Flexibility...

As I count down my last few days here, I am still reminded of the importance to be flexible. We had this whole week planned out specifically in order to get every last minute detail wrapped up. And then i got sick. Came home yesterday with a fever, couldn't sleep all night, and had a worse fever this morning... the result being we had to cancel our outing to another part of Peru today :(. I have spent the day in bed... the fever is gone, but not the headache. It has given me time to pray and be reminded of some of what God has been teaching me... hopefully tomorrow I will be well and can finish out the week well!

Yesterday we went to see the movie "Robin Hood." It was very good! Yasmin and I treated the Ledesmas to a movie in theaters... they hadn't been in 30 years or so.... :) It was fun! We also went shopping at the Indian Market.

Monday was a relaxing day of grocery shopping. In the evening, Yasmin and I went to a friend's house for some fellowship with our girlfriends from church. It was a night of good stories, laughter, several rounds of Uno, and sharing testimonies of God's faithfulness. Oh, and we learned (through stories) the right way and the wrong way to kill a chicken. Lot's of laughter!

Sunday was a busy day! It was the 12 anniversary of this sector of the church. We were at church all day practicing and decorating and preparing food. I was asked to sing "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord" in English. A bit outside of my comfort zone, but God blessed! We were out of the house from 8am-11pm. Long, but great day! It was also my parents 29th Anniversary! :-D

My Daddy is now home, and as far as I know recovering well. Thank you all for your prayers! I'm going to go now and Skype with my parents and then go lay down....

Today

This past week has flown by in a flury.... is it really already Friday? It has been a relaxing week, after a long week of going non-stop. It’s been good to catch up on studying and preparing.

As I look at the week ahead, I am both excited and sad... Excited, because I will soon be home! I miss my family a lot! Especially since my Daddy is in the hospital... Yesterday was hard. I got an email that he had been taken to the hospital for emergency surgery... Praise God for technology that allowed me to stay in touch with my family and pray as the day went on. Daddy is in recovery now and resting... as far as I know. It’s hard not being there. So I am very excited to be coming home soon!!!

I’m also sad, because i’m going home soon and will not be here in Peru anymore. I’ve built good relationships, and I am sad to leave them behind... I know we will stay in touch, but distance sometimes changes things. This trip has taught me a lot, and stretched me... sometimes, i want to stay here because i can see so clearly how God is working in me and others... At the same time though, I know that God still will be working in my life no matter where i am.
Emotionally, and Spiritually I kinda feel like a rubber band that has been stretched out really tight, and then let go... and not it is neither loose nor tight, but different. I hope that makes sense.

Well, that’s all i have for now... i’ll try to write again in the next week... Thanks again for reading and praying!

May 8, 2010

We went to the Zoo! It was fun a lot of fun... it was a long day of walking, but sweet fellowship. Every time I go to a Zoo I am amazed by God’s creativity... Sea Lions, Penguins, Giraffes, Monkeys... I mean really.... our God is SO CREATIVE!
We came home from the Zoo late, and to my surprise the house was filled with guests! They threw a surprise Birthday party for me... It was SO fun and encouraging :) I am truly blessed with the friendships I’ve built here...

May 9, 2010

Mother’s Day! After Church, we ate Chinese food. (Chinese food is a favorite here among Peruvians). In the evening, we went to the Paseo de Aguas... otherwise known as the Water Park... There are a lot of beautiful fountains with lights and music... it really is a beautiful place. We just relaxed and celebrated Mother’s Day...

May 14, 2010

I’m about to go help Yasmin with lunch. We are cooking a North American dish for lunch today... Honey Chicken Stir Fry, Southern Green Beens, and Chocolate Chunk cookies (yes chunk because we didn’t find chips here... we cut up candy bars).

I just wanted to share a random thought... Yesterday was 5 years to the day since I graduated highschool.. it just makes you wander, what will 5 years from now look like? Praise be to God that He has numbered our days and knows them all before we lived even one of them!

Don’t worry, I will keep posting updates as i have time.... i’m learning to write them when i have free time, because sometimes my free time and the time when the internet is available do not coincide. (The ones i just posted, I posted in order... i wrote them today, but I adjusted the post date to make it easy...)
Thanks again for remembering me in your prayers! I still need them.... I feel like my language skills are continuing to grow (praise God!). Please pray that I will put into practice what God is teaching me... and that we would be faithful....
Pray for the Bible Study, and our students! Tonight we are doing lesson 4. Pray for continued harmony among us... and that God would continue to work in the relationships we are building.
Thanks again!

