Our House

The rental house that we found actually found us.  After looking at numerous houses and apartments in all parts of town, we hadn’t found THE place where we felt comfortable.  Apartments were on the 3rd or 4th floors without elevators--imagine that with two little ones and groceries; houses were too expensive or not in the ideal location.  We had wanted to look at this house several times but were told that it was already rented.  One Sunday evening the owner called US to say that it was available.  We made an appt. for early next morning and by that afternoon we called to confirm our desire to rent.  The house is close to the main road, buses are right out the door, it’s in a safe area, near friends, and a comfortable price.  An added benefit is a covered patio for Doriana to play in and also heats the house well when the sun is shining.

Doriana

After some initial timidness and not letting go of our hands or being carried, our daughter is having fun!  She loves all the kids that she is meeting.  She shared her pencils and paper with kids at the mattress store.  She talks about her cousins all the time.  They explore outside, ride 'bikes', play in the dirt, load rocks into dump trucks, have tea parties with leaves and whatever else they find in the woods.  One night we told her that she would visit her friend Emily the next day; she cried and cried and ran out the door to go visit her that moment.  Thanksgiving Day she refused to eat dinner with the adults; she insisted on sitting outside at the kids table.

Cultural Differences

It's definitely been a shock for us after two years being away, maybe even more for Albino.  He's seeing Cusco through new eyes.  For Sandy, it's more of a reminder of what she went through 5 years ago (add on a two year old, but similar). Here's some snippets.  I guess right now some of our view is a bit negative, to be honest.  At least we know there is an upswing on the way according to the typical cultural transition patterns.

-Personal space (the bubble) is definitely less here.  Public transportation is always full, hip to hip on the bus.  Or, standing in line at the hospital clinic, one lady wanted to make sure no on got through between us. She leaned into me hard enough that I (Sandy) had to brace myself.  People also greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. This closeness is a bit much for Doriana, especially when it comes from adults.
-Lines don't exist-not at least in an orderly way.  You must push your way to the front, whoever gets to the desk first gets served first.
-Life just takes longer here--meals are from scratch, people just don't show up at the scheduled time, no such thing as one stop shopping
-The whole city is under construction.  Major roads are being paved. Houses and apartment buildings are going up everywhere.
-Littering is common.
-Dogs are everywhere.  Doriana loves to talk about the dogs who run and bark. She also tells them to be quiet (Shh! Shh!), even from inside the house when she's trying to go to sleep.

We are going back to Peru!

Dear friends and family

 The time is here.  We are going back to Peru!  The RCA gave us permission to return even though we are only 50+% funded; thank goodness because Albino received his US citizenship, and we have to go to comply with the immigration law (See previous posts for more explanation).

 

Tuesday, October 8, is D-Day for us.  Planning and packing are in progress; piles are everywhere around our place.  Goodbyes are happening.  And, we are looking forward to the “hellos” as well.  In Peru we will visit with friends in Lima for a few days before heading home to Cusco.  In Cusco we will stay at a friends’ home until we find our own rental apartment or house.  A last minute added blessing is my mom’s offer to helps us make the transition to Peru; she will be coming with us to help watch Doriana and give an extra look at potential places to live.  We are very grateful for her generosity.

Bittersweet is the best way to describe how we are feeling now.  We covet your prayers as we head back into ministry full time, continue to raise funds from a distance, make the transition to a “new” country, take our toddler daughter with us, and everything else you can imagine.  Thank you for your continued support.

We’ll do our best to continue to keep you updated on the Rodriguez family’s transition.

Blessings,

Albino, Sandy, Doriana, and Baby Rodriguez

Albino’s Citizenship and Our Travel Plans

Albino has his citizenship interview on August 6 at 8:30am in Detroit, MI.  Please be in prayer at that time, for clarity of mind and speech for him and favor with the US immigration official.

Ideally, we would have 100% of our pledges in so that we can return to Peru as soon as the US immigration sends us back (Albino gets his citizenship!).  That said, if you are thinking about pledge, please don’t delay sending that in. ;)  Here’s an e-mail that Sandy wrote to some friends to explain our travel situation and whether we can visit them in September.  See if you can follow. 

Albino has his citizenship interview on August 6.  If accepted, which we don't foresee why he won't be, we have to go to his swearing in ceremony.  Who knows when that is?? (We hope we can do some investigation and figure out possibilities.)  We have a trip scheduled to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the middle of September.  We are praying that Albino can go; he needs to have a US passport to travel after the ceremony.  So, we'll probably have to get that expedited no matter what, with a trip to the Chicago passport office.  To make it even more exciting, we have to return to Peru within 45 days of that swearing in ceremony.  The question for us remains, how long will we be in Peru?  We are currently awaiting a "verdict” from the RCA office as to whether we have to come back and finish our fundraising after a quick visit.  Or, can we stay until June 2014 and come back for Tim's wedding (Sandy’s brother for those who don’t know) AND fundraising, staying until we reach that 100% mark?

No matter the situation, God’s hand is in this all.  If we get Albino’s citizenship now, we won’t have complications with Albino’s international travel plans in the future.  Having 100% of our funds pledged/raised, means we can focus on our ministry in Cusco; of course, we’ll still be communicating and keeping in touch with you all—it just won’t be the same travelling and networking needed.  It will all happen in the best timing.