One year

 In honor of our one year anniversary of living in Peru, I am posting pictures of how life is different.  This really is just the tip of the iceberg!  I feel like we have just gone through another round of culture shock in the past few weeks. More with the nuances of communication, expectations, etc.  Getting used to the smells, food, sights and sounds was not too hard for us, but trying to figure out culture.  Man.  It just gets more complicated!  So, the following are images to show you all just a little bit of how our life is different.  I keep thinking of more things I could add, but this is an idea-

Ella and Thomas are the only Caucasian, English speaking children at their schools.

I see images like this daily.

Four nights a week, in this kitchen,  I cook dinner for 11 people.

I have three different floor coverings in my bedroom.

There is a motorcycle in my living room.

We rarely eat sliced bread.  Chad goes every morning to a market on the corner to buy bread and eggs for the day.

Evaporated milk is a staple in our house.  We use it for our coffee creamer.  There is not great coffee here.  There is a Starbucks in Arequipa (6 hours away) now, so when we are there, or when someone from there is coming to Puno, we stock up!

We wash and dry all our fruits and veggies before eating them with disinfectant.

Coke Zero is my drink of choice here.  I do miss Diet Dr. Pepper.  Yogurt is sold as a drink and is SO yummy.

Hand washed dishes, with cold water.

We have a dog, which has confirmed in our minds that we are NOT dog people.  We miss our cats.  Maybe we are just not puppy people.

We drink filtered or boiled water.  

We get our gas for our stove in a tank like this about once a month.  It comes on the back of a motorcyle.

I dry spices.

My kids get a bath about once a week, in this blue tub on the back patio, while there is still sun.

No dryer. We turns clothes inside out to dry so the sun doesn't fade them.  

Milk and juice come in a box, mayonnaise in a bag.

We do not have a heater.  This thermometer is on the inside of our living room window.  It has not reached 65 yet.  I have not worn a short sleeve shirt since arriving in Puno.  The sun during the day is intense and warm, but our house doesn't get direct sunshine, so it stays cool.

This is where I buy most of our food. 

We buy chicken from this lady ever week.  She calls me "Mamacita".  The little girl sitting in the background was eating a candy bar, off the counter.

I have had these since January and they have not seen dirt or cement.  I run on a treadmill.

Our shower is in the bedroom. The toilet is on another room.  We share a room with our children.

The only way we have hot showers is by using electric shower heads.  Yes, they do  pack a powerful punch if accidentally touched!

This is my street.  It is a very steep street that leads down to the main plaza in Puno.  I have not driven a vehicle in over a year.  Pastor just brought his daughter and my children home from a kids festival a few blocks away- on the back of his motorcycle (that's 4 people on 1 motorcycle).  

I use my tea kettle everyday.  

This is just different.  Don't know that preschool kids in the states get homework with private parts.  

Electrical voltage can be tricky.  We have several adapters that we have to use so we don't burn things up.

The internet is our main source of entertainment and means of communication with people back home.

This is the extent of my wall art. 

My washing machine is outside. We only use it in the morning before 6AM, due to water issues.   If I need to do more, I fill it manually using water from the big tub next to it, which we fill up each morning before 6:30AM

So, if you have made it to the end of this post, you have a bit of an idea of what life is like for us here.  We are celebrating tonight with a Chocolate Tres Leches cake.  Who knows what the next year will bring?  Ella would say, "God knows."  And, she would be right.  God knows.  What a beautiful promise that has gotten us through tough times in the past year, and that drive us on to be faithful.  There is nothing that we will face that is a surprise to our God. What's more, He will use it ALL for our good and His glory.  We pray for our friends and family back home, and we pray that you will know Him more.  We pray that you will challenge yourself, take a step in faith and live boldly for your Savior!  We pray that you would think, reason, question and search for truth, which is found only in Christ Jesus.  He is real.  His message is true, and it will change your life!