News from Andahuaylas

Dear supporters and friends,

We feel so blessed to live in this beautiful city with mountains all around us. The views are truly breath-taking. We are finally settled in our new house.

For the last six weeks a missionary girl from North Carolina named Sommer has been living with us. It’s been so much fun having her here, and she would like to come back to serve as a missionary someday. It’s going to be hard to see her go, but comforting to know that she’ll be back (Lord willing).

For over two months the teachers around here have been on strike. It’s been a blessing though because we’ve been able to spend more time with the children teaching them English, doing devotions, having times of worship and playing hard. We also had some unexpected excitement due to the strike when the authorities threw tear gas to disperse the crowds. Some landed near the home center, and the kids were a bit scared until they realized that everything was ok.

A month ago we hosted our first mission team from California. What a great encouragement they were! We have been working on a new soccer field and a retaining wall between the houses, and they helped us complete the wall as well as a few other projects. A special thanks goes out to the team for all their help! The wall looks great, and once the grass comes up in a few more months, we’ll be playing soccer! Possible Olympic team, perhaps?

Some really big news is that we have two new boys at the children’s home, Benjamin and Jonatan. Benjamin doesn’t know who his dad is and his mom does not want to care for him. Jonatan’s family lives in extreme poverty in a small town in the mountains where he does not have access to school, so he is living with his dad in the valley to be able to go to school. Please pray for them as they begin to learn about Jesus!! Also, we are looking for sponsors for them, so if you would like to sponsor them please let us know ASAP.


Diego, Joey and Gaby are doing well. It brings joy to our hearts to see them growing stronger in their faith and loving the Lord. They are already speaking lots of Spanish. This is an experience they will never forget.

The next trip to Perú to visit us and meet the children is tentatively planned for June 2013. If you are interested please contact Heidi Estrada at evas.mom@gmail.com or Jeri Gort at jgort@touchinghearts.com. You can also write us an email for more info. We are looking forward to seeing you in Perú!!

Some needs:

• For the last 3 months we have been taking the local bus to get us to the Children's home and church. We realized, however, that having a large van will benefit not only our family but also the 15 children we have to transport every day. On Sunday nights after church, it is hard to go back home because buses are so limited. We have a generous supporter who will match every dollar up to $7,500. If you would like to help with this need, please write a check to: Kids Alive International with Posner Vehicle fund in the memo and send it to: 2507 Cumberland Drive Valparaiso, IN 46383. Thank you for helping us get a van for our precious children!!

Please pray with us:

• Pray for the teachers’ strike to end soon.
• Pray for the two new boys, Benjamin and Jonatan.
• Pray for wisdom from above so we can serve Him better.
• Pray for protection over our family.

Thank you so much for supporting us and for keeping up to date on our journey.
Joyfully serving our Lord Jesus,
The Posners

Easter in Perú

Holy Week is one of the religious dates venerated in Peru with great devotion there are processions, carpets of flowers, the aroma of incense, sorrowful hearts, slow pacing, grief-stricken by the death of Jesus, temples with candles welcoming devotees begging pardon for their sins. Just a few of the demonstrations of their faith.

Food is an important part of Easter, especially on Friday where eating meat is not allowed but people instead eat fish in a variety of preparations,most people eat the typical Chupe de Viernes (Friday Soup) made with Crabfish, cheese, milk, potatoes and vegetables. People eat as well variety of desserts like Mazamorra Morada (Jelly made from starch and fruits and colured with purple corn) or rice pudding. On sunday it’s typical to eat in Arequipa the “caldo blanco or seven meats soup” made with beef, lamb, chicken, pork, charqui (dried meat), goats and potatoes and vegetables to celebrate that Jesus is alive again.

Very early on Sunday morning  in the local square and in many parts across my city, Arequipa, a puppet of Judas is burnt and he always makes a will that is usually very funny.

This Sunday our family is attending a church service at 5:00am. We will be able to see the sunrise and sing worship songs. Jesus is risen!

News from Perú!

Can you believe we've been here for almost two weeks already? We spend 13 days in Lima and met with Kidsalive for our missionary orientation, visited the children's home in Pachacamac and the day center in Manchay, we met other missionaries couples, and visited many friends. It's been a full first couple of weeks here!

A lot of wonderful things have happened, but one thing that really drained and overwhelmed us was shopping for appliances and furniture (beds, mattress, etc). We not only dealt with tring to decide which would be the best, it was also time consuming and travelling from place to place in a big city of 14 million people was exhausting. But finally Saturday we shipped most of our appliances and furniture to Andahuaylas. We are so relieved!

Now on to the good stuff. The biggest highlight for me (Giannina) of this part of our trip was seeing my grandma whom I have not seen for over 30 years. She is 94 years old!! She stills cooks, bakes, sews, and  embroiders. She keeps herself active watching the great great grandkids. Seeing and hugging her was a gift from God!

We also had some fun at the beach and at a big water park that has a LOT of fountains. The kids loved it.

We arrived in Arequipa yestesday for Joel's 5-week language training. We are very excited to see and spend time with relatives. How great that God brought us here for Joel's training as this is my hometown.

Our kids are doing well. Gaby and Giannina got sick with the stomach flu but for now they are doing well. Diego & Joey will be home-schooled with a private tutor until they get comfortable with the peruvian system. Gaby might go to school for a few weeks while we are in Arequipa.

Arequipa is the second biggest city in Peru. It is beautiful city with three volcanes and the deepest canyon in the world.

We are very excited to be here and spend time with family. Please pray for us during this transition time. Sometimes it is easy to get frustrated with things, but as we learned in ICC, tolerance and ambiguity are necessary during transition times.

