Is There Anything Matt Cannot Do?

It is a question we ask all the time. Last week he finished the varsity soccer season. He plays the drums and guitar (taught himself both). Yesterday we went to a JV Jazz Band concert. He plays trumpet: Who Knew? I taught him some basics but basically he taught himself. By the way he does this while being on honor roll and taking AP US History.

Things I am Thankful For on This Thanksgiving Day

My children love God.

My older boys are working hard to be who God wants them to be.

My younger children ask us to pray for God to use them.

My wife is unbelievably good-looking.

My health is better than it has been in years.

There are frozen turkeys in Quito.

My kids do not know what boxed stuffing is.

They have not eaten green bean casserole with canned beans.

Baked choclo casserole grows on you.

Purple sweet potatoes taste better.

Sometimes You Learn Spanish in Latin America!

It should come as no surprise, but when Bryan took is Clep test yesterday, he recieved 16 credit hours of Spanish. The person at the desk said they had never seen such a high score! Thanks to Colegio Cristiano Eliot in Trujillo, Peru.

I Have Run The Race

For the past 2 months I have been getting up 3 days a week at 5:30. I walk 5+k to the Magic Bean, drink a cup of coffee and taxi back home. Recently, another missionary has joined me and made it a lot more enjoyable. I entered the Quito Nike 10k. I did it this morning and finished. Not real fast, but I finished. The VP of Ecuador was at the finish line (the man in the wheelchair). I have been joking that I would win if they had a Super Heavyweight division and I think I did! Not bad for 9000 feet above sea level.

On a related note, my baby brother completed his first triathalon yesterday. Brad, we rock!

Too Cute

We took Woody and Indiana Jones to McDonald's last night. They met up with our friends from Peru who now live in Quito, as well. They included Darth Vader, a flamenco dancer some sort of bug and a soccer player.

He Just Saved A Lot of Money On His Car Insurance!

It was Bug Field Trip day at Calacali. Thomas and Frank went and Thomas caught a lizard. Now we know what happened to all those bugs. Thomas named him Geico.

The picture of the kids having a picnic is to tell you about the international flavor of their school. Some of the children had hot dogs, while other brought knockwurt, pizza and I think the funniest...sushi!

This Is the House That Matt Built (or is building)

The school that our children attend has a retreat area an hour or so out of town. I was out there for Thomas' field trip and got to see something that Matt's housing and construction class is working on. They are building a scale model of a cabin that will be built at the camp. This seemed to be "Brag on Matt Day." First, his soccer coach told me how well he was doing. That he is still rough around the edges but makes up for it with work. Then, his construction teacher told me, "Matt sure asks a lot of questions...but they make sense." I told him that Matt was asking questions as soon as he could speak. Finally, his class sponsor said how Matt was just soooooo funny.

It is good to have a Superhero for a son.

Ecuador 5 - El Salvador 1

Ouch! That had to hurt. The boys and I went to another friendly match, but it weren't none too friendly! El Salvador had two Direct Reds, meaning that 2 different guys got ejected for flagrant fouls. Playing 11 men to 9, Ecuador wiped em up.

Now, we get ready for the next 2 matches which are World Cup elimination games. Venezuela in October and Peru in November. That Peru game...I am not sure any die hard Ecuador fans will want to sit with us :)

Foto: Ecuador scores into the upper corner on penalty kick. (Thanks to Jon Fields for the picture)

My Own Coffee Plantation

Some people like coffee. I think it is safe to say that it goes way beyond that for me. When we used to travel to Trujillo, I would notify the pastors I would be in town and would be at my " office " in the morning. Then, those who could would come to the Café Oviedo and we would together solve the problems of the life, church, family or whatever we were facing. On our recent trip to Trujillo, Matt got to see that first hand. He noticed that these pastors were much more relaxed and “fun” over a cup of café than in their church office.

Here in Quito, we like the Magic Bean. The food is okay, the prices high (for Quito) but the coffee is always good. We are now launching out into uncharted territory. We are going to be getting our own coffee tree! It will be indoors as it needs to be protected from the cold. Hopefully in 3 years, we will be harvesting our beans! Be looking for Café Pancho at a store near you.

Off To A Good Start At School!

