A Moment of Reflection

Thanksgiving has come and gone. The day is usually full of cooking and visiting and our day was no different here but I did have moments of quiet (even while I cooked) to think, what am I truly thankful for. At the moment a Steven Curtis Chapman song was playing "if this was my last day of earth..." what would I be thankful for? Perspective hit me again. Remember, I've already written that "perspective" seems to be the lesson of the year for me. The year is almost over and I hope I have learned my lesson well :)

Our day held a bit of a breeze off the lake as the men set up tents, tables and chairs in our neighbors yard. Some of the ladies decorated with flowers from thier yards. People started arriving and the buffet was laden with a ton of food. We had at least 80 missionaries visit our center to share this meal and it was a wonderful time. Yes, we even had turkey. We had to order them from Lima but nonetheless we cooked three of them. We had all the trimmings with stuffing and sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy and side dishes all around. Dessert was pretty good too if you had room to get a piece of pie in. The kids swam in the afternoon and the men played football. I chased Judah.

This year has been full of unknowns and travel and changes. It's been hard.

• I am thankful that we are now in the place we are to call home for as long as the Lord calls us here.
• I am thankful that in the past few months both Dean and Adrianna have made a decision to follow Jesus. Lauren made that commitment several years ago and I am thankful in the very bottom of my heart that 3 of my 4 children know the Lord. May He teach and mold each one of them more like Him each day.
• I am thankful for my husband who is a rock to me. This past year hasn't been easy on him either and we've had our ups and downs trying to make decisions and make the best of our situations. David maintains the optimism in our family and keeps us moving forward. He manages all the headaches from visas and paperwork to making sure we have a place to lay our head at night. We were told yesterday that one of the little girls at school couldn't believe we were married very long because she thought we still acted like we were on our honeymoon. (I promise we are not all that touchy in public.) More than a few people got a chuckle out of that but I'd say that's a compliment to our marriage after 12 years and going strong. I am thankful the Lord has blessed our marriage through the struggles we've experienced.
• I am thankful for ways to communicate with family and friends. Cell phones, internet and email options make keeping connected pretty easy. And that leads me to a huge thanksgiving and that is for our family and support team who uphold us and provide for us to be here. We know the economy is unstable right now and our team that stands with us has been incredible in their generosity.
• Thank you to all our supporters. We thank you for your prayers and we thank you for your financial support and we thank you for the care packages that have come our way that make us feel so loved.
  
  Recently, safety has become an issue near our little community. Without going into detail the Lord has clearly shown his protection towards some dear friends of ours and we are thankful for that. We have come to realize anew that even when hard stuff happens, nothing happens that hasn't first passed by God's approval for our benefit. We don't understand but God IS in control. Please pray with us for safety as we seek only to do the Lord's will and to offer His love towards the Peruvian people through our lives here in Pucallpa. Thank God with us for the protection He has already given to us and to our friends. Pray for healing as they seek to gain a sense of safety in their lives again.

A Day in the Life of Jan

My dad wrote me a letter a while ago and said, "and don't be afraid to write what a day in the life of Jan looks like." Hmm. It's not that I'm afraid...but maybe you would be...it's more that I don't have "normal" yet. It might not what I do in a day that is so different but the place and the things that come with the daily tasks in living on the very outskirts of the jungle. But here's what a typical day might look like.

The sun rises around here at about 5:30 or so. I think. I will hear Dean and Judah anywhere between 5 and 6 in the morning and the sun is usually coming up or already shining bright when I groan and think "another day is here already? Can we just lock those boys in their room to play?" David agrees as he rolls back over for more sleep and how he can just shut out the noise of the kids is beyond me! My alarm goes off at 6:15 and then I really do roll out and stagger out to start my day. I really do NOT enjoy mornings and every day I think "I'm not going to be so grouchy to my kids" but each day that's a serious struggle. We have one hour to get Dean and Lauren ready and out the door to the carpool to get to school by 8am. Dean is slow as molasses. There's not a fast bone in his body. Lauren is becoming quite fussy as she might come out with as many as three different outfits on within the hour despite having picked out her clothes the night before. Has anyone out there been there and done this?

