Cascarones

“No-no-no! Iz-”

Too late. Her hand came down. The shell broke. Confetti rained everywhere. Paper 

bits ran down my shirt and arms, sticking to my sweaty hair. Izzy had won. She laughed and ran away, not bothering to help me up. 

Most Easter egg hunts are normal. Parents hide the eggs, the kids go find them, eat the candy, and you go home. Hooray! But that is not how I grew up doing it.

Unless you're the Brewsters, my family starts to save eggs a month before Easter. (If you are a Brewster, you collect months and months worth of eggs.) When you use an egg, instead of cracking it normally, you get a knife and crack a hole in the top.  The raw egg comes out and you save the shell. Once you have enough, you dye them.

After the eggs have dried they are stuffed with confetti. Finally, with tissue paper and glue you cover the hole. “Guys, I need you to dye and color the eggs today, okay?” Aunt Megan asked us the day before the Easter egg hunt. Only my girlfriends helped. The boys weren’t helping… as usual. The eggs were brown so they didn’t dye. Instead, our fingertips were the ones getting all the color.

“Hey, look!” I exclaimed. I examined my fingers and showed my friends. “If you leave your hands in the water it dyes your fingers.” Soon everyone had their hands deep in the bowels.

“That's awesome!” Ella said, taking her deep blue hands out of the dye. “It looks like I have frostbite!” 

I said with a laugh, “You're turning into a smurf.” By the end of the day, everyone had different colored fingers. 

I race down the side porch, the plastic bag slapped against my arm. My eyes scanned the grass looking for the eggs.

Early that day, all the dads at the event had hidden the eggs. Knowing this, I didn’t have to look very hard. The first egg I saw was a yellow one hidden in the lemon trees. That was easy. I ran across the grassy field looking and searching. In the tall grass is where I found the jackpot.

“We were so tired of hiding them,” Uncle Joe explained to me later. “So we just took all the extras and put them into a pile.” And that’s exactly what I found. Being nice, I make sure to leave some for the next person to find.

No one exactly shouts “it’s time to fight.” It just kinda starts. Once the first egg is smashed you know it's time for fun. Grabbing an egg, I quickly ran and smashed it on someone's head. They shout something. But I wasn't paying attention. I have a new target.

Everyone is free game, no one is out. The one rule is you have to crush the egg in your hands and sprinkle the confetti on their head… but even that rule is broken. My chance to get Uncle Joe had arrived. He had his back turned. I quietly sprint towards him. I leap. Yelling, I smashed the egg on his head. I only had time for a small victory. Soon he was after me. I ran forward, dodging around people and trees. But he was gaining on me. Almost on me. I saw a hand reach out. I screamed. I took a sharp turn. Leaving him behind.

“Oh, man! I missed,” He shouts. He fell as his feet slipped in the wet grass.

“Ha-ha!” I turned around to laugh at him. 

I can’t explain what happened, but before I knew it I was on the ground. The trees 

blocked the sun out of my eyes, I knew I was finished. Down, I lost. My breath was hot and I pant wildly. The wet grass filled my nose, along with the smell of sweat and dirt. I scrunch my nose. Soon a man comes into my view. Uncle Joe is standing over me with a smug grin. My head falls on the grass. I groaned, but a smile crept up on my lips. Laughing, he grabs an egg out of his plastic bag, taking time to enjoy his moment of victory. He smashed the egg on my head, rubbing the colored paper bits into my sweaty hair. He walked away, almost skipping in his slow swagger. I lay there defeated. But a full smile comes, reaching the corners of my eyes. Laughing and panting widely, I got up, brushed the itchy wet grass off my back, and I went off to hunt the next person. 

June 2021 School is done...

 

Don't know who is prouder,
Dad the Principal
or the Graduate!

Greetings from Peru. We hope the start to your summer has been a good one. For the month of May, we were able to have our sons with us for a few weeks, and while it was sad to see them leave, we are so thankful for the time together. They both found jobs at a Christian camp for the summer, which was an answer to prayer. 

With graduation a few weeks ago, the academic part of the school year came to a close. The 8th-grade graduation (8 students) and the high school graduation (5 students) took place on different nights due to COVID restrictions. Camilla was excited to march with her friends, and she proudly insists she is now a high schooler. The list of projects the school staff put off during the months we were not in person has now become our priority. Mosquito screens need repair, books have to be organized, and classrooms need to be cleaned and painted. Bill has also started working on outlines for classes. We anticipate returning to in-person instruction and are planning accordingly. 

