Grandma Kaetterhenry's funeral

My grandma on my mom's side passed away on December 23. So since I was already here for Christmas, I was able to go to her funeral. The day after Christmas, my mom, dad and I flew up to Minnesota for her funeral. I am so glad that I was able to be here for the funeral. It was really good to see my aunts, uncles and most of my cousins that I haven't seen in a while. We were able to have some family time and catch up a little on each other's lives. Here a few pictures from the time together.

All of the cousins that were able to make it to the funeral. There are twelve of us here and there are 9 cousins missing.

The Kaetterhenry siblings and almost all the spouses...there is only one spouse missing!

This is my grandpa's brother, Alden, with his wife, Mary, and son, Kevin, and family.

My cousin Andrew wearing his army uniform at the funeral.

White Christmas

Well, I definitely got a white Christmas this year. Shortly after arriving in Chicago we had below zero temperatures and I was COLD! But at least this way it feels like Christmas with the snow. Here are a few pictures of the ice and snow outside my parents' house and of me throwing a snowball for my fellow missionary, Marshall, who asked me to. =)

Motocross

Today I went and watched my first motocross race. It was a lot of fun...if you like getting sweaty, dirty, beer spilled on you and standing in the sun. I had a blast! Marshall taught me how to tell the difference between a 2 stroke and 4 stroke bike. I got to watch one of the middle school students race, along with his dad and another missionary. It made it more exciting to have people I know in the race. Then I could cheer for them and not just for some random person I don't know. I will definitely be going to more races...they can be very exciting.

In other news, my little sister got engaged last night! I am super excited for her and T.J.!

Only 4 more days until I leave!!!

Motorcycle lessons!

Today was my first motorcycle lesson with Rosemary...and boy was it fun! I have never driven a stick-shift car or a motorcycle...so that made it a little tricky. Today I rode mostly in first gear...I did try second...but, well, I need more practice on shifting gears. I did however do something I have never wanted to do. I popped a wheely! Not just once...but twice! I, however, did not fall off and didn't get hurt at all. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to my next lesson, probably sometime after I get back from Christmas. Here is a picture for proof and to see the size of the bike I am learning on. Small enough for me to touch the ground comfortably!

Good spanish day

This isn't going to be long...but I just had to share. Today was a good spanish day for me. I actually made myself go out and use my spanish more than normal. Now of course it wasn't perfect...but at least I was using it. I went to town and had to get some pictures printed. I thought it would be easy enough...but not so much! The size I needed they didn't have so we had to try and figure out the best way to get a picture to fit what I was doing. Thankfully God is wonderful and helped me communicate what I needed to and the pictures are perfect! Then at dinner the guys and I went to our usual restaurant, Orlando's, and I chatted a little with the owner when I gave her some Christmas cd's. I know it wasn't much, but it was very encouraging to me to see that I actually used some of my spanish today and it went pretty well!

Headed to a white Christmas in one week!!!

Star gazing

Tonight I was able to see some pretty amazing stars. Jeff from the home office is here with his brother, Scott, and they brought a telescope. It was pretty amazing to be able to see so many different things and have someone who knows what they are talking about tell you what you are seeing. I was able to see a nebula, an open cluster, a binary, the moon (really cool) and I think a few other things.

It has been a busy time. Semester is almost over and I head to Chicago for Christmas in 11 days. It is hard to believe I will be freezing in Chicago for Christmas once again. I am going to try to enjoy the snow and cold weather...since it is only for a week...but I am not sure it is going to be possible. =)

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas........

The Library

1 library + 5 teachers + tons of books and VHS + 5 hours = a clean library and tired teachers!

Well, today was a teacher work day over at the school library. It was a long day but that library looks great! We got rid of a lot of books and moved some things around. We also painted one of the walls white and tomorrow two of the high schoolers and I are going to splatter the wall with some bright colors. We are also going to make some handprint flowers in the children's corner. It is so nice to have the library looking somewhat nice. There is so much that we can still do in there and one of these days we will get to it all.

