Spanish in Puno

The last couple of weeks have been very full. I started working at Rafael and Elizabet’s hardware store on Thursdays. That was fun and very good for learning Spanish. At first we had to use our translator apps on our phones quite a bit, but it was slowly improving. Rafael’s are great friends and fun to be with but it seems as if they are growing a little more distant. Their family has said if they become Christians, they will not be part of the family anymore. This makes their decision to follow Christ much more difficult for them. Pray for them as they face these decisions and feel the call of the Holy Spirit.

We were able to visit some of the people Shawn’s had not seen since their furlough. Esmerelda welcomed us into their home, but we could sense some tension. Her and Fernando (the man she is living with) had been having some rough times and he had gone out drinking with his son. Esmerelda has showed interest in attending church but finds it hard to make time. Pray for them for their realization of living in sin as they are not married. Also pray that they will surrender their family and hearts to God.

We also visited Alicia. She was very glad to see Shawn’s again and they talked for a while. I would tell you what they talked about, but I’m not completely sure. She gave us some cheese and some fresh milk along with saying she will try to come to church sometime.

November 8 found us getting ready for our trip to Puno a day early. The people are not happy with the price of fuel (which I believe is more expensive than the States fuel) and so they decided to protest prices by throwing rocks and burning tires and things at cars that drove by. Because of that public transportation was shut down during the day. We were scheduled to leave Tuesday afternoon, via bus, to Puno for two weeks of Spanish classes. Percy (Shawn’s farm hand) advised us to travel at night since the protests would most likely not happen then, and he also said we should leave a day early. So we did. Shawn purchased tickets for China, Belinda, and myself and helped us board our bus and get on our way(Ashlyn didn’t need a ticket since she sat our lap). The bus left Cusco around 10:45 P.M. Monday night. The seats were surprisingly comfortable and I slept almost the whole 7 hour trip to Puno. (I may look into buying a bus because of the comfortable seats) Rafael Roca (one of our Spanish Teachers) picked us up at the bus station at 5:30 A.M Tuesday morning and took us to his parents place till our Airbnb would be available. The land lady let us in ahead of schedule and by 2:30 P.M. we were in our house. Rafael had gotten some groceries for us and so we were able to get settled in without any hassle.

On Wednesday we started classes. We have had classes every day so far except Sunday. Rafael and his sister, Marta, are our teachers, and they do a very good job! They are able to keep the classes fun yet packed full of info. We have started being able to pick out verb forms in everyday conversation and in the message on Sunday, so hopefully by the end of these two weeks we will be able to carry a conversation longer than 3 words.

Wednesday evening we went to church with Rafael and his family. They have a smaller group attending but they are a very sincere Christian group. They are practicing Anabaptist ways now for 5 years I believe. They are a very happy and peaceful people. And we also attended the service Sunday morning. Rafael had asked if I would share devotions and so I tripped through a devotions in Spanish. Hopefully they were able to understand a little of what I wanted to say.

We went to market on Saturday and Rafael had us buy supplies using Spanish. That was very enjoyable and gave us a feel for where we needed more work. It ended up being that we needed work in all areas.

We have also done a little site seeing. Puno, Peru borders Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable body of water. It also borders Bolivia. It is the largest lake in South America, and was central to the Inca empire. It has temple ruins underwater and their are also a number of ruins on land surrounding the territory. It has definitely been an enjoyable and info filled trip so far. We are looking forward to the time we have left here. Keep us in your prayers as we try to learn the language so we can share the Gospel.