Everything an Adventure

After explaining to people that we've lived here for 3 months now, Katie and I are frequently asked, "Ya estas acostumbrada?" "Are you used to it here?" We usually answer, "un poco mas cada dia," a little more everyday. And we are getting more and more accustomed to life here, but even daily tasks are so much different than they are in the U.S.

Our landlord had to explain to me how to wash clothes and how to mop our floor. I didn't even realize we owned a mop. In the picture below, that piece of carpet-like fabric is the mop. You slide it over the broom to use it. The little tub is our washing machine.

I live in the desert, so it's really dusty here. To prevent so much dust from getting in the house, every morning the Peruvians throw buckets of water on the dirt outside so it doesn't blow in. Katie and I don't bother to do that. We just sweep when it starts to look like we could plant things on our floor. That happens about every 2-3 days. Maybe in time we'll adopt the water-throwing custom, but for now we'll just live with the dust.

We used to eat out all the time because it's cheap, and we honestly didn't know where to get all the ingredients we needed to cook. Plus we don't have an oven, so that limits the things we can make. However, we've started cooking more frequently since we are learning which stores carry what food. All the "grocery stores" here are really just people's houses where one room at the front is set up like a store. The owners go to Canete (the closest city) and stock up on things for their store once a week. Fresh produce is sometimes difficult to come by, and for a long time I didn't know where I could buy meat. I bought some chicken for the first time last Friday. It's not a matter of finding some packaged chicken breasts, though. When I asked if they had chicken, she went to the freezer and pulled out a full chicken (feet and everything--minus the head), took it into her house (the back of the store), and cut off the midsection for me. It made me wish I had paid better attention to how to butcher chickens back when I was six and living on the farm. Below you'll find a picture of the chicken I took home and me getting it ready for the stir fry.

Little by little I'm getting "acostumbrada" to life here, but I've still got a long way to go. Until then, everything is a bit of an adventure. And I'm ok with that.

Vino

My Panamanian friends, James Neuendorf and Milton Castillo, worked on this video and are presenting it now in Panama. It's titled "Vino," which means "He came" in Spanish (it also means wine, but not in this case). The video illustrates what it might have been like if Christ was born in Panama City right now. If you go to the Youtube page, you can go to the bottom of the video and turn on CC (closed captioning) for subtitles. You might want to have your Bibles handy to look up the verses that explain what's happening. The verses appear in the bottom left corner. Take some time to think about what it would be like if Jesus was born in your city in 2010. And praise God that "He came," continues to come to us, and will come again in the future to take us to live with Him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGUzgz6lac

Limited Reality, Unlimited Grace

Thanksgiving came and went, and if it wasn't for all the Facebook statuses expressing excitement to over-eat and watch football, I would have completely forgotten.

There are Christmas decorations in Lima now, and Katie plays Christmas music around the house, but it doesn't feel like Christmas.

I used to love watching sports on t.v., at the stadium, or in the high school gym. Now these games hardly cross my mind. I've only watched one football game this whole season, and it just wasn't the same. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat weren't there. (That's probably a good thing since the only game I saw was Nebraska losing the Big 12 Championship. It wasn't nearly as exciting or painful as last year's Big 12 loss.)

I say all these things not to complain. I didn't feel sad about not being home on Thanksgiving, and I don't really miss the hustle and bustle of December or the excitement I used to have for a football game. They just don't fit into my reality here.

As I was reflecting on all of this, it made me realize just how limited our minds are. Even if we've lived one way for over 20 years, it's so easy to forget that way of life when living another, and it's impossible to really live and feel two realities at once. I know that it's freezing cold in Nebraska and St. Louis right now, and I've lived through 28 cold winters, but below-freezing weather is easily forgotten while experiencing springtime in Peru. And when I'm stuffed full of Peruvian cuisine, the feeling of hunger pangs are far from my mind.

With the humbling realization of my limitations, I begin to grasp just how mind-bogglingly amazing God is. He not only understands the realities of heaven and earth but also created and experienced both of them. I can't even keep track of two cultures at once, and God knows what's going on throughout the whole world in every culture right now, every detail of what has happened in the past, and what will happen in every place for all of eternity.

And to imagine that this God, this all-powerful and all-knowing Alpha and Omega, would humble himself and join us in our limited human reality in order to save us so we could live with Him forever, is incomprehensible. I will spend the rest of my life with my limited mind trying to fully grasp "what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe" (Ephesians 1:18-19). God's grace is literally the gift that never stops giving. And that makes it even more amazing, because my limited, sinful self will need that grace forever. And God knew that. He planned for it--even before I was a reality.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

About three years ago, I read the book "Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures" by Sarah A. Lanier. It helped me understand what I had experienced living in Costa Rica as an exchange student, and I thought it would be a good thing to teach my Spanish 3 students at the time, since most Spanish-speaking countries are hot-climate cultures.

