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!