Back in the Swing of Things

Just so you guys know, I wasn't real sure I was ever going to make it back home. There was some confusion with my plane ticket, I thought it was an e-ticket, but when I checked in they told me if I didn't have the paper ticket I would have to pay over a thousand bucks to get on the plane! So of course I was freaking out and begged Ryan to go the Mike's office to find my ticket. In the mean time Heather had already checked in and was just waiting to leave so we sat and had our last Dunkin Donuts together as I tried not to think about the fact that I might not be getting home for awhile. Of course it all worked out, Ryan brought my ticket up and I boarded at the last minute. It just figures that I would do something like that.

So I made it home and my parents were waiting with a cold Dr. Pepper. The next few days at home were so crazy! I packed all my things and my parents were planning on renting a UHaul to bring everything up (like my clothes, my bed, and lots more). I left a few days early to visit my sister in San Marcos and then Marquette in Waco. I finally made it back up to school and was at work the day after I got there. Somehow UHaul lost my parents reservations and they couldn't get them another truck until this weekend. I haven't minded sleeping on the floor, it's better than freezing in mummy bag in a shady makeshift bed. Of course, though, we can't really afford to put the gas in the UHaul anymore so looks like all my bed and other furniture isn't going to make it up here. I don't really mind because it's a little reminder of Peru everyday.

This semester might be the easiest yet, I have no class on Tuesdays and Thurdays, and I don't start until after 11 on the other days. Soccer practice starts today (4 and 5 year olds) and basketball starts next week sometime. I hope you all are enjoying this school year, and for those of you not in school....lucky. I graduate in May and am beginning to realize that I soon need to discover what it is I'm going to do. I posted some new pictures of the house and a few from Lima. I miss you all and think about our trip often.

Home Sweet Home

I made it!

I got it!

So I got my passport this morning with no trouble at all! I'm officially a US citizen again! I went from the embassy over to immigration which is the craziest place in all of Peru. After wandering around for awhile asking people where I was supposed to go and then not understanding their answer, I met a guy who spoke english. He said he was a US attorney and friends with the President of Peru, he made it known that he had really good connections there. I told him I was a Baptist missionary and he told me he was a Christian as well. He led me upstairs and to the front a long line where he told the lady I was a missionary with him and I needed to get a visa. She took my paperwork right away and I had my 90 day visa stamped in my passport and was gone within 15 minutes. I couldn't beleive it! A couple of the Peruvian's in line were quite upset that I got "special treatment," one lady even started yelling at me about how this is her country and she can't even get a visa or something like that. I was so relieved to finally get everything done, though, I just ignored everyone and caught a taxi back to the apartment. We're about to head out to get some fried cuy (guinea pig) just so I can say that I had it while I was here. Tomorrow morning I fly out 10 and should be in Houston by 10pm. Thank you all for your prayers!

Milagro!

This morning we went to a Spanish service at one of the Baptist churches here in Lima and it was the first time all summer that I have understood a sermon! The preacher spoke perfect Spanish, and it helped that he had all his teeth too. When we were out in the campo I rarely picked up on anything they were ever saying. I am looking forward to the opportunity to sit through a chruch service without having to work so hard at figuring out what the preacher is actually saying.

Tomorrow I am going to the American Embassy at 8am to see if my passport is ready - which I hope it is because my flight leaves on Tuesday. From there I am headed to immigration to figure out my visa stuff - I'm sure they'll let me out of the country, but I just have to figure out if I have to pay to leave. So if you think of me say a little prayer that it will all work out smoothly and I'll be on a flight back to Houston on Tuesday. I can't wait to see you all again!

Cold and Cloudy in Lima

Well I've been back in Lima for over a week now and I never thought I would say this but I am so sick of eating out at fast food American restaurants, I'm actually beginning to crave some Peruvian food now...wierd. The night that my team flew in to Lima we all had huge burgers from Chiles, and I must say it was almost the best burger I've ever had - not as good as my dad's world famous. There was a kitchen in our hostel that we could use, but it was just to much of a hassle to go and get the groceries, and between those and a taxi it's just as expensive as eating out. There isn't that much to do here besides eat and hang out with the other missionaries...but, after tonight there will only be three of us left, and after Friday only two. So, I guess I can say that I am ready to be home only because it is so stinkin boring here. I haven't actually seen the sun since I've been in Lima, it seems like there is always a cloud hanging over this city and it's colder now than when we got here in the beginning of the summer. I can't wait to step into the heat and humidity of Houston, Texas!

