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 15th 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 12th, 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.
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.
