lágrimas

I was immediately drawn to the joyful baby in the room. He was the only person younger than me, and he drew attention in his own right with his energetic and bubbly personality. He started giggling at me as I poked his chubby cheeks and told his mother how adorable he was. I gestured to her that I wanted to hold him, and as she handed him over she joked that she wanted me to take my new “novio” (boyfriend) to the US with me when I leave. Everyone started laughing and got a big kick out of how much I enjoyed holding my “novio” and making him laugh with silly faces.

One would never have guessed that this group of 15 individuals were arranging flowers for the burial of their relatives, murdered by the government 25 years ago. 92 brilliant bouquets.

Three days later, in Putis, I watched in despair as she stood over the casket of her relative, still carrying her precious baby boy. Her eyes filled with tears, and they spilled over onto her face. I felt mine fill as well, but I tried desperately to hold them back. I didn’t feel worthy enough to cry, to join in this pain. I knew that I could feel only the tip of the iceberg of what this woman and so many Peruvians feel.

I carried a casket for the first time in my life. 92 white caskets, some marked with names, but most bearing codes. C90. C91. C92. They didn’t weigh much. Many were children. All are now bones, fragments of a person.

As the ceremony drew to a close, an older woman took the microphone and began speaking forcefully in Quechua. She grew more and more agitated, her voice growing huskier, her words dissolving into tears, and then into deep sobs. Someone near me translated, “We are innocent! The government did this to us!” The woman started yelling, sobbing, screaming, “JUSTICIA! JUSTICIA! JUSTICIA!”

I stood at the bottom of the hill watching the caskets being carried to their final resting place. Everyone was crying, many near hysteria. “What can I do to help?” I kept asking. “Acompáñales” was the reply – accompany them, be with them.

I felt completely helpless. I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I stood there and cried. I cried for the baby boy and his mother, I cried for the woman begging for justice, I cried for the young woman who was sexually abused by soldiers for three days in prison, I cried for the children in the 92 caskets in front of me, I cried for the relatives who are still searching for C79, C26, C43 … The LAGRIMAS (tears) wouldn’t stop.

A woman came up and embraced me as I cried, saying, “Gracias por amarnos” … “Thank you for loving us.”

I have done a lot of crying in the last 3 months. But this weekend, my tears were converted from self-centered longing for home, to tears of empathy for the suffering people around me. Thank God. Don’t get me wrong, I still called Luke sobbing when I got back to my hotel that night, exhausted and frustrated and emotionally fried after 3 long days of ceremonies for the victims of Putis. But I can feel God working in my heart the longer I stay here. He is opening my eyes to see those around me, and He is giving me more and more love for them in their suffering. May He continue that process in all of our lives. Even when it causes us many lágrimas.

Kepner and Kirschner: las Christines!

Hello everyone! Saludos from Ayacucho, Peru, which is a long 9 hour bus ride full of steep winding curves from Andahuaylas. Seriously, we had to do a three point turn to get around a few of them, and the really depressing thing is when you look down and realize youve climbed a total of about a foot. But Im here!! I came for the weekend to visit with Solomon Martinez (he is doing his internship with Paz here in Ayacucho), Holly Braun (Ayacucho HNGR alum 07), and Claire Jackson (Quito HNGR alum 08)! It was a wonderful weekend of speaking English, cuddling, eating pizza, laughing, hanging out with Hollys amazing host family, and lots of chapla (flat bread, sooo good). I was planning on going back to Andahuaylas last night but decided to stay the whole week because of a big event going on here this coming weekend.

Peru went through a terrible “conflicto armado“ during the 80s and 90s, and it has really affected the people and culture here today. You may have heard of the Communist group the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso). The campesinos often got right in the middle conflicts between this group and the government, and thousands of innocents were murdered. I am slowly realizing that every person I meet and talk to here has their own tragic story from that time, whether they lost brothers, fathers, mothers, or friends, or whether they witnessed terrible acts of violence, or whether they have been financially impacted by the events that occurred. Ayacucho is one of the areas that has been most affected by this violence. This weekend, there is a special event going on in Putis, a region of Ayacucho, where over 90 bodies were found in a mass grave. They were murdered in cold blood by the government. Paz is hosting this event to give the families who are left behind closure, as well as to use this horrific event as an example of what happened all over Peru, to raise awareness and to create more of a passion for justice and reparation. I encourage you to watch the video at this link to learn more about this. Im excited to be here during this time, especially because the Ayacucho office has a Mental Health team that I can shadow and learn from. Also, kind of exciting that I get to be on TV tomorrow morning!! Holly, Claire, Solomon, a Mexican friend, and I were interviewed about why we came to attend these events. Please be praying this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during these very important events.