I never know what to put as titles...

My profound apologies for not writing in such a long time! I've been busy, yes...but not too busy to write... i just haven't. :(
But now I am, so here we go... i'm going to break this up a little bit and do several smaller posts to catch up from where I left off... So buckle up, and hang in there :) (it's actually not that rough)

Oh, and I just wanted to say thank you all for reading and for PRAYING!!!! Your prayers are priceless, please continue....

May 6, 2010

Hmm.... seems like there was something special about this day.... what was it?

oh yeah..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me! :) My first birthday in another country... It was great! Yesterday, (the 5th) was my cousin’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA! She is now sweet sixteen... and that makes me feel old.... i remember the day she was born and thinking she was my birthday gift.... (i was about to turn 7).

At midnight, i was woken up by a knock on my bedroom door and singing. Eduardo, Edelmira, and Yasmin sang a Peruvian Happy Birthday song to me! It was really sweet!

We went to the Center of Lima, and then took a tour bus up to the top of San Cristobol. San Cristobol is a mountain.... from the bottom it doesn’t look that tall... but from the top, you can see what seems like all of Lima! (just for perspective, Lima is a city of many districts, and over 8 Million people! i don’t remember how many people live in Oklahoma City, but i’m pretty sure it’s less...)
At the top of the mountain there is a big cross and a museum... the road to the top is a little scary... imagine being in a bus, winding through narrow (one car wide) streets between houses, climbing up at a steep grade (think San Francisco streets if you’ve ever been there)... Yes, we were praying on the way up and down, but it was really beautiful at the top!

When we came down, we had lunch at Norkey’s. It was SO GOOD! Then we went to the Indian Market for a little bit...

When we got home, i got to Skype with my family! So grateful for such technology! It was a great birthday!

April 29, 2010

Yasmin and I went on our first outing by ourselves! We took the bus by ourselves to downtown Lima and met some girls from church at the mall. We had fun fellowship just looking around and talking. We celebrated Pilar’s birthday because it was the next day.
It was a really neat time to build relationships...

May 1, 2010

Today was a women’s conference at the main church (sector 3). It was called “My Encounter With God” (well, that’s what it would be called in English) and it dealt with three main topics: Freedom from sin, freedom from the past, and freedom from generational sins/curses. It was neat to see God work in the hearts of over 200 women.

It was impacting for me too. God taught me a lot just in fellowship with Him. He also allowed me to understand most of two out of the three messages!

May 3-5, 2010

We went to visit with another family here, Amalia and Nelson Juarez. They live about an hour from the Ledesma’s. Yasmin and I spent three great days with them!
We went to the beach at La Punta, and Costa Verde. We also got to go to Barranco, and Puebla Libre... We had sweet fellowship with them!
Nelson and Amalia are both very evangelistic, and we saw them share the gospel with three different people during our stay! The people seemed really receptive and prayed with them... It makes me wonder.... sometimes we say people in the States are not that open to the gospel.... but are they really closed or are we just to timid to share the gospel? I’m just thinking... sometimes we are so worried about offending people or stepping on their toes... or breaking some political correct etiquette that we don’t share the gospel when God gives us the opportunity. Really, there are lost souls all around us, the barrista at Starbucks, the man in the gas station, the lady sitting next to you in the waiting room, your co-workers, your family.... we don’t have to wait for people to step inside a church to plant seeds of truth in their hearts. Are we actively looking for opportunities to share what God has done in our lives and the free gift of costly Grace He offers to all? (Grace is costly because it cost the shed blood of Jesus, therefore it is never something that is cheap, but it is freely given!)

April 26, 2010

We went to Miraflores, Kennedy Park, and Larco Mar. It was a nice, and relaxing day. On the bus on the way there though, I was struck with the overwhelming need for Christ here. We passed so many stores and street vendors selling saints and candles, and other Catholic stuff.... There was a cathedral where people were lining up to light candles and pray to a statue of some saint.... The grip of Catholicism is strong here! And it seems to be blended with some of the traditions and religious beliefs of the Incas too...
Anyway, as i looked out the window of the bus, i began to cry. My heart heart as i saw in my mind’s eye, a whirlpool of people/souls sinking into darkness, and screaming.... They are lost even in their religion. It is sad because so many are doing everything the have been told to do, and working hard for their salvation.... they know of Christ.... but do not KNOW Him....
These are my observations anyway... please take them with a grain of salt, as i am not a native of this culture and language.... I could always be wrong in the way i see things- But in this case, i believe the principle applies cross-culturally. How many of us in the States, even in evangelical churches are caught up in “doing” for God and “earning” our salvation? How many of us know “about” God, but have not really given us access to our hearts, to really KNOW Him, and be known by Him?

