Thankful.

Two days ago we visited a part of Iquitos called Belen. This is a city where houses are literally built on the water. At first this sounded to me like a cool concept. Until I learned a little bit more. The poorest people of Iquitos live here. They use the water of the amazon where their houses are built to use for toilets, drink from, and bathe in. The houses are built right up against each other. Disease runs high. Things you don't catch in the picture are the filth around this area. The horrible smells that literally made me gag. My heart sinks for the people that have to live here. I could feel the oppression all around me. At the same time I had an overwhelming feeling of this is why I'm here. These are some of the people that I am supposed to help better their lives. I don't know what that looks like yet. But I'm grateful that this is where God has called me.
I would safely call it a life changing day.

Iquitos First Pics...

My awesome "companera" or partner... Miluska and I.


Houses built on the water.


Riding in a moto taxi... only way to really get around. Coolest thing ever!


Unpacking and setting up mosquito nets.


My Arequipa Family right before going to the airport.

Like a Kid at Disneyland

I can´t think of any other way to describe the feeling that I had yesterday as I was driving from the airport to my new living area in Iquitos! I was just filled with this incredible excitement. Yes I, Laura Benson, am currently living in the Amazon Jungle in Peru. Who would have ever thought huh? Yesterday we spent the day settling in a little bit. I set up my bed and my new pink mosquito net. Like my friend Melissa said... "I´ve always wanted to be a princess, and now I can be!" It has been super hot, but that of course was what I expected! I got my first glimpse of the Amazon river today. Had my first ride in a Moto Taxi. A moto taxi is like a motorcycle that has had the back chopped off and a seat added to the back. Pretty interesting! There aren´t too many cars here, just moto taxi´s and motorcycles. I got to see one motorcycle with a kid and 2 adults on it. Wow!
It´s currently pouring down rain. Although not really any cooler.
Oh! I almost forgot! I got to meet my new partner. Her name is Miluska (same as my mom in Arequipa), and she is actually from Iquitos. What luck for a person who is so horrible with directions! She´s super sweet, I can´t wait to get to know her better. All of the girls are super sweet, and very patient with our Spanish. It´s not quite as difficult to communicate as I thought it would be... but I definitely still have a TON to learn! Excited to start classes tomorrow. It sounds like we are going to be amazingly busy from here on out!

It's All in God's Hands

I am sitting in Lima dreading a little the fact that I have to get up at 4am so that I can catch my 7:30 flight to Iquitos tomorrow. Maybe what I should be doing is sleeping? Oh well.
We have been in Lima since Thursday evening where everyone met their Peruvian partners... everyone but me that is. The plan was to have a few days to get to know each other, with some training and team building workshops. However when we arrived on Thursday all of the Peruvians except my partner were here. After being told she is coming at this time and then that time... I was finally told that they couldn't get a hold of her. So now I am told that she isn't coming and they are working on a new partner for me. It's about 90% sure that I will have a partner who is actually from Iquitos and will hopefully be there when I get there. Something to be praying for! At least I am kind of a "go with the flow" person. I trust that God has it in His hands... and hopefully SOON I will have a partner!
Besides that things are going GREAT! I love all of the Peruvian girls... I haven't had too much of a chance to get to know the guys but they seem great as well. Using my Spanish is not quite as difficult as I thought it would be. However ask me again how I feel in a week after a week of classes in Spanish!
Surrendering and Trusting in Him...

Beginning the Next Leg of the Journey

In a little less than 4 hours I will get on a plane and fly to Lima, Peru where I will meet my Peruvian partner for the next 2 years. We have 2 or 3 days of training in Lima, and then we get on another plane and fly to the jungle city of Iquitos, Peru. This is where we will be training for the next 6 months. Taking classes on theology, anthropology, church planting, peruvian culture and more... all in Spanish.
From here on out everything once again changes. We will add 12 more Peruvians to our group of 12 Americans. I will only be speaking Spanish (yikes!)... living in a room with 14 girls in bunk beds pushed one up against another... no more hot showers... no more nice weather... no more high speed internet... no more time for relaxing.
But I can't WAIT. I'm so excited for this next part of my time here. Really starting to do what I am here to do. God is so GOOD! Pray for safe travels and that we are all able to mesh well with our partners.
1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has in store for those who love Him."


