Our Shining Stars

What with only having 2 weeks notice to move out of the country and then arriving back 4 days before Christmas, we have got a little behind with the blog (I can't think why.) We will finish the blog when we finish visiting our link up churches, but in the meantime, we can fill you in on the action packed time that we had in December.  

One of the joys of December was the shows that Daniel and Sophia were a part of.  Daniel's school show didn't have a Christmas theme, but was a fascinating insight into Peruvian culture.  The show began with a young girl making an offering to Pacha Mamita (Mother Earth).  While she was sleeping, she was whicked away to the jungle where she was visited by various jungle creatures.  Then she fought with an enemy and was healed, returning to her home and grandfather, where there was traditional Peruvian music and dancing.  Not your average nativity, then.  Daniel was an otorongo, a jungle cat, and he did an excellent job!  He had been practicing for weeks and he had a fantastic costume.  We have the DVD which is worth a watch in our opinion, although as parents of one of the actors, we may be a bit biased.

 His show was also on my birthday, so we had a great lunch at Jack's Cafe, Daniel's favourite place in the centre.  Our friends Sophie and Chris were staying with us, so we had a great weekend, before finding out on the Monday that we needed to return to the UK.

A few days before we left, Sophia starred in a nativity at her nursery.She was, of course, an angel, although in Peru, it isn't the blonde haired children that are typecast as angels, as blonde hair is very rare!  As can be imagined, Sophia attracted even more attention than usual walking through the streets of Cusco on the way to the nursery.

The Nativity was full of colour, with some very Peruvian looking shepherds and Mary and Joseph.  The following Sunday, we had a nativity at church where Daniel was Joseph and Sophia was an angel - we already had a costume!  The children were always very excited to be involved in drama at church and this was no exception.  It was slightly crazy, as the narrator was late and we had to arrange a fill in at short notice.  But, as ever, it was alright on the night although we have no photos as we were too busy being a shepherd and a king...

In the next exciting pre-Christmas instalment, we will report on the chocolatada and the hospital, and by mid 2012, we should be up-to-date. Merry Christmas, by the way.

Home!

We are all safely home and will blog more soon about the last couple of weeks.  The journey went very well and Daniel and Sophia were excellent on all 3 flights.  The combination of a 2 year old and jet lag isn't a lot of fun though!

Big News

We hope that Christmas preparations are going well. We are writing to share news that we imagine will be quite a shock, but we will be returning to the UK earlier than anticipated.

We continue to be grateful for the opportunities that BMS has given to our family. Over the last year, we have had the privilege of teaching in schools, running an environmental project, running a holiday club, leading a children's club and much more. We hope and trust that God has used us here in Cusco. We hope that seeds have been planted that we know nothing about, but trust that God knows and is nurturing these seeds. We have personally been challenged and changed, often in difficult circumstances, and we will all come back with a different perspective of faith, God and the world.

However, we have felt for some time that this particular placement is not a good fit for us. It has been a privilege to be a part of El Puente, but it is a small church plant and we feel that it is overwhelming to have 4 mission workers placed there. We have enjoyed a lot of the work that we have been involved with, but feel that we can not offer a strategic role with sustainability at its heart, simply because the church is not at that stage. In training, we were told to be flexible in mission and always expect the unexpected. We have found this to be good advice, and we have tried to adapt to the situation being differerent to the one anticipated. It is a common story that mission workers travel to a country with one job description and end up doing something completely different! However, in our situation we can not see a new situation developing over the course of the next year that will be helpful and sustainable to the work of the Baptist Convention. We feel that rather continue with our work here, it would be better for the church if the youth and children's work develops at a slower pace, with the local church taking responsibility.

This has not been an easy decision, and has involved lots of discussion and prayer. We did not take the decision lightly to move to Peru and it is with the same consideration and prayer that we have decided to return to the UK. Personally, it has been a difficult time for us and we would appreciate your prayers as we process this decision and the next stages.

As we said at the beginning, we appreciate that this could be a shock, and for that we are sorry. God is at work here and we have tried to reflect that through our posts and stories. It has been hard to communicate the difficulties for various reasons, and hope that you haven't found the blog and newsletters misleading.

We were originally hoping to return to the UK between April and June, but it actually worked much better for the church if that was earlier, due to the departure of the Action Team and the home assignment of Scott and Anjanette. It was therefore hoped to be mid-February. However, Neil visited immigrations recently and discovered that it is not possible to renew or extend our visas beyond 6 January. Flights are better before the end of the year, and therefore we are due to arrive in the UK on 21 December. We have had to process a lot very quickly. Please pray for us and especially the children as we pack up and say goodbye in a much shorter time frame than we had planned.

