As the new year kicks off and the team takes a look at what lies ahead, there are two things that really stand out. Even before we left the States, we knew securing our long-term visas would be a major hurdle and one of the primary points of uncertainty and concern in the early phase of our work. It continues to be. The short of it is that we need a church established in Lima to have a formal legal status in order to vouch for us to the government. The church has had difficulty attaining that status, but we received word recently that they have made good progress.
Refreshment
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...
Summer Break
I can’t believe Christmas is this week! For one thing, it doesn’t feel anything like Christmas here (or at least our idea of it). I am wearing sleeveless shirts during the day because it is officially summertime. While students in the U.S. are relieved to get time off for Christmas break, Peruvian students are relieved to finally enjoy Summer break.
Economy of Peru
Starting from Scratch
Some of you may know that I was the rookie linguist on the team when we arrived three months ago. (Yes, really, we have been here that long.) I could almost order my own meals and knew that I should say “Mucho gusto” (basically “Nice to meet you”) when I met someone. Other than that, I was pretty much at a 1- year-old’s level, knowing a few numbers, colors, concepts, but really unable to do much with it.
What's Next?
Well, I've finished with Spanish language school. It's a strange feeling being "done." I haven't really studied Spanish since I finished my minor in undergrad., so I've been looking forward to brushing up for a long time. It's come and gone, and I can hardly believe it. With three weeks of budgeted schooling left, I decided that I would be better off to study at home what I'd learned and let the rest of the field workers have an extra week of class. So my week off has been one spent at home reviewing and trying to establish a self-disciplined schedule.
Our First Peruvian Thanksgiving
Well, in the words of my husband, "I have come of age." He said this because he made broccoli cheese casserole for his own Thanksgiving this year. His momma was not here to do it. Our Thanksgiving would not have been as tasty if it weren't for the yummy box of ingredients that my mother-in-law sent to us this month (containing Velveeta and a can of real pumpkin).
Meet Manuela
Before coming here, I was very uncomfortable with something that was suggested to us by some other Peruvian missionaries. It was the whole idea of what they call here an "empleada." Basically, many of the rich have a full-time hired maid that cooks, cleans, tends to the children, you get the idea. We heard that it was expected of those with any sort of money to hire an empleada. The people in Peru "expect" for those with money (if you are Gringo you are expected to have money) to help their economy by hiring an empleada. Would this make any of you uncomfortable?