As I taught this unit, the students really struggled to understand why people in hot-climate cultures operated so differently than our cold-climate selves. They definitely felt like the cold-culture mindset was superior to that of hot-climate cultures. I did my best to explain that each culture has positives and negatives and that neither one is better than the other.

That was a great theory, but I'm struggling with the application. Now that I'm living in a hot-climate culture, it's sometimes difficult not to have those same feelings of superiority that my students had.

In her book, Lanier proposes that the primary distinction between hot- and cold-climate cultures is that cold climates are concerned with performing and finishing tasks in an efficient way, while hot climates are more concerned with maintaining a good relationship with the people they interact with. As a result, cold climates use direct communication whereas hot climates will say things indirectly for fear of offending someone.

These two differences, task vs. relationship and direct vs. indirect communication, are the most difficult for me to adjust to. My cold-culture mind struggles to find the positives in the hot-climate culture viewpoint. Let me give you some examples.

1) Our Spanish/culture teacher here in Peru explained to us that telling people you won't be able to make it to a certain function is seen as rude, and it's better to say, "Yeah, I'll try to be there," even if you know for sure that you can't make it. (Just for the record, she thinks that's silly, but she lived in the U.S. for two years, so maybe the "coldness" rubbed off on her.)

2) When we invite others to Bible studies, 90% of the time they say they will be there, and they actually show up about 10% of the time. It makes planning events kind of tough. Maybe we just need to come up with an indirect way to invite them to Bible study, so they don't feel obligated to say "yes."

3) Everything starts a good 15 minutes to an hour late because people don't arrive on time. I think sometimes they're late because they don't want to be rude and leave their previous engagement, or they talk to people on the way to where they're going. Obviously, there are many other reasons as well (most people here don't have cars, they work long hours in the field, etc.).

4) Because relationships take priority over tasks, tasks take a long time to complete. For example, when we go with our friend Nilda to advertise English classes or get ready for a birthday party at the center, she wants to eat with us at least once on our little excursion. The first time we went with her, we ate breakfast, lunch, and a snack. Also, we had to stop and talk to every person we ran into on the street that she knew (it's a small city, and she's lived here a long time). And every time we go, we end up being late for our next activity that day (like the birthday party we went shopping for in the first place or Katie's classes).

Perhaps I struggle most with these because on a personal level I highly value efficiency and honesty (maybe even more than your average cold-climate person), and in my mind the hot-climate culture prevents either from happening as often as I'd like. To me it seems like lying when someone says they'll be somewhere when they have no intention of going, and I really dislike being late to anything.

However, I realize that they have good intentions when they tell us they'll show up because they don't want to hurt our feelings. And fortunately, I highly value building relationships (in fact, it's kind of my job right now), so as long as that's happening, I can justify the time I'm spending on tasks that would take me much less time in the U.S.; and if the relationship-building includes food, even better.

I guess I'll just have to learn to be a little less scheduled, a little more patient, and say things in a nicer and less direct way. I could be learning worse lessons I suppose.

November in Peru

Oh, Peru!

My teammates and I have adopted a new saying that we use with frequency here. It's a multi-purpose phrase that can express so much with two little words, "Oh, Peru!"

Depending on how and when one says it, it can express joy, frustration, acceptance, and various sorts of amazement. Let me give you some examples.

Joy - Driving over ginormous sand dunes in a dune buggy with the sun shining brightly on a gorgeous day, and being amazed by the variety and beauty of God's creation. "Oh, Peru!"

Frustration - Going for a three mile run and being chased/barked at by at least 10 dogs (one of which is running frantically back and forth on the roof of a house, and you hope it doesn't pounce on you), having every other male between the ages of 14 and 70 make cat calls at you, and being honked at by about 20 cars (some honks are "hey, baby" honks and others are "watch out, I'm speeding down the mountain, and I'm not going to make much of an effort not to hit you, so get out of my way" honks). "Oh, Peru!"

Amazement (positive) - Running into the neighbors and their whole family as they are leaving the birthday party of their grandma (who died 2 years ago--yes, they still celebrate their birthdays long after they are gone), and having everyone hug and kiss you and run inside to get you some cake to take home with you. "Oh, Peru!"

Amazement (maybe not so positive) - Having a guy (someone you consider a nice, decent guy) ask you to go with him to Lima to the store where his girlfriend works and walk by her counter holding hands to see if she'll get jealous. This is apparently the best way to see if his girlfriend really loves him. He specifically wants you to go because she also has light skin (but not as light as you), and she told him that he couldn't find anyone prettier than her. Thanks for the compliment (I guess), but no thanks. Ever heard of trust? "Oh, Peru!"

Acceptance - Realizing that when taking public transportation, you will probably always be squeezed hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder with friends and complete strangers alike. Seatbelts? Not anymore. 5 people in a 5 passenger car? It's usually a minimum of 8. "Oh, Peru!"

