It's windy

It's hard to believe that I haven't written about what is to follow yet. I guess it was two weeks ago, some really cool plans fell into place.

Our friends that I have mentioned beforehand, Micah and Jocelyn, hooked us up big time with some good information. They are here serving a few sisters of that Catholic faith in a rural town of Malingas. We are blessed to see them on the weekends and have them for the Sunday evening devotionals. They informed us that the main Catholic church in Piura has a special guest every summer that travels here for ten days or so. This guy and his posse build a few houses, visit an orphanage, and do several other things. We figured out when they were arriving and planned to figure out how we could combine our adventures that week. Oh, I almost forgot, this guy's name is Jim Harbaugh.

So that Monday evening that Harbaugh and friends arrived, we showed up at the church, found the padre (whom we had formerly met), and searched the crowds of people for the big man. After finding him and chatting it up, we cancelled our weekly journey to Tambogrande and set in stone plans to join them for the next two days.

That morning we were off at nine o'clock from the church and made our way to the outskirts of Piura. They dropped off Harbaugh and the dozen or so other guys with him at one location and took us to another site nearby. After getting only about an hour or so into the house we were working on, the truck that delivered us swung by and picked Case, Alex, and I up. They told us Jim was asking where we were and that we needed to be with their group. Can't lie, that felt pretty cool. We helped finish up the house that they had about finished and said goodbye for the day.

The following morning, we showed up at the same time, and soon were off. Our plans for that day were pretty different, but also indescribable. The plan for the day was visit the prison of Piura and throw around the ole pigskin.

We showed up to the prison and went through security, they took up our passports and we were patted down. After going through many gates and fences we walked onto the yard, where twenty or so handpicked inmates mostly in the ages of 18-24 awaited us. The offenses of the fellas were from petty crimes to the much more serious of armed robbery and murder. We didn't care though.

With about six balls and about thirty of us total, we had balls flying everywhere and people scrambling all over the place. We warmed up with a punt-pass-kick contest and then quickly were splitting up the teams to start the big game. For about an hour and a half then, our teams went at it, Jim Harbaugh and Case McCoy at QB on opposite teams. Battle royale.

After the intense game ended in a tie at 28 all, we were taken back and shown the quarters of the inmates. We talked for a while, traded shirts and shoes with the guys, and then departed. On our way back we stopped for some beverages and got to talk a lot with the guys we were with. Talk about some very cool DTE guys. They were real, didn't have noses turned up, but had smiles and sweaty brows. A few of them were millionaires, successful businessmen, one of them took his team to the Super Bowl in the previous season. And they there, being themselves, serving, talking about families and life, and treating us like best friends.

--The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.  -John 3:8

--Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. -2 Cor 3:4-6

"The God who is- the I am who I am- cannot act apart from love!" -The Shack

Smells and memories

If you're looking for a well put together blog post, read a different one. thanks.

Senses are a big deal to me. Smells, tastes, feelings, temperatures, etc. they do something cool to me. For example, if I open up this old bottle of cheap perfume back home, my mind goes directly to junior high and the name of my crush at the time. I'm sure this happens to mostly everyone and I'm not a special case. But here is a story and example from Peru.

Last Saturday, was a different type of adventure, one of those that tests the patience of the ones involved. Since we have been here, we have been asking around and searching for an orphanage. We needed some of those kids to love on, and we have time that we can have with them or that we can make for them. Earlier John Mark had spoken to a local preacher who claimed that the church family sponsored an orphanage, and told us about it. Nothing more had to be said, we figured out the day to go visit, hoping it would turn into something that happened regularly where we got to hold kids and kick around a soccer ball.

Saturday was pinned down, and the journey began. We met with the preacher and his wife in the mall parking lot, and caravaned on the supposed 30 minute drive. An hour later we turned off the main highway and began our way on a dirt road. Even if it took us half the day to find this place I didn't care, it would be worth it. While John Mark took this turn, that crossed a dry canal and continued on adjacent to it, an old man was burning old trash, sticks and leaves, that tumbled down into the canal as the burning continued. And it hit me. The smell. My mind became a blur of memories and thoughts, all because of the smell of the burning.

