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.
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