Catching up...
MONDAY
Sitting on the roof in the morning to spend time with the Lord will probably be one of my favorite things this summer. I sit here sipping my hot coca tea as the sun shines down and warms my body. The cold doesn´t seem nearly as bad now. Last night I was sweating in my sleeping bag so I may goto just wearing one pair of pajama pants & a sweater to bed.
Last night I had nightmares all night long so my sleep wasn´t as restful. Those nightmares felt so real and woke me in a state of fear and trembling. Each time I woke, I said a prayer to calm my anxiety and remind me that God is greater. But despite my prayers the nightmares continued all night, and I sit here this morning with a fear that shakes my insides. It dwells inside me and makes me want to run away. Run from what? - I`m not sure. God´s plans for me, the work He is doing in me, the unknown, what lies ahead of me. I just don´t know. But what I do know is that God is greater than my fears. So I will continue to go to the Lord with my fears and turn to scripture as my comfort. Joshua 1:9 says, ¨This is my command - be strong & courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For theLord your God is with you wherever you go.¨ There are so many other places in scripture where God tells His children not to fear. Therefore, because of the vast power & supreme nature of God as well as His command to His children not to fear, I will stand strong in the face of fear because my God is greater.
The highlight of orientation today was learning to cook at an altitude of 12,800 ft. Sonia helped show the team how to make vegetable soup. Now when I say vegetable soup, it isn´t nearly as easy as it sounds. You have to clean, disinfect, peel, and chop all the vegetables - carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, celery, peas, and 3 cloves of garlic. Then you fill the pot with purified water and some buoin cubes and let it cook for at least an hour. It was very tasty with a piece of bread.
We spent time talking aboutworldview, contextualization, time management, living together, and simple church. I especially enjoyed hearing about the Aymaran worldview, contextualization of the gospel to them, and what it means to practice simple church. John is so passionate aboutit all and has a very Biblical view & practice of it all. I get more & more excited every day to begin our work in Conima!
During morning worship we sang a song called ¨Be Thou My Vision¨, and it really touched me. That is my prayer - that God would be my vision. Jeremy also shared the story this morning about Phillips & the Ethiopian unic. It spoke to me in a powerful way about trusting the Lord & faithfully following His lead. If I obediently & eagerly follow Christ, He will alwaysbe faithful to provide opportunities and guidance to share of His great love. I feel like I´m catching on to the story-telling prettywell so I am going to begin my first attempt at memorizing a Bible story in spanish. Updates to come on how that works out.
This evening I checked my facebook really quick and read a message that really upset me. To be honest, I logged off & hurried up to my room to cry. I was confused & hurt. I didn´t know what to think. But as I sat on my bed, the Lord spoke to my heart in a soft whisper, ¨Kelsey, I am your one true love. I am all you need, and I have great plans for you! Seek me with all your heart, mind, and strength, and I will be faithful as I have always been.¨ Then I heard Jeremy L & Jeremy S downstairs in our meeting oom singing. I went down and joined them. Throughspending that time singing praises to God, He captivated all my attention and reminded me of my purpose. This momentary upset is so trivial in comparison to how the Lord wants to use me while I´m in Peru & even well after I´m gone. It amazes me how powerfully God works in my heart if I only allow Him and how He continues to draw me closer to His & instill in me a deeper, more intimate love for my Savior every day.
TUESDAY
The day began when I woke up at 7:30am after unintentionally shutting off my alarm an hour earlier. I quickly got dressed, threw my dirty hair up in a ponytail, brushed my teeth, and walked across the hall to the kitchen where the rest of the team had already begun breakfast & Bible time. I ate a banana with some peanut butter, and then headed up to theroof with my steaming hot coca tea in one hand & my books in the other. I am really enjoying reading through Ephesians in the mornings. Paul´s words encourage me daily in my passion to intimiately seek the Lord and strive to have the heart of Jesus Christ. I grow neaer to God with each passing moment yet I also realize how much more there is to God. He amazes me every day as He continues to reveal Himself to me in real & astonishing ways.
The storyduring morning worship today was about Cornelius & Peter. One thing that continues to speak to me in each of the stories we´ve heard is the confident & obedient faith of the early believers as well as their eagerness to follow wherever God leads them. My heart´´s desire in tohave a crazy love for the Lord & obediently follow wherever He leads me with an eager, confident faith.
Before lunchwe had a lesson with Pastor Rueben y suesposa, Louisa, on how to hand wash our clothes. ¨Strong!¨Rueben told us as we tried our hands at scrubbing some of our dirty clothes. I think I´ve found an effective workout if I want to go back with some muscle! After doing the washing, it kinda makes me wonder how many wear you can get out of jackets & jeans before you have to wash them.
For lunch we got to learn how to piece apart a chicken and cut chicken breast from the bone. Even our team vegetarian, Alison, did it! Then we made polloa la milanesa which is a thinly sliced chicken breast that is breaded, seasoned, and fried. We coupled that with rice & a vegetable salad. What a delicious lunch! Pollo a la milanesa es muy rico!
This afternoon was spent discussing ministry ideas and learning how to do story-telling. It felt pretty long but very productive & helpful. Last night & my lunch break were spent working on storymemorization so I now know the first 6 verses of the Fall of Man in spanish. It´s a slow process, but it´s gettin´there. For dinner we made pancakes, and I got to have myself some banana pancakes. Yummmm!
I have to say that my favorite part of the day came tonight. Pastor Rueben, an Aymaran believer & pastor, came to the hostel and shared his testimony with us. He is such a humble man of God. His devout faithis an inspiration & encouragement to me. We got to ask him questions as well. It´s just amazing to head of what an impact Christ has had on him & his family and what a wonderful transformation has taken place in their hearts. I love hearing people´s stories.
Well that is all for now. I don´t have time to write about today (Wednesday). We are leaving the hostel in the morning at 4am to climb Mt Pico Paca in the morning & see the sunrise. So off to bed I go! Buenoes noches, amigos.
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