Catching up- bday and all

I just added pictures...this sand boarding picture should be with another posting, but oh well..

I haven't updated this blog in a couple of days. Realistically I won't keep it up as well as I have thus far, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't work

on it diligently while I can. I am awaiting the beginning of our morning meeting. One of the girls left her money at the hostel and we are waiting for them to come back before we begin. The past couple of days have been good, which is so generic it will require details- my forte!

I had a wonderful birthday. There was a much needed time of conversation, sharing, prayer and singing starting around 11PM on the 16th. We sat around the living room as a group with Lidman, Solomon, and Blake joining our group. I was able to share some of the things I am

learning and apologize for my shortcomings, but also begging my brothers and sisters to pray for me- to fight with me (very similarly to the last blog I shared). We sang several songs...we prayed. Abbie and Kate were the first to wish me a happy birthday as midnight rolled around...and it was my 25th birthday!! We then began to pray as a group, which was just a sweet time. We finished our time together a little before 1AM. Solomon then suggested we go to the beach! After asking the crew, half of us decided to be game and go. We dropped the others off at the hostel and the rest of us proceeded to the beach. The first half of our time was spent being conservative with the water. I stepped in it- the first time I had

done that since being here. There were pretty decent sized rocks and lots of pebbles- not sand. Solomon first walked into the water with me...we danced and played and I about fell in. We eventually convinced Lidman to get in the water. Abbie was video-taping all of this. The waves crashed into our legs and got our pants/shorts wet, so it was inevitable we would get immersed. Little did I know (or expect)- sea urchins with very real and very painful spikes broke off into the sole of my feet as I tried to stand up in the ocean. We laughed, played, and simply enjoyed each other- FELLOWSHIP! After goofing off for over an hour, we walked back home and I got cleaned up. Abbie and I stayed up- laughing, me crying (because I had those sea urchin spines broken off into my feet and she had to do surgery on my feet), and just sharing a few thoughts. It was 3:45AM before my birthday-tail went to bed...and we woke up at 7:30AM.

The crew met up with some J-men (Journeymen) to go to Alianza (a church). We caught taxis and headed that way. We got there early, so we stopped off at a Starbucks to get some drinks. Abbie bought me a birthday chai tea- any size I wanted!! MMMM! Afterwards, we went to church- really great time. I enjoyed the time of worship through song...and the message was about reconciliation within the body and how Christ is the ultimate example of this. It was all in

Spanish and I understood about half of it. That is exciting to me... After church we went to lunch at San Antonio's. I was able to eat some palta (avacado). YES! The crew went to the beach afterwards- some played soccer, some walked on the beach and played in the water, others laid and journaled. The day was beautiful. The cliffs with paragliders floating off of them and the rocky beach with waves crashing up against the shore were the bookends of my space. Beautiful!! After the beach, we went to TGIFridays- spent way too much money on a meal no one really even liked...but I did get a neat birthday song (and dance with the waiter)...the crew then sang the bday song for me again- loud and obnoxiously!! Liked it- a lot. Ice cream and hangout time finished the night. Good stuff!

The next day- well, I had a lapse in attitude for some dumb reason...i don't really remember anything spectacular from that day because I was so distracted by my own idiotic emotions. AH- yes...orientation began. We are going through sessions about leadership, teamwork, cultural realities of the Peruanas, Bible storying. The days of orientation are short, but it does thankfully open up the rest of the day to just be. We have been successful in moving hostels 4 or 5 times! It is tough having 8 people and finding a 'long term' place to stay in a transitional living space. We're thankful, though, because we have experienced different parts of Lima even by staying in different types of hostels. We also dropped our clothes off at the lavanderia- laundry mat. I have since purchased some laundry soap so I can continue to handwash my clothes. Let's see...I am also practicing my Spanish with folks here.

In fact, I have a really neat story about sharing in Spanish during our Spanish class. Yesterday I was talking with Mayra- having conversation and she was teaching me new words. We spoke about places I have traveled and people she knows in the states. We eventually got on the subject about sharing how I became a missionary or what my testimony is.. I told her that I know I am here doing 'mission work', but to label myself as a missionary doesn't necessarily settle too well with me. The better question was about my testimony. I began to talk with her about how I became a believer. As I spoke, Mayra listened attentively. I shared with her how I do know that the Lord has great plans for me- all in Spanish. She looked at me and said, "Amen!". It just hit me in a deep way...the beauty of the moment ministered to my spirit. I just shared my heart, in Spanish, in Peru...

Today is Friday. We are going to come up with something to do. We made dinner last night here at the house. Aji Gallena con papas, huevos, y arroz. It was spicy. Abbie, Lidman and I were in the kitchen for almost 3 hours cooking. During dinner we had a time of sharing. Vincent opened up and addressed the group. The Lord is using him in needed ways within this group. He addressed the separation between the Natives and the others on our team- and how divisive that is and we cannot settle for it. We then sang some songs together and Lauren, Amy and I prayed...those types of moments of this trip warm my heart in a much needed way because it is then we share in fellowship.

Pray for us as we are learning the language, learning Bible stories, gearing up for our last week in Lima before we hit our base city and the mountains in groups of 2 team members and translators...Pray for Lidman and Solomon- the two Peruvian men who have been with us each day. Pray for the unity of our team and the meshing with the J-men here and the translators. Things are good...definitely a time of growth and learning.