Heather and I are staying at Ryan and Amanda's apartment until we leave (they are the ISC couple working with Reap South). I will probably put more pictures up either today or tomorrow and I'll blog again if anything crazy happens here in Lima. I can't believe that the summer is already over! I think I have all of my passport stuff figured out, and hopefully it will be ready by the 8th - the day before I leave. I'll be traveling to the immigration office some time in the next few days to figure out what to do about my Visa - which was lost with my passport too. I've heard that without a visa they make you pay a dollar a day that you are here - hopefully they'll let me work something out.

Grab a Life-jacket, This is Deep

Well we finally finished almost everything. Our job doing research out on the field officially ended on Monday. Last Sunday we went to a church service in a village out in the middle of nowhere. Much to our surprise the place was packed full of people. We were asked to come up and share a little bit; we shared who we are and why we were the only gringos in that whole village and then they asked us to sing a song for them in English. So, Chris grabbed a guitar from one of the 12 people with guitars and we sang Todd Agnew's Grace Like Rain. It was really kind of awkward because everyone was just staring at us and no one had a clue what we were saying. We ended up sitting in through the service for about 5 hours, and most of it - well pretty much all of it - was in Quechua, that language that none of us understand. Thank the Lord when I get back to hear a church service in English!

We got to Rick and Kelly's on Monday night and have been hanging out working on reports for the last few days. Wednesday we had Elijah's 4th birthday party at his preschool and I got to make animal balloons the whole time - I think I have almost perfected the dog and am working on the rabbit. Maybe when I get back up to school I can get a part time job working at a restaurant making animal balloons and collecting tips - sounds like a winner to me!

During our break here I have had a lot of time to do some reflecting on the summer and I got to read A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a serious thirst to follow after God. As most of you know, we don't have too many comforts down here - well pretty much the only familiar thing I had all summer was my backpack. Most of the other summer missionaries would probably agree that you experience God in a way that you never have before when you are forced to give up the things that you hold dear and those that you think you need. Spending two months here already I have come to a better understanding of what it means to rely completely on God for everything...and from that I have realized my need for Him more and more everyday. Here's an exerpt from Tozer's book that talks about what it means to lose everything, but doing so you really gain so much more in Christ. I think by reading this you might understand just a little more what I have learned just from living somewhat uncomfortably this summer.

The way to deeper acknowledge God is through the lonely valleys of soul abnegation of all things. The blessed one's who posses the kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all the sense of possessing. These are the "poor in spirit." They have reached an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets of Jerusalem. That is what the word poor as Christ used it actually means. These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. "There's is the kingdom of heaven."

I have yet to to become completely free from "the tyranny of things," but I know I have a better grasp of how to do so now. There was a veil in the old testament tabernacles that separated us from the the Holy of Holies, from the presence of God and all His glory. People would fear to enter because it meant sure death. The veil was torn down, though, when Christ offered His life for us as the perfect sacrifice. No longer should we be fearful to enter the Holy of Holies and to experience the Living God. However, when we offer our lives unto God we have a tendency to refuse to let go of some things and by doing so we put up our own veil that brings separation between ourselves and God. This summer has been a time when I have realized what those things are and I am in the painful process of surrendering those to Him. The cross was rough and painful, but Christ tells us in Matthew 16:24 "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." Surrendering the things that hinder our walk with God will be painful and hard, but just as Christ was came down from the cross and rose again in all His glory, we too will be raised to walk in a new way of life. The next verse in Matthew says "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it." I think this summer was for me the beginning of understanding what it really means to surrender myself to Christ and to walk in His abundant grace. Hopefully this makes sense to you all, sometimes it is hard to put into words what you are in the process of learning.

Tomorrow we are meeting the Lampa team for dinner in Juliaca along with the Martinez'. We will be spending the night there in a cheap hostel because our flight to Lima leaves early in the morning. Once we get there I will be sorting out my passport situation at the embassy and we will have a couple free days to hang out with the other teams before our final de-briefing on the 29th. I will try to keep the pictures coming and post once I get to Lima. Thank you all for your love and support this summer, it has been a huge blessing!

