The Journey of Hope Place (Peru)

In Transit at Madrid to Home

2010-02-14T23:07:00.005-05:00

We're quietly resting in Madrid and overcoming jetlag in anticipation for our arrival in S'pore.

After one and a half years away from home, we are really excited to get home soon.

Before reaching home, we already got to know from home that my niece is recovering at a better and more encouraging pace. She's almost out of her depression and getting less fearful as she's home and also has begun attending school. I am eager to go home to help her out on her school, yet to catch up due to her almost-one-month absence at school.

On this 14th Feb, the first day of the Year of Tiger, we called home to send our wellwishes to parents. Without fail, SY and I talked about the delicacies and tidbits that we only during Chinese New Year, like some vegetarian cusine (Luo Han Zai), etc....our saliva starts to flow more profusely.....(that's how we say in Chinese) thinking of all these mouth-watering delicacies.

It feels extremely good to be home in a while.....

A Small Accident and A Few Salvations

2010-02-07T19:45:00.004-05:00

While preparing for Sunday this morning, Siew Yee slipped and fell down the main staircase in Hope Place. She sprained her left ankle. A medical nurse in our church brought her to a nearby clinic. Upon X-ray examination, the doctor found a hairline fracture in her left ankle. She is now plaster bandaged. She can't really walk without help and as the weather is hot now in Lima, it feels extremely itchy inside. We are really worried how we could leave Peru next week on the 13th. This "small accident" brings us much headache. For a while, I really wondered what God was up to. Bad things continued to happen within these two weeks.

Upon really counting the good and the bad, God did bring a lot of joy to us in the midst of our pain. Last and this Saturday, we had two youths (Frank and Linda) who genuinely received Jesus personally into their hearts. Today as I am writing, we just had two new brothers (Ricardo and Walter) who genuinely received Jesus personally into their heart during our adult service and for the first time in our service, they publicly acknowledged their personal decision. What else can beat this joy of salvation, even though in the midst of pain?!!! What's more to also that many of these salvations are really the works of Paul, Apollos (our core team and members) and the Holy Spirit!! God is advancing His Kingdom when we seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, God is showing His sovereignty that in His power, he works out everything good and bad for the good of us according to His Grand purpose.

Once again, we have learned that God only gives us more net gain than pain in the obedience process. God, you deserve the Praise!!

A Shocking News

2010-01-28T15:43:00.003-05:00

I was shocked by what recently happened back at home.

When I called home this morning, my oldest brother told me that my niece went through a major surgery of her life two weeks ago.

About nine years ago, my niece was born with a hole in the heart. I don't know the medical term for this condition. She was born purplish in the skin. Though cute and loving looking, she always looked pale and was kept from doing those strenous activities that many kids love to do. Because of her condition (which basically means lack of oxigenated blood), my sis-in-law raised her with great care because any cuts or injuries could be extremely damaging and disastrous. She went through a lot of minor surgeries that treat the condition. The last and major one is the most important yet critical. In April last year, she was prepared to go for the major surgery. However, upon checking her blood and other conditions, the chance was only 50-50 survival. The doctor was reluctant to take the risk. So the surgery was indefinitely postponed. This is not uncommon according to the doctor, because many people in the similar condition waited and even never got operated because of the risk, and carried this condition all their lives.

Two weeks ago, my oldest brother and sis-in-law checked her into the KL hospital they used to go. The doctor re-examined and expressed more confidence in the surgery with her condition. The doctor advised that that could be the only better chance she could have for her life. To my oldest brother, it was a stressful decision to make for his daughter. But he took the risk for his daughter.

In the KL hospital, the surgery ended and my niece went into comma. For a week, she didn't wake up and her pulse, blood pressure went from bad to worse, to critical.....my sis-in-law fainted a few times because the pulse and blood pressure dropped below the critical level a few times. My niece almost didn't survive......I could imagine the kind of worry and pain that my oldest brother, sis-in-law and dad suffered, which was almost like what we suffered 5 years old when my mum passed away.