I find it interesting that I have painted the library but still haven't found time to finish painting my apartment. Oh well, maybe I can do that during the Thanksgiving break!

An actual update

Well, I know it has been a while since I have actually written anything meaningful. Pictures are fun and all...but actually knowing what I am up to is even better. Let me think....school has been keeping me really busy. Having four students doesn't seem like a lot until you throw in some special circumstances. Plus not having a co-teacher this year has caused me to have less down time during the school day. It has been amazing however to see God provide for the school over and over again this year. The following is a brief summary of things God has done for SAM Academy in the past 4 months.

August - brought Karen here who has experience teacher and being administrator. She has been wonderful for the school and helping us get organized.
September - I went back to the States for 2 weeks and during that time the 2 kids I had were going to do work at home with their mom...however God provided two wonderful teachers from the Bolivia field just in time. They were a great help to the school and more specifically to my classroom.
October - just as the two teachers from Bolivia left and we were wondering who would help me out at least a few days in my class...God brought two more students to the school and a mom very willing to help out. She has been a huge blessing to me and the kids and I am so thankful God has brought her here.
November - Just as we started to wonder what we would do in January when the mom who has been helping me heads back out to the jungle...we get word that there is a young lady who will be coming to Peru in January for a year to help at the school. She will be working in my classroom with the intent of deciding if this is where she fits long term. Not only will I have another teacher in the class...but God has brought me a roommate! GOD IS SO GREAT!!!

While I have been busy with many things, I have still made time to relax and enjoy my time here. Right now it is mango season and I am enjoying that greatly...I love a fresh mango right off the tree. =) I have also been able to go out and enjoy the peacefulness of Cashibo a few times already this school year. It is a nice change from the smoke and noise of the wood factory nextdoor. I thank each of you for your faithfulness in reading my blog and all the support you give me. Please know it is appreciated and that God is working in great ways here!

SAM Academy Homecoming 2008

Last weekend we had Homecoming here at SAM Academy. It was a lot of fun but a very crazy weekend too. Here are some of the highlight pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

Karen and me smiling but secretly thinking...we will never do this again! =)

The high school and middle school for the 2008-2009 school year.

Jousting contest to go along with the mid-evil theme of Homecoming.

We had a food eating contest...yes I participated. But no, I did not win!

One of the two skits for the night...this was the Cashibo team's play.

Harvest Party

My costume for the Harvest Party on Wednesday.

Well, Wednesday we had a Harvest party here at the SAM Center. It was a night full of games, treats, a hayride and some prayer (since it was during prayer meeting). The kids were so cute dressed up in their costumes. And even some of the adults were dressed up in fun costumes.

I think the best costumes of the night were those of Camila, Kara and Amy. They came as Charlie's Angels and they looked amazing! If I was in trouble...I would definitley call on them...they are pretty tough looking. =)

There were games and one of the games I took part in was the donut eating contest. We had to eat a donut tied on a string as fast as we could. I didn't win...but I was second for my team! If only Kyle wasn't part of my team. ;~)

Today we had a surprise at school. It actually being Halloween, Kyle decided he needed to have a costume since he didn't have one Wednesday night at the Harvest Party. Here is a picture of what Kyle looked like Wednesday night. This is what he usually looks like.

This is what Kyle looked like this morning! What a shock to all of us at school. Most of us had no clue who he was until he started talking.

It has definitely been an interesting week full of fun parties and surprises. Next week is my one year anniversary of being in Peru. It is amazing how quickly the year has past and how time has come to mean nothing. I have only been here a year and yet I have done so much in that one year. Many days I feel like I have already been here for at least 2 or 3 years and then I stop and remember that it has only been a year. I guess that is what happens when you are having such a great time doing what God has called you to do. I am praying that this next year will be as great as the first one!

