Hi All,

Hope this email finds you well. I wanted to write a very quick update before taking off for Louisiana tomorrow. We will be speaking in the church in Alexandria LA on Sunday and then be traveling on to Georgia where Lucy may be speaking in a Spanish church. It has been a blast having Lucy here.

She has gotten to do so many things like go to the San Antonio Zoo, Enchanted Rock, Natural Bridge Caverns, The Wildlife Safari, experiencing bowling for the first time and so many other things including a surprise visit from Amy all the way from Colorado. She has been well fed by my sister and so many others and we thank you so very much for helping support Lucy while she is here.

She has enjoyed the U.S. saying everything including the doors are friendly--they open when you walk up to them, the stoplight greet you and the angels flush the toilets for her but she is constantly thinking of the churches along the Amazon and is somewhat anxious to get back there.

We started with speaking at Dayspring in New Braunfels then New Hope in Austin. As I said before, tomorrow we will be heading to Louisiana, then Georgia, on the 26th we will be in Dallas at Collin Creek Community Church and Luz y Vida, the 4th of March we will be in Waco, the 11th in San Antonio, the 18th my niece gets married and the 22nd Lucy flies back to Peru.

I will be heading back to Peru May 1st with the medical team from Indiana.

I wanted to let you all know about 2 trips we have coming up this summer. The first will be an evangelism trip to try to begin a church plant in Nauta--a small city close to our church in Amazonas. One of our seminary students, Oswaldo, graduated in December and is now back in Amazonas. The church in Amazonas is doing well and Oswaldo has a vision of beginning a church in Nauta. This team will be doing evangelism through puppets, dramas and movies. From there, we will be going to Amazonas to inaugurate and bless the wells that we will be placing there. We will then travel to Tamshiyacu where Harol the other seminary student who also graduated this year will be. We will evangelize there and also in Santa Ana. We really are in need of people to sign up for this trip. It will be from June 8-17 and will cost $1800. This trip is coming up quickly so please pray about it and if you feel led to serve, please go to districtmissions.org to fill out the application asap. Thank you in advance for your willingness to serve.

There is another trip planned for Sept. 29th-Oct 6th. This will be a construction team that will be rebuilding a church in Maynas our newest church which affiliated with us this past year. This will probably be a smaller team due to the water being low and the difficulty of traveling there. You can also apply for that trip at the above website.

Thanks so very much for all of your thoughts and prayers. God bless you

In Christ,

Kayleen

Maynas

November 14, 2011

Hi All,

Hope this email finds you well. I wanted to write a quick update about this past week.

First of all, Lucy flew to Lima Sunday to be there for her appointment at the U.S. Embassy on Monday. She was asked to preach in the church in Zarate which is the church of the National Superintendent of Peru.

She got done preaching Sunday night and called me frantically saying that she forgot her passport. I was freaked to say the least. I found her passport and Gladys and I took a taxi to the airport but at 11 o’clock, everything was closed so we returned to the church.

The next morning, Pastor Leiter and I went to the airport again on his motorcycle and I got off on the wrong side and burnt my leg on the exhaust pipe. I ran inside the airport with Lucy’s passport where they told me I needed to go to another place outside the airport. We got it all signed in and paid for but they said it would not get there until noon and Lucy’s appointment was at 10.

She went to the Embassy and told them what was going on and they gave her until 2 p.m. or else she was going to have to make another appointment.

She arrived back at the embassy at 1:45 with her passport, went inside and Praise the Lord, they gave her a visa and she will be coming to the U.S. in January.

Lucy arrived back in Iquitos Tuesday and we decided to go to our church in Maynas Thursday. This is a new church for us, Lucy had been several times but I had not yet been there as the water had been low and the boats could not reach there.

We found a boat large enough to hang hammocks and took off at 9 a.m. Thursday. At 6:30 p.m. we arrived at an impasse, the water was still to low to cross in the larger boat, plus it had started to rain. We ended up sleeping in our hammocks in the boat, thankful that it had a roof. (Photo: Lucy and I helping a woman grind sugar cane)

The next morning we found a smaller boat that took us further up river. Before we got to the community, there was a waterfall. Lucy wanted us to get out and walk as she said it was really dangerous if the boat tipped. The motorist told her to go to the front of the boat and use the oar to guide us. He then used all the power in the motor and we made it up the waterfall. I was thinking that it was very much like our Christian lives—when we meet with difficulties, we need to put Jesus in the front of the boat to guide it and continue forward with all of our strength.

