15 Books for 2015

15 Books for 2015

Happy New Year! In this special edition of the Team Arequipa newsletter we want to suggest 15 of our favorite books and tell you why we like them. In this day and age of fast information—140-character tweets and BuzzFeed lists designed to be quickly consumed and discarded—we believe the discipline of reading a book from cover to cover is important. In Peru we see the devastating impact of poor literacy and the lack of a culture of reading (which is why CUDA is working with Peruvian students, parents, and teachers to create a love for reading). Reading empowers. Literacy affects all areas of a society. Books provide opportunities for learning, whether you agree or disagree with the author's conclusions. We hope you'll pick a book or two (or fifteen!) from this list and resolve along with us to read more this new year.

Focusing Forward

Focusing Forward

We’ve been talking for months about all the changes surrounding our team and our families. However, we shouldn't overlook the effect that it is having on our church members as they see the “founding members” moving away and find themselves in relationship with new missionaries, wondering what is going to be left when the dust settles. To help with the transition we have been trying to build bridges between the new missionaries and church members. 

A New Chapter

A New Chapter

The time has come. This is my last Team Arequipa newsletter article. I was listening to “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” the other day while washing dishes. The weirdest feeling came over me. I remember bawling through that song our first Christmas here, because I missed my home and family so much. I know that many of my new teammates will be experiencing this same emotion this Christmas. But this seventh Christmas in Perú, the sentiment is different. Arequipa has become our home, and we are about to say goodbye to all things familiar to us here. The song causes me to bawl my eyes out but not in the same way.

A Tradition Overhaul

A Tradition Overhaul

Another one of the changes and a part of our transition into life lived here in Arequipa is forming new traditions. This is somewhat difficult to do especially when it’s the holiday season and you are missing family and special time spent with them each year around this time. Sarah, my wife grew up in Italy and I grew up in the United States and now we live in Peru. There are a lot of traditions, especially holiday traditions, to mix into the pot. We genuinely want to learn and make Peruvian traditions important and meaningful to us, but also not forgetting some of our own important ones from Italy and the US.

Homestays

Homestays

CUDA has had a language school for a while now, but a little over a month ago added a homestay option. What the homestay option offers is full language and culture immersion by living with a Peruvian family. This is a great option for extra language learning beyond what happens in the classroom and gives the opportunity to use Spanish in a real context, every day. 
 
Jeremy and I moved to Peru over a month ago knowing we would be spending our first several months in language school full time, which is four hours a day, one-on-one with a Peruvian language instructor. However, we also knew that we wanted to do a homestay with a Peruvian family to reinforce what we had learned that day and to make us have to use Spanish outside of class. So, when CUDA started offering the homestay option we signed up right away.

Push & Pull

Push & Pull

The four new families that are part of Team Arequipa are not our replacements. They are the next wave crashing toward the shore as our wave begins the slow fade back into the ocean. For a little while, you can’t tell that both are happening, but standing in that water reveals the push and pull occurring simultaneously. Their effect will be similar, but new. They are a blessing to our team, our church, and the city of Arequipa.

Together in Prayer

Together in Prayer

As I scroll through my twitter feed I am keenly aware that the spiritual discipline of prayer is trending. With Tim Keller’s new book on prayer and the requests for prayers that include the Ebola outbreak, the Ferguson trial, or efforts to build wells in Africa, I am once again reminded that Christians are called to be people of prayer. I am grateful for the people of prayer that I have witnessed and ministered alongside of. They have taught me what it means to pray while challenging my own fledgling prayer life. Which begs the question, why is prayer so difficult?

Team Arequipa = Complete

Team Arequipa = Complete

This month marks the long-awaited arrival of the remaining members of Team Arequipa. Since our last newsletter, two more families arrived - Jeremy & Katie Daggett and Jake & Jaclyn Blair. We are now a seven-family team, which means we all have some new dynamics to get used to for the brief months we are all together. We appreciate your prayers for our time, that we will provide for each other the exact balance of support and challenge that we need to grow and pursue the mission of God as it plays out around us here in Arequipa. Also, that we cover all necessary and relevant topics before the McKinzies make their transition back to the stateside mission field in early January.