LIMA

I'm here. The past several months have been filled with lots of planning, changing plans, making decisions and then changing those, and waiting. When Patricia and I started this blog we wanted to use it as a way to keep in touch with family and friends and journal about our crazy mixed citizenship marriage. But things were changing so much that we couldn't keep up with ourselves.

Here is a summary of what has happened the past couple months. The original plan was to have Patricia live in the US because of my student loan debt. But I have saved every penny and made my loans manageable for the next year. In August, Patricia started a new job in Lima and we decided it would provide us with enough money for her to work while I look for a job. That made us think living in Peru would be a possiblity. Well, Patricia is also blacklisted by the Peruvian government because of an outstanding government loan. This loan is pennies compared to my student loan debt and we will have it paid off soon but this small debt stops her from leaving the country because the government does not want her to run away from this obligation. And so in Peru we are. This is only a snippet of everything that was happening. Our situation was surrounded by making the appropriate arrangements for an international marriage, planning the wedding, figuring out my living situation in MN and her's in Peru. My mom couldn't even listen to me because our plans changed everyday! Still I'm thankful for her ear because I needed to think out loud through all of this everyday.

And so, I am here.

Now, we are busy again. I've arrived only to be running around from government offices to the national police department while riding on combis for hours everday. Immigration has been a three day process but our papers are all in the hands of the mail people. We pray that our documents make it to the FBI in Washington D.C. to confirm that I'm not a killer. The FBI will send a response to our place here in Lima. When we recieve that we can go pick up my alien card and I will be a Peruvian resident! And so we are waiting patiently (as patient as we can be).

Finally, I have time to breath. Though Patricia is right back at work after 3 days of running :( The next step is planning our wedding which has been surrounded by changes as well. Everyone can ignore everything that was being planned prior athough there are still things to understand that can be gleaned from them. We have reserved a house here in Lima so nobody is going anywhere! That is the main change and is a very good one. Everyone should have their passports by now and possibly tickets. We will soon be looking for hotels in our area for people to stay while here. I am planning a very fun week to take everyone around and Patricia will have two weeks off as well. The main things to prepare yourself for are heat, dirt, noise, helplessness, lots of spanish and no english, not drinking tap water and not flushing your toilet paper. It's very laid back here and things rarely run efficiently according to American understanding so if you are cool with that you will fit right in. Keep in close contact with my family and I about when you will be arriving and where you will be staying. Please ask me any questions about what to budget and what we will be doing. Communication is key!

And so, I am here in Lima.

Finally the greatest news of all. God has lead us down this crazy path of life into a situation where we believe he has called us and has surrounded us with people that believe the same. After over a month of looking for a place to live Patricia recieved a call from our friend Danny. I had met Danny in St. Paul at a church called bloom. It was a church he worked with a team to plant. Well, he and his family have moved to Peru to plant a new church. Only a couple weeks ago did Patricia recieve a call from him offering us to live in a house they have in their backyard while I work on the church plant. This knocked out two worries! We are no longer thinking about me finding a job or looking for a place to live. We weren't going to be able to find a place because they were all requing things we couldn't do like provide my signature. But we got immigration going, I have a job and we have a place to live. God is moving.

And so, I am here in Lima.

...with the love of my life; my wife Patricia Isabel Bardales Valdez de Namanny. It's a mouthful.

p.s. we want to post pictures but we don't have a camera. All in good time.