Peru Wengers

Happy 81st Birthday Grandma/Great Grandma!!

2011-10-07T17:37:00.002-04:00

Remember your belated 80th birthday Celebration?

2011-10-07T17:23:00.003-04:00

Blueberry Picking photos from July Taken by Elisabeth Cosechando Mora Azul en Julio

2011-09-26T10:52:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Papa!! !Feliz Cumpleanos Papa!

2011-09-26T10:44:00.000-04:00

Autumn is here! Esta Cambiando la Clima

2011-09-23T13:33:00.004-04:00

Sept. 15th Our 10th Anniversary - PTL!!! Cumpleando 10 anos de Matrimonio - Gracias a Dios

2011-09-23T12:03:00.003-04:00

School Days ~ Mis hijos Estudiando

2011-09-23T11:28:00.003-04:00

Summer time joys - July times El Verano

2011-08-31T18:11:00.005-04:00

July started off with family reunions on the Wenger side in VA. What fun to reconnect after 4 years apart.

Betsie with Isaiah in front and Faith in back, Angela, Gordon's sister with Yoshiki in front and Mirai in back. Aqui estamos con la familia de Gordon - su Hermana y dos se sus tres subrinos.

More fun with cousins - Timmy and Tiara play with Samuel, Isaiah, and Gordon Gordon jugando con mas sobrinos, Timoteo y Tiara.

Susanna, Elisabeth, and Rebecca had special times together, too. Elisabet y Susanna con la unica sobrina que tenemos en la familia de Gordon, Rebecca.

Virginia has some great swimming holes - we enjoyed them! Banandonos en agua caliente era bueno - como en la selva.

Visiting friends with a mini-horse was a treat for the children. Un caballito tan chiquito de amigos.

. . . And finding a Peruvian restaurant was a memorable day! Hemos encontrado un restaurant Peruana en Virginia.

We all enjoyed Pollo A la Brasa. Look at those smiles! Y hemos comido Pollo a la Brasa - mira las sonrisas.

We arrived home in NC to find our garden brimming with produce. It was a great year for cucumbers - look at those 2 laundry baskets full! Thank you Lord! Gracias a Dios, nuestros hortalizas han dado mucho comida ha nosotros este ano.

We enjoyed a visit from Betsie's family in mid-July. . . they arrived just in time to do up our sweet corn, a treat we haven't grown for years since it doesn't grow in Velille. Moses and Helena are helping Gordon and Elisabeth here. Choclo tambien hemos cosechado. Helena estaba visitando y ayudando.

Our Treasure - Nuestra Tesorita

2011-08-06T14:13:00.004-04:00

Our sweet baby will be 6 months old on the 13th. Since Gordon took the older four to an auction today, we are enjoying some Mama-daughter time :) When Grandma said it had been a while since she had seen any pictures of her great-grandaughter, I went out and took these!

Nuestra tesorita ya esta por cumplir 6 meses. Fe Cristiana ya esta grande, y puede sentarse solita. Casi no puedo esperar traerla a Velille para que ella puede conocer su pueblo.

Everything's Growing!

2011-06-20T19:34:00.008-04:00

We praise God for all the growing things around us that show His care and blessing. . . our garden, and even more special, our children. In this post, we have pictures of our precious Faith and each of her siblings interacting with her as she grows. . . we thought of you that are far away and wanted to share a bit of our joy with you. Aqui tenemos fotos de nuestras hortalizas y de nuestros hijitos preciosos para que ustedes amigos lejos de nosotros pueden disfrutar ellos con nosotros. Extranamos a ustedes mucho - MUCHO!!! Here is our garden with our house in the background. Nuestras hortalizas.

We are so very grateful to the Lord for His bountiful blessings in our garden. We eat from it every day and are so thankful for all the help weeding we had while we were gone last month! Gracias a Dios por mucha comida de nuestras hortalizas ahora!

At four months old, Faith has begun to like to look around. . . she stays content with all the activity around her! Fe ya tiene 4 meses, y le gusta mucho estar en el piso, mirando sus hermanitos.

Papa time! Tiempo con Papa!

What an active girly :) Gordon used to call Susanna "Butterfly" because she waved her arms so much. I think Faith is just as active! Fecita tiene mucha energia como Susanna tenia cuando era bebita.

Samuel loves his sister and daily asks to hold her. Samuel siempre esta pidiendo cargar a Susanna.

Faith's newest feat is trying to sit up in her baby seat. Fe siempre quiere sentarse ahora.

Her sisters think each new accomplishment is just the greatest thing and are always giggling and cheering her on! Is it any wonder she is in such a hurry to grow up? Elisabet y Susanna estan ayudando Fe a aprender cosas nuevas cada dia.

Well, it's like this, we've been trying and trying to encourage Faith to take a pacifier. Even Isaiah gets in on the act. We've been working on this for 2 months now. . . Fe no quiere su chuparon.

. . . But her fingers have been satisfying her more and more lately, try as we might to switch her to a pacifier every time we see her sucking fingers. Pero ella si quiere a sus dedos - aunque siempre estamos tratando de darle su chuparon en vec de dedos.

This week she has settled into sucking them just like Samuel used to. . . and she is so content. Ahora quiere chupar como Samuelito siempre chupaba.

So we've . . . finally . . . given up on the pacifier. . . and are just enjoying how sweet she looks and how easy it is to have a baby in the home that will put herself to sleep whenever you lay her down when she's tired! Awwwww. . . . Entonces, ya sabemos que nunca va a usar su chuparon, pero no importa mucho. . . ella es tan linda y preciosa. . .

April Days ~ Primavera

2011-04-21T09:35:00.006-04:00

Sweet Faith - we think she looks a lot like Elisabeth did when she was little. Fe parece mucha a Elisabet cuando ella era bebita. God loves to answer our prayers! I prayed that He would give our children a tree to climb at our new house - and right out front He gave us a great climbing tree. Thank you Lord! Susanna esta senalando a Samuel, quien esta arriba en el arbol. Even Isaiah likes the tree - when we help him up! Isaias le gusta subir a este arbol tambien.

Here is a picture of our home from the front. The tree you can see in the top lefthand corner is the "climbing tree." We use the side door, which opens to the kitchen. Este casa es lo que estamos aquilando mientras estamos aqui en los Estados.

Samuel and Susanna each have their own little garden plot at the edge of our big garden. We pray all does well this year - fresh vegtables are so much more expensive than in Peru. Aqui Susanna y Samuel estan mostrando nuestras hortalizas. Veduras son tan caros aqui, esperamos y oramos que produce bien nuestras hortalizas, para que comamos muchas verduras este ano.

Samuel enjoys puffing a dandylion. . . Samuel con una flor blanca.

Isaiah smelling the violets right outside our house. Isaias disfrutando las violetas.

Susanna is Mama's big helper when it comes to dish washing - and we are all enjoying the luxury of an inside sink! Susanna ayuda con lavar los platos.

"The Helpful Girls" is what my girls call themselves when they pretend to come over to help me for the day. Here is a dessert from New Zealand that they learned to make. Aqui mis hijitas han aprendido a cocinar una postre rica.

Elisabeth is in the middle front, wearing a lavander dress. She went with her music class to sing at a nursing home. Elisabet esta cantando con sus amigas para los ancianos en un hogar para los ancianos. Ella esta en el medio con un vestido morado.

Samuel and Isaiah "help" me clean up after a batch of brownies. Samuel y Isaias "aydandome" limpiar los platos . . . que rica masa de torta!

Thanks so much Uncle Zane, Aunt Denise, and family for this sweet little outfit! I really like it! Fe ya tiene 2 meses y es mi florcita bonita!

Elsisabeth took this picture of Faith and I after her bath. Elisabet tomo este foto de Fe Cristiana y yo.

Faith after her bath - so fresh and clean! Her hair is curly when it is wet. Fe, despues que la he banado. !Que preciosa!

When Faith was 5 weeks old, Elisabeth's good friend Keturah was blessed with her first younger sister, Joyce. Here are the happy big sisters with their precious bundles. Faith is 5 weeks old, Joyce is 1 day old. . . amazing how quickly newborns change into alert little things! Una amiguita buena de Elisabet tiene una hermanita tambien. (La nina y bebita son hermanitas de la familia de Maria.)

Two minutes in the life of Faith. . .

2011-04-19T16:47:00.003-04:00

Faith was sleeping so sweetly. . . I decided to get a picture. Then Susanna roared - Samuel screamed - and a general uproar broke out right outside the bedroom door. Sigh. . . there goes her nap~ But she awoke to give such lovable smiles, that suddenly it didn't matter anymore. . . I love my children!!

Happy Birthday Elisabeth!!

2011-04-04T17:22:00.004-04:00

Our Sweet Elisabeth is 8 years old now! On March 15th she turned 8 and had the pleasure of enjoying a visit from her Howe Grandparents and Aunts and Uncle. One of her gifts was a set of matching dresses for her and her "doll" - only this year the matching "doll dress" was really a dress for Faith. That made Elisabeth so happy, as she dearly loves Faith and is found holding her many times a day! Feliz Cumplianos Elisabet ~ Que bueno que sus abuelos y tios han venido para pasar su cumpleanos junto con ella. Un regalo era estes vestidos para ella y su muneca favorita - Fe Cristiana. Aunt Lydia, Betsie's sister came a couple of days before the rest of her family came down and we enjoyed her stay. La Tia Lydia, la hermanita de Betsie, ha venido algunos dias antes para visitarnos.

We had a nice time visiting!

Gordon en su chaleco Chumbivilcano.

Betsie's dad is a great Grandpa :) Faith and he enjoyed some together time, while Dad recounted how he had held each of us, his own children, when we were young. . . Fe Cristiana con su Abuelo - el papa de Betsie parece muy joven todavia, no?

Our Son-shine Samuel. . . he's a big 3 year old. . . He likes to help out, and I call him and Isaiah my "Handy boys." Samuel es nuestro hijo tan precioso, el siempre extrana Velille, y habla mucho de cuando podemos regresar.

Parting shot. . . Our sleeping treasure. Thank you God for this undeserved gift! Gracias Dios por este regalita tan linda, tan preciosa.

Sweet Faith 6 weeks old

2011-03-30T16:01:00.001-04:00

Sweater by Helena, Photo by Jenny - Thanks girls!

Our Precious Faith

2011-03-01T11:55:00.002-05:00

Today I am home alone with Faith for a few hours - a good chance to take some pictures of our sweet little 2 week old. Estoy solita con Fecita - la familia esta paseando un rato - un buen tiempo para tomar fotos. Faithie is awake more and more hours of the day. . . and she loves to look and listen to the busyness all around her. She was a bit fussy when all her entertainment left this morning, (that is to say Gordon took the children out with their Wenger grandparents!) Nuestro bebita esta despierta mas horas cada dia.

