I have arrived home!

I know that some of you have been waiting for this blog post (I’ve gotten emails about it!) and I’m sorry for putting it off for so long.  Here goes!

I took a bus from Portoveijo to Quito on Sunday night.  That evening some of the people from the church took me out to eat for a little going away party, a “despedida.”  It was fun, but it made me even more sad to get on the bus!

Gema, me, Andrea, and Keila at my despedida

It was great to be back in Quito!  I only had three days there, which was enough time to pack, clean up, and see everyone before I had to leave on Thursday!  The whole time was really fun and relaxing.  Wednesday was Inca Link’s “Wear it Wednesday,” where they encouraged everyone around the world to wear their Inca Link apparel, take pictures, and post them on facebook.

Wear it Wednesday picture! Gus, Mabe, me, Fabian.

Wednesday night I went to Crepes and Waffles, the best restaurant ever, one last time with Liz.

Liz and I with our amazing desert (and Inca Link shirts)!

Thursday I woke up to my last morning in Quito.  I went to Ganas that morning, which I was super excited to get to do again before I left.  After Ganas I went back to the Brown’s apartment, where everyone got together to have lunch and hang out and pray for me and send me off.  It was amazing to get to see everyone at the same time right before I left, and I’m so thankful that they planned it!

Since I’ve been back in the U.S., I’ve had a few great surprises as well.  My friend contacted Daybreak church in Pennsylvania and planned a surprise for me to get to visit them on Sunday afternoon.  As many of them that could got together for lunch and we hung out all afternoon.  It was great, and I was so surprised!  I loved it!  I also got to go to an Ecuador vs. U.S. soccer game in Newark, New Jersey on Tuesday night.  I had so much fun and felt like I was back in Ecuador for a little bit!

Now that I’m back, I am planning on heading back to Florida to go back to school.  I’m really excited about this next step in my life, but nervous too.  It’s going to be weird going back home because I’ve only visited twice in the past year.  I’m sure everything will feel back to normal in no time, but either way it’s a little scary.

Being back in the United States feels different than I thought it would, too.  When we had short term teams this summer, we always went through the “five f’s” that they would experience upon their return home: fun, fight, flee, fit in, and fruit.  I think right now I am still in the fun stage, where I’m just enjoying everything.  The ultimate goal is fruit, which is where we take our experience overseas and put it to use in our own lives and communities.  That is the ultimate goal, and that is what I am praying I will be able to do.  I hope you will be praying with me.

Will I return to Ecuador?  I don’t know what could stop me.  I don’t know when exactly, but I’m sure I will be back again someday.  Will I do missions full time?  That remains to be seen, but I have a feeling that the answer is yes.  I don’t know when or where, and I do know that I need to finish school first so I have more to offer to the field.  And if it’s not overseas, I will work in whatever way God leads me to at home.  I am planning on getting my degree in social work, and that is what I want to spend my life doing.  I was pretty sure about that before this summer, but serving with Inca Link helped me to confirm that.

Thanks again to everyone who was a part of this summer.  To you who gave financially, thank you so much.  Especially after I sprung on you that I was staying an extra two months and you all still came through.  And to everyone who prayed for me, just know that I couldn’t have survived this summer without your prayers.  You all have been a part of the most impacting, life changing summer.

I love you all, and please feel free to contact me at any time if you ever want to!

The OTHER one week countdown!

It seems like just yesterday that I was writing my first post on this blog, counting down until I left for Ecuador in ONE WEEK!  And now here I am, 4 and a haf months, 137 days later, writing about how in ONE WEEK I am leaving for the United States!  (I don’t know how that is possible, because 137 seems like no time at all…)

I have been fielding, and mostly trying to avoid answering, a certain question for a while now.  If you are reading this, you have probably asked me, because pretty much everyone I know- and a lot of people I don’t know, too- have been asking me lately.  But in the spirit of “being here now” I thought it best to think about this question and it’s answer as little as possible, which to be honest with you isn‘t possible at all, but I can try, right?  So what is the question?

Am I excited to go home?

There are two answers to this question.  The first answer is Yes!  Of course I am!  How could I not be?  I am going to see my family and friends!  I am going to set my own schedule!  (For a little while anyways.)  I am going to eat bagels with REAL cream cheese!  I am going to get a haircut!  I am going to do a lot of silly things that might not seem like a big deal, but that I am really excited about.  But the second answer is No!  Because home is always there, and it’s always easy to go back to.  But coming back to Ecuador isn’t so easy.  I have friends here, people I love and consider my family, and when will I see them again?  It’s heartbreaking to think about.  Also, I love Inca Link and the work they are doing here and I’ve loved being a part of it all summer long and I wish I could continue!  Forever!

