In the beginning...of craziness...we moved to Peru. Yesterday, to be exact. To be honest, it feels like we have been here
for a week. I left the States two days
ago and hopped on a series of four flights.
On the first flight, I met two really nice people that I spent time
talking to. One of them in particular is
a Muslim from Iraq. We had a great
conversation about religion. On the next
flight, what do you know, the guy next to me started talking to me. He is originally from El Salvador and was
flying back for vacation. He is a
Mormon. Now that was an interesting
conversation. I learned a lot, and I
think he walked away challenged to finish reading the Bible (which he says is
boring, but some things he said showed he clearly didn’t know what was in
there). On the third flight I sat next
to a Christian from Mexico who was traveling with a music group. By the time I got to the fourth flight I was
too tired to have a decent conversation with anyone.
Within the first hour of being in Peru, I lost my
passport. It just vanished into thin air
and we have no clue how it happened. No
kidding, it was probably the worst first impression I could make on my future
boss and coworkers. I spent part of
yesterday afternoon with my host family at the police station filing a
report. Once a passport is lost, the
chances of ever finding again are super slim.
I was just sick about it. We
began making plans to head to Lima sometime soon to get a replacement. I spent a lot of time praying yesterday and
had finally accepted God’s peace about the matter. I gave the whole situation to Him, knowing
that worrying about it anymore was not going to bring it back. God said, “I got this.” After much prayer on behalf of our team and
some prayer partners back home, my passport mysteriously appeared on a ledge
where it was not the day before. We have
no idea how it got there, but don’t really care. I have my passport.
Last night we hung out at the airport for quite some time
waiting for CJ, our fourth team member, to come. She missed the flight she was originally
supposed to be on, but made it for the next one...without her bags. They are somewhere in Colombia or Lima, we
don’t know right now. We are praying
that they arrive soon. She had a super
stressful journey and the airlines were not helpful. I have a sense that the discouragement we have
both faced at different points is a hint that God has great things in store for
our team.
Today Ron and his kids took us on a walking tour of
Arequipa. We met some 40/40’s that we
will be training with while we are here.
We walked for about five hours and saw a small part of the city. It was really fun to see so many things. We walked into this long hallway lined with
shoes...I have honestly never seen SO MANY SHOES in my entire existence...put
together. It was crazy. Every meal that we have had here has been
impressive.
Oh and CJ and I’s host family is amazing. They have two daughters, ages five and
eight. The five year old and I have
really clicked. I lost 10-0 at slug bug
yesterday and have learned so much vocabulary from her. She is so patient with me and knows that when
I don’t understand something, she needs to repeat it using different
words. What a smart little girl. She also told me yesterday that if she fell
off the top of our bunk bed, she would break her head and need a new one. So sweet.
Our host mom is an amazing cook and she and her husband (his name is
Jesús) have taken so much time to sit down and talk with us and to get to know
us. I have found that my background in
Spanish is helping A LOT, but there is so much I have yet to learn. Good thing we start language school on
Tuesday.
For those of you who would like to know how to pray for us,
here are a few requests:
-CJ’s luggage to arrive soon and safely
-For our orientation and the first few days of language
school go to smoothly
-For perseverance and abundant energy, as our job is going
to be very intense
-For our spiritual growth individually as we are preparing
for all that is coming once we move to Ecuador
-For our team of very different personalities and
experiences to bond well and serve well together
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