http://www.pazyesperanza.org/ayacucho/index.html

Wanted to tell you all about my amazing visit with Dr. Christine Kepner this past week as well!! How fun that we are both Christine Ks ... although it kind of confused everyone here a little bit :) She arrived last Sunday in the morning and spent the whole week with me until Friday morning. Im sorry I dont have pictures quite yet, but I will put some up when I get back to Andahuaylas next week.

Dr. Kepner was a huge encouragement to me. It was super awesome that she speaks Spanish so perfectly (shes a Spanish professor at Wheaton), and she was so wonderful about being an advocate for me both with my host family and especially at the office. We had a really productive meeting with Lupe, my supervisor here, and I feel a lot better about my time in the office, as we were able to figure out more specifically what is expected of me. Dr. Kepner and I also enjoyed time with my host family exploring Andahuaylas a little bit (and even discovered a monument to a Peruvian author she likes, José María Arguedas!), a delicious lunch at the beautiful Laguna Pacucha with some coworkers, a trip out to some communities with some amazing views of the mountains, and more. I especially enjoyed just being able to verbalize and process in English some of the things I have been experiencing and battling in my time here. She was an amazing support. Thank you Dr. Kepner!

Sorry to be short and picture-less, but because this trip was unexpected I didnt bring my own computer, so Im bumming off others.

As always, I appreciate all your love and support and prayers. Thinking a lot about my Wheaton friends (and my baby sister) heading back to school tomorrow!! It makes me miss you all even more. I hope the first few days go smoothly. And for the student teachers, especially Haley, Abby, and Luke! Im so proud of you and I know you can do it!!

Mucho amor, y muuuuchos abrazos, Christine

vivir JUNTOS

While living here I have been doing a lot of thinking about community. I have been thrust into a new and unfamiliar world, and sometimes it is so difficult not to revert into my comfort zone, to hide within myself, to hold back. Other times, though, I have little choice but to just ... live! One of the continuing jokes about me both in the office and at home is that I'm like a "niña" (little girl) in so many ways ... I have to depend on other people for EVERYTHING! I don't really like feeling incompetent ... but I am definitely learning so much, especially about what it means to be part of a unit rather than living my life as an independent individual. I decided to write a poem about the experiences that are teaching me this. The formatting is a little off here, but you get the idea. It's called "Vivir JUNTOS" (To live together)


VIVIR JUNTOS

Vivir juntos …
Means that when we come across a boulder blocking the path of the car,
We all get out and push.








When the gringa takes a bucket shower for the first time,
Mamá gently sponge bathes her, wiping away the dirt.
No shame.

Involves meetings that go for hours … lots of yawning … boredom …
I don’t understand, but I am. I am there.





Means we all eat the same food.
Even if we don’t like it. Even if it’s burned. Even if we aren’t used to it.
We eat together.
And when there is no food,
we don’t. No one does.









