Nicole Kelley Peru Trip Update (Monday, 3/12 - Monday 3/19)

MONDAY: Today we went back to Lima. David, and Mom dropped Ceci, the 5 boys, and I off at Pastors Augustine and Jessica's house to swim while unbeknownst to Ceci, David and mom were buying a new refrigerator. David and Ceci never complained about their frig, but it was old and VERY small. Definitely not enough room when you have more than just their family staying at the house. Mom had some money given to her to fund this trip, and had enough to give towards a new frig. David decided to add some money they had saved so they could upgrade the frig. The boys had a great time swimming. My goal was to get in the pool and help Ceci with her boys in the pool...but surely I could keep my hair dry, right? NOT! I forgot about my son and nephew and that they might possibly gang up on me and make it impossible to stay dry. Yes, I gave up on the mission. LOL! After the pastor's kids got home, we thought we were just eating hot dogs and sausage. But, they also fixed steak and yellow mashed potatoes, and salad with homemade dressing. MMmmmmm...it was so good. I thought the potatoes was a corn casserole, so was shocked when I tasted it. ;-) What a blessed time we had. When you talk to Pastors from another country, you find out that the problems churches face, are the same world wide. TUESDAY: Marco took Caleb, Cole, Eliel and I into Lima for some sightseeing. We went to the Inca Market to shop. After much debate over how much they wanted to spend on themselves, the boys both bought drums...if you know these boys, it's no surprise. I also picked up souvenirs for my two kids that were left home. Probably the high-light of this day for Caleb and Cole was eating American food at Chili's! I had to remind them several times not to drink their drink before the meal arrived, because in foreign countries you don't get FREE refills. Caleb and Cole are neither one adventurous when it comes to trying foods, and both can be picky at times. So, while our food was not "weird" Peruvian food, they both like normal foods such as the chicken crisp, french fries, corn, and mozzarella sticks they ate at Chili's. After lunch we made our Skype calls to home at Starbucks, and then headed to the Pacific Ocean. It was very pretty. The boys had fun as Caleb picked up a jelly fish with a stick and proceeded to chase Me and then Marco with it. LOL! Rocks were picked up as well for souvenirs from the Pacific. Next, we stopped by Jovana's jewelry kiosk in the mall so I could look at Jovana's stock. Her sister, Teresa, was with her. Jovana spoke to Teresa in Spanish. Teresa then grabbed Jovana's wallet and took the boys downstairs to play some games. Then, it was time to head back to Jicamarca in time for Maria's Pizza made with turkey pepperoni we brought from the states and then for prayer. The frig was supposed to be delivered that night, before prayer, but they called saying they'd be there Wednesday morning. Before prayer, the boys were playing and Jordan hit the floor with his head...HARD. There was a huge knot. It could have been BAD. We prayed for him. (Now since it's been a week since the "accident", I can tell you there were NO repercussions. Thank you, JESUS!!) The last thing for the night was prayer at the church. There is nothing like being in His presence. And, how neat to be able to agree in prayer with other believers, even though you don't speak the same language. WEDNESDAY: Today the refrigerator was delivered! Ceci was very surprised and LOVED it! After lunch, David took the 4 boys to the Public Pool while the women and baby walked around Metro (their walmart). We had groceries to buy for the weekend for David, Caleb and Cole to feed the kids whose mom's would be at the retreat. At the Metro there is a place in the middle of the store to buy ice cream. They have Lucama Ice Cream...which is my oldest son's favorite and he told me I had to try SOMETHING with Lucama in it. Let's just say, I am not fond of the Lucama flavor. (that is putting it nice) ;-) Luckily for me, they gave me a sample. The boys gave us an earful about their experience at the pool. They are both modest types. So, showering in front of other people (the boys said 100 men) is out of their league. They decided they would shower with their swimsuits on, and then each took turns holding a towel so they could change in "privacy". THURSDAY: We spent today getting ready for the women's retreat and making sure Caleb and Cole had everything they needed for their weekend of ministry to the kids of Jicamarca. For lunch, Maria fixed us her Causa (Stuffed mashed potatoes). They