Next week Joy begins her new role as interim program director for the aviation department while her boss goes on a four-month furlough. She will be picking up additional accounting tasks this summer as well. The flight schedule is getting busy as we have the privilege of helping our partner mission organizations get back to normal. For the first time in a year, we will be flying young indigenous leaders and their families back to Bible school. The Shawi Bible conference canceled last year has also been rescheduled. We continue with an increased number of medical emergency flights. Pray for us as we negotiate payment from the national health services for over three months of flights that need to be paid for. Lastly continue to pray that the FAA would grant Joy her flight medical. The oncologist consultant has been sitting on her file since March. Pray that this individual would feel compelled to review her file and rule favorably in this case.

Everyone enjoyed a boat ride with friends.

Camilla plans on sleeping, riding her motorcycle (she recently figured out third gear), and spending as much time laughing with the few friends who are not traveling this summer. She now has a bird, a dog, and a cat, although the dog is mostly Bill's dog. She is going to be the leader of worship at school chapels next year and has collected piles of music to look through.

We have a trip to Chicago scheduled for the end of July for Joy's medical scans and are looking forward to seeing family for the short two weeks we will be there. The boys will be ending their time at camp, and we should be able to see them as well. William is moving into an apartment at Wheaton College and we might be shopping for kitchen supplies and giving some impromptu cooking lessons.

Prayer Requests:
(1) Continued safety and protection during the emergency flights SAMAIR is doing.
(2) Pray that Joy's scans in the first week of August would be clear and that the doctors would be able to give a good report.
(3) We praise God for his protection from COVID during our time here in Peru.
(4) Pray for ministries to resume to normal this fall including aviation, churches, and in-person school.

In Christ,
Bill, Joy, and Camilla

Nov 2020..possible Return to Peru?

 

We have return tickets to Peru! Read below to see how God has done some amazing miracles on our behalf to allow us to return and don't forget to check out the items to pray for.

Dear Friends and Family, When we last updated you at the end of August, we had just been through a tough month filled with ups and downs. Cancer-free scans were the good news, but closed international borders to Peru was the bad news. God in His wisdom, then took us on a two-month journey showing us things about His character, about ourselves, and how we should respond in times of uncertainty. For the first two weeks in September, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Spokane Washington. Our time was spent seeing how Moody still trains missionary pilots and mechanics, sharing in chapels, attending classes, and eating meals in the evenings with both staff and students. We had the privilege of spending time with a student Bill had taught on the mission field in elementary school who is now at Moody. We got a vision for how Joy could be a valuable instructor and mentor to both male and female students in the program and how Bill's educational background could be used in the student services department. The doors are open for us to work there in the future whenever God leads us from our current ministry. While we do not feel this is right for us at the moment, please pray for us as we consider His will for us at Moody in the future. As we left, God gave us the privilege of spending a day and a half exploring Yellowstone National Park. (See pictures above.) Here are the fall miracles God worked for us. Miracle #1: Joy was able to reduce her use of gabapentin throughout the month and by the time we returned to Chicago she was completely off this medication that causes drowsiness and would prohibit her from obtaining an aviation medical. While there is still some discomfort primarily in the evenings, this has been easily managed with over the counter pain medicine. Miracle #2: While at Moody, we were given the contact information for a company that specifically helps pilots regain their FAA medicals. The owner is a Christian, and we hired this company to represent our case before the FAA. Once Joy's doctors send reports of Joy's surgery and treatments of this past year to them, they will submit a legal document representing her when she finishes her medical exam with a designated FAA medical examiner next week. Miracle #3: At the end of September, we drove to the JAARS center in Waxhaw, NC. The plan was to attend a two-week refresher ground school for all JAARS supervisor pilots. But since the country of Peru still was not allowing flights from the US, we approached the head of training at JAARS and asked if there was any way he could facilitate the flight training immediately following the ground school. There was an instructor (more like 3 who shared the load) and an aircraft available for this required training. After two weeks of instrument training, left seat, and right seat flying, Joy completed all the training necessary to requalify for a full five year JAARS recurrent training event.  Miracle #4 Peru officially began allowing flights from the US starting November 1st. We returned to Chicago and this past week we able to fit in dental work for both of us, Joy's three-month CT scans (ONCE AGAIN SHOWING NO CANCER), an upper esophageal scope for Bill, AND PURCHASED TICKETS for Monday, November 16 to return to Peru.   Here is how you can pray for us in the next 7 days:   1. Pray for Joy's FAA medical exam Tuesday the 10th. After the exam, the FAA review board will need to deliberate based on this exam along with the report from Pilot Medical Solutions on her behalf. 2. Pray for one more treatment (BOTOX) on Bill's esophagus Thursday the 12th. 3. Pray that we will be able to get COVID tests here in the Chicago area which is difficult due to demand. The timing has to work perfectly due to government mandates to arrive with results within 72 hours of receiving the results. 4. Pray for us as we leave our boys in the US at college. Pray that God would continue to bless them this semester and for their plans for the holidays as they will not be traveling to Peru. 5. Pray for us as a family as we return after so long. Our expectations are high, but we know we will be returning to a difficult situation. 6. Lastly and most importantly pray for Bill and me as we work on our spiritual life and family life after this difficult year. We are entering a new season and trust that God will be glorified in our lives. 7 days to go! Pray for us on November 16 and 17 as we finally get all the way home. In Christ, Bill and Joy Carrera

