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Billy, Kate & Will in Perú

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on Wednesday, December 25, 2013 Leave a Comment

As Kate and I take some time to reflect and give thanks to God on this Christmas Day for sending His Son as a perfect example and sacrifice for us, we also wanted to take some time to thank all of you and share a little bit about what God has been doing through our program for the deaf this Christmas season.

Last week the kids in our deaf program came together, and decided that they wanted to teach other Peruvians how to “sing” Silent Night in sign language. Together with a number of other volunteers they all came together in one of the busiest parks in Lima, and did just that. It was wonderful to see how passersby gathered around to learn the signs and to learn about the deaf community. It was a blessing for us and the rest of the SU staff to give the kids this opportunity to come along side them and show them that they do have a voice that is worth hearing and to continue to share God’s love with them.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Christmas, deaf, Peru, Señales, video

Three videos

Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

Just wanted to share a few videos from the past few months…

In January, the boys from Girasoles Kusi came to Lima for vacation and Billy and I were able to help keep an eye on 40 boys in a city of 10 million. On one of the first nights in the city, we went to the beach to watch the sunset. It was a big first for many of the boys and they just couldn’t help getting in the water (notice Zócimo who wasn’t expecting the waves and got caught in the water 20 seconds into the video).

In February, Billy and I spent a week in Kawai with a group from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. They wanted to prepare a Korean dinner for the boys which included wantons and a very spicy noodle soup – even spicy for the Peruvian boys who regularly pour ají pepper over their food. Really long noodles and spicy soup made for a fun dinner. Jonathan (who was sitting to my right) was brave enough to get more broth, but then proceeded to sweat after eating a few spoonfuls.

The students at the primary school in Kusi are experts in traditional Peruvian dances from the sierra. Here, two of the students perform a traditional huayno peruano for a visiting group.

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Kawai, Kusi, Lima, Peru, Scripture Union, video

Quinceñera

Posted on Thursday, August 2, 2012 1 Comment

This year I had the pleasure of joining the team from my home church in Dearborn as they spent a week at our home in Kusi and a long weekend in Ica. During the weekend in Ica, the group and I were invited to join Augusto and Nancy as they celebrated their eldest daughter, Sheyli’s fifteenth birthday. In Peru and much of Latin America, the quinceañera (or simply quince) is the celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday. It isn’t just any regular birthday as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood.

Wanting to make this a grand affair, Augusto and Nancy hosted a party for Sheyli at a reception hall next to the Girasoles home in Ica and invited many guests from their church, family, friends from Ica, and the group from Dearborn.

Since this was a formal affair, the guys were taken to rent suits. For 30 soles (about $11) they were able to rent a suit coat and pants for 2 nights to wear. It is really common and inexpensive to be able to rent formal wear (like suits, formal dresses – even wedding dresses!) since most Peruvians don’t own clothing like this because they rarely need to wear it.

Since the guys rented suits, the girls decided to get our hair styled before the party – another deal at just 30 soles (or $11).

And afterward, we all rushed back to the Girasoles house to change…

David (second from the left) with the Girasoles boys that were invited to the party.

The party was scheduled to begin at 8pm, but in typical Peruvian fashion, guests streamed in the doors for a few hours until Sheyli, Augusto and Nancy arrived at 10:30pm.

Typically, the party begins begins with the arrival of the birthday girl, wearing a special ball gown style dress and accompanied by her father. As the father and daughter make their way through the guests, the daughter receives 15 roses or extinguishes 15 candles from special, influential people in her life. Immediately after this, the waltz ceremony begins where the birthday girl dances with her father, brother, uncles, grandparents and other important male guests.

Sheyli dancing with her younger brother, Augustito.

Following the dancing, the parents and special guests give speeches about the birthday girl.

Sheyli

During the reception, the birthday girl usually performs a dance with her “chambelan de honor” (her chosen escort) and her court of honor. Usually this dance is previously practiced and choreographed weeks in advance, and sometimes with months of anticipation.

Sheyli decided to use this opportunity to dance with her Girasoles brothers and one special guest from the Dearborn group, David.

Afterward, a hora loca (where dance music is played for an hour) commenced. Balloons, whistles, noisemakers, masks and confetti were given out to the guests.

