Huancayo ministry trip

Jon and his dad (Ray) were able to take a trip to Lima and Huancayo to see other ministry opportunities. While in Lima,  they saw the progress on a church plant and enjoyed the fellowship with friends from EFATA. 

 In Huancayo, they met up with the Lindsey's, a missionary family who hosted them and shared with them their vision and needs of the surrounding areas. Jon was able to preach twice and participate in house churches and visits. They were also able to help with some construction work at the church.

 Ray ended his three month trip in Peru with one last day in the capital city of Lima. It was a beautiful day to take in the sights of the Christmas decorations and the Pacific Ocean.

Last days in Andahuaylas for Jon's dad

We usually will treat our guests to a nice dinner on their last day with us. For Ray, it was to bring back memories of killing chickens when they had the farm. Pictured below are memories of killing and cooking the chicken for Ray's last dinner.

 Katie wanted to be the one to sit on the bucket till the chicken stopped jumping and was fully dead.

 Our children had different feelings about the whole adventure.

Bitter-sweet moments when you have to say "until next time" and loved ones leave.

 It's always an adventure at the airport. This trip was no exception. We were told that the plane was arriving late and they wanted to get everyone ready to board right away. They punched all of our tickets and had us line up according to our row and seats on the plane but when the plane landed the pilot announced that there was trouble in another town and that the plane would not be able to depart for five hours. Some passengers returned to their homes to wait while some remained at the airport with no food. After the five hours were up, there was a rain storm that came in which delayed the plane from leaving for another hour. One of the pilots said that he would not fly with the bad weather and told everyone that the flight was postponed until tomorrow. All the passengers returned to the counter to get new tickets. The first five passengers got their renewed tickets and boarded a taxi and left immediately while the others needed to call for taxi's and wait in line longer. While waiting, an airport worker came running in to announce that another pilot said that he would leave right away which caused everyone to grab their bags and run to the plane before he changed his mind.

Christmas at our house

Setting up the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving usually gets us all into the Christmas spirit.

 Nisha puts her Michigan christmas ball on the tree.

 This year, Katie was able to put the star on the top of the tree.

 Our girls like picking the berries from the trees to sell to others.

 Jon ran into this market stand while in Lima and had to take a picture of it. The sign says "Christmas Lights to be Repaired". That would take a lot of the stress out of the holiday. To have someone else untangle and find the one light that doesn't work on the string!

 Jon and his dad were able to attend a Christmas concert at another church.

 Jon was able to see snow even though I think it was only from someone cleaning out their freezer.

 Matthew singing in the church choir for some Christmas songs.

 Our Michigan Christmas Tree.

 Wrapping gifts

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!