My encounter with TRUST

With only 3 full days left here in Canada… we are spending each minute and second with precious friends. Pictures, late nights, dates, and sleepovers are what these last days consist of.
On Sunday night, Joanna, Darlene, Brianna, Simone and I went out for a evening of pictures at any place we could find. We didn’t really have anything in mind. Jo took us to a park and we got out. At this park there was a little kids play ground that we took off right away. Darlene, Brianna, and I jumped on a small train and Simone started snapping pictures.
After the train we moved to other items and just took pictures. I know that it may not be that big of a deal to some, but those pictures I will always have and those memories will never leave my mind. These girls here are some of the amazing girls that I know. They have such a high joy and spirit about them.
After taking pictures, we headed off to Tim Horton’s to get coffee drinks. We sat at a table and just talked about how things were going and how much we needed to keep in touch when we all leave. Every time the word ‘leave’ is brought up, I think every persons heads are turning and trying to make themselves forget that it was even said. Leaving here is a realization that I’m not ready to face at this moment. I don’t think anyone really is.
Today Steve Klassen took us to a monastery nearby and we spent a few hours alone with God. We could walk the forests, sit by the pond, sit under trees, or in a small lounge area to focus on hearing the voice of God. From the very first minute we started I knew that today and my time with God was going to be amazing. I walked the trails praying and snapping pictures at the beginning. Listening to the sounds around me and to focus on God. Later I walked into the lounge and sat down… pin and journal in hand… I asked God to speak to me. I started writing questions I had for God and then I wrote down the response I felt God speaking to my heart. This went on for a good hour and when I went back and looked it over, I found the word ‘TRUST’ over 20 times! I’m going to be going home to some things that will be hard to face, and I laid them all at his feet. And he kept saying… ‘Lisa, just trust me. I have everything in my hand. Just trust in me!’
As I was sitting in that lounge and watching a few flower seeds floating in the air, I started thinking about how much our life is like that seed. The wind has full control of where that seed falls. Where ever it is dropped, that is where it was meant to be. The same with our lives in Christ. Our life is like that little seed. We have no control over it at all. Where ever God puts us on this earth is where we are meant to be. No mistakes about it. That just reassured me that I was and am supposed to be here. It wasn’t a mistake that I was brought to Canada and was sent to Peru. It’s all in God’s plans and he knows what he is doing.
Earlier on in Debrief, Luke and John had commented about how we need to maybe think about an one-liner we can use when people ask how our trip went and how we can use that with out spilling our guts to them. And while I was journaling and listening to God, he gave me my one-liner. Just knowing that that sentence came straight from God, gives me chills!
Today was like a breath of fresh air for me. Just having God speak to me and knowing that he is with me and all I have to do is trust him, makes me feel safe and that I have no cares in the world. I am still amazed at how our God works in our lives and how little things are so significant in our walks with him! We serve a God that loves us and a God that we can trust with our whole entire hearts! Trust God fully with your life and see how God can open your heart to the things around you and how he can work in your life! Just trust him!

Back to Canada

I never thought I could love someone so much just after 3 1/2 months. Leaving that airport on Monday night was one of the toughest things I have ever done. Sitting in seats talking through our tears and knowing what was coming next. When it came time to say our good-byes, it was more then I could handle. We hugged our last hugs with everyone, crying and each hug lasting a good minute or longer, I felt my heart tearing more and more. We pulled ourselves away from them after saying 'I love you so much' and walked through the gates. I made the mistake of turning around one more time and looking at everyone standing there. I lost it again and cried harder then I have ever cried in my life. Going through security was a pretty funny sight. They gave us weird looks and allowed us to get away with over weight luggage because of the way we looked! But at that point, we didnt care, we just wanted to walk back to those people we loved so very much. Those people I walked away from in Lima Peru... I will never forget and I love them with my whole heart.

My time here on TREK is decreasing very fast. I only have 10 days with the people I have lived with for the past 6 months. When you go on a mission trip like this and have a year of experiences and memories shoved into 3 1/2 months... what are you supposed to do with all the information? I remember telling some people at home that those last 10 days of TREK in Canada are going to be the worst ever. I feared that they would drag and that it would be 10 times worst since going home is in reaching distance. But was I wrong!! Day 3 already and I'm starting to see that these last days have so much to hold and so many memories to make. I dont think these 10 days are going to be enough.

This morning Luke gave a session on re-entering our home towns. He gave one quote that stuck out...

"...Therefore, where you were may not be as it was because of who you are now..."

I have thought about this and I this hits home so hard. I have changed so much I feel like. But my friends at home... they haven't. They have been going on with life in Cannelburg Indiana while I have been here facing things that will stay in my memories for life. Who I am now... no one will know when I get home. I have changed for the good I feel... I just want to stay this way. I just fear that when I get home, I will remain on a 'high' for awhile, but soon, that will changed into the same routine as summer camps and youth mission trips. You are bound to stumble and fall back. But why?

Coming back to North America has overwhelmed me. There are so many white people, people staying in 2 lanes on the roads, people have the right-away on sidewalks, we can flush toiletpaper and not have to put it in the wastebasket, the tap water is good to drink, and everyone around me understand when i speak English. Being shoved back into this... tougher then I ever thought.

Seeing all of the girls that went to Japan, amazing. It's like I never left them, but then it seems like I have been gone for millions of years. We have already spent a lot of one-on-one and just hanging out. So many stories to trade and so much to tell about personal growth and life. I just hate the thought of leaving these people in 9 days!

All I can do is trust God and ask for your prayers as I finish this amazing trip. God has given me so much grace this whole time, I can only trust that he will continue until I get home and settle back into the life I once knew. The life and people who have been so faithful in supporting me! Thank you!

