¡TeMbLoR!

It's been quite the week. It was the first week back in class after a 9 day break, and I must admit it's been quite exhausting. On top of that, I contracted a stomach bug (I blame the salad I had for lunch Tuesday because I haven't felt well since then), and I can't eat hardly anything without feeling sick shortly after. I've gotten by with Tums, and yesterday I went and got some medicine from the pharmacy. Having not felt well and feeling exhausted, last night I headed to bed around 10 (nearly an hour and a half earlier than my normal); however, I was rudely awakened last night at 2:30 a.m. from a deep sleep, and I was more than a little nervous and confused.

You see, Peru is on a fault line, and tremors and small earthquakes are common. I don't know if it's because I'm not used to them or what, but typically unless they are strong I don't feel them. For instance, yesterday morning while in the shower apparently there was a tremor. I'm thankful it wasn't strong because the shower is the last place I want to be if it becomes necessary to evacuate the building. Haha!

This morning was a different story, though. I was in a deep sleep when I heard the glass bottles on my dresser begin to rattle and clank softly against one another. I woke up afraid someone might be in my bedroom, but then I heard the neighborhood dogs barking and my windows and door rattling. I sat in bed realizing a tremor was occurring and wondering if I should get up and grab a sweatshirt in case I needed to head outside, but it passed within a few minutes. I laid in bed still wondering what to do. I was afraid to fall asleep for fear of another tremor to follow, so I committed myself to pray. After spending some time in prayer, I drifted back to sleep.

The tremor was the only thing anyone talked about for the first few hours of the day. I got in the taxi to head to work, and the taxi driver asked me immediately if I felt the tremors (yes, plural) last night. I told him I felt one at 2:30 a.m., and he informed me of another between 4:00-5:00 a.m. which I must have slept through. On the radio I heard there was a 4.0 magnitude earthquake just an hour-ish south of where I live.

At school everyone, teachers and students alike, were talking about the tremors. My students came in full of energy (as usual) asking, "Miss Jessica, sentiste el temblor?" "Yes, I felt it. Did you?" I responded. {In order to help them learn and practice English, I try to always respond to their questions in English even when asked in Spanish.}

Tremors are normal in Lima, and they are something you just learn to deal with, but each time fear overcomes me. What if this time it isn't just a tremor. What if it gets strong? What do I do? Where do I go? I asked a friend a few weeks ago what the protocol is for earthquake emergencies, and he informed me of where to go should I be home. My neighbors below me are quite friendly and very concerned for me as a single woman living here, so I assume they would check on me, too.

In the end it comes down to God's protection and my faith in Him. As I become more confident in my surroundings, I'm realizing my prayers for protection and safety aren't as persistent as they were in the beginning. My reliance on God's strength guided me through each new day has faded, and I'm falling into the feeling of comfort. I'm comfortable with my life as it is, I'm comfortable leaving my house on my own and taking public transportation to get from one place to another. I'm comfortable in my job, and I'm comfortable with the friends I've made. However, that comfort shouldn't lead to my complacency in my faith and relationship with Christ.

Comfort isn't what Christ died for; He died so that we would be made right before God and have the opportunity for an intimate relationship with Him. He didn't bring me here to Peru, thousands of miles from my home, to be comfortable. I believe His purposes for me here are bigger than simply living a "comfortable" life, and I'm ashamed that I've fallen into routines and habits. I desire intimacy with Christ, passionate faith that brings others to their knees before the heavenly throne, and a prayer life so centered in Christ that every word and thought would be tied to conversation with my Savior. I desire radical living, living that doesn't come from comfort but rather from discomfort. I want to be different from the crowd and known as a woman who feared the Lord and lived only for Him.

While the "temblor" might have awaken me from my sleep and scared me quite a bit last night, I'm thankful that I have a God whom I can trust. He has the perfect plan for humanity. He desires intimacy with me, and He intervenes in my life even when I fail to notice His presence. He loves me, and He has blessed me beyond what I deserve. He is my protector, my counselor, and my friend, and I choose to depend on Him for all the days of my life.

October Vacations

Let me start by apologizing for my negligence of this blog and keeping you all up to date with life here in Peru. It seems as if day turns into night and back to day all too quickly, and my free hours fill up with activities faster than I can write things onto my calendar. Some weeks Friday arrives and I can't even remember everything that's happened in a week, but I know from the exhaustion I feel that I didn't have much time to relax. I can't complain about that though, because for me, investing in the lives of others and building relationships is a priority, and sleep (while necessary) can always be made up for in the form of mini-naps after school and on the weekend.

This week we've had vacations from school. Where I work (and other schools, too) we get time off at the end of every term. We wrapped up our third term last week, so this week we've had a free week. My initial plan was to relax, catch up on things I've neglected, go shopping for things I'm still lacking in my apartment, and maybe visit a few local sites. However, now that the end of the week has arrived, I look back and realize I did very little of that, but instead I spent time with people which in some ways is the greatest vacation ever.

