Did you know that baby Jesus was born to Virgin Mary in Lima, Peru?
And all this time you though it happened in Bethlehem!
True story: a baby named Jesus was born to a young woman named Virgin Mary on Christmas Day (2008) in the Maternity Hospital in Lima, Peru. And Virgin Mary's husband is a carpenter!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Luke 2:10-11 (NIV) - "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Make Room
Every year on Christmas Eve, the city of Lima is inundated with thousands upon thousands of poor people and families. They come to Lima from the mountain provinces of Peru every December 24 to beg for money and/or food, in the hope that the citizens of Peru's capital city will be full of Christmas cheer and generosity. It is common on Christmas Eve to stop at a red light in Lima, and to have your car surrounded by dozens of impoverished women and children, looking for a piece of fruit cake or a cookie or a coin.
Something that we have done every year in Lima is to reach out to these poor families. They are usually in Lima for just a day or two, and then they return to their native provinces. We prepare enormous quantities of "goody bags" for them, which are filled with juice boxes, candy canes, chocolates, cookies, and other Christmas treats. Last year we gave out over 1,000 of these goody bags to the children and families on the streets of Lima on Christmas Eve.
Luke 2:7 tells us how Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Similarly, most people in Lima have no room, in their hearts, for the poor who flood the city every Christmas Eve, looking for a bit of the true Christmas spirit.
Wherever in the world you are doing ministry, I am sure that a similar situation exists. Make room for the impoverished and the ignored this Christmas. Fill up a bunch of goody bags with Christmas treats and hand them out. The bags may contain nothing more than a few cookies and candies, but they'll also be filled with the love of Jesus, and that's the most important gift that we can give to anyone, anywhere in the world, this Christmas.
Something that we have done every year in Lima is to reach out to these poor families. They are usually in Lima for just a day or two, and then they return to their native provinces. We prepare enormous quantities of "goody bags" for them, which are filled with juice boxes, candy canes, chocolates, cookies, and other Christmas treats. Last year we gave out over 1,000 of these goody bags to the children and families on the streets of Lima on Christmas Eve.
Luke 2:7 tells us how Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Similarly, most people in Lima have no room, in their hearts, for the poor who flood the city every Christmas Eve, looking for a bit of the true Christmas spirit.
Wherever in the world you are doing ministry, I am sure that a similar situation exists. Make room for the impoverished and the ignored this Christmas. Fill up a bunch of goody bags with Christmas treats and hand them out. The bags may contain nothing more than a few cookies and candies, but they'll also be filled with the love of Jesus, and that's the most important gift that we can give to anyone, anywhere in the world, this Christmas.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Peru Christmas Traditions
Here in Peru, Christmas Eve is more important than Christmas Day. Families gather together on Christmas Eve to have dinner and open presents. Generally this is not done until close to midnight. A traditional Peru Christmas Eve dinner includes roast turkey (prepared with a mildly-spicy Peruvian red sauce containing garlic, chili pepper powder, vinegar, and other special ingredients to give it a kick), mashed Peruvian yellow potatoes (there are 3,000 different types of potatoes in Peru), white rice, rice pilaf, potato salad, a sweet potato sauce that is similar in consistency to apple sauce, and a salad which consists of beans, carrots, and beets. Dessert includes hot chocolate made with cinnamon and clove (delicious, even if it is the summertime here!) and Peruvian fruitcake, called "paneton", which is light, tasty, and delicious, and is a world apart from the clunky, tasteless loaf that they have in the USA.
At midnight there are fireworks all around the city.
Christmas Day is more of a time to rest and relax with family and friends.
Santa Claus, by the way, is called "Papa Noel" in Peru.
Christmas also marks the beginning of the summer season here in Peru, so right after Christmas many families head to the beach for summer vacation. The coast of Peru has some of the biggest and finest waves in the world, and so it's common to see many people surfing on Christmas morning.
These are just a few of the Christmas traditions here in Peru. What are the local Christmas traditions where you are doing ministry? Have you embraced them and leveraged them for your ministry? It's not too late to do so!
At midnight there are fireworks all around the city.
Christmas Day is more of a time to rest and relax with family and friends.
Santa Claus, by the way, is called "Papa Noel" in Peru.
Christmas also marks the beginning of the summer season here in Peru, so right after Christmas many families head to the beach for summer vacation. The coast of Peru has some of the biggest and finest waves in the world, and so it's common to see many people surfing on Christmas morning.
