Merry Christmas!

Emily and I were recently invited to attend a missionary conference hosted by The Mission Society, our future sending agency.  The conference is in Orlando in early January, and to our surprise we found that purchasing round-trip tickets to Orlando were close to the same price as purchasing multi-city tickets to Chicago and then Orlando.  So we were able to visit my family in Wisconsin for a white, semi-destructive Christmas!

Here are some highlights:

1.  Blowgun Stocking Stuffers
Years ago my parents decided to divide the gift-giving responsibilities as such:  Mom buys the real gifts; Dad stuffs the stockings.  Now, I think it's my Mom's opinion that grown men-boys with a median age of 30 should no longer be receiving stockings.  But my Dad's youthful influence (he was our hero growing up because he was the only dad on the block who owned a TMNT t-shirt--and wore it constantly) wins out.  Usually our stockings consist of enough candy to give your eyes a cavity, along with a Nerf gun or other harmless toy weapon.  This year my father outdid himself.  Instead of the harmless toy weapon, we received blowguns!

You know it's a true Christmas when you receive something with a label advertising its use in incapacitating small animals.  We quickly proceeded to the basement to try them out.  Don't worry, no small animals were harmed.  Here's a video of my brother Justin getting into the holiday spirit!



2.  Family, Family, FAMILY!
It's easy for me to imagine Jesus being as pumped about Christmas as a five-year-old kid, not only because it's a celebration of his incarnation, but also because the amount of love on display can be staggering.  Emily and I have been basking in the warm, fire-like glow of family love for the past week and a half, and it has definitely been recharging our souls.  We have been able to spend quality time with my parents, brothers (and their respective families), as well as a good number of my extended family.  Last night was our white elephant gift exchange with my mom's side of the family.  It was a blast.  I received a pooping penguin that I managed to convince my cousins was filled with actual poop.  I also learned what Pillow Pets are.  My worldview has changed.

Who would have thought that playing foosball, shooting blowdarts, eating pounds of sugar, baking cookies, riding 4-wheelers, laughing, watching movies about scary viruses and the end of the world, and dancing could be so therapeutic?  I think that all of those things are encompassed in the heart of God.

3. God Time
It has been really good to slow down and reflect on all that we've walked through.  Things have been moving so quickly for the last couple of months that it has been easy to try to start attaching our own preconceived, go-to interpretations on certain life happenings.  But we have both been able to just sit with Jesus and let Him share His version of the story with us.  Here are some encouraging things God has introduced into our minds and hearts:

For Em:  I started reading a book about the seasons in our lives called Spiritual Rhythm.  The first chapter is on winter, and I felt something resonate as I read this paragraph.  "Winter shames those in it.  It feels like personal failure, something we've caused, or missed or faltered in.  We chide ourselves for being there.  We're sure it's our own fault.  We wonder if we're crazy, lazy, stupid...The assumption is this:  God can't be in winter."  Sometimes it is easy to look at the circumstances and think that we missed it somewhere along the way.  Yet I have been reminded of God's presence in the quiet times, and I really do believe He has gone before us, behind us and is leading us forward.




For Trav:  "On the other hand, theology could be provisionally described as that which attempts to come to grips with this life-giving experience, to describe the source from which everything is suspended and from which our faith is born.  In faith God is experienced as the absolute subject who grasps us, while in theology we set about reflecting upon this subject.  Here the source of our desire is rendered into an (intellectual) object that we may reflect upon.  In faith we are held, in theology we hold."
                                   --Peter Rollins "How (Not) to Speak of God"

It is easy for me to confuse theology with faith.  It is easy to put the emphasis on using the "right language" or saying the "right things" about God, which in turn can take precedence over faith.  But I think that Peter Rollins' distinction is correct.  Faith is about what God is actually doing in our lives, theology is about trying to give definition and language to what is happening and who God is.  It is an important reminder to me that one aspect of theology is that it can confine God in a way, by confining him to language, and often to subjective experiences.  But God is so much bigger!  Even the simplest parable from Jesus is an example of how narrow our language and experiences can be.  But faith--faith is to be held by God.  Faith is to experience that (in some ways) unexplainable presence of God in our lives--it is to be transformed.  And that is a beautiful thing.