Means your friend is mine. Your sister is mine.
Your newborn daughter is my niece. I rejoice in her life with you … as much as you do.
I hold her to my heart.
Is laughter and tickles. When I make a mistake, you laugh … and so do I.
Your joy is mine. My joy is yours.
Is cuddling in bed. Is sharing body heat in the cold of the night.
Is placing your cold feet under my warm ones.
Is crying with you. Is hearing your story as if it were mine.
As if I had been beaten by my own brother.
As if I had been threatened by my own husband.
As if I had been neglected by my own mother.
Is entering your hurts without trying to escape, explain, fix.
Means washing clothes and cooking and cleaning on Saturdays. No one leaves until we’re done.
We.
Means watching TV. Lots of it. Disney movies I have seen a thousand times.
Only now in Spanish.
Means learning more than teaching.
Validating what you know.
Accepting.
Quietly. Patiently.
Means being late. Waiting for you to
brush your hair, finish your knitting, drink your tea, change your clothes again …
Involves being without doing.
Involves taking interest in what interests you.
Involves disagreeing but respecting. Being offended but not lashing out.
Offending but accepting forgiveness. Listening and not just hearing.
Means crowded buses, forced to all but embrace you, a stranger sitting on my lap.
This is how we go to work together.
Means that when I’m angry at you, you can tell. And I tell you.
And we still do life together.
When I look sad you ask why. And I tell you.
Or if you don’t ask why, I don’t hold it against you.
Sharing. When you are hungry, you buy 2 oranges.
One for you and one for me.
When there is only one mattress,
We sleep on it together.
Sacrificing. When it’s your turn to pay, but you don’t have anything,
I pay. Without worrying that you’ll pay me back.
When I want to sleep, but you want to talk,
I listen.
Accompanying. When I have things to do, but you have an errand to run,
I go. Without rushing you.
When you want me to be more than I think that I am,
I am.
Waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting. Why am I here? To be with you.
Your reality is my reality is our reality.
Vivimos JUNTOS.


May God continue to teach us to rely on one another and to rely on Him. What a blessing to live in community! Thank you for being in community with me by sharing my experiences through reading this blog and through praying for me. I am so blessed!!

Love, Christinita

inocentes

As unbelievable as it sounds, I have already been to TWO baby showers in Andahuaylas since I got here about a month ago! I don’t think I’ve ever been to one before coming here. It has been so much fun to take part in the festivities, which in some ways are just the same as I imagine they would be in the States … and in other ways are very different. For one thing, I was surprised to find out that Peruvians, too, call it a baby shower … and had to laugh when people asked me what it means in English, because I realized that I have no idea why we call it a baby “shower”! Also really funny that the sign on the wall at one of them read “Babi Shawer.”

One of the baby showers I went to was about 2 weeks ago, and the baby was born on Monday! My coworker Carolina had a c-section and here is a picture of her beautiful baby girl, Andrea Mercedes. I got to go to the hospital yesterday to visit her. It was precious to watch her big sister and her daddy interact with baby Andrea as well. I was just amazed at the miracle of life.






































What a tragedy to get news of the death of Wheaton College student Alex Heidengren the same day that precious Andrea was born. I feel so far from the situation, but I am praying for the Wheaton community and especially for his family and Jon, his older brother, my “brother” from Fischer days. As joyful as it is that I have gotten to go to 2 baby showers, I have also been given the opportunity to go to 2 wakes already in my time here, as well. As life begins for one, it ends for another, it seems. As some rejoice in the gift of a new child, others grieve at the loss of another. There is so much I don’t understand about life and death.

In Spanish, sometimes the word INOCENTE is used to describe children, babies, and those whose minds are still “clean,” as it was explained to me. I started thinking about this in terms of “children of God,” and it just seems so fitting that when we become His children, we become His INOCENTES! We are “reborn,” as baby Andrea was born … and we are proclaimed INOCENTE once again.

Want to share with you some precious pictures of some INOCENTES that I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with over the last few weeks. There is something about children that just puts a smile on my face. I’ve been so glad to be around so many pregnant ladies, babies, and children here! I think I really missed that dynamic of real life while I was constantly in the company of peers at Wheaton.










(the one below is of a new father with his 1-day-old baby! He was so excited, it was the cutest thing ever)

















































As always, thank you for your support and encouragement and prayers while I am here. After my last blog post I have heard from several people that they are worried about me … but I want to reassure you that, as I struggle here, I am becoming more and more certain that I am supposed to be here. I am learning so much … and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here, as difficult as it is sometimes (no joke, someone JUST came up to me and told me they are worried about my pimples! Again!). God has a plan for my time in Peru … and for my life.

