Final Times in Peru

Well it looks like this is going to be our penultimate blog entry and it’s been a wild ride. Since our last blog post we’ve gotten to see other parts of Peru, the baby has grown considerably in Katrina’s belly, and I’ve been ordained to the priesthood. As of today Katrina has gone back to the United States and I have only about 2 ½ weeks left in Lima. Let me give you an update on what has happened since our last blog post.   

I’ve been teaching, preaching, leading Sunday school, assisting with worship, and other miscellaneous duties at the cathedral. I finished an introduction to the New Testament class two weeks ago. We had several regular attendees who read most (and in one case all) of the New Testament during the 8-week course. I was excited to see some new people to our church begin to discover the joy of reading and studying Holy Scripture. 

Peter teaching his class on the New Testament 

There was a particularly high volume of activity during Holy Week. We arranged had different services for Stations of the Cross, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday. Katrina and I also had the opportunity of participating in a Good Friday service at one of our parishes on the outskirts of Lima. You can find some pictures of this attached. 
I have been thinking hard about what I can leave behind that will persist even after I leave. To that end I’ve been organizing and recruiting for our music ministry at the cathedral. There is a terrific organist and some talented musicians scattered about the congregation, but there is only a nascent contemporary music team. I’ve been working on organizing, and equipping a group of singers and musicians who can continue once I’m gone. Additionally, I’m working on starting some sort of small group or weekly get together that would be available for some of the younger people who have started attending the church since Katrina and I arrived. 

The girls dressed as Mary for Stations of the Cross in a neighboring parish at a nearby shanty town. 

Jesus leading the parishioners around the town for each station

Peter with Padre Aurelio, the one who graciously invited us to his parish to participate in Stations of the Cross 

Katrina was very sick through the first few months of her pregnancy. While she could still help with children’s ministry at the cathedral during this time, she was intermittently out of commission due to nausea and discomfort. Nevertheless, Katrina has been instrumental in writing curriculum for children’s Sunday school and organizing various activities at different stages of the Church year. Because of the pregnancy we decided it was best for Katrina to return to the States a little early. She flew home on the 15^th of April is currently staying with her parents. 

Meet Todd and Ruffle, the two kittens that we adopted from Peru and whom Katrina is spending a lot of her time with in the States right now. 

Up until February Katrina and I had only been in Lima since we arrived in Peru. Fortunately, right before I started my New Testament class, we had the opportunity to see a few different parts of the country. We spent a few days in Cusco and visited Machu Pichu. The Andes were remarkable as you can probably tell from the pictures we’ve attached. After this we visited Iquitos, a city in the rain forest that sits right on the Amazon River. The animals and terrain in the rain forest were unlike anything we had ever seen before. We held a sloth and saw a monkey riding a dog. These are the kind of memories that will stay with you into old age.   

The Andes and Machu Picchu are absolutely breath taking 

One of the most daring things I've ever done....but it actually wasn't that difficult to do. I guess I'm not afraid of snakes. 

I was amazed by the jungle and how people live on the Amazon. Floating houses, floating everything. I would see kids step out of their house and just jump in the water to get to the neighbouring house. What a different lifestyle. 

Finally, in consultation with my bishop in the United States, the bishop here in Peru agreed to ordain me to the priesthood. This was a very high honor. I had been ordained a deacon last July with the hope that it would culminate in an ordination to the priesthood. I had spent most of my time as a deacon here at the cathedral. So it felt appropriate to have my ordination here rather than waiting until I returned to the US. We worked the ordination service into Sunday April 12^th, 10 AM Eucharist. The congregation got me a handmade Peruvian stole and my Dad flew all the way from California to attend. It was a remarkable day and an amazing service. 

Peter receiving a Peruvian stole during his ordination service. His Dad and I had the honor of placing it on him. 

I hope you enjoy the pictures. We are so appreciative of our supporters, family, friends, and church that have made all of this possible. We ask for your continued prayer as we transition into a totally new life in the States. I will be starting a doctoral program at the University of Virginia in Judaism and Christianity in antiquity at the end of August. This will be only weeks after our son is born. Pray that all goes smoothly and that we can find meaningful ministry and good friends in Virginia.     

