Arequipa Week 1

It has been an interesting day and week since we left the states last Thursday. It´s also begun to hit us that we haven´t "worked" (a 9-5 job) in 3 weeks. On the other hand, while learning Spanish is going pretty well for me (since I had many years of it in school), it's hard work for Alex because he has never had any schooling in it before. Since we have so little time, they (and we) want to cram in as much information as possible, but it is a bit overwhelming. We also take a 20 minute bus ride each way every day, another interesting experience in Peru in general, but sometimes it can be a little stressful. Everyone is crowded in so close, we rarely get seats, and it´s not always easy to know which stop is ours because everything sort of blends together still. I´m sure it will get easier each day though... Plus, I´ve also had some stomach issues the last 2 days, so hopefully that will go away soon too.

Today all the students and teachers at our school gathered and sang happy birthday to me in 4 languages. Then they promptly had me blow out a candle on a cake which was then partially smashed in my face (leaving enough of the cake to serve everyone, of course). That was funny; we wished we had had our camera, especially when I proceeded to give Alex a great big kiss with my cake-covered face! That was a cool birthday present...reminiscent of our wedding day and the groom´s cake!

To celebrate my birthday, we ate at Pizza Hut in a very nice American-style mall where I got a new watch (since I don´t have a cell phone to tell me what time it is anymore). This morning between classes, I also finished reading the first prequel of the "Left Behind" books, called "The Rising." I´m hoping that ...someone... might send along a late birthday present (with the November NCCM team) with the next 2 prequels, the only ones of the entire series that I haven´t read yet. :-) In the meantime, we are enjoying our free time, especially reading the Word, doing devotions together, and simply preparing our spirits for the time and efforts ahead. The home where we live has been a wonderful sanctuary, and we are so blessed and thankful that Allan and her family have opened their arms and embraced as their own. We are affectionately called "Hollycita" and "Alexcita."

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings, especially on this, my 29th birthday, my first birthday outside of the US! (I smell 30 right around the corner!) Please keep praying for us! And we´ll do our best to keep you up to date once a week. As soon as we have internet service hooked up in our room, we will be online more often and will upload some pictures too.

For those of you who are ever interested in talking to us for FREE, sign up your computer for Skype (at http://www.skype.com/) for free, get a headset & microphone, and add hollyjcompton@gmail.com to your contacts. We´ll be waiting to hear from you!! We miss you all and hope to hear from you soon too.

Blessings,
Holly (& Alex)

We are in Arequipa

Hola everyone! We are safely settled into our new home in Arequipa for the next 4 weeks! We had a quick and easy flight this morning, and we were greeted by 3 members of the host family and another student staying with them. Pia is 19 and from Germany; she arrived this past Wednesday and has already learned enough Spanish to help us understand the family, only one of whom speaks English. Pia also speaks English. We have a very nice room and share the bathroom with just Pia. Tonight we will find out what time our classes will be each day. The mother is very kind and a great cook! I understand her Spanish very well (she speaks slowly), so I can translate for Alex. :-) She will show us the bus route tomorrow to the school and show us around town too. We took nice long naps this afternoon, as we have just been so exhausted since we arrived in Peru. It is much needed rest after the busyness of preparation to come to Peru. We are looking forward to starting the Spanish school tomorrow. Please pray that we learn quickly! We love you all and hope to hear from you soon. The family is having the internet connected into our room this week, we hope, so we will have more frequent access soon.

Blessings,
A&H

We are in Peru!

Hola Todos! Hello Everyone!

We have made it to Peru! The Lord blessed our travels with ease and comfort. We stayed at the Ariosto Hotel last night when we arrived, and Heather Bowen picked us up this morning and brought us to Pat's Place. We took nice long naps this afternoon and feel refreshed. We just plan to relax and enjoy our time at the house today, visit the market tomorrow, and prepare for our Sunday morning flight to Arequipa to begin the 4-week Spanish School on Monday. Please lift us up in prayer as we experience this culture shock and allow the Lord to connect our hearts to our new home.

Love & blessings,

A&H

23 Days and Counting!

Hello Dear Ones!

August was truly a blessed month for us! God showed up in so many ways as we have been working harder than ever before in our lives to prepare for the journey ahead to Peru. We are weary, but He is strong! He shows us this truth every day that we give over to His hands. We hope that you are able to sense His strength working in and through your life as well.

We have just returned from an amazing visit to Boston (quick but awesome!), where we raised over $1,000 and were able to catch up with a lot of Holly’s old friends and family that live there. It was so refreshing to see them and share about all the glorious things God has done over the last five years since Holly moved to Atlanta. How wonderful to have their support and prayers lifting us up as we embark on this new adventure in our lives.

September is finally here! It’s hard for us to believe that we’ve been planning this for more than a year, and it is finally coming to pass. We finish out our full-time jobs on Thursday, September 6th, which is a bittersweet ending for us both, as we have both been at our current jobs for three years and love what we do and who we work with. We will be traveling to Dallas, TX the first weekend of the month to speak at a church there (and return in time for our Farewell BBQ on Labor Day!). We will be in California the 7th-12th, then tying up loose ends, and finally, holding our Commissioning Dinner/Silent Auction on the 15th. If you are able to make it to that or to our Commissioning Service the next morning at Landmark Church in Norcross, we’d love to see you!

Please continue to pray for us, as we hope to raise an additional $7,000-8,000 dollars more before we fly to Peru on September 20th. We need to find a few more monthly supporters as well. We have put together a DVD, and if you would like a copy to share with your church or friends, please email hollyjcompton@gmail.com so we can send one out to you. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events or staying in touch via email! Our next monthly letter will be written from Peru! We love you and are so grateful for each of you.

Bendiciones,
Alex & Holly

Upcoming Events

¡Hola Todos! Hello Everyone!

We are hard at work preparing for our move to Peru in 45 days! We still have quite a bit of fundraising left to do, and we ask that you would pray about spreading the word of our need in order to begin our ministry. We hope you can attend one or more of our upcoming gatherings so we can see you before our departure on September 20th:

1. Saturday, August 25th: Going Away Party at Christ Church in Fitchburg, MA, 1:30-4:30p.m.

2. Monday, September 3rd: Farewell BBQ at the home of Ellen Diehl in Atlanta, GA, 12-4p.m.

3. Sunday, September 16th: Commissioning Service & Luncheon at Landmark Church in Norcross, GA, 10:30a.m.-3p.m.

Please let us know if you will be able to attend any of these events. We have prepared a detailed letter and brochure about our plans; if you have not already received it, please let us know and we’ll send them out to you right away. We also have a video available upon request.

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support. We look forward to connecting with you again soon! For more information, please feel free to contact Holly at hollyjcompton@gmail.com.

Dios te bendiga (God bless you),
Alex & Holly Compton

Less than 2 months to go!

Hi Everyone!

Thursday, September 20th, 2007, Moving Day to Peru, is less than 2 months away now! Alex and I are so busy preparing physically, spiritually, financially, and every other -ly possible! God has truly shown us great grace, blessing, and favor over the last year as we have submitted ourselves to His calling on our lives. We are so grateful for the many wonderful people He has put in our path to encourage us along the way. Please keep us in prayer as we continue to raise money for all our endeavors to come, and let us know what's happening with you and how we can pray for you too.

Grace & peace,
Alex & Holly