As many of you know, I do not get the pleasure of being a "glowing" pregnant person. I look like a beach ball (or beached whale) at around 9ish weeks and have been sicker than a dog for about 4 months. So, traveling internationally in and of itself was quite the accomplishment, much less leaving my 2 best guys for a whole week, and working in impoverished conditions.
Thankfully, I did drop enough hints to my philanthropic minded mother in law and somehow she was crazy enough to come with me! It was nice to know that if I was going to hurl or have diarrhea or just needed a nap that I had a family member there with me :)
Karna really took the project on 100% and even got the Iowa City community involved, especially in her church. She tagged along almost 100 pounds of donations to Peru! And then she had the chance to share her experience at church as well (funny enough, we didn't know that each of us was speaking to our church on the same Sunday! God is mysterious, eh?) Well you know me, I went up there and winged it!!! But Karna had some great talking points that she sent me and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing. I think it really captures the transformation of an experience like this.
Enjoy!
NOTES FOR SUNDAY:
My name is Karna Wieck and my husband Jeff and I joined St Andrew about 2 years ago and let me say I never thought I would be up here talking, so bear with me as I'm a bit nervous. I think I'd rather be doing a children's sermon. But, God is always knocking on my door trying to get me to go out of my comfort zone, so here I am.
Jeff and I were both Lutheran for many years, but many things at St. Andrew Presbyterian church attracted us to keep coming back to "visit". We didn't realize it I'm sure but God was leading us to this place where we started to feel comfortable. I can't tell you how many times on Sunday morning we joked in the car and said well are we going to be Lutheran or Presbyterian today as we approached the corner of Melrose and Mormon Trek. We both had been Lutheran for a LONG time. But what we were looking for at this point in our lives was right here and I feel God was knocking on our door so we finally answered.
So many times I've gone out of my comfort zone and put my trust in God. When something is new or I'm put in a difficult situation, or just doing something because I really want to but have no idea how, I just say a prayer in my head and see where God leads me. That's how I approach life and how I approached my mission trip to Chimbote.
So my thoughts were,...others have done this, so surely I can too, right? After researching the web site for an organization called "Friends of Chimbote" I said yes to going on a mission trip with my daughter in law and a group of Catholics from Jamestown, North Dakota.
With 2 suitcases packed of suggested items to bring and leave there (90 pounds), as I left for my flight to Lima I started to get nervous. After one night in Lima we took a 7 hour bus ride to Chimbote and I had plenty of time to look out the window and see how the people live. The beauty of the ocean on my left and the mountains on my right yet sadness is what I saw. Extreme poverty everywhere..it didn't seem real.
When we got off the bus in Chimbote we were greeted as if THEY were there to serve us. Hugs and kisses on the check and offering to carry our luggage and serving us supper. The next few days we met lots of people as we walked the streets of Chimbote and learned about all the work being done there. (Soup kitchen, daycare, preschools, social workers medical staff, churches, trade schools and even a hospice center. ) They welcomed us with open open arms and I fell in love with the people, especially the children yet my heart was heavy. As we started going in their homes and helping them it really hit me as I felt guilty that we were not doing enough and again it didn't seem real. How could God let this happen.
Then about mid week and several days of going to church with them, handing out stickers to children and coloring with the them my heart did not feel so heavy and I felt JOY in my heart. I realized we (and many others before us) were giving them HOPE. Working side by side with the social workers and my new friends from North Dakota and Peru, we saw many sad situations but we also made many people happy just by being there. As I walked down the street one day and looked up at the mountains and then at the homes I smiled and thanked God for his presence in Chimbote. You could see it everywhere, especially when you smiled at someone and they gave you one back. Although they truly appreciated having us rebuild or repair two homes and deliver beds and stoves to 25 homes what they also REALLY appreciated was our time with them and some of the little things we did. Somebody cares.
As I think about my experience in Peru and here at St. Andrew I see similarities. I thought of part of a bible verse. " For it is in giving that you receive...." I learned so much from this trip and I want to thank you for your support and prayers while I was there.
If anyone wants to hear more about my trip, I have a book with me that has lots of pictures and stories that go with them that I'm happy to share. We are also sending backpacks to the children in Chimbote so more can go to school. Thank you for that.
