UPDATED - Calling Elijah Tour CONFIRMED!!

UPDATE 21/03/07 - It has just been confirmed Calling Elijah will be in INVERCARGILL 27 April 2007 @ Invercargill Christian Centre. Score guys! Final details available soon... BTW Ally, you are a legend... (:))

Exciting news! Calling Elijah are currently discussing their tour dates and Invercargill is almost confirmed as a venue. Watch this space...

(Pictures copyright of calling elijah - if there's a problem, then no worries, we'll just take them down...)

Canyon Life - Lynda in Peru

Hi guys! How's it going? Thankyou for your emails, I really appreciate them, and for your prayers. Culture shock is setting in now, with frustration at the way things happen here. You just never know what's gona happen, or when, and if it IS planned, it'll happen an hour late anyway!

Thanks to Cattie and her technological genius, I can now show you pictures of my life here. YAY! Check out: http://www.ringo.com/i.html?i=161657762x922181

Latest episodes in canyon life..!

* I've started learning Quechuan, which is the language of the indigenous people here. It's a craaazy language with z's and q's and a clicking sound, but people are keen to teach me, and I spent Thursday afternoon learning by singing Quechuan worship songs with a couple of my new Quechuan friends. This is useful bcos in some of the villages we visit the people only speak Quechuan.

*One of these new friends was telling me about Easter in Peru. Here, they have parades in the street, and re-enact the crucifixion scene, and show films of Jesus' last days. Then it was my turn to explain NZ traditions. Do you know how silly I felt trying to explain to her about this giant rabbit that we celebrate?? "Yeah, well it's a bit different here... we have this rabbit... uhh a giant rabbit... well, he's not a real rabbit, people just imagine him... and to commemorate Christ's death and resurrection people eat a lot of chocolate..." She just couldn't understand at all. Something to think about with Easter coming up... What the heck are we really celebrating?!
*On Saturday I went with 4 others on a hike to this remote village not accessible by road. We hiked a couple of hours up a mountain to get there. Let's just say it wasn't exactly an "OSH approved" track ! with some parts so steep we had to pull ourselves up by the hands to climb over rocks. People in this village don't have their own pastor, so Peruvians from my town (who I went with) do this hike every week to go to them to teach and encourage them. That's commitment- I was knackered for days after just going once!

Good ol rainy season got us pretty wet on the way up to the village. We arrived to this mud brick building with a dirt floor and one lightbulb hanging in the middle. A local woman cooked us some food to warm us up - a bowl of potatoes, lima beans and corn kernals to share between the 5 of us. I'm learning things like to peel the skin off the beans (because of the lack of hygiene) and to tip a little hot tea over the side of the cup to clean it before putting your mouth on it. The place soon filled up with sweet, gently-spoken people. Women in brightly coloured traditional dress, with babies strapped to their backs. They had nothing, and yet God's love was so evident in their lives. These are truly beautiful people :)


That's enough for now. Give praise to God for His constant protection and joy when times get hard, and I pray His blessings upon you too. Take care, you're all in my thoughts,

love, Lynda xoxo

No Boys Allowed!!!

Village Life...

Hey guys!

Hope all is well in your part of the world! Just a wee update on my first week in the canyon..!

* Cotahuasi Canyon life is going well. Apart from my usual daily embarrassments in trying to speak Spanish (like yesterday when someone asked me about people's skin colour in NZ and, misunderstanding the question completely, I said 'yes, it does rain a lot in winter, but summers can be pretty warm..!' IDIOT!) I've even been shopping a few times, to try and blend in a bit more to village style (long skirts over pants is very in here)

* I had 120 peruvians sing me 'feliz cumpleanos' on my birthday (at a wedding reception) - what a treat!

* This week has been a real eye opener. I got to travel with a couple of the peruvian guys on their visits to local villages. Gosh... I thought my village was rural - these people really have nothing. I made the mistake of asking where the bathroom was... and was met with puzzled looks. Eventually, I was led to a hole in the ground (surrounded by faeces) in a small tin shed.

We went to the villages to play with the kids and sing songs. I just don't' know how to describe these kids. As soon as we pulled up in the car, we were swarmed by them, squealing, laughing and jumping on and in the car to get to us. Grubby faces and dirty clothes. It started raining... I pulled my hood on and bundled up warm... they didn't even notice, and just got wet. And I can't imagine any of their mothers was at home worrying they'd catch a cold. Not from the number of intoxicated men and women we saw roaming the street. It was such an honour to bless their lives for those few hours. If you're someone who prays, pray for these kiddies. They don't really have much hope in life... without God's love!

Until next time, take care and huge blessings to y'all

Love, Lynda xoxo

Nights of Fire

Nights of fire is on tonight @ Christian Centre! James Macpherson is speaking, and he is an absolute legend. Have fun, and hopefully we'll see you there @ 7.00 (Starts 7.30pm)