elections

There is a certain uneasiness among the people in Peru right now; there is a tough decision to be made. The first round of elections for presidency has left the two people above in the running, Ollanta Humala y Keiko Fujimori. Maybe those names don't mean anything to you, but they both are very significant in Peru. Each have an interesting history behind them....and not a good one, to say the least. It always seems that the Peruvians are left to choose, "the worse of two evils". A statement I've heard coming from Peruvian mouths more than once. It's sad it comes to this every 4 years, they people are left to choose either a left-wing, communist ex-military who has led violent manifestations or a person who seems to know nothing about government at all, but whose fame comes from her ex-president father who stole millions from the country, killed thousands and is currently in prison serving a life-sentence for those killings, the only plan of government that she has presented that makes any sense at all does not include the fact that the only reason she wants to become president is to get her father out of prison.

I think Keiko would make for a terrible president, but I'm sure Humala would be worse - mostly because he would probably make it difficult or impossible for Chileans (like Ricky and my children) to get residency or continue living comfortably in Peru. We shall see... and although we don't know what will happen, it sure is an interesting race with lots of drama! We'll keep you posted. The second and final round of elections will be on June 5th.

Easter Sunday in Cusco

We were sad when we realized we wouldn't be in Cusco for Easter. Before we left for the US, we met with Jorge and talked about the weeks we'd be gone. We mentioned Easter and how he could do something special with the congregation if he felt led. Turns out he was. He led an evangelistic campaign in our church's neighborhood to reach out to the community... and 150 people came! We still don't know the details but we'll be sure to get them when we hear from Jorge again

3 weeks

I wish I could sum it up, but I've experienced and realized some important things these last few weeks, about life, friendship, ministry, Christianity, humanity... It may take me a while to mull things over, sift through my thoughts and maybe share here at my own risk.

We are having a wonderful time. Our days are full and joyful. Our kids are thoroughly happy with their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles... And we have seen some dear dear friends and supporters too. It is so special to see an old childhood friend from nearly 20 years ago... and find that we always pick up right where we left off and feel like we haven't missed all this time inbetween. I have loved seeing my little ones meet new friends and even if it takes Milan a whole week to warm up to anyone, its great to see the love and friendship that comes after that week is up!

It is great to be back "home", even though it doesn't feel like home anymore