Cusco

We have just returned from a 3 day trip to Cusco.
It was amazing and so many answers to prayer from our wonderful faithful God.
Amazing because we loved the place but also amazing since years of planning and preparation seem to all be coming together at last.

The Childrens' school: Ausugate was very impressive. It took us back to college interview days when the deputy head sat us down in her room and asked why we wished our children to have a place at her school! Sam and Jess really liked it they were even fairly compliant with the entrance tests. The school playground has amazing views of the Andes , fields, animals and airplanes landing.

We have found a house to rent 5 mins walk from their school, it belongs to missionaries going on home assignment for 1 yr and will be good for us until we establish where we want to live. Cusco is very cold at night because of the altitude , they have built and designed the house themselves for maximum warmth it is adobe and has lots of glass and it is like being inside a conservatory, complete with a hammock and a parrot, (the very noisy parrot is going to go on holiday for a year as we didn't feel we could cope with her noisy chattering she says things like Vive El Peru as well as Hallelujah!)

New friends: we stayed with and met quite a few missionary young families from the UK,Colombia and USA we all feel like we have made good friends and look forward to moving there in late Feb, (childrens' school year starts in March).

Anjanette met some American doctors and was able to chat about some work possiblities.
Scott attended a bible study in the university (see photo) and we hope to start a cell church from that group ,there are lots of exciting opportunities as we work with the Peruvian Baptist Convention .

Cusco is very different to Arequipa, we noticed the altitude as we were walking up and down the hills, it is very touristy (even though low season) and the inca culture is very strong. In the sunshine the hot was burning but at night we were very cold.

We had a few funny random experiences like attending a small prayer meeting whilst the communist party concert was blaring over the loud speaker in the plaza outside.
Anjanette was shocked that the man next to her on the plane was talking on his mobile phone as the plane was landing!
Sam and Jess liked seeing all the lamas walking around the streets on show for the tourists and enjoyed chasing the pigeons in the plaza de armas.

We had a few culinary treats , such as a visit to an Indian restaurant (there are none in Arequipa) the dishes cost 2 pounds for curry and rice, unfortunately there was big confusion about which was which and poor Samuel got a mouthful of Scott's hot curry! We also paid a visit to the golden arches since McDonalds has recently arrived in Cusco (not Arequipa) .

Coming back to Arequipa really feels like coming home and we are delighted to be back in the warm sunshine and now feel keen to get cracking with our language learning.
Thanks for praying for us , we really feel uplifted by your prayers