But I know what you really want to know is, what do I miss most about home?  So excluding friends, family, and speaking English (because I think those are all pretty obvious) I’ve put together a short list for you of things I am surprised to find myself super excited about returning to next week.

• Broccoli.  And all other green vegetables, but mostly broccoli.  I’m craving it.  My body needs it.  I think about it more than is normal.  Is thinking about broccoli ever normal except when preparing dinner?  I don’t even know anymore.
• Driving.  I miss my car!  It’s so cute, and little, and it takes me everywhere I want to go, when I want to go there.  (Unless I want to go back to Ecuador, then probaby not.)  Plus I’ve been paying for it these last four months and I’m ready to put that money to use!
• Blending in.  Okay, so maybe in the United States I have been known to sometimes spend just a little bit too much time doing my hair and make up and getting dressed so that I can stand out, but it’s like I don’t even have to try here!  Between my blue eyes and exceptional paleness (which I intend to change soon… Florida beaches here I come!) it is kind of impossible not to be stared at everywhere I go.  Never again will I take not being noticed for granted!  (For the first week, at least.)
• Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Oh wait, I always miss those in the summertime.
• Texting.  I mean yeah, I can text here.  If I ever had credit on my cell phone.  Which I don’t have.  Ever.  But I also miss texting everyone back home, so you all better be prepared to be woken up next Thursday night when my flight comes in.  Sorry!
• Reading.  I like to read, but it’s kind of hard to find books in English here, and I also like to understand what I read, which makes that kind of a problem.  I hope my mom didn’t lose my library card that I gave to her for safekeeing!

And, of course, a list of things I am going to miss about Ecuador when I’m back at home stuffing my face with broccoli, drinking a pumpkin spice latte, texting my sister, reading a good book while driving and not looking hot at all.  (Don’t worry, I am a good driver!)

• Cost of living.  Five dollar pedicures?  Eating out for two dollars?  How will I ever justify a 25 dollar haircut or 12 dollar movie ticket ever again?!
• Naps.  I really, really like naps.  I enjoy sleeping in general.  And I do take them in the United States but here it’s like, almost considered normal.
• Public transportation.  I know this seems to contradict with the second bullet in the previous list, but it’s also really convenient to be able to always catch a taxi right out side of your front door.  And what, it only costs one dollar?  I’ll take that any day.  I might even be willing to give up my cute car if we had that in the States.  Maybe.
• Not shaving my legs.  This is kind of gross, I know.  But it’s also a big time saver!  In Quito I usually wear pants because it’s cold so it doesn’t matter, and in Portoviejo no one really shaves their legs.  It’s normal.  I’m just fitting in with the culture here.  Don’t judge me.
• Panaderias.  Not to be confused with pandas, these are amazing bread stores that are found everywhere.  Literally.  Everything is freshly baked every morning.  There’s one down the road from Casa Blanca in Quito that is my normal breakfast spot when I’m there.  Did I say how amazing they are? 
• Soccer.  Sometimes I play.  Sometimes I cheer.  Sometimes I score the only goal for my team or stand in for the goalie and block penalty kicks.  You know, not bragging or anything.  But whatever part I play (or don’t play) soccer here is like a magical force that brings everyone together no matter what.  I am going to miss that.

I know these are all silly things.  They are also all little things that have helped to make up some of the small moments of my life here.  Later, after I’ve had my final debreif/exit intrview next week, I will write about more serious things like what I’ve learned and taken away from this summer.  I just want to be able to process them with someone first.

Yes, I do miss home.  And I’m going to miss Ecuador when I go back.  But here’s the thing: for the rest of my life, no matter where I am or what I am doing, I will miss someone, somewhere.  I’m scared of that because I know it’s going to be hard.  It’s going to be sad sometimes and I don’t know how I’m always going to deal with it.  But it is also going to be so worth it, because I wouldn’t give up the experiences I’ve had this summer for anything in the world.  In one week though, I’ll be ready for whatever is next!  But I’m not ready yet because right now, I am still here.