Another first

Well, today was another first for me. I was in the need of chicken and hamburger for the next week or so. Since I no longer have a maid, I have to do all my shopping myself and it was an adventure. Karen also needed to do some shopping so we decided to go together. I am so glad she was there otherwise who knows what I would have ended up with. Buying meat down here is nothing like buying meat in the U.S. Here there are nasty smells, flies, who knows what other type of bugs and just plain grossness! But I knew that I needed to make myself go and buy meat.

So finally, after other stops along the way, we make our way to the chicken and beef section of town. A whole street that is dedicated to the butchering and sale of chickens and cows. I knew what I needed to ask for...but apparently it didn't come out right or I wasn't told the right thing to say. The beef was no problem, but the chicken was a different story. I asked for chicken breast without the bone. After much confusion on my part and the lady there...Karen and I finally figured out what we really wanted. Instead of asking for "pechuga de pollo deshuesado" she said we wanted chicken filet (I can't remember how to say it in spanish). Finally, Karen and I had our chicken and beef and headed home. It was a long trip to town...but I now feel like I can do it again and not be grossed out. Yay for firsts and overcoming things that gross us out!

Mural

The mural in all it's greatness! Right on the wall...what will I do if I ever move?!?

For about 3 days my friend Katie, who is in Pucallpa right now because of the political situation in Bolivia, has been painting a beautiful mural on my living room wall. At first I wasn't sure what I wanted her to paint for me, I just knew I wanted something painted on my wall. We had decided on a landscape and were going to put some of my favorite flowers in there somewhere. But then I was talking with Karen, Kyle and David about it when David suggested putting an airplane in there somewhere. Now he might have been joking, but I thought it was a great idea. So I said I was going to suggest that to Katie and see what she thought. Well, we had to then scratch the flower idea because I wanted it to be the SAMAIR float plane and the type of flowers I wanted don't really go with that very well. So Katie, with her wonderful artistic mind, decided to basically paint Cashibo with the float plane coming in to land on the water. It is such a great mural! As I watched her paint I was amazed that she could go from a rectangle of blueish white to a lake with so much detail. It is exactly what I wanted without really knowing it until it was done. I am very happy and will now spend more time in my living room since I have something to look at and not just plain white walls. =)

A close-up of the plane, she did an amazing job on this!

Yahoo!

I was locking up the school this afternoon and to my great surprise and happiness I found out that we have a new dryer! This is very exciting news since rainy season is going to be starting again soon. It will be very nice to have my clothes actually dry the same day and not have to wait two or three days after they get washed. So very exciting for me and my clothes!

3 years

Not much time to write...but I wanted to post this before school. Today is the 3 year anniversary since Jennie's death. I can't believe it has already been 3 years. Some days it feels like it was just yesterday. It is interesting how as the years go by the pain is less, but the missing of her is just as strong. It is especially hard when there are new things in my life that I would have loved to share with her. But I know that no matter how hard this day is, God is great and He loves me!

Lay-overs

I think this is the worst part of traveling alone. Having long lay-overs and no one to talk to! I am currently sitting in the Lima airport at Starbucks (free wireless) waiting for my last fight home. I can't wait to get back to Pucallpa and go to sleep. I have now been up for about 27 hours and will be up for another 7 until I will finally be able to lay down in my own bed and sleep! I am looking forward to the heat and getting rid of the constant shiver that I have had since Chicago!

I had no problems getting through customs...which I am very thankful for. I think my biggest struggle this morning was being really tired and having to lug two very heavy suitcases, my duffle bag and my computer bag around the airport. I have another few hours before I have to lug them anywhere again. And then it is just downstairs to get them checked in! I was a little upset when I got through immigration and saw the schedule of departures. The LAN flight to Pucallpa was delayed and wasn't leaving until 7:15am instead of 4:30am. Oh how I wished that I was flying LAN. But I already paid for my ticket on STAR and so here I am sitting and waiting. =) I will get home eventually...just wish I didn't have to stay up for over 30 hours to get there!