Thank God after one week, her condition stabilised. She woke up, but unfortunately she woke up fearful. She cries and has not been able to get into sleep at night. She sleeps in the day time and gets up in the middle of the night and stays up all night. She says she feels someone like a devil touching her at night. She always cries for more protection. Her other behavior's also changed. She no longer likes to write and draw like before. The doctor is now referring her to some psychological treatment.

For the first time in Peru, I really wish so much to be home sooner. God assured me this morning from my devotion in Psalms 29:11, "The LORD (The voice of the Lord that is powerful, in context) gives STRENGTH to his people; the LORD blesses his people with PEACE." I really pray for God's voice to bring peace and strength to my niece against the voice of the devil that is disturbing her soul now. I pray that God will send people to speak His Peace and Strength to her heart before SY and I reach home. O God, we are far, but you are NOT. We're limited, but you are NOT. I believe in a GOD that made the universe and fills the hearts of His every child. In His name, I will believe. AMEN.

My friends and family who are reading this....pray and believe along with me.

An Enthu Kid in Learning Chinese

2010-01-25T09:37:00.014-05:00

Siew Yee has an enthu kid in her Chinese class this holiday. She wore a very Chinese costume for the first class. She looked really cute in it. SY was also very impressed by her creativity in the paper cutting work she did. Some photos were captured about this interesting class they had

together.

Thank YOU, brothers and sisters!

2010-01-12T10:10:00.003-05:00

We have received a whole big box of stuff from S'pore.

Our eyes were lifted up at seeing many chili sauces, bread jams, ba gua, milo, etc, many gifts, cards, many teaching and reading materials. It's a joy to count the many stuff one by one because on each count, we heartily "count" it as a blessing from God. And there were more 20 blessings!!! What's more wonderful than receiving 20 blessings in one day!

Haha....allow us to share this joy over here and thank the many minds that think of us, the many hearts that desire to warm ours, the many hands that bought, wrote and wrapped the cards and gifts. Thank YOU! We can only appreciate you guys gratefully like a little blessed child of God. It's just short of taking a photo to show you our grateful faces. Anyway, we are a bit "malu" (shy)to do la (sorry, for non-sporean/msian reader, you gotta understand our slang ya...:)

Never Forget 2009!

2009-12-31T11:12:00.006-05:00

I'll never forget year 2009!

A new culture came to our world. A new family shared our lives. A new church life took our breath away.....

SY & I really came to appreciate again more of Peruvian culture - a different culture from we are from. We Chinese are more reserved, colder and more peace-loving. We came to the warm, affectionate and competitive (when there is something to be won, the people's eyes literally open) part of the world. Now we feel adjusted, in fact, we've started to fall in love with it.

Tis year we also opened up our lives to many church members. We visited them in their homes, besides inviting them to ours. We know their lifestyle, their livelihood, their daily routines..much more. Indeed, very refereshing to be able to experience first-hand what our new families are going through in their daily living.

The church life is fun, warm and relaxed. People like to hang out with each other more, people enjoy talking nonsense (haha...even the serious ones) more, people enjoy hugging each other out of more real and heartwarming affections. This has really opened our eyes as to how God's love and affection flows among the congreation.....it's breathtaking when unlikely people love each other...:)

We've really enjoyed ourselves. Our lives have been enriched by this one whole year of unique experiences. God has stretched our abilities to relate and lead across the congregation, from kids, youths, adults, parents and older folks. In this one year, never did we imagine that out of the 'sacrifices' and 'cries' we made, the Lord turned our lives to become more beautifully painted in our hearts, with richer colours and more animated life graphics:)

Lord, thank you for giving us more than we gave you! We'll try next year to outgive you, let's see!

RRR Trip in Northern Peru

2009-12-26T09:32:00.017-05:00

Christmas is a low season for outreach and Peruvians are high on spending time with their family during Christmas.

So, 3 of us grabbed the opportunity to go for a RRR (rest, relax and reflect) getaway trip to a very beautiful northern city -- Trujillo. The 10-hour bus ride almost killed us! Nonetheless, the moment we stepped into the land of Trujillo.... our eyes were.....opened!!