Quick Portoviejo update

Hello everyone!  I don’t have a lot of time to write right now… my computer charger quit working earlier this week, so I’ve had a lot less regular access to the internet.  I am still in Portoviejo and it looks like I will be here for another week, so I won’t be heading back to Quito until a few days before I actually leave Ecuador.  It’s bittersweet, because I am of course happy to get to stay here longer, but I won’t have much time with people in Quito when I get back.

The campaign at the church was great, and the building was packed full every night.  Early Saturday morning a group up about 20 people from La Luz Church in Quito arrived to work for a day and have a night service in a town called Cañas, about an hour away from Portoviejo.  Liz, one of my good friends who lives in Quito, was with them, and I knew some of the others as well.  I joined them yesterday, and it was long and tiring but a lot of fun as well.  When we were finished working we played a short game of soccer and I scored the only goal for my team!  (We still lost.)

Thanks for all your prayers for the campaign as well as for my health.  A quick update on that is that I feel completely fine, but I have a cough that won’t go away.  I don’t know if it’s from the climate or what, but at least I’m feeling healthy otherwise.

Also thank you to everyone who has supported me finacially throughout my time here.  Not only did I raise enough to be able to stay here these extra two months, I raised enough to cover the cost of changing my flight as well which was something I was kind of stressed about.  But once again, God has provided and showed me that there is no reason to worry.  Thank you!

I should have another post coming later this week, but right now I am just typing this out inbetween church services.  Stay tuned!

Hospital, Church, and Friday night evangelizing

It’s Saturday again!  Each week seems to go by faster than the last, and now I have less than three weeks left in this amazing, beautiful country.  For now, because I’m pretty sure I’ll be back again one day.  How could I stay away?

I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings working in a hospital.  I use the term working loosely, because: A.) I know nothing about how to do anything in a hospital except how to be sick, and B.) It’s hard for the people to explain very much when I can’t speak the same language as them.  So it would be more correct to say that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings I was in the hospital, but if I had said it that way to begin with you might get all worried and think something was wrong, and I wouldn’t want that.  I did make a pretty good messenger, since I do know how to carry papers back and forth to doctors in different rooms.  And once someone taught me how to weigh and measure a baby.  She told me next time I was doing it solo, but there never ended up being a next time.  Maybe I’ll go back there next week, but I’m not sure what the plan is yet.

All the afternoons and evenings this week have consisted of some church event or another.  Youth group, prayer services, Bible studies, visiting people, etc.  I really, really wish I was fluent in Spanish, because everything would be so much easier, but I’m not… The good part is, everyone seems to find my broken Spanish/Spanglish/having no idea what to say pretty amusing, so at least some good comes from it.  I’m still living with the same family, which is going great.  My nights with them (if we get home at a decent hour, that is) typically consist of eating awesome food and Gema and I painting our toes together and watching Miss Universe. (Neither Ecuador nor the USA made it to the finals, so there weren’t any throwdowns at the house.)

Last night, we went out on the town to promote the evangelical campaign that the church is hosting next week.  We taped posters all over a truck, hooked up a speaker with music and a microphone in the back, and went to various Friday night hot spots to hand out flyers.  This was actually a lot more fun and awesome than I expected, once I got over my original uncomfortableness of walking up to complete strangers and giving them a piece of paper that they are just as likely to read as throw on the ground.  I don’t like when people come up to me on the street, or in the mall, or wherever, and try to tell me about their religious beliefs, so I don’t like doing it to others, either.  But that wasn’t really what we were doing; we were just promoting an event in which they could choose to come and listen if they wanted, and most people seemed at least interested in reading the flyer to see what it was about.  It was also awesome because hanging out with the people from the church here is always an amazing and hilarious and good time.  I’m definitely going to miss them when I leave!  (But let’s not think about that just yet.)

I’m not exactly sure what’s on the schedule for the rest of the day today, but that’s pretty normal.  I just go with the flow most of the time.  I mean, Percy usually tells me, but out of everything he says I’m lucky if I understand half of it, and normally plans always change anyways.  That’s just kind of how things go around here, and that’s okay with me.

I haven’t been feeling my best the past week.  My nose has been pretty stuffed up most of the time and I’ve been waking up with a sore throat, which thankfully usually goes away after a couple of hours.  But yesterday and now this morning my throat has been a little worse, and I’ve been having headaches as well.  So please just pray for my health and that it doesn’t get any worse… I don’t want to spend any of the rest of my time here sick!