Miss and love you all!!
Muchos abrazos electronicos … Christine

humildad

2 Corinthians 12:9&10 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

As I have mentioned in a few previous posts, the 3 big things that God is teaching me here so far are dependence on Him, patience in uncertainty, and HUMILDAD (humility). I am big time realizing that I don’t have it all together. It is happening in both big and small ways, both serious and somewhat humorous ways …

#1: As many of you probably know, pretty much the only things I can cook are breakfast foods, and I’ve been missing the yummy breakfasts I like to whip up with the Breakfast Club (shout out Jess, Deb, and Daniel!) and Luke (I love you), so I decided to make an “all-American” breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit salad for my host family. I was so excited! I got the recipe for pancakes from my mom (this wasn’t your fault, mommy) last week and eagerly checked with my host mom to make sure we had everything. She assured me we only needed a few things, which we went out and bought together. Sunday morning I woke up excited to cook and headed down to the kitchen and started gathering my materials … only to discover that we had neither flour nor eggs. So I waited about a half hour for my host mom to go buy some. When she got back, my host sister Talita and I got to work on everything … which took longer than usual because we had to make the pancake batter from scratch. We tried to cook the pancakes on the open fire because it would be quicker … and every single pancake got burned, so we headed back into the regular kitchen to use the stove … which took forever. FINALLY, everything was ready, and we sat down to eat. I nervously introduced the family to the food, and served everyone. Yordani was super enthusiastic, saying how much he LOVED everything, and Talita acted like she like the pancakes too. My host parents, however, were not quite as excited. “They’re too thick. Are they supposed to be this way? They’re really doughy in the middle. You should have cooked them longer. Why did this take so long? Now we’re going to be late!” And they promptly brought out the regular pan and desayuno and ate that instead.

Ouch. I was crushed. And kind of angry. What made me mad was that they were right!

#2: I had a meeting with my supervisor Lupe a few weeks ago to try to arrange everything for the next few months. I mentioned to her that I have been feeling really overwhelmed by some of the expectations people have of me, thinking that I can give counseling advice to traumatized people and such. Her response to me was, “This is just a question, but why did your university send you here if you’re not equipped to help?”

I bristled, feeling like I had totally just been dissed. I started blubbering about how I think I DO have something to offer here … but gave up and admitted that, in the end, I think I’m really here to learn, and I really am NOT that equipped … and that anything I’m able to do here is by God’s grace.

#3: My skin has been really acting up here. And EVERYONE likes to talk about it. “What are you doing about your pimples? Why does that happen to you? Have you tried this? Have you tried that?” (Gram, I know you always apologize about genetically giving me these problems, but I think it's the circumstances, not you!)

I get really defensive about it, wishing people could just politely ignore the fact that my body was created this way, and it is actually reacting normally to the stress of being thousands of miles away from my comfort zone and the people I love! Although in the end, I realize they really want to help …

#4: I have come face to face with my own limitations every single day with the language barrier that I encounter with every single person. Sometimes it’s “just” the stress of trying to speak Spanish … and then other times Quechua is added onto that! I make so many mistakes, and I am so limited in my conversation possibilities …

I feel so frustrated all the time, and I hate that I have this inadequacy.

None of these humbling experiences feel good (and these are just 4 brief examples!). In fact, they feel terrible!! I often am driven to tears, embarrassed, annoyed, and angry … and confused by all the references in the Psalms to the fact that those whose hope is in the Lord “will never be put to shame” – because I often feel REALLY ashamed!

One super encouraging verse I came across this last month comes right after the time when Peter heals the crippled beggar by simply saying “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter then preaches the Name of Jesus, convicting the people of rejecting Him and calling them to embrace “times of refreshing” that God offers through His Son. The authorities get all upset and seize Peter and John … but Peter just keeps preaching to them! Then Acts 4:13 says,

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

WOW! I have been so challenged by the fact that so many of Jesus’ most faithful and most famous followers have been “unschooled, ordinary,” and weak! They didn’t have it all together either!! But … they “had been with Jesus.” That makes me so excited about what God might do through me. I am weak … but HE is strong! And I have been with Him, and He is still with me, and will never leave me.

May we all learn, as Paul did, to BOAST in our weaknesses, because “when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Here are some pictures from a trip I took earlier this week to some communities in the district of Chaccrampa. I went to help interview some parents of kindergarten-age children to find out what families are doing to develop personal and cultural identity in their young children. It was really interesting, and also fun to spend time with 2 coworkers, Nimia and Angela!

gringa

(sorry, the pics don't really line up with my words ... hope you can understand anyway!)