Que Preciosa!!!

How precious!

The lamb toy is the size of my hand, Faith isn't very big yet :) But how we love our sweet, tiny darling! Fecita esta tan chicita todavia - pero tan preciosa.

Yaaaaawwwwwwn~

Que duermas bien ~

Faith Christiana - one week old

2011-02-22T12:28:00.004-05:00

First of all, here is a picture of Isaiah David Wenger - 2 years old. This happy, smiling boy turned 2 on February 12th, the day before Faith was born. . . Aqui esta Isaias David Wenger jugando con sus jugetes. Este nino tan feliz cumplio dos anos el dia antes que nacio Fe Cristiana.

Elisabeth - the oldest at 7 going on 8 is a happy "Mama" of 2 dolls. She sure wanted me to have twins this time. . . but God had different plans. Elisabet esta feliz para tener dos "bebes" -queria jimelos - pero Dios nos ha dado solo una bebita tan linda. Faith Christiana - one week old. What a ray of sunshine in our lives! Sister Judy - these up close face shots are for you. . . so you can almost touch her. She looks most like Elisabeth did when she was a baby - but has her own little look too.

Fe Cristiana - en este foto cumplio una semana. Ella es una bendicion grande a nuestras vidas. Thanks so much, Bethany and Jolynn for the sweet, soft little outfit for Faith!!! Muchas Gracias Betania y Jolynn por este chompita tan linda para Fecita!!!

Teeny-tiny. . . 7lbs 12 oz

Tan chiquitita. . . 3.5 kilos

!!Mucha Gracias Hermana Maria por este roponcita para Fecita!!

Faith in a darling sweater from Sister Maria in Velille.

Grandma came to help for . . . a whole week!!! Faith loves Grandma. . . and I think it's mutual.

Mi Mama, la abuelita de Fe Cristiana, ha venido para ayudarnos por una semana.

Estes pies tan lindas, tan peqenas . . .

Look at those itty-bitty feet!

Anna and Serenity - thank you for the sweet little dresses. . . they fit Faith so nicely! Come and meet her when you can!

Hermanas Maria, Nelly, Abuelita, Bertha en Velille - les extranamos MUCHO!!!

We are so enjoying our little sweetheart! Come and we will let you hold her a bit too. . . We sure enjoy visitors and hope that maybe a new baby in the home will entice you - our friends in various places of the States - to come and visit us. . . soon! We are only here in the States for a short while, so drop by while you can!

New arrival in the Wenger family!

2011-02-18T15:31:00.007-05:00

Waiting...... Esperando....... Mama Dear - day before baby arrived. Un dia antes del nacamiento. waaaaaaaaaaaa..... February 13th, 2011 Praise God for a safe birth after 3 days of labor. Gracias a Dios por Su ayuda y cuida - nacio sin problema despues de tres dias de dolores. Thanks to everyone for their prayers! Gracias por orar.

Faith Christiana / Fe Cristiana

One day old - Su primer dia

Gracias a Dios! Praise the Lord!

Look at all that hair! Elisabeth's was just like that. . . Mira este cabello bello! Igualito a Elisabet cuando ella nacio. . .

Nuestros cinco bendiciones de Dios. Our five little blessings from the Lord!

L-R Samuel age 3, Isaiah age 2, Susanna age 5, Elisabeth age 7, and Faith 3 days old

Wenger # 5

2011-02-13T22:57:00.001-05:00

"Faith Christiana Wenger was born at 8:29pm, Sunday, Feb 13th. Everyone is doing well. Mama worked hard, Papa attended, midwife got there 10 min later. 20 1/2 in. 7 lb. 12 oz. It was a water-birth at home. Beautiful with lots of black hair! Stop by and see us soon! -Gordon and Betsie"

We've just posted. . .

2011-01-08T14:03:00.000-05:00

. . . entries catching up on the months Oct. through Dec. when we didn't have fast enough internet to post. So enjoy looking at the last several months worth of pictures!

DECEMBER

2011-01-08T13:00:00.004-05:00

Susanna y Fran Elisabeth y Stephen

L-R Nena, 10, Nelly, y Fran 6

Our boys in our bedroom

Lydia y Marta Gracias por venir y ayudarnos Marta!

Gordon and the children putting together end of the school year gifts for children in Gordon's school. Jon Kropf in the background. Thanks for coming to help us Brother Jon! Thanks for the sacrifice of letting him come Sister Charlotte!

Isaiah with Elisabeth's cat

Susanna, Isaiah, and Samuel enjoy playing on the steps!

Nuestro's amigos han venido para despidirnos. . . gracias!

Our friends came to say good-bye the last evening in Velille.

Here we are traveling out! Betsie and Lydia in the chilly Espinar bus terminal.

A-la-lau! Hace frio en Espinar!

Our Tachllapampa Cabin

2011-01-08T12:17:00.005-05:00

We took a lot of pictures of our last weekend out in Tachllapampa. The children are really going to miss our little cabin there. . . and no wonder - with a loft, a hammock, and a swing it was designed by a loving father for his little ones!

Hemos tomado bastantes fotos de nuestro ultimo fin de semana alla en Tachllapampa. . . porque los ninos van a extranar mucho so cabana alla. Su Papa ha puesto muchas cosas bien divertidas alla, como su columpia, su hamaka, y sus altos.

Isaiah sure loves his Papa! Isaias le quiere a su Papa mucho! Here are the 3 youth girls that came to help us, L-R Jenny Yoder, from our church in NC, Helena and Lydia Howe, Betsie's sisters from OH! Thanks for all the hard work and potato peeling girls!! Aqui estan las tres chicas, Jenny, Helena, y Lydia - muchas gracias por ayudarnos chicas! The village of Tachllapampa as seen from our front door. . . in dry season there's not much color. El pueblito de Tachllapampa. . .

Jen and Lydia sorting potatoes - some of them sort of started growing already! See that mountain of dried cow patties behind Lydia? They're all ready to cook with. . .

Pobre papitas! Pero son ricas todavia!

Elisabeth Twirls!

Susanna pushes Samuel!

Isaiah swings happily, tied up in the hammock like a fish in a net!

Isaias esta muy contento - como un pez en la maylla.

And Betsie just layed around. . . while Lydia kept her company! (How thankful I am now for so much better health - 2 months sick in bed was long enough for me! Praise the Lord~) Y Betsie estaba enferma todo este tiempo. Casi 2 meses de enfermedad ere tan largo para ella. . . pero gracias a Dios, ya esta mucho mejor!

Here is Elisabeth cheerfully sweeping the loft that Gordon built the girls to sleep in. . . it was their pride and joy! Aqui Elisabeth esta limpiando su mismo cuarto. . . ella estaba tan feliz que por fin tenia su segundo piso.

NOVEMBER

2011-01-08T12:05:00.003-05:00

November was a very busy month with packing up, sickness, and Gordon's teaching job. . . But we still had time for grins, giggles, missing teeth, and pumpkin pies! Noviembre era un mese tan lleno con cosas para hacer - alistando la casa para dejar, Gordon ensenando, y tambien dias de enfemedad. Pero tambien habia teimpo para gozo y alegria - como cuando Elisabet perdio sus dientes!

Seven year old Elisabeth with her two top teeth gone, and the Thanksgiving Pumpkin pie she made for Nena and Fran. Elisabet sin 2 dientes, con su pay de zapayo que hizo para Nena y Fran. Samuel age 3

Profesor Gordon - listo para ensenar!

Teacher Gordon - ready to teach!

. . . and of course many things to pack. . .

. . . y por su puesto - muchas cosas para alistar. . .

OCTOBER

2011-01-08T11:46:00.002-05:00

We selected these pictures as a sampling of October. . . Here are some faces for you to put with the names we so often mention in our letters. Please continue to lift them up to the Father!

Susanna "carried" Stephen on her back a little - to her delight. Maria is in the background giving a hand though! Aqui Susana esta cargando Stephen, el tiene mas o menos 5 meses en este foto. L-R Avelina, Anthony, Maria, Stephen, Susanna, and Judy Here is Sister Maria with her mother, sister, and two sons. . . Susanna is sharing her dear Flopsy bunny with Stephen. Aqui tenemos Hermana Maria con su Mama, hermana, y dos hijos. Susanna esta compartiendo su peluche "Flopsy" con Stephen.

A precious family photo of Daniel and Maria with 7 year old Anthony and 5 month old Stephen.

Un foto precioso de la familia de Daniel y Maria. Antony tiene 7 anos y Stephen 5 meses.

Rosa and Kevin are playing a game with Lucinda and Marie. . . they frequently spent time with us in the evenings as they lived alone. Aqui Rosa y su hermanito Kevin estan jugando con sus amigas Lucinda y Maria.

TEA PARTY When Gordon left to take Lucinda and Marie out to the airport, he was gone for nearly a week. He took Samuel with him - all of the children love a chance to go traveling with Papa! The many, many hours of bussing don't seem to wear them out like they wear us old folks out! Here is a picture of a little tea party we had while they were gone. Cuando Gordon y Samuel han levado las chicas, Lucinda y Maria a su vuelo a Los Estados, hemos quedado tristes. . . Entonces, hemos jugado y tambien un dia para divertirnos, hemos tomado mate y galletas para una fiesta pequna.

Safely in the States

2011-01-08T11:35:00.003-05:00

Praise the Lord! We are safely back in the States again, in the middle of a few weeks of visiting before we settle down in NC. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for us these weeks. Now that we have fast internet access again, we'll put on some pictures that we have been saving up over the last several months. We plan to write in both Spanish and English now so that our friends back in Peru can look at this blog and keep up with us. . . Gracias a Dios, estamos bien. . . Ya estamos en Los Estados visitando nuestra familia. Vamos a poner algunos fotos de los ultimos meses.

Our airplane ride

2010-12-25T11:28:00.001-05:00

We are on our way to the States. Yesterday we had an hour plane flight from Cusco to Lima. Tomorrow, (Dec. 26th) we have a 6 hour flight from Lima to the States. We are so very thankful to God for His care in getting us all safely to Lima! Here are a few things the children said on the plane to make us laugh!

Elisabeth sat next to me reading the warnings and information on the seat and suddenly her eyes lit up! She pointed to the sign that said to remove botom seat cushion and use to float. She asked me, "Can we do it right now?" I wondered, "Do what?" "Float!" she exclaimed! "Can we get it out now and just float around here RIGHT NOW?" She motioned to the air around us with an excited look on her face. . . . I had to explain that those were for floating in water. :) After a while Elisabeth looked at Gordon and asked with a worried expression on her face, "What if we run out of gas?"

