update 2/21/13

One of the hardest things about trying to keep a blog here is that when I sit down to write, I am just flooded with all that I have been experiencing and learning- and it becomes overwhelming to try to sift through and choose just a few things to talk about or explain. 

There is no possible way I could bring you all up to date on everything, or be able to accurately describe my experiences over a blog post.
Its just such a different world. Such a different life. So much has changed and happened.

So much of what I am experiencing is the rich and vibrant Peruvian culture, and that is one of the hardest things to be able to translate into a written english blog post.


I am going to try to post more frequently, and at least attempt to give you a flavor of what life in Peru is like.


God has been doing so much.
I have been learning so much


-> My Spanish has gotten so much better and I am picking up more everyday. This was the hardest thing - going from absolutely no formal Spanish study background at all- to complete immersion. In the past few weeks life here has really changed (for the better) now that I am actually able to understand and participate in conversations.As well as being much more informed and understanding of the culture.

Even more than the spanish that I have learned- My heart has been taught so much, spiritually.
My huge leather journal is already 1/2 way full. (And the very first entry was in the airport on my way to Lima) I feel like I just can't write down fast enough the things I am becoming aware of, and learning.
Stepping out of my culture, out of my normalcy, my comfort zone, the noise of my life, and even just the comfort of the people I am used too has been opened up my heart in a new way to learn from God.  I am learning what GRACE looks like in a new and completely life changing way. I am learning what true fellowship, what true community looks like. I am learning to see people apart from what they "do" and simply for who they are.


-> In other news, I have been teaching english classes to the kids at Las Palmeras. Last week we learned how to greet people as well as some basic nouns. Starting out simply but hoping to build.

->The dates for my missions trip to the jungle are being finalized. Right now the plan is for the first week of April.
(I am having to change my return ticket to the USA to a later date. I should be back in the USA sometime in mid or late- April)

 
Here are some completely random photos taken from the past few weeks- to give you a glance of my what my life has been like.

Me and my "chicas"- Kate and Gabby at a valentines dinner we had at the Church

this is La Kimberly, the pitbull- a.k.a  our 12-year-old pigeon killer, cat chaser and house protector

CEVICHE! one of the most well-known and popular Peruvian costal dishes. Made out of raw fish, lime, onions and spicy peppers. It may not sound so from the description but believe me- its DELICIOUS!

3 more delicous peruvian foods here- the orange potato on the left is sweet camote marado, the white corn in the back is "choclo" it is sweet and juicy. and in the front is peruvian version of pop corn, ( thats not popped.) Salty, crunchy goodness!

A guy has been making sand sculptures at the beach for the past month. A different one every week! cool!

Pastor Walter- Preaching! love being part of a gospel centered church here.

Prayer requests/Praise reports


I Praise God for...
1. an opportunity to teach english to the sweet kids at 'Las Palmeras'
2. improvement in my spanish
3. Overall all good health
4. Placing me in a church and a family where the gospel is preached, Christ is proclaimed and the Love of God leads.
5. Beautiful sunny weather

Please join me in praying for...
1. Health- Over all I have been really healthy the past 2 months, but the past week the whole house is struggling with some sort of  nasty cold, cough, flu, virus.
2. Funds- The church here is really struggling financially. We are undergoing some much needed construction and are lacking funds to finish the roof. Also, I have found out that for my trip to the jungle, I am going to have to change my return trip date and there is a pretty big fee for that, as well as purchasing my ticket to Iquitos. Please pray that God will provide.
3. Opportunities- Please pray that God will give me more and more opportunities to share and minister and give me the words and actions to do so effectively

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

 
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.   

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  

And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."

Matthew 18:1-5

Some Exciting News!

I am very excited to share 2 bits of news with you guys and ask for your continued prayers!


1.) the first is- tomorrow I am starting English Classes for the kids at Las Palmeras!

Las Palmeras is an impoverished village about 10 minutes away (by moto) from where I am living here in Ancon, Peru.

The Church “El Camino” that I am a part of here has taught a weekly children’s Bible class at Las Palmeras for the past ten years.  Every week lovely Christians sisters of the church go to Las Palmeras and teach anywhere from 30-60+ children about Jesus and then give them something to eat and drink. 

There is a one room building in the middle of the village. It doesn’t have electricity or water (like most of the village), but it does have a new floor (see pictures during construction here) and tables and chairs for the children.  This is the building we use.

I have been helping out and  I have completely fallen in love with the sweet and needy children that come.

Their sweet hugs; their little hands - often very dirty - are always wanting to play with my "gringa" hair;their precious voices singing to Jesus; their hungry bellies being filled with a meal and drink... It hasn't taken long for me to be completely taken with these precious little ones and the joy of serving them. 

These children bring my heart so much joy, but at the same time my heart breaks for many of their living situations. 

There is so much neglect, ignorance, addiction, and malnutrition rampant here. Many of the parents can’t afford or don’t know how to properly care for these children. 

When with your own eyes you see the poverty, you smell the smells, you hear the stories, you see the faces, you hold the hands, you kiss the dirty little cheeks… it becomes very real. It becomes more than just a “good cause” it becomes personal. They become more than just “some kids” in Peru…they become precious individual souls.