It is Friday night at the Lamca house. Bryan is off at Arizona State. Matt is at band camp. Katie is having supper with a friend. Thomas invited two buddies over to spend the night. They are right now, putting up a tent in the back yard and plan to spend the night out there...we'll see!

Everyone is doing real well, but we are especially happy with Thomas. After the first week and a half of school, he is doing great. Everyone at school seems pleased by the progress he made over the summer. For the second summer in a row, we requested summer work for both he and Katie. They did a little of the 3 R’s each day. If you can make it out, he is holding up a 15/15 A+ spelling test. He also got an A+ on his Bible verse. They are retesting him in reading because he appears to be reading much, much better than last year. We hope and pray that everything is coming together for him. He not only has done his homework, but even turned it in!

Top Picture: A+

Next Two Pictures: Thomas and two buddies making their own pizzas at a place here in Quito.

Bolivia 0 - Ecuador 1

Last week we got a call from our team member, Ben Haley, asking if we wanted to use a ticket for the friendly match between Ecuador and Bolivia. We took it and bought two more and Thomas, Matt and I went to our first international soccer game. It may seem strange after 7 years in Latin America, but honestly, the big games were not usually helf in Trujillo or Tumbes! Both teams are getting ready for the World Cup Qualifiers that start in October.

1-0 is pretty much a barnburner in soccer, so it was a good game. Thomas, especially, had a blast. We sat in the $5 endzone seats with the Hooligans and it was great. Thomas particularly enjoyed the " Wave." He put everything into it. Matt was great to have along for his encyclopedic knowledge of the game. He gets upset with me when I shout " Hey that's icing!" as opposed to " offsides!" but it amounts to the same thing. Once I figured out that soccer is slow, not-as-violent hockey played on grass, it all made so much more sense!

Get A Job!

Hey, Bryan got in to Arizona this morning at about 1 AM. This afternoon he got a job at the Diablo Fitness Center on campus! He had a similar job last semester at Glendale Community College. Guess all those push ups and pull ups paid off!

Family Pics for the First Time in a Long Time

A standing joke for our family is "Hey Dad, when are we getting prayer cards out?" Prayer Cards, so my response goes, are a 19th century way of people to remember their missionaries. They they remind me that on our 21st century website, we have no family portrait. So, here is an August 2007 photo of our family. Please feel free to print the pictures off and tape them to your computer or refrigerator and remember to pray for us often. Frank

Monday and Tuesday Trujillo, PE to Quito, EC

Our last day in Trujillo was spent shopping. Matt took his 50 soles and bought at cajon and case for 59. So, he paid $2.50 of his money and $17.50 of some unknown drunks' to get the cajon. I guess I should say what a cajon is. It is a box. like a guitar, it has a hole on one side and you play it like a bongo drum, but it has a bass sound and a snare drum sound. In Quito they cost $220! He was pretty happy about this.

We bought things for Julie and Katie and Thomas and Bryan and our last stop was to a supermarket for Peruvian foods that we could take back. A stock boy passed us and I think Matt and I realized at the same time. The man who worked a the hamburger stand and knew all about us? He was not a taxi driver after all. He was Moises (in picture). Moises was a stockboy at the Merpisa supermarket near our house in Trujillo. He went with me to buy our Christmas tree, he was at our house. It has been at least 5 years since I saw him and instead of an 18 year old boy, he is a grown (fat) man!

Matt and I left the store and walked across the street to where I PRAYED he was working. I said, "Man, I am so sorry. I did not know it was you." He laughed and said, "yeah, I got pretty fat!" I was so glad to realize it when I could.

That has kind of been the story of our trip. We saw so many people and instead of missing them by 5 minutes, we caught them by 5. We left that night with Tito who was heading to Guayaquil to pick up volunteers. At Tumbes, I saw Mauricio who was a major help in Tumbes and also Jose Olaya and Eliana de Chavez. We rode on to Guayaquil and caught a plane home to Quito. Hey, even got the Father's month discount becuase I was travelling with Matt!

Sunday Trujillo, PE

We got off the bus on Sunday morning and headed by taxi to the Santos. Matt and I got showers and that helped alot. I even shaved! We had cup of tea and went to Café Oviedo so we could finish putting the message together.