Here are a few other "Oh, Peru" moments for your reading enjoyment:

--Excursions with our Peruvian friend, Nilda. I think her motto must be, "Why do something in 2 hours when you can do it in 5?"

--The horns of Peru. There's quite a variety - normal horns, siren horns, musical horns, handheld horns. Vehicles and people use them for various reasons (see the two mentioned above), in addition to "watch out, I'm merging along with 4 other cars on a two-lane street," "do you need a ride?," and "step on it!" Not to mention the horns people carry by hand and blow as they walk up and down the street trying to sell things. The local fresh bread seller comes by on his bike with his horn at about 6:30 every morning. Love it.

--Every party turns into a dance party. I really love that.

--The electricity goes out in the whole town at least once a week, sometimes for less than an hour, sometimes for a whole day. I'm waiting for it to come back on now so I can go take a shower...we have an electric heater for the shower. It might be a cold one today.

--Devotions and prayer in my back yard while looking at the mountains and the papaya trees, and feeling the warmth of the sun shine on my back. It doesn't get much better.

(And now it's time for a cold shower. Still no electricity.)

Oh, Peru!

OOPS!

I am all too familiar with embarrassing situations and being the center of them. It happens even more frequently now that I'm operating in a culture I'm unfamiliar with and a language that I don't always understand. Let me share with you my most recent cause for "verguenza" (shame).

Katie teaches English at a community center, and the managers of the center, Pablo and Nilda, decided that each month they will have a party to celebrate the adult students' birthdays that month. Even though my birthday was in September, they wanted to include me in the October birthday celebration, which was a very sweet gesture. To prepare for the fiesta, Nilda, Katie, and I went to Canete (about 30 minutes away in bus) to buy food, decorations, and presents. At this point, I didn't realize they were going to be celebrating my birthday or that they'd get me a gift. Nilda saw a music box that opened and had a little diary in it that she loved, so while I wasn't looking she snuck off to buy it for me. At that point, Katie gave me the heads up that they were celebrating my birthday, and that I shouldn't ask questions when Nilda came back with a present.

We finished buying our things, and I went to the center to help decorate. The party started and things were going really well. There were about 20-25 adults there, and it was fun getting to know them and dancing and eating. Then the time came to open the gifts. We bought Spanish-English dictionaries for the students who had October birthdays, and Nilda had the music box wrapped and waiting for me. They had me stand at the front of the room, Katie presented me with the gift, and I opened it. I acted surprised, and I thought I should show everyone that it opened and played music and had a diary inside. So, I started lifting one side of it - the wrong side - and completely ripped the lid off the music box. OOPS! I glanced at Nilda, and she looked slightly horrified and pained that the cute little present was broken. Katie was trying not to laugh at me, and our Peruvian friend Christian was laughing at me. He kept looking at me and saying "mucha fuerza, mucha fuerza" (you're really strong) and cracking up. I had conflicting emotions. I felt horrible that I broke the gift that Nilda loved, I was embarrassed that all the people I just met saw me break a gift, and I also really wanted to laugh about the whole thing (and I did a little bit).

Before we left for the night, I made sure to thank Nilda again and explain that I could fix it (just needs a little glue). Later, we told the story to our friend, Gino, and ever since both Christian and Gino tease me about the incident all time, but I don't mind. In fact, I think it made us all better friends, and it's a never-ending source of laughter.

I think it's another example of how God can turn the mistakes in our lives into good. Thank God for grace, for working through us, and especially for working in spite of us.

October in Peru

Always New

Even though I've been studying the Bible and learning about God ever since I can remember (thank you, Mom & Dad & Holy Spirit), I continue to be amazed at the way God's Word is never old. I could read the Bible 100 times over, and I would find something new, interesting and encouraging every time. For that matter, I could read the same book or verse over and over and still find something new.

Over the past few weeks, I've been reading through Paul's Epistles, starting with Galatians. I've always loved Paul's writings, and they're applicable to every situation in life, but they've taken on a new meaning for me as I read them through the eyes of a missionary.

I've always loved it when a verse I have known, cherished, and even memorized comes alive for me. I think it usually happens because of my changing situation or perspective in life. I experience something new, and I go from understanding the verse on an intellectual level to understanding it on a deeper, sometimes inexpressible level.

That is exactly what's been happening to me as I read the prayers Paul writes throughout his Epistles. The first prayer that struck a new chord with me was his prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 1:16-18. It reads, "I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you..." (ESV).

Ever since I read that verse, I've started praying it daily for the people of Lunahuana and Lucumo and for friends and family that still haven't realized the hope to which they are called. It expresses perfectly what I feel for unbelievers. I pray it for myself, too, that I may understand more and more each day the "immeasurable greatness" of the hope we have by God's "glorious grace." (Check out all of Ephesians 1.)

