December 2009

the C U S C O
c h r o n i c l e s
Introduction Monthly Activities Supporter’s Spotlight News and Notes
Summary of the past few weeks Further description of our time A list of our supporters with a News from our recent holidays
and the events related to our in Cusco so far and a cultural photo of Cusco and a special celebrated and a list of monthly
move to Cusco piece about alpacas Peruvian recipe prayer requests
Page 1-2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

our new
home
Wow! Two months have
already passed since we
arrived here in Peru. We’ve
been extremely busy settling Barton, Allison, and Cole Kizer
in, getting documentation
Overseen by the Chase Park Church of
finished, and beginning Christ in Huntsville, Alabama
Spanish lessons.
The photo above was a very exciting and emotional moment for our team. It was taken just cuscomission.wordpress.com
outside the airport in Cusco, where we were greeted by members of the church here in the city.
Mailing Address in Cusco:
They painted several signs and they bought chullos, Peruvian hats, for the whole group-even the
babies! This was just the beginning, however, of their warm welcome to our team. Peruvians are Barton Kizer
known throughout Latin America for their hospitality, but the members of the church here have P.O. Box 707
truly outdone themselves. One lady from the church, Maria Ysabel, is a tour
Cusco, Peru
guide, and she spent all day with us for two entire weeks, searching for
apartments, furniture, and appliances, and even feeding us in her home.
Another couple from the church, Juan Carlos and Denise, have been
there to help us with a myriad of requests on a daily basis. It’s been hard
not to take advantage of these wonderful people, especially since they are
so willing to help and we are, many times, helpless until we learn Spanish
a little better. The transition to life here in Cusco went a lot smoother with
their help, and of course with the help of a special couple,

The Cusco Chronicles • December 2009 • www.cuscomission.wordpress.com

 December 2009

THE CUSCO CHRO NICLES

Ron and Georgia Freitas. Ron and Georgia are staff members at Continent
of Great Cities, and they traveled with us to Peru and spent three weeks with
Cultural Corner: Alpacas
us, helping us with visas, customs (for our shipment from the states), Alpacas are special animals to
apartment hunting, furniture and appliance shopping, and in general just the people of Peru. They graze in
learning the city a little better. And in our list of gratitude, we should also the herds in the Andean
mention the team of missionaries in Lima, Peru. Lima is the capital city highlands, and are bred
where we had to do all of our documentation and also where our shipment especially for their fleeces.
went through customs. Since they have recently been through the whole They began domesticating
process, they knew several tricks to make life a lot easier for us. All of these alpacas as long as 6,000 years
people were very generous with their time, and we are grateful to God for ago. In ancient Andean
sending these blessings our way. mythology, alpacas were seen as a gift from
Pachamama (mother earth). It was believed that
they were loaned to humans, to be left on earth for
only as long as they were properly
cared for and respected.
The Incas used the cloth of alpacas
as a valuable form of currency. When
the Spanish conquistadors arrived,
the Incas cared much less for their
silver and gold and instead sought to protect their
storehouses of alpaca cloths. The Spaniards soon
realized the value the alpacas held for that society,
and slaughtered 90% of the alpaca population in an
effort to force the Incas into subjection.
Today there are different quality levels of the
fabrics produced by alpacas. The cheapest and
most common fleeces are intermixed with acrylic
fibers. The next level up is the fleece shorn from the
adult or mother alpaca. It is commonly used to
make warm blankets for sleeping. The
fleece of the baby alpaca is very warm
and soft in texture. The softest and most
valuable fleeces belong to the wild

settling in
Trying to make your home in another county is definitely a learning
cousin of the alpaca, the vicuña.

process. It takes a lot of patience, energy, and time. There have been times
when we grimaced watching our new table being piled on top of a taxi cab
and tied on with a single rope, or walked a long way to a store only to find
out that it’s closed for several hours for lunch, but overall it has been pretty
fun and everything’s gone pretty smoothly. We are all very happy with our
new apartments and our new furniture and appliances, and we really love
Cusco so far. It’s a beautiful city filled with many friendly people.