Susanna was in a seat by herself - enjoying the view from the window and enjoying the luxury of extra seats that a half empty airplane provided us. Out of the blue she looked back to Gordon and yelled over the humm of the motors, "WHAT if all of the sudden we see GOD?!!"

Elisabeth asked me, "Does the pilot weigh a lot?" I asked her several times to repeat herself, and she asked the same thing each time. . . Finally she explained: "There are 2 rows of seats on this side of the plane, and three on the other, and the airplane isn't leaning to the side, so I thought maybe the pilot was sitting on this side of the plane, and maybe he weighs a lot and that's why we aren't tipping." What a thought.

Samuel felt the plane begin to tip downwards as we began the descent. "The plane is falling! The plane is falling! The plane is falling!" he began to cry - in excitment as much as in fear I think!!

Isaiah spent at least 10 minutes at the hotel after we arrived for the night "telling" me about the airplane trip by spreading his arms out and dipping and swooping and saying, "Vroooooom!" and then guesturing up and down and here and there. It would have been interesting to know what all he was trying to tell us! He uses more guestures and full body motions while "telling" stories than any of our others have. . .

Happy 80th birthday Grandma Howe!

2010-09-29T15:03:00.002-04:00

Happy, happy, happy 80th birthday Grandma/Greatgrandma Howe!

We love you so much and wanted to send you our greetings accross the miles. We sure would have loved to be there with you for your special day, but trips from Peru to Florida are sort of rare for us. But we hope it won't be too long untill we see you again. The children had a fun morning the day that we decided that making signs for great-grandma and then taking pictures would be our main school subject for the day. The photo session was really funny, cause the batteries on the camera were almost out.... We would line up a pose, then turn the camera on, snap several photos in rapid sucession, and then quickly turn the camera off untill the next pose ws ready. (I had thought of waiting till the batteries were charged and then taking photos in the afternoon, but by the time that faces were washed and their hair was combed, the children were so excited about taking the picture that I didn't want to make them wait.) When we were all done the children asked, "May we make paper airplanes out of the signs now?" So they did! I tried to take a picture of that for you, but the batteries were all dead by then. We love you and hope that this gift brightens your day! Lots of love: Betsie, Gordon, Elisabeth, Susanna, Samuel, Isaiah and baby.

Susanna's Birthday Surprise!!

2010-08-07T10:10:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday Susanna!! Susanna was just as happy as we thought she would be with the pet bunny we bought for her 5th birthday on August 5th! She named her "Pansy", and loves to cuddle with her in the fleece blanket that Elisabeth and I tied for her as a gift. . . Thanks Sister Charlotte for the pink and burgundy pieces of fleece that you gave us! Grandma and Grandpa, thanks so much for the games and puzzles and goodies you sent down to help make Susanna's birthday a happy one!

Sweet Susanna with her new game!

When we woke the children up early in the morning of Susanna's birthday with the gift of a bunny rabbit, all of the children were surprised and thrilled!

Pansy is a mini-lop, and very tame. . . a pet like that could cost a lot in the States, but we were grateful to get it in the market here for only a few dollars. She is Susanna's favorite color, "a soft brown!"

Elisabeth and Susanna in their nightgowns, with sleep in their eyes, enjoy the early morning surprise we gave them!

Ice Cream!!! Isaiah wasn't too sure about the ice cream treat that Lucinda and Marie bought them when we went to the plaza (city square/park).

. . . But everyone else quite enjoyed the cool, sticky treat! Thanks Lucinda and Marie!!

Well, today we leave this nice apartment. . . We are going to go to the seashore - it's in the middle of winter here now - brrr. . . but we will enjoy a few days at sea level taking in the quiet majesty of the ocean! But we won't have phone or internet in the house any longer! So we shall say farewell for a while. . . It has been lots of fun putting so many pictures on the blog this week, but I guess you will only get a scattered few for the next few months. But we love and think about you all lots, even when pictures are few and far between!

Parakeets and Arequipa Life

2010-07-31T20:30:00.005-04:00

Gordon lovingly bought Betsie 3 parakeets for her 30th birthday! What a kind and thoughtful gift! He knows how I love the sound of birdsong! Susanna named "Kiwi" - the tamest of the birds, and loves holding her. Elisabeth giggled and squirmed when Kiwi climbed up to her shoulder! Susanna was so attentive when we taught her how to hold a bird, she loves any kind of animal. . . Which is why we have a very special surprise planned for her 5th birthday on Thursday, August 5th! Can you guess what?

"Cielo" (Sky) named by Samuel, "Kiwi" named by Susanna, and "Chirpy" our bright yellow chatterbox, named by Elisabeth enjoy their large cage. . . The cage is twice the size of any I ever had when a girl, and cost $6. . . what a blessing!

Guests

We all enjoyed the evening that two families from the church here came and brought their children.

Geronimo, Fortunato and Gordon enjoying lunch meat sandwiches!

Elena and Sandra: the wives of the brothers above, also enjoyed the sandwiches.

We made popcorn balls with the 8 children. . . what fun - and what a mess!

Gordon introduced them to soft pretzels . . . what a variety of creative shapes emerged!

THANK YOU GREAT-GRANDMA HOWE!!!!!! The children had lots of fun painting their pictures that evening! (Everyone is yelling "Gracias!" or "Thank you!")

Daily Life Finds. . .

. . . Isaiah doing his important job of making us all smile with his cheerful grin!

. . . As well as sitting with Papa at the desk - one of his all time favorite "jobs!"

. . . Elisabeth, growing into a young lady, washing dishes without a stool at the sink here in the apartment!

. . .Samuel helping by throwing the dirty laundry down to the washer.

. . . And Sweet Susanna sweeping under the table!

A Happy 30th Birthday!

2010-07-30T15:09:00.006-04:00

What a wonderful family I have! Gordon asked, "What is the best breakfast you can imagine?" I said, "Waffles with real butter and bacon!" So July 16th, 2010, my 30th birthday, Gordon got up early and cooked waffles for me. It was an extra special treat to have Marta visiting us that week from Arequipa. Gordon at the grill! Elisabeth, Susanna, and the 3 girls with us, all blessed me with cards, poems, mottoes that birthday morning! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!

We had a very nice week with Marta! She enjoyed learning to make spaghetti sauce with Marie.

We all enjoyed cooking together!

Thanks for coming Marta!!!

That week we also butchered some young pigeons and an old hen. Samuel takes after his Papa!

It was a delicious meal! And lots of fun working together as a family on it.

While Marta was with us we went out for a special Pollo A La Brasa meal - rotisserie chicken. The chicken foot soup they always serve was an extra special treat for Susanna that day, since all 3 youth girls opted to give their pieces of toes and ankle bones to Susanna. She relished each one! Can you tell that it is cold in Velille these days? Brrrrrrr! Chiriwayra! (Marie is taking this picture.)

Here is a shot of our kitchen with the "new wallpaper" that we put up behind the stove.

Well, Susanna sits on my lap and comments as I type - "Why did you put a picture up with none people sitting at the table and in the kitchen. . . are we all outside? Or at church? Oh, I know, it is night time and we are all sitting upstairs in bed listening to Papa read a bed time story. . ." Then, "Mama, should I go up on the roof now and eat a Popsicle or should I go hold Kiwi, (one of our new parakeets -pictures to follow soon!), which one Mama?" Me: "Hmmm, well, why don't you just sit quietly with me while I type?" Susanna: "Mama, that was not an option." Grin! Well, Papa has come home and now she and the other 3 are all sitting up on the roof eating Popsicles!

Hello from Arequipa!

2010-07-27T19:04:00.004-04:00

Here are a few glimpses into our July back home in Velille. We are now in Arequipa for a few weeks. Enjoy some varied snapshots! Neighbor Nelly came over one afternoon to ask for help rolling her yarn. Susanna helped her patiently for 20 minutes, then I took over. Nadia returned to Velille a couple of weeks ago with her one month old daughter, Floralet. She loved the blanket, Helena, and the gifts Mom and Lydia - thank you!!

Floralet likes her new blanket!

Sweet dreams~

Isaiah, 17 months old, busies himself with a little scrap of cloth right outside the schoolroom while I teach the others inside.

So interesting. . .

Susanna sits patiently waiting for school to begin with Samuel's kitten on her head! Susanna ever loves animals. . . and can be patient and still for much longer than ususal with a pet to cuddle! "Misti" the kitten has now found a new home. . . kittens are always in demand here, so it is easy to find new homes for them.

Double rainbow in Velille

2010-07-26T14:45:00.003-04:00

2010-06-10T15:53:00.001-04:00

Now photos and info on the youth site. Click on "click to see what youth are doing," on the right to see them.

Wenger Family and Guests

2010-05-31T18:21:00.006-04:00

Can you tell that we love each other?

Brother Lucio has blesses us with his presence on his birthday for the last 3 years.

(He turned 40 this year, and he really likes our cakes)

He is the brother that carries Bibles and other books back to the baptist churches over the mountian, usually walking 4-6 hours plus a bus ride.

Nelly, Cidrillo and their children came too!

Since it was my teaching day, we all went to a Mothers' Day asembly at the school in Tachllapampa, and I got to speak a few words.

We enjoyed Anna and Serenity's visit.

Two peas in a pod.

Or Four?

We love our dear children. It is amazing to think that our youngest 3 don't really remeber anything from the States, but they don't seem to be any the worse for it. Life is life to them.

Four sweet happy blessings!

Isaiah's first teeth and other Fall (March) snapshots

2010-04-15T11:26:00.005-04:00

These 3 are photos of us on the road waiting/hoping for a vehicle to take us to Tacllapampa for a Sunday service.

Elisabeth loves picking flowers.

Samuel and Susanna playing on the path (steep mountain trail)

Here we are, waiting, with a nice view of town-Susanna's dog, Monkey, came along!

While Gordon was in Cusco, we had an Indian finger meal, with yellow rice and plain yogurt. Isaiah got really messy.

Sweet Isaiah David, 13 months old.

Here you can see his first teeth. Unlike the other children, his first tooth came in on top. Family puzzle time-Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Wenger!

Susanna and Samuel really liked having the 25 piece one they could do. Elisabeth really enjoys the 100 piece ones. Gordon loves to help.

Betsie really enjoys her litle herb/flower garden. We also get a good bit of lettuce out of it each year.

Thanks Sister Judy. The Cosmos and everything you sent are doing great.

Some glimpses of March

2010-04-04T20:45:00.004-04:00

Elisabeth and Samuel enjoy the flowers in our window.

Isaiah likes to crawl out of our school room and play with the box of "outside toys" during school hours. School started for our children the first of March.

Friday is "Cook with Mama Day" and the children and I always enjoy making cookies, brownies, or some such treat together on Fridays.

Isaiah loves his blanket Aunt Lydia!