These are just a few of the Christmas traditions here in Peru. What are the local Christmas traditions where you are doing ministry? Have you embraced them and leveraged them for your ministry? It's not too late to do so!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Fruitcake
In the USA, Christmas fruitcake has become something of a joke. Most people don't like the taste or consistency of it. Many folks prefer to use it as a doorstop. Other just "re-gift" it. There's even a belief, held by many Americans, that there's just one fruitcake in the entire USA, and that it keeps getting sent and re-sent across the entire country, person to person, Christmas after Christmas, year after year.
In Peru, however, fruitcake is a whole different ballgame!
Peruvian fruitcake (called "paneton") is lighter and tastier than its American cousin, and Peruvian fruitcake is happily received as a Christmas gift. I've never seen a Peruvian turn down fruitcake as a Christmas gift. It's always received with a big smile.
However, I have seen some Americans here in Lima turn down Peruvian fruitcake as a gift, thinking that it was nothing more than the local version of the same tasteless, concrete-hard loaf that they hated in the USA. Their refusal was taken as a serious insult here in Peru, and they and their ministries suffered because of it.
What? Suffered because they turned down a fruitcake?
Yes, because it seemed to suggest that they were disparaging an important Peruvian Christmas tradition, and in turn it was as if they were insulting Peru itself.
Christmas, as well as other local holidays wherever you are doing international ministry, can be seasons that make or break your ministry. If you are seen as insensitive, indifferent, or insulting toward local holiday traditions, then you will be severely damaging your chances for success in your ministry.
Embrace your local holiday traditions. Celebrate them. Eat the fruitcake. It won't kill you, and you might actually like it, and the locals will salute you and your ministry for your efforts, and they'll also greatly appreciate your inclusionary attitude.
In Peru, however, fruitcake is a whole different ballgame!
Peruvian fruitcake (called "paneton") is lighter and tastier than its American cousin, and Peruvian fruitcake is happily received as a Christmas gift. I've never seen a Peruvian turn down fruitcake as a Christmas gift. It's always received with a big smile.
However, I have seen some Americans here in Lima turn down Peruvian fruitcake as a gift, thinking that it was nothing more than the local version of the same tasteless, concrete-hard loaf that they hated in the USA. Their refusal was taken as a serious insult here in Peru, and they and their ministries suffered because of it.
What? Suffered because they turned down a fruitcake?
Yes, because it seemed to suggest that they were disparaging an important Peruvian Christmas tradition, and in turn it was as if they were insulting Peru itself.
Christmas, as well as other local holidays wherever you are doing international ministry, can be seasons that make or break your ministry. If you are seen as insensitive, indifferent, or insulting toward local holiday traditions, then you will be severely damaging your chances for success in your ministry.
Embrace your local holiday traditions. Celebrate them. Eat the fruitcake. It won't kill you, and you might actually like it, and the locals will salute you and your ministry for your efforts, and they'll also greatly appreciate your inclusionary attitude.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Guinea Pigs
Sometimes you may feel a little bit like a guinea pig as you do international ministry in some far-flung corner of the globe.
We eat guinea pig here in Peru!
Guinea pig (called "cuy" and pronounced "kwee" in Spanish) is a Peruvian delicacy. There's not a ton of meat on the little critters, but they are tasty. Frequently they are served here with a mildly-spicy peanut sauce on top.
I've eaten quite a few guinea pigs in my time here in Peru. Guinea pig doesn't quite rank up there with a tender filet mignon or succulent barbecued ribs, but I do like 'em, and I've earned quite a few brownie points among the locals down here for being willing to embrace local culture and dive in to a grilled guinea pig - with the head and eyes still attached!
When I grew up in the Boston area, we had two guinea pigs as pets.
Now we eat 'em!
The point of this blog post about guinea pigs - after our Friday discourse on turkey - is that you can get a lot of mileage, and make a lot of friends, and get a lot of positive pub and street cred for your international ministry, if you're willing to toss back a guinea pig or two, or whatever other critters that the locals like to grill up in your neck of the international woods.
I've eaten guinea pigs, worms, crocodiles, llamas, turtles, piranhas, and anacondas here in Peru.
In the case of the crocodiles, piranhas, and anacondas, my firm philosophy is to eat them before they eat you.
They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I think that the way to impressive ministerial impact is through your stomach as well. Stay away from eating nothing more than Big Macs and Whoppers. Throw down whatever the locals are throwing down. They will like you, and admire you, and respect you for it, and it will go a long way toward endearing them to your ministry.
We eat guinea pig here in Peru!
Guinea pig (called "cuy" and pronounced "kwee" in Spanish) is a Peruvian delicacy. There's not a ton of meat on the little critters, but they are tasty. Frequently they are served here with a mildly-spicy peanut sauce on top.
