Author: qosqo1

Today we were privileged to help feed over 500 children!  A month or two ago we were able to buy food supplies to help feed these children with money donated to flood relief here in Cusco.  It took awhile for the school to get everything coordinated but for the past 2 weeks missionaries in Pisac have been feeding these 500 children (from Taray and Pisac) 2 days a week.  The town of Taray was completely destroyed by the flooding so a lot of the people are living in a tent village behind the school.  It was a blessing to go and help and see how appreciative the children are, for relatively nothing (in our eyes).  It was great way to show the love of Christ to these children and to their families.

Today (Tax Day) marks our 5 year anniversary in Peru. Five years ago today we stepped off a plane onto the tarmac of the Lima airport wondering what in the world we had got ourselves into.  After getting our bags and clearing customs we spent the night in what was then a very gloomy and dirty Lima airport (it’s amazing how much it has changed in 5 years).  We then hopped on a plane to the great city of Arequipa where our fellow missionaries Todd and Rosalinda were waiting to take us and our 9 bags back to their apartment.  Now 2 daughters, 2 cities, and 4 moves later we are anticipating our first furlough (whenever the girls paperwork gets finished). In some respects 5 years seems like a long time ago but in other respects it seems like it has flown by.  We praise the Lord for the 5 years He has given us here and pray the He gives us many, many more!

June will be 2 years since the last time we looked for a house and now it seems we are in need of another one.  The house we are in now is the one we have been in the longest in our almost 5 years in Peru (that should tell you how much we’ve had to move).  Our landlord came by on Wednesday and told us that he wanted to tear down our house and build apartments on the lot. Now this wouldn’t be a problem but most of you know that we are trying to get to the U.S. a.s.a.p. We told our landlord and he told us that it would probably be best to move before we go home on furlough. So now we are looking for houses again. There is not much available right now and the monthly rent has gone up in our area.  Please pray that we will fine something that we can settle into and  stay for a long, long, long time!

This afternoon we had a good time with our kids club  and youth. Missionary friends let us borrow Resurrection eggs to teach with.  They were a great hit with the kids and even with the youth.  We were really down in number, especially in our kids club, but the Lord blessed!  One little boy told me he got up at 2 a.m. to walk to the top of a mountain with his dad and sister.  He told me that he had to so that God would forgive his sins (basically, paying penance).  I got angry and sad at the same time after he told me that.  Nothing we do can get ourselves to heaven.  Jesus is the only way to Heaven and the wonderful part of it all is that He did it all for us!  He died, was buried, and rose again so that we might have eternal life!  We hope you all have a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Lord!

For the thousands 🙂 that read our blog I do apologize for not posting anything lately.  Becca and I had to take a trip to Lima in order to get our carnets in order.  A carnet is kind of like our green card in Peru. It is our visa that shows that we reside in Peru but are not residents of Peru.  Since we are coming up on 5 years in Peru we had to get a whole new card because our old one is full of stickers from paying the annual taxes and fees.  Becca had no problem getting hers; it probably took just a little over an hour. Getting my new carnet was and is a little more complicated.  I returned to the U.S. last January for 2 weeks and when I reentered Peru they stamped my passport as a WORKER instead of as a Religious Non-Catholic.  I found out I couldn’t get my new carnet until that was fixed.  We talked to the people in charge of fixing it and after waiting 4 hours they finally fixed it, which left me about an hour to get my carnet before they closed.  Everything seemed good until I was about to get my new picture taken and they said there was a problem.  Immigrations somehow had me leaving Peru on Nov. 27th, 2006 and never reentering Peru.  Which seems illogical since I was standing right in front of them.  I told them that I had not left the country but they said I couldn’t get my new carnet until this problem was resolved.  It just so happens that my brother left the country on that very day!  Coincidentally, he has the same inicials and birth date as me.  So, I do not have my new carnet but the good news is that I don’t have to return to Lima to get.