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! :)

spaghetti sauce, volleyball, and moving

     On Friday night, as a celebration of the end of September, I made spaghetti sauce! This wasn’t out of the jar (or here, out of the bag) sauce… this was homemade, from-scratch, start-with-tomatoes kind of sauce! What I couldn’t believe was that I’d never made it before. I grew up in the kitchen of the Pampered Chef Queen, for crying out loud. I’ve been cooking supper since I was in diapers! Anyway, the sauce was yummy. Tomatoes, carrots, garlic, red pepper (which is a little spicy here), and oregano. It didn’t even need salt! I was proud of my accomplishment. I also tried a “tres de leche” from a bakery nearby for my dessert, and it was marvelous.

cake at the bottom, strawberry and chocolate on top!

     Saturday, Lauren and I went to a volleyball tournament with our friend Alex, who is really nice and speaks English really well. We watched two games. First, the Brasil national team played Colombia, then Perú played Argentina. The coliseum was packed with Peruvians for the second game, and man did they get into it. There were drums and horns, and we waved our little flags and screamed “Vamos Perú!” and “No pasa nada!” like it was our job. Unfortunately, Perú lost their game, but it was still fun!

Arriba, Perú!

     A big update: Lauren and I are moving tomorrow! We are moving in with Maria and her three daughters. Maria is really active in the church that we’ve been going to, and has done a lot to help us since we’ve been here. It’s been great to live so close to the school, but my hope of living and being a part of a Peruvian family hasn’t come true with the Rosales family. It has been good, and God definitely blessed us with our sister Carmen, but I’m excited to experience life with our new family. Maria will cook the meals, her daughters will be around and are excited for us to come, and we aren’t going to have to pay rent! What a huge blessing. Vicente, the pastor of the church and the first man we lived with, wants to give Maria money for us to stay and be fed there. They have really taken us in, it’s amazing. God blessed our conversation with Momma Carmen tonight when we talked to her about it, and there were no angry words or misunderstandings or hard feelings. I think this is definitely the right thing to do.

     There will be other, different challenges and adjustments in our new home, of course, but this will definitely be a better situation. No one in the family speaks English, so we’ll get a lot more practice with Spanish. We’ll get to sit around the supper table with a family and traditional Peruvian food, and maybe most importantly, we know we’ll be welcome and loved here. I think it will help our time in Lima to be more enjoyable as well. We’re moving tomorrow (Monday) around 4pm. Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for our housing situation… God has very lovingly provided for us, of course. He will continue to care for us, and my prayer is that I would always trust in and depend on Him, even if the situation is challenging or frustrating.

Matthew 6:31-34: “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.

first weekend of spring

Minny and me!

     Though fall just started for most of you reading this, last Friday was the first day of spring in Perú! Last Saturday, I rushed to Miraflores with Lauren to get a free latte at McDonalds before the offer ended at 11am. We met Allison and Itza there, then went to look and shop at some Inca markets nearby. Later, we went back to D'Onofrio to get the animal ice cream that I wanted the first time (my "princesa" ice cream was delicious, but not what I originally ordered. I didn't complain though, because it was 50 cents more than what I ordered and it looked so good.) I got the "Minny" and it was so yummy! It was a nice sunny day (hello spring!) so we sat in the park for about half an hour, just taking it in. I need to start wearing sunscreen! I'm a lot closer to the equator here and my face gets red pretty quickly...

     On Sunday I ran in a 4k road race with other athletes from the university, including Laruen, my wonderful roommate, and Allison, my ever-supportive track friend from Boston. The race was really just a run, not for competition, but for participation, because it was Día de la Juventud! The beginning of spring, celebrating youth and fitness… so fun! A lot of Peruvian universities participated; the girls ran a 4k and the guys ran a 10k. I’m pretty sure Allison, Lauren, and I were the only three Americans, and needless to say, we got the stares and the pictures just because. Yup, just because. The race was supposed to begin at 9am, and we didn’t get started until 9:20, because that’s just how they do things here. I actually took the risk while we were waiting and ran from the starting line to a restaurant nearby so I could go to the bathroom before we started! What a rush. Anyway, I got to run through part of Lima, and had no idea where I was going, and looked at the buildings, and it was great! I actually ran across one road with moving traffic (don’t worry, I looked both ways before I crossed) and another road with three lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic… that never would’ve happened in the US!



all the PUCP runners, with coaches

     After the race, the three of us got on a bus to go see our friend Priscilla in a dance performance! It was mostly of cute little girls in tutus doing ballet, but Priscilla is in an older group of girls and they danced to hip hop. She not only gave us free tickets, but she sat us down with her parents and two sisters. As soon as we sat down her dad got up, and he came back with cokes and popcorn for all three of us! At intermission he bought us Sublimes, (pronounced soo-blee-may) which are chocolate bars with peanut pieces in them. Made by D'Onofrio, just like the ice cream! It was so sweet. I think they were really happy that we came to watch Priscilla. :)

the three runners with Priscilla!



