Fun Weekend in Peru!

Well this past weekend for me was really fun and encouraging. I am absolutely experiencing how the Lord is going before me in everything I do here. I have really felt His strength since I've arrived, and I actually feel a little more each day. I'm already amazed that I haven't gotten homesick yet. That's definitely an answer to prayer because I thought I would be a mess so far away from my family, my friends, and even Doylestown and State College :) I have also had a lot of patience with myself during this whole transition, which I think is really important. So please pray for that to continue because it doesn't exactly come naturally with my personality, but it's crucial while I'm going through so many changes and new experiences all at once.

I'm also definitely seeing how God rewards obedience to Him because coming here, though exciting, was not easy and it was an act of obedience and feeling called by Him. This weekend was just filled with blessings, but in really different ways. On Sunday, I was pretty much at church for most of the day. I went with my roommates to an English service in the morning, where I was reminded of Isaiah 40:29-31... "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." I guess this just really hits home right now because it would be easy to get completely overwhelmed and burnt out, especially once school starts. So it was good to be reminded again that the Lord will provide for everything I need. The pastor also talked about how when we are called to God, God makes what He calls. In other words, He equips those He calls for whatever He calls them too. This could not possibly be more relevant to me than it is right now. I feel unprepared in so many ways for what I'm about to get into, and I feel such a responsibility for the kids I'm going to teach, but I absolutely need to remember that God didn't call me because I'm completely capable on my own. He wants me to depend on Him for it all. 

I also got to go to the pastor's house for lunch with some of the other teachers, and then we went to a spanish-speaking service at night, which I LOVED. We went with Bete, one of the spanish teachers at the church. I struggled understanding most of the sermon, but it was good motivation to work on my spanish even more! But it was a service mostly for younger people and it was really fun. I think I will probably go back next week. I also got to hang out with Dave Mosemann on Saturday! If you don't know him, he is from Penn State and is currently living in Peru, only an hour from me, continuing to build the orphanage he designed. He is the one who led the mission trip I went on in January, when I first came to Peru and got to visit the school. He accepted a permanent position here and he's really trying to help me out, which is great. He introduced me to a few Peruvians who I found out live close to me, so now I have some contacts nearby who actually know the area! I'm hoping to make a trip down to visit the orphanage one of these weekends (if I can figure out how to take the bus there!), which will be really exciting since it played such an important part in me ending up here.

And lastly, probably one of the top highlights since I've been here is that I got to go paragliding over the coast of Lima on Friday!! It was absolutely incredible. All the teachers went to a touristy part of the city and went to a mall that was pretty American, but before we left we decided to paraglide. We also had a connection, so it was pretty cheap.. even better right? (especially for a bunch of missionaries!) So here are some pictures because it was at sunset and was BEAUTIFUL. I "took off" (i don't even know if that's correct terminology) from the top of a cliff in Miraflores, which was right along the coast, and rode off into the sunset with a Peruvian man I didn't even know! I never even got his name :( Anyway, here are the pictures of the city skyline and the ocean, etc. I was thinking these pictures could go on a recruiting pamphlet for missions.. become a missionary and you can do this! hah Only kidding, of course :) Enjoy!

Ah yes, the lovely haze over Lima that seems to never go away (reminds you of L.A., doesn't it?)