see ya, Lima

     I’m 24 hours away from leaving on a jet plane from Lima. For real, it’s a Boeing 767. Is this this really happening? I’m not sure how the time went, actually. Slow as the walking pace of Peruvians? Or as fast as the cars on Lima roads? Can it be both? I don’t know how that fourth dimension works. Regardless, my time here has been amazing. I am so incredibly thankful for it. I have learned so much (yes, more than just Spanish), seen much, endured much, loved much, been loved so much.

     I’m ready to be with the people that I love, take hot showers, go barefoot, drive a car, bake cookies on a stone, and eat raw veggies like it’s my job. But, wow. I’ve lived in Peru for four months, and that’s long enough not only to become accustomed, but to look at it as a home. No, there is no place like your own country, as my friend Oscar told me a few nights ago. I agree with that whole-heartedly. But I wouldn’t say I’m ready to leave my family and friends here. I want them all to come to the United States with me! What a blessing it is, to be able to have this experience. God is good, and He is so faithful.

     I haven’t fully processed this transition, and obviously haven’t experienced it yet… so I’ll write more later. Until next time, when I’m in North Carolina J

Cusco!

     Chocolate Museum: My mom and I went to the Choco Museo, where we learned all about the cacao bean and how people make chocolate from it. We even got to try some samples of chocolate with salt and chocolate with aji (chili)! Very interesting fact: The cacao pod has a sweet pulp inside of it that monkeys love to eat, but the beans within are bitter so they spit those out. This is how the tree reproduces! We also got to enjoy DIY hot chocolate which was yummy, but we had to utilize our closed teeth as strainers so we didn’t drink the cinnamon or cloves. The café walls were used as the history of chocolate, going from the Mayans all the way to Mr. Hershey and Mr. Nestle. We really did learn a lot.

mountains of Cusco: Viva el Peru!

Cacao tree with the fruit pods

do-it-yourself hot chocolate!

     Ruins of Moray: This was no Machu Picchu, but still so cool! And it was really big and deep, more so than you can tell from the pictures. This could have been a ceremonial area for the growth of corn or the month of May. “Moray” in Quechua (language of the mountains of Peru) is similar to both the word for “corn” and “May.” I especially liked the floating stairs on the sides of the concentric circles. There were so many sets of them in the concentric circles of the ruins.

     Salinas de Maras (salt pans): These were so cool. This is a half a mile worth of small pools of water that somehow salt is generated from. People own one or more pools and work in them to separate the salt from the water and dirt. There were piles of salt everywhere, and the shops at the top of the hill sold the salt in little bags. It was chilly outside, and we expected the water to be cold, but it was actually quite warm! I was glad for the people that stood in those pools for hours at a time. There were tiny streams and canals throughout the whole thing, so the water from the mountain traveled through and into all the pools. It was so amazing to see!

     Cuy (guinea pig): After an afternoon of shopping at the artisan market, my mom and I split an order of fried cuy, a delicacy in Cusco. Yes, it is guinea pig. Yes, they eat it and like it. My mom and I ate it, but we weren’t crazy about it. It’s good to say you tried it, but I won’t be eating it again. There wasn’t much meat on it anyway. I prefer chicken :)

Machu Picchu with Mom

      On Sunday, October 30th, I traveled to the famous Incan ruins of Machu Picchu with my dear, sweet mother! We had an awesome time, and the ruins were amazing. It blew my mind just to look at the mountains surrounding the hilltop of the reconstructed ancient city. The God that I worship--even more crazily, the God that loves me--created those huge mountains and somehow gave the Incans the smarts to create such a beautiful and advanced city. We walked through the whole city, but there was plenty more to see, with other trails and other temples on other mountains nearby.

     In the bus on our way down the mountain, I wondered aloud about how often the people in Machu Picchu and Cusco see/saw rainbows, because the Cusqueñan flag is a rainbow. I personally love rainbows, they are quite the amazing phenomena. Not five minutes later, I looked past my mom, out the bus window and saw.... a rainbow!! It. Was. So. Cool. My mom and I marveled at how beautiful it was, not up in the sky like usual, but low, and in between the mountains. As the bus continued down the mountain, we witnessed the creative Creator create (wow) another rainbow! Yup, a double rainbow. That brought a marvelous end to our day :)

lizard friend

like mother, like daughter: crazy!

llamas!!