The loves of my life in Peru

We are winding down with time… and I’m beginning to think about going home and the things I will have to face when I get there. So many things have changed and so many things have happened to me and at home.. I just wonder how things will clash. Will I be able to fit back into my youth group, my church, and my friends? I have changed so much and things at home have changed as well… but… is it the same way? Will I be able to stay in touch with God at home as I have here? So much has been running through my head the last couple of days and I’m starting to think about them more.
When I think about leaving the people here that I have grown to love and have developed friendships with, it makes me sad and somewhat depressed as well. Living with the same people for 6 months, there are strings and attachments. They aren’t easy to let go. So I decided as a tribute to each one that I love here… I will tell you about each one and share memories I have with each. Hopefully I can give you some insight on the people I have grown to love.

Sarah Doucet: Team leader
This woman is a living example of Proverbs 31. With her being our team leader… it fits her all the more. She is willing to go out of her way to do the things that the rest of us sometimes forgets to do. She is our main cook and she is the one that does a lot of the shopping. She is willing to stay up late to make sure things get done and is the first one awake to turn the light switch on to get us up for the gym. When she is struggling, you see her with her Bible praying to her Father about whatever is bothering her. She doesn’t try to do things on her own… she knows and gives all credit to God. One of my good funny memories I have of Sarah is the fact that she hates rats and how many times we have playfully scared her. Just to see her facial expressions… its all worth the trouble to get her! Sarah has such a heart of gold and a hear for the ones around her. She cares for her team and she shows it.

Laura Adams: Team accountant
Out of the whole team, I feel like I know her the most. I have lived and slept in the same room with her for the past 6 months ( minus one night when my family came to Canada )! We say so many things at the same time… we often tease each other about us being in each others heads. She has became my sister and my best friend. Her faith and her love for God has encouraged me in so many ways. She is willing to reach out to the ones in need and to allow God to shine through her. I can count numerous times where she was there for me when no one else was. She sat there holding me, whipping my tears, and praying for me. She knows exactly what to say at the right moment. She isn’t scared to show her faith and to show her love for God. She is willing to let that show. One of my favorite memories are the dates that we have had with each other. We seem to have such a way of finding topics that we enjoy talking about and we have so much fun just being around each other and being able to connect with the other.

Dave Toews: Our only guy
When I look at Dave… I see someone who has the heart and courage of God himself. He cares for us girls so much and it shows so deeply. He is willing to go out of his way to make sure that not one of us girls go out alone. He is willing to make himself our protector and our guard. He has grown so much from day one of TREK until now. His spirits have lifted and we all can tell that he has grown so much in the Lord. Some fun memories are when he sang to ‘Amish Paradise’ at Laura’s birthday party and just hanging out with him during the days.

Breanne McDaniel:

Our artist and prayer warrior

When it comes to prayer and being able to encourage anyone in their moment of depression… Bre is willing to help and to be there for you. She is one of the most sweet hearted girls I know. She is willing to talk to anyone who is off on their own and is willing to get her hands dirty for the work of God. We are so much alike. More then we first realized. Our personalities… our ways of thinking, and some of our dreams… similar in more then one way. She has an idea in mind of something she would love to do and she is strong headed and she is determined to see to it that it gets down. Her ability to find God in any situation and to keep everyone else searching… blesses me! One of my favorite memories that I have with her, are all the times that we would walk together hand in hand and talk about our families and just things that we would love to do in our lives. And her encouraging my dreams and hopes for my life. She cares so tenderly for everything that goes on in my life and everyone around. Just hearing her dreams, her longings in life, everything… it made me want to be more like her. So pure in heart and so deeply in love with her Father.

Roxy Neufeld: Candy girl
When it comes to patients and joy… she is the girl that has both. She is so patient when it comes to the rest of us and just having a smile on her face all day… it encourages me to keep my spirits up and to keep going. She is so eager to share what she has and is never scared of trying new things. I have grown to love her so deeply. Just the way she checks up on you when you look sad or just the way she sits with you just to talk… it touches me. She has grown so much since we have came here and I can see Jesus in her with everything she does.

Otto Funk: My grandpa
From the very beginning… he has been my way of getting through. He reminded me of my Grandpa Yoder so much that I began seeing him AS family and I know that that is how I got through this whole 3 and a half months without much homesickness. I thank God everyday that he has sent him into my life. He has been there for me when I needed someone to talk to… and on our Trujillo trip, he was there to support us and to give us the best possible trip that we could have.

Lidia Funk: Our spoiler
Lidia has taken us in and spoiled us. She has welcomed us in and shown us how it is to be away from home but still be at home. I have grown to love her with my heart. She is always open to having girl nights with us and to just hang out with us to watch a chick flick or a romantic movie. And there is always fresh homemade bread when we really want it.

Kevin Funk: My yunker
I have gotten to know Kevin more and more each day. He became my uncle or ‘yunker’ by a couple weeks into our trip here. I feel like I didn’t get to know him as well as I could’ve because of his studies… but one thing I learned from him is that he is one that doesn’t give up easy and he is determined to see things to the end. He is always willing to help out in the church and to be there for the ones that need him. Some fun memories that I have with him are playing zip bong with him at youth. Seeing what all he gave up to come here… makes me know that God is real and that if you only trust in him… he will see that you will be blessed.

Jano Lopez: Our pastor and Papi
As the pastor and as the leader of the house we are staying in… he has done his share of welcoming us into his arms. He has went out of his way many times to make sure that we have everything we need. Making extra trips to the market with me, getting us extra stuff we didn’t really need, as well as making sure we are safe when we walk the streets. He has become one of

our best friends and has helped us get the feeling of being in a Peruvian household.

Angelita Lopez: Our Mama
I feel like because of her… we have become so involved with the culture here and the different foods. She does so much for us to make sure that we get to taste and to experience the real Peruvian culture. She does so much as well to make us feel welcome. She opens her arms for us when we need her and she is always there to tell us she loves us.