May 2020 Prayer Letter: Everything has changed...

Everything has changed

Dear Friends and Family,

     It is not very often you can look back at a prayer letter while writing your next one and discover everything you planned did not happen. We had speaking engagements planned and penciled in. Awana programs, a mission conference, a women's brunch, and a trip to Brazil to renew Bill's visa were all on the agenda. They were not to be; God had other plans.

     The second weekend in March we flew to Atlanta for the wedding of Joy's niece. This was to be the start of a busy schedule, but instead it was the first and last thing we did outside the home. That next week we kept checking our phones to see if future plans were going to hold. One by one they all fell by the wayside. The shelter-in-place order for Chicago, like many around the country, has closed churches and forced small groups to meet by telecommuting platforms.
       All of us have had our lives turned upside down. The day before traveling to the wedding, William received the shocking news that Wheaton College had made the decision to shut down the campus and move the last quarter online. He returned to campus that following week to say a few goodbyes and pack his room. Good news for him is that he completed his finals last week, and his first year of college is one to remember. Camilla and Cullen also transitioned to e-learning that week, a temporary solution that later became reality for the rest of the semester. Cullen's graduation ceremony was cancelled as was Camilla's production of Charlie Brown through the Chicago Christian Youth Theater program. However as resilient children, they make these loses and transitions look easy. They have followed schedules without any prompting from us, starting each day around at nine o'clock and finishing shortly after a lunch break. As I type this letter, Cullen is taking his AP Calculus test online. He feels well prepared, he says.
       Through all this we have seen the hand of God active in our lives. We had hoped to return to Peru in January, with Joy flying to Lima for treatments once a month. When COVID-19 shut down not just America, but the whole world, we realized that God had spared us a huge trial as Peru's restrictions were more severe than Chicago's. Within 24 hours, the Peruvian president suspended all international and national flights meaning either Joy would have been separated from her family if she had been in Lima at the time or making Joy's treatment impossible for us without having to request emergency evacuation from the US embassy. Here in Chicago, while Bill is not able to go with her, Joy has been able to continue monthly treatments and scans requested by her doctor. Her last scan in April continues to show no growth of any tumors anywhere else in her body.
       While we were sad that Cullen was not able to return to finish his senior year in Peru, because we were here in Chicago, he had the opportunity to apply for a scholarship for urban leaders. We were first made aware of this scholarship to Taylor University last fall. It was a long application process, with three steps involving essays, evaluated group dynamics, and interviews. At the end of February, Cullen was named an Acts 6 scholar and given a full ride scholarship to Taylor. He will start classes in the fall, studying film and media production. This scholarship is also an internship as it invests heavily in urban students who want to make a difference in their communities. Cullen already has begun online classes with his fellow scholarship cadre and is looking forward to other activities this summer before school starts in the fall.
       While we are not speaking at conferences, Bill is working on teaching materials and developing his writing skills by reworking stories he wrote about growing up in a large family here in Chicago. There have been hours spent trying to get our pictures safely archived from old CD's to an external drive and then correcting their dates and compiling them in a format that we can find and use in the future. Joy also has some nursing continued education credits due this month as well. Of course we are enjoying being together as a family one more time before everyone separates in the fall. We were reminded at Easter that we are at the one year mark of Joy's cancer diagnosis. Last Mother's Day our family was separated by a continent as Joy was facing major surgery that next week. Those reminders make us immensely grateful that God has brought us through this past year, and we can rejoice in the many amazing gifts He has continued to give us.
     Our future plans remain in God's timing. We have already tried twice to plan our return to Peru only to be postponed. This time we are waiting before attempting to nail down a firm date. However, with this said, we hope to return to Peru in August. We will confirm the date after Joy's last treatment and result of last scans. This time we will return with only Camilla in tow, a big change for all of us.

