Merry Christmas and more Peru pics

Hello all and Merry Christmas to all-Christ is born in Bethlehem...may he be born anew in our hearts as well!!! Unfortunately, I don't have any recent pictures...we really haven't been taking many pictures here recently. Maybe we'll try to get one of us and the Christmas tree and put that on tomorrow. For now, I just have some more Peru pics. I think I just might have one more round. I know I took a lot of pics there, this is really just a fraction of them. This first one is at a Quechua market in Piura. We really wanted to go to the area this lady is from, down around Cuzco and Machu Picchu, but didn't. That would have been a much longer and costlier journey. At least we met these folks and go some stuff from there.

This is the image of the Virgin Mary of La Merced on the coast in Paita, Peru. Legend has it that Pirates were trying to cut her head off, miracously they couldn't but they did leave a slash mark on her neck...so goes the story. You can't really see the slash mark in this pic, but there she is.

This is the town and port of Paita.

This is the beach over in Colan, not too far from Paita. We hung out at this place in Colan and had lunch. It was quite beautiful. The water was quite cold, though. Went for a nice walk on the beach, relaxed a bit and helped some fishermen w/ their nets.
This is in Colan and is supposed to be the 1st church in South America. I would've thought it would have been on the Caribbean coast some where but maybe I'm wrong. It was beautiful any way.
This was taken over at the bus station in Paita and it says, 'Urinario gratuito', which mean 'free urinal.' Not sure if they were serious or joking, but I kind of think they were joking cause I didn't see anyone use it.

Now, I want to put lyrics from a favorite Christmas carol. A lot times, we hear these songs so many times that we really don't even pay attention to the lyrics. A lot of them have quite a bit of theology and Bible and are quite deep, if we pay attention. Here's one that came to mind. It is one of my favorites but not my very favorite. My favorite is 'O Holy Night,' Christine's is 'Hark the Herald Angels sing.' This brings a question for you to comment on-What is your favorite Christmas carol?? For now, I will italicize some interesting parts of the song and comment on them below and put relevant scriptures.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing, by Charles Wesley

Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the new born King, peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!" Joyful, all ye nations rise,join the triumph of the skies; with th' angelic host proclaim,"Christ is born in Bethlehem!" Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the new born King!"

Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord; late in time behold him come, offspring of a virgin's womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th' incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the new born King!"

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give us second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the new born King!"

Come, Desire of nations, come, fix in us thy humble home; rise, the woman's conquering Seed, bruise in us the serpent's head. Adam's likeness, Lord, efface; stamp thine image in its place. Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in thy love. Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the new born King!"

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp Thine image in its place: Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love. Let us Thee, though lost, regain, Thee, the Life, the inner man: O, to all Thyself impart, Formed in each believing heart. Hark! the herald angels sing,“Glory to the new born King!"

The first three verses are more well-known but all are quite interesting.

comments on verse 1-God and sinners reconciled, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19-"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation."

verse 2-God with us...there are so many scriptures that speak to this theme but will put a few references here: John 1:1-2, Colossians 1:15-20

verse 3-Philippians 2:6-7-Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

verse 4 harkens back to a prophecy given to the Serpent (Satan) about how a descendant of the woman would have final victory-here is the verse, Genesis 3:15-"and I (God) will put enmity between you (serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel."