It's Been a Great Week

We had a wonderful time last Sunday with Debbie Brinkley and Tommy Smith at a small church on the East side of Lima. There were probably 30 people there and they baptized two ladies during the service. This was a very crude church building but it served its purpose well. God was there and that is all that counts. They set up a 4 X 8 plastic pool with about 2 feet of water in it. They were so proud of their new pool. We are so spoiled in the United States with all of our stuff. We hung around and visited with the people after the service and shared in some refreshments.

We had some excitement on Thursday afternoon. Sandy was walking Kathy Weaver's dog in the park and was attacked by a large dog that was not on a leash. They were both ok, but I drove the dog to the vet and had her checked out just in case. Sandy was shaken up a bit but suffered no cuts or bites. They were both very blessed to get out of the attack with no damage.
Our apartment is getting close to completion. But I said that last week also. Peruvians work on their own time schedule. I could probable finish everything else in one day, but they will be lucky to finish it in one more week. There is an inch of dust everywhere because of the renovations. It is going to take lot of cleaning to get it ready to move into.

We went to Ace Hardware the other day to purchase a water filter for our apartment. It is a large Ace. Looks like lowes or Home Depot. It was fun to get in there and ramble. Our taxi driver Raul, who is a believer, went in with us to help interpret. He was a blessing, or rather he is a blessing. A little more expensive but very reliable and safe. He is going to the Bible Society on Tuesday afternoon to purchase some tracts.

We went to Starbucks on the Ovalo this morning to meet the extreme team girls that was at orientation with us. There were in from the jungle and it was great to visit with them and catch up. They were traveling back today via bus. It is a very long trip.

Spanish class is tough. So many new words and so many different ways to use them. So many grammer rules. This is tough, but God will see us through. Pray for us. Our friend Solomon is coming over Monday evening for supper and to help us with homework.

Tomorrow we are going to another small church with the Roberts. I first met them nine years ago on my first trip to Peru with RBC. It is going to be fun. Life is good in Lima.

Got my Peruvian driver's license.

What a great day last Sunday was. We went with Jim and Sherry Neal to Monautial de Vida (Well Spring of Life) Church on the outskirts of Lima. It is on a brand new road that has more holes than asphalt. The building was full with maybe sixty to seventy people there. It was a great service with two new members introduced. This is an established church with their own building. Tomorrow we are going to church with Debbie Brinkley. They are having a Baptism service so this will be a great service. Sandy and I are looking forward to it very much.

Great news. This week I got my Peruvian driver's license. First you have to get your health certificate. That was interesting. They check your eyes, record any diseases, arm movement, and yes a psychological exam. Believe it or not I passed the last one. Actually I don't think they even looked at my psychological exam. Pay your money and get your certificate then wait in another line to have your records entered in a computer. After this to the next room to take your written exam. Actually they allow you to take it in English if you don't speak any Spanish. You can miss nine or ten, and I missed seven. Doesn't matter I passed and got my papers stamped. Now wait three days return and pay my fee and wait in another line to actually pick up the the license.

God is blessing with new friends and language helpers. God is so good to us. Language classes are getting difficult. There is so much to remember. So many ways to say the same thing. But with God's help and guidance we will prevail and get through this.

Church on Sunday

The next four weeks we will be attending church with different missionary couples in Lima. This past Sunday we attended Iglesia Evangelica Bautista Calvario near downtown Lima, with Truman and Carol Chatman. It is a new church plant and we had a fabulous time. Sandy gave her testimony, I spoke, and Tommy Smith (missionary with REAPNorth who attends language school with us) delivered a short message. There were probably fifteen people there, but in the block that the church is in there are 5,000 people living in apartments. The fields are ripe for harvest, we just pray for workers. Right outside the door of the apartment the church sits in someone filled up a plastic swimming pool and the children were playing. It got very noisy during the service. We found out some of the children playing in the pool sometimes attend the church. They skipped church to play in the pool. It was a very simple service, but very moving. This Sunday we will attend church with Wayne and Debbie Brinkley.

Yesterday I got the call that we had been assigned a truck. It is one that Arnold and Susie Austin (precious friends and fellow teammates) had. They got a new one. I had to go and get it from the mission office and drive it home. What an experience, first time driving by myself in Lima's traffic. It was very interesting. Being the new kid, I sure didn't want anything to happen on the way home. I was driving like a little old lady. Very slow and very careful. I didn't care how many horns were blowing at me. I will put a picture on the blog very soon.

Spanish classes are going very well. Sandy is struggling with her phonics a little bit, but that is to be expected. We are working on ser and estar this week. Lots of memory work right now.

