May and June birthdays

Ok, so this is a little collage of Isaac and my birthdays. It's been quite a while since I've written, but things have been very busy with groups here all summer. So, to catch everyone up;

Isaac turned 6 on May 27th. He had school that day, so he woke up that morning with a few little decorations and a new backpack stuffed with gifts. We put little gifts in each pocket, so he had fun looking through and finding everything. Later that afternoon, I made a cake and tried to write on it myself. It actually didn't look TOO bad:) We had a few friends over for cake and ice cream also that afternoon. It's hard to believe that my "bubbers" is 6!!!

So, my birthday was on June 27th. I turned 32 this year. It is still hard for me to believe that I am out of my twenties!! Our home church was here for a missions trip during this time, so I had a lot of fun. I was able to go to Macchu Picchu (that's the pics of the rainbow and our group) and then we went to a restaurant where they had a cake and sang happy birthday. It was a great birthday!!
I am going to try and post some more pics of these past months to catch up on everything, and then try to stay up to date!!!

Mothers Day Fun

The kids at church had a little something special for the moms on mothers day.  They were so cute being a "mini rock and roll" band!  Even the little tots in the nursery had a little something to say!

"God is so awesome!"

The other night while doing his devotions before bed, Isaac and I began to talk about how God made the world and how He takes care of everything He has made.  I told him that some people think we came from monkeys, which got a completely puzzled look in response.  I told him that people think monkeys grew and grew over the years until they turned into people.  Isaac thought this was absolutely ridiculous and asked "so how did we get here mom?"  I explained to him how God formed Adam out of the dirt and breathed into his nose the breath of life and Adam got up and walked; to which he replied, "God is so Awesome!!" 

Yes He is son, yes He is.

A morning at the park

Every time we drive by this park, the kids beg us to play.  So one Saturday we decided to give it a try.  We were surprised at how nice and clean it was!  The kids loved it and it was a beautiful day!

Nothing greater!!!

As a parent, the first thing you pray for your children is their salvation.  Katelynne had accepted Christ when she was 4 1/2, but Daniel had wanted to make sure she understood baptism before she was baptized.  3 weeks ago, we had a baptism service and Katelynne had asked if she could be baptized.  Daniel talked with her and was satisfied that she completely understood.  It was such a wonderful thing to watch!!  Isaac has also accepted Christ and now would like to be baptized, so the next baptismal service will have another Duke!!

A day of firsts

Today was a day of firsts for Isaac and Emma.  This morning while Isaac was eating his cereal, Daniel looked at him and said "Bubba, where's your tooth?"  Lo and behold, one of Isaac's teeth was missing.  The first thought was that he had swallowed it.  I went and looked on the bed and sure enough, his tooth was laying there on the sheets. He was very excited that there was no blood or pain!  Emma also had a first today, but it was not a lost tooth.  She experienced her first haircut.  She was a little squirmy at first, but once she realized there was no pain, she relaxed a little.  Today was yet another reminder of how fast my kids are growing up and yet how little time I have to teach them and guide them.  It kind of makes me sad, yet excited to see what God will do with them!

Our little evangelista

At Katelynne and Isaac's school, every Monday morning one of the older kids gives a little presentation on whatever subject they choose.  Up to this week, all of the other kids have written their presentation out on a big piece of paper with one picture.  Katelynne decided her presentation would be about Jesus.  She only had pictures, so she was able to look at the kids and talk to them, instead of reading from her paper.  She explained to all of them how Jesus loves them and then talked about His birth, death and resurrection.  She answered any questions they had and really did a wonderful job!  We are so proud of her!!

Momma's boy is growing up

Isaac is very much a momma's boy.  Not that I mind!!  He has changed a lot since we arrived in Cusco and everyday seems like he's losing more of his "little boy" ways and becoming more "big boy".  He has started to take guitar lessons and has really become very interested in soccer.  He played in his first "competitive" game this last month and it was so fun to watch him run up and down the field with the other boys.  He speaks better Spanish than Daniel or I, being able to carry on conversations without missing a beat.  We are so proud of him and the way he has adapted to Peru and we can't wait to see how God uses him in the future!!