The children enjoy "playing Church" together.

Isaiah's First Birthday!

2010-04-04T17:19:00.005-04:00

Hello from Sunny Arequipa - Praise the Lord we made it here safe and sound yesterday. Now that we have good internet here in the city, we hope to post some pictures that we have taken over the last 6 weeks for you dear Grandparents and family and friends! We will start with the ones from Feb. 12th - Isaiah's 1st birthday.

Elisabeth took this picture of all of us gathered for his birthday! (Poor Isaiah has a banged up nose in these pictures from falling off the bed. . . )

We decided to give Isaiah his cake and watch and see what he would do with it. His brother and sisters really had fun laughing at him as he dove into it ~ actually we all laughed and laughed!

And we all agreed that he really. . .

. . . really enjoyed his birthday cake!

We were so glad to have the bath hot to bathe him after his cake fun!

Isaiah's favorite birthday present was the blanket that Aunt Lydia made him! (Does Susanna remind you of 4 year old Lydia "panther" in this picture?)

Everyone enjoyed his birthday - especially since Aunt Helena sent everyone presents! Samuel is here enjoying his "Special Book."

Gavino and Olinda

2010-01-31T14:00:00.005-05:00

This is a photo of Gavino and Olinda at their house, that I took in 2008, with their oldest 3 children.

Here is Olinda with her baby, Juan David, in Nov. 2009.

Here is Gavino, helping me dig out the foundation for my house in Tacllapampa, last year.

Summer Vacation - in January!

2010-01-26T16:28:00.006-05:00

The last few weeks we have enjoyed time at the Martins, (though we forgot to get our camera out then! Having too much fun to remember to take pictures I guess.) then the Kropfs, (Thanks to both for Wonderful hospitality and fellowship!) Now we are enjoying a wonderful visit with Mom Howe and Mariah! This is the summer vacation time for all of us here in Peru, and we are enjoying it a lot!

Charlotte Kropf with Isaiah

Papa and Elisabeth helping Isaiah walk as we wait in a bank.

Susanna Wenger 4, and Pravitha Kropf 3 1/2

Elisabeth Wenger 6 1/2, Esther Kropf 2 1/2

What fun! Susanna and Elisabeth out in the country at friends of the Kropfs. They had lots of fun in this chicken coop - or whatever it was.

Happy brothers! Samuel is enjoying a funnel cake that Gordon made!

Sleep Over! The Kropf girls spent a night with our little ones when their parents went out to the country to work on their potatoes.

The children didn't quite stay under their covers!

Fun at the Kropfs with Pravitha and Esther.

Mama was left holding two ice cream cones when Papa rented trikes for the children to play with at a park in the city.

What could get better? Sunshine and ice cream cones and tricycles!

THANKS HELENA!!!!

Those brownies are YUMM!

Helena and Becka - remember the good "American" breakfasts here? We miss you!

Gordon and his boys in their matching outfits. . . Thanks!

Breakfast time. . . today - Jan. 26th.

Isaiah starts eating. . . with banana!

Not so sure about his first foods. . .

Biking in the Park

2010-01-26T15:41:00.003-05:00

This is for you Lydia!

2010-01-05T11:09:00.005-05:00

Puppies!!!

The children have been having such fun with their puppies and kittens. Yesterday we sold several of the puppies - 10 soles or $3 each! But here are a few pictures we took when we still had all 6 of them.

Samuel had lots of fun one day trying to keep as many puppies as he could in the box at one time! Kittens!!! Elisabeth's cat had kittens . . . again. So we have kittens too, much to Elisabeth's delight!

Susanna was busy playing "boat" when I took these pictures - but don't let these pictures fool you, she is certianly the one that plays with the puppies, and even the kittens, more than any of the others! "Mama! I'm tired of sitting here all by myself!" "Now that's better!"

"Osito" or "Teddy Bear" is the puppy that we are keeping for a few extra months for the children to play with. I call it Isaiah's puppy, and often bring it to him to keep him company when he is bored. Sometimes I think he has more fun than the puppy does, though!

Happy New Year!!! Enjoy a picture tour of our life, Nov.-Dec.

2010-01-01T11:54:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year to you all! Well, I did it - in between washing clothes I ran upstairs to the computer to upload a couple of pictures, after making lunch I ran upstairs to upload some pictures, before nap time story I ran upstairs to upload a couple of pictures. . . well, you get the picture! Nearly everyone in town is at the New Years bullfights, so the internet cafe is empty, which means we have a faster line than normal, and Gordon is gone to work on our house in Tachllapampa, and to share the Good NEWS on this New Years day, so the "office" and computer are free, so I took use of the opportunity to give you all a picture tour of our last two months. . . sorry it has been SO long since I put pictures on. . . Well, I did it again though, uploaded everything in backwards order, when will I ever learn? So, you can scroll to the bottom of this long post, and read up to see what we have been up to for the last couple of months. We love you all lots and lots, and hope you enjoy! God bless your new year with a closer walk with Him than ever before!

"See my dolly?" beams Elisabeth.

Susanna's dog Monkey had six puppies right before our trip, and they are just at the right age to play with! The girls enjoy dressing them in doll clothes! Here is Maria with a puppy - our neighbor Fran, Nelly's 5 year old son, is playing to the right.

Our house!

This past Sunday Charo, Jessica, Nadia, as well as Marco and Mickey, (Charo's 5 and 8 year old brothers) all went with us out to Tachllapampa for a Church service. We had a special time, even though no one else came. . . as happens half the time :( Here is the view from our "Tachllapampa house" as we call it - so much prettier now that the rains have begun and everything is green.

As school lets out for summer vacation, and people travel back to Velille for Christmas/New years, there is a lot more time for visiting. We have enjoyed all the visits from friends this last week! Here are, L-R Charo, Nadia, and Maria.

Gadiel and Isaiah - with a happy Gordon.

Nadia!

Charo!

The funny thing is that it is summertime in the mountians now, but since summertime is also the rainy/wet season, it is the only time we ever get snow/hail! You can see my garden in the back by Mickey, Charo's youngest brother, who was at our house lots this week. Lettuce, beets, calandula, onions, parsely, barley, quinua, I have a little of many things in my small garden plot.

Well, Velille weather is quite different from jungle weather, as we were reminded by a hailstorm that made the yard look like we had snow~ Gordon brought a bucket inside and the children had fun making a mini snowman! (Nice to have a dirt flor that absorbs liquids!)

. . .Playing with our babies, etc. . .

Gadiel, her son, is only a couple of weeks younger than Isaiah. They sure have grown up since they were last together 7 months ago!

Home again, Home again! And thankfully Charo WAS there. . . and we spent a happy week together, cooking. . . .

We enjoyed the tropical flowers and butterflies we saw during that stop.

Our children proved again that they can make friends anywhere. . . Here they are with the policeman and road worker at the roadblock in the jungle that we stopped at for hours.

Since I, Betsie, usually take the pictures, there aren't many of me here - but Elisabeth decided to try her hand at picture taking on the way home when we were stopped for hours at a roadblock. Here is one she took of Isaiah and me.

"Who? Me?" Isaiah seems to say, caught in the act of emptying my diaper bag.

It WAS hot in the jungle - the first night after bathing with cold water and climbing into bed, none of us slept well, so the second night we not only bathed ourselves, but rinsed all our clothes in cold water, then went to bed wet - then we slept!

Susanna enjoyed the monkey at the hostel we stayed at. . . It was QUITE a surprise however, to find out that Charo had left for Velille the DAY before to SURPRISE us!! But we enjoyed visiting with Hipolito, who works as a boat ferryman at the river by their town. Gordon was able to talk with him as we had hoped and prayed. With Gordon feeling nearly back to his old self again, we decided to take our long-awaited trip to the jungle to surprise Charo and Hipolito with a visit. . . . The heat, the water, the green-ness of everything delighted us!

Isaiah liked the clean floors and freedom to explore there in the Rich's apt. and began scooting around and standing a lot! I like how this picture shows how his hair likes to stand up! (Here he is ten months old!)

The children all really enjoyed playing with Sister Noel Rich's puppies up on the roof, (3 stories high! - gulp!)

"Great Job Papa!!! Yummy!!!"

Pepe, a young brother from the Church there in Arequipa joined us to enjoy the funnel cakes. Our nearly two weeks in Arequipa were not only restful to the body, but a great encouragement Spiritually. The Brothers and Sisters that attend the Church there at the Riches, who have adopted us as one of their own over the years - and especially during the nearly 3 months we were there last Jan.-Apr. loved us, prayed for us, and encouraged us these two weeks!

. . . He started feeling better!!!! Praise the Lord!

So, he made us all a very special treat - funnel cakes!

Dec. 2nd we finally decided to go to Arequipa so that Gordon could get some medical attention, since he just wasn't getting better. Praise the Lord, the test all came back that he was on his way to recovery. After a week or so of lots of rest andrelaxation, like this picture above shows. . .

Sweet Samuel planned a tea party for his puppy and teddy, then kindly invited Susanna and Isaiah as well. . . I'm not sure where Elisabeth was. These were all taken the last few weeks before we left for our trip - busy weeks, full of sickness and weakness. :(

Elisabeth lost her first TWO teeth on the same day! A happy 6 year old!

Olinda with 4 month old Juan David

Back in November, I took this picture, telling Olinda that I wanted to send in to Helena and Becka - so here you girls are! My garden is in the background.

Roofing day in Tacllapampa! Nov 14th, 2009

2009-11-25T15:17:00.005-05:00

Our guest of honor!

"Alpaca Joe"

Bar-b-qued alpaca was a hit! But we had to add a sheep to it, as we had many guests and only one of the two alpacas arrived. The man bringing them says one escaped over the mountian???

Other guests! The main meal is in the evening, after the roofing is all on. Gracias, Amigos Farmecos!

Serving up plates, around 90 of them!

Most everyone brings something to drink, as a gift. As we asked them not to bring anything alcaholic, we got lots of bottles of soda.

I am afraid these rafters wouldn't pass any code in the States. But they are stronger than most around, and we don't have to worry about much snow anyway.

Truses and perlins up in the morning, got started on the sheeting around 2PM, and down for supper around 5PM.

A Hike with Papa - Cooking with Mama

2009-11-11T11:37:00.004-05:00

On Sunday Gordon took the three older children on a hike waaaaay up the mountian Fiyuyu across the road from us. You can see the town of Velille in the background. Windy and brown. . . as the rains start, all will soon turn green. Jesus is the Water of life that these feilds truly need!

The girls . . . um. . . decorated Samuel!

Here are some flour covered, but happy children after helping me make tortillas! Look at those smiles!

Pat and roll!

Samuel sure enjoyed himself - and did a really good job, too!

Suckers for the sick!

