An Eventful Few Days

We've been having an absolutely wonderful time in Arequipa with Steve and Rachel Peat, and their children. They've made us feel totally at home, and we're getting a good insight into Peruvian life, both through their experiences and through our own first hand exposure to the realities of the country.

It is often said that Peru is a land of contrasts. This is true geographically, with such amazing contrasts as jungle, sierra and coastal areas. It is also true socially with those living reasonably comfortable lives, and the majority living in poverty. The past few days have given us a good flavour of Peruvian contrasts, and we've enjoyed seeing a variety of aspects of life here in Arequipa.

We really enjoyed going along to the Fiesta Familiar at Amy and Gareth's (Steve and Rachel's two eldest children's) school. This is an open day with various Peruvian dances, competitions and plenty of good Peruvian food. Both Gareth and Amy were involved in dances, and the picture of the three amigos in today's post shows just how vivid the colours and fashions are in traditional Peruvian dress. We also got to sample some Peruvian food with chicharron [deep fried pork and picante sauce], antecucho [heart on a stick], and salchi papas [chopped sausage and chips]all on the menu. See Andrew's happy expression in the picture to the left [he's definitely wasting away isn't he!].

Yesterday we worshipped in Steve and Rachel's church. The church is largely middle class, and we felt surprisingly at home with such features as a Powerpoint projector and a praise team!

This provided a sharp contrast to the childrens work in Ciudad de Dios [City of God], a shanty town about 20kms outside of Arequipa. We travelled up to the area in the afternoon along with Steve, Amy, Gareth, and a young person from the church named Nicholas. Here there was abundant evidence of poverty, and we enjoyed playing games with the children, before Steve led the 'Good News Club' style meeting. The children gave good attention, and it was a challenge to see this other side of Arequipa life.

Today, we went to the SIM Missions Team meeting along with Steve and Rachel. We met all of the other missionaries working in and around Arequipa, and spent a couple of hours in prayer and Bible study. This was followed by some shopping with Rachel in the centre of Arequipa, and a beautiful lunch in Steve and Rachel's home. The dish [pictured with a more than happy Carolyn on the left] is called Atomotada, and is quite simply delicious.

Tomorrow we head up to the Colca Canyon [the second deepest in the world] and look forward to sharing more pictures following our trip, God willing. Please pray for continued safety in travel, good health, and God's blessing.