Katie, Adileen, and I just got back to Arequipa after a whirlwind two and a half months in the US. We had an incredible time with family as well as with Cedar Lane and Central churches, and some friends here, there, and everywhere. Adileen got used to a car seat for the first time, learned what a church nursery was like, and got to meet all of her aunts, uncles, and cousins. Sorry everyone (especially grandparents), but I think her favorite part of the US was the dogs. Adileen. Loves. Dogs.
As I mentioned in my April article, we set out as a church to be more evangelistic this year. At that time, we were in the beginning stages of that process. We wanted to be people who shared the Gospel with our friends and neighbors, so one of the first steps was for each person to sit down with pen and paper and write what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to each one of us. As we shared these short gospels with one another as a church, it was awesome to see what facets of the Gospel each person emphasized.
Jake and I are so happy to say that our sweet daughter, August Adele, is now two months old and doing very well! The transition of having a new life in our home has been packed full of love and learning. When we found out we were expecting we were thrilled. The creation of new life is amazing and is a strong reminder of how God works beautifully within this world. As some of you may know, shortly after finding out I was pregnant, my sister's son, Jackson, passed away suddenly at the age of four. The past seven months have been a whirlwind of emotions. On one hand we are grieving the loss of a beautiful life and on the other we are celebrating a new one. Trying to reconcile those two extremes has not been easy, especially being so far away from my family. These two significant events in my life have caused me to ask deep questions about faith and how God works in this world.
We have been in Peru for 2 years now! The past 2 years have flown by! It really seems like time moves faster here. Two years ago we said goodbye to family and friends, got on an airplane and moved to Arequipa as a family of 2. It took months for me to learn the language, figure out where was the best place to go grocery shopping, where to go for certain imported products, to make friends, meet neighbors, and I think it has taken the whole two years to make it feel like home.
Two years ago we, as a church family, set out to be more servant-hearted and set a goal to do service projects together. Last year we worked at an orphanage fixing up their study room and dining room. From that service project we began further talks with the director of the orphanage (and of several other orphanages), Pastor José, about how we could continue to serve the kids and orphanages. Paty wrote about the way we have been involved with the kids for the past couple of months.
It is with great joy that we are writing to report our findings and impressions following our family's visit to Arequipa in July. We spent two weeks with the church, and we took the opportunity to observe various aspects of CUDA's work and to discuss matters at length with Alfredo and some of our missionary volunteers.
We believe that God is healing and transforming creation, so part of our mission as a team is to proclaim and participate in God’s reign as it breaks into the city of Arequipa. We work for God’s reign, to produce signs of justice, wellbeing, and joy of God’s saving rule. What does that look like? Through CUDA, we catch glimpses. We plant seeds. We walk the long, slow path of development that leads to transformation. We do it because Jesus was raised from the dead and the world is now a different place.
My name is Benji Nicholas, and I will be in Arequipa for the next year as an apprentice with Team Arequipa. To let you know a little bit about myself, I was a missionary kid in Kenya from the time I was born until I was 13, and my parents were there 18 years total. We moved in 2008 to Jackson, TN where they still live and are members of the Campbell Street Church of Christ, my home congregation that is partially supporting me this year.