Gustavo Lopez: Mi tio
Gustavo is one that we have just recently became close to. He at first lived with us for the first week and then he moved to Trujillo. We became somewhat close to him on our trip up there and then when he moved back down here in Lima… is when I began to see who he really is. He is a lead singer in a Christian band and is awesome on the guitar. He has a personality to drawn people to him. He is one that helps to protect us from the street guys and he is always here when we want to stay up and sing. He has become one of the guys that I can trust here and that I feel comfortable being around. One of the good memories that I have with him is all the times we watch 24 with Jano and he calls me Nina Myers… and I reply by calling him Tony Almada. And all the times that I speak to him in English and how he understands every word I say and he will just replay in Spanish because he says he is to embarrassed to speak in English even though I have gotten a conversation out of him in English.

Ali Lopez: Our hyper night owl
She is one that was harder to break into becoming close to us. She was hard to become close to for awhile. But now… since we have broke her… she has become a hyper night owl. It seems like when the sun goes down… her personality comes out. She is a bright student who has so much going for her. She is a smart and beautiful girl. When I look at her I see someone who will do well in the hands of God. One of my favorite memories is when we taught her some English phrases and she taught us some. One that she loves to say is ‘shut-up garbage’!! she runs around saying it and we just laugh when she says it. The way she pronounces it… makes us happy to know her. She taught us ‘fa fa’ also known as ‘goosing’! We run around fa faing her and having so much fun.

Anni Lopez: Little fa fa
Little Anni! The girl that has so much energy and her smile is enough to keep you smiling. Her way of loving you as a person is remarkable. She is willing to go out of her way for the ones she loves and will do what she can to help. When I gave my testimony… she was there to help me with my pronunciations and spelling. She was willing to sit with me and work with me.

Jackie Hidalgo: King Kong’s mother
Living across the hall from her for 3 and a half months… you learn to love her and to develop a relationship with her. She is quite and has her ways of making friends with King Kong ( our monkey ) and other animals that are around this church. She is so kind spirited and gracious.

I have only touched on the things I could’ve said about each of them. There is so much more that could be said. Each of these people that I have mentioned means so much to me and they have touched my life forever. Part of my heart will remain here with each one of these people and when I head home… they will never be forgotten!!

Our blessed unexpected ministries

Going on any mission trip, there are things that you help with or participate in that you would've ever have dreamed you would do. I have 2 different ones that I love helping with but when I first arrived, they weren't even a thought in my mind. But with me participating and seeing the changes that has happened, I thank God for those oppertunities.

The first one is the gym we attend every morning at 6am 5 days a week. At first when Otto mentioned it, we were at a low point of our beginning... who wanted to work out everyday at that time on a trip to Peru?! We started going at first just to make people happy and to have the excuse to eat more! But as time went along, it became more then that. It because a place for some of us to get stress out by kick-boxing, others to just use that excuse, and still others who really wanna get stronger! We became really good friends with the instructor, Hector, a step-aerobics teacher, work-out barbie, and a kick-boxing teacher, captain insane-o. We have fun making Hector sweat more then us with chin-ups, singing along to the music, and attempting to get Hectors hat off of his head. We have also developed some new friendships with some of the people who also come to work-out.

At first, the gym caused alittle spat in our team now and then... and we complained everymorning about getting out of our cozy beds. But now... we walk home laughing about what was said that day, and how we have to get Hector to come to English classes. We work harder and we have proof of that. The thing that really touched us and proved to us how this is an unexpected ministry is the fact that one day Hector told Otto that he sees a difference in us. That there is something different about us then from any other white people he sees. That he can tell that we are doing what we say we are here to do... spread the love of God. Before we left for our Trujillo trip in the beginning of May, we bought Hector a dozen of eggs, chocolate, and a card and delivered it to him. It brought tears to his eyes and we knew then that when we leave, that gym will never be the same because of the opportunity we have to share there. The other instructors got alittle jealous over that gift-giving day!

The other is working with children at a home for HIV mothers and children. We go and help there every Thrusday along with Jackie. Jackie reads a story, then we help them color a picture, and then they get juice and a snack. They love our attention and they love to be held and to be the center of attention. This place has blessed me greatly. There is one little girl that has a hold on my heart. Her name is Ruth. She is so sweet and loves to sit on my lap and just hold on tight. It breaks my heart when I see those children and know that they are sick and can not be healed. Their smiles are one thing that brightens my day.

That is one thing that I have learned on this trip. Small things like working out, and passing out juice and candy, can effect a person on how they see Jesus and how they see the love of him. I have also learned that it only takes an hour and a half a day 5 days a week to reach out to a gym instructor and for him to see the difference in us. That is how big our God is... that is how much he loves us and how much he has trusted us with.

My precious Susan

Today has been exciting and its only half over. We went to a small church in the middle of nowhere and did our drime for the last time and worked with the children. There were about 60 children of all ages. The cutest children I have ever seen. We started off singing and just talking to the kids to get them to interact with us. We then did our drime. It's sad to think that that was our last time. We have preformed that drime so many times... i can do it in my sleep. But everytime I do that drime, I think about what God really did for us. He broke us free from our sins and still does it when we fall. He is always there and he is watching our backs for us. Being satan in the drime, really has impacted me thinking about sin. Money, drugs, lust, and images, everything. I see what they can do and how quickly they can take hold.

After our drime... we played some games with the children. All children love balloons so that is what we did. We blew up so many balloons and let them pop them. They loved it.

At a HIV home we visit, women knit scarfs for Lidia in their spare time. She had about 80 scarfs total. They were made especially for today to pass out to children. We gathered up all the children and gave them each a scarf, cookies, and a balloon. They went crazy. You could just see in their eyes that they were so grateful for them. Most of them took them out of the package and put them on. They pranced around showing them off.

The whole time we were there, a small girl sat on my lap, her arms around my neck and her smiling face looking up at me. Her name... Susan. She was one of the sweetest girls that I have laid eyes on. Her soft smile just made me want to take her home. We sang and danced together... her hanging onto my neck and singing her heart out. She shared her cookies with me and she just kept saying my name over and over. While I was doing our drime... I kept looking up at her and she just stood there watching me, her smile shining on her face. She was only 4... but I really think I preformed that drime for her.