The North American half of my Pucallpa family... and Iquitos.

Saying Goodbye's

This is my last week in Arequipa. Actually I only have 3 more full days here before I leave for the jungle on Thursday. Last night our Peruvian family threw a going away party for us. It was for me and my 2 roommates. There were a ton of people there, mostly friends or family of our family. Tons of food, lots of music and dancing, and all in all a great night! It lasted from about 6:00pm until 2:00am. I was talking to our mom Miluska after the party and we were talking just about God and life and my mission here. How I got my call to come here and if I still thought I was where I was supposed to be (which of course I answered yes!). She also asked me to share my testimony... it was the first time I've said it in Spanish. I think it was pretty rough around the edges, but I was able to say most of what I wanted to say.

Bailamos en mi casa para mi fiesta!

I am going to miss our family so much! I think that we've both learned a lot from each other. Even though this family is Catholic it has never been a problem (In Peru being Catholic and being Christian are thought to be completely different things). Whenever we talk about our beliefs and share what we think about things, which has tended to be often, Miluska always says... "see it's the same thing, we are talking about the same theme, we serve the same God". And she is excited for us and supports our mission. I have been truly blessed to be a part of this family for 3 months.

Today at church we were asked to come to the front so that the church could say goodbye to us. They prayed for us and we (my roommates and I and the Foster family) were asked to say a few words. Talk about being put on the spot! And in Spanish! But it wasn't too bad. I'm going to miss my little church Alto Libertad. When I get to come back to Arequipa in June for a short term mission trip the construction will be underway and the church should finally have the starts of an actual building. Pretty exciting!

Learning a New Language...

In order to learn a new language I have found that you can't be embarrassed at all to make mistakes! In fact they can actually lead to a lot of good laughter and jokes for later. I thought I'd share some of the mistakes I've made and have heard made... hope it can make you laugh as well!

- One time I said my pants were "sueno" (sleepy) instead of "sucio" (dirty).

- My friend Melissa was trying to say to our professor that she explained "conceptos" (concepts) well. Instead she said she explained "concepcion" (conception) well.

- Melissa also said that she "rezo" (pray) for her legs instead of "Afeito" (shave) her legs.

- I said "yo tengo hombre" (I have a man) instead of "yo tengo hambre" (I have hunger)

- My friend Kristy instead of saying "sano" for healthy said "seno" which means breast.

There's many more but I can't remember them now. I'll have to add to this list later! Anyone else have any funny stories?

Some Videos

Here's a list of some different Extreme Nazarene videos... Just click on the title it's a link to the video.

My video for Faith Promise.

Puerto Maldonado short term project 1.

Puerto Maldonado short term project 2.

40/40 work in Iquitos. (This is where I'll be in 2 weeks)

All of these videos just make me so excited for the next phase of my mission here in Peru! I can't wait to start participating in some of these things!

My Pucallpa Family is Complete!

I have officially been matched up with my 40/40 partner, the person I will be working with constantly for 2 years. Together we will work to plant 3 churches in Pucallpa, Peru in 18 months. Her name is Esmith Julissa Davila Tanta (if you click on her name it's a link).

Our complete family (if you click on "complete family there's a link with pics and info) has also been put together. One cluster support family, 6 North Americans and 6 Peruvians.

I'm so excited to know who I'm going to be working with over the next 2 years. Can't wait to meet everyone in less than 2 weeks! Be praying for my Pucallpa group and especially for my partner Esmith Julissa. Thanks!

p.s. I updated my blog a little. On the far right you can find a list of a bunch of other Extreme Blogs. Feel free to check them out!

Chatting...

For the next 2 weeks I and the other 40/40 missionaries here have been given the job of calling people who at one point filled out a card that they were interested in information about Extreme Nazarene. Not really my favorite thing... cold calling that is. However I found in my list of CA numbers about 12 people from my church that I know and a few others not from my church that I know as well. The phones were a little messed up tonight (3rd world country and all) so I wasn't able to make too many calls. However I DID get the chance to talk to the Stockwell family. What a great excuse to make a free phone call! It was awesome to hear their voices! I'm looking forward to hopefully chatting with a few more people from Mission Naz over the next few days.
After being away now for a little over 2 months it was nice to have that contact with home!