There was a young couple that came on the bus. They looked like they were both about 17 or 18. She had an infant and was breastfeeding. He played two instruments at the same time, and she played an instrument while nursing her baby... (Talk about talent!). They sang traditional Peruvian songs, and then he explained how they were a new family, and for whatever reason, playing songs on buses for donations was their only source of income at the moment. This is a pretty common story here, almost everyday someone comes on the bus and tells their story asking for donations.... there are a lot of beggars and peddlers... and you never know who is sincere and who is not... However, with this particular couple, I was so moved. Since they stepped on the bus I was convicted to pray for them. I cried with their music... I have never been so burdened to pray for someone, nor had i ever wished so hard to have adequate language skills and a tract to share with them... as they got off the bus, i continued to pray, for as long as i could see them. I as you to, please pray for this young family. I had a sense that if they find truth, if God gets a hold of them they will be a powerful instrument of His!

April 23, 2010

We started an English Bible Study at the main CMA (Christian Missionary Alliance) church in San Juan de Lurigancho (Where we are living and serving). We are studying Precept Ministries' "Being a Disciple: Counting the Real Cost."
In preparation, Yasmin and I are learning a lot and being challenged. Following Jesus is not something to be taken lightly, and it cannot be done in words only. When Jesus called His disciples He called them to 1. Deny yourself 2. Take up your cross 3. and Follow Me. The first two are choices and the last one is a continual action. Do you know how hard it is to deny yourself? Have you ever thought what that means in a practical application to your life? For me, i'm seeing that as a disciple of Jesus, i've given up my rights. Life is not about me... it's not about my comfort zone, or about my personal preferences... denying myself means that when my attitude starts to sour, i have to surrender it and give it to God... NOTHING in this world gives me the right to act unChristlike. Nothing. Is that a hard pill to swallow? yes. Is that what Jesus requires of His disciples? yes.

Our first week of Bible Study went well. We had 6 students. (In the weeks since, we have had anywhere from three to eight students.)

The study is at the main church (sector 3) which is the same church my family and I worked in the first time I came to Peru 6 years ago. It has changed a lot! They are building a balcony in the sanctuary, and instead of 2 floors, the church is now 3 floors tall! San Juan has changed too... I don’t recognize much from my first trip...

The enemy is a little... (insert distasteful word of your choice) but he is not getting any victory... In Jesus name... so there!

Let me be candid for a moment and just say.... This trip is growing and teaching me in ways i would have never expected, and would not have traded for anything!

I'm learning a lot about spiritual warfare... No, I'm not reading a book about it, or listening to a sermon series... like learning a language, sometimes the best way to learn is in the trenches.

I am completely convinced that this trip has been ordained by God for a very specific purpose in my life, and in the lives of those around me. That said, we have an enemy, the accuser of the brethren, the snake of Eden who would love nothing more than to see God's plans falter.... stupid little satan... he hasn't learned yet that our God is BIGGER and UNTHWARTABLE!!!!!! (yes, i do believe i just made up that word... but i have a degree in English, so i think i'm allowed to make up words)

What I'm learning:
the attacks of the enemy are often special ops, that unless the Christian is on the alert as we are commanded to be in 1 Peter 5:8, we may not even be aware we are under attack...

The enemy uses bad dreams, lack of sleep, emotions, personality differences, personal preferences,illness, and pride to distract us from our call, divide us from our brothers and sisters, and destroy our freedom in Christ.

Praise God we who are redeemed have authority over the enemy! Im studying Ephesians during this trip, and it is rich in insight and wisdom... (we just started chapter 2 today, I know the book is going to continue to get better and richer!) The last part of chapter one sheds some light on the authority we have in Christ...

