Clinging to His Promises

There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for his protection and provision in my life. Each day I am reminded of his grace and his sovereignty, his protection and his love. As I reflect back on my week, I can recall multiple times when I was forced into silence and prayer of thanks to God. He is an almighty God, and I'm clinging to his promise that "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

• I heard a few testimonies this week that when put simply "blew me away". God does change lives!
• I am beginning to understand portions of my past that didn't work out quite how I wanted them to, and I'm so thankful now that things didn't go my way. It's often hard to believe it, but God does have a plan that is much bigger and much beter than the plans we often have for ourselves. I'm not a huge Miley Cyrus fan, but multiple times recently her song "The Climb" have resonated within me. /But I gotta keep trying. Gotta keep my head held high. There's always gonna be another mountain. I'm always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle. But sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb./ I'm so glad that we lose sometimes; God's ways are always better in the end.
• My students are actually beginning to behave themselves for the most part...a huge answer to prayer. I'm very much looking forward to the changes that will come from them in the last two months of school.
• < Mom DON'T read (-: > Tonight on my way home from a day with a friend, my bus was pulled over by the police. Luckily, I was only 2 blocks from my stop, so I decided to get off and walk the rest of the way. The policeman spoke to me from his car as I walked by and asked where I was going to which I simply responded, "This is my stop." He told me to have a good evening, and I continued on. - You can't tell me God didn't plan that one more perfectly...okay, maybe being pulled over at my stop would have been even better, but 2 blocks is nothing to complain about.
• I have been pushed and pulled and challenged in my faith a lot while I've been here and in my preparations before I even decided to move to Peru. A lot of it has been internally, but through it all I have grown so much in the Lord. He is wonderful and his love for us truly does extend to the ends of the earth. The lyrics from the song "Motions" by Matthew West are very dear to me in this season of my life. /I don’t wanna go through the motionsI don’t wanna go one more dayWithout Your all consuming passion inside of meI don’t wanna spend my whole life askingWhat if I had given everything?Instead of going through the motions./

This week overall was a wonderful week. We finished one 9-week grading period, and Friday we had a work day to do grades, organize the classroom for the final grading period, and begin work on the props for the school anniversary. Saturday I went with my co-teacher to get pedicures for her birthday. They don't have all the fancy equipment that we have in the States, but it was a nice, relaxing experience for only 20 Soles (about $7). I spent the rest of the afternoon out with another teacher shopping and enjoying the warm sunshine. Today after church I met up with a friend for the day. We bought tickets to the Hillsong United Concert that is in Lima on November 10, had a delicious Chufa (Chinese) lunch, went to the National Museum, and talked over coffee at Starbucks.

The school anniversary is on Saturday. This week is sure to be a stressful one as we do the final planning and all of the preparations for this special day. I've been told that if I can make it through this week the rest of the school year is a quick, easy downhill slide. Please pray for me as well as the other staff members and students at the school this week. I'm sure by Saturday evening we will all be exhausted.

I took a few pictures at the museum today. Peru's culture and history is so interesting. Having three very different regions (coast, mountains, and jungle) makes it an extremely diverse nation. Enjoy!

A view of the city from the 6th floor of the museum.

Peruvian Pyramids

I'm not exactly sure what this was, but I thought it was cool.

The women are pulling the animals that are carrying the man.

I'm not sure if the guy on top in the center is some sort of leader or not.

I guess I should have asked my tour guide.

There was a whole section dedicated to different kites.

I decided I wanted to fly one today, but this was as close as I got.

Maybe another day, at the beach ;)

My tour guide & friend, Nilton,

with a very culturalistic painting.