Leaving today, leaving Susan, was hard. I just wanted to hold her, to talk her home. All the kids lined up to say good-bye to each of us, while Susan stood behind me, holding onto my arm. When her older sister came to get her... she resisted, but finally let go when I hugged her and told her that I loved her so much. Her eyes shone so bright!! That girl had so much spirit, so much life. That girl was and is my 'Precious Susan'!!!

Our Trujillo trip and midterm retreat

Isn’t it so weird how you plan and plan for a huge trip and in a blink its over?! How everything you did is now just a memory and something written down on a piece of paper that is called your journal. Every person you met came into your life and right back out as fast as they came in. Some of them you may never see again. But at the same time, those people played such a big part of your short time there with them. Let me start at the beginning and you will see how just in 17 days, we reached a lot of people and we got reached by a lot of people.

May 1-4:
We arrived our first destination at about 11pm. Trujillo. A small town that contains family we already know and love. We were greeted at the bus stop by more kisses and hugs from people we had no idea who they were. Liana was one of them, which we later got to know a lot better. We stayed in a church Sunday school room on blow up mattresses.
We worked on cleaning out a storage room that was stuffed to the door with stuff that they just couldn’t throw away. It didn’t take long to finish that job and we were on to the next small task. We helped put shelves up in a working progress seminar building. Its just so amazing how doing little things like that can make someone so happy. It didn’t take long at all and we had made their day! If that’s all it takes, why don’t we do more of it for just people around home?!
On the 2nd, we went to visit some ruins from the 9th century. It was hot and some of it wasn’t that exciting but we enjoyed seeing the inside of a castle from way back in the day.
When we got out from the tour, we were heading to our van when a bus door opened and about 10 kids ran out and towards us. They handed us small notebooks and pens and wanted our signatures. It was seldom that they saw ‘white people’ and when they did… they took advantage of it. I felt a small taste of what it felt like to be famous. Only this… was because we were white!! But I didn’t mind. I was doing something nice for small children wanting something to show for!
After the ruins, we headed to the beach with Gustavo and Carlos ( the family I was talking about earlier ). We rode some sweet horse boats, did some swimming, and some more shopping.
After the beach, we headed to a father of a neighbor back here in Lima and visited his house. I am not exaggerating when I say he has just about anything in or at his house. He has a bold eagle, 4 hawks, parrots, a mummy, supposedly the anchor that once was on the Titanic, thousands of crosses of all kinds, and so much more. He had a collection of money and he gave me a bill from the 1800s!! You read right!! Real or not… I have it!! He fed us some cake and some tea and we talked for a while. Just sitting there made his day.
On the 3rd we headed to a small village to work with some kids. We painted faces, acted out the story of David and Goliath, made balloon animals, and played with the kids on the swings. I really loved how when Breanne and I stared painting faces, there was no getting away from them. They just wanted more and more. I loved how something so small like paint could bring the energy and fun out of little kids.
Later that night, Gustavo and Carlos took us out on the town. At first they had no idea what to do with us or what white girls would like to do but we found some entertainment. We were walking down the street and we saw this huge cross and we decided to take pictures by it. Breanne and Roxy took off for the cross and raced up the stairs to find a homeless man standing there and yelling at them to get off. It scared the girls. Carlos and Gustavo were quick to their rescue and went to talk to the man. They explained that we only wanted pictures and that we meant no harm. When we walked up to the cross finally, we found that he actually lived there. There was a small box and some blankets laid at the foot of the cross. That is where he slept. We felt bad to have scared him… but at the same time… we learned our lesson about running up to something at high speeds!!

May 5-13:

From Trujillo we headed to Piura. We left by bus and were expected to arrive Piura around 6. At 4:30 we were woken up to people telling us to get our shoes and to get off the bus. My first thoughts: we have been hijacked!! We all turned to Otto ( grandpa to me ) and he said that it didn’t look quite like Piura. He told us to stay on until he checked it out. We all gathered our things while we prayed silently. Laura told everyone to get their passports on them and that everything else can be replaced. Thoughts of my family and Jake ran through my mind in fast speeds. We were the last ones off the bus and grandpa came to us and said that it was indeed Piura and that we had just arrived early. Those words were the best words I had heard in a long while. Relief flooded my mind and body and we began gather our things. We arrived at the church and headed to bed. We slept pretty good that early morning and into late morning.
We headed off to a small town called El Indio for the day to invite children to a evening program that we were putting on. We divided up into 2 groups and went door to door inviting children to the church that night. The turnout was a good one. We had about 50 children show up and was it a blast. We did our regular program with them and shared so many laughs. Bre and I once again painted faces and we once again couldn’t stop. At one time I had about 25 little hands all around me yelling things they wanted painted on their arms. At the point of our break, Bre and I looked at each other and just laughed. We couldn’t stop. There were so many kids and not enough paint nor time. We finally got out of the circle and headed out for some fresh air.
On the 6th we did the same thing. Except this night program was for the youth of the town. We went door to door again and that night… only 3 youth showed up along with about 10 little kids. We did our drime, Bre gave her testimony, and grandpa gave a youth message to little 6-10 year olds.
On the 7th we headed to a small town called Sullana for the night to work on a church and their youth group. The pastor there made things out of coconut and sold them, so we had fun looking through his things. He even bought us some real coconut and we got to drink the juice!! Yummy!! Bre was asked to paint a door for them with the advertisements for their youth and children’s program. And how it always ended up… I ended up painting as well.
That night we worked with their small youth group and taught them what we could of our drime. Teaching it to only 3 people was harder then we ever thought.
On the 8th we finished painting and we worked with the youth some more and then we had a prayer meeting. For 45 minutes straight, we knelt and the pastor prayed over prayer requests given to him by some members of the church. That was a blessing to see how the church prayed so tenderly for their needs.
The 9th was our day off. In the evening, we headed to another small town to watch a Mothers Day program. They had an amazing drama team that did a few cute skits for the kids and the mothers. We watched and did our drime, and then we ate cake. Mothers Day is a big deal here and they celebrate it well.
To be honest with you, the 10th was a blur. There wasn’t anything planned and no one knew what was going on. We didn’t do anything that we thought we would do and we just hung around when we thought we were supposed to be doing something. Mass confusion!!!
Mothers Day was on the 11th and I have to admit that that day was pretty hard for me. Being away from home had a hold on me that day and I found it hard to focus at times. We did quite a few programs that day and enjoyed them greatly.
On the 12th and 13th, we went to a town called Chato Chico ( also known as Donkey Town ) to help build a toilet and paint on the church. We got to ride a donkey and grandpa and I rode a horse as well. There were donkeys, horses, sheep, cows, turkeys, and mules everywhere!! Donkey Town fit its description quite well!!

