familia

One of the best parts of being in Peru has been living with my wonderful host FAMILIA! While work at the office has been frustrating and I often feel like I'm a waste of space, I always look forward to walking home to spend time with Grimaldo, Elizabeth, and Yordani. And although a little sad, it was actually encouraging this weekend when Grimaldo and Elizabeth both separately asked me why I was sad, if I missed Luke, if I was homesick ... because it shows me that we are finally getting to know one another better! I am so thankful to be part of a family unit. It has been the simple things that have been immense blessings, like sitting in the store with Elizabeth yesterday while she knitted and I read ... like teaching Yordani how to play Crazy 8's (miss you, Oma!) ... like eating every meal together ... like spending time snuggling in Mamá and Papá's bed every night watching TV before we all go to sleep. It has been so important to finally find a "place to belong" of sorts. (this is the "inside" of the house - there are 2 kitchens and a bathroom and a meeting room on this floor, and then our bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs. I love all the plants!)

Each chilly morning I wake up around 6:15 and spend some time with the Lord. This has been extremely life-giving and important for my daily functioning. That is one thing about times where we feel completely weak, inadequate, and at the end of our ropes - during these times, we realize how VITAL God's faithfulness and presence and daily provision are! I head down to the kitchen around 7 and do what I can to help Mamá, who usually already has everything set to go. I have really only been able to help wash dishes and sweep pretty much - she is super organized and I'm still trying to figure out how she has time to cook, clean, and go to work every day! For breakfast we usually have bread with a hot drink made out of some kind of grain (kind of like drinkable oatmeal). Sometimes we all eat together, but usually Mamá and I eat earlier because we have work earlier.

I leave for the office at 7:30, and walk 30 minutes to get there. I have come to really enjoy this time to think and pray, as well as for exercise. My time at the office has been pretty unstructured so far, but that will probably change soon, as my supervisor has finally told me that we are going to make a master plan of my time here! My type-A personality says YAYYY!



I walk home for lunch at 1pm, arriving around 1:30. Mamá and Yordani are usually ready to eat when I get there, and Papá arrives shortly after I do. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. After lunch, I sometimes have time to relax, wash the dishes, or hang out with Yordani before heading back to work, either on foot or on the bus, arriving back at the office at 3. We work until about 6, and then I take the bus home again. In the evenings, we eat dinner (smaller than lunch) and hang out until about 9, and snuggle in Mamá and Papá's bed until about 10, when I am exhausted and go to bed.

Papá goes to church pretty much every evening, and always invites me to go with. I don't go every time, but I think he appreciates the company, because Yordani and Elizabeth usually only go on Sunday nights. He is very enthusiastic about his faith. He prays very passionately, and has given a message in church twice in the 2 weeks I've been with the family. I love his tousled hair and big smile. I have the most trouble understanding his Spanish, probably because he is really funny and always telling jokes, which are often very fast and use vocabulary with which I'm not familiar! We are learning how to understand each other better though. Papá has a motorcycle ... and I am proud to say that I enjoyed my first motorcycle ride ever in Perú with him! He says he's going to teach me how to drive it!

Mamá is also really hilarious and smiles and laughs a lot. I love to hear her call out "hija mia!" (my daughter!) whenever she wants me to come down to the kitchen. She wants to teach me how to cook and wash clothes so that I'll be a good wife someday :) She does everything she can to make me feel accepted and loved, and I have so appreciated her efforts to make me feel at home ... even down to helping me take a bucket bath!! I hope to be able to help out around the house more, even though I'm far from "domestic" in terms of the kind of work she has to do every day to keep the family running! She has been so patient, though, and I look forward to getting closer to her with time.

Yordani, too, has been really accepting and helpful as I adjust to life here. He's 12, and has been such a good dose of play and fun for me. I think he has appreciated my presence, too, because he loves to teach me new words in Spanish, as well as display all his knowledge of the US and learn all he can about life there. This has been great for me, because I've learned a lot from him, too, and he never tires of my endless questions about culture, Spanish, food, and everything else I'm trying to figure out. It is also so rewarding to see his big smile whenever I greet him "Hermanito! Cómo estás?" (Little brother! How are you?). He spends a lot of time taking care of the store in the front of the house that the family owns, as he only goes to school from 8am to 1pm.

I have yet to meet Taly, my 18-year-old host sister who is studying medicine in Bolivia. She will arrive for vacation this week sometime, and the other 3 members of my host family are EXTREMELY excited to see her! I'm really looking forward to spending time with her, as well, after hearing so much about her. I'll be sure to include a picture of her as soon as I can.

We also have 2 dogs - Esnoopy and Pequy (short for Pequeña, which means Tiny - the brown one) - who have finally accepted me as part of the family and don't bark at me quite as much! We also have some birds which sing cheerfully from about 3am til dark ...















And we have cuy in the kitchen to take care of biodegradable trash!















I have enjoyed spending the last 2 weekends with the family. Mamá and Papá play a lot of volleyball teams from work, so I've watched quite a few games, and played with them some as well. I also got to go swimming yesterday, in FREEZING cold water! I didn't last too long, but I was glad for the chance ... and hope to go again maybe after this winter season is over!

Thanks to all who prayed for me to be placed with a loving host family - God has definitely answered! Please pray for continued bonding time with them, and that I would be a blessing to them even as I have received so many blessings through them.

My other biggest prayer request is for the work situation, which just continues to get me down. Sometimes I'm really overwhelmed, and other times completely bored. I'm tired of the rollercoaster and hopeful that it will even out with time ... but also trying to be content exactly where I am right now.

Thanks for supporting me through this crazy journey! As always, would love to hear from you about what's going on in your life!