12 Degrees South

Billy, Kate & Will in Perú

  • Home
  • About Us
  • How Can I Help?
  • Instagram
  • Contact

video

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
1 2 … 8 Next »

Subscribe to our updates

katebruder

Happy fourth birthday to our little Will! You have Happy fourth birthday to our little Will! You have made our world a whole lot sweeter and you are our greatest adventure 🤍 We love you forever! #littlewilliamnoah
Last night the Peruvian president announced a two- Last night the Peruvian president announced a two-week lockdown covering 1/3 of the country, including Lima, amid a significant rise in COVID-19 cases here. The new lockdown will run from January 31 through February 14. New restrictions include the closure of all non-essential shops (only pharmacies, grocery stores/bodegas/markets and banks are allowed to be open) and a ban on domestic air and land travel. The ban on flights coming from Europe (and now Brazil) is extended. As of right now, the border remains open to all other international flights. Only 1 person is allowed to go grocery shopping at a time, and we are no longer allowed to use our personal cars. We also are only allowed outside for 1 hour per day for exercise/mental health, and should be at home the remainder of the time. 

We are experiencing a second wave of infections and with the variants, it sounds like there will be more positive cases this time than we had a year ago during our first quarantine. Experts are predicting that we will not hit our peak until April. According to Johns Hopkins University, Peru has reported more than one million cases and about 40,000 deaths related to COVID-19. 

This evening Will and I went for a walk through our neighborhood to squeeze in a little more outside time before Sunday when it will become harder to complete our 1000 hours outside. 

It’s difficult knowing we have to go back into a lockdown, but we are thankful for our health and that we have a safe place to quarantine at home. Join us in praying for the country of Peru and that these measures taken will make a positive impact on the pandemic here. 

#littlewilliamnoah
Working towards spending #1000hoursoutside and put Working towards spending #1000hoursoutside and putting many kilometers on Will’s scooter and bike this year 🚴‍♂️🛴#littlewilliamnoah @1000hoursoutside
To end what has been a long, unexpected year we di To end what has been a long, unexpected year we did a little staycation at a hotel in Lima. We walked around a new neighborhood, had a picnic in the park, watched movies, studied the city from above, spent time swimming in the pool and watched fireworks being set off over the city of Lima as the clock struck midnight and we entered the new year. 

While 2020 may not have been what we envisioned it would be a year ago, I am thankful for my little family, our health and the opportunities we have had this year. 

May 2021 be filled with adventure, laughter and hopefully being able to see family again! ✈️ #littlewilliamnoah
It was a quiet Christmas at home for the 3 of us i It was a quiet Christmas at home for the 3 of us in Lima this year but we enjoyed a slow 2 days, lots of good food (including, per Will’s request, funfetti cupcakes for Baby Jesus’ birthday), Zoom calls with family and time together. 

(Also don’t let the first gift your child opens to be a costume of one of their favorite characters unless you want all of your photos of the child to be in that costume 🤦🏻‍♀️) #littlewilliamnoah
Today was Will’s last day of 3 year old preschoo Today was Will’s last day of 3 year old preschool. It was bittersweet way back in March when we took him to his very first day of school. I wondered how it would go for him not knowing Spanish and his first time being away from family, and if he was really ready to start school (or, more like if I was ready!). Little did I know that Will would only have 1 week of in-person classes before switching to @greenmanbilly or I assisting with Zoom preschool at our kitchen table. While there were challenges with balancing school and work, I am thankful we were able to be a part of the start of Will’s academic career. It was fun to see him learning Spanish, and as the year went on, interacting with the other students and teachers. Will also was fortunate to have wonderful teachers, specifically Miss Dani, his Spanish teacher. She truly made this year a joy and encouraged Will in their daily Zoom calls. I don’t think there has been a day since March that Miss Dani has not come up in conversation. She has set the bar high for future teachers ❤️ So now it’s summer break and next year we will have a pre-kindergartener! #littlewilliamnoah
After many months of staying in our city apartment After many months of staying in our city apartment due to the pandemic (and 2 weeks of very cautious quarantining ahead of time), we rented a house through @airbnb for a few days. It didn’t matter that the property was only 30 minutes south of our apartment and still within the province of Lima - it had a lawn, beautiful outdoor space and a pool! We were able to relax (as much as a 3 year old lets you), read under a tree, fly kites in the field, swing in a hammock and take deep breaths of fresh air with friends. #littlewilliamnoah
The little cookie elf was busy this weekend making The little cookie elf was busy this weekend making (and decorating) sugar cookies and chocolate dipped shortbread 🎄 #littlewilliamnoah
As you may know, tomorrow is #GivingTuesday! As mi As you may know, tomorrow is #GivingTuesday! As missionaries in Peru, @greenmanbilly and I rely on a group of people to financially support us as we work with at-risk teens and young adults through a mentorship program with @pathsofhopeministries. Every month we receive our giving statement from @uwmorg and we are humbled to see the list of people who God used to love on us that month, and people that want to invest in what God is doing here in Lima. It never ceases to amaze us. You know who you are, and we appreciate you.
If you’d like to partner with us here in Lima, it would be an honor. Giving link is in my bio. (📷: Christmas 2019, pre-COVID 😕)
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 12 Degrees South.

Theme by Randall Bruder.