Trujillo is an important historical city due to the city's proximity to many huacas (sacred places) where the Moche and Chimu civilizations were founded. We visited many huacas including the Chimu's mud ruins in Chan Chan, the world's largest city built out of adobe, and Huaca del Sol y Huaca de la Luna built by Moche Civilisations. We were so fascinated about the history of Moche and Chimu! (especially Miss Yeo)

We also went to see Marinera ( National Dance of Peru) y Caballos de Pasos (Horse Dance) show, where TK had a good time pretending to be a Peruvian Horseman.

On the second day, we took a day tour to Chiclayo, we visited the Bruning museum where the remains of the "Lord of Sipan" is being kept. It was another yet amazing eye-opener because of the amount of archaelogical works involved behind the discovery. In the museum, the tour guide explained to us how archaelogists spent years to dig the huacas with great care, how they drew (not took photos) to precisely depict the imaginary position of remains (broken bones, shells, body accesories) when it was in its original form. We also visited the pyramid in tucume where the remains of dead bodies and ceramics were found. At the site, we could tell even pictorially how the different burials were arranged sequentially. As many archaelogical works are still ongoing in the region and more new historical sites being discovered.

It was indeed a fruitful and blessed trip, all the way to the end! At the end of the trip, our bus was upgraded to "suite" bus due to bus delays. Zzzzzz.....God gave us a sweet sweet journey home. PTL! After the whole trip, We were so tired that we slept another whole day on Christmas Eve...haha..!! Gracias to such RRR as this, hooray to the great cultural heritage of Peru...so rich and interesting:)

Someone's turning 36... Oh no!

2009-10-14T19:44:00.009-04:00

Oscar's birthday coming up on the 16th of October. We celebrated for him 3 days earlier. We treated him with Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice, Maracuya juice and a lucuma cake. We just understand him too well about how he can feel heaven, not just with the Holy Spirit, BUT with earthly meat AS WELL. He is spiritual but is still very much fondly attached to what the stomach desires...... No photos on the Hainanese Chicken rice anyway.....we finished it too fast and too furious..:)

One-day Lima Tour

2009-10-09T19:49:00.006-04:00

We went for one-day Lima tour on a goverment-declared holiday. Our Actspeditions volunteer Koh Yun, who arrived here one week ago, was with us in this tour. Ever since we came to Lima, we never took a time to tour around the city centre of Lima, although it's just half an hour away. Through this tour, only then we got to know that Lima was declared a historical site in 1991. We got to understand all the historical accounts of the different structures and church buildings.

Without fail, we pampered ourselves with a good Chinese buffet.

Team Chile's Visit

2009-09-28T20:20:00.005-04:00

Teck Keong's Birthday

2009-09-24T20:40:00.006-04:00

My Husband has been telling others how blessed he was during his birthday. Let's see.......

1st blessing point: 5 "Senoras" (women) cooked for him! Here are the 5 powerful women from Hope Lima!

2nd blessing point: Nancy ( one of our church members) chose not to travel and celebrated her birthday together with Teck Keong.

3rd blessing point: He found a wonderful new family in Lima, beyond Malaysia and Singapore, without having to marry a new wife..:)

Dia Mama Photos

2009-05-25T19:44:00.005-04:00

Dia mama is a very important celebration in Peru. The malls are filled with promotion for mother's day gifts, all the schools have a special Friday celebration with mamas. It was a great time of celebration with many first time...we've seen a "line-up" of 18 mamas....the youths sang oldies for their mamas, even the dads put up a skit for their wives...:)

Everybody! AND

One of my beloved 'sons'!

Smiling Seal

2009-04-20T19:21:00.005-04:00

We didn't get "upclose and personal" with the seals at Paracas, so didn't see their faces. Just happened to chance upon a photo of a cute smiling seal.

Good Friday Getaway at Paracas

2009-04-13T13:47:00.006-04:00

Beautiful sunset at Paracas Beach

(Left) KS with pelicans; (Right) Before setting off for Ballestas Island.

(Left) Before shipwreck; (after) After shipwreck (boat breakdown) the second time.