Living in Peru has given a new perspective on the UK. We always saw our long term ministry as being in the UK, and although we will be leaving Cusco with sadness, we will also be returning to the UK with a renewed sense of the needs and potential within our home country. We are all called to mission and we see more than ever the importance of the church in the UK.

Your prayers and support have been invaluable to us and we can not express enough the difference that they have made.

Love Neil, Amanda, Daniel and Sophia

Week 4: Beauty from Junk

Last week was the final week of lessons, and we explored the theme of reusing.  First of all, we handed around images from this website, showing very creative ways of reusing and recycling rubbish.  The children have really enjoyed looking at photos, in both the first and final week.

The classes then divided into groups for a junk modelling project.  They were given a range of ruubish, and asked to design something new and beautiful.  I did not know beforehand how they would respond to this, as learning in Peru tends to be more structured.  Although the children are often artistic, they are given specific instructions, rather than having a blank canvas to explore and create.  I didn't know if this would be too difficult and different for them in the time given, or if they would enjoy the freedom. I discussed this with a teacher, as we observed them working.  She said that the children had lots of abilities, but sometimes lacked imagination.  However, as can be seen from the photos, there was lots of creativity on display, many with a Christmas theme.  I was especially interested to see a snow man as there is not much snow in Cusco, yet this image is still associated with Christmas here.

 We have been teaching a younger group in one of the schools, and so we decided to do a slightly different activity, as we thought that the junk modelling in groups might be too hard for them.  Instead, the children were given the opportunity to make either a magazine rack from a cereal box or a pen holder from a plastic bottle.

It was also great to see a display of posters from a previous week's work in a classroom.

It has been a great privilege and experience to run the environmental project.  Every drop does make a difference, for good and bad. The children of Cusco have an opportunity to help God's wonderful creation and I hope and pray that these lessons will be a springboard for further thought and action.

Week 3: Recycling

Last week was lots of fun, as we explored the theme of recycling.  We have discovered that competions and team games work really well in lessons, and so we began with a recycling race.  2 volunteers from each team needed to sort through a bag of rubbish and allocate it into different recycling piles.  It was designed to help the children think about the amount of things that we can recycle, where possible.

The main activity was meant to be making recycling paper, but after a disasterous trial run (and a nearly blocked sink), I decided that it wasn't the best activity to do in a single lesson.  I then had a go at  making recycled paper beads, which actually worked very well, but were quite messy and would take too long. Therefore, after getting slightly desperate, I opted for recycled bracelets.  We folded 2 strips of old paper to make bracelets, rings and necklaces.  I am pleased to report that Christianity magazine made particularly good bracelets, being made of thicker paper!

The original plan for the lesson was to make the recycled paper, and plan letters to write to the local council about recylcling on the paper.  However, when I spoke to the children, they thought that there were good facilities for recycling in Cusco.  When I have spoken to other people, including others from Cusco, they have said that recycling is very difficult here.  However, it didn't seem appropriate to ask the children to write letters when they didn't think that there was a problem.  Instead, we created a couple of spur of the moment Christmas decorations for those that finished early, which turned out to be very popular. In fact, a girl in a normally well behaved class was crying as her friend hit with her a piece of cardboard, as it was in short supply to make the 3-d Christmas trees!  She soon recovered and was happier when she was re-united with the cardboard.  It was another great lesson and the children participsted in all of the activities. Next (and final) week - reusing...

Bags of Fun

Last week was the 2nd week of the environmental project.  Our theme this time was reducing waste as we learnt ways to make small but important differences.  During the main part of the lesson, we designed and decorated our own reusable bags.  Finding the bags was a mission in itself, as I couldn't see reusable material bags in Cusco.  I knew of a shop where the lady makes her own bags, and after lots of discussion and visits, I successfully ordered 100 perfect bags!  We are visiting 3 different schools and they all really enjoyed the activity.  Children in Peru seem to be very artistically gifted and every child was engaged and took and a lot of pride and time over their work.  It was therefore a great activity for them as it brought together a practical way to make a difference with their love of art.  We  adjusted the lesson to allow more time for this activity. In the first lesson, which was longer, we gave them a group activity of suggesting ways to reduce waste,  It was meant to be more of a brainstorm, but they produced wonderful, detailed posters - they take a lot of pride in their work.

 They worked very hard on their designs and like with UK children, where one went, the others followed.  There were lots of fruit bowls and mountain ranges.  And a few portraits of Tupac Amaru, an Inkan hero/martyr.  The lessons are being received very well and I am looking forward to spotting the bags being used in place of plastic bags while I am out and about in the community.  As one girl said, unprompted, 'When they try to give me a plastic bag in the shops, I will say, 'No thank you, I have my own bag!'   

