A team of famous and influential musicians, artists, chefs and athletes in their field, traveled to Nebraska to share the Peruvian culture with their fellow “Peruvians” and produced this 14-minute video of their week with the new ambassadors of Peru – eating ceviche, dancing huaynos, drinking pisco and many other things.

With English subtitles, those that have been to Peru before, will definitely resonate with and recognize what the residents of Peru, Nebraska experience during the week!

Enjoy.

* Now with English subtitles.

Peru, Nebraska is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Weeks and weeks passed before I even had an idea of what to talk about. What is an appropriate topic for the day after Christmas? A message about the nativity could be seen as a day late, but despite that, it seemed like it needed to be seasonally appropriate. So after spending hours working my retail job and becoming tired of the Christmas, or I mean, holiday season, a light bulb turned on, and the idea of “Advent+” started to form. Using passages from Isaiah, 9:6-7 and chapter 12, I crafted my message into something I thought relevant to the season, and all year long.

Well, you’ll get the picture….

For those that prefer to read, here’s a copy of the text, including the Scripture passages.

Advent+ is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Each year, the boys of Kusi learn new choreographed dances to do with the visiting volunteer work teams that spend a week at the home. While they continue with the old favorites, like Jehova Es Mi Pastor and Escalando Peldaños, they add at least one new dance to the repertoire. In this dance, it is the youngest and smallest boys dancing to Giovanni Rios’ “La Iglesia Va Para Arriba.”

Starring Kusi’s Smallest is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Wavin’ flag – K’Naan and David Bisbal

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) – Shakira

Samina mina Zangaléwa is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Here are a few videos from the summer:

Boys from the Girasoles home in Kusi performing a choreography to Marcos Witt’s song “En los Montes, En los Valles”

David, one of the youngest boys at Girasoles Ica, sharing a birthday message to Jonathan, another boy from the home.

Part of the traditional soccer game that occurs every afternoon before dinner at the Girasoles home in Puerto Alegria. Hox is singing the Peruvian National anthem in the background.

More videos are online at Vimeo and photographs on Flickr.

Back Home. is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

In this video, Sarah, Brandon and Griffin take you on a ride through Ica to a market where they purchase various Peruvian candy bars to share with the 33 boys living in the abandoned boys home at Girasoles Ica and the children of First Presbyterian Dearborn.

Ica Candy Trip is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

I love listening to these three boys (Dairo, Waldair and Jair) laughing! One afternoon, we went to a park in Iquitos to play. They loved going on the seesaw and just could not stop laughing the whole time they were on it.

No work teams and the weekend means lots of fun and playing around. Here, Junior and Jair, are going a little stir crazy and being little boys.

Videos from Puerto Alegria is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

For many people we encounter on the trip, this water is crucial, the difference between being healthy and ill. They can spend up to half of their income on water alone, and the truck does not come through these parts too frequently. The water they buy (or receive from us) is essential to their life and is used for cooking, drinking, bathing and cleaning.

In the States, we take water for granted. I know that every morning when I wake up, there will be water in the shower (hot water, not just water) and there will be clean water from the kitchen faucet. We water our lawns to make sure they don’t turn yellow in the excessive summer heat.

Last year during one of my visits to the medical clinic Scripture Union operates in Iquitos, one of the doctors told me that the majority of the patients they treat have parasites or illnesses that come from not using clean water to cook or drink. He said that if people would have access to clean water, they would not have as many health problems and it would help solve some of the problem.

We equate delivering this clean water as Jesus being the living water of our lives. Without Jesus, life is just more difficult, we might fall ill, or have complications, but with the living water running through us, all things are possible. When somebody thanks me as a gringa for filling their buckets with water, I let them know that it isn’t me giving them water, but God. Yes, I paid for the water, the truck rental, the driver, but I was given the ability to do so from God. And only from His blessing am I able to share with others what He has given me.

Delivering Water, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Sarah, sitting on the back of the water truck.

Sarah, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

A bucket full of clean drinking water.