Appleton

Well, I spent about 4 days up in Appleton, WI seeing friends and attending my friend Beth's wedding. It was a great time and I was able to see a lot of friends that I haven't seen in a while. Beth's wedding was beautiful. It was such a blessing to be able to attend her wedding. I was able to help her out with some of the last minute details. One of them being the programs for the wedding...we spent a good chunk of Thursday night printing and folding them. =) The happy couple!


I am now getting ready to head back to Peru. I have done all the shopping I will be able to do and I am now trying to find room for everything. I am really wishing they still allowed 70 lbs for each bag, it would help me out a lot! But I am sure I will be able to get everything into the bags and back to Pucallpa. So those of you there...don't worry! I will get everything to you. =)

Mini culture shock

Well, the past few days have been busy. I got here Saturday and have spent the past three days doing shopping. I thought I got tired shopping in Pucallpa...it is just as bad if not worse here. Yes, I have a car to get to each store and I don't have to go to as many stores, but still, it has been a marthon. It has been interesting to see how I have changed and adjusted to the Peruvian way of things. For example, yesterday I did all my shopping by myself and I noticed that every time I would go up to the counter to buy my things I would smile and say good morning to the person there. I am so used to doing this because everywhere you go in Pucallpa the people in the stores greet you. Well when I would smile and say good morning, most of the people just kind of looked at me and weren't really sure what to do. It was funny to see how something so simple as a greeting (or the lack there of) can throw you off. I wouldn't say that I have had much culture shock coming back here, but there are definitely little things like the greeting that kind of have me thrown. It makes me realize once again how much I love the culture in Peru and thankful that I get to go back on October 3rd.

Today I head into Chicago and will get to spend some time with some friends there. Tomorrow I am heading up to Wisconsin for my friend's wedding and the Open House at my church. It has been a huge blessing for me to be able to see all my friends and catch up with them. I am also hoping that the Open House at my church will help connect more people to my ministry and SAM. I have made some new prayer cards since being here...they are very simple but do the job. Here is what they look like, for the most part. There was a slight problem when they printed them off so the South America Mission and my email address were cut off. But that is a what a pen is for...to write it on the back!

The adventure to Chicago

Well, yesterday I started my journey back to the States for a two week visit. My trip was suppoesd to originally start at 12:50pm yesterday, but the flight from Pucallpa to Lima got changed to 4:55pm instead. I was ok with that because it meant less time to wait around in the Lima airport. So at about 3:30pm I headed to the airport (which is very small and only 2 minutes from my house) to check in. I was planning to just check in and stay that way Rosemary wouldn't have to make two trips to the airport. So Rosemary and I are standing in line waiting to get me checked in and after about 30 minutes of standing there we only moved about two spaces in line. By that time I figured there was only 55 minutes until my flight was supposed to leave, so I really wasn't going to leave and come back. Rosemary got talking to a guy that works for the travel agency we usually use and he told us the flight was running late and wouldn't be leaving Pucallpa until 6:30pm. I was still ok with that because it still gave me plenty of time before my flight was supposed to leave Lima. So this guy was kind enough to check me in so we could go back home and not have to waste more time at the airport.

So he got me all checked in and I came back about 5:30pm to wait for the plane to get to Pucallpa. I finally left Pucallpa at 6:30pm last night and made my way to Lima. I arrived in Lima about 7:30pm and only had to wait about half an hour before going to check in for my flight to Miami. When I checked in for my flight to Miami I noticed that the time was 20 minutes later than what it originally was supposed to be. I was ok with that, but knew that if it was much later I would really be pushing my luck with my connecting flight to Chicago. I went through security and immigration and finally got to my gate at about 9:45pm to wait for boarding at 10:30pm. Well, boarding did not start at 10:30pm like the boarding pass said, in fact it didn't start until about 11:15-11:20pm. Now my flight was supposed to leave at 11:30pm (according to the new time) and they didn't even start boarding until 11:15pm! Yep! You guessed it! My flight was late! We didn't leave Lima until about 12:05am for the 5 1/2 hour flight to Miami. By the time we finally took off, I was wondering how I was ever going to make my connection to Chicago. I figured I would have to try and get on the next flight because there was no way I would be able to make it through immigration, baggage claim, customs, get my luggage checked back in, go back through security and to my gate in the hour and 20 minutes I had before my flight to Chicago was supposed to leave.

