Saturday, November 29, 2008
Ladies Day Out
Every year, the ladies of the church do something special for Christmas. We did it a little early this year because of our trip to Cusco in December. Every year varies. Some years we plan a special meeting so we can invite friends and neighbors. Other years we meet in one of our houses, other years we go out to eat. This year, the ladies all wanted to go out to eat. We were going to have a gift exchange also, but the restaurant where we decided to eat just raised their prices so it became unaffordable to do both.
We had 11 ladies this year, down from other years. But, we still had a great time. We arrived a little early to eat our supper, so we decided to go to the grocery store which also has a small section of toys for kids and household items. The store was only a block away.
After about an hour of looking around, we headed back to the restaurant.
Roky's is one of my favorite chicken restaurants.
The restaurant is in one of the old hacienda houses so it has many different rooms and patios. Loud music in a restaurant is part of their culture. It is hard to find a place that is quiet. Outside in one of the patios, it is very quiet and the fresh breeze is so pleasant. But, a few of the mothers had their small children along and they didn't want to be outside with them. So we moved inside.
We found the quietest area of the inside section, but with tv's blaring, music from other sections and just overall noise of people talking, it became more difficult to carry on conversations.
The food, however, is fantastic. Each lady ordered 1/4 of a chicken, which also came with a serving of french fries and a salad. MOst of us had some leftover to take home to our families.
The ladies enjoyed their meal.
We had 11 ladies this year, down from other years. But, we still had a great time. We arrived a little early to eat our supper, so we decided to go to the grocery store which also has a small section of toys for kids and household items. The store was only a block away.
After about an hour of looking around, we headed back to the restaurant.
Roky's is one of my favorite chicken restaurants.
The restaurant is in one of the old hacienda houses so it has many different rooms and patios. Loud music in a restaurant is part of their culture. It is hard to find a place that is quiet. Outside in one of the patios, it is very quiet and the fresh breeze is so pleasant. But, a few of the mothers had their small children along and they didn't want to be outside with them. So we moved inside.
We found the quietest area of the inside section, but with tv's blaring, music from other sections and just overall noise of people talking, it became more difficult to carry on conversations.
The food, however, is fantastic. Each lady ordered 1/4 of a chicken, which also came with a serving of french fries and a salad. MOst of us had some leftover to take home to our families.
The ladies enjoyed their meal.
Thanksgiving 2009
We hosted this year's Thanksgiving Feast. I was so busy getting things ready that I didn't take any pictures. Thankfully, Jon remembered to take a few. There were 20 of us this year. We had my family of seven, Jon's parents and his sister, a retired man from the States who has decided to live in Trujillo, five teachers from the MK school in Lima who came to visit to get to know Trujillo and a new missionary family from another mission.
We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato bake, vegetables, rolls, cranberry sauce, drinks, pumpkin, pecan and apple pie and several other good desserts. We were stuffed by the end of the day.
I also made two batches of homemade frappaccino for the visitors to try. Several liked it and asked for the recipe.
Jon prepared a one-hour song and thanksgiving time between the meal and the dessert. Several of us took a nice long walk around the park after the dessert. Then we split into groups and played table games.
We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato bake, vegetables, rolls, cranberry sauce, drinks, pumpkin, pecan and apple pie and several other good desserts. We were stuffed by the end of the day.
I also made two batches of homemade frappaccino for the visitors to try. Several liked it and asked for the recipe.
Jon prepared a one-hour song and thanksgiving time between the meal and the dessert. Several of us took a nice long walk around the park after the dessert. Then we split into groups and played table games.
Another Birthday Party
The Ramos family thought it would be fun to have a Spiderman piñata for Jon to break.
Notice the new dress shirt??
The kids loved colelcting the candy from the piñata.
So did the adults!!
Jon's First Party
The church people cllected money so they could buy their pastor a nice birthday gift.
This was his gift: two new dress shirts. I was asked to go along to buy the shirts to get the right size and color. That was fun! Here, there are stores dedicated to just men's dress clothes. You can buy everything you need from the shirts to pants to the underclothes and all the accessories.
Our camera's flash isn't strong enough to light up large areas anymore, so all the church people pictures were taken in small groups. This is the group of boys the ages of my boys.
The cakes were pretty and delicious. I had to cut each cake into 40 pieces. Not an easy task. The frosting was manjar blanco, which is a caramel type flavor and texture. But, we did it and everyone got a piece.
Zebulon, known as Zabulón in Spanish, is the ARRIBA student who will be with us until April. He lives with one of our church families. Here, he is singing with the Mrs. of the house where he is staying and the grandchild who also lives there.
Dinos and Tanks
Some of the best inventions have been Legos, Hot Wheels cars, beanie babies and K'nex. The boys are always creating new things with their K'nex.
Luke has a supply of toilet paper rolls that he uses for a variety of games and activities. This day, he made a tank. How creative. He also uses the rolls along with his green army men and plastic animals.
Daddy's New Toy
We have a small yard so we didn't need a regular lawn mower. This electric weed eater is just the right size.
Mark was ready to use it as well.
