When Jaclyn and I decided to be missionaries, two years in a foreign country seemed like an eternity. That commitment soon got stretched to three. Surely three years would be enough to change the world, right? When the three year mark drew close, we felt like we were just beginning to hit our stride in ministry in Peru. So at that point, after much prayer and counsel, we decided that we would stay until sometime in 2019.
Ten years ago Team Arequipa moved to Arequipa, Peru. At that time Team Arequipa consisted in Greg, Megan, and Ana Mckinzie and Kyle, Larissa, and Shaye Smith. Four years ago the Blairs and Daggetts joined Team Arequipa. Thank you to all of you who have supported Team Arequipa for the last ten or four years. You have been such a blessing to us and to the work here. Also, PICTURES!
We are nearing the end of the calendar year, which in Arequipa is the same as nearing the end of the school year. For CUDA and Living Libraries, that means we’re coming down the home stretch, teaching our last reading comprehension strategy in October before trying to synthesize a year’s worth of work with teachers and students during the month of November.
Continuing with this series on things that have helped me understand prayer better, I'd like to share some quotes from a sermon by Dr. Tim Mackie called "Psalms – The Language of Prayer Part 4: Praying Through Doubt" accessible on the Exploring My Strange Bible podcast.
Ten years is a long time. It is hard for me to believe that we moved to Arequipa ten years ago. We were two young families with two baby girls, and not a clue what journey was ahead of us. I wear a necklace every day. I am asked often what it is. It is a sterling silver Peru charm with a heart cutout. Peru has a huge piece of our family’s heart, and we think of our Peruvian family and the memories that we created there often. Just like I had no idea about what would happen in Peru, I also had no idea how God would use Peru to prepare us for now.
Today I walked with Adileen to school. Slowly. Her preschool is just about 14 blocks from our home, a distance I can walk briskly in 12 minutes or so, but a distance that at Adileen’s pace usually takes between 25 and 30 minutes. Special thanks to Katie, who discovered that Adileen could walk the whole way to school holding her hand while I was on a trip recently. There’s part of the walk where 5-foot sections of the wall are painted, each in a different color. I was filled with joy watching Adileen run to one, shout “Azul!”, and move on to the next, shouting “amarillo”, and “verde”, and “rojo.” So. Fun.
Happy halfway through 2018 to all! We're rapidly approaching winter break, and the Peru Day (July 28th) and Arequipa Day (August 15th) festivities that go with it. The Blairs are getting ready to travel back to Peru, and the Daggetts will be stateside for all of August and the first nine days of September.