We finally got to Maynas. It is a small but pretty community. The people from the church welcomed us with open arms and killed one of the chickens that the church was raising to make us soup. We went from house to house getting to know the people and inviting them to the service that night.

That night about 20 adults showed up despite the rain. We had a beautiful service and then informed them of the upcoming year starting with the study for our pastors and leaders in Iquitos in February. In May we will be going there with the medical group from Indiana Wesleyan. (Photo: the church in Maynas)

There is a wonderful group of people in the church there. They work together and have a t.v. and dvd in the church to listen to praise songs. They have a keyboard organ, speakers, microphone and generator. They give their all to the church and had built this church themselves. It is in desperate need of being rebuilt—the boards are all rotting and with the rain, everyone had to keep changing positions to escape the leaky roof. They said they will go out and cut the wood and bring it to the community themselves. They just need the gas and oil to do it. Their desire is to put a metal roof instead of a thatched roof so it will last longer. I am hoping that this can be a project for one of the groups this next year.

(Photo:the church in Maynas)It was a beautiful time there in Maynas. The people were open, loving and giving. I hated to leave but was scheduled to preach Sunday night in Iquitos. We got into a small boat with no roof, full of wood, plantains and yucca at 8 o’clock in the morning. It had rained all night and the river was now very full and we had to be careful of all the logs rushing down river. It continued to rain off and on all the way to Iquitos. It was a grueling 10 and a half hour trip sitting in one place. We would have arrived a little earlier but there were some mechanical problems. Anyway, we arrived safe and sound at 7 pm in Iquitos. I arrived with a bit of bronchitis and stomach problems from the rain. I am doing better now though. (Photo:the inside of the church in Maynas prior to the service)

The trip was wonderful except the boat ride back being so arduous and last night I had many examples to share in the message.

Today we are going to pick up Lucy’s visa and meet with some Norwegian missionaries Lucy knew as a child. We are preparing for our children’s outreach that will be this Saturday and Lucy and I are planning a quick trip to Santa Ana and Tamshiyacu.

I can’t believe how fast time has gone. Lucy will be leaving for her home for Christmas in 2 weeks. If she doesn’t take that boat, there won’t be another boat going there until the 15^th of December. She would arrive the 19^th and only have a few days with her family.

(Photo: the 10 and a half hour boat ride back)

I will be leaving Iquitos for Lima on the 6^th of December and have been asked to speak in various churches there. I then head to the states and arrive the 14^th of December. Please have Diet Dr. Pepper, chips and queso awaiting me—just kidding. I am leaving with sadness although excitement that Lucy will be coming in January. It is hard to leave all of the villages where I have grown to love so many people but at the same time, I am excited to see you all. God bless you all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. See you soon.

In Christ,

Kayleen

Confraternidad 2011

October 30, 2011

Hi All

I hope this email finds you blessed and doing well. It seems like it has been a very long time since I have written you and you may have thought I had fallen off the face of the earth, but here I am, alive and well.

We had been so busy with the preparations for the confraternidad which is the reunion of all of the Wesleyan churches in the Amazon region. We get together in one of the villages and have a great time of fellowship and training. We visited almost all of our churches during these weeks prior to the confraternidad in order to invite the people and inform them of the details. (Photo: The speakers from Lima)

This was our 3^rd confraternidad and each one has been better than the previous. We were extremely blessed to have five wonderful women from Lima come as our guest speakers. These were not your ordinary run of the mill women. They included: the wife of the Peruvian National Superintendent, Teo; the district Director of Wesleyan Women, Marleni; the wife of Pastor Samuel, Jessica; a member of the Zarate church in Lima, Madeline; and the National Board Secretary, Pastor Lucy Narvaez. What a tremendous group of women and what an absolutely awesome time.

Thursday, 28 people from Yanashi, Nueva Esperanza, San Juan de Sinchi Cuy, Lima and Iquitos, left in a bus to Nauta. From Nauta we took a boat to Amazonas where we got set up, bathed and had the opening session. Each of the churches introduced themselves and sang a song or two. 30 people were headed to Amazonas in a boat from Santa Ana but never arrived due to problems with the boat motor. Despite their absence, we still had 70 adults, 20 teenagers and about 60 children who attended the studies.

(Photo: The women in prayer)

Friday and Saturday started out with a devotional at 6 a.m., then breakfast, and the first lecture which was from 9 to 10:30. At 11 we broke into groups where there were special studies for pastors and their leaders, another for the Sunday school teachers, another for the teenagers and children and another for those who were left over.