Seals, gulls, vultures, etc

Bird shit collection point and breathtaking arch.

The Candelabro Nazca Lines, wow!

Peruvian Women

2009-04-03T10:01:00.009-04:00

I've asked my wife's permission to talk about some women in the blog (with beautiful women pictures), other than her..:)

This is an interesting article about the social development of Peruvian women in its various geographic locations, social levels and traditions over time. A long article though..:)

"Someone asked me to describe Peruvian women recently and I had to hesitate and gather my thoughts carefully before answering, as they come in all shapes and sizes, colors, and moods, and can be most attractive when observed under the right light.

Do we have any hockey moms? Definitely not. As a matter of fact, I have never even seen a soccer mom or a surfer´s mom. Undoubtedly they exist, since lmost males with a foot and a leg play soccer, and with the popularity and fame of the surfers, there must be a lot of moms around encouraging their talented offspring. Women are slightly outnumbered. There are 1.01 men for every woman which sounds like a pretty democratic situation, doesn`t it? Unfortunately it doesn`t mean much for the girls.

To describe Peru´s women, you have to consider social levels, geographic locations, and traditions. From colonial times, the Spaniards influenced the role of women in society, relegating the financial and administrative responsibilities to men and leaving the motherly chores to women. Those dark, Spanish eyes which were inherited from the Moors were generally hidden behind a black, white, or beige laced mantilla which covered a lady`s face with the exception of one eye that carefully observed passers by as they peered from a latticed wooden balcony in Lima, Arequipa, or Trujillo.

At the same time, slaves were imported from Africa and quite a large black population developed, especially along the coast where the majority of farming took place. There were also vestiges of the Inca blood within the population, and over the last 400 years, there has been an evolution of racial blending which has produced a majority of creatures called “mestizos” or citizens of mixed blood that have a most interesting DNA.

Up until the more recent times with decline in the private sugar and cotton estates which were confiscated and made into cooperatives by the Velasco regime in the 1970´s, working women on the farms were subject to abuse by the “patrón” or owner who had the right and privilege to bed the bride of a worker on the wedding night as a gesture of respect.

General Velasco and his dictatorial regime (1968-1980) changed Peru drastically. Highly efficient farms were made into cooperatives. Production and efficiency declined drastically, and immigration towards Lima, the center of all production and hope for survival, suffered a sudden invasion from the provinces.

As a result, any vacant hillside property outside of the capital became squatter’s territory and the Pueblo Jovenes ( Young Towns) were born. Poor women were transformed from rural farmhands, to urban charwomen and mothers fighting for survival in a new and hostile environment. Lima is now a city of 8 million!

Due to crowded and precarious living conditions, the interrelationship between men and women became more intense, and even until today it is most common that couples will meet, find some sort of sexual or social attraction, and start living together informally. Children are born in abundance, and many women are abandoned with their offspring while fathers seek new mates to warm their beds.

Today's poor woman living in the outskirts of the city must maintain herself as well as her children, attend her mate, if he is still with her, and try to find work to cover basic expenses. Most rely on subsidized food programs in neighbourhoods or in local schools. Many seek jobs as domestic help in the wealthier neighbourhoods, while others try their luck as street vendors, working long, tiring hours away from home.

These are the women of the city. The majority of them come from the Andes region of the sierra where today, as in the past, a woman´s role has remained fairly stable. Most live on small plots of farmland, have more faithful husbands, and usually fill the role of matriarchs. While the men and boys work the fields, the women attend the marketplace, operate small shops, and manage family affairs.

Beyond the Andes and far away from the Pacific lies the Amazon jungle. There the life of women has hardly changed. Husbands and children get full attention, and the women take charge of household chores including weaving and crafts, while the men comb the nearby area for food.

That´s one side of Peruvian femininity. This is a picture of the majority, since over 50% of Peruvians live in poverty, and over 25% in dire poverty. Luckily there is a sign of progress taking place since the Fujimori regime in the 90´s, and as a result of the economic progress during more recent years.