(18) "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (19) and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (20) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (22)And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, (23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

I am so thankful that my eyes have been illuminated to the schemes of the enemy... when i am grumpy, or irritable because i didn't sleep well.... or whatever the circumstance may be, i have no excuse to let the enemy use those circumstances to ruin my day and cause be to be so self-centered i miss what God is trying to show me. If i don't chose to submit my day, my heart, my emotions, and my thoughts, and sometimes even my facial expressions to Christ and make them obedient to the will of God, i'm setting myself up for a pretty miserable, and ineffective day.

Later in chapter 6 it states, "12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness...

I love the part that says "... and having done everything to stand firm. STAND FIRM..." we don't have the luxury of whining and saying "but i already prayed about X and X is still going on.... we pray again... and we pray with authority beleiving that as heirs with Christ, we have been given authority over the devil. Satan knows we have Christ's authority over him... but he still launches attacks against the Body of Christ because sadly, we DON'T know that we have that authority.... and if we do know, we don't USE IT!

In 2 Timothy 1:7 we are told, "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline..." we have power in Christ, and some versions translate "discipline" as "a sound mind," or "self-control".... all of those are neat and reassuring... we serve such an awesome, loving, and FAITHFUL God! Something really cool in the Spanish language is how that word, "discipline" in the above verse is translated... it's the word "dominio propio" which literally translated means "your own dominion".... we have been given dominion over ourselves... (self-control). We may or may not be able to control circumstances.... but we CAN control our responses to them... we CAN choose which emotions we will allow to take root in us... we are not helpless...

so how are things here? great! and rough.... but still, i would not trade this for anything! The enemy can throw whatever he's got, and fail because he does not have the victory! CHRIST DOES!


"Be sober of spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will HIMSELF perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To HIM be dominion for ever and ever. Amen!" ~ 1 Peter 5:8-11

Exactly the Same....Completely Different

During my planning for this trip I was preparing for culture shock.... what I have been shocked with instead, is how very similar things are. Little children still speak with excited, high-pitched voices... teenagers still are trying to be cool and fit in with their peers, couples still fall in love, people work, go to school, go to church.... there are so many things that are EXACTLY the same.... i think they would be in any part of the world.
On the other hand, being here is COMPLETELY different! I’m not used to all my food from fruit to meat being fresh.... the chickens arrive clucking at the market at 7am, and are on my plate for dinner at 7pm... the meat I saw hanging on the hook in the open air market this morning is being cooked for lunch- and smells wonderful and tastes great too! (I just have to choose to not think about where it came from). oh, and the language is different here too... but that is becoming less and less of a hinderance.

I have been asked to describe sights, sounds, smells and life here... I shall attempt to do so...

The food...
...the food is great!!! We had a dish called "papa rellena" which is like a mashed potato ball stuffed with really yummy beef, onions, and seasonings.... and then fried... SO GOOD! We also had "lomo saltado" which is beef sautéed with onions and red peppers served over rice... they have a sauce here called "Aji" which is served with almost everything... it's different each time, but it's usually spicy.... but really good.
The Ice cream here is better than Braums! There are also these little cookies called "alfajores" and the are like a cookie sandwich made of soft short-bread type cakes, with a layer of RICH and thick carmel stuff called "manjar blanca."
The fruit here is AMAZING!!!!!!! I had no idea so many types of fruit exist! it seems like everything has more flavor, and the fruit is bigger... we had a fruit called "granadilla" which tasted really good.... on the outside it kinda looks like a hard orange... on the inside it's filled with these little black seeds. the seeds are coated in this gooey jello-type stuff that is really sweet... when you eat the fruit you slurp out all the jello and seeds alike... you just taste it and swallow... it's a little weird... but so good!


There is another fruit called "maracuja" but you don't eat it because it's too strong... Instead, you make a delicious juice out of it! funny story.... we buy all our drinking water in cases of 2 liter bottles... all the water either comes "con gas" (carbonated, like seltzer water) or "sin gas" (normal). we accidentally bought a case of “agua con gas” (carbonated water). we had 4 2-liter bottles of it! and none of us drink carbonated water.... we didn't know what to do... well, when you make maracuja juice, you have to dilute it with water because it's so strong.... so we used our carbonated water to make it... we had "Sparkling Maracuja juice" :-) kinda like the sparkling grape juice in the States... it was GOOD and it packed a punch... it was a new drink for all of us... even our Peruvian hosts.