 

Every Drop Makes a Difference

I recently successfully applied for a grant from BMS' Eco Challenge Fund to run a series of lessons on the environment in local schools.  After some background research, lots of meetings with local schools and a crash course in how to write log frames for the grant application, the lessons have finally started!  We are running lessons in 3 schools, 2 in the local area and the other in Huambutio, where the church is hoping to develop a church and cell group.

The theme of the project is 'Every Drop Makes a Difference', and the aim is to support the children to find small, everyday ways that they can make a difference to the world, specifically the environment.  Last week was an introduction.  We had a quiz where the children had to guess whether the facts aboutthe world were true or false.  For instance, bats always turn left when they fly out of caves and we are losing rainforests at the rate of 1.5 football poitches a second.  We also discussed our favourite places in Cusco, and looked at photos of the local area showing both its natural beauty and contamination.  Thanks very much James - the children loved this part and shared some excellent observations.

We also thought about the world as a gift from God.  We read from Psalm 8 and thought about God's wonderful creation and our duty to care for his gift.  This is a great unifying point with the Catholic schools, as there is often division between evangelical Christians and Catholics in Peru, but the need to care for God's creation is a unifying point.  I was really encouraged that the children already felt that they could make a difference, and we looked at this quote from Mother Theresa so that we coiuld be encouraged that our small actions can make a big difference:

'We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.'

Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring reducing, recycling and reusing as ways to make a difference, with lots of practical activities.  Please pray that we can all link our day-day behaviour and actions with the effect that we have on God's wonderful world.   


And now with photos!

The Ropers' Round-Up

A lot has been happening recently, and we are finding it hard to keep up with the blog.  So, here is a quick round-up of what has been happening:

• The Peru Action Team are here!  The Peru Action Team arrived a few weeks ago, but we have realised that we haven't mentioned them on the blog. So, a belated but heartfelt welcome to Jess, Amy, Liz and Rob.  It has been great getting to know them, and beginning to work with them.  My personal highlight so far is pretending to be animals with Amy and Rob in a classroom while we were teaching English.  Please pray for them as they continue to acclimatise to the culture and language.  Action Team is the BMS excellent gap year - for more info, click here where, incidentally, you will find a pic of our very own team.
• Last weekend, we were part of the church's first weekend away in Pisac, a town in the Sacred Valley.  We stayed at a school/residential centre set in lovely grounds, surrounded by mountains.  I came here with some young people for a youth camp a few months back. It was great to have an opportunity to spend time with our church family, as well as eating good food, playing volleyball (badly) and trying to avoid the spitting llamas. For many, it was an important time to listen and respond to God. 

• This week has been very busy as we started the first of 4 environmental lessons in local schools (this will be a separate blog post) and the church building is moving.  The building before was in a great location, but had no provision for childrens work on a Sunday.  The leaders found a new building with separate rooms for a creche and a children's room.  It is a few minutes walk from the old building.  Neil has been helping with some of the moving this week, and we have a ceremony tomorrow to celebrate.
• For now, that is all, apart from a birthday party, a great afternoon spent with friends, Giardia, disgusting treatment for Giardia, difficult theological questions from 5 year olds and preparation for the concert of the year starring a tiger. 

Daniel's Birthday

A couple of weeks ago it was Daniel's birthday, and he had a party English/Peruvian style!  There was cake, dancing, fizzy drink, lots of food and friends.



 Daniel now has 11 football shirts and this is in large part due to the fantastic variety that he received on his birthday and at his party.



He had a pinata in the style of cars, which was greatly enjoyed.



Earlier in the day Daniel received lots of lovely presents, here is a picture of him enjoying one which his Dad was also very keen on.



Daniel had a great day, and it was great that we got to spend it as a family, happy fifth birthday Daniel.

The Day of the Dead

We have just had a public holiday today, for the Day of the Dead.  This is a special day in the Catholic calendar, as people believe that there is a special connection today between the dead and the living.  People visit the cemetery, and we have been told often have picnics and drink beer to celebrate and be close to their loved ones. 

We visited the cemetery this morning, and there were many families tidying the graves, along with various priests who are paid by families to perform a short ceremony.  SOme families leave a glass of water the night before, as they believe that when their relatives come back, they will be thirsty.  It is hard to see, but there is a glass of water in this picture. The grave also looks very different, as people are not normally buried in the ground, but in concrete blocks several storeys high. 