Overall it has been an excellent first Christmas as a married partnership of complete, bodacious awesomeness.  We are excited to learn a ton at the conference in Orlando, and then to return to Lima.  We already have a youth group night we are in charge of in Condevilla, so it will be a quick dive back into Peru.  Please pray that it will be more like a beautiful swan dive and less like a belly flop.

How Travis Saved the Day

Travis and I decided to spend the holidays with the Gaspers in Wisconsin. We tied up loose ends in Arequipa and flew to Lima last Wednesday. Our flight was scheduled to take off at 12am, and our friends called a taxi to take us to the airport around 9:30. Our taxi driver is a friend of the family, and we all sat, drinking tea and chatting away. Around 10:30pm, I started getting a little nervous about our flight and the fact that it is recommended that you arrive 3 hours before take-off.

We piled into the taxi and almost immediately hit traffic, bumper to bumper, crazy, terrible traffic. At about 11pm (one hour before take-off) we reached the airport. There was no line, and I was extremely confused. So I sought clarification, and this is the conversation that ensued:

Me: "Is this for the continental flight?"

United Airlines Lady (UAL): "Yes, they will call your last name."

Me: They don't know my last name.

UAL: You're on stand-by, right?

Me: No!!!

UAL: You were supposed to be here 3 hours ago.

Me: I know. But we are here now.

UAL: The flight is closed. You're too late.

Me: But we checked in online.

UAL: Nope, the flight is closed.

Travis: We checked in online.

And then the UAL told us to run through security. We took off and literally ran through the metal detectors only to come to a grinding halt when we hit immigration. The line usually takes about an hour to get through (hence needing to arrive early), and we were told that our flight was taking off in 20 minutes. I pleaded with a few official looking people to let us bypass the line, but they refused. I looked at Travis, and before I knew it he was knocking over stanchions and pushing his way through the line. All I heard were people telling him to be careful, and I had visions of security dragging us away.

We finally made it to the man who stamps your passports, and I realized that I had lost my little paper that I had filled out upon arrival. I was escorted to a special desk where we had to pay to get a new little paper. We paid and ran as fast as we could to the gate. Out of breath, I asked if we had missed our flight, and praise God, we had not.

I call this post How Travis Saved the Day because I am a rule follower, and Travis is not. I would have waited in very long lines, and I probably would not have even gotten passed the initial United Airlines Lady. Fortunately, I am married to a man who pushes the limits when he deems necessary.

We made it to Wisconsin, and we will be sure to arrive at the airport 3 hours early next time.

Jeff's Visit: Metal-Style

A few weeks ago my friend Jeff came to visit us in Arequipa.  Jeff is one of my best friends from Houston, and he was an essential part of our wedding since he filled last minute to play piano for our recessional when another musician bailed.  He's a funny guy who has a great job that allows him weeks off for traveling the world.

His week-long visit consisted of introducing him to our Peruvian friends, Peruvian cuisine, and a mishmash of useful Spanish words like "madera" (wood) and "trabajolico" (workaholic).  We went hiking, brought him to a church potluck, made him stand on a ton of buses, helped him buy Spongebob Squarepants finger-puppets, introduced him to Alpaca meat, and took him to an ancient monastery.  Ironically, the monastery reminded me of my heavy metal years.  We toured it at night (it's gigantic) and declined a guide.  This meant that we had free range of the part of the monastery open for tours.  It also meant we could climb in nooks and crannies and play with fire (it was naturally lit by torches and lanterns).  My type of tour.

If our week were a metal album, I would call it JEFF-ROW.  Here are some choice cuts:

JEFF-ROW: Lead shrieks and guttural growls.  Interests: Reading, Coffee, Holding lanterns in the darkness

 TRAVIARY: Lead Axe.  Interests: Discipleship, Literature, Eating Things He Probably Shouldn't

Here's what can happen when I'm left to my own devices around fire (and by "left to my own devices" I mean Emily decided not to come along for the tour):

Then the sun came up and we went for a hike.  It was much less metal (but the weather could still be considered grim):

It was great to have a friend come spend some time with us here in Peru.

Stay tuned for a Christmas update!  I promise there will be no heavy metal or 90's action movie allusions (or at least not many).

-Trav

A Change in Direction

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

Merry Christmas!  Emily and I trust that you are having an excellent holiday season celebrating the Greatest Gift while surrounded by family and friends.