We then had lunch and a small break until 2pm where we started the classes again until 3:30. At 4 we had competitive soccer and volleyball between the communities until time to bathe, get ready for supper and the church service that evening.

Saturday evening we had a special closing service where we all ate together and gave testimonies regarding the confraternidad and we ended the conference Sunday morning with the baptism of 12 people.

We headed back to Iquitos, singing all the way on the bus. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and another dream come true for me. I had wanted the churches to get together like this for years so they would know that they were not alone in God’s work. Now the people have brothers and sisters in Christ in various parts of Peru. The Confraternidad in 2012 is scheduled for Santa Ana.

(Photo: Singing on the way to the Baptism)

Monday, the folks from Lima and the communities returned to their homes. It was sad to see them leave but I am so grateful for the time we had together.

This Sunday Lucy leaves for Lima to go to the U.S. embassy to find out if they will give her a visa to come to the U.S. for a visit. Please pray for favor for her appointment on Monday. I really want her to come and be able to see people that she got close to on various mission trips who have never returned and also just to have a great time.

Time is flying for me here. I was planning on staying until January to be able to go visit Lucy’s family for Christmas but could not get my flight changed without spending a fortune. This year is going to be difficult for them as her father passed away last Christmas but I know they are in God’s hands. I will be returning to the states Dec. 14^th. It is always difficult to come home during the holidays as there is so much culture shock but hopefully I am better prepared this time.

(Photo: Those waiting to be baptized)

We will be having a children’s outreach here in Iquitos the 12^th of November then I will be visiting the churches to tell them goodbye which is always difficult. I am still trying to get money together to have hot chocolate and panatones (a Peruvian Christmas tradition) for all of the churches. If you would like to help in this, please send your contribution to Alden Griesbach at Collin Creek Community Church 3701 West Spring Creek Parkway
Plano, TX 75023. Make sure to include a note that says this is for Peru Missions, Christmas. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. I love and miss you but will see you soon.

In Christ,

Kayleen

Yanashi

October 1, 2011

Hi All,

We just got back from Yanashi this morning at 3:30 a.m. Yanashi is usually 12 hours to get there and 24 hours to return as returning is against the current. This was not the case this time though. Due to the river being low, we went as far as the larger boat could take us, then got into a smaller boat to get to Yanashi. This was at night and there are a lot of stingrays, snakes and alligators in this part of Peru so I was hoping we wouldn’t have to push the boat as we sometimes do. This time the boat went fine, but the motor didn’t. Three motors and 5 hours later we arrived at the church soaking wet. I now wish I would have paid more attention to my “Buns of Steel” exercise tape. I was wishing I had them to sit on that board for 5 hours in the rain. We did arrive though and got our mosquito nets set up and went to bed. (Photo: Little Emerson holding a melon)

We thought that we were going to arrive here and find the church leader gone. He had been saying he was going to work driving a boat for a few months but he and his family were there when we arrived. We had a long talk about his commitment to the church and after a while he said he wanted to stay with the church. It is always difficult for the leaders in the jungle churches as they need to be bi-vocational to make a living. He has a wife and 4 children and this year Yanashi flooded so their entire yucca and plantain crops were destroyed. In a few months they should be doing better. (Photo: Eating melon)

We held services the next two evenings and there are several that plan to come to the trainings in October and November. It ended up being a successful trip regarding the church plus we arrived just in time for watermelon and melon season. We ate so many melons I felt like I could have floated back to Iquitos. (Photo: MMMM)

We had to leave Friday at 4 am to catch the boat headed back to Iquitos. It was also full of melons and watermelons. We were loaded down but still made it back to Iquitos at 3:30 am Saturday. (Photo below: The boats loading the watermelons)

I hope you are all doing well. In my last email I told you I was trying to collect money for Christmas for the kids here. Several people have asked me how so I thought I would put it in here for those that are interested. If you want to donate for the kids, send donations to TX/LA District Missions, in care of Alden Griesbach at Collin Creek Community Church, 3701 W. Spring Creek Pkwy Plano, TX.75023. Please attach a note that says Kayleen, Peru Missions, Christmas. Thanks so very much.

We will be headed out to San Juan de Sinchi Cuy this week and then getting ready for the church conference at the end of October. Please pray for me as I have a lot to do between now and then. I need to finish my correspondence course I am taking, I have to preach this next Sunday in Iquitos and I have to prepare my teaching for the church conference. I feel a bit overwhelmed right now but know that God will get me through it. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please write.

In Christ,

Kayleen.