Also keep the church and their evangelical campaign in your prayers!  We are believing for a lot of people to come and many lives to be changed.  As the name of the event proclaims, “Nada es imposible!”  Nothing is impossible!

As always, thanks for reading and praying, and I love to hear from you!  I love and miss you all!

Life in Portoviejo

When I came to Portoviejo in June, at the beginning of my summer in Ecuador and what now feels like lifetimes ago, I wrote in my journal that if I was asked to stay and serve here all summer I would be okay with that.  And when I was thinking of the things I would like to do if I extended my internship with Inca Link, coming to Portoviejo was on the top of the list.  And now I am here, and I love it!  I love the family I am living with.  I love the church and the friends I am making in it.  I love the weather (so hot!).  I love everything!  Admittedly, the work hasn’t been the hardest I’ve done so far this summer, but Percy, the Inca Link missionary here, got back from Lima last night and promised that that will change in the next two weeks, so no worries!

I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon and evening working around the church with some of the people who had gone on the mission trip to Peru.  We sanded walls and painted (walls and each other), swept off all the sidewalks and some of the road around the church building, and  a few other miscellaneous things.  On Friday night I attended a prayer service that the church holds every week where we spent three hours just praying for the church, for people, and for the city of Portoviejo.  It was kind of a different experience for me, but it was really good and it reminded me that praying about things is just as necessary, if not more, than always just doing things.

Painting at the church

The girls from the church have been playing in a soccer league against some other churches in the area, and Saturday morning was their championship tournament.  Two of the girls who I’ve been living with, Gema and Cindy, were playing in it, and not only did I get to come along and watch, I got to play as well!  (And I have a huge bruise on my leg to prove that I actually did play!)  It was a lot of fun, and it also happened to be probably the hottest day since I’ve been here.  It was so hot that the ground was causing my shoes to burn the bottom of my feet!  We lost our first game and only had one more chance before we were out of the tournament, but we had a great comeback and ended up winning first place!

The team... with the first place trophy!

Sunday I went to church in the morning with Gema, and after church we went to the beach with a few other people I’ve become friends with since the Peru trip.  We had such a great time playing soccer and Equivolley on the beach (a version of volleyball played with a soccer ball… in our case a very flat soccer ball).  I’m becoming such an athlete while I’m here!  As always, my Spanish is continuing to improve, although of course I still don’t understand much of the conversation most of the time.  However, everyone here makes sure to always include me regardless, and I haven’t really felt out of place at all, despite the language barrier, which is a great feeling.  I am blessed to be here and get to know all the awesome people I’ve been meeting!

Tomorrow, according to Percy, the real work starts!  I’m glad because as much as I want to stay in Portoviejo for a while, I know that it shouldn’t be just to “hang out” all the time.  I’m really happy that I’m allowed to stay here for a couple more weeks, but at the same time it’s kind of sad because that means when I get back to Quito I will only have a week left before I go back to the U.S., and there are so many people I love in Quito, too!

Please pray for the family I’m living with while in Portoviejo.  They have been so gracious to allow me to stay in their home, and now they have opened it up to me for another two weeks.  Also keep the church here in your prayers.  Right now they are planning an evangelical campaign that starts on September 21st, so pray for God’s hand to guide that.

Also, if you are reading, leave me a comment!  Someone is always telling me about how this person or that person loves keeping up with my blog, and I never even knew they were following it!  It means a lot to me that people read this, so let me know if you are!

I’ll write again soon.  Love you all!

Journey to Peru!

Sometimes I do really silly things.

Last Tuesday I was finished housesitting for the Brown’s, and since I only had a couple days before leaving Quito I took the afternoon off to hang out with my friend Liz for a little while.  The plan was that I would take a bus a meet her by one of the Alliance churches, and we would walk to get lunch and whatever else we decided to do afterwards.  I have taken this bus before, but it had been a while and I couldn’t remember the exact stop, so I called Liz just to double check the directions.  ”Get off at the red wall,” she said.  Easy enough.  When I got on the bus, I was instantly distracted by three guys who were trying to earn money by playing instruments and singing.  This is pretty common on public transportation in Ecuador, but this time, probably because I was alone, they stood in front of me and looked at me the whole time they were playing and one of the guys kept asking me questions: what is your name, where are you from, what are you doing in Ecuador, can we go out sometime… It wasn’t threatening at all, but I was flustered nonetheless, and I jumped off the bus at the first sight of red that I saw.  Unfortunately, as the bus was driving away, I knew that this was not the right red wall.