Please sign up to receive our blog! Check out our 3 minute video too. Thank you SO MUCH for your support in prayer and financial. Without you we would not be here!

The Posners

Second week of training

Hi y'all! (NC greeting)
We had an awesome second week at ICC (Intercultural, Communications, Course) training.  We are learning a lot about worldview, spiritual vitality, interpersonal skill, crisis on the field, the theology of suffering, God's Sovereignty, etc. So much!! And so amazing!

One of the sections that really stuck with me (Giannina) was about Missionary Kids (MK). We have been taught that "kids have a significant impact upon the family, and family issues impact the field". Missionary kids often are quickly accepted by the culture,  learn the language more quickly than the parents, are resilient,  and increase world perspective. On the flip side, we learned that MK are also a target for satan. If satan can get the kids, he can get the parents, and can really affect the ministry. Through these teachings, we learned the importance of prioritizing our time with our kids as well as how important it is to communicate with them and let them comunicate their feelings to us. We welcome prayers for wisdom with our MKs!

We've also been having some fun with the missionary families here! Last Friday we put on a talent show. Diego played the piano, Joey showed his drawings, Gaby danced the chihuahua song in her famous lion costume, and all three of them sang a spanish song. It was a fun night with all the missionary famlies.

We are in our third week here. We have one more week here before we head back to Minneapolis on February 20th. Please keep our kids in your prayers! Joey got sick with bronchitis and Diego started geeting sick. Gaby is doing well so far.

Also, we are still in need of monthly supporters. Please  pray for God's provision on this big need!

Wycliffe Missionary Training

We have now been training here in Waxhaw, NC for a week. We cannot tell you enough about how much we have learned to so far. Every morning our hearts are full of anticipation for what God is going to speak to us throught the teaching sessions, the missionary testimonies, and the study of God's word. One of the highlights of this week has been the teaching of Cross Cultual servanthood. Serving people is not doing what seems good to us, but learning from them and doing what is best based on their culture. Another really amazing session was about worldviews. We were taught about the four main worldviews, how we can slip unconciously into them, and most importantly how to check ourselves to make sure your life is continually growing toward a more Biblical worldview. This course has given us so much to think about and work on! We wish it could be available not only to missionaries, but to any Christian with the desire to make a difference in the world.

Another part of our daily life here is school for the kids. Diego, Joey and Gaby go to a house for homeschooling while we are in training. They have met a lot of other missionary kids. They are enjoying meeting  people and learning about other countries. Gaby has also been able to fish every day, which has been a fun highlight!

It is so encouraging to see so many young couples going to serve the Lord in remote areas. We are so blessed to be here and meet wonderful people who have been serving the Lord for over 30 years as missionaries.

Thank you all for your prayers during this transition! We are so thankful for all of you.

Check out the video below for an update on our training.
The Posners

Our Journey to Perú

Dear supporters and friends,

It’s hard to believe that we’re only 3 months from our departure to Peru. In the meantime, we wanted to give you an update about what is going on in our journey.

First, we’d like to share some praise and thanks! Thank you to all of those who donated suitcases to us as well as our friends who kindly donated clothes for Gaby!! It is always amazing to see God’s provision! We were also able to see His provision in the renting of our house. It was a bit stressful to not have it rented for such a long time, but in the end He calmed (once again) our anxiety and provided the perfect couple to rent it.

I have included information below regarding the rest of our plans, our current needs, and our prayer requests.

When are you leaving?

January 14: The whole family will go to North Carolina for missionary training with JAARS.

February 24: We come back to MN to visit with and say good bye to friends and family.

March 12:  Departure to Peru.

What are your needs?                    

We are still in need of monthly supporters.  If you have been thinking about supporting us, now is the time! We still need 30% to reach our goal. We humbly ask you to step up in faith and join us on our journey.  If you would like to part of our support team we will be happy to send you more information.

What should we pray about?

• For protection on our road trip to North Carolina.
• For our children during their transition to home schooling. (…and for their new teacher!)
• For smooth transitions and adaptability during our moving from place to place.

We are so humble and grateful for all of you!  We appreciate your friendship and support, your financial gifts, and your prayers on our behalf.  We are always praising God because of your obedience to Him enabling us to serve others.  We pray that this Christmas you would feel His presence and continue to praise Him with your lives.

Feliz Navidad and have a blessed New Year!

Joel, Giannina, Diego, Joey and Gaby

Update on our Journey to Perú

We are very encouraged to have raise 28% of our monthly support. As you can see, we still have a long way to go, considering we only have 4 months before we leave. We know that times are tough which makes it all the more harder for us to ask for funds. However, without funds, we will not be able to do the work we believe God has called us to in Andahuaylas, Perú.  We are counting mostly on friends and family to join with us in raising this support. We hope you will see this as an opportunity to be part  of God’s plan with the children and women of Peru. 

This journey has been challenging. The uncertainty and fear of asking for money has been more difficult than we first realized. Please pray for wisdom for us to prioritize our time better and the courage to reach out to people for financial support. Please also pray that if it is God's will, we can reach our goal to have 80% of our funds raised by October so we can make proper preparations to leave in December or January.

Please pray as Giannina makes a trip to Perú on Sunday to look for a place to live and make school arrangements. She will be going with two more people from Ohio to establish a micro-loan program with the single and abandoned women.

Would you be willing to pray for us and send us to Peru at $25 per month? Before you decline, please know that any amount you can pledge will be gratefully appreciated.

If you decide to join us on this journey of faith,  Simply go to http://www.kidsalive.org/around-the-world/latin-america/peru/ and scroll to the bottom and click on our name under missionaries.

In Prayer,

Joel, Giannina, Diego, Joey and Gaby Posner