Thursday, April 7, 2011

God is so good to me. He loves me and takes care of me better than anyone ever could. He already knows my hearts and desires and He never has to guess what those are. I am overwhelmed by His love. By his compassion.  That he cared enough to make us in His image. Incredible to me.

Well, so much has happened since I last wrote. We ended up renting the second floor of a house Lauren and Nicchola (our taxi driver and Peruvian dad) found about a two weeks ago.  It has been so exciting and incredible to be able to have a place that is our own. The family we were staying with was so hospitable and it was hard to leave. This new place, however is more central to where we will be working and whom we will be working with. So, this week has been about unpacking, shopping for furniture and appliances, etc. Nicchola has been so sweet to come over and do some of the handy man stuff. 

This house is amazing and much more than some Peruvian houses in this area but there are still some things I am still getting used to or find a little weird. The house was constructed with cement walls and there are different rooms, however there are not doors. Peruvian houses are usually pretty open and either have open windows or parts of the house where there is no roof. Our laundry room does not have a roof, but it`s great for the ¨drying room¨ for the house since clothes dryers are not common here and can be pretty pricey. We do have electricity and water until 8 at night, and then the region turns the water off. We usually have electricity constantly.  If you live at the top of the hill, you may have water until later or possibly the whole night, but we live at the bottom, so we don´t =).  Unfortunately, we didn´t learn that until after we had moved in, of course. Oh well.  Nicchola hooked up an electric hot water heater to our shower, so we can have hot showers (don´t worry, electric shower heaters are common here), however, I discovered the other day that if I touch the metal shampoo holder that we put on the shower head, it is an electricity conductor and will yield a small shocking sensation to a human finger =). So, we gotta get that fixed.

It is also kinda funny because the washing machine has a tube where the dirty water comes out, and you are just supposed to leave the tube in a nearby sink so that when the washer needs to drain out the dirty water, it just sucks it out and throws it into the sink. We had to ask Nicchola how the washing machine works. Never thought at 25 Id have to ask that question. Ha.

It has been a lot of work getting this house together, but it has also been a lot of fun. Lauren is really good at organizing things, and I am decent at putting stuff together and getting the mechanical stuff done. I got a new set of tools which has been amazing, so I have been putting those to good use. Because all of our walls are cement, we have to drill a hole in the cement in order to hang anything. Hey, I guess it´s more secure in case of earthquakes right?? Mom, don´t freak out.  =)

Anyways, God has been so merciful to us. It´s so crazy to me that God not only gives us the things we need, but also knows the things we desire and if those things glorify His name, His gives us that too. When I went back to the States, I started thinking about what my life would be like if I lived back in the states it would probably be a lot like it was before I left for Peru.  I´d probably be an apartment or living with my parents and be doing this or that or whatever. The Lord saw those thoughts (as He sees all of our thoughts) and gave me the best of what would have in the states, but in a place where my heart truly is….here.  Lauren and I now have a place we can really call our own for now and where we can really relax. Even the neighborhood we live in is great. We have fried chicken restaurant 1 min away and a sweet open air Ventanilla version of Chinese dine in or take out (Chifa, aeropuerto and Wonton soup? Hello. Yes. ). We can buy cokes and put minutes on our phone at a store that is 2 minutes away. Grocery store and market is 15 or 20 minutes away on combi. Everything a lot more central.  God is so so good to us.

Yesterday, Lauren and I met with pastor Robert of Camino de Vida, a very influential church in Lima and Peru, and he talked about so many encouraging and uplifting things.  Pastor Robert is from California, but has been in Peru for 30 years doing missions and accidentally founded a church as he says. So great. He says this because he talked about just following the little steps God has for you now. He also came to Peru when he was about our age and it was so cool to hear him and his family´s story. They were one of the few families that stayed here during the political unrest in the late 80s and early 90s. For more info on the political unrest during that time, google ¨Shining Path.¨ He said that 7 men in his church were killed and that he had had several attempted kidnappings and several death threats. I have so much respect for him because he stayed when it was not easy and he chose to follow God in something that others had given up on:  reaching the youth of Peru for Christ. This passion started with a band named VOMIT getting saved and then going out and ministering to the youth of Peru. Out of this grew the church Camino de Vida. Such a cool story. If you want to know more about them, check out their website. www.cdvenvivo.com  Anyways, I hope that we will be able to be more involved in that church. It is 2 to 3 hours away, depending on traffic and mode of transportation, so maybe something we are only able to do every other week or something. Anyways, super excited about this.

One of the things Pastor Robert was talking about during the meeting that really encouraged Lauren and I was about making a life here.  It was the first time I had heard an American encourage me or remind me that making a life here is okay. But, actually, when I think about it, I think most of my close family and friends already suspected I´d be here for a while. I´m going to be honest, I think being here has cost me some friendships and maybe even a couple possible relationships.  But I have made hundreds of friendships here with people who have impacted my life greatly, and I have no doubt that if I am supposed to be with a guy, God will put us in each other’s paths at the right time.  God has made it evident that this is where He wants me right now, and this is my home for now. It´s not how I thought my life would be when I was younger. I so many ways, it´s even better =).

I am so glad that the Lord did not send me here by myself. Lauren and I were talking about that yesterday. I would not do well, and she told me the same thing about herself. So, while we both would like to be married one day to amazing Godly men, the sweet friendship that God has given Lauren and I is something that I hope is always there.  She is such an amazing woman of God.

Lauren and I at Subway...finally, Subway! You made it to Peru...

So, this is a little taste of what life has been like for the past week or so. Today consists of cleaning and organizing and packing to go to Germany. One of my sweet sweet friends from Texas who lives in Germany is getting married is paying for me to come out there and be the maid of honor in her wedding. So, please pray for traveling mercies and that God will protect Lauren and draw us both closer to Him during this time.

Much love.

Nancy