We have a few prayer requests as this season of our lives moves forward.
(1) Pray for continued healing for Joy. Her neuropathy continues in her feet and any decisions regarding future flying will be contingent on the healing.
(2) Pray for William and Cullen as they try to decide what to do this summer. Jobs are scarce and we don't know that working outside the home and returning everyday is a good idea while we live with Bill's parents.
(3) Pray for summer plans as far as finishing our furlough goals of visiting supporters and friends that are not in Chicago. We typically make a long trip and even had lined up dates with a few churches in July. Pray for God's will to be done about our plans.
(4) Pray for the Lord to have mercy on His world and to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Pray that these locked borders and quarantine orders will not affect our plans to return to Peru and/or that we be patient with God's timing.

One final note or thought: If our shelter in place continues further into the summer, we would like to hear from you if there is a time that you'd like to meet with us for a internet based missions report. This could be a Skype/Zoom/Google-Talk with any small groups, churches, or families that would like to hear more about our ministries in Peru. If we can figure out how to share a power point, we can call this a tele-furlough! In all seriousness, we would love to connect with you despite this time of social distancing.

In Christ,

Bill and Joy Carrera

Jan 2020 Prayer Letter

Well it finally happened: Chicago has turned cold, and there is snow on the ground. Some of us are happier than others, but winter is a season we have not experienced for some time. It is fun to wear our sweaters and boots, and there is still a sledding night to be planned for the next time there is fresh snow.

Life has returned back to normal after the Christmas holidays. Everyone is back in school and doing well. Colds and flu for the most part have been avoided. Many people have told us that they have been praying for our children. We really appreciate those prayers. The news that we could not return to Peru for the spring semester due to Joy's health was disappointing for both Cullen and Camilla, but they are learning to rely on God.  The first semester ends in Chicago for the public schools this week, and Cullen is studying for two finals he has scheduled. Cullen is also working hard on scholarship applications and seeking God's direction on which college he should attend in the fall. Camilla is also having to put in more time for school work. We mentioned in our last letter that Camilla has enjoyed being involved in a musical theater group for children called Christian Youth Theater. Last November she performed in a musical called Camp Rock, and in February she will be performing in a musical production of Shrek. William spent the Christmas break with us here at Bill's parents home in Chicago and returned to a second semester at Wheaton College. He mentioned how grateful he was to be going to a school with not only high academic standards, but one where he feels encouraged spiritually by his peers on his floor with whom he shares Bible studies and feels personal encouragement.

We also want to update you on Joy's health and again thank you for all your prayers. After a very difficult fall where Joy had many harsh side effects to the combination drug therapy given in August and September, her doctor cancelled the last two doses of this combination treatment and continued the single dose therapy that needs to be taken for 12 months. We are so grateful that she is not experiencing any side effects from this treatment. Most of the side effects from the fall have been resolved except for the nerve damage (neuropathy) in her feet. She still lacks sensation on parts of her toes and balls of her feet, and there is still pain in her feet when she stands or walks for any amount of time. We are encouraged that these nerves do seem to be regenerating and the pain is manageable with medication, and so we appreciate your prayers as we trust that this nerve damage will be completely healed. She continues to get CT scans to monitor if there is any return of the cancer. Our prayer request that these scans continue to show no new growth and that she would be cancer free so that we can return to the mission field and serve the Lord for many more years.

Our family is also deeply mourning the loss of our sister in law, Cindy Rast Lord, after battling a brain tumor for 4 years. She passed away this past December in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she and her family served as missionaries. God graciously gave Joy the gift of a few days with Cindy and Joy's brother Joel in early December a few days before her passing. We also were privileged to attend a service in celebration of her life here in the Chicago area this past month. We appreciate your prayers for Joy's brother Joel and their children Grace, Alex, and Christian.

