Mejia

So as I wrote in my update email, tons has happened in the last two months. And all of that can't fit into my newsletter. But that is what blogs are for. So I will start at the beginning with these posts and work through all the events, and you will get some pictures as well!

So the first big event of the last two months was our team retreat at oceanside town of Mejia. It is a five or six hour drive from Carumas. But because my coworkers had to drop off a washer/dryer to get fixed in Arequipa we took the long way. We were in Arequipa for a couple days. After we got everything sorted out in Arequipa we were headed to the beach!

Both families and myself were staying at a missions guest house there on the beach. It was old but pretty nice. And it had an amazing balcony porch! From which you could enjoy the late afternoon beach weather and watch the sunset over the ocean! It was great...

So the first day we arrived we hit the beach in the afternoon and just hung out. On the way down to the beach we noticed this weird structure. It looked like an arena or stadium but it was much to small for this. And near this structure were what looked like a block of cages or cubby holes or something. After looking at it and thinking about it for a while we realized it was a cock fighting ring! How crazy is that. Sadly during our time there were no cock fights. (And sadly I took no picture of the ring.)

We spent the next two days hanging out at the beach. I would babysit during the team meetings (i.e. hang out with the older kids). And just having a good time. Playing beach football. Eating ceviche down by the beach. Eating ice cream and walking around. It was great.

Then it was time to start my secret trip home!

The adventure continues...

Revel

I really enjoy the word revel. Say it out loud. Let it roll off your tongue. When I say it, it conjures up images of a pig rolling in cool mud on a sweltering day. Or 7-year olds making snow angles on the first snow day of the year. It is something we can take unabashed delight in. Today while reading Romans 12, this verse stuck out to me:

Romans: 12:12a – rejoice in hope,

While I thought about that small powerful phrase, in compelling section of this chapter; I was drawn to think on the hope we have as Christians. And that is when the word Revel, just jumped out to me. I feel that is the way we should view our hope as Christians. It is something that our minds should be drawn to; like fresh powder to a child. Think about some of the things we have to look forward to:

Eternal Life
Incorruptible Bodies
Christ Coming Back
Eternal Peace
No Pain
The Rewards of being joint-heirs with Christ
Perfect Communion with Father, Son and Holy Spirit

(That’s what I came up with off the top of my head; imagine if we looked them up!)

Those things are spectacular. And yet I know that I don’t think about them enough. Much less rejoice in them or for the matter Revel in them. These are the things I should be rolling around in, letting the though of them envelope my life; like cool mud over a hot pig. The rejoicing in the fact that I will have eternal life, should give me joy in spite of the troubles currently in my fleeting life; like a big snow the night before a test (except eternal…). The fact that I get an incorruptible body, gives me Joy as I grow old and my body doesn’t work like I want it to. The hope we have is what allows us to rejoice in this current life. Without that future promise I don’t think I could really have joy. Now if I think on that hope and revel in it; imagine how much more Joy I would have in my life. I don’t really know how to do this; but there is a first time for everything, even snow angles.

In Arequipa

So we left Lima after about two days and went to Arequipa where I studied at language school! We were able to really just enjoy some time catching up and seeing where I stayed for 6 weeks! It was really great to be able to show Jess the city that I had called home when I first arrived in Peru. She was able to meet my host family and all the teachers at institute. We were able to visit a lot of my favorite restaurants in town and just have a great time doing low key things while being together.

The one touristy thing we did while in Arequipa was go to the Santa Catalina Monastery. It is a beautifully restored monastery from the 1600s (I think). We just spent a couple hours exploring this small city and taking pictures. It is a stunning place and if you like to take pictures this is a fantastic place to go. After our time in Arequipa it was time for Cusco and Machu Picchu!

Welcome to Lima

Drama is on display in Airports. People leaving for long journeys. Or arriving home weary after long journeys to the familiar sights of their city. It is also the place of joyous reunions and sad departures. In an 8 day span airports would hold both of those things for me.

While Drama is on display in Airports, it isn't made in airports. The drama of airports is made in the weeks and months before the actual happening in airport. And that is what the airport held for me three weeks ago, the realization of things waited for.

So three weeks ago, Jess came to visit me in Peru! I flew in to Lima to meet her and arrived an hour and a half before her flight arrived. I spent a terrible (and extremely long) hour waiting in the Lima Airport food court for her flight to arrive. Thankfully when her flight did arrive she had an easy time picking up her bags and clearing customs!

(insert making a scene in front of total strangers)

After that we just hung out in the airport for a little while, and then our friend Michael picked us up at the airport and brought us to their new apartment in Lima. Michael, Laura and Noah are friends of Jess's from college and mine from language school. So it was great to see them and their new place in Lima where they will be doing ministry. Another friend from language school, David, was also in Lima and also staying with Michael and Laura. So we had a late dinner and stayed up for a little while catching up.