Elements of the day reminded me of UK customs.  People care for graves in the UK too, and perhaps visit on special occassions such as birthdays, or the anniversary of a death.  These times are perhaps more personal and individual, whereas today the cemetery was packed full of people, with a market taking place outside.  I think perhaps we all need to grieve and remember, and elements of the Day of the Dead reflect this.  However, for some people, there is a strong belief that the connection between the worlds of the living and the dead are closer, the veil is thinner, which is a very different belief to evangelical Christianity and why many evangelical Christians do not celebrate or associate with it.

Perhaps the saddest part of the day was walking along to a different part of the cemetery, reserved for poor people.  If you can afford a proper grave, the bodies are cremated and left in unmarked graves. In a culture where honouring the dead is so important, how must it feel for the families to not have a place to visit, to mourn?  Even in death, poverty can not be escaped.

Christmas in October

Neil's parents are now safely back in the UK, but before they left we had a special Christmas celebration together, exactly 2 months early.  Unsurprisingly, Christmas is a very special time for us, and as much as we are looking forward to celebrate the birth of Jesus with different customs in a different culture, we also know we will miss our family, friends and traditions in the UK. 

We therefore decided to have a Christmas dinner together, complete with roast chicken, pigs in blankets, gravy (first time in 10 months) and even crackers.  We are saving the Christmas pudding and opted instead for paneton, which is very popular in Peru at Christmas. I didn't have enough pans for Yorkshire pudding, and decided that as it would almost certainly flop at altitude, I just wouldn't bother.

We also had a Secret Santa, and with the Christmas music playing, we soon felt very festive.  Having cooked too much, we even had authentic Christmas dinner leftover soup for the next couple of days.  As hard as it was to say goodbye to Sheila and Tony, we have created so many memories that we can talk about for many years to come.  It was great to have holidays together, but also for them to see our life here in Cusco. 

As we begin the coutndown to Christmas, we will undoubtedly miss the traditions and customs thsat we are accustomed to, but were delighted to have this opportunity to celebrate with our family. The light of the world has come - the truth of this is as relevant on 25 October as 25 December.

The beauty of Lake Titicaca

We are back from our adventures at Lake Titicaca.  It will not go down as the most relaxing holiday we have ever had as a family, but has given us loads of memories.  We took an amazing coach tour to Puno, which is in Peru close to Lake Titicaca.  Along the way, we stopped at a beautiful colonial church, pre-Inkan ruins and La Raya at a breathless 4,338 metres above sea level. 

Once at Puno, we were able to visit the floating islands, which are islands made of reeds.  Apparently, originally a tribal group got so fed up of the arring tribes around them that they decided to build themselves homes on the lake to stay out of the way.  Sounds sensible.  The islands are now packed full of tourists, but it was still a fascinating morning and insight into a very different way of life.

We had been warned that Puno itself was not a great city, and despite a great hotel, we tended to agree and were pleased have the opportunity to go to Copacabana across the Bolivian border.

Sophia decided to mark the occasion by being violently sick at the border - we are hoping to save this particular story for her wedding or 18th birthday.  Copacabana is a small lakeside town and in parts, very pretty.  We stayed in some incredible lodges overlooking the lake with amazing views, especially the sunsets.  Sadly, this part of the holiday was marred with Sophia being ill and I spent a lot of time caring for her at the lodge, or feeling pretty ropey myself.  However, with views like this, it was a lovely place to be.

The others were able to visit la Isla de Sol (the Island of the Sun)and Neil and Daniel also had the opportunity to spend the day with Fatima and her family.  Neil has sponsored Fatima for a number of years through Compassion and it was a privilege to be able to meet with her, as well as give her family an opportunity to spend time at Lake Titicaca.

By the time we ventured back to Puno, Sophia was on the mend and we had a drama-free return to Cusco.  Please pray for Sophia, as in the last few weeks she has had problems with oxygen levels, an ear infection and a throat infection.  Praying for a long section of good health now!  We are back to work Tuesday and are looking forward to meeting the Action Team.  Neil's parents are with us for a few more days as Daniel is 5 in 4 days time (as he likes to constantly remind us...)

Machu Picchu and Mick Jagger

We are currently having an incredible time, as Neil's parents are visiting from England.  This would always be fantastic, but we are also taking the opportunity to have a holiday and do some incredible things. We are currently between trips and packing for Lake Titicaca, but came back from an amazing couple of days visiting the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.  We will write more of our adventures of early starts, death defying roads, salt lakes, a rickety bridge combined with a big minibus, Machu Picchu and Mick Jagger.  But for now, here are a few pictures while I pack and prepare to take our family on another epic adventure.