We are now in a position with Joy's improving health, to be able to finally get on with our furlough goals. We are finally scheduling speaking engagements at our supporting churches and hoping to get together with supporters and friends. If you attend one of our supporting churches (or live near one), look for announcements of our speaking dates. Those in the Chicago area, please reach out to us so this spring we can get together before we start to make our longer trips out East and to the South.

We hope to see many of you soon!

Bill, Joy, William, Cullen, and Camilla

Prayer Requests
1. Continued healing for Joy.
2. Cullen is a finalist for a scholarship at Taylor University. He will be going to Taylor in two weeks for the final project and interview.
3. Pray for dates and times to fall together as we plan speaking engagements and partner activities.
4. Camilla's next performance will be Feb 14-16. Pray for health and strength during this time.

Camilla performing during the
CYT production of Camp Rock.

Joy and her brother Joel.

Aug/Sept 2019 Summer Comes to an End.

Summer comes to an end.

Dear friends and family,

Despite having our lives turned upside a few months ago, we are always looking for hidden blessings where God has placed us. Our family was apart all summer as William and Cullen both worked at a summer camp. A few days after they returned home from camp, the Lord gave us the opportunity to travel as a family to Colorado Springs where we spent an entire week hiking and experiencing God's beautiful creation of the mountains. Our stay was completely free as a friend's parents were traveling and let us stay at their home while they were away.

The next unexpected blessing was having the opportunity to take William and get him set up at Wheaton College. We had expected to be in be in Peru and had emotionally prepared for either his grandparents or another family member do this for us. But there is something so gratifying (for a Mom especially) to make up his bed, buy a few groceries, meet the roommate and his parents, attend the orientation for parents and students from overseas, and finalize details with finance and health services. We are extremely proud of how well William is doing in this transition and praise God for how He abundantly supplied for all William's needs.

We are also packing up for a full weekend of family and fun as we will head to Michigan City to be with all Bill's siblings and their families (more than thirty people) for a Labor Day extravaganza. For the past 10 years, Bill's parents rent large homes and take their immediate family for this weekend. We have only been in the US for 3 of them so we count it a huge privilege to be able to be here once again.

The reason we must focus on the blessings is that in life there are always the difficulties and frustrations to be dealt with. Yesterday was one of those setback days. We went to Northwestern Hospital for Joy's third immunotherapy treatment, but while talking to the doctor about possible side effects from the medicines, Joy brought up that she has had more headaches in the past week than normal. This gave the doctor pause, and he canceled the therapy for that day, requesting that we have an MRI and PET scan to make sure that nothing more serious was going on. These scans are scheduled for Friday (tomorrow August 30) and the immunotherapy has been pushed off until the following Friday. This will progressively push all therapy dates back by these 10 days and thus prolongs these 15 months of treatment. We would appreciate prayers that these headaches would subside and that she would not have any more side effects that would delay future treatments OR that we would be able to trust God with future delays.

Lastly, we would like to ask prayer for our family as we deal with the very sad news that Joy's sister in law, after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor three and a half years ago and a good while of remission, has now been told that the cancer is back and the doctors have given her just months left on this earth. We are reminded that God has all of our days numbered and that we must redeem each day.

We are officially on furlough now and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. We will be centering in the Chicago area for the near future but would love to schedule dinners and speaking times whenever possible.

We thank you for your prayers and support during this season of our lives, and would ask that you continue to lift us up before the Lord.

