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.