Leaving Date

Just so you know...

We bought our tickets:



Leaving Lima, Peru on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 10:50pm

Arriving into Dulles Airport on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 1:30pm



Thank you to all of you who have been praying and supporting us! We praise God that we have these final two months to properly finish our term here and hopefully make our transition home easier.

Holding down the fort...

Last Thursday night, my best friend, Annmarie Breen, arrived! She came to visit and help me with the boys while Michael hikes the Inca Trail this week. He left on Sunday night with our friend Mark Chapman and three of his friends, Jeff, Matt, and David. We sure miss Daddy around here, but are finding ways to stay busy - not hard to do with a 3-yr-old and a newborn! Already, Annmarie has proven a terrific "second-in-command" to mommy, sleeping with Noah in his bed the last two nights when he woke at 3 and 4:30 am. She has helped with Noah's transition to having to wear a patch on his right (strong) eye every day. She was also a huge help holding a fussy baby during Noah's first dentist appointment on Monday, so I could hold Noah and convince him that the swirling polishing brush wouldn't hurt. Countless times throughout our days together do I ask for her help or, more frequently, I find her doing things that I never asked her to do but she just knows how much it would help! I haven't hung up laundry to dry or done dishes since she arrived. Her constant companionship and support has been such a huge encouragement to me. She's got a little less than a week with us still and we've got lots to pack into the rest of her visit!

Enjoying Elita's Arroz con Leche. She taught us how to do it too!

Michael and the guys return on Saturday. Today was probably their toughest day, hiking to the highest peak of the trail. Tomorrow will be the longest day, hiking up two more peaks and descending hundreds of stairs before arriving to the campsite at the entrance to Machu Picchu. On Friday morning, they will arise before dawn and begin the speedy 1 1/2 hour trek to the sungate, so they can catch the sunrise as it shines its first rays onto the Inca's most famous sanctuary. (At least that's how I remember it was. We'll see if they have a similar experience (c:)

The dentist was very patient and gentle with Noah

Every morning Noah tells me what he wants to put on his patch - today it was a sticker with three stars on it. The other day it was Captain Hook's hook. He really is doing great with this transition, even though the hardest parts are putting it on and taking it off. Thank you to all who are praying!

Deep thoughts from Noah

Noah and I were eating lunch together yesterday, when he noticed some pretty clouds outside our window. We started talking about what we saw in them. He said he saw a big angel flying. Then he asked me, "Mommy, do angels have glasses too?" "They sure do!" I replied. "Helps them see us better when they're way up in the sky." "Mommy, I want that angel to fly all the way right here to our window so I can see him."

Happy Easter!!

We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord on Sunday! I had not been feeling well the day before, so I was happy to feel good enough to join everybody in the celebration. At church, Pastor Bob Woodson preached on the proof and validity of Jesus' resurrection. It was great to worship together as a family of believers.


After church, we came home to get our Easter eggs and so Michael could finish making his "Parker House Rolls," his first try at a yeast bread. Then we went to the Wards house for the afternoon. We had a delicious potluck meal - the rolls were devoured. Following lunch, Easter eggs were hidden by the Daddies of the group and the kids got to do a hunt. As usual, it was sweet to make some more memories with our teammates. We're going to miss all these "family" celebrations.

Painting our Easter Eggs...couldn't find any dye (c:

Play-Doh and Q-tip sheep!

Dear friends, Graciela, Martha, Romina, and Gianella

Noah helping to "paint" the rolls with butter

Janna Ross, Hadassah Berry, and Ethan

The Easter Egg hunters, plus 3 little cuties

The Market

One of the little joys here, that I know will be harder to achieve in the States, is local shopping. It is one of the many things about the more community-centered lifestyle that is so healthy and natural. Old-fashioned ideas like buying food grown or raised locally, from someone you know and trust, eating only what is in season, avoiding pre-packaged products, and getting things fresh, just for the day's needs - these things strengthen community, save energy and usually mean healthy diets. Now if they didn't then go and fry everything...

Family Update

Here's our sweet boy with his glasses. He may not always need them, so I better get these cute pictures while I can! He's really doing well with them, especially after getting a little strap from Grandma that helps keep them on. He doesn't appear to think about them being on when he uses the strap. Just this morning, he asked to wear them so he could read something. So, they must be helping him. We'll be going back to the doctor next week to check his progress and I've already made an appointment for him to see a specialist in the states when we return this summer.
Just so everyone knows, we are winding down on our time here in Peru. We have been amazed by how much God has done in and through us over these past two years. Now, we are beginning to realize how little time we have left here, although we're not exactly sure how long that will be. We completed two years of living in Peru in March, however, it was never clear whether the two-year commitment included the language study of 7 months at the beginning. So, we are staying beyond our two years (depending on how you look at it), but now taking the needed time to phase out of ministry here. We do plan to return home in time for Michael to find a job and begin teaching (or something else that the Lord opens up). So, currently, we are still trying to determine our leaving date based on other gifts that come in, beyond the two year period. As soon as we know a departure date, we'll be happy to share it!
We are very split right now as we process leaving a country and people we have come to love and returning to "normalcy" at home. Certainly, we have changed, so what was normal is no more. We have grown-up, quite literally in Noah's case, from just barely walking to a busy preschooler. But we, too, have grown into our roles as mommy and daddy, husband and wife, missionaries - all this in a Peruvian context. Surely some of those things are going to change as we return home. Our roles will not change, but how we do them likely will. We are only at the very beginning of all the transtion that lies before us and the hardest part will be saying good-bye to our friends and "family" here.

Ethan's Video Debut

This busy mother-of-two is beginning to figure out her new life; i.e. finding time to blog and do fun things like make videos again. Forgive us for not sharing more along the way, but here's a video to catch you up on all of Ethan's growing over the last 2 months.