The Winter is Winding Down

Just to give guys an update on my health, I lost the fever and and I feel tons better. I can´t eat much because my stomach is doing all kinds of crazy things. Both Thursday and Friday night I woke up itching everywhere and my stomach and neck broke out into hives or some kind of wierd rash thing. I took benadryl both nights and it went away within a few hours, but it´s wierd because it only did it after I laid down. Maybe it´s the bedbugs that everyone talks about down here, who knows though.
Tuesday we left Juliaca and had planned to go to Orurillo for a few days, but of course that didn´t work out. There were no more cars going there...so we decided to head up to Ayiviri stay one night to get some info we forgot, then head up to Santa Rosa. In the short amount of time that we were Ayiviri one of the families we know here cooked us lunch - fried cheese, potatos and lettuce. MMMMMM, I chose to get mine in a bag because I didn´t think that cheese would have been the best thing for me. That night we also went to the vegetarian restaurant here to visit Oto, one of the kids of the family that owns it. We had banana shakes and fruit salads, but Oto seemed upset about something. He finally told us, he´s about 4, that he´s sad because his mom just had a baby and he doesn´t get very much attention. So...we decided we would stay for about an hour and just hang out and be goofy with him. Somehow I ended up with the name Señiorita toad and Oto with Señor rana (frog). We acted like kids, it made his day and we were all smiling when we left. Something about hanging out with kids makes you realize what really is important.
We caught a taxi up to Santa Rosa and began our research. We walked aroud the town for about 5 or 6 hours before finding the evangelical church. We spoke with one of the sisters there and Sunday (tomorrow) we are meeting her to drive out to one of the villages to meet the pastors of a few churches. We left Santa Rosa and headed towards Putina to get some more info about the churches there. Of course, though, we only made it as far as Huancane. We planned to stop by Rick and Kelly´s to get some more Quechua Bible studies then found out that the Lampa team was there for the night too. They had run out of water so we decided to stay and help move it from one tank to the other. It probably looked hilarious because we had a chain of people passing pots and pressure cookers full of water... it was especially hilarious when we found the dead frozen bird in the bottom of the water tank. It was already late in the afternoon so we decided to stay and head out to Putina in the morning. We played a huge game of Risk, which I still don´t really understand, then headed out to get some chicken. We went to the only restaurant aroud which also happenned to be at the smae place that gave me salmonella last time, so I opted to wait for a sandwhich whe we got back. I bought a bag of bread and patiently awaited my feast of peanut butter and honey. On our way back to the house the bottom of my bag broke and my bread went everywhere. Because I am in Peru I looked to see if it had landed in urine or something, then picked it all back up to take back and eat. Things just don´t seem gross here after awhile...like the squatty potties, they´re actually growing on me. We stayed up late watching movies and enjoying the company of other English speaking Americans.
The next day we said our goodbyes and headed out to Putina by combi. I´m learning how to pick the right seat - next to the window that can actually open and not where anyone can fit in my lap. We evetually got there and set out to find the churches, and much to our surprise we found them all within a couple hours. We had lunch as we watched the Spanish rendition of Ice Age and discovered all the new ways to use my camera. We made it an early night because we didn´t get but about 5 hours of sleep in Huancane. We made it a sleep in day...One of the 3 we have had all summer. We visited the Adventist´s church to ask a few questions then it was back to our favorite chicken sandwhich place. After a few sandwiches and about 4 glasses of juice we decided to head back towards Santa Rosa so we could meet up with the lady from church in the morning. The ride to Juliaca lasted a good 2 and a half hours and Heather and I were lucky enough to sit right in front of the door where all the dust came in, not a good seat but I had no choice in the matter. When we crawled out of the bus in Juliaca we decided we needed a short break from our summer of bus and combi rides so we sat down for some pizza and fettucini. Of course it´s not the same, but it sure beats rice and potatoes!
We caught the last bus here to Ayaviri and in the morning we will head up to Santa Rosa. Just for the record, we have stayed in a different place for the last 7 nights in a row. We are definatly expert packers by now, but I am looking forward to laying my head in the same place at least for a couple nights next week. Tomorrow is really our last day out on the field doing research. Monday we are heading back to Huancane to stay at Rick and Kelly´s for a few days. There isn´t another village around here that we can get to and research in the next 3 days that we haven´t already been to. I think Chris is going to be helping Rick some things around the house and we will be packing to head up to Lima. It is so wierd to think that we are pretty much done with our field work for the summer, even though we still have many reports to write about our findings down here. I´m excited, though, to see all the other summer missionaries and hear all their awesome stories.
I almost forgot to tell you all this. While we were in Santa Rosa we met with the principal of one of the highschools. We gave him our contact information, but thought nothing of it because we have given them out to tons of people and have yet to receive any mail from them. Little did we know this time it would be different. Heather checked her e-mail only to find a crazy long LOVE letter from professor Julio. She showed it to me and I decided to read it loud enough for everyone in the place to hear...it almost had me rolling on the ground. He talked about how she is like the Sirens of Greek mythology and she had captured his heart and love. WoW! There will always be a place for her to come back to down here in Peru :)
Just so you all know I am really excited about school this next semester. A friend of mine, Jessie Pace, was hired as an admissions counselor and she and I are renting a house together for the year. She just finalized everything a couple days ago and I can´t wait to see what our new house looks like! Also, my earliest class all semester starts at 11...how awesome is that! Well, I will proabaly update again and upload pictures sometime this next week while we´re in Huancane. Thank you all for your encouraging words this summer, they really mean a lot to all of us down here. Sometimes we have days when the comments on our blog are what keep us going. Much love from the Southern Hemisphere, yes...where it is now winter.