We are writing this message to let you know of a change in direction for our time in Peru.  As you know, since October we have been working with Maximizing Children’s Ministries International in Arequipa, Peru.  Recently the ministry decided to go in a different direction than originally expected, and Emily and I will no longer be in Peru under their covering.  We will be moving to Lima in January so that I can continue language school while Emily works teaching Peruvian kids in schools.  We will also be spending time working with the youth of a particular area of Lima called Condevilla.  There is a church plant there, and we will be reaching out to many kids who are coming from broken homes with heavy hearts.  Please pray that God will grant us favor with the kids and that many will come to know of His abundant, healing, redeeming love for them.

The Woodlands United Methodist Church will now be receiving all gifts and support on our behalf and issuing them to us in Peru.  The church and John Hull (the missions pastor) have been a huge encouragement to Emily and me, and we are delighted for their willingness to help us with our finances for the year.  We ask that you please discontinue sending any support to The Ark church or MCMINTL on our behalf and that you would instead send support to:

The Woodlands United Methodist Church

2200 Lake Woodlands Drive
The Woodlands, Texas 77380

Please designate any support by writing “Gaspers” in the memo line.  The church has a variety of ways you can give that are listed on the following webpage: http://www.thewoodlandsumc.org/give

We love you and are so grateful to be supported by people who continually shower us with the type of love that reflects the big heart of God.   Thank you for your continued prayers and support in this time of transition. 

With love,

Travis and Emily Gasper 

Mirador

Dorcas and I met last night to go to Mirador for the women's Bible Study. Upon arrival, we had to cross a trench that was dug to accommodate the sewer that should be installed at some point. The community has just recently received running water, and the streets are lined with huge ditches that will be filled with tubing.

When we entered the house we saw an entire room filled with piles of unpainted ceramic figurines. The woman who owns the house makes and paints these figurines to sell during Christmas. Here is an example of what I mean:

(This is not a photo that I took. I just wanted to give you an example of what I meant by unpainted ceramic figurines).

Now imagine a room filled with these things. There were probably thousands, and I could not fathom painting each one by hand. I asked one of the girls if she could teach me how to do it, and she said that we could in January. I think that the next month is going to be a season of cranking them out. I would slow down the process.

About an hour after we arrived, Dorcas started teaching about what it means to be a virtuous woman. I tried to stay focused, but one of the woman's toddlers kept walking in and out of the room. He was looking for attention, and it was hard not to notice when he opened the front door, pulled down his little pants and started peeing off the stoop. One of the woman corrected him, but I thought it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

The rest of the Bible study went well, and we all shared crackers and coffee to end the evening. Dorcas and I made it back to town to find that the electricity had been cut, and I thanked Jesus that I was not alone. (We have to walk through some shadier areas of town to get back to the church). I met up with Travis and Jeff (our friend who is visiting from the States), and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our apartment. It was a good Saturday.

Iglesia Refugio

Over the past few weeks, Travis and I have visited a few churches, and we've felt most at home in Iglesia Refugio (Refuge Church). During the week, a lot of college students congregate here because the building is primarily used as a coffee shop called Café Berea.

(Worship practice right before the service began)

The pastor, Efrain (far left) and his wife, Dorcas (pink shirt), have welcomed us into the congregation. We went with them to the church plant, Mirador, on Tuesday night. Travis and I hung out with little kids who seemed to have an endless supply of jokes. We then watched Facing The Giants, and the crowd cheered as Shiloh High School won the state tournament. Efrain gave an evangelistic message after the movie but explained that believing in God does not mean that you will win sports tournaments, miraculously receive trucks, have a few kids, and get a raise at work. All that to say, Travis and I feel like minded with Efrain and Dorcas. We hope to get more involved with the work in Mirador.

(One of the kids' classrooms)

Travis did not make it to church this morning as he was feeling a little under the weather. One woman came up to me and said, "Y tu esposo (and your husband)?" as she gazed at the ceiling implying that he would have been towering above us. I felt like we were being warmly received.

After the service today I had the honor of playing Connect Four with a 7 year old named Dante. As I got on the bus, I heard, "Ciao Emiiiily!" Dante was standing on the corner. I made a new friend.

Answered Prayers

1) We have a home church - Iglesia Refugio

Travis and I have attended service the past 2 weeks, and I had an opportunity to visit their church plant called Mirador. Dorcas, the pastor's wife, and I will be going to Mirador every other Saturday to do Bible study with the women. Travis and I are going to Mirador tonight to spend time with people and to watch a movie.