Update thus far

So... a lot has transpired since I last wrote, and that is because I am an absolute failure at keeping this blog updated. I remember talking to my friend Rebecca back in the States before I left and she asked me how often I intended to update my blog. I responded with a fervent "twice a month". It is now January, we've been here for almost 5 months and I have blogged twice.... My sincerest apologies. 

Probably the biggest news that most of you know about, if not all of you because I've been telling everyone and their grandmother, is that I'm pregnant. That's right folks. I had no idea pregnancy was such a difficult process, but man does it take a toll on my body. I've been experiencing awful nausea accompanied with throwing up on the regular. The toilet and I have become close acquaintances. I've also felt incredibly weak and pathetic. Every week at church I can't stand for an entire hymn without feeling like I'm going to faint, so I sit down. I look around me and see people much older and weaker than I  standing like champs. Bravo to them! Despite my general feeling of illness 24/7, Peter and I couldn't be more thrilled to be having a baby. We already chose names for either gender and love to stay up at night discussing various aspects of parenting that we may or may not disagree upon. We feel so blessed that we get to bring another human being into this world and raise him or her as a child of God.

I definitely didn't expect to be writing about pregnancy in my blog about my trip to Peru, but life happens unexpectedly. Moving on to more specific Peruvian life details:

I finished up the school year with Santisima Trinidad. I still can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that we are in summer break right now, but good thing reality doesn't depend on what my mind can fathom. My time at this school was challenging but also enriching. The language barrier was always a problem, but something that lessened over time. The children all grew to know me and expect my presence in the school. I'll never get over the affection of Peruvian children. I would be bombarded with hugs every time I walked into a classroom and it never ceased to bring me joy. One of my favorite moments was sitting next to a student who was and is the most mature 3rd grader I've ever encountered, and discussed our ways of celebrating Christmas. He was so patient with my broken Spanish and took his time to teach me new vocabulary. We carried on a conversation for the entire duration of snack time and we moved beyond "where are you from?" and "how old are you?". We ended the school year with a big Christmas celebration that included the children singing a song in English that I taught them. They never really nailed the verses, but they definitely got the chorus! Here is the video of that (don't make fun of my terrible singing, the audio quit working so I had to lead...):

Peter finished up his class on the first 500 years of church history in November. This was a wonderful class and as one of the students, I can say with full disclosure that Peter knows how to teach. This was a wonderful time for us to get to know more people attending the cathedral and also a few people who attend other churches. It was magnificent to see others and myself feeling more connected to the tradition of Anglicanism by understanding the roots of Christianity. There was one class when Peter described what a Sunday church service would have been like in early Christianity and I saw the excitement that people had (including myself) when we realized we do things very much the same way today. It is a gift to learn and be connected to the community of saints from centuries past.

Peter has preached a number of times now and also spent some time developing the advent devotional for adults. I have been helping with the children's ministry by writing curriculum and teaching a few Sundays out of the month.

Our Christmas and New Years was spent with great company. People have been making sure to welcome us and make us feel at home here during the difficult holiday season. Being away from family is more difficult than I had anticipated, but I am so very grateful to the hospitality that has been extended to us during this time.

Please continue to pray for us. We are headed to Cartagena, Colombia tomorrow for a week vacation. We needed to renew our visa and this is also a little pregnancy relaxation getaway. We'll explore more of Peru once I'm done with my first trimester. Pray for safe travels and that we will come back refreshed, ready to continue our service here with the cathedral (and possibly some new service opportunities which I'll update you on if it pans out). Thanks for reading folks. Enjoy a random selection of photos.

Here we are with some people from our language school during a Peruvian cooking class 

Teachers and students at our language school. 

Incredibly difficult to capture a non blurry photo, but here is me with students and teachers from Santisima Trinidad 

This is the scenery from the area where Santisima Trinidad is located.

