With so much time on the road, we had much time to listen to the radio or CDs...
We finished three books on CD-- the unabridged "Adventures of Tom Sawyer." Brandon loved it, though the younger two didn't always pay attention. It was fun to pass over the great Mississippi River down south after listening to it.
I also finished, "The 100 Most Important Events in Church History". Great stuff! Inspired me to study. So many incredible people who have gone before us-- yet we forget them all the time...
A third book (that made Stacey and I laugh loudly MANY times): "Stuff Christians Like." I highly recommend getting the audio version, as the author himself reads it (it previously was a free download on christianaudio.com). It looks at the curious quirks of American christianity, like how the word "just" is the most powerful word in our prayers. ("Lord, I just want to pray for my friend...just do your work in him, etc.).  
Three more pictures... (San Francisco is such a great place...)

We were at a church towards the end of our 2 month journey, after traveling many thousands of miles, and being in and out of many homes and churches. Jonathon had decided to stay with mom and dad instead of going to children's church. The pastor in his sermon mentioned how problematic it is when there are "unstable people who go from place to place, and from church to church." Jonathon was listening well, and turned to his mother and said, "Hey mom, that's us!" It gave us a real good laugh.

We passed through many states...

At 10pm we blew through D.C. The boys and Stacey got out real quick, and ran up to take some historical pictures...

Thanks to generous relatives, we got to visit Disney World for 3 days...

Serious training should occur before attempting Disney World...

Swimming at the beach was really fun...

Jonathon writing out with a special window marker a frequent question-- "Wen (sic) are we gana (sic) get there?"

The princess!

It was a great trip seeing supporters and supporting churches. Though it was a lot of miles, it was incredibly renewing to see so many friends. One of the highlights was Everglades Nat'l Park. It was definitely the lowest elevation sign I had ever seen....

The alligators were majestic, powerful-looking and (thankfully) lazy.

This will probably always be a favorite picture...

There were beautiful birds...

Nathan trying to scout out the gators...

This big guy didn't want to let us pass. He eventually did however...

We did see this one crocodile...

Then, a long ways away, we went to this national park...

The boy's victory jump was not well-timed. The wind was fierce and BITING COLD...

We eventually got to the Pacific Ocean near San Diego...

They had to touch it, after swimming in the Atlantic Ocean near Ft. Lauderdale only weeks before...

The two most beautiful women in the world!

Sophia is somethin' else...

April 2010: Krohn family at the Golden Gate Bridge...

It has been quite a trip, raising funds while visiting supporters and supporting churches. We have been in 26 states, and have thoroughly enjoyed the many sites and experiences. Visiting those who support us has been such an encouragement. Some pics of a couple national parks we have visited... One of them was Great Smokey Mountain in Tennessee. Saw some beautiful waterfalls...

I had always wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The boys were freaking out and excited as we descended into the cave. They loved it!

I seriously couldn't believe the quality of the bathrooms--800 feet beneath the surface of the earth!

It looks like we will be heading to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the fall, so I can pursue a Th.M degree in an intensive, one-year program. We will then head back to Peru in July, 2011. We are excited!

We have safely arrived in the US, and are LOVING the cold, snowy weather in Minnesota. (Weather in Abancay is 70 degrees year-round, which gets a little boring). We had our spiritual life conference by the beach the first week of January. The boys loved the ocean...

In December, before leaving Abancay, we had a dinner for the pastors and their wives. What a fun night of fellowship, one last time together. I will miss these men. 

Herminio (pictured below), works as a security guard full-time, in addition to walking the streets weekly trying to sell different products (imagine him with a pitcher for a blender or two, and a big bag of other small appliance products). Then he is a pastor of a small church in Abancay. He doesn't have much time to prepare his sermons! He did complete our basic program in our Bible Institute, and is a humble man of God. He is always hungry to learn more. He has become one of my good, life-long friends. 

Henry and Nati (short for her real name of Natividad) run an orphanage in their small home. He pastors a small church also. He is an art teacher (full-time) during the week. They are a humble, dedicated couple. Pictured below is Sophia with a couple of their orphanage kids.

Stacey plugged into the lives of a number of young mothers. I know they miss her tremendously...

It was another great couple weeks teaching at Chiguata Bible Institute in January. Great students.

For the Greek and Hebrew classes, I gave them a quiz every day, to ensure their progress. I spent a lot of time correcting them... (about 25 students in each class)

Sure was fun to see them working through the workbook, translating Scripture from the original languages!

Or studying their vocabulary in the small garden...

Here are most of the students....

Seeing young men with a heart for the ministry really keeps one encouraged. When I was a youth, I sure wasn't as engaged as these young men are. Every time I spoke/taught/preached, they are attentive and wanting to learn. Lord, touch Moisés, Miqueas, Jemerson and Juvenal!
 

We are back in the US awaiting word on possible study opportunities for the fall. We miss Peru, but love being in the US!

A visit to the village of Huanipaca, giving more Braille Spanish OT books to Maicol (see entry from Dec. 8, 2008 for more on this preacher-to-be), this precious boy reading for us...
                                    

A picture with Maicol and his siblings, along with his mom (closest to me) and another woman from church, who was all fired up by our visit, proclaiming that they needed to canvas their neighborhood and win them all for Christ...
                                    
                                              
Many gathered around Stacey--shocked that Sophia has no hair at 10 months (most, if not all Peruvians have babies with a TON of hair, even from birth)...
                                     

We came upon all these potatoes along the side of the road (with an 18,000+ft peak in the background), complete with plow. They are hard workers! Hand-picked potatoes!
                                     

                                     
The mountain range was stunning as always...
                                     