were very yummy. While I was going over one of my teachings for the retreat that afternoon, Jovana stopped by to pick up some money and a list for some things we needed picked up for the retreat. As Jovana was headed out the door, mom suggested I go with Jovana into Lima. So, I did. Mom knew this would be an experience for me since we would have to take a taxi to and from Lima. Come to find out, we'd have to take two taxis there, and two back. It was an experience. The first taxi stopped to pick us up, and there was already a passenger in the back. Jovana told me to sit up front. I found out later that was because they sometimes squeeze 4 people in the back. There is no air in the taxis so the window was down and I not only got a different view of the city, I got a different smell of it too. ;-) Let's just say there was a time or two...maybe more...that I prayed, because if we'd been any closer to the other vehicle there would have been an accident. Jovana and I made our first stop at her jewelry kiosk. Then, we went to the pharmacy to pick up the bug repellent we needed for the women's retreat. Next, I suggested we go to Starbucks. MMMMmmmm...believe it or not, it was the first (and only) Starbucks I purchased on this trip. Then, we had to cross the street a couple times to go to a grocery store. Just walking across the street is an experience. I told Jovana, you cross and I'll follow you. I call it "Peruvian Roulette"...cars don't care if someone is crossing the street, and people cross the street when it looks like they shouldn't. We then had to take our third taxi to Jovana's friends' photography studio. Then, we had to catch 2 more taxi's to get us home. Jovana paid for an extra seat in the taxi on the way back so we wouldn't have to share the backseat. We got back in time to freshen up before Bible Study. My mom taught that night, (she didn't know when planning for the trip that she'd teach both Thursday's we were in Peru), my mom has changed a lot the last few years. Teaching, and preparing to teach, has become so easy to her that she doesn't stress when she doesn't have advanced notice. It was a great Bible Study. FRIDAY: This was not a great beginning to the weekend. Cole woke up in the middle of the night crying from ear pain. He has had so many ear infections that when he cries in pain, I know it's bad. Mom had some antibiotics we debated on giving him, but after searching the web for an hour, and not getting a definite on how much we should give to Cole, we decided to stick with the motrin for the night and call a doctor in the morning. My mom sent a message to a friend from Belgium asking for prayer since she was the only person mom knew would be awake. She told my mom to put garlic in his ear. I went to get it and the Advil had taken effect so Cole was asleep. I put the clove in his ear and he woke up and asked, "What did you put in my ear?". I had to tell him 3 x's. He said, "Y'all are messed up.". LOL! Mom and I were laughing so hard...trying to do it quietly since everyone was asleep. Those of you who really know us, know that for us to laugh quietly is a miracle! ;-) Cole was already hesitant for me to leave since he doesn't like me to leave him when in the states, let alone when we are both in a foreign country. In the morning mom called a doctor friend in Peru, who then told us Cole could take the regular adult dose for the medicine we had. When Cole woke up in the morning he was begging me not to leave. I gave him his first dose of antibiotic and some more advil...praying he would be fine when it was time to leave in the afternoon. Cole took a nap that morning while I was finishing last minute packing and when he woke up gradually was back to normal...playing and having a good time. THANK YOU JESUS!! We left for the women's retreat about 4:00 with 11 women in the Hodges' van, being driven by a young man from their church, and two taxi's with 3 or 4 women in each vehicle. There was a total of 18 women, including mom, Ceci, and I. The retreat center was so nice!! It was nicer than some of the camps I've been to in the states. We thought we'd all be sleeping in a door room together. There were 5 rooms, each with 2 or 3 women in them. Each room had its own bathroom and HOT water. It was nicer than anything most of these women had ever seen. We had our own conference room, and well as our own dining room. The food was very good as well. Mom and I had taken name tags (the kind they could hang around their necks and use for the whole weekend) with stickers to allow the women to decorate the plastic name tag holder. If we had a retreat in the states, we