3 Weeks Down

Some of the other 40/40 missionary girls...

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New Mission

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Today my church started a new mission to feed kids. We went around the neighborhood (a very poor area) near the church and knocked on doors, telling kids we had hot chocolate and bread, as well as a story and songs for them. We ended up having about 20-25 kids. It was pretty awesome! We stood in a circle in the street and shared the story of Adam and Eve and Jesus, then sang some songs. Then we gave the kids the hot chocolate and bread... they loved the hot chocolate!
Afterwards we talked to some of the moms that were there and asked them what they needed help with, what some of their physical needs were. They said things like no one ever helps them. They struggle with things like alcoholism. Both parents have to work in the fields to make enough money for their families. When the moms have babies they keep them on their backs while they work until the babies are 2. Once they reach 2 years old they are left at home alone. If they have an older sibling to help take care of them they are lucky. Many of the kids work in the fields as well. It was just crazy to see and hear some of the things these families struggle with.
So what's next?
Now it's the churches job (including my job) to start to figure out how to hopefully help aleviate or even solve some of these problems. I'm excited to get to work with this community. We will go back to do the same thing every Saturday, and hopefully we'll start to reach out and do more things to really help! It is the churches job to go out into the world and help those in need. To show the love of Jesus to those around us.
Be praying for the neighborhood of Alto Libertad!
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Getting into the Groove

I feel like I'm starting to get into the groove of things a little bit here in Arequipa. Lots of lots of Spanish school and studying. I know I'm learning a lot buy my mind feels like it's reaching capacity on how much I can take in! I'm getting used to things like irregular bowel movements, cold showers, warm juices, and getting whistled or honked at constantly for being a "gringa". I'm starting to learn which taxis are safe to take, and which "Combi's" or buses to take to get to where I need to go. And my bartering skills in Spanish are improving!
I LOVE the people here. For the most part everyone I've encountered has been nice. People seem to be really nice about slowing down when speaking if I don't understand something right away.
I don't feel like I'm going to die every time I get into a car or bus (the driving here is crazy but exciting at the same time, never a dull moment!).
I'm sure I'll get to the stage of culture shock soon where all of these things drive me nuts, and then it will get better. For now I love it here!

Pictures

Finally uploading some pictures... Enjoy!

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Arriving at the airport in Arequipa!

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Volcano next to the city!

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Street near our church

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Houses near our church

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Gorgeous mountains right near by!

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An alpaca wandered on the field during a futbol game!

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Me and Maciel.... the 9 year old daughter of the house I'm living at

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Sweet view of the city

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Packing 8 people into a car meant for 5 max. Kamila... 2 year old of the house I'm staying at.

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Cuy... or guinea pig. A delicacy in Peru.. fried whole!

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Tabby... room mate and fellow 40/40

Have we really been here a week already?

Fun Day!
Today I went to church in the morning. I could understand some of the service which was nice. But definitely not all of it. Then we accidentally signed up for Bible Quizzing for the youth. The age of "youth" in Latin America is anyone from 12-40 if you're single. Kinda funny, but we won't be able to do it anyway because it is on a night where we have a group Bible study with all the 40/40's.
We came home for lunch and then went to watch Jesus, the father of the house I'm staying at, play and win a championship Futbol game. During the game an alpaca wandered on the field. Pretty awesome!
Afterwards we stuffed 6 adults and 2 kids into a small car and drove to Jesus's parents house for dinner. We got to see a "Cuy" farm. Cuy are quinea pigs and are a delicacy to eat in Peru. They simply take the whole guinea pig and fry it up and serve it... head, claws, and all! I have yet to try one. For dinner I'm pretty sure the chicken we were eating came from their house also!
We came home and had a dance party to some Peruvian music. Loved it! Now studying espanol and about to study God's word as well.
Working on uploading pics... hopefully I can get those up soon!

Muchas Palabras

I think in one week I have about 250 new words to memorize! Ayayay! It's definitely necessary I know... pero mi cabeza es muy cansada! Necesito estudiar ahora. Ciao!

The Other 40/40 Missionaries

I wanted to take a second to say how much I LOVE the other missionaries that I'm working with. There are 12 of us here in Arequipa right now. After 9 months of training together 6 of us will go to Pucallpa and 6 will go to Iquitos to plant a total of 36 churches. Everyone gets along really well and it's awesome to be surrounded by so many other people my age who are on fire for God and just excited to serve Him! I have an awesome room mate Tabby who I can be completely real with. We can share our struggles and we are praying for each other constantly and for what we are here to do. God is good! Pray for all of us as we go through the varying stages of culture shock and get to know each other even better. God Bless!