2) I can breathe! My allergies are under control, and my voice does not sound like a chipmunk.

(What I felt like before my magical medicine...a chipmunk)

(What I feel like now...happy)

3) We had a few friends over to play card games last night. Yay for friends! Please pray that we will continue to find community here.

4) Our apartment is feeling more and more like a home.

5) Our work on curriculum with Matt and Kelly is progressing. Travis is getting to use his creative writing, and I am working on translation. Right now, the material we write is being used with a Bolivian church. About 170 kids attend the Sunday School, and they are learning about Jesus. To read more about the work in Bolivia click here.

We Hang Out in Cemeteries.

So apparently my language school wanted me to relive my long-haired metal days.  Instead of class, they took Emily and me (along with a bunch of other students from the language school--lots of Germans!) to visit three different cemeteries in honor of Dia de los Muertos.

Side note--I didn't wear sunscreen.  So now my burn has a burn.  I read somewhere that it takes a cat over 20 repetitions to remember/learn something.  I think I have some cat DNA.  Don't tell Emily.

The first cemetery we visited was the oldest cemetery in Arequipa.  It was filled with ornate vaults (some of which looked like inviting little houses) and lots of bodies housed in walls.  Everything was colorful as most of the graves were decorated with bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals.  I thought I saw a Mary statue with a devil tail.  Turns out it was a Mary statue with an anchor behind her.  Nautical Mary.

One of the more interesting graves we saw was for a man from Arequipa who was executed in the late 60's for murdering his wife.  Pretty much right after he was killed people began to doubt that he committed the crime.  So he was made into a saint.  To this day people bring tons of flowers and money to his grave to pray for miracles.

The next cemetery we visited was incredibly different.  It was in the hills outside Arequipa and was the cemetery for people with less money.  The gravestones were definitely not as ornate, but the party was a rager!  It is a tradition to bring your dead family members their favorite food and beverages to commemorate their lives and celebrate them.  It is a bit surreal to see a bunch of graves covered in food and Inka Cola.  There were hired bands playing music over graves and tons of people sharing food and drinks. The whole thing felt much more celebratory than the previous cemetery.  Although it felt a bit weird to just trample through the middle of a bunch of graves, especially when most of them were piles of stones (according to the dates, some were really fresh!)

Finally we visited the most expensive cemetery of the 3.  It was the most European/North American inspired, complete with lots of grass, underground burials, and immaculate groundskeeping.  It was also much more boring to look at.  They had a strict ban on food or drinks left on graves.  I've decided that when I go, I am totally down with food and drink being strewn all over my headstone.  I'm also down with the whole band playing music in commemoration--as long as it's not Dave Matthews.

So all-in-all it was a super interesting day.  I feel like it would be appropriate to make some type of goth-inspired vampire joke here, but a certain teen idol vampire with horrible one-liners and a sparkly chest has pretty much ruined vampire lore for life.  So instead I'll teach you the Spanish word for "wizard."  It's "MAGO!"  Now I'm going to go serenade my wife with Iron Maiden songs.

Una Busqueda de Tesoro with Young Life

We didn't quite know what we were signing up for when we agreed to participate in a Young Life event today. All I knew is that we had to meet in front of the police station at 8am. We had curriculum to work on today, so we decided to commit to a mere 4 hours of the event instead of the full 7. The kids ended up arriving at 10, and I realized that we were going to be a part of a city wide scavenger hunt. Fortunately, we got to help facilitate the event instead of having to actually find things around the city. We would have failed as our knowledge to where things are right now is limited to getting to the grocery store.

The kids had to complete certain tasks at designated locations.

1) Run around a park acting like ducks.

2) Sell candy to strangers in the Plaza de Armas.

3) Sing the anthem of Arequipa and convince strangers to join them.

4) Answer a series of trivia questions.

We left at the trivia questions. Travis got a little burned:

But I had a great conversation with one of the leaders, Ada. She told me that children's curriculum is very needed as it is hard to come by quality material. We spent the afternoon working on a lesson. Travis's face is healing, and I am sure he will be applying sunscreen for our next scavenger hunt.

Emilia y Las Medicinas

My dad is a pharmacist. My mom is a nurse. I am not one of those people who is opposed to taking medicine. In fact, with my history of allergies, I would be in a lot of trouble if it were not for all the meds I've taken over the past few years. Having said that, I did not expect to get to try the plethora of Spanish named drugs that I've taken over the last 3 weeks. Below is a super flattering picture of me (the light is a little funky) with my latest purchase: Avamys. It is suppose to help with my crazy allergies. Pray that it works.