Tamshiyacu, Santa Ana--Discipleship

September 24, 2011

Hi All,

Well, this trip really started out with a bang. Lucy and I boarded the 5 hour boat ride to Tamshiyacu and when I was getting off, the plank that I was walking down slipped and I fell. My melon went flying into the river where someone rescued it and I hit the boards hard. I wanted to cry so bad but there were so many people around that I just got up and walked off.

We got settled in at the parsonage that was built last year and then went around inviting people to service that night. The church there is without a pastor right now and the church is anxiously awaiting his arrival in February. We had about 70 kids and adults on Saturday night then 60 kids for Sunday School the next morning. We played with the kids in the afternoon then had a service Sunday night. I know that when the pastor arrives, he will have a good group of children and adults.

The house has termites so we paid a man to paint it with petroleum. We lent him the key Monday and looked for a boat that was headed toSanta Ana.

We arrived at Santa Ana late Monday so did not have service that night. We were doing a 4 day discipleship training there and began the next day with 15 students. It was such a neat time of fellowship. There were several in attendance that were not Christian but wanted to study and by the end of the week one received Christ and one reconciled her life. It was a really special time as the church has been struggling somewhat since the pastor decided to leave the church. There is a strong leader there who has replaced him but two other leaders are not doing well and are not congregating. We had a great time encouraging the church and saw their desire to continue on.

In the mornings we went door to door visiting people and in the afternoons and evenings we had classes. It really was a great time of fellowship and we hated to have to leave but we needed to get back toIquitos so we can switch directions and head to Yanashi and Nueva Esperanza. We left the people in Santa Ana content knowing that we would see them again at the church wide fellowship in Amazonas in October. It is going to be really exciting as there will be 6 people coming from Lima to teach including Marleni, Pastor Lucy Narvaez and the wife of the National Superintendent Felipe Jordan. (Photo: Lucy teaching Juanita who newly accept \ Christ)

Also the National Superintendent along with two other pastors are coming to Iquitos in November for another pastoral training program. We have been really blessed this year.

When we left Santa Ana, we hitched a ride with the students

from Santa Ana who were going to a spring festival in another community. This boat was like Noah’s ark and I had just had my arm put into its socket again so it was a bit difficult for me to get on and hang on with just one arm but we made it to Tamshiyacu to pick up the keys then catch another boat back to Iquitos.

We will be heading to Yanashi and Nueva Esperanza this next week for a few days then out to San Juan de Sinchi Cuy before we have to get things ready for the fellowship in Amazonas in October. It has been a very busy but fulfilling year here and getting close to Christmas. I would like to be able to have a small toy and the Christmas story for each child in the villages. If you would like to help in this let me know. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please, please write me.

In Christ, (Photo: Noah's Ark)

Kayleen

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San Lorenzo

September 15, 2011

Sorry Looks like my computer messed up and only sent part of the message

Hi All,

I just got back from San Lorenzo last night (this morning) and wanted to send you an update of the past ten days. The engine broke down on the boat that usually goes directly to San Lorenzo so we had to get on a boat that was headed for Yurimaguas and try to find a boat from there. We were in luck. On the 3^rd day on the boat we encountered a boat headed to San Lorenzo. This time I felt even more like James Bond as we had to jump about 7 feet down into a little fishing boat which took us to the other boat. Those of you who know my extreme fear of heights will recognize what a challenge this was for me to do this at night with a huge river to fall into. I was very relieved when my feet hit the boat. We climbed up into the other boat and on the 4^th day of travel, we arrived in San Lorenzo.

(Photo-Flower Girl)

We arrived on Thursday and needed to prepare for the quinceñera which was Friday evening. I did not realize what a big deal it was. We had to practice Thursday night after church. It was quite an affair and I think that Maria had a good time although I know it was difficult for her since her biological mother and father did not show up. She has been raised by Lucy’s mother since she was 6 months old but she said it still hurt somewhat that her natural parents did not come.

(Photo-Maria's entrance)

Saturday we ate the turtle that we had brought for Maria’s birthday. It was my first time eating turtle and I really did not want to but I have to admit it was quite tasty. Many times I have to disassociate when I am eating so I don’t cause hard feelings. I just eat what is set before me. Sunday they killed a duck for us so we did eat well even though most of the time it was fish and bananas. I do like fish and bananas though.

We went to the cemetery to see Lucy’s father. That was a difficult time for me as well as Lucy. I had known her father for 3 years and loved him. His passing has left a huge hole in the house there.