Another prayer of Paul that I've rediscovered and identified with is from Colossians 4:2-4. "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." I daily ask for opportunities to share my faith, and that I would know what to say when the opportunity presents itself. I ask that you would pray this prayer for me and yourselves as you go about your lives as missionaries wherever you are. And thanks be to God for his faithfulness in answering our prayers!

What a privilege to have a few little peaks at one of the many awe-inspiring demonstrations of God's surpassing wisdom -- the power of His Word and evidence that it is truly "living and active." (Hebrews 4:12)

From Tourist to Tourist Attraction

Not surprisingly, almost everyone in Peru thinks that I'm a tourist. In the streets of Lima, taxis honk thinking I'll need a ride to a hotel or tourist attraction. Waiters and waitresses call to us to come and eat in their restaurants. People try to speak to us in English because they assume we don't know any Spanish. Here in Lunahuana the people who work in the rafting business constantly advertise "canotaje" (rafting) as we walk by. A mototaxista tried to overcharge us today thinking we wouldn't know what a normal rate is for a ride into town. And I expected that. And most days I'm not too annoyed by it, although I hope the people of Lunahuana eventually realize that I'm living here.

However, in the past three days a new phenomenon has developed. Something that I wasn't expecting. Something that makes me laugh and ponder and feel a little uncomfortable.

The first time it happened, Katie and I were minding our own business at the nispero festival here in town on Saturday, watching the Miss Nispero pageant. Anthony wasn't with us because he was asked to be a judge of the pageant--another story for another time. Anyway, at one point this group of people from Lima started talking to us, and about one minute into the conversation, they asked if they could take a picture with us. Interesting. Katie and I stood next to each other, and one of the Limenians stood next to us, but quickly decided that she should stand in the middle. Ok. As soon as the camera flashed, a second person replaced the first, and we took another picture. And another. And another. At least after they took the pictures, they continued to talk to us for another hour or so and seemed like really nice people. They were excited for the work we would be doing in Peru and happy to meet us. After we parted ways, I looked at Katie and asked, "So, did you feel a little like Machu Picchu tonight?" Maybe we weren't quite as magnificent as Machu Picchu, but we definitely felt like we were a tourist attraction.

Then tonight, Anthony, Katie, and I went out to eat at a hotel restaurant near our house (much closer than walking all the way into town). There was a junior high school having a retreat at the hotel, so there were a good 20-30 kids there with about 10 chaperones. We were enjoying supper by ourselves in the restaurant until this group poured in. When a group of boys walked by, they yelled, "Gringos! Una foto, una foto!" We then heard them talking about getting their cameras so they could take a picture of us. We decided to shovel our food in and get out as fast as we could. We were about halfway down the sidewalk to the road when a girl came running out and asked if she could take a picture with us. Her mom came down to take it, and then about 4 more girls lined up to take pictures with us, one at a time.

I don't quite understand why we "gringos" were photo-worthy. Was it that they associated gringos with Hollywood or sports stars or McDonald's? Maybe they don't see many foreigners in their country? Maybe they would want pictures with Europeans or Asians, too. Who knows. But I can't imagine running up to a Peruvian or Asian or German or fill-in-your-own-nationality-an in the U.S. and wanting a picture with them just because of where they're from. It's interesting to me to think about what that might say about the influence the U.S. has in the world and the stereotype Americans have. And maybe I'm reading too much into it. I do like to analyze.

Whatever the reason, I still felt like a tourist attraction. And maybe I should enjoy it. It's the closest I'll ever be to famous.

Mototaxis

On October 6, Katie and I officially moved to Lunahuana, the town where we will be doing most of our work. It's a small town up in the desert mountains, about 3 hours south of Lima. It's beautiful. It's sunny almost everyday, we have a mountain view from our bedroom windows, and the people are very friendly. I sometimes need a jacket in the morning and at night, but during the day, the temperature is very pleasant.

Katie and I live in what they call a "casa de campo," which basically means a "country house." It's very comfortable and cute, and we love it. There's a kitchen, living/dining room, and we each have a bedroom. The bathroom is in our backyard...a separate little building from the house, but it does have plumbing. :) Our house is a 25 minute walk to the Lunahuana town square, and that's where we go to eat 1-2 meals a day. We don't have an oven here, so we don't do much cooking. Plus, it's so cheap to eat in restaurants, it's not worth the hassle or the cost to try to cook ourselves. Below is a typical meal we eat for lunch. It's call "menu" and consists of two courses - these courses happen to be a noodle soup and aji de gallina (chicken mixture and rice), plus a drink. All this cost us 5 soles each. That's less than $2.

