Blog 10/19-Trying out the Video Blog idea

Week 2- a little late but here

Well it’s only week 2 and I am already slipping please forgive me the extra days it took me to get this blog post online.  This last week wasn’t super eventful mainly because I have been pretty sick the whole time.  I have what I believe is the Flu but I seem to be getting over it so I am very happy for that.  I have missed several days of language school because of it but now that things are getting better I am hoping to be able to do more and work harder.

We have been studying the basics in language school and I am trying to relearn a lot of the stuff I have forgotten.  I didn’t know a ton of Spanish beforehand but what little I knew seems to be coming back pretty quickly.  My Spanish teacher is Walter.  He is a man from the church and he is a very good teacher and I am blessed to have him helping me learn the language.  It can be very difficult at times as my pronunciation isn’t the best but I am working on it and things are improving.

I am starting to work in the television station and with the media some this week.  I got off to a slow start with that because of being sick but I am excited to get into it.  We are hoping to increase the reach of the TV station by broadcasting some of the local division soccer games.  We think that this would drive up the traffic for the channel and also bring advertisers to the station bringing in additional revenue and allowing us to do more with the station.  Right now the station reaches much of the city but suffers from a lack of funding.  With this added programming we could generate more revenue which in turn would be used for better quality Christian programming and also to potentially reach more people in the future.  We are about $1000 short of what we need for the live broadcasts so keep that in your prayers.

This blog post is a short one but as I have been pretty much laying in bed for a week trying to get better and just venturing out to go to language school this is just about all that has been going on.  Thanks for reading and hopefully I will have more for you next week.

Week #1- Arrival in Arequipa

Well it has been a little while since I have put out any updates.  We have just completed our first week in Peru.  I am going to be writing updates hopefully every week maybe even more so but I don’t want to over commit and then leave you, my faithful reader, hanging.  This is my first attempt at a blog so bear with me please as more than likely my posts will ramble and lack any sense of punctuation or proper grammar.  If those are things you desire then you should go check out my wife’s blog.

We flew out of Atlanta at 12:15 last Tuesday and arrived in Miami around 2:00 then we left for Lima around 5:15 and arrived in Lima around 9:30 (lost 1hr due to them not doing daylight savings time).  We then met up with one of the pastors in Lima named Reuben.  He helped us get to a hotel safely.  We were going to take the bus from Lima to Arequipa but some friends were able to find us some cheap plane tickets so we opted for a 1hr plane ride over a 14hr bus ride (good decision any day in my book).  We left Lima on Wednesday at 5:20 and arrived in Arequipa around 6:30.

Arequipa seems like it has grown a bit since my time here in 2004, there are many new places and many things that I don’t remember being here back then.  One good thing is that there is now a Turkos next to Saga (much closer to our apartment).  For those who don’t know what Turkos is it is a restaurant that many of the Americans absolutely love.  I ate there every day for about 1.5 months back in 04.  I always get a Kebab which is basically a chicken and pita bread sandwich.  Doesn’t sound so good when I describe it but it is really good when you eat it.

We are living on the Bible College land in an apartment.  There are 2 apartments here side by side that share a kitchen.  We have one side and the Canfields have the other.  The apartments are much bigger and nicer than I thought they would be.  They are finished structurally but over time Chris wants to add things slowly that will make them even nicer than they are now.

Holly and I had our 3rd anniversary on Wednesday the 16th.  We didn’t have time to celebrate it in Lima, but when we got to Arequipa we took off Friday night to what the missionaries said was a nice restaurant.  It was probably the nicest restaurant I have ever been to in my life.  It was a really really nice place, it would have been super nice for the states.  We ate Argentinian steaks that were incredible.  The best part about it was that everything including dessert was only 90 soles which translates to about $31.

The same night we had a little adventure as well.  My foot is still pretty messed up and around here I am walking with a cane again just because I still can’t walk long distances without it.  When we finished eating I decided we should take a little walk.  First it was just to the corner, then I decided to walk to Saga, then it turned into an incredible journey where I was not going to stop until I couldn’t walk anymore.  We ended up making it to the dirt road that leads into the Bible College.  Total Distance was around 5 miles.  Needless to say my foot was pretty sore the next day.

Please continue to pray for us as we try to learn the language, I feel I am doing ok and a lot of it is coming back to me but I am still not very good at it at all.  I can get my point across and understand a decent amount of what people say but that is about it.  Holly didn’t know a word before she came down here but is really impressing me with her desire to learn and how hard she works at it.  Please pray for us in that aspect.  Also I was supposed to start at the TV station today but have been running a fever on and off since Saturday.

Thanks to everyone for your prayer, love, and support of our endeavors, we hope to hear from you.  You can email me at andrew@bcwe.net or on skype as corvette1969zl1 (Dad I know its not very professional, I’m sorry).  Thanks for your time.

25 days to go….

We will be leaving for Arequipa, Peru on September 15th and returning December 15th.  Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru with a population of just under one million people.  Many parts of Arequipa are very modern and would almost resemble smaller towns here in the states but there are many sections that are very poor and lack even the most basic of necessities.

For the three months that we are in Peru, we will be living in an apartment on the land of the Bible College ran by the missionaries.  The TV station that we will be working in is also located on this piece of land.  We will be attending language school for four hours per day to help us learn spanish.  We will also be attending Omega Baptist Church and assisting in their ministries while we are in Peru.

Our main focus will be working with the TV station.  We want to learn as much as we can about this aspect of the ministry while also formulating a plan to make the TV station more effective in the city of Arequipa and then eventually all of Peru.  We will be seeking out God’s will for us and determining if we will return for a longer term in 2010.  There is so much potential in this TV station and we are excited to work with the people involved.

We are currently at about 40% of what we need financially for the three months we will be in Arequipa. We need to raise about $6000 which includes the cost of our air fare, rent, food, language school and other traveling expenses.  We greatly appreciate the gifts and the prayers of those that have given.  This is a lasting investment and with God’s guidance we will strive to accomplish the most we can for his work.

Heading to Peru!

Well it’s been in the works for several years now but it became official at the beginning of this year.  I recently graduated college with my bachelor’s degree in digital filmmaking and video production.  For a long time I have wrestled with whether or not to use my talents for God in a foreign country or whether to try and do my own thing in the states with a business that would help to support mission works around the world.  An awesome opportunity has been offered to my wife and I to go down to Peru and working in the TV station in Arequipa, under Chris Gardner.  While there we hope to be able to assist in streamlining the operations of the station and maximizing its reach and impact on the city of Arequipa.

My wife and I will be leaving on September 15th for Arequipa and returning on December 15th.  During this 3 month trip we will be attending language school and working in the TV station.  Our main goal is to learn as much of the language and the ministry as we can and formulate a plan of action should it be that we would return for a longer term in 2010.  We hope that you will keep us in your prayers and check back regularly as we update our blog.  Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Andrew Pearson