The last of the filters

It feels like we haven't stopped for quite some time, with the constant moving and travelling and train catching and bus riding and hiking. It has been a very full few weeks leading up to the remaining days of our time here. So right now I don't even know where to begin, with the end.

 

Close to a week after my last blog post and visit to Canchaque, we were joined by the group of Aggies that spent ten days with us in Piura and Tambogrande before they went to Lima. Reid, Andrew, Kailee, and Riley are wonderful people, working very hard right now as you read this with families from the states that planted a church in Lima. They worked their tails off with us in the fields and distributing water filters to families in Malingas.

That brings me to the filters. All in all, there were close to 45 filters put into homes and a school in that village. One of the last nights that we were going into their homes and installing them, we went kinda nuts and ended up staying till 8:30/9 at night just darting from house to house, lugging around these bucket filters and talking to the families. All of it could not have been done without the sweet woman that allowed us to put in the first one, Mary. She was going just as crazy as us, pulling us along, yelping with joy in Spanish at every house visited. Mary, thank you, I doubt you ever read this, but that is okay. What you did and how you helped was big, we could not have done anything compared to what happened without you. Bless you.

Before leaving for this ten week journey, I would have thought 45 filters was a small number, that more could have been done, and that more should have been done. But now after spending this time in Peru, where everything seems to run on lazy gear, or even in reverse, I'm happy this happened. I'm not proud of myself or the others with me, that would be terribly wrong. Shoot, looking back we could have done more. I think anyone looking back on a similar experience would say the same. I'm thankful I was there to see the faces of the families and the children, that those relationships were made, that I got to see such beauty in the people and in the creation. I feel blessed. Eucharisto. 

Magic gates

        "The Man therefore read it, and looking upon Evangelist very carefully, said, Whither must I fly? Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over a very wide field, Do you see yonder Wicket Gate? The man said, No: The said the other, Do you see yonder Shining Light? He said, I think I do. Then said Evangelist, Keep that Light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the Gate; at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do...the Man began to run...and ran on crying, Life! Life! Eternal Life!"      --The Pilgrim's Progress

We had a last minute experience this past weekend where we hopped in the car with some friends and took ourselves to the small village of Canchaque. This place is tucked away in the beginnings of the Andes two hours away from Piura.

On a hike Saturday morning, coming up on the ridge, we came upon this gate. Instantly this book came to mind. The "Man" is a character called Christian in the book, and at the start of it all, he is perplexed and in anguish due to conviction found in reading the Bible. He meets a man named Evangelist, who points him to the wicket gate, which symbolizes the door that is talked of in scripture, and tells him to knock upon it. There he will find what he is looking for, what his heart is wanting, what his heart needs.

What's next may have nothing to do with the above quote, but I don't care. I just thought it was cool and went along with the book I was reading.

Remember when we were considered children, and the times that we were playing and imagining things that were outlandish and only made any kind of sense to us. It was the stuff that when we talked of it to someone else, probably older, they would give an odd grin, pat our back and say, "That's nice." But we didn't care, actually we didn't even know- it was fantastic to us.

I see these gates or doors like this, that are old, with rust along the edges and nails jutting out from the wood, and think. I think about that above quote and book, and other books that I've grown up reading. And then my imagination kicks in and this intrigue and interest comes over me, and I feel like a kid again. I end up taking my time just a little slower than I normally would as I pass. What I really want to do, and have done a few times, is quickly sneak up to the gate/door and slowly fold my hand around the handle, and with a few creaks just take a peak past, like the biggest discovery lay beyond.

I want to see something magical beyond, like the door is a gateway. I want there to be a whole different world, that is but steps away. One that no other eye has ever seen, full of life and beauty and vivid colors that just seems full, feels real compared to our world. Maybe my deepest dreams would come true and the lands of Narnia would be awaiting me. Or maybe the one place I've been looking for my whole life would be there. My real home.

You can pat my back next time you see me and give me that grin.

But, what lay just past this gate wasn't Narnia, but was probably the next best thing. We stepped into a whole new world, that sucked the breath out of my lungs. I felt like Jesus was walking next to me, giving me a tour of this part of his creation, and just telling and whispering the whole time--I love you. 

These guys were the best guides we could have asked for to take us up to the 360 view, where we could see the village of Canchaque tucked away on one side, and the Andes growing on the other. 

Sorry for the repetitive photo-dump. I have so many more and know I'm leaving out some that I will want to share later, so be ready to see others. Thank you for reading and keeping up. I don't know why He would show me something like this, I really don't know why He loves me the way He does. I do know I love Him more because of this day. Eucharisto. 

Thanks Dad. 

Let's get to down to business...to graft some trees

Well, we've been moving along fast, spending time in the car and time in the fields. Much has been done when we think about what we have done, but more is to be done. The same schedule has been kept, with going to Tambogrande and Malingas during the week, and spending the weekends in Piura. Our time in Tambogrande has involved much time in the fields with the trees, cleaning up and chopping away at the brush surrounding the trunks. I wish we had a time-lapse camera set up to document the brush that we and the workers have gone through. I wish also there were microphones that caught us while we were practicing our Spanish with the Peruvians, it would be funny but mostly embarrassing.

We are hoping that we can catch the very beginnings of the grafting process right now. There were some difficulties and setbacks which kept pushing the date further back. So if we don't get to physically be present for the process, we can still be glad with helping everything get to that point.

But it is really incredible, looking back to when we first arrived, how much we are better understand and speaking the language. We like to bring up and joke about the first time we ordered food at Mcdonald's in the Lima airport, it was like we were trying to perform surgery. 

We are now somewhat switching gears and focusing on some things that weren't in the forefront of our minds before. We installed a water filter many weeks ago in a house in the town of Malingas, and last week the second was given to another family. The time we now have here is getting closer to an end, so we are putting a lot more of our focus on this project. With a list of family names and more filters travelling this way, we hope to install as many as we can before this chapter ends. 

We are getting these filters from the group of Aggies that are stepping off the plane on Tuesday morning. Those guys will be here the 19th. We get the privilege to go along with these guys as they teach english in one of the schools of Malingas. We will also get to have them along with us in the fields and hopefully preparing for the mass installment of water filtration systems. 

It's into the homes that contain little ones as these, that those filters are going. 

We pray that God works wonders and is heavy in the households, around the families, in the fields and schools for a very long time. I wish I had better eyes to see all the big and small things He is doing. 

The cathedral at the Plaza de las Armas. 

He is faithful. He keeps His promises. 

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