About 1:30am after the crazy hour of dancing, a full dinner was served to the guests.

And at about 3:30am after the guests had left, we had a little photo shoot with the birthday girl.

It was a long night (we didn’t get back to our bungalows until after 4am), but it was a lot of fun being able to celebrate with Augusto and Nancy and to be there for Sheyli’s big night!

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Girasoles, Ica, Peru, photo, quince, quinceñera, video

Peru, Nebraska

Posted on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Leave a Comment

Yesterday, Billy shared a very clever video with me about what happens when Peru brings its culture to the small town of Peru, Nebraska – population 569.

A team of famous and influential musicians, artists, chefs and athletes in their field, traveled to Nebraska to share the Peruvian culture with their fellow “Peruvians” and produced this 14-minute video of their week with the new ambassadors of Peru – eating ceviche, dancing huaynos, drinking pisco and many other things.

With English subtitles, those that have been to Peru before, will definitely resonate with and recognize what the residents of Peru, Nebraska experience during the week!

Enjoy.

* Now with English subtitles.

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Peru, video

Advent+

Posted on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

About a month ago, I was approached by our Senior Pastor who asked me if I would be interested in filling in for him on the Sunday after Christmas, allowing him & his wife to head out east to visit family for the Christmas season. After long consideration, I decided to take him up on the offer and was given the task of leading worship services on December 26th.

Weeks and weeks passed before I even had an idea of what to talk about. What is an appropriate topic for the day after Christmas? A message about the nativity could be seen as a day late, but despite that, it seemed like it needed to be seasonally appropriate. So after spending hours working my retail job and becoming tired of the Christmas, or I mean, holiday season, a light bulb turned on, and the idea of “Advent+” started to form. Using passages from Isaiah, 9:6-7 and chapter 12, I crafted my message into something I thought relevant to the season, and all year long.

Well, you’ll get the picture….

For those that prefer to read, here’s a copy of the text, including the Scripture passages.

Posted in: General | Tagged: Advent, Christmas, First Presbyterian, message, video
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Wishing many years of laughter and adventure to th Wishing many years of laughter and adventure to the newlyweds! Today Will had the honor of being in his preschool teacher’s wedding. Miss Dani was his first teacher and has always held a special place in his (and our) hearts. ♥️ Felicitaciones querida @dani_pc y @jorgecubamusic, que Dios bendiga su matrimonio y les guíe en esta nueva aventura de ser esposos. Fue un honor y placer para Will poder participar en la ceremonia 😘 #littlewilliamnoah
Happy Father’s Day @greenmanbilly! The legacy yo Happy Father’s Day @greenmanbilly! The legacy you are creating for Will and the example you show him daily of how to be a father and husband is our greatest blessing. We love you. #littlewilliamnoah
A lovely evening watching the national ballet perf A lovely evening watching the national ballet perform Cinderella and Will’s first show at the @granteatronacional. #littlewilliamnoah
Ended our trip with a hike and horseback ride to s Ended our trip with a hike and horseback ride to see the Gocta waterfall up close. #littlewilliamnoah #ytúquéplanes
Headed west to Amazonas to see deep canyons, the t Headed west to Amazonas to see deep canyons, the town of Chachapoyas and the sarcophagi of Karajía #littlewilliamnoah #ytúquéplanes
A castle in the jungle built by an Italian and a c A castle in the jungle built by an Italian and a car raft to cross the Rio Huallaga to Laguna Azul were two firsts for us in Tarapoto. #littlewilliamnoah #ytúquéplanes
Spent a few days in the jungle outside the city of Spent a few days in the jungle outside the city of Tarapoto for @wngreenman’s first Peruvian jungle experience. #littlewilliamnoah #ytúquéplanes
Bubbles in the park today vs. 2019☺️ #littlewi Bubbles in the park today vs. 2019☺️ #littlewilliamnoah
Today was the first day of school and can’t beli Today was the first day of school and can’t believe we have a Kindergartener! After 2 years of virtual school, Will didn’t have to log into Zoom and was able to walk through the doors of the school and met his new teacher, Miss Magy, in person! We’re excited to see what he learns this year and he’s thrilled to be back in a classroom for the first time since March 2020! #littlewilliamnoah @coloringdreamsperu
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