2009-10-29T13:39:00.004-04:00

We have all had the flu this week :( However, four happy children attest to the fact that the treat their loving Papa brought them was enough to make even the sickest smile! :) I think we are all mostly over the worst of it by now. PTL! (These four suckers cost a total of .60 cents US, .15 cents US each! Some smiles are cheap!)

2009-10-27T16:45:00.002-04:00

Hello there to you all! it is a beautiful Spring day here in Velille. The rains have begun, and things are turning green again. I really have a hard time believing the calander when it says the end of October, as it feels like May! Well, just wanted to let you know we finally got around to putting captions on the pictures from our time in Cusco, as well as the most recent house pictures, so you can go back and look at them if you want! Samuel says some funny things these days as he is learning to think and speak for himself! Yesterday Susanna brought a big black beetle upstairs to show us, and Samuel, with a big smile and sparkling eyes, said, "Mama! May-I-hold-that-nasty-thing?" I laughed! Then today he was whining, "Mama-Maama-Mama!" I whined back "What?" With a glare he said, "I - don't want you talk to me in that cry voice!" When he kept on whining, Gordon asked, "What do you want Samuel?" Apparently he thought it was an open ended offer - after a thoughtful pause he proclaimed his wants loudly: "Candy!" :)

more house building photos

2009-10-24T09:27:00.003-04:00

Talk about doing things by hand (and foot), I will probably take my cordless drill out for one small part of the roofing, but other than that, everything is done by manpower. Here we are trying to keep the corners straight. You can see the windows and door being framed up.

In the dry season, the houses blend in with the mountians, but soon, things should be greening up.

Here we are getting a few layers above the door and window beams. About 3000 of these adobes should be enough for the whole house. We are planning a small loft on one end, to have a bedroom upstairs and one downstairs, the rest will be open up about 12ft. The folks here have one certian way to do everything, with little room for inovation. While we want to make it simply, and fit in with the rest of the houses, I still have some ideas about doing things differently, but get into trouble, as anything different here is seen as "wrong!"

You can see a few new roofs of our neibors in the background. The roofing is a big cultural event here. Many friends, neibors and relatives come to help, and to eat a big meal. It is normal to kill 2 sheep or a cow for a roofing day. I am trying to get 2 alpacas for ours, which, by the way, is set for Nov 14th. We hope to have many of our friends attend, help, and get to hear the gospel, instead of the normal drunken party that normaly lasts most of the night. Please pray that this event would be a light in the darkness. I have tried to go to most of the roofings around, and help in the day, if I can, but then escape fairly early in the evening (6 to 9PM), before the alcohol starts taking much effect. They have so many customs steeped in darkness, but when confronted with the Truth, dismiss them as customs that are more inportant than the Bible. Such as pouring drink and blood offerings on the walls and floor, trying to remove the sheep's heart still beating, and many other similar things, just to get a little more luck for the house and family. We are inviting some of the believers from some of the areas near by, as well as many of our friends from Velille and Tacllapampa.

Anyone want to come for a workday and some alpaca ribs?

Little nooks and holes are included to make built-in shelves.

Isaiah's Walker. . . and more!

2009-10-19T10:53:00.003-04:00

Happy Isaiah! At 8 months old, he really enjoys his walker, and I enjoy having somewhere to put him during part of school time to keep him busy and happy. Thanks Grandma/Great-Grandma Howe! (I've wanted to take a picture of him in his walker for a while so you could see him - yesterday I finally got around to it!) Love you Grandma!

Samuel has taken a real liking to the kitten and the chicken lately! He is trying to help out on what I consider the "lost cause" of taming this wild little kitten of ours before we give it away. Samuel hugs and squashes and crunches this kitten more faithfully than any of his other siblings, but for all of that, it still runs when it sees him, or anyone, coming. The chicken is a lot tamer - she lets him pick her right up. A Few of the 101 Expressions of Isaiah: "Calm and Happy"

"Grinning"

"Dismayed"

We just started Sunday Services out in Tachllapampa yesterday. We have been moving to that goal for a while, and continue to make more contacts as we build the house out there. Pray for these to be a blessing and used of the Lord to build His Kingdom! Four year old Susanna was so pleased to be chosen to accompany Papa this Sunday.

"All Boy" Samuel really enjoyed observing this big black beetle that wandered all over his sleeve! (He wasn't quite so happy when it fell down the back of his collar!) We are so glad to have our Samuel - our sonshine boy!

So, how do you make a house out of dirt?

2009-10-11T15:50:00.006-04:00

The community of Tacllapampa gave us a lot to build a house on. This village is in the center of the area that most of the believers and interested folks live in. It is about a 30 min drive or 2 hour walk from Velille. It seems likely to me that there will be stable church there before there is here in Velille. So we want to be more involved in the area. We are not planning to live there on a regular basis at this point, but we do have a few hopes for this house. We would like to see a couple, family, or several young men teaching English and Bible in the school of Tacllapampa, and this would be their house. We would like to be able to spend time in this area as a family, and be able to spend the night sometimes. We hope to "get away" from normal life here as a family once in a while, and camp out in our "cabin." In itself, building a house seemed like a good way to conect more with this community, and indeed it has already been opening up doors with folks out there, that we haven't had contact with before. Lord willing, we hope to start having regular services in the area soon.

Here we are, digging out for our house, then you make mud out of the dirt and make your adobes from that. How's that for resourceful?

They always said I wouldn't get anywhere in life by playing in the mud, but they were wrong!

You need to scatter straw on top of the mud, then get in and stomp around a while to mix it well. In the background here, you can see the main part of the town of Tacllapampa.

After mixing the mud well, you carry it to where you are making the adobes, make a big round ball of it, squish it into the mold and then slide the mold off. A week later, you stand them up on their side to dry better, and a week later, you carry them a little way and stack them up. Each one weighs about 40 lb. Brother Daniel has the lot right next to mine, here we made made adobes on his lot, as it is flatter than mine.

I needed to get my trici-cart out to our little town of Tacllapampa to haul adobes and water for building. I tried several days to get it taken out by a truck, but it didn't work out, so I improvised. I hooked it up to the motorbike. It only flipped once on the 14 K (9m) trip.

No one else strings lines, but I thought it would be worth it to have straight walls and a square house.

My construction instructer from college should be impresed. To level for the foundation and walls, we use a clear garden hose, filled with water. Both ends must stay open, and the water level is the same at both ends.

Here I am laying the first block.

I wanted to take my time to get the corners up correctly, before others help me raise the walls next week.

Lots of good community interaction at the worksight. We do work days here using the traditional "Ayni" concept. Different ones help me one day, and then I help them another day.

Here we got to see one of the most brilliant rainbows we have ever seen, as we waited in hope for a vehicle to take us home. Some times there are, and sometimes they are late, and sometimes there aren't. On the left of the pole on the left, halfway up the hill, you can see the dirt dug up on our lot.

Pics from our time in Cusco!

2009-09-12T08:47:00.006-04:00

Well, here you have it - I finally got around to putting captions on the pictures. They somehow got uploaded in opposite order, so if you want to look at them cronologically, you can start at the bottom and work your way up. . . sorry about that. Sweet Susanna, always an animal lover, really enjoyed the 4 day old calf at the Martins. I think that it enjoyed her, too!

The children had fun playing with so many others at our Missionary retreats. Elisabeth and Susanna are in the middle in this game.

Here are Pravitha and Esther, Jon and Charlotte Kropfs two little girls. Our children have become good friends with them over the last couple of years. . .

Judy Martin

She so kindly hosted all 8 or 9 families that came to the meetings - and did it all with a smile!

Yes, it was a full house all right!

We had many, many children - I think about 20 of the children were 6 yrs. old or younger!

Isaiah - all tangled up :)

Dear Sister Charlotte - Carrying Esther on her back.

Pravitha, who plans on being a big sister the end of November, really enjoyed a chance to "practice" on Isaiah. He was pretty pleased with the attention.

Samuel, our happy young man.

Elisabeth - enjoying the warmer climate that we went to for a few days of family time.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." We often call Susanna Papa's little "Apple" - she is so much like him in her high energy, excited, enthusiastic outlook on life. Here the two of them were racing top speed across a fallen log.

Thanks Anna and Serenity for the sweet little hat - Isaiah uses it all the time!

Sitten' on a log. . .

A picnic with the Martin children - what fun!

Velille has so few trees, that out children had lots and lots of fun climbing trees near the Martin's home!

Susanna, always a climber, was in her element!

Off to a picnic with the Martins!

Family Photos plus some. . .

2009-08-25T17:37:00.006-04:00

We recently decided that it was time to take a new family photo! With Helena as the photographer, and a set of matching outfits that Dad and Mom Howe gave us last year, we transformed a very busy Monday Market morning into a family photo session! This first one is what we chose to go on our new prayer card, and the rest. . . well, we liked them so much we though that we would just share them with you all too!

The Wengers

Gordon and Betsie,

Elisabeth 6, Susanna 4, Samuel 2, and Isaiah 6 months

Samuel LOVES his little brother - and happily, Isaiah is such a happy, sociable little fellow that he returns his brothers love right back again!

Helena busily sweeping our dirt floor while carrying Isaiah. He loves to be where the action is!

Becka diligently washing laundry - a task she spent a couple hours on for us every day! "Whistle while you work" was an unspoken motto of hers. We are going to really miss these two cheerful, hardworking sisters that have blessed our home for nearly half a year! They leave on Thursday, the 27th.

This is a nearly daily picture at our home, as Gordon loads op the motorcycle and heads out in many different directions to preach the Word of God. The pick handle that you see sticking out of the back of the motorcycle tells the story, that to get an audience among the hardworking Quechuas here, one often works alongside his listener for a few hours before bringing out the Bible.

Susanna, our animal lover, recently made a pet out of one of the baby guinea pigs that we raise to sell. (People here raise guinea pigs to eat them, but we find that it suits all of us just fine to sell them rather than eat them ourselves!) Susanna named this gp "Blackie-whitey" but calls it "Blackie" for short. Here she is explaining that her pet likes to eat the Alfalfa she is holding.

Here is a sweet picture of all three of the children enjoying some of our most recent litters of guinea pigs. Samuel has to be watched closely - he squeezed this little one hard enough to make it go limp, then handed it to me saying, "All done hold guinea pig!" I was horrified, and laid it in my lap, and we prayed that God would "fix" the guinea pig if it was His will. God did revive it - it looked miraculous to me! Then Samuel went around saying, "God can fix mine guinea pig!!" I said, "You are right Samuel, only God can fix a guinea pig like that!" Samuel studied me, then said, "God did fix mine guinea pig. But Papa can fix guinea pigs too!" :) He sure looks up to his Papa!