Just had coffee/chocolate and worked. At 9.15 headed to Iglesia Evangelica Bautista Central. I was just absolutely flooded with emotion when I went in. Began to cry, seeing former seminary students and church planters. I knew I was in trouble. When called upon to preach, Matthew and I both went up. I asked the song leader, Hermano Freddi to have another song ready in 5 minutes so I could pull my self together. I told them, I would help dispel prejudice that gringos were cold and without emotion. I talked about how Central was the first church we had visited and we did not speak enough Castellano to know the word Castellano. I also said how the first well project in Cerro Bolongo, Matt had been roughed up playing futbol and pastor José Colchado took him aside like an uncle and talked to him with his Tarzan English and how that touched us.

Matt and I saw Segunda after church. Segunda was the tiny lady who cooked for most of our volunteer groups. Her son Lucho passed away 6 months ago and her daughter Lilly is back in Cajamarca working as a math teacher. Lilly was Jewels Spanish teacher.

Went with Colchado family for chifa which was delicious. On the way back from lunch, Matt looked down and found 50 soles ($17.50) on the ground! Some drunk must have lost it the night before. While Matt feels terrible for the drunk…well, he was glad to use the money.

We went back to the Santos apartment and slept from 1 to 5. We had some supper and did some walking around.

Saturday Huaraz, PE

We got in to Huaraz around 7ish and walked around till we found a cafe. Had greasy scrambled eggs that neither of us finished. Went to a tour company (though about 10 different ones offered). Tour company had good bus and said they would leave at 9.30. It was like 10 but así es el Perú. Matt and I slept most of the way. Road is now paved and much better than last time. At some point, I began having sinus problems like Matt has been having. We passed over 4500 meters elevation and at Chavin I was feeling lousy and my heart racing. We had Burro Saltado for lunch and it was terrible. I guess most people don’t feel the need to add that the donkey meat was bad, but it was. Ruins were very cool and we both slept the whole way going back, or at least as much is possible bouncing over roads.

Arrived about 6 in Huaraz and absolutely freezing. We went to Pizzaria BB where the mud oven keeps you warm. I was in such bad shape. Thought that I was sunburned and high bp. Found out later that I was running a fever. Asked waitress if she saw the Johnsons who are missionaries 8 hours from Huaraz. A vez en cuando she said, when they are in town. As we paid, she ran over and said the Johnson´s truck is parked outside. I left Matt while I went for meds and when I got back, they were parked next to the oven. Had a great time with them. They dropped us off at Linea and we got the sofa cama back to Tru.

I do not remember the bus moving. I awoke at 2 or 3 in the morning and it was like someone had dumped a bucket of water on me. I was drenched from Tumbes to Tacna (Peruvian phrase that means from head to toe). Evidently my fever had broken. I took off my shirt and wiped down with a pillowcase and redressed in the same shirt after I had rung it out. My other shirt was at the Santos being washed for Sunday.

Got to Tru at 7 or so.

Friday Trujillo, PE

Well we did not wake anyone up at 5 this morning. In fact, we slept until 7:45 at the home of José and Maria Elena Santos who run the Baptist Bookstore in Trujillo. They live just 4 blocks from my ¨office¨ at Café Oviedo. Tito and Pavel were waiting for us there. I told Matt never to stand up a fat preacher or a lawyer. One will get hungry and leave and the other will sue you! We had a great time with them. Tito was taking a group to the airport and had to leave around 10 (2 hour breakfast is short, gotta love Café Oviedo). Matt went on to Elliot and that left Pavel and I. It is so great to see friends after a couple of years and you just pick up where you left off.

I eventually left and went to a cabina and then on to Elliot. I saw Bert and Colleen and Victor, but Maria was in a meeting and did not know we were there.

We then went to the Huacas and it was really great

Matt got with Gabriel, Viviana and Scarlett from Elliot School that afternoon. As we left for the bus station to travel to Huaraz, we went to Inkafarma in centro. I heard, ¨Oye Gordo!¨ It was David and Palmera Trigoso from Horeb Baptist Church. David and I had worked together closely for a long time. We left at 9 on Linea and it was awful. Whole trip, neither of us slept.

Thursday Trujillo, PE

We got a sofa cama bus to Trujillo. Arrived at 4.30 AM. Matt was having throat and sinus problems so we walked to a 24 hour farmacia in centro. By 5 we realized that it was 3 hours until a cafe opened and cold and misty. We taxied to Las Delicias on the outskirts of Trujillo and visited Julio and Yolanda Olgien around 5.15. Yolanda was our maid in Trujillo and probably saved us more problems than we will ever know. My hope was that they loved us enough to not shoot at us. They did (not shoot at us) and we had a great time with them for a few hours. Saw them and two of their daughters, Deysi and Seydi.

