Let's see....

In Singapore, we seldom get to jog because of busy schedule and many other more "fun activities" like eating and bowling. Here in Peru, there are many things we would like to do like playing basketball, swimmming. However, the public facilities are either far away or totally unheard of.

So the easiest exercise to do is still: jogging.

Very proud to say that ever since we moved to this new place in Miraflores, we just jogged the second time yesterday..:)

We went with our core team Oscar in the evening. It was not a really good jog because we took some route with heavy traffic. After the jog when we reached Larco Mar (a place where we can see sunset before Pacific Ocean), our hearts and lungs are both full with tangibles and intangibles! Satisfaction and gases!

We hope we can have this jogging thingy regularly... let's see...haha...:)

The Joy of Transformation

Something we (even KS who never the least bit enjoyed in the past) have learned to enjoy a lot in Peru is cooking. Before team 1 left, we learned many dishes from them. SY & KS learned AL's famous Aji de Huagallina, which some boast to be better than the Peruvian original!

So whenever there is special occasion, we would take the opportunity to try our cooking.

This week we celebrated one dear sister's birthday. Her name is Fiorella. She is a really funny and talkative girl. Talkative is actually an understatement.:) Anyway, she's been a great joy to be around. She adds bountiful laughter to us. And she is a great help in the office administration work. And gues what, she is just 19 this week!

We appreciated her with a new blouse. As she is "a bit boyish" and "not-normal" size, it took us 2 hrs to buy the blouse! But we feel really good when she catwalks in front of us with the blouse, she is so much more ladylike and gorgeous!!! We like to transform people yeah....:)

Back to the cooking part. For the very first time, Keng suan cooked "rotogo relleno" (a famous Peruvian dish with pepper, minced meat, cheese, etc). She did a detailed research online and recorded every single step. But she told us she didn't follow everything. She just did what she felt right.....But never mind the result is: The Peruvians said her maiden attempt was rico! We are really happy to see KS transforming to be more adventurous than before. Haha...we can proudly say we attempt great things for God in our everyday life even ya!

Let's savour some of good moments sin palabras....

Dia De San Valentin

Our Single Adults CG organized a special celebration for Valentines' Day on Friday. A few of our friends from the neighbourhood and our church members' friends joined the fun. On such a special occassion, our core team Oscar, without fail, offered to teach people the Salsa dance steps he had come to master years ago..:)

Oscar had also invited his dance teacher, who is also his tia (his aunt in blue) to this celebration. She is really good! She taught us not only Salsa, the national dance Marinera tambien. Although she's in her 50s, but once the music starts, she's just like the 20s!

The Peruvians have this natural dance gene with them. Their bodies moves and sways with the latino music so freely and so flexibly (with emphasis). So during the dance time, everyone, young and old, moved just so rhythmic to the music. For the sake of atmosphere building, KS, SY & I joined the fun. But with our robotic moves, we soon became "the centre of attention" because we were so different from them!!

Later our neighbour, who is a restaurant owner, started to pick up the guitar and sing some Peruvian 70s' songs. The songs are mostly coastal and highland folks songs. Chinese have their "Shan Ge", they have their style of country songs. We really love the richness of the Peruvian culture.... it is so warm to the heart, and it is just so easy to start falling in love with it.

This time of living in Peru is getting more enriching and enjoyable as we immerse more in the culture and in the people's lives.

We enjoyed ourselves having to learn some dance steps and know some friends better.

Fun with the Core Team

Everybody, Cheers!!

I must acknowledge that sometimes it feels tough going in ministry, especially now that we are pioneering many ministries in an unfamiliar culture and with unmastered language. Yet it feels so good to have fun amidst our hardwork, especially with the core team I have come to really love and enjoy spending time with.

Last DMM was a great time. Besides evaluating the past week and planning for the week ahead, we threw our core team, Lidia a mini bday celebration. It was simple, simple bday song, in a simple meeting room, even the cake was simple and inexpensive. But what makes it fun was these people whom we have known for 6 months, start to show their "true pattern" and "true colour" in front of us...haha... they are just funny people!!

Haha.. TK can't hold his laughter when teasing Oscar! (Left)

Lidia is sharing her heart, Oscar gives his eager support standing up.

Oscar is so expressive in worship that he smiles swaying his 2 uplifted hands as the rest sing their favourite worship song one after another (left)

Lidia shouts, "Una vez mas!!:)" (right)