On the other side of the city lives another woman altogether. The so called middle class you might find in Europe, the U.S., or Canada, is still in the making and will take time. Only a few kilometres away from extreme poverty we discover a whole, new world. Districts are neatly manicured by squads of uniformed gardeners. Women street sweepers risk their lives in the busy freeway connecting downtown Lima with the suburbs to the south called San Isidro and Miraflores. To the east, San Borja, Monterrico, and now La Molina, the new residential area.

Here we find an entirely different Peruvian woman. She is in the upper 5% of society, born of parents with foreign blood, usually European, well dressed and educated and under the protection of loving parents that provide everything not found on the other side of town.

Up until the late 50´s, Lima was a city of only 1.5 million inhabitants. Families were numerous and affordable. Homes in the districts bordering the Pacific side of the city were usually large and roomy, and servants were readily available. Girls were only educated in private schools without boys, and unique uniforms provided a touch of prestige and distinction, marking a sharp difference from public school students.

In addition to the ABC´s taught by either imported Catholic religious orders from Europe and the States, there were non-religious private schools of different nationalities including American, British, French, Italian, Swiss, German, etc. Girls were primed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as household chores in preparation for a long career in motherhood. College or university was for the boys and few girls were ever sent abroad to study.

The military dictatorship of Gen. Velasco during the 70´s provoked many wealthier families to reduce the size of families and sell off the old spacious family residences. It was a good excuse to send daughters to foreign lands for advanced education.

Private schools started to integrate males and females, following the state public school system. Students across the country were obliged to wear the same grey uniform with white shirts and blouses, and although quite unpopular at first amongst upper classes, it finally served to help integrate diverse social levels and grant women, especially, a more equal role in society.

As Peru returned to democracy in 1980, a surge in the development of new universities occurred, and those young women wishing to remain close to the family or not being able to afford the high cost of an overseas education started filling the halls of La Catolica, University of Lima, Ricardo Palma, San Martin, and others.

Following the dark and dangerous period of the 80´s which combined the horrible onslaught of the Shining Path and the MRTA terrorist groups, and midst a faltering economy brought on by the APRA government that produced a world record inflation of 2.2 million percent in only 5 years, the population finally saw a light of hope under Alberto Fujimori.

Upon the defeat of these terrorist groups and the correction of rampant inflation, foreign as well as local investment began to blossom at an accelerated pace and has continued until today while Peru enjoys an enviable record of progress in the Americas.

How has this changed the environment for Peru´s women? Under Fujimori, talented and outspoken women such as Martha Chavez, Luz Salgado, Lourdes Flores, Mercedes Cabanillas, Beatriz Boza, Martha Hildebrandt, Beatriz Merino, and other females with college educations began playing key roles in politics and the country’s leadership. As to women’s rights, the ladies have to recognize Alan Garcia´s party for spearheading suffrage. Back in the early 50´s, APRA supported the right to vote for women who worked and were “educated”. Finally, in 1956, the Constitutional Congress of Peru granted adult females the right to vote, irregardless of their educational or social level.

Contemporary Peru now boasts many integrated schools of males and females, universities where both sexes compete on the same level, and a workplace where some of Peru´s top international executives are women. The Armed Forces now share their ranks with highly qualified females. There is still a way to go. Machismo is still dominant, especially amongst the majority, the poor, where taxi and bus drivers are disrespectful and defiant towards women police. Companies, both Peruvian and international, have improved the salary level of women versus men, but the boys still take home bigger pay checks. Women are now running for presidential office and filling important roles as ministers of state.

Attractive? They are all beautiful, from the wonderful mother carrying buckets of water up long flights of steps to her humble dwelling, to the young, female executive giving a sales conference, to the little ones getting on the school bus heading for another day beside the boys. Vive la femme peruana!

(Taken from http://www.livinginperu.com/, written by Jim Plunkett entitled, "La Femme Peruana")

Keng Suan's Bday Celebration

2009-03-23T03:55:00.015-04:00

There were 3 birthday celebrations for Keng Suan this year. She was really blessed....