When the kids are gone I leave Adrianna and Judah to play with Laly while I get in the shower and emerge human again. I am ready to start teaching homeschool to Adrianna by 8 am and if I've done my preparation for the week it's quite a pleasant experience. She is a quick student and I love to hear her learn verses and poems. It's my favorite thing. My helper comes Monday's and Friday's and finally Judah will willingly stay with her. For a while there leaving him on the other side of the door was a trial and one that I often had to rescue him from. But teaching Adrianna and keeping up with Judah is a stretching few hours for me.

Tomorrow I start school. We have found a tutor to go over my books with me so Tuesday and Thursday mornings I will take the kids into school and stay there with Judah and Adrianna and do my own lessons. That means we have to cram a bit more into the three days of homeschool for Adrianna but I figure I need to start somewhere so I don't lose all my spanish. I'm a bit nervous of getting started again but I really, really want to speak this language and be comfortable here so please pray for my ability and time and progress in language learning.

After lunch I do household chores or take a nap - depending on my energy level which has been pretty low lately. Even the dog can be found asleep and trying to keep cool under the fan in any position! The kids come home at 3pm and Judah is getting up so the house gets wild and crazy for a few hours. The supper routine starts around 5, we eat at 6 and the kids need baths and to bed by 7:30. And then I can breathe. Well, unless I find a humongous spider in my bathroom and then I hyperventalate while trying to communicate to David that there is something very scary in the bathroom. And when I find two of them the same night, minutes apart well then there should be concern about my heart! I tell David if it's ever a snake in my house he will come home to find my bags packed and ready to go. What is the likelyhood of ever finding a snake in my house? Pretty good, I'd say. Rats are evident again. It got quiet after the first kill (I'll refrain from posting the picture David took) but they are eating my soap again. I can tell they have some big chompers.

What else takes up my time? Marketing is a huge time consumer. Just buying groceries takes a long time because you don't have one-stop shopping in Pucallpa. It's more like a 10-15 stop shopping trip and hope you get it all. Veggies are on one street, fruit on another. There is a store for chicken and a store for beef. We haven't found pork yet. There is a store for baking supplies and distributors for milk and yogurt. I buy about 30kg of flour at a time and about as much of sugar. Canned goods are available at Los Andes but you'll pay more...sometimes it's worth the time saved but if you have time there are plenty of small stores available to browse for goods. David has a store for each specialty it seems - do you need electrial supplies, go to Rotsen's or a battery, go the the shop on the corner as you head out of town. Hmmm. We're learning though! Needless to say, shopping trips to town don't happen all that often and living as far out of town as we do it's necessary to buy in bulk. I knew my love of bulk shopping would come in handy some day! When I get the fresh stuff home then I have to clean all my fruits and vegtables in an iodine/bleach solution and I process my meat. This can easily take the better part of a day if I'm working alone (with kids around) but my helper, Laly has been a big help with this lately as well as shopping for me.

And a social life? Well, you have to make that happen here. Sunday is our day out visiting. After church in town we usually go out with friends and it's a long day for the kids but we feel it is necessary to build relationships. They handle it great and sometimes there is even other kids for them to visit with. Wednesday night is prayer meeting which we all enjoy and there is a couple down the road from us that have young kids that we enjoy just hanging out with. We live about 30-40 minutes outside of town so going in has a purpose. We've had a few game nights at our humble abode with friends playing Settler's of Catan or Ticket to Ride. All in all, when you have four kids you can't really say you don't have a social life - they are the life of the party! Just look at my darlings. But it sure is nice that God has provided some pretty special people around us to help us through this adjustment and be our family away from home.

In conclusion, I do a lot of the same things you do. I take care of my kids and my house, I shop and and I clean and do laundry and I homeschool. The only difference is I live in Peru in a wood house with only screen and bars on the windows so cleaning is daily. I live with quite a few more bugs and snakes around I think. My grocery shopping day never ends. It's always hot here, unlike Arequipa, but I have an awesome view of a lake and palm trees out my kitchen window. I'll post of picture of that someday. Have a great day! Mine's been pretty good.

Catching Up!