wouldn't have taken stickers because the women here would not appreciate that. But, these women LOVED it...and they were very proud of their name tags and have intentions of using them when the church does outreaches. Then we handed out bags to the women. One of the ladies from mom's church made denim bags and another woman crocheted flowers for the front. Each flower was different so you could tell them apart. Inside the bag were all kinds of donated items from toothbrushes and notebooks to a t-shirt. There was an individual letter inside each bag, as well as a notebook with an individual scripture verse on it. We were believing that the letter and scripture verse would touch each lady in an individual way and the person who needed to hear the content would receive it. When reading the letters/scripture verses, there were tears. And, many would say it was just what they needed. That night, I shared on Mary and Martha. I teased mom about being long-winded. Little did I know that my teaching would be over an hour long! (Actually, with the translation, it was 1 1/2 hours! YIKES!) It may have been long, but it went well, and I know (because they told me) it was just what many of them needed to hear. THANK YOU JESUS! SATURDAY: Saturday morning we had a question and answering session. Mom told me, but I guess it's hard to believe until you hear it for yourself. Women in foreign countries, whether they have a lot, or a little, deal with the same things as women in the states. That afternoon, after lunch, the women were going swimming, so I went in the pool as well. What a fun time with these women. Even when I couldn't understand everything they were saying, it was so fun to watch their expressions and see them communicate with one another. (Although frequently I reminded Jovana to translate for me.) After swimming for awhile, the women decided it was time to play the "game" Mama D had promised them. Knowing they all had to be there, they started gathering the other women. My poor mom wanted to nap. ;-) We had more donations that we had brought. So we put them in a garbage bag. The first person drew out of the bag. The next person could take hers, or draw a new item. The last person could choose any of the items any lady had, or draw out of the bag. Then the first person had the chance to pick what someone else had or keep what she had. It was fun watching their face light up. Saturday evening we had a time of ministry, praying for some of the women. There were chains that were broken, and a new freedom born in many. mom shared. It's amazing how she was able to tie in what I shared the night before with what she was sharing. SUNDAY: This morning we had our service after breakfast. One of the ladies had brought her tambourine, so we had a time of Praise & Worship before I shared on the Shunammite woman. You could see some "light bulbs" turning on in the heads of the women. After my time of sharing, Mom shared, and again, it was amazing how all of the messages tied in together. Mom and I had not discussed what we would teach, mom said it would all flow together. And, it did! It was definitely a "God-thing". We also had communion. We each tore off some bread, shared it with someone, and then prayed together. What a special time. Sunday after lunch, we left to head back to Jicamarca. There were some goodbye's before the van took off as not all of the women would meet us at the church. When we returned to the church, the kids and men were waiting for us with cameras and welcome home signs. The bittersweet part was beginning as we knew we had to say goodbye to women that were now apart of our hearts forever. Sunday, Jovana stayed and her sister, Teresa, and cousin, Xiomari rode a bus to Jicamarca from Lima to spend our last evening with us and the boys. The boys and I stayed up all night (Cole slept for an hour-an hour and a 1/2, Caleb slept for less than that) since we had to leave for the airport at 2:30 a.m. We had a full van as we headed to the airport with 4 people squeezing in the back (Caleb, Teresa, Xiomari, and Marco), Cole, Jovana and me in the middle, and David, Eliel, and mom up front. After checking in we ate breakfast together and then hung out 'till it was time for us to go to our gate. Our airplane ride was uneventful as we returned to Florida. This was my first missions trip of this kind. I've never had to teach, only give my testimony, and I've never taught to adults like I did on this trip. (My previous missions trips were mainly to children and youth.) I am forever changed. And, forever greatful to my mom for taking me with her, and including me in this ministry.