Reflections

We´re all packed and ready to come home! It took a bit of time and some creativity, but all our stuff is in four large suitcases, two smaller (carry-on size) suitcases, and two backpacks. We leave from the house tomorrow at 5:15am to begin our 15-hour travel day. If all goes as planned, we´ll be landing at LAX at about 7pm!

Before we leave Peru (and because we have the rest of the day to relax), we want to share some reflections on our experiences over the last 6+ months of travel.

We are incredibly blessed to have had this opportunity! How many people get to put their "normal" lives on hold for 7 months to travel all over the world as a couple? We are amazed at the financial resources God provided for us and have learned that He not only travels with us, but goes ahead of us to prepare the way. The two places that we´ve ended up living could not have been more perfect for us! We´re also so thankful to C.J.´s boss for giving him the time off and letting him keep his health insurance (and it looks like letting him come back to work in January!).

We´ve learned that Americans need to smile more. It was incredibly uplifting to be greeted every day by the people at CASP with smiles and (MANY) kisses on the cheek. Every time they say hello and goodbye (to pretty much EVERYONE), a hug and kiss on one cheek ensue. Peruvians have an amazingly friendly culture, and it really takes the akwardness out of meeting new people. No more having to pull out akwardly when one person tries to shake and one person goes in for the hug...you´ve all been there!

Pisco anyone? Three CASP administrators at the end of the year party

Trying new food has been fun (as long as our stomachs were up for it). We know it´s a big surprise to those of you who know him well, but C.J. has actually been really good with all the different foods--he tends to be quite particular with his food! We´re hoping that when we return home we can continue this trend. One recent food we tried was chicherones, which is fried pork and sweet potato on a bun (usually with chopped onions). Traditionally, this is a breakfast food!

C.J. with his chicherones

Somewhat related to the previous paragraph is that we´ve learned to be more flexible, mostly by necessity. Our schedules didn´t always go as planned, we´ve been thrown into situations where we didn´t know exactly what was going on, sometimes we just couldn´t understand what someone was saying, and we´ve rarely been in control of where we´re going and when (planes, trains, and automobiles--all three!).

We have missed creating music! Being a part of the Damascus Road worship band was a huge blessing in our lives, and it has been really tough to not have this. We recently heard that we get to be a part of the praise team at our church the first Sunday we get back to St. Louis, so we are incredibly excited! Creating music really touches our hearts and helps us experience God in amazing ways.

Community is very important to us. We have truly enjoyed the people we have met and spent time with in Halifax and Lima and thank God for letting our paths cross. However, we have often felt our hearts yearning to once again be a part of the community we´ve found in St. Louis. Things are going to be really different when we return (new church plant, new apartment in a different part of St. Louis, new job for Keri, new babies for friends there), but the people are going to be the same, and that´s what makes all the difference.

Marie (housekeeper), Elena, and Leise (Marie´s daughter) with Keri´s graduation cake

We really like each other (good news after being together for 7 years and married for 3)! The vast majority of days, we were together the entire day, but we´ve really enjoyed it. There have been times where one of us has looked at the other and said, "I like you!" This has felt really good, because our love doesn´t necessarily mean we always like each other! All of our time together has also helped us to mature in our relationship. Petty arguing just isn´t worth it when we´re always together. We´ve been forced to sit down, talk out our feelings, and be done with it. Though it hasn´t always been perfect, we are really hopeful that this trend continues in our "normal" lives.

We can´t thank you all enough for all your prayers and support through these times. Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. Now that our travels are pretty much over (we do plan make a few posts from CA and MI), we´re not sure what this blog will become, but we are hoping to keep it up. We´ll have lots of new things to update you all on once we´re back in St. Louis, especially on the future newest member of our family...no, we´re not pregnant...our Christmas present to each other is going to be a puppy! We hope you´ll keep reading. For now, signing off from Peru...