Sorry for the blogging hiatus; I've been working like a madman trying to take care of some summer projects before the school semester kicks in. I would be devoid of anything worth posting about had it not been for Brad Fitzgerald, one of those friend of a friends who I wish I could have gotten to know better (Brad, you're friends with the McKinzies and the Hudkins, two couples I esteem more highly than they will ever know). He commented on my relatively recent Stumbling Prophet posts. He basically asks this question: Does God want use to be happy, healthy, and wealthy?

I'll have to agree with him mostly that no, He's probably not concerned with our ideas of fulfillment; namely whatever happiness means, health, and wealth. There is a sense in which, however, God is a great comforter. When you read through the Psalms, you read a lot about being delivered from enemies, about lying down next to cool waters, etc. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

C.S. Lewis writes about the concept of "Joy" and about how it is anchored in that Holy, Numinous place where God lurks just beyond our perception. There is a sense of great peace and contentment, the Nirvana not of being emptied, but of being filled with the Spirit. I think this is where God wants us, and I think this is how the angels feel when they surround the throne and sing praises to God throughout eternity.

How far removed is that feeling from the novelty of buying a new car! So in my opinion, God is not concerned with happiness so much as Joy, the Joy (as you said, Brad) that comes from having a relationship with Him.

Well, I'm pretty sure this one will somehow turn out to be flawed, as it claims to violate one of the fundamental laws of physics. Regardless, it would be pretty cool if it were true:

Free Engergy

"A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it."

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,71610-0.html?tw=rss.index

One of my teammates Greg McKinzie wrote a much more detailed report of our trip:

http://www.teamarequipa.net/blog/greg/2006/08/arequipa-report.html

Why can't CNN invite commentators like this?



If anything, it makes me even more aware of how little I know about the situation. Any middle east experts care to weigh in?

Strangely, I did not feel the slightest sickness all trip long. Today, for some reason, I'm down with fever and nastiness. Regardless, I suppose typing up a report is better than watching another rerun of King of the Hill. I don't even like that show. I'm canceling our cable.

The main objectives of this trip were:

1) See the city of Arequipa for the first time.
2) Find a language school so that we can be Spanish ninjas.
3) Pick a neighborhood to live in and to conduct our cell church model.

Our objectives were achieved overwhelmingly. We learned so many answers to questions we didn't even have.

The city is beautiful. Picture the dry, white-blue atmosphere of New Mexico, add some snow peaked mountains from Colorado, and then throw in the Mojave Desert. Quite a visual cacophony. Most of the larger buildings are made out of a white, volcanic rock called "sillar" which is quarried just outside the city. This is a beautiful stone and it would be quite popular in the States, except for the fact that there's no exporting quite yet. If any of you have the know-how to export rock out of Peru and market it here, let me know. Seriously. This man here quarries starting at 6:00 AM and makes a total of 10 blocks a day. They sell for about $0.30 a block, making his total salary for the day $3. Combine that with the blindness he gets from staring at white, reflective rock all day and the kidney failure he'll begin to have from bending over all day long and it's a pretty shabby deal. His life expectancy is about 10 years lower than folks in the city. If one could export the stone and raise the price a little bit for this guy, he might could afford a little bit easier life.



Language schools there, it seems, are marketed mostly to backpacking vacationers. Who are these people? I mean, the last thing I want to do on a vacation is learn a foreign language. Anyhoo, we did end up finding a school that works largely with aid organizations and seemed more professional than the rest.

As far as picking a neighborhood is concerned, we have a pretty good idea about what the neighborhood we want to live in looks like, if not the actual neighborhood itself. This is an upper-class house:



This is middle-class housing:



This is lower-class housing:



We want to live in a neighborhood that's relatively safe (for our kids), but we also don't want to be in the lap of luxury. We found several middle-class (safe) neighborhoods where there is lower-class housing visible and within walking distance. We're not saying rich folks don't need the gospel, but our team has a heart for the lower-class, historically oppressed people of Peru. One particular neighborhood was also pretty close to a university as well. It was my personal favorite.

I must confess that until visiting the city, I had been harboring some doubts as to whether or not this predominantly Catholic city (where no doubt many of them are devout) should be a top priority for mission work. Several realities, however, made it clear to me that there is a need. This is a desiccated llama fetus corpse:



These are sold in the open market, and are used when a couple is having fertility problems. They buy this fetus and bury it in the ground, hoping to return some life energy to the Pachamama spirit so that she might grant them a new baby.



This is my buddy Emilio, who we befriended during our stay. He was very curious about us. He wondered whether or not anyone had ever read the entire Bible. When he found out that some of us had read it, his eyes lit up like saucers. On our last day there, Emilio asked us when we are coming back. We told him sometime in 2008. He asked us whether or not we would be building a church building. We told him that we probably wouldn't, and that instead we would meet in homes together and worship. He smiled hugely and said that would be awesome, and to come and visit him when we arrive so that he can attend.

This is a very brief overview typed up by a feverish person who isn't that great at remembering things in the first place. Teammates, feel free to fill in any gaps.

More pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamarequipa

Well, today we begin the long journey back to the States. I miss my wife and little Jack SO much that it's all I can think about. I won't actually get to the States until tomorrow, but it feels good to be moving in their direction.

In order to celebrate my first blog post from Peru, I thought I would share some poems I wrote on the trip.

Airplane

riding rough
in a flying tin bullet
wounding clouds
who seep milky blood
at thousands of feet
and directly below
some child
groundstuck
looks skyward
sends some thought spiralling
and it slaps the plane
like a silent missile
and his thought and my poem
catch and tangle
jet engines heave
and his brain is hauled
tendrils wrigling
leaving behind
another hollowed child
to stumble back inside
and be eaten by TV.

------------

Desert

scar pocked
sun riven
desert dunes
striating canyons
like capilary
cross-sections
where death dies
of dehydration

-------------

Andean Queen

screaming rainment drenched
in rainbow blood
bones draped with leather
weathered skin
or not skin any longer
harder than skin and with sinews
face of crushed can wrinkles
permanently expressive
of life in such separate dimensions
where gravity doubles
and the cold doubles
more troubles than
two hard men could bare
yet she sits
hands folded neatly
even breathing
and eyes like meteors
resplendant as two kings.

-------------

I'll post pics when I get home.