My prayer for this time with the kids is to provide

• an interactive English class. More often than not, speaking English is a ticket to help escape the cycle of poverty.
• a nutritious meal
• a care package to take home and use during the week (with extra food, supplies, and items such as a toothbrush, stickers, crayons, juice boxes etc

Please pray for me to have wisdom and creativity and also that funds will be provided for the necessary supplies.
Lord willing, in the next few weeks, I would love the chance to be able to start a more complete "program"- throughout the week and provide more times to reach out to these kids.  I will keep you updated


2.) I am also excited to announce that God has opened up the doors, for me to go on a missions trip in March to the Jungle of Peru!!

One of the missionaries from the jungle is here this week, and we were able to talk about it, and plan.

I will be going to Iquitos for one week with Pastor Walter, Pastora Clarisa and several other Church members.
 Iquitos is only accessible by plane, and is situated around the amazon river!
More info coming soon! I will let you know when I have solid dates and more information about what this will look like practically.





( A note about financial support: Many of you have contacted me, asking for ways to support the ministry God has led me to here.

If that is you, and you are intersted in supporting either of these oppurtunities financially- here is a practical way you can help! 
Donations can be mailed to my home address. Send me an e-mail at Johannasjourney@yahoo.com if you would like me to send it to you.
Checks can be made out to “Johanna Lange” with the subject “Project Palmeras” if you would like to help fund the English program, and "missions trip" if you fell led to help fund my missions trip to Iquitos. )

A mountain adventure

Once upon a time, a tall "gringa" from Oklahoma had an adventure in the mountains of Peru....

(And this is part of that story.)

First you need to know a little more about the country. Peru is a very diverse and multi-cultural country- it is divided up into 3 main sections- The coast (Costa), the Mountains (Sierra) and the Jungle (Selva)

Each of these areas are completely different. Different climates, different food, different scenery, different wildlife, different customs, sometimes different languages even!

My whole time here so far has been only in the coast. I have traveled quite a bit, but only in the coastal region.

It NEVER rains here in Ancon. Like, Never.
The ground is made up of dust, rocks and sand (and seashells!)

I live about 5 minutes away from the beach (as I write this, I am as red as a lobster from enjoying the sunny sand a little too much the past few days)
We don't eat guniea pig. We don't have a pet llama or alpaca. We don't wear ponchos.

The mountain country is very different.

 I think most people think of the SIerra when they think of Peru. Thats where you will find the llamas, people eating guinea pigs, herds of lifestock, and women with broad hads and embrodered skirts, and little kids with rosy cheeks.

We (Pastor Walter, Clarisa and Myself) left one day after breakfast (bread, ham, cheese and coffee)
to join some other pastors and go visit a campground in the mountain country.

The group! lovely christians!

Transportation is one of the biggest differences between the U.S.A and Peru.
We walked to the bus station corner, took a open taxi to another city,  and then met up with 5 other pastors and took this van the rest of our journey.

Every year they have a peruvian pastor conference and wanted to find a new location to host it.

The journey by van was about 3 1/2 hours.

This is the van. 

 Most of the way was unpaved, narrow, rocky roads high in the side of the mountain.

The altitude is about the same here as Breckenridge Colorado.

Immediately as we entered the mountains I began to see a different Peru.

 When we arrived at the campgrounds- I came face to face with my first Peruvian llama!

I was very excited to see the llama....( but sadly, the feeling was not reciprocated… at all)

i am pretty sure he hated me :(

I also saw my first real mango, banana, avocado and gaunabana trees! 

Árbol de Plátano a.k.a Banana tree!

We ate at a road-side restaurant in the little town of Yangas. I had Trucha- Fresh river trout!

Fresh, fried trout, french fries, rice, salad and of course- the most popular drink in Peru- INCA KOLA-*

* the psychedelic yellow liquid! taste a little like bubble gum... but you gotta try it to understand the addiction.

On our way back through the mountain passes, we were stopped by construction workers and told that we couldn’t go back the way we came for 2 more hours because they were working on the road!!!

Eventually, we found another route on the other side of the valley…  

 A very bumpy but good solution.....

 until we found out that we had a BIG problem.

2 lovely sisters in Christ. The one on the right is my "Peruvian mom"- Pastora Clarisa

Now I know very little about cars (especially when the problem is explained to me in Spanish...)

I am not sure what a belt does, but it had snapped in half…  Even I know that’s bad. (And I know absolutely nothing of cars.)

2 of the Pastors hitched a ride to the city to buy a new one, and meanwhile the girls got out and walked and the men pushed the van.

Here are some of the sights I saw in the middle-of-nowhere-countryside of Peru.

Mountains!

More mountains!

Is it just me, or is that a JOHN DEERE TRACTOR In the middle of a valley in the middle of peru?

little farm houses

this okie girl felt quite at home in the country side- tractors, cows.... feels like home

Goats! (or cabras)

Finally by sunset (hours later), and by slowly making our way in the van (with pushing, gliding down hills, and making a make-shift belt out of rubber and sacks…)

we met up with the pastors with the new belt, changed it and headed back to Lima! 

A bus, and taxi later and we made it back home! 

Whew! What an adventurous day! But we made it back about 9:30. 

Covered in dust but all in one piece 

(I suffered the only injury- a goose egg on my head- the result of a metal van roof with a sharp corner and a big pot hole.)