Welcome to Cusco!

(Great apologies for the sideways pictures. I think I should have rotated them before posting them, but too late now and I don't want to wait for the computer for another 10 minutes!)

Flying across Peru, into Cusco from Lima... early, early last Tuesday morning (above).

Part of Cusco, near the school during the day (above),
and the view out of our bedroom window at sunset (below).

I tried to write a post last night, but with no success. Internet services are available, but not necessarily "rapido!" It's hard to believe that we have been here in Cusco, Peru for almost 2 weeks. But, it has been wonderful, interesting, strange, exciting, exhausting, and many other things! We adjusted to the culture fairly well, and we didn't experience any health problems related to the change in altitude. (Although we continue to laugh at ourselves as we become breathless after a climb up the stairs or a walk up the street. Pathetic, we say.) I got a cold about two days and have been dealing with a runny nose since then, but no other major health problems, praise the Lord!

We have been spending some of our time at Promesa (the school), helping in the 4-and-5-year-old classes, signing out books for the students in "library" from 2-2:15 each school day.

Children at Promesa in the library at the end of the school day.

I also was able to help Jen, one of the other missionaries who is a pediatrician and is completing health checks on all the students. I helped by taking the students vital signs and completing documenting/charting. (The picture below is of our little health room at Promesa.)


We also helped at Prosim (the health clinic) by bagging (and remeasuring, readjusting, and rebagging) food for a nutrition program for 37 students in Cusco who need food assistance.

In our other time, we spend time with the Shultz's, either by tagging along on errands, playing games with the kids, watching movies, or taking little half-day trips to the main plaza to watch parades and celebrations, which are a signature of the month of June in Cusco.

We have also enjoyed getting to know several other people who are serving here in Cusco for short terms. Today we enjoyed a day out with Nick and Sylvia (who will be here for another week) and Steve (who is here for 5 more weeks); we ate out at a restaurant near the Plaza de Armas. (I had an Alpaca sandwich!! It was delicious!) After lunch we went shopping before heading to the "March for Jesus" to walk with the kids from Promesa through the city of Cusco.

Some Things In My Life Recently

- Packing (!!)
- Four out of the five books in the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley... and working on book no. 5 (I'm not usually a fan of "Christian fiction," but this is a good series!!)
- NCLEX review books (the long study process begins... previous test-takers recommend reviewing little bits consistently over a long period of time)
- Naps
- Details, details, details for the trip that's coming up in less than one week!
- fans and air conditioners for humid days
- Books from Amazon for the flights next week
- Early mornings (5:30, that is) for work and not-so-early mornings on days off of work.
- last minute shopping for last minute packing
- and more....

Things that aren't but should be part of my life...

- cleaning my room
- cleaning my room
- aaaaand.... cleaning my room!! HA.

Those Things Called Naps.

I just woke up from a nap. You know, those wonderful times that you lay down for a 30-minute nap and wake up about 2 hours later. I absolutely love that kind of sleep! Besides the fact that a part of your day is gone in the matter of a few dreams, it's more-often-than-not refreshing---which is wonderful any day.

Mom and I also worked on some "first round" packing. "First round" because it wasn't the final cut to see what will/will not fit in my suit case; rather the cut to see exactly what I wanted in my checked luggage and what I wanted to pack in my carry-on.

My friend is away for the weekend, so I don't know if there has been any progress in her visa-fiasco. But, we are all anxiously awaiting its arrival---and I, for one, am praying that it comes soon! I could do it, but I don't really want to travel by myself!!

It's time to go for a walk...

For My Momma.

Yesterday my mom asked me to post something new on my blog. I had actually forgotten about this blog for a little while; in the hum-drum of summer, it doesn't seem like there's too much to be talked about!

However, in a matter of a little more than a week I will be on my way to South America for 5 weeks, so I guess that deserves an update! A friend and I will be helping a missionary family from our church in any way we can. They are dedicated to a school, Promesa, so we will probably be mostly involved at the school.

Of course, hassles are involved, and my friend is still waiting to get her passport back from the visa application we needed to file. So, if you'd take a few minutes and pray for a quick delivery of an intact passport that would be greatly appreciated!

Otherwise, I've been working and lounging. I've also been working on a little bit of studying for the scary NCLEX test of next summer! The most frequent advice I've received is to start studying small doses consistently ahead of time.

But, it's 9:00 and I should probably start wrapping up.