The sights...
...This is another two sided answer... You will see what you want to see. If you want to see dirt, and poverty, and brokenness, and trash on the streets, and beggars, and street kids..... you will see it all... But, if you choose to look, you will also see a beautiful sky, strong mountain ranges, vibrant splashes of color, a variety of architecture both old, and new... gorgeous flowers, and resourcefulness, creativity, endurance and unshakable strength in the people...


The smells...
... The most common smell while outside is a mixture of dust and diesel exhaust from all the busses, combies, micros, and coasters... not to mention the taxis. You will also smell dogs (there are a lot of dogs, both pets and strays), fresh fruit, meat cooking, and meat waiting to be cooked, flowers, baking bread, hair dye (there are a lot of salons), and some smells that you just do not know what they are.... :)

The sounds...
....in the house it’s generally quiet. We usually have worship music playing in Spanish of sometimes English. The neighbours on the right make blue jeans in their home... our house is separated from theirs by a concrete wall, so we can hear their machines sometimes.... they also play a lot of traditional Peruvian music. The neighbours on the left have small children who play and scream, and a little baby who cries a lot... and a parrot that loves to screech and yell and say “hola” really loud...in the morning, we can hear roosters crowing, and around 7pm every day the trash truck comes with alarms like an ambulance....
... outside of the neighbourhood..... you hear the buzz of constant traffic, impatient car horns, locations and prices shouted from the man at the combie/bus door trying to get you to come on the bus.... little children playing, music of all kinds, multiple conversations of Spanish....

Backstory part 3.

Okay, so we left off at the part where God blessed me with an awesome job! He also blessed Yasmin and I with plane tickets. One of her co-workers had buddy passes from a family member for American Airlines. They had more than they needed and let us use them! A normal flight from the States to Peru runs close to $1,000 give or take a couple hundred.... God gave us our ROUND TRIP flights for $500!!! God is good! And then a few days before we left, we were told to dress nice just in case... and we ended up in First Class for all three flights here! God is so good! It is really true what Ephesians 1 says about God lavishing His love on His children!

Another amazing thing God did for the trip was provide all of our finances. One month before I left, I had no money for the trip at all... I prayed, and sent out a letter to friends and family.... in less than a month, God provided EVERYTING I needed and then some!!! What a mighty God we serve!

Thanks for staying tune and reading the backstory leading up to this trip... I just HAD to share how God has guided us and blessed us in preparation to come....

Blessings!

Testimonies

Yesterday was nice... After breakfast, Yas and I went with Eduardo to the open-air market.... I must say, I had a little bit of culture shock :). But then I got to thinking... and God began to show me, that even though things are very different here, and almost incomprehensible to my germaphobic, hand-sanatizing mind.... They are not necessarily bad, After all, people have been living like this and preparing food this way for centuries! In the span of history, the concept of germs is relatively new... God took my culture-shocked, freaking-out self, and calmed me down with the choice to trust Him. Trusting God is not a pick-and-choose deal, you either trust Him with EVERYTHING, or nothing...

Back to the market... There are so many neat things here! Like the fact that practically ALL the food is fresh! And there are more fruits and vegetables here than I think I have ever seen before... Most food in the US is pre-packaged and processed... So on the one hand, fresh food is much better for you... on the other hand, I can trust God and still like my hand-sanatizer :).

Last night, three girls from the church came over for fellowship. Relationships are an important part of Peruvian culture. For the first 2 hours of the fellowship time I struggled. I had a headache, and wasn't understanding the Spanish at all... I was getting bored, but trying to be polite and not show it. I also felt left out... I excused myself for a minute and took some ibuprofen for my head. I was still frustrated, and while in my room just cried out to God... "PLEASE help me understand something!" I know I serve a God whose vocabulary in any language does not contain the word "impossible" so why should I get discouraged and think I can never learn Spanish?

I returned to the group, and shortly after was asked to share my testimony.... in Spanish! I did not know how I was going to do it. I did not think I knew enough Spanish. But God totally helped me, and without any preparation on my part, I was able to share my testimony in total Spanish (with some help from Yasmin for some words). I know my grammar was no where near perfect, but they were attentive, and understood what I was saying. After I shared, we went around the room and all shared our testimonies. It is so neat to see how God is at work in all of our lives!

God continues to open my ears to the language, and each day I find myself understanding and speaking a little more. Praise God!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. - Eph. 3:20-21

Backstory part 2.

