Month: February 2012

Well, this past week I have been trying to find a place for the new church plant.  Over the past couple of weeks I have surveyed several places in Cusco.  I’ve been all throughout the districts of Santiago and Cusco.  I have also walked throughout good portions of San Jeronimo (the district in which we live).  I’ve looked through the commercial advertisements a few times as well.  After doing all that, I was walking through a neighborhood just down the hill and across the main road from where we live and there was an empty space I found and I believe the Lord led me to.  The place was not in the paper and did not have a “for rent sign” but it is for rent.  We are “negotiating” with the landlord about this space.  It is one big room with a bathroom and a kitchen area.  It also has a yard with it.  Location wise, it is very close to the University, to the various bus stops, and to the main road.  Right now we are trying to get the price lower.  The landlord is asking nearly $300.00 (s/. 800 soles) for the space, and that is after her coming down from $373.00 (s/.1,000 soles).  Please pray for us as we seek the Lord’s will in this important matter!

We have now been in Peru again for almost a week and a half!  It has been exciting being back.  We have the house all back in order and are trying to get into some type of routine again. All the family seems to be adjusting nicely.  Natali and Neomi started their school work again this week (not sure if they were happy about that or not). Rebecca has her kitchen all in order and I am enjoying the home cooked meals!  It has been neat for us to see a lot of the changes throughout the city, as well as, a lot of things that have stayed the same. Overall cost of living has risen across the board with groceries, gas and housing having gone up. There is road construction going on throughout the city. Depending on where you turn a road could/could not be closed. We have enjoyed seeing a lot of our old friends at the super markets and markets that we frequent. We also have some modern conveniences like a Maestro Homecenter (like a Lowe’s or Home Depot), which I have already visited 3 times. It is wonderful to be able to go to one store and get everything you need.  We also have a Starbucks and a KFC downtown to give us a taste of the U.S., if we are missing it.  The city of Cusco seems to be  growing and there are a lot more cars on the road.  I have noticed that I need not get in a hurry when driving because the roads are more congested.  We have been driving around the city and looking for potential places to start a church.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

We made it back to Cusco on Wednesday the 1st of February!  Our flight left Cincinnati at 11:20 a.m. on the 31st of January.  It was hard saying “good-bye” after 13 months in the U.S. and it was especially hard on Natali and Neomi.  After about an hour or so they cheered up.

 We praise the Lord we made it to Lima (eventually Cusco) with all 10 of our bags. It was a long night in the Lima airport. Natali and Neomi hardly slept and Becca and I took turns watching all the bags, so we didn’t sleep either.  Both girls got sick from the long night and no sleep, but they are both doing better now. Since we’ve been back it’s been a whirlwind of activity trying to get things back in order.  We have all our bags unpacked and now we are trying to get the rest of the house unpacked.  We have internet and telephone again so that makes us feel more in touch with our families.  We have also been able to see many of our friends both missionaries and Peruvians – that has really helped. What a difference it was coming back to Peru this time from almost 7 years ago.  We already know Spanish, we know the culture,  we already have a furnished house, and we have many friends.  Pray for us as we seek out God’s will for a new church plant!