Merry Christmas

We've been thinking a lot about the wise men this Christmas. We've been talking a lot with the kids about them and the gifts they brought to Jesus. They were all symbolic. We were talking about what kind of gift each of us would bring if we could go and worship Jesus at His birth. Kilaine chose a box of baby things, and a cookie. Liam would give Him a baby duck. (my son is weird) But we talked about giving Him our gifts. Not presents, but the talents that He has given us. Maybe I could sing for Him, Robin said he might build a crib for Him, giving the son of God a place to lie His head. I think the best thing we can give to Him is our lives. I saw the movie, "The Nativity Story." My favorite part was when the wise men and the shepherds came to see Jesus and to worship Him. That's what I want to do this Christmas.

Merry Christmas, from the Shelleys

We all graduate from Kindergarden

Last thursday Kilaine had here kindergarden graduation. When the teacher was presenting her diploma she said that it was for Kilaine's parents as well (that's us) WE GRADUATED FROM PERUVIAN KINDERGARDEN!!!! YEAH. Kilaine started school late in the year, there were only three months left (school ends in December and starts again in March here). When she started she didn't speak hardly any spanish and was very shy and then after much studying Kilaine got almost perfect in her final exams (yes kindergardeners have final exams, and they are hard). She missed a few things like some of the memorized Bible verses, but she did memorize the "our father" in spanish. We are so proud of her.

Well, it's been a while since I've written (about a month!!!). Yay for Robin's updates... Anyways, a lot has been going on. I (Tracy) got really sick (like in bed for 5 days) and then one by one all the rest of the family got sick. However, it was all from different things. Thanksgiving fell right in the middle of all of this. But, I was able to make a sweet potato pie (there's no pumpkins here...) The kids both missed a week of school. After a mountain of medicine, shots, the whole 9 yards, we are finally doing better. So, in the middle of all that, the kids had a dance the school was doing and they needed to attend. Whew!

Liam and Kilaine did peruvian dances with their classes that they have been practicing during the school year. Liam is in the 2nd row, the 2nd from the right, waiting for the dances to begin.

And Kilaine is right in the middle, to the right of the teacher, waiting with her class.


The pictures didn't turn out that great of the dances, I'll try to get a video up soon. But there is Kilaine right in the front and middle of the picture.

Later, Kilaine's class played a song on xilophone (I can't remember how to spell that in English...), then they sang some songs. It was really cute.

Robin went to Arequipa and was going to go to Puno, too, but the plans got changed. He passed out in the airport before leaving Lima. The airport doctors said the medicine he took lowered his blood pressure and that was all, so he could still go. But once they got to Arequipa, he started having problems again. So, the next day, after the service, he & Brian got a flight back to Lima instead of going on to Puno. We were praying about Puno if it was the place for us. the doctor in Arequipa told Robin he should probably never go there in his life, because of the altitude and the way it affects his heart. I guess we got our answer on that one! Anyways, here's Brian in Arequipa talking with Shane Treadway at the Cafe Berea in Arequipa. That's a coffee shop that is an extension of the church.

Beautiful building in Arequipa.

Shane at the church Sunday in Arequipa.

Brian got to teach there.

Robin found some branches out in the street and gathered them up so we could make a christmas tree. We spray painted it white on the roof and sprinkled glitter on it (we borrowed the rocks from the roof, too!). We got the idea from Ana Licea last year (that's a close friend of ours back in Florida at our church). Thanks, Ana.

We had lots of snowflakes from the young adults back in Florida to decorate our tree with. Plus, I can never resist making new ones! I am looking forward to Christmas. Thanksgiving was kind of hard, that's only a holiday in the states, so the world continues on without skipping a beat. But, at least we aren't the only ones celebrating Christmas. The church is going to have a chocolatada in Canete and Santa Rosa de Villa. That's where they make and share peruvian style hot chocolate and give out a slice of paneton, a special bread that has pieces of dried fruit in it (it's way better than a fruitcake) and is a traditional thing to eat for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

A trip to Arequipa and Puno

Today I (Robin) go to Arequipa with Pastor Brian. After 2 days in Arequipa we take a bus to Puno, which is almost 11,000 feet above sea level. Both of these places are on on the list of cities that are asking for a pastor. Pray that the Lord would speak to us about His will for our future. Also pray because our entire family is very sick, including me. Pray for healing for our family, and safety for the trip.