Tuesday we caught a boat heading back toward Yurimaguas with hopes once again to find a boat and once again we were blessed. We arrived in Nauta last night at 11p.m. then took a taxi to Iquitos where we arrived at 1 a.m. It was a long quick trip in that the travel was long for a few days but it was well worth it to let Maria know she is important and worthwhile.

(Photo-Carlitos enjoying the turtle--guess that's slow food instead of fast food)

I got back to Iquitos and got all my clothes washed and mended. We are going to rest today and tomorrow then Saturday we are headed to Tamshiyacu for 2 days and then on to Santa Ana for 4 days where we are going to do some discipleship training with the churches. We will come back to Iquitos for a few days then head to Yanashi. With all of the teams this year, it has felt a bit like we have not gotten to all the needs of the church so hopefully we can get in some good quality time before the Confraternidad in October.

Well, I sure do miss y’all. Please drop me a line. I love hearing news from home. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

In Christ,

Kayleen

Building the Church in Nueva Esperanza

September 4, 2011

Hi All,

Hope this email finds you well. This past week has been amazing. The team left yesterday and I am still exhausted but I will be traveling again tomorrow so I wanted to get an update out before I leave.

A team of 4 men led by Pastor Bob Ellis fromSan Antonio, TX arrived on Saturday the 27^th of August. They arrived a little bit too late to catch the slow boat so we had to take a fast boat to catch up to it. It was a little James Bond like as we climbed up from the fast boat to the slow boat and felt kind of cool. I heard one lady on the slow boat say that “these gringos didn’t have the money to pay the fast boat so they dumped them off here.”

The slow boat was filled to capacity—maybe overfilled due to the transfer of passengers from another boat that malfunctioned. We literally had to crawl on our hands and knees under all of the hammocks to get to the back of the boat. Right before we arrived at our initial destination, it began to rain. The water is low right now so the big boat could not get us to shore and we had to transfer all of our things into a smaller boat. I have to mention something really amazing here. We had never been to this community and really didn’t have a place to stay. Lucy had been praying about this as she was nervous since we had no place to go. She met a man on the boat and he said he had a big house and we could stay there. God is so good.

We got to the shore and it was a huge mud pit up a hill to the house. The guys made many trips carrying our heavy equipment up the hill. It was then named “the trail of tears.”( Photo trail of tears 1 in the daylight) Little did we know there was a greater trail of tears waiting for us.

The next day, we got up and got on another boat which took us to a river bank. There we were met by some of the folks from Nueva Esperanza. They helped carry our things up “Trail of Tears 2”.

It was a very muddy trail that took about an hour to walk. We had 9 five gallon jugs of water, 2 coolers full of food, a generator, tools ect. I had to have help even walking at times to keep from falling. As we got closer to the village, Lucy told me to grab a stick. I looked down and there was a little alligator sitting there. The church leader had killed it for us that morning but it sure looked alive sitting there and scared me for a bit. At least we had our first meal given to us. (Photo: Trail of Tears 2)

When we finally got to Nueva Esperanza, the guys got right to work on building the church and had an amazing amount of work done by the end of the day and we ended up having a short service that night.

(Photo: Lunch)

We were so fortunate to have men on this trip who knew about construction. Edgar came from here and built the roof and the rest of the guys made short work of building a beautiful church including benches and a pulpit.

On Monday afternoon, Lucy and I had a two hour service with the children. Many adults came too and we had a great time. Tuesday night we had our first service in the new church and invited everyone to the inaugurationThursday night. We had a packed house Thursday night and after Pastor Bob gave the message, we played games and had snacks.

Some of the really neat things on this trip were that several afternoons Pastor Bob took time to teach the young leader of this church. The young man is 23 years old and hungry for the Word. It was really special to me to be able to see the interaction. Another neat thing for me was that the team got to see a little clearer what my life is really like here. Although every team has to face many difficulties when they come, we usually take private boats and even though they may be slow, we have them to ourselves. They also got to experience some of the little jungle walks and the rain ect. It just felt good to me to have some other folks experience the real life. There is so much more I could tell you about this trip but just let me say it was great.

I really hope this email makes sense. I am so tired even though I didn’t really help in the actual construction. Tomorrow Lucy and I are headed on a 4 day boat ride to go to the quinceñera of one of my godchildren. We are only going to stay 3 days and be back on the same boat. When we get back we are going to travel to Santa Ana and do some intensive discipleship courses. Please continue to pray for the work here in Peru and please email me. God bless you all.

In Christ,

Kayleen

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