Peru family.

One of the things God taught me about in Peru was this idea I have of family.

My idea, I have to admit, was very small. I struggled with loneliness, and I often ascribed these feelings to not being around family or friends who REALLY know me.

I left Peru last year in July trying to escape and find satisfaction in my blood-relatives. I returned to Peru with a heavy burden based on the knowledge that I was guilty of the aforementioned confession.

Through other events, God began to show me about family as he sees it:

Marta, my Peruvian friend, became my sister; her mother became a Peruvian mama. Caroline in Portugal and Susan in Africa were my soul sisters on different continents. Steph became my best friend during this time and loved me as her own family. The mother of a former roommate at UGA encouraged me and loved me from Georgia-there's a reason I always called her "Mama Freida."

Furthermore, the Americans I encountered in Peru took me into their own families, for which I am so grateful.

I was thinking about you all today, missing you. While I have my biological parents here and my girlfriends and other supporters and prayer warriors, I miss my Peru family:

I want to move back in with Rebekah and Michael and hear "Crocodinosaur" from Gabriel. I miss Jenny's laugh and John's jokes and Caleb's stories and Elijah's excitement over seeing me. I want the Rains boys's hugs and Kristi's hospitality. And I hate that I can't walk down the street to the Christy's house and have Mark climb into my lap.

While I lived away from my Stateside family and friends, you guys loved me and showed me what family is. God used you in my life and I am blessed by you. Whether you fed me, housed me, or just let me hang out with you and your kids, the time you gave me and allowed me to enter your homes was so precious, needed, and it beautifully illustrated how the body of Christ should work.

(Shout out also to Scott and Meghan Dillon, Amy and Christian Listro, and Randall and Susan Anderson and all your kids.)

Muchos abrazos y besos.