Coming to an End

My adventure here in Peru is rapidly coming to an end. We will return to Trujillo shortly and then within a few days I will be back in my own home with my family. My time here in Peru has been a huge blessing to me. I have learned so many things, more than just Spanish. However, I did learn plenty of Spanish, and although I'm not fluent, I feel comfortable having conversations with the Peruvian people and this is definitely important. I've also been able to evangelize several times to the people in the parks and plazas. It's a very new experience to share the gospel in Spanish, but one that I have learned a lot from. I'm so thankful to God for giving me this opportunity, for all that I've learned, and for all the wonderful people I've met and become friends with. I will miss them for sure, especially my Peruvian family.

Taken while visiting the grandpa's land of fruit trees. 

Vacations with the Family - A Picture Post

 I have more week in Peru and I realize that I haven't been posting very faithfully. For now I'm just going to share the highlights in photos of my time up north visiting family. It's been a sweet, relaxing time.

Saying Goodbye

I only have one more day here in Trujillo before I head up north with the family for two weeks. These unexpected plans are turning out to be kind of exciting. Up north I will be able to experience a different area of Peru that I've never been too. Because it's in the north it will be warmer, and I'm hoping more like our summer. The two weeks are family vacations to visit abuelos, tios, and primos (grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins). They tell me often about their grandpa's lemon orchard and other fruits, so I'm looking forward to that.

Though I'm excited about this new adventure, it means that I have to say goodbye to my lovely students and my new friends in the church. Here are just a few pictures of the wonderful people I have gotten to know this summer. 

Some of my students in my K-5 class.

The 4-K class

My last jovenes at Faith Baptist Church with friends

Taking a little trip downtown to buy souvenirs before leaving with Wendy and my Peruvian Tia (aunt).

Medical Missions Outreach

This week Jen and I have the amazing opportunity to help the Medical Missions Outreach team. They have come to a little town about 40 minutes away from where we live. The Pastor and wife who are in charge of everything are our neighbors and we know them well. There are about 75 people from all over the states who have joined together to give free medical help and evangelism to the people in town. 

 Jen and I are helping by translating for the nurses and doctors. It started yesterday and will finish on Thursday. We are both really excited about this opportunity that we have. It's a fun way to minister, and it is also forcing us to speak a lot of Spanish!

Peruvian Culture - El Micro

A few weeks ago, I traveled by micro for the first time with Wendy. I didn't know what to expect, but I needed to buy some things at Plaza Vea (a store similar to WalMart), and to do that we needed to take the micro.

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Hace algunas semanas yo fui en un micro por primera vez con Wendy. No sabía lo que me esperaba, pero yo necesitaba comprar algunas cosas en Plaza Vea (es una tienda como WalMart), y necesitábamos tomar el micro.

Just one example of the various types of micros.

This public transportation by micro only costs 1 sol (equivalent to about 33 cents) to go to Plaza Vea. So, Wendy and I went to the end of the block where there is more traffic and there waited for a micro. We got on...and it was very interesting. Just as soon as we got on, the micro started going again, so I walked cautiously to my seat as the bus bumped along. It was a new and different experience that I wasn't able to experience when I was in Trujillo before. It was also interesting because it was at night and everything was dark outside. The ride was incredibly bumpy, and when we stopped to let another person on, the worker by the door yelled, "Get on, get on, get on!" very quickly (speed is important). It was the same way when we got off too - "Get off, get off, get off!" I felt that I was experiencing more of the real and common Peruvian culture, and for that I am thankful.

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Solamente cuesta un sol (alrededor de 33 centimos en los estados) cada persona para ir a Plaza Vea. Entonces, Wendy y yo fuimos al fin de la manzana (del barrio) donde hay más tráfico para esperar un micro. Subimos…y fue muy interesante. Tan pronto como subimos, el micro empezó otra vez y por eso fue difícil pasar a nuestras sillas. Fue una experiencia diferente que no podía experimentar cuando yo estaba en Trujillo antes. También fue interesante porque era por la noche y todo estaba oscuro. Fue muy disparejo, y cuando paramos para una persona, la persona cerca de la puerta dijo, “Sube, sube, sube!” muy rápido (porque la velocidad es muy importante). Fue lo mismo cuando necesitábamos salir – “Baja, baja, baja!” Me sentí que yo estaba experimentando la cultura real y común de Perú, y estoy agradecida por eso. 

