What a perfect Lord’s Day here in Peru!! Today was a gloriously, beautiful day
in Trujillo. The sun was out, but
the day had cool temperatures--and it was the day the Lord had made so I
rejoiced and was glad in it. I
started my day by going to church at Larco as I always do. It was a wonderful service and the
music, as always, was moving and fantastic. Also today, I was able to understand more than I have in the
past. Each service has four
scripture readings. Often I must
hear the book, chapter and verse said more than once to understand and then I
still might get the verse wrong.
Today, I heard and understood them all on the very first try and was
able to read along in my Spanish/English bible very easily. I understood most of the sermon
and probably 80% or more of the entire service. After over four months, I recognize all the songs, know most
of the words or can speak well enough to read them off the over head for all
the songs and have a few memorized.
This fact is very encouraging to me. So, church was really good and I enjoyed it very, very
much. The fact that it is my last
Sunday in Trujillo for 6 weeks made it even more special. (I leave Saturday to go to Arequipa for
six weeks to ABC Español language school.
More on this in another post.) Just for the six weeks I will be gone, I am going to miss
this Church and the people so much!
I cannot imagine what it may be like after two years or more to try and
leave Peru!
After church, I went to Plaza Vea with two of our fellows
(Katie and Heidi). We did a little
grocery shopping and went back to my apartment. I had signed up to bring desert to the missionary lunch, but
managed to forget to actually make something yesterday! So, I splurged and bought a cake mix
and icing and then ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. I went home and we cooked the cake and
cookies before going to the missionary lunch. I might add at this point, that today—really just this morning—I
noticed very much that I did not have a dishwasher in my apartment. I washed dishes 4 times between 8:30
and 12:30. Once when I got up
before church; then when I got home from church so I could cook (some of the
dishes I needed were dirty); then after making the cake; and finally after
making the cookies. I did not
mind, but it did make me take notice that things are just different here and
how much I take for granted back in the United States.
Matthew Nasekos and Karina are here for a weeklong
visit. It was really great to see
them and get a chance to visit!
Matthew was my team leader in January 2008 when God started working on
me to prepare me to come live and serve here in Peru. He and his family are dear friends! He is in the process of raising support
and hopes to come to Peru with his family one day. Currently, due to various circumstances and let’s face it,
God’s providence, he and his family will be working for CMS and Peru Mission
from the states. Originally, he
was scheduled to come to Peru and be a missionary with two specific roles:
Children’s Ministry (Twin Lakes Peru and working with some local orphanages)
and Short Term Team Coordinator.
So, if you ever have heard my story about how God moved me to quit my
job as a lawyer and come to Peru, you know it entails a part where I looked at
Matthew and said, “I want your job!”
And God in his goodness and mercy granted that request. And we laugh about how God can do just
about anything! When I met Matthew
he was supposed to be coming to Peru, but I ended up here before he did! God
has plans for each of us and sometimes we have no idea where that may take
us. But, I digress, that is for
another post also. Needless to
say, it was heartwarming and encouraging to see Matthew and Karina and I look
forward to spending more time with them this week. After a tasty lunch of chili with all of the proper fixings
and scrumptious deserts, we had a good old-fashioned game of baseball in the
park! It was such fun! Everyone joined in from young to old,
kids to missionaries, and had a great time. Even our spectators got into the fun during the “7th
inning stretch” and sang Take Me Out to the Ballpark. Be sure to check out the pictures in the
Photo Gallery (see right) labeled Trujillo. My friend Heather was kind enough to take some pictures
while we played and got some great shots of our day together.
After the ballgame, I had just enough time to go by my house
and freshen up for night church, pack a bag to spend the night at my friends
the Smith’s house, and get back to church for our Monthly English Service. Once a month, normally the last Sunday
of the month, Larco Church allows us to use the church and foregoes its normal
Sunday night service so we can have a worship service in English. We do the music, the scripture
readings, the sermon, everything and it is all in English. This is such a rich time for us to
worship in our native tongue and also serves as an outreach to some of the
Peruvians that speak English. What
an encouragement to gather together here in Peru where we serve and work in
Spanish and worship our Lord and king in English! It is just a special time that we all cherish. And like every other Sunday, my day ended with dinner
at Josh and Robin Eby’s home with the Fellows. So, I fully embraced this Lord’s Day and rejoiced and was
glad in it!
Now, as the day comes to an end, I am at the Smith’s house
typing this. Allen and Sandi are
celebrating her birthday and their Anniversary by going to Arequipa for the
week and leave Monday morning bright and early. I have the pleasure of staying with their 3 girls while they
are gone. While I am pretty
excited about it, I think the girls are even more excited!! So, I am typing this from the guest
room in the back of the house (more of a mother-in-law suite behind the house)
where I stayed when I first moved here to Trujillo over four months ago. One of the things I love so much about
Peru Mission is not only the sense of community in the local churches and in
the city, but the community of missionaries. We do such a good job of taking care of one another. Allen and Sandi have been especially
kind to open their hearts and home to me since the day I first landed. They have truly taken me in as a part
of the family. And we love to joke
that even though I am older than Allen, we decided he now has another daughter. And my name even fits right in
(Abigail, Adeline, Mary Allen and Alleen!). So, I remember being in this room, day one
and thinking, “Okay, Lord, here I am.
Let’s go!” Little did I
know how quickly He would take me up on that statement? It has been a wonderful whirlwind of an
adventure. And I cannot believe I
am a third of the way through my first year. Soon I will reflect on my time here and what God has done in
my life and during my time here.
For now, I will bid you goodnight and pray that you too enjoyed a
glorious Lord’s Day wherever you may be!