The next day was Sunday so we went to Church with the Salvatierras where they will be serving and had a good time worshiping together. After church and lunch David had to catch his flight back to language school and the Salvatierras had a membership class. So Jess and I went down to the cliffs along the ocean. From there we walked to Larcomar which is a huge mall built into the cliffs overlooking the ocean in a nice section of Lima. After their class, Michael, Laura and Noah met us for dinner at Larcomar. And then it was back to their flat to hang out and watch the office (they are just getting into it!)

The next morning we were off to Arequipa! After a great time in Lima catching up with our friends!

ACC Champs

I should post about my great week with Jess but I don't have enough speed here to post pictures and I'm headed to Arequipa next to pick up my parents so I will do it then!

So to the issue at hand; the hokies! What a season, they have played so well the last 5 games totally dominating every team in their path on the way to redemption against Boston College in the ACC Championship game. I think it is fitting that at the end of this game instead of having Matt Ryan lead a comeback he widened the gap. 2 picks instead of 2 touchdowns. A interception for a touchdown to turn the game into a 14 point win instead of a 14 point comeback.

That loss to Boston College still stings, a lot. It was the only game this whole year that I was able to watch live. Only the second game I've watched without knowing the outcome (I watched a DVD of the ECU game after coming out of the jungle). And that was tough to watch. But getting a second chance at them was great. And finishing them off in this manner was even better! To take from them their dream of a BCS bowl and to send them to the Champs Sports bowl and invalidating their season at the same time is sweet revenge. Another season with over 10 wins, how great is Beamer, the only thing that is missing from this season for me has been not being able to attend or watch the games! And celebrate with my fellow Hokies. But it has been good watching from afar! I can't wait to see the bowl game!

GO HOKIES!

-Seth

OK, I've been lame. Well more correctly, I've been in the jungle. And the altoplano region. Internet there is not very fast, or accessible at all. I wrote while I was in the jungle but I have to figure out the best way to get those posts up! And I'm not sure it is here. I am looking at starting a website, but that will be a little bit down the pipe.

In the mean time, the jungle was awesome. Though I missed Jess a ton! The altoplano is stunning and there is an active volcano near where we live! I'm currently helping two missionary families build houses where they will have a permanent ministry.

I'm excited to be doing physical labor everyday and to get to use my spanish all day every day! Should be great from my body and mind (wow that was lame).

Jess is coming in 2ish weeks and we will do some touring of Peru. So I will hopefully have something figured out then. So check back!

Seth
Kong
Hungry and Thirsty

First Day

Usually you like your first day in a new city to be laid back. You like to have your friends show you around. You like to go out to eat. Do things that give you a sense of the place but let you recover from the travel to get there. This was not one of those first days. I arrived in town on a friday night (about 11pm I think). And because we thought there was going to be a huelga (a strike) the next day, we had to rush off and buy our supplies for our trip to the jungle. So I woke up at 8ish the next morning and went over to my friends house. They helped me put together a list of things to buy so that I would be prepared for our time in the jungle. (I would have been completely lost but thankfully they have done this before and were a great help in preparing) So we head into town about 10 and spend the entire time running between stores buying food. I have never bought that much food in my life. I was embarrassed pulling the 30 boxes of Mac and Cheese out of my cart. As we were nearing the end of our shopping day, we were in the market getting spices when a young boy walked up to me and asked in spanish if that was our car parked outside. I said maybe, I think so. To which he responded, you are being robbed.

Well my friend and I run out to the car. A huge 1980s suburban. We had two months of groceries with us for 3 families. So there was a lot in the car. When we got to the car there were about 8 policemen around and a crowd had gathered at the scene. My friend stars speaking rapidly to the cop in spanish while another police officer pulls some bags out of the bed of their truck. Thankfully they had caught the ladron red handed. And had put him in the truck and recovered our groceries. We decided it would be good to press charges, and the police told us it would only take a few minutes. So we head to the police station and because the thief had broken the lock on the car I had to sit with the car while my friends sorted things out with the cops. About two and a half hours later we left the police station but without the stolen groceries! The police said they needed them until an inspector could go through them. At this point we thought the real robbery had taken place! But thankfully my friends were able to go back about and hour later and get the groceries. (Though they waited an hour and a half more at the police station) Not the way you want to but a good introduction to life in this jungle town.

Tomorrow I leave civilization for two months. So I will have a lot to write about when I get back. Until then.
Seth
Kong
Alley Oop
and Hungry