Instead of waiting for another bus, I flagged down a taxi to take my the rest of the way.  The only problem?  I didn’t know exactly where to tell him to go.  ”Drive to the red wall” didn’t seem quite sufficient, so I gave him the name of two cross streets that I knew were on the bus route.  But when he stopped at the destination, it STILL wasn’t the right place.  At this point I was getting pretty frustrated, but what could I do but pay him and get out?  I didn’t know what else to tell him.  Once the taxi was driving away, I pulled out my phone to call Liz and tell her I had no idea where I was at, only to realize I had left my phone in the car!  So I was lost in Quito without a cell phone.  This isn’t actually as bad as it sounds, because I do know the address to the house I live in, so I could get back there anytime.  But at that point it would have taken me probably 30 minutes, Liz was expecting me 10 minutes ago, and if I didn’t show up somewhere soon, no one would no where I was and with no way to contact me, people would begin worrying.  Frustrated, I just walked for a while (in the wrong direction, of course) before eventually having an enlightening moment in which I remembered the name of a grocery store right next to where I was going.  I took another taxi, finally found Liz, and the rest of the day unfolded as planned.  Except that I had to buy a new cell phone.

Wednesday I took an overnight bus to Portoviejo.  I was a little nervous because it was an eight hour trip and I was traveling alone, but the bus was nonstop and I slept most of the time, so it was an easy and uneventful trip.  Except that once the bus pulled out, I realized I had accidentally put my new cell phone in the underneath storage.  Like I said, sometimes I do silly things.  Thankfully, I still managed to wake up on time, get off at the right stop, and connect with the people picking me up.  God is good.

Thursday morning we left Ecuador for a 24 hour journey to Trujillo, Peru.  There were a total of 42 people on this missions trip, and I was the only one with an American passport.  At first I wondered if I had made a mistake by joining this group but by the end of the first day of traveling I had no more second thoughts.  Regardless of any cultural or language barriers, everyone adopted me as family, and by then end up the trip I had 42 new amazing people in my life who I will never forget.

Mostly this mission trip was the same as any that I’ve worked with this summer, but it was different in some ways.  There were no language barriers between the locals and the missionaries.  There was still culture shock (which surprised me).  There was complaining about the food- I told them I haven’t had food from my country in four months!  They could go a week without food from theirs!  (Although I pretty much agreed with them that Ecuadorian food is better than Peruvian food.)  There was a lot more eating out, whereas with groups from North America there is a lot of eating in families homes.  I think this was because Percy, the trip leader, is Peruvian, and wanted to share as much as the food and culture as possible while there.  In the mornings we did construction, in the afternoons after lunch we usually did either something touristy or some shopping, and in the evenings we were at one of two Alliance churches in Trujillo for a missions conference where members of the group shared testimonies or gave sermons or, one night, for a concert by Corban (www.corbanweb.com.  Check them out- they’re awesome!)  Overall, I had an amazing week and I’m so, so glad I got the chance to go.  Here are a few pictures:

After a full day of traveling, we were ready for the next 11 hour bus ride! (Overnight)

Working on the property for the Inca Link Children's Home in Trujillo

While out inviting people to come to the Corban concert that night!

The Corban concert at Larco Church in Trujillo

Playing soccer one night (I had to represent the U.S.!)

The whole group

Now that I’m back in Ecuador, I’m staying with Percy’s fiance, Gema, and her family.  Gema is becoming a good friend of mine and I love her sisters and her parents as well.  I’m also learning more Spanish than I have the entire summer, which is a great thing!  I’m hoping to get to stay here for a little while longer and work alongside Percy and Gema in the chuch, but I’m not sure about that yet.  Whatever God has in store for me my last month here, I’m sure it will be be beyond my expectations!

I have some prayer requests as well.  First, please pray for Inca Link Peru.  While we were there, a family who has been living in Trujillo and working with Inca Link there was robbed at gunpoint for the second time since arriving in Peru nine months ago.  This time it was a more violent, planned attack, and their family needs as much prayers as they can get.  Second, please pray for the people who were a part of this missions trip.  Pray that they will take their experience and bring it back to help their own city, where there is much need as well.  And thirdly, please pray for me and my remaining four weeks in Ecuador.  Please pray that wherever I end up for the last of my time here, God is able to use me and those around me to love people and bring glory to Him.

Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting and praying, and thanks for everything else!  I love you all!