Sometimes we don't feel like walking the 25 minutes to Lunahuana (we technically live in Condoray), so our mode of transportation is a mototaxi. Mototaxis are basically motorcycles with two back wheels and a tent-like covering added. You can fit three people (if they're small people - Katie, Anthony, and I barely fit) in the back of one. The driver sits on the motorcycle part in the front. Each mototaxi is decorated with character, and Batman seems to be the decor of choice around here. I've also seen spiderman and wildcats and lightening decor. I don't like to look too touristy (I know my blonde hair gives me away, but I want to at least act like a local), so I don't want to whip out my camera and take a picture of one. As a result, I stood by our living room window one morning and waited for mototaxis to drive by so I could take their picture without them knowing. Below is one of the shots I got. I hope it gives you an idea of what a mototaxi looks like. I wish I could have gotten a Batman picture.

The votes are in, but we DON'T have a winner...yet

A quick update on the elections from last Sunday...the biggest race was for mayor of Lima between Susana Villaran and Lourdes Flores. It was such a close race that they are still counting the votes and have to count every single one. Susana is currently leading.

Who Will You Vote For?

There will be major political elections in Peru on Sunday (tomorrow). They are electing mayors for all the town/cities throughout Peru. It's been very interesting to be here and witness the campaign process in another culture. It's actually very similar to U.S. campaigns - a lot of mud-slinging and candidates who never actually answer questions posed. The mayor for Miraflores (where I currently live) is basically a race between two women. There's been a lot of drama in the past few weeks between the two of them. I'm anxious to see who wins.

The election process in Peru is quite different from that in the States. In Peru it is mandatory that everyone votes if they are 18 or older. They have a card that gets stamped/sealed when they vote, and they have to show that card at the bank whenever they go to make a transaction. If they haven't voted, they can't deposit or withdraw money. In order to get access to the banks again, they have to pay a fine. The amount of the fine depends on their yearly income. Also, they have a dry law throughout the country starting at midnight on Thursday (which is technically Friday) and lasting until noon on Monday. No one can buy alcohol or drink in public places during that time.

Next year will be another interesting election year here because they will be electing a new president. One of the major candidates for President is Keiko Fujimori, the 35-year-old daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. Alberto is currently serving a 32-year prison sentence for his role in killings and kidnappings while fighting against the terrorism of the Shining Path during his presidency. Part of the sentence is also for embezzlement. Thus, the fact that his daughter is running is interesting because if she wins, she could pardon him and get him out of jail.

One more tidbit about elections here: it's perfectly normal and acceptable to ask someone who they are going to vote for. So, who will it be? Vamos a ver.

A Cooking Adventure

Katie and I have been in Peru for almost 4 weeks now, and until last night we hadn't cooked a thing. We eat cereal, toast, or fruit in the mornings, and then we eat out for every other meal. Part of it is that we want to try all the amazing Peruvian food, another part is that the food at restaurants is CHEAP, and as we found out last night when we did cook-it's difficult and expensive to cook the food we know how to make.

We decided our Friday night entertainment would be to make supper and watch a sitcom from the states (we have the season on dvd). We were debating between making spaghetti and nachos. Anthony and I had a major craving for nachos, so that became our quest. Katie and I walked to the store in pursuit of the ingredients.

We started with the chips. Check. Now what about seasonings? They definitely didn't have the Old El Paso packets that I'm used to buying. What to do? Well, we could just brown the hamburger with onions and salsa and that would give it flavor. Salsa. Check. Now for the hamburger. We couldn't find any ground beef, so we decided to go with chicken instead. Expensive, but check. On to the cheese. No shredded cheese packets in Peru. We went to the deli counter to look at the blocks of cheese. Nothing really resembled cheddar or anything close to it, but we went with the closest thing we could find. Cheese, check. But wait, do we have a cheese shredder at home? A quick call to Anthony, who was waiting for us at the apartment - no cheese shredder. We look around the store for a shredder. Nothing. Hmmm. No beef, no real Mexican seasoning, no shredded cheese - these were not going to be the nachos that Anthony and I were craving.

Plan B - spaghetti. Katie and I went and put everything back that we'd already picked up, while one of the clerks by the seasoning section laughed at us. He had seen us pondering over which seasonings and chips to get earlier, and now we were back changing our minds. Oh well. We bought spaghetti, a jar of spaghetti sauce, some garlic, and some butter. Much easier than the nachos. We also decided to treat ourselves to cookies (the pre-made mix that you just have to add eggs and butter to), and we checked out.

Honestly, spaghetti has never tasted so good to me before. After eating unfamiliar (yet delicious) food for 4 weeks, something familiar and simple was the best thing I'd had for a good week. And the cookies, well, we tried. The dough didn't really look like it does in the states. We're not sure why. And the oven is different - it burned the bottom of the cookies. Katie and I spent 10 minutes scraping off the bottom of the cookies so they were edible. Dunking them in milk helped, too. I think the big problem is the stove/oven both have to be lit using a match (it's gas), and the cookies were too close to the actual flame burning in the oven.

The whole thing was quite an experience and was even more entertainment than we thought it would be. Thank God for my coworkers here and home-cooked meals. Maybe we'll try Mac N' Cheese soon. What a delicacy.