Water Bucket, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Delivering Water, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Delivering Water, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

An old container that is now being used to store water. This was originally used to store phosphoric acid.

Water Bucket, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Water is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

With its unique location, Puerto Alegria is the most multicultural home that Scripture Union operates. While the majority of the boys here are from Iquitos, Belén and the surrounding areas, a handful are from farther away.

A few years ago, three brothers from Brazil came to Iquitos with their mother. Their father had traveled by boat for 5 days from their small town in Brazil in search of work in the “big city.” After months of not hearing from her man, the mother came with her three boys to Iquitos to see what he was up to. Upon their arrival, she found him living with another woman, supporting her and not caring about the family he left in Brazil. The mother had nothing to do but find her own work in Iquitos. What she found did not pay much and she couldn’t take care of her three boys. Along the way she came across Gene, who, at the time, was the house parent of Puerto Alegria, and asked him to take care of her three boys until she was able to herself. They came to live in Puerto Alegria with the other abandoned boys, not speaking very much Spanish.

More recently, about 3 months ago, a group of 7 boys from the region of Caballococha, at the border between Peru and Brazil, have come to live in Puerto Alegria. From Caballococha, it is 3 days by boat, traveling all day and all night.

These 7 boys make up just a small part of the multiculturalism of Puerto Alegria. When they arrived, they did not speak Spanish very well (and some still do not). Their first language is Tikuna, one of the most difficult languages in the world.

Little by little, I have been learning a few phrases and important words from both Dairo (12) and his younger brother, Waldair (10). I don’t know how the words and phrases are spelled, just a pronunciation guide (of mixed Spanish and English pronunciations) for how to say it.

“Ta-ku ni a cue-ga.” What is your name?
“Joe-aa ganee Kate” My name is Kate

Every once in a while, I will catch a few of the 7 who speak Tikuna talking together, of course in Tikuna. It’s very interesting to watch them since they are so animated with their conversations. It is not just because they are happy, or excited about something, it is because they are speaking a language they understand – they do not have to think about it.

I understand how they feel. I am by far no expert in Spanish. Yes, I studied it in college and I have lived abroad for an extended period, but I am still lacking in my ability to recreate my “English-speaking personality” into Spanish. Jokes just do not make sense, and some things just don’t translate despite how hard I try or how many times I explain it. I lose a bit of my personality and gain something different in Spanish.

After a few days of lessons with Dairo, I asked him to sing a song for me that he learned at home. He was a little hesitant at first, and shy about singing while I recorded, but he finally overcame all of that. Here he is singing Demos Gracias al Señor in Tikuna.

The same song, as I know it in Spanish.

Tikuna is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Our video, “Neighbor”, which was written and directed by Randy, is about becoming a missional youth group and serving those in our community. The video was made to be entered in a contest by ymiLIVE for Presbyterian Church USA youth groups from all around the country. ymiLIVE is dedicated to providing a voice to the youth members of the PC(USA) and its video challenge was created to allow the youth members of the denomination to express their creativity and faith.

Every youth group video submitted to the competition is an interpretation of the scripture verse, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living waters.” (John 7:38), which is the theme for this year’s 219th PC(USA) General Assembly.

The 10 finalists (based on the number of votes received) will be announced on June 9. From among the 10 videos with the most votes, the Youth Advisory Delegates will be invited to cast the final votes to determine the two winning videos. The winners will be announced at the 2010 General Assembly during the first week in July.

The Presbyterian Foundation Group will establish two $25,000 endowment funds to support youth ministry at the churches with the winning videos.

With the endowment, we can continue our monthly ministry of Feeding the Hungry in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, provide scholarships to events like Acquire the Fire, Youth Week during the summer and many of our other programs and ministries.

If you would like to help us win an endowment, or watch our video, please go to: www.bit.ly/fpcvideo. You will need to register at the site to vote, but it’s quite easy.

–
CREW attempts to team up ordinary teens, college students, and adults to do extraordinary things. Join us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/crewyouthgroup

Neighbor is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.