My girls surprised me one day by, "making me lunch!" They made fruit salad by themselves, then picked flowers to adorn my salad! What a special treat! (I asked if they minded if I added some potatoes and cheese to the "lunch" they had made - and they didn't mind!) Sweet sisters!

Susanna turned four! (August 5th)

2009-08-07T11:51:00.006-04:00

Happy Birthday Susanna Grace! Our sweet sunshine loves the blanket that her Aunt Lydia made her! Yes, she did take her Teddy all the way up the mountain for a spring-side picnic!

"Smile!" I think she looks like her Great-Grandma Liston when she smiles like this.

Susanna really enjoys looking at books - and will sit still and quiet for a long time when she has a good book!

She was quite pleased that she could ballance this elephant on this piece of wood. That's our girly!

My Sweet Dears

2009-08-07T10:12:00.005-04:00

Isaiah David

6 months

Samuel Pilgim

2 years Susanna Grace

4 years

Elisabeth Serenity

6 years

Pictures for Grandparents!

2009-08-03T15:05:00.003-04:00

Isaiah David Wenger

Almost 6 months old

Church Time!

Our English service was held this week in our bedroom - a warm, bright, sunny place! Papa and son sing praises to God! The bed makes a great couch! Helena is on the left, Becka on the right. A Special Visit

Brother Levi Martin from Cusco came and brought 7 year old Bethany for his two day visit. Elisabeth loved having one of her dear friends come for a visit! We all look forward to going to spend some days with the Martins the end of August!

Smiley Boys!

Aunt Helena loves her nephews! Samuel 2 yrs. and Isaiah almost 6 months.

Mama and Baby

What joy!

Isaiah's (almost) six month old pictures August 1, 2009

Juan David born July 5th

2009-07-08T16:27:00.002-04:00

Our dear friends, Olinda and Gabino had their baby on Sunday morning. Our normal services got suspended for the day, as we tried to visit, make food, wash clothes and take care of their 3 year old son. We are the only "relatives" they have in town here, so we got extra opportunity to be a blessing. They had their baby at the local medical post, and now Gabino is out with the children and animals in the country (3 hr walk from here), and Olinda and Juan David are spending the week on our couch/bed in our living room. Please pray that our ties in Christ would be greatly strengthened during this time, and that we would have wisdom and patience as hosts.

Days to Praise God For . . .

2009-07-02T14:40:00.006-04:00

We thank God for His love and care for each of us!

It is because of Him that we rejoice!

Susanna 3 1/2, Gordon, Samuel 2, Betsie, Isaiah 4 months, Elisabeth 6

We recently spent another weekend out in the "campo" (country) to work on our harvest.

In the mornings it was quite cold - down to the low 30's.

The vast plains and rolling mountain ranges stretch on as far as the eye can see. Here is Elisabeth enjoying the hot sun and solitude.

We get hot and dry and dirty when out in the fields. Here is a dusty Susanna enjoying a refreshing drink. Isaiah smiles beside her.

A grubby Samuel enjoys a drink as well!

Home again. . . Here is Gordon enjoying some Father-Son time.

Sweet Susanna! Never a dull moment with her around! Here she claims that she caught a bad case of the chicken pox! (Looked like stickers to me!) About twenty minutes after this picture, she came to me, "all better." I gasped a moment later to see that 4 month old Isaiah had apparently caught a bad case of the same . . . from Susanna! (I quickly rescued him from his stickery disease.)

Aunty Helena enjoyed making Isaiah giggle and giggle one day. . . .Which is pretty easy to do with this cheerful little boy of ours! In the background you can see a bit of our bedroom. We have a quilt on the wall that dear sisters from our church quilted for us, and below that is the Rubbermaid tote that serves as Isaiah's crib. You can see some of blankets piled in it. . . Thanks to each one of you who have sent the quilts, blankets, candles, etc. . . that make our bedroom so "homey."

Sheep and Gardens!

2009-06-04T14:37:00.005-04:00

Sheep Shearing!!

Our dear neighbor Nelly is here showing Helena and Elisabeth how to shear the sheep that we bought. We kept it in our yard for about a month, till it had mowed down the "jungle" that had grown up while we were in Arequipa over the rainy season. Then we sent it and 2 other sheep we bought out to Nelly's "campo." (ranch) Now we are sheep owners! Everyone around is happy to hear that, because sheep are a very important part of life here.

Look at all the wool that sheep had!

Brother Lucio, who visits us an average of a day or two every month to get Bibles helped us.

Weighing the wool. When you look at Gordon and Lucio side by side, no wonder the people here call us "giants!" (there is a little hill there - but the contrast is striking even in real life!) We sold the wool to Nelly. . . all together it was worth one dollar!

Gardening!

Here are Helena and Becka working hard to rid our garden of the grass that overran it while we were gone! We had such a nice crop of lettuce and cilantro this year! Here is Susanna with the onions she planted in her garden.

Serenity and Anna - look how well everything grew! Cilantro behind Susanna, mint to the right, and lettuce at her feet. Thanks for all your help planting! Parting shot. . .

Susanna's dog "Monkey" makes a great pillow for Samuel and Susanna as they rest outside while we work in the garden. Monkey has turned into a very patient puppy! (Susanna has "Flopsy" her stuffed pink bunny zipped up in her jacket!) I thought you would enjoy this picture, Grandma Howe!

Thank you Lord for Isaiah!

2009-05-15T13:19:00.002-04:00

Sweet little baby! At three months old, Isaiah is a blessing asleep. . . Awake. . .

And even during school time! Praise the Lord with us for a contented baby! Here is our little school room. The children are studying happily while Isaiah lays on the board bench to the far left.

Isaiah is 3 months old!

2009-05-15T11:55:00.002-04:00

Samuel's Second Birthday!

2009-05-10T12:47:00.004-04:00

Here is the happy birthday boy enjoying his birthday lunch of Mac-and-Cheese and French Fries. He is such a sweet little boy - look at those sparkling eyes!

Thanks Dad and Mom Wenger for the tool box and other gifts you sent. Samuel is having lots of fun with them! Samuel really enjoyed the lift-the-flap book that you sent, Dad and Mom Howe! Thank you for all the gifts you sent!

Here is Helena - a happy Auntie - with chubby Isaiah. Mom Wenger, Isaiah is wearing the sweater, (under the vest) that you gave me. It is the one that Gordon used to wear!

"I was cold!" Is the caption Rebekah Esh gave this picture. (It is one from our camping trip that we didn't get put on the last blog.) She was "babysitting" Susanna's favorite bunny, Flopsy, and she took Flopsy's "manta" (Peruvian carrying blanket) to wrap around her shoulders on that chilly evening while we waited for the bus to come pick us up.

Potato Harvest

2009-05-05T16:30:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since we posted last! But we have been weeks with hardly any electricity, and today they say that they are planning on shutting it off again for another week. So We figured we'd post these . . . and hopefully next week we can do the ones of Samuel's second birthday for you Grandparents!

We spent last weekend harvesting our potatoes and helping Daniel and Maria harvest some of theirs. What a memorable experience! We called it "camping" to our children. We took bedding and cooking supplies and spent Friday-Sunday up in the mountains.

The best part about our time was that we went with Charo, Hipolito, and their 2 month old son Gadiel, and also with Nadia. Then Daniel, Maria, and Anthony joined us for a Sunday service. What a lot of fun and fellowship.

Maria holding Charo's baby, with Maria's 5 year old son Anthony.

Praise the Lord with us that Maria has began wearing headcoverings and skirts/dresses all the time now! She wants to be a faithful Christian woman, she joyfully proclaims!

Charo with her 2 month old son, Gadiel, and Elisabeth, Charo's shadow, with her doll.

Here is one of the houses we "camped out in."

Happy Isaiah!

Our dear little 2 1/2 month old son was a "happy camper" that weekend.

The sun is SO bright and intense, here is Isaiah in the shade made by a blanket and a pick.

Despite the BRIGHT sun, it is downright chilly in the shade - that's life at 13,000 feet in the mountains. Notice all the layers that Isaiah is wearing.

What a beautiful place for a church service! Here is Betsie with Isaiah.

Heading home. . . here we are on a cold evening on the barren, windswept mountains hoping and praying for a vehicle to come along on the nearly deserted road that could take us back to Velille. Praise the Lord - one came soon after this picture was taken.

What busy happy days!

2009-03-30T16:51:00.007-04:00

Well, we haven't posted for a long time, and a lot has happened in the last few weeks. So here are quite a few pictures of life at our house!

Grandpa and Grandma Wenger came for almost a week, and we sure had a good time! The girls loved coloring with Grandma. . . And Grandpa and Grandma took us many fun places as well, to the plaza, the zoo, the "playground restaurant" etc. . . We were glad that Grandpa and Grandma Wenger could be here for Elisabeth's 6th birthday! Here are Elisabeth and Mama making her choice of chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and M & M's. Then right after Grandpa and Grandma Wenger left, we headed out for the long trip to Lima by road. We had an enjoyable trip with Anna, Serenity, and Merlin. . . but then had a sad good-bye! Sniff, sniff. . . we miss them lots! Thanks for your months of love and service! Lima was HOT. But thankfully we got all of Isaiah's documents done, as well as many other documents that we needed to work on taken care of. Praise the Lord!!

Then we picked up Grandma Howe, Helena Howe and Rebekah Esh in Lima and brought them back with us. We spent a happy 10 days with Betsie's Mom. Here she is making cookies with the children. We also went on a picnic with Bob and Noel Rich, the missionaries that we are staying with. They are almost like a second set of grandparents to our children, so it was a special day.

Here are Helena, Betsie's 18 year old sister, and 19 yr. old Rebekah Esh, who plan on heading back to Velille with us for the next 5 months. Helena, Betsie, Samuel, and Rebekah making supper. Charo and Hipolito came over to meet Betsie's Mom. It was a nice last visit before they headed back to Velille, where they only plan to spend a couple of weeks then head on to the jungle for the year. We may not have much contact with them in the next year. Please pray that the Lord keeps on working in their hearts. We are so glad to see them continuing to seek Him. Here we are with our sons, Gadiel 3 weeks and Isaiah 6 weeks.

Grandma got quite the pictures here. . . A picture of all four children:

Samuel says, "I'm bored."

"But what is this? Tickle, tickle tickle. . . "

"Now this is fun!"

Poor Isaiah! You have to grow up fast with 3 older brothers and sisters!

But snuggling with Grandma is still a safe and happy place to be! At 6 weeks old, Isaiah is quite chubby! Here he is in a sweater that his Great-great-Grandma knitted in her 90's! Special! ..................... And that is all for now!

2009-03-12T10:16:00.003-04:00

Charo and Hipolito with their new son, Gadiel.

