Venturing Out Of Cusco

Working in a village with our friends Leah and Zach 

     We had such a wonderful week with our friends, Zach and Leah Ellis who came to Peru with an incredible team from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio. We were able to help them serve the children of an orphanage called Casa del Aguila last week. We did Vacation Bible School every afternoon with the kids as well as help with translating in the pediatric and dental clinics. This was my first time to translate for other people and also to be able to pray with the patients that we saw in Spanish, so I am very grateful for the ways that the Lord has allowed us to learn Spanish.

    On Friday morning we did have quite an adventure. We left Casa del Aguila in order to catch a taxi in Limatambo (the town near the orphanage) with our friends to head back to Cusco for the night. We waited for a very long time for a taxi, because all of the available taxis did not want to take us all the way to Cusco (1 1/2 hours). So, Nathan saw a van, which is called a Combi here in Peru, and went to ask the driver if they would give us a ride. It appeared that there are 6 college age students in the van who seemed to be on a "joy ride" at 9:00 in the morning. The driver was very kind and offered to take us to Cusco for a small fee. We tied our luggage to the top of the van and off we went. I must say that I was a bit skeptical about the condition of the very old van, but at that point we had no other option.

     So, we were driving for about 45 minutes with the loudest, most horrible sound I have ever heard a vehicle make, and then suddenly it stops and so do we. The driver got out to see what the problem was and it appeared that the drive shaft had fallen off of the van. The Peruvian teenagers proceed to try to tie it back on the car with rope, but were unsuccessful. Thankfully a taxi passed by us on the road and we and our friends were able to talk him into taking us back to Cusco. We did arrive safely, but many hours behind schedule. But the best part of the whole trip was that Nathan had the opportunity to share about Christ with our driver. What a fun adventure.

Our driver after running back to pick up the pieces from the van on the road

At least the Peruvians were having a good time!

    I tell this story partly to share that this is what we are becoming accustomed to here in Peru. Our day typically does not end up looking like how we thought it would. Cars break down, the water at times does not work (as we have not had water for the last few days), and household chores seem to take about 5 times longer than I think that they should. We have quickly had to learn to hold any schedule and/or plans pretty loosely. At times this has been a bit difficult for my type-A personality, but I have much to learn about the patience and enjoyment of life that the Peruvian people seem to have. Nathan and I are blessed beyond our wildest dreams and I am thankful that the Lord continually reminds us of this when we get impatient with the way that things function here. I pray that we can continue to see the "inconveniences" as a part of the Lord's sovereign plan to use us here and for our good.

     Tomorrow I will begin working at La Fuente medical clinic. I am really excited to start practicing medicine again. I will also begin Spanish tutoring once again later this week, which is also exciting. We will see how it all goes.

Here are a few more pictures from our week with the orphans and in the villages:

Impressive dental work being done by Zach and Leah

Playing kickball with the kids

Craft time

Kristen helping with the crafts for the kids

Wood and Construction

   When we were in Lima a few weeks ago, Nathan and one of the Peruvian workers with Mission to the World bought all of the wood for framing the clinic at a Home Depot like store called Sodimac. They purchased 7 tons of wood and then thanks to our new friend Enrique, it was all shipped to the clinic in Cusco. So, last Wednesday all of the wood arrived and Nathan and several other men unloaded it all. They then began the framing of the clinic on Thursday. By Friday they had completed about 10% of the framing. It is really neat that Nathan is able to be a part of framing and building the new ophthalmology clinic. With each wall that goes up we think of and are grateful for all of the people who have made this possible.

   We are pretty close to being settled in our apartment. We are feeling more settled every week. We did purchase a queen size mattress since Nathan is a bit tall, and hopefully that should arrive this week. I finally got all of our pictures of friends and family (mainly all of our Christmas cards from last year) on the wall, so it really feels more like home now.

  On Saturday morning our good friends from Texas arrived to Cusco with a group from their church. They are ministering at an orphanage/kids home in Limatambo, a town about 1 1/2 hours outside of Cusco. We have joined their team for the week and are spending time with them in Limatambo. We have really enjoyed getting to know members from their church as well as working with the children at the orphanage. I will attach pictures soon from our medical clinic yesterday morning on top of a mountain outside of Limatambo.

Here are some pictures of all of the wood and progress on the clinic:

 MTW missionaries Keith Powlison and Scott Dillon along with several young men with YWAM came to help. 

Part of the 7 tons of wood

Foundation finished and ready for the framing

The ophthalmologist learning something about construction (Nathan is in the blue shirt).  MTW short-term missionary Drew is helping Nathan.

The completed framing on Friday

Peruvian elections

      On Sunday we experienced our first Peruvian election. It is very interesting because it is a mandated law that every person in this country vote, whether they are educated about the candidates or not. If a peruvian does not vote they are given a monetary fine. Three days before the election, the whole country stops selling alcohol to insure that most of the country is sober for election. It is also prohibited to have any large gatherings on election day, so therefore there were no church services on Sunday.

  
    We are continuing to settle in here and it is feeling much more like home. I think the best part about being here is that we are going to be staying (at least for a long while)! I don't know if I mentioned before, but our apartment came fully furnished, which was a tremendous blessing in getting settled quickly. It has also helped because we have not had to buy much furniture. We did buy a bookshelf, since everywhere we go we seem to have a ton of books, and I will say that was quite the experience. Here in Cusco there is no store like Walmart or anything even close to that. There are different roads where you buy different items. For example, there is a certain road where the lighting and light bulbs are sold, there is a certain road where mattresses are sold, and there is one particular road where all the furniture is sold. These are like warehouses with TONS of wooden furniture. So, you pick out your item, pay for it, and then they put your item (even a bookshelf) on the top of a small taxi, called a tico, and you take it home. This is done with mattresses, beds, and tables also. It is a very quick and convenient way to get your furniture home as long as it does not fall off the taxi!

The "moving truck" that brought our new bookshelf home. 

Typical look of the furniture stores. There is furniture from floor to ceiling

First spanish sermon

Group of Christian physicians in Lima

   We were in Lima for 6 days and finally returned to Cusco on Monday afternoon. It was a busy but good week in Lima. We completed the visa process and were also able to buy supplies for the clinic that is currently being built in Cusco. We were also able to buy several heaters for our very cold apartment. I am very excited about this purchase! Now we are "home" and getting our apartment organized.

   The highlight of our trip to Lima was that Nathan had the opportunity to share with a group of about 35 Peruvian doctors about our vision for medical student ministry and also teach from Mark 2. It was all in Spanish and I was so proud of how well he was able to express his thoughts and feelings. At the end of the service we were called up front and were inducted into the Association of Peruvian Christian Doctors. We were pinned and several people from the group prayed over us and the ministry that is to begin in Cusco. I was not planning to speak at all, but suddenly the president gave me the microphone and asked me to say a greeting as well as thank the group for having us. Talk about being put on the spot in Spanish! I was so happy to thank them, as they were so kind and loving to us, but I get a tad nervous when I have to do that in Spanish in front of everyone. What a kind blessing from the Lord this group has been and is going to be for us in the future. We are so excited to see all that the Lord has in store for our relationship with them over the years.

A very sweet peruvian doctor, Julianna asking Nathan questions about the ministry in Cusco 

Nathan giving his talk to the group