Well, it's been awhile since I've published anything due to constant business and the fact that our internet is very, very slow here. We are already longing for what we don't have - high speed internet. It's not out of reach - it's just expensive. It's one of those things that we say "maybe someday..."
Thanks for your patience in waiting for an update. Life has been crazy busy. I just reread my last blog and honestly it gave me some "perspective" again. Yikes. It is a constant lesson I seem to be getting nailed with.
We got to Pucallpa safely and me and the kids and Whiskey all did fine. David arrived later that afternoon driving the car and again it was sooo obvious that God was taking care of us. Remember a few blogs back when that bolt in the engine broke - the bolt that should never break. It broke again. This time though David was only 10 km outside of Cashibo where we live and he was able to limp it home. The car was loaded to it's max. I think the shocks had to have been bottomed out but he made it. If it had happened in the mountains some serious trouble that would have been. But it didn't and we ALL made it safely to our home. Praise God for his hand of safety on us. When we finally arrived we found that our house was not ready for us to move into. Although that was really disappointing to us it did allow us time to really see the house and know what we had to do to fix it up. Already our bedroom had new walls and so did the laundry room and our neighbour had put up some lights in our very dark and long hallway. That was a real blessing. And in the meantime we were able to live in the guesthouse next door. The next two weeks were a whirlwind of work for David as he worked on the house and me and the kids tried to keep busy while we waited. Our shipment was in country but David lived day to day waiting for a call telling him to come back to Lima. It actually worked out that we were in our house by the time he was called to Lima to process the shipment. In reality it was perfect timing. We worked on our house still after we moved in and we got used to camping in our new abode as we had no furniture! We borrowed a work table to eat at and some chairs and we each had a bed...that's about it. :)
We've been here now for a month. David has started work and still we work on the house. Dean and Lauren are settled into school and they are enjoying it. The school is small right now but within the year the population should increase especially at the elementary levels which Lauren is really looking forward to. Dean is doing well too even though school is not really a joy to him. I started homeschooling Adrianna Kindergarten this past week and she has done so well. She is an eager student and keeps asking when she can go to big school. Such a sweetie pie. Judah is into all kinds of mischief and it has been a challenge of late to keep him out of everything. He is a climber and he seems to be able to open every cupboard despite the bricks or chairs or whatever else I've put in front to block them. He loves banging on everything with David's tools and there is quite a selection in the house right now. There's never a dull moment in our house :)
Another exciting bit of news. Shortly before we moved into this house, Adrianna pops out of her room and says "mommy, I want to ask Jesus into my heart when you are done cooking." I said, "WHAT? When I'm done cooking? WHY?" She replied, "Well, because you are busy." Of all times to be considerate of what I was doing! Adrianna accepted Jesus into her heart that day and I was able to pray with her. I am so so blessed.
This has been a huge transition for all of us. I really don't think we expected it to be this hard especially since we have already served overseas. Please continue to pray for us as David tries to fit into the shoes left for him to fill in the aviation department. There is much more for him to do here than just aviation maintenance too. Pray for me as I homeschool Adrianna and keep up the home. David and I continue to work to make this a home for us. My spanish is quite rusty - even the limited bit that I learned in Arequipa and I need to find a tutor and ways to be listening and using the language I do have. That is very difficult since I am home most of the time and the outskirts of town is 30 minutes away. Pray for God's timing in all these things, that we would be patient and give ourselves time to adjust. David and I are very tired. The work that is going on here in Pucallpa is wonderful. The ministries are varied and busy. It is neat to see God working in so many ways. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

On The Road Again

David says we love road trips...hmmm...well, they definitely are a part of our lives but I just don't know that I'd say "we love them." We spend a whole lot of time traveling and sometimes even he has to admit that we long for a few really boring weeks :)
Needless of how we actually feel about road trips, here we are...on the road again. This time the road is the PanAmerican Highway from Arequipa going south to Lima. We are packed in like sardines in our Mitsubishi Montero. All six of us, a dog, and all our worldly possessions which quite frankly amounts to a lot. Oh, and did I mention a motorcycle was in the car with us. Yep, we were definitely like sardines. David and Judah had it made in their seats. The rest of us had a bit of trouble keeping our attitudes on the "nice plateau" but we did make it to Lima with our sanity so we are thankful.
How did we pass the time in our sardine can for two days? Well, the kids played, slept, read and had a few sqwabbles in there too. Sometimes we sang and were silly and there were lots of snacks. At one point we were talking about a name for another dog and Adrianna was playing with her horses at that moment. She pipes up "mommy, you like my horses names? This is Appalosian and this is Saddle-line." She made us smile - o.k. laugh - but we thought she was being very creative.
On a more contemplative note, have you ever heard the song "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw? All you country fans know it and it is a song I really like. So we were belting it out and I thought, "I think we live like we are dying." We have been so blessed to see so many things in this world, my kids have seen and smelled and lived other cultures, we live a crazy good life and our work has a purpose behind it. As hard as it is...could life be better than that? I think unbeknownst to me, my lesson in life this year has been on perspective. It's all how you look at things and where your focus is. I can so easily be overwhelmed by ANOTHER move, ANOTHER change, I have to live in THAT house? and where do I fit in here in Peru? So many questions and so many unknowns but to live today to it's fullest with your eyes on the Lord and your heart at peace with Him - it's living like you were dying and it's a good place to be. (I'm secretly hoping though that soon a few of those days can be full of boring :)
This week our schedule is in Lima buying appliances, household items, doctors appointments, and visiting friends here. As you think of us, please pray that we would be able to get everything shipped quickly and smoothly, that David and our friend Dave Spyers would have a safe and uneventful trip over the mountains on Friday and Saturday and that me and the kids would fly safely on Saturday to meet them in Pucallpa - home. Pray for me as I am not completely comfortable traveling through the airport with all the kids and having very limited Spanish speaking abilites! It should be a quick trip though and we have a friend taking me to the airport on the Lima side and there will be friends on the other side to greet me. Pray this transition ends well.
David will be returning to Lima sometime next week to be part of processing the shipment. Please continue to pray that that would go well and that the customs officials would find no issue with it.
Thank you to all of you who support us in this ministry and are helping us get set up again. We couldn't be here without you. God bless.