     The next morning in Cusco, I was reading some Psalms and had to share this with my mom: "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) That is us, wondering how God does all the amazing things that He does: how He forms the mountains, how He produces a rainbow... and so much more. And our pondering leads to praise! Because He is great and powerful, and truly the most talented artist.

the proposal

Many want to know the story, so even though I won't write eloquently enough to do it justice, here it goes:

     Eric's first day in Lima was a sunny one, so he suggested that we go to the beach that day. I knew he wanted to hang out at a nice beach that wasn't too touristy, but I had some trouble with finding one because apparently all the pretty beaches in Lima are packed with people. We decided to head to Barranco, which was quite the adventure because neither of us had ever been there. I mean, of course it was Eric's first day, but even I, being Peruvian, had never been that far south in Lima. I didn't even know where to get off the bus.

     We got off and explored, had a good lunch and kept walking, trying to find out how to get down to the water (the main part of the city is several stories above sea level). We finally found the stairs and made our way down to the rocky beach, where we got our feet wet and did all we could not to slip and fall on the rocks. It wasn't a pretty, sandy beach, but it definitely wasn't crowded either.

     Eric asked me to sit because he was going to wash my feet. He asked if I'd like to take a video of it, and I said sure. He knelt down and poured the water on my feet, beginning to tell me that he wanted to serve me, that he wanted to wash my feet for the rest of our lives. That he was devoted to loving me even though he knew it would be hard at times (no kidding haha). That he wanted to point me to my first and greatest love, Christ. Sweet things :)

     Once he dried my feet off, he stood up to take a box out of his pocket, opened it and asked me to marry him!! I was laughing with joy as soon as he reached his hand to his pocket, and couldn't stop smiling quick enough to answer him. He didn't miss a beat and said more sweet things like he'd waited 21 years to do this :) He finally said "what do you say?" and I cried "of course!!" YAYY :)

     I didn't expect (although a girl can hope) him to do it when he came to visit me in Peru because I was sure that he didn't know Lima and thought he wouldn't have been able to plan. I'm just so impressed with his improvisation and spontanaeity. And, as exciting as this all is (!!!), this is serious business. Eric showed me with his proposal and his promise that he knows that, and he's not taking it lightly.

     Check out John 13, when Jesus washes His disciples' feet and gives them the example to serve each other and others as He served them (not only by washing their feet, but by enduring everyone's punishment for their separation from God). His humility is a beautiful showing of the amazing love that He has for us.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip--He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you--the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm--He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

celebrating 2 months in Peru with a new home!

     Let me start by praising the God who created everything; He who knows everything; He who holds all things together; He who lovingly brings His children back into His family when He changes their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). What an honor it is to live for and sometimes suffer for the purpose of making God a big deal! In the words of John Piper, “are we glad that we exist for the glory of God?” Because that is, after all, why we exist. It is why He created us.

     I want to praise Him for constantly reminding me that I must depend on Him always. Any little thought that I can complete something on my own or control something by myself will lead to me not relying on Him for everything. And if I’m the one “controlling” something, then I’ll be the one to succeed, and then how can God get the glory that He deserves?

     I have lived in the home of Armando and Maria Breña and three of their six daughters for a week now. They live in Breña, Lima (ha!) which is about a 20 minute bus ride to campus each morning. It has been such a blessing to live with this wonderful family, which has (along with the pastor Vicente and others at Restaurando Vidas) truly been a beautiful picture of what the body of Christ should look like. They opened up their home to Lauren and me when we needed another place to live, they’ve moved around furniture at least twice to make things more comfortable in the home, and they’re not demanding money from us… wow. It’s so good to enjoy the blessings that God gives us and praise Him for His ability to care for us, His children.

     After so many years of being the only girl, I now have 4 sisters! Maria (29), Ruth (21), and Techy (16) are great. They’ve been so helpful the past week while Lauren and I have gotten settled. They laugh and talk and joke with us, and it’s really fun to have sisters actually. Four of the five of us sleep in the same room. One night last week, the three of them were all squeezed onto the bottom bunk talking (so precious) when Lauren and I came in. Once we were ready for bed and sat down, they turned to us to include us in their conversation, and we talked until midnight, the 5 of us. It was really so sweet to be a part of.

     Although I’m missing vegetables, I get a hot breakfast and supper every day at the house! And it’s great being able to try and enjoy some meals with them that they usually eat. Something funny about meals in Perú (there are four): desayuno (breakfast), almuerzo (lunch around 2 or 2:30pm), lonche (sounds like lunch, but it’s not… tea and bread sometimes with ham around 6:30pm), and cena (supper around 10 or 10:30). Wow. Lauren and I were pumped last night when the dad made us some supper even though it was only about 8:45.

     Praise God for His goodness! Thanks to you who prayed about my housing situation, I am loving you and loving Him who tends to our needs and comes to our rescue.

new address!

Armando Eduardo Breña Bendezu
Atención: Sarah HartAv. República de Portugal 227
Breña, Lima
PERU

More to come about the wonderful new home tomorrow! :)