News from the Girls....at last!!

Hearty Greetings from Peru!

 

 We have finally gotten around to posting somethings on this blog...after many weeks of saying we needed to. =)

  As for some introduction of who we are.....

~Helena Howe is from Cambridge, OH, and is Betsie's younger sister.

~Rebekah Esh is from Lancaster, PA, and is a friend of the Wengers and a traveling companion of Helena and vice versa. =)

 

  We arrived here in Peru on the 18th of March; went to Arequipa, where we stayed for a bit over two weeks, while we were in Spanish School; then we made the long haul here to Velille on April 7th. So we've been in Peru for almost 2 months.

  It has been a very busy 2 months of learning Spanish (although we are far from being fluent, and are continually learning!) and some Quechua phrases, 'understanding' cultural things, adjusting to life here, meeting new people & building friendships, and learning how to do the daily tasks of life at a different  altitude and in a different country. There is always something new to learn in a different culture, and life here is definitely not boring, but is quite a bit more uncertain....which gives us opportunity to learn to be flexible and live one day at a time! =)

 

 A few weeks ago we all went out to the Campo (country) for a weekend to harvest Gordon's potatoes and also to help Daniel with his. Wow, that was quite the experience!! Some of our friends, Charo & Hipolito and Nadia, went with us. We got out there....and we harvested! =) The first day we did 'our' fields and had at least 10 other people helping us -we were able to get it done all in one day.

Us girls had gone out a few days earlier with Nadia and her family to help them harvest their fields...it was our first harvesting excursion, and it was hard work! We both came back that night totally exhausted. It's a good thing that was our first experience, because when we harvested 'our' fields it was SO much easier and enjoyable. We both agreed that to have the big chunks of dirt moved away before-hand, makes harvesting much more fun and we are able to work much faster! =)

 We cooked our evening meals over a fire...and learned that when cooking over a fire like that, a meal can take anywhere up to 3 hours to prepare!! When cooking the meal, the kitchen quickly became the "hang-out" place. There would be up to 6 of us in there helping cook -well rather, having Spanish/English classes and just talking & laughing. It was a great way to get to know our friends better!  -Then once the food was ready, we would crowd into a small room and eat by candle light.

 If nothing else, it made many memories! =)

 On Sunday we had a communion service. It was a mountian-top experience...not just that we were actually on a mountain-top, but it was the first communion service with the Believers here and it was very sweet! We had a wonderful time of prayer and sharing testimonies...and remembering Christ's death on the cross. -Sunday evening around 5 we arrived back here -after waiting alongside the road for a good 2 hours. It was cold & getting darker by the minuet up there...what a wonderful sight it was when a bus came along and we all boarded!

 We got back here.....and us girls exclaimed over how modern our town & house was/is. =) After being out there in middle of nowhere, away from civilization for a few days -cooking over a fire, our only source of water was a little dirty water hole, our beds were a raise platform of dirt and our room had a "wonderful" smell of Chuno that took a bit to get use to, 'living by' candle-light when the sun went down, and only the basic necessities for life- we felt the place here was pretty modern! So since then, we've been enjoying what we have way more than we did before. =)

 

 The other day us girls planned & hosted a Tea Party. =) We had Betsie & the children stay out of the house all morning and Gordon & Nels were gone all day. We "flew" around all morning....Helena went to market and purchased all kinds of fruit -to make a fruit salad- and Becka mixed up a batch of Pizza dough -to make mini pizza's. Helena also invited Charo & Gadiel (her 1 ½ month old son) and Nadia to come. At 12:30 we had everything ready and we allowed our guests to enter the house. =) We had set the table very nicely and set some of our American snacks & chocolates out.  -The party was a big success...everyone loved it! =) Us girls had so much fun preparing it.......we called it our "wedding feast", the reason being, because one of our friends was getting married that day and we were feeling a bit "blue" (our families, the Howe's & Esh's, were together for the weekend too). So instead of thinking of all that we were missing out on and being sad about it, we decided to bless other people and enjoy the day here as much as we could. It worked and it's definitely more blessed to give of one's time to bless others, than to sit and 'receive'. =)

 

Yesterday, Monday -4th of April, Charo & Hipolito, their son, Gadiel, and Nels left for the jungle. Hipolito does not have work here, but does down there. So they have moved to the jungle for awhile -we don't know how long they'll be there. Nels accompanied them down there....and plans to come back in a week or two. Charo & Hipolito mentioned that they want to come back in August or September. If they don't come back by the end of August, Gordon said we might all go down there and visit them for a few days before us girls leave. We think it's a great idea! =)

 

One of our friends here, Nadia, is also leaving soon. She is going to Cuzco for work. Us girls are sad about her leaving, because she is one of our closest friends that we have so far here...and she is very patient with us in our incapability of speaking & understanding Spanish. =) I guess we'll have to reach out of our comfort zone some more and befriend other girls around here. =)

 

 Well, hopefully you all have enjoyed a peek into our lives...we've enjoyed telling you about it!

Thank you for your interest & prayers in what's happening in this part of the huge world...it's greatly appreciated!

 

 Many blessings each one of you!

 

  ~Becka & Helena