Michael is a fun, life-loving child who loves to be around all of us.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Thanksgiving Tree
My tree was set up for the Christmas party last Monday. To put the tree away requires us to stuff the branches back into a box which is much too small for the tree. As a result, none of us wanted to do that task, only to take it out again in a couple of weeks. So, Hannah had the idea of making into a Thanksgiving Tree. She created this tree. There is still time to add more ideas to the tree. We definately made some memories with this tree.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Trip to Pacasmayo
On October 30th, Jon's parents and our family drove to Pacasmayo, a town just over an hour north of here. The goal was to meet with a pastor and his wife for fellowship. This was part of goal of the pastors this year of having more fellowship with one another during the month. Each month, there were groups of three formed. We were able to get together some months, but other months were just too full with other activities. Pacasmayo is also located along the coast. The church in Pacasmay is just a few blocks from the ocean.
The beach front hotels for tourists.
The kids always love the beach. Micheal said he liked this one better than the one close to us.
A local dog enjoyed having someone to play with. Jon and Hannah enjoyed throwing rocks for him to find. At one time, Jon threw two rocks. The crazy dog tried to pick them both up at the same time. We had some good laughs. We have a "crazy" dog at home, too.
Luke dug a big hole and found a crab. He caught it.
The adults enjoyed the company, but none of us entered the water. It was a little too chilly.
On the way home in the afternoon, we saw this truck hauling sugar cane. Usually, you only see two loads with each truck. This was the first time we saw three loads being led by one truck.
The beach front hotels for tourists.
The kids always love the beach. Micheal said he liked this one better than the one close to us.
A local dog enjoyed having someone to play with. Jon and Hannah enjoyed throwing rocks for him to find. At one time, Jon threw two rocks. The crazy dog tried to pick them both up at the same time. We had some good laughs. We have a "crazy" dog at home, too.
Luke dug a big hole and found a crab. He caught it.
The adults enjoyed the company, but none of us entered the water. It was a little too chilly.
On the way home in the afternoon, we saw this truck hauling sugar cane. Usually, you only see two loads with each truck. This was the first time we saw three loads being led by one truck.
Mark's 9th Birthday
Mark wanted Papa Johns Pizza and Mud Cake for his birthday. Sure makes parties easy!
Mark badly needed a new bedspread. We are so thankful that now we can find good bedding in this country.
We invited Jon's parents, Aunt Martha and the two visitors, Rachel and Amber, from Cusco to celebrate with us.
Christmas Party for the Pastors' Kids
This was the first time in my years here that we have put on a Christmas party for the pastors' kids. We chose to do it during our regularly scheduled November meeting because December gets so busy with all the activities in other ministries of our lives.
We set up my Christmas tree and put the 52 gifts under it.
One group of ladies brought the pop corn already served in bags. One of the other ladies came up with the idea to design a tree out of the bags to save space on the table. I decided to tape chocolates as decorations.
My group was in charge of making cupcakes for the party. We planned for about 80 people. I borrowed some cup cake pans so I could make it in only two batches. I read that adding a few drops of food coloring to white sugar makes colored sugar, so I decided to try it. It was fun and easy. However, when my red sugar dried, it turned into a gorgeous burgundy color. I decided to use it anyway.
We three ladies were the leaders for this years pastors' wives' fellowship. Marina, to my left, has been a pastor's wife for about ten years. Liz, to my right, has been a pastor's wife for about as long as I have. She served several of those years in a jungle ministry.
We used the largest classroom at the Bible College for our party.
A couple of the moms watching the program.
The children performed two Christmas songs for the moms.
These three adorable brothers and their mother (in the back) enjoyed the party. Their little 2 year-old brother was taking a nap so he wasn't in the picture.
Joanna was fascinated by the Christmas tree. She stayed by it as much as she could. She was a good little girl and didn't touch the tree. Her momw as close by.
Most of the children of our pastors' families.
Most of the moms and children present. Some of us had to take the pictures. A few moms were out with small children.
Most of the boys received toy soldiers in cloth bags. A lady in my church made the bags and purses for all the children.
The girls received small cloth purses of different sizes and colors. Most of the cloth was donated.
A sample of the bags made by a lady in my church.
We set up my Christmas tree and put the 52 gifts under it.
One group of ladies brought the pop corn already served in bags. One of the other ladies came up with the idea to design a tree out of the bags to save space on the table. I decided to tape chocolates as decorations.
My group was in charge of making cupcakes for the party. We planned for about 80 people. I borrowed some cup cake pans so I could make it in only two batches. I read that adding a few drops of food coloring to white sugar makes colored sugar, so I decided to try it. It was fun and easy. However, when my red sugar dried, it turned into a gorgeous burgundy color. I decided to use it anyway.
We three ladies were the leaders for this years pastors' wives' fellowship. Marina, to my left, has been a pastor's wife for about ten years. Liz, to my right, has been a pastor's wife for about as long as I have. She served several of those years in a jungle ministry.
We used the largest classroom at the Bible College for our party.
A couple of the moms watching the program.
The children performed two Christmas songs for the moms.
These three adorable brothers and their mother (in the back) enjoyed the party. Their little 2 year-old brother was taking a nap so he wasn't in the picture.
Joanna was fascinated by the Christmas tree. She stayed by it as much as she could. She was a good little girl and didn't touch the tree. Her momw as close by.
Most of the children of our pastors' families.
Most of the moms and children present. Some of us had to take the pictures. A few moms were out with small children.
Most of the boys received toy soldiers in cloth bags. A lady in my church made the bags and purses for all the children.
The girls received small cloth purses of different sizes and colors. Most of the cloth was donated.
A sample of the bags made by a lady in my church.
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