23rd March 2010 - Headlines 10
Paul gets healed! (Early March)
This is almost old news now but we had too much to share the last time we wrote an email so we kept it for this time around. Whilst in the UK Paul had big problems with various symptoms in his chest and left arm which obviously worried us immensely. However after consulting a doctor it was decided that these symptoms were due to a trapped nerve. This gave him lots of discomfort on a daily basis. He also damaged a muscle in his chest dragging our luggage across London. (Something to do with the “Sternum…..”. The doctor said that there was nothing for it but being careful and waiting for it to heal itself and it could take a months and months. And sure enough he can still feel it 4 months later. HOWEVER, a few weeks ago Rachel’s parents church had a ‘praying for healing’ meeting for various folk and Paul was prayed for (they prayed over Rachel’s mum in Paul’s obvious absence) and a few people had words and pictures while this was happening… and Paul, all across the Atlantic was completely healed of his trapped nerve!! We are so thankful to God for this because we were starting the search for a physiotherapist at the time. The other wonderful things was that they prayed for Paul the day before he had to haul heavy things up to our first floor flat… and he didn’t feel anythingHis other muscular problem still exists but is much, much better. Please pray for this to get better too.
Rachel tries to be housewife! (March 8th)
Well, this is proving complicated in the first few days. Paul is working full time and whilst Rachel is waiting for documents (still) and also trying to get to see the relevant person at the university in order to line up work, she is in complete charge of the shopping and cooking. Hmmm.
This morning it took 5 hours to just shop for 3 days and cook lunch. It took longer to buy the ingredients than planned and then because of the altitude, it took longer to cook than planned, and to top it all off, the chicken she bought from the supermarket (a really naff supermarket so shall stick to the local markets) came out of it’s bag complete with EVERYTHING and we don’t have a big or sharp enough knife to cut it all up, so she had to literally pull it apart (with hands in plastic bags… yuck!).
Paul WAS in charge of Training Centre for all of 7 hours… (at the time of the last email!)
…but then Manuel (the boss of the entire project Paul is working at) started getting quite ill and so it was decided that Paul was needed to work alongside him for the next few months in order to learn the ropes and give Manuel time off for as long as needed to regain his strength. Please pray for quick learning and lots of ideas and wisdom. Also pray for Manuel as he is off to Lima for a couple of weeks to get medical attention.
Rachel starts teaching at the university (17th March)
Rachel has taken on one afternoon class for the next 3 months with the potential for two other classes starting this week or next. Her documents aren’t yet fully through which is irritating as she said she wouldn’t work until they were through and then found herself being led up the garden path and being led to believe we were almost there with a matter of days to go… and then was told that she would have to go down to Lima to do more documentation… not sure when yet. Grrrrrr. So please pray this can be done ASAP as the contracts for the job are all signed and she’s started working!. Oh well.
Vineyard developments (mid-march)
As a small church group (more like a homegroup/cell group) we now have our main meetings on Wednesday evenings and have a more relaxed time together on Sunday evenings. We have started doing separate adult and children teaching as neither group were learning much as they distracted each other too much. This is difficult as we only have on living room to meet in so this means very quiet teaching (if that is possible) at both sides of the room. We are about 15 on Wednesdays and about 10-12 on Sundays. Please pray for this group to grow and mature and overcome various family problems.
We are now online and with phone!
We now have internet in our flat and also a landline. Our number, from the UK, is: 0051 64 254311.
You can get special numbers to use online in order to phone our landline for very cheap prices… for example : http://www.niftylist.co.uk/calls/to/peru/landline/
We also use skype. Our username is paulandrachelliston
8th March 2010 - Headlines 9
Hello Everyone!
Since we last wrote this is some of what we have been up to:
Paul has a busy week…
He managed to break David and Naomi’s (who we were staying with) water butt by putting 4 mini cherry trees on top.
He managed to break David and Naomi’s wooden spoon by liquidizing it when making pesto - it was yummy… but…
He managed to break one of Rachel’s teeth as she bit down hard on a piece of the wooden spoon in the pesto!