Baptisms (Bautismos)

A couple of weeks ago 2 of the Nazarene Churches here in Arequipa went out to a water hole in a desert area to perform baptisms. There were about 11 or 12 people baptized that day, ranging in age from 10-80. It was so awesome to get to see and be a part of these baptisms. There was a service with singing and a message in the beginning and then the baptisms were held. After each person got out of the water the crowd watching would sing "I have decided to follow Jesus... I have decided to follow Jesus... I have decided to follow Jesus... no turning back, no turning back" (in Spanish of course). It gave me chills.

Afterwards people made lunches and played games and messed around in the water until about 5pm. It was a great chance to fellowship and an awesome experience to be a part of!

My Pastor (Elvin) is on the left. The District Superintendent Pastor Solano is on the right. Just one of the baptisms.

He decidido seguir a Cristo(3x)
No vuelvo atras(2x)
El Rey de gloria me ha transformado(3x)
No vuelvo atras(2x)
La vida vieja ya he dejado(3x)
No vuelvo atras(2x)

"Festival of Life"

Today at our church we had a "Festival of Life" instead of doing something for Halloween. The Christian church does NOT dress up in costumes here. It's considered very wrong because Halloween is of the devil. So instead our church put on a little party for kids. We sang some songs, played a few games, had a skit, ate a ton of food and candy. It went pretty well. Yesterday we went around the neighborhoods passing out flyers inviting people to come and we ended up having a little over 40 kids. AWESOME!
Yesterday the children's pastor asked me and a couple others if we could teach a song to the kids. So today I taught "Who is the King of the Jungle" or "Quien es el Rey de la Selva". A very simple song but it was good practice! I'm comfortable being in front of and teaching kids... but in Spanish was a little different story! It went very well though.

Nearing the End of the Beginning

First of all... I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've posted anything! It seems like I have been very caught up in life lately. But from now on I'll try to be better! That being said...

We're nearing the end of our language school training in the lovely city of Arequipa, Peru. I feel like I'm pretty much a little past a survivor level with my Spanish. Able to get by and get around. I can understand quite a bit, but sometimes get frustrated when I attempt to express myself in a different and new language. I'm a little nervous for when we move to Iquitos in 3 weeks and start taking college level classes IN Spanish. Yikes! We'll also be meeting our Peruvian partners and will only be able to speak in Spanish since it would be rude to speak in English in front of them. Hopefully my Spanish will start to progress much faster at that point!

October was the Month of Miracles in Peru... God of Miracles (el Mes de Milagros... or Senor de los Milagros). Peru is a widely Catholic country and the month is set aside to celebrate the miracles that God has done and will continue to do. I was able to walk in a couple of different processions. It was awesome to see so many people singing and praying and worshipping God. He truly is a God of miracles... and it was cool to have this month to try to focus on that one small aspect of our amazing Father.

I'm continuing to build relationships and friendships with my fellow 40/40 missionaries here in Arequipa. I still absolutely love my Peruvian family and try to talk to them as much as possible, partly to help with Spanish! I absolutely can't WAIT until the next step... moving to the jungle city Iquitos for cultural, biblical, and church planting training. It sounds like we are going to be very busy with studying and helping the local churches in Iquitos. But I'm so excited for it! The only thing I'm NOT super stoked about is the 90 degree heat and 100% humidity (meaning it feels more like 110). Other than that I'm so excited to move.

Ok I don't want to write an overwhelming long... I don't want to read this anymore... blog. So that's all for now... more to come later! I love you all and miss you!

3 Weeks Down

Some of the other 40/40 missionary girls...