Peter and friends from Alpha 

Our adorable Christmas tree 

So...it's November?

It's been over two months now that we have been in Lima and I have only blogged once. The instinct or even the burden to blog does not come naturally to me. It is something that easily slips my mind. I hope that is not interpreted as us not caring about our wonderful supporters back home. We appreciate each and every one of you so much and couldn't be here without you. Peter and I will try to be better at updating you more often.

I am writing this as I sit in a Starbucks with a cup of Earl Grey tea (I'm really adapting to the culture here well) and I'm thinking through the main focus of our past two months: language study. Peter and I spent 6 weeks in language study; 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. This was absolutely pertinent for our time here in Peru and I am grateful we were able to complete it. We each reached an intermediate level of Spanish and feel a lot less handicapped as we venture around Lima. Praise to the Lord, however we still have a long way to go before really learning the language. Prayers are always appreciated for this.

Peter is having an excellent time here and has been given many opportunities to use his gifts. The most prominent and time consuming task he is doing is teaching a class at the cathedral on the first 500 years of church history. About 15 people are attending, and some even outside of the cathedral. I really believe this class has been a huge ministry to the people in attendance. Peter is giving them (myself included) a deeper understanding of our origins as Christians. I believe people are eager to learn about this and it gives them a connection to the roots of their faith.

I have now finished my second week at Santisima Trinidad, a parochial primary school in San Juan de Miraflores ( a district in Lima). 3 days a week I take the bus (successfully taking the bus has been a triumph for me) to the school and spend the day there assisting in the classrooms as best as I can. The language barrier has been a challenge, but I am learning to be comfortable with being confused and a bit uncomfortable, if that even makes sense. The children and staff have been incredibly welcoming and friendly. I am gradually learning names, routines, and ways in which I can assist. My spanish is also improving. I could definitely use prayer for confidence and strength each day as I venture out to this district. It is definitely an area in which I stand out and all things are unfamiliar. I pray that I can gain familiarity and confidence at the school so that I can develop relationships with the students and staff and assist in the educational development of these beautiful children.

Please keep us in your prayers and here are some specific ways you can pray for us:
- Assistance with prepping the children's advent curriculum: I am helping with this and it is one of my  main focuses for the month of November. Pray that we would complete it in time and that the curriculum will be effective for the children to learn about Jesus.
- Discipleship: The Lord has put a few people in our life who seem eager to learn about their faith and grow closer to Jesus. Pray that we would have ample opportunity to meet with them and disciple them individually and/or through different events at church.
- Our spiritual life: Pray that we would be shaped and moulded more into the image of God during our time here in Peru. Pray specifically that I would have a more consistent prayer life.
- Alpha: We are attending and assisting at the alpha course. Pray for those in attendance, that they might grow closer to Jesus and understand Him more.
- Confidence: I am struggling to have confidence in the school I am volunteering in. Pray that I might receive confidence and that the language gap would grow smaller and smaller.

Thank you all for your commitment to pray for us. We appreciate it very much and know that your prayers are needed!

I've been slacking at taking photos. The next blog post will have more photos...

Una Semana Completado

After a long, arduous time in both the Seattle airport and Atlanta airport, we arrived in Lima late Monday evening. To our surprise, getting through immigration and customs was very simple.  We received our six month tourist visa with very minimal explanation (which made my practicing responses to questions in the airport seem silly) and we slept for almost 10 hours our first night in Lima.

This week has been spent getting to know the district we are in, Miraflores. We have had the most wonderful help from Rev. Allen and Rev. Rachel Hill.  We now know where to get groceries and the most delicious sandwich from La Lucha. Our attempts at ordering food at various places have improved, but we still agree to things that we have no idea we are agreeing to. For instance, we accidentally ordered fries on our hamburger yesterday  as well as order some sort of punch, when I would have preferred to get a Coke. Needless to say, we have a lot to learn but we are improving.

