Adjusting to life in Andahuaylas

Many people have told us that it will be difficult adjusting to the food in the Mountains. Well, Matthew has found a restaurant that serves a good rotisserie chicken meal with french fries. 

 In time, we will be able to get a table with chairs, closets, dressers, and other furniture for the house but until then we are making due with what we have.

 Jon takes the children down to the river for some play time.

Our first church service together as a family in Andahuaylas.

 The children attend their first Sunday School class at the church.

 Children enjoy meeting other kids at the kids club at the church.

Nisha and the Children's first day in Andahuaylas

Nisha and the children arrived safely by plane to the airport in Andahuaylas early in the morning. 

 This is them de-boarding the plane and walking into the airport to meet up with Jon.

 Inside the airport there was a welcome sign for Andahuaylas.

 Waiting patiently for our bags to be taken off the plane and than carted to the conveyor belt.

 The view of some of the mountains while traveling from the airport to the valley of Andahuaylas which is about 45 minute trip.

 You can see the dirt road that we travel on through the mountains which can get pretty bumpy.

Baptisms in the River

Every three months the church schedules a time for baptisms down at the river. This trip consists of taking trucks down mountain dirt roads, hiking down to the river, preparing a spot in the river for the baptisms, lunch, testimony time, songs, picnic games, and of course the baptisms. Praise the Lord for the eleven baptisms that took place on this day. 

Work day on the house

The day before Nisha and the children were to arrive to Andahuaylas about 15 people from the church came to help Jon get the house prepared by painting and installing many items. We are so grateful for the help with getting a working bathroom ready, yard cut and cleaned, and rooms painted. 

Tomorrow wasn't much better

Jon's second night at the Andahuaylas house was just as adventurous as the first night. Oh, it started out good, Jon took the van in to be repaired from the rough trip, was cleaning and fixing up the house while the sun was shining during the day. BUT as the sun was going down, a storm cloud came in and it began to rain. Not even 10 minutes after it began raining our truck of belongings show up at our house to be unloaded. Just as the guys were unloading the truck, Jon receives a phone call that his van has been repaired and must be picked up in order for another vehicle to take its place. Jon calls his wife and tells her to pray but finds out the she is in a taxi with a dangerous driver in Lima at the time and asks me to pray for her. Jon calls someone in the church from Andahuaylas to come over to watch the movers so that he can pick up his van. Just as the church member shows up the storm intensifies and the electricity goes out. Everything mentioned took place within a 20 minute time frame. 

Jon's first day in Andahuaylas, Peru

Jon arrived in Andahuaylas after driving 23 hours with Gary from Lima. The trip was long and with rough roads that was hard on the van which is not a 4x4. We got stopped three times by police stops who are looking for any way to get money through bribes. Our van was a sure target with tinted windows which requires special papers which we didn't have as of yet due to just purchasing the vehicle two days ago. We arrived to the house we are renting for the next three years, only to find a huge mess from the landlord's things to the construction being done on the house. Jon took a nap at Gary's house and than got started at 5 am on the project of getting the house ready for the family who was to arrive two weeks later by plane.

There was no working bathroom at the house at the time.

 The ceilings were damaged during the rainy months and needed to be repaired.

 Our belongings that were preshipped by truck were piled on the floor of a room.

 Another room still had light fixtures, ceramic tiles, and bathroom appliances in boxes needing to be installed.

 The first night at the house provided a funny journal memory. Jon called his wife on the phone and part of the conversation was about our dog having a difficult time adjusting to the mountains. Nisha told Jon to be sure to put the dog inside at night to keep warmer. Jon put the dog cage in the living room and tried to get the dog to go inside but it wouldn't. After Jon went to his room and changed into his pajamas, he heard the dog whining. Jon decided that he would catch and force the dog into the living room. After retiring the dog into his cage, Jon was returning to his room only to notice that the outside door to his room had closed behind him which locks automatically. There is Jon locked outside in the cold with his pajamas after emptying all of his pockets (including the keys) in the room. To make things worse, Jon had started an electric heater close to his bed just before leaving the room. He had to get into that room that night one way or another. He weighed his options of breaking the window or the door; but the windows were lined with metal framing and would not be able to reach the keys still or to climb in. So Jon found himself needing to break in the door. He knew that it would take a hard kick but has seen it done many times in the movies. He only had enough space to take one big step due to the flowers and trees at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the door. So with one big jumping kick Jon found himself bouncing backwards off the door and landing in a rose bush which cut up his leg and began bleeding. It's about 11:30 pm that Jon looks up into the dark sky while laying in the rose bush and having a talk with God. Jon than gets a brick and begins pounding on the lock of the door to get in only to stop after about 20 hits when the thought comes to him of what the neighbors must be thinking since this is his first night at the house and it is obvious that he is breaking in to the room. Jon gets a laugh and returns to his pounding. Jon finally gets to a point where he can put his shoulder into the door to get in. The door survived but the cement trimming to the door lock had been broken and all over the floor along with the broken light bulb from the room that had fallen earlier. Jon laid in bed that night with the thought that surely it will be better tomorrow.

Moving preparations

Jon was busy finishing our paperwork to renew our carnet (visa's) for the year before traveling into the mountains. Much patience is needed as one waits in the lines only to be told that we are missing something and would have to go someplace else to get the necessary items and than wait in line again. 

 Nisha and the children kept occupied with packing and cleaning the apartment in preparations for the trip into the mountains.

We were given an advancement of funds to be able to purchase a vehicle for our ministry in Andahuaylas. Jon began searching and praying for one to become available that would be affordable and suitable for our family. Jon purchased the minivan pictured below and has begun the process of getting the paperwork completed which may take a while.