Author: qosqo1

This week we took a quick trip to our “old stomping grounds” of Arequipa, Peru.  When we first came to Peru, Arequipa is where we lived for almost 2 years.  We stayed with missionaries and our friends – Todd and Rosalinda Marks.  We had a good visit with them and we were privileged to sing and preach in the church we started helping with when we first came to Peru.  The church just formally organized last Sunday.  It was great to see so many familiar faces!  We also got to enjoy some food from American restaurants and do some shopping at a couple of the different malls that Arequipa has.

The girls were able to be in a Christmas play at their old school this past Friday.  They were “extras” in the Sunday school class and as angels.  This was the first Christmas play that the school had done.  They did the “Best Christmas Pageant Ever”.  It was a fun evening and we actually ended up with two grumpy looking angels (as noted in the picture above).  Neomi actually started feeling bad during the play and is still not feeling well. Natali was probably just tired but it was very comical to see two “angels” with arms crossed and sour expressions at the birth of Jesus.

Well, these kids might not look too happy to be getting their Bibles but they were (at least I think they were).  In Peru, people don’t always smile for pictures like we do in the U.S., in fact many times they are told not to smile.  The Lord blessed us with a good Saturday kid’s club.  We had 26 come and several of those were visitors from the area around the church plant!  Each child receives a Bible for coming to club 4 Saturdays in a row. We are trying to teach the kids to use their Bibles through playing Bible Sword drills (pictured below).

Also, over the past several Sundays we have been able to reach out to at least 400 people through the giving of flyers, gum, and balloons.  As we mentioned before our district was having a “Recreovia” where for at least 6 Sundays they shut down one side of the street and allowed people to play games, walk and ride bicycles.  These were great opportunities for us to get out and meet people where they were.  This Sunday was the last one for theses activities but we pray to see fruit!

Thursday and Friday were holidays here in Peru.  Thursday was “All Saints Day” and then Friday was “Day of the Dead”.  Our family took advantage of the holiday on Thursday to see and do some things we had never done since being in Peru.  We went to a local zoo, visited some Inka ruins we had never seen, and we ate “cuy”, otherwise known as guinea pig.  We had to eat guinea pig because so many people in the U.S. are always asking if we have tried it.  So, after over 7 years in Peru we finally had guinea pig for the first time.  If you have ever eaten squirrel, it tasted a lot like it.  If you have never eaten rabbit or squirrel I guess you would probably say “it taste like chicken”. We had a great day and the Lord allowed us to make some memories for a lifetime. Here is the picture of our “cuy”!