Weekend Update

Saturday morning Anthony, Katie, and I went to Lunahuana for the weekend. As we sat in a restaurant eating our delicious Peruvian food (I’ll try to take more food pictures to give you an idea of what it’s like), we had some great conversation. A prominent topic of that conversation was how to share the Gospel with the people of Lunahuana. We shared the common fears of being rejected, saying the wrong thing, not approaching the subject in the correct way, etc.

It was comforting to know that my fellow missionaries have had some of the same thoughts and feelings I’ve had. We came to the conclusion that God will be with us, He’ll give us the words to say, etc., etc., etc. We paid for our meal, explored the surrounding area of Lunahuana, and then met with Pablo to further discuss the details of the English classes Katie will start teaching in October. After that, Anthony dropped us off at our house, and he went to his place to rest a little bit before the next item on our agenda.

When he came back to pick us up, he also found a Bible passage to share with us. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5: And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

How perfect! I got goosebumps as he read us this verse. What comfort to know that even the great apostle, Paul, feared and trembled as he shared the Gospel. And how did he do it? With a simple, but powerful message. Obviously, it’s still very important that we study the culture we’re working in, the language they speak, and good mission practices, but ultimately God’s Word and His saving grace will do the work.

Right after reading those verses, we went to visit Anthony’s friend, Jose Luis, and his family. It ended up that we got to celebrate his dad’s birthday with them. It was a very fun evening. The best part was that we were given a chance to share the Gospel message with the family. They are a Catholic family, but they said themselves that the person they most worship is the Virgin Fatima, one of their patron saints, I believe. Please pray that our relationship with them would continue to grow, and that they will fully understand the salvation they have through Christ alone.

Sunday we went to Lucumo, another town near Lunahuana. This town is much poorer. Many of the families do not have electricity or running water. We made about 5 or 6 house visits and gave the families Portals of Prayer after we visited with them. At one home, we discovered that the Jehovah Witnesses had already been there, and the woman of the house was going to Kingdom Hall to learn more. They’ve been preaching a lot throughout the area. This will be another interesting challenge - explaining why we’re different than they are and why what we say is the Truth. Prayers, por favor.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Katie and I can both tell a huge difference in our ability to understand Spanish. We love our classes, and they’ve helped us a lot. We just started our second week of them. The more we learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. The Spanish in Peru has been significantly influenced by the Incan language, Quechua, so even simple words for vegetables and clothing are different here. Poco a poco. (Little by little.) I love learning something new almost every minute of every day.

Thanks for all your prayers. I’ll try to blog more often so that I don’t accumulate so much to tell about at one time. God’s blessings!

The Syllabus

I've been in Peru for two full days now (almost), and I feel like I'm back in college again except for the fact that there are vineyards and mountains around me instead of cornfields, and there aren't many English-speakers or Lutherans around.

Remember the first week of school when the professors gave you a syllabus and told you everything you were going to have to do that semester? It got a little overwhelming and you felt like you wouldn't see daylight for the next five months. I sometimes feel the same way right now. There is so much I have to learn: people's names and backgrounds, how short term trips are planned, the history of the country/region so I can share it with teams who come, Peruvian Spanish, how best to serve the people here, and how to drive a stick shift...in Lima...in a bus...with a lot of Americans who are going to flip out about how people drive here (and rightfully so).

I was starting to feel overwhelmed by everything this morning, and then I checked my email. I saw that several people had left encouraging comments on my facebook wall promising prayers and giving well-wishes, and I got an email from someone with more very encouraging words, and all of a sudden I felt fine. I was up for the challenge. I was reminded that I don't need to learn everything this week, or this month, maybe not even this year. God will work through me somehow - maybe with me and maybe in spite of me - but I'll do my best, and there will be lots of prayers, and God's Word will be preached!

There are so many good things happening already. I love my team. I love the house and the apartment. I love the landlady (she's already watching out for us). I love learning new Spanish words and phrases every hour. I love the support I've already gotten from everyone back home. I love my alpaca blanket and the view of the mountains in the back yard and the sheep "baaa-ing" somewhere close by. Gracias a Dios por todo.

Update on life and plans in Peru:

Katie and I arrived late on Tuesday, and Bruce and Anthony picked us up and took us to the apartment. We ran errands in the morning on Wednesday, including registering for language school. Katie and I will take classes Monday - Thursday for the next four weeks, and then we'll go with Anthony to Lunahuana on the weekends to get to know people there. After signing up for school, we went to Lunahuana (about 2 hours away), and started getting settled in the house there. We've been meeting people, taking stick shift driving lessons (first one today for me), trying new food, and just learning a lot. We talked to some Jehovah Witnesses (our first house visitors) this morning.

I guess that's about all for now. I'll try to post some pictures soon. Thanks for the continued prayers!