Well, God is good and I was able to make it. We were the only flight that had to go through immigration and customs. And once I got through that I was able to get my bag checked back in right away. Security didn't take very long either which was really nice. I was able to get to my gate about 10 minutes before they started boarding. I am so thankful that everything worked out well. No missed flights, no missing baggage and I am here in Chicago safely.

"Fall" vacation

For all of you who might be wondering what happened to me...don't worry! I have just been busy the past couple of weeks. But amongst the craziness that has been my life lately, I am taking a moment to write a brief update.

Last week was my first week of actually teaching for this school year. It has been so good to finally have my class. But it has taken up a lot more of my time. I am trying to do better than last year and actually be fully prepared for classes before they start. ;~) It has been different and challenging to have a 1st grader. It is the only grade I haven't taught before and so it is going to be a year of learning for me. It will be exciting however to see how much he learns and grows during this first year of being in a school setting. So far he is doing pretty well and I think once we get into a good routine he will do great! My other student, the 1st grader's sister, is in 3rd grade. This is a little easier for me this year because I taught 3rd grade last year and so I am mostly familiar with the curriculum for the grade. There are only a few that I have more work to do for since I either didn't teach that class last year, or we have gotten new curriculum. I am still trying to figure out what to do for Spanish with them. We were supposed to be getting new curriculum but I don't think it ever got ordered. Teaching them Spanish has already been good for me though. It forces me to use my Spanish more than usual and I am able to learn more vocabulary words. In all, classes have been good. Right now I am trying to get everything ready for while I am gone. It is hard to plan two weeks ahead when you only have 1 student in each grade and they fly through things. The challenges of small schools!

Well, I leave for the States this Friday. I leave Pucallpa after school and then fly out of Lima at 11pm. If everything works out and I don't miss my connecting flight in Miami, I will be back in Chicago by 10:30am on Saturday!! I am looking forward to seeing all those that will be close enough for me to spend some time with. I am praying these two weeks, even though they will be busy, will be a good break for me. I never really got a vacation this summer...I spent my summer in school!

New things

I will be flying to the States in 2 weeks! This is exciting and yet a little scary. I think it might be very overwhelming to go from Pucallpa to Chicago. To go from not having driven for almost a year to driving 4 hours, by myself, through boring Wisconsin, at night! To go from ordering clothes online and not really knowing if they will fit to being able to try things on in the store. Seeing new changes that happened while I was gone...it is going to be hard. But, I am so glad that I have the chance to go back for Beth's wedding and to see my other friends and family.

Since I will be attending a wedding while there I realized that I didn't have a dress to wear. So I decided to get one made. It is amazing what the ladies here can do...I bought the fabric, the zipper and printed a picture of the dress and poof! They made a dress for me! Amazing! I went in Tuesday to be measured and give the lady my fabric. I was then able to go in Thursday and try the dress on. And I get to in tomorrow, Saturday, and pick the dress up! Now you might think...wow that must be pretty expensive...but nope! The grand total for fabric, zipper and having the dress made is about 80 soles or $28. Who can pass that up? I think I might need to have a few more dresses made.