In other news, Travis and I went to visit our friend, Jonathan's ministry last night. Jonathan works with a mission called Pioneers, and he is starting Pioneros Perú, the Peruvian version of Pioneers. Jonathan's goal is to mobilize Peruvians to get involved with missions. We met some amazing people, and Travis made a new friend to play X-Box with. I met a college professor, and she told me that I have a Russian accent when I speak Spanish. That will be something to work on.

Travis continues to study Spanish each day, and I was totally impressed when he told a story to the group last night. There were a few errors here and there, but Travis has no fear when it comes to using what he knows.

I am helping to translate curriculum, and I should start volunteering in schools in the next few weeks. Travis is working his creative magic by expanding the lessons and brainstorming new ways to present the information. Pray for us to have wisdom and creativity as we work on curriculum.

One last thing. We are visiting different churches, and this week we will be going to one called Berea. Please pray that we will find a home church to plug into while we're here in Arequipa.

Adjusting to Life in Arequipa

If last week were an action movie star it would be 90's Bruce Willis.  We got beat up a bit but we survived.  Don't worry, there weren't any explosions.

We are now officially in the swing of things in Arequipa.  Our apartment has a fresh coat of less-pink paint, we have the internet, and I am attending language school daily.  The funny thing about language school is that they don't currently have a group class (what they call "Grammatica") for me, so right now I am only attending my "practica" which is an hour and a half of conversation in Spanish.  I don't know near enough Spanish to fill an hour and a half, but my conversation teacher Pablo is cool and tells me about everything from the creation myths of the Incas to racism in Peru.  It is awesome to be immersed in Spanish, and I am slowly building my vocabulary to be more than just the inappropriate words I remember from my high school years.

Emily has been feeling a bit under the weather recently.  Arequipa is about 8000 feet up in the mountains, and it has been a little difficult adjusting to the change in altitude.  There is also a lot of dust due to the fact that we are in the middle of a high desert.  And for those of you who know Emily well, you know that her allergies are comparable to Steven Segal after finding out terrorists have kidnapped his daughter.  In less actiony words, her allergies are raging.  On the plus side, there is an allergist down the street so we will be making an appointment this week.  It will just take a little time for us to adjust to a new setting.

Speaking of a new setting, the food here is great!  Emily and I went out with a Peruvian named Victor for lunch (we met him at a church we visited), and he introduced me to the delicacy of fried cow udder.  It's a bit spongey but the flavor is awesome!  I also ate an Arequipan favorite called rocoto relleno.  It was a chili stuffed with meat and cheese and it almost melted my face off (both in flavor and spiciness)!  I was literally crying uncontrollably at the end.  Victor told me it wasn't supposed to be that spicy.  I told him it was because of my gringo genes.

So we are getting settled into life in Arequipa.  I am loving learning Spanish and being able to put it into immediate practice.  And even though at times it may look like the terrorists have total control over the Nakatomi Tower, we will remember that there are still some unused air ducts for us to crawl through, John McClane style.  #ican'tgetenoughofactionmoviemetaphors

Week One in Arequipa

The adventure is in full swing. Travis and I arrived in Arequipa last Wednesday evening, and we hit the ground running. Matt and Kelly have graciously let us stay with them as we searched for apartments. One possible home came complete with knights armor cemented onto the fireplace. We passed on that option as it was a little too Dungeons and Dragons for our taste. But we are happy to report that we did find an apartment on the fourth floor of a small complex. The decor is a little 1970's, but the view is incredible.

The view from our living room in Arequipa.

We can see mountains!

Our living room.

Our bedroom.

A guest room.

The kitchen.

The view from the kitchen window.

Our blue and green bathroom (complete with a blue and green toilet).

The past few days have been filled with buying necessary items for the apartment, visiting Matt and Kelly's church, discussing work schedules and trying to get settled.

Travis will be starting language school tomorrow, and I will probably do a few months of language study after we get more acclimated to life in Arequipa. I am a little intimidated at the idea of figuring out how to cook here. (Cooking is not my forte). The first time I tried to cook an egg for Travis it came out totally raw. I've improved since then, but I have a lot to learn.