I am taking Sandy out to TGI Fridays tonight for an early valentines dinner, so I need to go and finish homework. Love everyone. Susie we are praying for your recovery.

First week of language school behind us.

Well, one week down and eleven weeks to go. It has been a very busy week, but one I feel was very profitable. We are in school from 9 to 1 every day and by the end of the week both Sandy and I were brain dead. We were suffering from serious information overload. This week was all about alphabet, vocabulary, and ser. We studied how to form questions, and negative sentences. Also, days of the week, months, numbers, and fruits. We were very busy. Also, every evening we had homework and memory work to do. But I do find myself picking up a few words now in conversation and that is encouraging.

We went to our apartment today to check on the progress in the kitchen. The old cabinets are down and they are supposed to install the new ones this week. Hopefully they will start on the bathroom in the next week or so. Sandy and I will be painting the apartment as we have time.

The next four weeks we will be attending church with a different missionary couple every week. This week we will be joining Truman and Carol Chatman, and our friend Tommy Smith, another new missionary working with REAPNorth.

We will let you know how our second week goes.

Language School Begins

Yesterday we toured our language institute, paid our fees, and received our book. It is in downtown Miraflores which is a short taxi ride away. We will be attending with another new missionary we have met and become friends with. Tommy is a member of the REAPNorth teamand has been here since October. Arnold and Susie, dear members of our team helped us contract our taxi driver to take us to school and pick us up afterwards. Five soles per trip, about $1.75. We will be attending five days a week from 9:00 until 1:00 for three months. Time to get serious with my Spanish.

Today we walked over to our apartment to pick out the colors for the cabinets, counter tops, and to discuss the work in the master bath. Work is set to begin on Monday, we shall see. I am going to be painting the apartment myself. We did get the keys today, so we will be able to go over and check on the progress.

After supper this evening Sandy and I walked down to the a little sandwich shop in our area and purchased a few deserts and brought them home. Four beautiful and delicious deserts for $13.50 soles. About $4.50 U.S.

I will be taking my drivers test in a few weeks. I asked about the book to study, but they didn't have any more. Didn't matter anyway, they are in Spanish. The test will be in English though. They say the laws are the same, but I took my test over thirty years ago. We shall see.

I have been fighting a sinus infection I picked up in Chile. I can't seem to shake it and in this heat and humidity it tends to make things miserable. Pray that I can shake this very soon.

I will let you know how things go Monday morning.

Olmue, Chile

Its hard to believe our time here in Olmue, Chile, is almost over. What a wonderful time it has been. Worship time has been awesome. The singing, well, what a choir 110 missionaries make. The messages were both challenging and refreshing, taking us back to the fundamentals of the Bible and our calling. Training sessions ever afternoon were insightful and very profitable to our ministry. The breakout sessions with our Strategy Associate was a meaningful time. It was a time to listen to other missionaries tell their stories and concerns. Prayer was a major part of the entire week.

The weather here has been cool, but very nice and comfortable. Mike and I are fixing to walk to a national park in the area. I have no idea where it is, and I don't think he does either. Sandy is going to lay by the pool with the other ladies on our team.

Be praying for us as our language study begins February 4th. We are ready to get started as we must be able to communicate to herald the gospel in the heart language of our people. We leave tomorrow and return home to Lima. Yes Lima is beginning to feel like home. Last week I was in Caraveli with the vision team and we were all introducing ourselves to the mayor, and when it got to me I had to stop and think for a second. It is hard to believe I am really a missionary from Lima now and not one of the volunteers.

Well, lets go walking.

Alan and Sandy Stone

We are actually here.

It is hard to believe we have been in Peru for two weeks. Our time has been filled with meetings, working on our country papers, and office work. We walk everywhere so hopefully I will be losing some weight. We have already moved once and will move again in a month or so to our apartment.

I just returned yesterday from a week long vision trip with Valleydale Baptist Church of Hoover, Alabama. We went to Caraveli which is south of Nasca, and it was a wonderful and very productive week. God blessed our time and provided several divine appointments. The weather was great with just a little rain a couple of evenings.

Today we went downtown Lima to the Immigration Offices to get our carnet. We are official residents of Peru now. It was an interesting experience and went so smoothly. Monday we are flying to Santiago, Chile, for our annual general meeting. We will be there all of next week for worship, and training sessions. As soon as we return from Chile we begin our language training at an institute in our area.

We have the most wonderful team members, and they are our new family here in Peru. We are blessed to on the REAPSouth team. Please pray for our team as we continue to work with our partners to reach Southern Peru. Also pray for us as it is time to get serious with language study so we can communicate the gospel clearly.

Tomorrow is another busy day in the REAP office.

Blessings
Alan and Sandy