This week … I relished my status as a GRINGA (white girl), enjoying 5 days as a genuine tourist in Cuzco! Seriously, there are more foreigners than Peruvians in that city … and more English than any other language, which was a nice break! I was so thankful to get to spend this time with Solomon Martinez, a fellow HNGR intern whose internship site, Ayacucho, is about a 10 hour drive from Andahuaylas. It was so great to get to debrief our time so far, and we also took full advantage of our time in this tourist city … even enjoying McFlurries and pizza!!

We took a night bus on Friday, arriving at about 4:30am. We crashed at my coworker Angela’s place for a few hours and then spent the rest of Saturday getting to Aguas Calientes, aka Machu Picchu Pueblo. It basically exists to house and feed extranjeros on their way to Machu Picchu. One kind of funny thing is that literally almost every restaurant there calls itself a “pizzeria”! I guess that’s what most foreigners want … and as I’ve already confessed, guilty here!

On Sunday we got up super early to get in line for the bus to Machu Picchu. It was so worth getting up early to get to see it with less tourists crawling all over … This place is AMAZING!! A TON of walking (my feet and legs are still sore!), but the views are incredible. It is so fascinating to think about the history of the ruins as well. I can’t believe it was only “discovered” in 1911! I took a ton of pictures … enjoy ☺













After exploring Machu Picchu from 6:30am until almost 1pm, we headed back to Aguas Calientes and relaxed the rest of the day. Monday morning we headed back toward Cuzco via Ollantaytambo, another town with really cool ruins. This was probably my second favorite part of the trip – the pueblo is still original Inca construction, there’s a really cool artisan market, and we hiked around the ruins for quite awhile before taking a taxi the rest of the way back to Cuzco.
We purchased a “tourist ticket” that let us go into several museums, ruins, and a really beautiful native dance show, which is what we did the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday. Those nights we spent at a crazy hostel replete with 20-and-30-something Europeans and Americans, sleeping in a room with 8 other people … I enjoyed the free internet and hot shower a lot ☺ Wednesday morning we hopped on the bumpy bus back to Andahuaylas, arriving back at my house at about 5pm, TIRED. I totally recommend the Machu Picchu trip … although it is quite expensive, and requires a ton of walking.

Being a “gringa” here has been interesting. I stand out because of my white skin, greenish eyes, less-than-great Spanish, lighter brown hair, and especially my size – just tonight, I was out shopping for a birthday cake with a coworker and a little girl looked up at me, wide-eyed, and commented “You’re big! Do you eat a lot? You’re bigger than everyone in this store!!” Sometimes it’s really strange when people remind me of how different I am … because I forget that I look so very different from them. I guess I like to pretend that I fit in. But then every other person on the street starts practicing their English, or a coworker asks me for my computer when I leave, or the taxi driver tries to rip me off, or a little kid yells out “Hola, gringita!”




























It’s not always very fun to be the outsider … or to be automatically associated with the United States. It was interesting to be in Cuzco for Peruvian Independence Day (July 28) ... We saw this poster hung up in the plaza underneath a sign reading "Somos libros?" (Are we free?), and there were spaces for people to write down there thoughts and opinions. Ouch.






I have been thinking a lot about my identity while I’m here. It reminds me of the days of being called “bature” in Nigeria, as well! Sometimes, I fall too easily into the role of privileged foreigner … and other times it really bothers me. And what have I done to deserve to be able to afford an awesome vacation to Cuzco? In reality, nothing ... As people stereotype me, I think about the many times I’ve stereotyped others. It doesn’t make me feel too good. I’m sure I’ll continue to learn about this throughout the rest of my time here (unless I figure out a way to get really tan, dye my hair, and … shrink?).

Now I’m back to work … still hoping to fall into some kind of routine, but trying to go with the flow. Things at home are still great, and I was excited to meet Talita, my host sister, upon my return to Andahuaylas! I’m looking forward to spending time with the host fam this weekend.

Please be in prayers for my family this week – as I write this, they are en route to Nigeria! Pray for Katie, who is “alone” in Chicago … and for Mom, Dad, Steph, and Jon, who will be adjusting to Jos life again … I love you all and wish we were all together, fam!

Love to everyone … thanks for your continued encouragement and prayers. Still homesick, but feeling better about life in general ☺

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!