It’s springtime here, but Peruvians call it “Arequipa summer” because our true summertime (i.e. January) is the coldest it gets because...rain. This month we celebrated 7 years in Peru! There is so much to be thankful for. We love the house churches. We love our neighborhood and friends throughout the city with whom we get to share life and faith. We love partnering in sustainable community development with CUDA in schools and with microloans. We love guiding Harding students through a process of intercultural learning through the history and culture of Peru.
All that said, I can’t help but shake the craziness of the feeling that we’re living through a pandemic. In some parts of the world, it may seem like a thing of the past. But if you even think about traveling somewhere that involves crossing borders, or if you’re just in another part of the world that can’t lean as heavily on the health care system, then you’ll realize this is very much an ongoing reality. In the United States, everyone who wanted to get vaccinated got access in May. Just this week they started offering the vaccine in Arequipa to kids 12 years old and up. It’s a huge milestone—we finally have 50% of the population with both doses and things are looking up and up. I thought about all of this as I rode a bus back to our home district of Hunter yesterday, seeing everyone wearing a mask, on and off the bus. Here in Peru what is normal now is wearing one mask if you’re outdoors, and two masks if you’re indoors. Our most recent student HULA group that we got to host back in August got used to always having two masks with them 😅
What’s crazy is that 99% of schools still have not started back in person. We’re coming up on two entire school years, from March to December, with the vast majority of children in Peru who have only had the option of virtual school. That, with the fact that most peoples’ computer is their phone, and there may be just one in the household—two if both parents are still part of the household—it’s really a dire situation. There’s been so much misinformation and fear generated because of the lack of clear communication about the pandemic, that parents are fearful of sending their kids back to school. In our case, this week, Adileen has her first day of school in person, in the first phase of hybrid schooling that is starting with one day a week in person. We rejoice! It’s a moment we’ve been waiting for since March of 2020 when she went to school for just two days before the world shut down. The entire four hours will be outdoors, they will wear two masks the whole time, and keep distance from the other students (yesterday they practiced on zoom four ways to greet without touching each other: a military salute, a virtual hug, miming blowing a kiss, and a friendly wave). With all of that in place, of the 30 students in her kindergarten, only four families chose to start class in person. Please pray for Adileen in this process. Pray for Katie as she continues to guide the majority of Adileen’s virtual learning—and is teaching her reading in English on the side!
And pray for Peru:
Those of you who have been following along for a while know that part of what we do in terms of community development work is with education. That’s because Peru has consistently scored last or near last in reading performance, as well as math and science. It disproportionately affects children from lower income families, which is why with CUDA’s Living Libraries we look for opportunities to partner with schools who are on the outskirts (i.e. poorest parts) of the city. We have continued to train teachers to improve reading strategies throughout the pandemic, but an already dire situation in education has proven so much shakier with online schooling. Please pray for the kids in Peru, the kids on our street, in our city. Please also pray for the kids of the world, those who are in your neighborhood, your churches, your schools. And let’s work together to improve the education, well-being, and lives of children throughout the world.
What a precious gift this life is. So much capacity for beauty. Creativity. Life. If Jesus of Nazareth is reconciling all things to himself, how can we be a part of that here and now? Even as I look out and see so much brokenness, corruption, and despair, I’m hopeful. Let’s do this. And let’s start it with prayer.
Two more things worth mentioning that we're thankful for. 1) A big park near our house opened for the first time in 18 months. When we went, I felt a deep sense of joy as the kids ran around. Kinney was amazed by the sheer number of slides and Adileen made five new friends in a heartbeat. 2) Soccer is back! We're finally able to play soccer again, which is my preferred method of exercise and relationship-building. Can you find me in the picture with my Sunday 6:30am soccer group?