Pray for Travis as he officially starts school. As a preliminary step, Travis had to do an evaluation in order to best determine his level. The instructor pointed to different pictures, and Travis had to give her the Spanish word for each item. When she pointed to a toilet, Travis, in his infinite creativity, replied, "juan," the Spanish word for john. I have no doubt that he will pick up the language, but the process can be frustrating at times.

One other interesting experience from this past week occurred in a local mall. We were picking up things for the apartment when a man with a mask and a chainsaw came running through the store. I was ready to take cover when I realized that it a prank. I don't think that would have gone over too well in the States. Any thoughts?

Things you can pray for this week:

1) Language acquisition

2) Getting settled into the apartment

3) Peruvian friends

4) That our marriage would thrive in this new environment

Week One: Tarma

As teachers, Emily and I are huge fans of reflecting on decisions (be they lesson-related, entertainment-related, food-related, etc) to see if there could be a different option that would have a better result.  In the spirit of reflection, I think we have learned that it's probably not the best idea to move to a new country and travel around for two weeks, living out of suitcases.  Don't get me wrong, for a full-fledged dude there is a certain boyhood joy to be found in wearing the same pair of pants 8 days in a row and waking up each morning not necessarily knowing where we'll end up.  It appeals to that little Bear Grylls that lurks inside of me (although I haven't eaten any raw animals...yet).  But, as all of you know, my wife does not share these same post-apocalyptic survival instincts.  And a big part of my ministry is to my wife.  And let's just say my 8 day pants, flecked with dirt and smelling like a ripe Alpaca, are not the right kind of ministry.

So although it has been fun and a joy to be able to travel between Lima and Tarma for the last two weeks, if we could do it again, I think we would settle first before traveling and visiting friends.  It's hard to be fully invested in the experiences when feeling completely uprooted.  And I would probably be a more fun guest if I didn't look like I swam through a mud puddle to get to the house.

Last Monday Emily and I took a 7-hour bus ride through the mountains to reach a town named Tarma to visit friends who are church planters.  I was sleeping peacefully, trying to ignore the twists, turns, and altitude of the road, when Emily frantically shook me awake.  "Get that guy's bag.  Hurry!" she said, her face a little green.  In her panic, she must have forgotten that my Spanish is very limited.  But I knew my wife needed me, so I did the best I could.

"Quiero tu basura," I said to the man sitting in the seat beside me.  He was using a plastic bag to hold his trash.  I didn't know at the time that the Spanish word for "bag" is "bolsa", so I stuck with what I knew how to say.  "I want your trash."  The man looked at me like I was a crazy gringo so I repeated my phrase, pointing to the bag.  He caught on and emptied his trash, passing me the bag.  Emily made quick use of it.

So the ride to Tarma was a bit rough, but it was great once we arrived.  It's nestled in a mountain valley, and during the day the view is incredible.  We were able to spend time with our friends, joining them in prayer and observing some Bible studies that they are leading.  We also were able to see a crazy parade that looked like this:

I'm not sure what the open-armed balloon man is all about, but the parade was fun.

On one of the days we were able to visit a couple in a small pueblito named Huiricolca.  Denise and Martin are missionaries who have started a children's center for after school programs.  We helped out on their "ESL" day.  The kids were fun, although I could only play soccer with them for about two minutes in the high altitude.  A little boy named Dennis adopted me as his sole playmate.  His favorite game was one where we each grabbed one side of a frisbee and played tug-of-war.  I pretended to be pulling really hard before finally letting go, allowing him to win.  He loved it.  So much so that he wanted to play it for two hours straight.  Even after I let go once and he flew backwards and hit his head on a parked car.  That happened to also be the time I asked Emily to watch our new game.  Whoops.  He was alright.

Dennis wouldn't even let go of the frisbee for a picture!

Now we are back in Lima, spending time with our Peruvian family the Berrocals.  We will be flying to Arequipa on Wednesday, which will be followed by a flurry of getting settled activities.  In the midst of all the traveling and unknown in each day, Em and I are still able to find ways to make each other laugh and there is no shortage of high-fives.  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for us in this time!

We are in Peru!

If our last week was an episode of Sesame Street, the Word on the Street would have been "cramming."  We crammed some of our favorite things into 5 suitcases.  We crammed as much family and friend time as possible into each day.  We crammed details into our brains (which in my case is a maximum of 5) and we crammed parties and meetings and goodbyes into every spare minute not taken up by selling and moving.  