He NEARLY managed to break Rachel’s glasses by whacking her in the face whilst getting off a small bus (they are quite hard to get in and out of!).
Paul goes to Huancayo
He went there a week ago (last Saturday) having passed on all paperwork to be done in Lima to someone else, leaving Rachel to wait in Lima for a document that gives her permission to work with a religious visa (that normally doesn’t allow you to earn money). See Paul’s Blog to read about his first week there.
Meanwhile Rachel dates the dentist
Yes it took 5 appointments to sort out the broken tooth! We are thankful that it happened here as it would have cost an absolute bomb to sort out in the UK.
Rachel joins Paul in Huancayo
FINALLY, after over a month in Lima and nearly a week separated from hubby, Rachel took the bus up to Huancayo on Thursday afternoon. She still hasn’t got her permission to work but she was advised that it is possible to do the necessary documentation in Huancayo.
New Flat
We have a new flat to ourselves! It’s the first proper place we have lived in (not sharing with others) since Norwich which we left in 2007. We don’t have much else yet. Paul did buy a lovely comfortable mattress, we have the cooker and fridge that we brought up from Chincha and we were offered two small tables and six chairs all made at the training centre for a very reasonable price so we have snapped them up. We are still rattling around in the flat but we have a lovely view of the mountains when they aren’t covered by heavy rain clouds – it is still the rainy season here.
Paul in charge of Training Centre
As of this coming Monday, Paul has been put in charge of the training centre for at least the next three months with the aim of training up the current director who lacks much knowledge needed to run the centre efficiently.
STOP PRESS// Paul's reign lasted about 7.5 hours - see his Blog (8th March) for more details!!
Rachel is now studying part-time
Rach has recently started a long distance learning introductory course in nutrition which should take about 6 months in duration. She is hoping to do it quicker if possible with a view to going on to study a full diploma. She will start teaching English at the local university as soon as she gets her permission document.
21st February 2010 - Headlines 8 (still from Lima)
Hello! We are STILL in Lima, but enjoying meeting up with folk old and new and finding things to amuse us whilst we wait for our visa paperwork to progress.
Visas
Paul had a really encouraging conversation with the person who has kindly agreed to help us with our visas. Three separate people we know, who also know this person have recommended us to him and, off the back of that, he told Paul that he really felt that we were supposed to be here in Peru and so agreed to do all the remaining paperwork for our visas at cost price rather than charging what he would normally (which is a lot)!!!!! We will have to come back to Lima in about a month to pick the visas up, but it does look as if Paul will be finally able to make it up to Huancayo in the first half of this week... Rachel will have to wait longer as she still needs to receive her contract and get separate permission to work before heading up to her new job.
Recent Odd Conversations!!
(Missionaries - including the ones we are staying with - don't always have the latest gadgets!!!!!)
Rach How do I use David's laptop to print?
Paul Well, turn the laptop on, wait a really long time for the battery light to stop flashing - it doesn't mean anything anyway, THEN you can put in the USB stick.... oh and don't touch the screen as it is held together with gaffer tape!!!!
(Rachel and a shop assistant... in a pharmacy!)
Rach Do you have any tampons?
Assistant Yes over there
(Rachel can't see them)
Assistant Would you like Head & Shoulders? Or would you prefer it in a sachet?
Rach Huh?
(I won't relay the rest of the conversation as it is a bit embarrassing, only to say that it involved a few hand gestures to explain the use of tampons!!!!!!!!)
(Paul trying to get to Chincha to pick up some plants to take to Huancayo phones Rachel who is back at the house) Paul I have been waiting at the side of the Panamericana (main road south and north) for 45 minutes and I can't get a space on a bus because so many people are going to the beach, so I'll try one more and if not, I'll come back to the house
(Later...)
Paul I'm on the bus! They let me on on the condition that I pay double! See ya later!
(Later...)
Paul I think I'll come home.... the bus blew up!!!!!
Near Death Experience!!
