PRAY for these guys are they carry on the torch for us! |
Well the title isn't really all that accurate, since most of the "next" generation are actually older than we are...but they are the ones that will be here in our place when we're back in the US and afterwards when we transition to our new assignment (we aren't officially approved yet, but we're fairly sure that we won't be returning to Iquitos). Thus the training of several key nationals to take our place, so to speak.
We have been working with these guys since January. Jeremy has had several trainings with them, most of them have gone through the Prospectives book that contains many missiological priniciples in it and we've also been teaching them the different ways that we provide support and assistance for our REAP partners from the US in way of logistics, organizing team gear, etc...
So this week, we had another meeting and also a debriefing with them to see how things have been going thus far this summer with different teams. All of these guys are also translators that are committed to the Lord and do an excellant job. We were missing two of the guys (Maykol and Jose) because they are not in town. The training went really well but was interupted/cut short because we had a surprise visit from the JUNGLE!
Alejandro, Sonia, Ana and Abel came by to visit us from Atalaya. The couple that accetped Christ and was baptized several months ago. It was a WONDERFUL surprise. They were only in town for that day and decided to visit. It was PREFECT timing from the Lord. It was the first time that they've ever called us when they were in town and all of the translators that were that day, have all worked in the village and know the family well. So we ended up having 9 adults and 2 kids join us for lunch (all unplanned by the way- training was suppose to last about 3 hours) and everyone stayed until about 3:30pm that afternoon. We all were laughing, sharing stories and it was a lot of fun. Its how Jeremy and I pictured ministry being, so it was a wonderful treat for us.
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| Alejandro, Sonia(holding Adalyn), Ana (holding Karis) and Abel PRAY for them, they are new believers and really are seeking the Lord. |
Bad Hair Day
This past Wednesday, Jeremy gave me a free afternoon. He told me to go and don't worry about when what time I came back...that he would feed, bath the girls and put them to bed. HORRAY...I know, I have an awesome husband. He was trying to give me a break to recharge and do something for myself...since its been a craze filled summer with ministry, meetings, seminary classes and illnesses galour. So I thought...I'll go get my hair cut, that will be fun and I found a salon here that has air conditioning...even bigger bonus!
Well I got a really great hair cut on the top part of my hair. The lower half resmembled a "make shift mullet" (Jeremy's words not mine) HA! I asked the guy to cut about an inch off, my tips were dry and to reshape my layers a little bit. I've actually seen the hairstyle on several young girls around town and it looked cute on them, but they are 20 and under... And I did have some "RED" flags on caution be thrown before me, as I watched him cut two other ladies hair before me and they both left looking like they belonged in an 80's rock video...but I thought, surely he has a larger style range than that. Nope...I was so wrong! So Jeremy came to the rescue and trimmed up my "hair art". So in total I had about 5 inches cut off my hair and am now starting over with growing it out again. That's what hair does best though, is grow...so you know...that's just life sometimes. I should have taken a picture of it while it was dry because you could REALLY see that there was no layers between my shoulders and the bottom layer at my mid-back...but atlas I didn't have time. Here's the before/after shots of Jeremy's "shape-up":
Singing Praises from the Jungle
So one of the major struggles for me (Crystal) living in Iquitos has been the heat and humidity here. Now I've lived in hot countries before in my life but Iquitos really just tops in all. I've told Jeremy on numberous occassions that its just really hard for me to show the love of Christ to others when I'm in a chronic state of agitation from being so hot. With that said, I know what to sing Praises to the Father for the AMAZINGLY cool weather that we've been blessed with in Iquitos over the past few months. I know that its not going to last forever but its lasted way longer than I expected and its even surprised our national friends too! I wake up each morning thinking, will God bless me with another day of cool weather!?! Its been awesome and I will say its helped me love living here even more! =)
Jungle Advice
So this week has been a tough one to say the least. After OGM ended July 1st- The girls and I headed back up to Iquitos on July 2nd (while Jeremy stayed in Lima for an intensive one week seminary course until Friday)...we traveled back with the Glovers, which was a blessing. July 3rd- we had a large medical team come in from Morningside Baptist, so it was a typical arrival day of lots of people in and out of my house getting gear, me tallying up what was forgotten and what was taken, coordinating payments of things, talking with translators and then grabbing a meal with the team. I put the girls to bed and sighed thinking the rest of the week should be smooth sailing, I'd get the girls back into a routine and relax a little. Not so much. Both of them woke up that night with fevers. Karis was vomiting up everything she ingested by monday afternoon. So they both came down with the stomach flu, then the dog got sick on Tuesday. Thought she was poisoned but really she had a respiratory infection & parasite in her esaphogas and a high fever as well. Then Wednesday around 1am, I got the stomach flu and we were all sick! So with this being such a stressful time, I was given SO much unsolicited advice. Its a lot like the US, these Peruvian ladies were just trying to offer me help. Here's some highlights-
1. Soap- one lady was convinced that Karis had a bacterial infection because of the way her flatulence smelled (which she didn't have that but her good bacteria was low after lab tests came back). So she proceeded to tell me that I didn't need to waste time or money going to the doctor and buying medicine for this. All I needed to do was take laundry deotergent mix it well with water and rub it over Karis' belly and the mixture absorbs through the skin, into the intestines and the bacteria flushes itself out. The expression on my face must not have consealed by doubtfulness about this "proven" method and so she proceed to explain to me that in the homes- families typically use an herbal mixture but the best way is the soap mixture and that's what they use in the hospitals here (as if being used in the hospital thus made it a more reliable option, but all it really did was make me question the medical practices of the hospitals up here). Now I do see some benefit in the massaging the flatulence out but dish soap on your belly isn't going to do anything for the bacteria infection in your intestines. You know?
