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Goshen College

Cusco: Mara and Maddy

July 28, 2017

July 17

Cusco, the high Andean city where the group’s journey to Machu Picchu began, is also the service location for two students.  Maria began the visit with the service location of Mara, who is teaching at the private Mennonite school La Promesa.  Mara teaches English classes in the 1st to 5th grades.  Mennonite families we stayed with earlier in Lucre send their children to this school in Cusco.  Later we visited Mara’s home, where she lives with Gloria (a nurse), Mauricio, and their 3 children on one of the hillside communities at the edge of the Cusco valley.

Mara and Maddy actually split their service assignments, Maddy working the first three weeks at the Mennonite school while Mara worked at the office of World Vision.  They switched assignments for the second half of service, so during Maria’s visit Maddy was now working at World Vision.   They have a well-known child sponsorship program, which includes sponsors sending letters in English to sponsored children in the Cusco area.  Each day Maddie translates those letters – lots of those letters – from English to Spanish.   After work Maria went to Maddy’s home and met her parents.   They often work with Mennonite missionaries in Peru and have a wood-working shop in their home.

[Pictures courtesy of Isaiah Friesen.]

[Maria returned from the last service visit yesterday, after some unexpected delays.  With the pictures she brought back we will post the rest of the service visit pictures tonight.]

When Maria arrived at the school, Mara was busy at work in her English class.
During part of the period Mara led the students in working through an assignment from the textbook.
Mara conducted the entire lesson only in English, an excellent acheivement that highly impressed Maria (a language teacher).
With teacher Gabriela and the 6th grade class.
Danitza, from Lucre (where the students stayed during the Machu PIcchu trip), was the host sister of Mark last semester.
At home, playing Dutch Blitz with host brother Johan.
With host brother Jhonatan.
After dessert, with host mom Gloria.
Madeli, Johan, Jhonatan, and Gloria.
Maddy’s desk at World Vision.
Maddy shows Maria the sponsorship forms that she translates.
Maddy said she translated about 100 of these sponsor letters each day. Mara said she translated 200.
With her co-workers in the office.
On the street outside the World Vision office.
Maddy in front of her home.
WIth host brother Christian and mother Francisca.
And with host father Rolando at the table.
The view of the mountains from Maddy’s home.
Helping with the dishes!
Maddy helps often in the family woodshop downstairs.
Making sawdust.
The restaurant where we took Mara and Maddy out for dinner.