Robin

Ica

A few weeks ago Pastor Brian and Pastor Jaime begin to go to Ica, a city about 4.5 hours south of Lima, to begin teaching the Word. There have been people in Ica asking for a church for several years now and finally there is a weekly Bible study each Friday. Above is the Bible study in the evening at the house of Mario. Mario lives in Ica and has been meeting with different members of his family to have small Bible studies for some time now. The people there are excited and hungry for the Word of God.

Above is a picture of the ministry in the afternoon. There are many kids and adults that meet in the streets to here the Word taught. This past friday I (Robin) had the opportunity to participate in this ministry. We had an awesome time serving the Lord in this open air church. Pray for God's will in my future participation in this ministry and pray that the Lord would grow a church of strong believers in Ica.

Robin

Fall Update Video

This is a recent update video that we made to show what is happening here in the ministry in Peru. It covers the whole ministry and all the missionaries that we are working with.

Walls in Canete Paredes en Canete.

Robin went to Canete Friday and Saturday to start building some walls in the church with Luis. The church hasn't had anywhere for the kids to go during the adult services in the evenings and we've been taking care of them outside in the street so the adults can listen and learn during the study. Robin and Luis built some walls to make a separate room where we can take care of the kids. Yay!!!! Robin fue a Canete el viernes y el sabado comenzar construyendo paredes en la iglesia con Luis. La iglesia no tuvo un lugar donde podiamos cuidar los ninos durante los servicios en la noche para los adultos. Hemos estado cuidandolos afuera en la calle para que los adultos pueden escuchar la Palabra durante el ensenanza. Robin y Luis construyeron algunos paredes por una sala separada donde podemos cuidar los ninos. Yeeeeeh!!!

Nice ladder, Robin. Buena escalera, Robin.

This is Luis. He lives across the street from the church. He lost his house in the earthquake. He's been coming to the church ever since the earthquake. His wife, Jovana has been coming for a while. He is finishing the walls this week. Pray for his salvation. El es Luis. El vive enfrente de la iglesia. El perdio su casa del terremoto. Ha estado viniendo a la iglesia desde el terremoto. Su esposa, Jovana ha estado viniendo por algun tiempo. El va a terminar las paredes esta semana. Ora por su salvacion.


We had our guitar lessons in the church that day among all the work. Tuvimos nuestros lecciones en la iglesia ese dia entre todo del trabajo.

The walls since Saturday... Las paredes desde el sabado...

Good job guys! Buena obra chicos!

Peluqueria

We went to get our hair cut last Saturday. (me & the kids) Fuimos al peluqueria el sabado pasado a cortar el cabello (yo y los ninos).

It was time for a cut... Fue el tiempo para cortarlo...

I think I lost about 5 pounds... Ha ha... Creo que perdi casi 2 kilos... je je...

Sports Deportivos

Last Friday, the kids had a day of sports at school. All the parents were invited to come and participate. El viernes pasado, mis hijos tuvieron un dia deportivo en el colegio. Todo de los padres estaban invitados a participar.

The kids walking to the civic center where the sports grounds are. Los ninos caminando a la cancha.

Liam was cheering the red team. Liam estaba alentando al equipo rojo.


Liam is so cute.

This is Miss Fanny, Kilaine's teacher. She's really nice. She went crazy when the kids would score. She reminded me of Lourdes. Ella es Miss Fanny, la profesora de Kilaine. Ella es muy amable. Se volvia loca cuando los ninos ganaban un tanto. Ella me hizo recordar a Lourdes (una amiga en Florida).

After the kids played, the parents played. All the dads played soccer against the teachers. The dads won. Go dads! Despues que los ninos jugaron, los padres jugaron futbol contra los profersores. Los padres ganaron. Yupi padres! Yeeeh!

And then the moms played volleyball with the teachers. We lost. Y luego, las madres jugaron voley con las profesores. Perdimos el juego.

On our way home, we passed by a procession. This month they have a lot of those. Cuando regresamos a casa, habia un procesion. Hay muchos de ellas durante el mes de octubre.

On Thursday, the last day they were here from Florida, we went to Santa Rosa de Villa to see the church building there. El jueves, el ultimo dia estaban aca de Florida, fuimos a Santa Rosa de Villa a ver la iglesia alla.

Lori, Pastor George, Jose, Marcelo, me, Robin, & Pastor Tye

Then, I took the kids to their school, they had a paseo de antorchas that night. It was to celebrate the anniversary of their school. Luego, lleve mis hijos a su colegio. Tenian un paseo de antorchas esa noche para celebrar el anniversario de su colegio.

They take these antorchas with a candle inside and light it. Then they march around the neighborhood led by the school band. The whole school participates. Llevaron antorchas y marcharon alrededor del colegio guiada por el banda del colegio. Todo del colegio participaron.