It's All About Perspective

Perspective 1 - August, 2001, freshmen year of college - Almost everyone I meet at Concordia University, Nebraska is complaining about how small Seward is and how there is nothing to do. I, on the other hand, am thrilled because I finally live in a town that has Wal-Mart and fast food places (like 3 of them)!

Perspective 2 - July 7, 2004, the day before I leave for Costa Rica for 5 months - I am basically scared to death. I'd rather not go to Costa Rica, I just feel like I have to in order to learn Spanish well, be a good teacher, and graduate in 4 years.

Perspective 3 - August, 2010, living at home in Tobias, Nebraska again for the first time since college - I feel like I'm experiencing culture shock, and I grew up here! All the things my new college friends were saying back in 2001 now make perfect sense to me. (It's still a wonderful place - just different than I remembered.)

Perspective 4 - September 6, 2010, the day before I leave for Peru - I CAN'T WAIT to go to Peru and live there for 11 months! I'm still not feeling anxious - far from scared to death.

I think perspective changes are usually a good thing. As I look at the paragraphs above, I can see that I've grown a lot over the years. Tobias hasn't changed that much in 5 years; I've changed much more through my experiences and living somewhere new. Living abroad hasn't changed much in 6 years, but now I know Spanish better, I've traveled to several countries (CR was the first time I left the US), and I'm used to living far from home. I'm thankful that God has molded and changed me over the years and has prepared me for new things.

Far greater than any of my perspective changes over the years, however, is God's perspective change through Christ's blood. That is truly a life-altering change for the better! Without Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we are dirty, horrible, sinful people; but with it, we are God's spotless children who will live with Him forever in heaven. Amazing!

And thank God that that perspective doesn't change as long as we have faith. We don't have to worry about God seeing us differently and deciding He doesn't love us anymore. He loves us with an everlasting love, and He is the same "yesterday, today, and forever" Hebrews 13:8.

So, while you and I go through struggles and triumphs and continue to change our perspectives, we know we have a faithful God who will stand by us through it all, giving us reassurance and the hope of a perfect perspective in heaven.

Perspective 5 - August 2011 - TBA

Finalmente!

Well, I feel like I've been thinking and talking about going to Peru forever, and now it's finally time to go! I leave September 7 - a week from now I will almost be in Lima! I have mixed emotions as I leave, although 90% of that emotion is excitement. I'm obviously a little sad to leave people and know that I won't see them for a long time, or even wonder if I will ever see them again (I can get a bit dramatic sometimes). I feel a little anxious wondering what to pack and trying to make sure I'm not forgetting to do something important before I go. But like I said, I mostly feel excited and ready.

The plan is that Katie (my future roommate) and I will fly from St. Paul and Omaha perspectively and meet up in Atlanta. From there we will take a 6.5 hour flight to Lima where Anthony and Bruce will pick us up. We'll go through orientation both in Lima and Lunahuana (the small town we'll eventually move to), and then start language school in Lima on September 13. We will be in school for four weeks.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support through this process. I meant to send thank you notes to all my donors before I left, but unfortunately World Mission is about 5 weeks behind in their gift processing (they just switched to a new computer system), so I'm not quite sure who to send thank you's to yet. Please know that I feel incredibly blessed to have all of you supporting me - whether it be through gifts, prayer, encouragement, or in other ways I'm not even aware of. God is using all of us throughout the whole world to further His Kingdom. What an amazing God we have! I pray that no matter where we are or what we're doing that our ultimate goal is "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Phillipians 2:10-11

Friend-Raising

For the past few years, I’ve kept my eyes open for opportunities to work in the mission field in a Spanish-speaking country. As a Lutheran, I’ve been particularly interested in serving through Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) World Mission. However, after learning that a missionary working for LCMS World Mission needs to fundraise all the money needed for a year in order to support him/herself as a missionary, I put going to the mission field on a back burner, because raising that much money seemed like a daunting task I’d rather not undertake.

Then an amazing opportunity presented itself: serving as a missionary in a relatively new field in Peru, going to language school, planning missions trips, and helping start churches in the Lima area. It sounded so wonderful I didn’t let the fundraising deter me. I got the job. I was excited! And then I began the task of raising $22,000 so I could go.

I decided to write letters describing my new job and my needs to close friends, family, and former students first. It sounds simple enough, but it was stressful. I spent many hours thinking about and composing the list of people who would receive letters. I didn’t want to offend anyone. I didn’t want to make people feel guilty if they couldn’t help me financially. I didn’t want to make people feel obligated to send money. But I also didn’t want to not give people the opportunity to help spread the Gospel in Peru one way or another. More than anything I just wanted to tell others about the mission opportunity because I was so excited about it!

In addition to letters, I scheduled three presentations at different churches in the area. The churches kindly said they would take door offerings for me the day that I presented, so I started to work on putting together a presentation. Again, I put much thought into what to say. I didn’t want to give the impression that the only reason I was giving presentations was to get money. I genuinely believe that prayer support and other help is just as important as the money. I wanted to be sure to convey that message.

