One day I captured a yellow, stray parakeet on a tall brick wall by standing on a boy's bike. It bit a teeny hole in my hand. The boy was grateful. We arrived a little late to a cell group.
I preached for the first time a week ago, in Spanish. I preached on Joseph (the son of Jacob) and his example for our lives as people that have faith in God's constant presence which allows us to live lives of integrity even during times of silence and tribulation. The combination of faith and integrity helps us to be the types of leaders that the world is looking for. In the middle of my sermon, only 3 people were sleeping, and a giant, life-sized Guinea Pig named Rico Cuy popped a balloon animal and made me lose my train of thought for 3.4 seconds.
I keep hitting my head on the roof of the buses. I'm considered above average height here at almost 5'8".
Carneval is being celebrated in other parts of South America. Here they celebrate it by drenching people in the streets. I was chased down the street by a grown man today who had a whole bottle of water to dump on me. He succeeded in his conquest.
There are lots of strays here, sometimes we convince them to come home with us and we feed them our leftovers.
This week was the first time we could see the volcanoes in about a month. They're beautifully snow capped. First time for the stars too, they've been in hiding. It brought me back to our first couple of months here. I was unable to take the view for granted and felt an overwhelming sense of joy in how difficult this journey has been, but what God has been doing in me, in the lives of my friends, and all the folks that God has put under our care.
Did I tell you about the time that West Side Story was taking place outside my window at 2:30 in the morning? The night that a group of us were trying not to get caught in the middle of another street fight only 2 blocks from our house? Or the time a man was holding himself up, facedown over a pothole growling at the street? Well, those were different experiences for me than before I came to Peru.
One day Wendy and I shared some pigeon eggs as a pre-cell group snack.
I've also eaten cow stomach and intestine, chicken foot and heart, guinea pig, fish eye and other things I can't remember.
I didn't watch much TV before I moved here. I watch even less now; but when we went to the beach and our run down little hotel had cable, it was a joy to vegge out to a novelty that is so common place in my culture. I'm convinced that the ocean here is even colder than the Boston coast in August...which isn't very warm. I so rarely go to the beach that I'm not sure if I think that the water is more salty just because I haven't tasted water that salty in a really long time, or if the water is actually more salty here.
2 days ago I did dance aerobics with some elderly folks at a hospital.
The people that I minister to sell fruit and potatoes in a giant market, drive trucks that haul furniture, own small convenient stores, harvest and vend onions, take care of their kids full-time, sell school supplies for a ridiculous number of hours every day for 2 months leading up to the start of school, work for the municple center, work as a dentist, and own a restaurant that makes jungle cuisine.
I've learned how to make the following balloon animals: monkey, rabbit, dog, mouse, swan, sword, flower, and heart.
I white water rafted for the first time in a contaminated river in Arequipa.
And some how I feel like I'm missing some of the best little stories of the year and past couple of months. I hope you've derived some joy from the randomness that is called my life right now, but also that you know life serving God is not boring...and not for the stuff that you eat, but that you can always be surprised by His goodness, faithfulness, perfect timing, love and forgiveness for us all. If you want stories that cover the details of navigating life with Him in ministry, then check out one of my three district ministry blogs. The links are in the left hand margin of this blog (for Hunter, José Bustamante y Rivero, & Paucarpata).
p.s. I can't think of 100 things that are easier and sometimes more enjoyable, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Being stripped down and having to rely more on God than self is an absolutely beautiful journey.
The end.
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