Yes! Saturday afternoon saw Paul sitting on a bus that caught fire. With smoke billowing and passengers panicking, the driver pulled into the hard shoulder and many people chose to made the quickest getaway by jumping out of the bus windows. Paul went out the more conventional way, but it was a bit of heart-in-mouth moment. Fortunately, within a couple of minutes a fire truck happened to pass by and sorted out the underside of the bus. Once the bus had been made safe, they starting hosing down some of the passengers who had landed in the only place they could when jumping from the windows - in the middle of a horrible, dark, foul-smelling bog!!!
Vineyard Networking
We have had a great time networking with other people in the city connected to Vineyard Church so we are thankful for this extended time here, we are looking forward to growing relationships with these people as we get more involved with the Vineyard group in Huancayo. This Sunday, for example, we met an American couple who specialise in helping churches with their children's work and there is a very real possibility that we could team up with them and organise some much-needed training sessions and help resource the local churches that the Peru Children's Trust partners with in Huancayo and the nearby villages.
12th February 2010 - Headlines 7 (from Lima)
Visa Progress
We still write to you from Lima having made a little progress regarding visas, but not much! Rachel is waiting for an approved contract from the University in Huancayo before she can advance any further; Paul is due to have a meeting on Saturday morning with some Pastors who seem willing to be a guarantor for him to renew his missionary visa, but the process is a little complicated and so we hope they will still be willing once Paul has explained what needs to be done!
Chincha Visit
We enjoyed our visit to Chincha over the weekend. We received a wonderful welcome, receiving our first phone call while still 45 minutes away on the bus! We tried to surprise as many people as possible by just turning up where they live but word got around very quickly. We were cooked lunch by families as a surprise two days in a row - they had both remembered our favourite Chincha dish! One lady said her dreams had come true, having us sit at her table eating her food. The same lady shared with us that, while we had been away over the last 6 months, her husband had come home from work one night and upon seeing our photo had burst into tears wondering if he would ever see us again!
Another girl shared with us two dreams that she had had about us since we left Chincha.
It was truely amazing to receive such a welcome.
It was great to see the houses, although disappointing to realise they weren't nearly as far ahead as we had thought. However as we told each family, it is far better to have at least something rather than nothing at all.
All in all the visit helped us to appreciate more that despite the fact that the fruits of our labours still aren't fully realised in terms of houses, the welcome we received showed us we had made a big difference to many people's lives. We thank God for that.
Parenting in Peru
We are extremely grateful to our friends David and Naomi who live in Lima and who are letting us stay with them whilst we try to get our visas organised. In return we are enjoying (most of the time) helping them to look after their 4.5month old baby Jack and 2.5yr old Jessica which is NO easy task in Peru. Jack hasn't been well recently partly due to the humidity and pollution in Lima and there is no such thing as going to a local doctor. In order to get reasonable treatment this involves trekking across town in buses or taxis for up to an hour! We give our up-most respect to David and Naomi for being parents here.
Well that's all folks for now until we have visa news. If Paul can get papers organised quickly he would like to be heading up to Huancayo some time next week.....(?????) We'll keep you posted!
6th February 2010 - Headlines 6 (from Lima)
Hola to all of you! Welcome to our first news from Peru this year!
Journey Over...
We arrived saftely in, albeit a little late and with a mild irritation at customs.
We had two lovely flights with great flight attendants who were chatty and friendly. We made our connection in Atlanta with no trouble at all despite being a bit concerned about the three hours we had to do it in. In fact although we got on our second plane on time, there was a minor fault and we had to sit on the plane for an hour and a half while they fixed it.
We met a friend of Paul's from Southampton on our first flight. They hadn't seen each other in years so were able to catch up during the flight and we had a laugh and a joke going through security in the USA so that made things more pleasant!!!
We arrived in Lima an hour late and then we had trouble with customs who tried to make us pay tax in order to bring our third donated laptop into the country - they grossly overvalued it so we said we would leave it with them rather than pay the fee but they didn't like the idea of us leaving it with them..... hmmmm so Paul chatted to about 8 officials over a period of an hour and a half in order to reach a compromise while Rachel sat on a pile of luggage wondering where her husband had got to! We eventually paid $20 dollars and made it out of the airport.
