A part of the family

Buenos Dias!

I have no doubt that I would be a GREAT mother when the time comes, I was raised by a wonderful mother and have interacted with some parents where I can take the good and the bad of a person. I say this because after Megan (the host mother) made us waffles, her daughter, Anna and I, washed the dishes, Anna, age 6, was a wonderful helper and strategist on how to stack the rinsed dishes. As we cleaned we listened to some church songs performed by the voices of Veggie Tales and sang along. After the kitchen was clean we (Cohen, Maggie, Ana, Lissette, and I ) watched two episodes of Scooby Doo followed by the movie "Enchanted". We had some healthy snacks as the movie was going on. babysitting three children was not difficult because: 1. they are well trained 2. I had another intern with me 3. We were stern but nice (I taught the three year old the word compromise) and 4. we were watching kid friendly shows.

Megan and Kayla returned from one of the smaller meeting groups at the Cafe'. The purpose of this group is to provide a space for some of the women in the church to know one another better, to discuss what is taking place in their personal lives and to pray for one another. For instance, two nights ago we had a terrible sand storm and Amelia, one of the employees at the Cafe' and one of the new members of the church, shared with Megan and Kayla that the roof of her house flew back on one part exposing half of the house to the elements of the air. There were a few other Peruvians that had house issues. In this meeting she was able to express how she felt, and also have a time to plan out what steps need to be taken.

For lunch we had delicious broccoli and cheese soup that Megan made and conversed about family etc. At this very moment Kayla and Megan, and Cohen are napping, Lisette is doing laundry as she writes in her journal and I am typing this blog as I am falling asleep. At 5 pm we are all going to a ladies devotional, I will make sure to share what that experience was like as an English speaker sitting in on a Spanish speaking devotional meeting.

For now I'm going to get in a nap.

Ciao!

Cafe' Connecion

After Orientation we went to one of the newer malls downtown to have lunch. There we sat down and relaxed and chatted. After lunch, the girls and I (Lissette and Kayla) went to Cafe' Connecion and spoke with Abraham one of the Peruvians that came to the states to get an education and came back to Peru to assist with the education initiative. who will be one of our language teachers and he taught me how to say, "Quiero aprender español!!!!" Which means I want to learn Spanish. After getting to Abraham and his story the girls and I went to Centre (downtown area) to check out a book fair and walk around.

We had a relaxing time walking around and taking in the city of Peru. After the book fair and walking around, we headed back to the Cafe' and sat upstairs to relax. Later on, Parker (the only male intern) joined us as we chatted about some of the activities we were interested in doing together as group and the initiatives we would want to shadow and be a part of under the CUDA (Christian Urban Development Association) mission. Alfredo (one of the other Peruvian employees) met with us to determine what level of Spanish we were on so that he can pair us with the proper teacher and get the appropriate supplies.

This is outside of the cafe.  Please excuse the side shot.

Kyle one of the main business men over Cafe Connection, as he is figuring out the wi-fi on my laptop. Such a busy guy taking out time to help a lowly intern with her computer.

As the evening wined down we headed back to the McKenzie's house and watched a movie with the family. Friday was a very simple day that provided me with some ideas and thoughts. I liked the fact that the Cafe' was a means to provide their new Peruvian Christian with employment  and the funds they received from customers goes to the employees and goes back into the CUDA initiative. If I wanted to do inner city missions I am wondering what type of business can I run that would be practical and pull in a lot of customers as well as provide those I am working with a healthy and safe environment to work in.

The idea of missions from what I have heard and observed so far is to build relationships with people, live in the culture, and work in the culture in order to establish good rapport with those you want to serve. Taking this approach also leaves one open to learning from others as well. It is a relationship that is generally reciprocal.