“Please Mommy, never make us do that again,” pleaded Ilana after we finally arrived in Grand Rapids on July 3rd around 11 pm. She was referring to our 25-hour trek from Lima to Grand Rapids which began with an overnight flight leaving at 2:30 am. The journey was rough, but the trip was great!
We had four goals for our vision trip in Peru. Below I’ll briefly summarize how we addressed these goals.
1. Lay the groundwork for our future ministry.
Mission accomplished! I (finally) put my training to work:
- I taught a Masterclass seminar with the Centros Teológicos Bautistas LATAM (see pictures below).
- Provided a brief training to the pastoral team of a large Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.
- Preached at two churches in the Evangelical Free Church.
In addition, I had conversations with 6+ people involved in leadership training in Lima. This helped to clarify the picture for Adriana and me. We are working on nailing down where I will teach long term in the near future. I will (hopefully) have more details in the next few months.
2. Discern where in the city we will live and what school the kids will attend.
We visited six schools and narrowed the options down to two. We plan on living close to the kids’ school to minimize our and the kids’ daily commute. So, we now plan on looking for housing in three districts of Lima (Surco, San Borja, and La Molina). This comes as a bit of a surprise to us because we had not previously considered living in La Molina for a variety of reasons. However, one of the schools is located in this district, so it is now an option.
3. Reconnect with family and friends.
We spent a good amount of time with friends and family. This includes both sides of Adriana’s family, our youth leader from 20+ years ago, our pastor and church family from Condevilla, many good friends with whom we will do life, one of my lifelong friends from the neighborhood where I grew up (calle 28), etc.
Celebrating my birthday with friends, family, and a Peruvian delicacy: grilled cow heart. YUUUUUMMM!! 
Celebrating Isaia’s birthday with Abuelo, Abuela, and cousin Luci! 
My good friend Manuel’s wedding. 
Our youth leader, Victor, and his wife, Betty. 
My lifelong friend. 
El Parque de la Reserva with our good friend. 
At the zoo with friends.
4. Help our kids envision their life in Peru.
This was the biggest wildcard in Adriana’s and my mind heading into our trip. We did not know what to expect from or for our four kids. How would they feel in Peru? Would they be afraid? Shy? Would they eat the food? We had no idea!
To put it simply, they LOVED Peru and THRIVED. It brought Adriana and me so much joy to see them at home. Two brief anecdotes will help paint the picture of what I mean.
On our first Sunday, we went to El Buen Pastor (where Adriana and I met and grew up). After the service ended, we stuck around for a long time, maybe an hour or so. Adriana and I were chatting with friends and people we’ve known for a loooong time, including my Sunday school teacher when I was 10 years old. Where were our kids? They were running around with other kids and talking with several of Adriana’s sister’s (Maria Gracia 21, y/o) friends. When we told them it was time to leave, they said, “NOOOOO! We want to stay!” It took several minutes for them to give all of their new friends hugs and kisses.
Second, in Peru everyone greets everyone with a kiss (men shake each other’s hands). If you don’t greet people, it is insulting. This normally takes a while for foreigners to get used to, and you never know how kids will do with it, especially with people they do not know. In our second week there, we were at a family event with nearly everyone from Adriana’s Dad’s side of the family, most of whom our kids did not know. I dropped everyone off and went to look for parking. While I was gone, Adriana and the kids went in. When I got back, Adriana said, “guess what our kids did?! I went up to say hi to my uncle and chat with him. After a minute, I looked around, and our kids were going up to everyone greeting them… even people that I don’t know!” Adriana and I couldn’t believe it!
These two experiences show a little of how our kids experienced the trip. They quickly made friends, adapted to cultural differences to which they are not accustomed, loved the food, and repeatedly showed that they were thinking about what life will be like when we live there (“Mommy, can we live here?” “Daddy, is this going to be our new school?” etc.). This was reassuring as our move back to Peru in 2026 obviously impacts our kids greatly.
Not everything was fun and games, though. We also experience a mix of health scares and family tragedy.
- First, not twelve hours after we landed, Adriana’s dad, Jorge, went to the emergency room. He had been feeling unwell and had a fever for days. It turned out that he had septicemia! We were all quite scared as he has had several health issues in recent years. Thankfully, the doctors got the infection under control and, after 8 days in the hospital, he was released the day before Father’s day.
- Second, while Jorge was in the hospital, his twin brother was admitted to a different hospital. He had had a mass removed from his side a few weeks before. However, he was having strange symptoms and feeling unwell. Unfortunately, it turned out that the mass was cancerous and that his cancer had metastasized. He passed away 6 days after Jorge was released. This was a big shock for everyone! He was Adriana’s godfather and his daughter, Adriana’s cousin, was like a sister to Adriana when they were young.
- Third, the same weekend, Adriana began having tooth pain. It quickly began to hurt quite a bit. So, we decided that on Sunday morning she should go to have an emergency dental procedure to fix the problem. It was a very unpleasant and unexpected experience. Thankfully, even without insurance, dental work in Peru is good quality and cheap compared to the U.S.
Well, there is much more that I could say, but I’m out of space. I’d love to tell you about all the food we ate, places we went, and dreams and expectations about life in Peru that we awoke. I’d also love to share some of the struggles we experienced and anticipate when we move back. Maybe in a future post…
Please Pray
1. That we would adjust well to life in Michigan. In some ways it feels like home. In others, not so much. We left a piece of our heart in Illinois, and we are focused on our goal of moving to Peru in Jan/Feb 2026. So, our time in MI is transitional.
2. That God would give us wisdom as we decide on a school for our kids in MI and the many other details of life.
3. That God would guide us and energize us as we spend the next 1.5 years preparing for our move to Peru (i.e. finishing dissertation, raising support, etc.).
In other news, our mission organization (previously United World Mission) has rebranded to Mesa Global! Our new name reflects our dedication to fostering relationships of mutuality and celebrating the goodness of the gospel worldwide. As we embark on this journey, we’re grateful for your unwavering support. Together, let’s continue to make an impact, one life at a time. Stay connected for updates on our progress! Explore our new website mesaglobal.co for more information.
Asi es la vida... 