WE'RE IN PERU! BUT WE'RE STILL HEADED TO COLOMBIA!

Much has happened since our last blog update. There have been many changes and as I write this, I am sitting in our home in PERU! Yes, I said Peru! BUT we are still headed to COLOMBIA, just gonna take a little more time than expected.

Here's how the changes unfolded in the past few weeks. We got the document we were waiting for from Colombia and we were finally able to apply for our visas at the Colombian consulate on Sept 25. Things seemed to be going smoothly and we were told we should have our visas in 3-5 days. But on Sept. 26, just one day after we applied for the visa, we got a very unexpected email from the Colombian consulate. It told us that our visas were denied and we found out that we can't reapply for 6 months. As Chris was delivering the news, I wasn't sure if he was serious or kidding because he was so calm about it even though it was quite a shock. I must admit that the kids and I, Cristi, were a little discouraged at this new delay, but Chris' attitude about it all and his confident faith in God's plan were encouraging to us all and gave us all peace about it. We are still confident that God is calling us to Colombia and hopeful that the visas will be approved when we reapply in 6 months, so we just feel that this is where God wants us right now. We don't know why we were denied, but were simply told that it is at the discretion of the Colombian official to approve or deny a visa and no reason was given.

Once we found out our visas were denied, we began to seek God's direction for what to do now. As we spent the next week talking with directors at our organization, SAM, and praying for guidance, God showed us clearly that we were to move forward with language school, just not in Colombia. The language school is 7 months long, so we will be able to re-apply for the visa after language school. Our directors from SAM suggested we go to a Christian language school in Arequipa, Peru that many South America Mission missionaries, particularly those going to serve in Peru, attend. The school has a well established relationship with our organization; and other SAM missionaries are currently studying there so we can connect with them. And they have openings for classes in November. It just seemed like a perfect fit and God worked out all the details, including helping us find excellent deals on airfare at such short notice(just barely over a week) and a large, very spacious house available the day we arrived, which was just last Wednesday, Oct. 8. We still plan to go to Colombia to serve as missionaries. We will be here in Peru for eight months and then we hope to be approved for our Colombian visa and head to Riohacha, Colombia to serve alongside the believers at Iglesia Castillo Fuerte Es Nuestro Dios and help spread the gospel, disciple believers, train leaders, and assist with youth ministry.

Though we can't begin language school till November, we decided to go ahead and head to Arequipa, Peru before our classes start. We enjoyed our time in L.A. spent with family and new friends we made while there; and I really enjoyed being with my sister for the time we were there. But we were ready to get settled into a home and begin to get immersed in the language that we will need to know to effectively serve as missionaries in Colombia.

We are settling in well here in Arequipa. Our flight here was smooth and uneventful. We even got bumped up to business class for our last connection, which was a neat and comfortable surprise. Our home here is very spacious and everyone has a bed, something the kids have missed during our travels the past few months. It's been good for our kids to be settled in their own home with their own beds and belongings. They are sleeping well in their rooms. We feel very blessed. We were told that it's amazing that we got a house this big and in such a safe neighborhood so quickly. If you have facebook or know someone with facebook, you can check out pictures of our house. It is completely furnished. We have stairs to the roof of the house, and enjoy going up there (it's got walls all around it) to watch fireworks, which seem to be shot off every few nights, and to overlook the city of Arequipa. It is a city of a million people. The roof is also the location of our washing machine, which is convenient because I can wash clothes and then hang them on the clotheslines up there to dry. Our home is very secure. The neighborhood is inside a gate, then the complex we live in is gated with a buzzer to let people in, then our beautiful yard is inside a wall. It's pretty amazing. The people here are so friendly. We have ventured out into the city and practiced our limited Spanish to order food and get taxis as well as holding very short conversations with people. At one of the cafes we have gone to, the lady remembers us when we come and is helpful. People love Knyanna. They always stop to touch her hair or skin and say how beautiful she is. She is not intimidated in the least and said to me, "Mommy, everyone likes me here." Like other places we have lived overseas, children are loved, and so all of our little kids get extra attention when we go places. They are all so sociable and love the attention. Our first week here was a little rough because we have limited Spanish communication since we are just learning the language and customs and it was hard to communicate with friends and family back in the states because we had no internet in our home. Crystal and Andrew are taking online college classes, so it meant walking to town everyday so they could use wifi at Starbucks to log on to their classes. We just got internet this past Monday and have connected with some friends and family and been able to skype our oldest son, Christopher. Everyone is excited to have internet service in our home now. And we are learning more and more how to communicate in Spanish as we spend time in town around people.

Here in Peru, we are getting used to the different ways things are done, the do's and don'ts. DON'T put toilet paper in the toilet and flush it because the sewer system can't handle the paper. DO put toilet paper in a trash can next to the toilet. I, Cristi, am still trying to remember this one, :) The water here is not safe to drink. So, we drink bottled water and just found out how to have a large water container delivered to our house. This also leads to another don't. DON'T brush your teeth with tap water. Instead DO use bottled/boiled water to brush your teeth. We also boil water to wash and rinse dishes, though I have not found out if this is completely necessary. When we first attempted to use our stove, we thought it wasn't working. But we found out that there is a process that we DO need to follow. First, we turn on the propane tank under the stove, then we turn on a burner on the stovetop, and finally we light it with a match. The same thing must be done to turn on the oven. It's been an adventure cooking and washing dishes.

Driving is crazy here to say the least, but crossing a street when walking can be even crazier. There seem to be no rules of the road, everybody seems to just make their own rules and honk at cars that don't follow their rules. And there are definitely no rules for pedestrians. It's always an adventure. You watch for an opening to cross the street, then step out and go very fast across the street. If an opening doesn't come, you step onto the street and wait to see if they will stop for you, then you quickly cross, no time for delays. The little kids have done very well holding our hands and following our lead. We are doing lots of walking down the hill to town, around town, and back up the hill to our house; so we should be in very good shape when we leave here. We are immersing ourselves as much as we can and the Spanish instruction we received back in Washington from our friends Elaine and Dino, who served 34 years in Bolivia, has proven to be invaluable, and the Peruvians love it when we attempt to speak Spanish. It's funny to me (Cristi) because they get all excited and tell us that we speak good Spanish when we say something very simple like "?Como te llamas?" or "ocho meses" when they ask how long we will be here. Then they start speaking to us in more Spanish and we have to tell them that we don't really speak or understand that well. Hopefully we will be able to speak to them more and more during our time here at language school. I, Cristi, do feel like I am understanding much more than I anticipated. Please pray for us to have minds that grasp the language quickly and tongues that are able to speak the language.

We are all well and none got sick traveling here or since we got here, except for general allergies and colds. God is so good and we continue to covet your prayers as we settle in to this new culture, new environment, and new adventure. We are excited to be here and ready to learn more Spanish to be effective as missionaries. We apologize for taking so long to get this update out to all of our faithful prayer and support partners. So much was up in the air that it seemed hard to know just what to share and then when we finally figured out our next step things moved very rapidly. Now that we finally have internet here in our home, I can write and post this and future updates. We are excited to share with all of you, our faithful prayer and support partners, the things God is doing, ways He is working, and how your prayers are sustaining and supporting us. We are also feeling very blessed to know that you all have committed to pray for us. Praise God for you! We very much appreciate your prayers and encouraging words/scripture via facebook and/or email at cchaylett@southamericamission.org.