Update from the last.. uhh.. 4 months :-/

Well, believe it or not I am alive and well here in Lima in spite of my absence for, well, months. Life has continued at it's normal, rapid pace since my return from Cusco with family months ago. It's hard to believe almost an entire semester of school has passed since then and I am actually beginning to think about the next time I get to see my family, which is in a little over a month at the end of June! I am definitely looking forward to my "fix" of the States and my family.. I will be home from June 26-July 20.

This semester has seemed completely insane in that it has flown by and school has been anything but normal over the last few months. We have had a crazy amount of special events and schedules this semester so my attempt as a teacher to keep things in order, my classes flowing, and my students learning has felt rather futile at times. But God's work in our school has been so evident in a powerful, awesome way and so it's all worth it. Praise God for numerous salvation decisions within our middle school and elementary school in just the past 2 months and for how we have many high school students contemplating and wrestling over the choice of salvation that they know they have to make. I would rather that any day that apathy or ignorance regarding the gospel. I am particularly thankful for the opportunities He is giving me to be apart of this process in the lives of several precious high school girls. When all the work that this job requires becomes overwhelming and I begin to feel so overwhelmed and weighed down, these girls remind me of why God has called me here and that it is the Lord that I serve daily.. not only in my academic teaching but in my attitude, my example that I am called to set for my students, my testimony, and my relationships with my students. Please be praying for God to continue to grow my relationship with these girls and for Him to use these discipleship opportunities to bring one of these girls to salvation and for Him to grow and mature the faith that He has begun this year in the life of my other student. I am so thankful to be apart of His work and while I often take it for granted and get so caught up in the daily grind that comes along with this calling, He has recently been reminding me of the purpose of it all. He has brought 1 Corinthians 15:58 to my mind over and over again.. "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves FULLY to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Wow, that is so what I have needed to hear lately.. to be reminded that it's for His ultimate purpose.. both for the lives of my students and for my own transformation and sanctification.

So just to give a little glimpse of what this semester has been like, here are some snapshots of the last few months.. most recently (today) was my biggest / most stressful day of the year at school.. Science Fair. This is quite a grand production at ICSL and although it resulted in me taking Excedrin Migraine every day this week, I am thankful that all went well and all of my students finished their projects after months of work. Whew.. some were making me a little worried for a while!

Also, about a few weeks ago I officially ran my first marathon! It was an awesome experience and I am definitely inspired and motivated to do it again next year. Although training was not as successful as I would have liked due to strained muscles and a month-long, persistent parasite (the unpleasant part of living in Lima), I was able to finish all 26.2 miles 4 hours and 15 minutes later with tons of excitement as all my friends were waiting for me and cheering for me. It was definitely awesome having this experience in Lima and running with tons of Peruvians but it was a bummer not getting to share my excitement with my family. Guess they'll just have to fly out next May.. hint hint :)

My awesome roommates giving me entertainment & food along the way.. getting their run in for the day too!

Mariano running along with me... conveniently wearing an Adidas shirt like the rest of us, but don't be fooled, he wanted nothing to do with 26.2 miles!

All the ICSL runners in the 10k, 21k, and 42k (Rebekah, Megan, me, Melinda, Jessica)

All our awesome supporters who ran all around Lima for hours cheering us all on! With their donuts of course..

I also had a bit of a different Easter celebration this year as I didn't have Americans to share the day with and so rather than sulking in this disappointment I decided to share my American traditions with my favorite Peruvians. So I had Mariano's whole family over to celebrate and cooked them an American meal, which certainly came with some reservations on their part as they had never eaten cooked ham or pineapple stuffing before. While most of his family was polite in trying my food, little Maria Gracia showed no fear in expressing her disappointment and shock at the lack of rice at the table perfectly. In her words, "Dónde está el arroz?? No, en serio, dónde está el arroz?!" So my courageous attempt to cook for Peruvians (who take a LOT of pride in their own food, which is definitely awesome, I will admit) was a bit of a humble experience, but fun in all.

Here are some snapshots...

Las hermanitas... sleeping

Seventh grade frog dissection... some kids loved it...

and some gagged the entire time...

Well, I think that's enough for now.. more updates to come before the end of the school year.. hopefully :)