Saturday I spent nearly an hour and a half at the bank with a friend of mine trying to sort out my account and transfer money to the USA. They kept telling us the code was wrong and gave us a new one, but after the new one didn't work for us or the bank employee it was determined there were other problems on the account. In the end we got it all straightened out, and the transfer went through. We then had lunch and walked to the laguna before I returned home to relax and do some laundry.

My favorite place to just sit...la laguna.

On Sunday I went to church and then headed to Pachacamac with a friend to visit the Children's home. Upon arriving in Pachacamac, we went to the plaza and discovered and exposition in celebration of the holiday, so we walked around to the different booths and had lunch before going to see the kids. I ended up taking some of the girls back to the exposition later in the afternoon.

An image at the start of the parade made completely of flower petals. 

On Monday and Wednesday I went shopping. Monday was spent with a missionary who is moving back to Lima. We checked out prices for appliances and other home goods as she is renting a completely unfurnished apartment. After a morning run to the laguna on Wednesday I went shopping on my own just for fun.

Tuesday was an official holiday (Battle of Angamos) and it ended up being my favorite day of the week. I got up early and met a friend in Manchay to go to an event at BCM (Bible Centered Ministries). We arrived at BCM about an hour early and ended up going for a walk through the "countryside". We also spent some time talking on the rocks near the river. Upon returning to the BCM event, I played with the kids from the children's home and talked with some of the "mamas" for the afternoon.

The path we walked along. This used to be a river.

A field of corn...just like home!

Taking a break before heading back to BCM.

Macarena

 Bridget and Vanessa 

Ruth

The backdrop of a show that was done at BCM.

Thursday was a fun day, too. I went to the Oasis in Manchay which is another ministry of Kids Alive. The Oasis has programs to teach moms useful skills for work and there are childcare programs for children, a new elementary school for kindergarten aged students, and a homework club for students in school. I helped out with the 3 year olds, to which I must admit the best part of the afternoon was putting them down for a nap...hehe! They are adorable children, but they wear you out quick! I had a lot of fun with them. 

Today I'm using as a "me" day. I have no plans but to clean, do laundry and go grocery shopping (none of which I've done in the last 2 weeks). I woke up late (see, I told you I could always catch up on sleep later), read for a while, and now I find myself typing this blog with coffee in hand. I must admit, it's been the perfect start to my last "official" day of vacations. 

The Lord continues to break me and mold me here in Peru. As I become more vulnerable, I am realizing my insecurities, my pride, and my selfishness. It's been interesting to see how the Lord has used two very dear friends to teach me valuable life lessons even if they don't realize it. Through their lives I have been challenged and stretched to have more faith, to live simply, and to love. It's not always an easy path to take, but being here in Peru has been a blessing, and if I leave here with nothing at the end of my time (which is still quite far off), my prayer is that I will have grown in faith and love and that I may continue to fall more in love with my Savior each day. What a journey it has been, and I'm excited to see what else is in store for me throughout the next 2 years!

Family, Friends, and People on the Street

It's been an interesting few weeks around here. I'm struggling with friendships and connecting with people who once were close friends of mine. Peruvians are notorious for saying they want to hang out with you, but then they fail to coordinate a time to get together. Some people even go as far as scheduling a time to hang out, but then cancelling at the last minute. It's quite frustrating at times, and I've noticed it seems to be worse this year than in previous years. I know I've changed {for the better I hope}, and I know their lives have changed as well. I do my best to be understanding, but there comes a point when it's best to simply quit trying.

With that being said, God has blessed me with the opportunity to build deeper friendships with a few individuals who have been dear friends of mine for quite some time. I'm thankful for these friends who have been there for me in recent weeks through my grandfather's sickness and the times when I just need someone to go out and do something with. I'm grateful for friends who have truly invested in my life and who have given me opportunities to invest deeper in theirs.

I've crossed a few missionaries on the street on my walks to and from school, and God has placed other random encounters with people along the way as well. A few weeks ago at church the lady sitting next to me randomly asked me if I was Peruvian. From there the conversation spiraled into why I was here, where I work, and how long I'm staying. I learned that her daughter is attending the school I where I used to teach, and she was looking for a better fit for her as she was seeking a higher level of English instruction. I had the opportunity to share a little about my faith last Friday at school when asked what Christians believe about free will by a colleague of mine, and I engaged in conversation with a taxi driver last week over his Christian music choice on my ride home.