2. Nasal Drainage Option. This one isn't a new for me, but thought I'd share it with you anyways. Don't have one of those handy dandy bulbs to suck your kids snot out...no problem. Just create a suction around their nose with your mouth and suck it all out by you inhaling and then just spit their snot out when you're done. No worries.
3. Fever reducer. A mixture of luke warm water with alcohol and wipe it consistantly over their heads. Also keeping her child clothed with socks on and a blanket over them if their is a breeze anywhere- so that they won't catch a chill with their fever.
4. For my dog. She is a 90 lb, muscular, lean, and athletic Italian Mastif . The Vet tells me that she is sick because I allow her to sleep in my bedroom with the AC running at night. And the "cold front" we had this week (mid to lower 80's) was too cold for her and I needed to buy her a DOGGIE SWEATER to wear. I politely explained to her that she has always slept with us in our AC bedroom and that its NEVER been a problem, this is her first illness and that we took her to Lima during the winter last year and she would play outside and then sleep next to a heater and no problems then. And that typically she has more energy and enjoys life more when its "cold" like this instead of above 100. But she still insisted that she would never fully recover unless we removed her from our AC and got a DOGGIE SWEATER to put on her during "cold" days like this week. Killing me...killing me!
5 Shots are BETTER than pills (Sadie vs the Vet) Peruvian LOVE their antibiotic shots "into the viens is better" they say. The philosphy holds true with dogs as well. So the first day Sadie needs 2 shots, one antibiotic & one parasite. So the male vet assistant is about the size of a typical US teenage girl and I size him up and I think he's got about 15 pounds on Sadie. So I offer to help hold her down for the shots. We get both of them in her, with both me and the vet asst laying on top of her and me basically doing a choke hold on her. Then the Vet says "WOW she really doesn't like these shots...too bad because she needs two a day for two more days!". Second day- new vet comes (male this time) and a bigger Vet Assistant (thank goodness). However, Sadie is feeling a little bit better and now there are two strange men in the house with her while Jeremy is gone and they/we are trying to pin her down. I tried numberous times but after having vomited for most of the night before- I was too weak to do anything and I almost fainted twice in the process of it all. So the Vet offers to help (Thanks- after just telling me to yell at her louder for the past 30 minutes). So the Vet gets a hold of her neck skin (she's mussled by the way), swings her around to pin her down on the floor and Sadie fights back. She rares up and slams him up against the back of the front door and is now standing taller then him. I'm thinking- WOW- this is horrible. When Sadie goes back down onto all fours, the Vet basically jumps on her and it pushs her to the ground. The Vet Assistant gets ONE of the TWO shots in her and they decide to call it a night! Now during this entire 45 minute saga my kids are with Elita in my bedroom but they can hear all of the barking and yelling so they are both crying hysterically. Miserable. So I told Jeremy I just couldn't do it again another night in a row. So he talks to our team leaders and Cameron's sister's a Vet in the states. She prescribes Sadie some pills that she's had NO PROBLEMS taking for the past 2 days and she perking up! What a mess. LOL!
So all of us are on the mend even though I did not suck Addie's snot out with my mouth or rub soap on Karis' belly or buy my dog a doggie sweater or contunie to turture her with shots. I did however let Elita rub a cool rag of water/rubbing alcohol over Addie's head.
Side Note: After viewing the Sadie vs. The Vet show down. I am now convinced my dog would kill an intruder easily and I slept better the last few nights Jeremy was away. Sadie is a loyal loving dog- that would do anything to protect us. Bless her heart!
1. Soap- one lady was convinced that Karis had a bacterial infection because of the way her flatulence smelled (which she didn't have that but her good bacteria was low after lab tests came back). So she proceeded to tell me that I didn't need to waste time or money going to the doctor and buying medicine for this. All I needed to do was take laundry deotergent mix it well with water and rub it over Karis' belly and the mixture absorbs through the skin, into the intestines and the bacteria flushes itself out. The expression on my face must not have consealed by doubtfulness about this "proven" method and so she proceed to explain to me that in the homes- families typically use an herbal mixture but the best way is the soap mixture and that's what they use in the hospitals here (as if being used in the hospital thus made it a more reliable option, but all it really did was make me question the medical practices of the hospitals up here). Now I do see some benefit in the massaging the flatulence out but dish soap on your belly isn't going to do anything for the bacteria infection in your intestines. You know?