The celebration with the core team was in an amusement park....some of us wanted to try Viking but because we had a great dinner earlier on, so to keep our food in the stomach, we did something else...dancing and car racing in the front of the arcade centre. Keng Suan was full of her "gan cheong" and "cool" expressions when it comes to racing.. mind you, this girl passed her driving on first attempt in Singapore...

The youth also gave her a surprise celebration and without fail, they asked her to do silly things. These things are better shown than described. SY & I treated Keng Suan her favorite KFC...Somehow we felt the chicken are bigger sizes...we thought it was a gift to her birthday....

Her life is a blessing to the church. Her likeable personality brought a lot of joy to us. Her personal conviction is to help the young, be a role model of biblical values and purpose-driven life. She has indeed made great effort and sacrifices to help the youths and the young adults. We pray that God will use her greatly, add to her deeper understanding of people and God, that her love for people will even be more impactful in the coming year.

One Salvation, One Great Party in Heaven!

2009-03-11T18:26:00.004-04:00

As I am writing, I almost can't keep my joy within me!

Although I know in South American context, many people said sinner's prayer yet did not start following Christ due to poor understanding of salvation and cultural pressure. Today when we were doing a mid-week Bible Study with a regular visitor named Miguel, he said the sinner's prayer and received Christ!

He shared with us that he said this prayer before when he was 16. During that time, he was concerned for his father's health, that's why he received Christ and went for baptism right after. But today, he understood the meaning of salvation. Upon saying the sinner's prayer, he felt the forgiveness and grace of God through the Jesus. Because of that, he broke down. With the other guys (a male Bible Study time), we were all teary over this great work of salvation by our amazing God!

I am joining the great party in heaven now in rejoicing over one salvation. How wonderful to bring heaven down to Hope Place!

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10

Upgrading and Beautifying Works

2009-03-08T19:21:00.013-04:00

In Hope Place, besides Sunday and CG activities during weekends, private English, Chinese and Matematics tuition classes during weekdays, we also organize youth and kids programs through an NGO. These programs aim to develop the underprivileged Peruvian youths and kids in English and value-centered education.

So on any single day, there are bound to be classes, church activies and the NGOs' activities. To update the various activities, we decided to upgrade and beautify our information systems - the notice boards! This to be done before many youth activities happening in 2nd week of March. So we pulled together a whole team of strong youth members to do up the notice boards....with the art directorship of Oscar and SY and leadership of KS of course.....

The notice boards are, I must say, in my humble opinion, FANTASTICO!

Another Maiden Attempt

2009-03-08T18:24:00.013-04:00

We usually prepare some snacks for our DMM. The last DMM, a maiden attempt to bake a butter muffin by Siew Yee. This Blog must be balanced in journalling the successes and failures within Hope Place (Peru).... haha...I shall sacrifice my wife to account this first attempt. The butter muffin came out hard and too sweet, by majority comments! I will encourage my wife through a famous quote: Success is a journey, not a destination...... I still ate the buffin noentheless:)

God's Tremendous Blessings

2009-03-06T11:34:00.004-05:00

God's tremendous blessings continued to flow into the church. Just to name 2 in particular in Feb.

We received a big sum of tithe from some new regular visitor. We were very shocked to receive such big sum from a local who didn't earn a lot. She gave the sum by hand so we know it is a genuine giving. God really touched our hearts through this sister. We can't help but feel the greatness of God who works wonders in the hearts of people.

We also continued to receive financial blessings from overseas, even in Feb. We are grateful for the blessings. But even more, I am reminded what Pastor Seaward shared on one ocassion, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. If your money is invested in God's mission, your heart is in God's mission." Those brothers and sisters who continue to give to Hope Lima and missions, I believe with all my heart that their hearts are in God's mission. They may not be at this point able to GO but their financial giving only tells so loudly that they are global-minded Christians with the world in their hearts like God. Wow.... I really love to partner with many brothers and sisters in global missions.

God, thank you for blessing Hope Lima tremendously. It's my and my wife's privilege to be your witness and proclaimer till our term ends "on earth"......

Let's see....