It's been hard to be away from my family while my grandpa was on life support last week. I kept thinking back to my first move here in 2009 when my other grandfather passed away the day I left the U.S. unexpectedly. However, my heart fluttered yesterday when my mom informed me that he has decided he would like to be baptized when he gets out of the hospital. He still has a long road to recovery, but I firmly believe the prayers of everyone surrounding our family brought this miracle to my grandfather. It's been our prayer for years to see our relatives saved, and God has heard our prayers.

Our God is an awesome God. Things may not always go the way we think they should, but God always has the best things in mind for us. A year ago, I never would have imagined my life the way it is today. However, at this moment in time, I can't imagine it any other way. Even when people let me down, I can't help but smile knowing that my life is full of people who care about me here and back in the States. I have been blessed beyond what I deserve, and I'm thrilled to see what the future holds.

The Story of the Mouse

I've received quite a few contacts asking for the story of the mouse. Is he out of my house yet? How did I get him? etc. Let me start by saying, he's still hiding in my kitchen, and he's a genius!

I'm honestly not sure how he even got in. My guess is that we've been cohabiting since I moved in. He's good at hiding, and just happened to be spotted Tuesday morning when I was running out the door for work. I was already running late, so I walked into the kitchen with the intention of grabbing a granola bar, but with the squeak of the door he went running. I screamed (which was unfortunate for my friend who was on the phone with me at the time), grabbed a granola bar, and I stepped out of my kitchen quickly, closing the door behind me. {You have no idea how thankful I am to have that door between my kitchen and the rest of my apartment. At first I found it annoying; however, now, it is a necessity to ensure the mouse doesn't leave his living quarters.}

After school, I told my landlords that I had spotted a mouse. They tried to tell me they've never seen mice here and that everything was cleaned very well before I moved in so the chance that a mouse was actually spotted was very slim. After insisting that I had seen one, they came up to my apartment, and we searched everywhere. We even disconnected the stove and pulled everything out to check behind and underneath it, and we still didn't find the thing. I'm pretty sure my landlords thought I was crazy. I was hopeful that somehow he had snuck out during the day.

Wednesday evening we put a mouse trap down with cheese. Thursday morning when I awoke I checked, and sure enough the cheese was gone, but the intelligent little mouse didn't even set the trap off. I talked with my landlords again Thursday evening, and they decided to put a harder cheese on the trap so that the mouse would have to work to get it off.

Sure enough Friday morning the trap had been deactivated and the cheese was thrown to the side. A sure sign that the mouse had attempted to get the cheese, but somehow got away before the trap snapped on him. I didn't bother with it Friday, but Saturday morning the cheese was missing and the trap left in the same distraught position I had found it Friday morning.

Currently, I'm calling him my pet mouse. He isn't a bother as long as I keep food off my counter; however, I still do not approve of his living here. I think a friend is going to bring me poison to put down to kill him since my landlords refuse to do such thing. At this point, I'm more fearful of finding him dead and having to dispose of him than his hiding somewhere in my kitchen.

And I was afraid the cockroaches would be my problem...

Dust, Mice, and Dirty Dishes

Some days I catch myself complaining about the little things I miss about being back home in the States. I miss having hot water when I turn on the faucet to wash dishes, earwigs as opposed to mice, and a carpet and a vacuum rather than tile, a mop and a broom. Instant coffee doesn't taste the same as Mocha from my Keurig, and I always turn on the gas but neglect to actually light the oven. I find myself saying, "You know what I don't like?" quite often, but Tuesday a friend put things into perspective for me when he asked, "What do you like?"

I think the honeymoon phase is over. I'm reaching the point when normally I'd be returning to the States and putting to use all of the things I was missing during my month long summer visit to Peru. However, this year it's different. I think it's settling in that the luxuries of home are a distant memory. After the conversation with my friend on Tuesday, I decided it was time to focus on the positive, the good things in life here.

I have a very suitable place to live with running water, electricity, internet, and cable.
I have food in my cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer.
I have a wide variety of clothes to wear.
I have a job that pays well so that I am able to pay down on my debt.
I have friends who care for me and check in on me regularly.
I have a family who will fight for me no matter what, even when I'm a continent away.

God's really been working on my heart recently, humbling me and breaking me as I realize the blessings that have been bestowed upon my life. We don't realize how much we take for granted until it's gone or until we meet those who live much simpler lives than we ourselves do. I've really been having to put things into perspective, and I'm doing my best to think twice before I speak negative words.

Despite missing some of the comforts of home, I could not be happier at this moment in time. God is working in some pretty incredible ways in my life, and I am beyond excited to see how He guides and directs me in the upcoming weeks, months, and years. God is beyond faithful, and even when we can't see it He has the best in store for each of His dear children. A year ago, I never would have imagined I'd be where I am today, but God had something different in mind. Now I've officially been in Peru one month and two days, and I somedays still wonder if I'm going to wake up from this crazy, wonderful dream.

God is so Good!!