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)

Lima: the first days

     I’ve spent two full days in Lima, Peru. (not pronounced like “lima bean”… but like Lee-mah) It’s been great and hard and funny and confusing... a big mix of emotions. The past two days the international students had orientation, and I tentatively picked my classes yesterday. Class starts on Monday and I’ll attend 18 hours’ worth of classes until we register the next Monday and I’ll narrow it down to 12 hours, which is my max for the semester. A lot of the international students are fluent in Spanish, which I did not expect. I’m here to learn the language, and they’re here to learn architecture or medicine or communications in Spanish. Oh well, I’ll get there.

     Lauren is the only other student from UNC that is here with me. We’re currently living in a house with a pastor and his wife. His 14-year-old daughter also lives here, along with his first cousin and the maid, Veronica, and her 6 month old son. The house is huge, to say the least. I haven’t even seen all the rooms yet! It has been great to be here, but the issue is that it’s a long way to the university. Taxi rides are expensive, but buses are cheaper. If Lauren and I end up having an 8am class, we’ll have to leave the house around 6:30am. Anyway, we’re going today with Maria to check out some places closer, hopefully with a family.

     Maria is a woman who attends the church that Vicente pastors, Restaurando Vidas (restoring lives). She brought Lauren and I to the church on Wednesday and introduced us to a Bible study of about 20 people as missionaries. Lauren and I looked at each other, not knowing what to say… we are missionaries, wherever we go. But I don’t think we’re the kind of missionaries that they may think we are. Anyway, they gave us a very warm welcome, and asked if we would teach them English.

     After that, she took us to a radio and television station that the church has a channel with or something. Long story short, she introduced us (again, as misioneras) and interviewed us on TV, and then on the radio, about why we were here, why we wanted to learn Spanish, when did we become Christians… We were on TV! It was a crazy/nerve-wracking/cool experience. Note: Lauren and I never knowingly agreed to come here and do this—there’s a language barrier for ya.

     So it’s been crazy… but I know that God is promising me much growth in this time. The ability to give up resisting Him and thinking that I have control, only to begin relying on Him and Him alone for everything. In a place where I may have little else going for me, He is my Constant, my Provider, my Comforter, my Sustainer. He is here with me in Lima as much as He would be in North Carolina. I will praise Him for good, and praise Him when things are hard by coming to Him, knowing He loves me so deeply.

     “Come to Me when you are weak and weary. Rest snugly in My everlasting arms. I do not despise your weakness, My child. Actually, it draws Me closer to you, because weakness stirs up My compassion—my yearning to help. Accept yourself in your weariness, knowing that I understand how difficult your journey has been.” –Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young