August has been a time of transitions and adjustments. I have now been in Arequipa six months, and culture shock has set it. I would love to write that this month has been the most productive yet, but that just isn't the case. One transition we have made was going from having interns all summer, to sending then home at the beginning of this month.
What's to Come
Often we find ourselves using the newsletter to recap the month. In fact, Greg’s article is aimed at keeping you updated with our work. However, we also have a number of things that we are planning and preparing for right now, though they have yet to come to fruition, and we want you to know about them. What I hope you all do with this article is make a list of our upcoming projects and begin praying for them. We are still in the early planning stages with some of these and could use guidance. These are in no particular order, which is my favorite way to handle things.
Funds 2009
Don’t look now, but 2008 is about to be over. Somehow we have come to the end of another year. This year has been pretty important for our team (obviously!) since a number of things have happened. We lived and worked with both of our main supporting congregations. We formed support teams to aid us at both churches. We sold, stored, or gave away virtually all of our material possessions in preparation for our move to Arequipa. We packed six suitcases, said goodbye to family and friends, and boarded a plane to our new home. We completed three months of intensive language learning while finding housing and establishing ourselves in our new city. We prayed and prayed and narrowed our target area to the Miraflores/Alto Selva Alegre areas of Arequipa. We secured office space for 2009 and bought a “Mauve-Taupe” (not pink!) van. And that’s just the “big stuff” list…
And the Winner Is...
The Language School Groove
It’s Friday night after our second long week of language school. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for. When we investigated language schools over a year ago, Casa de Avila was hands-down the best option in town. That, however, was far from a guarantee of excellence. One of the things I have anticipated most during the last years is language and culture training. There is something so rewarding about the look on a Peruvian’s face when you can make a word play in Spanish, order a traditional plate at a local dive, or haggle in the market without missing a beat.
First Destination: Lima, Peru
I’m not sure how many of you have ever had to run through an airport with a slim chance of making your international connection. Up until August 25th none of us had. There we were though; four first-time missionaries running our tails off through the Atlanta airport hoping that the gate folks would take pity on us and allow us on the plane which we were certainly going to miss. God is good, as you all know, and we made our flight by 8 minutes.