May 14-17:
Our midterm retreat. The part of the trip that we all were waiting for and working towards!! We spent every day on the beach lounging in the sun and eating grandpas good BBQ! It was time for us to relax and to find time to spend with God and to enjoy a few days after 2 weeks of hard labor!! Roxy, Bre, and I even found ourselves on a boat out on the sea. We got to swim and to just hang out swimming with dolphins we couldn’t see ( we had seen 3 previously the days before )!

On the last day of our trip… we headed back to Piura to get our luggage and found a little girl named Greysi. I had met her in El Indio and she meant the world to me. She brought each of us a little gift and a letter. That touched my heart. That little girl knew how to reach out and grab a hold of someone’s heart and hold on. She gave me her address and I know that we will stay in touch. That girl is the one that makes me smile and the one that can brighten a dim day.

We headed off to the bus stop and the rest is history!! We are back safe and sound in Lima and we are grateful to be home again. We are so happy to spend the last 4 weeks here in our home town!!

Can life get any better??

If its possible to hit a point in life when you are mentally, physically, and emotionally drained… I hit that point today. The past 4 days were filled with laughter, food, a few tears, tons of pictures, hiking, and a lot of youth. There is so much more that happened but I’ll just start with that for now.
On Friday afternoon we all piled into a bus and headed to a children’s hospital. We walked in and stood before about 15 little precious faces with various sicknesses and problems. We led worship, acted out the story of David and Goliath, made some crowns, played some games, and handed out food. Each face showed pain and suffering and just the attention they got brightened their faces to a smile. There was one little boy in a stroller that clinched my heart. Sarah helped him make his crown and we fed him his cupcake and juice. One of the nurses told us a little about some of the children and when she came to this little boy, the words she said made me love that little boy even more. They had just recently brought him to that hospital after they found him in a dumpster nearby. He was only one year old but looked old enough to be 3 or 4. Just the thought that someone had not wanted him and just dumped him off to die if no one found him made me realize how lucky I am to have the family I have. I have parents who love me and there were probably times when I was growing up that they wanted to dump me to, but they didn’t. They chose to love me and give me a chance at life and to love the God who made me. That little boy didn’t get that chance.
Saturday morning we woke up early and got ready for our monthly church breakfast. Buns, jam, ham, cheese, and coffee filled the table as people walked in as they pleased. We walked around the table making sure that there was always enough plates at the table for those who showed up which meant doing dishes 2 or 3 times within that hour and a half.
After we ate, we split up and had woman/men devotions. Our main passage was Matthew 25:14-30. Following that were some major points:
What is the highest priority in your life? ( Mark 12:29-31 )
How can I put God first in my life? ( Matthew 6:32-34 )
What are the things that are keeping God from being first in my life? ( Proverbs 3:5-6; Luke 12:34 )
What are some benefits of living with right priorities? ( Psalms 127:1-4 )
Even though the whole devotion was in Spanish, it really made me think and made me see what is really high on my priority list.
The youth stayed around all day and Lidia came over and taught us how to make Perogies and Cake de Calabazas. We all took turns rolling out the Perogies and stirring in the ingredients. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed singing Spanish worship songs as we worked. Things like this bond us together more and more with the family here and the whole church in general.
Saturday night/afternoon around 4, we headed to a Christian concert in a very shady part of town. I have never been to a Christian concert where you had to hold on to someone’s hand to make sure people didn’t cut in line and you had to keep your ticket out of sight so no one stole it. We arrived at the stadium at about 6 and stood in line until about 7:15 and the concert was supposed to start at 7 but then again its Peru and things never start on time. The concert was very good and Jesus Adrian Romero is a very good singer. I enjoyed his music even though I didn’t understand much of it. Kevin sat beside me and was translating most of it for me. About 25 to 30 went with us total. We enjoyed it all.
Sunday morning we all stumbled out of bed after a long night and got ready for church. We were to give our drime in front of church and we hadn’t even scouted out our tiny space. We managed to look things through and walk through some of the steps without giving it all away to the people already there.
I have to say that we did good!! We had Jano record it and things looked good. We saw some with tears, some with looks on their faces as if they had been touched, and some didn’t have much to say. They all congratulated us on our job well done and that was enough to cover for how nervous I felt before we preformed.
This morning we woke up at 6 and got ready to meet some more youth and head to the foot hills of the Andes Mountains. We rode 3 different buses for a total of about 2 hours and then hiked for an hour and stopped for a picnic. It was absolutely breathtaking. Words can’t describe the things I saw. I have so many pictures to prove how it looked… but when it comes to words… there aren’t any to share. There was a huge waterfall and while I stood in front of it… I just couldn’t imagine any better place to be. I was in Peru, standing in the Andes Mountains, standing in front of a waterfall, and singing worship songs. How could it get any better? This was the life. This was were I was meant to be. This place at that very moment.
I’m sitting on my bed right now wondering what I’m going to do when I go home. We are down to less then 10 weeks left for this whole TREK experience. I try to think about what its going to be like to go home… and it doesn’t come. I cant even imagine going home at this moment. This is my life, my home, and this is where I’m meant to be. I thank God for this place and for the people he has set in my life. And I know that when the time comes to head back to the life I’ve grown up in… the long to be there will come. I just cant believe that God chose me to serve him in this place, serve to these amazing people, and that God chose me to be his hands and feet at this moment!!

