More About Life in Lima

Lima, at least this part of it, reminds me of Switzerland in the winter. It is cold and misty--never rainy--and the skies are gray all the time. We have not yet seen the sun since we arrived. But the people are friendly and the neighborhood is somewhat upscale and certainly better then I experienced in Africa. There are no potholes in the streets, not even the back streets. And all the buildings are painted, some of them even freshly painted in attractive colors.

What is different is that there is walls around the property with spikes on the top and iron bars around the driveways, those that don't have high walls around them. I am told, though, that as long as one is cautious the neighborhood is perfectly safe. I have gotten out and walked most every morning and have found that to be true.

A thing that I like is that I don't have to drive here. Taxis are plentiful and relatively cheap. I can go to the grocery store for about a dollar and a half and across town to my language school for about $2.50. And you don't have to share a taxi with four or five other people. You have it all to yourself. The buses are an even cheaper way to get around. But I haven't tried them yet. Who needs a car! (By the way, there is a Starbucks only a brisk twenty minute walk away.)

We traveled across to Miraflores (we live in Surco) on Tuesday to visit some language schools. One is large, expensive and probably very good. The other is small, cheaper and maybe not so good. I have to decide which one to start at. It reminds me of my experience 10 years ago when I went to Switzerland to learn French. That was hard. Hopefully, this will be easier since I already know French (sort of) and it is similar. And I also have Kristine to practice on and to explain things to me when I get lost.

More later.

Lima, Peru

We arrived in Lima on Friday night. It was a surprise to us that we actually made it past Atlanta. We started out with a 50 minute layover in Atlanta when we got the tickets but found when we got to the airport that new flight schedules made it more like 35 minutes. Then there was a mechanical problem that delayed our takeoff from Dallas. We arrived in Atlanta with 15 minutes to get us (and our bags!) to the next gate. While we waited to get off the plane I looked out the window and saw a fellow holding a piece of paper and pulling our bags off the plane. Then, when we got into the terminal we found we were in the middle of terminal B and the next flight was at a gate at the far end of terminal E, the last one in the airport. We figured there was no hope so we didn't run but we sure hurried and arrived at the gate 5 minutes late, only to find that they had held up the plane for us! We arrived in Lima--along with all our bags--only a few minutes after the scheduled time. Thanks, Delta!

We got to the CILTA house where we are staying sometime after 1 AM and hauled our bags up to the 3rd floor. Kristine tried to help but a 50 pound bag was a bit much for her so I took over at the first landing.

Our apartment is great. Pictures follow.

We both have our own desk in the living room.

We have a roomy kitchen.

And we already have pictures of some of our favorite people on the fridge!

There is an interesting view of the apartments across the street.

And of the street outside our front window.

Thanksgiving Day

Krista carves a few pies; Robyn can't watch

Todd - The Master Carver

Archie with Collin and Patrick await the food

All four grand kids are hamming it up with the turkey

Archie and Kristine enjoy a quiet moment

Patrick & Aidan Visit

Making Christmas Cookies With Grandma Kristine

A Lovely Lunch Made by Patrick From Play Doh

After Walking The Trails Patrick & Aidan are Kings of the Mountain!

Patrick and Aidan Help Grandpa Wash the Car

Our Neighbor Claire Helps Wash the Car

Posted by Archie - Busy Weekend

We had many visits this weekend with people from Kristine's church. Saturday we went to a pool party where many folks from her church showed up. (Only the kids swam, which was fine with me.I am not a swimsuit kinda guy!) In the evening we had a double-date with some folks who have been generous supporters over the years. (Dear Lord, please remember folks like that. Folks who have been so willing to support this work we do with their hard-earned cash! Remember them and bless them with every blessing you can shower on them. Keep them safe and their children happy to be your children!)

Sunday was even more busy with seeing people and public speaking. We were able to speak to the Spanish church. Kristine was nervous because it has been four years since she has been able to speak Spanish regularly. I was fine with it since all I had to do was read the same spiel I did last Sunday and let her interpret into Spanish for me. But her voice had gotten so bad by then (these colds have made our weekend much more stressful!) that she had to recruit another fellow to translate for me.

