Here we are! Finally, we are back in San Juan de Lurigancho at Pat's Place and ready to move forward in our ministry. We just finished our first weekly ministry conference call with the leadership back home, along with Heather and a few Peruvians here--Laura, who runs our soup kitchen and assists with many projects, and Percy, the contractor who works with our construction projects. We are so thrilled to find out that a huge donation was made to NCCM to pay for the ENTIRE Sports & Medical complex--land and construction! It's such an amazing blessing that just makes you want to cry.
In all seriousness, we are seeing God's blessings on this ministry every day. Pat's Place is getting the final touches on the roof and tiling on the face. The first "Extreme Home Makeover" project is also nearing its conclusion. The next U.S. team arrives at the end of next week for another week of medical clinics and construction projects. A videographer will also be coming to capture it all on film. We won't start the English classes until January, so that gives us time to be involved in other aspects of the ministry right now. Of course, I need to start my lesson planning, and the women at Pat's Place are ready for me to start teaching them as soon as possible! So please pray for wisdom and guidance as I prepare for teaching.
It was bittersweet to say goodbye to our new friends and family in Christ in Arequipa. It was a blessing to spend time with all the students and teachers on our last day of classes for the fieldtrip I mentioned last week. We piled into four vans and toured the outskirts of the city. We visited a volcanic rock quary and watched how blocks were cut, stacked and sold for construction. We visited a restaurant briefly where we toured the kitchen of the woman known as the best cook in Peru, just down the road from a tower where we also stopped to take pictures. We ended with lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant where we tried some typical Peruvian dishes, including guinea pig! I can only imagine lots more food experiences like that one, such as the following night when we took our host family out for dinner, and I ate cow heart for the first time!
Peru had a nationwide census on Sunday, and no one could leave their homes for most of the day. Church services were rescheduled in Arequipa for Saturday night, so we were able to worship with them one last time and then say goodbye. They became very dear to us in that short a period of time, and we will always remember their patience and kindness and hope to visit again soon.
Our host family brought us to the airport Sunday morning, and once in Lima, we made our way to the Hotel Santa Cruz, where we relaxed and reminded ourselves of what hot hot showers really feel like. We met some fellow students, Todd & Stephanie, for dinner at Pizza Hut; they also had flown into Lima that day after being in Arequipa for several months studying Spanish. On Monday Heather picked us up and brought us here to Pat's Place, where we have settled in a bit and begun our apartment search. Slowly we are also purchasing household items and pricing the appliances & furniture around town. There is an apartment on the same block as Pat's Place that we are going to look at tomorrow, and it can be ready for us for Monday if we decide to take it. Please pray for God's wisdom and discernment over the next few days in that matter.
I apologize for the length of this message, but I just thought this once, you might not mind some detail. :-) I promise we will try to upload more pictures soon too. We sent out our first monthly newsletter by email yesterday; if you did not receive it, please let me know at hollyjcompton@gmail.com. Love & blessings to you all, H&A
In all seriousness, we are seeing God's blessings on this ministry every day. Pat's Place is getting the final touches on the roof and tiling on the face. The first "Extreme Home Makeover" project is also nearing its conclusion. The next U.S. team arrives at the end of next week for another week of medical clinics and construction projects. A videographer will also be coming to capture it all on film. We won't start the English classes until January, so that gives us time to be involved in other aspects of the ministry right now. Of course, I need to start my lesson planning, and the women at Pat's Place are ready for me to start teaching them as soon as possible! So please pray for wisdom and guidance as I prepare for teaching.
It was bittersweet to say goodbye to our new friends and family in Christ in Arequipa. It was a blessing to spend time with all the students and teachers on our last day of classes for the fieldtrip I mentioned last week. We piled into four vans and toured the outskirts of the city. We visited a volcanic rock quary and watched how blocks were cut, stacked and sold for construction. We visited a restaurant briefly where we toured the kitchen of the woman known as the best cook in Peru, just down the road from a tower where we also stopped to take pictures. We ended with lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant where we tried some typical Peruvian dishes, including guinea pig! I can only imagine lots more food experiences like that one, such as the following night when we took our host family out for dinner, and I ate cow heart for the first time!
Peru had a nationwide census on Sunday, and no one could leave their homes for most of the day. Church services were rescheduled in Arequipa for Saturday night, so we were able to worship with them one last time and then say goodbye. They became very dear to us in that short a period of time, and we will always remember their patience and kindness and hope to visit again soon.
Our host family brought us to the airport Sunday morning, and once in Lima, we made our way to the Hotel Santa Cruz, where we relaxed and reminded ourselves of what hot hot showers really feel like. We met some fellow students, Todd & Stephanie, for dinner at Pizza Hut; they also had flown into Lima that day after being in Arequipa for several months studying Spanish. On Monday Heather picked us up and brought us here to Pat's Place, where we have settled in a bit and begun our apartment search. Slowly we are also purchasing household items and pricing the appliances & furniture around town. There is an apartment on the same block as Pat's Place that we are going to look at tomorrow, and it can be ready for us for Monday if we decide to take it. Please pray for God's wisdom and discernment over the next few days in that matter.
I apologize for the length of this message, but I just thought this once, you might not mind some detail. :-) I promise we will try to upload more pictures soon too. We sent out our first monthly newsletter by email yesterday; if you did not receive it, please let me know at hollyjcompton@gmail.com. Love & blessings to you all, H&A
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