My life is a charade

Two months from today I will be heading back to Canada to finish this part of my life. In 2 months this place in Peru will only be a memory. In 2 months my TREK experience will be over and the people will all just be people I have grown to love and people I have spent a great season of life with. In 2 months I will return to my life as I know it in Indiana and look back on this and remember the memories I have made.
I know that people say that you aren’t supposed to look for the things ahead… that you are supposed to live every moment like it was your last… and that’s what I’m doing. I am living this season, my life, the best as I can. I know that the start of this may have sounded like I am longing to be home… but really and honestly… I’m not. Yes I miss home, and yes I miss my friends and families, but they can wait. This place is where God has sent me and this is where I want to be at this moment.
I look back on the past month and a half and I smile at the memories I have made here in Peru. The gym, charades, my family, and my new growth in love with Jesus. Those take over all the homesickness I may feel. Those memories make me smile and I think of the ones yet to come.
I know I probably have mentioned it before, but every morning we go with Otto and workout at a near by gym. At first, we hated it. We didn’t like waking up early, didn’t like to get all sweaty, and we just didn’t like the fact that we were going to do things to our bodies that would make us sore. Our options have changed. We still hate getting up early but its became easier. We are in bed by 10:30 every night and we learned to take small naps during the day. We don’t mind the sweat anymore… we just learned to take it when Hector pinches our sweaty body and move on. And the soreness… we have grown used to it. We no longer feel the pain of stretching muscles… and we just suck it up.
Charades!!! Who would’ve ever dreamed my life would become one. I personally hate the game, but when you are a gringo, you have to love it or else you wont survive in this Peruvian world. Everything you try to explain, everything you do, you are using your hands. You make the shape, you make sounds, you basically play charades every minute of everyday. Its been quite the experience. At home, I took advantage of knowing what everyone said, here…you guess and hope you are right.
The family here has been a blessing. I love each and everyone of them and I enjoy living in the same house as Jano and his family. We are learning their way of life and their way of doing things. Some come as a surprise but others, we grew up with to. They seem to have some good laughs at us as well. One incident I remember specify is one of the fist days here, we were eating lunch and we didn’t have a table in reach so we just sat on the floor with our plates in our lap. When Jano walked through the courtyard, he looked at us like we were green in the face. And the food on our plates had already been a laughing fit earlier because it was something they hadn’t ever seen… so this just added to the image in our minds of the way they seen us. We laughed about that one for awhile.
The past couple of days have been the best days spiritually that I have had in awhile. I did my devotions like I normally do, but the past couple ones have really touched my heart. On Monday, I read about King Saul and how he disobeyed God when he went into battle ( 1 Samuel 15 ). God gave him strict orders to destroy everything and leave nothing there. But Saul decides to take some of the best and offer them up to God as a sacrifice. It just really hit me how much God really wants our obedience. Yea… Saul offered sacrifices, but that wasn’t what God wanted! He just simply wanted Saul to obey. People say that I gave up a lot coming here… and I have., but that’s not what it is about. I came here because I had to follow God’s voice. I had to obey him. And when I obeyed his call in coming here… I had to make sacrifices.
I have learned a lot of other things in the last couple days of my ‘spiritually high’… but it would take way to long. You will just have to ask about those!!!
Six and a half weeks in Lima Peru and it has become my home. There is nothing I would change about it, that I would trade for, and nothing I am not grateful for. I love it here and I am so grateful for the opportunity to experience this season of life in this country… here and now!!

God's gas

Today started out on the worst side. I woke up nauseous and not in the best mood. I slept till about 10 and then headed to Spanish class. From here things went up hill!
Dates are an amazing thing. Especially when its with friends you love. Laura and I went out on a date this afternoon. We walked for awhile till we got to a ice cream place Greg had shown us earlier. We sat and talked about how we were doing physically, spiritually, and how we were doing homesick wise while we ate amazing ice cream. It was so nice to have a one-on-one girl talk.
Tonight was Greg’s last night here with us so he wanted to take us out for something special. We went to a nice restaurant called ‘The Jump of the Monk’ but in Spanish. We walked out by the ocean and took pictures on a huge rock where the waves were crashing behind us.
We headed inside and had some drinks, apple pie, and pancakes and ice cream. Super good!! We had a great time talking with Greg and spending the last night with him.
Where the restaurant was, there weren’t many taxies so one of the waiters offered to drive us to a place where we could find one. We all piled into a small van and started out. I don’t think the lady knew exactly what she was doing because the windshield wipers kept turning on and it was making funny noises. We started up this sharp hill and the van dies. We ran out of gas. We all start panicking because behind us is a curve, where at any minute someone could come fling around it, and we were in the middle of the road. Greg offers to drive and he gets in. He starts to back up and realizes that we have gas. So he punches the gas and we start driving. And I have to say that Greg makes a pretty good Peruvian driver! We make it to the gas station and we thank God for the gas that we didn’t think was there.
We walk out by the road to catch a taxi and we see one who has its rear windshield wipers on but it doesn’t have a blade, so it looks like a stubbly little tail on the back of this taxi. We laughed until we were nearly crying.
We finally got into 2 different taxies. Sarah, Breanne, Roxy, and I in one and Dave, Laura, and Greg in the other. My taxi took off first and we were just enjoying the ride and talking about the night. I asked Sarah to roll up the window and she said she couldn’t because there wasn’t a handle. The driver understands what is going on and hands Sarah the handle from the dash. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I burst into another fit of laughter. All of the sudden honking when off, which isn’t abnormal, but we looked over and its Greg’s taxi coming up beside us. We waved and took pictures. On their taxi there was a New York Yankee sticker on the windshield, blue neon lights all over, and sounded like a motorcycle. Pretty hard core. We raced each other the whole way. I don’t think our taxi driver was as into the racing as the other one was. He was laughing the whole way and was flashing lights at us. And he was pretty stocked about me being a Yankee fan also. I made a new friend!!
We made it home safely and had tons of fun. All in all… today was one of the best days of my life. So fun and relaxed. Just plain out amazing.