Immediately I went to the farm, my grandparents' that is. Growing up we spent a lot of time there, always stopping as we went through or going there for a free weekend. It wasn't just the times during the holidays. My favorite moments there were when the family, the entire family, was together. We would wake up early and help DaddyBurl anywhere he needed it, and then the rest of the day was ours for mischief and mayhem. Yes, we cousins created plenty of mayhem, and had loads of fun growing up there. Most of the times when we were all there, there was one night that we gathered around the table and had huge steak dinners. My grandpa, uncles, and my dad would start grilling mid afternoon to prepare the perfect steaks. After that and all the other meals, my grandpa would lug out the trash leftover from the meal, set it in the designated spot,and light it up. We would sit, fascinated by the fire and how fast the trash was consumed.

My mind quickly left the farm and went straight to the mountain ranges outside Las Vegas, NM. Later on, during my summers, God blessed me with Blue Haven (I'm missing this very much right now). For 10 years I have not gone a summer without spending time there as a camper or counselor. I love this place. Right now, as I type these words, they are sitting on the dining hall deck singing after a day full of hiking to some of the most beautiful locations I know.

I was there in my mind because when we are at camp, we like to enjoy the occasional campfire. We counselors would make them for cooking out and the entire camp would gather around one to sing songs at different times during the week. Really some of us would just look for an excuse to have one. I'd buy a round trip flight right now to be there for a night and sit around a campfire, and just be able to stare into the flames, while being surround by the pine trees and mountain air. One of my favorite memories centered around these campfires happened this last summer. It was the guys night to sleep out, so of course there was the typical grumbling and even the bribing that comes out of the guys of the cabin. I refused and we marched out. After having rice crispies made over the fire and playing games, we big goodbye to the ladies and threw out the bags. We all squeezed in close and built up the fire, and started swapping manly and scary stories. As the night went on, some started to doze off and the rest continued to talk about the more important things in life.

There were other thoughts and scenes that floated into my head, but these are the ones that I miss the most right now. But not just the places, actually not he places at all, but the people I was with in those settings. They are my family and the ones I love.

I've thought more about this trip now. I want to be present where I am, to soak it all in. Totally applying myself to where I am, living and enjoying and feeling. During car rides, I've intentionally rolled down the window to hear the wind go through the tall grass as we drove by. I've breathed in more deeply to try and take in the smells around me, and feel how the air does in my lungs. I want to be reminded of these times by things that will grab my senses later on. Later on down the road, I want to smell a flower and be reminded of the places and people of Peru. I want this time right now, to be a sweet memory in the future.

To wrap things up, I thought of these places, people, and the things we did together during the drive to the "orphanage." So when the drive was getting close to 2 hours we pulled onto a sand road and into a place that looked like this.

Turns out, in that shack is where they have a children's ministry, which is really cool honestly. Every Saturday, all children in the area gather and are fed and are taught lessons about the Lord. But, it's just not an orphanage. So our search continues for an orphanage. While looking we may venture back out and attend the children's ministry on a Saturday, who knows. Hah! in Peru it's hard to ever know. We've learned a lot so far in Peru, one thing being, don't expect anything to be what you imagined it to be, or be like what someone told you. 

Water filtration update and info

Recently we installed a six-month water purification system in a families house in the city of Malingas, Peru. Here's a quick glance of what it looks like:

Normally these families get water from the canal that runs through this and many other small villages in the area. This water is gross. If looking at it you would think it wasn't that bad, it's pretty clear and looks somewhat clean. I'd say cleaner than a lot of water I've seen before. But in this water, people drive into and wash their vehicles, bath and wash and do a number of other things. We were driving down the road one day that runs adjacent to the water, and out of the corner of my eye I catch a naked man trying to squat secretly in the middle of the canal. I don't know the word that comes to your mind, but the first one in mine was aquadump. If you're wondering why I just wrote that my answer is because its real. People are drinking this water, using it to cook their meals and do so many other things....and some of us are picky and complain about drinking tap water. 

So here's the deal. We are ordering more of the filters, actually 100 more for fifty families in the area, so that they can go a year with a supply clean water. If you can help please do, below will be the avenues to which that can be done. If you can't that's cool, just pray for the cause and the people and the mission. I'm not trying to guilt anyone into anything, that's completely wrong, I just want to tell you about what's going on with something that's really cool. It's going to bless many people and open many doors. 