Thus, the fundraising process started with some anxiety and uncertainty.

Then I received a book from LCMS World Mission entitled “Friend-Raising.” At first, I thought it was just a gimmick we were supposed to use when asking for money--an attempt to make our ask for money seem less like an ask for money. I honestly didn’t read much of the book. I sent the letters, and I did the presentations.

And then things started happening that made me realize that friend-raising is a much more accurate term than fundraising. I got a call from a man in Kansas I had never met who wanted to support me. He had heard about me from his friend in Denver who is good friends with my parents. This same Denver friend told another woman about me, so a few weeks later I got a very encouraging and excited email from her. She happens to be a former student of my parents from the Denver days. My babysitter from 25 years ago not only donated to the mission work, but wants to have her first grade class correspond with first graders in Peru and help spread the Gospel that way. Another long-time family friend organized a porch party so we could get together with other old friends of the family, and it was great to be able to share the story of missions in Peru with them. Through my presentations at the churches, I received so many encouraging words and met kind, God-fearing people ready to support me in various ways and excited to hear news from the field. And honestly, it took my breath away to look at the first financial report and see the generosity of others.

What’s even more wonderful is knowing that all those people who sent money and told others about the mission work and heard my presentations truly are my friends in this mission. I can go to them to share my frustrations, my sorrows, and my joys as I work in Peru. I can depend on them to give me encouragement, prayer, and rejoice with me when things go well. What an empowerment as I get ready to serve in an exciting and challenging new mission field!

It’s a great example of how God uses the church body to support one another. Every person involved with a ministry has a unique and vital role. Some give, some tell, some send, some go, others encourage, and still others pray. Most do a combination of these things. Each job is necessary, and no job is more important than the other. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” I feel so blessed and privileged to serve as a part of the body of Christ.

And, as frequently happens in life, those things which we dread or seem difficult turn out to be the biggest blessings.

Peru Plans

Along with the new Peru adventure comes many questions: "When are you leaving...How long are you staying...Where will you live?," etc., etc. Going through the same round of questions repeatedly reminds of when I graduated from high school and everyone wanted to know what I was doing with the rest of my life (or at least with my next year anyway). Back then (9 years ago), I hadn't even thought of studying Spanish in college, let alone living for an extended period in a Spanish-speaking country. It amazes me how God slowly guides us where he wants us to go. What a blessing!

Please know that I'm not offended or annoyed by people asking me these questions. I love sharing this information, and I feel blessed that others are wanting to know. So, for those of you who haven't received answers to these questions (or maybe forgot them), here's a timeline for you:

August 1 - Installation at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Collinsville, IL, 8:00 & 10:30 services. All are welcome!

August 3 - Moving back to "The Good Life" in Nebraska to be unemployed for a month and live in my parents basement. :)

1st or 2nd week of September - Move to Lima, Peru to go to language school (it never hurts to brush up and learn the local dialect)

Late September/early October - Move to Lunahuana, Peru where I will be living until at least August of 2011

August 2011 - move back to the U.S. or stay in Peru...we'll see what God has in mind. :)

God at Work

Throughout the summer we usually see more "men at work" signs than the rest of the year because of all the road construction. Frequently these signs cause us to groan or complain as the traffic slows and plans are changed or delayed. It's agonizing to sit in standstill traffic with our destination out of sight.

I think that's sometimes how we feel when God is at work as well. We have our own schedules or plans laid out with a certain timeline that we think is best, and then God goes to work. Our plans change. Sometimes the work is so slow there is no visible progress. We wonder if we will get to our destination with all the detours along the way. We see no end in sight and wonder if He is even at work.

Then things start happening. New lanes open up; more people are let in. New routes are available; possibilities increase. The ride becomes smoother, the journey easier.

God brings people into our lives to help and guide us. He gives us new ways of thinking or new options to pursue. Because of these changes we have renewed hope. With that hope also comes peace and trust in Him to make our journey easier.

I think it's important to remind ourselves that the "God at Work" sign is permanently posted, even when we don't see it. And rather than grown or complain when we come to slow spots or detours, we should rejoice because we know we've got a master worker designing the course for us and leading us where we need to go.

That's how I feel about Peru. I can see now that God has been working on me for years, preparing me for the awesome opportunity to serve there, and I'm so excited to be at this crossroads in my life! Sometimes the journey here was painful. I had to feel disappointment and discontentment to turn me in this direction. Sometimes I felt stuck or lost.

Other parts of my journey here were fun. I spent an amazing six months in Costa Rica that made me fall in love with the Spanish language and Latin American culture; and I enjoyed five years of teaching, which helped me learn Spanish better and gave me the opportunity to go on several mission trips.

God used each of these experiences (and more) to lead me to a new road. A road that is unknown and exciting. A road that will have detours. A road that will have many ups and downs. A road that will thankfully always have God at Work.