Isn't it amazing...

"The God on the mountain is still God in the valley. When things go wrong, he'll make them right. And the God in the good times, is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night"
Isn’t it amazing that when you are on a mission for God, the Devil is in your path more then ever. He finds ways to make you think that he is in control and that you are helpless and that you are not needed or wanted where you are. He throws things at you and expects you to drop dead and give up. Isn’t it also amazing that at the same time, the Lord is with you more then ever?
I have experienced both of these realities. When I look back at the events that shook me, they looked like enormous mountains blocking my view of God, but in reality, they were small pebbles in the ocean.
I love having a lot of memories of everything I do in my life. Everywhere I go, my camera is there with me. I truly believe in ‘A picture is worth 1000 words’. Six weeks into this trip, my camera breaks. It was like my oxygen was cut off, my source of life… my everything. I would leave in 3 weeks for Lima Peru and I wouldn’t have the most important item with me… I thought.
My family means the world to me, and when things happen when I am out of reach, it feels like the world is crashing down on me. From week one into TREK until I got to Peru, 12 different couples from home had ended or hit a wall. Most in which I was related to somehow. When your hit with that force, you tend to doubt the reason you are where you are. I did, but not only did I doubt it, I thought about backing out of it and turning home to see if I could help.
A month into being into Peru, I find out that my mother has to have surgery. That’s the worst feeling… not being home for my mother when she is in pain. She is there for me, I want to be there for her.
Through it all, I am so glad that I am here. Being away from home like this makes me see how much I need my family and how much I love them. But more then that, I began to see how much my Heavenly Father loves me. He has pulled me closer each day. He has whispered to me over and over about how he won’t put me through things that I can’t handle. Through the valleys and the over the mountains, he will be there. TREK has taught me so much when it comes to trusting God and giving my all to him. He knows what is going to happen. He is there holding your hand. He sees the whole picture.

Our highly unusual eventful day

God has blessed us with uneventful days while here the past 4 weeks until today. Today we experienced some things we have never faced before.
We woke up to a trembling shake… a 5.3 earthquake on the scale. When you grow up used to the blasts of a close by combine… a earthquake is a total different story. Its quite the alarm in the morning. You wake up to your bed shaking, parrots squawking, dishes moving around in the cabinets, and people screaming. Not the thing I would like to experience everyday. But everyone here just seen it as a normal event. They told us that we are expected one next week… so be aware!! Great!! Another possible morning of waking up to shaking.
Today we got invited to Italo’s house for lunch and that was amazing. We rode a bus for about an hour and then a taxi for about another 20 minutes. On the bus… we were all crowded in the back. Some 4 in a seat. When we got off to wait for a taxi, Otto told us a story of what he saw while watching out the bus window. A guy on the bus jumped out at a stop and ran up to a car stopped at a red light. He put his hand in the open window and grabbed the guys phone and took off running. Right in the middle of the street. Things like this happen regularly. Rule #1 while riding a taxi or bus… never open the window more then half way. Rule #2... Always lock the doors. Rule #3... Never flash things of great value. We finally arrived at Italo’s and shared our story with them. They all laughed at the events that go on in their streets. We ate turkey, rice, sweet potatoes, salad, gravy, and pineapple cake for dessert. Some good Peruvian home cookin’ food!!
While we were waiting to eat… Jano got a phone call and it wasn’t the best of news. It was about the church in Trujillo. We where all shocked and kind of at amaze. We are planning on visiting that church in 4 weeks.
On our way home from our lunch, I was in a taxi with papi, mama, Ali, and Anni… and as we came to a traffic jam, we saw a man out of his vehicle beating on a taxi driver. The poor driver just sat in his car and took the beating. Some guys rushed to the attacker and grabbed him and pushed him back into his car. I was startled at what I had just witnessed. The rage of some of the drivers amaze me. The driving here is outrageous. I would never attempt to ever drive in it. People cutting off people, more honking in a minute then you would hear in the whole day in the town of Montgomery, cars not watching out for pedestrians, and roads without stop signs. But the funny thing is that you hardly see accidents. I think we saw our first ambulance today since we’ve been here. How is it that in our towns, we have so many rules and yet so many accidents… and here, no rules and no accidents?! Something isn’t right.
Tonight for youth Jano had us TREKers dress up in all black. He talked on the death and resurrection of Lazarus. How we need to die to Christ. So dead that we stink. We need to die so we can be risen, we need to be hurt so we can forgive, we need to feel pain so we can heal. We need to really die. We then put a paper with our names on it and through it in the fire. Then he shared how when we raise for the dead… be bring color into our lives. Us TREKers then took off our black shirts and exposed a brightly colored t-shirt. It touched many people. It touched me. I had never thought of it that way. That when we die to Christ… really die the death and be made new.
After our lesson we headed to the market place where they had a special dance presentation going on for free. There was Polish, Peruvian, and some other dancing we had never seen before. It was so exciting and new for us. There were so many people there. Chairs set up filled with people and the circling area was overwhelmed with sightseers.
So for the most part… today has been the most eventful day of our 4 weeks here. We are starting to see the reality of life and how serious things can get. How fast situations can turn to the worst. We are starting to see the seriousness of togetherness and protection. And we are starting to see God work in the lives of the church member and also in some un helping neighbors. We are starting to see the devil working against the work we are starting to do. Please keep us, the church here and also in Trujillo, and the hearts of these Peruvian people in your prayers!!