Peruvian Food - Pancito

For breakfast the most common thing to eat is a certain type of round bread. It is very common, and I've seen many people buying bags of pancito from the local stores. This morning, while eating a delicious combination of Peruvian avocado, salt, and pancito, I realized that the bread can be likened to an english muffin (only a little lighter, sweeter, and definitely better tasting).  

El desayuno más común acá en Perú es pancito. Es muy común, y yo he visto muchas personas comprando bolsos de pancito de las tiendas locales. Esta mañana, mientras yo estaba comiendo una combinación del aguacate, sal, y pancito, yo me di cuenta que el pan es similar a un “english muffin” (solamente un poco más ligero, más dulce, y por seguro más delicioso).

I love the flavor, the consistency, and the size of the bread. It is much more delightful than white sandwich bread in the States. You can eat it in such a variety of ways. Thus far, I've eaten it with...

Me encanta el sabor, la consistencia, y el tamaño del pancito. Es mucho mejor que el pan demode de los Estados. Tú puedes comerlo con muchas variedades. Hasta el momento, yo lo he comido con…

1. Butter and/or jam (mantequilla y/o mermelada)

2. Lunch meat and/or cheese (la carne y/o queso)

3. Fried egg (huevo frito)

4. Scrambled eggs and broccoli (huevos revueltos con broccoli)

5. Manjar (also called dulce de leche)

6. Leftover chicken (pollo)
7. Leftover chicken with french fries and lettuce.

8. Avocado (aguacate)

Also, it has been prepared... (también puedes prepararlo…)

9. like french toast (pan frito en huevos/leche)

10. in bread pudding (budin)

Honestly, I had been trying to come up with how to find the recipe for this amazing bread, but la Hermana told me that they bake pancito with something special that I wouldn't be able to use in the States. Therefore, I've started trying to find a similar substitute. We'll see if it turns out or not when I get back to the States. Until then, I'm investigating how long the pancito lasts before getting old and hard, and if it's possible to transport it in my suitcase (just in case I decide to leave my belongings here and take a suitcase-full of pancito home with me.) 

Honestamente, yo había estado intentando de encontrar una receta para este pan maravilloso, pero la Hermana me dijo que ellos preparan el pan con algo especial y no puedo hacerlo en los estados. Entonces, yo he estado intentando de algo similar. Vamos a ver si yo puedo hacerlo cuando regreso a los Estados. Hasta entonces, estoy investigando por cuanto tiempo el pan puede durar, y si es possible transportarlo en mi maleta (en caso que yo decido dejar todas mis cosas aquí y tomar una maleta lleno de pancito.)

Week Five

These two classes are K-4 and K-5. They are learning the different words for furniture in K-4 and the professions in K-5. Now that I am more accustomed to the kids and the way the class time runs, I'm trying to incorporate different ways to make learning the new words fun. It's really hard to come up with different games or fun exercises that actually work.

This couple from the church is such a blessing. Myley loves people and talking, so we've gotten along well. We've also found a common interest - cooking! These pictures are from when she invited me to lunch with her and her husband. They stopped by the house and we rode bikes to lunch. How fun to get out and visit another area of town.

Wendy took me out on a little tour of her campus - the National University of Trujillo. It was interesting to walk through a campus much, much larger than MBU. The picture of Wendy and I shows how we found Pastor's (her uncle's) name on the plaque of alumni.

This awesome mosaic wall goes around the whole university. I thought it was so fun!

I'm so thankful for Wendy and the family I'm living with. They put up with all my stumbling, hesitations and misunderstandings so well. I wish you could hear the kids giggle when I make a silly mistake. It's almost worth making mistakes on purpose just to hear them laugh.