Lima: all about food and running (which allows more food!)





Tio Bigote, working his magic

     There are seven “maravillas” or wonders of PUCP. Squirrels are one, since they are rarely seen on campus. The deer are another, which are the campus pets, and are seen all the time. Tío Bigote (literally Uncle Mustache) is another wonder of the school. He sets up shop every weekday (I’m not sure about the weekends) to feed the crowds of hungry and devoted supporters of his sandwiches. I have recently discovered the tastiness, and have also become a fan. I have tried the chicken with egg and the cheeseburger. All the sandwiches come with papitas, which are thin, short, crunchy French fries (I guess). Yumm! It’s fun to watch him work. His wife and son (maybe) help him every day, serving the customers and taking money and whatnot. I have yet to figure out what the other 4 wonders are…

my chicken with egg sandwich!

Allison and I running!

     I ran in my first track meet in Peru last weekend! I was supposed to run the 5k on Saturday, but the coach didn’t get me to the check-in table on time. I looked over at the track and thought, “these girls are running the 5k, and I’m not with them…” There wasn’t an announcement on the speakers and the coach didn’t realize it was past time. He felt so bad. All was well, however, because he had just so happened to register me for the 10k race the next day! I clearly and purposefully asked not to run that one. But it was fun! Well, kind of. I ran 25 laps around the track… not my kind of race. Put me on a cross country course or in the woods, and I’ll run a 10k for ya. But around a track? Ok it wasn’t THAT bad, but I’m not doing it again. I got to run with my friend Allison, from Massachusetts! And I came in 2^nd though! That was cool! Got a medal and everything! There were only 4 girls running, and the first girl ran an amazing 35 minutes (!! 12 minutes faster than me), but it was great. The coach wants me to run it again, at the next track meet, but I might have to disappoint him. Twenty five laps = too much.



first visit: La Princesa! (name of the chocolate/peanute butter bar in pieces)



      We discovered a D’Onofrio shop in Miraflores (more up-scale, touristy district) that makes animal-shaped ice cream! D’Onofrio is an ice cream company (maybe owned now by Nestle) here that also does chocolate bars and such. There is actually a D’Onofrio factory a short walk up the road from our house! Anyway, really good ice cream! I’ve been to this special location twice so far. This may become a once a week adventure!

      I’ve been in Perú for almost 7 weeks! Wow! Lauren and I are still living with the Rosales family, which was kind of up in the air for a few days. The relationships we have with the family are improving, in the direction of feeling more welcome in the home. We really do enjoy living here, we just wish we were more a part of the family. It’s just been hard with lack of conversations (save with sister Carmen) and lack of time spent together, because the family is busy. We’re working on that though, just trying to be blessings to them, taking initiative with conversations and loving them.

     School is going well! The few grades that I’ve received have been good or pretty good. It’s still just a lot of reading though, and it takes a long time to do. Mid-terms are coming up in a few weeks! I’m also excited for the coming weeks because they should include more traveling outside of Lima, and some much-awaited and exciting visits (from Eric and my Mom! And Annie, a dear friend living in Perú about 9 hours away!)

     Sorry for the lack of posts, I will keep them coming more regularly! Thanks to all of you who are reading and keeping up with me and praying for me while I’m here! I’m definitely very thankful for it!

Love,

Sarah

continuation and more pictures of the ceremony

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

sitting behind the Navy and Army watch the Marines present the colors... boy do I feel protected

the youth choir

posing up front

English side of the program

La Punta, ceviche, la playa, ceremonia

     This past Saturday was a big day for me. After going to Restaurando Vidas for breakfast, I stayed for the service that was going on. I’m loving the singing there, and I’m getting to know more and more words in the songs (there aren’t any projectors or hymnals to help me out). The actual messages though, I’m still having a hard time focusing on and understanding. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have a Spanish/bilingual Bible, because the microphone actually makes it harder to hear the words the pastor is saying, or what. The services are always long though, and if I get tired by trying to listen, I usually spend time in the Bible myself, or pray, which has also been really good.