Youth retreat filled with tons of energy

What a week!! The past 3 days have been filled with the youth group here. There were 26 of us total. So without us TREKers, the leaders, and staff… there were about 15 youth. Not bad for the community here. They all seemed to have a good time. Its just hard to know for sure though sometimes. Sometimes they just show up to see us and to have something to do. But this week retreat, it was focused on God and connecting with people in your area.
They arrived on Wednesday night at about 10. We just hung out and got everyone ready for bed. We had 14 girls ( 12 mattress ) in a small room… and 9 guys ( 6 mattress ) in another small room. It was hard getting some of them to bed on time. They love to giggle and just stay up. For some of them, this was their first ‘slumber party’!! Yea, that may be hard to believe, but its true. Yesterday morning we had breakfast on a long table. Felt like a big family. We had bread buns and soupy oatmeal. We sat and just chatted like we hadn’t talked to one another in weeks. After breakfast we played some games. We were on two teams and we played some true and false games. Talk about something challenging to have a person reading off the questions who speaks no English at all. He finally gave in and had Lydia give off some questions in English for us TREKers. The one question was pretty funny. She asked who the prime minister of Canada is. On my team it was: Laura ( American ), me ( American ), and Roxy ( Canadian but has a hearing problem )! So… if you didn’t figure it out yet… we last that one!! They had a pretty good laugh on that one. Another question I was eliminated from. Lydia yelled out… Lisa and Jake have been dating 7 months now!!! It was a fight to sit in the ‘True’ seat!! Everyone here knows I’m dating Jake and they ask everyday how he is doing! Makes me feel good and it helps me see how much I miss him.
After our games, Jano had devotions and it was a tear jerker. He talked about how much God did for us on the cross. He talked about how when they nailed him to the cross, they had to pull his arms out of their sockets and they were pulled out about 10 cm more then a normal arm. So for him to breathe, he would’ve had to push up on his nail feet to open up his lungs enough to take a breath!! OUCH!! He showed us 2 different clips from the ‘Passion of the Christ’! One of Jesus getting whipped and tortured, one of him being nailed to the cross, and one of the things that could’ve ran through Jesus’ mind while on the cross. It really touched my heart and made we wince at the sight. I had to turn away. I’ve seen that movie before and I’ve watched it all, but for some reason, I couldn’t this time. After the devotion was over, we were to get up and hug everyone. We saw some crying, watched their facial expressions change while getting hugged, and some just happy to be living.
After the hugs, we went out on a prayer walk. We split up and just walked around the neighborhood and prayed for each house, each person we saw, and just the whole Peruvian country. It wasn’t something I’ve ever done, and I found it relaxing, touching, and just amazing. After about a half an hour, Otto was walking beside me and he was explaining some things to me about the different streets and the houses. Some I found shocking, some I found amazing, and others were just the usual. We had some good talks and discussed the differences and similarities between Abbotsford Canada, Lima Peru, and Cannelburg Indiana.
Later we watched a movie. It felt so much like home. We were all spread out on the floor, mattress, and on chairs. We laughed and cried. We had the movie in Spanish and subtitles in English. It was so much fun how we can actually relate to each other. Just because we have a language barrier, we find ways to connect and to get through to each other. We watched a touching movie called ‘Pay it Forward’. Amazing movie!!
This morning we woke up and had another breakfast and then we headed to the beach. We were there about 5 hours!! Talk about a lot of sun!! We did a lot of body surfing, laying out, and hiding in the shade of the umbrellas! Beaches here are so amazing to just sit back and watch. There are ice cream carts being pushed around you every 2 minutes and just tons of kids running around. One thing I noticed though… their ocean has a stronger salt taste then Florida beaches do! We all did a lot of system cleaning while body surfing! But even through that, it was a lot of fun.
After 3 days hanging out with their youth, I can honestly say that I am wore out! They have a lot more energy then Americans or Canadians and they love to use it up in one throw! Its hard to keep up but it’s a lot of fun. I love it here and cant image being anywhere else at this moment. God is good and God is amazing!! He will never let you down.
Oh and we got Poncho ( the parrot ) to say ‘Party On’!!! Talk about some happy TREKers!! We were pretty excited!

Day as a tourist

Looking at Peru through the eyes of a tourist, someone you seldom are, you see the real beauty of the city. We got to do things and experience things we normally couldn't do. We experienced the reality of losing the only person you know who you understand for 5 minutes and being in the heart of a huge city, we experienced walking through a mall and hearing, and for a moment speaking to, a english speaking person without a peruvian accent. That was one of the best sounds I've heard in 2 weeks. Yes, we see and talk to Otto, Lydia, and Kevin, but hearing a native english speaker hit home more then I thought it ever would. We experienced Starbucks for the first time in 2 weeks. Now that is home!!! Drinking something you see at home really brought back some memories of both homes, Canada and Indiana. The best part of Starbucks was that they had a special Frap... one from their very home here in Peru... Manjar Blanco!!! A delicious caramel spread for just about anything you can think of! Bananas, apples, buns, grilled cheese, and yes... even pizza!! Try that in a Frap and you think you are in heaven!
The beach is amazing. Standing on the rail of the mall, having the wind blowing through my hair, and smelling the ocean, I realized how lucky I am. I am on a mission for God in the heart of Lima Peru with a Frap in my hand! What more can you ask for? How could it get any better? Having family here with me maybe, but the position I'm in now... it cant get any better!!

Breanne and I were standing facing the ocean and the amazing sunset and we talked about how when you put your heart and mind to something, you will eventually end up doing it. No matter if it happens how you wanted, if it takes many years, or just a few days, weeks or months, you will get there if you are determained enough. If you ask God, seek it out with your heart, and just look and watch for chances to do your dream, you will be surprised.

It doesn't seem like long ago that I first felt the desire to go on missions. I remember working hard to find something that worked and that fit my plans. But when you decide you want to follow God with something like this, he will find a way to get you there. Even thought I was thinking more like Jamaica, but Peru will do!! My heart is still on Jamica, and I trust God that I will one day step into the orphanage on the small island of Jamaica. But until that day, I will relax and have fun here where God has placed me.

One day in the life a tourist is fun and new... but I really enjoy the real purpose I'm here! I'm here to learn and serve!! Learn about the culture, the language, and serve God and the people here. That is my purpose here!! Learn and Serve!!