Why We're Here

Most of these boxes are Ticuna New Testaments which are being wrapped in plastic to be sent by truck on Monday from Lima in the west, across the Andes, to Pucallpa in the jungle, and then by barge to Iquitos on the Amazon River, where they can be shared with Ticuna speakers. Another New Testament here is headed for the northern Andes, and a third is going to the Central Andes, close to where I will work. I love the backpack and clipboard lying on the boxes...it shows how every-day this is, but it's not taken lightly. How incredible that we get to be part of this kind of work! Thanks for "coming with me"!

Me & my Peruvian family! I lived with Sonja & Milagros (left to right) for these first two months in Lima.

Count Down to Huanuco!

SATURDAY
A music group is being formed of different SIL and Wycliffe missionaries who are traveling from all over Peru to attend a week of conference meetings just outside Lima. We will practice all day Saturday to prepare for the coming week of services. I am so excited to be able to play the piano with this group!

NEXT WEEK
The annual SIL conference lasts from Sunday through Saturday. It's a full week with a packed schedule, morning through evening. I'm glad for the chance to continue to get to know this organization, which has been in Peru for 60 years!

LAST WEEK OF JANUARY
I'll be in Lima for one more week, continuing to take Spanish lessons and finish my orientation. At the end of January I'll be moving to Huanuco, my new home, where I'll begin to work with the Bensons. I'm grateful to have been in Lima, learning from the SIL Lima office, and exploring this city, but I really can't wait for this final step to my "permanent" home.

(Incredible traditional Peruvian dancing, sometimes with scissors! :>)

The View

Standing on a random mound in the Sacred Valley, I took a few photos to try and make this panoramic shot. I mention the randomness, because this is the kind of view and beauty that is around every corner in this valley, which runs from a few miles out of Cusco northwest towards Machu Picchu. The Incas (1197 A.D. to 1592) believed that the Urubamba river flowing through the valley reflects the Milky Way. (p.s. These are just the foothills of the Andes!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!

Here I am all decked out in the color Peruvians traditionally wear to celebrate the New Year: YELLOW!