     After the service, Lauren and I left the church with Maria, Evelyn, Silvia, another woman from the church, Jonatan, two of the pastors, a prophetess visiting from Miami (originally from Lima), a young singer from L.A. (also originally from Lima), and her friend. Don’t worry, we took three different taxis. Our destination was La Punta, in Callao (cah-yah-oh), which is the point of a city right next to Lima.

called "La Punta" for a reason!

     There, we all crowded into a nice little restaurant right near the water, and food just started coming out to us! “El ataque!” (the attack) as Edgar likes to say right after the food has been served. First, plantain chips and toasted corn kernels (called cancha) in small bowls. Then, clams (still attached to the shells) with diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro piled on the shell. Then, some kind of seafood wontons, with some kind of brown dipping sauce. All appetizers, by the way, but we each only got one… there were a lot of us. THEN! the CEVICHE and the chicharrón! We kind of did just attack the plates, actually. The ceviche was phenomenal. Raw fish of some kind with sauce, onions, corn pieces, and lots of cilantro. I love cilantro. Chicharrón is a lightly fried meat (it can be chicken, pork, fish...), in this case it was fish. Also verrryy good. Another thing, everything was covered in lime juice: delicious.

ceviche, with corn and sweet and regular potatoes

     After we had finished the wonderful, fresh, seafood, the youngsters (Evelyn, Silvia, Jonatan, Lauren, and I) went to explore some beaches. Another wonderful blessing of the day was the sun! It was sunny the whole day! First time since I’ve been here. The beaches were very rocky… there was no sand! The first beach had big rocks, which were hard to walk on. We found a boat that had my name on it! “Sarita Colonial”… Sarita is a term of endearment, kind of like “little Sarah” or “sweet Sarah.” My family here calls me that J

Silvia, Lauren, Jonatan, and me

     On the way to the second beach we got some ice cream! My first ice cream of Perú: I got a chocolate covered lúcuma bar = yumm! The second beach had smaller rocks, which were actually comfortable to sit and lie on. I actually tried to take a nap! We tried to skip rocks, which didn’t really work very well. We stayed until the sun started to set, which was beautiful.



this one's for you, dad :)

      Last week, I was invited to the ceremony for the tenth anniversary of September 11^th at the US Embassy in Surco, Lima. Lauren and I went to that yesterday, and it was a very sweet ceremony. Both Spanish and English were spoken, a young choir singing, two Peruvian families that had a loved one killed in the Twin Tower attacks present. It made me a good bit homesick… especially as I watched four US Marines present the colors at the beginning of the ceremony. I got teary-eyed thinking of my daddy. I also got teary-eyed later, when the ambassador was talking about honoring those who died… I was just heartbroken by the evil that caused all this heartache. The world is not supposed to be like that.

   

official invite!

fun stuff!

So this post is a little late... but it's about two of my fun days last week! Yay!

     Tuesday, August 30, was a holiday for Lima: dia de Santa Rosa de Lima. The celebration is something about the first Catholic saint in Lima, perhaps Santa Rosa, and people go to a certain place to write messages or prayers to her, asking her for things. I didn't partake in this activity, but I did go with friends to a restaurant called Crepes y Waffles! I got the Havana crepe, which had coffee ice cream, whip cream with a chocolate drizzle, pecans and a sweet caramel-like sauce. It was so incredibly sweet, but very delicious. We enjoyed our brunches and then went to an Inca market to search for treasures. I got a stylish hat for my forever-cold head, and saw all kinds of cool things, including alpaca yarn!!!



"combi" (I didn't take this picture haha)



     While we were PERUsing the little shops (haha), Lauren and I got an invitation via text to go to Vicente's house (the first house we lived in) beacuse it was Estefania's 15th birthday! We succeeded in making it all the way to the house in a combi, which we were so proud of. The family and friends at the house were also surprised and proud of us! The birthday celebration was fun... Estefania had "happy birthday" sung to her in three different languages: Spanish, English, and Quechua. Lucky girl. And the cake was really yummy!



