A Taste of Peru

In order to experience the local culture, we have a friend cook us peruvian food every Friday. Marie Elena is a great cook and we love tasting her creations! This past week we tried Aji Gallina. You can't see from this photo that the yummy yellow sauce with chicken (pollo) is covering large potato slices. Peruvian food tends to include both rice and potatoes~something that we wouldn't see in Canadian cuisine. It is blessing to have Marie Elena cook for us.

Our language classes are going well. Given that language school is our focus for now, that is what takes most of our time and energy. It is still frustrating trying to speak Spanish, but I am sure that will come with time and practice. Peruvians, in general, are very kind and patient with us. Many of them want to learn English and know how difficult it is to learn a new language.

Last night our church showed "End of the Spear" in preparation for Steve Saint's visit. Most of the congregation had not seen the film and were encouraged and touched by it. Next week they will show the documentary film "Beyond the Gates of Splendor". We are looking forward to Steve's visit over Easter weekend.

This past week was quite stressful for me. Adjusting to a new culture takes time. We are really happy here and have a great life, but there is still that time of adjusting and feeling like we don't belong. I think I am grieving, though I'm not really sad. It is a strange feeling to have. Yesterday one of the Bible College students, Kiya, came over to play the piano and sing (something she has missed while being here). Hearing her worship the Lord and sing songs that we are used to singing at RMCC made me realize that I am missing the familiarity of home. I had a little cry while I sang along and cooked supper. The Lord knew I needed that!

This is the view from Rachel's bedroom. Her blinds are down so it is not a clear view, but I like this photo. It gives the sense of how many buildings are just behind us. There are not the open spaces that we are accustomed to in Calgary. Most of the homes do not have backyards and back right into each other. Sometimes it gets really loud as so many homes are so close in proximity. When someone has a party, we all get to (have to) stay up!

Anjel and Rachel, children from the orphanage, come to our home every week for a play date. Here they are with our kids on our new couch (yes they finally came!) It is fun playing with the children and testing out our spanish. This week we made crafts and then played in the park with balloons. Our kids are making close friendships with Rachel and Anjel. Grace, the daughter of our missionary friends Karen and John Buchan, helped when I didn't know the spanish word for something.