Yas and I were exstatic! Maybe, we could really go to Peru... Still, I had no money at this point, and Yas only had a little bit. Yas had a job... I was still looking.... so even though we both wanted to go, in man’s eyes, it looked like an impossible feat. Praise God we serve a God in whom all things are possible! We continued to pray, and decided to start saving money and preparing to go on the trip. Yas and I knew that if God wanted us to go, He would open the door.... and in the impossibilities we saw, He would be glorified. We were trusting and praying that if we were not to go, He would close the doors... while we remained willing and ready to walk through whatever doors He opened. We wrote our host family (Eduardo & Edelmira Ledesma, local pastors), and told them we were praying, and the dates for the trip we were thinking about.

If I was going to go overseas, I needed to renew my passport. I researched it online, and decided to ask my friend (who had previously offered to pay for it) if she was really serious... Asking for money is not an easy thing for me to do, but I felt like I needed to follow up with her. The very next time I saw her, I was about to ask her when she pulled out a check for the exact amount I needed! The check was dated for the day before, and she said she was lead by God to give, and she didn’t think I would take her seriously so she was going to give it to me anyway.... She didn’t even know about Peru yet!!! How great is God! I almost started crying and told her a out Peru, and we rejoiced together. That day I sent off for my passport to be renewed... it arrived 3 weeks later in less time than it was supposed to take.

At this point in the story (early February) I was still jobless. I had interviewed with an temp agency, but not heard anything from them. I didn’t know what to do... if I was to go to Peru, I needed a temporary full-time job for the next 6 weeks. I did not know where or how to find one. My Mom suggested I post my need on Facebook... I thought it was kind of silly, but I posted it anyway. I got several leads in response. This was the Friday afternoon before Valentine’s Day. I wrote the leads down to follow up on them the following Monday.
When I checked my email that night, I found a message from a friend I hadn’t heard from in a while. I used to babysit for him and his wife.... Amazing family, and I love those kids! They grew out of the need for a babysitter about the time I went to college, and I hadn’t stayed in contact with them... I had just recently found them on Facebook... Anyway, he wrote me and asked me what kind of job I was looking for, and why I wanted temporary work... I explained that I was planning a trip to Peru in 6 weeks.... we continued to correspond, and long story short, he is my boss now. I have a job with a great company, and amazing co-workers! I really, really enjoy it! AND my boss was willing to let me get my feet wet for 6 weeks, as long as after my trip I came back to work.... God is SO GOOD!!!!! Not only did He provide a job for the short-term, but one for when I get back! (I had assumed after my trip I would have to start the whole job searching process again.... and I have student loans coming due in July...) Praise God for my job... not just a job, but a job that I love!

How big is our God!

It's our second day in Peru, and God is good!

We had great flights all the way here. We were blessed with standby tickets for the trip. Flying standby sometimes means you wait a long time to get on a flight. We got on all of our scheduled flights, and they were all upgraded to First Class! Neither Yas nor I had ever flown first class, but all three flights were first class! We felt like God was giving us a special treat... just to remind us how He loves us, and how BIG He is.... He is beyond, BEYOND! (Eph 3:20-21)

We had a 4 hour layover in Miami, so after double checking what time we were supposed to check in at the gate, we caught a city bus and spent just under an hour at South Beach. Totally spontaneous, but so fun! Of course, we were lugging around our carry-on baggage and were not at all dressed for the beach, but we rolled up our pants and got our toes wet.... It was refreshing to get out of the airport.

We landed in Lima around 9:30pm central time. Usually the immigration line is very long, we were through in less than 2 minutes.... collected our bags in about 15 minutes, and exited through security and met our hosts. The whole process was probably less than 30 minutes.... this is not normal! God is so good, guiding and blessing us!

Yesterday was relaxing...
Last night we went to a prayer meeting at church. What a joy to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ!
My ears are starting to adjust to hearing all Spanish all day... I'm learning to listen a lot, and be content with not understanding everything. God is faithful though, and my comprehension is already growing.

It is hot and humid in the mornings here... around 80 degrees Fahrenheit if I understand correctly, but it cools down to a comfortable temperature in the afternoon. The food is wonderful! Everything is fresh and there is so much variety...

We have been to two supermarkets, and one open-air market in the past two days.... we have ridden in several taxies and one two busses. The traffic is very different from the US, but the drivers know what they are doing...

God is blessing, and we are grateful.

more to come....

Backstory part 1.