Here are the two ways;

--Send a check to Aggies for Christ at this address

  2475 Earl Rudder Fwy

  College Station, TX 77845

On the memo line: Peru Water Filter Project

-- Below I am going to write a step-by-step process to donate through our account on E-Give. It seems like a lot of steps but it really isn't that bad. I just want to go into detail on everything you need to do. Trust me, it will be worth it. At the end of all of this, please send an email toperuwaterfiltrationsystem@gmail.com to confirm your donation with the amount you donated included. We ask that you do this because there are a few other projects that are also being funded through this account and we want to make sure completely 100% of your donation goes to the water filtration system project. Also remember, all donations are tax-deductible! Thanks again for all your support!

1. Go to the E-Give website (http://www.egive-usa.com)

2. On the left side of the screen, in the "Givers" section, click on "Make a Gift- Sign up Today"

3. Go to "Option 2" by typing in your preferred e-mail address and clicking "Sign-up"

4. You will be taken to a page to input account info. You will need to input your name, e-mail, phone number, address, city, state, zip-code, country, and create a password. Once all the information is filled in, click "Sign-Up"

5. E-Give will now send an e-mail to the provided account to verify its authenticity

6. Go to your e-mail account and click on the e-mail from "makeagift"

7. Follow the instructions on the e-mail

8. After the account is verified, log into your account with your e-mail address and password

9. Once you are logged in, click on "Recipient Organizations"

10. Look for "Peru Mission-Davidson Family", click on the box, and click "Save Organizations" at the very bottom of the page.

11. Next, click "Bank information"

12. Click "Add a New Banking Account"

13. You will need the name on the account, the routing number, and the account number

14. Once all the information is filled in, click "Next Step" and follow the directions.

15. When you are ready to make a donation, click "Make a Gift" on the top right hand corner and follow the instructions from there.

16. After making the gift please send an email confirming how much you donated to peruwaterfiltrationsystem@gmail.com

Thanks again for all your love and support! You are saving lives daily! More posts coming soon

Books and music

Playlist: Song's that have been worn out in Peru

- Snowfalls by Brian Keane*

- Abba (Extended Version) by Johnathan David Helser & Melissa Helser *

- Empty My Soul (Extended Version) by Johnathan David Helser & Melissa Helser*

- Woods by Bon Iver

- Won't Turn Back by NEEDTOBREATHE

- Learn To Love by NEEDTOBREATHE*

- The Beautiful Letdown by Switchfoot*

- Your Hands Are Cold by Jean-Yves Thibaudet 

- Sing Loud  by Alpha Rev*

- I Can't Change the World by Brad Paisley

- Shadowfeet by Brooke Fraser*

- Thank You God For Saving Me by Christ Tomlin Feat. Phil Wickham

- Amazing Eyes by Good Old War

- On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

- Southbound Train by Jon Foreman (all-time fav)** 

- That Girl by Justin Timberlake

- The Brightest Lights (feat. Mumford & Sons) by King Charles

- Ride With Me  by Cody Johnson

- Alone in the Light by Kyle Park

Books that I've found the time to read

Perfect Glass by Laura Anderson Kurk

- Read the prequel Glass Girl first, then pick this one up right after. A wonderful love story that makes me wish I was in it. It'll tug at ya, and I loved it! Doesn't matter if it's a love story, it's for anyone. 

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

- Incredible description of an interpretation of heaven and hell. Will make ya think. 

Others that I'm working on right now: Love Does by Bob Goff,  Works Of Love by Soren Kierkegaard, and The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Small update

Suddenly the realization has come upon myself that I am being very rude. I have not even introduced the others that are on this adventure. They are Case McCoy and Alex Langhoff. Here is a list of certain places that you can go for more info or more pics that pertain to this trip:
- My instagram: yngwilliam
- Case's insta: casemccoy6
- Alex's insta: alexlanghoff
- John Mark's insta: johnmarkandtara
- Case's blog: casemccoy6.blogspot.com
- Alex's blog: diezmilarbolessummer2013.blogspot.com


Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

"For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor? "

"Or who has given a gift to him that he might respond?" 

