Perfect provisions

Why am I surprised when the Lord provides exactly what I need, sometimes when I don't even know I need it?

Christine and I found out about 2 weeks ago that we would be moving out of our apartment. The new location was unknown, but I was tasked with apartment hunting while Christine was on a trip. The thought of trying to pick out an apartment was a little overwhelming, especially since Christine and I didn't have much opportunity to talk about what aspects were important to us. The first day I set out on foot with my friend Jessica, who was also apartment hunting, and we had absolutely no luck. You see, apartment hunting in Lima consists of walking or driving around looking for "For Rent" signs in the windows of the apartment and calling the advertised phone number. As you can imagine, it's hard to see up 7, 8 and 9 floors and especially hard to then read the phone numbers.

With no leads the first day, I drove around with another missionary the next day and we found 10 different signs/apartments in 2 hours. We didn't know anything about the apartments (size, number of bedrooms, rent, etc.) but started making phone calls and lined up 3 appointments.

The first apartment was in a great location, had roof access with a view of most of Lima and 3 bedrooms. It also had electric blue paint on the walls that was peeling off in chunks and all missing all together in other places. There was stuff everywhere which made it had to imagine Christine and I living there. It had a lot of potential, but needed a lot of TLC and a woman's touch.

The second apartment was smaller but brand new. It had one of the largest pantries I've ever seen in a foreign country. However, it was missing a place to put an oven and only had a two burner stovetop. When I get really stressed about something (usually some kind of big transition) I bake. I don't know how I'd cope without an oven!

The last (and best) place I saw that day, is the apartment that I choose for Christine and me. It is a three bedroom apartment, so we'll have a place to put and air matress for you when you come to visit! It has a place to put our oven, a great balcony, extra bathrooms, storage space and is in the most ideal location for us. We will just be a couple minutes walk from the guest house where most of the teams that we work with stay in Lima. In our current apartment it takes us an hour to walk there, so this is a definate improvement!

Monday is moving day. The big truck will come to move all the furniture and we'll start the process of getting settled again. Even if it is an inconvienence to move, the Lord has provided the perfect place for us. All of my doubts and concerns are gone and I have such a peace that this is where He has for us to live.

Please pray with me for ministry opportunities with our new neighbors, the building gaurd and others He will put in our path.

We'll post pictures once we get settled!

My family and friends...

...are amazing! I'm bragged for years that I have the best family and friends.  I'm completely convinced that this is true!  They really blessed me last week by sending a suitcase of some of my favorite things with Pastor Guy and Gay.  I never thought I would be so excited to eat Cheez Its, have a jar of molasses or Mr. Clean Magic Erasers!  It's some of the simple things in life...

My family and friends sent so much more, but the reminder of their love and prayers by far meant the most to me!  Thank you so much.  I love you all!!

Medical Trip Update

I got back a couple of days ago with the team from the Aija Valley after running a medical clinic for 4 days. It was an incredible week! It started out with a few bumps in the road (logistically) but the Lord was so faithful to provide everything we needed throughout the week.
My wonderful medical team was so flexible, patient and giving of their time and energy. I never once heard a complaint about sleeping in tents, the cold or the roads.  We all made plenty of jokes about being dirty, but that’s what 5 days without a shower will do to you!

To get to La Merced, the team flew 8ish hours from the states, rode a bus for 8 hours (after only sleeping for 4 hours), piled into trucks and rode another 3 hours on some very bumpy roads. We felt like a really good tossed salad by the time we got there! We set up camp in the school building with the tents and sleeping bags and headed straight to bed.

As we began the clinic the next morning, we saw a lady being pushed up the hill to the clinic in a wheelbarrow! She couldn’t walk anymore, and so they brought her into the clinic and set her on the floor because it was the easiest place for her. In the picture below they are completing a triage form in the lobby instead of moving her more times than necessary.

When asked what they needed to see the doctor for, the normal answer was for poor vision all over body pain. The Quechua do manual labor from the time they are children until they are well into their 80s. They carry heavy loads on their backs and walk the mountain roads, or heard their sheep, pigs, donkeys, and maybe cows in very steep terrain. It’s understandable that they hurt all over. It was amazing to see their faces light up when we found a pair of glasses that could help them read again! They thought that we’d given them the world with a one-month supply of multi vitamins and 20 Tylenol.

The first or second day in La Merced we found out that two of the bridges on the road to Llanquish (our second town to work in) we gone. The heavy rains had washed them out and the only way to get there was going to be via a 5-hour detour each way. If we took this detour, we might have had 4 or 5 hours to work in Llanquish and an additional 8 hours on the road. We decided the Lord wanted us to stay in La Merced for an extra day. Over the course of 4 days we saw about 350 patients and had 46 professions of faith!!!
An amazing evangelism team came from Huaraz (a large city about 3 hours away) to talk with people who were waiting in line to see the doctor and nurses. These men were such a blessing to our team as they shared their testimonies about how the Lord led them out of alcoholism. They were able to relate to so many of the people who struggled with the same issues. Nemecio, one of the men, is living in La Merced 3 weeks out of the month and had many people open up their home to him to lead Bible Studies.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. `James 5:16

Our prayers were answered last week and we have 46 new brothers and sisters! Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for the Quechua and us.