First Impressions
As Rachel's head hit the pillow when we arrived at stupid o' clock tuesday morning, she re-remembered PERUVIAN CHICKENS... groan! We had forgotten about the constant noise in Peruvian life - even at night.
It is lovely to be warm again... if a little too warm, but Lima isn't as hot as it could be so that is great.
We have both felt quite nostalgic here, taking in the noises and the smells and the sights as we go about the city in taxis and buses. Remembering little characteristics of the Peruvian people - we are pleased to be back!!! Did you expect us to say that???????????????
Paul's re-introduction to Peruvian buses (small ones) saw him squeezed onto a seat opposite a Peruvian where their legs had to interlock slightly leaving the other man highly concerned for the whereabouts of Paul's knee (especially every time the driver braked - which is a lot!) and highly amused a neighbouring passenger as she looked onto the scene....!
Documents for Visas
Rachel spent 5.5 hours on Wednesday taxiing around Lima trying to start the ball rolling with her documents in order to gain a work visa with the University in Huancayo - and achieved virtually nothing for all that time - apart from sore feet and getting very hot & sticky. She repeated the experience again on Friday and was a little more successful but can't do anything more until she receives a stamp on her ID card on Wednesday. So.....
Visit to Chincha
... we are heading down to Chincha this morning (Saturday) for a few days to visit folk down there and see the new houses... we return tuesday night to Lima.
Finally...
We continue with visa documentation the second half of next week. For those of you who pray please pray for this process to go smoother than it has started. Please also pray for our health and safety as we travel to chincha and back. many of you will know that living down there we fell ill on a regular basis and we wish to avoid that during this short trip.
Lots of love to everyone and many thanks for your support and interest. More news coming soon....
28th January 2010 - Headlines 5 (from the UK)
Not long now before we fly! Welcome to all the new-comers who have signed up to receive our news from Peru. Welcome back everyone who was following our news before too!
3 months in the UK
This has now nearly finished. We aren't as rested as we would like to be but it was great to catch up with so many of you in person as we travelled the country. We covered over 3000 miles, visited 8 churches and lost count on the number of beds! We enjoyed the snow (most of the time) and are now looking forward to a bit of sun! Other highlights would be fantastic British toilet paper (never grumble about it guys, it is positively luxurious over here!) and becoming godparents to a wonderful little guy called Samuel! Worst moment for Paul was getting very excited about the possibility of snow on his birthday (it has never happened in 34 years) and it snowing for a whole month leading up to it and getting rain ON the actual day (15 jan)!
Return
We return to Peru on Monday 1st Feb. We fly via Atlanta, USA and are a little concerned about the connecting flight in view of the fact that it was Delta airlines (our airline) that was targeted on the Christmas Day attempted bombing so security will be tight and we have three hours to connect to our second flight.
We plan to spend a couple of weeks on the coast before heading up in to the mountains. We have to start getting documents sorted for our visas in Lima and we also hope to visit Chincha to see the new houses (that were part of our project last year) in person and catch up with some of our friends.
Weather!
Like all good Brits, can't not mention the weather! When we arrive on the coast summer will be in full swing, so hot and sticky in Lima, incredibly hot and dusty in Chincha...
Huancayo (in the mountains) is experiencing the rainy season at the moment and some areas of the Peruvian Andes are suffering horrendous flooding and landslides... so we hope that this won't mean that we can't get there!
Prayer Needs
Our flights!
It has been very hard and at times very emotional saying good-bye to friends and family again over the last few weeks, please pray for us as we face the realities of being so far away from everyone.
Our health as we go back to the land that seemed to make us so ill alot of the time!!
Visa documentation process - we have visas until April but Rachel needs to get a work visa ASAP and Paul needs to line up documentation to renew in March.
Thanks everyone for all your support and encouragement. We'll be in touch when we get there.
