That somewhat catches the highlights of the week. I have been very tired this week from working in the garden and from a couple late nights. Last evening after devotions, I lay down on the couch at around 7:00 and never knew more until this morning when my alarm went off. My wife had sweetly covered me with blankets.
On Monday, we couples made applesauce and apple pie filling. The prize was apple crisp that evening.
On Tuesday, we noticed that the deep freezer had died. I am pretty sure it was due to a terrifically violent lightning storm. The storm was beautiful but somewhat frightening as we could easily see lightning strikes in the fields to either side of us.
Steph emptied everything out, leading to some odd meal combinations this week. Caleb and I took the freezer into town on Wednesday since he was going in to spend the morning with Rafael. We found a repair shop, but the man wasn’t in so we left the freezer there.
I then helped Caleb buy a cheap phone that he plans to use as his Hotspot for his laptop that he works from. We couldn’t get a chip in my name because of being a foreigner; they do that only in Cusco. So, Caleb has an extra phone that does nothing currently.
We had Spanish class again in the afternoon, I was impressed with better pronunciation since the last class. China is making the most progress, but she’s really putting in the hours. Next week, Caleb’s and she go to Puno for two weeks to study with Rafael Roca and Marta his sister.
Wednesday evening we had supper at Caleb’s. We were singing afterward when there was a knock at the door. Behold, it was Daniel Prieto! He hasn’t been here since Andrew Crider helped me get him to the bus station in January.
We sang some with him before warming up supper for him. I then walked him down to our place and made him coffee while I let the truck warm up. While he was eating supper, I had called Rafael Farfán and talked with him a moment about the situation, which helped me decide to take Daniel into town to a hotel.
Caleb went with me–it’s so nice to have another man here–and found a place near the plaza. Daniel and I talked the whole way into town and for about half an hour in his room. He confessed that he had fallen into drinking and had been abusing his wife in the last six months.
We read the Bible together a while and prayed; Caleb prayed in English. Daniel says he knows he needs to go home to be a Christian leader in his home. I gave him some money for food the next day and encouraged him to go back to Arequipa and make things right. I do not know what he’ll do. He says the church there was telling him the same thing.
Yesterday, Caleb and I made a good bit more progress on the garden. I’m nearly ready to plant. In the afternoon, he was with Rafael, so I took Dane with me to get the freezer. The repairman said it was a thermal something something that burns out from surges, so that confirmed my suspicion. He charged me $15 to repair it. We’re grateful to have our freezer back.
I had made a mother culture for cheeses last week, and we had success using it this week. Steph made mozzarella that turned out beautifully. She said it was the best texture she’s made so far. I think she had fun stretching it without pain in her hands.
I made yogurt, Colby cheddar, cottage cheese, and ricotta this week. I am getting the hang of the cheese-making process, I think. I now have cheese that’s over a month aged in the fridge, and the children regularly remind me how far away Christmas is when we’ll be able to open the first batch.
This morning, we did chores an hour early so we would have time to sell a kid of Abbey’s at market. Caleb was referring to the kid as The Demon Goat if that tells you why we decided to sell her. I think her problem was that she was a baby while we were in the States and was essentially wild when we got back.
We didn’t get a high price for her, but we were expecting that. She is a dwarf and not very dairy. But we were thrilled to be rid of her. Farewell, Vanessa! Abbey’s goat Velma is due to kid in March. We hope she will have a more tame kid this time.
Abbey used some of her money from the kid to buy a doe–a rabbit doe. Anne still has her buck. They were introduced to each other this morning and became fast friends. Abbey is excited to have bunnies in a month.
Caleb bought two guinea pigs. The lady tried selling him two males, but I checked them for him, and she switched one out for a female. By the time we got home, my allergies had reacted splendidly, but I took pills right away and don’t feel horrible at the moment.
We’re planning to go back to market for lunch today for something special before Caleb’s and China leave. We’ll probably get fried trout and pork chops.
Juan David 