I'd like to end with reading a quote that is framed and on the wall at the mission site in Chimbote. It has special meaning to me whether I'm in Chimbote or Iowa City as I feel God's hand at work in both places.
"I slept and I dreamt that life was JOY, I awoke and saw that life was service, I served and saw that service was JOY."
My name is Karna Wieck and my husband Jeff and I joined St Andrew about 2 years ago and let me say I never thought I would be up here talking, so bear with me as I'm a bit nervous. I think I'd rather be doing a children's sermon. But, God is always knocking on my door trying to get me to go out of my comfort zone, so here I am.
Jeff and I were both Lutheran for many years, but many things at St. Andrew Presbyterian church attracted us to keep coming back to "visit". We didn't realize it I'm sure but God was leading us to this place where we started to feel comfortable. I can't tell you how many times on Sunday morning we joked in the car and said well are we going to be Lutheran or Presbyterian today as we approached the corner of Melrose and Mormon Trek. We both had been Lutheran for a LONG time. But what we were looking for at this point in our lives was right here and I feel God was knocking on our door so we finally answered.
So many times I've gone out of my comfort zone and put my trust in God. When something is new or I'm put in a difficult situation, or just doing something because I really want to but have no idea how, I just say a prayer in my head and see where God leads me. That's how I approach life and how I approached my mission trip to Chimbote.
So my thoughts were,...others have done this, so surely I can too, right? After researching the web site for an organization called "Friends of Chimbote" I said yes to going on a mission trip with my daughter in law and a group of Catholics from Jamestown, North Dakota.
With 2 suitcases packed of suggested items to bring and leave there (90 pounds), as I left for my flight to Lima I started to get nervous. After one night in Lima we took a 7 hour bus ride to Chimbote and I had plenty of time to look out the window and see how the people live. The beauty of the ocean on my left and the mountains on my right yet sadness is what I saw. Extreme poverty everywhere..it didn't seem real.
When we got off the bus in Chimbote we were greeted as if THEY were there to serve us. Hugs and kisses on the check and offering to carry our luggage and serving us supper. The next few days we met lots of people as we walked the streets of Chimbote and learned about all the work being done there. (Soup kitchen, daycare, preschools, social workers medical staff, churches, trade schools and even a hospice center. ) They welcomed us with open open arms and I fell in love with the people, especially the children yet my heart was heavy. As we started going in their homes and helping them it really hit me as I felt guilty that we were not doing enough and again it didn't seem real. How could God let this happen.
Then about mid week and several days of going to church with them, handing out stickers to children and coloring with the them my heart did not feel so heavy and I felt JOY in my heart. I realized we (and many others before us) were giving them HOPE. Working side by side with the social workers and my new friends from North Dakota and Peru, we saw many sad situations but we also made many people happy just by being there. As I walked down the street one day and looked up at the mountains and then at the homes I smiled and thanked God for his presence in Chimbote. You could see it everywhere, especially when you smiled at someone and they gave you one back. Although they truly appreciated having us rebuild or repair two homes and deliver beds and stoves to 25 homes what they also REALLY appreciated was our time with them and some of the little things we did. Somebody cares.
As I think about my experience in Peru and here at St. Andrew I see similarities. I thought of part of a bible verse. " For it is in giving that you receive...." I learned so much from this trip and I want to thank you for your support and prayers while I was there.
If anyone wants to hear more about my trip, I have a book with me that has lots of pictures and stories that go with them that I'm happy to share. We are also sending backpacks to the children in Chimbote so more can go to school. Thank you for that.
I'd like to end with reading a quote that is framed and on the wall at the mission site in Chimbote. It has special meaning to me whether I'm in Chimbote or Iowa City as I feel God's hand at work in both places.
"I slept and I dreamt that life was JOY, I awoke and saw that life was service, I served and saw that service was JOY."
Lastly, I know a mission trip isn't for everyone. Justin has made it very clear he won't be joining me in Peru :) But one thing we learned there is that you don't need to do that to be of service to others. Jesus himself never traveled more than 200 miles from the place he was born!!! But we ALL should open our eyes to the needs of our community and be willing to share what we have been blessed with! Make it a great week :)
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