And our reward for all that cramming: PERU!

But to leave it at that would be to neglect our first experience in the yoga-esque dance of missionary flexibility.

Remember that show "Touched By An Angel."  Now I always was kind of disturbed by the title of the show, especially in light of other pop-culture Biblical insights like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark or morally nebulous Buffy characters (who wants to be touched by those angels?!).  But I think the Aeromexico agent in Houston might have been one of those angels in disguise you read about in spam e-mail messages.   Or maybe she was just really nice.  Regardless, Emily and I arrived at the ticket counter prepared to pay well over $400 in extra baggage fees due to most of our bags being extra and overweight.  Emily mentioned (in a nudge-nudge fashion) that we were moving to Peru to teach and be missionaries, at which the agent proceeded to wink and charge us less than half of what we had been expecting due to their policies.  W00t!

So it was a good start.  Then we were told that our flight was delayed due to a sick pilot.  No big deal, at least it happened when we were still on the ground.  It became a bigger deal once we landed in Mexico City 25 minutes after our connecting flight took off.

This led to an extended stay in Mexico City (on Aeromexico's buck) due to their not being another flight to Lima until 5:30 the next evening.  The airline comped us a hotel room and some meals, and Emily and I spent her birthday in Mexico City.  

One of the cool things that happened in the midst of the chaos was we were able to make friends with a Peruvian newlywed couple traveling back from Cancun who had also been delayed.  We were able to connect with them and even ventured into downtown Mexico City to spend our early afternoon.  There's no way to really comprehend both the sheer magnitude of the population of Mexico City and the cheapness of their Metro until you have to push your way onto a train football style.  

We were able to see a beautiful cathedral that reminded me of one of my favorite Tarkovsky films Andrei Rublyev and had a blast getting to know our new friends Chris and Vanessa.  Turns out that Vanessa is a clothing designer and model on Peruvian television while Chris co-owns a limo business in New York City.  They were good travel buddies and we are hoping they might make the trip to come hang out in Arequipa with us.  

After all of that we made it to Peru.  We are currently visiting the Berrocals (the family Emily lived with previously) in Lima and are set to attend some kind of dancing extravaganza this evening.  I had to clarify with Ramiro that I wouldn't be required to dance.  It's too soon to be busting my sweet moves in Peru.  Or maybe I just don't want to be any more of a nerdy gringo than I already am.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  Emily and I did not have any airport meltdowns in the midst of all of this.  I'm giving the credit to the Holy Spirit, prayer, and a healthy dosing of JoAnn's amazing brownies.

4 more days

Travis and I are taking off this Thursday. It is crazy to think that this time next week will be living in another country. I have experienced a range of emotions the past couple of days (sadness-excitement, stress-a little less stress), and Travis has stayed pretty even keeled. A few friends got together the other night to say goodbye. We started tearing up a bit:

Please pray for us this week:

1) Peace as we finish packing up.

2) Joy as look ahead.

3) Contentment as we have no idea what life will actually look like.

4) Patience with each other ;-)

The 1990's

I don't think you realize how much junk you have until you have to move. So today was a reminder that we have a lot of random stuff. Check out these gems that I found tucked away in the closet:

I think Travis was in middle school, and I was in elementary school. Trav still rocks awesome glasses (with thicker frames). My hair has not been that short since that picture.

Please pray for...

1. Peace as we pack.

2. Joy as we transition.

3. Faith as we say goodbye to our cars, apartment and other stuff.

4. Trust that God has gone before us in everything.

Commissioning

Travis and I will officially be commissioned this Sunday, September 18, from Woodsedge Community Church at the 9:30 and 11:15 services. All are welcome!

I am second

The Woodlands United Methodist Church is currently doing a series based off the, "I am second," campaign. Travis and I had the opportunity to share our stories.

So it is official

Travis and I are officially leaving the country on September 29, the day before my birthday ;-)

Our plan is to fly to Lima, spend a few days with my Peruvian family, take a 7 hour bus to Tarma, spend about 5 days with a church planting team, return to Lima and then fly to Arequipa. We hope to be in Arequipa on October 12.

A map so you can see where we are headed.

The Berrocals (my Peruvian family). The kids are older now.

Tarma

A view of some outskirts in Lima.

Arequipa

Until then, we will be sorting through and selling our stuff, taking care of final details and spending time with friends and family. Let us know if you want to get together.