Hello Friends and Family,
We are now at 4 months abroad here in Arequipa. So far, it has been great. We finally feel like we are falling into some routines, knowing some new bus routes, finding new restaurants, visiting some museums, and finding our “Caseras/Caseros”. A “Casera/o” is normally a store owner or someone who works in a shop or market that you frequent. They start to know you first by face and then by your order and eventually by name. When you have a close casera they often give you a deal, or a discount because they want you to continue to come back. Everything is based on relationships here, not that we seek a relationship to get a better deal on peanuts and raisins (one of our frequent buys btw) but because face to face time is still so important in Peru. As our culture in the US is leaning towards less and less face time (one click Amazon orders, Uber eats delivering anything and everything you want and even Walmart doing your grocery shopping for you) talking to a person is still culture here. As our language strengthens we are excited and looking forward to receiving the opportunity to share who Jesus is and what he means to us. For now, we will try to reflect Christ in our smiles, body language and broken Spanish.
We are now at 4 months abroad here in Arequipa. So far, it has been great. We finally feel like we are falling into some routines, knowing some new bus routes, finding new restaurants, visiting some museums, and finding our “Caseras/Caseros”. A “Casera/o” is normally a store owner or someone who works in a shop or market that you frequent. They start to know you first by face and then by your order and eventually by name. When you have a close casera they often give you a deal, or a discount because they want you to continue to come back. Everything is based on relationships here, not that we seek a relationship to get a better deal on peanuts and raisins (one of our frequent buys btw) but because face to face time is still so important in Peru. As our culture in the US is leaning towards less and less face time (one click Amazon orders, Uber eats delivering anything and everything you want and even Walmart doing your grocery shopping for you) talking to a person is still culture here. As our language strengthens we are excited and looking forward to receiving the opportunity to share who Jesus is and what he means to us. For now, we will try to reflect Christ in our smiles, body language and broken Spanish.
It seems late to talk about Easter but it was quite the event around Arequipa. Because Peru is dominantly Catholic, Easter (Pascua) is very important and observed for an entire week and is called Semana Santa. It was interesting to watch parades and processions nearly every day. It was sad at the same time because to us it felt like they are so close to knowing who Jesus is but still so far away from Him. You don’t have to convince most people here of God’s existence or even that Jesus died on a cross. They believe that it happened. Unfortunately, people aren’t sure why He died and rose again. Often times in these parades the Saints and the Virgin Mary appear to be more of the focus. This is why we are here, this is why we want to learn Spanish, so next year when Semana Santa comes around we can have an engaging intellectual conversation of who Jesus really is and what He accomplished on that cross.
The church we attend, that is run by the language institute, held a special Easter Sunday service. Normally we hold services in a school auditorium but this particular Sunday we did it in the covered gym. We had the privilege to help in the worship band, Heather sang (in Spanish) and I was able to play congas. But the highlight of the Easter service was the entire service broke into small groups of about 5-10. Someone at each table led a 20-minute tutorial on how to share our faith with a track and bible verses. Several people accepted the Lord but more exciting to us and our host family was that our housekeeper, Roxanna, accepted the Lord. Please keep her in your prayers as she starts her walk with Christ.
We are in the process of keeping our website updated with more frequent short stories. That is a goal we have for next month! Hopefully, by the end of May, we will have a few more stories to share.
Again, we can not thank you enough for all that you do, for all the prayers and for being on this journey with us. Please continue to pray for our language learning and that God would continue to give us a vision that He has for our lives, and future ministry.
We are in the process of keeping our website updated with more frequent short stories. That is a goal we have for next month! Hopefully, by the end of May, we will have a few more stories to share.
Again, we can not thank you enough for all that you do, for all the prayers and for being on this journey with us. Please continue to pray for our language learning and that God would continue to give us a vision that He has for our lives, and future ministry.
TO FINANCIALLY PARTNER WITH US CLICK HERE
Or contact South America Mission directly:
803-802-8580
1021 Maxwell Mill rd, Suite B
Fort Mill, SC 29708
Or contact South America Mission directly:
803-802-8580
1021 Maxwell Mill rd, Suite B
Fort Mill, SC 29708