We have been living in a small apartment at this hotel since March 16 when the quarantine lockdown went into effect. At that time we had the HULA group here with us until they left two weeks later. After that Jeremy’s parents and siblings were with us for another two weeks and then headed back to the US on a repatriation flight. For the last 4 months it has been us and the Spanish teacher that came with HULA, Debora, and her daughter, Sira (7 years old). Also living at the hotel is the owner, Zenet, and her daughter, Nathalie (17 years old), and one hotel worker, Yulisa. We have become a family seeing as we have been locked in the hotel grounds together 24/7 for 5 months now. We have celebrated 4 birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Peru’s Independence Day together. Arequipa’s birthday, August 15, is right around the corner.
When we aren’t celebrating something, life is pretty normal and we have gotten in a rhythm that carries us through the days and weeks.
We begin each day by exercising. After that we eat breakfast and then the kids play together until Kinney goes to take his nap. At this time, Adileen does some school work, I cook lunch and Jeremy works on his classes he’s taking, or research, or connecting with neighbors or preparing for Bible studies. We eat lunch around mid-day, take the kids out for a walk, then everyone does quiet time for a couple hours while Jeremy works some more. After this, the kids play until we eat dinner together, and after dinner they spend about 20 minutes singing songs in Spanish with Zenet, Nathalie, and Yulisa. Then it is bed time and another day of quarantine has passed!
It can become monotonous and that has been something that has been hard for me, trying to figure out different ways to break up the monotony, but overall we have gotten pretty settled into our life here at the hotel, enjoying the beautiful weather of Arequipa (it is sunny and 75 degrees every day). There is still no sign of borders opening, that would enable us to travel to the US, but we are hopeful that at the end of this month Arequipa’s city-borders might open and we might be able to do a small family trip to get away and rest for a few days.
We are deeply grateful for having had people to share quarantine with for the past five months. That Adileen has a friend to play with is huge. We’ve spoken with many other friends and families here who do not have that. That we’ve had an outdoor patio for the kids to run around in has been sanity-saving. We also know many here who don’t have that. And we have a steady income, from Harding and from our supporting churches (Cedar Lane and Central), that we are so, so thankful for. We don’t take it for granted, not for a second, and have even had enough to help some others out in many situations where they don’t have an income to count on. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.