Three months in South America

Three months ago I arrived in Quito, Ecuador ready for the best summer of my life.  I was excited to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.  I was anticipating the places I would get to see and the things I would experience and lessons I would learn; I came praying that God would open up my eyes to missions and my heart to following Him in whatever He might call me to.

All of that happened and more. Sometime throughout the summer I realized that three months here wasn’t enough, would never be enough.  I thought that if I stayed past the summer I would have a chance to experience missions in a different, more every day life kind of way, so I started the process of trying to stay longer.  I was accepted by Inca Link for an extended internship and I was approved for a Visa.  Most importantly I prayed about it.  In the end I decided to stay in Ecuador for two extra months, and I was really, really excited about it.

And then I found myself staying in a place far away from anyone I knew, unable to communicate with anyone very well because I couldn’t speak good enough Spanish and there was no one to translate.  I had a lot of time to think, and for the first time since I’ve been away from home I started missing it in more than just a little.  I missed my home and my family and my friends in a way that hurt, in a way that made me cry.  I also missed Quito and the people I loved there, and I found myself second guessing my decision to stay here longer.  Did I really want to do missions, or did I just not want to leave my friends?

When I arrived back in Quito and Gustavo and Fabian picked me up from the airport I thought I could hug them and never let go.  I was back home.  I could talk to people again.  I slept at Casa Blanca that night and the next day I spent the morning and afternoon with Liz and Gustavo.  We went to Ganas and it felt great to be back at a ministry site I absolutely love working at with people I love working with.  But I also felt a little guilty, because I don’t want to just be happy and content in Quito or in places where I know people.  I want to be that way wherever God sends me.

I had a wonderful first day back in Quito, but that evening we took Bri to the airport to go home to Canada, and then I was the only intern left in Ecuador.  Saying goodbye to Bri was hard.  All of a sudden, my fellow interns, my roommates, my best friends, the people I hung out with every day and went everywhere with, everyone who experienced the same things as me and understood everything I went through this summer, were gone.  I knew it was coming, but once Bri was at the airport I felt a little lost.  All my friends were going back home and continuing their lives, and what was I doing?  Trying to make a great summer last longer?  Trying to really be a missionary?  Or just trying to make a few more good memories before I headed home?

To be honest, it’s a thought I’ve been struggling with.  But what I keep reminding myself of is that I did pray about staying here longer, and I felt peace about it.  And I was encouraged to stay by Rich and Lisa, who are in charge of Inca Link and all the ministry sites.  They think there are places they can use me, so it’s not just my crazy idea that maybe there is something left for me to do here- there really is.  But since there are no more teams to lead, the types of things I am doing are going to look a little different.  When I serve and work, it will be side by side with a few locals instead of a big group of North Americans.  It will be with people whose first language is Spanish instead of interns who speak English.  And instead of having my schedule laid out for me day to day like it was with the teams, I will mostly be choosing my own ministries and setting my own schedule.  Which means that it’s up to me to make sure that I get out of bed every morning and stay motivated every day.  It’s a scary responsibility, and I feel honored that I am allowed to have it.

I’ve been staying at the Brown’s house for them since Thursday while they are in the States getting their oldest daughter settled into college.  It’s been pretty laid back which has been nice and I’ve had a good time hanging out with their other kids this weekend.  Today I went with them to register them for their classes at school and afterwards I took their youngest daughter with me, and Gustavo took us to an orphanage where we played with the children there for a couple of hours.  It was a good day.

Sometime Wednesday I will be taking an eight hour bus ride to Portoviejo where I will be joining a church there for a week long mission trip to Trujillo, Peru.  I’m so excited to get to go back to Peru once more, and also to spend time with my friends from the church in Portoviejo.  Please keep this trip in your prayers.  I’m not sure everything we will be doing, but most likely working in the children’s home that Inca Link sponsors there, and maybe some construction work as well.  I’ve worked with short term teams from North America all summer, and now I’m going to get to be on one from South America!  How awesome!

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me recently and all summer long.  Your prayers are needed now more than ever.  And to all of my financial supporters, know how much you are appreciated, even when I find myself wondering what I am doing here.  Your money isn’t just supporting me, it is supporting Inca Link and all of the amazing work they do in Latin America.  Regardless of my doubts and fears that I sometimes have, I am here, and I will do my best to continue to “be here now” in every moment and to trust God to show me my path and for his grace to walk it.