Stay tuned!  There are more blogs to come!

Prayer Requests

Sunday morning, we will be leaving for the mountains again.  This time leading a team of 7 ladies from the states for a medical clinic in two very small towns. Please pray for us as we try to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people.

Saturday, March 7: Pray for our team unity as Erin, Amanda, Emily, Kristen, Valerie, Marcia and Caroline arrive from the US for the medical clinic.

Sunday, March 8: Pray that the Lord would soften the hearts of the Quechua people in La Merced and Llanquish as we try to meet their physical needs and share the gospel with them.  Pray that they will understand the Truth.

Monday, March 9: Pray for the team as we travel 8 hours by bus and another 2 or 2.5 hours in trucks on some very rocky roads.  Pray for alertness for the drivers and rest for the team as we travel before a very busy week.  

Tuesday, March 10: Pray for our translators, Alejandro and Ofelia, as they work diligently with the doctor and nurses to understand the physical needs of the people.

Wednesday, March 11: Pray for the Peruvian evangelism team that is joining us to clearly share the gospel in Spanish and possibly in Quechua. Also pray for the health of the team as we work at 10,000 feet.

Thursday, March 12: Pray for relationships that are built with the town mayors, for opportunities to share the gospel and an invitation to return to work in their towns.  Pray for Christine and Marcia as they travel overnight back to Lima.

Friday, March 13: Pray for safe travel back to Lima for the rest of the team.  We will travel about 11 hours, most of them on an overnight bus.  Pray for alertness for the driver and rest/sleep on the bus for the team.

Saturday, March 14: "Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:38)  Ask the Lord to continue to send faithful ones to work in Peru on volunteer trips.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!

A shout out for Jamie B.

In college, my roommate Jamie loved (and probably still loves) orange juice. I've remembered it often over the years as I've grocery shopped and because of Jamie, I don't skimp on my OJ but appreciate the goodness. I've decided that Peru has the all time best freshly squeezed orange juice. It's only available at 2 of the chain grocery stores in town and a little more expensive, but worth every penny! Ecofresh is my current favorite beverage of choice.

Jamie, every time I drink Ecofresh OJ I think of you. Thanks for the healthy addiction! :)

Quote of the Day!

This morning, some friends and I took the Mira Lima bus all over the city checking out the touristy and history sites.  Please envision me sitting on the top deck of a red double decker tourist bus.  I am not a fan of looking like a tourist, but since I was already on the bus, I decided to whip out my camera and enjoy the chance to snap a bunch of pictures of Lima.  The tour was very educational, good practice for my Spanish and I got to spend hours outside!  I got to see new parts of Lima and discover some places that I want to go back to.  There are some really beautiful parks in this desert city.

I laughed so hard when the tour guide said "Please mind your heads as we pass under the electrical cables and don't touch them."  As we started out on the tour, I realize why she said it.  The bus is so tall, that we were ducking so that we wouldn't be caught by the electrical and telephone wires!  I wish I'd captured a better picture to share.  Amidst the laughter and ducking, I forgot.  Oh life in Peru!  It's so great!

Huaraz

Christine and I have been home a few days from our recent trip to Huaraz. We went to figure out some remaining logistics for a medical trip next month. This was my first bus ride in Peru and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. But I was pleasantly surprise to discover a double decker bus and comfortable reclining seats for the 8 hours ride that was ahead. I really expected to be in something run down and really uncomfortable, especially on the winding, bumpy mountain roads.

The day after we arrived, we met up with our friend Tommy and visited with a Peruvian believer in Recuay (about 30 minutes outside of Huaraz). Humberta is a precious sister. She lived in Canada for 14 years and speaks great English. This was a great blessing as we talked some about what a team will do in Recuay this spring. Humberta shared some of the burdens on her heart and we have a sweet time of prayer. This morning, was the highlight of the entire trip for me. I loved sitting in her home and hearing what the Lord has done in Recuay and her prayers and desires for the future.

Unfortunately, I caught a cold almost as soon as we arrived and felt under the weather for the next two days. Regardless, we had a great time getting to know Tony and Catherine G, who we are partnering with for the medical trip. Another perk of being in Huaraz was Tommy's fireplace! I made the comment to Christine that I felt like I'd had a winter because I'd sat in front of a fireplace. The only thing that I was missing was my knitting!

Our last day of the trip we traveled all day long visiting the two towns where we will hold medical clinics next month. It was great to be able to meet the local nurses, see the school that we'll sleep in and be able to visualize what the week will look like. After driving for 8 or 10 hours between Huaraz and the two towns, it was time to get on the 8 hour overnight bus home. I think we both slept on the bus, but were still quite tired when we arrived in Lima at 7am. Even though it's a lot of travel, I'm excited to take the medical team back in about two weeks to this area!