2009-02-27T09:04:00.011-05:00

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

2009-02-25T09:02:00.027-05:00

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

2009-02-15T21:26:00.015-05:00

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

2009-02-15T21:16:00.009-05:00

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)

大年初一

2009-01-28T17:15:00.011-05:00

On 大年初一，together with our core team, we gave a little treat to Julian, Serene and Ailay. We went to a Chifa at cuadra 8, Camino de Inka. Team 1 knows the boss of this restaurant pretty well. The boss usually serves them lots of good food, gives them very good discount. Team 1 "doesnt prefer" to go back because they always feel paiseh receiving such good discounts. But because this time may well be a time to say goodbye, so we went.

The boss is really a hospitable man. We didn't even order the food. He just cooked to his heart's content whatever he had wanted to served us. The table was being served soup, chicken, prawn...etc, one after another, I soon lost count how many dishes he served.

The time together over "the very Chinese meal" was really fulfilling, both in the stomach and in the hearts.

At paying time, without fail, the boss refused to accept our money. There went the pushing and running time amongst TK, JL and the boss. Of course, finally, Mr TK and JL won! The Peruvian core team was greatly amused at such a scene... they were joking that the money was like some kind of explosive or grenade, all of us refused to take it! Haha....only Chinese do that. Photo time with the lovely boss and wife, CHIFA (a great shot)!

Parcel from Singapore

2009-01-27T00:13:00.011-05:00

We just received a parcel & some cards from Singapore!! Thanks to all the brothers and sisters who were involved and gave!!Everything you sent, we'll definitely consume it very very slowly..because they are so very "precious"!

Without much further ado, we started taking photos with the "precious". It's a happy day for us, yea!:)

KS's favourite --均隆驱风油 No.1.

SY's favourite -- Bak Gua, rousi.. etc. yum yum!

TK's favourite -- All the cards, Milo & Dry Durian!!

Siew Yee's Birthday Celebration

2009-01-13T09:10:00.011-05:00

We celebrated SY's birthday at late night on 2 Jan.

This is her first birthday celebration in Peru. She is the youngest amongst the Singapore Team and has just turned 30 this year. Being a nice husband, and upon the request of the team, I sang my first birthday song in Cantonese to my wife. My wife smiled sweetly the whole night, I guess she was really blessed by my song..:)

I brought her out for a good lunch the next day. We wanted to take some photos, but oops..we brought the camera without the USB card. We thought never mind, we are not very photogenic people anyway.:) We then had a good time sharing the food and talking about our life in Peru. We've been married for a year. Many things have happened between both of us in the midst of working hard to grow Hope Lima. They are sweet apologies and coaxing, sour arguments and even bitter quarrels sometimes. We thought we would not have tasted marriage so differently if we were in Singapore. Church planting really adds more dimensions to our marriage and individual life. We started out wanting a purposeful marriage life for the kingdom. I guess God will never fail to fulfill such "noble" desires...haha:)

Serene's Birthday Celebration

2008-12-27T21:38:00.006-05:00

The Peru team is blessed by with a lovely and sacrificial couple. The husband is a big man with a big heart and the wife is a small woman with small eyes, yet sparkling with great joy always, and she is no other than our dear sister Serene :)

Her birthday was on the 21st Dec. We gave her a late celebration. Nonetheless, she was still very happy! It's just so easy to make her happy :)

Reflection: Our Hope Lima, Hope Place, 2008

2008-12-25T11:16:00.022-05:00

Time in Peru really flies, it even feels faster than any other periods of our lives so far.

Taking a short time of reflection may help slow things down a bit, and even more, will help us savor more of how life has been so terrible, so terribly great I mean!!

Our hearts are filled with Christ-"mas" (more) joy writing this, and thankfulness.

We are thankful to:

Team 1's lives: We are grateful for many things, but especially for their lives lived sacrificially and purposefully for Jesus in Hope Lima. They model the spirit of Christian, Christian servant and leader in ways more than we have read from books. We are so amazed at how God matured them as they lived their lives the most biblical way that they know and humbly keep on maturing. It's a good painting of God's transformation through sacrifical living on the mission field. The painting is simply breathtaking like watching the Great Wall from space!

