Crazy week

It has been a long, crazy week...

• We returned from the medical campaign in Panao and we were BEAT! Seeing 1600+ patients in four days is exhausting, not to mention the fact that we were also translating and helping to lead the team. Took a day to do nothing but sleep (which Billy took very literally and DID sleep for the better part of 10 daylight hours), then a day to travel back to Huancayo and get ready for the week.
• Went back to teaching on Tuesday to a fiasco. Not only had my classes not been covered, nor had my plans been taught or carried out for the past 10 days, but the entire country of Peru decided to close school because of the possibility of swine flu! It isn't a choice whether to close or not - it is a mandate from the government, punishable by heavy fines and penalty of revoking your license - teaching certificate for 6 months. So my school closed down until August 3rd (two and a half weeks). Since I was already planning to finish my teaching commitment on July 24th, my career came to a quicker end than anticipated.
• On Tuesday night, we got the "go ahead" to move into the house down the street. We had been excitedly waiting for this to happen, and the McEuen family is going to take our old house when they arrive in August. So, we began the process of moving our stuff down the street. Two of our bible study teens showed up to help, then Maria and her kids showed up to help, then our new neighbors jumped in and helped... it was really cool! On Wednesday morning, we finished the process with the help of Maria's kids, Karina from Cochas, and Liz.
• Also on Tuesday, two of our dearest bible study girls (really, more like two grown daughters of ours) found out that they would be leaving on a journey that will take them out of Peru forever. They have been hoping for this for over a year (and we had been hoping it wouldn't ever occur). Can't go into details, but we were devastated by the news and we pray for them and fear for their safety. After a long goodbye and lots of tears, they were gone.
• On Thursday, Billy and Darwin and Milagros spent from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. waiting to get a contract signed by the mayor of Iscos, who wasn't even there for the meeting, then didn't show up to work all day. Also, the lady who scheduled the meeting to meet with parents and sign children up for the new education center decided not to show up and sent word that she would be available to meet again on August 5th. Billy was LESS than happy...
• We love the new house! We don't love the hassle of moving fixtures (water filters, pumps, etc.) or of moving services (phone, cable, internet, etc.). None of this happens easily or quickly here. The plumber has been with us for two days so far, and he isn't finished yet. As he left today, he said, "I thought I had it fixed (the pressure pump), but when I turned it on, it blew up. I'll see you Monday." And that was it...
• Billy is finally on the mend from his bout with who-knows-what last week and part of this week. The fever only lasted two days, but the cough and congestion has been horrendous for the entire time and he has been super tired. After we changed his meds at the beginning of the week, he started to improve. Today, he seems almost back to normal (which never was "normal", but...).

So here we are at the end of a crazy week and looking at the coming week... a planned transportation strike on the 21st (never pretty), meetings with the city officials in Iscos to hash out some issues with the opening of the new education center, national fiestas and parades for Peruvian independence day... it never stops, does it?

Okay - there were great things, too. Sarah has a new friend that is her same age and lives next door to our new house. The weather is fabulous!!! I didn't have to work this week, which sure made moving to the new house a much easier process. We had lots of help moving, and they did it happily, willingly, and only got pizza in return for their efforts. The new house is great and will provide us with many more opportunities due to space.

Hope you have a great up-coming week! Please pray for us to experience a smooth week, in comparison to last week. We'll pray that some our fantastic weather and temps blow your direction! :)