I know it has been a while since my last post, but my story will be that it is by design. The longer I wait, the more there is to write about. Truth is, we have stayed fairly busy and I find it very easy for my time to be completely full. I’m writing now though, and that’s what counts.
We still aren’t fluent in Spanish. Our brains seemed to have pressed pause on the language download. But no worries, Shawn has been very patient and has a class a week with us to make sure we have some language exposure. We think he is teaching us Spanish but I’ll let you know for sure once I can understand what he is saying. I knew it would be a challenge to learn a new language, but I don’t think anyone can truly prepare themselves to the whole idea until they have tried it. It takes a lot of time with what feels like very little progress. Puts me right back to being two years old and trying to tell my family that I would like a piece of candy. I do not enjoy feeling 2 at my age. But it is necessary. Relying on others to do the communicating for you sure is humbling. Shawn’s very graciously have our backs in that way. Lately we have implemented a few rules to challenge us to speak what words we know. Chore time is strictly Spanish, along with at the table, all day Sunday, and any time there are native Peruvians around. It stretches our brain but is very enjoyable.
I have also been working at the hardware store with Rafael and Elizabet. That has been very good for my Spanish learning. I believe my lack of understanding has caused some irritated customers, but Rafael and Elizabet are both very patient with me. I only work at the store on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, which is plenty for now. If I tried to work there for a solid week I think my body would fall apart. I am still not completely adjusted to the elevation, although it is much easier to catch my breath.
Belinda and Ashlyn have been doing fairly well. There are days that Belinda finds it harder to catch her breath, but Ashlyn loves running around outside. The elevation doesn’t seem to affect Ashlyn very much at all.
We are all coming out of a round of Covid. Or that’s what we think it is. Different of our friends here were tested and were “positive”. So we are positive that we were “positive”. None of us seem to really be taking long to get over it though. That could be because we are vaccinated, or because we didn’t get it as badly. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
Brother Levi Martin and his son Philip are here right now. They came down the second week of this month and have been unable to fly home because of Philip testing “positive” for Covid. They are hoping to try again on Monday to get a “negative” test. It has been good to have some friends from the States here. We had hopes that a young single fellow (Byron) from the States would be arriving along with Levi and Philip, but it did not work out as hoped. We are still praying about the situation and hoping that Byron can still come down for a term.
Last weekend Brother Ernest Martin from Huaral, Peru visited here with his family. That was enjoyable, even though some of us were sick. We were able to have some great fellowship and a few volley-ball games.
We are going to start raising pigs. We are expecting our first batch of piglets around the 25th of April (happy birthday Hannah). The barn that is here is not quite what we wanted for raising pigs and so we are building a small addition. I say we, but Percy and Walter have done a lot of the work. Building here is very different than in the States, but it’s still fun. We are planning on having 6 sow pens and one boar pen. We will be using the old pig pen for weaning. I’m really looking forward to the whole experience.
We are in our rainy season here and so, even though it is summer, the rain keeps things cool. So far it has been just a few days of solid rain. Mostly we get showers every afternoon. It is a lot like being back in Florida, just without the heat. The animals don’t seem to mind the weather though, and they are doing well. The goats should start kidding in just a couple months. I believe there will be around 15 goats kidding close to the same time. That will be neat to have that many kids running around.
Farm life is a new life for me. I enjoy working with animals, but have not done much of it. It’s really great to be able to watch Shawn and his family and learn from them. Having to just go out and take care of animals on my own with my level of knowledge would be fatal for almost all the animals I would be taking care of. This way is much better.
Church services here have been going well. We have been able to have a few services with Percy and his family, and also a service at Fernando and Esmeralda’s. It’s great to have more people than just family in the services. Percy’s seem to enjoy meeting together with us, and so we are planning on meeting with them as often as possible for services.
I believe that is all for now. Sorry about how I jumped from topic to topic. That is how my mind works. I hope it gave you a little bit of insight on how are lives are going. Continue to pray for us and the ones we are working closely with here. We can sense that some of them are very close to the Kingdom. Also, our WhatsApp works great here. If you ever get the urge, feel free to call or text.
Until next time….
Benji AKA Me 