Death & New Life

Today was a good day. Even after the sadness of Grandma dying I am comforted by what my mom told me. "When Grandma died her eyes turned bright." "Grandma looked pretty. Remember how she looked in Florida all rested and her smile was a bit crooked? That's how she looked. Just perfect." In my heart I know that's because she is with Jesus now and in perfect happiness. We grieve when we lose someone dear, but to a believer death is simply a new life. A good one!
When we were in the Philippines a dear friend tragically was killed in a car accident. We asked ourselves "why, why her?" We had a funeral Philippine style which meant a lot to the community who knew Diane well. She was a light to everyone. We all grieved for her and for the family she left behind. But in hindsight, Diane's death still produced fruit. Numerous Filipinos became Christians because of the life she had lived. It was still sad, but there was joy in it too.
Same for Grandma's death. For me it was a time to talk with my kids about Grandma and death and salvation. And kids ask some pretty deep questions. This morning at breakfast the conversation continued. Dean blurted out, "I want to follow Jesus not the other guy!" I asked him if he wanted to be a Christian and he said, "YES!" So we went and found Daddy and we prayed. My son was given new life because of Grandma's death. And I could just cry over that. I certainly didn't expect that - but I'm certainly glad he made that choice. And Grandma is certainly happy about it in heaven!

Saying Goodbye from Afar

Saying goodbye is never easy but for a missionary it's part of life. We move from place to place, we try to make a difference in people's lives, and then we seem to move on. We've had our shares of hellos and goodbyes over the years but I have recently felt the reality of saying goodbye to my dear grandma from very far away. Grandma died August 13th. She had just turned 82 on August 9th. It's not the same kind of "goodbye" feeling. In fact, it's much harder. You are sad all by yourself. I want to be there to hug my mom who just lost her mother and tell my grandpa how very sorry I am for his loss. They were married for 62 years! I hope David and I can boast that (and we are planning on it!) If you will allow me to share a few memories for my comfort; Grandma used to make Fudge Squares every Christmas. Only we never called them fudge squares. She always tinted the icing green for Christmas so us kids called them "Grandma's Green Squares". They will always be Grandma's Green Squares and the memories of her will bring a smile and will be as sweet as those squares every time they are served in my house. And I also remember Grandma stayed with us sometimes if mom and dad went on a trip. It didn't happen often that way but one time seems to stick in my mind...Grandma standing in the kitchen and I was whining (which I hardly ever did) that I was bored and Grandma said "well, go pee in your shoe!" "NO GRANDMA!" It turned into a joke over the years and now I say it to my kids who are horrified that I would suggest such a thing. And it's hard to believe Grandma would say such a thing because she was always "nice" and "proper" and she took care to look her best. The last time I saw Grandma I was showing Judah off to her. Grandma always loved babies and wanted to squeeze them but she was too frail to do that anymore but she wanted to touch him and if we put him close to her face she would try to kiss him. Even when she was so ill she loved babies and she loved my Judah even if she didn't realize who he was. Grandma died of Alzheimer's Disease but my comfort now and for my family is that Grandma is without suffering and she is at peace with Jesus. I'll see you in heaven someday Grandma. Love you, Janie

Peruvian Cuisine

Before we arrived here in Peru we read and heard that Peruvian cuisine was really not that fantastic. Honestly, we don't understand who could think that! Our experience with the food has been superb :)
From anticuchos (beef heart) to ceviche (raw fish cooked in lemon juice) it's all pretty good. Of course it's not all so exotic as that. Some of my favorites; lomo saltado which is a beef stir fry with french fries served over rice, and aji de gallina which is shredded chicken in a pepper sauce and served over rice. These are everyday recipes and they are sooo good.