A Peruvian Parade

This was a parade through the town of Pisac, to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Tambo De Gozo.  Tambo is the camp where we live, the Johnson's live and the kids go to school.  There is a bilingual school there where I teach English to 1st grade.  All of the parents and kids had to dress in typical Incan garb and make "torches" to carry.  Well, our definition and their definition of torches differ.  As you can see, we literally made torches, where as the other kids made something different.  They take a reed (a stick that can bend) and they put kite paper (a real thin paper) over it and then stick a candle in the middle.  There were butterflies, airplanes, boats, houses and various other random items.  My poor kids were embarrassed at first, but they did get to lead the parade with their "real" torches!  We had fun and a ton of people came out to see us!

Another one for the Kingdom!

On Friday night, after his youth cell group, Daniel came home with a huge grin on his face.  His words were, "I led someone to the Lord tonight!"  What an exciting thing for us!  This was his first Peruvian that he personally got to lead to Christ.  This young man has a very bad family life, so maybe by the change in him, we will see his older brother and parents come to know the Lord as well!  

Katelynne and Emma's new (painted) room

 

  

A youth group from Kentucky came and the girls helped me paint Katelynne and Emma's room. I love the way it turned out!!

Working hard or hardly working?!

There's always work to be done around our new house and one of those things is cutting down trees and digging up the large trunks in the yard.  We have eucalyptus trees all around us and those things get so tall and have HUGE trunks and root systems!  After the trunk is dug up, Daniel cuts it up to be used for fire wood, or the dirt is picked out and the trunk is moved to another location.  The kids LOVE to "help" daddy, especially when a wheelbarrow is involved!  Even little Emma decided she wanted to help her big brother pick out some of the dirt!

Happy Easter!

Last year we had only been in Peru a few short weeks when Easter came, so this year we were able to celebrate a little more American style.  We dyed some eggs, had ourselves a little hunt and even found some chocolate eggs with toys inside!  The kids had fun decorating the eggs and even more fun eating the chocolate!!  We read the Easter story in the Bible and even had a video to go along with it.  Here in Peru, Christ's death is celebrated a lot more than His resurrection.  It is up to us to teach our kids the importance and the significance of the Resurrection and what it means to the world.  We had a wonderful day celebrating Christ and hunting eggs!

It's the little things in life...

Tonight we made our almost weekly McDonalds run for dinner, and after decided to take a little walk around the Plaza.  We ran into this little market and decided to run in and look around.  Well, needless to say, it was very touristy.  However, we saw things we hadn't seen in a year!  Mr. Goodbar, 3 Muskateers, York Peppermint Patties, and candy canes!!  We felt like kids in a candy store.  There were other things there, but we didn't feel like paying triple the amount we would in the States.  We did grab a few candies though!!  Last week we were thrilled to see Dr. Pepper in our grocery store.  We've only seen Dr. Pepper one other time since we've been here.  We did splurge a little on that as well!  I never thought that such little familiar things would make me so excited, but I now can say how much I took the little things for granted.  I think it's part of God taking care of His children and showing us just how much He loves us....even in the little things!!

1,519

That is the number of people that we saw at the camp yesterday for our 4th anniversary celebration.  I was sick with a sinus infection, so I didn't get to enjoy the day like I wished I could!  About 20 people raised their hands to accept Christ as Savior and I was able to talk to 3 of them.  They were 3 college girls and I was able to invite them to our new college ministry starting this month.  It was a great day!

Laura and the .... what is that?!

This is a very common sight in Peru.  There are so many masks everywhere and for everything. They use to make me quite uncomfortable, but now makes me sad.  Most of these masks are used for "religious"  purposes.  This man is wearing the condor, which in ancient Incan civilizations, was the god of the heavens.  The condor is still worshipped by some, as well as other animals.  Everytime I see one, it reinforces to me the need for Christ here.  This country is plagued by traditionalism.  Some traditions are good, but others just keep people clouded from the truth.

Like mother, like daughter!

Ok so I don't eat like this, but I do absolutely LOVE chocolate.  But if no one was looking....

It's about time!

Wow, my first blog!  I've wanted to do it for a while, but with our limited internet access, I've put it off.  Oh, well.  We have officially been in Peru for 1 year (as of Thurs) and so it's about time, (esp. with all the pics I take!)  Hope you all enjoy reading and bear with me as I figure this all out!