I’m not sure when quarantine life become just part of life, but here we are. In the midst of mask wearing and limited venturing for the kids, we are plugging along, prepping the school for the new school year and praying fervently that the new year will begin with all our students physically in front of us, not peering at us through a computer screen.
Things here are a calm-kind of different. All stores are open, but entering requires a temperature check and limited access which often means long lines. Moving around is easier now but children and senior citizens are still not allowed in public places. The kids have gotten to see some of their friends and even venture off base by car once or twice which has been huge for their spirits. They are still mainly restricted to the base and we have many doubts about school being able to open on time under the current restrictions. There is a good bit of uncertainty about what is “ok” and the best ways to adjust to our current life. The virus is still very much an issue here. Currently SAM Air has one pilot flying and his main task has been transporting COVID patients in to town from remote areas. This requires lots of precautions and prepping of the pilot, patient and plane. It is a weird kind of paradox…much is becoming open and available but so much is still uncertain. A new kind of norm.
Our biggest life lesson though has been that we can’t wait for things to become “normal” again. Somehow we have to find a way to do life and ministry right here in this moment. So we are. We have found renewed encouragement working on school projects. Mike, Robert and John, our three guys living on base, have been tackling a huge renovation of a very old, dilapidated storage room. This will become Mike’s new science lab allowing for more space to hold our larger high school class, and better adherence to child safety as his old room was apart from the rest of the classrooms. Olivia and I, two teachers on base, and several volunteers have been working on uploading and cataloging all our library books into a new system that will allow us to keep track of our precious books better. We are super excited to have this new system. The kids will actually use a library card to check out books. One student remarked, “It is like in the States!¨ It is a project that never would have happened without all this extra time and we love that it will help us manage more carefully our English books that are brought here from the States.
With all of this time physically out of the classroom, I have realized even more how precious the ministry God gave us is. I miss our wonderful kids and our daily interactions with them. The end of our school year saw the graduation of a beautiful, amazing young lady named Baylee. In the true, crazy fashion of the current time, we celebrated her via zoom, with her and her family in a hotel room in Lima after a full two days of unconventional road travel as they sought to get to the capital for a repatriation flight to the States so Baylee can begin college in the fall. The graduation was absolutely wild and informal, with Baylee in her pj pants and all of our SAM Academy school families squished together in front of computer screens, and yet it was absolutely beautiful and personal as several of our SAM teachers (physically across two continents) poured out their love and admiration for this amazing young lady. She is why we are here…the families pictured in each little zoom box are why we are here. Whatever comes this school year, we will continue to serve them in whatever way we can.
Pray with us that we can do that in person! Our biggest prayer is that restrictions will lift so all of our students can physically come to school for classes. If that doesn’t happen, pray for what that looks like for us as a school, that we may be just as effective outside the physical classrooms we minister to and teach our students. Pray for the continued health and safety of our staff and students. Pray for our kids as they have experienced so much during this time. Pray for Peru and its people as they recover from a horrible economic hit. Pray for our churches that are not yet able to meet but yearn to be together. Pray of our indigenous communities that are being hit by the virus. Pray for our missionaries as they creatively find ways to serve. And above all, pray with us, that God’s name be glorified throughout Peru and all countries in the midst of all that is happening in the world right now. We love you our dear friends! We pray that your new “normal” is blessed and good. Share with us how we may pray for you.
Family of 4 Serving 1 