Moving to a New Neighborhood

Moving to a New Neighborhood

We moved! Our big news from the last few weeks is that we moved to a new neighborhood in the district of Sachaca. October was a whirlwind, and on the 31st, the same day that our kids got to trick-or-treat for the first time ever, we moved a couple miles away from where we’ve been for the last 8.5 years. The month and a half we’ve been here so far have been full of affirmation that we made the right decision, and I ask for your prayers as we start to share life and faith in a new part of the city.

Two new videos: Living Libraries and HULA

Two new videos: Living Libraries and HULA

There are two videos I want to include right here. We’ve written thousands of words this year to try to share what our lives look like, but a video has the capacity to capture the feel of something. My friend Mark Slagle of 1504 Pictures visited us in March and shot an incredible amount of footage. His creative work resulted in two videos. One shows the spark of life that Living Libraries brings into communities in Arequipa as we train teachers. The other tells the story about our approach to study abroad through HULA, as well as visuals from one of our favorite places in the world, the Colca Valley. 

Justice, Wellbeing, and Joy in the City - Looking Ahead

Justice, Wellbeing, and Joy in the City - Looking Ahead

One of the great honors of my last 9 years in Arequipa (!!) is to be connected with the Christian Urban Development Association. It’s not often that there is such a tangible move from faith to action, executed in a such a thoughtful, impactful way. A theology of the inbreaking kingdom of God is beautiful. It sounds like Jesus in the Nazareth synagogue, talking about good news to the poor, freedom for the incarcerated, healing to the oppressed. Because there is something about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that means good news for us—right now!—as we wait for the renewal of all things.

“Development Philosophy and Policies” as a Chance to Share Faith

“Development Philosophy and Policies” as a Chance to Share Faith

Over the last few months I’ve used our fortnightly CUDA team meetings to discuss our way through one of CUDA's founding documents, about what we believe about the kingdom of God, development and wellbeing, and how to be active agents of change who reflect the ways of Jesus.

Year in Peru by Caily Moore

Year in Peru by Caily Moore

I sit here in my favorite spot on the couch in my apartment overlooking the incredible and vast city lights, writing this and eating my dinner of bread and avocado at 10pm at night. I am alone but on a high from a great evening of climbing with friends and I am hit with waves of emotions as my mind is flooded with so many memories from this past year. There were difficult and challenging times but also new experiences and life giving moments.

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After the Chaos, a Sense of Peace

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After the Chaos, a Sense of Peace

When we tried to get back to Arequipa to prepare for our HULA group’s arrival, the airport was still shut down because of the protests which had reignited. This time they had shut down food and gas supplies to the city, which led us to make the decision to start HULA 2023 in Buenos Aires (Argentina). It was an inordinate amount of work to pull that off (and made possible because of my amazing friend Jonathan Hanegan), but pull it off we did and we launched into an incredible semester with an amazing group of students, for whom we are so thankful. By the time we got to Arequipa on February 20, things were mostly back to normal and we launched into a special time of travel, learning, and connection with a place, a people, its history and culture, designed to form us interculturally and grow spiritually.

Not What I Did in Arequipa, but What Arequipa Made in Me

Not What I Did in Arequipa, but What Arequipa Made in Me

A few weeks ago, I left Arequipa, understanding that my time there had come to an end. These past few days, I have tried to be intentional in thinking and evaluating my time in that beautiful city. I came back to the list of objectives I had written some months before when I accepted the Daggetts’ invitation to join their team and spend a somewhat extended stay working closely with them. I knew the language (mostly), and even when the culture was still very foreign to me, I already knew the place and some people; I thought God could use my presence there and prayed for it. I will not lie to you; reading that list almost one year later, I didn't have the feelings with which the seventy-two came to Jesus after being sent (Luke 10:17), feelings of marvel for what they had done in His name. I did not see my goals surpassing my expectations, and surely it was better this way, so I would not find many reasons to feel proud of myself. But the last point of the list I had written caught my attention, definitely fulfilled above all my expectations: “To grow and let God work in my life through others.” Let me tell you about it.

Reading: Opening hearts and healing wounds

Reading: Opening hearts and healing wounds

Although our main mission is to train our teachers, through modeling, in metacognitive reading strategies, reaching the classrooms and feeling the affection of our students, children between the ages of seven and eleven, expressed in hugs, smiles is an ineffable sensation. Reading not only opens doors, it opens hearts and heals wounds. Our noble activity is like the stem of a rose that is not only addressed to our teachers but also to our students, who day by day we see in them a greater attachment to reading. For this, not only motivation has been enough, but also a set of significant strategies that allowed reading to be efficient and meaningful.