Maria's Surprise Day

Last Monday was a holiday, so we took the opportunity to celebrate a relationship that has become very dear for us and very sad to leave - our empleada, Maria. Maria came to us from Cajamarca to work in our home. The joke in our home is that her name is really Mary Esther, but when we first met her we were told her name was Maria and she just went with it. Really, she goes by Mary or Esther, but we are the only ones with the privilege of calling her Maria - a name that's not even her name. :)

Maria helped keep our home going over these past two years - something I could not have managed without her hard work and dedication. She's brilliant - she has a seminary degree and is working on her nursing degree right now. She is a beautiful and brilliant woman who took an amazing risk to leave her home and come to this bunch of gringos who couldn't even communicate with her. And she has loved and served us well - a beautiful example of the Gospel incarnate.

So Monday we loaded up in two taxis and headed out to Huanchaco, the beach. It's winter here, so we weren't planning on swimming, but we were planning on treating Maria to an afternoon of simply enjoying this friendship. We took her to a tasty lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach (Big Ben, for those of you familiar) and then presented her with a photo album of pictures of her and the kids over the last two years and a stuffed elephant whom she christened Ferguson.

After lunch we headed out for a walk on the beach and the kids found a playground, so off they all went, Maria included. She had fun swinging and doing the seesaw, especially enjoying trapping a child in mid air while they yelled "Bajo!" and she laughed incessantly.

But since Justin is the same size she is, he got her back.


We had a great afternoon and when I asked Maria what she was thinking, she simply said, "Es un sueño." It's a dream.

It's been a dream for us to know her and to love her and to have had somebody serve us so well with the love of Christ. We love her dearly and will miss her beyond anything words can say.