Sometimes I Wonder...

Update blog: I've had it on my to-do list for quite some time. Actually it was something I meant to do before I ever went home for Christmas, and it never got done. Today after arriving home from my 2nd day at school, I decided tonight would be a "me" night. I don't get quiet evenings just for me much anymore. I am usually with Javier 4-5 evenings a week and the other days I try to catch up with friends or take care of necessary tasks like cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, etc.

So here I sit in front of the open windows, listening to the sounds of the outdoors and enjoying the breeze the ceiling fan provides. (Sorry friends who are buried in snow.)

My last blog update was 6 months ago! I'm sorry blogging world that you haven't been as informed about my time here in Peru. Life got busy second semester last year, I flew home the night school ended, had a whirlwind of a trip in the States and Canada, and now I find myself back in Peru. I've been here about two weeks, and it's been quite the adventure - organizing legal paperwork, visitors from America, planning a wedding, a day trip north of Lima, pool party and hanging out at the children's home, and now school is starting.

Now let me get to the meat of what I have on my mind tonight...

Some days I wonder why God brought me to Peru, so far from my family and my closest friends. I wonder why I gave up teaching in an amazing school with great colleagues and a church which felt like family. But then I remind myself, that this was my dream. Being here in Peru (a Spanish speaking country) was a calling I felt as a 13 year old sitting in my first Spanish class.  If I weren't here I wouldn't be marrying my best friend and I probably wouldn't speak Spanish quite as well, not to mention other things, too. Some days are hard, some days I want to give up and move home, but I know that God brought me here for a purpose, so I will push through, I will try to smile, and I will continue to seek God's plan for my life each and every day.

Javier and I joke that he had to travel to 60+ countries and then back home to Peru in order to meet the perfect girl for him. I never imagined when I met him in 2009 that 4 years later he would become my boyfriend. Add a year and a few months and now he is my fiance. I guess if this is what God's purpose in bringing me to Peru was, then I can't complain.

Peru is home now, yet Indiana is home, too. There are still days and  probably always will be days that I miss my family, my friends, and my life in Indiana.  Recently, I miss teaching at New Paris Elementary. Being back home and visiting my friends at school made me miss it; I was jealous of the resources, the classroom decor, and the overall friendly atmosphere. I fear I have lost my passion, I miss having a class full of children that felt like a second family.

As the school year begins, I must constantly remind myself that no matter what happens, this is the means God used to bring me to this great country, so I must rejoice. I need to stop dragging my feet and hanging my head. Instead, I need to walk proclaiming the good things the Lord has done and be thankful because He is faithful and good.

Please pray for me, my colleagues and our students as we begin the 2015 school year.

Please pray for Javier and I as we continue to sort through paperwork issues in order to be married here in Peru.

And lastly, please pray for the children's home as they have faced many staff changes already this year.

I made it a goal when I returned to Peru to try to update my blog twice a month. Let's see how well I can do with that!

Blessings to each one of you!