Our apartment is very comfortable and is under a five minute walk to the Anglican Cathedral. This location is very ideal. We have been attending morning prayer every morning at the cathedral and this Sunday was our first Sunday serving in the two English speaking services. Peter is officially licensed to serve as a deacon and I am licensed to serve as a lay minister. I assisted Peter as he set the table for Holy Eucharist. I also served as the crucifer during the service.  There is ample opportunity for us to get involved in this community at the cathedral and Peter and I are eager to assist.

Tomorrow we are touring the larger area of Lima and the different parishes in the city. We will visit the school that I am going to help in as well as other social outreach programs in the city. Starting Monday Peter and I will be attending language school. We will be in school 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. It is going to be intensive, but I truly believe it will help us tremendously.

Thank you all for keeping updated with our life here in Lima. Here is how you can pray for us specifically:
* This sunday is the family service at the cathedral. Pray that it would go smoothly and that families would come and feel nourished by the word and sacrament.
* Pray that our language learning would go well and that we will pick up the language quickly!
* Continue to pray that God would go before us each day and make our work fruitful.

Here are some photos so far from our trip. Excuse my terrible iPhone photography.

Peter learning from Rev. Allen Hill how to set the table for Holy Communion. 

A park, full of wild cats! Maybe my new favorite place in Miraflores. 

The most delicious sandwich called Chicharron. Pork, onions, and sweet potatoes. I don't know how they flavor it, but they do it well. 

Our cozy apartment 

Some alpacas right across the street from our apartment at the Huaca. 

The entrance into our apartment. 

3 Things You are Allowed to Slap Me for Saying When I Get Back to the States

For those of you who don't know, I went to Moody Bible Institute for my undergrad. Moody was a school primarily focused on mission work with the best of intentions (at least I hope so.). Going to a school so focused on missions, I was able to communicate with many people post mission trip. I would generally characterize these people as one on an emotional "I just came back from camp" high and in the middle of  "how do I justify my American lifestyle?" crisis. Many people speak of a mid life crisis, but in the evangelical missions world, we have the post mission trip crisis. My dear readers, I don't want to be presumptuous and assume I will not experience this crisis, but oh goodness, if I say the following, please slap me. 

1. "Walking down the cereal aisle was so difficult, I can't believe how many options we have here in America." 

I've read countless blog posts and heard countless stories of people coming back to America and experiencing a sense of guilt when going to the grocery store. I know options are more limited in other countries and the fact that we have literally a hundred different cereals to choose from is ridiculous. But this has been said before and doesn't need to be stated again. Consumerism in America is grossly out of control and we can learn life lessons from traveling to other places that are just as happy only choosing from 2 different cereals. Let's move on. 

2. "I came to [insert country name here] expecting to change the people, but in the end, they changed me." 

I was listening to my favorite radio show, "This American Life" in which Ira Glass was interviewing someone who works in the admissions department for a major university. Ira asked him what was the most common essay question response/the response he hopes he never has to read again, and this was the response! The admissions counselor told Ira that he cannot tell you how many students write about serving overseas in some third world country and talking about how the people changed them, even when they weren't expecting it. I was not surprised to hear this, because I have heard countless testimonies post mission trip about this very sentiment. I am a bit flabbergasted by this. This sentiment is not even noteworthy in my opinion. Of course you are changed by the people in which you are serving! You are living with people from completely different walks of life and spending the majority of your time with them. They are teaching you new ways of life, new outlooks on the world, in a completely different context. If I come to Peru expecting to radically change the lives of the people there, one would have reason to be concerned. And if I come back to America completely unchanged by the people I just spent the past nine months with, there is again reason to be concerned. I hope when I return to the States I can discuss the intricate details in which the Peruvians changed my life and we can rejoice in these changes, but not be surprised. 

3. "These people have so little, yet they are so full of joy." 