Thank you for your prayers - Gadiel was delivered by C-section on Thursday, March 6th. We were able to be alongside them for their 6 day hospital stay, and are so glad to be able to tell you that Mother and Baby are fine. Please do pray that Charo would continue to heal well. . . . Pray too that this whole time would be drawing them to the Lord! He has had such mercy on them! Praise His Name!

Here is 2 day old Gadiel next to 3 1/2 week old Isaiah. Three weeks sure makes a difference at this stage! Though they were less than a pound apart at birth, by this picture they were already about 4 pounds different! Two sweet little boys!

For the "Greats" with LOVE!

2009-03-11T10:38:00.003-04:00

(In case you wonder about the title! These pictures are put on here just especially for you great-grandparents! With both sets of parents visiting in the next couple of weeks, I, (Betsie) might not have taken the time to post these pictures. . . if I hadn't known how much you great-grandparents enjoy these pictures! So here are some just for you to enjoy! We love you!) Elisabeth loves to hold 3 week old Isaiah. He is wearing another Peruvian baby outfit that we got as a baby gift from a poor native Sister from the church here. It has been a real blessing to see the love of the Brothers and Sisters here at the church in Arequipa over this special time in our lives. We continue to enjoy getting to know the church family here, (we have stayed in the Rich's apartment off and on for a week or two several times over the last 6 years.)

Susanna, at 3 1/2 is our sweet sunshine! The other day she was talking excitedly about something that she wanted to tell, "All the English speakers back in Velille!" (She still speaks English better than Spanish.) We asked her puzzledly WHO were "all the English speakers" back in Velille? She instantly exclaimed, "Monkey!" (her dog) than added after a moment, "And Sandia, (the cat) and allll my guinea pigs too!" Smile!

"I need a Haircut!"

"Much Better!" (Don't you think so?)

A sleeping darling!

Isaiah is growing so fast!

At 3 weeks old, he weighed 10 1/2 pounds, since he was 7 lbs 11 oz. at birth, that nearly 3 lb increase means he is growing almost a pound a week! As you can see, he is almost too big for his little "tote" cradle already! We have to lay him in diagonally now! Thankfully we have a larger tote waiting in Velille to be his cradle!

Smile!

We enjoy his one little dimple on his left cheek :)

Here he is happy in Susanna's arms.

The first time that I tied Isaiah on my back, all three children wanted to tie their babies and stuffed animals on their backs too! Once we get back to Velille, carrying Isaiah this way will probably be a daily thing!

Smile!

2009-02-25T07:50:00.004-05:00

Isaiah David Wenger is almost 2 weeks old now. Isn't he precious!? He has blessed us with many little baby smiles. . . already! He smiled about 3 times before I managed to grab the camera and take this sweet picture! While he doesn't seem to smile in response to us yet, it just seems like smiles are one of his most natural expressions. When he started smiling so much at only a few days old, I almost couldn't believe my eyes. But as I told Serenity and Anna what I thought I kept seeing, they both attested to having been seeing the same thing! Since then we have enjoyed many smiles!

Nadia's Mother hand knitted this darling little baby outfit for Isaiah, or "Isaias" as his name is in Spanish. Nadia brought it for him as his first baby gift just a few days after his birth. We love how sweet and cuddly he feels in this, I call it his "doll clothes"! :) We are also thankful to have it, not because of the cold, for these balmy Arequipa days are in the 70's, but because our Peruvian friends believe that babies should be very well bundled up. Sooo having a traditional knitted outfit on "Isaias" when we take him out to church, or anywhere, makes the people we meet smile and nod approvingly. Much better than the many people that stop us to scold and urge us to "bundle up that poor little thing" when we've gone out with a baby dressed to US standards!

Elisabeth wanted to compare Isaiah to her doll, "Baby Amy." Pretty similar in size! Isaiah was our second smallest baby, so we are enjoying how tiny and holdable he is! Of course tiny is relative! Every one here, used to 5 and 6 lb babies, exclaims over how big our 7lb 11oz baby is! Actually, he is a good bit more than that by now, as he is growing fast! We praise God for answering our prayers and blessing us with a good nurser. That was a prayer of ours as we thought of taking him back to our home, 12,000 up in the Andes mountains. . . We praise God! Here is a picture that Elisabeth took to compare Susanna's "Osito" (Teddy bear) with Isaiah!

Our Happy Family!

2009-02-21T07:53:00.004-05:00

Gordon and Betsie Wenger

Susanna 3, Samuel 22 mo., Isaiah 3 days, Elisabeth 5

Here is Susanna cuddling in bed with Isaiah! Isaiah David Wenger, 1 week old!

Elisabeth is quite pleased with her two little brothers!

She says she loves being a big sister.

Here is Charo, 8 1/2 months pregnant, enjoying Isaiah.

Pray for her to have a safe delivery.

She is due March 6th, and her baby is breech.

Pray for her and Hipolito to draw near to the Lord through all this.

Oh Those Faces

2009-02-17T12:52:00.003-05:00

Isaiah David Wenger

3 days old

Is it any wonder we all love him so much!?

Sweet Baby Days

2009-02-17T12:27:00.004-05:00

We praise God for His goodness and love towards us!

Here are some pictures that we took on Saturday so that you Grandparents and Great-Grandparents can enjoy Baby Isaiah with us even from another continent! He keeps on changing every day! What fun it is to have a baby in the home again! Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gifts to us!

The Happy Parents!

Mother Love!

Papa with his boys!

Isaiah's Second Day . . .

2009-02-14T09:40:00.002-05:00

What better thing to do when you first wake up than . . . hold a new baby brother!

Elisabeth told us, "I am so happy that I have the privilege of being the oldest. . . so that I can hold the baby the most!"

Just waking up. . .

Our first family picture, as a family of six!

Sweet little baby, all cuddly and new! "Do you think he looks like me?" Susanna smiles with little Isaiah.

We were praying that Samuel wouldn't struggle too much with jealousy. . .he is such a Papa and Mama's boy, always loving to be held and cuddled. Well, the Lord has answered our prayers! We have never seen a toddler that loved a new baby so completely! He gazes at "Baby" with loving eyes and watches and watches. . . and is always quick to ask to hold and kiss the baby!

It's A Boy!!!

2009-02-14T09:21:00.007-05:00

Isaiah David Wenger!

We are so thankful to announce that God has blessed us with a son!

February 12, 2009

Isaiah David Wenger was born at 2:20 pm

He was 20 in. long and weighed 7lbs.11oz

Praise the Lord!

Serenity and Anna watched the children for us the day that Isaiah was born.

The children had no idea what was going on.

When we called Elisabeth in to see, we had Isaiah hidden under a blanket. . .

He decided to announce himself with hearty cries, and you can see the surprise on her face!

Then we called Susanna and Samuel in. . . They were SO excited!

Samuel started saying "Baby! Baby!"

And here is our bundle of joy! A baby BOY!!

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!

announcement

2009-02-12T20:39:00.001-05:00

Hello all, Just to let you know: Isaiah David Wenger made his appearance Thursday afternoon at 2:20. 7lb 11oz, 20 inches. Baby and mother doing well. Thank you for your prayers. He came 13 days ahead of plans, but right on time. Labor was about 10 hours. Dr. Papa attended. Every thing is well. We are all overjoyed! Photos to follow soon.

Serving Christ and the Quechuas, Gordon Wenger

Getting ready for BABY!!

2009-02-09T18:40:00.003-05:00

Baby Clothes!!!!!

With blue in front, and pink in back, we are ready for whatever may come. . .

Now all that lacks is. . . the baby! Doesn't this clothes line make you want to say, "Awwww"?

We DO have a shelf full of clothes that have been ready for several weeks, but today we decided to get the "next size up" all washed and ready as well.

Susanna had such fun dressing her "Osito" (Spanish for "bear")

in a new pair of baby sleepers when we were going through baby clothes.

Doesn't she look like a happy little Mama?

Elisabeth has had such fun dressing her doll in baby clothes!

Today she said she could hardly wait for the baby to come. . .

however she finished that sweet statement by saying,

". . .so that we can play with the special toys you have set aside for the day the baby is born!" :)

Fun at the Park!

2009-02-09T17:16:00.004-05:00

On Saturday we went to the park for the day - what fun!

We found a park with grass, trees, and hardly any people!

We think that it is the first quiet, grassy park we have found in all our years here in Peru.

Enjoy some special pictures of our special day. . .

Samuel, 22 months old - He loves to get his hat and run outside to play!

We had a picnic, and Samuel, a very particular little boy, did not like the popcorn on his hands!

Swinging is such fun! Gordon pushed them till they had their fun! Teeter-totter fun!

We praise the Lord for such a fun and special day!

Nadia's Baptism

2009-02-09T16:38:00.003-05:00

Praise The Lord!

This Sunday Nadia got Baptized, much to our joy and rejoicing!

We are so happy to see that she is indeed a new person!

The baptism took place here at Bob Rich's church where we are staying in Arequipa, since Nadia is in Arequipa with her family right now. We were glad that her parents, as well as Charo and Hipolito were all able to be with us. Please pray for Nadia to be a faithful light!

left to Right: Betsie (9 m. pregnant) Anna, Nadia's father, Nadia, Serenity, Nadia's mother, Merlin Yoder

Arequipa

2009-02-04T19:43:00.003-05:00

Like father, like son!

Samuel likes singing with Papa.

Susanna enjoys sitting with Serenity and Anna.

praises

2009-01-21T14:49:00.002-05:00

Praise God with us! Yeasterday Daniel and Maria got married! And today we had our first comunion service with them. What a privalige and blessing. Photos to follow.

Happy Children!

2009-01-18T12:15:00.002-05:00

Especially posted with the two grandmothers in mind, with both of their birthdays upcoming.

fiesta

2009-01-02T12:30:00.003-05:00

Here is a glimps from our bedroom of the band that played for the new years party for 3 days straight, right across the road from us.

fiesta in Velille

2009-01-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

Watch out, grab your children, and anything you are selling, and get back! The ofical entrance of the local New Years party. Don't worry not too many of these people are drunk yet. You can see some of my cake and popcorn I was selling when the horses came through.

My Dear Husband :)

2008-12-28T16:28:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Gordon! Since he is often taking the photos and posting them here, you all don't often get a chance to see him in daily life. The children and I, (Betsie) are so grateful for the time and effort that he puts into blessing us each day. In fact, as I type, he is tickling the children and keeping all three of them in giggles so I have some time to type! Spring is here in the Andes Mountains! On a recent hike through the mountains, which are slowly greening up again after an unusually long dry season, Gordon gathered a bouquet of wildflowers to bring home for me. What a blessing! In years past I have enjoyed wandering the hills, bringing home flowers, but at 7 months pregnant, I'm not doing much hiking right now. :) A Happy Couple! Here we are during our trip to Cusco last month - enjoying the sunshine and flowers . . . and each other! Doughnut making day! On Serenity Martin's 21st birthday last week, we enjoyed her choice of doughnuts as a birthday treat. Here Gordon is showing Elisabeth how to use a water bottle to pop out the doughnut holes. Charo, who has fond memories of making doughnuts with the Peachey family when they lived here, came bright and early to help Anna and Serenity. She is also 7 months pregnant in this picture. Please keep praying for her salvation!