Right after the paseo, we went to the airport to meet up with everybody and to say goodbye. We had a nice visit with them. Pronto despues del paseo, fuimos al aeropuerto encontrar el grupo y para se despedirlos. Tuvimos una visita bonita con ellos.

Ministry in Canete Ministerios en Canete

I took the group from Boynton and Boca to Canete with me last Wednesday. Here are some pictures of the ministry and people there. Yo lleve el grupo de Boynton y Boca a Canete el miercoles pasado. Aqui son algunas fotos del ministerio y la gente alla.

We usually go to Las Vinas in the morning. This is one of the ladies at one of the olla comunes (community pot, where they cook and share the food since the earthquake) we were visiting. That's Jaime and me. Normalmente, vamos a Las Vinas en la manana. Ella es una de las mujeres a una de las olla comunes que estabamos visitando. Es Jaime y yo con ella.

Pastor George, Lori and Marcelo were praying with some of the ladies there. Pastor George, Lori, y Marcelo estaban orando con 2 mujeres.

There was a group from New Jersey in Canete helping with some earthquake relief. They tore down 2 houses that belonged to the 3 ladies in the middle. These ladies live across the street from the church and have been coming to the church since the earthquake. Habia un grupo de New Jersey en Canete apoyando los afectados del terremoto. Destruyeron 2 casas de las 3 mujeres en el centro de la foto. Esas damas viven enfrente de la iglesia y han estado viniendo a la iglesia desde el terremoto.

We always go to the soccer field to play with the kids after the children's service in the afternoon. Gustavo is one of the youth in the church. He's always grunting at me because I don't understand him, or I forget something or because I talk funny... sometimes he tells me he's going to cut my hair off if I forget again... Ha Ha! Good times. Siempre vamos a la cancha a jugar con los ninos despues del servicio para los ninos. Gustavo es uno de los jovenes en la iglesia. Siempre el esta gruniendo a mi porque yo no podia entenderlo, o me olvide algo, o porque hablo incorecto... a veces el me dice que va a cortar mi cabello si olvido otra vez... je, je, tenemos un buen rato!!

Playing basketball. It was me, Gustavo and Kristel against some of the americans. We thought we would cream them, because we got to playing pretty good. But they whooped us! Jugando basket. Fueron yo, Gustavo y Kristel contra algunos de los norteamericanos. Pensamos que ibamos a ganar muy facilmente, porque jugamos cada semana y estamos bien, (mas o menos). Pero ellos ganaron!

Kervin and Jaime were playing soccer with some of the others guys around. Kervin is another one of the youth in the church. Kervin y Jaime estaban jugando futbol con algunos otros jovenes. Kervin es uno de los jovenes en la iglesia.

Basketball peruvian style. Basket estilo peruano.

I'm not sure if Jaime is playing soccer or inventing some new dance moves. He's the pastor in Canete. No estoy seguro si Jaime esta jugando futbol o inventando nuevas danzas. El es el pastor en Canete.

Kervin

This is one of the games we play sometimes called lingo lingo. It's sort of like leap frog. Very fun. Este es uno de los juegos que jugamos a veces, se llama lingo lingo. Mucho divertido.

We like to play, too. Kristel is going to jump over me. She's another one of the youth. Nos gusta jugar tambien. Kristel va a saltar encima de mi. Ella es una de las jovenes en la iglesia.

Then we had the bright idea to jump over 2 of us. We all did it, too. Then we tried 3 people... Luego teniamos la idea saltar sobre 2 personas. Y podiamos hacerlo. Despues, tratabamos a saltar 3 personas...

Gustavo made it, Kervin made it, Kristel sort of made it, but I ate the dust! Marcelo told me I'm like a little kid. It was worth it. Gustavo y Kervin podia hacerlo, y Kristel casi lo hizo, pero yo no podia. Comi la tierra! Marcelo me dijo que estoy como una nina. Vale la pena!

After playing, we go back to Jaime's house and I teach Gustavo guitar (and whoever else wants to learn that week). Now I'm going to start teaching Lina too (another youth). Then we go back to the church and have the evening service for the adults. Then, I take the bus back to Lima, and recover for the rest of the week... Despues de jugar, vamos a la casa de Jaime, orta vez y enseno guitarra a Gustavo (y a quien mas quiere aprender esa semana). Ahora voy a ensenar a Lina, tambien (otra joven). Despues de la practica, regresamos a la iglesia y tenemos el servicio para los adultos. Y despues de eso, tomo el autobus a Lima, y recupero por el resto de la semana...