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. 

Romans 11:33-36

Forgive me for taking so long to cover those small, yet important, details of value. Those here with me are becoming, if they aren't already, close family. I love them and I feel like they love me. This includes Case and Alex, and also importantly the Davidsons. They have completely opened up their home and welcomed us in. Their kids are a blast to play around with and at the perfect time they let us come over and watch Life of Pi on their back porch. 

Sunday evenings have become one of the highlights of the week for several of us. John Mark and Tara ran into a couple from Boston, Micah and Jocelyn, who are on a one year commitment of service here in Tambogrande. Once we arrived it was decided that we would all gather on Sunday evenings at the Davidsons for a meal and a (I guess you can call it a) devotional. It has more of an intense focus and discussion over Christ's love sense to it. With seven of us total, it's a perfect number for each of us to take an evening through our weeks here and lead a focus over an aspect of God's love. The feeling of love, family, fellowship, friendship, community, and church has been monumental. 

We also visited one of the local schools in Malingas. This is where the other group of Aggies will be coming to teach English classes. It is full of incredible kids and is in itself an incredible place. It is beautiful, but it is also ugly, like people at times. This picture is of the main courtyard/soccer field which we did take advantage of while we were there. On the day of our visit, it just so happened that the majority of the teachers had gone on strike for more pay. We walked in during the middle of an earthquake drill, they had children with painted blood on their faces and limbs, some in stretchers, and others with bandages covering half of their faces. Panic was my first impulse, thinking something horrible was happening. The giggling and smiles shifted those impulses away quickly though. Soccer games and more laughter took up the rest of our visit.

This is the ugly side. 

I didn't get all the details, but in those holes, it looked like that was where the school burned their trash. Right next to those burn holes is a set of classrooms. This last picture is of the restroom, which are on the other side of the burn holes. Behind those classrooms, is typically where the children take their numero dos, due to the obvious lack of restrooms. It ain't pretty. 

Blessings to all. be real

Mancora

Hammocks are becoming some of my favorite places to blog. Let me tell ya, they are everywhere over here. 

For the weekend we chose to venture out to places unknown, and took a van to Los Organos and Mancora, two beach towns of Peru. We found out within minutes of arriving in Los Organos, that this place was a dive. Really. That place is a ghost town. You may have to walk five to ten blocks inland from the beach to see a single person. But that very thing did turn out to have a huge advantage, that being empty beaches. 

It was a great place to grab a chair and a book and get baked by the sun. We found out that it is true what many have told us: it is so much easier to get burned here, because of the proximity to the equator and the more direct impact of the rays on the earth and us here. We are feeling it today. 

As of Friday, we are now on week four. The days have flown by here. It seems like forever ago that we arrived in the Piura airport, but it too does not feel like three weeks at all. This trip is a journey, I'm finding that word to be a very good description of this time. A spiritual journey.

Our time here is not ordinary truthfully, it is very different. Most "mission" trips, the kind that comes to mind when that word is spoken, is not like this trip (I really do not like or enjoy in any way those two words together: mission and trip, fyi). When those two words are together it's like saying we people, we Christians are not mission oriented people all the time, which we are MEANT to be, only some of the time. Part time. It's like saying I'm going to live my mission for a week or two and then I'm good, it's checked off, I'm safe. I've never heard or read of part time Christianity. 

We have a mission as Christians, and it's not meant to be lived out on (a) "trip(s)". The mission of Christ is plainly an every day type thing, that is in no way a burden, but a joy. Our lives are missions, with no trips. 

There's the rant. On this occasion, ha, we may not see the huge outcome, or construct a building, or defeat the Spanish language, or start a church, or anything along those lines. It may be hard at the end to see physical signs of accomplishment. But really who cares. A heart changed is of much more value than a building or something like that. A changed heart in Peru will be there, and will stay there after we leave. A saved soul has no value. It exceeds value. And if all that happens here during our time is the forming of solid relationship amongst ourselves and our fellow Peruvians, then I'm more than happy. The spiritual matters, the physical does too, just comes in second in my book. 

Psalms 145: 13

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.