! T h e C u s c o C h r o n i c l e s • D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9 • w w w . c u s c o m i s s i o n . w o r d p r e s s . c o m! 2
 December 2009

TH E CUSCO CHRONICLES

Recipe
of the
Month:
Aji de Gallina

2 pounds skinless, bone-in chicken breast halves

! 2 onions, 1 coarsely chopped and 1 minced
! 4 cloves garlic (2 minced, 2 whole)
! 2 quarts water
! 1/2 loaf white bread, crusts removed and cubed
! 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
! 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
! 1/4 cup walnut or pecan pieces
! 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
! 2 teaspoons aji amarillo chile paste
! 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
! 4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
! 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted

Place chicken breasts, onion, and 2 cloves garlic in a large

saucepan, pour in 2 quarts of water and slowly bring to a Our Monthly Supporters
simmer over medium-high heat. Skim off the foam which We are so thankful to all of those who are partnering with us in the
forms on top, then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and work in Cusco. We feel that God will be able to do great things through
simmer until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. the work in Peru, and we are so grateful for all those helping us with
Remove chicken to a plate and allow to cool. Strain the that opportunity.
resulting chicken stock, discarding the vegetables. Pour •Memorial Parkway Church of Christ, Huntsville, Alabama
evaporated milk and 1/2 cup chicken stock into the bowl
•Ashville Road Church of Christ, Leeds, Alabama
of a blender. Add bread cubes and puree until smooth.
•9th Avenue Church of Christ,
Add Parmesan cheese and walnuts; puree until smooth. Haleyville, Alabama
Shred the cooled chicken and discard the bones. Heat
•Adamsville Church of Christ,
vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir Adamsville, Alabama
in minced garlic and minced onion; cook until the onion •Roebuck Parkway Church of Christ,
has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir Birmingham, Alabama
in shredded chicken and aji amarillo until heated •Hoover Church of Christ, Hoover,
through. Pour in bread puree and cook until hot, stirring Alabama
frequently. Add more chicken stock if needed to keep •Hamilton Church of Christ, Hamilton,
from getting too thick. Season with turmeric and simmer Alabama
for 5 minutes more. Serve with rice, garnished with hard- •Jimmy and Judy Finney, Howe, Texas
cooked egg slices and sprinkled with kalamata olives.

! T h e C u s c o C h r o n i c l e s • D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9 • w w w . c u s c o m i s s i o n . w o r d p r e s s . c o m! 3
 December 2009

THE CUSCO CHRO NICLES

Happy Holidays!
Since we’ve been here in
Cusco, we’ve already
celebrated 3 major holidays
and we have another one
coming up in just a few
short days! Halloween is
celebrated here in Peru
much the same as it is in the
we went over to the Reaves’
States, although children
apartment and had a really
shout, “Halloween” instead
great meal with the team
of “Trick or Treat!” For
followed by more gifts and a
Thanksgiving, we gave Prayer Requests
board game. We plan to ring
American-style cooking our
in the New Year with a team • The people of Cusco
best shot as we were still
party at our new place. • Our Spanish classes
adjusting to high-altitude
H a p p y N e w Ye a r t o • Our daily encounters with a
baking and settling into our
everyone back home! new culture and new people
new apartments. But we fireworks! They sell the
even had a turkey-and the • Memorial Parkway Church of
really big kind here, and Christ’s relocation to Chase Park
best part was that we didn’t almost everyone in the • For us to build good
have to cook it (an American whole city sets them off ! We relationships with the other
restaurant here in town hear that New Year’s Eve is Christians here in the city
cooked it for us). Christmas an even bigger show, so it • Thanksgiving for allowing us to
Eve here in Cusco is a should be quite a sight! find comfortable places to live
special night, with a late Christmas Day began with a •Thanksgiving for the successful
supper beginning at 9 or nice, relaxing morning and arrival of our belongings from
10:00, followed by an the United States
Cole really enjoyed playing
amazing display of with all his new toys. Then •Thanksgiving for obtaining our
missionary visas
Monthly Bible Verse: Romans 15:13 (Romanos 15:13) •The other mission teams
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the working in Lima and Arequipa
Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. • Our supporting churches and
financial partners
Que el Dios de la esperanza los llene de toda alegría y paz a ustedes que creen en él, para
que rebosen de esperanza por el poder del Espíritu Santo.

! T h e C u s c o C h r o n i c l e s • D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9 • w w w . c u s c o m i s s i o n . w o r d p r e s s . c o m! 4