Again, why are we surprised that people with less material wealth are joyful? Jesus has strong words to say against the rich and very strong words commending the life of the poor and their virtues. It is a blessing to live with less and it is not a surprise that those that live with less wealth lead joyful lives. I am fearful that one will read this paragraph and assume and I am turning a blind eye to the immense struggles of poverty. I am not discussing or overlooking these struggles. I am only making a point that it shouldn't come as surprise that when one lives a lifestyle in which material wealth is not an idol (in which it often becomes an idol in America) of course the virtue of joy will be manifest, along with many other virtues. To put it simply, money does not equal happiness. 

 

...Maybe I'll come back from Peru absolutely needing to say all of these things, in which I will apologize for this presumptuous blog post and all of you will have permission to slap me. 

A clearer vision

If you read my last blog post, you might have sensed my slight frustrations in the ambiguities regarding my role in Lima. Peter has known for months now that he will be teaching at the seminary and I would always reluctantly tell people "Uhh....I'll be working with kids?" Well, my darlings, I have been given a clear, definitive role in Lima and I couldn't be more excited about it!

I will be assisting at an elementary school called Most Holy Trinity. This role will take on many forms, but I am told they are very short staffed and can use my help in whatever way possible. This might include me teaching English, assisting with curriculum development, and assisting with teaching those with learning difficulties. As most of you know, those that work in schools wear many hats, so I assume this will be even more true for me as a volunteer without an official title. I am so excited to get to know the students at the school and really learn about their lives and their community. I am told they come from the poorest district in Lima, most of the students live in shanty towns. They also primarily come from single parent homes or are being raised by their grandparents or close relatives.  I feel that this will be an immense challenge, but also something that I am familiar with. For those of you that know my work history, for the past year and a half I have been working as a tutor in schools with populations very similar to this description. I know that the Lord has given me this experience to prepare myself for this service in Lima. I feel blessed to feel confirmed even more for this trip in Lima.

For those of you that are reading this blog and want to pray for Peter and I, I would ask that you pray for the following things:
* That the Lord would continue to prepare our hearts, minds, and bodies for this trip.
*That our time left in Durham and the US would be blessed with valuable time spent with friends and family.
*That Peter and I would begin a more regimented prayer life right now that can be continued while in Peru.
*That the Holy Spirit would go before us in Lima and make our paths clear and we would be open to wherever He leads us.
*That we would be able to raise enough money to sustain us for the whole nine months

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. If you feel led to support us financially, please click here. All donations are very much appreciated. Right now we are at about 50 percent of our budget, so we still have a ways to go.

We are leaving Durham at the end of July and are set to leave the US in mid August. Time is running out and prayers and support are very much appreciated in this time. Please feel free to message me personally at katie_nutter23@yahoo.com if you would like to receive our second round of letters with your mailing address.

Getting There

Hello my lovely friends and family! Peter and I are only a few short months away from leaving for Lima, Peru. Our estimated departure date is August 17th! We will be returning sometime in May of 2015.  While our hearts are overwhelmed and saddened by leaving the lovely Durham, NC and our dear Lyle (our dog), we couldn't be more excited to begin our time in Lima. For those of you that don't know about our trip, we are going through  SAMS (Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders) and will be serving in the local parishes down there. Peter will primarily be teaching at Saints Augustine Seminary and preaching at the cathedral.

My agenda has not quite been planned out, however I know I will be working with a few parishes in the district of San Juan de Miraflores. Below is a picture of this area. As one can see, it is an area of immense poverty. It is a newly developed area in Lima(it's been around only since 1965) and consists of residents from the countryside and other metropolitan districts of Lima.

San Juan de Miraflores

I am really excited to get to know the people in this area and spend time building relationships and learning a new way of life from these residents. I will update you all once I know about specific ministries that I will be involved with in this district. 

Peter and I are still raising support for this trip. We have many people supporting us with their prayers and finances and we are so grateful for each and every one of you. If you would like to partner with us, you can give online very easily. Click here. All donations are tax deductible. We thank you so much for your support!

As always, please pray for us! This trip is exciting but also terrifying. We need our sisters and brothers in Jesus praying for us as much as possible. 

I will update this blog as we prepare to go and also while we are there. So please feel free to follow this blog to know what we are up to in Lima and our last days in Durham.