It's Been A While

     Some of you reading this post might be thinking, "Well, well, well, look what the cat drug in."
I know it has been a long time since I posted something here.  I apologize for that.  We really want you all to stay involved and up to date on our lives.  I am going to try to do better.  After we first arrived, life was crazy, internet was unreliable, and honestly, by the time 4:00 would roll around we were beat and just wanted to rest.
     So, let me breeze through these last 10 months.
     We have been blessed with a nice home, in a safe area, and very close to the kids school.  In fact, it is only a four minute walk away.  That has turned out to be a huge blessing.  We spent many initial weeks visiting markets and stores looking for beds, kitchen items, and other essentials.  For the first 3 months we ate our meals sitting on the floor and using suitcases or stools as our table.  Things here take SO much longer to do and rarely can one accomplish what they set out to do on the first try.
     Thank God that we have been fairly healthy for much of our time here.  We had a three weeks that were quite rough with several getting sick and Gracie had a recent mishap, but overall we are so grateful for the Lord's protection and granting us health and strength.

A month ago Gracie fell while playing outside and someone fell on top of her.
She then fainted and had a mild seizure.  She ended up with a massive headache and bruised ribs.  

     The kids are currently attending a local school that is all in Spanish.  That fact alone has made this transition a struggle for the boys.  There is five to eight hours of English taught each week, but we are supplementing those classes with our own English classes.  The schooling situation has caused us the most amount of stress of anything here.  It is not ideal it has been difficult socially for some.  However, we are still grateful to have this school near by.  It is the best worst option we have.  :)

First day of the new school year.

     Jason and I are still in language school.  We have class 4 hours a day and homework.  Language learning has been a fun and yet very humbling process.  I have been so impressed with Jason and how quickly he has picked up the ability to speak this language.  He does so well that I have to fight being jealous.   The Lord has to continually remind me that:
1.  This is not a competition…. (I HATE to lose)
2.  When I was four years old, I didn't speak great English and I had been hearing that language from birth and was fully immersed in it even in the house.  So, the fact that after only 8 months of Spanish learning I am not speaking like a pro is no surprise.
3.  I need to be completely reliant on Him and not my abilities … or INabilities as it were.
    We have been occasionally helping out at Arequipa English (and SIM ministry) and starting next month we will be helping on a more regular basis.  We are really looking forward to this!
    Jason has been meeting with and sharing Christ with our neighborhood security guard.  He asked us for a Bible, which we gave him, and he has been reading it!
    I keep busy with the kids, school, language, and meetings.
Okay, so that was a very quick update over the last 10 months.  I am attaching several photos too.

At the beach before getting in the cold water.  Fun fact, the water here is
cold enough that penguins  live along the
Peruvian coast

We made it to the beach this past month.  The beaches
here and have large waves with strong under currents.

At the city center with a view of the cathedral.  Both our girls are quite a novelty here.  One Chinese and the other blonde and blue eyes.  Right before I took this picture a family had been so excited about seeing our girls that they asked if their daughter could have her picture taken with our girls.  Our girls obliged.  Then the mom wanted her photo taken with them.  Gracie especially thought this was pretty funny.

A local favorite….cui.  Roast guinea pig.

Riding the combo (a small bus) with Jason's parents.  The seats were full so we had
to stand…really close.  It's the norm here.

SIM retreat in Lima.  They had a foot washing "ceremony" to welcome the new
missionaries.  Our mentors, David and Christine washed our feet and prayed for us.  It was very special. 

As you can see, we get pretty excited when someone sends us a
card or package.  Just look at Lydia's face!