David and I have had the opportunity to go on a few dates while we have been here in Arequipa and I have to tell you that we have discovered one of the best restaurants we have ever been too. Have you ever tried Alpaca or Ostrich steak? Both are good but Ostrich meat has become our all-time favorite! But even in Pucallpa we won't be without some good food. Even in our jungle town we will have Orlando's a wonderful restaurant with good meats, fried yucca and platanos. Very Latin and very tasty. Do you want to come visit?

When "Home" Looks Real Good

We've lived in several homes during our married life. Some I don't wish to visit again, just glad for that chapter to be done. Other places have built some fond and wonderful memories. Usually those homes are the ones we have worked the hardest on and made to our personality. But when you are a missionary, where is home? It's important for us to have provided a home in the US for our kids to call home. Whenever we go on furlough we can always go to the same place. It's where Daddy grew up (when he was on furlough) and all of them but Judah have memories of the house. But it's home for David and I too. Probably more so for us than the kids. The kids still think the Philippines is home but are coming around to the possibility of Peru being home. For me, I think Waxhaw is the closest thing to home I have right now...but I'm not there.

Well, the time came for our family to go to Arica, Chile for our visas! Finally. With those "blessed" little stamps in our passports we were then able to go on to Lima for our carnets, or our resident cards. David in his wisdom decided that it would be a good time to pack up everything we didn't need for the last six weeks and take it with us on the bus. After all, we have a motorcyle, 6 people and the rest of our belongings to fit in the car on moving day. Sure, good idea. It took me a while to get this overwhelmed but it's often the job that brings me to tears - packing. I think my body just starts shaking at the mere mention of the word. This time was no exception. I can work myself at packing in a very organized manor but then David comes along and I leave while he repacks all my organization into every nook and crany. This time it was bad. You see I have a love for books but books can be pretty heavy and space consuming. David being the practical man that he is praises the use of a library. He thinks I don't need my own. Well, on this point we don't agree so when I had spent a few days packing up all we didn't need then David suggested we "weed out" some the books - permanently, my emotions got the best of me. Staying home just looked real good to me. Imagine being able to have a place for your things where they STAY. I'm so tired of packing and unpacking and having this or that but you can't remember where that very important thing is because you've literally moved all over the world six times in two years. But this was just a eensy weensy pack job in preparation for the final move to Pucallpa. You would think I would have been excited. But packing is a horrible job. That's all there is to it and it is one job that makes me want to go home...but then I'd have to pack to get there.

And there is no place like home when you are sick! Satan has often used this against my family over the years to discourage me and I guess now is no exception. I have been sick with various illness these past weeks and my kids and David have had bouts too. It's just no fun. Life must go on but home looks real good when you're not well. Right now I think of my WARM bed and my own warm bathroom (after all my house in the States has heat). And when you are sick at home in the US - Grandma is there to help with the kids! Oh boy do we miss Grandma! So while I am chilled here in Arequipa, coughing my lungs out, there is part of me that is wishing for home. I think David is too because home had a dishwasher and with no househelper and mom out of commision Daddy has had to wash a huge amount of dishes this week. Thanks Daddy.

It's honest to say that missionaries feel discouragement in various ways just as you all do. These are just two of my breaking points. God is still faithful, God is still good and in these times we just ask you to pray for us to remain faithful to what He has for us to do. I have one more week of school and then we will have a two week break. Then I will go back for two more weeks before we start the move to Pucallpa. Pray for peace for me as I anticipate moving from the city of Arequipa (it was nice while it lasted) to the jungle of Pucallpa (still forming an opinion). We have much to get over the mountains including a dog or two and I will be flying with the kids (and maybe the dogs) from Lima to Pucallpa while David drives the car. Pray for physical and emotional strength because we are feeling depleted in those areas these days. We covet your prayers for our family and are blessed by the way you support us.

