All Things New

Greetings from Peru!!
I have been here for 14 days and feel much more comfortable than I thought I would. I have been challenged more in my understanding of what I "need" to live and have been coping with a whole new way of life. Here are the top 10 things that are different. Different isn't bad and in most cases it is for the better.

1-My ministry and job are one in the same...I get to talk about the Lord with my students! This also means I have one job. Which for me has not been the case in several years. Sunday's right now are very strange. I almost feel out of place or like I am not doing something that I should be doing. Like I'm skipping class or something.

2-I walk to and from work everyday (around 15 minutes). Great weight loss program and way to learn the road system.

3-I walk everywhere ie. store, shopping, dinner, to a friends house, church.

4-My apartment is in one of the busiest parts of this district, Miraflores. So much street noise that I had to wear earplugs to sleep the first few days. Now I use a dehumidifier to muffle the noise. There is a grocery store, bank, and excellent restaurant all on my block.

5- My ability to communicate with family and friends has changed drastically (I teared up several times the first week because I didn't have phone or internet). Because I only talk to people maybe once a week my conversations have become more meaningful.

6- I haven't watched TV since I left on July 18 and don't care at all about having one. Although I did watch a movie on my laptop Sunday afternoon before a nap.

7- I have only cooked twice since I've been here because grocery shopping and cooking is not the same, and I don't have as much time. I think I went through a whole box of matches trying to light the gas stove. Plus, restaurant food is amazing and affordable!

8- I have trouble speaking English because I am trying to get better with my Spanish and am saying goofy things. I really need a tutor.

9-I have been wearing some form of tennis shoe every day. For those that know my history with shoes you will appreciate this. For those that don't know...it isn't something I'm proud of.

10-I miss my family and friends much more than I anticipated.

I really do love it here and have really enjoyed my experiences so far. The weather is very grey most days and people walk around with grey sad faces. I felt strange walking around smiling the first couple of days. The past couple of days the sun has peeked through to remind us it still exists. Today it was out so long I got to see it set and then saw stars later on because the cloud cover had diminished. As we walked through the Malecon, a huge park that travels along the coast, we came upon a large group of people having a pillow fight. Yes, I said a pillow fight. There were about a hundred or so teenagers and young people with their pillows whomping each other in an organized fashion. It was so great. I wished I had my pillow.

Today was the Peruvian Independence Day. As I walked the empty streets seeing families gather it made me miss my family, friends, and anything familiar. I think it is possible to be excited about all the new possibilities and friendships, maintain sweet relationships from the past, and maintain my sanity. Tonight some of the staff got together to celebrate Peru's independence. It was so nice to bond with these new friends and co-workers as we prepare to start the school year.

Wednesday is our first day of school. Please pray for the ICSL staff, students, and families...especially with all the newness. The start of the school year is always crazy but this year in particular. I know the Lord has a perfect plan and I long to step aside and see his plan and not mine.

There have been so many new things and adjustments I can't even put them all into words. We began our teacher in-service training this week. Since the first day I sat foot in the building the Lord has been speaking to me and my creative juices have been flowing like never before. I've been having the kind of moments when you feel acutely aware that the Lord is planting a thought or a vision, so real that it gives you cold chills. I just keep praying that the Lord will guide me and use me. I know the Lord has me here and has a purpose for my life taking this dramatic turn. I am so thrilled about what He is doing!

Matthew 5:13-16 Striving to be salt and light!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well... I wish I could say this was going to be a super uplifting and encouraging post, I hope it will be but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep. I just want to be real. Truth is I'm kinda sad, a little emotional, excited, tired, ready, and a whole bunch of other descriptors I'll spare you. Somehow putting my thoughts out in cyberspace helps me to process all the mountains of things I'm trying to process. I feel like a computer when the hourglass/color-wheel spins relentlessly. You wait for the page to load and it keeps spinning. This is how I feel my hourglass/color-wheel is spinning and nothing is happening. My parents living room floor has four large suitcases scattered around. I've been relying on prayer, the bathroom scale, and a luggage weight to help make sure my bags are at the right weight. Tonight I put the scales away and just put the stuff in the bag. As my dad said your not going on a trip your going to live. I am carrying 26 pounds of Choral Octavos!! That's choir sheet music for all you non-musuc teacher folks. I've also been rehearsing how I will maneuver these bags through customs. If you know me well you know I am an over-packer to a fault. I have always just thrown a bunch of clothes in the bag and figured things out when I got to my destination. This time I have not been able to do that and the packing process was so not fun. I am pretty much done as of tonight...hallelujah!! Let me just say I have kept the company who produces SpaceBags in business. P.S. I DO NOT like the roll out SpaceBags. Rolling all that air out caused some pretty serious hand/wrist pain and I am no wimp.

There are so many things the Lord has been showing me but primarily about how much this place, planet earth, is not my home. I have driven in my preverbal tent pegs really deep. Several times in the past month I have found myself in piles of stuff. I thought I had eliminated everything preventing me from going unhindered, but I was wrong. Every day the Lord shows me something or some place in my heart that I don't trust him. Every day he says to me, "How much do you want to serve?, What are you willing to let go of?, What are you willing to endure for my names sake?" Many of my married friends tell me that when they got married they realized how selfish they were. Then when they have kids they retract the previous statement and say, "Now I really know how selfish I am".  This whole process of becoming a teacher, missionary, and world traveler has taught this girl just how selfish I am. It has made me reflect on the depth of my relationship with Christ, rely on him more than ever before, and trust in areas I've been trying to be self-sufficient in my entire adult life.

I've been reading RADICAL by David Platt as some of you know based on previous posts. I am living out the Radical year experiment he describes in the last chapter. I finished reading it just before I left and it encouraged and challenged my thought processes. I am so grateful God has given me this opportunity this chance to serve him in this capacity. Matthew chapter 10 also rocked my spiritual world this week.

I'm finishing up this post in a bed in Lima, Peru. My flight got in today or should I say yesterday. The clock is showing 1:35 am Lima, which means my body thinks it is 2:35. I go to my apartment tomorrow. My roommate won't be there until Saturday so I will be on my own to get familiar with the place. The girls that picked us up from the airport are super sweet and welcoming. I am so excited to meet everyone else. I had 4 bags that I intended on checking and was politely told that I could only take 2 ;-) I then proceeded to perform the airport shuffle with my mom and dad as partners. Now we are figuring out how to get the rest of my clothes and teaching materials to Peru and not have to take out a loan or sell an organ on the black market. The ticket clerk thanked me for not falling out and having a tantrum on the floor.

Folks it is humid in Lima. It doesn't even touch Mississippi humidity.

Pray for a smooth transition as I learn how to get around in my new home and get to work in a couple of weeks.

P.S. If there are numerous grammar errors just give me a break. Spell check thinks I should be typing in Spanish and everything is yellow or underlined. I am not editing tonight:-)

Blessings for today