Well, it has been a while since our last blogpost and I (Tim) will be paying the price and doing the updates for this post, so buckle up!
Needless to say, a lot has happened. I will try to tell the highlights by way of photos, since photos don't lie and they help with the forgetful mind. Overall, I would say that we continue to enjoy our time here in Peru. We are constantly seeing and learning new things, which is great. It is a humbling experience but also helps us to grow and appreciate the blessings we have been given and the gifts and strengths of others.
One thing that I have come to appreciate about Arequipa is the lifestyle. People are for the most part industrious in many different endeavors, ranging from the small tiendas, taxistas and street vendors to large real estate development projects (like the condominium project just completed across from our building) to universities, financial institutions, shopping malls, etc. Dispersed between residential and commercial areas are lots of lovely little campos, agriculture is a big part of the environment and work for many people. Here are some photos:
These photos were taken a long the Chili River in Arequipa, these are showing people harvesting peas. They do it by hand and put the peas in large bags, it looks like a back breaker to me.
I took this photo to document the ever present Coca Cola, our go to beverage of choice.
We continue to enjoy getting together with the missionaries whenever possible to help with lessons and meet their friends.
This is a noche de hogar (family night) we hosted at our apartment with the Sisters Barker and Ferrin and a family they are teaching The young man in the middle background and little girl next to him were later baptized.
Below we are joining the missionaries again for a couple of lessons. We taught a lesson to an older woman who lives at the red door.
The door above belonged to this family. We taught them a lesson.
The sunsets here are often beautiful..
You don't want to let a good sunset get in the way of a meal. We are at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Plaza de Armas, enjoying the 1st course of my meal, bread.
Here we are with our friends, Trevor and Missy Morgan. Missy is the mission nurse, she does this remotely from Colorado but she and her husband were able to visit us and we enjoyed showing them around with the Chipmans.
This is at the Plaza de Armas with the Cathedral and full moon in the background. I am flashing the typical hand signs you see done by los peruanos in most fotos.
On our way to Colca Canyon, Chivay, we came across this sweet lady herding her llamas. We pulled over and greeted her, she was very friendly and was speaking Quechua, we had a hard time understanding her but ultimately we understood that she was asking us what day it was! We informed her and gave her a granola bar and we both went on our way.
The photo below was taken at about 16,000 feet elevation, looking out at the volcano Sabancaya, it is an active volcano we can usually see smoke coming from the top, this volcano is about 19,600 ft.
We gave this women a ride into Chivay. She had been herding cows.
Above is a foto us us with the Chipmans and Van Dusens visiting Colca Canyon and in the background is a geyser coming from the volcano Hualca Hualca in the background.
Thanksgiving is not a thing here in Peru, however we did celebrate with the missionaries at a zone conference and we were served the thanksgiving meal peruana, turkey and lots of rice!
Jalene and I were excited to welcome our first friend to Peru. Lant Pritchett is my good friend from all the way back to high school in Boise. He was in Lima for a conference and was nice enough to catch a flight down to Arequipa and spend the day with us. Here we are having lunch at Zig Zag, Lant even picked up the tab!
We also had our temple trips with the missionaries, Jalene was sick during this week so I went on my own with a couple of the zones and then when Jalene was feeling better, she joined us for the last trip.
Jalene has been very busy with English Connect, she does all the lesson planning and prepares the PowerPoint presentations. She is now teaching English Connect 2 and I am teaching English Connect 1. We are really enjoying helping the Latino missionaries learning English, we know how it feels to learn a new language!
Finally, we have so much to be grateful for the list could go on forever. Right now in our lives we are grateful for the opportunity to serve our Savior, Jesus Christ, inviting all to come unto Him and receive the good news of His gospel. We are grateful for the love our Heavenly Father has for all His children.
"God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son, that whoso believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:17
"Our hearts will always be restless until they rest in God" Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. "A Future Filled with Hope"