I graduated with my BA in English with a minor in Psychology Pre-Counseling. It was a beautiful December day, and my whole family was together… including BOTH sets of Grandparents! I am truly blessed with my family! The day, and subsequent week passed by in a whirlwind… that swept me right into Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

After the first of the year, life began to slow down. Graduation hadn’t really sunk in and I felt as if I was just on a temporary break from school. The days grew lengthy, boring, and largely unproductive. On one of my many free days, I met with a dear friend for lunch. She was my sunday school teacher in high-school, and we were catching up on life. At some point the conversation turned to traveling, and I casually mentioned that I needed to renew my passport. I had no trip plans at the time, but I was just reminding myself it was something to be done someday. My friend told me she wanted to pay for it to be renewed! I was grateful, but wasn’t planning to take her up on the offer, after all, I didn’t even have a trip planned...

Life continued... I was looking for a church home, and constantly getting the dreaded question of “What do you do?” What did I do? I went to a Bible study, I read novels and watched DVDs of my favorite TV show... I knew I needed to find a job and begin my new adult life… but I was terrified. What if I don’t find a job? What if I do and I hate it? What if I get a job and I’m stuck in it for the rest of my life?

Also during this time, I found myself constantly thinking about Peru. I went to Peru with my family in 2003 on a mission trip. Since then, I have always wanted to return and learn Spanish, but never really thought it would happen. Yasmin and I had playfully talked at Graduation about how fun it would be if we ever got to go sometime. Yasmin is Peruvian, but has lived in the USA for a long while. Neither of us thought our words would actually come true.

Towards the end of January, I became so frustrated with the messy state of my room and was convicted to clean it. Every time I prayed to God about my job, He would answer, “Clean your room.” “But God,” I would answer, “I need a job! my room can wait can’t it?” Then God would gently correct me, “How can I entrust you with more when you are not managing what I have already blessed you with?” Now, I have never been the most organized person in the world... In my room, I had most of my childhood belongings, along with everything I accumulated in college, and there simply WAS NOT ROOM for it all. I decided to obey God and clean my room. If I was going to do this though, I was going to do it right! I spent an entire 6 day week going through everything I own. One third went to the trash, one third to Goodwill, and the last third I kept. It is so much easer to stay organized when you have less junk! God taught me a lot through that experience. In our own lives, it is also easer when we get rid of our unnecessary junk. God also blessed obedience!

Soon after my room was CLEAN, Yasmin and I were talking. Turns out she could not get Peru off her mind either. We began to pray for wisdom. Dreaming big, we discussed what it would even look like if we did go. We prayed and decided to write the parents of a mutual friend from Peru... They are pastors, and we emailed them asking if they knew of any needs in the Country or in local churches.... we were just trying to see if there was even a need.

The next day they wrote back saying that they had needs in their church for someone to teach Bible Studies in Spanish and English with their youth... they also invited us to stay with them in their home, and asked when we would be coming. Yas and I flipped out! We were not really expecting a response... we then started praying more intently. We talked about how long we would stay and when we would go.... The end of March was the earliest and latest we could go to be able to each spend the amount of time in the country we felt God was leading us to spend.....

to be continued...

Beyond beyond.

In December, i was blessed to be able to go to a women’s conference called “Deeper Still.” The conference was a gift from my Grandparents to the ladies of my family. My good friend Yasmin, and her mother were also in attendance. The conference featured Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Pricilla Sheer, and was truly amazing and life-changing for me. I felt as if I had been brought to a turning point in my life. One of the great messages we heard was given my Pricilla, from the text of Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” She broke down the verses word by word, and emphasizing the powerful meaning of each one... God is able.... He is able NOW, and He is able TO DO.... He is able to do EXCEEDINGLY... exceedingly ABUNDANTLY!... exceedingly, abundantly, ABOVE!!! (You get the picture I hope.) The power in these two verses still astounds me. I have seen them come to life tangibly in my life the last 3 months since the conference.

In a nutshell, God has provided a wonderful Job! He has totally opened doors wide for me to go to Peru for 2 months... The details of these stories are incredible... God truly does surpass even our imaginations! The details of the past few months make for a very long read... I will post them in little bits.... and designate that they are backstory.

In the meantime, I will also post what God is currently doing on the trip!

Introduction

Let me introduce myself. Hi!

Some things to know... i use ellipses often! and more than necessary....

i may or may not use capitalization....

i will mostly write in english, but don't be surprised if i write in spanish (and rarely elvish)...

feel free to comment on posts...

That's all for now...