May Newsletter

The REAP North Newsletter for May 2010 is out.  You can find it through a link at the top of the right column.  Happy reading!

Beautiful Peru

While my parents were here, we had a great time driving through the mountains for a few days enjoying the beauty of Peru:

South Carolina Medical Trip

A couple of weeks ago I asked if you would pray for the people affected by the mudslide in Consejos.  This past week a medical team from South Carolina came to work in that area for a few days.  I didn't get to travel with them since my parents were here vacationing with me, but my teammate Amber was able to go with them.  Check out her blog here to read about the incredible week that they had.  The Lord really moved in amazing ways.  I wish you could all be here to hear the stories!

Yay for Family!

My parents have been in Lima for about 48 hours now, and it has been wonderful.  Yesterday we had a nice slow morning at my house followed by an afternoon of grocery and market shopping.  I know your thinking I should have had food before they arrived, but Shelley had made it clear, she wanted to go with me!  It is fun having my parents experience my normal life here.  It makes everything more real I think.  Shelley and I made a delicious dinner and by 8:30, we were all pretty wiped out.  I forgot to mention that we all stayed up half the night talking when they arrived!

Today we explored el centro de Lima, a cathedral with catacombs, enjoyed a little sidewalk cafe, and SUNSHINE.  The whole morning with overcast, and I was afraid that the winter fog was already coming back.  The sun can out on our way downtown, and I was super thankful!

It is so fun to be able to hang out with my parents all day and to share Peru with them.  I love that after hearing about my life here for the last 15 months, they are able to see and experience parts of it with me.

Congratulations

Congratulations to John and Christine on their wedding day!

Prayer Request

In a little less than 5 months, my current term comes to a close in Peru.  Time has passed so quickly, and with a very busy summer ahead, I'm enjoying some time of reflecting on all that I have experienced and learned, ways I've been challenged and stretched, but most importantly all the things I've learned about the Lord.

More and more often I'm being asked, "what is next?"  Three weeks ago, I had some ideas, but the Lord has gently closed all the doors, but given me peace about the future.  I know my future rests in His hands and that in His time, I will know what is next.  I am not stressed or anxious about the next phase of life, but excited to see what it will be.  Please join me in praying for a continued sense of peace, wisdom and discernment about future opportunities.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  They make the hard days easier, the discouraging times more hopeful and add joy to all the wonderful days.  Your prayers, blog comments, emails, care packages, visits, Skype chats and phone calls are such a blessing.

What's for dinner?

Quiche...or at least tomorrow night, it will be.  I've been craving Mom's quiche recipe, so I stopped at the grocery store tonight to pick up a few needed items to make it.  An onion was on my list.  I only need 1/3 of a cup, so a small onion would be sufficient, but it never hurts to have extra onion on hand, right?  Small onions did not exist in my store.  All the onions were enormous.  I was so amazed by the size of onions tonight, that I bought the biggest one in the store!  It has about a 5" diameter and weights 1.7ish pounds.  Huge right?

My curiosity continued once I got home with my huge onion, so I started chopping.  I chopped and chopped and chopped until my watering eyes saw the job done.  You can kind of see in the picture below all my hard work.  4 very full cups of chopped onion.

Meatloaf and Curried Lentils have been added to the menu for this week.  If you have any good recipes that call for lots of onions, please pass them on!