I have made another new friend. Her name is Katie and she works with the Baptist mission. It has been nice to have another young FEMALE adult to hang out with. I don't mind hanging out with the guys...but it is so nice to have a girl to hang out with too. She has joined our weekly Tuesday night dinners and even offered to cook for us this next week. I am excited because I get to learn how to make a very yummy Peruvian dish...Aji de Gallina. It is one of my favorites and Katie is going to teach me how to make it. =)

Monday I finally get to start teaching. The Kooistras get here tomorrow and the kids will start on Monday. I am excited and I know the kids are excited too! It will be nice to have my days full again with classes. We have finished three weeks of classes already...the mangoes are starting to grow and soon I will be dodging the falling mangoes once again. It is amazing how this year has flown!

6.3

Well, this afternoon I was sitting in my hammock reading after school when I felt my hammock begin to shake. At first I thought it was the fan mounted on the wall that I had blowing on me...but quickly realized what it really was...an earthquake. Yep! Another earthquake for me to experience. This one was a 6.3 according to the U.S. Geological website and the center was only 60 miles north of Pucallpa. It was pretty interesting to feel the difference of an earthquake in a cement house and an earthquake in a wood house. The wood house moves a lot more and you can feel the smaller shaking as the earthquake builds and then ends. It was pretty cool and a much different experience from the one in Arequipa. I much prefer earthquakes to happen when I am awake and aware of them. =) But no damage here...the most that happened in my house was a picture frame fell off a shelf but thankfully the glass didn't break. I am not sure what kind of damage there is closer to the center of the earthquake, but I am sure I will hear in the next few days. I am praising God for His safety and for His amazing creations!

Crazy times

Been a while but I just haven't felt like there is much to write about. The first week of school went pretty well...no major issues. It is nice to have school started again but it will be even better when I actually have kids to teach. Right now I just go over to ring the bell and check on things every once in a while. Otherwise I don't have a ton that I need to be doing. I have been finishing up decorating my classroom. I finally finished doing that today and need to start working on getting things ready to teach when my kids get here in about 2 weeks. It is a small school this year, but it is still good. We have the teachers we need to at least cover all the classes. That is better than last year!

Tonight was dinner over at the Lucas'...it was fun to hang out with them for a while again and play games with them. Always a nice change from staring at the walls of my apartment. =) Tomorrow is usually the night I cook for the guys after soccer, but David's cousin and friend are visiting and so we are all going to go out to eat. It will be fun to hang out with the guys...and of course eat good food. (Not that mine wouldn't have been good, it is just better when someone else cooks it)

I am still adjusting to having people living with me again. It is interesting how all summer I pretty much was dreading having to live on my own. But then I had a few weeks of living alone and now that I have roommates again I am having to adjust back to roommate mode. I think I am having a harder time doing that than I did adjusting to living alone. But it looks like I won't have roommates for too much longer. The house is making great progress and will most likely be done in the next week or two. Then it will be time for me to adjust back to living alone. No wonder I haven't really felt myself the past couple of weeks...lots of changes in a very short time.

Well, another day of school tomorrow. I'm going to focus and hopefully get a lot done on my lesson plans. Here are a few pictures of my classroom and one of me...it has been a while I know! :~)

Finally!

Well, I am finally able to upload the short video I took while my family was here. I am over at David and Kyle's house using their wonderful high-speed internet. It is great! So this video is of out landing in one of the SAM Air wheel planes. I think it is fun...so even if you don't like it...too bad! I will hopefully be able to upload some pictures too...but I might just do like before and put them on my picasa page.

Today I spent my morning cleaning and arranging my classroom. It was a lot of work and it was stinkin' hot...but I got it done. Now I just have to decorate...but I have almost a month before it will get used. So no hurry for decorating it. Tonight I get to watch a movie with the guys...it should be a good time. A nice way to end the week...hang out with some friends (even if they are guys) =and watch a movie.