I've eaten quite a few guinea pigs in my time here in Peru. Guinea pig doesn't quite rank up there with a tender filet mignon or succulent barbecued ribs, but I do like 'em, and I've earned quite a few brownie points among the locals down here for being willing to embrace local culture and dive in to a grilled guinea pig - with the head and eyes still attached!
When I grew up in the Boston area, we had two guinea pigs as pets.
Now we eat 'em!
The point of this blog post about guinea pigs - after our Friday discourse on turkey - is that you can get a lot of mileage, and make a lot of friends, and get a lot of positive pub and street cred for your international ministry, if you're willing to toss back a guinea pig or two, or whatever other critters that the locals like to grill up in your neck of the international woods.
I've eaten guinea pigs, worms, crocodiles, llamas, turtles, piranhas, and anacondas here in Peru.
In the case of the crocodiles, piranhas, and anacondas, my firm philosophy is to eat them before they eat you.
They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I think that the way to impressive ministerial impact is through your stomach as well. Stay away from eating nothing more than Big Macs and Whoppers. Throw down whatever the locals are throwing down. They will like you, and admire you, and respect you for it, and it will go a long way toward endearing them to your ministry.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Talkin' Turkey
I'm talkin' turkey today.
Specifically, Peruvian turkey.
It's traditional in many countries around the world to eat turkey at Christmastime - plus Americans have already pounded down a lot of the bird on Thanksgiving - and this is a tradition that can be used to boost your ministry around the world.
Peruvian turkey is delicious. It is prepared with a special Peruvian seasoning that features, among other items, chili pepper powder, garlic, and vinegar. This secret seasoning varies from family to family, and from chef to chef, and the specific mix and combination of spices can be as closely guarded a secret as Col. Sanders' famous mix of 11 herbs and spices at KFC. The spicy mix is either rubbed onto the turkey or stabbed into it - yes, stabbed right into the turkey! - before cooking. The spices seep into the roasted bird and fill it with a fantastic, flavorful kick. Peruvian turkey is indeed a treat.
So what does all of this bird talk have to do with international ministry? Well, if turkey is consumed at Christmastime wherever in the world that you are doing ministry, then use this opportunity to embrace local turkey cooking traditions. Sponsor a turkey dinner, using local recipes, for families and individuals in need. Buy frozen turkeys at the local supermarket and distribute them to those in need. Purchase gift certificates for free turkeys and hand them out to those in need, or as a reward to deserving ministry workers. You may even be able to pick out live turkeys at a turkey farm as well. In Lima, we've seen pens of live turkeys on city street corners at Christmastime. People come along, pick out a turkey, pay for it, and ... well, you know the rest.
Christmas presents a fantastic opportunity for you to embrace local culture and food traditions, including turkey, wherever you are doing ministry. Use the Christmas season as a time to get closer to the local traditions wherever you are doing ministry. You'll be blessing others and boosting your ministry at the same time.
Specifically, Peruvian turkey.
It's traditional in many countries around the world to eat turkey at Christmastime - plus Americans have already pounded down a lot of the bird on Thanksgiving - and this is a tradition that can be used to boost your ministry around the world.
Peruvian turkey is delicious. It is prepared with a special Peruvian seasoning that features, among other items, chili pepper powder, garlic, and vinegar. This secret seasoning varies from family to family, and from chef to chef, and the specific mix and combination of spices can be as closely guarded a secret as Col. Sanders' famous mix of 11 herbs and spices at KFC. The spicy mix is either rubbed onto the turkey or stabbed into it - yes, stabbed right into the turkey! - before cooking. The spices seep into the roasted bird and fill it with a fantastic, flavorful kick. Peruvian turkey is indeed a treat.
So what does all of this bird talk have to do with international ministry? Well, if turkey is consumed at Christmastime wherever in the world that you are doing ministry, then use this opportunity to embrace local turkey cooking traditions. Sponsor a turkey dinner, using local recipes, for families and individuals in need. Buy frozen turkeys at the local supermarket and distribute them to those in need. Purchase gift certificates for free turkeys and hand them out to those in need, or as a reward to deserving ministry workers. You may even be able to pick out live turkeys at a turkey farm as well. In Lima, we've seen pens of live turkeys on city street corners at Christmastime. People come along, pick out a turkey, pay for it, and ... well, you know the rest.
Christmas presents a fantastic opportunity for you to embrace local culture and food traditions, including turkey, wherever you are doing ministry. Use the Christmas season as a time to get closer to the local traditions wherever you are doing ministry. You'll be blessing others and boosting your ministry at the same time.
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