After the service we put on our African outfits that were a gift to us from the Kom people and went to speak to the kids in Sunday School. Since Kristine's voice was so bad I had to do more talking than normal. It was fun but I sure look funny in that outfit!

Teaching About Missions to Elementary Kids

We went to lunch with some other folks who have generously supported Kristine for many years. It was fun to hear stories of her adventures in traveling around the world before I knew her.

After lunch we both needed long naps after the day's activities and after losing a lot of sleep the night before because of our colds. But I was able to call my granddaughter later on and wish her a happy birthday. She turned 11 on Sunday. It will be fun do something with her for her birthday when we get home next week.

In the evening, we had another gathering of folks who wanted to see us. I had to do more talking then I usually do because of Kristine's problems speaking. Later on I found out that they wanted to hear from me anyway. I have been thinking that folks are more interested in hearing from Kristine so I have tried to mostly stay in the bakcground. So it was good that I did talk more.

God has been so good to us to give these opportunities to connect with folks while we are here in California. We still have many folks to see before we leave for Arizona on Friday but it won't be nearly as intense after this.

Posted By Archie - Trouble in Mozambique

Following is an excerpt from an email I got from friends in Mozambique today:

Thank you all for praying for R’s safety. His flight managed to leave Maputo today but getting to the airport was an ordeal, no taxis were on the road as drivers feared that people would throw stones at them. Eventually a hotel worker arranged a ride in the truck of a friend who was willing to brave the trip. As they drove through the city they saw where fires had been burning all along the roads. There were burned out cars. Many riot police and soldiers with weapons patrolled the streets. At the airport they made it safely through a barricade. When he arrived at the terminal he met up with friends from Nampula who had been forced to spend the night in the airport because their flight had been cancelled due to the riots. They all managed to get on the flight to Nampula because almost half of the passengers were too frightened to make the trip to the airport so the plane that had been fully booked was half empty.

Tensions were high in our office at morning prayer as co-workers discussed what was happening in their country. Although Nampula remains calm and no violence here at present there is still an underlying feeling of anger and helplessness as people see food prices soar and their ability to feed their families diminish. Over the past year the Metical has gone from 25 MTs to 38 MTs to the US Dollar forcing the price of imports up. A large portion of Mozambique’s produce (rice and corn meal) is imported from countries like South Africa, India and the Middle East.

Things like this are a reminder of how quickly it can get ugly for our folks on the field. It is essential for us all to keep on praying....

Posted by Archie - LA in August

We have been on the road for two months now, traveling across the USA. We traveled from Texas to Florida to North Carolina to Indiana to South Dakota to Wyoming to Washington, Oregon and now California. We visited friends and supporters in all of those places and camped at Yellowstone, too. We have put over 8,000 miles on my mom,s 2003 Crown Victoria. We arrived in California last Thursday and will stay until next Thursday, two weeks.

Kristine needs to reconnect with friends and we need to let them all get to know us as a couple. Sadly, I came down with a cold almost as soon as got here so I am not exactly putting my best foot forward!

I can't go further in this without saying this. The United States of America is the most amazing place on planet earth. I know there are a lot of problems here but I have lived now in Europe and Africa and Kristine has lived in South America and spent time in Asia. We both agree that there is no place like America. For one thing, after 8000 miles and two months on the road I haven't been through one police stop. I can't even recall having talked to a police office during that time. And I know that if I do I can be pretty assured he will be polite and he won't be drunk.

Not only that but we have traveled across 8000 miles of concrete or asphalt without encountering, to my recollection, a single pot hole. In many states, there are rest stops where you can relieve yourself in a bathroom and not have to find a bush along the road to hide behind. They even serve free hot coffee in some. And we encountered some in Illinois that even had free broadband Internet. Simply amazing.


And then there are amenities like the fact you can rely on there being a gas station every 50 to 60 miles along the way; motels that have free breakfast and Internet and sometimes even coffee pots and refrigerators in the room; restaurants that can be relied on to serve good food quick, hot and probably bug free; water that comes out of the tap drinkable (mostly) etc., etc.

I could go on and on but I think this gives a flavor of how great a place the USA is. Politics are frustrating but at least here, if you get mad enough about it, you can take action and sometimes even make a difference. So complain about the way things are because they could be better. But never forget that where you are is the greatest place this planet has ever produced.