Estefania and some uncles (?) and the cake!

     After that we went from the house to the Plaza de San Miguel with our friend, Jonatan (who sings and helps out with a youth ministry at another church), and met his brother, sister, and some friends. We all went to Papa John's for supper... also very yummy. It was really awesome to be outnumbered by Peruvians in the group that we were hanging out with! The pizza was good and the fellowship was good. It's such a blessing to have friends that really care for us, and really enjoy our company :)

Silvia, Lauren, me, Evelyn, and Edgar in the tunnel

     Last Thursday, September 1, Evelyn, Silvia, and Edgar (friends from the Restaurando Vidas church) took Lauren and I to a park in Lima with a bunches of awesome fountains! It was a LOT of fun. We watched a show with a long fountain with lights, music, and lasers that pointed at the water to create videos of people doing different Peruvian dances. There was a really cool tunnel fountain that you could walk through. When we were almost out of the tunnel, Silvia stuck her finger into one of the jets of water and it splashed all over me! But it was all in good fun :) Good thing I wore my waterprooof ski jacket--yes, it is sometimes necessary to wear here. Another fun fountain was a "labyrinth" that you could run into, trying not to be caught by a stream of water. Once you were in the middle the water would pop up in different areas, creating a maze that you had to find your way out of. That was quite the adventure, and by the end of the night my shoes were wet. So much fun!

(the video is doesn't show the picture show of dancers in the water, but it was the shorter of the two)

address!

If you want to send me a letter, here is what you'd write on the envelope! (Make sure "air mail" is indicated somewhere on the envelope!)


LAURO ROSALES ALVARADO
Atención: Sarah Hart
Jr. Nicolas Comacho Mz B2 lote 8
Urbanización Las Brisas, AVEP-Lima
Pueblo Libre, Lima
PERU

my prayer from Sunday... you can pray this for God's patience, grace, and strength to be ours too!!

God would You give Lauren and me the strength to love the Rosales family? Please! Let our frustrations dissipate and our sarcastic remarks cease. Give us Your love to give to them. You have been so good to us to give us a place so close to school and to one of the church families. This is not just a time for us to grow, but a time for us to bless others because you have so richly blessed us. I don’t know how we’ll be able to handle it all, but with You, we can love Lauro, Carmen, Carmen, and Laura. Give us that ability God, so that they could see us, then praise You!! Help us hold each other accountable so that You will be glorified by our thoughts, words, wants, and actions. Whether it’s finding the right spot for internet, cleaning the counters, turning of the lights, talking with our family here, taking showers with inconsistent hot water… God in all these things we can praise You and be thankful! We can be so thankful because we have so much, so many blessings that You have been so quick to give us. All those situations where being whiny and frustrated is so easy… god would You remind us of Your love for us and Your position as our caring Father, our strong Warrior, our greatest Lover. Thank you Jesus for our opportunity in being here!

life in Lima

With two weeks of school finished, and almost 3 weeks of being in Lima, I might be beginning to get a little settled.

school: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

     I’m taking four classes at La Católica: Art History, Andean Archeology, Structure of Language, and Culture of Peace. I have one class with Lauren and I’ve made a friend (Priscilla) in my Culture of Peace class, which is great, because that professor never writes anything on the board! He just talks (yes, in Spanish)! My dad keeps asking me what percentage of my speaking is in Spanish…. I haven’t thought about it enough yet to measure it (it’s not enough), but I know that I’m listening to Spanish much more than I’m speaking it. It’s tiring, but it’s getting better, every day J

     I’m running for the track team at La Católica, which is fun, and not a huge commitment. I was the only girl distance runner until I met a friend named Allison! She’s another exchange student. Turns out we both ran the Marine Corps Marathon last October wearing the same shoes… weird. The coach is nice, but I still haven’t been able to explain to him that I’m currently getting back into shape, because I wasn’t running consistently before I came to Perú. He told me Friday that I need to run faster: más rápido! Haha my excuse for last week was that I had a cold (which I did), so we’ll see how this next week goes.

peeling peaches!