Church members: We are so encouraged by the lives of our coreteam and members. The core invested their time and money sacrificially, with the little money they have earned, with the little time they are left with after school and work. Sometimes I wonder if I can rest. To tell you the truth, I really don't think it's a good idea that the coreteam works harder than the pastor..:). Our members who need to travel for close to 2 hours because of the new distance after we moved, are simply inspiring. They are busy and gainfully tired in their work to survive, yet they find rest in this spiritual home. Wow, God is doing amazing works in the hearts of the Peruvians, the few that we have seen inspire us to want to see more!!!

God's favour: Julian once shared this with me: You'll get to enjoy God's favour on the field more than any other place in your life. You know this is so very true these few months! We have received so many answered prayers, it is like you switch on lights in S'pore, power sure comes, 0% possibility of power failture! We remember we prayed for people that would stay with us. One by one came. One mother who just joined 1 month ago even started to involve in intercession for the church, wow! We prayed for the provision of a mini bus at a reasonable rate. God answered exactly, no more no less! We prayed for kids to join the church camp, eventually more than 20 kids signed up, record breaking in our church history! We prayed for crowds to come in more, it is not torrential yet, but one life after another flow in, AND with great potential to join the church. Our continual prayer is: God's favour go with us, wherever we are, whatever we do, as we know, with fear and trembling, that we will fail terribly without him leading. Yet with his favour, a lot of possibilities can become realities through our asking.

God's anointing: We came not trained (enough) in many ways required of us. God has been using team 1 to train and "refine" us. Culturally, we are "sua goo" (S'pore slang that means greenhorn). We made mistakes. Some funny ones in language, some serious ones because of our personal weaknesses and lack of discipline. The team 2, as a whole, sense the hands of God in maturing us, in character, love and understanding of the culture, servanthood and leadership. We know we are not there, but humbly we submit to God's refining hands. We feel now we have matured (not arrived yet) and progressed forward. I believe God's ministry and church will prosper as we mature. With little Spanish, we have made a new friend in these 4 months. Before Christmas, he wrote a card to us to thank us for our friendship and for our church that is different. This work is spiritual, can't be physical. And.....let me consider to be more spiritual such that we exercise more spiritual tongues than needing to work on our Spanish..:)

Life is as good as it gets when you get it right on track with God's will...we can truly testify to it in 2008:)

Visa finally approved!

2008-12-01T09:24:00.002-05:00

We started to apply our visa in August when we first arrived. It took us countless travels (really I lost count). We went in and out of 3 government departments and 3 legalizing bodies over the last 3 months. Thank God that Julian and team guided us step by step, even to the detail of bringing every single documents the government departments would possibly ask for!

With great joy, here it is: the carnet for our diplomatic visa! We're so 100% assured now, God wants us to stay in Peru..:)

Youth Challenge - Conquering Matucana

2008-11-17T00:04:00.002-05:00

Youth Challenge? Salah...I am no longer youth. But our Club Youth Challenge Adventura group needs a adult mentor and it was supposed to be KS..haiz...I am such a sacrificial leader, so I went in her place.

It was really a challenge. Not so much for the youth, more for me and the girls. It was a 1 hour 15min hike up all the way to the top of Matucana. Oosh, I almost died half way, because at some parts the slope was steep and many of us were breathless after the steep part. I wondered whose idea it is to such a challenge, must be a suffering freak.

Nonetheless we completed and conquered the Matucana mountain! Thank God!

Some photos to show the "hardwork" and the fun.

Works in Progress

2008-10-04T10:05:00.004-04:00

It is a brand new experience both for starting this blog and building a sanctuary for the church. It's simply exciting for us!

God has indeed been good and faithful to provide a sanctuary for Hope Peru. You may read the account of the search at http://www.acctsofperu.blogspot.com/. We are unanimous in agreement about the name, it shall be called "Hope Place".

This blog is NOT a replica of the above blog. We hope that this blog will chronicle our witness and experience in the journey of Hope Place, Peru.

So while eargerly waiting for Hope Place to be ready, let us show you the works in progress.