Lessons in Prayer

I try to teach my kids that God is listening to them. We pray each night before bed and we pray specifically for people and things that we need. But I always remind them that it is so important to give thanks to God for the way He does answer our prayers even if it's not the way we want. And we have plenty to be thankful for.

One of our long time prayers have been for our visas. Finally, they came. The kids and mom and dad too, jumped for joy and thanked God for His provision - just in time. Our tourist visas ran out on the DAY we crossed the border into Chile. Wow. What a lesson in God's faithfulness.

It was a busy trip. We took a friend along who was hoping that his visa would be ready as well but we didn't know for sure. So off we went - to Arica, Chile. No problem. Unless you try to take banana peels across the border! What a time that was for David. I had the easy job I think of doing kid control. David had to fill out papers (6x each since there are 6 of us!), talk to the officials in spanish and try not to have a heart attack when they let a huge dog in the car to sniff out those banana peels! David really didn't have to act ignorant. He really didn't know that banana peels were illegal to enter Chile! So more papers and finally we were on our way again.

The next morning we went to the consulate and filled out more papers. The neat thing was that Marshall's visa was there! "Kids! God answered our prayers for Mr. Marshall!" They were pretty excited. So by noon we were on our way again and just cruising along - we had no fruit at the border so we were o.k. All of the sudden the check engine lights when on and David pulled over and got under the car. Uh, oh. Let's start praying kids. We prayed out loud. We prayed for what we didn't know - we just prayed because the look on Daddy's face told us this wasn't good. We limped back to a town and stopped at the first mechanic shop. Yep. It was pretty bad. Kid's lets keep praying. We prayed for Daddy to trust God, we prayed for an angel in the form of a good mechanic who had tools! We prayed for us, that we would wait patiently and not get in Daddy's way. We prayed for a way to contact home to let our helper know what was happening since our cell phones were mysteriously "dead". And you know it just isn't surprising. God heard our prayers. That mechanic was our angel and he helped David get a stuck bolt out of the engine and put it all back together. The kids were really well behaved and David was able to call home at a gas station. And we were back on the road. So many good things happened after the bad thing. But in the meantime, the kids kept asking me "why", "why", and "why". Those questions can lead to teaching moments and it was good for all of us to remember how God is in control. Even David and me. Maybe God broke that bolt to keep us from some worse accident. Maybe the bolt breaking was really bad, but maybe God kept it from being a worse accident.

We made it home by 11pm and boy did the lights of Arequipa look wonderful. The kids hiked into their beds in record time and our little dog Whiskey was so excited to see us he wiggled all over and then howled for a while to let us know he wasn't happy to be put back to bed. Ah, it's good to be home.

We were supposed to be headed to Lima today but we weren't too disappointed to be delayed. We will leave Sunday now and Lord-willing be able to finish the paperwork and recieve our carnets (resident cards) by the end of the week. We will keep praying towards that end!

Finally in Peru

This starts my first attempt at blogging. I am hoping this will be a good way for me just to keep you up to date on our lives and what day to day life is like for us here in Peru. Some things will be the same for us as it is for you and that may surprise you. Other things will be very different. David usually is the one to write the newsletters (which maybe I can figure out how to post) but I'm hoping this will be just me (or him) talking to you as we would getting together for a chat.


So... we made it to Peru all in one piece two and half months ago. Wow. We have been here that long? Some days it feels like we have been here a lot longer and other times it feels like we just got here. In the 11 weeks that we have been in country we have bought a car, visited Pucallpa where we will live and work and now we are living in Arequipa for language school. We have seen some pretty amazing sights from the jungle to the Andes mountains and desert in between. This country has amazingly diverse geography. David is feeling quite comfortable here in the Latin culture he grew up in and for me it's all new and interesting. The kids are adapting well too.


For the many times I asked the Lord to slow this process down ("I'll go to Peru Lord, but can you please wait for me"...yes, I really said that) there is an unique sense of peace that only comes when you are in the will of God. It's different here. I can't speak the language. It takes me a day to buy, wash and process my market purchases. Our water pipe broke AGAIN. I'm frustrated with the constant transition - but when I settle down and listen to the quiet, there remains a peace in my heart that transcends my understanding. That's cool. I am convinced that we are where God wants us and I know we are preparing for a work that He has for us - I pray that this adventure glorifies Him in every way.