2. Nasal Drainage Option. This one isn't a new for me, but thought I'd share it with you anyways. Don't have one of those handy dandy bulbs to suck your kids snot out...no problem. Just create a suction around their nose with your mouth and suck it all out by you inhaling and then just spit their snot out when you're done. No worries.
3. Fever reducer. A mixture of luke warm water with alcohol and wipe it consistantly over their heads. Also keeping her child clothed with socks on and a blanket over them if their is a breeze anywhere- so that they won't catch a chill with their fever.
4. For my dog. She is a 90 lb, muscular, lean, and athletic Italian Mastif . The Vet tells me that she is sick because I allow her to sleep in my bedroom with the AC running at night. And the "cold front" we had this week (mid to lower 80's) was too cold for her and I needed to buy her a DOGGIE SWEATER to wear. I politely explained to her that she has always slept with us in our AC bedroom and that its NEVER been a problem, this is her first illness and that we took her to Lima during the winter last year and she would play outside and then sleep next to a heater and no problems then. And that typically she has more energy and enjoys life more when its "cold" like this instead of above 100. But she still insisted that she would never fully recover unless we removed her from our AC and got a DOGGIE SWEATER to put on her during "cold" days like this week. Killing me...killing me!
5 Shots are BETTER than pills (Sadie vs the Vet) Peruvian LOVE their antibiotic shots "into the viens is better" they say. The philosphy holds true with dogs as well. So the first day Sadie needs 2 shots, one antibiotic & one parasite. So the male vet assistant is about the size of a typical US teenage girl and I size him up and I think he's got about 15 pounds on Sadie. So I offer to help hold her down for the shots. We get both of them in her, with both me and the vet asst laying on top of her and me basically doing a choke hold on her. Then the Vet says "WOW she really doesn't like these shots...too bad because she needs two a day for two more days!". Second day- new vet comes (male this time) and a bigger Vet Assistant (thank goodness). However, Sadie is feeling a little bit better and now there are two strange men in the house with her while Jeremy is gone and they/we are trying to pin her down. I tried numberous times but after having vomited for most of the night before- I was too weak to do anything and I almost fainted twice in the process of it all. So the Vet offers to help (Thanks- after just telling me to yell at her louder for the past 30 minutes). So the Vet gets a hold of her neck skin (she's mussled by the way), swings her around to pin her down on the floor and Sadie fights back. She rares up and slams him up against the back of the front door and is now standing taller then him. I'm thinking- WOW- this is horrible. When Sadie goes back down onto all fours, the Vet basically jumps on her and it pushs her to the ground. The Vet Assistant gets ONE of the TWO shots in her and they decide to call it a night! Now during this entire 45 minute saga my kids are with Elita in my bedroom but they can hear all of the barking and yelling so they are both crying hysterically. Miserable. So I told Jeremy I just couldn't do it again another night in a row. So he talks to our team leaders and Cameron's sister's a Vet in the states. She prescribes Sadie some pills that she's had NO PROBLEMS taking for the past 2 days and she perking up! What a mess. LOL!
So all of us are on the mend even though I did not suck Addie's snot out with my mouth or rub soap on Karis' belly or buy my dog a doggie sweater or contunie to turture her with shots. I did however let Elita rub a cool rag of water/rubbing alcohol over Addie's head.
Side Note: After viewing the Sadie vs. The Vet show down. I am now convinced my dog would kill an intruder easily and I slept better the last few nights Jeremy was away. Sadie is a loyal loving dog- that would do anything to protect us. Bless her heart!
OGM (Occational General Meeting)
Two weeks ago we were able to attend our first general meeting. It was all the IMB missionaries from 5 South American countries. It only happens every few years (thus the "O" in "OGM). It was a great time of training and sharpening skill sets needed for being on the field. It also provided us with an oppurtunity to connect with other missionaries. So often we get stuck in a rut of what's going on with my ministry, in my area...blah blah blah. It was great to get to hear what's going on in other folks lives and ministries. We tried to eat with different folks at every meal and we really were encouraged by it. We also think that we were able to make some connections to other IMB ministries going on in Peru and combine forces with REAP to better reach the least reached of Peru. We're excited about the possibilities that lay ahead.
Girls all bundled up for bedtime. It was cold at night and our little Jungle monkey's don't do cold! LOL!
The girls had a great time. Its the first time in latin america that we've been to something that had childcare provided. It was so great to be able to worship and sing praise songs with out distraction (I know that may sound silly, but boy did my soul need it). Karis was basically in kid's heaven- it was a super kid friendly place with play ground equipment, a pool and a pond to feed ducks & fish. She played so hard and is still talking about her friends she made there!
Here are a few pictures: 
Us after the Missionary Kid presentation the last day!
Us after the Missionary Kid presentation the last day! Karis' beloved fishes & duck.
Karis running back up the bridge with urgency to get MORE bread for the fishes.
Girls all bundled up for bedtime. It was cold at night and our little Jungle monkey's don't do cold! LOL!
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