New Mission

Today my church started a new mission to feed kids. We went around the neighborhood (a very poor area) near the church and knocked on doors, telling kids we had hot chocolate and bread, as well as a story and songs for them. We ended up having about 20-25 kids. It was pretty awesome! We stood in a circle in the street and shared the story of Adam and Eve and Jesus, then sang some songs. Then we gave the kids the hot chocolate and bread... they loved the hot chocolate!
Afterwards we talked to some of the moms that were there and asked them what they needed help with, what some of their physical needs were. They said things like no one ever helps them. They struggle with things like alcoholism. Both parents have to work in the fields to make enough money for their families. When the moms have babies they keep them on their backs while they work until the babies are 2. Once they reach 2 years old they are left at home alone. If they have an older sibling to help take care of them they are lucky. Many of the kids work in the fields as well. It was just crazy to see and hear some of the things these families struggle with.
So what's next?
Now it's the churches job (including my job) to start to figure out how to hopefully help aleviate or even solve some of these problems. I'm excited to get to work with this community. We will go back to do the same thing every Saturday, and hopefully we'll start to reach out and do more things to really help! It is the churches job to go out into the world and help those in need. To show the love of Jesus to those around us.
Be praying for the neighborhood of Alto Libertad!

Getting into the Groove

I feel like I'm starting to get into the groove of things a little bit here in Arequipa. Lots of lots of Spanish school and studying. I know I'm learning a lot buy my mind feels like it's reaching capacity on how much I can take in! I'm getting used to things like irregular bowel movements, cold showers, warm juices, and getting whistled or honked at constantly for being a "gringa". I'm starting to learn which taxis are safe to take, and which "Combi's" or buses to take to get to where I need to go. And my bartering skills in Spanish are improving!
I LOVE the people here. For the most part everyone I've encountered has been nice. People seem to be really nice about slowing down when speaking if I don't understand something right away.
I don't feel like I'm going to die every time I get into a car or bus (the driving here is crazy but exciting at the same time, never a dull moment!).
I'm sure I'll get to the stage of culture shock soon where all of these things drive me nuts, and then it will get better. For now I love it here!

Pictures

Finally uploading some pictures... Enjoy!


Arriving at the airport in Arequipa!


Volcano next to the city!


Street near our church


Houses near our church


Gorgeous mountains right near by!


An alpaca wandered on the field during a futbol game!


Me and Maciel.... the 9 year old daughter of the house I'm living at


Sweet view of the city


Packing 8 people into a car meant for 5 max. Kamila... 2 year old of the house I'm staying at.


Cuy... or guinea pig. A delicacy in Peru.. fried whole!


Tabby... room mate and fellow 40/40

Have we really been here a week already?

Fun Day!
Today I went to church in the morning. I could understand some of the service which was nice. But definitely not all of it. Then we accidentally signed up for Bible Quizzing for the youth. The age of "youth" in Latin America is anyone from 12-40 if you're single. Kinda funny, but we won't be able to do it anyway because it is on a night where we have a group Bible study with all the 40/40's.
We came home for lunch and then went to watch Jesus, the father of the house I'm staying at, play and win a championship Futbol game. During the game an alpaca wandered on the field. Pretty awesome!
Afterwards we stuffed 6 adults and 2 kids into a small car and drove to Jesus's parents house for dinner. We got to see a "Cuy" farm. Cuy are quinea pigs and are a delicacy to eat in Peru. They simply take the whole guinea pig and fry it up and serve it... head, claws, and all! I have yet to try one. For dinner I'm pretty sure the chicken we were eating came from their house also!
We came home and had a dance party to some Peruvian music. Loved it! Now studying espanol and about to study God's word as well.
Working on uploading pics... hopefully I can get those up soon!

Muchas Palabras

I think in one week I have about 250 new words to memorize! Ayayay! It's definitely necessary I know... pero mi cabeza es muy cansada! Necesito estudiar ahora. Ciao!

The Other 40/40 Missionaries

I wanted to take a second to say how much I LOVE the other missionaries that I'm working with. There are 12 of us here in Arequipa right now. After 9 months of training together 6 of us will go to Pucallpa and 6 will go to Iquitos to plant a total of 36 churches. Everyone gets along really well and it's awesome to be surrounded by so many other people my age who are on fire for God and just excited to serve Him! I have an awesome room mate Tabby who I can be completely real with. We can share our struggles and we are praying for each other constantly and for what we are here to do. God is good! Pray for all of us as we go through the varying stages of culture shock and get to know each other even better. God Bless!