As will surprise nobody, we had breakfast at Café Oviedo. The cooks and waiters remember us well, as they should (after all, we probably paid for their kids to go to college!) They told us the sad news that the Café´s owner, Theodoro, passed away six months ago. Theodoro was a great guy who had moved to Perú from Oviedo, Spain many years ago and had really treated his employees well.

When leaving Oviedo, we saw a guy at Janos burgers who I could not place. He asked about our kids and Julie and I thought he was a taxista who had worked on the corner near our house. I found out later that I was wrong.

After breakfast, we went to Matt´s old stomping grounds. At Elliot Christian school, we saw Pablo. He and Sarah have 3 girls now! He took us to Twinems and had a great visit. Matt´s friend, Mario, lives on same block and Matt left message.

Went to the Baptist Bookstore and saw Maria Elena. She and José invited us to stay at their apartment, which we did. Saw people at seminary, Julio y Rosio Montalvo, Sofia and baby, Elvis, Miguel from Piura who would ask me 20 minute questions in my missions class. I told Sofia for Pavel to meet me in my ¨office¨ at 8 in the morning. Somebody said Tito had a group in so I left message at Hotel Mercedes to call me at the Santos place and he called later that night.

Having a great time. Matt is realizing that being a missionary kid is a great thing. Very obvious that God has allowed us a big and lasting impact in people’s lives. José Colchado invited me to preach on Sunday, Father’s day. Matt and I are going to preach together, as a team.

Big day planned for today and heading to Huaraz at 9 pm. Will return Saturday at 9 pm on buscama.

Wednesday Morning Tumbes,PE

We left for our vacation on Tuesday night from Quito. This vacation is really Matt’s. It is his present for his 16th birthday, which was in September! We had planned on going during his spring break, but my appendectomy sort of put the kibosh on that. The bus was uncomfortable for Matt and unbearable for me. They just weren’t thinking about 6'2'' guys when they put those seats in. We got to the border station at 8am. Our bus did not wait for us so we walked on into town (about 6 kilometers). Waited an hour for bus to cross the border and were told that the driver was having his lunch and we would get there eventually. So, we walked across the border and took a mototaxi to the Peruvian border station. Then we got a collectivo to Tumbes. The guards at the border station remembered me...or at least remembered Julie's treats she made for them!

We got dropped off near Marta's house and was she ever surprised to see us. She was our maid in Tumbes and became a believer and a friend. Her son, Oscar, is now 5 and while we were there, Marta’s daughter Sandi came home and was very happy to have us visit. We left there and went to see the Sedano family. They were not home so Matt went to find his soccer buddies and I went to see if I could find Raul and Gladys who had moved up to the Sedano's neighborhood. Instead, I found Luis who I had baptized before we left Tumbes. We visited a while and went back down to the Sedano house. Their son, David was there and we were just about to get into a moto when Beti and Nimrod showed up. We spent some time and then Beti's boys wanted to see Matt. We found him near our old house and went to Miguel Grau. Saw everyone there, just about and had a good time.

Matt and I had lunch at Classic and wow was that good! Fish, rice and beans. For supper, he wanted chifa (Chinese Food). Our bus left at 6.30 pm and the chifa did not open till 6 (which means 6.45 at the earliest) so we went to Costa del Sol. There, we saw Joanna and got the typical greeting. Everywhere we go, 'y Juli? como está?' One cool thing at Costa...we came in and there was a lady who waved at us and then spoke up, 'do you remember me?' I confessed that she looked familiar, but… She is married to the owner of the Chifa that we TRIED to eat at. She was at Costa for her son's birthday. Had tons of spiritual questions based on earlier conversations...earlier meaning two years ago! When we had been witnessing to her, she was very close to knowing Christ. My guess is, that she is in fact now a Christian, and was asking the questions as a way to witness to her mother and sister who were with her at the table. I may never know until heaven.