Cultivating potatoes by hand, using traditional "foot plows," is back breaking work. But we had fun working together with the Swansons and "the girls" when we took them out to our "chacra" (field). Here are Gordon, Joey Swanson, and Serenity Martin working in a typical two man, one woman "set."

And last of all, when the days work is ended, and time allows, which is really only once in a great while, Gordon gets out his "sampon-ya" (very traditional Quechua musical instrument) [panflute] and plays a few hymns for us.

Swanson visit

2008-12-26T14:45:00.002-05:00

We were very blessed to have the Jeff and Deana Swanson family visit us for a week last week. They were in Arequipa for 1 1/2 weeks to help with a construction project at a christian school there, and then came up to Velille to see us. They are from our sending church back in NC, and Jeff and Gordon worked together for 6 months, a year and a half ago.

Our house is in the background A belated Thanksgiving dinner Here we are with them, Anna, Serenity, and a native friend, as they were leaving. Another friend (S. H.) was on the work project with them and also came up to Velille for 5 days, but due to personal secuity asked not to appear on our web site. We were blessed to have him back in Velille for a visit.

Roofing at Gabino's

2008-12-13T13:46:00.002-05:00

Gabino, Olinda and Children Christian, Ruth and Hector

Gabino and Gordon fineshing up the new metal roof on their kitchen, which had it's thatch roof burn off reciently.

Velille Friends

2008-12-07T09:43:00.002-05:00

Here are a few glimpses into life with our friends and neighbors here in Velille. Having Serenity and Anna here has been a blessing in many ways. . . including the fact that they have often had a camera on hand for those "normal" everyday parts of life that we are usually too busy to document in pictures! Enjoy! On Tuesday evenings, we have begun a discipleship class with Daniel and Maria and Nelly, the three young believers here in town. Please PRAY for the three of them to desire the pure milk of the Word, and to grow thereby! Here we are a little before the class started, with Betsie helping Nelly finish up studying for the class. Nelly's son Fran sits next to her, and on the left hand side, Serenity Martin sits visiting with Nadia. Nadia has long been a visitor at our house. . . and we have asked you to pray for her in the past. Please do continue to pray for her, as she is very aimless right now, but has been telling us that she wants to draw near to God. She has been coming almost daily to spend time with Serenity and Anna. Pray that God will soften her heart, open her eyes, and show her that He is the Answer!

Left to Right, Susanna 3, Fran (a boy) 4, Elisabeth 5, and Roseli (also called Nena) 8.

Nelly's two children are our children's closest friends, as well as our closest neighbors. How happy we are that Nelly has become a Christian and now, in addition to the caring mother she has always been, teaches her children about Jesus Christ! Our children love to color together, play together, and go to church together. Praise God with us for the blessing that these children are to our children - and pray for the salvation of their father, Cedrillo.

Weaving a blanket! Nelly is sitting in the right front, watching two women work on their weaving next door to us.

Thanks for your prayers!

2008-12-01T13:52:00.003-05:00

Thank you for your prayers for us while we traveled, we had a safe and healthy time! Our bus rides went really well - no major break downs, etc. . . We praise the Lord for that. We also had a couple days of special family time. We found treats for the children - cotton candy at 15 cents apiece and ice cream cones at the same price! It's hard to tell who had more fun - the children enjoying their treats, or Papa and Mama watching their pleasure!

Yum! Yum! Dad and Mom Howe - we enjoyed wearing our matching outfits. Thank you!

Dad and Mom Wenger, the puppy that you sent for Samuel's first birthday is his very favorite! He sleeps with it every night, and grins and says "Pu-ppy! Pu-ppy!" when it is time for him to go to bed! Thank you!

Three snug little darlings all cuddled up under Aunt Lydia's blanket after bath time. Time to warm up! It is summer here right now, but it still gets chilly every evening.

meetings in Iscuchaca (near Cusco)

2008-11-30T12:22:00.003-05:00

Nov 18 to 20, we had meetings with other missionaries and some potential missionaries. The Martins, Kropfts, Jon Kropft's parents, and a few men from NM, who are involved in starting another mission in another part of Peru, we all there, to encourage each other in the Lord, the work, and to talk about how things are working in our different areas. It was a real blessing and encouragment for us.

Levi and Judy Martin and Family

Jon and Charlotte Kropft (with one daughter missing)

Sliding children in Cusco!

2008-11-29T12:34:00.001-05:00

2008-11-11T13:51:00.004-05:00

Well, we're off! Today, Wednesday the 12th, we leave for Cusco. Please be praying for our family's safety as we travel!

Charo and her boyfriend.

2008-11-10T10:13:00.002-05:00

Hipólito and Charo

Please be praying for Charo, our dear friend, and her boyfriend. They have begun living together and 18 year old Charo is 6 months pregnant. For years she has been a dear friend to us, the Peacheys, and others who have served here in Velille.

She has heard the Gospel, and for many years stated that she would not follow the footsteps of most of the youth here, in getting pregnant while young and unmarried. However over the last year she repeatedly put off the day of salvation, and sadly has indeed yeilded to the ways of the world.

Pray that she would see that now more than ever she needs the Lord's help! Motherhood is no small thing. We pray that she would be brought to a place of seeing herself as a needy sinner - and turn to Him who has all power and is rich in love and mercy!

Susanna's Sayings

2008-11-04T10:54:00.004-05:00

Susanna and Elisabeth have been working on memorizing the books of the Bible as a part of their school every morning. Susanna has come up with a few interesting comments lately: The girls were trying to remember the order of some children in a friend's family, and Elisabeth said, "Wendy, Regina, Joshua.....uh....Joshua....." and Susanna completed it triumphantly with, "Joshua, Judges, Ruth!" Another time, Elisabeth started wailing, "Susanna hit me......on purpose!" Susanna replied, "No....it was an Exodus!" (meaning accident) Susanna is not the only one that says funny things; We adults, still goof up plenty in Spanish. Everyone got a good laugh the other day when we said that a friend of ours, who had chicken pox, was covered in hail stones (granisos), instead of a rash (granitos).

Happy days at the Wenger House!

2008-10-23T14:14:00.013-04:00

Chicken Pox!!!

Poor Susanna - she and Samuel came down with them yesterday, Wednesday. She has by far the worst case. . . and is spotted everywhere - in ears, mouth, etc. . . But if you ask her how she is, she still says, "good!" and if you ask her why she is happy, she says because she finally got the chicken pox! - She wanted them 2 weeks ago when Elisabeth had them.

Samuel Pilgrim 18 mo.

Samuel is our sweet, sunny dispositioned little toddler.

Loved by all, he loves to "smile" at request, give kisses,

make his favorite stuffed puppy dog give kisses, and put things in his pockets!

Fresh from the bath - he always crinkles up his eyes when we say, "smile." Quite a few of our friends have learned the English word "smile" to see him give this rewarding grin. We are teaching him to do smile when we say it in Spanish now! His latest enjoyment has been bouncing with his sisters on this innertube! Look at those blue eyes! They get a lot of comments around here. His blue sandbox-tote is in the background, he plays in it every single day!

Pockets, pockets, pockets.

He was thrilled to find his Sunday overalls had nice big pockets

as he got ready for Church last Sunday!

Susanna Grace, 3

Now that the rainy season has begun, and the grass has once again begun to grow, Susanna sometimes gathers grass from our yard for the guinea pigs.

We have 4 guinea pigs that she feeds for one of her daily chores.

Pull that grass!

Oh no! That puppy! Susanna's dog, "Monkey" - named by Susanna herself - is often a hindrance to Susanna's chores. She gets a little frustrated. . . . . . . So she lays on the dog! Whenever she is getting too many lick-y kisses from puppy, she just throws herself on the dog and smiles. Trapped!!

Elisabeth Serenity, 5 Elisabeth also has daily chores, including feeding and watering the pigeons. She does a good job, although she much preffers playing with Samuel or doing school. Elisabeth with her water pail, in our little back yard - which we call a "patio" here. The guest room is in the building on the left, our little gardens are on the right, and the door behind her opens to neighbor Neli's yard . The picture was taken from our kitchen window.

Gordon and Elisabeth having a "father-daughter" talk about the pigeons. The "palomas," as we call them in Spanish, are their joint project. There are always a few pairs incubating eggs or raising young. . .

Filling the feeder with grain.

Smile! It's Social Studies quiz time! Elisabeth is an eager student!

She really likes school, and now that she can read on her own, does a good bit independantly.

Elisabeth loves babies, and likes to help Samuel with everything he does. Here they are on our bed happily singing together from "The Christian Hymnary." Elisabeth will be such a big help when the new baby comes in February!

Family photos and visit from Chile

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We had a surprise visit from 4 young men from the 13th to the 18th of Oct. They are all involved in an outreach from Shippensburg, PA, and are serving in southern Chile, about a 70 hr. bus ride from here. They just wanted to see what the Lord is doing in Peru and encourage the believers and missionaries here. We didn't know any of them before they got here. And they were a real blessing. We fixed up our meeting house, helped Daniel's family plant barley, and helped Maria's widowed mother make new rock pens for her cows.

Radford, Konrad, Conrad, and Josh Here are also some family photos from this month.

Attention: Grandparents and anyone one else interested:

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Just click on a photo to see the full size, and then save it, and then you have it, or can print it. The little pictures on the right can only be saved and printed as is, which is poor quality. Hope you enjoy them. -Gordon

Photos from trip and at home 9-08

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We took a family trip to Cusco, and then on to Levi and Judy Martin's home from Sept. 21 to 25. We had a very refreshing time as a family, good fellowship, and even picked up around 200 Quechua Bibles, which were on sale. We enjoyed seeing the Martins' new house and cows. They are selling milk and yogurt in addition to preaching the everlasting Gospel in their part of Peru.

Gordon, on the way home from Cusco

Samuel loves anything Papa does - like maps

Samuel playing with tea set at Martins

Elisabeth's lego design at Martins

Sleepyheads sharing stuffed animals

Elisabeth playing at Martins

Sharing yogurt popscicles

Samuel enjoying a popscicle

Elisabeth at home with a beloved doll

first time blogger!

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Hello, testing one two three...

Welcome to our site!

We are obviously new to blogging, but here is our attempt!

-Gordon