First off, here is a photo of the mountains that you see when you fly into the AQP airport. Brittany tagged me in this thing to post the 4th photo of the 4th album on your computer; this is what I came up with...
Not only do I get to see these mountains everyday, God continuously reminds me that He is the Creator-God who fashioned them with His hands. May people in the mountains, near the sea, atop rolling hills, and nestled into valleys hear the name of Jesus and come to believe and confess that He is Lord over all.
The last post mentioned the strikes that had started in Arequipa; no worries, I'm still alive. I'll keep you posted on any future political turmoils that might arise. While the strikes were winding down, I was able to go to Lima for a team retreat. Not only did I get to meet a ton of new people AND see old friends, I got to hang out with my team for over a week. I shopped, went to the Fountain Park, ate yummy food, hung out with Limenos, and saw movies. While in Lima, I had to go to several doctors for checkups (including a small dermatological procedure, all is well) and to get blood drawn. I hate needles. I was a brave little girl, though, and made it through. Needless to say, I never want to get sick and have to go back to the doctor or the lab.
Lima was hot and sticky (a big change from the mild temps in AQP), but the retreat center outside of the city offered a nice break from the bustle (and heat) of one of the biggest cities in the world. I was blessed to sit and play with friends (and cute kids), but more than that, the Lord blessed me with His presence. We had some nice chats there, and I can't wait to meet with Him again in May when we travel back for the summer missionary orientation week.
In other news, James and Malea are both here! You knew about Malea's arrival in January, and now James has joined the team until the end of March. He has just jumped right in, which has been such a huge help. It's been great getting back into the swing of classes, and we're already thinking about how to improve them; we also want to potentially add another day of class, Lord willing. Pray that we are sensitive to how God would like to use us; pray also for continued language learning for myself and James, and that Malea will determine how the Lord wants her to learn Spanish.
To update you a bit on the boring doings of my small town life...well, not much is going on. I've been working on details for a trip coming in March. I hung out with some girlfriends yesterday, whom I haven't seen in some time. Malea and I have our ritual American Idol tv time over the weekends. I went to a small group on Saturday evening, which was a blessing. In fact, the small groups at church will be having a cake bake-off on Saturday for Valentine's Day, so some people are coming to my house on Friday evening to make it. That should be interesting, I didn't tell them that my oven is awful. Speaking of baking, I made some yummy peanut butter banana bread the other day, which was a good reminder of home. We've started a Beth Moore Bible Study on the life of Paul, which is wonderful.
In hitting the four month mark of being in Peru, my heart has started to miss home--not just people, but home. I know that this is my home for now, but I'm restless to be in the place I know like the back of my hand. Until then, however, God has been faithful to remind me that even in the hard moments I find myself in, He is here. As I reflect on my time here so far and enter into a phase of the "newness" wearing off, I realize how much He has already done and how much He will do. I've also witnessed the beautiful verbal encouragement of friends around the world who are in the same position as myself. As my friend Caroline recently told me, may we push through this discouraging stage to find that there are opportunities to love everywhere.
Enjoy the "Love month," as I like to call it. Let's press on to know Him and supremely encounter His love for us. In loving Him more we see Him even more, and we get to share that Love with others. Some prayer requests for this time:
-A "Valentine's Party" this Thursday at 7 pm is going to be a great opportunity to talk about God's love and the Gospel. Pray that people understand and are receptive.
-Continue praying over new friendships and an increase in the number of people coming to class.
-Pray for the teams coming out in the near future, and for the opportunity for me to tag along on a trip in March...more on that later.
-My personal request would be that I seek after His face harder than ever; that He makes me more and more homesick for Himself and for my heavenly home, rather than for the place I call home on this earth.
Know that I miss you all and am praying for you. A verse that has spoken to me recently is Psalm 116:7:
"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you."