Temporary roommates

Hmmmm...school starts on Monday. I don't really feel ready to start school again...but it will be good. I feel a little more organized now that I know for sure what I am responsible for and have done most of the big things I needed to get done before classes start. Tomorrow I am going to get my classroom put together and get my apartment ready for my temporary roommates. Our new teacher and her daughter will be staying with me for a few weeks while they finish the construction on her house. They are making a lot of progress and will hopefully be done soon so she can get settled into her own place. But until then I will have two roommates, one of them being an 11 year old girl. =)

This past Tuesday I had David S., David L. and Kyle over for dinner. It was a lot of fun to actually cook a meal in my kitchen for more than just me. We had a good time hanging out and enjoying each other's company. Definitely better than hanging out by myself. ;~)

Still trying to get those other pictures and video uploaded. So difficult with dial-up...and very frustrating. Oh well, one of these days. Now I am going to enjoy the rest of my day and try to stay cool.

Family visit

Well, I have finally uploaded some pictures from when my family was here. I decided to just upload them to Picasa since my connection isn't that great. So instead here is the link to the pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/christileber/FamilyVisit
Next week I hope to be able to upload a video of the landing from the flight we took with SAM Air while my family was here. I will also get some more pictures up next week that my parents took while they were here.

School starts in a little over a week. I have the class schedule done but we are still waiting for one of our teachers to get here. We were hoping she would get here next week but it doesn't look like that will be happening. Hopefully she will make it the week classes start. Until she gets here I will be trying to cover her classes. Should be intersting since I also have to cover classes for another teacher the first Tuesday of classes. Oh well, it will all work out...classes will be covered. Enjoy the pictures from my family's visit!

Alone time

Well, I am almost completely unpacked now. I am slowly getting settled back into life here in my apartment. It has been pretty nice actually to not have a roommate. After living in a house with about 8 other people for 2 months, it is nice to have the place to myself and some alone time. But I know pretty soon that alone time will overwhelm me. But that is what nights like tonight are for. Tonight Christy, Rachel, David S., David L., Kyle and I all got together and had dinner and just hung out. It was so nice to be in a group of people my age and just sit and enjoy each other's company. I am glad to have these friends here and I am looking forward to more time hanging out with them. It was a nice break from my evenings of reading, watching a movie or unpacking. A time to just get out, away from my place and hang out with friends. God is so good!

Tomorrow I start working on the school schedule with Marilyn...hopefully it won't take us too long to figure out and all the classes will be covered. I am definitely glad that I will have two extra weeks to prepare my things for my class, I think I am going to need them. It seems like these Principal duties are going to consume this week and next week. Hopefully, I will have time at some point to work on trying to get pictures up on here. It might be a while...but eventually.

The joys of dial-up

Well, I haven't posted anything this week because my phone line has been very tempermental. I have only been able to get online about once a day and usually late at night. I have pictures and videos from when my family is here that I would love to post, but it might take me a while. Things are a lot slower here in the jungle.

My family left yesterday...they are currently sitting in the Miami airport waiting for the last flight of their trip home. We had a good time, although the heat was a struggle for them. I am starting to finally get my things settled back into my apartment. Hopefully by Monday I will feel completely settled and then I can start focusing on school things. It is crazy to think that school starts in just over two weeks. Where has the time gone? I feel like I have missed so much being gone from Pucallpa for two months. It is nice to be back in the heat, humidity, and familiarity of life in Pucallpa. Although things have changed...not as many people to hang out with and those I do have to hang out with, don't like right next door anymore. Oh well, I am excited to see what is going to happen this year and how God is going to use me.

I will try my hardest to get pictures and a video up soon...we will see how well the internet behaves!

MY FAMILY IS HERE!

MY FAMILY IS HERE!!!!! It is such a happy day...I finally get to see my family again after almost 9 months of being away from them. Tomorrow we head to Pucallpa...it will be nice to be back to my own place and show them around. It was sad to leave Arequipa and my "family" there...but it is nice to know that I will hopefully see them again next June. For now it is late and I am tired. But I just had to write that my family is here!

