So we’ve had some adventurous days this weekend. . . We started it off by hanging out with some good friends on Friday. Liz’s friend, Dawna, is here for the week, so we met her for lunch at Café Zeta. This time I actually did NOT take a picture of my food. Sorry to disappoint you, friends. :) After that, we ran some errands and then met up with Aulo, Junior, Deivis and Aulo’s friend, Enzo, for supper before we went to the Marshall’s for small group. It was so nice to dine with our friends and then bring some new faces with us to study God’s word. One thing that we spoke about that really impacted me, was going before God with a pure heart and pure motives. I find myself so easily asking God for certain blessings without taking the time to clear my heart, to confess my sins to Him. It’s also very easy for me to ask Him to bless my life with things before considering if those things are in accordance with His will. I have been battling lately with being content with what is His will and understanding His calling for my life versus asking for what I want. My desire is that God will purify my heart so that I may seek only after His heart.
Saturday we had our Bible study at the Lighthouse. We were blessed to see many of our friends! Liz and I have decided to have a Bible scripture memory contest over the next three weeks. Those who wish to participate will be required to memorize three verses from scripture and recite them to us. This week, the memory verse is Psalm 119:11 and says, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” We felt that this verse was important to emphasize the importance of memorizing scripture. Anyway, those who are able to recite the three verses will be invited to a special party to be held December 8th. Liz and I will cook for them some good old American food which will probably turn out to be Tex-Mex. :) Yum! We have decided to participate in this contest by memorizing the verse en español! :) It should be quite a challenge. Our verse for the week is from Salmos 119:11 and says, “En mi corazón atesoro tus dichos para no pecar contra ti.”
*hernan, deivis, martin, me, liz, dawna, aulo; yes, we're IN the fountain! :)
After the Bible study, we went to Parque de la Reserva where they have about 15 fountains! At night, they light up the fountains with colored lights and play different types of music. We had a great time watching the different shows that each fountain put on. Then, since we were all muriendo de hambre, we went to Norky’s to get some Peruvian comida! Moises ordered chicken gizzards which I had never eaten before, and he was kind enough to share with me. It wasn’t terrible, but I don’t think I’ll ever take the opportunity to order that. :)
*martin, aulo, dawna, me, hernan, moises, liz, deivis
Sunday morning, we enjoyed Pastor Troy’s message and then took off for the sights of downtown Lima. Aulo skipped out on us because of the Peru vs. Brazil soccer match. I guess I can’t blame him. . . He is Peruvian after all. Haha. So, Liz, Dawna, Junior, Deivis, Moises and I ate at T’anta and then took a bus tour up to San Cristobal. There is a cross that overlooks the city and you can take a bus up a REALLY steep mountain and see it. When we got on the bus, Deivis and I had the opportunity to sit in the FRONT seat of the bus! How exciting and scary! We could see every dangerous turn, but I got to take some good pictures. :) On our way up there, we encountered a procession of San Martin Adán. This was really a treat because we had not seen any processions in the whole time that we’ve been here! Basically some people held a statue of San Martin Adán and others walked behind, some playing instruments. It was quite interesting.
*deivis and me in the front seat!! what what! :)
*at the cross
*the procession for san martin adan
After the tour was over, we tried to figure out what we were going to do next. I said that I was down for anything if it included getting ice cream first. :) We all got ice cream cones and ate them in Parque Central de Lima. A cone that would’ve easily cost $3 or $4 in the USA only costs 3 soles here. (That’s barely ONE dollar!) Now that I’d had my chocolate fix, we decided to take Dawna to the Catacombs. This time our group was too big and disorganized for me to be able to take any pictures. :( How sad! Oh, well. I guess it was nice to see those old bones again. Haha. When we were done here, we headed back over to the Lighthouse. Moises took us on a bus that we’d never been on before. It was so crowded that I was afraid Junior was going to get pushed out the door. We decided that it would be kind of funny if he fell out as long as he didn’t get hurt. Deciding not to risk it, I didn’t push him. There’s always next time, though. . .
On the bus, God reminded me of how great He truly is. Moises asked me what made me decide to come to Peru. I mean, it’s certainly a question that I’ve asked myself from time to time before coming here and even after. When telling him of the process, God reminded me that His hand is in everything. I first considered going on a mission trip of some sort this past January. At first, I thought that I would go to Mexico, and I even explored an opportunity there. But, I continued on with my search and found two opportunities here in Peru. For some reason, this one seemed like the right one. I prayed over this and began raising support to come. Some of the support came easily, but there were times where I doubted that I would be able to come up with the funds. It was difficult and made me question if I would really be able to be used by God. He only strengthened my faith in Him and His ability to use other believers for His purpose. What a team he has made us in calling us to support our brothers and sisters! Anyway, the support was raised, the passport obtained, and here I am. Here I am blessed beyond measure and learning far more than I’d ever imagined. It’s amazing to think that God chose to use me for His eternal glory. Wow.
Katrina
“My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.”-Psalm 27:8
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