You may remember that Elisabet had a cold when Rafael’s were here for Caleb’s birthday. Turns out, it was Covid. This is the second time they’ve had it. Rafael didn’t show a positive test the first day, but he took a molecular the next day, and he is also sick. They are now supposed to be in quarantine, which means they don’t want us to come to the store, but Rafael was keeping it open at least part of the time when he felt strong enough. We’ve been praying that this sickness is another way that God speaks to them.
China and I both felt off yesterday. I was coughing, had a bad headache, and my back and shoulders really hurt. She didn’t want to be left out, so she said she felt poor, too. I decided I really didn’t want to be sick, so I went outside and worked slowly in the garden. I figured the sunshine would help, and I think it did. I still felt pretty miserable last night, but this morning, I feel just like I’m fighting a light cold. Everyone else seems to be okay.
Lucrecia has been in a lot of pain of late. They thought she had appendicitis, but it turned out that she has gallstones. The verdict was that surgery was needed, so they went to Cusco on Monday to the same clinic where we had taken Seth. They said the service was very good, and the prices weren’t outrageous. They scheduled the surgery for today.
Percy and Lucrecia left this morning at 6:00. They needed to do a bunch of paperwork before the operation, which is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Lucrecia says she knows she’s in the Lord’s hands, but she has never been in any sort of surgery before. She asked that we pray for her; you can join us. She is supposed to come home Friday.
Byron and Levi leave today, Lord willing. Levi is bringing his youngest son, Phillip, along. Judi had wanted to come, but she hasn’t been feeling the best, so they decided she should try to rest and avoid a stressful flight to Peru. I’m sure her heart is coming along even if she can’t be here in-person.
The flight leaves Dulles around 5:00 this evening, so please keep them in your prayers. They will be arriving in Lima tomorrow morning, Lord willing, with their Cusco arrival scheduled for close to 10:00 tomorrow morning. I’m hoping to get into Cusco early enough to visit Percy and Lucrecia before running over to the airport.
Levi plans to stay until the 24th, but Byron will be staying on indefinitely to help with the work here. We’re very much looking forward to working with him; I’m sure he’ll be a valuable addition to the team. He has been studying Spanish dutifully for months, so now he’ll be getting in-the-field practice.
Andrew Crider, another GCM board member, was planning to come down, but he recently tested positive for Covid, too. I guess they still have that in the States. There is a possibility that he may still be able to come next week if he can get a negative test before flying. That’s another thing to pray about.
I don’t have many pictures of any of the pertinent things in this update, so I’ll just include some photos of the garden. Thanks for praying with us.
Juan David 