Three Weeks In

So I'm a bit late getting started with the whole blogging thing, but for those who are interested, here is what has happened thus far:

The trip down was fantastic. We met some great people on the plane and had an interesting bus ride in to Trujillo. I didn't expect the country side to be so desert-ish, but trust me when I say that there is nothing but sand here. In fact, I am trying to convince someone to take me sandboarding while I am here. But anyways, after about nine hours, my father and I arrived safe and sound in Trujillo. And that's when the fun began. As soon as we made it to the Rios house, we began eating, and eating, and eating, and eating. For example, The first full day I was here, We ate breakfast around 8 a.m., then ate pre-lunch at a restaurant around noon, then drove home and ate lunch around 1 p.m., then ate dinner around 7 p.m. They say their isn't much to do in Trujillo so everyone eats as a pastime, but thankfully, for the sake of my weight, the eating has slowed down. The Rios Family is amazing and they were very excited to show Dad and I around. We visited a museum, toured their farm, ate at various restaurants, and drove around the whole city just to see the sights.

But the time came for my Dad to make the trip back, and so begrudgingly he took the nine-hour ride back to Lima, and eventually made it back. My first day of work was great. Mario(the pastor I work with) and I drove up to Esperanza (the poor suburb of Trujillo) and made a video to send back to the U.S. The video was of a family whose house had fallen over. The single mother tried to rebuild a house out of sticks and clothes but it was pretty much just a big mess. Mario sent the video to a pastor in America to see if someone would be willing to raise about $700, which would be enough to build the family a sturdy house. My music classes began the following day, and since then, all I have been doing is working, working, working. My schedule is as follows: Music classes from 9-Noon, then we take the students to the beach for an hour or so, then we drive them all home. I come home for lunch around 2 or 3 and then around 5, I go out to church. Since Mario pastors three different churches in different cities, we have service every night except mondays, thursdays, and saturdays. So as you can see, I keep fairly busy.

More about my music classes: I teach about twenty kids music everyday of the week except sundays. There are two groups that come on alternating days. They are great students who love music and they are learning very fast. Mario leaves me to teach all by myself, so it's kind of a sink or swim situation with the language thing. Since I have been teaching entirely in Spanish for about three weeks, I am getting pretty comfortable with the language, although I have a long way to go.

Well, there is so much more to say about these last three weeks, but since I am so behind on the blogging already I will have to leave it out. Hopefully I can update this thing weekly so you can hear some of the funny stories I accumulate while I'm out and about. Most of them involve me making a fool of myself in public.

Until Next Week,

Luke

Peru

Hello Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I feel like God has called me to spend time serving in Peru over the next few months. This is a very scary thing for me, but also an exciting time in my life. While in Peru, I will be doing lots of interesting work. I have been connected with a Pastor in Peru named Mario Coello. Mario has planted over five churches all around the country of Peru and has asked me to come and help train their local worship bands. I will be teaching music lessons to these worship leaders and helping them learn how to effectively lead their churches in worship. Mario also operates two kindergartens in Peru where very poor children are allowed to come to school and learn english, math, and other necessary skills.

In Peru, public schools are free, but only if the children can afford the uniforms. If they do not have one, they do not go to school. That's why Mario's kindergartens are so necessary. It provides a foundation of education for kids who would not get it otherwise. I will be assisting the teachers there and helping with the english part of the children's lessons.

All of these things are very exciting, and I cannot wait to get down there and begin my work. However, these things take money. I am writing this blog to ask my family and friends if they could donate money in order to help me help others. I feel like I have been called to pursue a life in missions and this is the first step that I am taking. I pray that you guys will be able to donate and support me in that way, but if you cannot, I will also be needing much prayer support as well. My plan is to leave in January and return in July and I hope that each of you will keep me in your prayers till I return.  My plan is to keep this blog up during my trip, so I hope that you all will keep up with me while I'm gone.

You can donate by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.