                                     
                                     

                                     
The snow-covered peak in the background might be Salkantay, the huge, 20,000ft peak used by the Incas for their sacrifices of young men and women. Mountains have frequently been the scene of very solemn events in the history of this world. And given that mountains are so prominent in this country, and also in the words/books/proclamations that the Creator has given us, it is always a beneficial activity to connect both "Words" of God-- his created Word, and his written Word. God often chose mountains as the scene of great manifestations to emphasize the solemnity, seriousness and authority of his message: "And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones..." (Deut. 27:4-5). Then later from the same chapter: "When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali" (Deut. 27:12-13). (Read then what faithful Joshua did in fulfillment of these words: Joshua 8:30-35).

Mountains were also used as "platforms" where great announcements were made to the multitudes: "When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you..." (Judges 9:7); "Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever..." (2 Chron. 13:4).

Mountains, of course, were symbols of strength: "“What are you, O mighty mountain?..." (Zech. 4:7). Yet, even they tremble before the Sovereign One: "The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel..." (Judges 5:5); "Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him..." (Micah 1:3-4; see also Isaiah 64:1 and Jer. 4:24-26).

And then of course, from the final chapter of our written Word: "The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”" (Rev. 6:14-16). (Much of the previous taken from W.E. Vine "Diccionario Expositivo" and "The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge" (ed. Jerome Smith).

(P.S. The strike fizzled out, and life has been normal for a couple weeks. Thanks for the prayers!).

Yesterday we went to visit the church in Chalhuani, a village about an hour’s drive from Abancay. We hadn’t been there in awhile, though have had semi-regular visits in the past few years.

In just the past week alone in our province of Apurímac, we have received about 4 inches of rain. This causes many rocks to fall on to the road from overhanging hills and cliffs. This large one (right pic) fell on the far side of the road and did some damage. We had to do a fair amount of weaving around the road to get by the rockfalls. On some blind curves with rocks limiting vehicles to just one lane, you just have to hope nobody is coming fast from the other direction (Workers with tree branches as brooms will eventually clear the roads).

Unbeknownst to us, the church in Chalhuani was in the midst of an all-day fasting service. They were already in the church at 11am when we arrived, and were to remain there until 6pm—all while fasting! After singing with them some songs with the beautiful harp accompaniment, I had the privilege to preach, and then fielded some questions from one of the youth. Our boys did great throughout the service, sitting (for the most part), and listening. Sophia was a little fidgety, but overall did great.

The pastor admitted that they feel abandoned, and that no one visits them. He lamented that no one comes to teach the youth doctrine, for he does not feel qualified. It is times like that when I wish we would have spent more time in Chalhuani. Nonetheless, I gave them all a number of booklets, as well as a copy of my sermon.  They begged us a number of times not to forget them. After the sermon, we left their small, rented room and walked to their uncompleted building--they have worked hard to get the walls up! They only lack funds for the roof. Here are three pictures of the precious believers and their church (they asked us for any help possible to finish their roof!):

Stacey had a chance to speak and encourage the ladies.

I certainly won’t forget their dedication and faith. I had to ask myself the question—“Have I ever sat in church with my brothers and sisters in Christ, ALL DAY Sunday, while fasting?” I certainly didn’t need time to think about it—no, I have not done that. And what a pity and shame! These humble believers, crying out to God, sacrificing their desire for food, uniting together as the Body, declaring for that day that they desired God more than food, can teach me so much.

After leaving, they all went back into their small room to continue, and we went to the pastor's house where his wife served us a delicious lunch of potatoes, pasta and fresh meat! (See below for a representative of said fresh meat, as the boys look at them scurrying around):

The pastor's wife is a wonderful woman, and loved holding Sophia as she slept...                                                      

One of my favorite things in all the world is looking at my boys on our trips, and seeing them look out the windows. Lord, may they impact their world for Christ!

(Regarding the strike, tomorrow is the big day to see if they will start it up again…)

The city has settled down this week. Things have returned to normal. We were not able to get a turkey for today's Thanksgiving meal, but we did at least have some delicious chicken.

However, agreement regarding the reasons for the strike still has not been reached. It is possible that the strike will resume early next week. We sure hope not...

A two-day truce has been called. Sure was nice to actually take the boys to school, and see taxis and combis running. Many were busy cleaning up the streets, with all the accumulating garbage and broken glass. The strike may start again on Wednesday (supposedly stronger) if the meeting does not go well tomorrow. The people still demand the stepping down of the province president, and he still refuses to step down. We will see what happens tomorrow. We will be stocking up with lots of food however.

It was nice to leave the house, and go on a little hike with the boys. We will miss these mountains as we leave them in just over a month.

Collecting acorns on a mountain hike is a rock-solid guarantee for Nathan:

One humorous anecdote from our pastor’s meeting: Before the truce was announced, we met to formulate some type of press release regarding our views as the fraternity of pastors of Abancay. It was to be generally a call to peace, honesty and justice. The hours dragged on as everyone had their own ideas of what to include, and what not to include in such a delicate statement. In recent days, with thousands of people marching in the streets and in the main plaza, we knew we had to be careful with what we said, not “inclinando” to one side or the other. So one passage we discussed was Proverbs 8, with such appropriate words like “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence, I possess knowledge and discretion…I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech” (v. 12, 13b,c). These ideas seemed to have good potential. One pastor wanted to look at the whole passage, and asked again what the reference was. He was told erroneously and accidentally that it was Proverbs 7:12, which reads, “…now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.” Oh my, was it hilarious! Just what a press release should NEVER say in the midst of near rioting… It was really good to break the tension of going back-and-forth. Thank you Lord!