Last day of class

Today was officially my last day of classes at the language school. Tomorrow we are all going on a field trip and so there are no classes. We had a little party at school today to say goodbye to the 4 of us leaving this week. It is crazy...half the school will be leaving after tomorrow. So during the party those of us leaving had to give a speech...so of course last night I was up late writing my speech. It wasn't very long...but at least I did it. =) They gave me a beautiful purse as a going away present and we had some good food. I was planning to take more pictures...but only took one. Oh well, I will remember without pictures.

This is Karen...she is one of the teachers at the institute and has become a good friend.

Tonight Christy, David, Marshall and I are going to see Batman...in spanish. We will see how much of it I actually understand. But I just couldn't pass up the chance to go to the movies one last time. I won't be able to go again until probably September when I am back in the U.S. for a visit. The rest of the weekend is a time of partying...field trip at school, lunch with the students, dinner out with the family and lunch Saturday with the family before I leave. I will get some pictures of me with the family before I leave and post them for you all to see. Saturday I fly to Lima and finally get to see my family again after almost 9 months. It will be great!

5 more days!

WOW! I have 4 more days of classes! It is crazy, sad, and exciting all at the same time. It is going to be a busy week with trying to pack things up, say goodbyes, and work out details for once I get back to Pucallpa. Thankfully I have so awesome friends who are helping me out. So far I have figured out how my family and I are getting from the airport to my apartment and worked it out to have a least a little bit of food in the place when we get there. It is going to be so great to get back to nice, hot Pucallpa and see my friends again. Just a few more details about that week in Pucallpa to figure out and that will be set. I still have to do some shopping here this week, as well as trying to pack all my things back into the one suitcase I brought with me. I might have to buy another bag for my carry-on. =) Plus I am trying to get myself healthy again. I had a cold last week that I think has turned into bronchitis...never fun. So I started some meds today and will hopefully have kicked this before traveling to Lima and Pucallpa. I get to see my family in 5 days....I can't wait! Special thanks to Rosemary and David for helping me out with some of these crazy details!

One week

It is crazy how quickly time flies. I only have one week left here in Arequipa. Part of me feels like I have been here for a long time already and another part feels like I just got here. A small part of me wishes I could stay longer so I can learn more, but the majority of me is ready to leave. I am very ready to get back to my life in Pucallpa. Cooking my own meals, sleeping in my own bed and enjoying the heat and humidity. Next Saturday is going to be a very exciting day...I will start my trip back to Pucallpa, but I will also be picking up my family in Lima! I am so excited to see them and show them where I live, work and serve our amazing God! Plus it will be Christmas in July with all the things they are bringing down for me. I am so thankful for them and for this opportunity for them to come down. And so this last week here in Arequipa is going to be busy, exciting and yet hard all at the same time. I have a lot to do in a week and of course like usual...I leave it until the last minute! I know it will get done and then I can move on to the next phase of my life. 7 MORE DAYS!!!!!

10 More Days!

Yesterday the Doolittle family left. It was a sad day...they have been so much fun to hang out with. But I am so glad that I had the time to get to know them and I am looking forward to when I see them again. Sunday during our normal get together at their house we had a great time just hanging out, playing games and worshipping together. There was a large crowd of people there and it was a good way to say goodbye to the Doolittles. Christy, Marshall, David and I went to the airport to see the family off. It was good to see them one last time before they left and fun for them to have people there to see them off. Here are some pictures from Sunday night and from the airport.

Morgan, Stephen and Marshall

Sarah messing with me like usual!

3 of the Kooistra kids...Dean, Adrianna and Lauren

More Kooistra kids...

Cassie and David hanging out and talking.

David Kooistra with Judah

Cassie and me at the airport.

Cassie and Christy at the airport.

Cassie and her two Christi(y)s

In other news, I only have 10 more days until my family comes...which also means only 10 more days here in Arequipa. Then I finally head back to the jungle and the wonderful heat and humidity. Until then, I have homework to do so I can keep learning until I leave!