Left CdS and got to bus station. Raul and Gladys were waiting on us! They had seen Luis who told them when and where we were leaving from. Only spent 5 minutes but very nice surprise. We got on bus and it was sofacama! first class seats. We slept great to Trujillo. Got off at 4.30 am. Matt has s sore throat and we went to a 24hr farmacia for meds. Now 5 Am and wondering what to do. Woke up Julio and Yolanda about 5.30. Good thing they love us! Missed Deysis birthday by 5 hours.

The Prodigal and Shaved Son Comes Home

The guy in the picture above is who we picked up at the airport. We were not quite sure who he was, but figured that someone who looked so rough, just needed a hot meal and a warm place to sleep. Low and behold, he went and invested $3.50 (actually we gave it to him) and when he returned we realized that it was our son, Bryan! Wow.

Dancing With The Stars

Matthew is performing in "Anne of Green Gables" as Moody. Moody is a boy who spends his time working on his times tables (is this called type casting?) and has a crush on Anne. Matt's character is kind of a comic relief. Famed theater critics (his Mom and Dad and Grandmother) say, "Three Thumbs Up!"

Answered Prayer for Scholarships

A few weeks ago, we asked prayer about scholarships for Bryan. Wednesday morning we got word that Bryan has been awarded grants that well meet his need for tuition, fees and books at Arizona State West for the 2007-2008 school year! Now the rest of the story... The following Monday, I checked in on his account to see if he was able to get the classes he had hoped for. There was a note on his financial aid account, as well. Bryan was awarded a Maroon and Gold Scholarship. This is a full tuition scholarship for academics. That means that the grants he was already awarded can be applied to his dorm, expenses, etc.

Seven years ago, we left the United States to go be missionaries. One of the questions we were asked most often and the one we asked ourselves was, "what will this mean to our kids?" Part of that question was about their education. Would they get a quality education in a third world setting? I think the answer is "Yes!" Now, let me be the first to tell you, we give Bryan a rough time about his academics. Our favorite was in his first semester when he took the History of Rock and Roll. BUT, he passed it with an "A" and had fun doing it. To anyone contemplating a missionary life, we want you to know that the almost universal rule is that your children will be the richer for it.


We are awfully proud of Bryan, awfully grateful for Arizona State and awfully thankful for your prayers.

Crazy Easter Egg Hunt

It started in Trujillo. We had hard boiled brown eggs (not the prettiest to color) and 4 Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs. To make it more challenging, we made the children wait until dark. The younger two had flashlights and the older two had candles.

This year, Matt hid the eggs and Thomas and Katie searched with candles. The game ended with Katie having 4 eggs and Thomas 3, out of 10. The came had to be called when Thomas crawled under the gas tank of my truck looking for eggs. No harm / no foul. The truck is in place, but this will require a new rule for next year. No hiding eggs in flamable areas.

Needing-Scholarships Prayer

You have seen the bumper sticker or one that is similar, at least: My Kid and All My Money Go To Arizona State! In our case, that is not exactly true. Yes, my kid goes to Arizona State, but up until now, all has been paid by scholarships. The financial aid deadline passed on Friday the 30th of March. Now, the various committees are meeting to decide who should get financial aid. We would ask you to pray with us about this need.

Bryan has a scholarship that will pay for his apartment next year. He is currently doing a work/study and will have to find a new one in the fall, as he is changing campuses. He is applying for a full tuition scholarship called "Maroon and Gold" for the ASU colors. Go Arizona State!!!

March Madness

Here is the round up:

Katie and Thomas were in Kids Kollege over the weekend. A local Christian College put on a program for the kids from Alliance Academy and our two, at least, learned much about the New Testament. They followed clues and used passwords to get into a secret church meeting where "Paul" and "Timothy" showed up and taught.

Matt is home late just about every afternoon. He is rehearsing for his part in Anne of Green Gables that will be performed in late April.

Bryan is in Lima with Younglife from Arizona State. They are doing construction at a school for handicapped children along with Vacation Bible School and some sports activities.

Julie and I are just holding down the fort!

Mom and Dad Get to Crow!

You know, one of the great things about a blogspot is that Mom and Dad get to crow a little about their kids. Bryan has been admitted to Phi Theta Kappa. No, it is not a frat, so he doesn't need to wear a toga or anything. PTK is an international honor society for freshmen and sophomores in college. Sure, nobody rode him as hard about "History of Rock and Roll" last semester, but it was a junior level class and he did make an A!