     I’m getting some volunteer time in at Restaurando Vidas, one of the churches that I’ve been able to attend while here. Lauren and I have friends there that are always willing to make us a free meal when we go. The last three times we’ve had the privilege to serve them by peeling potatoes, cutting potatoes, and peeling peaches. Hundreds. We liked peeling the peaches: our hands smelled much better than after working with potatoes, and I even got to eat one as I peeled! One meal at the church that we have not enjoyed: cow lung. Don’t ask why we didn’t ask what we were eating before we started, because I don’t know. We won’t make that mistake again. Ask before, or not at all. Needless to say we haven’t eaten beef for over a week now.



mixing cookie dough!



clean clothes!



     Living with the Rosales family is continuing to get better. My Peruvian dad is going to make homemade ceviche soon, which I’m excited to try! Ceviche is a popular seafood dish here. Lauren and I have enjoyed buying fruits and vegetables at the market, and trying different kinds of fresh bread from the panadería (bread store). Oregano bread is yummy. We even made chocolate chip cookies last night! It was an interesting experience because of the lack of measuring utensils and a working oven, but they turned out alright… our sisters Carmen and Laura like them! I did my first load of laundry yesterday too. I was in need of some clean clothes… and still am because they’re drying outside and it’s winter haha. Lauren and I went in together and bought a modem, so we now have wireless internet in the house, though it can be spotty. We’re still trying to figure out with Momma Carmen (mom and daughter are both Carmen) how to get wireless in our room. It may not happen, but we’re ok with that.

peace in the midst of chaos

(thoughts from yesterday afternoon... lack of internet access caused the posting today)

     It has been hard. I’ve been in Peru for a week, and I feel as though I’ve been here much longer. Now in a new home, I must again learn expectations of the family, how to work the shower to get hot water, figure out how to pay for meals or which ones will be cooked in the house, and if wireless internet is a possibility at the house. I am thankful that I don’t have to start over with the language. My progress is very little, I think, but it is there. Somewhere…

     Even with all the confusion and frustration of the past week, I have been incredibly blessed. Blessed with people who care about me without knowing me well, simply because God’s love is pouring out of them for me. He is here with me! He is providing for me. Blessed with Lauren, no not my “hermana” –because everyone that meets us asks if we’re sisters—but yes, my sister in Christ J I am blessed to have her support as we go through this together. God didn’t want either of His daughters to be alone. I am also so thankful for His Word—His Word that is reminding my forgetful mind of truth each and every day. His Word that declares His faithfulness, His care, His listening ear, His mercy, His grace, and His love. He is and has been giving me His peace.

     Also, God has awakened in my heart a desire to spend some morning time with Him. When the day is new and quiet—when the confusion and frustration has not yet begun. I am spending some of my afternoon with Him, but I want to (finally) allow Him to discipline me in the early morning. This will get my head straight at the beginning of the day, allow me to meditate on His truth throughout the day, and glorify Him tremendously!

     You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord, forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

end of week one

     Update on what’s been happenin: Saturday night, Lauren and I went to a gathering for young people about our age. Jonathon, a young youth-pastor that we met the first day at the radio station, invited us to this meeting. We were warmly welcome by our peers, and also by the head pastor’s wife. She was very kind, and invited us to hang out with the girls sometime. Then we went to Larcomar, near the beach! There were many shops and Americans there, but it was a nice place.

en la iglesia (in the church)

     Then on Sunday morning we went to the church service at Restaurando Vidas, which went from 10:30 til 2 I think. It was hard to focus on understanding Spanish for that long. Alas, I did not succeed on paying attention through the service! It was great though. Singing and dancing and several pastors that spoke… free lunch afterwards (woo!), meeting people, and taking pictures with people like it was our last Sunday in Peru with our friends, not the first! After church Maria and Ebony took us to the Albarado’s house, where we talked to the mother about Lauren and me living there. She agreed—thank you, God!

     Monday morning we moved from Vicente’s (the head pastor of RV) house to the new house. Lauren and I didn’t have any classes on Monday even though it was the first day of class, so Ebony took us to the church where we were fixed a few free meals!

     Tuesday was a good day—I had two classes and a long break before I went to track practice!! The coach was really nice and sent me off running with Henry (about to finish his fourth year) so he could show me the path through campus. I’m so thankful to have dirt paths and not cement sidewalks. I was surprised to hear from Henry that there are only 8 runners on the track team. Not as popular as fútbol, you see.

venados (deers on campus!)

     Thanks to all who prayed for me to find a new home to live in J God has provided! Lauren and I now have a wonderful 15 minute walk to campus. He surely listens to us and cares for our needs. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice. (Psalm 55:17)