Thank you,

Bill, Joy and family

January 2019 Player Letter

2019 This year one significant change looms for our family. This is the year our oldest son, William, graduates from high school and goes to college. We have known this day was coming, but it is still a hard thing to prepare for. The past few months we have helped him fill out both college and scholarship applications. For the next few months, he will be looking to complete job applications for the summer and of course, more scholarship applications. (Please see below for ways you can help us during this time.) But all this occurs in the midst of normal life and ministry. We count it a privilege to continue serving in two important roles here in Peru. Bill continues teaching the math courses for both junior high and high school as well as helping teach sixth-grade math one day a week. Besides the full teaching load, he continues as the school principal, leading chapel on Monday mornings and dealing with the day to day running of the school. Joy continues in various roles at SAMAIR. As flight coordinator, she is on call almost any time of the day or night as people ask about the weather for the next day or want to discuss upcoming schedules. This year she has also been asked to be the safety manager. This added responsibility involves working both proactively to improve safety and re-actively to investigate and correct known issues. But her favorite job is still flying. This past week, she was once again assigned to fly for the Shawi Bible Conference. The Shawi are a large tribe located in the province of Loreto, approximately an hour and a half flight north of Pucallpa. There has been a long-standing missionary work among the Shawi, but current missionaries are getting excited as they see new growth and strong leadership finally emerging among the churches of this community. The conference was a time for pastors and leaders of neighboring villages to meet for a full week of Bible teaching. The flights were made not only to bring in the Bible teachers but the many participants who could not make the 2 day walk between communities. Always scheduled in January, the conference includes the known challenge of the rainy season. Many of the airstrips were muddy including the one where the conference was held which added an increased workload and degree of difficulty. But God was faithful and the flights were accomplished with safety. Over 30 Shawi (plus at least that many children)  and the 11 missionaries who led the conference all traveled home in safety. NOTE: Below are two pictures of the conference: Joy's program manager loading our muddy airplane and a Shawi pastor's wife after the conference. This semester is also an important one for our high school junior Cullen. On his horizon is a trip to Lima in April to take the ACT college exam. He continues to be interested in film and photography and is looking for some type of job or internship this summer in the US that would give him needed experience as he looks toward college applications for next year. Camilla is finishing sixth grade and developing her studying and organization skills which are important at this age. Her new interest is learning how to play the guitar and we hear her regularly in her room singing softly as she learns chords and strumming patterns. At the school's Christmas program she played "Joy to the World" and did very well. (Want to see her performance? Click on the following link: Camilla guitar) Still setting her alarm for 6:20 in the morning, she runs a mile before school, putting everyone else in the house to shame. We appreciate your prayers for our family. As you can see above this really is a time of family transition. Please look at the small blurbs below regarding some financial needs we have and read about the fun things we did over Christmas to make memories with William before he leaves home. In Christ, Bill, Joy, William, Cullen, Camilla Making memories with our family: This past Christmas two churches sent us generous Christmas gifts above our regular support. We chose to invest these dollars into the gift of a family trip rather than individual presents. The Peru we live in is a hot, humid jungle, but there is much more to Peru than our daily experience. The mountain cities of Peru are filled with amazing things to see such as volcanoes, both active and dormant, canyons, and rich local culture. We chose to visit both the Colca Canyon (the world's deepest canyon) as well as Lake Titicaca (the world's highest navigable lake.) For fun, you can google these two locations for more information. We had about 6 days to make this trip so although we did not stay long, we enjoyed the challenges of the hikes at high altitudes, the amazing views, and the cold weather. (William also was the only one to swim in Lake Titicaca, which he said it was cold-- quite the understatement!) Pictures: The top picture is our of our family on the roof for the Arequipa cathedral and below that are the kids standing on the man-made floating islands of the Uros people group. FINANCIAL NEEDS: We wanted to let you know about a financial need that we have. When we returned to Peru, there was a change in our agreement between Wycliffe and South America Mission. Part of the agreement was the request that we continue to participate in South America Mission field funds and administrative dues. In order to make it fair among all of us working here together, we have been asked to contribute to SAM Peru field US$485 dollars a month, the same as the other SAM missionaries. By faith, we are currently trying to pay this from our own income, but as we look at the expenses of sending William to the US this year and Cullen the next, we realize we will deplete our savings trying to pay this ourselves. We have an urgent need to raise our support level as soon as possible. The Peru field is giving us an 80 dollar a month break until June when at that point, we will need to contribute the entire amount. Please pray how you can join our support team on a monthly basis. PRAYER AND PRAISE: 1. We praise God for the continued spiritual growth we see in our kids. 2. We are thankful for safety each day. 3. We praise God for the opportunity to have special memories with our kids this year. 4. IMPORTANT: Pray for employment options for William and Cullen this summer. School here in Peru doesn't get out until the end of May so the boys won't arrive and be able to apply for a summer job until the beginning of June. We would love to have something already lined up for them, if possible, instead of just arriving and starting the job search at that point. This is where we could use your help.  5. Pray for our financial needs and more monthly supporters. 6. Pray for William's transition to college and for the rest of the family's adaptation without him.